Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party.

[Howardh]

Those by-elections are beginning to take shape, LD's to hardly contest Johnson's seat to give Labour a clear run, and the opposite in the other seat.

 

[Busaholic]

Those by-elections are beginning to take shape, LD's to hardly contest Johnson's seat to give Labour a clear run, and the opposite in the other seat.

Who would be the main contender in NE Somerset? Lab and Lib had similar percentages last time, combined vote less than 3,000 behind Rees-Mogg.

 

[nlogax]

Will BoJo eventually be Sir BoJo like most ex PMs?

I imagine it'll happen eventually. No hurry though.. hopefully.

 

[johncrossley]

"It is very sad to be leaving Parliament - at least for now".

So he thinks he will be back.

 

[Purple Train]

Taking aim at the Privileges Committee, who are investigating whether he misled MPs over Partygate, the former prime minister said: "I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts the committee know it."

"They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons I was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had been briefed to say, like any other minister," he said.

Johnson said he corrected the record as soon as possible, and said committee members "know that".

Of course we're only getting Johnson's side of the story at the moment - we're chasing reaction from MPs and will bring you their response as soon as we get it.

(taken from the BBC's live feed, post at 20:37 GMT here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65860705)

OK, you didn't lie. That means:
a) you were completely unaware of what your own staff were doing
b) you were completely unaware of what you yourself were doing
c) you didn't know your own rules that you spent many evenings detailing to a reluctant general public
d) you didn't listen to your supposed "advisers"
Which combines to give the general impression that you are grossly incompetent and unfit for any form of public office. Well done for admitting it...
oh, Boris, let me clean your glasses, they look a bit pink...

This is so extremely like the lunantic ravings of the Orange Toddler across the pond.

 

[Busaholic]

I imagine it'll happen eventually. No hurry though.. hopefully.

After that extraordinary statement, even by his standards, which could have come from the hand of Donald Trump, absolutely no chance.

 

[Howardh]

"It is very sad to be leaving Parliament - at least for now".

So he thinks he will be back.

He'll end up with that ex-Brexit lot, unless he's lookign to remain a Tory and find a safer seat. Don't think Sunak would be happy with that, Johnson would still be a threat to his leadership. Although, of course, should Sunak get the mother of all thumpings in 24 (early 25??) he will resign anyway and if Johnson is still an MP expect him to be back.

Trouble is, Labour and Conservatives are both pro-Brexit, so if things go badly for Labour in power and it's due to Brexit - the Tories have only one place to go and that's to 'fess up, say they were always pro-EU but it was the British public that wanted Brexit, not them, and stand in 29 as a rejoin party!!

 

[kristiang85]

Boris will join Reform, that's where my money is.

 

[MikeWM]

Boris will join Reform, that's where my money is.

I don't think Farage would want him, because he'd effectively take over the party. The clash of egos would be interesting, but I suspect they both have the sense to avoid so obviously getting into that situation.

Lots of rumours that he will start his own party, but I strongly doubt that too, that's an awful lot of work and he's far too lazy.

Anyway, the Tories falling apart is nicely covering up Labour falling apart too - in the last 24 hours they've backtracked on pretty much the only policy they had, and had to suspend a shadow minister after a conduct complaint. Basically they are all useless. We need new politicans and new politics.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

God I hate politics- even worse in the USA

 

[Gloster]

Johnson is likely to try and get back, probably in the Conservative party, but it is just possible that he has finally passed the point where he is no longer able to rally enough supporters. But you never know what nostalgia for the ‘good old days of Boris’ he might be able to inspire in a few years.

One of the things about Johnson is that he just does not act and react like normal people: he is, frankly, a psychological case. I don’t mean that he is dangerous in the sense that he is likely to wave an axe about, but that he is completely self-obsessed and unaware of others; Ian Hislop’s description of him as an amoral narcissist seems about right in layman’s terms, although a psychiatrist might have more a accurate description. His immediate and continuing reaction to anything will be decided by thought processes alien to most people, so predicting what he will do is almost impossible.

This might seem like stating the bleedin‘ obvious, but we are well shot of him. Hopefully, he will hang around the sidelines causing trouble for the Conservatives, but getting nowhere and becoming evermore frustrated and an embarrassment to all. The damage that his ego has done to this country is incalculable and we will be paying for years: he didn’t need an axe.

 

[birchesgreen]

How long will be it until the Johnson turns up on GB News?

 

[GusB]

This might seem like stating the bleedin‘ obvious, but we are well shot of him. Hopefully, he will hang around the sidelines causing trouble for the Conservatives, but getting nowhere and becoming evermore frustrated and an embarrassment to all. The damage that his ego has done to this country is incalculable and we will be paying for years: he didn’t need an axe.

I'd love to share your optimism, but we've seen how things have gone on the other side of the pond; I hope that Johnson doesn't become our very own "orange one".

 

[Cowley]

I'd love to share your optimism, but we've seen how things have gone on the other side of the pond; I hope that Johnson doesn't become our very own "orange one".

I think he’d love to be and he’s copying some of the rhetoric at the moment to see if it might work. The public have seen through him in a way that a large proportion of the US public haven’t seen through Trump though and Johnson just hasn’t got that version of a ‘base’ which hopefully will help?

 

[birchesgreen]

The different political systems help here, Trump came to power despite a sizable portion of his own party hating him, there is no chance of that happening here.

 

[DelW]

Now that Johnson has thrown his toys out of the pram and flounced off, is there any precedent for putting his resignation "honours" list through the shredder, as it richly deserves? I should think that there are quite a few in the Tory party who'd like to see that disgraceful list vanish from public consciousness as soon as possible. Unfortunately its creator won't, he'll be making trouble from outside to keep himself in the headlines (and keep his speech making prices as high as he can).

What a vile, odious specimen he is.

 

[brad465]

Anyway, the Tories falling apart is nicely covering up Labour falling apart too - in the last 24 hours they've backtracked on pretty much the only policy they had, and had to suspend a shadow minister after a conduct complaint. Basically they are all useless. We need new politicans and new politics.

It's been said before, but our FPTP voting system is currently a barrier to getting new politicians and new politics.

I should add Labour having to water down that policy is also a perfect demonstration of why an opposition party should not come up with several policies until an election is nigh (despite several people demanding Labour come up with them) because something can come up that means things have to be changed.

 

[Snow1964]

Now that Johnson has thrown his toys out of the pram and flounced off, is there any precedent for putting his resignation "honours" list through the shredder, as it richly deserves?

Sadly no, convention is next Prime Minister 'approves it' although I understand not written down that it has to happen, and Rishi doesn't seem to be one to take initiative if he thinks something is unpalatable.

 

[Gloster]

Now that Johnson has thrown his toys out of the pram and flounced off, is there any precedent for putting his resignation "honours" list through the shredder, as it richly deserves? I should think that there are quite a few in the Tory party who'd like to see that disgraceful list vanish from public consciousness as soon as possible. Unfortunately its creator won't, he'll be making trouble from outside to keep himself in the headlines (and keep his speech making prices as high as he can).

What a vile, odious specimen he is.

Probably not, as once it has been published it is deemed to have reached the end of the approval process, or so I believe. It would be possible to remove individual names if they were considered not to have been responsible for the acts that they were given their awards for, but these are usually described so vaguely as to make them impossible to counter.

In truth, this is a grey area and I don’t think the question has really ever come up. Due to the lack of precedent I think it would probably be possible for Sunak to come up with some grounds for cancelling or not proceeding with the formalities because of recent events, but I can’t see him being big enough to take on the egos.

 

[yorksrob]

It would be good if Boris did start or join another party. We need another viable party on the centre right to split the Conservative vote.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

The list has been approved by HM, so would need to have a word with him. Not easy. But everything to do with Resignation Honours is not really covered by formal procedures, 'older readers' may remember 'Lord Gannex': gongs awarded by Harold W. in 1970 and 1974 and not a million miles away (apart from rank) from the MBE that the hairdresser got yesterday.

 

[SteveM70]

How long will be it until the Johnson turns up on GB News?

Does Nadine Dorries still have a programme?

 

[Gloster]

Does Nadine Dorries still have a programme?

No, she is on Talk TV. (So bad she can’t even get on GBNews.)

 

[nw1]

Trouble is, Labour and Conservatives are both pro-Brexit, so if things go badly for Labour in power and it's due to Brexit - the Tories have only one place to go and that's to 'fess up, say they were always pro-EU but it was the British public that wanted Brexit, not them, and stand in 29 as a rejoin party!!

I suspect if Labour, once in power, will not continue with quite as hard a Brexit as they have now. I suspect they will move closer to the EU in "soft" ways, if you see what I mean.

Labour aren't really pro-Brexit, they're just not publicly pro-EU (and this is likely a political game, because at the moment being too pro-EU might cost them the next election).

 

[SteveM70]

No, she is on Talk TV. (So bad she can’t even get on GBNews.)

Ah right. I’ve never watched either so wasn’t sure who does which. Bet she’d love the exclusive first interview so she can fangirl him and tell him how unfair it all is

 

[nw1]

"It is very sad to be leaving Parliament - at least for now".

So he thinks he will be back.

So if not mid-Beds, where?

The delightful Crispin Blunt is standing down next time, and Reigate is a true-blue seat.
Henley was once his, and the sitting MP is also standing down so maybe he'll return there.

I suspect he will be back as a Tory, but whether he'll be popular with the public again, I'm not sure. But I suspect he'll be deluded enough to think he is.


Also this blatant lie in his resignation statement:

winning the biggest majority for 40 years

according to the statement on the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65863336

In 1987 they got a majority of 102, considerably more than in 2019. Since when has 2019 - 1987 equalled 40?

I also see he's still wittering on about how great Brexit is in his resignation statement.

Also just heard on the radio that an MP fairly local to me, Royston Smith, is also standing down apparently, but not until the next election. Should help Southampton Itchen go Labour without the incumbent effect; he's popular amongst the pro-Brexit brigade (though much less so amongst others).

 

[OuterDistant]

That honours list is corrupt. If I was leader of any opposition party, I'd just refuse to recognise any of the awards given in it.

 

[Western Sunset]

Was David Campbell Bannerman for real, in his support for Mr Johnson on Newsnight last night?

Also, do Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have the same speech writer? They seem to have almost the exact same reaction to any criticism of their actions.

 

[ainsworth74]

Labour aren't really pro-Brexit, they're just not publicly pro-EU (and this is likely a political game, because at the moment being too pro-EU might cost them the next election).

Yes exactly. It does my head in that there's a faction on the left/liberal side that sees Labour's postion as akin to the Tory postion. Because it absolutely is not the same.

Labour are not presently pro-rejoin and that is not a silly position to take. We know that Brexit is unpopular and there's quite a lot of regret but that doesn't necessarily translate into a strong majority to rejoin. Equally it's barmy to think that the EU would even have us. If Kier Starmer went to the EU to ask rejoin after they picked themselves up from laughing themselves to the ground they'd point him to the rear of the queue and ask him to come back when he can show a strong mandate for it. Cross party.

So taking a position of making what we've got work better is absolutely sensible and not at all the same thing as Labour being pro-Brexit. Perhaps if Corbyn and his cronies were still in charge that might be true. However they've thankfully been booted from the party leaving sensible people in charge.

However this is a thread about the Tories so probably need to continue this chat in the Labour or Brexit threads!

 

[nw1]

Was David Campbell Bannerman for real, in his support for Mr Johnson on Newsnight last night?]

Had vaguely heard of the name but didn't know who he was, but looking at his Twitter handle:

Ex Cons MEP for East of England. Strategic consultant & writer. Chairman CDO. Chairman Freedom Association. Pro Brexit.

Nuff said, no surprise at all if he's pro-Johnson.