I was looking forward to the BBC’s “Our Next Prime Minister” debate, but I finished the show seriously questioning my sanity. It was an hour I’ll never get back, so I might as well fill you in.
First, the format was horrible. It just resulted in all five men talking over one another; a collection of soundbites made entertaining by the hilarious expression on each of the candidate’s faces.
Second, nobody explained how they were going to get Brexit through Parliament. Boris Johnson bumbled about wanting to leave with or without a deal but not wanting to leave without deal, and then stopped talking when he realized he his campaign mission was to keep quiet. Saajid Javid helped him out by confidently asserting the necessity of a negotiation deadline. It gave the opportunity for Boris to nod (Boris did a lot of nodding throughout).
Javid then talked about a magic technology that could solve the Irish border issue, hence allowing him to pass a deal through Parliament. This makes him essentially the same candidate as Rory Stewart, except Stewart doesn’t invent nonexistent technology. For the record, Javid was actually excellent in this debate. He was the only conciliatory one on the stage and was strong on multiple other questions. But he isn’t a magician — and that means he doesn’t have an answer to Brexit. As for Stewart, everyone decided to have a pop at him, which meant he couldn’t pin Boris down on any of his ramblings. Stewart wants to stick with Theresa May’s deal, and that’s not a popular position. It is, however, they only feasible position for a person committed to honor the Brexit vote — because parliament would sooner accept a compromised Brexit than a Brexit without a deal.
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See Also:
(1) Who Won the Tory Leadership Debate? Nigel Farage
(3) Tory leadership LIVE: Johnson wins Round 3 – Stewart eliminated after haemorrhaging votes
(4) Germany’s Brexit crisis: 20,000 businesses set to go bust this year as UK exit bites
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