A Cabinet of Reprobates

Welcome to the Brexit Dome

And here is my new cabinet

Spot the ones not previously sacked, resigned in disgrace or serial sycophants

Well, that went well. Elected as PM by less than 0.2% of the UK electorate, Boris Johnson's first task was to choose a cabinet to provide the leadership for the whole of the UK, with responsibility for the economy, foreign and home affairs, social support, infrastructure and all public services. He has chosen a collage of disruptors, malcontents and dimwits, requiring them to pledge their support for a no-deal Brexit before offering them a post. 

The PM (Eton and Oxford) has appointed Jacob Rees-Mogg (Eton and Oxford) as leader of the House, and  Michael Gove (Oxford) as chief of staff and Deputy PM. That should ensure that we are not in hock to experts or the establishment! The rest of the cabinet is a motley assembly of recycled cabinet ministers who fell on hard times by either being sacked or having resigned in disgrace, brash brexiteers or sycophantic former remainers who have forsaken their integrity to 'doing or dying' for a no-deal Brexit. 

There has been little attempt to bring onboard new talent, with the possible exception of Rishi Sunak, who oozes intelligence if not worthy principles. Talented new one nation Tory MPs can fester on the backbenches until the next Tory leader is elected. If the first week of the Boris ascendency is anything to go by that should not be very long but these are Strange Days. We are led by a libertine and ruled by reprobates. Jim Morrison got it right, 'They are going to destroy our casual joys."

In his first week, he went to Birmingham and promised to bring back the 20,000 police that the government had removed since 2010 and then to Manchester to back a high-speed rail route from Manchester to Leeds that was first announced by George Osborne five years ago. There was even a nod in support of the Northern Powerhouse that had languished in the buried to-do box during Theresa May's premiership.

Over the next three days, he popped up to Scotland to examine his nuclear deterrent and submarines before falling out with the Firs Minister, no surprise there, as well as the leader of the Tories in Scotland. He failed to convince the Welsh farmers or the Welsh Government that his Brexit plans were in the best interest of Wales. He visited Northern Ireland for a cosy dinner with Arlene Foster of the DUP, which unsurprisingly upset the Sinn Fein leaders who then suggested a referendum on a reunited Ireland. So his attempts to safeguard the already fragile Union have evaporated within weeks, as is evidenced by the latest  Scotland poll on Independence, which following the PMs visit is showing a majority in favour of independence for the first time.

He also failed to visit the EU or the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar to discuss Brexit or renegotiating the withdrawal agreement, a matter of common courtesy you would think. He lost a by-election in Brecon and Radnorshire to the Lib Dems with a 9.6% drop in the Tory vote. He set aside another £2.1bn, making it £6bn so far to prepare for a no-deal Brexit. He then was scrambled up to Derbyshire to sprinkle some stardust after discovering that a dam was collapsing and threatening to wipe out a small town.

Welcome to the Brexit Dome, what a whirligig of wanton waffle.