The thing about corruption is that it’s fractal: the processes and culture that encourage rule breaking on a small scale also encourage it on a large scale.
This is the other story about Covid response and the government breaking rules:
Looks like there is a meeting of the 1922 Committee.
This is part of the Conservative party that considers letters written by Conservative MPs requesting a vote of confidence on the PM. If they decide on a vote and he does not get enough Conservative MPs voting for him, he will be deemed to have lost the confidence of the party and will be out on his ear.
Integrity in public office is a very important in British politics and Boris has always had a lamentable relationship with the truth. His colourful personality and vote winning electioneering are admired, but he has not shown himself to be a capable leader.
,I suspect there is a lot more dirt on Boris yet to emerge.
Great skit by Rosie Holt.
Also of note, along with the ludicrous act of hiding in a fridge during the general election, lampooned constantly since, it appears Johnson was caught lying (unusually not just that) down in a car today…
Some seem to admire and think it’s effective, the car crash drama he seems to constantly produce, and think its deliberate, like his hair. But I think it’s simply he has absolutely no shame and sense of honour himself, so that’s how it presents to the world.
“Nothing to see here….”
“Rallying round” an embattled politician tends to be more a sign that the end is near. The UK in particular has a long history of politicians stating they have “full confidence” in one of their colleagues right before they stab that colleague in the back.
Friends, Britons, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to praise Boris, then bury him.
-with apologies to Wm. Shakespeare
To be fair, Boris is already at the bottom of a hole he keeps digging deeper into. Burying him ought to be easy.
No doubt the whips office have a spreadnsheet of every utterance that could indicate an MP is a letter writer. Some won’t care. But the MPs who aspire to have political careers that would be advanced by ministerial responsibility know that the price of getting a plum job is to demonstrate loyalty to the current leadership.
If Boris can screw up handling something as simple as this fairly minor scandal, its is likely that he is ill prepared for further revelations. There is surely more dirt to come once this one is run its course.
Looks like the inquiry into what parties took place where and who attended is being led by Sue Grey. But no indication of how long it will take, it could be weeks or months. No doubt there will lots of leaks to keep the pot boiling.
It will be a death by a steady stream of small leaks. Each making a flurry of headlines and eroding the PMs authority and the patience of the party. The frustration will encourage letters to the MPs from the party members and then letters for the MPs to the 1922 committee until enough to trigger a confidence vote.
Sadly, the rivals to the throne are not particularly impressive.
The trouble (for likely candidates to take over) is that if a no confidence vote is triggered, there has to be a clear majority of Tory MPs against him. Under their rules, if he gets 50%+1 he can stay as leader and crucially cannot be challenged again for 12 months.
Of course, if his support drops that low, a reasonable realist might conclude that his authority is holed below the waterline anyway, and that he ought still to resign. But with Johnson, neither “reasonable” nor “realist” is the first word that springs to mind.
Yeah, the default position is that Johnson stays as PM. To be removed he has to either
a) lose an internal leadership challenge or
b) lose the confidence of the whole House of Commons in specific No Confidence vote.
b) is unlikely because it would trigger a general election. Tory MPs main gripe with Boris is that he’s making it likely they’d lose an election. So they’re not going to vote for one, especially as its over-riding theme would be “Boris and the Tories are shit, let’s get rid of them”.
That leaves a), with all the risks you outline. It’s a real “if it were done when tis done, 'twere well it were done quickly” situation. A swift defenestration is fine - a drawn out contest where he limps through to another year of stinking up the brand would be a disaster for the Tories.
There’s also a timing problem. We’re about to hit a cost of living crisis as energy bills soar, right in time for local elections. So anyone who takes over before that is going to start their premiership on the back foot. The attack line “Same old, same old” writes itself. But if they hang on for the elections, then that will not only be very obviously what they’re doing, it will also be more time to look shit.
Aw, poor them.
This now starts to shift into P&E territory: just how badly will the Tories do in this year’s local elections,* and would a change of leader make any difference in time?
*Might they lose Wandsworth or Westminster? Is Scotland a lost cause (no wonder BJ hasn’t been invited to the Scottish Tories’ spring conference)?
You can tell the Telegraph has turned on Boris when they’re using pictures like this:
I mean, he looks like Worzel Gummidge in that photo. Even moreso than usual.
That’s an insult to Worzel Gummidge.
Genuinely I don’t see how that’s a bad picture of Boris. He always looks like that.
Pale and doughy pallor, red-rimmed eyes with prominent bags, slumped shoulders, strimmer-styled barnet, gormless expression - no, you’re right, he does always look like that.
I feel sorry for the vampire that drained his blood.
Do vampires qualify for NHS services?
I doubt if they get access to the blood bank.
I imagine he is experiencing a lot of stress as his political life goes out of control. He was also very ill from Covid and may be suffering the long term effects. He has young children and a wife who likes to be ‘involved’…
I am surprised he looks so well.