Politics

So what now for the opponents of no deal? Boris Johnson has dramatically called their bluff, and as Mr Steerpike reports, not all of them are taking this particularly well. Both proponents and opponents of Britain leaving without a deal are engaged in a political wrestling match, with all the theatrics that entails. Both are working out which parliamentary mechanisms will suit them best. Both are also accusing the other of blocking democracy, pretending not to notice the similarities in their tactics. Neither will admit that the other side has a right to do what it has chosen to, instead preferring to call it a 'constitutional outrage'. The problem for those trying to stop no-deal is that their team isn't working as well as Boris Johnson's.

Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to use 'all tactics available' to block a no-deal Brexit. The Labour leader is meeting MPs today to try work out how to do just that. But with no deal back in the headlines, are we having the wrong discussion about what it would mean for Britain to leave the EU without an agreement? Most of the focus around a no-deal Brexit has been on the economic pain that will be suffered by various parties, but particularly the UK. Little thought has been given, however, to the political pain. To politicians seeking re-election (for either themselves or their party), small issues can become greatly magnified. Whenever a steel plant or a car factory faces closure, the government comes under pressure to meet with the owners to find a rescue plan.

The latest stage in a series of arcane gambits and cunning plans designed to frustrate Britain’s exit from the EU came in the form of Jeremy Corbyn's recent letter to leading opponents of a no-deal Brexit, inviting them to discuss the joint coordination efforts. In his letter, Corbyn rightly predicts that during the next few weeks the country will enter a ‘constitutional and political storm’. Up to now, however, the response of our political elite to this impending crisis has been confused. Radical Leavers claim Parliament can be prorogued to allow a no-deal Brexit to pass without further intervention from MPs.

I’ve learned only one thing at the G7 summit of big rich countries here in Biarritz: Boris Johnson absolutely loves being Prime Minister. There’s little of the conspicuous sense of duty that weighed on the shoulders of Theresa May, Gordon Brown and Sir John Major. Nor is there that unnerving claim to embody the spirit of a nation that Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher perhaps made too often and believed too much. There’s a touch of David Cameron’s Old Etonian entitlement, the idea that it would be odd if he weren’t PM. But mostly Johnson simply seems to be having fun – whether by pointing a joshing finger at the imperious president of France or telling an incredulous President of the EU that they agree on absolutely everything.