As the Guardian notes this morning:
The first fines for lockdown breaches in Downing Street are expected to be issued imminently after Scotland Yard concluded that laws were broken at the heart of government, sources have told the Guardian.
They added:
Multiple government insiders said the Metropolitan police had made referrals for the first tranche of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) connected with parties and gatherings being investigated by police in No 10 and the Cabinet Office. It is understood the Met are expected to issue around 20 fines related to the most straightforward cases, though more are expected to follow.
So, there were parties at Number 10.
And they did break the law.
Boris Johnson denied both things to parliament.
He lied.
That's a resigning offence, whether he gets a fine, or not.
Throughout the last century or more any prime minister would have resigned in this situation. Will Johnson? I doubt it. And that's because this government has no commitment to democracy, at all. All that matters to them is power.
The parallels with Trump's fascism become more apparent by the day.
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Agreed – but lying is the hydrogen of the Tory party and what keeps this Government afloat.
Does anyone have a match?
I wish I did, PSR. But I don’t even smoke.
Is this Muppet for real? YES HE IS, like every other POLITICIAN in this country.
They’ve had it good for far too long, welching off of society.
They get richer as weget poorer, it is time to abolish politics and start again.
A politician should have an annual salary of 18k, if they want more money then the pay scale rises as his/her public work increases, so the more GOOD they do for their public the more money is earned.
NO monies shall be accepted as “”gifts for favours” BRITAIN is as corrupted as any third world country, and we have to put an end to it……..NOW, sack all POLITICIANS and start again.
I am sorry – but I do not think that proposal realistic or remotely sensible
I hear and share your anger but….
“like every other POLITICIAN in this country” is not true. I DO think that Starmer is less corrupt than Johnson. I DO think that my Parish councillors are genuine servants of our community. ALL have failings but some are worse than others.
“They are all the same” allows the current mob off the hook.
Agreed. “They are all the same” is manifestly not true and (worse) is a counsel of despair. It plays neatly into Tory hands by discouraging people from voting.
An article in yesterdays Guardian pointed out the pitfalls of replacing Putin
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/28/vladimir-putin-russia-coup
It seems to me that similar arguments apply to replacing Johnson, who will replace him and what will the consequences be?
I am far from convinced that there is a potential replacement with the ability to win the election, or that a Labour administration would be any less bad
It is a salutary reminder to be careful what you wish for – a little like the fear that someone just as dangerous but more competent could follow Trump as the leader of the Republicans in the US – but I am pretty sure that almost any realistic replacement as Conservative leader would be better than Johnson. And a Labour government would be miles better, not least in terms of corruption.
Mr Boxall,
I suggest, with as much delicacy as I can muster, that you should go quietly, and lie down in a darkened room – for some time. What you are actually saying is the Johnson is the best we can do.
If, heaven forfend, you were right, we really are going out into that good night, not gently, but with a flat lie, a bad joke and a feeble whimper.
Without doubt, this is most certainly a resignation issue. Johnson must go, as his lies were then passed from minister to minister as some form of endorsement. I doubt very much if there are any more than a handful of Tories who can look in the mirror and tell themselves they did nothing wrong. Doing nothing to expose all the lies is every bit as bad. Those who sat on their hands let their electorate down and should be ashamed.
In any system of Government there has to be an acceptance of rules that allow that system to function. Once politicians no longer adhere to those rules then that system falls into disrepair and no longer works. The Tory Party (and the Republicans in the US) have now rejected the democratic system that has pervaded in the West for the past century and now only accept that their own personal interests and those of their friends can be the purpose of government. We in this country no longer have the same system of government that existed in the 20th century and it has been replaced by stealth with one that has become at best a plutocracy and in all likelihood something much much worse.
Party gate is minuscule compared to the invasion of Ukraine. And as sad as it may be Johnson is striding the world stage like a true leader, and is helped by comments like this..
“Johnson is a leader who is helping more,’ said Zelensky. He continued: ‘Britain is definitely on our side. It is not performing a balancing act. Britain sees no alternative for the way out of the situation. Britain wants Ukraine to win and Russia to lose.’”
Ukraine is undoubtedly Johnson’s Falklands..his popularity will bounce back as a result. There is a good chance he will be re-elected.
But no one believes that ….