As Boris Johnson stumbles from cliche to cliche in Glasgow, a boatload of French fishers are making a fool of him. Posing as a world leader, he pleads that the Earth is “at one minute to midnight”, and should raise its game in the last chance saloon. Yet he cannot stop France’s Emmanuel Macron taunting him over a few boat licences, any more than he can handle the consequences of the Northern Irish protocol, or exert influence over the truce between the European Union and the United States on steel tariffs.
Being outside the EU was meant to display Britain beating its chest across the Channel and round the world, raking in lucrative new trade. Instead at Cop26, China, Russia and India have all found better things to do than listen to Johnson’s tired metaphors amid piles of rain-soaked rubbish.
The fishing dispute with France is complex and unimportant, and 55% of England’s fishing quota is already owned by EU vessels. The row is pure electioneering by Emmanuel Macron. But Britain has no friends in Europe and zero leverage, following the sloppy withdrawal deal reached by Johnson’s belligerent chief negotiator and crony, David Frost. He has now handed Macron an election weapon, a threat to impede all trade through Channel ports. This should be an outrage. » | Simon Jenkins | Monday, November 1, 2021
