Speech full of nothing but blind hope

BORIS Johnson needs a better chat-up line if he wants to woo Remainers.

His speech was the equivalent of buying Valentine flowers in the local garage and then wondering why your date was disappointed.

He appears to believe Brexit will be resolved if we were less gloomy. If the problem was a lack of bubbly optimism then we may as well make Barbara Windsor Foreign Secretary. Many would argue she could do a better job.

Johnson said the economic benefits of being an EU member were not as “conspicuous” as claimed, despite the Government’s own analysis showing Brexit will leave us worse off. And he complained it would be deplorable to stay shackled to EU regulations which protect workers’ rights.

Johnson did not explore what trade deals we could have with the EU, and made no attempt to address the Irish border question. Negotiating Brexit requires a mastery of detail. It is not enough to say we can grin and gurn our way to prosperity.