When is a deal not a deal? When it’s an old deal reheated and with the bits you don’t like crossed out in red biro.
Boris Johnson’s brand new masterpiece, the stonking great innovation, is actually Theresa May’s old thrice rejected deal with a few bits missing. If May’s deal was an old pack of cards including a Joker with the words “Irish border” scribbled on it, Johnson’s is the same but without the Joker.
Small wonder that the EU negotiating team has dubbed it “May minus minus minus”.
Johnson has also removed Mr Bun the Baker from the pack, and replaced him with Mr Rees-Mogg the Saboteur.
Just to make it easier for the EU to reject his deal while laughing their heads off, Johnson stooge Priti Patel has announced the end of freedom of movement. This prevents Johnson from travelling to Europe to negotiate, although it also means we are stuck with the buggers indefinitely.
It’s no deal better than this bad deal? The bad deal leaves us voluntarily tied to Europe but with no say. No deal sees us fall victim to bigger regimes who will offer us trade on disadvantageous terms and say take it or leave it. Take back control, indeed.
In short, any deal will leave us weakened, no deal could well destroy the economy. You may as well offer the choice between cutting off one leg, or both. And you have to buy your own wheelchair. The option of cutting off neither and carrying on as normal does not seem to be available.
May minus minus minus renders us legless. And not in a good way.
We voted for this, apparently. We voted to disable ourselves and we knew it. Yeah, right. It’s just another lie that nobody is brave enough to call out.
The country is on fire. It is burning out of control. Soon there won’t be any pants left.