The post you are reporting:
Rod Liddle writing in the Sunday Times.
My feelings on the morning of June 24, 2016, were of euphoria and excitement, tinged with that horrible, nagging worry you sometimes get when you have just taken off on a long-haul flight and can’t quite remember if you’ve left the gas oven on. And so you gingerly look out of the plane, as it ascends over Kent, to see if there is evidence of fire engines and smoke down below. Trepidation, then. I mentioned this to my wife that morning as David Dimbleby and the pundits were still wailing in the BBC studios. “Don’t worry,” she said with a little bitterness, “they won’t let it happen.” No, indeed. But who they? The liberal Establishment, of course. But more crucially, the House of Commons. Until last Monday there were nine political parties represented in the Commons, of which eight were in favour of remaining within the EU. Oh, and a sole independent — she was for remain as well. But then, last week, a political tornado blew apart this unrepresentative consensus, with the formation of an exciting new outfit, the Independent Group. So now we have a House of Commons where, in effect, 10 parties are represented, nine of them in favour of remain. Plus Ian Austin, bless him, who is for leave.
The Labour MPs deserted for three reasons. First, they were in danger of losing their jobs through deselection, either because they opposed Jeremy Corbyn’s policies (Gavin Shuker and Chuka Umunna) or didn’t hate Jewish people with sufficient vigour (Joan Ryan) or were actually Jewish (Luciana Berger). The more noble reason was that they all professed an antipathy to the anti-semitism of Jeremy Corbyn and his Momentum lunatics. But, third, what they all had in common (except Austin, which is why he hasn’t joined them) was that they were for remain and a second referendum. This is the main thing that ties them together, other than a perfectly reasonable dislike of “Magic Grandpa”, as Julie Burchill calls Corbyn. This was reinforced when they were joined by three Conservatives — Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston — who have been among the most vocal opponents of leaving the EU.
The other thing they all have in common is that they are social liberals — but then, so are 550 of their parliamentary colleagues. I do slightly wonder why they didn’t just join the Liberal Democrats, except I suppose it would be like jumping out of the frying pan and into a very small saucepan of blancmange that is being inexpertly stirred by Gandalf over an eco-friendly hob powered by a wind turbine. But it does mean that the pitch is once again queered against us leaving the EU. The three Conservative absconders are a warning to Theresa May that the side she has to placate are the remainers, otherwise more defections will follow, she will be told; they are waiting now, Theresa, even as we speak. That she has already given in, countless times, to their demands, and been forced to negotiate in Brussels having had her most potent weapon — a no-deal Brexit — prised from her hands, time and again, by these same people, will not make a difference.
That is where the primary threat lies. And with each threat May cedes more ground. The defections also strengthen Brussels. Article 50 will be kicked long and hard down the pitch, much as May’s chief negotiator, Olly Robbins, suggested when he was pissed one night in a bar in Brussels. Not put back a month or two but deferred for much longer. “Don’t worry, they won’t let it happen” has always seemed the most likely outcome of our referendum. The lip service MPs paid to respecting the voice of the people is fading before our eyes. Meanwhile, anyone fancy a new party? Pro-leave, socially conservative, economically redistributive? Just to redress the balance a little?