Boris and Jeremy and Brexit

Listening to the Brexit promises from Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, I really don't think they sound any different from the ones that Theresa May has been making for the last three years. The basic arguments are exactly the same but they are wrapped in new phrases to give the impression there's suddenly a wonderful answer to the questions that the Government and the House of Commons have been grappling with until now. Boris says October 31 is the "do or die" date for leaving the EU, while Hunt is prepared to ask for yet another extension provided an agreement is only a whisker away. But all the same problems are still sitting there like concrete blocks: a no-checks Northern Ireland border, future trade arrangements with the EU etc etc. I don't think either Boris or Hunt have got any idea how they are going to resolve such issues even though on television and radio they keep on saying that they will have the Brexit answer in time for October 31. I simply don't believe it. What I do know is that the EU 27 countries are hardly likely to become all friendly and generous and give Boris or Hunt exactly what they want. If they are so against a no-deal Brexit I guess they might come up with something slightly different but it won't be to do Boris or Hunt any favours. They want the UK out of their hair. Nothing Boris or Hunt have said so far inspires me to believe that by October 31 this country will have a proper deal which will pass through the House of Commons without a demur. Hunt was extraordinary in his interview with the BBC last night. He said that the Northern Ireland issue could be solved by technical means - well that's hardly new - but when he was reminded that the EU did not believe there was a technical solution as yet, Hunt replied that he was sure there would be within the next TEN years! Sorry, old chap, we can't wait that long. The only thing I do know, and it doesn't really cheer me up, is that Boris has bundles of character and charisma, and Hunt is very flat and ordinary and uninspiring. Which of these characters the EU leaders would prefer to deal with is difficult to say. They will fall asleep with Hunt and jump up and down in frustration and bewilderment with Boris. Either way, the dreaded no-deal Brexit moves steadily forward.