Number 10's strategy is 'straight out of the Vote Leave playbook'

Far from being decided by the public or parliament, it now seems a judge could make the final call as to whether the UK leaves the European Union at the end of October.

The government has made it clear today it's prepared to go to court to fight new laws forcing the prime minister to delay Brexit to avoid no-deal.

But a trial with days to go until exit date may not be a political catastrophe for Boris Johnson.

Image: Anti-no-deal legislation will come into force this week

As one senior government source put it: "Polling is holding up and shows that the bubble is out of kilter with the public. What voters see is a PM who is prepared to do what it takes to sort out the mess and leave and he's been frustrated by MPs".

The perception many will have of Boris Johnson "battling for Brexit" in the courts would be the pièce de résistance of this strategic play.


We shouldn't be surprised Downing Street is pursuing this course of action either, it's straight out of the Vote Leave playbook.

Number 10 is setting their man up against the perceived "establishment" and on the side of the people.

Image: Boris Johnson has said he will not delay the Brexit deadline

Listen to the public and private messaging from government around the incoming Brexit delay law: Consciously provocative in tone while distinctly vague on details.

The result is an exploding of the argument and a clouding of the facts.

Remember the red Brexit bus? It worked then, and a look at today's polling shows no dent in public approval for the Tories, despite the PM's hellish week.

As long as Downing Street believes the public is on its side, Boris Johnson will keep picking fights and hope it comes good when a general election arrives.

No 10 'acting like the Joker in The Dark Knight'

There is a short-term risk of this approach to the Tory Party, though.

Could the "collateral damage" of departed and disenfranchised MPs morph into an irreparable split?

It's notable that the moderate Justice Secretary Robert Buckland (who is also a lawyer) said today he had spoken to his boss about the "importance of the rule of law".

But there are more pervasive risks as well.

Headlines screaming "Supreme Court blocks Brexit" days before 31 October could further undermine the judiciary and erode the public image of this pillar of civil society.

The sight of a prime minister determined to test legislation "to the limit" also sets something of a dubious example to the public.

Those attempting to wriggle off a legal hook might wonder why they cannot be similarly bullish with the court system.

Then there's the message it sends to the rest of the world.

As the former de facto deputy prime minister David Lidington said yesterday: "It is very important at a time when around the world we are seeing other leaders holding up alternatives to the rule of law… that British governments do always comply with the law".

The foreign secretary Dominic Raab moved to cool nerves today by insisting that "of course" Boris Johnson would abide by the law.

The fact he even had to say it will unsettle many.