At last, boris and his plans have been scrutinised. What did we learn? | thearticle

After many weeks of avoiding televised interviews, Boris Johnson has given one to Laura Kuenssberg, political editor of the BBC. His eminence grise,  Sir Lynton Crosby, has evidently bowed

to the chorus of criticism of the plan to “ sneak into Downing Street by the back door ” , as Jeremy Hunt had jeered. So what did Boris have to say? Only extracts of the interview were

actually broadcast on the Ten O ’ Clock News, but the transcript and video in their entirety are available on the BBC website. It is clear, if one reads the whole thing, that Boris remains

woefully underprepared for the job of negotiating with the EU. Too much of his vision depends on a wing and a prayer. And we have just been reminded that he is probably not a very prayerful

person. Ms Kuenssberg first zeroed in on his repeated claim that the existing Withdrawal Agreement is “ dead ” and he is prepared to leave without a deal, but would use the “ implementation

period ” after October 31 to negotiate a free trade agreement. She points out that “ those two things can ’ t both be true ” . Boris concedes her point, but characteristically tries to have

his cake and eat it: “ No, because you ’ re going to need some kind of agreement and that ’ s certainly what I ’ m aiming for in order, as you rightly say, to get an implementation period.

And I think, actually, that politics has changed so much since 29 March. I think on both sides of the Channel there ’ s a really different understanding of what ’ s needed. ” Later in the

interview he explains what he means: “ I think that MPs on both sides of the House also understand that they will face mortal retribution from the electorate unless we get on and do it. What

has changed since March 29 is that my beloved party is down at 17 points in the polls. ” Tory and Labour MPs will be driven to approve “ some kind of agreement ” by fear of eviction by the

Brexit Party and the Liberal Democrats. Boris produces no evidence for his claim that there has been a sea change in the EU as well as in the UK, so Ms Kuenssberg presses him on how he will

obviate the need for the Irish backstop. He insists that “ there are abundant technical fixes ” to a problem that has eluded the May government for three years. He claims that the UK “

invented ” the backstop: “ We were the authors of our own incarceration. Take that away…and you have a very different outcome. ” There is no mention of the Irish government ’ s refusal to

reopen the backstop section of the Withdrawal Agreement, but unless Leo Varadkar changes his mind, Brussels is very unlikely to agree to such a renegotiation. So the interview moves on to

the no deal scenario which is at the heart of his strategy to force the EU back to the table. Pressed by Ms Kuenssberg, Boris admits that even WTO terms require agreement: “ It ’ s not just

up to us. It ’ s up to the other side as well. ” He adds that he “ is not going to want to impose tariffs on goods from the EU ” . So he is in favour of unilateral free trade, even if

Brussels imposes tariffs on British exports to the EU. So what we conclude from the at times wordy and vague account offered by Boris is that he will try to resuscitate the Withdrawal

Agreement, minus the backstop. He will somehow persuade the EU to reopen negotiations with a combination of carrot and stick.  If this fails, he will somehow persuade Parliament to get us

out by Halloween, again with a combination of carrot and stick. If this happens, he will persuade the EU to reach a free trade agreement, with (you guessed it)  a combination of carrot and

stick. The whole proposition is dressed up in typically Johnsonian rhetorical packaging. He wants to “ abandon the defeatism and negativity that has enfolded us in a great cloud for so long

” . He feels the pulse of the nation: “ People want to get this thing done…people are yearning for this great incubus to be pitchforked off the back of British politics. They want us to get

on with some fantastic things for this country. And that is what we want to do. ” Boris still refuses to answer legitimate questions about his conduct. That refusal is still damaging him.

Now that he is engaging in debate about how Brexit might actually be accomplished, though, he can hope to move the national conversation on. Boris ought to submit himself to further scrutiny

by even more formidable interviewers, such as Andrew Neil and Jeremy Paxman. But the next thing he really must do is to engage Jeremy Hunt, who will also be grilled by Ms Kuenssberg

tonight, in one-to-one debate. It needs to happen soon, before the Conservative members have cast their votes. On the strength of his at times shaky and verbose performance last night, Boris

would not necessarily win such a duel. But he must take that risk. This contest can only be decided to the satisfaction of the country — not the 160,000 Tory faithful, but the 66 million

other people who don ’ t yet have a vote — in single combat.