Not enough to topple Johnson before the next election. But enough to leave the stench of criminality around him for good.
Far too early to say that.
If the Met determine the PM broke the law (considering the flat is one investigated by them) then surely that is the end of Boris.
If the Met determine the law wasn't broken, then that should be the end of the matter too.
Either way, I don't see how this can drag on until the election.
That's a reframing in his favour that doesn't work. The bar is whether he lied to Parliament not whether he gets a fixed penalty notice. If he lied to Parliament he must go. Or to put it differently, if the evidence shows he lied to Parliament about these rule-breaking parties in the middle of a pandemic but he *still* won't resign, Tory MPs simply must remove him. And if they don't the public must punish them with a shellacking in the polls and a landslide loss of seats. If none of this happens we're fucked. It's Banana Republic and total loss of self-respect here we come.
Whether the law was broken, or whether the rules were broken, is the same thing.
Guidelines are not rules. They're guidelines. Laws are the rules.
This lies to Parliament thing is weird because if the threshold to say he lied has been met, the threshold he has to go for other reasons has also already been met. So yes if he's lied to Parliament he should go, but in this case it's an unnecessary and redundant condition.
No, if he lied it doesn't follow he'll get a penalty notice. Likewise if he doesn't get a penalty notice it doesn't follow he didn't lie.
He said he had no knowledge of rule-breaking events. Will the Gray Report (when we get the proper one) and/or the Met investigation show that to be a lie?
Let's see.
If the PM knew the law was being broken by either himself or his team and did nothing about it then he should resign. Whether he'd said to the House that the law wasn't being broken or not.
Lawmakers can not be lawbreakers.
Yep. And PMs cannot be liars to parliaments. Either should be enough to end him unless he and the Tory Party wish to take up residence in the gutter.
Indeed but you're trying to set up lying to Parliament as somehow a lower or easier bar to clear than proving knowledge of lawbreaking. It isn't.
If he knew about lawbreaking and did nothing he should resign. If he doesn't, he hasn't lied.
I find the latter implausible given the evidence we know about. But at the end of the day if its not shown he knew about lawbreaking, then its not shown he lied either.
The Lying To Parliament charge is not escaped by dint of the police deciding not to issue any tickets. That doesn't scan. But, yep, I agree it looks implausible he's clean on any metric.
If the Police can't substantiate that the law was broken, then how is it shown he knew the law was broken?
Surely the Police will have to issue fines as the evidence is there from everything that's been reported. If that reporting is wrong, which I can't see happening, then that would be an unexpected acquittal.
Lying to Parliament is absolutely a resigning offence, whether laws were broken or not. It is absolutely clear from the Ministerial Code that any minister who lies to Parliament is expected to resign.
“It is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister.”
Starmer now leading Sunak by 1% on best PM as well though, 39% to 38%.
So even Sunak does not lead Starmer as best PM.
Good news for Boris there as well as Starmer
A bizarre conclusion. What this means is that the stench of Bj’s corruption is rubbing off on the whole party in the eyes of voters.
For Boris though Sunak is more of a danger to his premiership now and until the next general election than Starmer is
I suspect someone like Aaron Bell right now is not thinking too much about who replaces Johnson, but is just incandescent at being associated with him and wants him gone immediately.
Johnson and his lackeys have in my view made a strategic error in fighting the changing of the 1922 rules and outright denigrating their worth.
People like Bernard Jenkins would rather the changing of the guard happened in the summer and are not putting in their letter now. But if a vote is called, is he really prepared to risk Boris styling it out for another 12 months, falling back on the 1922 rules not being properly observed, which his outriders have already said have no legal status anyway?
Unlike May who eventually stepped aside when she knew she had lost the party’s confidence, Johnson has made it clear he will use every trick in the Trumpian playbook to keep his greasy fingers on the levers of power.
So are there 54 MPs in the Aaron Bell camp tonight? Will be interesting to see. I’d be shocked if there weren’t enough MPs who can see through the strategy.
Starmer now leading Sunak by 1% on best PM as well though, 39% to 38%.
So even Sunak does not lead Starmer as best PM.
Good news for Boris there as well as Starmer
A bizarre conclusion. What this means is that the stench of Bj’s corruption is rubbing off on the whole party in the eyes of voters.
For Boris though Sunak is more of a danger to his premiership now and until the next general election than Starmer is
As I have said before, it is better to read polls mid term in terms of general direction of travel. If the Conservatives keep Big Clown they are going to be smashed at the next election. Labour/LD will then consolidate with electoral reform and the centre right is out for decades
Labour would split under PR. The Unions and Corbynites would walk out of the Labour party the day PR came in and set up their own party so not sure that automatically follows.
The Liberal Democrats would usually be Kingmakers, as 2010 showed however they can go with the Tories as well as Labour. RefUK and the Greens could also win seats and could also be part of future coalition governments under PR.
Plus if Labour did agree to PR they would do it anyway in due course when they next win a general election. If Sunak scraped 1 more Tory win it would just be delaying the inevitable
I never thought I would say this but I agree with everything Ian Blackford has said on Sky just now
As a conservative for near 60 years of my life, apart from 1997 and 2001, I am in despair that conservative mps cannot just do the right thing and remove Boris
Still Labour lead at 9% and still only a hung parliament.
Thanks for confirming the need for a decent voting system.
Under PR Labour would only get 260 seats on 40% of the vote, not the 300 they are forecast to get under FPTP
Yep but left leaning parties would get 61% of the vote (probably 62% assuming plaid Cymru are in the other category).
The LDs were in a coalition government with the Tories from 2010 to 2015, they may not be keen on Brexit but they are not left leaning.
A Labour government dependent on the SNP and PC under PR would be even more unstable than the Labour minority government but still largest party forecast under FPTP
Yes, they are mostly centre-left leaning.
Your party had a remarkable opportunity during and immediately after the coalition, which history, taking the long view, will come to see that you blew entirely, due to self interest.
Under PR the Liberal Democrats would also likely split.
Social Democrats and Orange Bookers would go their own way. The former normally going with Starmer Labour, the latter closer to Cameroon Tories
Labour must be reviewing whether now is the right time to table a parliamentary confidence vote. They need to judge whether the momentum will have been lost by the time the Met eventually decide to take no action.
How could the likes of Hon Mr Bell vote confidence in Johnson after today?
Remember when Graham Brady said he'd accept emails from Conservative MPs expressing no confidence in Boris Johnson?
That was FORTY SIX days ago.
The tooth is still rotting in the mouth. It still needs pulling. But now it's just hurting the Conservatives more and more. Completely avoidable, entirely too slow. What this delay tells us is that at least 300 Conservative MPs are useless. I wish we knew who are the ones who could see where this was going and had their letters in before Christmas, but whoever they are (if any), they are surrounded by cattle.
One of the difficulties is the payroll vote. That means that to get to 54 it is a lot harder than it at first appears. A lot of MPs won't trust the anonymity, so will probably hold off unless they think it is essential
I wonder at what point they think it's "essential". I'll be honest, I'm sorta done with the Kremlinology of why they are useless (blackmail! self interest! stupidity!). It's enough to know that they are collectively a waste of space.
I was hoping today to see a Prime Minister taking responsibility & being genuinely apologetic. I should have known better. What we got was a Prime Minister who threw insults at Keir Starmer about Jimmy Savile and accused Labour frontbenchers of drug taking. What an utter disgrace https://twitter.com/IainDale/status/1488195837477990421/photo/1
Is Iain Dale still a thing? Back in his heyday I once got censured on here for posting that he was 'as p*ssed as a newt'.
So, we know he lied to the House. We know the truth is damning. We know the Met - by cock-up or conspiracy - has overseen at best a delay, and worst a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Boris accuses Keir of failing to prosecute a serial paedophile, and then suggests that the Labour front bench are on hard drugs.
What more do Tory MPs need?
A spine
Actually, they need to lose Southend on Thursday. History may be changed simply because in the whole (well, half) of Southend there isn’t one halfway sensible centre or centre-left independently minded person willing to put themselves up in a by-election.
In an alternative universe the Green Party or similar is about to chalk up the most amazing by-election victory.
Well that was because it was regarded as a bit distasteful to stand in this particular by-election.
In a bleak landscape, Britain stands out. We are bolstering our military presence in Estonia, sending arms to Ukraine and stiffening soggy European spines. Our defence secretary Ben Wallace excoriates the “skewed and selective” reasoning behind Vladimir Putin’s revanchism. The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, is promising new sanctions on Russian energy companies and oligarchs. The message is clear: Britain is the proud linchpin of the Atlantic alliance and the international security order.
Behind the bombast is another, uglier story, in which Britain stands out not for its mettle in resisting the Russian regime but for aiding and abetting it. Kremlin cronies have for years used London to launder their reputations and ill-gotten gains. An army of bankers, lawyers, accountants and fixers make their own smaller fortunes through this trade.
The MET investigation will not last "more than a year"
Given Sue Gray's team has done all the spade work and the penalties are only fixed penalties, why should the MET take more than a week or two? They didn't take a year to investigate the thousands of other fixed penalty covid crimes.
No 10: "But, at the end of the process, the Prime Minister will ask Sue Gray to update her work in light of what is found. He will publish that update."
Difficult to express how boring this all seems from 5000 miles away, by the lacy moonlit waves of the Laccadive Sea
I accept that’s it’s probably way more exciting if you are there in, er, Swindon, or whatever.
It just seems phenomenally trivial. Obviously wrong, but equally trivial.
I wonder if for this reason Boris has an unexpected chance of reviving, as no other PM which such terrible polling has ever done.
Presenting things as boring or complicated and so not worth the bother is a standard evasion tactic.
Much will be trivial, were it not for the context and particularly comments made about those events. And suddenly even the boring and trivial can become more vital. The pettiness can compound the error not exculpate the participant.
I just get the sense - from a trillion miles away on balcony on a tropical seashore - that this is beginning to bore the fuck out of voters. And today won’t make any difference - at least in the polls
I’m not saying it is boring PER SE, I’m a politics geek. Tho, actually, even as a geek this feels a bit damp squib-esque
We know he is a lying fuck, we know they lied and had pastries, whatever yawn yes, we hate them, but what are they going to do about the price of petrol? Etc?
The problem Leon is that he is not suitable to hold the office of PM. Simples. He needs to get back into showbiz and scre*ing single and married women. He cannot and is unwilling to take any responsibility; we have seen that numerous times both in politics and his personal life. He's really not a very nice man. Worst PM of my lifetime for sure, probably of all time.
We must agree to differ. For me he is better than Brown, May, Cameron, Wilson, Heath, Callaghan and Major. He did something amazing: won the Brexit vote. Then something even amazinger: forced Brexit through by winning a genius majority
Has he squandered all that with his idiotic lies and silly marriage and hie venal inability to focus? Yes, that too
So now it is time for him to go as he has been revealed as a lying twat good for not much more than winning campaigns (which he does brilliantly) and telling decent jokes. Off you toddle, now, Boris
But will he? All my points today have been practical not ideological. I can see him surviving, quite easily. Indeed I can see him winning another, slender majority in 2024. His mortal enemy is not partygate, not any more, it is tax and inflation
By the way, how was Sri Lanka this time? Hope you managed to get some decent food this time...
Superb food everywhere! I just this minute finished one of the best Goan prawn curries of my life
I must have been incredibly unlucky on my last trip Too many posh places and then too many unlucky choices on the street
The food this time has been outstanding. Last night I had s Sri Lankan mud crab curry with this hybrid Med/Asian seafood broth to start
OMFFFFG. Cost £11. In an ultra high end place
I’ve also eaten off the street, very well, for literal pennies: all good, some sensational. I am a convert!
I may be biased but Sri Lanka is amazing for food. Shame about the politicians (corruption, war criminals etc. etc.)
Hopefully you have frequented Paradise Road (Gallery Cafe), Ministry of Crab, Barefoot Cafe (boho/hippy kind of place), Noodles in Cinnamon Grand and the Chinese at Cinnamon Lakeside and many many more...
Labour must be reviewing whether now is the right time to table a parliamentary confidence vote. They need to judge whether the momentum will have been lost by the time the Met eventually decide to take no action.
How could the likes of Hon Mr Bell vote confidence in Johnson after today?
It would be a politically very powerful manoeuvre by Starmer. Because I think you are right, if the timing is right it could lead to double figures of Tory MPs walking out the party to vote against him.
Remember when Graham Brady said he'd accept emails from Conservative MPs expressing no confidence in Boris Johnson?
That was FORTY SIX days ago.
The tooth is still rotting in the mouth. It still needs pulling. But now it's just hurting the Conservatives more and more. Completely avoidable, entirely too slow. What this delay tells us is that at least 300 Conservative MPs are useless. I wish we knew who are the ones who could see where this was going and had their letters in before Christmas, but whoever they are (if any), they are surrounded by cattle.
One of the difficulties is the payroll vote. That means that to get to 54 it is a lot harder than it at first appears. A lot of MPs won't trust the anonymity, so will probably hold off unless they think it is essential
Brady's never revealed who sent him letters about Theresa May & he doesn't strike me as the type to leak to Boris. I'd probably hand him a paper copy if I was a Tory MP though, you never know if No 10 has a blind cc on Brady's e-mails...
I never thought I would say this but I agree with everything Ian Blackford has just said on Sky just now
As a conservative for near 60 years of my life, apart from 1997 and 2001, I am in despair that conservative mps cannot just do the right thing and remove Boris
The only answer can be surely, given human beings (even conservative MP ones) are rational, that the public outside the cities care less about parties than they do about being able to heat themselves and pay their bills over the next 18 months.
Between Boris Johnson's performance today and that poll finding I have lost faith in my country.
Take my advice.
Emigrate.
Tempted to move to France, Canada, or Australia.
France?
I speak French, good location, the French have excellent food, and plus, I can taunt French people in person.
I would celebrate July 3rd like Bastille Day.
The thing is, it’s heartbreaking to watch a country you love plumb new depths. It’s like watching a family member develop a drug addiction, or become a QAnon conspiracy theorist.
I feel much happier now that I’ve left.
I’m under no illusions about the USA, but I don’t have any familial attachment to it. Trump etc offends me on an intellectual level, but not on an emotional one.
Difficult to express how boring this all seems from 5000 miles away, by the lacy moonlit waves of the Laccadive Sea
I accept that’s it’s probably way more exciting if you are there in, er, Swindon, or whatever.
It just seems phenomenally trivial. Obviously wrong, but equally trivial.
I wonder if for this reason Boris has an unexpected chance of reviving, as no other PM which such terrible polling has ever done.
Presenting things as boring or complicated and so not worth the bother is a standard evasion tactic.
Much will be trivial, were it not for the context and particularly comments made about those events. And suddenly even the boring and trivial can become more vital. The pettiness can compound the error not exculpate the participant.
I just get the sense - from a trillion miles away on balcony on a tropical seashore - that this is beginning to bore the fuck out of voters. And today won’t make any difference - at least in the polls
I’m not saying it is boring PER SE, I’m a politics geek. Tho, actually, even as a geek this feels a bit damp squib-esque
We know he is a lying fuck, we know they lied and had pastries, whatever yawn yes, we hate them, but what are they going to do about the price of petrol? Etc?
The problem Leon is that he is not suitable to hold the office of PM. Simples. He needs to get back into showbiz and scre*ing single and married women. He cannot and is unwilling to take any responsibility; we have seen that numerous times both in politics and his personal life. He's really not a very nice man. Worst PM of my lifetime for sure, probably of all time.
We must agree to differ. For me he is better than Brown, May, Cameron, Wilson, Heath, Callaghan and Major. He did something amazing: won the Brexit vote. Then something even amazinger: forced Brexit through by winning a genius majority
Has he squandered all that with his idiotic lies and silly marriage and hie venal inability to focus? Yes, that too
So now it is time for him to go as he has been revealed as a lying twat good for not much more than winning campaigns (which he does brilliantly) and telling decent jokes. Off you toddle, now, Boris
But will he? All my points today have been practical not ideological. I can see him surviving, quite easily. Indeed I can see him winning another, slender majority in 2024. His mortal enemy is not partygate, not any more, it is tax and inflation
By the way, how was Sri Lanka this time? Hope you managed to get some decent food this time...
Superb food everywhere! I just this minute finished one of the best Goan prawn curries of my life
I must have been incredibly unlucky on my last trip Too many posh places and then too many unlucky choices on the street
The food this time has been outstanding. Last night I had s Sri Lankan mud crab curry with this hybrid Med/Asian seafood broth to start
OMFFFFG. Cost £11. In an ultra high end place
I’ve also eaten off the street, very well, for literal pennies: all good, some sensational. I am a convert!
I may be biased but Sri Lanka is amazing for food. Shame about the politicians (corruption, war criminals etc. etc.)
I was going to make some comment asking whether you were referring to Sri Lanka or the UK. But I do realise that given Sri Lanka's recent history it is a problem of another order over there.
Remember when Graham Brady said he'd accept emails from Conservative MPs expressing no confidence in Boris Johnson?
That was FORTY SIX days ago.
The tooth is still rotting in the mouth. It still needs pulling. But now it's just hurting the Conservatives more and more. Completely avoidable, entirely too slow. What this delay tells us is that at least 300 Conservative MPs are useless. I wish we knew who are the ones who could see where this was going and had their letters in before Christmas, but whoever they are (if any), they are surrounded by cattle.
One of the difficulties is the payroll vote. That means that to get to 54 it is a lot harder than it at first appears. A lot of MPs won't trust the anonymity, so will probably hold off unless they think it is essential
I wonder at what point they think it's "essential". I'll be honest, I'm sorta done with the Kremlinology of why they are useless (blackmail! self interest! stupidity!). It's enough to know that they are collectively a waste of space.
It is easy to mock. How many people do you know who will put their jobs and their career on the line on a point of principle? And in the knowledge that colleagues might just turn around and say "that's brave" and let you have your head shot off above the proverbial parapet?
So, we know he lied to the House. We know the truth is damning. We know the Met - by cock-up or conspiracy - has overseen at best a delay, and worst a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Boris accuses Keir of failing to prosecute a serial paedophile, and then suggests that the Labour front bench are on hard drugs.
What more do Tory MPs need?
A spine
Actually, they need to lose Southend on Thursday. History may be changed simply because in the whole (well, half) of Southend there isn’t one halfway sensible centre or centre-left independently minded person willing to put themselves up in a by-election.
In an alternative universe the Green Party or similar is about to chalk up the most amazing by-election victory.
There is a left leaning party starting in Southend West, the pro cannabis legalisation Psychedelic Alternative
Labour must be reviewing whether now is the right time to table a parliamentary confidence vote. They need to judge whether the momentum will have been lost by the time the Met eventually decide to take no action.
How could the likes of Hon Mr Bell vote confidence in Johnson after today?
A parliamentary confidence vote is in the government, not the PM. It also has FTPA implications.
So, we know he lied to the House. We know the truth is damning. We know the Met - by cock-up or conspiracy - has overseen at best a delay, and worst a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Boris accuses Keir of failing to prosecute a serial paedophile, and then suggests that the Labour front bench are on hard drugs.
What more do Tory MPs need?
A spine
Actually, they need to lose Southend on Thursday. History may be changed simply because in the whole (well, half) of Southend there isn’t one halfway sensible centre or centre-left independently minded person willing to put themselves up in a by-election.
In an alternative universe the Green Party or similar is about to chalk up the most amazing by-election victory.
Well that was because it was regarded as a bit distasteful to stand in this particular by-election.
I know with SKS being leader it must be tempting to take speed so they can stay awake but wasnt aware it was public.
Do you never get bored with moaning about SKS? I find it hard to stay awake with your constant gripes.
His evisceration of Boris this afternoon was actually pretty electrifying; I've rarely seen such a good character assassination. It wasn't forensic - it was just a massacre.
He looked not just furious after he sat down but on the verge of tears.
As well he might be. Not just because of the emotion of recalling his family's loss. But realising that the PM's behaviour could well cost him his seat at the next election.
I don't mean that in a sarky way. Realising you and your family and your party and your voters, for whom you are working hard, have been let down by someone whom you should have been able to trust is a really awful experience.
No wonder he looked thunderous.
I think Tissue Price should be favourite to hold N-U-L if he stands again
1) His seat was 6 points more Conservative than the nation last time round (Lab would need a 7 point lead on UNS) 2) The draft boundary changes add a little bit more rural territory 3) His seat has been demographically trending away from Lab for some time
Labour must be reviewing whether now is the right time to table a parliamentary confidence vote. They need to judge whether the momentum will have been lost by the time the Met eventually decide to take no action.
How could the likes of Hon Mr Bell vote confidence in Johnson after today?
In a bleak landscape, Britain stands out. We are bolstering our military presence in Estonia, sending arms to Ukraine and stiffening soggy European spines. Our defence secretary Ben Wallace excoriates the “skewed and selective” reasoning behind Vladimir Putin’s revanchism. The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, is promising new sanctions on Russian energy companies and oligarchs. The message is clear: Britain is the proud linchpin of the Atlantic alliance and the international security order.
Behind the bombast is another, uglier story, in which Britain stands out not for its mettle in resisting the Russian regime but for aiding and abetting it. Kremlin cronies have for years used London to launder their reputations and ill-gotten gains. An army of bankers, lawyers, accountants and fixers make their own smaller fortunes through this trade.
"16:43 Bereaved Tory MP: Does the PM think I'm a fool?
A emotional and direct question from Tory MP Aaron Bell now. He tells the PM how he attended his grandmother's funeral in May 2020 - "a wonderful woman" who had served as a Tory councillor. "I didn't hug my siblings, I didn't hug my parents," he says. "I gave a eulogy and then afterwards I didn't even go to her house for a cup of tea." He then faced the three hour drive home. Bell asks Johnson: "Does the prime minister think I am a fool?" After gasps from MPs, Johnson says "no" and offers his sympathies, apologising for "misjudgements" in No 10."
Johnson's performance in the House mirrors his private conversations with ministers and MPs. He may say he is sorry, but he doesn't mean it and he still refuses to tell the truth.
Can't remember who said it, but the big problem for BoZo is anyone who saw him today saw the real man behind the mask. His success to date has been based on hiding that behind the comic persona
And that matters for his place in history/post PM career.
He hoped to join the greats- the Churchills, the Thatchers. That was never really on.
He could have hoped to be the nation's eccentric uncle, and gone on the chat show/after dinner circuit. Gyles Brandreth with a more impressive political CV.
If the last thing we all remember of him is the snarling, hateful lashing out, that affects his value at stud.
Would you book him to do a jolly speech at a dinner you were organising?
So, we know he lied to the House. We know the truth is damning. We know the Met - by cock-up or conspiracy - has overseen at best a delay, and worst a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Boris accuses Keir of failing to prosecute a serial paedophile, and then suggests that the Labour front bench are on hard drugs.
What more do Tory MPs need?
A spine
Actually, they need to lose Southend on Thursday. History may be changed simply because in the whole (well, half) of Southend there isn’t one halfway sensible centre or centre-left independently minded person willing to put themselves up in a by-election.
In an alternative universe the Green Party or similar is about to chalk up the most amazing by-election victory.
There is a left leaning party starting in Southend West, the pro cannabis legalisation Psychedelic Alternative
So, we know he lied to the House. We know the truth is damning. We know the Met - by cock-up or conspiracy - has overseen at best a delay, and worst a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Boris accuses Keir of failing to prosecute a serial paedophile, and then suggests that the Labour front bench are on hard drugs.
What more do Tory MPs need?
A spine
Actually, they need to lose Southend on Thursday. History may be changed simply because in the whole (well, half) of Southend there isn’t one halfway sensible centre or centre-left independently minded person willing to put themselves up in a by-election.
In an alternative universe the Green Party or similar is about to chalk up the most amazing by-election victory.
There is a left leaning party starting in Southend West, the pro cannabis legalisation Psychedelic Alternative
Starmer now leading Sunak by 1% on best PM as well though, 39% to 38%.
So even Sunak does not lead Starmer as best PM.
Good news for Boris there as well as Starmer
A bizarre conclusion. What this means is that the stench of Bj’s corruption is rubbing off on the whole party in the eyes of voters.
For Boris though Sunak is more of a danger to his premiership now and until the next general election than Starmer is
I suspect someone like Aaron Bell right now is not thinking too much about who replaces Johnson, but is just incandescent at being associated with him and wants him gone immediately.
Johnson and his lackeys have in my view made a strategic error in fighting the changing of the 1922 rules and outright denigrating their worth.
People like Bernard Jenkins would rather the changing of the guard happened in the summer and are not putting in their letter now. But if a vote is called, is he really prepared to risk Boris styling it out for another 12 months, falling back on the 1922 rules not being properly observed, which his outriders have already said have no legal status anyway?
Unlike May who eventually stepped aside when she knew she had lost the party’s confidence, Johnson has made it clear he will use every trick in the Trumpian playbook to keep his greasy fingers on the levers of power.
So are there 54 MPs in the Aaron Bell camp tonight? Will be interesting to see. I’d be shocked if there weren’t enough MPs who can see through the strategy.
I'd be shocked in 54 MPs are brave enough to post a letter.
Unless and Until 54 letters arrive it's a job done well for Boris.
What I saw was a man who was realising his power was draining away. It must also be very demoralising for him not knowing how many letters there are. Should he be relaxed, or should he be shitting himself?
So, we know he lied to the House. We know the truth is damning. We know the Met - by cock-up or conspiracy - has overseen at best a delay, and worst a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Boris accuses Keir of failing to prosecute a serial paedophile, and then suggests that the Labour front bench are on hard drugs.
What more do Tory MPs need?
Sadly I think they need polls showing electoral ruin if they keep him. We must hope the public steps up and delivers.
The statement from no 10 isn’t what it seems to be . The giveaway line . “ in light of what is found “ so Sue Gray will update her report but will have to take account of what the Met say so it will be a stitch up .
In a bleak landscape, Britain stands out. We are bolstering our military presence in Estonia, sending arms to Ukraine and stiffening soggy European spines. Our defence secretary Ben Wallace excoriates the “skewed and selective” reasoning behind Vladimir Putin’s revanchism. The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, is promising new sanctions on Russian energy companies and oligarchs. The message is clear: Britain is the proud linchpin of the Atlantic alliance and the international security order.
Behind the bombast is another, uglier story, in which Britain stands out not for its mettle in resisting the Russian regime but for aiding and abetting it. Kremlin cronies have for years used London to launder their reputations and ill-gotten gains. An army of bankers, lawyers, accountants and fixers make their own smaller fortunes through this trade.
I know with SKS being leader it must be tempting to take speed so they can stay awake but wasnt aware it was public.
Do you never get bored with moaning about SKS? I find it hard to stay awake with your constant gripes.
His evisceration of Boris this afternoon was actually pretty electrifying; I've rarely seen such a good character assassination. It wasn't forensic - it was just a massacre.
Starmer did well - largely because he resisted the lawyer’s perennial temptation to skewer his prey on a point of detail and majored on the big picture.
Whatever BJO’s view of centre-left v left-wing politics, I am struggling to see our Jeremy putting the clown under so much pressure today.
I know with SKS being leader it must be tempting to take speed so they can stay awake but wasnt aware it was public.
Do you never get bored with moaning about SKS? I find it hard to stay awake with your constant gripes.
His evisceration of Boris this afternoon was actually pretty electrifying; I've rarely seen such a good character assassination. It wasn't forensic - it was just a massacre.
Let's not forget that BJO supports Boris because of the NI rise. If Boris is deposed the NI rise gets cancelled and his free ride on the backs of working age people comes to an end.
So, we know he lied to the House. We know the truth is damning. We know the Met - by cock-up or conspiracy - has overseen at best a delay, and worst a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Boris accuses Keir of failing to prosecute a serial paedophile, and then suggests that the Labour front bench are on hard drugs.
What more do Tory MPs need?
A spine
Actually, they need to lose Southend on Thursday. History may be changed simply because in the whole (well, half) of Southend there isn’t one halfway sensible centre or centre-left independently minded person willing to put themselves up in a by-election.
In an alternative universe the Green Party or similar is about to chalk up the most amazing by-election victory.
There is a left leaning party starting in Southend West, the pro cannabis legalisation Psychedelic Alternative
So, we know he lied to the House. We know the truth is damning. We know the Met - by cock-up or conspiracy - has overseen at best a delay, and worst a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Boris accuses Keir of failing to prosecute a serial paedophile, and then suggests that the Labour front bench are on hard drugs.
What more do Tory MPs need?
A spine
Actually, they need to lose Southend on Thursday. History may be changed simply because in the whole (well, half) of Southend there isn’t one halfway sensible centre or centre-left independently minded person willing to put themselves up in a by-election.
In an alternative universe the Green Party or similar is about to chalk up the most amazing by-election victory.
There is a left leaning party starting in Southend West, the pro cannabis legalisation Psychedelic Alternative
Are Labour front bench canvassing for PA
The chap's been around Southend politics for a bit, apparently.
He looked not just furious after he sat down but on the verge of tears.
As well he might be. Not just because of the emotion of recalling his family's loss. But realising that the PM's behaviour could well cost him his seat at the next election.
I don't mean that in a sarky way. Realising you and your family and your party and your voters, for whom you are working hard, have been let down by someone whom you should have been able to trust is a really awful experience.
No wonder he looked thunderous.
I think Tissue Price should be favourite to hold N-U-L if he stands again
1) His seat was 6 points more Conservative than the nation last time round (Lab would need a 7 point lead on UNS) 2) The draft boundary changes add a little bit more rural territory 3) His seat has been demographically trending away from Lab for some time
"16:43 Bereaved Tory MP: Does the PM think I'm a fool?
A emotional and direct question from Tory MP Aaron Bell now. He tells the PM how he attended his grandmother's funeral in May 2020 - "a wonderful woman" who had served as a Tory councillor. "I didn't hug my siblings, I didn't hug my parents," he says. "I gave a eulogy and then afterwards I didn't even go to her house for a cup of tea." He then faced the three hour drive home. Bell asks Johnson: "Does the prime minister think I am a fool?" After gasps from MPs, Johnson says "no" and offers his sympathies, apologising for "misjudgements" in No 10."
IIRC I generally liked Tissue Price's posts. Well thought out and well balanced. He is the type of Tory that the Tory Party can be again, but only when they get rid of Big Clown
I know with SKS being leader it must be tempting to take speed so they can stay awake but wasnt aware it was public.
Do you never get bored with moaning about SKS? I find it hard to stay awake with your constant gripes.
His evisceration of Boris this afternoon was actually pretty electrifying; I've rarely seen such a good character assassination. It wasn't forensic - it was just a massacre.
Let's not forget that BJO supports Boris because of the NI rise. If Boris is deposed the NI rise gets cancelled and his free ride on the backs of working age people comes to an end.
Sunak backed the NI rise in the Sunday Times yesterday too
One thing that sticks out to me in Boris' response to Aaron Bell was that he used the word "may" in relation to events that we know occurred in No 10 and the Cabinet Office that he presided over. He still hasn't admitted that he was wrong.
I really, really hope that Tory MPs grow a fucking spine and get rid of this fool before he does more damage to the country. The UK PM being unable to get a direct line to Putin at a time when Russia are gearing up for war because he's having to defend his own personal failures damages the credibility of the country.
I'm hoping for the latest twist to be Priti Patel resigning, with a kick at the PM and the Met on the way out - as well as her former Cabinet colleagues.
I know with SKS being leader it must be tempting to take speed so they can stay awake but wasnt aware it was public.
Do you never get bored with moaning about SKS? I find it hard to stay awake with your constant gripes.
His evisceration of Boris this afternoon was actually pretty electrifying; I've rarely seen such a good character assassination. It wasn't forensic - it was just a massacre.
Starmer did well - largely because he resisted the lawyer’s perennial temptation to skewer his prey on a point of detail and majored on the big picture.
Whatever BJO’s view of centre-left v left-wing politics, I am struggling to see our Jeremy putting the clown under so much pressure today.
"Barbara from Stoke on Trent sent me this question......."
Between Boris Johnson's performance today and that poll finding I have lost faith in my country.
Take my advice.
Emigrate.
Tempted to move to France, Canada, or Australia.
Well, you can knock Canada off the list - that's where the Hawaiian pizza was invented.
If you think our winters are cold and dark, try Canada's
Vancouver isn't cold. Nor is populated Canada darker. It's much further south than us. Most Canadians live south of Seattle. One of my favourite facts.
Between Boris Johnson's performance today and that poll finding I have lost faith in my country.
Take my advice.
Emigrate.
Tempted to move to France, Canada, or Australia.
France?
I speak French, good location, the French have excellent food, and plus, I can taunt French people in person.
I would celebrate July 3rd like Bastille Day.
I am sure you would find Macron very much to your taste, far more so than Boris or Starmer
Quebec is very French but also in Canada
A blend of both
I was in a mixed international group visiting Quebec some years ago and the French restaurant we went to only accepted their orders in French, resulting in the Americans being thrown out and my gratitude to my o level French pass
I'm hoping for the latest twist to be Priti Patel resigning, with a kick at the PM and the Met on the way out - as well as her former Cabinet colleagues.
Sadly I don't think that is going to happen. She is likely to be demoted under a more sensible leader
I'm hoping for the latest twist to be Priti Patel resigning, with a kick at the PM and the Met on the way out - as well as her former Cabinet colleagues.
Not enough to topple Johnson before the next election. But enough to leave the stench of criminality around him for good.
Far too early to say that.
If the Met determine the PM broke the law (considering the flat is one investigated by them) then surely that is the end of Boris.
If the Met determine the law wasn't broken, then that should be the end of the matter too.
Either way, I don't see how this can drag on until the election.
That's a reframing in his favour that doesn't work. The bar is whether he lied to Parliament not whether he gets a fixed penalty notice. If he lied to Parliament he must go. Or to put it differently, if the evidence shows he lied to Parliament about these rule-breaking parties in the middle of a pandemic but he *still* won't resign, Tory MPs simply must remove him. And if they don't the public must punish them with a shellacking in the polls and a landslide loss of seats. If none of this happens we're fucked. It's Banana Republic and total loss of self-respect here we come.
Whether the law was broken, or whether the rules were broken, is the same thing.
Guidelines are not rules. They're guidelines. Laws are the rules.
This lies to Parliament thing is weird because if the threshold to say he lied has been met, the threshold he has to go for other reasons has also already been met. So yes if he's lied to Parliament he should go, but in this case it's an unnecessary and redundant condition.
No, if he lied it doesn't follow he'll get a penalty notice. Likewise if he doesn't get a penalty notice it doesn't follow he didn't lie.
He said he had no knowledge of rule-breaking events. Will the Gray Report (when we get the proper one) and/or the Met investigation show that to be a lie?
Let's see.
If the PM knew the law was being broken by either himself or his team and did nothing about it then he should resign. Whether he'd said to the House that the law wasn't being broken or not.
Lawmakers can not be lawbreakers.
Yep. And PMs cannot be liars to parliaments. Either should be enough to end him unless he and the Tory Party wish to take up residence in the gutter.
Indeed but you're trying to set up lying to Parliament as somehow a lower or easier bar to clear than proving knowledge of lawbreaking. It isn't.
If he knew about lawbreaking and did nothing he should resign. If he doesn't, he hasn't lied.
I find the latter implausible given the evidence we know about. But at the end of the day if its not shown he knew about lawbreaking, then its not shown he lied either.
The Lying To Parliament charge is not escaped by dint of the police deciding not to issue any tickets. That doesn't scan. But, yep, I agree it looks implausible he's clean on any metric.
If the Police can't substantiate that the law was broken, then how is it shown he knew the law was broken?
Surely the Police will have to issue fines as the evidence is there from everything that's been reported. If that reporting is wrong, which I can't see happening, then that would be an unexpected acquittal.
Lying to Parliament is absolutely a resigning offence, whether laws were broken or not. It is absolutely clear from the Ministerial Code that any minister who lies to Parliament is expected to resign.
“It is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister.”
I imagine that the police will issue fines, and some may be larger than others. But the public, most of whom have paid a fine at some point for parking or speeding or whatever, will not see that as very serious, and even if Johnson himself were to be asked pay, say, £100, I think he'd probably say "Fair enough, I accept the penalty and have paid it, now let's move on." The allegation of lying to the Commons will be regarded as more serious by traditionally-minded Conservative MPs, but I wonder how many of those there are.
Just put a cheeky few quid on Boris to go Jan-Mar 22. When it happens it will happen quickly. We are on the brink I think. It's either now or 2024.
I think he'll survive the first confidence vote whenever it is.
If it gets to VONC then I think the dam will burst and he will be toast. There is no love for him and today proved it. Whether the requisite number of letters is reached is the critical thing. I still think it is after May.
Johnson's performance in the House mirrors his private conversations with ministers and MPs. He may say he is sorry, but he doesn't mean it and he still refuses to tell the truth.
Can't remember who said it, but the big problem for BoZo is anyone who saw him today saw the real man behind the mask. His success to date has been based on hiding that behind the comic persona
Yes, a horrible man. You can debate best and worst PMs but this is surely the lowest character to have held the office.
Labour must be reviewing whether now is the right time to table a parliamentary confidence vote. They need to judge whether the momentum will have been lost by the time the Met eventually decide to take no action.
How could the likes of Hon Mr Bell vote confidence in Johnson after today?
They will not vote for a GE
There's no need for a Parliamentary VONC. The letters to the 1922 committee procedure is purely an internal party matter.
I'm hoping for the latest twist to be Priti Patel resigning, with a kick at the PM and the Met on the way out - as well as her former Cabinet colleagues.
Probably pure coincidence, but I understand she met privately with Liz Truss, Michael Gove and Therese Coffey last week.
Just put a cheeky few quid on Boris to go Jan-Mar 22. When it happens it will happen quickly. We are on the brink I think. It's either now or 2024.
I think he'll survive the first confidence vote whenever it is.
If it gets to VONC then I think the dam will burst and he will be toast. There is no love for him and today proved it. Whether the requisite number of letters is reached is the critical thing. I still think it is after May.
Just put a cheeky few quid on Boris to go Jan-Mar 22. When it happens it will happen quickly. We are on the brink I think. It's either now or 2024.
I think he'll survive the first confidence vote whenever it is.
Secret ballot. If there's a VONC he's done. That's why No 10 is spinning so hard to prevent one. Today's brexit freedom bill was another attempt to shore up MP support to stop letters being sent in after today's report.
He looked not just furious after he sat down but on the verge of tears.
As well he might be. Not just because of the emotion of recalling his family's loss. But realising that the PM's behaviour could well cost him his seat at the next election.
I don't mean that in a sarky way. Realising you and your family and your party and your voters, for whom you are working hard, have been let down by someone whom you should have been able to trust is a really awful experience.
No wonder he looked thunderous.
I think Tissue Price should be favourite to hold N-U-L if he stands again
1) His seat was 6 points more Conservative than the nation last time round (Lab would need a 7 point lead on UNS) 2) The draft boundary changes add a little bit more rural territory 3) His seat has been demographically trending away from Lab for some time
I know with SKS being leader it must be tempting to take speed so they can stay awake but wasnt aware it was public.
Do you never get bored with moaning about SKS? I find it hard to stay awake with your constant gripes.
His evisceration of Boris this afternoon was actually pretty electrifying; I've rarely seen such a good character assassination. It wasn't forensic - it was just a massacre.
Starmer did well - largely because he resisted the lawyer’s perennial temptation to skewer his prey on a point of detail and majored on the big picture.
Whatever BJO’s view of centre-left v left-wing politics, I am struggling to see our Jeremy putting the clown under so much pressure today.
"Barbara from Stoke on Trent sent me this question......."
Difficult to express how boring this all seems from 5000 miles away, by the lacy moonlit waves of the Laccadive Sea
I accept that’s it’s probably way more exciting if you are there in, er, Swindon, or whatever.
It just seems phenomenally trivial. Obviously wrong, but equally trivial.
I wonder if for this reason Boris has an unexpected chance of reviving, as no other PM which such terrible polling has ever done.
Presenting things as boring or complicated and so not worth the bother is a standard evasion tactic.
Much will be trivial, were it not for the context and particularly comments made about those events. And suddenly even the boring and trivial can become more vital. The pettiness can compound the error not exculpate the participant.
I just get the sense - from a trillion miles away on balcony on a tropical seashore - that this is beginning to bore the fuck out of voters. And today won’t make any difference - at least in the polls
I’m not saying it is boring PER SE, I’m a politics geek. Tho, actually, even as a geek this feels a bit damp squib-esque
We know he is a lying fuck, we know they lied and had pastries, whatever yawn yes, we hate them, but what are they going to do about the price of petrol? Etc?
The problem Leon is that he is not suitable to hold the office of PM. Simples. He needs to get back into showbiz and scre*ing single and married women. He cannot and is unwilling to take any responsibility; we have seen that numerous times both in politics and his personal life. He's really not a very nice man. Worst PM of my lifetime for sure, probably of all time.
We must agree to differ. For me he is better than Brown, May, Cameron, Wilson, Heath, Callaghan and Major. He did something amazing: won the Brexit vote. Then something even amazinger: forced Brexit through by winning a genius majority
Has he squandered all that with his idiotic lies and silly marriage and hie venal inability to focus? Yes, that too
So now it is time for him to go as he has been revealed as a lying twat good for not much more than winning campaigns (which he does brilliantly) and telling decent jokes. Off you toddle, now, Boris
But will he? All my points today have been practical not ideological. I can see him surviving, quite easily. Indeed I can see him winning another, slender majority in 2024. His mortal enemy is not partygate, not any more, it is tax and inflation
By the way, how was Sri Lanka this time? Hope you managed to get some decent food this time...
Superb food everywhere! I just this minute finished one of the best Goan prawn curries of my life
I must have been incredibly unlucky on my last trip Too many posh places and then too many unlucky choices on the street
The food this time has been outstanding. Last night I had s Sri Lankan mud crab curry with this hybrid Med/Asian seafood broth to start
OMFFFFG. Cost £11. In an ultra high end place
I’ve also eaten off the street, very well, for literal pennies: all good, some sensational. I am a convert!
I may be biased but Sri Lanka is amazing for food. Shame about the politicians (corruption, war criminals etc. etc.)
Hopefully you have frequented Paradise Road (Gallery Cafe), Ministry of Crab, Barefoot Cafe (boho/hippy kind of place), Noodles in Cinnamon Grand and the Chinese at Cinnamon Lakeside and many many more...
Green Cabin on Galle Road. The buffet at Mount Lavinia. Kothu Roti pretty much anywhere... Sri Lankan food is the best.
One thing that sticks out to me in Boris' response to Aaron Bell was that he used the word "may" in relation to events that we know occurred in No 10 and the Cabinet Office that he presided over. He still hasn't admitted that he was wrong.
I really, really hope that Tory MPs grow a fucking spine and get rid of this fool before he does more damage to the country. The UK PM being unable to get a direct line to Putin at a time when Russia are gearing up for war because he's having to defend his own personal failures damages the credibility of the country.
PMQs on Wednesday
Has the PM been able to speak to Putin about the Ukraine?
Why was he unable to make the scheduled phone call?
Between Boris Johnson's performance today and that poll finding I have lost faith in my country.
Take my advice.
Emigrate.
Tempted to move to France, Canada, or Australia.
Well, you can knock Canada off the list - that's where the Hawaiian pizza was invented.
If you think our winters are cold and dark, try Canada's
Toronto has brighter winters than London.
I’m finding New York very cold but the sunshine is glorious; I much prefer it.
When it comes to grey hardly anywhere beats the UK.
Yes.
I frankly came to dread the U.K. winter. And that was London. Christ knows what it’s like in, say, Glasgow.
Southwest of Glasgow at coast is very mild , can be a bit wet but extremely pleasant. Plenty of nice bracing days , bit of sunshine and a few gales but perfectly lovely. Days are short mind you but you get bonus of only a few hours dark in summer so cannot complain.
Never heard anything from a PM in the Commons as disgraceful as Boris' reply to Starmer today. Absolubtely shameful.
Six O’Clock News not showing that bit.
Strange that given where Jimmy Saville got most his TV work from.
I think it’s more that they are very cautious about these things. I think they should show it to show people what kind of person the PM is. But they probably think that they don’t want to do that and potentially it does what Johnson wants (distraction).
Similarly, the BBC didn’t show SKS’s rather misjudged “tool maker” joke in his party conference speech.
Comments
Guillotined Report About Yob probably more accurate
“It is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister.”
Johnson and his lackeys have in my view made a strategic error in fighting the changing of the 1922 rules and outright denigrating their worth.
People like Bernard Jenkins would rather the changing of the guard happened in the summer and are not putting in their letter now. But if a vote is called, is he really prepared to risk Boris styling it out for another 12 months, falling back on the 1922 rules not being properly observed, which his outriders have already said have no legal status anyway?
Unlike May who eventually stepped aside when she knew she had lost the party’s confidence, Johnson has made it clear he will use every trick in the Trumpian playbook to keep his greasy fingers on the levers of power.
So are there 54 MPs in the Aaron Bell camp tonight? Will be interesting to see. I’d be shocked if there weren’t enough MPs who can see through the strategy.
The Liberal Democrats would usually be Kingmakers, as 2010 showed however they can go with the Tories as well as Labour. RefUK and the Greens could also win seats and could also be part of future coalition governments under PR.
Plus if Labour did agree to PR they would do it anyway in due course when they next win a general election. If Sunak scraped 1 more Tory win it would just be delaying the inevitable
Hmmmmm
As a conservative for near 60 years of my life, apart from 1997 and 2001, I am in despair that conservative mps cannot just do the right thing and remove Boris
Social Democrats and Orange Bookers would go their own way. The former normally going with Starmer Labour, the latter closer to Cameroon Tories
https://twitter.com/GeorgeWParker/status/1488207078795661321
How could the likes of Hon Mr Bell vote confidence in Johnson after today?
I'll be honest, I'm sorta done with the Kremlinology of why they are useless (blackmail! self interest! stupidity!). It's enough to know that they are collectively a waste of space.
I would celebrate July 3rd like Bastille Day.
Absolubtely shameful.
Behind the bombast is another, uglier story, in which Britain stands out not for its mettle in resisting the Russian regime but for aiding and abetting it. Kremlin cronies have for years used London to launder their reputations and ill-gotten gains. An army of bankers, lawyers, accountants and fixers make their own smaller fortunes through this trade.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/35fce012-8210-11ec-a9c8-2dfad00a5965?shareToken=368e53aeb65a341612448f0da476c517
Given Sue Gray's team has done all the spade work and the penalties are only fixed penalties, why should the MET take more than a week or two? They didn't take a year to investigate the thousands of other fixed penalty covid crimes.
No 10: "But, at the end of the process, the Prime Minister will ask Sue Gray to update her work in light of what is found. He will publish that update."
Was obvious that the line on that wasn't going to hold
https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1488207605034008577
Hopefully you have frequented Paradise Road (Gallery Cafe), Ministry of Crab, Barefoot Cafe (boho/hippy kind of place), Noodles in Cinnamon Grand and the Chinese at Cinnamon Lakeside and many many more...
I'd probably hand him a paper copy if I was a Tory MP though, you never know if No 10 has a blind cc on Brady's e-mails...
I feel much happier now that I’ve left.
I’m under no illusions about the USA, but I don’t have any familial attachment to it. Trump etc offends me on an intellectual level, but not on an emotional one.
Every country has high and low points. This is not a great time. But things will improve.
His evisceration of Boris this afternoon was actually pretty electrifying; I've rarely seen such a good character assassination. It wasn't forensic - it was just a massacre.
1) His seat was 6 points more Conservative than the nation last time round (Lab would need a 7 point lead on UNS)
2) The draft boundary changes add a little bit more rural territory
3) His seat has been demographically trending away from Lab for some time
1992 L+26
1997 L+22
2001 L+17
2005 L+17
2010 L+11
2015 L+9
2017 L+2
2019 C+6
Bereaved Tory MP: Does the PM think I'm a fool?
A emotional and direct question from Tory MP Aaron Bell now. He tells the PM how he attended his grandmother's funeral in May 2020 - "a wonderful woman" who had served as a Tory councillor. "I didn't hug my siblings, I didn't hug my parents," he says. "I gave a eulogy and then afterwards I didn't even go to her house for a cup of tea." He then faced the three hour drive home. Bell asks Johnson: "Does the prime minister think I am a fool?" After gasps from MPs, Johnson says "no" and offers his sympathies, apologising for "misjudgements" in No 10."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-60147988
He hoped to join the greats- the Churchills, the Thatchers. That was never really on.
He could have hoped to be the nation's eccentric uncle, and gone on the chat show/after dinner circuit. Gyles Brandreth with a more impressive political CV.
If the last thing we all remember of him is the snarling, hateful lashing out, that affects his value at stud.
Would you book him to do a jolly speech at a dinner you were organising?
I’m finding New York very cold but the sunshine is glorious; I much prefer it.
Whatever BJO’s view of centre-left v left-wing politics, I am struggling to see our Jeremy putting the clown under so much pressure today.
I frankly came to dread the U.K. winter.
And that was London. Christ knows what it’s like in, say, Glasgow.
Temperature in Winnipeg at the moment however is -9 degrees Celsius.
In London it is 7 degrees celcius
But my kids loved sledding through Central Park yesterday and the sky is bright blue. It’s like being in the Alps.
Bozo top story on the CNN 6
https://twitter.com/ukiswitheu/status/1488169949780656130?t=0tbZAl9ZVUaDOOcgaCHHYQ&s=19
I really, really hope that Tory MPs grow a fucking spine and get rid of this fool before he does more damage to the country. The UK PM being unable to get a direct line to Putin at a time when Russia are gearing up for war because he's having to defend his own personal failures damages the credibility of the country.
Most Canadians live south of Seattle. One of my favourite facts.
A blend of both
I was in a mixed international group visiting Quebec some years ago and the French restaurant we went to only accepted their orders in French, resulting in the Americans being thrown out and my gratitude to my o level French pass
Sri Lankan food is the best.
Looks like they were prepared for the CNN 6 thing...
Has the PM been able to speak to Putin about the Ukraine?
Why was he unable to make the scheduled phone call?
Similarly, the BBC didn’t show SKS’s rather misjudged “tool maker” joke in his party conference speech.