The results of the Conservative Party leadership contest have been published today. The former foreign secretary and former London mayor Boris Johnson (*1964) was able to beat his successor as foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, roughly 2:1.
Some 160,000 party members were asked to select the new Tory leader and, therefore, the UK’s next prime minister. Boris Johnson won 92,153 votes, Jeremy Hunt only 46,656.
As someone who once compaigned for Remain, Jeremy Hunt never had a chance against Boris Johnson who, together with Nigel Farage, was the key figure in the Leave camp. A clear majority of the Tory party members is in favor of a hard Brexit. They are afraid of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party who managed to win 30.5% of the vote in the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom. The Conservatives finished fifth with only 8.8%, behind the second placed Liberal Democrats with 19.6%, Labour with 13.7% and the Green Party with 11.8%.
Boris Johnson managed to win the job as London mayor twice in a city that is generally left-leaning. He has star appeal. Many Conservatives think that Boris is the only one in their camp who could win a general election. And of course, they think he can deliver Brexit.
Unfortunaley, Brexit, as invisioned by the hard-core Bexiters, is a fantasy. You can’t have your cake and eat it. Theresa May had to learn it the hard way. When she said “Brexit means Brexit” it become clear that she had no clue what she was talking about. Even in January 2017 she repeated the nonsense that the UK would not be half-in, half-out of the EU.
During his career as a journalist and as a politician and in particular during the Brexit campaign, Boris Johnson has repeatedly spread lies and half-truths. He is unfit to lead the UK. The UK already has the best deal. It’s called Remain (now: Revoke Article 50). Anything that he will deliver will be less favorable for the UK than what the UK currently has as a EU member. We live in the inter-connected world with trans-national supply chains. Half of the UK’s imports and exports are with the EU. Therefore, it does not make any sense to leave the EU. As a non-member, in order to enjoy full access to the EU markets, the UK would still have to accept the EU’s rules and regulations without having anything to say regarding the formulation of new EU law, rules and regulations.
Today, in his victory speech, Boris Johnson promised that he would “deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn.” He added: “We are going to get Brexit done on 31 October and take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring with a new spirit of can do.”
Boris also said: “We are once again going to believe in ourselves, and like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self doubt and negativity.”
Nice words but there are three major economic powers that matter in this world: China, the EU and the US. The United Kingdom would be alone. Of course, the UK could (and should, if Brexit happens) remain a partner of the US and the EU, but the UK would always remain the tiny minority partner in such an econonic and political alliance, never a partner on equal terms. With Brexit, the “good old times” of the Empire will not come back.
It is not even clear if the UK will remain the UK. Just minutes after Boris Johnson was announced the winner of the Tory leadership contest, once again, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon made clear that she had “profound concerns” about Boris Johnson leading the UK. Because Scotland largey voted Remain she pledged to “stop Brexit and block a no-deal Brexit”.
Scotland could of course decide to leave the UK and rejoin the EU, a move which could no longer be blocked by the UK once the UK would have left the EU. However, England would remain a very important trading partner for Scotland. New borders and trade barriers would hurt both Scotland and England.
Boris Johnson has a conflicted relationship with the truth and is not known to be someone who studies the dossiers under his watch in detail. His short stint as foreign secretary rises doubts about his leadership qualities. The UK could head for a major disaster. Will Boris adapt to reality? Will he appoint capable cabinet members?
The election of Boris Johnson as the new Tory leader and next UK prime minister rises many questions. Nobody with a brain wants Jeremy Corbyn to replace him. Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is not fit to govern either. Could the Liberal Democrats profit from the situation?
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Boris Johnson (official photo as Foreign Secretary). Photo credit: www.gov.uk
Article added on July 23, 2019 at 22:53 German time.
