Jeremy Corbyn was recently at the Centre for Alternative Technology making all the right noises about a green industrial and energy future. It was good to see Jane Dodds responding positively to his party's policy.
But of course local correspondents took the opportunity to quiz the Labour leader about Brexit and its effect on Wales, given Mark Drakeford's public support for a fresh referendum and the first minister's obvious leaning towards remaining in the EU. Sadly, Corbyn's core position, that we should have no more than "a very close trading relationship with Europe" has not changed, in spite of all the spin that the slick Labour machine and his friends at the Guardian and the Independent have put on it. So Jo Swinson was quite right to object to his claim to be the right man to head a government of national unity (GNU). (By the way, where did GNU come from all of a sudden? It seems to be a media invention. It has certainly been seized on by virtually all the press.)
It would be wrong to entrust government, however interim, to a man who is in favour of Brexit in spite of the evidence that the public mood has changed and continues to change. And let us be clear. There is only one deal on the table, the May-Barnier withdrawal agreement which guarantees that the border across Ireland remains open. The EU27 will not reopen negotiations for Corbyn, Johnson or anyone. Unless Corbyn changes his mind on May-Barnier - which would still require some fancy footwork in Parliament and a further delay to the withdrawal date - a No Deal Brexit is what we are bound for, unless of course the Article 50 letter is withdrawn.
Jo Swinson has pointed out what the Corbyn sycophants should have made plain to him, that he is a divisive figure and would not command a majority in the Commons. Importantly, no Conservative MP has come forward to commit to any government led by Corbyn. Jo has suggested - not demanded, as Labour implies - that the person commanding traditionally the most respect in the House, the Father, Kenneth Clarke, or alternatively the Mother, Harriet Harman, would be the one most likely to command a majority in these troubled times. Clarke, although a long-time committed Remainer, has declared that he would accept May-Barnier if it would end the deadlock in the Commons, thus displaying a flexibility which Corbyn has not. Jo Swinson has also reinforced her non-tribal approach by declaring her readiness to have talks with Corbyn about the situation.
Incidentally, the attacks on Jo Swinson have not only misrepresented her position and that of the Lib Dems, they have also verged on the misogynistic. That mistrust of women, which has prevented them ever electing a woman leader, clearly still lies deep within the Labour Party. All the other parties represented in Westminster have had female leaders. Plaid Cymru now has as parliamentary leader Liz Saville Roberts who has impressed in her short time in the Commons. I would seriously suggest that if for whatever reason members of the two main parties cannot command a majority as a leader of GNU, she would be an admirable alternative. Leading a small parliamentary group, she can clearly have no long-term ambitions to be leader of the UK and therefore no power of patronage which can cause resentment. She is also independent of the conservative/socialist battle. Although she is against a No Deal Brexit - and thus in line with the only clear expression of the House of Commons to date - she has gone along with her party's pro- and anti-EU U-turns, so can be seen as neutral in that respect.
The current prime minister (whom I have taken to calling "the Johnson" echoing the slang of his birth-place) and his eminence grise Dominic Cummings will of course do all they can to thwart a reversal of the Brexit decision. They will certainly attack GNU, one of whose aims must be to arrange a further referendum and seek an extension of the withdrawal date to accommodate it (always assuming the 27 have not lost patience with the UK by now). There are too many weapons in their hands for those of us who support EU membership to feel comfortable.
No comments:
Post a Comment