THE WAUGH ZONE

By Paul Waugh. 1 October 2019.

Wannabe Spartan something

For years, Tuesday has traditionally been Boris Day at Tory party conference. Whether he was Mayor of London, a cabinet minister or a humble backbencher, he somehow always managed to hog the limelight on the eve of the Leader's Speech.

David Cameron and Theresa May were always nervous of what he was up to, fearing the blond bombshell’s freelancing would blow up their carefully planned narrative for the week.

Today, despite being Tory leader and now PM himself, Johnson showed that Tuesday is still Boris Day as he dominated the entire news cycle. And just like in previous years, he managed to disrupt his own conference messaging, and overshadow the Leader's Speech, with growing and repeated questions about his personal conduct.

Determined to give away little of substance on Brexit, Johnson instead filled the news vacuum with his continued attempts to deny that he had groped journalist Charlotte Edwardes at a Spectator lunch more than 20 years ago. This morning, he said it was “very sad” (a Trump-like echo) that she had made the claim. This afternoon, he admitted he couldn’t remember the incident that he had, er, earlier denied happening.

In other TV interviews, he three times refused to say if he’d had a sexual relationship with Jennifer Arcuri, the businesswoman who received taxpayers’ cash when he was at City Hall. Having broken his previous self-denying ordinance not to speak about his ‘private’ life, the questions will keep on coming.

For Johnson, the personal is the political, in more ways than one. On Brexit, the defining mission of his premiership, we will find out at the end of this week whether the EU is remotely interested in his new offer. But even if Brussels engages, much hangs on whether he can personally persuade the DUP and hardline Tory MPs to pass it through parliament.

Lots of effort has been put into working closely with the DUP. Yet it is the European Research Group (ERG), the self-styled ‘Spartans’, who Johnson has been most love-bombing of late. Texts are exchanged with Steve Baker and even Mark Francois has hinted he is open to concessions because he trusts the PM in a way he never trusted May.

As we report today, Johnson is also seeking to reassure the ERG that he is one of them by making clear he won’t break the ‘Spartan code’ of ‘never-surrender’. Ever keen to show off his Classical education, he has taken to quoting from Simonides’ tribute to the fallen at Thermopylae, which reads: “Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by/That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.”

Delivering the line in both ancient Greek and in English, the PM’s main point to those who listen is that whatever happens, he will “obey” the Spartan code. All that talk about the ‘Surrender Act’ just feels like a warm-up for him warning the EU he won’t surrender significant sovereignty in any new deal. Hardball Boris has replaced ‘liberal Boris’, even if it is a way to dress up any concessions and sell them to his party.

Speaking of the old, ‘liberal Boris’, he had a telling line to Nick Robinson today: “To all those who wish to see the return of the old generous hearted loving, caring Mayor of London, that person has not gone away.” It’s true that some around him - not least the dwindling number of ex-City Hall aides in No.10 - believe that once Brexit is done, he can return to more voter-friendly, less divisive policies and politics.

Whatever happens, it’s now that key adviser Dominic Cummings won’t be at his side beyond this autumn. Spotted wearing a hoodie (though probably not the kind that David Cameron would want to hug) at this conference, Cummings has made clear to colleagues that he’s only sticking around “to try and get this shit show sorted”. Once the UK leaves the EU, he’s almost certain to leave No.10, to focus on his health and his family.

And although Cummings has long loathed the ERG Tory MPs, he may share with them a hard-headed approach to Johnson. “Boris is just a vehicle for Brexit, be in no doubt about that,” one Tory Brexiteer told me this week. He may want to be one of their tribe in the short term, but his lifelong loyalty is in doubt.

It’s also worth pointing out a lesser-noticed element of the Spartan code of honour: no soldier was considered superior to another. If the PM does get his do-or-die moment this month, he will probably want to return to his live-and-let-live philosophy. It’s still unclear whether his MPs, or the voters, will let him pull that off.

Quote Of The Day

“No. Disposable. Cups.”

The PM's eagle-eyed aide who spotted a PR nightmare and swiped a plastic coffee cup from his grasp

Tuesday Cheat Sheet

Boris Johnson said has “no memory” of the private lunch at which he is alleged to have groped journalist Charlotte Edwardes, but maintained the allegation was “not true” even so.

Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown was sent home from the conference after a “totally unacceptable” incident involving a clash with security staff, a party spokesman said.

Priti Patel announced little new in policy terms but ramped up the rhetoric on immigration. "This daughter of immigrants needs no lectures from the north London, metropolitan, liberal elite” will "end the free movement of people once and for all".

John Bercow has quietly killed expectations of a Lib Dem-led emergency Commons motion tomorrow to create time to force publication of various government Brexit reports. The Speaker isn’t keen on the tactic while Tory conference is still on.

Labour MPs mobilised around a plan to make Jeremy Corbyn caretaker PM to instigate a referendum. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he could persuade Lib Dem Jo Swinson to backCorbyn in No.10: “I was brought up a Catholic and I am a great believer in the powers of conversion.” But Swinson’s spokesman retorted: “Jo is a great believer in the power of mathematics. Jeremy Corbyn does not have the numbers.”

Chancellor Sajid Javid hinted that he could be prepared to scrap the inheritance tax. He told a fringe meeting he understood “arguments against” the levy and it was “something that’s on my mind”.

What I'm Reading

Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam Tries Out Community Engagement - South China Morning Post

How Britain Ended Its Coal Addiction - FT

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