Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Coming on top of her perceived success the week before, the misjudgments by Tory Party managers which led to last night’s game changer, are par for the course of this ill starred administration. It will take some of the shine off May as she appears in Brussels today, as will the ill judged comments of the Brexit Secretary earlier, that the agreement she signed held no legal force and could, and might, be abandoned.

This is all symptomatic of the truth now dawning that Brexit, in the terms in which it was offered and for which a mandate is claimed, was never available and cannot be delivered. It underscores the fact that any form of hard Brexit would never get through Parliament and that in a true democracy voters should be given a second chance and have the right to change their minds. In truth it would save endless argument, time and worry, which is already blighting people’s lives and damaging the economy, to ask for the Article 50 letter to be returned, so that we can get on with a future which is real, available and good for everyone.

I do not agree with those commentators who assert that the defeat of Roy Moore is a setback for Trump. Had that man been elected it would have been a disaster for the Republican party and the Presidency. At the same time had Trump not endorsed Moore, activists in Alabama would have blamed their defeat on the President. As it is the blow is down to them and their ridiculous candidate and that is the end of it.

However the loss of the Senate seat itself may prove a bigger setback than at first it appears.  Coming on top of the losses in New Jersey and Virginia and the poll ratings which consistently show most Americans against Trump, even if his base remains steady, the perception can grow that Trump is a loser. That would be difficult for Trump to handle. He does not do losing. And it will embolden the Democrats in the 2018 races for the House and Senate, both of which are within their reach on a high turnout in urban and suburban America. Much depends on the tax reforms producing more good jobs. If that fails Trump is done for.