It's amazing at times how radically different the interpretation of a speech can be based on your politics. I (obviously) thought Miliband made some excellent points, and TTT thinks that Miliband apparently wouldn't have been out of place in a high school debate, and it's the exact same thing we're evaluating. I mean, I'm not amazed really, this is how subjectivity works, but still.
On the other hand, has anybody here even read the Bill in question? Or are we now at the point where all the Government needs to do is print "BREXIT!!!" in large font at the top, and everything that follows is irrelevant as long as it looks pretty? Why doesn't detail matter?
From what I've seen of the Bill, I suspect that most of it is reasonable, and all the Government needs to do is scrap the pretence that breaking International Law is in any eventuality the right course, and it would enjoy broader support. That's the sticking point, and nothing Johnson said yesterday explained why it was so important to have that. Indeed, at one point he made the claim that the EU was acting in bad faith, a claim that is undermined by his Government's own official submissions the very same day:
"I regret to have to tell the House that in recent months the EU has suggested that it is willing to go to extreme and unreasonable lengths... My honorable friend [Andrea Jenkyns] is entirely right [that the EU refuses to negotiate in good faith]." (Johnson in his speech)
"The Government is extremely confident that the EU is working in good faith..." (Brandon Lewis, submission to Northern Ireland Committee, that same day).
Which is it? This and a host of other transparent contradictions surely need addressing, whether or not you agree with the Government's ultimate strategy.