Warning signs

There is a new day in British politics, or so we’re told. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just got his Brexit deal through the House of Commons. He has revealed part of his agenda for government after winning a historic election.

The Conservative campaign was devoid of content beyond ‘Get Brexit done’. However, Johnson has pledged to reform the bloated civil service and expand the powers of the executive at the cost of the judiciary and parliament. Outside these changes, Johnson has promised to raise healthcare funding and infrastructure investment.

The Johnson era will likely be more One Nation Tory than full-blooded Thatcherite since it has to satisfy a new chunk of voters. The Conservative government is now in the unusual position of holding sway over much of the English North and the Midlands.

The so-called ‘red wall’ of Labour seats – including many constituencies that had been Labour for as long as they have existed – was bulldozed in one cold December night. But there is no guarantee these seats will stay blue forever.

“You may only have lent us your vote, you may not think of yourself as a natural Tory,” Johnson said in his victory speech. “Your hand may have quivered over the ballot paper before you put your cross in the Conservative box, and you may return to Labour next time round.”

“If that is the case, I am humbled that you have put your trust in me and you have put your trust in us,” the PM added.

It’s not impossible to imagine these seats returning to Labour once Brexit is ‘done’. Johnson knows he has a small window to rush through legislation to lock-in Northern support. This is why Johnson was quick to announce an £80 billion ($104 billion) investment plan for infrastructure in the North and the Midlands.

The most radical part of Johnson’s agenda remains Brexit, but he can’t run on this alone. So the National Health Service was a key focus in the Queen’s Speech, where Johnson sought to cull the threat of the Labour Party in the North once and for all.

This is also because the right-wing Brexit deal will fail to deliver national renewal. The fantasy is that the European Union stands in the way of much greater prosperity and free trade, even a free-market utopia where individuals rise and fall according to merit.

In reality, the UK will take a hit in its growth rate and the capitalist class will face the loss of business-friendly European directives. The era of British finance is living on borrowed time and Brexit will only make its demise more likely.

Excerpted from: ‘The Early Warning Signs of Boris’.

Counterpunch.org