Rise up bottling Brexiteers, an army stands behind you
The greatest mistake by Leaver MPS is not realising just how powerful they and their supporters really are
The pathetic recent performance of that affable but anaemic band of agitators, the Brexiteers in Parliament, may have left many of us Leavers infuriated. But it is not true that their moment has “passed”. It is “now”. As Theresa May threatens to go out in a fireball of burnt-up red lines and purse-lipped arrogance, the Tories’ credibility is being incinerated. Meanwhile, an insurgent Brexit Party has snatched the mantle of the “people’s voice”. As Nigel Farage gnashes his teeth, ready to rip fatal chunks out of our ailing two-party system, the damage could be lasting.
But just at the moment when their country and party need them more than ever, Brexiteer MPS have bottled it. Now the heat is really on, many have been struck down with the most bizarre, self-indulgent bout of fatalism. With a luxuriating sigh, they lament that there is “nothing to be done” about stubborn Mrs May. They are irrationally terror-stricken by cunning but bluffing Remainers like Amber Rudd who threaten to bring down the Government if a Brexiteer takes over. Worst of all, they have allowed themselves to be bullied into flogging the booby-trapped Withdrawal Agreement. The noble ideologues of Middle England have become disillusioned, suburban estate agents, reluctantly reconciled to scamming the public.
Perhaps they think that meek damage limitation is now the most prudent path. But “Betrayal” is the bastard child of weakness – and while Leave voters are indignant at Theresa May and Remainer saboteurs, they are also waking up to the full cowardice of the Brexiteers. Leave MPS can only redeem themselves by bringing down the PM and putting a no-deal leader at the helm. To do this, they need to
immediately declare a grassroots guerrilla war.
Conservative activists are already mobilising. Fed up by the constipated cautiousness of the 1922 Committee, the National Conservative Convention is holding an extraordinary general meeting on June 15, at which its members are expected to vote no confidence in Mrs May. Local association members are still pushing for confidence votes against their Remainer MPS. Many activists have gone on strike, refusing to post leaflets for the European elections.
Why aren’t the Brexiteers allying with them? At the very least they should go on a parallel voting strike and help campaigners to up the ante by, for example, coordinating a headline-grabbing no-confidence vote, passed by the hundreds of anti-may local Tory Associations in a single day.
The biggest failure of the Brexiteers has always been that they do not realise the strength of their hand. They may be outnumbered in Parliament, but behind them is an army of members who have run out of patience, and, beyond them, a Middle England whose gasket has blown. What more ammunition could they possibly want to persuade pathologically risk-averse colleagues of the repercussions if the Tories fail to deliver a hard Brexit?
The Brexiteers are paralysed by two other terrible flaws. First, they are squeamish about conflict. Yes, many genuinely fear that the PM’S deal is as good as it gets. But some also feel vain discomfort at being labelled “extreme”, while others are petrified that being bullish will damage their leadership bids.
Instead, they should positively bask in their rivals’ insults. The first rule of guerrilla war is to antagonise your more powerful opponent to damage their own cause by smashing the nut with a sledgehammer. The Brexiteers should be shouting “no deal” from the rooftops and relentlessly blasting the Withdrawal Agreement. After all, every time a Remainer MP ripostes that the Brexiteers are “zealots”, they are disparaging millions – and in turn bolstering the case that only a strong Brexiteer PM can win back insulted Tory England.
Secondly, Leaver MPS grossly overestimate their opponents. Their centrist colleagues’ master plan for saving the Tories is little more than “suicide on autopilot” by an obsolete ruling class. Taking the base for granted to grab marginal liberal votes when that base is defecting is the unhinged thought process of an elite that has forsaken basic logic in favour of esoteric managerial wisdom. Only a policy wonk’s approach can appeal to such politicians. Why haven’t the ERG drilled into results from the recent local elections, which reveal Tories are haemorrhaging in “safe” areas from Essex to Somerset? The Brexiteers should use this evidence as a basis for arguing that it’s no-deal or bust. Or they should do us all a favour, and defect to the Brexit Party instead.