Britain was politically on course on Sunday for the third election in a little over three years with the release of the 2019 Conservative manifesto which has been greeted with the decidedly cynical remark that it is dangerous despite its caution. Second, the programme unveiled by Boris Johnson is embedded in a central untruth ~ the promise to “Get Brexit Done”. Unlike the agenda of the Labour party, the Tory signal of intent is seemingly intended to reassure the voters, their patience sorely tried after the nation’s roller-coaster ride over the past three years, specifically after the affirmative referendum in June 2016.

However momentous the verdict, the political leadership has been at sixes and sevens. There is no attempt to even approach the bonanza which Mr Corbyn boldly promised for public services last week, indeed the biggest hike in peacetime spending, going by projections of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The Conservative offer is just £3 billion a year, against Labour’s whopping £83 billion. While Mr Johnson has iterated his commitment to Brexit, he has ruled out a rise in taxes, couched in a word of caution for Jeremy Corbyn. Remarkable must be the lack of a significant policy statement in the Tory document.

There are a few retail offers, mostly for the Tory base. However, the promise of £1 billion to boost childcare will be generally welcomed, but will be tempered by the thought that the manifesto has pledged twice as much to fix potholes. In the public health sector, thousands of nurses will be needed because of the disastrous impact of taxing nursing bursaries. The pledge of 40 new hospitals, repeated in the manifesto, actually means building six, with seed funding for others. Aside from public policy, the voter is unlikely to be convinced with the pledge on the core issue, highlighted in the manifesto’s caption ~ “Get Brexit Done. Unleash Britain’s Potential.”

It sure is an effective slogan, which may yet appeal to hardcore Leavers but not to a wider swathe of the population, tired after years of bickering and deadlock. Those who voted in the referendum will now want it all to be over. The problem is that it bears no relation to reality. Far from allowing the United Kingdom to wash its hands of the whole affair, passing Mr Johnson’s deal will pull it further into almost relentless uncertainty. Signing the withdrawal agreement is only the start. In the net, it’s back to the people again to adjudicate on a messy divorce. There is hope yet for democracy in the midst of the political prevarication.