Dropping out of the Tory leadership race does mean one good thing for Boris: he can now go back to throwing rocks from the sidelines. Having landed himself in hot water last week with his Telegraph column in which he appeared to offer both freedom of movement for Brits abroad whilst introducing a much stricter immigration policy in the UK – which looked, at best, like wishful thinking – he’s now somewhat freer to speak his mind this time around. Boris certainly makes the most of that opportunity today. In his column, he says:
‘It is time for this nonsense to end. It was wrong of the Government to offer the public a binary choice on the EU without being willing – in the event that people voted Leave – to explain how this can be made to work in the interests of the UK and Europe. We cannot wait until mid-September, and a new PM.’
Boris isn’t wrong here to call on the Government to do something proactive following a Brexit vote which was now 11 days ago. We’ve heard precious little of substance since June 23rd and we’re worse off for it. Those from overseas gazing in astonishment at Britain voting to leave the EU won’t have been re-assured by the turmoil which has materialized since the referendum. And as for Brits, we’ve been left looking ahead for things to settle down, rather than that happening anytime soon. That being said, to his credit, the Chancellor has made a positive step in pledging to cut corporation tax down to 15 per cent over the weekend. Whilst this isn’t as low as the ten per cent many had hoped for, such a move does at least indicate that Britain is open for business. It’s just a shame it couldn’t have happened sooner.
But back to Boris. Whilst the Government should share some of the blame for what has unfolded since the Brexit vote, apportioning blame to them alone seems a little unfair. Yes, the Government should have had a plan for what came next. And we’re all worse off, at least for the time being, that it’s taken so long for any prospect of a strategy to emerge. But Boris appears to be pulling a fast one when he suggests this is the Government’s responsibility alone. In actively campaigning for an outcome, the Leave campaign can’t then shed the responsibility for what comes next when the public sides with them. Yes, the Government hasn’t helped fill the vacuum which has emerged over the last week but then nor too have many of those from the ‘Leave’ side and we’re all now paying the price.
Comments