Today will be interesting, politically. It will also, almost certainly, be depressing.
Johnson has to make a statement to the Commons on being fined. It is being widely trailed that he will deny having broken the law and that he thinks he has done anything wrong. This is despite being fined, and in the face of the very strong likelihood that more fines are coming his way.
The reality (for there must be one on a quite simple issue, which this is) is that:
a) There was a gathering, which was legally what were not permitted by Covid regulations;
b) It has been decided by the Met that this was not required for work purposes and was, therefore, a social gathering, and these were banned;
c) Johnson attended. Presumably there is photographic evidence. And in any event, Johnson had not denied it.
As a result Johnson was guilty of an offence.
Johnson will deny this but as a matter of fact that option is not available to him. It was, but it is no more. If he wanted to make that claim he should have refused to pay the fine. He should have challenged the police to pass the file to the Crown Prosecution Service who could then have brought the issue to trial. We know they would have done; they have been involved in the reviews of these cases for that reason.
Accepting the fine is an admission of guilt, but technically avoids a criminal conviction because there is no trial. Maybe it is this that Johnson will play on. He might say he paid to simply push the matter aside. The claim might be the country required that he not be distracted. But that does not avoid three things.
The first is that he has legally accepted the police interpretation of events, and cannot reopen the case.
The second is that this law was massively publicised by him and so widely understood that millions have appropriately judged that he was guilty of an offence, whatever he says.
Third, the greater charge is that Johnson lied to parliament, and by accepting the facts of this case he has confirmed that he has done so. The only wriggle room is that he denied attending a party and the event was legally not a party, which was too hard to define, but a gathering. I really doubt that anyone will take that claim seriously.
So, it is exceptionally likely that Johnson will lie to parliament again today. And it is as likely that under the rules of parliament anyone saying he has done so deliberately, which we know will be the case as his intention is being trailed, will be expelled from the House for telling the truth whilst Johnson will suffer no sanction.
The consequence is that Johnson is doing what he and his faction always intended to do: he will be making a mockery of parliament and will be doing so deliberately and with the active connivance of a supine Speaker, all with the intention of undermining democracy itself.
What will the Opposition do? Unless person after person stands up and says Johnson is a liar and refuses to withdraw they play along with this. They cannot win a vote today. The Tories will all vote for the liar. So the opposition parties can only make clear the Tory lies.
Those in opposition have to tell the truth in other words and keep doing so. And if the Speaker objects they have to tell him he is making democracy and Parliament the subject of ridicule. That is their duty today. Nothing less will do.
Will it happen? If Keir Starmer is expelled we will know. If he isn't he will either have won a battle with the Speaker or he will not have done his job.
Democracy and the credibility of parliament are on trial today. It needs a strong defence. I just hope it gets it.
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As we have discussed before, this rule is oxymoronic. And I sadly predict that Starmer will not be removed from the chamber. He seems to be unable to ‘think himself into’ the role he should now be playing. Maybe I will be wrong. I hope so, but I doubt it.
Looking on at this perverse political situation, you would not put it past Johnson and the Tories to have so rapidly and I think ill-advisedly disassembled and abandoned the Covid regulations and safe working just to benefit Johnson and the others who felt that they were different.
Obviously the modus operandi is that if something looks to have been in the past and made to look like an over-reaction, people will forgive Johnson and think it is no big deal.
You can either apologise and take full responsibility. Or you can deny you did anything wrong. A person who tries to do both just confirms their insincerity.
Either he lied deliberately or at a minimum he misled parliament and must correct the record. If he knows his statement was incorrect and he fails to correct the record that turns a mistake into a lie.
As I was going up the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today.
I wish, I wish he’d go away
All opposition leaders need to point out to the speaker that our Parliamentary democracy only works because of the presumption that Ministers will always tell the truth and resign if they are found to have lied. Without that we are living in an anarchic dictatorship.
In a court of law it would also be pointed out that Johnson has already been sacked from two jobs for lying. With such a track record it is unbelievable that he is now telling the truth.
History teaches us that if much worse in the future is to be prevented there comes a time when a stand has to be taken.
Today is surely such a day.
There seems little doubt that an offence was committed. Past history would suggest he will behave in the only way he knows how so he will lie.
I hope all right thinking MP’s will si ply turn their backs on him as he begins his heartfelt apology.
“Turkeys voting for an early Christmas”. Realistically, with Tory MP’s considering their self interest first, their party second, with constituency and country a (very) distant third and fourth, little will change until the first is threatened.
First prize however to Brandon Lewis this morning claiming that Tony Blair’s speeding ticket rivalled BoJo’s partygate.
Lewis just sounded ridiculous
It will be a load of waffle sprinkled with several meaningless slogans followed by a parade of sycophants from the ranks of Tory MPs and the media lining up to defend him.
A stage managed event as part of ‘Operation Save Johnson’.
Starmer will try to act tough but will come across as inconsequential.
Craig
A way in which to call Mendacious Fatberg a liar in parliament has already been found. MPs just need to refer to the letters they receive – doubltess most of them, Tory-s and Liebore have mounds of letters calling M-F a liar. A MP has already stood up and said: “I have recieved letters which called M-F a liar” – the speaker let it through. If MP after MP stood up and did that on the Liebore benches (whilst also suggesting that the Tory-s MPs have the same sort of letters) it starts to look rather bad. They could also perhaps observe that “given recent realities, I’m inclined to agree with thr writer”.
MF would doubltess just brush it off. That said…
It won’t happen, Most MPs in most of the parties are nutless, gutless and brainless.
They only represent themselves and have a quasi permanent eye on their “careers” (as door-stops?). I doubt if there are more than 10 in the whole of HoP that are worthy of their position.
His parliamentary statement will be an arm wrestling that Johnson loves to engage in.
He’ll say:
1) “It was accidental, at my work place and only some minutes.” “9 minutes” was claimed by the mail-online, thus marginalising the crime.
2) “I accept the technical interpretation, but not the …… ”
3) “I’d do it again – working to save “My Country””
Either Starmer has a plan to expose this court jester, or he fails as a leader and Parliament declines further. At what point does Parliament fail and turn into a brawl. I suspect the Tories would like reasons to suspend/prorogue/”reform” Parliament.
If Labour, LibDems or SNP do not have ideas, then the Green Party have real policies to redefine democracy https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/pa.html
The Greens are willing to think about these things
The Labour leadership is not, it seems
It appears most of the PM’s defense hinges on the fact he didn’t realise he was committing one. But ignorance of the law is no defense and apologies and contrition do not change that. The fact is he should no the law given he was responsible for it and urged the populous to adhere to it on main of significant sanction. He does not wish to accept that.
It would be interesting if all the opposition MP’s called him a liar and there was a mass expulsion.
Motivated by Richard’s recent ideas on the aims and objective of the State, I was reminded just how much these Tory goons have tried to lock themselves and their ideas into the state craft of this country.
One thing that you cannot fault the Tory goons for is their application to that task, as odious as it has been in intent and content.
I honestly believe that whichever progressive people come next (fingers crossed) they are just as intent on locking OUT such mendacity of political processes – bringing in PR, undoing the ‘locks’ put in by Osbourne and co and re-writing (actually writing) the constitution with better checks and balances next time.
We cannot put up with another lily livered Labour party (half hearted Neo-liberals) in power. Hopefully lessons have been learnt from 2010.
But also, it reminds us that Johnson and his goon cohort are really going for broke – there is no turning back in their minds and no option but to keep winning at all costs no matter how underhand they have to be.
We are dealing with a bunch extremists – let’s not forget that – propelled forward by unaccountable wealth.
Without any sense of irony the leader of HM opposition, Ian Blackford, is likely to be expelled this afternoon.
Whatever else one might think of ian Blackford, he has been brutally forthright in his comments on Johnson and co. Saying what so many of us are thinking – and shouting at the radio!
I caught up with the events in the House this evening. Lots of Tories supporting him, and lots of BS about leadership on Ukraine but as the session went on, their numbers started to thin. Those remaining ones looked unhappy.
The thinning out was astonishing
The opposition stayed
I have to say Starmer was good
Agreed – Starmer was excellent. Coldly and forensically taking apart Johnson’s character with a sense of the real anger and disgust that so many of us feel.
Johnson has run out of responses. Faux apologies and ‘getting on with the job’.
The Speaker as feeble as ever