Boris Johnson was asked in his interview with Laura Kuenssberg what he would do if parliament rejected his request for a general election on 12th December, and this was his reply –
“We would campaign day after day for the people of this country to be released from subjection to a Parliament that has outlived its usefulness.”
In other words, he would campaign for the people of this country to be “released from subjection” to the result of the 2017 general election, which under the law of the land was intended to be binding until May 2022. He’s also saying that the democratic verdict of voters in that election is no longer “useful”. Can you imagine the blind fury that the SNP or other Yes campaigners would encounter if they said “we demand that the people of Scotland be released from subjection to the result of the 2014 independence referendum, which has outlived its usefulness”? Maybe we should try that line and see how far we get. Come to think of it, how would Johnson himself react if People’s Vote campaigners asked to be released from subjection to the result of the “useless” 2016 EU referendum?
My prediction only an hour ago that the election motion would pass on Monday already seems to be well on the way to being proved wrong, largely because Johnson’s “offer” to reintroduce the withdrawal agreement bill in return for an election is being (understandably) interpreted in some quarters as more of a threat. There’s arguably now a clear incentive for the Liberal Democrats to resist a December election, because it would be a strategic disaster for them if Britain has officially left the EU before polling day – their “stop Brexit” message would have been overtaken by events.
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UPDATE: Unlike the Lovatts of this world I’ve never believed that betting markets are a predictive God, but for what it’s worth punters currently seem to think there’s a slightly less than 50% chance of Johnson getting his way and an election being called by the end of the year.
