We’re short-staffed but don’t you dare say it’s due to Brexit
THE shadow of Basil Fawlty looms large over Boris Johnson’s busted flush government, but it’s not “the war” they’re desperately trying not to mention, it’s Brexit.
And while his sycophantic supporters hilariously continue to hail him for “getting it done”, the grim reality becomes clearer by the day.
We know that his “oven-ready” deal put a border in the Irish Sea after he stated that this would only happen over his “dead body”.
We know that he and the ludicrous Lord Frost, who negotiated it, were trying to disown the treaty before the ink was even dry on it.
And we know his government has trumpeted its willingness to break international law in order to duck its obligations.
But what you won’t know, if you listen to the Cabinet trying to explain away problems everywhere from airports to GPs’ surgeries, is that every crisis the UK currently faces is being made worse by Tory determination to torch our decadesold “Welcome” mat and become the first country in history to impose economic sanctions on itself.
Last month, for the first time since records began, the number of job vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed. There is a shortage of doctors, nurses, lorry drivers, fruitpickers, vets, cabin crew, baggage handlers, hospitality staff, and many, many more. But sadly no shortage of Tory politicians terrified of telling the truth.
Project Fear is now Project Here. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that GDP will be down 4% because of Brexit (compared to around 1.5% caused by Covid). And in the middle of a catastrophic cost-of-living crisis, supply-chain disruption is turbocharging rocketing food prices.
Yet when Tory rebel Tobias Ellwood shared these simple truths on Wednesday, the knives were out for him faster than the wine at a Downing Street lockdown party.
Food and drink exports to the EU are down 17% on pre-pandemic levels, and a disaster-relief charity that normally helps victims of earthquakes and floods has been brought in by Kent County Council to alleviate the suffering of lorry drivers in queues around Dover.
Local MP, Brexiteer Natalie Elphicke, this week called for government help to clear the road blocks but managed to do so without mentioning a major cause of the problem: Brexit.
And she is not alone. When a Prime Minister’s increasingly fragile grip on power rests on the ridiculous notion Brexit is something to celebrate, it becomes impossible for members of the governing party to acknowledge the countless number of problems it’s causing.
And if a government can’t even acknowledge problems, how on Earth can it begin to fix them?
If they can’t acknowledge the problems, how can they fix them?