SO WHO DIDN'T USE DRUGS ?

So Michael Gove snorted cocaine 20+ years ago, Rory Stewart has apparently smoked opium, Jeremy Hunt may have used cannabis, once, Andrea Leadsom smoked 'weed' 30 or more years ago, Dominic Raab smoked cannabis 20+ years ago and Boris Johnson has almost admitted to using cocaine and cannabis when at university, also 30+ years ago.

Do I care ?

When I was a student in the 1970s, I was aware that some of my fellow undergraduates used drugs, some were even stupidly proud of doing so, but I was never tempted. Indeed, I'd only ever tried smoking tobacco once, a small Hamlet-like cigar, 2 or 3 puffs on which made me cough and splutter; that was enough to put me off for ever. I really don't know whether friends, acquaintances and colleagues over the years have used elicit drugs or not and I really don't care; what has always been far more important has been their overall personality and ability.

Questions have been raised about the suitability of Mr Gove as a potential Prime Minister on the back of his admission and, by implication, the other contenders as well. Surely, if we are to condemn people forever for what they did decades ago, we are living in a world in which even Big Brother would feel uncomfortable. Gove has been criticised for comments he made in a newspaper article in which he railed against middle class drug users although he was, supposedly, himself using drugs at that time, but is this not ancient history ? What matters is what he is doing now, and what he has done in more recent times, as it does with the other candidates for leadership of the Conservative party.

Personally, I don't like Gove, I think he is duplicitous and utterly untrustworthy; he is a determined climber of the greasy pole who will do anything to reach the top. Sadly, I don't like most of the others either. Boris Johnson may be a likeable chap when out and about or on television, but do we really want a likeable buffoon as our next Prime Minister, regardless of whether or not he ever sneezed cocaine away ? Andrea Leadsom and Rory Stewart exude no great authority and give me no confidence that either would be able to resolve our current difficulties, again regardless of what they did or did not smoke, or otherwise ingest, in the past. Jeremy Hunt is far too suave, smug and self satisfied for my liking and Dominic Raab is simply too much of an unknown. Of course, there are other candidates who have yet to admit to, or deny, a drug taking past, but do any of them have what it takes to be Prime Minister at a particularly difficult time in our history ? In fact, who can name them ?

Sam Gyimah and Mark Harper, two real household names, not, have thrown their hats into the ring simply to be noticed; neither can be taken seriously. Sajid Javid may be serious about wanting the job but he's just another Gove, or Hunt, oily, greasy and prepared to say or do anything that will help his cause. His recent history isn't exactly good, either.

Esther McVey has a media presence but does she really have the gravitas needed ? Highly personable and determined, but what is her track record in government ? She might be a good choice as a running mate for one of the less resolute Brexiteers but Prime Minister ? Whether or not she's ever smoked, snorted, or injected dodgy substances, for me, she just doesn't cut the mustard. The last currently announced candidate, Matt Hancock, could almost be McVey in trousers; apart from being ambitious, what would he bring to the top job ? Being somewhat wishy-washy on the vexed subject of Brexit, he certainly wouldn't be my choice.

Which all leaves us precisely nowhere. We all know that politicians obfuscate and lie. Few go into politics for any reason other than to benefit themselves and few can be trusted, certainly none of those who seek high office. I really couldn't care less about whether they took drugs in the distant past, what I want is someone in whom I can have confidence, someone who will deliver on their promises. That means someone who will carry through on the promises made in 2016 and 2017, and get us out of the European Union, with or without an explicit deal.

Who fits that bill ? 

WHAT WOULD CHANGING PM ACHIEVE ?

While holding a vote of confidence in Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party may be increasingly likely, I wonder what it would achieve.

If Mrs May wins the vote, she will undoubtedly remain as party leader and Prime Minister, even if there is a substantial number of votes against her. If she loses such a vote, the party would then be left with the task of finding a new leader at a most difficult time; indeed, who would want the job, given that the scope for either amending Mrs May's draft Brexit agreement is infinitesimal and that the chances of getting the agreement approved by Parliament even less ?

Michael Gove's decision not to resign from the cabinet, following on from his reported rejection of the job of Brexit Secretary seems to suggest that he, at least, is biding his time. Remaining in the cabinet suggests a degree of loyalty to both party and leader, and avoids a charge of being a wrecker.  Gove's decision may also indicate that he does not believe that a confidence vote will produce a change of leader - yet - and, in the eyes of fellow party members, he may well have improved his chances of succeeding to the top job in due course. 

Changing the leader will not change the situation. Mrs May's representatives have agreed a draft plan with representatives of the European Union and it seems that the EU will not accept anything other than cosmetic changes to that plan. At the same time, the plan seems unlikely to prove acceptable to the UK Parliament. To say that the Prime Minister is 'between a rock and a hard place' is an extreme understatement, so why would anyone want to replace her ? Basically, those who hanker after her job would probably be far better off if they simply wait for things to develop further.

Deal or No Deal ? Perhaps we should ask Noel Edmonds to officiate !

IS BREXIT 'DEAL' HEADING FOR THE ROCKS ALREADY ?

-------  and it looks as though the end may be fast approaching.

The Northern Ireland minister, Shailesh Vara, had already resigned in protest at Mrs May's Brexit proposals and now the Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab, has also walked away. In his resignation letter, Raab pointed at the potential for EU domination over the UK to continue indefinitely and also the threat to the integrity of the UK itself as critical issues. He also referred to the disparity between the proposed deal and what was promised in the last Conservative election manifesto.

Hot on the heels of Raab's resignation, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has cancelled a planned trip to a farming conference in Yorkshire - is he also on the point of quitting his post ? At the same time, arch-Europhile Anna Soubry, a sheep in wolf's clothing if ever there was one, has tweeted to say a) that Raab cynically planned his resignation to make the headlines, b) that the PM must now be considering her position and that we need a 'Government of National Unity' and c) there should be a 'people's vote. Can she really be serious ? This is a Conservative Member of Parliament calling for Jeremy Corbyn to be brought into government !!

There is no doubt that the pack is circling, in all directions, but apparently Mrs May still intends addressing Parliament later this morning. God Help Her !

MAY SELLS US OUT; JOHNSON & DAVIS STAND FIRM.

It seems that Brexit is finally coming to a crunch point. Following Theresa May's watered down proposals which were 'agreed' by the Cabinet on Friday, first David Davis and now Boris Johnson have signalled their disapproval of the plan by resigning from their positions as Brexit Secretary and Foreign Secretary respectively. What now ?

Mrs May has reportedly said that she did not agree with the two ex-ministers about "the best way to honour the result of the 2016 vote" which seems to me to be a complete surrender to both the European Union's negotiating position and also to those here who want the UK to remain as closely tied to the EU as possible, if not actually remaining inside it. There is only one way to "honour" the vote and that is to do what it asked, that is, to take the UK out of the EU, Customs' Union, Single Market and all of the other nonsense that goes with it.

Some time  ago, Mrs May told us that "Brexit means Brexit" and she promised that we would be leaving the Customs' Union and Single Market, and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice as well as bringing an end to the free movement of people across the EU. Now it appears that she is effectively proposing to keep the UK in the Customs' Union, to keep us fully aligned with all EU rules and regulations and to offer European citizens preferential rights of migration. All of this of course means that the ECJ would also continue to be the ultimate arbiter of our compliance with EU diktats although we would have no say in the formulation of such rulings.

On television yesterday, Michael Gove attempted to dance on the head of a pin, saying that the UK parliament would, nonetheless, have the final word regarding any EU rulings, and trying to make out that this was perfectly normal in trade deals. Although he claimed that his acceptance of, and support for, the Prime Minister's proposal was a result of him being a realist, it was clear that it was nothing more than a sell out of the people who, like him, voted to leave the EU. Gove was positioning himself as a reasonable alternative to Theresa May in the event that any of his other Cabinet colleagues decided to be more forthright in their opposition. While supporting Mrs May's proposal, he did not renege on his Brexit credentials and could now easily be seen as a Prime Minister in waiting by both sides of the Conservative party.

Theresa May has let the country down badly. She has failed to carry out her own promises from 2016 and 2017 and has failed to conduct any effective negotiation, refusing to issue any threats, veiled or otherwise, to the EU and refusing to use the UK's bargaining power on money, trade, defence and much more. Rather than tell the EU what she will accept, she has bent over backwards to accommodate its every whim and has, frankly, been pathetic. What we now have to wait to see is whether the resignations of Johnson and Davis are anything more than just acts of petulance. Will there now be a leadership challenge and a far harder attitude from the Conservative Brexiteers in Parliament ?

Only time will tell though we're unlikely to have to wait long to find out.