UK Politics: Johnson in a Pinch(er)

[mormont]

When one of your own MPs asks you in Parliament if there are any circumstances in which you would resign, that's not a great look.

[SeanF]

1 minute ago, Spockydog said:

People keep saying Boris has done well on Ukraine.

Well, apart from failing to properly sanction any of Putin's chums, what has he actually done?

Yeah, we sent them some anti-tank missiles. But Ukraine are are losing this war. Badly. And it really doesn't look like things are going to end well for Zelensky. 

So, apart from the self-serving, skin-saving photo ops with Zelensky, what has Boris Johnson actually done for Ukraine that is so great? Where are the practical, tangible benefits?

Genuine question.

 

 

I certainly don't think Ukraine are losing. British military aid to Ukraine runs to about $3 bn, and British forces have given the Ukrainians a lot of training.

[Spockydog]

3 minutes ago, SeanF said:

I certainly don't think Ukraine are losing. 

That's not the impression I'm getting from the news. The Russians are literally destroying Ukraine.

 

[Werthead]

2 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

That's not the impression I'm getting from the news. The Russians are literally destroying Ukraine.

Better discussed in the Ukraine thread, but Ukraine are also literally destroying the Russian army. Russia's "victories" are gaining control of destroyed and empty towns (rather than intact, full ones ready to contribute to their economy, as they'd hoped) and losing thousands upon thousands of troops to do so, whilst the Ukrainians are doing a good job of bleeding the Russians dry and then pulling their forces back to continue the fight elsewhere. Russia can still "win" this war (for some value of "win") but really only if they end it soon and declare mission accomplished.

Britain has contributed a lot to Ukraine and Ukraine has named it their closest allies and best contributors (alongside Poland, the USA, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Baltic States), but what we've contributed is small fry compared to the USA.

[SeanF]

11 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

That's not the impression I'm getting from the news. The Russians are literally destroying Ukraine.

 

Along with their own armed forces and their military reputation.

[mormont]

Listen, if we want to discuss Pyrrhic victories in this thread we only have to look at domestic politics.

[SeanF]

8 minutes ago, mormont said:

Listen, if we want to discuss Pyrrhic victories in this thread we only have to look at domestic politics.

Unless you win it by a huge margin, a VONC is always a defeat.

[Derfel Cadarn]

“Bye Boris!”

The House saying farewell as he leaves after Javid’s speech

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-62048657?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=62c57eddb893776ef334338d%26WATCH%3A MPs call out 'bye Boris'%262022-07-06T12%3A35%3A00.172Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:f5d03722-7b80-4450-84ff-3619ed38a7ba&pinned_post_asset_id=62c57eddb893776ef334338d&pinned_post_type=share

[Werthead]

They're now up to 21 resignations.

[A wilding]

Amused to see that the current position of Johnson's remaining apologists is literally that the UK is an elective dictatorship. Having won the last general election, Johnson apparently has a mandate to continue on until the next election, whatever parliament, or indeed anyone else, thinks.

I seem to remember an argument on this board a couple of years back as to whether the UK was now an elective dictatorship.

[Matrim Fox Cauthon]

9 minutes ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

“Bye Boris!”

The House saying farewell as he leaves after Javid’s speech

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-62048657?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=62c57eddb893776ef334338d%26WATCH%3A MPs call out 'bye Boris'%262022-07-06T12%3A35%3A00.172Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:f5d03722-7b80-4450-84ff-3619ed38a7ba&pinned_post_asset_id=62c57eddb893776ef334338d&pinned_post_type=share

That's some "Bye, Felicia!" energy. 

 

4 minutes ago, Werthead said:

They're now up to 21 resignations.

Rats on a sinking ship. 

[Derfel Cadarn]

3 minutes ago, Matrim Fox Cauthon said:

That's some "Bye, Felicia!" energy. 

 

Rats on a sinking ship. 

Or as Starmer said, it’s the first time sinking ships have fled the rat

[SeanF]

26 minutes ago, A wilding said:

Amused to see that the current position of Johnson's remaining apologists is literally that the UK is an elective dictatorship. Having won the last general election, Johnson apparently has a mandate to continue on until the next election, whatever parliament, or indeed anyone else, thinks.

I seem to remember an argument on this board a couple of years back as to whether the UK was now an elective dictatorship.

Johnson is about to find out that it is not an elective dictatorship.

[mormont]

Rumour has it he intends to insist that it is. That even if the 1922 Committee change the rules, even if he loses a vote of his MPs, he'll insist that he has a mandate from the voters that allows him to continue. That to the end, he will refuse to ever resign.

[Spockydog]

I hope the dickhead calls an election. And because they allowed him to change the law to suit himself, there's nothing the Tories can do to stop him.

 

[Spockydog]

5 minutes ago, mormont said:

Rumour has it he intends to insist that it is. That even if the 1922 Committee change the rules, even if he loses a vote of his MPs, he'll insist that he has a mandate from the voters that allows him to continue. That to the end, he will refuse to ever resign.

If he tries that, the Privileges Committee will have him recalled to his constituency.

[mormont]

Probably just big talk. Thatcher insisted she would go on till the end, until she resigned.

[Spockydog]

1 minute ago, mormont said:

Probably just big talk. Thatcher insisted she would go on till the end, until she resigned.

And I hope we get the same type of pictures, full of teary-eyed bewilderment at the injustice of it all, as he is dragged from Downing Street at midnight.

 

[SeanF]

8 minutes ago, mormont said:

Rumour has it he intends to insist that it is. That even if the 1922 Committee change the rules, even if he loses a vote of his MPs, he'll insist that he has a mandate from the voters that allows him to continue. That to the end, he will refuse to ever resign.

Then, it would be time for the Queen to dismiss him.  That's the job of the Head of State, in such a situation.

27 ministerial and PPS resignations now.

[mormont]

2 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

And I hope we get the same type of pictures, full of teary-eyed bewilderment at the injustice of it all, as he is dragged from Downing Street at midnight.

I think that's guaranteed.