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Did the Eastleigh geezer actually really just say 'levelling up the south'? I know coastal Hampshire has its low spots, but surely he was taking the piss.
I think his new “story” will play well… if voters are willing to forget that it’s the third version.
- I don’t know about any party
- wasn’t at any party
- was at a party, but it was a work party
This is the funniest PMQs in history. Everyone demanding his resignation and tory MPs asking questions about washing machine filters.
And Peter Bone asking for the BBC license fee to be abolished, just to add to the totally surreal spectacle
Does anyone know where Rishi was? Clearly he had some other more pressing appointment. As did Gove
Rishi is in Ilfracombe apparently handing out £60 million
Rishi's whereabouts are up there ^^^
Ilfracombe 😂
A “bring your own booze wife “ work event? FTFY
Did the Eastleigh geezer actually really just say ‘levelling up the south’? I know coastal Hampshire has its low spots, but surely he was taking the piss.
He means raising it above sea level - because they are ignoring global warming and its all going to flood!
You can see why he avoided parliament yesterday (while he formulated a new lie). This new joke of an excuse would not have played well against a backdrop of MPs talking at length about those they lost and couldn’t say goodbye to, or attend the funeral of. I couldn’t visit my uncle in his last weeks. I couldn’t travel and attend his funeral, to be there with my aunt and cousins.
– I don’t know about any party
– wasn’t at any party
– was at a party, but it was a work party
Ain't no party like a 'fessed up party.
I got it slightly wrong, this third story, after the first two have been shown to be deliberate mendacious lies… the new story is…
- was at a party, but I “believed” it was a work party
The difference is important. How do you prove that in his head full of deceits piled upon deceits that he didn’t “believe” that it was a work gathering, even if the evidence eventually piles up that is was a social gathering.
Well that was the most entertaining political theatre I've seen since May's dementia tax meltdown. Gone by the end of the week.
Does anyone else regard their garden as 'an extension of the office'?
If we'd have all known that in May 2020 then we'd have been able to invite 100 of our mates business associates around for a party business meeting
His repetitive response seems to be 'Wait for the outcome of the Gray report', sounds like a foregone conclusion
Gone by the end of the week.
the scum are running the web headline...
THE PARTY'S OVER
lets see what the dirty digger decides
I admit, that made me laugh out loud.
Gone by the end of the week.
Can't see it sadly. He won't walk.
Right voters of England - this is your moment to shine. All the other nations didn't need to see this to comprehend that the Tories are a bunch of **** knuckles. But for some reason you can't.
I feel the same about Johnson as I do about Trump.....they are Ronseal leaders. This is exactly what I'd have expected a Johnson Downing Street to be like in the very same way as Trump was exactly the president you'd expect him to be. They are not the problem - the voters are the problem.
You lot **** this up and vote them in again and I guarantee every other part of Britain will do all they can to abandon ship and leave you to wallow in your own tory smelling mire.
All purely anecdotal but talking to people at work - who are for the most part, white English, Brexity, working class Tory voters - none of this would inspire them to vote Labour or Liberal if there were an election tomorrow.
If they were to vote for an alternative to the Tories then it would be for Farage. Given that the Tory who succeeds Johnson is likely to be to the right of him, then it seems to me that any change that comes from this will just see us move further to the right, one way or another.
Depressing.
Does anyone else regard their garden as ‘an extension of the office’?
To be fair binners, I don't think there are many in here who have a house and garden supplied by employer and occupied daily with our staff team.
We have outside space at both offices that are workspace
Trailmonkey true but let's enjoy the ****s squirming.
If they were to vote for an alternative to the Tories then it would be for Farage.
I've just had a similar conversation at my practice with a nurse and receptionist.
To be fair binners, I don’t think there are many in here who have a house and garden supplied by employer and occupied daily with our staff team.
We have outside space at both offices that are workspace
I guess the equivalent would be doctors and nurses boozing it up outside their hospitals, once they'd finished their shift.
Anyone see that?
No, well, not here at least. They were too shattered after covering for the workmates that had caught Covid and had to go home.
Is this the first time that Starmer’s called for his resignation?
Max Headroom and his posse must be jumping with joy to see that the opportunity to grab power based on the boozy party.
Angela Rayner for PM, LOL! That will learn you.
If he thought it was a work event why bring his wife?
also did he bring his own booze, or scrounge off others
We have outside space at both offices that are workspace
Is BYOB a feature also of those outside workspaces?
We also have external spaces where I'll admit that we held meetings last summer but BYOB would be instant dismissal (NB last summer when meetings and even gatherings were legal)
Even if there's some latitude for a bit of boozing in Westminster circles (onsite bars, indeed) .Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...... but what, he thought it was a set of occasional tables?
A thought just struck me, where did they get all the booze from?
As I understand it, the invite was sent in the afternoon, so did they then nip out to the Sainsbury Local to stock up? And mixing with a lot of other people while doing so?
If he thought it was a work event why bring his wife?
also did he bring his own booze, or scrounge off others
If anyone is going to blag booze off someone else it’s going to be him, wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t try to cop off as well.
Angela Rayner for PM,
She'd be awesome at the job, no doubt in my mind. Sorry to distract from the subject at hand.
If they were to vote for an alternative to the Tories then it would be for Farage.
Lets not forget that the present Tory majority was in no small part due to the nicotine-stained tree-frog standing down his monkeys in all Tory seats, and thus handing the racist vote to Boris, unopposed
If loads of people who voted Tory last time vote for whichever Farage is hawking this time, happy days. Thats more likely to deliver a labour government
Why does any of this matter? Seems like everyone in the media is always bickering about pointless crap like whether the staff of No. 10 had a few drinks in the garden, or the style of Trump's hair, or what breakfast cereals are racist this week. Meanwhile the world burns.
She’d be awesome at the job, no doubt in my mind. Sorry to distract from the subject at hand.
Yes, she will and the country will party all night long, all night, all night, all night long (music in background). The country will also be so green we can see green moss growing everywhere and everyone gets free money! Yippee!
Why does any of this matter? Seems like everyone in the media is always bickering about pointless crap like whether the staff of No. 10 had a few drinks in the garden, or the style of Trump’s hair, or what breakfast cereals are racist this week. Meanwhile the world burns.
Ah I see ... but but these are important topics to win election.
All purely anecdotal but talking to people at work – who are for the most part, white English, Brexity, working class Tory voters – none of this would inspire them to vote Labour or Liberal if there were an election tomorrow.
Did they also mention that all MPs are the same and they all would have gone to the party if they were in No 10 at the time. I think that is a big part of it - when you see all MPs as takers and in it for themselves you just vote for those who represent the things you want, i.e. Brexit, less immigration etc,. which is why Boris' antics won't turn people to Labour as those Boris lovers can't think of anything worse than a Labour government.
Why does any of this matter? Seems like everyone in the media is always bickering about pointless crap like whether the staff of No. 10 had a few drinks in the garden, or the style of Trump’s hair, or what breakfast cereals are racist this week. Meanwhile the world burns.
Johnson breaking the laws he forced the rest of us to follow does matter
Lying to parliament about it means he has to resign
You've got to hand it to whoever is behind all the leaks. (It's Cummings isn't it).
The must know Johnson very, very well. Tease it out long enough to break down his usual tactic of "never apologise, never explain" but keep it low-key enough that once it starts getting tough, he'll think he can crawl under a lie and then, once he has BAM.
It left him no where to go, he's managed to actually accept the uncomfortable truth for once and apologise before the smoking gun video is released, but he's still screwed. He was left with 2 choices, apologise finally proving he's not really a bumbling genius, or make an excuse that he didn't know what he was doing was wrong - as the Prime Minister! And he'd done both!
Johnson, like JRM, is arrogant, pompous and stupid enough to have actually spoken at this party and even even said something as stupid as "if anyone asks, this is work right" with a wink at the end. You never know, whoever has it, might just be waiting for him to be on the ropes before they release it.
We can only wonder in horror what the Tory Party Members will serve up to us next, but we might as well enjoy Johnsons downfall.
Officials and advisers began arriving shortly after 6pm. While many stayed away, about 40 came. Many took up Reynolds’ suggestion in his email that they should “BYOB” — bring your own booze — taking a trip to the Tesco Express next to Westminster station. The drinks table was well stocked with gin, rosé, red wine and white wine, and guests began to arrive and mingle.
We can only wonder in horror what the Tory Party Members will serve up to us next, but we might as well enjoy Johnsons downfall.
It is not about what Tories are going to serve the people, it is about what the oppositions are going to "force" people.
Tories might be serving rubbish to the people, but with the oppositions they will make sure the people eat it as well.
Just read the whole statement. It's not an apology at all, it's a "sorry you think you caught us doing something naughty" while trying to plant the seed of it being normal working practice in No10 to use the garden as office space (and that having 40-odd people round for drinks and nibbles is normal working practice).
I want him gone by the end of the week, sadly I know that is not going to happen. Probably better odds on him still being PM for the rest of the year!
Why does any of this matter?
Law makers breaking the law, and rolling out a series of lies to try and cover it up?
One rule for us, another for them?
It might not matter to you.
Doff cap, tug forelock, know your place, rules are for the little people, truth is passé.
I wouldn't be surprised as it was a "work event" the booze was put down as expenses so we've paid for it all
I want him gone by the end of the week, sadly I know that is not going to happen. Probably better odds on him still being PM for the rest of the year!
For the rest of the year? You might be seeing one of the longest serving PM in history unless BoJo really screws up.
It is not about BoJo being good or bad but about the way oppositions scare the daylight out of ordinary mortals. Opposition will not be in power for at least 2 generations judging from the present lot.
They break the rules
They lie
They bully and cheat
They fiddle the system to give contracts to their mates
They fiddle the system to line their own pockets
.... and then face no consequence for the above.
As a single moment is holding a party for hard working staff REALLY that bad? Pleanty of others bent the rules.
But it's not an aberation, it's a way of life, SOP for this bunch, and that's why if one incident doesn't hold them accountable then they have to be bundled together.
All purely anecdotal but talking to people at work – who are for the most part, white English, Brexity, working class Tory voters
@trailmonkey - you need to move upstairs.. 😉
– I don’t know about any party
– wasn’t at any party
– was at a party, but it was a work party
If this be that kinda party I'm agonna stick my dick in the mashed potato
(Ill communication. Best album of the '90s.)
And for what it's worth this guardian assessment is about right:
Although Starmer is calling for Johnson’s resignation, strategically that is probably the last thing Labour wants. Starmer gains most from having a discredited and reviled PM continue in office, and today that is what he’s got.
Why does any of this matter?
Cos - while they were telling us not to meet up with friends, not to go to gigs, not to go the pub, not to get married, not to attend funerals & people were alone, losing money, losing their livelihoods losing their loved ones.
& anyone who broke those rules got fined pretty heavily.
They were have a jolly good knees up in the garden.
If that doesn't make you angry or the slightest bit pissed off you need to have a look in the mirror.
Rishi is in Ilfracombe apparently handing out £60 million
TBH I vaguely remember someone who had an important meeting in Afghanistan
so they didn't have to vote on a runway some where, may also be also be something related to laying in front of jcbs . 🙂
Cos – while they were telling us not to meet up with friends, not to go to gigs, not to go the pub, not to get married, not to attend funerals & people were alone, losing money, losing their livelihoods losing their loved ones.
& anyone who broke those rules got fined pretty heavily.
They were have a jolly good knees up in the garden.
If that doesn’t make you angry or the slightest bit pissed off you need to have a look in the mirror.
Exactamundo
The Met were happy to overlook this but were more than prepared to rough over women at the Sarah Everard vigil. A taste of things to come with the new legislative agenda.
As a single moment is holding a party for hard working staff REALLY that bad? Pleanty of others bent the rules.
its the optics of it. Yes in objective view its not as bad as refusing to lock down early enough causing many deaths or giving their mates huge contracts which produce nothing - but this is something ordinary folk can relate to as in - "i obeyed the rules and my mum dies alone" "they made the rules but had a party in breach of them"
its often the way in politics.
Tory MP Roger Gale on world@1
Unfortunately what the Prime Minister has said today leaves people like me in an impossible situation.
We now know that the prime minister spent 25 minutes at what was quite clearly a party. That means that he misled the House.
I fear that it is now going to have to be the work of the 1922 [Committee] to determine precisely how we proceed.
If you look at the twittersphere after prime minister’s question time today, it sounds to me I am afraid very much as though politically the prime minister is a dead man walking.
Seems like everyone in the media is always bickering about pointless crap like whether the staff of No. 10 had a few drinks in the garden
*sigh*...
This hardly needs pointing out but... if you couldn't go to a close relatives funeral, or had a member of your family die alone in hospital, as so many did, then finding out the person making those rules was hosting regular piss ups at the same time is far from 'pointless crap'
If you think it is then congratulations... you are the most useful of idiots to these people
Crayons for PM
God no.
Would though...
Gone by the end of the week.
Only if thre 1822 committee kick himout. He will not resign I am sure because to resign means admitting he has done wrong - and in his mind he cannot do wrong. admitting he did wrong also puts him in legal jepardy
I believe ( and hope) he will continue to cling on causing more and more damage to the tories
Not only that but around that time the media and public were up in arms about nurses/paramedics blowing off steam with a few tick-tock videos, they were baying for blood while our illustrious PM was hosting gardens parties.
He will not resign I am sure because to resign means
becoming homeless?
I believe ( and hope) he will continue to cling on causing more and more damage to the tories
Very much this. I think we're well past the tipping point now where he could potentially recover from this, even with Tory voters
Please, please, please let him still be leader at the next election
Never going to happen, obviously
It's all just about timing now. And it will happen when the Tory's are butchered at the local elections in May. He'll be made to carry the can for that, then he'll be gone within seconds
Why does any of this matter? Seems like everyone in the media is always bickering about pointless crap like whether the staff of No. 10 had a few drinks in the garden, or the style of Trump’s hair, or what breakfast cereals are racist this week. Meanwhile the world burns.
I'd suggest improving your choice of media outlet!
However it matters because:
1. If you thought the restrictions in lockdown were too draconian, then the people who imposed them weren't applying them to themselves and you were being taken advantage of.
2. If you thought that the only way to get through covid was for us ALL to make sacrifices, perhaps working stupid hours in a hospital, losing income as a freelancer, or not going to a relatives funeral in person, it seems you were wrong and other people were able to make their own judgement on when the rules should apply and you were being taken advantage of.
3. If you stepped across the line and got a fine or ticking off from a copper, it seems that the coppers at downing st were applying a different law. Presumably because their "clientele" are a different type of person from you.
However, the reason it really matters, is not the crime of holding a gathering but because the duplicitous bastards won't just admit what happened, apologise for the double standards and those who didn't have the wherewithal to stop a party in their own house step down and let someone else try to get us through the mess. In the grand scheme of things does one party or one man going to Barnard Castle lead to ruin? No - but it undermines trust, confidence and messaging.
How can we trust the government to be frank, make hard decisions, negotiate with other countries, choose the morally better path and potentially navigate us through the climate crisis when their leader doesn't tell the truth and tries to shift the blame on to others and manipulate language to his advantage. That's why it matters. Not because someone had a glass of wine in the garden, the rules probably were stupid, but this isn't about the rules its about the character of the man who claims to be in charge.
admitting he did wrong also puts him in legal jepardy
He'll play the 'for the good of the country and the party' line, rather than actually admitting anything. What I don't understand is why Starmer hasn't called for a vote of no confidence. They would lose of course, but it would expose a tory party defending the indefensible. Starmer may have scored in this open goal, but he needs to ensure that the mud sticks to Johnson's successor and the party as a whole.
What I don’t understand is why Starmer hasn’t called for a vote of no confidence.
because having Boris in place is much better for the labour party right now. He's now completely discredited, the 'one rule for them, one for everyone else' narrative is really sticking. Even lifelong Tory voters, who have given him god knows how may 'get out of jail free' cards are baulking at this now.
And surely having done what he has today, it's best to step back and leave the Tory party to have its own internal battle. For that is surely whats on the cards.
I know I'm always using the Napoleon quote but its because its true: never interrupt your enemy when they're in the process of massively ****ing up (I paraphrase slightly)
Tory MPs are now breaking cover left, right and centre after that performance and refusing to back him. Let them get on with it, sit back and enjoy the shitshow that he's brought down upon himself
So simon hoare hinting Raab may have been at the 'work event' too
‘Don’t let anyone vote who is over 50’ …kinell there’s plenty of rightwing whippersnappers and smearers under 50, even on here.
I am delighted to say that as I have aged I have got fatter instead of more politically conservative.
So simon hoare hinting Raab may have been at the ‘work event’ too
There seem to be a few people now suggesting that
The drip, drip, drip continues...
Dom is clearly enjoying himself
What I don’t understand is why Starmer hasn’t called for a vote of no confidence.
Why hand the Tories a get out gaol free card?
As a single moment is holding a party for hard working staff REALLY that bad? Plenty of others bent the rules.
Sorry I can't see who first said this, but yes, it REALLY is that bad.
Leaders should be beyond reproach, we can't lose sight that despite his bumbling image, Johnson is the leader of a G7 nation, a Nuclear nation and I shudder to say it, but one of the most powerful People in the world, that comes with responsibilities far greater than the average person.
If, worst case another worse variant comes, who the hell is going to believe him if he asks us all the stay at home again? His credibility is completely gone. In fact, who the hell is ever going to listen to him again? If he announced a Pride of hungry Lions were at the end of your street, would you even trust him enough not to pop out and have a look for yourself?
Another thing we shouldn't lose sight that we're not talking about May 2021 when things were looking brighter for a time, but May 2020 when things were very bad. If we look back at one of the many Covid threads on STW or any social media platform, read the thoughts and feelings of the average British person who was nearly 2 months into the first lockdown, and we were just about being allowed to venture out and meet someone out outside of their household for the first time in 2 months, but not even allowed to sit on a bench with them and of course people who's loved ones were gravely ill in hospital or sadly had already died alone they couldn't see.
Whilst all that was going on, Johnson decided it was a good idea for a garden party, now I'm sure he'll say he wasn't behind it and he didn't know it was a party, but I think most people won't believe him. He's pissed off friend and foe alike, even the Tory party's biggest donor is walking away from him.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59956939
What I don’t understand is why Starmer hasn’t called for a vote of no confidence.
Even if he does want to he would have to wait until the inquiry is complete since whilst its a crap excuse for Johnson to use it is a convenient excuse for the tory MPs who can claim they need to wait for the evidence since unlike Johnson they werent there.
What I don’t understand is why Starmer hasn’t called for a vote of no confidence.
He's called for him to resign, it wouldn't be 'right' for him to call the other party to plunge the knife in his back.
Let them get on with it, sit back and enjoy the shitshow that he’s brought down upon himself
Yes but that would be the strategically wrong thing to do. Johnson is already finished, there's not a lot more to do on that score. The challenge now for labour is to make sure that the next tory leader can't disassociate him/herself from their predecessor in the same way that Johnson did with Cameron and May.
Dom is clearly enjoying himself
I have no doubt all these leaks are coming from him. One of the greatest acts of political revenge we'll ever see.
What I don’t understand is why Starmer hasn’t called for a vote of no confidence.
Perhaps because he lacks any confidence in himself to actually win an election if push came to shove ?
What I don’t understand is why Starmer hasn’t called for a vote of no confidence.
Because when you call for that, you'd best be sure you're going to win it otherwise you look a bit of a tool for saying "we want a VONC" and one is held and the leader gets through it unscathed and can then say "nope, all is well, everyone is confident in me".
And as mentioned above, Boris is currently doing the best job on anyone in the Commons for discrediting the Government. He's now definitely into the grounds of being a liability. They can tear themselves apart for a bit longer before Starmer needs to worry about calling for a VONC.
What I don’t understand is why Starmer hasn’t called for a vote of no confidence.
Pointless and self defeating. A vote of no confidence in parliament is against the government not the PM and the tories would win it thus allowing Johnson to claim he had the support of the house.
Only the tory backbenches can call a vote of no confidence in Johnson as tory leader.
Yes but that would be the strategically wrong thing to do
In your opinion
Not many agree with you. The longer this continues, the more extreme the festering conflict within the different wings of the Tory party becomes
Come on mate... you've been watching this happen in the labour party, and condemning it, for 6 years. You want to now nip it in the bud when the Tory party embarks upon the same
These Downing Street parties are just the tip of the iceberg. Theres plenty more to come yet and everyone knows it
I suppose the question is are his new found fans going to be turned against Tory politics because he was a bit of a liar and a cheat or will they also double down on the lines that they prefer somebody like that to a lawyer?
The information about him being a liar and a cheat has been around and very public forever, but some chose to ignore that or took it as a sign of 'he's like me him' he gets my vote.
He will be gone before the May elections because they can't lose any kind of power the party wont stand for that, because its all that matters to them, doing the right thing and looking after the country and its people have never been high on the agenda.
Probably worth listening to the people who have clearly got more authority than most to comment on this issue
https://twitter.com/CovidJusticeUK/status/1481255358282805257?s=20
He will be gone before the May elections because they can’t lose any kind of power the party wont stand for that
Cant see that happening. The time for the new leader to turn things around and blame everything on Johnson is extremely tight especially since the cost of living is going to be skyrocketing (especially with the energy price cap change). It would be very risky for anyone to take over since if they do they will get the blame if it does go pearshaped.
Better for him to stay in place and take the blame and then boot him out.
Just read the whole statement. It’s not an apology at all, it’s a “sorry you think you caught us doing something naughty”
This, I missed PMQ's so re watching on youtube, he didnt apologise, he opened with the words "they think" what a ****
It's worse than not having any cabinet members come out to bat for him. The only Tory MP they could find to defend him was the upskirter-in-chief. Boris must know he's well and truly ****ed now then
https://twitter.com/ITVNewsPolitics/status/1481265408430809095?s=20