Jeremy Corbyn’s plan for the next few months runs something like this:
- Boris is forced to either defy the law or ask for an extension.
- If he defies the law and Brexit occurs on October 31, chaos ensues.
- If he asks for the extension, his base, including the Brexit Party, turns against him.
- The Tories have to excuse a serious failure one way or the other, and Labour wins the election.
The reality is much more likely to look like this:
- Boris defies the law, and chaos ensues.
- With a no-deal Brexit now an accomplished fact, the Brexit Party is no factor in the subsequent election; its voters return to the Conservatives.
- Millions of Remain voters within Labour rightly blame Corbyn for his role in creating the mess and vote for the Liberal Democrats.
- Some Conservatives also vote for the Liberal Democrats. None vote for Labour, since Corbyn is universally distrusted on the right.
- There are two possible outcomes, depending on the degree of tactical voting on the left: either a Conservative victory; or a patchwork coalition with the Liberal Democrats at its head.
- Labour is no longer the leading party on the left, and Corbyn is the reason why.
Take a bow, Jeremy. Theresa May was right–she knew when her time was up, but you didn’t, and look at the result!