What Next?
The business community seems to have been divided into three camps over Brexit during the referendum campaign.
There were those totally in favour as they were convinced that the EU had destroyed their industry. Mainly fishing and a lot of farmers.
Then there were those who thought the dead hand of Brussels was a right pain and needed to go, slashing red tape, employment protections and so forth. Good luck with that Lord Wolfson.
And finally the vast majority who thought it was a stupid and very risky affair, but calmed their fears with the comforting thought that the Tories were the party of business and would make it work. Soften the blows as it were and be rational and reasonable.
The fishing and farming industry turned out to be “useful idiots” and have been thrown to the wolves. The second group have been betrayed and the third group have had their security blanket burned in front of their faces and now realise, far too late, that they are the enemy.
Just like the Cultural Revolution and the Stalinist purges those who tear up the old system need to create a perpetual state of fear and blame to justify the inadequacies of the new order.
The Prime Minister is very clear, anything that goes wrong now is going to be the fault of business.
The problem for the PM is that persuading the voters that business is to blame for inflation, queues, shortages, high energy prices, benefit cuts and all the rest is a permanent job.
The PM has made “the government is not responsible for anything that goes wrong, ever” into his new shibboleth. For the so called party of business it is a crude, totally cynical and shameless volte-face, it is also appallingly damaging,
But far from Brexit being over it is now the only game in town and will continue to be for years. Boris Johnson (and this is his policy alone) is willing to risk destroying the economy by using not just Brexit but the damage caused by Brexit to stay in power.
Who will be the next enemy of the people?
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.