FIVE TEN FIFTY SAY IT AGAIN : EARLY ANALYSIS of the Boris Johnson victory in the general election suggests that once again a three word slogan, pretending to be a policy, did a lot of heavy lifting.
“Get Brexit Done?” our in house pollster asks, “I didn’t vote for it as it’s nonsense. But enough did. It is a neat trick. Champion a monumental, multi-year project to reshape the country as something as easy as changing your socks,
“Get that over the line,
“Claim the democratic mandate by ignoring the crime involved,
“Then, when it turns out to be a monumental, multi-year project that is almost impossible to implement, and when a big tranche of voters are getting bored of talking about it, just tell them you’ll get it done. Very helpful if your major opposition is championing a policy of dragging it out for much longer. Essentially pull the same con on just enough voters that you did the first time. Simplicity itself.”
And while anyone paying attention to the details of Brexit scoffed indignantly at the slogan, just enough people who can’t be bothered with the details of what they’re voting for, thought, yep, I’ll have some of that. Just get it done.
“May you live in interesting times? That old chestnut. Well, we do, whether we like it or not. But if you voted for Brexit because you’re bored of Brexit, you might want to take a moment to consider you’ve just voted to be bored to death, for years.”