Quote of the day 23rd July 2018

"As Conservatives, we should know better than anyone what a parliamentary party in revolt over Europe leads to. 

Labour is now leading in the polls and Jeremy Corbyn is so emboldened that he’s summoned his front bench to start planning his first 100 days in power. He has taken advice from former prime ministers and civil service chiefs about which laws to bring forward first. 

If that doesn’t give some of the louder or more tribal voices pause, I don’t know what will. This is a man with a self-confessed Marxist as Shadow Chancellor and outriders who are now wearing ‘I am literally a communist’ T-shirts. A Corbyn government would be catastrophic for our country. 

We have a duty to serve the public in the national interest, to deliver the Brexit referendum result in a way that mitigates risks and maximises opportunities, and keeps the fabric of our own United Kingdom together. 

That means compromise, whichever side of the debate we were on two years ago. And, for all the siren voices, in those two years no one has brought forward a serious, detailed alternative plan. The Prime Minister has one on the table. 

Yes, it requires compromise, but it is now crunch point. 

We are sending our Prime Minister to negotiate on the nation’s behalf against the massed ranks of 27 other countries and the entire apparatus of the EU. It is time to get behind her."

(Ruth Davidson MSP, Scottish Conservative Leader, extract from an article which you can read in full here)

Comments

Jim said…
The only part I would argue with is, well Chris you know what it is.

So for the benefit of other readers, its "And, for all the siren voices, in those two years no one has brought forward a serious, detailed alternative plan"

Its name is Flexcit, though its a long read at 407 pages, its all detailed, and very serious. We shouted as loud as as we could, but selective hearing is quite prominent in the Westminster bubble.

or perhaps the only serious plan is just a 'siren voice' with out enough prestige to be taken seriously.
6:13 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
That's a fair comment, Jim.

You will remember that I have frequently referred to the Leave Alliance's Flexcit plan as the only serious attempt by anyone on the Leave side to come up with a credible, detailed plan for what they actually want to do.

There are actually some similarities between the Chequers proposals and Flexcit and depending on what happens in the forthcoming round of negotiations it is far from impossible that something which looks a lot like Flexcit might and up being adopted.

Unfortunately Flexcit will not satisfy the ultras who will yell "betrayal" and "sell-out" just as they are hurling the same accusations at the Chequers plan.

I don't know whether Ruth Davidson is aware of the Flexcit proposal and I suspect she might not be. If she meant "Nobody in parliament has brought forward a serious, detailed alternative plan" then she was right.
12:15 am
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