Two-faced Corbyn’s Brexit act exposed

THIS has been an illuminating week for British politics, in which the storm of uncertainty thrown up by the election result few predicted began to abate.

on Monday, weeks of horse-trading ended and Theresa May secured the deal with the Democratic Unionist Party which gives her a firm platform upon which to govern.

For all the wailing about the £1billion price tag, the way seats fell in the Commons meant only a deal between these two parties would ensure stability.

After weeks of plotting, damaging speculation about her future as Prime Minister quietened, as Tory MPs woke up to the fact that a leadership death struggle could result in a Corbyn government.

Then, on Thursday, the Queen’s Speech passed by a comfortable majority of MPs. Yes, it has been shorn of many ambitious manifesto pledges such as grammar schools (more’s the pity). But it remains a serious programme for government and includes eight vital Brexit Bills which will restore democratic control over immigration, agriculture and trade policy.

Admittedly, there was a minor Cabinet spat over the post-Brexit ‘transition’ arrangements. But if this week has shown anything at all, it is that Tory divisions on Brexit pale in comparison to the giant schism in the Labour Party over Europe.

Indeed, this was the week when the fragile coalition between Blairite moderates and Left-wing extremists that form today’s Labour Party finally imploded.

Despite Mr Corbyn instructing them to abstain, nearly 50 arch-remainers – including four frontbenchers – backed an amendment calling for Britain to stay in the single market and customs union. Mr Corbyn’s cynical two-faced charade – when he says one thing to pro-Brexit Northern working class voters and another to remainers in London – has been exposed.

And though they will stop at nothing to undermine the Government, the Labour leadership is in many ways as Eurosceptic as the Brexiteers in the Tory Party.

over the past few weeks, and despite some lapses in judgment, Mrs May has shown both stoicism and courage. If her MPs can keep their discipline, she can hope to recover some of her pre-election authority. As for Mr Corbyn, after the past week, he is considerably weakened.