Boris Johnson!

This will be the third time in five years that we will have a Prime Minister elected by a tiny proportion of the electorate.

The irony being that they’ve all been brought down by the one thing that was absolute Tory policy throughout all of this, Brexit.

Almost as though the whole thing is a catastrophically stupid idea that can never be made to work. 🤷🏻‍♂️

the idea of another Labour government is frankly terrifying

Interesting takeaway from all this.

will that be the first time that the PM is different to the leader of an outright majority party?

He is gone once the new leader is selected so doesnt matter what he insists on.
Timewise though its probably going to be a couple of months so going to be autumn time until the new one is chosen (unless they manage to skip the asking the party members by having one of the candidates drop out after passing round 1).

Wonder what the next resident of 10 Downing Street will make of the gold wallpaper

Think it is in No 11 so whoever takes over might be lucky and have a small family and hence be able to go for No 10 instead.
They do have the 30k allowance to remodel it though.

Scary to think who might replace him, although the idea of another Labour government is frankly terrifying.

We already did terrifying.

The irony being that they’ve all been brought down by the one thing that was absolute Tory policy throughout all of this, Brexit

What did I miss where in Brexit had anything to do with BJ being [slowly] ousted?

We must be following very different news because to me it looks like it’s his insistence on lying to his colleagues so they can go out and face the unaware* they’re lying for him that’s gotten the better of him.

*obviously they’ll have had reasons to think /know he’s selling them a pile of poo but they’ll also have expected him to be able to keep the truth hidden if he’s going to lie about it.

I am delighted with the news and I’m going to treat myself to take away pizza tonight to celebrate.

To those who say yes but it’s still tories in power… I understand it’s still not ideal but Johnson was unique, the tories were seen as the party of bankers and managers by the working class (in modern terms the ‘red wall’) Boris’s one ability was to change that, he forged a personality cult around himself starting when he was mayor of London; this lovable rogue, a tory that actually wasn’t a tory, he wasn’t slick and official and professional like tories are typically perceived to be, his incompetence therefore made him only more appealing “oh he’s just like me, saying/doing the wrong thing sometimes” all this was like a spell over the British public, no matter what Boris did, how he shafted the nation the reply from the public was ‘oh Boris nevermind’

so today, today I am happy because the spell is broken, any one who will replace him will not have the same effect and will be looked at with suspicion and othering, once again the tories will be the nasty party and not the jolly japes party, the tories have always known this, why do you think they were so reluctant to let him go and saw him as a ‘winner’

This will be the third time in five years that we will have a Prime Minister elected by a tiny proportion of the electorate.

Or, if you want to be honest about it, in the entire history of British democracy.

How do you figure that?

What’s properly terrifying is the state the country is likely to be in come the end of the year.

Whoever is in charge we will be seeing a winter of discontent. I can see the country grinding to a halt.

!!!!!!!!!!!

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How do you figure that?

OK, if you’re not a member of a party you didn’t get to choose them.
If you’re not in their constituency you didn’t get to vote for them.

Ever has it been thus.

Even if it weren’t

This will be the third time in five years that we will have a Prime Minister elected by a tiny proportion of the electorate.

A small proportion of the electorate vote, only a small proportion of the electorate vote for the winning party (I’d be interested to know when its ever been over 50% of all votes cast).

Best will in the world a staggering 75% turnout with 51% of all votes cast being for the winning party would be 35% of the electorate.

If you’re happy with that short of maths Boris went to a GE and won, convincingly, so wasn’t elected by a tiny proportion of the electorate.

May went to a GE and won, not convincingly, but on the basis I assume you mean the “tory party membership” by tiny proportion she wasn’t elected by a tiny proportion of the electorate.

Useless hacks STILL screwing up this story.

He met Lebedev Friday 20 March 2020, REPEAT 2020!, on about the peak covid first wave chaos day as we prepared lockdown, as PM without officials!!

Snuck off without telling us!

What's wrong with you hacks get the story right FFS! https://t.co/ZLSxwLY79v

— Dominic Cummings (@Dominic2306) July 7, 2022

There were at least three in private meetings with Lebedev. He has admitted to one of the meetings when he was at FCO. Cummings is talking about a later one as PM that he hasn’t admitted to (although there are photos of him on his way back on his own). Press scared to talk about these events… as they have no inside sources… so the focus on what he has admitted to is understandable. If Cummings has evidence… that’d be very useful come the review of Johnsons security clearance… the one that should result in him being kicked out of the privy council, parliament and prevent him getting a title.

Obviously great that he’s going. But I do remember thinking that no one could be worse than May last time round…. I mean Braverman is going to stand – ugh.

Interesting to note that this entire timeline is Cameron’s fault. If he hadn’t botched the remain vote, then johnson wouldn’t have got the profile, May would never have been PM, etc. For that reason, he’s still the worse PM.

There were at least three in private meetings with Lebedev.

Including at least one weekend spent partying with him.

“How do you figure that?”

No figuring about it. It’s a fact. Previously, elected MP’s, who had a mandate gleaned from when they won their seats at a general election made the selection.

Now, with both main parties we have a system where party members get an influence in this process, a ‘special’ vote if you like. It is also the system that gave us Corbyn.

It is called the minority effect, whereby a small percentage get to have a disproportionate influence on an outcome.

This will be the third time in five years that we will have a Prime Minister elected by a tiny proportion of the electorate.

You don’t vote for a prime minister.

You vote for an MP to represent you.

The party with the most MPs takes control. Their chosen leader becomes PM.

You have voted to put the party in power, not an individual they can change their leader and hence PM whenever they want.

This is not America, our PM does not have a personal mandate form the people despite what Boris will tell you. The party has the mandate not the person.

A couple of days ago someone on Twitter was discussing a rumour that Boris
a) had a hairdresser

Nope

“The party has the mandate.”

The party members now have the mandate, the elected MP’s get to choose from the choices the party members have mandated.

If you pay for party membership then you now get a chance to buy an influence in who can be PM in a way that is wholly undemocratic.

although the idea of another Labour government is frankly terrifying.

Don’t be daft. The leader is a centrist who’s falling over himself not to piss anyone off, it’s hardly going to be the communist revolution you seem to be afraid of, is it?

For that reason, [Cameron] he’s still the worse PM.

Oddly I’m inclined to agree with Cameron on this, his biggest failing in office, indeed of any PM potentially, was his failure to secure intervention in Syria after the first use of chemical weapons (against a civilian population).
Brexit is quite a distant second to that and the ramifications there of.

Put me down for boris to be gone by the end of next week. he’ll be taken down from the inside.

You don’t vote for a prime minister.

You vote for an MP to represent you.

Whilst technically true, that’s not the case in reality, in a GE ‘people’ vote for a PM/party, even though to do so you have to vote for your local rep.

Thats’s actually a good argument for electoral reform, in and of itself.

the elected MP’s get to choose from the choices the party members have mandated.

Other way round.
MPs chose two candidates and then the party members vote on those.
Unless, as in Mays case, the other candidate drops out at the end because the mp vote had been overwhelmingly in Mays favour.

Don’t be daft. The leader is a centrist who’s falling over himself not to piss anyone off, it’s hardly going to be the communist revolution you seem to be afraid of, is it?

Quite. Labour is definitely the safe-but-boring option right now

Y’know, I think it was the blow job story that did it for Johnson.

For the tories hiding behind the Pimcher sex pest story puts a more dignified gloss on the procèdimgs.

@inkster

If you pay for party membership then you now get a chance to buy an influence in who can be PM in a way that is wholly undemocratic.

Now is nothing to do with it.
That you don’t like the party or person in charge this time around doesn’t change that it’s been the case for a very long time.

The only PM that I can immediately think of where its not true is Gordon brown, who was never returned at a GE and never elected leader of the Labour Party either as he stood (effectively) unopposed.

MPs chose two candidates and then the party members vote on those.

Who choses the parliamentary candidates? The members/leader/MP thing goes around in circles. When it comes to choosing a leader, MPs and members SHOULD remember that they are choosing someone to lead the country for all of us, not just for themselves. I’m sure many do think that way. It’s human nature to be pulled towards your own preferences and biases though… what’s “best for the country” is often a rationalisation of a choice based on what’s best for you and yours.

“Other way round”

I stand corrected, though that makes it even worse, party members alone getting to choose who is PM.

It’s human nature to be pulled towards your own preferences and biases though… what “best for the country” is often a rationalisation of a choice based on what’s best for you and yours.

Despite our differences everyone tends to think people en masse are broadly similar to them when making decisions on their behalf.

Who choses the parliamentary candidates? The members/leader/MP thing goes around in circles. When it comes to choosing a leader, MPs and members SHOULD remember that they are choosing someone to lead the country for all of us, not just for themselves. I’m sure many do think that way. It’s human nature to be pulled towards your own preferences and biases though… what “best for the country” is often a rationalisation of a choice based on what’s best for you and yours.

This is arguably why a republic would work better, even if the head had to be elected by MP’s. At the moment either leader has to be elected by the majority of their party one way or another. Which means the best you can generally get is a centrist of that party. Switch it so every MP has a vote and you’d get less extreme candidates overall as there would be a path to victory by being the the tory candidate who could drum up the most “anyone but the other guy” votes from the opposition.

e.g. Sunak Vs Patel, Tories split 50/50, Sunak wins because he gets some Labour votes (Lab, Lib, SNP candidates all having been eliminated in previous rounds).

Whereas the current system could well give you Patel under those options.

I believe that technically just Conservative MPs can decide who the next Tory leader is, that would be within the Tory Party rules.

Nevertheless they do tend to leave the final decision to the membership as their support for the party leader is obviously important.

But in a situation in which a new leader needed to be found quickly they could do that by leaving it solely to MPs.

It was May vs Leadsome and Leadsome pulled out just leaving May

So that sort of stuff happens, also no reason final 2 candidates voted by MPs could do a deal to have 1 as chancellor 1 as PM

Whereas the current system could well give you Patel under those options.

The difficulty is you always end up with the least worst candidate rather than the best. Long term that leads to stagnation and a lack of willingness to move away from the established norm. Eventually you’ll end up with a Boris (or a le Pen) as the electorate moves further from a centre that doesn’t represent anything but the continuation of what doesn’t work for them.

Ernie

Johnson has no ideology so cannot be put on a rught left scale and under his premiership we have had brexit an act of folly so huge it has caused more damage to the people of Britain than anything imagined by any other tory and a vile racist immigration policy which again is more right wing than anything from any other tory and breaks international law

Yes he splashed some cash but most of it went to the better off.

The fear is not we get somone more rightwing. They have little time to do damage. The fear is we get someone who could make tories electable again. A headbanger brexitteer will ensure they lose the nexy election

under his premiership we have had brexit an act of folly so huge it has caused more damage to the people of Britain than anything imagined by any other tory

I think you have to blame Cameron, May and Johnson for that. They all **** things up massively. Cameron started it, May set the direction and Johnson finished it off in the worst way. All of them could easily have avoided this utter mess in their turn.

also no reason final 2 candidates voted by MPs could do a deal to have 1 as chancellor 1 as PM

I think there’s a good chance you’re going to see them run on joint tickets here with an obvious left right split between the two to try keep everyone on side.

All of them could easily have avoided this utter mess in their turn.

Johnson used Brexit to push Cameron aside. And used Brexit to push May aside. And used Brexit to get a majority. Cameron and May made big mistakes… but ultimately Johnson outwitted them by being prepared to promise more, lie more, and risk damage to both party and country more. His “unstoppability” on route to PM dried up when in government promises only delivered falling living standards, and his continued lying was exposed in the full glare of being ultimately in charge. Blame Cameron and May all you want… but they are only supporting actors in all this… it’s been the Boris Johnson story being played out for the last decade. It’s not over yet… got your ticket to the wedding do of the summer?

Cameron is an interesting one…

Playing devils advocate, at the time, he gambled on the public being bright enough to vote to remain in the EU, we all know how the ended. We all know why he did it, he was frightened of losing a few votes to UKIP, hindsight is a wonderfull thing.

Equally, he was PM and he gambled in a very high stakes game when he should have just played it safe and ignored the faux pressure from UKIP. He Gambled big and he we lost bigger.

He gambled the future of the country out of fear of losing a few tory votes.

That is beyond reckless, it’s the height of fear/stupidity.

It kind of sums up modern politics in a petri dish really, it’s all bluff and bluster, rather than carefully calculated reforms or new ideas.

but Boris is insisting on remaining PM until autumn

Only if HMQ agrees, she’s more likely to invite the new leader of the party with the most seats to form a government as our constitution sets out.

He gambled the future of the country out of fear of losing a few tory votes.

And forgot that he is there for the good of the country not for the benefit of the Tory party, that can be a happy side effect of governing properly in the national interest not the be-all and end-all of government. We should remind our candidates of this the next time they are requesting our support.

Ernie

Johnson has no ideology

I think you might be quoting me TJ