This week has been exciting for me because I’m learning so many new things about the parliamentary system! It’s like The West Wing, only with British accents and people screaming at each other in the House of Commons. So I don’t know what this is, but it feels… funny?
The BBC is reporting that the Conservative government may put forward a vote of no confidence in itself
— Matthew Garrahan (@MattGarrahan) September 5, 2019
Dear parliamentarians: this is crazy, right?? From what I understand, Boris Johnson’s actions have been so over-the-top and fascistic that even members of his own party are running for the hills. So he wanted to call for a new election to strengthen his power – because the Tories would have still retained a majority, most likely – but he was blocked from doing so. His “proroguation” move backfired and the only way to get any kind of vote on anything is by asking for a vote of no confidence in himself and his party. CNN had a great explanation:
Boris Johnson has lost every one of his first votes in parliament, an unprecedented record in the modern era. Undeterred, the Prime Minister purged 21 members of his parliamentary party who voted against him, blowing apart his majority. Then, his efforts to secure a snap general election — with the goal of replacing the sacked lawmakers with a new slate of candidates more aligned with his hard-Brexit views — were scuppered when opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn refused to play along.
Now, he is effectively trapped in Downing Street, with Corbyn holding the keys. The government plans to propose new elections again on Monday, but the opposition leader says his party will only support the move when its efforts to prevent a no-deal Brexit are locked down.
“Certainly his biggest tactical mistake so far was not to realize that it was Corbyn, as leader of the opposition, who effectively had veto power over when a general election could be held,” said Professor Tony Travers, director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the London School of Economics.
“It looks as if the Conservatives and their advisers thought that if they offered a general election to the Labour Party it would jump at the opportunity, but the way things have turned out — the coming together of the no-deal bill and the possibility that the opposition can frustrate a general election — creates the possibility of keeping the Prime Minister trapped in government, unable to fulfill his commitment to leave the EU come what may.” Now the newly minted PM finds himself in a position that Theresa May never was — on his knees, begging the opposition for a general election.
*inserts the Mo’nique “When you do clownery, the clown comes back to bite” GIF*
I mean, I love it? I’m sorry the UK is shambolic, but at least everyone seems properly aghast with BoJo and they’re all working together to screw him over. It’s beautiful.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
He didn’t realise all the things that got him laughs in the prep schools, and the posh uni clubs, and at the expensive dinner speeches wouldn’t work in front of a population looking to find out how badly they’re going to suffer.
He didn’t but that is also due to yes-men like Scummings.
If you want a sarcastic laugh, watch the HBO Brexit movie that portrays Scummings as tortured by his role in this all. What a load of crap.
I second the observation that Johnson has spent his life with his posh friends being obnoxious and showy and acting as if none of his actions have consequences, because for *them*, they do not. Rich mummy and daddy or a friend from the club will swoop in and smoothe things over. Not for nothing, Johnson was a member of the Bullingdon Club at Oxford, a club for posh arseholes whose whole raison d’etre seems to be vandalizing and causing physical destruction.
This is what happens when the people in charge won’t suffer any of the consequences of their poor decisions. It goes for elected leaders and the political consulting class.
One of my closest friends created that film and that’s completely not true. It’s a brilliant film and a must-see for anyone interested in learning more about how Brexit came about. There’s certainly nothing in the film to indicate that Cummings was/is “tortured” – quite the opposite.
Yeah, I’ve read old accounts of and looked at old pics of Boris and he seems so full of himself. He grew up with “white mandedness” and really thinks that he can rule the world with his attitude of lofty superiority and “better-than-thou” airs. He bought the kool-aid and thought his superior intellect could force his agenda through. Miscalculated badly. Strategically he is a dweeb.
His first miscalculation was believing he had intellect, superior or otherwise.
In point of fact, he’s just another giant pampered feckless idiot manbaby that failed upwards his whole life, until he finally hit a job where there was no hiding from himself, nor hiding himself from the people. The world sees BoJo The Clown for what he is; and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s half the source of the tantrums we’re seeing this week.
… also there should be a more specific German word than Schadenfreude, for watching a terrible person get something they want badly but don’t deserve and then hating every second of it.
I hope it involves the German word for “Tuesday”, as that is when I would like to see him next.
*slow clap*
Yesterday, after his speech he went to walk in a town near Leeds, one of the passers-by told him “Please leave this town now” and another asked him why he was there instead of being in Brussels to negotiate a deal.
It is beyond parody now. Parliament live channel should make people pay for their subscription because this charade has more twists than a Netflix series.
“Please leave this town” was hilarious, as was the letter from the police and crime commissioner, unhappy at the new recruits being used as set-dressing for a political speech.
When I saw he was speaking in front of a crowd of police officers he appeared like a tin-pot dictator Pinochet-style without the medals.
Great response from that police chief!
This morning Johnson is wrecking havoc in Aberdeenshire…..
Speaking in front of new police recruits or anyone in uniform as a backdrop is a classic Trump move. Glad to see that at least in the UK the police commissioner stands up to the PM for that kind of publicity stunt/ buffoonery.
The BBC Parliament channel is great TV, I try and watch PMQ’s (Prime Minister’s Questions) live as much as possible.
Everyone said he was a poor man’s Chump and well this week he has proven it. I still think he will be the shortest serving PM in the UK’s history – if he does order a vote of no confidence against himself to get his election, he might not like the result.
Also, someone needs to follow Scummings around with a live video stream – now THAT would be epic watching.
We don’t have a licence anymore so I cannot watch it live. I am left with live transcripts and YouTube videos. But yes I always thought it was a great channel and used to watch PMQs as well.
I have to say in this instance I am envious that the UK has politicians who put country over party. The US would be in a much better place if we had conservatives willing to do the same here.
+1
So am I. What a different place we’d be in now if Republicans refused to accept the wasteful, ecosystem destroying border wall, families being torn apart and placed in cages, criminalizing the legal practice of presenting oneself at a border to request asylum, dismantling the EPA, the out in the open corruption of that disgusting family…
@Valiantly Varnished
It took longer than 3 years to them to grow a spine though. They had countless debates about Brexit where those same 20 members put party before country.
It took a die-or-do situation to wake them up… Yesterday Johnson promised “I will die in a ditch if we don’t leave the EU before October 31st”, meaning we barely have 2 months before our government in charge willingly destroys the country.
Agreed. Politicians should not be loyal to a leader. Only to the country and people they serve.
Yes, I”m kinda marveling at that.
Its not always like this, they’ve been sitting on their asses for the past 3 years – they finally acted only to save their own skins as if they didn’t it would be catastrophic for EVERYONE. Plus they all hate BoJo and saw an opportunity to stick it to him.
They are only putting country before party as it suits them at the moment, once this is over they will go back to pushing their own agenda.
@Digital Unicorn
I agree with every single word you said.
BoJo’s brother, Jo (Joseph) Johnson resigned from his brother’s cabinet yesterday and announced he would “stand down” (not seek re-election in Yank speak) from his MP seat in the next election.
Yes, it prompted one of the best headlines i’ve ever seen – Jo Johnson quits Boris Johnson’s Tory party to spend less time with his family
@Rachel, It my understanding that Jo Johnson has stated in politician double speak and knows this BREXIT thing will not work in any form to give people who voted “Leave” what they want and what they thought they were voting for in the referendum.
I could be wrong but this was the NPR radio commentary I heard. If you know more, please post details.
That’s all correct. He said that he could not square family loyalty and the national interest. He’s always been a Remainer, and as I understand it having to serve in his brother’s government has created ‘unresolvable tensions’ within the family because he so deeply disagrees with any kind of Brexit, let alone a no-deal. The humour was because most politicians cite ‘spending more time with family’ as the reason for their departure (see most recently Ruth Davidson of the Scottish Conservatives). This headline was just a play on that.
He looks hunted. Such a good look for him. I’d like to see it on our Bozo (no disrespect to the real Bozo–watched the show as a kid before clowns got scary).
CNN falling into the trap of saying BoJo wants a “hard” Brexit. No, he wants a No Deal Brexit. Way different and far more irresponsible. The imprecise language is only adding to the confusion.
Yes, I have seen that many foreign reports are confused between a hard and a no-deal Brexit
Honestly I don’t think most Brits know what no deal Brexit means. I’ve read that lots of people think no deal means “the whole Brexit thing has been cancelled” and others who think no deal means an immediate and total clean break with the EU, when the opposite in fact is true – no deal means the start of years of painfully renegotiating trade deals and all other legal matters.
I’m just so furious with them I can barely speak these days. Load of out of touch schoolboys with god complexes who give not two shits about the population, just waving their tiny Tory dicks about. Don’t even get me started on Rhys-Mogg and his received pronunciation drawling f**wittery. What an utter sack of dickweasels.
I love my RP accent, to be honest. It’s not the accent that makes the monster.
No, I absolutely agree. It’s the way he drawls things out as if he’s reeeeally too posh to be bothered.
RP accent might be nice to hear from actors, politicians or journalists but in real life it is disliked as much as possible, in particular here in Northern England where local accents are generally synonymous with lower classes and RP with Londoners or posh people.
Rees-Mogg wouldn’t have a seat in northern England just due to his accent lol
The way he lounged on the front benches sent me out of control.
I do now have a girl crush on Jess Phillips
It honestly makes me sick to my stomach with fury. I didn’t think things could get much worse than Theresa May, but here we are.
Jess Phillips talks a good game, but she sat idly by while Luciana Berger was relentlessly and viciously bullied out of Labour by anti-Semites, and I struggle to forgive her for that.
Leachglass – did she? Or did she stick up for her and actually damage her career in the Labour Party?
That she stood up for her and it damaged her standing within the Labour Party really tells you everything you need to know about Corbyn and the antisemitic entryists he’s welcomed into the Party.
Exactly right, Kaiser. I’m in Australia and have been following BJ’s (!) shenanigans with relish since before he became PM. It’s crazy, disruptive and frustrating for the British people, I’m sure, but I still find it bloody hilarious! The Tories couldn’t wait to get shot of Theresa May, and look what they got in exchange… I’d love to know what she thinks about the last six weeks. I can’t wait to see what happens next week.
They will turn on him once it becomes apparent that they will lose an election and they will if he stays in charge and I wouldn’t count on Labour walking into No 10 either.
LibDems???? Who would be the LibDems coalition partner the Greens???
ETA: IMHO Jeremy Corbyn is Labour’s problem in that he will not completely answer questions or describe policy in any detail but I could be wrong.
Also, he’s a huge racist, so.
leachglasses – is he? I don’t think so.
@leachglasses and Rachael Prest – I think he’s an anti-Semite myself. In the same breath though, Johnson is racist, misogynistic and classist. So yeah, no prizes. We need proportional representation so that I can vote GREEN.
@Rachel Prest – If any right-winger made the same antisemitic ‘mistakes’ as Corbyn has, we would definitely consider them racist. So, yes, he is.
I consider anti-Semitism to be “racism”, just as many call Islamophobia “racism”, though Muslim/Jew aren’t races.
And Corbyn certainly is.
But when we speak up about it we’re always told Johnson is worse. Of course he is, but it shouldn’t be that difficult to find someone who isn’t a racist or sexist.
@leachglasses – I’m with you. Like I said, I’m a member of the Green party. I give it money, I turn up to the odd meeting – and my vote is a lost one because we do First Past the Post.
@duchess of hazard
From you like to God’s ear! We need to get rid of the FPTP system, I want to vote Green as well! My first vote ever was for the Greens at 18 🙂 (not in UK, of course)
@Leachglasses @S
Yes Corbyn is antisemitic and racist. But given that us northerners only have a choice between Corbyn and Johnson/Brexit party, if there is a general election I would vote Labour.
I’d bet now many Americans understand the difference between warmonger Hillary and warmonger Trump who would like to nuke even hurricanes.
Yeah, he is a huge racist, and this is coming from someone who’s been an extreme lefty and die hard Labour supporter (only drifting from Labour to vote Green) since the 90s.
The thing with Boris Johnson is, up to now, he’s always been cushioned from his bad choices. When he got sacked from the Telegraph, he went to The Spectator, then returned to the Telegraph. With relationships, he’s fallen out of one’s woman’s lap into another. He’s been a laugh in his narrow, posh circles, in terms of acting like a shambling fool, but now, in reality, every bad choice he’s made has come to bite. Withdrew the whip from the 21 Tories, got -43 votes. The Prorogue (shutting down) of Parliament, only for the opposition parties to focus sharply and move to block him.
Johnson walks around a town (because he’s supposed to be good with people), only for someone to shake his hand and say, “Please leave my town”, and other person remonstrating him for playing games.
Up to now Boris Johnson has seen himself as being well liked by members of his own party and other parties, only for them to defeat him in quick succession. The game is still afoot, but like I said, it’s the first time Johnson’s been making bad decisions, and they are now smacking him in the face and balls.
None is this makes sense to me and the more I try to figure it out the more confusing it gets. How do you fire an elected official? Are they out of a job or just without party? What happens to the places they represent? Do they not get a voice? How does having an election mean they will get even more conservative MPs instead of the same ones that were elected in the first place or far less conservative MPs because folks are sick of the mess? The only thing I know for certain is that Kaiser loves the word shambolic
@HAD – with a Prime Minister, their fate is decided by the party, or if the prevailing political winds are against them, they resign. With Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor, they’d done a confidence vote, May barely won, and yet had to resign because her bill failed to get through parliament at the third time of choosing. Once a PM steps down from the head of the party, there’s a leadership election within the party, voted by the party faithful.
You can be out of the job of Prime Minister but still hold your job as MP (member of Parliament) until the next election, or if someone in your constitution puts forth a bill to recall you from service. Theresa May is still the MP of Maidenhead. When she was Prime Minister she’d be her title (PM) and the district she represents (Maidenhead).
With regards to an election and why Johnson wants it – is that we have first past the post (as in, the first party to get 10,000 votes counted, wins. The other votes are disregarded) is that he is hoping to go into a collaboration with the Brexit party and seize the majority of seats and thus force a no deal brexit.
However, the other parties don’t wish to give Johnson a general election, because they do want the danger of no deal ruled out, or (another) extension to Article 50. However, this is not within our rights to get it, and I think France and others would want us to crash out and be taught a lesson, tbh (I can’t blame them), but then the Republic of Ireland would suffer, so… squeakybum time.
Thank you for this!! But what happens to the 21 purges folks. Are they not MPs? Who was purged exactly and what happens to the folks they represent?
@had
They still stay in the Parliament for the time being, until there is a general election or de-selection. They just sit in the House of Commons as independents but not as part of a party. The list of the 21 MPs purged was on the Guardian but I cannot find it now.
I find Labour’s refusal to allow an election hilarious. They’re all like ‘An election? Nah we’re good” 😅
I have a lot of friends and relatives working in HoP, including friends working in the FO and who have worked with Cummings.
Johnson is a violent and ignorant dictator whose only skill and intelligence is in carefully crafting his “bumbling buffoon” image (eg staging the fake zip line incident). He is infamous for being verbally abusive towards staff and for doing no work or research but barking nonsensical orders at FO staff and expecting them to clean up his messes. He is a supreme egomaniac and doesn’t care about anything other than being able to preen that he got the top job. I imagine the reality has come as a harsh shock. He has no personal political beliefs and is entirely motivated by desire for money, fame and status.
Cummings otoh is genuinely politically motivated; he is a zealot who thinks he’s a million times smarter than anyone else, and wants to see complete chaos and basically to see the entire system destroyed so a completely new social/political system can be created from the ashes.
I wonder if he spent the last few years preparing for PM by watching Trump rallies. He never had a Brexit plan back in 2016 and he’s still making it up as he goes along. And his voice is annoying. Sounds like he’s under water, which I guess he is.
I swear, IMPO, the gene pool re: him and Take-A-💩 is few and far between, not only in looks/ aesthetics but conduct. mannerisms and reasonings as well.