I have a meeting in four minutes, no one minute. One minute to skip and jump and laugh....The Clown is out, the Clown is out!
It is better than England simultaneously winning the Footy World Cup, the Rugby World Cup and every other sport through to tiddlywinks World Cup. Oh joyous days!
Agreed with TSE, hurrah for our unwritten constitution!
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
(Not yet resigned) ministers and cabinet will stay on with Boris whilst a new leader is sorted. Wallace has basically laid out the boiler plate templte they'll all come out with on twitter after Boris announces his resignation pending a new leader.
Posted at the end of the last thread, so apologies for repeating:
Just piping up to say how absolutely brilliant PB is as a site for following unfolding political drama. It's a one-stop shop for everything you need to know, much better than any other source of news. It's not just the quality and variety of the commentary, it's also the links that people post, including to Twitter (which I never look at other than on here). Almost every resignation letter has been linked to here - I wouldn't have read any of them otherwise. So thanks to OGH and all involved.
I now expect to be banned for sycophancy, but that's a price worth paying.
Just a reminder Boris Johnson is still control of our nuclear weapons.
War with Russia is an out for Boris. I wouldn’t put it past him.
Surely there are safeguards to prevent Trident being used for solely narrow political purposes?
It's obviously all irrelevant now, but yes.
This point was made similarly with Trump - Presidents and PMs have the "nuclear codes" but all they do is authorise action. All the stuff about the boss hitting a red button directly connected to a launch timer is just Hollywood fantasy. The codes are simply an administrative step - a necessary and important one, but not a sufficient one.
It’s obviously not irrelevant if he remains PM til the autumn.
Posted at the end of the last thread, so apologies for repeating:
Just piping up to say how absolutely brilliant PB is as a site for following unfolding political drama. It's a one-stop shop for everything you need to know, much better than any other source of news. It's not just the quality and variety of the commentary, it's also the links that people post, including to Twitter (which I never look at other than on here). Almost every resignation letter has been linked to here - I wouldn't have read any of them otherwise. So thanks to OGH and all involved.
I now expect to be banned for sycophancy, but that's a price worth paying.
Just so long as you don’t say anything about Radiohead being cr……. {no signal}
Agreed with TSE, hurrah for our unwritten constitution!
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
Huh? He resigned because he has no personal mandate and nobody would join his cabinet.
I think it’s highly dangerous leaving him as PM. A full leadership contest could and will take months.
Who is going to serve in the cabinet? Half the positions are vacant.
Fraser Nelson R4 recons short list of 2 by end of next week - out to party members on possibly an accelerated timetable so it’s done well before Autumn.
Agreed with TSE, hurrah for our unwritten constitution!
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
Yes. The idea that we are in “a national crisis” - claimed by others on the prior thread - is absurd and insulting
Sri Lanka is in a crisis. Ukraine is in a crisis. Even America is in more of a political crisis
The UK’s quaint yet effective “constitution” has got rid of a prime minister within about 36 hours of it becoming obvious he had lost his party
That’s how it is meant to work. The man from the 1922 goes into Number 10 and comes out with a scalp. And so it is
36 hours! Other countries must envy our athletic turn of speed
We face many problems, but the constitution is not one of them
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
That's nothing to do with the constitution -- those are the tory party's rules (written or otherwise). People will get to make a judgement on how impressed they were with the show the tory party put on at the next election :-)
Its all gotten a bit Game of Thrones now. King Robert "Boris" Baratheon who became King himself after leading a rebellion against the mad old order became a debauched monarch who has now been felled by a "hunting accident".
Who are the players who are jockeying for position now?
Cersei - Truss Littlefinger - Gove Varys - Zahawi Targaryen - May/Hunt Ned Stark - Sunak Sandor Clegane - Patel
Now PM has finally done the decent thing he needs to hand in the seals of office, apologise to Her Majesty, allow her to appoint a Caretaker under whom Ministers can serve, so the Conservative Party can choose a new leader properly.
Its all gotten a bit Game of Thrones now. King Robert "Boris" Baratheon who became King himself after leading a rebellion against the mad old order became a debauched monarch who has now been felled by a "hunting accident".
Who are the players who are jockeying for position now?
Cersei - Truss Littlefinger - Gove Varys - Zahawi Targaryen - May/Hunt Ned Stark - Sunak Sandor Clegane - Patel
I think it’s highly dangerous leaving him as PM. A full leadership contest could and will take months.
Who is going to serve in the cabinet? Half the positions are vacant.
Fraser Nelson R4 recons short list of 2 by end of next week - out to party members on possibly an accelerated timetable so it’s done well before Autumn.
Mmm. Decide in haste. The Tory Party needs to decide what it is for. They are desperate not to have that debate.
Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd rather see him escorted out of Downing Street today than trust him to keep his word to resign in the autumn.
Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean Johnson can be trusted!
I agree. It's unlikely, but not inconceivable, that Johnson will seek to remain on a pretext (e.g. escalation in Ukraine).
He is being removed due to his personal misconduct and unsuitability (contrast May, who was unable to progress the key policy issue of the day but who was perfectly capable of acting as PM for an interim period). He also doesn't have a Government as such.
The right thing to do is for someone senior who doesn't intend to stand for the leadership to step in on an interim basis. Much though I dislike Raab, as DPM and ex-Foreign Secretary he is a qualified person (assuming he's not throwing his own hat in the ring).
Agreed with TSE, hurrah for our unwritten constitution!
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
Yes. The idea that we are in “a national crisis” - claimed by others on the prior thread - is absurd and insulting
Sri Lanka is in a crisis. Ukraine is in a crisis. Even America is in more of a political crisis
The UK’s quaint yet effective “constitution” has got rid of a prime minister within about 36 hours of it becoming obvious he had lost his party
That’s how it is meant to work. The man from the 1922 goes into Number 10 and comes out with a scalp. And so it is
36 hours! Other countries must envy our athletic turn of speed
We face many problems, but the constitution is not one of them
You don't want to codify a constitution on something like this. Once you do that - off to the courts the PM may be able to head. Now I know we all broadly trust our judges now, but one look at SCOTUS shows how politicised a "constitution" can become.
Agreed with TSE, hurrah for our unwritten constitution!
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
Yes. The idea that we are in “a national crisis” - claimed by others on the prior thread - is absurd and insulting
Sri Lanka is in a crisis. Ukraine is in a crisis. Even America is in more of a political crisis
The UK’s quaint yet effective “constitution” has got rid of a prime minister within about 36 hours of it becoming obvious he had lost his party
That’s how it is meant to work. The man from the 1922 goes into Number 10 and comes out with a scalp. And so it is
36 hours! Other countries must envy our nimble turn of speed
We face many problems, but the constitution is not one of them
Indeed. We came close to a national crisis in late 2018 and early 2019, when Parliament couldn’t pass anything for months on end, but the PM resigning within days of having lost his party isn’t that.
Agreed with TSE, hurrah for our unwritten constitution!
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
Yes. The idea that we are in “a national crisis” - claimed by others on the prior thread - is absurd and insulting
Sri Lanka is in a crisis. Ukraine is in a crisis. Even America is in more of a political crisis
The UK’s quaint yet effective “constitution” has got rid of a prime minister within about 36 hours of it becoming obvious he had lost his party
That’s how it is meant to work. The man from the 1922 goes into Number 10 and comes out with a scalp. And so it is
36 hours! Other countries must envy our athletic turn of speed
We face many problems, but the constitution is not one of them
Most constitutional reformers want an elected President. How would you remove one of those quickly?
Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd rather see him escorted out of Downing Street today than trust him to keep his word to resign in the autumn.
Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean Johnson can be trusted!
I agree. It's unlikely, but not inconceivable, that Johnson will seek to remain on a pretext (e.g. escalation in Ukraine).
He is being removed due to his personal misconduct and unsuitability (contrast May, who was unable to progress the key policy issue of the day but who was perfectly capable of acting as PM for an interim period). He also doesn't have a Government as such.
The right thing to do is for someone senior who doesn't intend to stand for the leadership to step in on an interim basis. Much though I dislike Raab, as DPM and ex-Foreign Secretary he is a qualified person (assuming he's not throwing his own hat in the ring).
This. Yes. Absolutely.
Anyone who thinks Johnson remaining as PM wont mean him spending every waking minute trying to find a way to extended that time in No 10 by hook or crook or engineering early election somehow has not been awake these last few months.
(Not yet resigned) ministers and cabinet will stay on with Boris whilst a new leader is sorted. Wallace has basically laid out the boiler plate templte they'll all come out with on twitter after Boris announces his resignation pending a new leader.
You're surely not telling me they will resign, get their redundancy payoff, and then resume office? As if nothing had happened.
Let's hope we don't find there's another one floating to the top...
The colon formerly known as the Conservative Party will no doubt be squeezing out another prime specimen shortly.
Leadership procedure:
1. Hard right wing nut job will find enough MP support to make run off 2. Bidding war over hardest Brexit and lowest taxes possible 3. Demented elderly membership picks hard right wing nut job 4. Socioeconomic collapse. Scenes
I think it’s highly dangerous leaving him as PM. A full leadership contest could and will take months.
Who is going to serve in the cabinet? Half the positions are vacant.
Fraser Nelson R4 recons short list of 2 by end of next week - out to party members on possibly an accelerated timetable so it’s done well before Autumn.
Yes, as when Theresa May took over from David Cameron who had also expected the leadership contest to last until conference.
Agreed with TSE, hurrah for our unwritten constitution!
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
Yes. The idea that we are in “a national crisis” - claimed by others on the prior thread - is absurd and insulting
Sri Lanka is in a crisis. Ukraine is in a crisis. Even America is in more of a political crisis
The UK’s quaint yet effective “constitution” has got rid of a prime minister within about 36 hours of it becoming obvious he had lost his party
That’s how it is meant to work. The man from the 1922 goes into Number 10 and comes out with a scalp. And so it is
36 hours! Other countries must envy our athletic turn of speed
We face many problems, but the constitution is not one of them
We haven't got rid of the PM. He's still there. Meanwhile there's no Security Minister to authorise MI5 surveillance of potential terrorists. No ministers at the DfE.
This is not our system working. MPs should still hold a Commons vote of no confidence to pry him out of Number Ten and put someone immediately in his place - interim or permanent.
Looking back, his mistake was probably sidelining and then losing Cummings.
No, this was how it was always going to end. Everything that has happened has stemmed from one simple, inescapable fact - that he was morally and temperametally unfit for high office. Everyone who has had any interaction with him or has even a passing knowledge of his biography knows this. Tory MPs knew this when they chose him as leader. Dominic Cummings knew this when he went to work for him. That he ever became PM is a testament to the weakness and failure of our political system and culture. The grubby chaos of the last few days is Boris Johnson's shame. But it is Britain's shame too.
Agreed with TSE, hurrah for our unwritten constitution!
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
Yes. The idea that we are in “a national crisis” - claimed by others on the prior thread - is absurd and insulting
Sri Lanka is in a crisis. Ukraine is in a crisis. Even America is in more of a political crisis
The UK’s quaint yet effective “constitution” has got rid of a prime minister within about 36 hours of it becoming obvious he had lost his party
That’s how it is meant to work. The man from the 1922 goes into Number 10 and comes out with a scalp. And so it is
36 hours! Other countries must envy our nimble turn of speed
We face many problems, but the constitution is not one of them
Indeed. We came close to a national crisis in late 2018 and early 2019, when Parliament couldn’t pass anything for months on end, but the PM resigning within days of having lost his party isn’t that.
People tend to get lost in the drama of unfolding events and lose the big picture.
Black Wednesday took place in 1992, but was far from forgotten in 1997. Similarly, the events of the last 48 hours will be remembered at the next election. The Conservative Party foisted a wholly unsuitable and unfit PM on us, with potentially disastrous consequences. That’s unforgivable.
Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd rather see him escorted out of Downing Street today than trust him to keep his word to resign in the autumn.
Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean Johnson can be trusted!
I agree. It's unlikely, but not inconceivable, that Johnson will seek to remain on a pretext (e.g. escalation in Ukraine).
He is being removed due to his personal misconduct and unsuitability (contrast May, who was unable to progress the key policy issue of the day but who was perfectly capable of acting as PM for an interim period). He also doesn't have a Government as such.
The right thing to do is for someone senior who doesn't intend to stand for the leadership to step in on an interim basis. Much though I dislike Raab, as DPM and ex-Foreign Secretary he is a qualified person (assuming he's not throwing his own hat in the ring).
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 14m It’s perfectly sensible for Boris to remain in post until the new leader is appointed. No need to add further disruption with an interim PM.
===
It's f*cking nuts imho.
It will end in another disaster of some description.
Urgent question To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the functioning of Government - Angela Rayner
Urgent question To ask the Home Secretary to make a statement on the national security implications, following the Salisbury attack, of the then Foreign Secretary’s private meeting with Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB officer - Yvette Cooper
Has Pincher resigned his seat yet? His notorious night out was only 7 (8?) days ago. We've all done some reprehensible things when pissed but few of us have managed to simultaneously leave ourselves open to serious criminal sanction and bring down a government.
That giant barrage you can hear? That's Labour and LibDem and SNP foxes being shot!
No it's the Tory party circular firing squad.
Indeed. There’s a lot of Tory glee today. What the poor wee souls don’t understand is that their Wilderness Years haven’t even started yet.
I honestly don't think they will care. The general expectation in life for conservatives is that people are honest, work hard and play by the rules to get ahead. Brexit allowed Boris to become leader when as Gove told us years ago he was unfit. Not following the rules and sending out ministers to lie repeatedly seems to have been the last straw moreso than partygate. Whilst Boris set the culture the Civil Servants and police should have stopped it all too. It is the financial impropriety (treehouse, wallpaper) moral standards (rumours of sexual activity in HoC, Pinchergate) and general truth telling that have really hurt. The writing was on the wall for me when instead of taking the huge vote against him as a reproach, he came out and said that he couldn't change, and for me the final nail was his criticism of those who had been sent out to lie for him saying they misunderstood and got it wrong.
I think we will see a weight lifted off as politicians are able to return to doing what they normally do
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 14m It’s perfectly sensible for Boris to remain in post until the new leader is appointed. No need to add further disruption with an interim PM.
===
It's f*cking nuts imho.
It will end in another disaster of some description.
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 14m It’s perfectly sensible for Boris to remain in post until the new leader is appointed. No need to add further disruption with an interim PM.
===
It's f*cking nuts imho.
It will end in another disaster of some description.
Hang on, last week people were saying Boris "might" break protocol by resigning without a replacement causing chaos, now they are criticising him for waiting for the replacement?
This one is not his fault. Everyone elses fault for appointing the narcissist in the first place.
Parody Boris @Parody_PM · 1m EMPLOYMENT WANTED: An experienced former Prime Minister seeks a new challenge. Skills include lying, shagging other people’s wives and being a lazy twat. Benefits must include free curtains, free holidays and a bullet proof tree house.
Has Pincher resigned his seat yet? His notorious night out was only 7 (8?) days ago. We've all done some reprehensible things when pissed but few of us have managed to simultaneously leave ourselves open to serious criminal sanction and bring down a government.
It'll be a Tory hold now Boris is on his way out I think.
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 14m It’s perfectly sensible for Boris to remain in post until the new leader is appointed. No need to add further disruption with an interim PM.
===
It's f*cking nuts imho.
It will end in another disaster of some description.
Nah, he's finished, he's a powerless hollow shell of a man now.
The second Theresa May said she was going to go and the leadership contest began, that was it, her time was over even if she kept the seat warm until her replacement was found.
Once he says he's going he loses all authority. The people who left office can return to it "out of a sense of duty" (though dealing with the Chancellor issue is going to be interesting) and the leadership contest can begin.
I think it’s highly dangerous leaving him as PM. A full leadership contest could and will take months.
Who is going to serve in the cabinet? Half the positions are vacant.
Fraser Nelson R4 recons short list of 2 by end of next week - out to party members on possibly an accelerated timetable so it’s done well before Autumn.
The party members should have no say in the leadership.
We are a Parliamentary democracy. It is the MPs who choose and who give confidence to a leader - and they need to choose the best person to lead the country. They need have a regard for all their voters not the limited few who are party members.
A tiny group of unrepresentative voters inflicted this twit on us before. They inflicted Corbyn on us. They should never again be allowed to do so.
I broke the news of the PM resigning on PB!!! You have no idea how satisfied that has made me!
Many moons ago, I was on a BBS when news came in that John Smith had died. There was a lot of joking and untrue stories posted on the BBS, and I just went: "Yeah, right."
That giant barrage you can hear? That's Labour and LibDem and SNP foxes being shot!
No it's the Tory party circular firing squad.
Indeed. There’s a lot of Tory glee today. What the poor wee souls don’t understand is that their Wilderness Years haven’t even started yet.
I honestly don't think they will care. The general expectation in life for conservatives is that people are honest, work hard and play by the rules to get ahead. Brexit allowed Boris to become leader when as Gove told us years ago he was unfit. Not following the rules and sending out ministers to lie repeatedly seems to have been the last straw moreso than partygate. Whilst Boris set the culture the Civil Servants and police should have stopped it all too. It is the financial impropriety (treehouse, wallpaper) moral standards (rumours of sexual activity in HoC, Pinchergate) and general truth telling that have really hurt. The writing was on the wall for me when instead of taking the huge vote against him as a reproach, he came out and said that he couldn't change, and for me the final nail was his criticism of those who had been sent out to lie for him saying they misunderstood and got it wrong.
I think we will see a weight lifted off as politicians are able to return to doing what they normally do
Tories being Tories? That’s certainly going to keep them in the teens in Scotland. What the Tories really need is to stop acting like Tories.
I think it’s highly dangerous leaving him as PM. A full leadership contest could and will take months.
Who is going to serve in the cabinet? Half the positions are vacant.
Fraser Nelson R4 recons short list of 2 by end of next week - out to party members on possibly an accelerated timetable so it’s done well before Autumn.
The party members should have no say in the leadership.
We are a Parliamentary democracy. It is the MPs who choose and who give confidence to a leader - and they need to choose the best person to lead the country. They need have a regard for all their voters not the limited few who are party members.
A tiny group of unrepresentative voters inflicted this twit on us before. They inflicted Corbyn on us. They should never again be allowed to do so.
Has Pincher resigned his seat yet? His notorious night out was only 7 (8?) days ago. We've all done some reprehensible things when pissed but few of us have managed to simultaneously leave ourselves open to serious criminal sanction and bring down a government.
He was relatively anonymous at Uni. One of the last I'd have picked. Only a few days since I remembered him. Didn't know he'd even made MP. He'll be remembered as a curious footnote.
Has Pincher resigned his seat yet? His notorious night out was only 7 (8?) days ago. We've all done some reprehensible things when pissed but few of us have managed to simultaneously leave ourselves open to serious criminal sanction and bring down a government.
She would like to think so. Morduant or Wallace seems more plausible. I wouldn't put it past a hardliner like Barclay making the final two.
It will be a Thatcherite vs. a conservative Cameroon. Truss is in pole position on the right. The other one, who will be the runner up is less certain.
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 14m It’s perfectly sensible for Boris to remain in post until the new leader is appointed. No need to add further disruption with an interim PM.
===
It's f*cking nuts imho.
It will end in another disaster of some description.
Nah, he's finished, he's a powerless hollow shell of a man now.
The second Theresa May said she was going to go and the leadership contest began, that was it, her time was over even if she kept the seat warm until her replacement was found.
Once he says he's going he loses all authority. The people who left office can return to it "out of a sense of duty" (though dealing with the Chancellor issue is going to be interesting) and the leadership contest can begin.
Well, education is free again, for a return to status quo ante.
(Not yet resigned) ministers and cabinet will stay on with Boris whilst a new leader is sorted. Wallace has basically laid out the boiler plate templte they'll all come out with on twitter after Boris announces his resignation pending a new leader.
By clinging on for so long, though, he has left considerable chaos in government.
Resigned ministers can't just pick up where they left off - and the process of appointing replacements should surely not be left to the deluded zombie PM ?
I think it’s highly dangerous leaving him as PM. A full leadership contest could and will take months.
Who is going to serve in the cabinet? Half the positions are vacant.
Surely all Ministers who resigned in the last 48 hours will be invited to return to their posts and carry on pending the new leadership and the new government. Bit tricky for Zahawi though. And I don't fancy Gove's chances.
I broke the news of the PM resigning on PB!!! You have no idea how satisfied that has made me!
Many moons ago, I was on a BBS when news came in that John Smith had died. There was a lot of joking and untrue stories posted on the BBS, and I just went: "Yeah, right."
Sadly, he had.
Sadly a natural reaction to a shock like that.
I remember going to school to be told that a Year 12 pupil, who was a prefect and RSM of the Cadets in the school, had died. I thought it was a very bad joke, only to then be told no, seriously, he had. He'd taken his parents car keys and crashed it into a tree. 😢
Comments
It is better than England simultaneously winning the Footy World Cup, the Rugby World Cup and every other sport through to tiddlywinks World Cup. Oh joyous days!
Nuclear war with Russia it is.
Our unwritten constitution has bloodlessly, peacefully and rapidly led to the fall of the PM - despite the written rules claiming he was safe for 12 months.
Long may our unwritten constitution continue. Nimble agility of Parliament doing what it has to do is better than sclerotic, inevitably archaic "rules" being put in place that can be abused by whoever is in charge of the rules.
Let's hope we don't find there's another one floating to the top...
Edit: Also, glad I'm (mostly) traded out of Starmer for next PM a while ago. All green there.
Wallace has basically laid out the boiler plate templte they'll all come out with on twitter after Boris announces his resignation pending a new leader.
He's untrustworthy and will seek to remain, buggering up the country to try and buy himself a favourable legacy in the meantime.
Get rid of him, PCP, or be shown to be utter fools once again.
Who is going to serve in the cabinet?
Half the positions are vacant.
Just piping up to say how absolutely brilliant PB is as a site for following unfolding political drama. It's a one-stop shop for everything you need to know, much better than any other source of news. It's not just the quality and variety of the commentary, it's also the links that people post, including to Twitter (which I never look at other than on here). Almost every resignation letter has been linked to here - I wouldn't have read any of them otherwise. So thanks to OGH and all involved.
I now expect to be banned for sycophancy, but that's a price worth paying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqXICXpquf8
You're history
My enemy
You're history
So get on your bike and take a hike right out of here
Sri Lanka is in a crisis. Ukraine is in a crisis. Even America is in more of a political crisis
The UK’s quaint yet effective “constitution” has got rid of a prime minister within about 36 hours of it becoming obvious he had lost his party
That’s how it is meant to work. The man from the 1922 goes into Number 10 and comes out with a scalp. And so it is
36 hours! Other countries must envy our athletic turn of speed
We face many problems, but the constitution is not one of them
Edit* There's a Brexit loony on TV whose name I've forgotten who has put his hat into the ring. (Steve Baker) and the even bigger loony Braverman)
This triggers the Conservative leadership election.
He isn’t resigning as PM - he will do that when the new Conservative leader is chosen.
Who are the players who are jockeying for position now?
Cersei - Truss
Littlefinger - Gove
Varys - Zahawi
Targaryen - May/Hunt
Ned Stark - Sunak
Sandor Clegane - Patel
https://twitter.com/GeorgeFreemanMP/status/1544961865146662913
Decide in haste.
The Tory Party needs to decide what it is for.
They are desperate not to have that debate.
https://twitter.com/haveigotnews/status/1544959113024634880?s=21&t=U6sRATXCaUg-fHI3ckdssA
I agree. It's unlikely, but not inconceivable, that Johnson will seek to remain on a pretext (e.g. escalation in Ukraine).
He is being removed due to his personal misconduct and unsuitability (contrast May, who was unable to progress the key policy issue of the day but who was perfectly capable of acting as PM for an interim period). He also doesn't have a Government as such.
The right thing to do is for someone senior who doesn't intend to stand for the leadership to step in on an interim basis. Much though I dislike Raab, as DPM and ex-Foreign Secretary he is a qualified person (assuming he's not throwing his own hat in the ring).
Anyone who thinks Johnson remaining as PM wont mean him spending every waking minute trying to find a way to extended that time in No 10 by hook or crook or engineering early election somehow has not been awake these last few months.
Boris simply cannot be trusted to be PM for another 3 hours let alone 3 months.
1. Hard right wing nut job will find enough MP support to make run off
2. Bidding war over hardest Brexit and lowest taxes possible
3. Demented elderly membership picks hard right wing nut job
4. Socioeconomic collapse. Scenes
The disconnect between what Johnson says and reality is, I'm afraid, always going to be the issue.
This is not our system working. MPs should still hold a Commons vote of no confidence to pry him out of Number Ten and put someone immediately in his place - interim or permanent.
The grubby chaos of the last few days is Boris Johnson's shame. But it is Britain's shame too.
Time to stamp on his fingers and be shot of him.
You have no idea how satisfied that has made me!
You might think that Johnson’s -60s favourability ratings in Scotland are exceptional. They’re not. May and Cameron were similarly unpopular.
In fact, there’s a few names on the Tory list that might even plumb new depths.
(((Dan Hodges)))
@DPJHodges
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14m
It’s perfectly sensible for Boris to remain in post until the new leader is appointed. No need to add further disruption with an interim PM.
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It's f*cking nuts imho.
It will end in another disaster of some description.
Urgent question
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the functioning of Government - Angela Rayner
Urgent question
To ask the Home Secretary to make a statement on the national security implications, following the Salisbury attack, of the then Foreign Secretary’s private meeting with Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB officer - Yvette Cooper
https://www.parliament.uk/business/
I think we will see a weight lifted off as politicians are able to return to doing what they normally do
This one is not his fault. Everyone elses fault for appointing the narcissist in the first place.
@Parody_PM
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EMPLOYMENT WANTED: An experienced former Prime Minister seeks a new challenge. Skills include lying, shagging other people’s wives and being a lazy twat. Benefits must include free curtains, free holidays and a bullet proof tree house.
The second Theresa May said she was going to go and the leadership contest began, that was it, her time was over even if she kept the seat warm until her replacement was found.
Once he says he's going he loses all authority. The people who left office can return to it "out of a sense of duty" (though dealing with the Chancellor issue is going to be interesting) and the leadership contest can begin.
We are a Parliamentary democracy. It is the MPs who choose and who give confidence to a leader - and they need to choose the best person to lead the country. They need have a regard for all their voters not the limited few who are party members.
A tiny group of unrepresentative voters inflicted this twit on us before. They inflicted Corbyn on us. They should never again be allowed to do so.
Sadly, he had.
That’s certainly going to keep them in the teens in Scotland.
What the Tories really need is to stop acting like Tories.
Let’s all hope that, whatever happens in Westminster, the focus on that country isn’t lost in the coming days, weeks and months.
One of the last I'd have picked. Only a few days since I remembered him. Didn't know he'd even made MP. He'll be remembered as a curious footnote.
Hartlepool peak Boris, I said
Toast, I said
If all my toast bets had been toast by end 22 bets I would be the richest man on PB. Lesson about greed and impatience there.
Resigned ministers can't just pick up where they left off - and the process of appointing replacements should surely not be left to the deluded zombie PM ?
I remember going to school to be told that a Year 12 pupil, who was a prefect and RSM of the Cadets in the school, had died. I thought it was a very bad joke, only to then be told no, seriously, he had. He'd taken his parents car keys and crashed it into a tree. 😢
My decision to rejoin the Tory party in January to vote in a Tory leadership election in 2022 makes me a seer.