Rumours of the Prime Minister’s death in a ditch have been greatly exaggerated. Parliament’s rejection of the Government’s programme motion for its withdrawal agreement bill makes it all but impossible for Boris Johnson to extricate the UK from the EU by 31 October as promised.
It is an obvious defeat for a PM who got the job by swearing to Tory members that he would have us out by Halloween, no tricks, no treats, no last-minute scares.
It is also, however, probably the optimal way for Johnson to break his oath. To the uninvested voter with only a passing interest in the goings-on at Westminster, tonight was not about the PM’s new withdrawal agreement or the programme motion or which Labour MPs trotted through the Aye lobby. It was Day 1,216 of no Brexit — three years and four months since the country voted Leave and still with nothing to show for it.
MPs’ decision to vote for a second reading of the withdrawal agreement bill will only add to the confusion of these electors.
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