There are moments when it is quite hard to work out what to blog. Having reviewed the carnage of yesterday when waking this morning, and having noted the overnight sackings and resignations, what is clear is that the UK is in a desperate state.
Johnson is declaring that “You will have to dip your hands in blood to get rid of me”. The statement appears to be a garbled version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. But I have little doubt it was not chosen for that reason. The choice is, I fear, much more sinister than that.
The reality is that Johnson is turning on his own Tory party now in a bid for total power, but will also no doubt want to claim its structures as his own. In the ultimate act of entryism he is, within a two party system of government, seeking to turn the Conservatives into his fascist party. If there are any Tories left who want to stop their party becoming outright fascist they had better act to stop him, very quickly.
Doing this, Johnson is going to portray his fight as one of the people versus parliament. That's a classic fascist line. And I don't doubt he'll be happy to see a little thuggery happen in support of his cause. His reference to blood was not for nothing. Like Trump before him, he is not worried about such niceties. They are a price of the power he craves.
Johnson wants to remain in government. His problem is at least 50 resignations have happened, albeit he has an almost full cabinet still. Where will Johnson get his new ministers from? If he is to find those he needs I am expecting a lot of Tory peers to be appointed in the next few days. After all, what does he care about ministers being in the Commons? He has no respect for democracy. And I suspect the Queen will nod this through. If so, that should be the end of the monarchy as well.
What policies will he then pursue in his newly liberated form, presuming the Tories are supine enough to let this happen, as I fear they might be? Johnson always seeks to divide people. He thrives on chaos. What divisions will he incite now? Is it issues like abortion and the death penalty he'll pick on? Or will it be those we know he thinks deviant in his own warped mind who will be the victims? Or might union officials and academics be targeted in pure fascist form? Maybe all of them will be. He will want The Chaos to begin.
What we do know is that if Johnson intends to survive he cannot do so using any known political technique previously used in the era of the universal franchise. That means attacks on democracy are almost inevitable now. In that case how long is it before Johnson calls for a march on parliament in the style of Trump?
In essence, I believe that we are suffering a coup this morning. Johnson is prime minister. He can be sacked as leader of the Tories - and the 1922 might do that. But that does not make him go.
He can face a vote of no confidence in the Commons, but that need not make him go.
He can suspend it sitting - as he has done before - and stop democracy functioning.
He can call an election and not name a date for it, effectively suspend democracy.
Any such absurdity is possible, because he is prime minister and he has been given the power to act, most especially using the vast range of Henry VIII powers enacted since Covid began which allow legislation without parliamentary approval, quite legally.
Might he try such things? Right now I suspect he will try anything.
And I hope parliament finds a way to defeat him. But, this may be hard.
And what if he is removed? At that moment we need, more than ever, constitutional reform. The evidence that what we have as a country failed is now overwhelming. We need a written constitution, PR, a reformed second chamber, a new head of state who can act, and an end to executive power to legislate.
The time to prevaricate is over. We are looking at fascism. And it has to be prevented from happening.
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My thoughts exactly this morning.
Last night I kept hearing voters talk about how they found/find Johnson ‘unorthodox’ and that it made him different from other politicians and likeable.
They just don’t seem to realise that this unorthodoxy is rooted in Fascism – plain and simple.
But looking past Johnson – who next? I mean what a selection? Steve Baker?!!! Braverman?!!!! And if the fund raising starts rolling in? What was it that the Daily Record had in its headline ‘Never Ending Tory’? Sheeeshh! I can see things getting worse, not better.
I am largely uninspired by anyone within the Tory party, but then I am not a Tory supporter. However an unflashy possible might be Ben Wallace, currently in charge of defence.
His performance here;
https://youtu.be/VXcXKOejjNw
delivered as his party was being dissolved by it’s own bile is worth some credit.
The UK needs an elected head of state and an elected second chamber.
The Conservatives and their media are now busiest attempting to claim , that the Party and country will unite around a new leader (as if the required outcome was obvious and easily achieved). They are doing this because they are terrified even to admit what is transaprently obvious to anyone who wishes to think about it; we are spiralling into a constitutional crisis as the Government literally collapses. Nobody is running Britain. Our security is in peril. This dreadful outcome is only happening because of the failure of the Conservative Party to provide MPs with the judegment, independence of mind and standards sufficient to stop this happening long ago; instead of the real explanation ,we are already being told that the current dysfunction is because the Cabinet and Party is too gentlemanly.
The whole narrative is absurd. The consequences of this disaster are catastrophic; we have turned our political system into diposable detritus. It is ruinous in the middle of multiple crises (pandeminc, inflation, war in Europe, unfinished, disastrous Brexit). A mere illustration of the comic absurdity, the lunacy into which the Conservatives have brought us all (their responsibility alone); is the ridiculous Scottish Conservative Stephen Kerr MSP, Chief Whip; who follows the standard tall tale; the failure of the Cabinet minister and Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack to reject Johnson is “a matter for him”. It isn’t: it is a matter him. It is a matter for the Conservative Party; alone. That is the essence of politics; no hiding place.
We are told the Conservative Party is the most successful Party in the western world, because it wins more elections and is ruthless in disposing of failed leaders and failed narratives. What we are seeing now is the reality; when you combine tough talk and no results (combined with a new narrative that you are too nice to be ruthless); what you have is the reality – under pressure the Conservatives are simply revealed to be bullies.
In short, the Conservative live on bluff.
Bluff – yes agreed – but no one does it better – ever.
And they had better be on top of their game – what if they lose the next election and we actually get the public enquiries we need on as whole host of Johnson’s transgressions – PPE contracts, Russian connections, the Governments own impact assessment on BREXIT – a whole list?
The Tories have been dancing with the Devil since they took on Johnson and they are going to learn that the consequence is that they’ve got to keep dancing because of the errant and flawed individual THEY chose to lead them.
If we got those public enquiries, the Tory party could very well be finished for ever. That is why they cannot afford to lose.
Expect the Tory bullshit machine to go in overdrive. The stakes are really high for them now – they’ve gone all in on this the lot of them.
All we need now is a non-aggression pact from Labour so as to not rock the boat and not pursue the public enquiries if they get into power!!!! I would not put it past them – some sort of crap about undermining the credibility of Parliament.
Bullies intent on looting
Some topical humour from Scotland re current debacle (language warning):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fieX2FmOvbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCjGtt9b9Dg
Now that (apparently) Johnson has agreed to announce he will resign, we face two issues.
First, can he be trusted to stumble on for a few weeks or months while the Conservatives find a consensus candidate? Perhaps that process will go quickly, within a few weeks, as with Theresa May (Cameron announced he would resign on 24 June, the day after the Brexit referendum; after the votes on 5 and 7 July, Leadsom withdrew from the race on 11 July, and May became Tory leader on 12 July and was in office as prime minister on 13 July).
And then, who’s next? Suella Braverman? Priti Patel? Dominic Raab? Rishi Sunak? Liz Truss? Shudder.
Might the replacement be just as ideologically toxic – breaking international law, and undermining democracy and the rule of law in the UK – without the personality flaws? Can they clean out the stable, and return to selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership.
Quite impressed with the state of this Wikipedia article already: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Conservative_Party_leadership_election
But there is no article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Next_Labour_Party_leadership_election_(UK)&redirect=no
RETURN to selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership.
When was the Conservative party any of that?
Now he has resigned he mentions October – whic gives him another three months for him to do more damage.
Probably would have been better for some kind of caretaker PM. In policy terms it will also probably get worse.
All candidates for leader seem to be pretty mad – more deregulation more tax cuts more spending cuts, more lootng of public sector assets – NHS etc. breaking international law, embedding the one party state legislation. This is still the only ‘vision’ they have for the disaster that is brexit Britain. They don’t seem to believe in ‘government’ (maybe 100,000 unnecessary covid deaths) – there is no science – no facts. As you say Richard its just a continuing political – maybe proto- fascist – campaign – to ensure enduring power.
I suspect the last word has not been had on this as yet
I hope that this results in some sort of proper legal definition of the role of Prime Minister and how they are appointed.
He hasn’t actually resigned as prime minister, just party leader. So presumably he plans to spend the next 3 months plotting how to get anointed as president, king, or whatever role grants him continuing power. I don’t put it past him to find a way.
I don’t think it’s over yet, if they let him stay in office a minute longer.
I have been tweeting saying just that
Your are right to do so.
How many times has this man reneged on his word?
I couldn’t believe it on the radio on the way into work that he could be with us as PM until October!!
So who is doing all that ministerial work from now until then with 50+ resignations?
Is Johnson so barefaced as to just play for more time? Incredible.
In 1640, Charles I faced a Parliament united in its opposition to his tyranny. By 1642, he had managed to carve out from this opposition a Royalist party resisting the radical programme of reform led by Pym and others. Civil war ensued. Johnson is resigning, faced as he is with a united Tory opposition. But he wants to remain PM until the Autumn. In that time, Tory MPs will split into bitterly warring factions disputing who should be the new PM. And in that time, as the country is leaderless and facing multiple crises, undoubtedly, it will be Johnson’s intention to gather support from the divided party, and indeed create a Johnson faction that will urge him to not to resign, but to continue as PM through to the national emergency, and hope to lead the party to glorious victory in the general election, giving Johnson a third term of office. That at least is his dream – and it is to be earnestly hoped that the Tory MPs don’t fall for this trick, and ensure that he resigns NOW, TODAY, and irrevocably. Even then, he will be plotting his return.
All those hypocrite Tories who resigned are now pretending to talk about honesty and integrity after justifying Johnson’s ongoing lies and voting with him on a number of draconian bills. 90% of them are not to be trusted. They are just concerned about losing their seats and nothing to do with the national interest whatsoever.
Johnson is, and always has been, crooked, corrupt, treacherous and traitorous. It is alarming that he has been allowed to continue.
At the heart of what has happened to the Western democracies in this century is the issue of Lying. The combination of wealth, media ownership and psychopathic right wing politicians has identified a massive weak spot in how we run our countries.
Unless in public life we are able to re-establish the fundamental importance of honesty in public life the future is bleak.
The only way forward is for lies and liars to be immediately and constantly challenged. As Trump and Johnson have demonstrated once the first lie is allowed to pass unchallenged honesty and the truth can be treated with contempt.
I watched The Toddler’s bombastic Downing Street lectern performance and felt that too many reflections here are posited on this spoilt little bounder’s ‘rationality’. There was no sign of that quality on display – just delusion heaped on the fantasies of the over-indulged. This urchin has learned nothing at all from recent ‘events’ – things, which he clearly sees as wholly external to HIMSELF. Ever a stranger to truth, his assurances are considerably less reliable than Toad’s – and the only safe policy with someone so deranged would surely be to have him leave the scene immediately. (The Badger would have had him locked away.)
The more likely deliberate – and long deliberated? – threat may, I fear, prove to be found elsewhere.
For many months now it has been clear that ‘Lord’ Frost – unsuccessful negotiating windbag though he may be – has designs on a leading political role and, prompt upon The Toddler’s ejection, his has been among the first voices to call for the ‘Spoilt One’s’ instant removal from No 10 – a surprisingly radical and apparently sensible idea from such a source. The one-time voice of the Scottish Whisky industry and thus one-time pro-Eurpean, has been ranting about wrecking the NI Protocol, indeed rescinding it entirely, in the interests of securing a “real Brexit” and of introducing “real” Conservatism, by which he appears to mean extreme unregulated free market economic and fiscal policies, an uncritical ‘Atlanticism’ and hostility to the ‘collectivist’ EU. A guest (12 May 20222) and fan of the US right-wing Heritage Foundation, his speech in London on 23 June shows he is already fully equipped with a Brexitanian version of the ‘stab-in-the-back’ explanation of the failure, ‘so far’, of Johnson’s Brexit.
Just who might the members/potential members of the group (“Operation Surprise”), to the existence of which the former head of MI6 recently admitted, (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/26/hard-brexit-plans-ex-m16-richard-dearlove-hacked-leaked-russians) have been considering in 2018 or might yet consider as the ideal bearer of their views? Their then term for The Toddler apparently was “sneaky strawhead”, so perhaps one should suppose that any current disappointments were likely to have been ‘priced in’.
Maybe, in 2018, they weren’t thinking of Frostie – but perhaps he has been thinking of them?
I agree with your first para
I also think that even the Tories have rumbled Frost – bit I may be wrong
What are the odds on a government of ‘national unity’ with a random Tory + Sir Keir as joint PM?
Low