Theresa May has won a truce on Brexit – but it won’t last long

It’s quiet – too quiet.” It was, I think, John Wayne who first drawled that line of knowing scepticism, in the 1934 B-movie western The Lucky Texan. But it seems no less apt this week, as the Tory prairie remains suspiciously peaceful in response to Theresa May’s speech on Brexit, delivered at the Mansion House on Friday. True, Michael Heseltine has performed his quasi-constitutional role as lord privy Europhile by dismissing the prime minister’s remarks as no more than “phrases, generalisations and platitudes”. There are reports too of a dirty tricks operation at No 10 to undermine the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, (vigorously denied all round).

Yet the Conservative reaction to the speech has been remarkably cordial. Less than a week ago, it was bellicose business as usual. On the eve of the prime minister’s big speech, John Major declared that “many electors know they were misled” over Brexit, that “many more are beginning to realise it”, and: “The electorate has every right to reconsider their decision.”

The reality TV star and occasional MP Nadine Dorries branded Major a traitor for his outrageous suggestion that the public might be consulted again on Britain’s EU departure. And quite right too: this is obviously no time for careful reflection, caution or hard-won wisdom – the telltale sneaky weapons of “saboteurs”, “enemies of the people” and other foes of the popular will.

Yet the gunfire that preceded May’s speech has, for now, fallen almost entirely silent. On the blasted mud of no man’s land, you can see Jacob Rees-Mogg kicking the ball amiably to Anna Soubry, who heads it back to Iain Duncan Smith. Where there was discord, there is, as St Francis of Assisi might observe, a sudden and unexpected harmony. Or so it seems.



Source: theguardian

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How was your weekend running?

Can anyone tell me how I can learn to love cross country? Or is it a gene you are born with? Would greater exposure to it (I live in London - aside from the Surrey League fixtures, opportunities are minimal ...) engender affection? At any rate, it’s certainly not my favourite kind of running, though the relief when it’s over almost makes it worthwhile. No, wait, that’s the cake my teammates bring. Saturday saw us in Richmond Park for the final fixture of the season - a wonderful location for it, and complete with classic freezing cross country weather. I suppose at least I warmed up while running, unlike my poor kids who were dragged along and ended up wearing pretty much every discarded coat. And eating a fair amount of the cake. There’s been lots of debate about distance inequality in XC recently - prompted by the campaign/petition Maud Hodson has written about for me here. And it’s a campaign I am thoroughly behind, which anyone who knows my feelings towards XC finds hilarious. Why,...
Read more

The Alaska shipyard where the 'manliest men' meditate each morning

In the dark hours before sunrise, Vigor Alaska’s shipyard bosses circle up their crews. Dwarfed by vast steel segments of a new ferry, welders, painters and electricians twist their bodies. They roll their heads, shoulders and wrists. They ask about each other’s families. They celebrate pregnancies, raises and second chances. They jump. They lunge. They do push-ups and backbends. Seagulls call. Rain drizzles. Then – in jeans and work boots, sweatshirts and hardhats – they meditate. “I thought it was kind of weird,” said Irineo Munoz, 33, who started working for Vigor Alaska as a machinist in 2015. A former gang member from California, Munoz moved to Alaska after his release from prison. As public debate remains intense over gender roles in society and the workplace, Vigor’s morning routine defies gritty, masculine stereotypes associated with industrial labor. Crews meditate, stretch and socialize – on the clock – for a few moments at the start of each workday. Every Wednesday, around l...
Read more

Does cycling really damage men's sexual organs?

Few doubt that cycling helps you get healthy. One study last year found cyclists are less likely to develop heart disease or cancer, and a 2011 review showed it improves fitness and leads to longer lives. But there’s an area of men’s health that has been the subject of a persistent question: does time spent in the saddle lead to problems in the sack? In recent years, scientists have linked cycling with several male health problems, including erectile dysfunction, which they speculate is caused by the saddle decreasing blood flow to the penis. In one study, Norwegian researchers gathered data from 160 men after they took part in a long-distance bike tour. They found that one in five suffered with numbness to the penis that lasted up to a week after the tour, and 13% developed erectile dysfunction that lasted more than a week in most cases. Another study linked cycling to prostate cancer – or at least, that’s how some corners of the media reported it. But the researchers admitted their s...
Read more