Boris must seize this golden moment to remake Britain
FIRST came the relief of the Conservatives’ Election victory; then the catharsis of seeing Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal clear the Commons last week.
Now comes the reckoning, as the Prime Minister weighs up the opportunities for national renewal presented by his 80-seat majority.
Mr Johnson can flex his Parliamentary muscle to scatter the opponents of
Brexit: the BBC and Channel 4, those metropolitan liberal broadcasters who so misread the mood of the nation in both the 2016 referendum and this month’s General Election; and the politicians from all sides of the House – and in the Speaker’s Chair, while John Bercow occupied it – who did so much to block the will of the people expressed in the EU vote.
History will record the ignominious roles played by John Major, Michael Heseltine, Philip Hammond and Dominic Grieve – to name just the leading figures – in trying to negate the wishes of 17.4million Brexiteers and condemn the country uncertainty, disruption and despair.
Yesterday, Mr Johnson visited British troops in the Baltic, standing next to a tank called ‘Churchill’ as he celebrated winning the largest Tory victory since Margaret Thatcher. There are already tentative signs that Mr Johnson could take his place in the pantheon of great leaders alongside those two illustrious predecessors: his strength, energy and drive in the days since he won his mandate have been invigorating. The markets have rallied, and there is optimism in the air at last.
Only Jeremy Corbyn, walking sourly alongside the ebullient PM at the State Opening of Parliament, and the shellshocked ranks of Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrat MPs disagree, as they come to terms with the new political order.
How different the national mood would be if they had prevailed. Despite claims by the BBC – of course – that Mr Johnson would use his new authority to pursue a ‘soft’ Brexit, he has signalled the reverse: an uncompromising approach to negotiations with the EU, and a determination not to shackle Britain to the old Brussels rulebook.
His promise that there will be ‘no alignment’ once we leave must be respected, or he will face the fury of the same Eurosceptic Tory MPs who destroyed David Cameron.
As he maps out the next five years, Mr Johnson must take advantage of the end of the Brexit logjam to focus on people’s real priorities – the NHS, crime, housing and immigration. And now he has achieved the victory which was denied to Theresa May, he must address the issue that ruined her hopes of a majority – the looming social care crisis.
The problem of caring, and paying, for an ageing population – by 2021 the number of dementia sufferers will be over one million – has been ignored for too long.
Mr Johnson has a once-ina-generation chance to rebuild Britain. As we enter a new decade, it is an opportunity he must seize.