Has Boris Johnson misled voters over ‘sham’ Brexit talks?

The reports today that Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s top aide, described Brexit talks as “a sham” in a strategy meeting have shed a new light on Brexit talks – and whether the government is telling the truth about its strategy.

The prime minister says the governments wants a deal, but appears to be making no real effort to get one.

Downing Street denies the leaks – but they certainly tally with what we’re hearing in Brussels. An EU commission spokesperson confirmed on the record today that there had been no concrete proposals from the UK.

Boris Johnson told the nation on Monday that there had been “progress” in talks, but it is nowhere to be seen – the only “progress” the EU side has been able to point to is that meetings are happening. “Process progress”, they call it. The UK side has pointed to nothing specific at all.

The claim last week, briefed by Downing Street, that talks were being “intensified” was always curious – there was no sign of anything serious actually happening. Chief negotiator David Frost was in town but even UK officials downplayed any chance of a movement ahead of the meetings.

“I’m sure that if [Boris Johnson] wanted five days of negotiations per week, the EU would be happy with that, but at the moment, nothing credible has come from the British government in the context of an alternative to the backstop,” Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said last week, summing things up well.

“If that changes, great. We’ll look at it in Dublin, but more importantly it can be the basis of a discussion in Brussels.”

No 10 was also caught in another lie today: it had been denying any plans to prorogue parliament, but a Scottish court uncovered emails from days earlier where the plan was approved. It suggests a pattern of untruths.

Why would Boris Johnson be lying about talks? Despite posturing, it is clear that Conservative leadership wants an election. Their pitch in the election is that they are prepared for no deal, but that they are seeking a deal without the backstop.

This pitch has been specifically constructed to hold together the Tories’ electoral coalition: returning Brexit Party voters would back Nigel Farage’s group if the Tories show any sign of veering way from no deal – and others who don’t want a no deal, who the Tories need still to win.

Nobody who has been observing Brexit talks for the last two or so years thinks that the backstop will seriously be dropped in its entirety, as Mr Johnson claims. But the government’s framing is based on the fiction that Brexit talks are in full swing and that both options are possible.

If there is an election this apparent fiction will come under increasing pressure.