A Rotten Regime and 'Ramsay MacCorbyn'

by Brian Bamford

TODAY's editorial leader in the Financial Times is entitled 'Something is rotten in Britain's political system'. 

The editorial claims:  'Discipline over Brexit in both main parties has broken down.  So, too, has collective responsibility in government.  Leaks from cabinet meetings have become routine; the chief whip calls this cabinet the worst-disciplined in British political history.  The case of Garvin Williamson, however will live in infamy.'

It seems that the defence secretary and leak's merchant, Mr. Williamson, 'was busy manoeuvring to succeed Mrs May'.  At the same time he is not on his own, and civil servants are now complaining about how many of the cabinet are mounting their own campaigns.  The FT says:  'It is a profound indictment of the political class that so many ministers now appear more interested in plotting to become prime minister than doing their jobs.'

The Tory party has lost over a thousand seats in the local government elections, but the poor performance of the Labour party that had hoped to benefit from public disquiet with the tories over Brexit is also significant. 

The danger is that based on these election results, both Mrs. May and Jeremy Corbyn may this week be temped to cobble together  a cross-party deal on Brexit, in order  to improve their standing with the electorate.

It has been suggested that Labour Remainers are anxious that Mr. Corbyn may be about to do a deal with the Tories.  One senior Labour Remainer asked:  'Does he really want to be Ramsay McCorbyn?'

That was an allusion to the notorious Labour leader, Ramsay MacDonald, who has been viewed as a traitor for forming a national government in the 1930s.

The Eurosceptic Tory MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg labelled this sucking-up approach as  'conlaberating'.

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