SocraticGadfly: Brexit without Boris Johnson

June 30, 2016

Brexit without Boris Johnson

Just when you thought Britain's post-Brexit fallout couldn't get weirder, it has, with former London mayor Boris Johnson pulling himself from the Tory leader battle.

That leaves Theresa May, who backed Remain, as top dog in the scramble.

But, this doesn't change the likelihood of Britain actually leaving, per my original post. She's already announced she'll form a Cabinet Department of Brexit if she's the next PM.

Per the first link, this sounds like it could be a bruising battle.

And Labour may get just as bad, as Jeremy Corbyn shows himself to be a British Tom Mulcair of sorts. I can partially understand some of his Old Labour reasons for fearing the EU, but others of them were unfounded, and leaving the EU is unlikely to help British workers in any way. Lack of job mobility may hurt, and most post-Brexit Conservatives will likely support some sort of ongoing "austerity" as long as the Tories keep office. He otherwise comes off as a bit of Little England.

And, whether or not the Telegraph fully and accurately reported, or framed, his Israel-ISIS comments, he opened himself up for this, including in part by apparently tolerating antisemitic attacks on a party member. Corbyn last-ditchers may indeed save his leadership, at the cost of wrecking the party.

And if Marc Wadsworth, who apparently claimed right-wing, but NOT Zionist, press conspiracies, is one of the Corbyn last ditchers, then some of Corbyn's friends are worse than his enemies. Of course, enemies like Ruth Smeeth aren't helping when they play the anti-Semitism card. Now, if Smeeth has proof actual antisemitism, and not what Wadsworth said, bring it on.

Anyway, this relates to what seems to be Corbyn's problem. I don't think he was comparing Israel to ISIS; that said, I don't think the Telegraph was smearing him, at least not deliberately.

Rather, he's bending so hard to avoid anti-Semitism that his Israel comments could be seen as a refusal to condemn hardcore versions of Zionism.

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