ft editorial view


This was the week when Britain was meant to leave the EU. Instead the country is set to head to the polls for the third time in four years. Boris Johnson’s “do or die” pledge to implement Brexit by October 31 has been broken. Despite returning from Brussels with a deal that won initial support in parliament, the prime minister has instead gambled on a December election. There have been many points in the Brexit process when the UK needed an election. Ironically this is not one of them. Mr Johnson, while lacking the sort of majority necessary to lead the country over the long term, has not yet suffered a defeat which prevents the Brexit deal from becoming law. Britain’s voters should be under no illusion that the timing of the election has been set for the Conservative party’s advantage and not, as Mr Johnson claims, because parliament is blocking Brexit. Eventually an election would have been inevitable. The expulsion of Conservative rebels, as well as the end of the party’s pact with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist party, would have left the government struggling to pass a budget. But a new poll would have been necessary for governing after Brexit and not necessarily to pass a Brexit deal. Mr Johnson’s supposed fears that parliament would spoil his deal were overblown. Any opposition attempt to force Britain to accept a customs union with the EU could have been overturned after polling day if voters returned Mr Johnson with a majority. Recommended FT Podcast What the general election means for Brexit Nevertheless, this election could be the most important since the end of the second world war. It could determine the country’s long term trade, political and security relationship with Europe and the future of the union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A victory for the Labour party, meanwhile, could lead to a wholesale shift towards state intervention in the economy and away from its critical defence and security relationship with the US. Britain needs a campaign that reflects the gravity of the decision. Political parties must set out a vision for the shape of the economy and Britain’s place in the world. This means providing a blueprint for a strong relationship with the EU that maintains close ties with the bloc. Mr Johnson will be fighting the Brexit party in the election and he will be tempted to adopt populist messages that he will later regret. At a time of high polarisation, casting the vote as a “people versus parliament” election would be inflammatory. It would also probably compromise his ability to govern effectively. Rather than a rerun of the tactics that won the EU referendum for Leave and damaged Britain’s reputation for honest government, politicians must be clear about the costs of the type of Brexit they advocate. The election may be dominated by Brexit but the campaign must answer other fundamentally important questions about the direction Britain takes over the next five years. Public services are stretched to breaking point. A winter crisis in the National Health Service looms. Some of the Labour party’s pledges, such as reducing the UK’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2030, would require a transformation of the economy. Focusing solely on “getting Brexit done” would be a mistake. It is hard to recall a more dispiriting choice of leadership between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn. But this election will be unusually open and hard to predict. In some parts of the country it may become a four way contest between the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Brexit party. Voters deserve an honest campaign that sets out the true choices facing Britain.

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