How do we explain The Telegraph piling in on all the Christmas parties…?
Because the owner has decided that Johnson is not right wing enough and not easy enough to control so want Truss or some other right wing headbanger in there instead - someone they can control better
Just announced in parliament... 3 "gatherings" to be (self) investigated by the Cabinet Office now... 4 more to get included...
So Tory backbenchers threatening to rebel over Plan B, but quite happy about sleaze, and parties and all that sort of stuff.
So Tory backbenchers threatening to rebel over Plan B, but quite happy about sleaze, and parties and all that sort of stuff.
Yep, that's how I interpreted this mornings news too!
I leave the internet for 30 minutes and come back to find out that Johnsons career may finally be over
https://twitter.com/tombradby/status/1468915142209327107
And plan B will go thru 'cos starmer and blackford have to support it
I leave the internet for 30 minutes and come back to find out that Johnsons career may finally be over
Not the smoking gun the media seem to think, the person who knows where the funding is coming from in the Electoral Commission extract is clearly Lord Brownlow.
It is all so ironic - Johnson finally FINALLY makes a timely and sensible decision (OK maybe not timely Wales and Scotland never rolled back WFH and face coverings) but not to save lives, no no no, just one life, his political career!
So he is blackmailing his back-benchers to get their support with a threat to govern wisely and for the benefit of his people, effectively. Huz-fracking-zah Boris well done.
Facebook public event started yesterday “Christmas Rave - 10 Downing Street” has attracted 750k followers in just 24hrs!!!
It’s all very light hearted thankfully but goes to show just how much unease there finally is at all the governmental urine extraction there has been since Johnson took over…
but not to save lives, no no no, just one life, his political career!
I don't buy this. Johnson would have a much easier ride right now if he didn't have to announce/implement "Plan B". It keeps the "xmas parties" stories live and relevant, and also makes things very difficult for him in his party (and not just his parliamentary party). He wouldn't be introducing any restrictions/measures now if he didn't need to, in fact an announcement removing existing restrictions/measures right now would have been a godsend for him politically.
Not the smoking gun the media seem to think,
Its a criminal offense. The tories have broken the law and they have proof of him lying. It just adds to the pressure
Drip, drip, Drip. Lie, Lie, Lie. Clever technicalities aren't cutting it anymore.
I hope he doesn't resign before the Bye Election in Shropshire - let him lose that first, then get forced out as an Xmas present.
don’t buy this. Johnson would have a much easier ride right now if he didn’t have to announce/implement “Plan B”.
It was his panicked attempt at the dead cat - worked to some extent as well as split the media attention
Nah, I don't see it as a dead cat at all. I don't see how it helps him ... the papers can combine the PlanB announcement with the "xmas parties" to keep the "one rule for us, another for them" and the "Johnson's default response is to lie, even if it's not needed" stories live, and even fill their front pages with them, despite the parties taking place last year. PlanB helps keep old news, that he wants to move on from, live and relevant. In addition the very MPs that helped make him PM are dead against Plan B, and he has councillors resigning over it. None of it helps him. A "throw away your masks and let's drink champagne/pints together" would work for him so much better... but that's not where we are at this stage at the pandemic, sadly (for him and us).
Nonsense. Kelvin is right on this. No way would he be implementing further restrictions if they weren't required.
OH they are required all right but its clear the announcement was rushed thru to provide some cover for Johnson and while I said thats why Johnson did it in a hurry yesterday. I didn't say it was a genius move - just his usual wng and a prayer
Its a criminal offense.
I suspect there is a need to prove it was a deliberate and knowing lie, not a mistake by a buffoon. Which I suspect will be the line now taken. We will see a rambling apology for the 'mistake', another spare lamb offered to the slaughter, and the police will be held off from investigating again.
He may well have had reasons to rush it yesterday, but I don't think it was an attempt to bury bad news. It multiplies bad news if anything! One of the reasons for rushing is more likely to do with baby number n+1 (where n is unknown). I've never seen him move as fast as his departure from the broadcast room yesterday... I had assumed he just wanted to disappear for political reasons, but he looks like he had a real reason to be somewhere else fast. He was also only about 6 minutes late starting yesterday... that's not his normal half arsed shambolic style at all... he had to get that done and get out of there, didn't he.
Surprised to see the Mail Online headline for the birth of the daughter end with this line "making him father to at least seven children" the at least bit is quite sharp from the Mail
BBC Radio4 World At One said much the same... "his seventh child, at least as far as we know".
The man had the cheek to talk about "chaotic lives" when dressing up as a policeman.
...the Bye Election in Shropshire...
Fraudian slip, or deliberate? 🙂
the knives they be a sharpening
Fraudian slip, or deliberate?
That is, indeed, the question.
Surprised to see the Mail Online headline for the birth of the daughter end with this line “making him father to at least seven children” the at least bit is quite sharp from the Mail
I'm not sure why anyone should be surprised, however this pans out you can be completely certain that there will still be a Tory prime minister, even if it isn't Johnson. And more than likely one which pleases the Daily Mail comment writers even more.
The Tories have a huge majority, if Johnson doesn't last until the next general election the next PM will not be Labour.
...but let's just enjoy the ****ers squirming for a bit.
He got Brexit done, he’s served his purpose
Do people STILL believe this crap FFS, no he hasn't - he's merely pushed the UK off the cliff.
Not the smoking gun the media seem to think
So you think the PM didn't lie when he said he didn't know who was paying for his flat refurb in Feb 2021, even though he managed to pick exactly the right person in Nov2020; who was paying for it, to WhatsApp to ask for more money..?
https://twitter.com/georgegrylls/status/1468942865141309441
Is lying on an FOI request a criminal offence? The cabinet office is run by .............Oh yes, the bloke appointed to look into party gate!!
So you think the PM didn’t lie when he said he didn’t know who was paying for his flat refurb in Feb 2021, even though he managed to pick exactly the right person in Nov2020
I have no idea, all I was pointing out was that what was included in the Electoral Commission report is entirely consistent with the set of facts presented to Lord Geidt. This is quite clear to anyone who bothers to read the contents of original tweet by Sam Coates, rather than his interpretation - something many political journalists failed to do.
I should also add I pointed this out before the Official Spokesman made the same point to the Lobby.
You've spent a fortune of someone ekses money on a flat, of course you'll want to have a party to show it off
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1468951130646347780?t=rLWy493BnZ0HRQQHCIW_7A&s=19
He got Brexit done, he’s served his purpose
Do people STILL believe this crap FFS, no he hasn’t – he’s merely pushed the UK off the cliff.
I think you misunderstood the point of Brexit. It's bin dun, even if it isn't what anyone thought they were voting for
I think you misunderstood the point of Brexit. It’s bin dun, even if it isn’t what anyone thought they were voting for
Nope, still not "bin dun".
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/less-than-a-month-until-full-customs-controls-are-introduced
Brexit is done, Boris won the vote, that's what he was bought in to do. What happens next no one in the Tory party cares as long as they make money out of it.
Right now there will be lots of meetings in Tory land trying to work out if Boris is still a vote winner or if its time to replace. Ultimately it probably doesn't matter given the opposition parties we have but as said above its nice to watch him squirm a bit.
"Disgraced former prime minister" has a nice ring to it.
Is lying on an FOI request a criminal offence?
Yes. s77(1) makes it an offence to intentionally alter or conceal information that should have been disclosed. BUT (1) its a £5000 fine maximum and (2) Proceedings need the consent of the DPP - so combined with the need to show intent rather than incompetence I wouldn't hold your breath on it.
Nope, still not “bin dun”.
incidental trivia.
Brexit was about blue passports, sticking it to that nasty Frenchman, and something something the NHS. Anything else is just the EU throwing a tantrum because they're jealous of our sunlit uplands.
he’s been sacked from two jobs so far for lying (should’ve been more)
I'm surprised Starmer doesn't make more of this at PMQ. I'd be dropping in this nugget every week.
Sadly, calling him the "Rt. Hon Lying Philanderer", whilst accurate and legally proven, is not parliamentary (as I understand it).
Might be good for someone to try it once and then ask which bits were untrue, the "Lying..." part or the "honorable" part.
all I was pointing out was that what was included in the Electoral Commission report is entirely consistent with the set of facts presented to Lord Geidt.
Really? really? You believe that? the most cursory glance at the facts shows that not to be true
JOhnson is now known to have lied to Geidt about the source of the funding
Asked to explain the discrepancy between the Geidt report (pdf), which says Johnson told him he did not know Lord Brownlow had paid the flat refurbishment bills until “immediately prior to media reports in February 2021”, and the Electoral Commission report, which said that on 29 November 2020 Johnson messaged Brownlow via WhatsApp “asking him to authorise further, at that stage unspecified, refurbishment works”, the spokesman implied the WhatsApp conversation did not cover the full detail of how the money was being paid, and that this was why lying was not involved.
aye right
The criminal offense committed is the person responsible in the tory party not declaring the money. thats why the fine - its a criminal sanction for deliberately breaking the law.
I’m not sure why anyone should be surprised, however this pans out you can be completely certain that there will still be a Tory prime minister, even if it isn’t Johnson. And more than likely one which pleases the Daily Mail comment writers even more.
The Tories have a huge majority, if Johnson doesn’t last until the next general election the next PM will not be Labour.
I dunno, If Boris clings on to power for too much longer it's certainly going to damage his successor's chances at the next election.
SKS and Co. will be able to point to a growing list of lies and corruption to try and nudge those Red wall voters back their way, especially if some of it is relatively recent. I had thought he could hang on for longer, but now I think the party will recognise he has to be out sooner.
That current majority is built on the various lies of Brexit (which is allegedly "done") and "levelling up" which seems in short supply.
His Back-benchers are getting rowdy because the Tory brand is now too tied up with Boris, and those that voted for him (and not so much for the party) are perhaps not as convinced as they were back in 2019. What are the Tories going to sell at the next GE? and who is going to front the campaign?
the RW press have turned on Boris now, their patience is gone and there are doubtless some juicy stories they've had to sit on that they'd like to capitalise on, if He's not gone by Feb'22 expect some "revelations".
The question really is who do Rupert and the Barclay Bro's give the nod to next?
I reckon (DM reader's choice?) Truss would be beatable for an SKS led Labour, Sunak would probably be a tougher ask (IMO)...
But for any future Tory leader, the longer Boris is in No.10 the harder their task becomes.
But for any future Tory leader, the longer Boris is in No.10 the harder their task becomes.
I agree and I think and I hope he will stay on clinging by his fingernails and my judgement of the man he will do so.
But for any future Tory leader, the longer Boris is in No.10 the harder their task becomes.
I dont know about that. Having him around for a bit longer means he can be blamed for the ongoing covid and brexit mess with a brave new hero to step in and take the credit for any of the good bits and blame him for the bad a year or two before the election.
Take over now and they are a shedload of landmines hanging around.
While the prospect of seeing Johnson get his comeuppance is a tantalising one I can't help but remember that there was a lot of people around these parts who this time last year were convinced that he'd be out of number 10 by the spring. The current crop of controversies may bring him down but seeing as comparisons to the Major government are quite popular at the moment remember that it managed to hang on all the way to the '97 election, despite its many faults and a much smaller majority.
I can't say I won't take some satisfaction from seeing Johnson stumbling out of number 10 for the last time (I'll get some satisfaction from that even if it ends up being tempered by the fact that someone worse is taking over), but I'm not going to expect it to happen until it actually happens.
The current crop of controversies may bring him down but seeing as comparisons to the Major government are quite popular at the moment remember that it managed to hang on all the way to the ’97 election, despite its many faults and a much smaller majority.
this is the ideal scenario for me - Johnson continues on and the stench increases and the tories are out for a generation
Blair won in 97 not because he made labour electable but because Major made the tories unelectable.
Johnsons arrogance means he cannot admit to himself he has ever done anything wrong. thus I think he will continue as long as he can. He will never resign. He will need the thatcher treatment
