For months the new government of Thrasher Mayhem has been telling us that Brexit means Brexit. It was a tautological nothing that served to keep the Tory party united while behind the scenes they ran around in a blind panic screaming at Boris Johnson and Liam Fox because none of them had thought to come up with a Plan A, never mind plans B through to D. Although to be fair they did have plans, it’s just that their plans were entirely about how best to progress their own careers and if that meant flushing the country’s future down the drain that was simply a fantastic opportunity for an outward looking Britain to make trade deals with the rats in the sewer.
But in October there was the Tory party conference, and we finally got some idea of what Brexit means Brexit actually means. And just like the Tory party, it’s not pretty. Hoving into view like a Royal Navy aircraft carrier with no planes on it, there’s a Brexit coming that’s even harder than the expression on our Prime Minister’s face when she sees a news report of a refugee child in Calais. Brexit means hating foreigners. Brexit means a revival of the worst form of xenophobic British nationalism, turning our backs on Europe so that Liam Fox and Boris Johnson can strut the world’s stage like a 1970s comedy act. Brexit means no single market, no freedom of movement, and no European human rights. Brexit means a form of Conservatism that even Margaret Thatcher wouldn’t have dared to get away with. And Scotland will just have to put up with it.