A Message from Europe – Thomas K Tyrrell

This message is from one of our regular speakers to the Men’s Republican Party.

Greetings from the Isle of Man, our summer home in The Irish Sea halfway between England and Ireland. From my window I see the hills of the English Lake District and the mountains of Galloway in Scotland.

The Races are over and 20,000 motorbikes with their riders, girlfriends, wives and sweethearts are heading home. They come from Europe, Australia and America for two weeks of racing over 37miles of ordinary roads through the villages and towns of the island. The course climbs from Sea Level, rising to 3000 feet across the mountain at an average speed of 120mph. If you have the time go to Google and type in Isle of Man TT Races (TT = Tourist Trophy). You will find lots of videos to scare the life out of you!!

Now to the serious stuff. As islanders, we in the Isle of Man understand the ‘calm’ before the next storm. Well that is the UK today. Everything is building to what could be a major constitutional and not just a political crisis.

Boris Johnson, England’s own Donald Trump, is a rumbustious, shoot from the hip popularist and is the front runner for Mrs May’s job. He says deal or no deal, he will take the UK out of the EU on 31 October and if necessary, without the consent of Parliament. Such a move would cause a constitutional crisis not seen in England since the Parliamentary Reforms of 1850’s.!! He also says he will abolish the ‘Irish Backstop’ which is the name given to the UK/EU agreement dealing with the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic after the UK has left the EU. But how will he do that?? Because it will be for the EU and Irish Republic, not the UK, to enforce that border. He talks a lot but has yet to be challenged in serious debate or to explain himself in a formal TV/radio interview.

A few months ago Boris seemed like a busted flush but then the UK was obliged, because it was still a member, to participate in the elections for the European Parliament. Those elections though in many ways meaningless for the British, did allow one man to put the fear of electoral death into Conservative party activists and that man was Nigel Farage and his Brexit Party. Almost overnight it seemed to many Conservatives that the only one among them with the raucous campaign skills to smother Farage and beat the Socialist Corbyn, was Boris!

Nonetheless what makes any Conservative think a new leader can get a new or better deal with the EU? Because every contender for Mrs May’s job must now vow to achieve that even though the EU has already said it will not renegotiate. Which makes the prospect of a Boris led government allowing the UK to crash out by default on 31 October, a realistic scenario. Many Conservative MP’s horrified at that prospect might again, as they did to Mrs May, vote against their own new Boris led government, thereby forcing a General Election. But this time in such an election they would be led not by a cautious careful Mrs May, but by a robust Boris who many feel could win against Farange and Crobyn, who between them would split the opposition vote. Wishful thinking!

We now have several weeks while UK politics becomes just Conservative party politics. All the while 31 October draws nearer and in Brussels a new EU Commission (government) comes into being.

The opposite to Boris, is Jeremy Hunt who is worth watching. A serious thinking politician and with ministerial experience, who in the end may have greater appeal, than Boris, to the majority of middle class Conservative party members. Remember it is them not the MP’s who will make the final choice.

Having dealt with Boris and Brexit, next time I will turn to more interesting headlines around the World.

Regards
Tom Tyrrell

PS. This morning Boris says that if Prime Minister, he would suspend Parliament and take Britain out of the EU on 31 October. King Charles 1 suspended Parliament and tried to rule alone. The English chopped off his head!!