UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[Silent Hunter]

Privilege Committee report has just released - they’ve really thrown the book at him.

90 day suspension recommended prior to resignation, and they also recommend Johnson being denied a former member’s parliamentary pass, effectively barring him from the parliamentary estate like Bercow.

Two of the committee actually wanted to expel him entirely in a vote on Tuesday.

[JimJamUK]

45% of people think the proposed 90 day suspension would not have gone far enough. For all the talk about Boris being the British Trump, the reality is you cannot escape the British publics love of law and order and hate of politicians!

https://twitter.com/yougov/status/1669346121179889665?s=61&t=I1DE8_cg7gmZrch...

[Blair]

A clear sign of things is that even his small band of merry men (yes they’re almost all men!) in the parliamentary party aren’t actually denying the charge that he lied but rather are huffing in vague generalities about common law, committee membership and natural justice- the last time we saw this was when Owen Paterson quit.

[Torrain]

Aye - changed days. Even Rees-Mogg would only go as far as saying he *may* vote against the committee’s recommendation on Monday - and there are only 7 MPs publicly suggesting they’ll do so.

If there even is a division (and I assume that’s what Dorries is still here for), it’s not looking like it’ll be much better than the Windsor Framework vote in terms of support for Johnson. 

[Torrain]

A little bit of Scottish news I’m keeping an eye on - per the BBC, Circularity Scotland, the recycling firm behind the Deposit Return Scheme is on the verge of collapse. They’ve confirmed that they sent their staff home last week, and can’t confirm whether they’ll pay this months fees or return to the office.

At the moment, it looks like opposition MSPs will blame the responsible minister, the Greens’ Lorna Slater, Slater will blame Westminster, and no progress will be made.

[EastAnglianLefty]

45% of people think the proposed 90 day suspension would not have gone far enough. For all the talk about Boris being the British Trump, the reality is you cannot escape the British publics love of law and order and hate of politicians!

https://twitter.com/yougov/status/1669346121179889665?s=61&t=I1DE8_cg7gmZrch...

He is Britain's Trump, in that we also hate Trump.

[Torrain]

Siân Berry (former Green co-leader, current London Assembly member, and former Green candidate for London Mayor) is running for the Green selection in Brighton Pavilion.

Guess we’ll see whether some star-power (by Green standards) helps their chances here (it worked for then-leader Caroline Lucas, who seems to have had no real geographical ties to the seat before she ran there in 2010). Or, alternatively, if parachuting a candidate in, during an election where selections have become increasingly local, causes some tension.

[NewYorkExpress]

Former head of the Police Watchdog, Michael Lockwood had been charged with three counts of rape against a sixteen year old in an incident that took place between October 1985 and March 1986.

he former head of the U.K.'s police watchdog, Michael Lockwood, has been charged with three counts of rape against a girl who was under the age of 16, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said Friday. He has also been charged with six counts of indecent assault.

Lockwood, 64, ran the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which handles serious complaints against police in England and Wales, from 2018 to 2022, the organization said. On its website, the IOPC says it investigates, "the most serious matters, including deaths following police contact," and that it sets "the standards by which the police should handle complaints."

Lockwood stepped down in December last year after it emerged that he was under investigation.  

The events for which Lockwood is facing charges allegedly took place between October 1985 and March 1986, prosecutors said Friday. At that time, Lockwood was in his 30s. He is due to appear in court on June 28.  

[TheTide]

45% of people think the proposed 90 day suspension would not have gone far enough. For all the talk about Boris being the British Trump, the reality is you cannot escape the British publics love of law and order and hate of politicians!

https://twitter.com/yougov/status/1669346121179889665?s=61&t=I1DE8_cg7gmZrch...

The hatred of politicians (or cynical views towards politics in general) is the key point. Even someone as relatively uncontroversial and bland as Joe Biden seems to have around a fifth of the population that loves him (as opposed to merely approving of him) and of course Trump seems to have up to a third. The hatred of them appears to be more based on them being on the 'wrong side' rather than on a general view of them being part of a rotten political culture (the unpopularity of Johnson is mostly based on him being seen as a particularly good example of this).

[CumbrianLefty]

Siân Berry (former Green co-leader, current London Assembly member, and former Green candidate for London Mayor) is running for the Green selection in Brighton Pavilion.

Guess we’ll see whether some star-power (by Green standards) helps their chances here (it worked for then-leader Caroline Lucas, who seems to have had no real geographical ties to the seat before she ran there in 2010). Or, alternatively, if parachuting a candidate in, during an election where selections have become increasingly local, causes some tension.

Lucas did have a connection to Brighton - even if somewhat tenuous - as a Green MEP for the South East region to which it belonged. Even so, her winning the selection over the locally based previous candidate Keith Taylor did cause some internal disquiet which lingered for a while afterwards.

[YL]

I suspect that Brighton Pavilion is well down the list of constituencies when ordered by how important it is to be local.

[Blair]

I suspect that Brighton Pavilion is well down the list of constituencies when ordered by how important it is to be local.

Yes in my head it’s a suburb of Clapham!

[Torrain]

New Panelbase poll of Scottish Westminster VI has been published for the Sunday Times, with a tie for first place:

• Labour: 34%
• SNP: 34%
• Conservative: 18%
• Lib Dem: 7%
• Other: 7%

Obligatory “it’s only one poll” disclaimer, but it brings the SNP’s nine year long winning streak (they’ve led every Scottish Westminster poll since before the referendum, best I can tell) to a close.

Given Scot Lab’s vote is more efficiently distributed, concentrated in the Central Belt, all seat projections I’ve seen put them 4-7 seats ahead of the SNP on those numbers.

[JimJamUK]

Video footage has finally leaked from one of the Tory lockdown parties. It includes jokes acknowledging they are blatantly breaking the rules.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/first-ever-partygate-video-revealed-30259486

[YL]

Video footage has finally leaked from one of the lockdown parties at Number 10. It includes jokes acknowledging they are blatantly breaking the rules.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/first-ever-partygate-video-revealed-30259486

This party is the one which has been previously reported featuring Shaun Bailey (who got a peerage in Johnson's resignation honours) and was at Conservative Campaign HQ, not No 10.

[Cassius]

Video footage has finally leaked from one of the lockdown parties at Number 10. It includes jokes acknowledging they are blatantly breaking the rules.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/first-ever-partygate-video-revealed-30259486

I’ll be frank, all that this indicates is that the rules were always a total pisstake rather than that the Tory staffers were in the wrong.

[Silent Hunter]

David Warburton (Suspended Conservative, Somerton and Frome) is resigning as an MP

[Tintrlvr]

David Warburton (Suspended Conservative, Somerton and Frome) is resigning as an MP

Given the history this has to be a nailed-on LD gain.

[CumbrianLefty]

Video footage has finally leaked from one of the lockdown parties at Number 10. It includes jokes acknowledging they are blatantly breaking the rules.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/first-ever-partygate-video-revealed-30259486

Whatever you think of the rules, lots of people did do their best to abide by them and would have had the very understandable expectation that those in charge of us would do the same.

Yes the revulsion these revelations cause, is much more visceral than rational.

That doesn't make it any less deadly for the Tories.

[Conservatopia]

There's a whole generation of kids out there who think the Tories' full name is the Conservative Lockdown Party.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

There's a whole generation of kids out there who think the Tories' full name is the Conservative Lockdown Party.

It's technically still "Conservative and Unionist Party", right?

[Torrain]

There's a whole generation of kids out there who think the Tories' full name is the Conservative Lockdown Party.

It's technically still "Conservative and Unionist Party", right?

Aye - although the full title only seems to be used these days by Scottish Tories trying to make a point.

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/DrJadeMcGlynn/status/1670414114089312256?s=20

[Oryxslayer]

I see Starmer unveiled BBBB today

(The fourth B is for British)

[CumbrianLefty]

There's a whole generation of kids out there who think the Tories' full name is the Conservative Lockdown Party.

It's technically still "Conservative and Unionist Party", right?

Aye - although the full title only seems to be used these days by Scottish Tories trying to make a point.

Or those Tories (now likely a clear minority) still devoted to the NI unionist cause.