All he had to do next was win approval for his accelerated timetable, one that would cram line-by-line scrutiny of a 110-page bill giving legal effect to a 585-page withdrawal agreement, into 48 hours. For a few fleeting, clammy-palmed moments, it seemed as if he might pull it off. The naysayers of the DUP remained in their seats. Did that mean they were they going to abstain, thereby handing Johnson a second win?

It did not.

The HoC refused to be railroaded into passing that legislation without effective scrutiny, as Johnson wished. The legislation is now stalled and Johnson can do nothing but wave his arms. I don't see where the bluff is.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing, nothing you can measure anymore
L. Cohen