I do wonder if Starmer could take a chance and call a VONC in the hope there are 40 Tory MPs who are brave enough to support it and bring down Johnson. But I don't think Starmer wants that of course. He would much prefer Johnson in power at the next GE. But I am not sure the country can afford another 2 years of the moral vacuum at the heart of Government.
Agreed. But get ideas of a successful VONC in the government out of your head. It's far too big an ask. I'd be surprised if you could find five Conservatives who would actually do it. It would probably be a massive tactical mistake to attempt it.
Oh I agree. I am pretty sure that Starmer wouldn't do it anyway even if he had the signed commitment written in blood from 50 Tory MPs. Unless I read him wrong he is far more interested in making sure he has the best chance of wining in 2 years than in doing what is right for he country. He is, after all, a politician.
I am sure Starmer would jump at the chance of a GE tomorrow if he could. But calling for a VoNC he knows he cannot win would be a tactical error. And he doesn't seem to make many of those.
Better to wait and call for a vote on any Privileges Committee sanction against Johnson.
No it wouldn't matter if he won the VONC. There would not be a GE. All that would happen is that Johnson would be forced out and the 80 seat majority that the Tories have would unite behind a new leader. That, more than anything, is why he won't call a VONC. It doesn't bring a GE one day closer to happening, it just means that when the GE does come he is facing someone who is not fatally damaged in the way Johnson is.
Politic dictates Starmer do whatever he can to make sure Johnson is PM at the next GE. Meanwhile the country continues to suffer under an incompetent lawbreaker.
I think Starmer would table a VONC if (say) a hardcore of Conservative rebels (say... half... 70?) guaranteed that they'd support Labour AND allow the result of that VONC to be a General Election.
But how both sides would be able to come to an agreement is beyond me. Starmer wants a GE (ideally facing Johnson), but the Conservative rebels merely want Johnson gone (and no GE). A Parliamentary VONC is now the only viable route for the next year to achieving ONE of the above, but the outcome is potentially mutually exclusive.
Starmer can't trust them to call a VONC. The rebels would, after winning it, renege on any GE deal and form an alternative viable government. If they somehow didn't renege, then the Conservatives would face a July GE(!) at the same time they either have a leadership contest going at the same time(!) or with Johnson still at the helm.
Goodness, this is difficult. The one year rule really makes things difficult for rebels if they're strong, but not quite strong enough. It never imagined a leader who wouldn't just take the whiskey and revolver if the vote was bad but not bad enough (I mean, all other leaders have had a personal minimum....).
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
I have not seen that, but despite dislike of her (over Brexit) in many quarters, Leadsom was always a capable Minister well on top of her brief. It was an odd decision for Boris to sack her, and I imagine it was probably because he didn't like her having too many principles.
Three-quarters of backbenchers think the PM a liar and want him removed.
He is kept in place by those who he has given jobs - including the Cabinet.
How shabby does that look, Government Ministers?
Must be odd to be a Conservative tonight. Arguably weirder than being an old school Labour supporter through the Corbyn years. I do wonder if you will get your party back, or it’s forever changed much as the GOP.
Difference is I would expect the Conservatives to go further right in opposition if they lose the next general election. It took Labour 13 years after Blair left to elect the centrist candidate in a leadership election again
Which is why I wonder if the old school Conservatives are kaput. Boris fight on and loses and the party swings to the right in opposition with Steve Barclay.
Blimey. Even by Mail's recent standards that is a toady sycophantic front page.
Indeed. It crosses the line into Pravda territory.
Even the Express, next to it, manages to temper it with the use of speech marks.
Surely Mail is risking losing connection with its middle england readers who do not approve of Johnson on the piss in No 10 whilst they could not kiss goodbye to grandma in the hospice?
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
According to the Times correspondent reviewing tonight’s papers on sky.
But it’s not a shock to you Gardenwalker, Penny was a backer of leadsomes bid for the job, was on the “what do we want? Angela. When do we want her? Now.” March on Parliament. They are obviously friends, so it would make a really good Downing Street Partnership between the two of them.
Angela, to her credit spoke out publicly against Boris last week. if she was trying to help set up a leadership opportunity for her friend, still not a bad thing.
So unlike posters saying Pen won’t run, it’s 100% pointing to the fact that she is. And in with a great chance.
Unless Team Shameless Dog has some dirt to now throw at her, before she looks like the new leader in waiting.
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
They are not Major figures. Major was CofE.
So was Javid. Wallace is Defence Sec during a major war. Barclay is de facto Deputy PM.
Anyway, what I mean is someone inoffensive to most MPs.
To be Major you have to be inoffensive, in a top job and critically have the support of the incumbent. We need to figure out who Boris would choose if he had to finally go.
I don’t agree with your third premise. Thatcher retained a massive number of loyalist MPs, who wished to protect Thatcherism.
Boris really only has the payroll vote, once he is gone he’ll have nobody. There’s no such thing as “Borisism” and no such thing as “Borisists”, with the sole exception of Nadine Dorries.
Zadhawi positioned himself pretty well today.
Au contraire, he made himself look like a spinning tit.
The selectorate is the PCP. Johnson’s imprimatur is not actually helpful, I think.
We will see, it he certainly nailed his colours to the mast. Big dog owes him one. Become CofE and then be well positioned in next year’s leadership election?
Yes, I suppose that’s possible.
You think being Chancellor at the moment is a good basis for a leadership bid?
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
I have not seen that, but despite dislike of her (over Brexit) in many quarters, Leadsom was always a capable Minister well on top of her brief. It was an odd decision for Boris to sack her, and I imagine it was probably because he didn't like her having too many principles.
She was a competent Leader of the House, I agree.
I don’t think anyone seriously views her as a CoE during a kind of economic crisis.
I believe the reason Boris sacked her is that got sick of her interruptions in Cabinet, which may amount to “too many principles” or may just indicate that she has poor judgement.
Geoffrey Cox was seen off for the same reason, apparently.
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
They are not Major figures. Major was CofE.
So was Javid. Wallace is Defence Sec during a major war. Barclay is de facto Deputy PM.
Anyway, what I mean is someone inoffensive to most MPs.
To be Major you have to be inoffensive, in a top job and critically have the support of the incumbent. We need to figure out who Boris would choose if he had to finally go.
I don’t agree with your third premise. Thatcher retained a massive number of loyalist MPs, who wished to protect Thatcherism.
Boris really only has the payroll vote, once he is gone he’ll have nobody. There’s no such thing as “Borisism” and no such thing as “Borisists”, with the sole exception of Nadine Dorries.
Which is the other part of why there isn't a successor-in-waiting being groomed. (Rishi was for a while, sure, but only on the basis of him taking over in a couple of General Elections time, i.e. never.) The main bit is that a lack of rivals strengthens the King's position, with the effect we've seen today.
But also, anyone else is Not-Boris-Johnson, which means they are part of an indeterminate blur. So they are all equally irrelevant. Truss? Wallace? May? whatevs.
The problem is not so much whose the alternative to Johnson, it’s actually who is the alternative to the Conservatives.
Let’s say BJ stays until the next GE. Is a Tory defeat inevitable when the alternative is a SKS-led Labour party that - and let’s not forget this - hasn’t yet had one set of results that an opposition on its way to power should be getting?
I would argue no. Wait until we start to hear about the prospect of Yvette Cooper as the new Home Sec and in charge of immigration. And what is Kier going to say when he’s asked for his definition of a woman, an issue which - as we see on here - galvanises opinions and cuts across the traditional left base? The same goes for Davey.
If BJ goes pre-the next GE, it will be of his own choosing
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
They are not Major figures. Major was CofE.
So was Javid. Wallace is Defence Sec during a major war. Barclay is de facto Deputy PM.
Anyway, what I mean is someone inoffensive to most MPs.
To be Major you have to be inoffensive, in a top job and critically have the support of the incumbent. We need to figure out who Boris would choose if he had to finally go.
I don’t agree with your third premise. Thatcher retained a massive number of loyalist MPs, who wished to protect Thatcherism.
Boris really only has the payroll vote, once he is gone he’ll have nobody. There’s no such thing as “Borisism” and no such thing as “Borisists”, with the sole exception of Nadine Dorries.
Zadhawi positioned himself pretty well today.
Au contraire, he made himself look like a spinning tit.
The selectorate is the PCP. Johnson’s imprimatur is not actually helpful, I think.
We will see, it he certainly nailed his colours to the mast. Big dog owes him one. Become CofE and then be well positioned in next year’s leadership election?
Yes, I suppose that’s possible.
You think being Chancellor at the moment is a good basis for a leadership bid?
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
They are not Major figures. Major was CofE.
So was Javid. Wallace is Defence Sec during a major war. Barclay is de facto Deputy PM.
Anyway, what I mean is someone inoffensive to most MPs.
To be Major you have to be inoffensive, in a top job and critically have the support of the incumbent. We need to figure out who Boris would choose if he had to finally go.
I don’t agree with your third premise. Thatcher retained a massive number of loyalist MPs, who wished to protect Thatcherism.
Boris really only has the payroll vote, once he is gone he’ll have nobody. There’s no such thing as “Borisism” and no such thing as “Borisists”, with the sole exception of Nadine Dorries.
Zadhawi positioned himself pretty well today.
Au contraire, he made himself look like a spinning tit.
The selectorate is the PCP. Johnson’s imprimatur is not actually helpful, I think.
We will see, it he certainly nailed his colours to the mast. Big dog owes him one. Become CofE and then be well positioned in next year’s leadership election?
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
I have not seen that, but despite dislike of her (over Brexit) in many quarters, Leadsom was always a capable Minister well on top of her brief. It was an odd decision for Boris to sack her, and I imagine it was probably because he didn't like her having too many principles.
I agree with your post. leadsome always impressed me. She is a scientist by trade, so has had a proper job outside politics.
And women are better at budgeting than men, men rubbish at it just like my brother money runs through the fingers, so it’s good for Pen to appoint a lady chancellor.
One thought - who is in the greatest danger from the by-elections?
The obvious answer is Johnson. However, what happens if Labour eeks out an meagre win in Wakefield and loses its deposit in Tiverton? Given the news flow and the circumstances, Johnson may not be the only casualty.
Cleverly on Newsnight: need to "focus on what's going on", "focus on delivering for the British people". Delivering what? What is the Conservative Party's strategy for what's going on? To oppose a windfall tax, before then introducing a windfall tax? To talk about cutting taxes while raising taxes? To oppose the Northern Ireland Protocol that they introduced, but never actually to go through with doing anything about?
"Delivering for British people" has become one of the key go-to cliches which means nothing.
And the focus is a joke. No 10 has been focused on nothing but this vote for weeks.
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
I have not seen that, but despite dislike of her (over Brexit) in many quarters, Leadsom was always a capable Minister well on top of her brief. It was an odd decision for Boris to sack her, and I imagine it was probably because he didn't like her having too many principles.
She was a competent Leader of the House, I agree.
I don’t think anyone seriously views her as a CoE during a kind of economic crisis.
I believe the reason Boris sacked her is that got sick of her interruptions in Cabinet, which may amount to “too many principles” or may just indicate that she has poor judgement.
Geoffrey Cox was seen off for the same reason, apparently.
Nice to know what Boris looks for in a Cabinet Minister. Trappist silence when he's blessing cabinet with his erudition.
For all of Sunak's presentational sheen, he's done the square root of **** all about Britain's current economical woes. Perhaps someone who clearly isn't afraid to rock the boat is what we need.
One thought - who is in the greatest danger from the by-elections?
The obvious answer is Johnson. However, what happens if Labour eeks out an meagre win in Wakefield and loses its deposit in Tiverton? Given the news flow and the circumstances, Johnson may not be the only casualty.
Johnson. If Labour win Wakefield, a win is a win. And if Labour lose their deposit in Tiverton, as long as the Conservatives lose to the Lib Dems, no one will give a hoot. Best result for Labour and the Lib Dems is a win each. Even if they get 1% in the 'other one', no one will care.
"LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a cliffhanger vote of no confidence by his fellow Conservative Party lawmakers Monday evening, prevailing despite deep disgust over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street and broad discontent with his leadership, which one former ally branded a “charade.”
Johnson won the party-only secret balloting by 211 to 148 — surpassing the simple majority of 180 votes he needed to remain in office. Though he held on to his job, the vote was remarkably close for a prime minister who helped the Conservatives win a landslide election in 2019."
I expect several of their many columnists will have something to say about this victory, and expect at least one to call it "pyrrhic", just to show off.
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
I have not seen that, but despite dislike of her (over Brexit) in many quarters, Leadsom was always a capable Minister well on top of her brief. It was an odd decision for Boris to sack her, and I imagine it was probably because he didn't like her having too many principles.
She was a competent Leader of the House, I agree.
I don’t think anyone seriously views her as a CoE during a kind of economic crisis.
I believe the reason Boris sacked her is that got sick of her interruptions in Cabinet, which may amount to “too many principles” or may just indicate that she has poor judgement.
Geoffrey Cox was seen off for the same reason, apparently.
Nice to know what Boris looks for in a Cabinet Minister. Trappist silence when he's blessing cabinet with his erudition.
For all of Sunak's presentational sheen, he's done the square root of **** all about Britain's current economical woes. Perhaps someone who clearly isn't afraid to rock the boat is what we need.
The only way to rock the boat is to cut Treasury down to size, per that article in the Guardian a few weeks ago.
I would put Gove in charge of economic growth strategy, and someone like Leadsome would be fine doing the day to day fiscal job.
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
I have not seen that, but despite dislike of her (over Brexit) in many quarters, Leadsom was always a capable Minister well on top of her brief. It was an odd decision for Boris to sack her, and I imagine it was probably because he didn't like her having too many principles.
I agree with your post. leadsome always impressed me. She is a scientist by trade, so has had a proper job outside politics.
And women are better at budgeting than men, men rubbish at it just like my brother money runs through the fingers, so it’s good for Pen to appoint a lady chancellor.
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
I have not seen that, but despite dislike of her (over Brexit) in many quarters, Leadsom was always a capable Minister well on top of her brief. It was an odd decision for Boris to sack her, and I imagine it was probably because he didn't like her having too many principles.
She was a competent Leader of the House, I agree.
I don’t think anyone seriously views her as a CoE during a kind of economic crisis.
I believe the reason Boris sacked her is that got sick of her interruptions in Cabinet, which may amount to “too many principles” or may just indicate that she has poor judgement.
Geoffrey Cox was seen off for the same reason, apparently.
Nice to know what Boris looks for in a Cabinet Minister. Trappist silence when he's blessing cabinet with his erudition.
For all of Sunak's presentational sheen, he's done the square root of **** all about Britain's current economical woes. Perhaps someone who clearly isn't afraid to rock the boat is what we need.
The only way to rock the boat is to cut Treasury down to size, per that article in the Guardian a few weeks ago.
I would put Gove in charge of economic growth strategy, and someone like Leadsome would be fine doing the day to day fiscal job.
Doesn't sound like a bad idea. It does seem to me also that any really successful Tory Chancellor will have to be bold enough to stab a lot of typical Tory donor groups in the gizzards. Landlords, housing developers etc. It hasn't happened yet for obvious reasons.
📽️'Is it really good use of taxpayer money for somebody on the ST rich list to be receiving second home support when others are choosing between eating and heating?'
Sunak is challenged by MP @Siobhain_Mc over his decision to donate the Government support he receives to charity.
"Tory rebels vow to keep trying to topple Johnson after no-confidence vote win Even the PM’s allies concede it’s ‘the beginning of the end’ after 40% of MPs decline to support leader"
Its clearly stolen from occupied places in a war zone, but the starving people still got to eat it to avoid starvation though?
What’s the US position here, surely all you can do is mark it down on Putin Governments list of crimes, whilst enjoying some relief hungry people getting fed.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
I am actually looking forward to the 'proving I'm not shit' Boris era, for however long it lasts. Nice to have him motivated to actually do stuff.
Frankly I think a Lib Dem Lab Government would be a lot less chaotic than BoJo
We have LD/Lab/Green coalitions both on our county council (Oxfordshire) and district (West Oxfordshire) now. They are a whole bunch better than the previous Conservative administration; who, in turn, were far less chaotic than the current Government. If there's a "coalition of chaos" box on the next ballot paper then I'll gladly tick it.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Invoking Article 16 just gives the UK the ability to do something, but the something would still require legislation, so I'm not sure you can draw a neat distinction between the two approaches.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Can he invoke Article 16?
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
I am actually looking forward to the 'proving I'm not shit' Boris era, for however long it lasts. Nice to have him motivated to actually do stuff.
Will he be all that motivated? I mean, he's already won his internal challenge.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
The rebels are from all wings of the party so many are still likely to vote for it . The trouble starts in the Lords and it will take a long time to become law .
It’s not a good idea though to start threatening Tory MPs with confidence issues especially after having had 148 vote against you .
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Invoking Article 16 just gives the UK the ability to do something, but the something would still require legislation, so I'm not sure you can draw a neat distinction between the two approaches.
Well, technically Article 16 is supposed to kick off a month of talks before action is taken.
Does anyone think that re-litigating the NIP is going to win the Tories crucial votes in the by-elections? Boris’s great promise was to get Brexit done. Undoing your own Brexit plan doesn’t make your (supposed) big achievement look good!
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
I am actually looking forward to the 'proving I'm not shit' Boris era, for however long it lasts. Nice to have him motivated to actually do stuff.
Will he be all that motivated? I mean, he's already won his internal challenge.
Nope. Those laurels he will be resting on will know no peace.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Maybe a win by 60 is enough after all, if someone is determined to battle on for as long as possible hoping for turnaround from mid term blues. I certainly accept parliament by election defeats, lousy local by election results and bad opinion polls too will give Boris critics fuel, but what can they do without a VONC available to them - and only way to change the rules to get an early VONC has to be by convincing the 1922 that you can win the vonc. Do you see what I mean, they won’t change the rules if the result is just likely same or even better for Boris? 1922 unlikely to allow another vonc soon without confidence it produces a different result, And how do you prove it would when so much of the 148 are secret rebels, and you would need dozens of new votes on top.
I think at end of day, this could turn out to be only VONC Boris faced before the General Election. 🫣
The Times @thetimes The revolt makes the PM’s position unsustainable — he must spare his party and the country further agonies | ✍️ William Hague
Look for honourable exit.
Like that is going to happen!
The man who won the party an 80 seat majority does not need advice from the man who led it to a landslide defeat and a Labour majority of 167 as to when he should step down I would suggest Mr Hague
As I said earlier. Starmer will be dining out tomorrow night.
Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani · 2h Johnson wins 211-148. Every day Boris Johnson remains PM is awful for the country, but this is the best possible result for Labour.
Was French seriously considered? Or could it just be a sneering shit-post by Carlotta V?
Reader, *you* be the judge.
If I want lessons in sneering I’ll know where to look.
The bigger point you’ve evidently missed is 1) Macron’s “diplomacy” and 2) French attempts to extirpate English as the lingua Franca of the EU, all going so well….
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Can he invoke Article 16?
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
They’re dealing with quite separate issues .
The reason May needed legislation for Article 50 was that triggering that would eventually lead to an abrogation of rights of UK citizens . Essentially rights would fall away at the end of the two years.
Only Parliament can remove rights from citizens and this can’t be done using Henry Vlll powers .
At the time the right wing press lied to their readers saying this was a plot to stop Brexit , when in fact it was a crucial win for all citizens . If the government had won that case it would have set a dangerous precedent whereby a minister could at the stroke of a pen remove citizens rights .
Article 16 does not remove citizens rights , the government can trigger that although in effect it’s the start of a long winded process but does not in itself effect citizens rights .
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Can he invoke Article 16?
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
They’re dealing with quite separate issues .
The reason May needed legislation for Article 50 was that triggering that would eventually lead to an abrogation of rights of UK citizens . Essentially rights would fall away at the end of the two years.
Only Parliament can remove rights from citizens and this can’t be done using Henry Vlll powers .
At the time the right wing press lied to their readers saying this was a plot to stop Brexit , when in fact it was a crucial win for all citizens . If the government had won that case it would have set a dangerous precedent whereby a minister could at the stroke of a pen remove citizens rights .
Article 16 does not remove citizens rights , the government can trigger that although in effect it’s the start of a long winded process but does not in itself effect citizens rights .
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Can he invoke Article 16?
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
They’re dealing with quite separate issues .
The reason May needed legislation for Article 50 was that triggering that would eventually lead to an abrogation of rights of UK citizens . Essentially rights would fall away at the end of the two years.
Only Parliament can remove rights from citizens and this can’t be done using Henry Vlll powers .
At the time the right wing press lied to their readers saying this was a plot to stop Brexit , when in fact it was a crucial win for all citizens . If the government had won that case it would have set a dangerous precedent whereby a minister could at the stroke of a pen remove citizens rights .
Article 16 does not remove citizens rights , the government can trigger that although in effect it’s the start of a long winded process but does not in itself effect citizens rights .
Interesting explanation - thanks.
You’re welcome . I followed the Gina Miller case closely and read the daily transcripts . It gave me huge respect for both the judges hearing the case and the QCs involved . We’re very lucky to have the UK Supreme Court which isn’t politicized and where you can have faith in their rulings as opposed to the joke that’s the SCOTUS.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Can he invoke Article 16?
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
They’re dealing with quite separate issues .
The reason May needed legislation for Article 50 was that triggering that would eventually lead to an abrogation of rights of UK citizens . Essentially rights would fall away at the end of the two years.
Only Parliament can remove rights from citizens and this can’t be done using Henry Vlll powers .
At the time the right wing press lied to their readers saying this was a plot to stop Brexit , when in fact it was a crucial win for all citizens . If the government had won that case it would have set a dangerous precedent whereby a minister could at the stroke of a pen remove citizens rights .
Article 16 does not remove citizens rights , the government can trigger that although in effect it’s the start of a long winded process but does not in itself effect citizens rights .
Interesting explanation - thanks.
You’re welcome . I followed the Gina Miller case closely and read the daily transcripts . It gave me huge respect for both the judges hearing the case and the QCs involved . We’re very lucky to have the UK Supreme Court which isn’t politicized and where you can have faith in their rulings as opposed to the joke that’s the SCOTUS.
The best moment was the debate about the pronunciation of De Keyser.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Can he invoke Article 16?
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
They’re dealing with quite separate issues .
The reason May needed legislation for Article 50 was that triggering that would eventually lead to an abrogation of rights of UK citizens . Essentially rights would fall away at the end of the two years.
Only Parliament can remove rights from citizens and this can’t be done using Henry Vlll powers .
At the time the right wing press lied to their readers saying this was a plot to stop Brexit , when in fact it was a crucial win for all citizens . If the government had won that case it would have set a dangerous precedent whereby a minister could at the stroke of a pen remove citizens rights .
Article 16 does not remove citizens rights , the government can trigger that although in effect it’s the start of a long winded process but does not in itself effect citizens rights .
Interesting explanation - thanks.
You’re welcome . I followed the Gina Miller case closely and read the daily transcripts . It gave me huge respect for both the judges hearing the case and the QCs involved . We’re very lucky to have the UK Supreme Court which isn’t politicized and where you can have faith in their rulings as opposed to the joke that’s the SCOTUS.
The best moment was the debate about the pronunciation of De Keyser.
That was a “classic hit”.
I can’t wait to relive it on a Channel 5 “I love the Brexit Years” talking heads doco.
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Can he invoke Article 16?
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
They’re dealing with quite separate issues .
The reason May needed legislation for Article 50 was that triggering that would eventually lead to an abrogation of rights of UK citizens . Essentially rights would fall away at the end of the two years.
Only Parliament can remove rights from citizens and this can’t be done using Henry Vlll powers .
At the time the right wing press lied to their readers saying this was a plot to stop Brexit , when in fact it was a crucial win for all citizens . If the government had won that case it would have set a dangerous precedent whereby a minister could at the stroke of a pen remove citizens rights .
Article 16 does not remove citizens rights , the government can trigger that although in effect it’s the start of a long winded process but does not in itself effect citizens rights .
Interesting explanation - thanks.
You’re welcome . I followed the Gina Miller case closely and read the daily transcripts . It gave me huge respect for both the judges hearing the case and the QCs involved . We’re very lucky to have the UK Supreme Court which isn’t politicized and where you can have faith in their rulings as opposed to the joke that’s the SCOTUS.
The best moment was the debate about the pronunciation of De Keyser.
That was a “classic hit”.
I can’t wait to relive it on a Channel 5 “I love the Brexit Years” talking heads doco.
"NOW That's What I Call Brexit!" featuring "We Hold All The Cards", "The German Carmakers", "The Clock Is Ticking", and many more.
Does anyone think that re-litigating the NIP is going to win the Tories crucial votes in the by-elections? Boris’s great promise was to get Brexit done. Undoing your own Brexit plan doesn’t make your (supposed) big achievement look good!
The government will introduce the NI legislation on Wednesday. With the FPTA now repealed, I wonder if Johnson will make it a confidence issue to avoid the malcontents voting it down.
His plan is for it to be amended to death in the Lords - otherwise he would have invoked Article 16.
Can he invoke Article 16?
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
They’re dealing with quite separate issues .
The reason May needed legislation for Article 50 was that triggering that would eventually lead to an abrogation of rights of UK citizens . Essentially rights would fall away at the end of the two years.
Only Parliament can remove rights from citizens and this can’t be done using Henry Vlll powers .
At the time the right wing press lied to their readers saying this was a plot to stop Brexit , when in fact it was a crucial win for all citizens . If the government had won that case it would have set a dangerous precedent whereby a minister could at the stroke of a pen remove citizens rights .
Article 16 does not remove citizens rights , the government can trigger that although in effect it’s the start of a long winded process but does not in itself effect citizens rights .
Interesting explanation - thanks.
You’re welcome . I followed the Gina Miller case closely and read the daily transcripts . It gave me huge respect for both the judges hearing the case and the QCs involved . We’re very lucky to have the UK Supreme Court which isn’t politicized and where you can have faith in their rulings as opposed to the joke that’s the SCOTUS.
The best moment was the debate about the pronunciation of De Keyser.
I think Lady Hale was at the centre of that . Lord Pannick in both Gina Miller cases was quite brilliant . I know that period was full of drama with all the Commons votes and issues ending up in the Supreme Court but as a political junkie something which many share in here it was compulsive viewing .
"Is Kaliningrad, Russia’s exclave surrounded by EU countries, an asset or a liability? It is used to threaten Europe but could be isolated in a war" (£)
The Times @thetimes The revolt makes the PM’s position unsustainable — he must spare his party and the country further agonies | ✍️ William Hague
Look for honourable exit.
Like that is going to happen!
The man who won the party an 80 seat majority does not need advice from the man who led it to a landslide defeat and a Labour majority of 167 as to when he should step down I would suggest Mr Hague
What majority would Hague have got against Corbyn, do you think? 100?
As I said earlier. Starmer will be dining out tomorrow night.
Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani · 2h Johnson wins 211-148. Every day Boris Johnson remains PM is awful for the country, but this is the best possible result for Labour.
Hunt has nailed his mast. He has no way back now. He is now the leader of the internal opposition and no one else has a chance of being that figure now. Everyday he must be out promoting the alternative regime.
That doesn't mean he would necessarily win a leadership contest when it finally happens, but there are now two lodestars in the party and they are Hunt and Johnson.
Truss, Sunak and Raab are incredibly reduced figures tonight imho.
Hunt is over. He’s merely replaced Tugendhat as the heir assumptive for people who don’t have a clue about the Conservative Party.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Hunt will now run a constant, 'on the other hand, what i would do as PM is...' operation from now on.
No one else stepped forward.
Truss and co have blown it.
I wobbled a bit about Hunt’s chances a few days ago, but my conclusion is that he is not widely liked or trusted inside the PCP, and Nadine’s claims today have damaged him.
Truss, Patel, Raab I think never had any support inside the PCP.
Sunak can’t recover. The FPN is not the problem; his non-dom status is. Besides which he has pissed off the fiscal dries who would ordinarily make up his chief support group.
I think we are looking at a Major figure, ie Wallace, Javid or Barclay. Or Mordaunt. My money is now on the latter.
Mordaunt is interesting. She has had a series of ministerial jobs over the years apparently without achieving anything of note in any of them. Maybe it doesn't matter. She is however ambitious, gets on with people and is a conscientious constituency MP.
Penny has agreed to make her campaign manager Angela Leadsome Chancellor if PM, so clear which corner of the party she will rule from.
She also didn’t publicly back Boris today - so gone up in shareprice my point of view - but now has Enemy number 1 crosshairs aimed at her from number ten.
Link on that please. If Mordaunt has made that promise, she is going nowhere.
I have not seen that, but despite dislike of her (over Brexit) in many quarters, Leadsom was always a capable Minister well on top of her brief. It was an odd decision for Boris to sack her, and I imagine it was probably because he didn't like her having too many principles.
I agree with your post. leadsome always impressed me. She is a scientist by trade, so has had a proper job outside politics.
And women are better at budgeting than men, men rubbish at it just like my brother money runs through the fingers, so it’s good for Pen to appoint a lady chancellor.
Naught but female chauvinist propaganda!
Really? Or Scientific fact based on multiple studies.
There are multiple studies proving that women are more price-conscious shoppers than men.
men tend to be more open to risky investments. Females are the more cautious investors with an eye toward the future. Not surprisingly, studies have found that the average woman’s investment strategy and eventual performance tends to be more stable than the average man’s.
if you look at the percentage they save from their paychecks, females come in the first place
As I said earlier. Starmer will be dining out tomorrow night.
Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani · 2h Johnson wins 211-148. Every day Boris Johnson remains PM is awful for the country, but this is the best possible result for Labour.
Does anyone think that re-litigating the NIP is going to win the Tories crucial votes in the by-elections? Boris’s great promise was to get Brexit done. Undoing your own Brexit plan doesn’t make your (supposed) big achievement look good!
Depends if it eases the situation.
My view is that Article 16 is a crucial weapon for holding the EU's feet to the fire to ensure that the Smart Border / Trusted Trader programme is delivered on a reasonable time horizon.
One should therefore have a list of deliverables, and a list of ways the EU has failed to meet its obligations, and should use Article 16 to kick off the talks, the consequence of which (if the EU doesn't get a move on) should be the passing of legislation that undoes the requirement of checks between the UK and Northern Ireland.
Passing a law without at least trying the mechanisms in the Northern Ireland protocol, to my mind, contravenes both the letter and the spirit of the treaty. And would, I suspect, be self defeating because the EU would respond with a set of targeted tariffs on British goods. And we'd escalate, and then before we know it, we've added another drag to the economy to add to the cost of living crisis, over an issue where it's far from clear that we are abiding by the treaty we signed.
The Times @thetimes The revolt makes the PM’s position unsustainable — he must spare his party and the country further agonies | ✍️ William Hague
Look for honourable exit.
Like that is going to happen!
The man who won the party an 80 seat majority does not need advice from the man who led it to a landslide defeat and a Labour majority of 167 as to when he should step down I would suggest Mr Hague
Completely incomparable. Utterly pointless post. They had different opponents and different issues at different times. You can only compare if they both had the opportunity to fight both elections. You have no idea whether Hague would have done better. What is more, what matters now is what people now think of Boris, not what they thought of him then.
I am pretty confident potential Tory voters would swap Boris out for Hague in a heartbeat now.
The Times @thetimes The revolt makes the PM’s position unsustainable — he must spare his party and the country further agonies | ✍️ William Hague
Look for honourable exit.
Like that is going to happen!
The man who won the party an 80 seat majority does not need advice from the man who led it to a landslide defeat and a Labour majority of 167 as to when he should step down I would suggest Mr Hague
What majority would Hague have got against Corbyn, do you think? 100?
May got no majority at all against Corbyn unlike Boris
IFG opinion that perhaps there is nothing HMQ can do to prevent an "abusive dissolution".
So parliament, 1922 and so forth need to be ready so that no Boris benefit could accrue to such a dissolution.
Could a house VONC and immediate unity candidate pre-empt the dissolution? Possibly not, dissolution called the opposition would sit back.
Could the 1922 have a contingency to party VONC, hust and complete the MP roumds in the parliamentary wind up days and complete the process by MP or by special conference? (Labour NEC too need contingency plans, likely also around a special conference).
One way or another, it needs to be clear to Boris that dissolution would be his final act as Conservative leader and PM. That is the thing that would stop abusive dissolution from happening.
Comments
Frankly I think a Lib Dem Lab Government would be a lot less chaotic than BoJo
But how both sides would be able to come to an agreement is beyond me.
Starmer wants a GE (ideally facing Johnson), but the Conservative rebels merely want Johnson gone (and no GE).
A Parliamentary VONC is now the only viable route for the next year to achieving ONE of the above, but the outcome is potentially mutually exclusive.
Starmer can't trust them to call a VONC. The rebels would, after winning it, renege on any GE deal and form an alternative viable government.
If they somehow didn't renege, then the Conservatives would face a July GE(!) at the same time they either have a leadership contest going at the same time(!) or with Johnson still at the helm.
Goodness, this is difficult.
The one year rule really makes things difficult for rebels if they're strong, but not quite strong enough. It never imagined a leader who wouldn't just take the whiskey and revolver if the vote was bad but not bad enough (I mean, all other leaders have had a personal minimum....).
Even the Express, next to it, manages to temper it with the use of speech marks.
They get to cite the "I'd do it again" quote, it is perfect cover.
It even gives Sunak a do-over.
But it’s not a shock to you Gardenwalker, Penny was a backer of leadsomes bid for the job, was on the “what do we want? Angela. When do we want her? Now.” March on Parliament. They are obviously friends, so it would make a really good Downing Street Partnership between the two of them.
Angela, to her credit spoke out publicly against Boris last week. if she was trying to help set up a leadership opportunity for her friend, still not a bad thing.
So unlike posters saying Pen won’t run, it’s 100% pointing to the fact that she is. And in with a great chance.
Unless Team Shameless Dog has some dirt to now throw at her, before she looks like the new leader in waiting.
I don’t think anyone seriously views her as a CoE during a kind of economic crisis.
I believe the reason Boris sacked her is that got sick of her interruptions in Cabinet, which may amount to “too many principles” or may just indicate that she has poor judgement.
Geoffrey Cox was seen off for the same reason, apparently.
They know they did what was asked of them in 2020 and Johnson did not.
Let’s say BJ stays until the next GE. Is a Tory defeat inevitable when the alternative is a SKS-led Labour party that - and let’s not forget this - hasn’t yet had one set of results that an opposition on its way to power should be getting?
I would argue no. Wait until we start to hear about the prospect of Yvette Cooper as the new Home Sec and in charge of immigration. And what is Kier going to say when he’s asked for his definition of a woman, an issue which - as we see on here - galvanises opinions and cuts across the traditional left base? The same goes for Davey.
If BJ goes pre-the next GE, it will be of his own choosing
And women are better at budgeting than men, men rubbish at it just like my brother money runs through the fingers, so it’s good for Pen to appoint a lady chancellor.
The obvious answer is Johnson. However, what happens if Labour eeks out an meagre win in Wakefield and loses its deposit in Tiverton? Given the news flow and the circumstances, Johnson may not be the only casualty.
And the focus is a joke. No 10 has been focused on nothing but this vote for weeks.
What a bunch of boneheads.............
For all of Sunak's presentational sheen, he's done the square root of **** all about Britain's current economical woes. Perhaps someone who clearly isn't afraid to rock the boat is what we need.
If Labour win Wakefield, a win is a win.
And if Labour lose their deposit in Tiverton, as long as the Conservatives lose to the Lib Dems, no one will give a hoot.
Best result for Labour and the Lib Dems is a win each. Even if they get 1% in the 'other one', no one will care.
"LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a cliffhanger vote of no confidence by his fellow Conservative Party lawmakers Monday evening, prevailing despite deep disgust over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street and broad discontent with his leadership, which one former ally branded a “charade.”
Johnson won the party-only secret balloting by 211 to 148 — surpassing the simple majority of 180 votes he needed to remain in office. Though he held on to his job, the vote was remarkably close for a prime minister who helped the Conservatives win a landslide election in 2019."
I expect several of their many columnists will have something to say about this victory, and expect at least one to call it "pyrrhic", just to show off.
I would put Gove in charge of economic growth strategy, and someone like Leadsome would be fine doing the day to day fiscal job.
Philip Collins
@PhilipJCollins1
·
2h
Three quarters of the non-payroll vote want him gone.
Sunak is challenged by MP @Siobhain_Mc over his decision to donate the Government support he receives to charity.
https://twitter.com/theipaper/status/1533809059677323265
Even the PM’s allies concede it’s ‘the beginning of the end’ after 40% of MPs decline to support leader"
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/06/tory-rebels-vow-to-keep-trying-to-topple-johnson-after-no-confidence-vote-win
What’s the US position here, surely all you can do is mark it down on Putin Governments list of crimes, whilst enjoying some relief hungry people getting fed.
@thetimes
The revolt makes the PM’s position unsustainable — he must spare his party and the country further agonies | ✍️ William Hague
Look for honourable exit.
Like that is going to happen!
Miller ruled May couldn't invoke Article 50, can Boris invoke Article 16 or does Miller prevent it?
What if the legislation is legislation to invoke Article 16?
It’s not a good idea though to start threatening Tory MPs with confidence issues especially after having had 148 vote against you .
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has stated that English might be officially recognized as business language in Ukraine.
He says it would help the country attract more investment and help accelerate its European integration.
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1533945502957555713
@PickardJE
·
1h
they’re running out of adjectives to describe just how good this result is
https://twitter.com/PickardJE
Or could it just be a sneering shit-post by Carlotta V?
Reader, *you* be the judge.
Beyond tomorrow's Mail front page?
I think at end of day, this could turn out to be only VONC Boris faced before the General Election. 🫣
Aaron Bastani
@AaronBastani
·
2h
Johnson wins 211-148. Every day Boris Johnson remains PM is awful for the country, but this is the best possible result for Labour.
https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1533902928599203841
The bigger point you’ve evidently missed is 1) Macron’s “diplomacy” and 2) French attempts to extirpate English as the lingua Franca of the EU, all going so well….
The reason May needed legislation for Article 50 was that triggering that would eventually lead to an abrogation of rights of UK citizens . Essentially rights would fall away at the end of the two years.
Only Parliament can remove rights from citizens and this can’t be done using Henry Vlll powers .
At the time the right wing press lied to their readers saying this was a plot to stop Brexit , when in fact it was a crucial win for all citizens . If the government had won that case it would have set a dangerous precedent whereby a minister could at the stroke of a pen remove citizens rights .
Article 16 does not remove citizens rights , the government can trigger that although in effect it’s the start of a long winded process but does not in itself effect citizens rights .
Health initiative dubbed a ‘failed experiment’ after researchers find ‘no clear evidence’ it dissuaded alcoholics
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/06/06/snps-alcohol-tax-failed-tackle-problem-drinking/
I can’t wait to relive it on a Channel 5 “I love the Brexit Years” talking heads doco.
It is used to threaten Europe but could be isolated in a war" (£)
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/06/06/is-kaliningrad-russias-exclave-surrounded-by-eu-countries-an-asset-or-a-liability
There are multiple studies proving that women are more price-conscious shoppers than men.
men tend to be more open to risky investments. Females are the more cautious investors with an eye toward the future. Not surprisingly, studies have found that the average woman’s investment strategy and eventual performance tends to be more stable than the average man’s.
if you look at the percentage they save from their paychecks, females come in the first place
https://directionscu.org/2020/01/24/how-men-and-women-manage-money-differently/
When was the last time we had a lady CoEx?
[scouse accent] Exactly.
And that puts leaderless Labour about 35% ahead of Tories in the polls.
The Mail better pray he doesn’t get one 😂
One should therefore have a list of deliverables, and a list of ways the EU has failed to meet its obligations, and should use Article 16 to kick off the talks, the consequence of which (if the EU doesn't get a move on) should be the passing of legislation that undoes the requirement of checks between the UK and Northern Ireland.
Passing a law without at least trying the mechanisms in the Northern Ireland protocol, to my mind, contravenes both the letter and the spirit of the treaty. And would, I suspect, be self defeating because the EU would respond with a set of targeted tariffs on British goods. And we'd escalate, and then before we know it, we've added another drag to the economy to add to the cost of living crisis, over an issue where it's far from clear that we are abiding by the treaty we signed.
I am pretty confident potential Tory voters would swap Boris out for Hague in a heartbeat now.
IFG opinion that perhaps there is nothing HMQ can do to prevent an "abusive dissolution".
So parliament, 1922 and so forth need to be ready so that no Boris benefit could accrue to such a dissolution.
Could a house VONC and immediate unity candidate pre-empt the dissolution? Possibly not, dissolution called the opposition would sit back.
Could the 1922 have a contingency to party VONC, hust and complete the MP roumds in the parliamentary wind up days and complete the process by MP or by special conference? (Labour NEC too need contingency plans, likely also around a special conference).
One way or another, it needs to be clear to Boris that dissolution would be his final act as Conservative leader and PM. That is the thing that would stop abusive dissolution from happening.