Bye bye Boris?

Some are saying 'oh well, it's just like a speeding fine, nothing important' - missing the point entirely. The accusation is that the Prime Minister misled parliament and broke laws that his government pressed on to ordinary citizens. No matter if you think they're trivial. The government must abide by the laws they set at all times, else face disciplinary action and, to potentially have misled parliament and denied wrongdoing, even after a police investigation that resulted in 20+ fines being issued....well...time to fall on ones sword.
THIS!

Instead of holding his hands up and saying "OK, you got me there - we were partying wildly all night long and some of us were even excused clothing!" he decided to lie and moreover, to lie to the House.

It is called 'Partygate' for a reason - Watergate escalated into Nixon having to get his hat and coat, not because of the dirty tricks being used against the Democrats running against him, but because he denied all knowledge of those dirty tricks. The toad has forgotten the lessons of history. Like most narcissistic people, he has made the telling of total lies the very foundation of his life.
You're also saying 'Well it could be worse, we could have Keith/Corbyn/Abbot/A potato as leader' - well yeah, it could be worse. Is that really a good measure to use? The 'well it could be worse' measure? Should we not be demanding more of our politicians and showing them that there are career/legal consequences for things like this?
There are plenty of capable people on the Tory backbenches that are capable of being PM and do not have a history of buffoonery and lies.

Old fashioned self-discipline is what is needed. Start work at eight. Finish at five. Then go home and no drinks whilst working. That's what I do. He and his cohorts are supposed to be running the country - imagine if we all decided to perform incredibly important functions that affect people's lives whilst drinking.

But to top it all off, he continues to lie like the spoilt schoolboy he really is about the whole affair - that is what people find so difficult to swallow.
 
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Newchodge

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    The part of the process I found facinating was Thursday's debate. Starmer did the thing he is excellent at - he forenscially analysed why 'honourable' members are expected not to lie to the house. Even the parliamentary language tiptoes around the very possibility that a member could do so - the 'offence' is knowingly to mislead the house. No mention even then, of lies. Anyone calling a fellow member a liar is thrown out of the house. Because it matters.

    I expected the Tories to turn out in force and support their leader, especially given their behaviour during and after his 'apology' on Tuesday and PMQ's on Wednesday. The first Tory speaker Wragg annihilated Johnson and was followed by others, although there were very few of them there and it was evident from the start that, if a vote were needed the motion would be passed, just on the numbers present.

    I noticed only 2 Tories defending Johnson, plus one who muttered something pretty unintelligible and ended by using words including Corbyn and anti-semitism. I think she was supporting Johnson.

    This was not the backbench wanting to avoid being seen to support the insupportable. This was a Tory backbench venting their anger and frustration at Johnson.

    Who will replace him? None of the current Cabinet, they have been too complicit. But there are able politicians there, I hope.
     
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    Newchodge

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    Interestingly there may be a majority of the House inclined to remove Johnson, but not a majority of the parliamentary party in which case if he calls a General Election what happens? Unlikely to happen.
    Sorry John, I don't understand the distinction?
     
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    Interestingly there may be a majority of the House inclined to remove Johnson, but not a majority of the parliamentary party in which case if he calls a General Election what happens?
    We have fixed terms nowadays, so the election will happen when it happens. But that's not the problem -

    The parliamentary party knows full well that the electorate is getting tired of the toad and his buffoonery. They also know that the electorate will blame the government as the coming recession starts to bite. And it's not just The Toad that is losing ground.

    The front bench altogether is beginning to look unelectable. Sunak is making a mess of the economy. A back-of-envelope calculation tells me that Patel is going to fail miserably in her plan to send refugees to Rwanda. The NHS is failing on all fronts. Brexit (which I admit I opposed) could have been a success - but businesses everywhere are struggling to come to terms with the most convoluted and contradictory settlement terms imaginable.

    The list of failings and blunders seems to grow by the day - and no end in sight!

    Imagine you are a Tory MP and you want to keep your seat - in June of last year, only 50% of the electorate wanted him gone. Now it is two-thirds and climbing. He has become a liability.

    The polls tell us that it's 40% Lab. and 34% Con, so if there were an election tomorrow, Labour would have an 80-100 seat majority.

    Of course, we are not going to have a general election tomorrow - but we are having local elections in ten days and if the Tories do badly, they will bite into the sour apple and pull out the bad tooth long before it's too late to do much about Tory chaos.

    They are getting close to those 57 letters to the chair of the 1922 - many post-dated, so if the elections on the 6th go badly for them, they have to do nothing.

    Remember - oppositions do not win elections. Governments lose them! Blair got in, not because of his charisma, but because Major lost control of the Vegetables. Cameron got in, not because of his winning smile, but because Brown crashed the economy.
     
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    Jeff FV

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    We have fixed terms nowadays, so the election will happen when it happens. But that's not the problem -
    The fixed term Parliament Act has been repealed, so an election can now happen at any time of the PMs choosing (with an election automatically happening after b5 years if one has not been called before then.)

    Rest of your post, though, was pretty much spot on. I think the next leader of the Tory Party will come from outside the Cabinet. The party membership love Lizz Truss, but I think the sitting MPs will recognise her as being unelectable (lacks charisma, not a good orator, the general public will not vote for her to be PM in a GE) and will manoeuvre such that she doesn’t get through to the last two (Tory MPs have a series of votes, thinning the field to two candidates, and then all members of the Conservative Party vote to pick a winner from those two)

    Gove - where has he been of late? Distancing himself from the current regime? An ambitious man, and astute political operator (probably the the most politically savvy member of the current cabinet.). But too many enemies?

    Steve Baker - kingmaker before, perhaps now fancies his chances as king himself? I was surprised with what he said on Thursday, laying down a marker, perhaps?

    Jeremy Hunt - If I were a Tory, I’d go for him. Untainted with association of the current shower. Could restore some semblance of credibility and responsibility that the party has lost. Get him in post by June this year, and the tories could still win a GE in two years time.
     
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    japancool

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    Jeremy Hunt - If I were a Tory, I’d go for him. Untainted with association of the current shower. Could restore some semblance of credibility and responsibility that the party has lost. Get him in post by June this year, and the tories could still win a GE in two years time.

    I like Hunt. He speaks Chinese and Japanese (anyone who speaks the latter, I automatically respect).

    I wonder when Sadiq Khan is going to run for leader of the Labour party.
     
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    The party membership love Lizz Truss, but I think the sitting MPs will recognise her as being unelectable (lacks charisma, not a good orator, the general public will not vote for her to be PM in a GE)

    I doubt whether anyone who watches Have I Got News For You would vote for Lizz truss as they continually show that clip of her enthusing over pork which is enough to put anyone off her
     
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    Gove - where has he been of late? Distancing himself from the current regime? An ambitious man, and astute political operator (probably the the most politically savvy member of the current cabinet.).

    Backstabber Gove. He has absolutely no charisma and for those two reasons would be unelectable as a leader who would be expected to win a General Election
     
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    Sorry John, I don't understand the distinction?
    The Parliamentary Party is the MPs who take the Conservative Whip in Parliament. The House is all of the MPs. There could be a majority of The House who would vote in what is supposed to be a non-whipped vote to either suspend or even expel him from parliament. However, the majority of the Conservative Parliamentary Party may not vote ina vote of no confidence to remove him as leader of their party.
     
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    Newchodge

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    The Parliamentary Party is the MPs who take the Conservative Whip in Parliament. The House is all of the MPs. There could be a majority of The House who would vote in what is supposed to be a non-whipped vote to either suspend or even expel him from parliament. However, the majority of the Conservative Parliamentary Party may not vote ina vote of no confidence to remove him as leader of their party.
    Could that result in the Prime Minister being expelled from Parliament, but still the Prime Minister?
     
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    Jeff FV

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    If he (Johnson, or any other MP) is suspended from Parliament by the committee for 10 or more sitting days, a recall petition is triggered. If 10% or more of his constituents sign the petition within six weeks a bye election is held, when he would have to contest his seat.
     
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    japancool

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    Well, i dont think it was what the senior captains of British industry came to hear, do you?

    I would have thought an example of a highly successful British product is exactly what they went to hear. Just because it's an intellectual property aimed at children, it shouldn't be sneered at. No one would sneer at being part of the Harry Potter franchise.
     
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    Newchodge

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    I would have thought an example of a highly successful British product is exactly what they went to hear. Just because it's an intellectual property aimed at children, it shouldn't be sneered at. No one would sneer at being part of the Harry Potter franchise.
    Did you hear his presentation?
     
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    japancool

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    Reading the Daily mail it says

    Rishi Sunak plunges from top to the BOTTOM of popularity chart among Tory activists after tax row - below Boris despite PM's Partygate woes

    Oh. His failure to do anything significant about the cost of living crisis, raising taxes on the middle class, failure to tackle wealth disparity are ok, but his wife's tax affairs are bad. These people have their priorities wrong.
     
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    AWA Training

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    I would have thought an example of a highly successful British product is exactly what they went to hear. Just because it's an intellectual property aimed at children, it shouldn't be sneered at. No one would sneer at being part of the Harry Potter franchise.
    Well i disagree, and it seems most of the rest of the population did too.
    An example of the kind of baffoon we have leading us.

    but i can agree to disagree.
     
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    japancool

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    Well i disagree, and it seems most of the rest of the population did too.

    Most of the rest of the population almost certainly didn't see what he said in context. I admit, it wasn't the greatest speech in the world, he lost his place halfway through.

    The point he was making was that it was an example of the success of British creative industries.
     
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    Reading the Daily mail it says

    Rishi Sunak plunges from top to the BOTTOM of popularity chart among Tory activists after tax row - below Boris despite PM's Partygate woes
    I personally don't think Sunak is anywhere near ready to be PM - he found popularity by way of handing out vast sums of money.

    It's a depressing insight to voter mentality that his 'downfall ' is attributed to his wife's - perfectly legal and open - actions, though
     
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    IanSuth

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    I personally don't think Sunak is anywhere near ready to be PM - he found popularity by way of handing out vast sums of money.

    It's a depressing insight to voter mentality that his 'downfall ' is attributed to his wife's - perfectly legal and open - actions, though
    No i think it is because a lot of people suddenly thought "does he understand what it is like to live like me"

    there is currently a successful campaign by opposition parties to make people think "them and us", 1 rule for them 1 for us, be it covid rules or tax rules.

    I actually think the stupidity of him being obviously all at sea with filling up and paying for petrol showed it as much as the splash headlines about the millions his wife has or the fact he gave six figures to Winchester college whilst people were getting their notification of increased energy bills.

    He has a large perception challenge to overcome - i guess the only way he could do it would be to do something like say "I am going to spend the summer recess not on holiday but trying to live in a bedsit in the midlands doing a menial role on min wage with no outside support - just so i can understand"
     
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    IanSuth

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    I would rather support a self made millionaire than a loud mouthed waster living in a council house who has no gumption to improve his/her own life and expects the country to support him/her
    He is not a self made millionaire (having in laws who are Old Wykamists I can definitely say you do not get to be head boy on any kind of pauper scholarship) and the contacts got by the education paid for by his GP father is what got him into the right uni and from there on the city job, no matter what his natural innate abilities

    And even then I doubt a current GP father of 3 could afford to send their children to Winchester today
     
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