One of my favourite TV shows of the 1980s was Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, which followed a hapless Minister battling the Civil Service in order to get his "great policy ideas" enacted.

I remarked that the current Cabinet are all Jim Hackers.

It was pointed out that this wasn't true, as Hacker cared, these fuckers don't.

My they are as clueless: I'll stand by that.

It has emerged that Government Ministers can enact any policy they like, which would be otherwise illegal, and not be illegal.

Huge ranging powers to remove rights and change laws and more rights with the swipe of a pen.

Sounds familiar?

But, a Government with an 80 seat majority is in trouble, as the bill which sought to appease the ERG and headbangers, doesn't go far enough and the ERG plans ammendments to close holes they think they can see through their tin foil hats. If the ERG vote with the opposition, like they did through last Autumn, Johnson can't get any bill through the Commons.

Anyway, the Lords won't allow clear Manifesto commintments to be abandoned.

Johnson has claimed the reason the Internal Market Bill is needed is that the WAB was passed so quickly, there wasn't time to debate it.

Only it was the Government who railroaded the bill through both Houses in three days as it had been debated enough. Apparently.And Johnson had 100 days from the agreement to signing it into Law to review it. Not enough time?

Meanwhile the EU is preparing to sue the UK for considering breaking terms of the WA.