The alliance of Tory Euro-moderates has created some of the oddest rebels ever assembled in politics
boot is on the other foot. For years the most prominent Tory troublemakers were Eurosceptics, who were willing to do anything to get Britain out of the European Union. Now the Eurosceptics have captured the government and the most prominent rebels are Euro-moderates, who are willing to do anything to prevent Britain from leaving theThe insurgents are about 40 strong, though not all will vote in the same way at the same time.
In his essay of 1919 on “Politics as a Vocation”, Max Weber made a distinction between the “ethic of responsibility” and the “ethic of conviction”. The ethic of responsibility is all about pragmatism—doing what you can to keep the show on the road—whereas the ethic of conviction is all about moral purity. Mr Hammond is the embodiment of the first, just as Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s chief of staff and, according to his critics, unelected deputy prime minister, is the embodiment of the second.
David Gauke is a solicitor by profession who ended up as Lord Chancellor. Dominic Grieve is another lawyer—ano less—who served as attorney-general. Greg Clark is a former management consultant who was a quietly effective secretary of state for business. The only member of the alliance who has the whiff of the rebel about him is Rory Stewart, who spent years wandering around dangerous bits of the world as a latter-day Lawrence of Arabia.
These odd rebels bring a formidable range of skills to their mission. As a former foreign secretary and chancellor, Mr Hammond has a network of contacts both in Britain and the wider. He also knows as much as anybody about the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit on business. Mr Gauke is one of the most populars in Parliament—“clever”, “subtle” and “humorous” are a few of the adjectives that fellow members shower on him.
But the rebels have two important things on their side. The most obvious is numbers. Suspending Parliament is a sign of Mr Johnson’s weakness, not his strength. The prime minister has a working majority of only one. The bulk ofs are opposed to a no-deal Brexit. And Parliament has a good record of winning its battles with the executive. Mrs May lost three times, despite throwing all the government’s time and resources for two years behind getting her deal through.
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