The most crisis-ridden Tory administration in living memory is in the midst of yet another omnishambles – one yet again of its own making. The DUP boycott and the restoration of Stormont will be peripheral in this dysfunctional drama but inevitably it will have an negative impact on efforts to get devolution working again.
The dearth of talent in British politics, coupled with a absence of a coherent Conservative ideology, beyond anti-immigration and anti-woke populism, is what gave Suella Braverman prominence.
Rishi Sunak is desperate in his desire to cling to power, so in effort to appease the right of the party he appointed a home secretary who had resigned a matter of days earlier. That endorsement gave Suella Braverman a sense of invincibility, exaggerated notions about own abilities, and distorted ideas of what is acceptable.
With her attack on the Metropolitan Police's handling of the weekend march in central London calling for a ceasefire in Palestine she has apparently overstepped the mark. Notably, it wasn't hare brained idea of deporting people to Rwanda or suggesting homelessness was a lifestyle choice. The likelihood is that the Tory leader doesn't necessarily disagree with what his former home secretary said, just that it was damaging an already fatally wounded administration.
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Newton Emerson: Suella Braverman was more unwise than mistaken about 'hate marches'
It's in the midst of this mess that the DUP is seeking to win nebulous concessions from the British government. This process has supposed to have been ongoing for months and we are led to believe that it is close to a conclusion. Yet there was conspicuous absence of any mention in last week's King's Speech of the legislative assurances Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been seeking. The commentary has also been very one-sided, with Downing Street rarely even hinting that it will deliver the anticipated fig leaf for the DUP.
The reshuffle may see the inept Chris Heaton-Harris ditched though there's slim pickings when it comes to a replacement.
Perhaps it's time to end the charade and concede that a restoration of the assembly is unlikely until there's a Labour government. However, the current limbo is unacceptable to an overwhelming majority in the north and therefore the Irish government needs to start agitating for a move to a Plan B without delay.
