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| Theresa May reaching out to Labour is an act of pure desperation | Theresa May reaching out to Labour is an act of pure desperation |
| (7 months later) | |
| Mon 10 Jul 2017 15.34 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 10 Jul 2017 15.42 BST | |
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| As a superficial and relentlessly idiotic 21-year-old, I decided to sunbathe at peak sunshine hours at the height of summer during a trip to Malawi. “I have such pale legs and they never burn!” I insouciantly declared to onlookers, a mere 12 hours before I began convulsing, shaking, sweating and finding myself unable to walk for three days. I might have called this the most foolhardy act of desperation I had ever known – until last night, when Theresa May trailed a speech in which she went cap in hand to the Labour party for “ideas”. | As a superficial and relentlessly idiotic 21-year-old, I decided to sunbathe at peak sunshine hours at the height of summer during a trip to Malawi. “I have such pale legs and they never burn!” I insouciantly declared to onlookers, a mere 12 hours before I began convulsing, shaking, sweating and finding myself unable to walk for three days. I might have called this the most foolhardy act of desperation I had ever known – until last night, when Theresa May trailed a speech in which she went cap in hand to the Labour party for “ideas”. |
| Yes, the Labour party. The very same Labour party that just a few short months ago was apparently led by apologists for terrorists. The party that, according to David Cameron, presents a threat to our national security. The party that, even now, May says boasts economic policies that would plunge the UK into the kind of financial crisis that blighted Greece. So what is she playing at? | Yes, the Labour party. The very same Labour party that just a few short months ago was apparently led by apologists for terrorists. The party that, according to David Cameron, presents a threat to our national security. The party that, even now, May says boasts economic policies that would plunge the UK into the kind of financial crisis that blighted Greece. So what is she playing at? |
| The obvious explanation is that the government is now so weakened that it needs a certain level of cross-party support to pass legislation. But I suspect the answer also lies in a little-known anecdote from seven years ago. Before the 2010 general election, David Cameron asked Angela Merkel what it was like to lead a coalition. She replied: “The little party always gets smashed!” Former MP for Sheffield Hallam Nick Clegg is testament to Merkel’s prescience on that one, and I would not be in the least surprised if May is in fact attempting to assemble some kind of informal Brexit coalition with Labour, so that when the inevitable leaks about shambolic negotiations arrive on the 6 o’clock news, poor old Jeremy Corbyn will be on hand to take the blame. | The obvious explanation is that the government is now so weakened that it needs a certain level of cross-party support to pass legislation. But I suspect the answer also lies in a little-known anecdote from seven years ago. Before the 2010 general election, David Cameron asked Angela Merkel what it was like to lead a coalition. She replied: “The little party always gets smashed!” Former MP for Sheffield Hallam Nick Clegg is testament to Merkel’s prescience on that one, and I would not be in the least surprised if May is in fact attempting to assemble some kind of informal Brexit coalition with Labour, so that when the inevitable leaks about shambolic negotiations arrive on the 6 o’clock news, poor old Jeremy Corbyn will be on hand to take the blame. |
| The Tories can’t have it both ways. They can’t call Labour a threat to the country and then beg to work with them | The Tories can’t have it both ways. They can’t call Labour a threat to the country and then beg to work with them |
| There have already been noises from the Conservatives suggesting that May’s extraordinary plea might end up functioning as a test of Corbyn’s patriotism. Tory MP Damian Green told BBC Breakfast that the hung parliament was a sign that the public wants politicians of all stripes to work together for the good of the country. How anyone in the Conservative party, which only a couple of months ago was expecting to win a landslide victory, believes themselves equipped to divine the wishes of the British public is beyond me. Nevertheless, if the Tories do wish to act in the national interest, might I suggest they concentrate on building a time machine so they can travel back to that fateful day on 18 April when their leader called a snap election shortly after triggering article 50, which has a two-year deadline. | There have already been noises from the Conservatives suggesting that May’s extraordinary plea might end up functioning as a test of Corbyn’s patriotism. Tory MP Damian Green told BBC Breakfast that the hung parliament was a sign that the public wants politicians of all stripes to work together for the good of the country. How anyone in the Conservative party, which only a couple of months ago was expecting to win a landslide victory, believes themselves equipped to divine the wishes of the British public is beyond me. Nevertheless, if the Tories do wish to act in the national interest, might I suggest they concentrate on building a time machine so they can travel back to that fateful day on 18 April when their leader called a snap election shortly after triggering article 50, which has a two-year deadline. |
| See, the Tories can’t have it both ways. They can’t call Labour a threat to the country, then beg to work with it for the good of the country. May can’t argue that she needed a snap election because other parties were attempting to “frustrate” the Brexit process, and then say that the Brexit process won’t be a success without them. The Tories can’t talk about stability and patriotism when they’re the ones who have turned Britain into an international laughing stock in the pursuit of partisan gain. If you ask me, the principal lesson to take from the election is that the British public is much smarter than the Tories give them credit for. | See, the Tories can’t have it both ways. They can’t call Labour a threat to the country, then beg to work with it for the good of the country. May can’t argue that she needed a snap election because other parties were attempting to “frustrate” the Brexit process, and then say that the Brexit process won’t be a success without them. The Tories can’t talk about stability and patriotism when they’re the ones who have turned Britain into an international laughing stock in the pursuit of partisan gain. If you ask me, the principal lesson to take from the election is that the British public is much smarter than the Tories give them credit for. |
| The broader story here is that the Tories are out of ideas. They’re wedded to a programme of spending cuts that the public has become increasingly angry with. As the traditional party of establishment they are fundamentally unable to respond to the anti-establishment sentiment that has become increasingly prevalent in politics since the financial crisis. They’ve over-promised on Brexit, and now they’re entering into negotiations with the EU, a more powerful institution that they’ve been monstering for the past year. No wonder they’re desperate. | The broader story here is that the Tories are out of ideas. They’re wedded to a programme of spending cuts that the public has become increasingly angry with. As the traditional party of establishment they are fundamentally unable to respond to the anti-establishment sentiment that has become increasingly prevalent in politics since the financial crisis. They’ve over-promised on Brexit, and now they’re entering into negotiations with the EU, a more powerful institution that they’ve been monstering for the past year. No wonder they’re desperate. |
| Labour MP Andrew Gwynne has responded to May’s olive branch by essentially saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.” This is the right answer. Labour is under no obligation to prop up an ailing government that has wreaked national havoc, in case it is accused of being unpatriotic. And given the Conservatives have been toying with adopting Labour policies, such as abolishing tuition fees and ending the public sector pay freeze, the best thing Labour can do is continue to put pressure on the government to adopt parts of its manifesto – which would be a lot better for the country than entering into some kind of coalition of chaos for Brexit negotiations. | Labour MP Andrew Gwynne has responded to May’s olive branch by essentially saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.” This is the right answer. Labour is under no obligation to prop up an ailing government that has wreaked national havoc, in case it is accused of being unpatriotic. And given the Conservatives have been toying with adopting Labour policies, such as abolishing tuition fees and ending the public sector pay freeze, the best thing Labour can do is continue to put pressure on the government to adopt parts of its manifesto – which would be a lot better for the country than entering into some kind of coalition of chaos for Brexit negotiations. |
| As for the voters, if Theresa May is right that it’s in the national interest to start adopting Labour policies, there’s only one thing to do next time a general election rolls around: vote Labour. | As for the voters, if Theresa May is right that it’s in the national interest to start adopting Labour policies, there’s only one thing to do next time a general election rolls around: vote Labour. |
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