"Brexit means Brexit and we're going to make a Titanic success of it," Boris Johnson told a room full of parliamentarians at the Spectator magazine awards evening.
"Brexit means Brexit, and we're going to make a Titanic success of it"—UK foreign secretary @BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/yH0N9VNT8w
— Ian Fraser (@Ian_Fraser) November 2, 2016
BoJo's mixed metaphor has sunk more like a lead balloon than a ship, but the words chosen by Britain's foreign secretary are almost reassuringly out of touch and expected from a politician like Boris Johnson.
"We’ll make a “Titanic success of Brexit” — Boris Johnson. I fear Bojo may have overlooked 1600 deaths and an awful lot of hubris… pic.twitter.com/Hq01uFf3FE
— Will Roberts (@guillaume_uk) November 3, 2016
And it is without irony that the phrase was uttered the night before London's High Court ruled in favor of allowing parliament a vote before the Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Article 50 marking the beginning of Britain's exit from the European Union.
Basically, the British government has lost its legal battle over Brexit, beaten by the "royal prerogative." This means that parliament must debate whether and when it should notify the European Union of Britain's intention to leave.
The court ruling isn't necessarily about stopping Brexit from happening, but more about ancient powers held by the Crown, the sovereign, still holding strong and being able to remove rights from the people. In many ways, this is what many Brexiteers argued for — more parliamentary sovereignty.
When Brexiters vote for parliamentary sovereignty and get….parliamentary sovereignty #Article50 #Brexit pic.twitter.com/3KLqjF2BGS
— Liam Fergus (@liammakesmusic) November 3, 2016
And its good news for the UK currency market, the pound sterling rose in value on news that parliament — not just ministers — would be involved in the decision to trigger Article 50.
So, if as Boris Johnson says Brexit will be a "Titanic success," this latest ruling from the High Court could be the first iceberg to hit Article 50.