One thing that the events of this week has reinforced in my mind is how tough it can be to get rid of a PM who is really determined to stay. The current incumbent is not going to go quietly and will use everything in his considerable armory to hang in there.
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Paul Brand
@PaulBrandITV
Eyes Hearing a senior MP is due to make a scathing intervention in the partygate scandal this morning… standby for potential sparks to fly.
9:16 am · 20 Jan 2022·Twitter for iPhone
FPT: That link is quite a good piece.
Though the "baked in" price rises can be baked out again with a quick formula adjustment.
And they don't really take account of new electricity capacity coming down the track in the UK this year imo.
My Johnson to go by x positions not looking healthy this morning
William Wragg accuses government of blackmail & intimidation over treatment of Tory rebels
He urges rebels to go to the police
He accuses Govt of breaching ministerial code by threatening to withdraw investments in constituencies
https://twitter.com/Steven_Swinford/status/1484104316164186115
This is a serious accusation that the ministerial code has been breached. Understand Wragg is also concerned the law may have been broken.
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1484104667042926592
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Normandy-trains-prices-vary-depending-on-the-ticket-machine-you-use#.Yekmy_BiNy8.twitter
An exclusive preview of the Sue Gray report.
It will say: there were parties
The PM attended one or more
He was, it seems, told what was going on but tells me he didn't appreciate what was said
There should not have been parties
MPs can decide now what they want to do next.
The only thing which I'd add is that it's of course possible that she will have found one or more emails which directly contradict the PM's account of things, and that would make it harder for Tory MPs to find excuses for Boris.
I am shocked. Shocked to the core.
It's only been standard procedure for about 300 years.
@Steven_Swinford
· 5m
Breaking:
William Wragg accuses government of blackmail & intimidation over treatment of Tory rebels
He urges rebels to go to the police
He accuses Govt of breaching ministerial code by threatening to withdraw investments in constituencies
Hands up anyone who is surprised by this tactic...
This is a serious accusation that the ministerial code has been breached. Understand Wragg is also concerned the law may have been broken.
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1484104667042926592
Why wait for the report? You know the PM's full of shit. You know the electorate hate that. You know the contrast with the Queen is terrible for him.
Stop prevaricating and get rid of him.
I suspect few people at No 10 are going to go that far.
Cause my MP didn't like Boris.
Great narrative to go into the local election with. https://twitter.com/joepike/status/1484104935826407424
The problem with feeding the tigers, is that the tigers get to like being fed by you. When you run out of food....
The clever bit with doing this now is it hamstrings the whips when they want to turn up the heat in op save big dog part 2
And, if they don't, I'll be able to hedge more on Sunak anyway.
One thing that is remarkable about the Napoleonic Wars, was that during that time, there was a large chunk of MPs (and other people) quite openly supporting Napoleon, in the UK. MPs were very free to do what they wanted....
The idea of whipping a party to conform to policy is much more recent - late 19th Cent. politics. Before then, there was haggling to buy the various factions, but the power of the "Government" was much less vs MPs.
Johnson is also underwater with his own voters from 2019 with a -4 score while Sunak, Javid and Truss all have positive scores
William Wragg, who is chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, told MPs that Number 10 staff, special advisers and government whips had said there would be embarrassing stories released to the press if they did not support the prime minister.
The MP also said Number 10 had threatened to withdraw funding to his and other backbenchers' constituencies if they did not withdraw their opposition to Mr Johnson.
He said "the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter", adding: "The reports of which I'm aware would seem to constitute blackmail."
Number 10 has been contacted for a response.
https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-20/tory-mp-accuses-no10-of-threatening-to-withdraw-funding-over-opposition-to-pm
If there's one constant with Johnson's Number 10 operation, its pursuing the most aggressive strategy at every turn regardless of effectiveness/likelihood of success. That's how they ended up with a hostile 1922 chair, an angry standards committee and a lost by-election.
https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1484110081188839425
If a VONC is held now and he wins it he is safe for a year.
Portillo on GB news now says he thinks Boris is safer than yesterday. Davis looked pompous and Wakeford defecting has brought Tory unity
A Labour source told The Times: “Christian started to become serious in October. There’s about five more in the equivalent of September at the moment.”
Not all of them are 2019ers https://twitter.com/hzeffman/status/1484111407423631366/photo/1
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1484109819183255552
https://twitter.com/KellyIpsosMORI/status/1484106260408676354?s=20
Poor Pork Pie Woman! Poor Rishi!
Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason.
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/conservative-party-leadership-contests
I doubt he has a maj on the executive committee
* It would not matter what the issue is, let alone the facts of the issue, for this to be her view.
The rules on a VONC were set up under Hague though and can only be changed with the support of the party board as well as the 1922. If he wins a VONC, even narrowly, Boris almost certainly has a majority still on the 1922 too
UK is more productive than Japan and Canada, similar to (probably more than) Italy, probably less than Germany, and definitely less than France and the US.
https://twitter.com/joshmartin_ons/status/1484097380265996288?s=21
If you think there is unity in the party then you are in dreamland
“These are grave & shocking accusations of bullying, blackmail & misuse of public money and must be investigated. That areas of our country will be starved of funding because MPs don't fall into line to prop up this failing PM is disgusting”
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1484115289260314626