Finally.. A politician acting like an adult...

[Spinflight]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/03/boris-johnson-project-fear-hysteria-is-gripping-britain/

"Boris Johnson today condemns the government for failing to highlight the positives of Brexit and instead allowing "hysteria" to take hold following the referendum result.

In his first intervention since withdrawing from the Tory leadership race, Mr Johnson criticises the government for offering the public a "binary choice on the EU" without explaining how the country would move forward in the event of a Leave vote.

In an article for The Telegraph Mr Johnson says the failure to explain that Britain can have a "bright future" has led to protests by young people who now have irrational fear of life outside the EU."

The rest of them remind me of the Kevin and Perry sketch where he has to wash the car.

"It's soooooooo unfair!"

Cameron's resignation strop was deeply embarrassing, Clarke, Heseltine and Blair no better. Gove and May acting like children fighting over a favourite toy. The entire labour party realising they are on the wrong side of history, yesterday's men.

Utter contempt for the people of the UK laid bare.

Well done Boris.

[MrsJoeyMaynard]

Boris is hardly blameless here, is he?

When he was a leading Leave campaigner, surely he had a great opportunity to share some ideas and proposals for how the country might move forward in the event of Brexit? Or how about once the results were clear? Another opportunity there to offer positive suggestions for a way forward. It's not unreasonable to suppose that the people leading the Leave campaign might have considered the possibility of winning and have some proposals for what to do next.

Fair enough to say Boris didn't have to power to take any steps, e.g. he can't invoke Article 50 as he's not PM, but after the results came in, he certainly could have made public statements about what he thought should be done, if he was that worried about the government not highlighting the positives of Brexit.

[AllThePrettySeahorses]

Cutting corporation tax is a pathetic idea. We already have one of the lowest rates in Europe - Belarus is lower though, I suppose - so there is already a big carrot for companies to come here. The US, in comparison, has a rate of 35% plus local surtaxes of up to an additional 12%, yet there is no lack of companies wanting to invest there.

[meditrina]

The corporation tax cut is getting positive media coverage, as a tool for encouraging inwards investment.

And I think we have seen Project Fear become Projects Doom and Dupe.

The Government does now have to find a way forward that maintains British interests. It was never going to make progress in that when the Doom/DuPe foghorns were blasting in the immediate aftermath.

But now is the time for dust to settle and the thinking/planning turn to the options for the future, deciding which is best, and working out how to move towards them.

[SugarPlumTree]

Boris Johnson will say whatever he thinks will save his political skin. He doesn't actually believe most of what he says and uses the media as if he was in an university debating society. It is foolish to believe a word that comes out of his mouth as people who do will find out in time.

[ApocalypseSlough]

Ridiculously, we'll hear even more from him in the future. He has nothing else but his journalism and profile. No political future, no executive directorships or advisory roles for him. He'll be on every panel show and writing more and more outlandish columns for the money.

[Mistigri]

Can I ask those who think "it was the government's job to have a plan" why it was that the SNP was able to produce several hundred pages of detailed and costed planning, while the leave document was not even able to come up with an A4 sheet of policies that it agreed on, let alone a plan?

[UnderTheGreenwoodTree]

If anyone saw Boris Johnson's (lovely) Dad on The Last Leg - well, let's just say it goes some way to explain "Boris Johnson"

He is not a serious politician at all - but he quite likes the status.

[Mistigri]

(I'm referring to SNP planning ahead of indyref, in case it's not obvious!)

[SugarPlumTree]

He has said one sensible thing though since 24th June, about there being no hurry to invoke A50.

[meditrina]

The Prime Minister forbade 'Leave' scenario planning. The leader of the opposition was also Remain, and the shadow cabinet was not doing any scenario planning either.

Boris isn't in Government. He had no way of over-riding the PM and getting any scenario planning done, nor does he have the access to ministries that the shadow cabinet has. So he never had the possibility of planning to the level he is coming in for (personal) criticism for.

Yes, this should have been done ages ago. But it's wrong to nail it as one person's responsibility.

[TheElementsSong]

Comedy gold!

[Everytimeref]

The next move is to change the working time directive because "it impacts on business" so those zero hour contracts will stay and the number of hours the lowest paid have to work will increase with no rights. But of course I am being hysterical.

[whatisfair]

Haha. Boris is back. Joy. And 'acting like a grown-up' no less. He didn't look very grown-up last Friday.

By the way, lots of the people on the March were also acting like grown-ups and were in fact, just in case you weren't there, real genuine grown-ups. In my (small) circle alone there were doctors, lawyers, architects, small business owners. None of us are disaffected youth, none of us have ever had a nose piercing and we are not all lefties, or righties.

It sounds to me, from the brave new world that he sketches out, that Boris would reject any kind of EEA membership. Fair enough, but he needs to say so. Or, maybe he doesn't want to, just in case the tide goes against him and the 'grown-ups' in his own party all start to negotiate in that direction.

Let's though, for now, take Boris at face value: the UK will continue to provide European leadership in security, in what fora? Leadership requires relationships and we will not be around the table. At least, not very often. How will we retain our influence at intergovernmental level. Internationally, we will lose power because e.g. the rest of the G7 will know that we don't have easy access to the EU leaders anymore (at regular European Council meetings, for example). Or does Boris think that people will continue to listen to us because we're the descendants of the empire and an 'old' power and talk a lot of sense, or does he think that we will continue to have a 'special relationship' with the US. Why? What will we have to do/ give in return to retain that.

Genuinely curious. Boris sounds like he knows it will all be OK, am fascinated to know on what basis.

The OP seems to support Boris so I'm assuming that she/he actually knows the (credible) answers to some of these questions. Or is it just a question of trust. Right now, he strikes me as a very odd person to put your faith in. Good luck with that.

[MayhemandMadness]

Why did boris not stand for leadership? I dont believe it was just because Gove threw his hat into the ring, boris would have had a lot more support than him, was it just because it is a poisoned chalice or is yhere another reason?

[MoonriseKingdom]

I think Boris may not have had enough support. The leavers didn't believe he was one of them and the remainders were angry at him. He also immediately started to fudge on what was going to happen so it looked like his heart wasn't in the negotiation. I suspect he was surprised by Gove's actions but is also quite relieved.

[BipBippadotta]

Boris didn't stand for leadership because Leave won and he'd never had any intention of negotiating a Brexit & taking responsibility for the fallout. He was hoping to ride the backlash after an assumed Remain victory and succeed Cameron at the next general election.

[Collaborate]

June 2016:
Boris - "I have a plan. Let's leave the EU."

July 2016
Boris - "Ok, what's the plan to leave the EU?"

[StrictlyMumDancing]

For want of a better phrase I worked under Boris (not directly) whilst he was Mayor. He really really earned my respect, largely through his ability to delegate jobs effectively to the right people.

But his entire conduct in this has made me lose it all. And every time he comes out peddling more bull like this we're heading into serious negative territory. He isn't acting like an adult - he's buck passing.

[smallfox1980]

The prime minister didn't forbid leave planning. In fact the treasury did plan for that outcome too.

I can't believe there are brexiteers here still.using "project fear" when it's so hypocritical and much has turned out to be true.

On corporation tax. UK firms currently have one of the lowest levels in Europe and are sitting on a cash pile of £700 bn retained profit. They haven't been investing, I don't think 3 % will encourage them any more.

[LillianGish]

In a word - piffle. Spinflight are you sure you are not Boris's spin doctor? If Boris believed any of that he'd have stood for leader. Having basked for years in his popular maverick role he can't bear the fact he has become a figure of hate and is hoping that by moving to the sidelines people will forget his role as instigator in all of this. If Brexit is really so great why is no one in a hurry to invoke article 50?

[Margrethe]

No not well done Boris. He should have been telling us the benefits starting Friday morning. Not disappearing and playing cricket.

Now that the pressure is off and he knows he is not responsible for sorting anything out, he feels comfortable and he is critiquing from the sidelines.

I am not impressed.

[TheDowagerCuntess]

This persistent idea that Leave was in no way responsible for a plan, and that Remain should have - and now must - come up with a plan, is doing nothing but making the division between the two factions immeasurably worse.

Sort your own mess out. And/or stop the mess getting any worse. Come up with A Plan, for heaven's sake.

[Lweji]

Weren't people, including DC, campaining for Remain because leaving was a bad thing, and possibly because they couldn't fathom a way of successfully leaving without major consequences for the country?

Leavers were supposedly convinced otherwise, so it's for them to show Remain the errors of their ways.

Or, possibly, apologise for their actions and foolishness and admit it is better to stay after all.

[LillianGish]

The only plan Boris had was that the Leave campaign would lose. He doesn't want to leave the EU, but hoped he'd scoop up the popular following ready to challenge DC's leadership and then win an election, with Britain still safely part of the EU and him able to continue to his pretence. Instead he swept to victory fronting a campaign he didn't believe in - I can't believe there are still people around who believe all the guff he was spouting. If he truly believed it he would have been on our TVs and in the papers ever since triumphantly outlining his plans. Instead he went to ground - and after more than a week to reinvent himself, this is the best he can come up with.

[Helmetbymidnight]

Agreed, Lilian