I did, as usual, spend some time reading all my usual news sources this morning, after which none of them, and none of their interpretations of events, struck me as capturing the mood of this moment.
Irritatingly, and for the second day running, I have to turn to Ant and Dec to achieve that:
https://twitter.com/imacelebrity/status/1468693995798863876?s=21
For those not aware, the comment from them that I posted yesterday featured in Keir Starmer's comments in Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) yesterday.
What this piece of actually quite good satirical comedy captures is the mood of the moment. There are three points to note.
The first is that the prime minister has lost all his credibility. That he can be lampooned in this way is evidence of that.
Second, this issue has broken out of the Westminster bubble.It has achieved what is called in political parlance, ‘cut through'.
Third, Ant & Dec would not be doing this if they thought that there was any risk in doing so: they are too professional to throw their own reputations on the line for the sake of making a gag about the prime minister. What they know, and what everybody else knows, is that no one now believes the Prime Minister. Whatever his excuses, and however often he now presents them, his authority has been shattered.
The difficulty with Ant and Dec' gloating is, however, what it represents. They can only comment as they did because we are currently in a political void.
At the onset of another wave of this pandemic, which has the potential to be at least as bad as any previous cycle, the Prime Minister has no authority. I spent some time yesterday afternoon talking to people about this. None was politically engaged. All were younger than me. They had all, without exception, seen the video of the mock Downing Street press conference. All were angry about it. Universally they thought that this would make the chance of imposing any further effective lockdown much harder. I am sure that they are right.
In that case, whilst I might be pleased that there is now near universal agreement on the fact that Boris Johnson's days are numbered, the manner in which this has come to pass is not without consequence.
Johnson has, with the active and willing connivance of the Conservative Party, undermined the role of Prime Minister, the significance of politics, the authority of government and the rule of law. Whether that was deliberate or not is a matter to debate on another day: for now this is a statement of fact.
The fact that politics has been belittled would be serious enough. Do remember that the whole fabric of our society does depend upon it being taken seriously. The consequences, however, are much more serious than that. People will die as a result of Johnson's indifference. The chance that the NHS will be overwhelmed in January is high. Yet more people will die as a result of that too, not least because so many NHS staff will give up in the face of the pressure that this creates, and quite reasonably so given the lack of support that they are being provided with. Worse, when law enforcement is considered to be optional by those who create laws then corruption is encouraged. That then spreads throughout society, with unknown consequences.
I can, and did, laugh at Ant and Dec's gags. Like many, I look forward to seeing Johnson's departure, whenever it comes, but the sooner the better. However, there is literally nothing about this whole sorry episode that is a cause for cheering. Johnson has created carnage within the credibility of the political system, quite knowingly, willingly, and with the support of his party. That is unforgivable.
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[…] have already this morning discussed some of the consequences of the Prime Minister lying. One that I mentioned was that corruption will […]
Are there any Tories that are better suited to being PM than BoJo though? I’m worried they’ll replace him with someone worse!
There is a peculiar disjunction between “I have been assured no rules were broken” and “I don’t know the facts” (nothing to see here, I was not there, not spoken to anyone who was there, etc). Are ministers so incurious that they have not asked for the facts to be set out, but just accept a bland reassurance at face value, and expect us to do the same? A week later, they still don’t know what happened, and need an investigation (by a civil servant with just 15 years of service who is closely associated with this prime minister). Extraordinary.
Was there a gathering of several dozen people? Who, and which room(s) was that in? (This is the heart of government – there will be records of who was in the building, when they arrived and left.) Were there drinks and food (possibly wine and cheese)? Were there any games and/or presents? Was any of this arranged in advance? By whom and when? Are there text messages or emails? And then, what is the justification for this under the law and official guidance in force at the time. This is not rocket science.
As always, the attempted cover up is as bad if not worse than the original offence.
There is the same disjunction between introducing new restrictions to slow the spread of omicron, but then saying gatherings such as Christmas parties and nativity plays should still go ahead. The risk of encouraging that now is we increase the risk of heavier restrictions being required before Christmas or the New Year. They undercut themselves at every turn. Here are the new rules but don’t bother taking them seriously.
The cover up is what always gets people
“There can be no whitewash at the White House”. Richard Nixon. We are all aware of that outcome. My one regret being Yes/S.N.P if he does go, is that we will lose the greatest asset to our campaign.
I agree entirely and some might say this ‘perpetual revolution’ ie chaos is hilariously Trotskyism in action. It is time to be afraid.
Denis
What too many people fail to grasp is that both Left and Right extremes are essentially the same; it’s all predicated on perpetual conflict within society itself on the basis of some mythical enemy – either within that society or external to it (this aspect is very fluid BTW and can be changed at will and you can have both at the same time).
You don’t have to be a Lefty to use Trotskyist methods – you can be Right wing as well. The big lie is that this occurs on the Left only. And a lot of people have fallen for that one.
Whats the difference between a Trotskyist cell in the political establishment and a bunch of well-heeled back seat drivers affecting Tory Government policy?
None in my view – both mindsets are actually doing the same thing: achieving power and trampling over democracy.
I agree with you PSR
The extreme left takeover of the tax justice movement does, for example, see them using populist narratives
Gary Neville is on twitter, calling on people to join him in protest at Downing Street. Sorry, don’t know how to share it. Are football and comedy the new Opposition?
Yes
Again – not until Johnson is seen leaving No. 10 for the last time for me.
And the Party that put him there is still in power.
And the party that will not fight, will not offer an alternative (Labour) keeps not fighting.
These are just some of variables in play.
Priti Patel keeps playing to the party in her attitude – her performance at the dispatch box the other day was made for Tory followers.
The Right has an almost inexhaustible amount of ‘talent’ to pull from to keep themselves going.
We shall see of course.
‘No cause for cheering’ – no indeed. Will ‘we’ (public, political parties) ever begin to understand that our democracy may be uniquely weak and threatened. UK is both the hub of the workd wide criminal financial fraud network (Russia Saudi, African kelptocrats etc) which has already bought one of our political parties , and is also unique in not having any rules (constitution) limiting the power of the executive or safegarding citizen rights?
Labour seems far too timid – darent face up to the fact we are in a fight for our very democracy, and a govt. happly to kill its own citizens by rejecting advice as to how to protect life in the pandemic.
That is the game we are in – with not only the contrived chaos but a string of malevolent legisation criminalising journalists and protestors , suppressing voting rights, limiting the judiciary, etc etc
George Montbiot, J Freedland, Nick Cohen , Owen Jones etc v good on all this
Sadly you are right, except that it is now clear that two of our parties have now been bought, the Tories to actually carry out the dirty work and Labour to cheer them on and hoover up any potential opposition into futile internal wrangles. Those roles could conceivably switch in the medium term to give the appearance of change without materially affecting anything.
The question is: who are the beneficiaries or contenders for the crown out of all this chaos?
Sunak, Gove? Sunak is supposed to be a favourite but keeping a low profile except for promising tax cuts for the next election. Gove is supposed to be putting the “levelling up” agenda into practice but absolutely no benefit yet gained in the North or Midlands, except for a few limited back handers to some Tory seats. Even a Tory loyalist like Laura Kuensberg is wondering what on earth is going on. Maybe just a cunning plan to hide the failure of COP26 and the draconian Police bill etc.
Perhaps it is time for Johnson to realise he needs to spend more time with his young family? But how will he earn enough to keep them in the manner to which they have become accustomed?
What a wide choice for his potential successor.
* Sunak. Winchester, Oxford (PPE), Goldman, hedge fund.
* Gove. Robert Gordon’s College, Oxford (English), journalism.
* Hunt. Charterhouse, Oxford (PPE), PR.
Among less likely candidates, even Liz Truss read PPE at Oxford. But Patel studied economics at Keele, and Javid economics at Exeter. All went to comprehensives.
Too much PPE for my liking
The Oxford PPE course is the closest thing to a degree in general studies IMO
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=GB+News+Nigel+Farage+on+Boris+christmas+Party&docid=20689504856663&mid=00A8145331132D67937000A8145331132D679370&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
Its when Nigel Farage goes for Boris’s jugular that he needs to be worried. Wait for it at about 2.25min into this.
You will not be disappointed.
Check out Jeremy Hunt being interviewed on Matt Forde’s Political Party Podcast just out. A good insight into him, clearly positioning himself as the ‘centrist’ (his term) candidate. I reckon its Sunak, Gove, and Hunt with Hunt as the least of the evils. Given the current Tory membership and MPs, all way off to the libertarian right, my money would be on Sunak. Though its depressing to say say so.
The thought of Truss is too much for me to include her…
But think of what Hunt did to the NHS. He threatens decent public services and social democracy no less than the other candidates (or, for that matter, Labour under Starmer).
I agree
He is only the least of the evils
As I said, the ‘least of the evils’. He’s my MP so I’ve engaged with him on just those topics and kept a closer eye on him.
Worth listening to the interview with Matt Forde though. Hunt is a different kettle of fish to the Sunaks and Goves, Javid and co.
On a different front, Wes Streeting excellent on R4 today
I’m mindful of the fact when it comes to timing.
So, this has been known about for sometime, and now seems to be doing the rounds.
Personally it does not bother me because I want the WHOLE Tory Government to go to be honest, not just Johnson.
But some – if not many – will pick what is going on here and ask why it is being pushed to the fore at the moment. That will feed many of those out there who believe in Alt-Right conspiracy theories who may still back Boris.
Something is being manufactured here.
And not for our benefit – whatever happens.
Richard – I came across this from someone else.
I’ve added a few more words (IN CAPITALS) – perhaps a campain can be started and the following should be circulated far and wide asking ppl to add more and more words to show what has actually been destroyed by the gov’t. What would you add? (I imagine its a very very long list).
Then ppl should/will wake up from their slumber, unite under a common thread/theme, act and start the painful journey towards making a difference and changing everything for the better.
I cannot sit by and allow this Gov’t to destroy industry, THE NHS, DEMOCRACY, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, SOCIAL CARE, POLITICS, THE RULE OF LAW, THE CLIMATE,
I’m ready to ruffle some feathers.
Tomorrow the fight back begins.
Enough is enough.
Richard – I’m interested in your comment in response to another above – ‘The extreme left takeover of the tax justice movement does, for example, see them using populist narratives’. I’m wondering where / how you see this manifesting?
I confess as a solid leftie myself I might be a tad blind to it. But then again, I sometimes feel that things once deemed no more than hygiene factors – enough to live on, decent housing, opportunity to thrive – are now viewed as outrageously leftist demands….
There may well be more on this soon