There is an undoubted weariness about the Brexit saga which the Tories are seeking to exploit with the slogan Get Brexit done. The truth is that Johnson’s deal won’t get it done as he claims.

In a blog entitled How to disguise a really big lie? Put it on a bus Oxford Economics Professor Simon Wren-Lewis demonstrates that the current Tory slogan is as mendacious as the infamous Leave campaign bus with the claim that the NHS would get a £350 million boost.

Wren-Lewis says “The Tories, and particularly their leader, lie all the time. It is quite shameless... If your whole campaign is based on one big huge lie, make it your main slogan.” And put it on a bus.

A more truthful slogan, he says, would be “If you liked the last three years of Brexit deadlock, vote Tory.”

Labour’s policy of a People’s Vote and Remain would end the saga by autumn 2020. The Tory offer is “a new cliff edge at the end of 2020, and possibly negotiations for another five or more years, or a No Deal Brexit ... If you want to get Brexit done, don’t vote Tory.”

Wren-Lewis asks: “Why did the ERG allow Johnson to get away with that (his deal)? Because they saw a brand new opportunity for a No Deal exit at the end of 2020.

“Johnson has pledged to not seek an extension beyond 2020, even though one is on offer. That pledge was the basis for getting Farage to withdraw his candidates from Tory seats. The problem is that no one will be able to negotiate an FTA within a year...FTAs normally take over 5 years to negotiate."

By Don Brind - Former BBC political correspondent and Labour Press officer