Johnson may be finished but the damage he did lives on
For all the talk by nationalists about how much they value unity, democracy and tradition, nationalism always turns out to be the most divisive, undemocratic and disrespectful political principle imaginable.
The Brexit variety is no different. It was entirely predictable that it would not so much liberate a sovereign nation from its supposed European shackles as unleash a political elite from any constraints whatsoever.
Now that Boris Johnson’s premiership has ended in disgrace and he has been exposed for what he is and what everyone knew he was, there is a sense of relief in Brussels. And sure, there is some schadenfreude on the continent that he has finally got his comeuppance.
But no one is under any illusion that Johnson’s departure from Downing Street solves any of the underlying problems in the UK/EU relationship. Because the damage done by the outgoing prime minister, through the project that he instrumentalised to achieve power, lives on.
On the economy, it lives on to the point where even Labour finds it impossible to distance itself from the core problem now harming the UK: Brexit itself.
Trying to “make Brexit work” the slogan that Labour leader Keir Starmer uses when he rules out a future return to British membership, might be a political imperative for at least another generation. But it is still economic and illogical nonsense.
No amount of tinkering with the practical details of Brexit can remedy the fundamental incoherence it creates. Self-imposed isolation from your nearest and biggest trading partner harms small businesses as they try to trade with customers in neighbouring countries, prompts big companies to seek to invest elsewhere and dismembers labour markets to the detriment of both employers and
Read more on theguardian.com
