With apologies to Robert Browning
I ladled out syrup to Boris and he
Said “Golly,” Gove quibbled, we quarrelled all three.
“No deal!” said the mayor with a cavalier wave,
As he mounted the saddle and left me to save
This mad sceptic isle from a leap in the dark
(A vote-winning phrase that I got from Ken Clarke).
After battling for Britain, I thought it ingrate
Of Boris and Michael to subvert my fate.
In Brussels I won a magnificent deal,
Its details were concrete, triumphant and real.
For toddlers unborn, from Gdansk to Lublin,
Get less pocket money from 3015.
Westminster’s sovereign now, all that it takes
Is total agreement by fifteen more states.
These freedoms I won – and I say it with pride –
Because I had Angela Merkel onside;
And only last week she most kindly called me
A valuable part of the EU acquis.
I love Boris dearly, but – ’twas ever thus –
I fear our great mayor has a problem with trust;
In schooldays m’tutor warned one should beware
Of Turks bearing gifts (it’s in Virgil somewhere).
So, treat all careerists and hacks with disdain,
Save ten million jobs with a vote to remain.
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The verdict is clear. The Right has woken up to the innate statism associated with a statutory Net Zero target. Reform UK reject it outright, and the Conservatives have pledged to scrap the 2050 deadline and the 2008 Climate Change Act by which net-zero targets are enforced. Both accept the approach is a millstone around […]
Late on August 28, trade talks between Canada and the United States broke down, an escalation in the trade war that the Trump administration began with Canada in early 2025. This escalation isn’t because Canadians favour tariffs as much as the US president, but because they refuse to quietly acquiesce to American demands. It might […]
