UK General Discussion:The Rt. Hon Alex Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Populist Hero

[CumbrianLefty]

The solution was of course to give the party money.

And did you?

[CumbrianLefty]

Imagine being in such a bubble that you think the Rwanda disgrace was a ‘success’ in the court of public opinion. The delusion is strong with this one.

Even more striking when you consider how well anti-migrant stuff *usually* polls.

[CumbrianLefty]

They maybe voted Labour when they were young in the 1960s/70s, or perhaps just once in 1997.

(some remarkably right wing people did so then, as was also anecdotally the case in 1945)

[CumbrianLefty]

They maybe voted Labour when they were young in the 1960s/70s, or perhaps just once in 1997.

(some remarkably right wing people did so then, as was also anecdotally the case in 1945)

My paternal grandfather (died in 2005) voted Labour in 1945 and subsequently said "never again", although he was never a particularly right-wing Tory (had reservations about Thatcher, including her handling of the Falklands). Legend has it that he was a radical leftie in the 1930s, however.

1997 saw Labour get the endorsements of some celebrities with generally unpleasant views - John McCririck (the now deceased horse racing bloke) and Michael Caine come to mind.

One of the most prolific posters in a certain other psephological discussion site is both eyewateringly right wing and voted Labour in 1997 (something they are still quite unabashed about)

[CumbrianLefty]

If the SNP does go ahead with it's "advisory referendum", then would the unionist response be to boycott it ?

Yes, of course.

I'm sure it will go every bit as well as the Catalan one did.

[CumbrianLefty]

Well you could perhaps see him being stupid and vain enough to fantasise about that actually being a possibility, but even many Tories wouldn't buy it (and pretty much none of the Scottish party would)

[CumbrianLefty]

Criticism of Starmer over the strikes may have been a tad overdone, given that polling now appears to show he is close to median public opinion on the issue.

[CumbrianLefty]

Apparently word is that Labour MPs who stood on the RMT picket line are going to be desciplined.

Ironic. A Labour Party is punishing MPs who stand with labour.

It's disgusting is what it is.

Well it’s only partly true- members of the frontbench might get told off. If you’re on the frontbench you have to do whatever stupid thing the leader wants you to do, or in this case- doesn’t want you to. MPs were at one stage shocked to discover they couldn’t break the whip on votes and remain!

I don’t support it but it’s not as if the Labour Party has an unblemished history on this- Attlee used ex-soldiers as strike-breakers

The cynic suspects this was Starmer trying to appear "tough" to swing voters ahead of the byelection.

[CumbrianLefty]

Whelp, both by-elections were thumping losses for the Tories. Lets see how BoJo convinces the backbenchers to save his job this time.

Well, he's not due to face another VONC until next summer. I know that can be changed, but it needs to be done at the right time and way - some MPs maybe wish they had delayed their letters now.

[CumbrianLefty]

You know, someone should just put a sword up the arse of that fat c**nt. Jesus Christ it takes longer to remove CEO's in slowly failing family firms. Can someone not just give the pig a good sh**tting.

Tories made the Faustian pact with him, and really must suffer the consequences for a while yet

[CumbrianLefty]

There are some Tory MPs demanding another VONC before the summer recess, this seems unlikely.

[CumbrianLefty]

Take this with a pinch of salt but I know of an MP from the north (though not "red wall" whatever that means) who is suspect number one for leaving the party and possibly joining Labour, although that latter might be a stretch.

Tbh,I wonder if defectors would suffer an electoral penalty. Defecting from the Tories to Labour 2 years after being elected seems extremely craven and unprinciplied.

Hmmm, not sure if that is how it actually works.

[CumbrianLefty]

Labour had some originally English MPs in Scotland until at least the 1990s.

EDIT: in fact Tony Worthington only stood down in 2005.

[CumbrianLefty]

Even now many Scot Nats still have a vivid folk memory of 1979 and its consequences - that alone is a reason why I will believe them voting down possible Labour minority rule when I see it.

[CumbrianLefty]

Denser than plutonium

[CumbrianLefty]

Number 10 saying that Pincher admitted it, so there doesn't need to be any further investigations or sanctions. I do wonder just how long this self-evidently risible "line" can prevail.

[CumbrianLefty]

New this afternoon - the Times is reporting fresh allegations against Pincher, this time at the 2021 Party Conference.

The Times apparently has contemporaneous evidence - texts from the victim at the time of the alleged event, discussing it with a friend. It’s further evidence of a pattern of behaviour, and makes it harder to see Pincher surviving as a member of the Commons.

Lots of people think the Tories would hold a Tamworth byelection even now (and yes, I am inclined to agree with that myself) and that might make it a bit more likely he is pushed out over this.

[CumbrianLefty]

More and more stuff coming out about Pincher, decent chance he will be gone as an MP within days.

[CumbrianLefty]

https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1544280090640523264?s=20&t=nhY9PMiiV...

I don't see anything happening before Johnson buys himself some more time with the summer recess.  Though that even he is running out of road now, is pretty indisputable.

[CumbrianLefty]

Tory MPs would be foolish not to take another look at Sunak as Johnson's successor.

He has dropped a heavy hint that part of the reason for quitting is that Johnson is not sufficiently in favour of eye-watering austerity - one of the few points in the PMs favour.

No thanks.

[CumbrianLefty]

He will - perhaps absolutely literally - have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of No 10.

This is part of the price you pay for picking a confirmed sociopath because they are a "vote winner".

[CumbrianLefty]

Taking all bets: does Boris survive this latest Broadside? Does the government survive or need to be fully reconstituted in some fashion?

Boris surviving is always a safe bet, unfortunately. This would have doomed any other government.

He needs to stay until he has toxified the wider party as much as is possible.

Its the very least the Tories deserve.

[CumbrianLefty]

I genuinely wonder how many more resignations the government can take while holding the “tis but a scratch” line. Surely we’re close to the breaking point now?
https://mobile.twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1544430788153954304

Well, apart from Sunak and Javid they're all pretty small fry aren't they.

[CumbrianLefty]

My hot take is Partygate isnt what really caused this but rather what caused this was after 12 years of Tory rule, the voters were looking for any excuse to turn on the Tories. Partygate and Starmer being inoffensive enough gave that excuse and the rest is history

I'm not sure this makes much sense. If the electorate wanted to turn on the Tories, they've had a number of opportunities before this year.

Indeed - 2021 was a year of great electoral success for them until the autumn.

Maybe the electorate have *finally* turned on the Tories *now* (we can but hope) but they've proved malleable by the right wing's (and captive media's) ever changing cynicism for a pretty long time.

[CumbrianLefty]

Failed to check it for typos, but this does feel like 1992...

What happened then - do you mean 1990??