How Brexit conflict turned the clock back a year for Boris Johnson
A sense of deja vu has set in over Westminster as yet another EU row triggers war within the Commons
MPs are divided over Brexit treaty changes, UK relations with the EU have reached a new low and the prime minister is facing a backbench rebellion.
It’s all beginning to feel a bit like October 2019, with Boris Johnson confronted with the same challenges all over again.
If the return from recess has felt like stepping into a time machine for the PM, he is not alone, with Politico’s Alex Wickham describing the week in politics as “a Brexit double take”. So is Johnson living in a Brexit Groundhog Day?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
‘The funeral pyre’
The issue of EU membership has become a “funeral pyre” for Tory leaders over the past four decades, bringing down the governments of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May.
And with his plan to row back on elements of the EU withdrawal agreement triggering anger across Westminster, Johnson is battling to avoid becoming the next Conservative leader to fall on the European sword.
“Up to 30 Tory MPs” are planning a revolt over his bid to overrule parts of the Northern Ireland protocol in the treaty, with peers in the Lords also planning to reject the legislation over fears that it “would damage Britain’s global standing”, The Times reports.
Former Tory leader Michael Howard, a vocal Brexiteer, told Times Radio that “our reputation for probity and the rule of law” is at threat.
“To hear a minister say at the dispatch box you are passing legislation in breach of international law is a very sad day - I never dreamt I’d hear a minister, still less a Conservative minister, say such a thing,” he added.
Cabinet ministers have been deployed to defend the move, insisting the withdrawal agreement would be “hugely harmful” to the Irish peace process.
Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi told Times Radio that “in the unlikely scenario” that Britain exits the bloc without a deal, “we can’t allow existing provisions to harm Northern Ireland or the Good Friday Agreement”.
But the intervention of Johnson’ allies in the cabinet have done nothing to quell “growing concern on the Conservative back benches over breaching the treaty”, says The Telegraph.
New faces, same problems
Tory MP Oliver Letwin was Johnson’s biggest headache last year, but this time around the anti-Johnson rebels have a new frontman: Justice Select Committee chair Bob Neill.
Back in October, Letwin put forward an amendment to withhold approval of Johnson’s Brexit deal until the legislation to enact it was passed. The BBC’s parliamentary correspondent Mark D’Arcy wrote at the time that the “cunningly-crafted” add-on could be voted for “by MPs who want a deal, but don’t trust this one, and don’t trust the government”.
Now, Johnson has another Letwin-style problem, after Neill tabled an amendment to the Internal Markets Bill “in an effort to create a parliamentary veto on overriding the UK-EU divorce deal”, The Guardian says.
Former immigration minister Damian Green and ex-solicitor general Oliver Heald are among those publically backing Neill in the Commons. Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, and Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Defence Select Committee, are also opposing the PM’s plan.
But as The Guardian notes, “the initiative would need backing from dozens of MPs in a parliamentary party that has tilted heavily towards a firm pro-Brexit position since the general election”.
However, just as Letwin had a backing band, Neill claims to have the wider support needed to pass the amendment, telling Times Radio: “I wouldn’t be pressing this issue if it was only a hobby horse of mine.”
‘Once bitten, twice shy’
If the ghost of Letwin is haunting the PM this week, it may be with good reason.
Neill is “proving a thorn in the government’s side” with his amendment, which in the words of HuffPost’s executive editor Paul Waugh, “looks for all the world like a wrecking ball”. But Waugh adds that “looks can be deceptive”.
“It’s perfectly possible that this could be a clever way for the government to avoid the row about the UK’s reputation and integrity on the rule of law, giving ministers a ladder to climb down,” Waugh writes. In other words, Neill could have given Johnson an escape plan following the frosty reception to the withdrawal treaty backtracking.
This reading of events is hinted at by Sky News’ deputy political editor, Sam Coates, who tweets that “legal experts warn this amendment might be a Trojan horse: they believe it has flaws and loopholes the gvt [government] can exploit”.
“The problem is apparently the veto is voted on after the point when the government has annulled the law so potentially after the ministers have already achieved their goal,” Coates writes. “So some believe only way to defeat the gvt is to vote down this bit of the bill.”
A government source told The Times that unlike MPs who voted against the Brexit deal last year, those who vote against the government over the Internal Market Bill would not have the whip removed - lending weight to the suggestion that a climbdown is on its way.
But after Johnson’s pledge to “get Brexit done” was underminded by scheming backbenchers a year ago, Downing Street will be alert to the threat of another embarrassing U-turn.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs.
Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 21, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - devilish decrees, biblical blunders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 carefully selected cartoons about the Trump-Daniels jury selection process
Cartoons Artists take on a stress-free life, rare peers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Loire Valley Lodges review: sleep, feast and revive in treetop luxury
The Week Recommends Forest hideaway offers chance to relax and reset in Michelin key-winning comfort
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Can Boris Johnson save Rishi Sunak?
Today's Big Question Former PM could 'make the difference' between losing the next election and annihilation
By The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Stormont power-sharing in sight: 'good news' for Northern Ireland?
Talking Point Unionists vote to end two-year boycott after agreeing legislative package to address post-Brexit trading arrangements
By The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published