Today’s quote is the beginning of a limerick by GBD’s Vice President,
Joanne Thornton.
Of course we’re going to give you the remaining three lines, but first a bit of background – just a bit. The essential piece, the fact that Britons are scheduled to go to the polls next month, is familiar to all of you.
Recapping that development, after repeated tries, on October 29, Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
was finally successful in his effort to get Parliament to approve a snap election. It is a complicated affair. There are some 650 constituencies in the four countries of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – and 18 parties. The Conservative and Labour Parties are the largest, of course, but some of the smaller parties – the Scottish Nationalists and the Liberal Democrats, for example – are important players. And there are new parties as well. The Brexit Party and the Independent Group for Change were both founded this year, and both will be fielding candidates.
But the election writ large is not really our topic today. No, our focus is on just one of the 650 constituencies – the one in which the Prime Minister will be running. On November 4, The Wall Street Journal ran a story about the district, making the case that if Mr. Johnson doesn’t get re-elected there, he’s toast, notwithstanding the fact that he is currently the Prime Minister. (Maybe. We’ll cross that bridge if he loses.) In any event, Labour is targeting the constituency, and Mr. Johnson, in addition to making the larger case for a Conservative win, is devoting a lot time to local activities, like “standing outside a supermarket near Uxbridge handing out crime prevention leaflets.”
Which is not to suggest that he has been neglecting Brexit, the signature issue of his premiership and of this campaign. His recent op-ed in The Telegraph put the issue squarely. He wrapped up that piece with the words:
With a new parliament and a sensible majority government, we can get that deal through a new Parliament in days.
It is oven ready. Let’s get Brexit done, and take this country forward.
But back to Uxbridge, here is the full limerick:
The PM and The Voters
In December he’ll stand for election
In Uxbridge, a West London section.
He must see to its needs
From its roads to its trees
Or face an ignoble rejection.
Joanne Thornton
