I wanted to write about something else, but I can’t. Boris Johnson comma, Prime Minister full stop , has resigned or has he? It seems he has agreed to go and they are now as ever haggling about if he can hang on to September as a caretaker while the Tories elect a successor. It’s been an exciting 48 hours, started by Savid Javid and Rishi Sunak resigning in both gentile and savage terms. They have been followed by over half the government and counting.
Last night, and yesterday, including an amazing performance at the Parliamentary Liaison Ctte where he admits to meeting Lebvedev at one of his bunga bunga parties and reiterates the fallacious line that he has a 14m vote mandate and is going nowhere however some of the cabinet find their grey suits and visit him last night, they and the remaining cabinet including surprisingly Priti Patel but excluding Nadine Dorries and Michael Gove whom Boris sacked, tell him the game’s up. The following morning he agrees to resign and proposes he acts as caretaker. The same delaying tactics in the hope people be they voters or commentators will get bored.
This It would seem is unacceptable to the Tories and Kier Starmer says Labour will move a VONC in the House of Commons if that is what he proposes; we should also note that he hasn’t actually resigned and that serving another three months will trouser him £40k, (£20K net over the MPs salary) John Major weighs in after lunch, saying that Johnson remaining PM even in a caretaker role is inappropriate as the cabinet have shown they have neither the will nor the inclination to control him.
Can Brexit survive the fall of Johnson? Stay European wrote to me today, saying,
And both Brexit and Johnson were based on the same politics: nostalgia, authoritarianism, denial about Britain’s place in the world and, above all else, lies upon lies upon lies.
Staying European
On both fronts, the spell has worn off. The Tories removed Boris Johnson to save their own skins, because he is no longer an election winner. And likewise, Brexit’s popularity has also collapsed.
In the latest polls, 58% now say it was wrong for Britain to leave the EU, 60% say Brexit is going badly and 53% support rejoining the EU immediately.
We can but hope. We also have the opportunity to hear Michael Heseltine on Johnson, Brexit and lying. ]
This is superb from Heseltine.
— BelieveTheTruth (@Sam_BTT) July 6, 2022
Gets in devastating swipes at both Johnson and Brexit, all in 81 secs.
pic.twitter.com/INLfV7Jaq7
On a side note, written by Britain’s foremost constitutional scholar when people were asking if he’d go or if he’d burn the house down with an election, In that article, Prof. Elliot argues, he has to go because he can’t form an administration, and the Queen according to the Lascelles principles should deny him the election as there is no reason to dissolve Parliament, there is an alternative available, or at least Parliament should be given the chance; whether that’s what she’d do is another matter. One way of depoliticising the Monarchy is do what the PM tells you.
And fascinatingly, at least for me, is this tweet, quoting Linz, whose writings have interested me for the last few years and comparing the UK/Johnson with US/Trump, although
Contrast between today’s events in UK vs those in USA over past year underscores important point made by political scientists, esp Linz: historical democratic performance of parliamentary systems isn’t an accident. Parliamentarism is likely more conducive to preserving democracy.
— Catherine De Vries (@CatherineDVries) July 7, 2022
It’s 18:30, he has agreed that the 1922 Committee can chose a new Leader, but he’s still not gone as P.M. Like a floating turd, and reprising his behaviour when quitting the Foreign Office when he stayed in the Foreign Secretary’s grace and favour mansion for 3 weeks. If he plans to stay on as a squatter in Downing St and Chequers, it’s time for Sir Kier to table a No Confidence motion in the Commons.