The supreme court's judgement could play right into the prime minister's hands | thearticle

These are strange times. This morning we saw wild cheering from left-wing activists at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton in support of a verdict that had just been announced from the

Supreme Court. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, suddenly found himself as the unlikely champion of the establishment, making comments about how “the rule of law must be upheld”. Remainers

have not looked so happy for ages. Amid all the procedural argument, the message they take is that the courts are on their side. Brexit will be prevented from taking place on October 31.

They might have lost the referendum but they have the support of those who count. The high ups. The experts. The important people. So what if 17.4 million people voted to leave the EU,

against the 16.1 million who wanted to stay? The 17.4 million were ignorant/racist/old people many of whom have since died. These are just ordinary people – with all their vulgar,

embarrassing, old fashioned, patriotic notions. But the Supreme Court are people who count. Sophisticated types. People with titles who went to Oxford or Cambridge (although the odd one from

Edinburgh or Durham might have snuck in). The judges have been emphatic in declaring themselves impartial. Page after page of the judgement will explain how proper it is. Just as John

Bercow, as  Speaker of the House of Commons, is never happier than assuring us of how fair he is when presiding over our elected representatives. But the regular punters don’t buy it. They

think the establishment is out to prevent Brexit from happening for the simple reason that they disagree with the verdict of the referendum. Personally, I think the punters are right. The

decision we had this morning was political. It was important, as it threatened our constitutional settlement. With our separation of powers – between the executive, legislature and judiciary

the greedy judges have grabbed a bigger slice of the cake. Bercow could get away chucking out precedents, why couldn’t they? We have seen the rise of judicial activism – where rather than

upholding the law the judges allow their personal opinions to intrude. It feels as though our judiciary has become politicised – like the United States, except without the scrutiny and

safeguards that go with it. The more triumphalist the Remainers sound the more the suspicious the rest of us will become. But even if those of us who criticise the Supreme Court are being

unfair, the political reality still applies. Those who voted for Brexit and have not seen their wishes delivered feel impatient at best and furious at worst. Many conclude they have been

betrayed. Overwhelmingly, MPs promised to deliver on the referendum but then, in large numbers, broke that undertaking. That won’t bother the Remainers, who will be feeling rather smug. But

the risks are rather high. Even if they succeed in delaying Brexit, a general election must surely be imminent. That is when the people have their chance of revenge on the political class

via the ballot box. If we end up with a clear majority in the House of Commons that is genuinely determined to ensure we leave the EU, then that is what will happen. At the last general

election, it was Jeremy Corbyn who was challenging the established order. He was taking on the vested interests of the boss class. In the coming election, it will be Boris Johnson, a

Conservative Prime Minister who will be the champion of the anti-establishment forces. Counter-intuitive positions are not new to politics. We have seen them before. They manifest themselves

in some trivial matters: Labour MPs deciding to wear a tie (to look respectable and responsible), while Conservative take off their ties (to be modern and avoid confirming assumptions of

being stuck up and stuff). It could all go wrong. If Brexit is still not delivered by the election, might the Brexiteers blame Boris Johnson and vote for the Brexit Party rather than the

Conservatives? Might some feel that the government has been incompetent and mishandled the situation, even if they did also face unfair treatment? What if, desperate for a deal, Boris agrees

to something similar to Theresa May’s deal – a “Brexit in Name Only” where will still subservient to the EU while ceasing to be members? We shall see. But in the current mood, I think it is

better to go into a general election as being on the side of the people against the establishment. However much the media may report on how devastating the news is for Boris Johnson this

morning, the judgement strengthens his credentials in that regard. Even the cynical and world-weary can see that he is battling to Brexit – against some pretty powerful forces seeking to

stop it happening.