It seems as though governing is the curse of the drinking class.
The way these stories keep trickling out, anyone would think someone had it in for him:
This is the way a government ends - *
Not with a bang, but…
*Especially Tory ones
There is nothing the British press like more than stories about politicians caught with their trousers down. Boris Johnson’s administration is certainly generating a stream of stories about sleezey behaviour. The question is how long the grass roots of the party will tolerate this. They will be bending the ears of their MPs, for sure. But sex scandals are easier to brush off these days.
In this case it’s not so much the hanky-panky (though the precise circumstances might be relevant) as the fact that he was actively trying to get her into a lucrative high-level job in his department at the time (and he has form on favours for women friends from his days as Mayor of London).
Likewise, there are questions as to Johnson’s judgement in appointing as Deputy Chief Whip a man who’d already resigned from the whips’ office once before after complaints about his groping young staffers. But he’d since made himself busy organising support for Johnson in the confidence vote.
Jobs for the boys and girls, the “chumocracy”, could be more damning in itself.
If there are any spines left in the party.
And the guy who can’t keep his hands to himself is named Pincher? Holy Anthony Weiner, Batman!
Johnson and his government have been busy lately, and not in a good way. I highly recommend the latest The Week In Tory thread from Russ Jones, both to cover the dumpster fire that is this Government and also for his entertaining descriptions of certain individuals.
To quote from the thread I cited above:
I relish Marina Hyde’s regular sarcasms at their expense:
My new British slang word of the day: “spaffed.” I like it!
You have checked its customary usage?
Also, Marina Hyde was echoing Johnson’s own metaphorical use of it in his usual charming way
Maybe not “customary,” from what I found elsewhere on the Web, but I understand that usage, too.
From twitter today, kind of sums up exactly how ludicrous the UK government currently is.
“I agree with Porn Man. The Blowjob man should remove the whip from Groping man”.
Boris Johnson latest: Johnson sacks Gove after cabinet ministers pile pressure on PM - BBC News
Sunak and Javid have both resigned from the cabinet. It can’t be long now…
Sunak is jumping ship and preparing to position himself as successor. He must perceive the downfall is imminent.
Two heavyweight allies like Sunak and Javid turning would be prety much a deathblow to any PM, though you have to factor in that BoJo is slipperier than an oiled-up eel selling timeshares. Still I think it is most likely a case of when not if.
Barnacle Boris needs to be dragged out and strung up by the heels and shot, it seems the only way he’ll go.
Bad news indeed for Boris, but he’s nothing if not tenacious in hanging onto office.
Nadine Dorries says she is not resigning until the cricket finishes at Brands Hatch.
My vote for thread winner!
There’s a new thread in P&E that seems to fit better the trend of this thread:
It’s not so much slipperiness as having absolutely no shame (like Trump). The point at which most people would realise they need to go simply will never come. He will go when there is no other course physically open to him.