Boris Johnson, an Apology?
Is it a REAL Apology from Boris Johnson? Is Johnson’s apology real? No, of course not. Here is the text; I want to apologise. I know that millions of people across this country have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 18 months. “I know the anguish they have been through – unable to mourn their relatives, unable to live their lives as they want or to do the things they love. “I know the rage they feel with me and with the government I lead when they think in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules. And though I cannot anticipate the conclusions of the current inquiry, I have learned enough to know there were things we simply did not get right and I must take responsibility. “No 10 is a big department with a garden as an extension of the office which has been in constant use because of the role of fresh air in stopping the virus. “When I went into that garden just after six on May 20 2020, to thank groups of staff before going back into my office 25 minutes later to continue working, I believed implicitly that this was a work event. “With hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside. I should have found some other way to thank them. “I should have recognised that even if it could be said technically to fall within the guidance, there are millions and millions of people who simply would not see it that way, people who have suffered terribly, people who were forbidden from meeting loved ones at all inside or outside, and to them and to this house I offer my heartfelt apologies. What it Means How can he say that he has now “learned enough to know there were things we simply did not get right” ? He denied any knowledge of parties. Then the photos were leaked. He denied that he knew anything about quiz nights. Then the photos were leaked. Nothing happened on 20th May. Then the truth was leaked and suddenly he remembered the day. He knew, he always knew but always denied and squirmed. He is not apologising for anything more than an oversight. He did not recognise a party when he was there for 25 minutes. He thought that wine, and cheese went along with work meetings. He is not apologising for lying. He is not apologising for appalling judgment. He is not appologising for knowingly expecting the rest of us to do what he thought did not apply to him. Then he went on to say; “I know the rage they feel with me and with the government I lead when they think in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules. ” When they think? When They Think? He does not know the extent and depth of the rage and anger. He has no idea. Boris Johnson, An Apology Scorned? Some of his MPs have had enough. William Wragg, a senior MP, has said that he should go. However, he has never been afan of Johnson’s. Looks like the Scottish Conservative party is ditching him, but then, Johnson was always a liabiliy for them at the poles. What will really tip the balance against him is if the Tory MPs begin to feal that he may cost them therir seats. To trigger a confidence vote just over 50 Tory MPs have to write a letter requesting a vote. It was interesting to see members of the cabinet supporting Johnson today. Most of them that is. Sunak had urgent business in Devon and could not get tothe Commons for PMQs. Johnson should not complain. He once dodged a vote about Heathrow by flying off to Afghanistan. (Remember him saying that he would lie down in front the bulldozers when they started work on the third runway?) For now he looks safe. At least until Sue Gray’s report is published. I imagine that any eport that does not directly blame Johnson by name will be presented as vindication by Johnson. He may well survive. The thing that he does not seem to understand is that he has passed the Clegg Point. The Clegg Point is that tipping point when a politician can not regain the public’s trust. For Clegg it was student loans for Johnson it was 20th May 2020. Links; Senior MP joins Scottish MSPs in calling for Johnson to resign (Guardian) Johnson mocked online (Mail Online) Boris Johnson faces calls to resign after he admits attending ‘bring your own booze’ event (Financial Times) I Agree with the Sun (blog about MP Expenses)
Another Day, Another U-Turn
Tory Sleaze, Again Or, Another misjudgement by Boris (Blunder) Johnson It seems that the sleaze fest that is the Tories rumbles on with misjudgement adding to their woes. People objected when the Tories tried to let off one of their own who was found guilty of an “egregious” breach of lobbying rules. What a surprise. It would seem that some people (everyone apart from Boris (Blunder) Johnson) thinks that having a jury consisting of Blunder’s friends, presided over by one of Blunder’s friends, ruling on Blunder’s friends is not a good idea. Who’d have thought? That one came out of the blue didn’t it? Jacob Rees-Mogg Announces a “Re-think” For “Re-think” read, climb down. If you are going to be corrupt and mired in sleaze the least that you owe your corrupt pals is that you do it well. Blunder Johnson just can not get anything right. He has no ability to think things through. If he had he would not have bought water cannons that could not be used. Would not have wasted millions on a garden bridge etc. etc. If he had any integrity he would not have avoided the vote on the third Heathrow runway by running away to Afghanistan. Tory Sleaze There is something reassuring that Blunder Johnson is so bad at being corrupt and incompetent. He will be found out. The trouble is that he has a large majority. It would take a number of Tory MPs of integrity to face him down. However tghere are not a number of such Tory MPs and they are cowed into silence. God help us all.
Tory Sleaze, Tories Vote to Rip Up Ethics Committee
Tory Sleaze is back, Did it ever go Away? Remember this list? This was, if my memory serves, a list put together by the Tory whips so that their members could be “pursuaded” to vote the right way. Some interesting names on the list. Foreign secretaries (past and present), Transport Minister, Ex Home Secetary, etc. etc. The great and the good of the Tory party, well the great, well, the pompous and dodgy. That was Tory Sleaze in 2017, This is Tory Sleaze in 2021 Owen Paterson, broke lobbying rules, not once, but 14 times. Yet, he has been saved by his Tory mates. They have voted to abolish the rules! You could not make it up, or perhaps you could. Rotten to the core. Did we really expect anything else from Johnson’s party? (Owen means “noble”, noble by name but not by nature) Common decency would suggest that Paterson should have been cut loose, if for no other reason that this comes hard on the heals of Cameron’s exposure of his greed, but no, the Tories have circled the wagons to protect one of their own. An absolute disgrace.
Israeli Minister Denied Access to COP 26
COP 26 Johnson’s mob makes me ashamed. Just when you think that they could not get worse. “Karine Elharrar, Israel’s minister for energy and water, was forced to wait two hours outside the event site Monday after organizers refused to let her enter in her adapted vehicle, she said. Her office said she was later offered shuttle transport to the summit area, but the bus was not wheelchair-accessible and she had to return to her hotel in Edinburgh.” (source) Johnson Falls Flat The first day of COP 26 did not start well. It was late starting, then Johnson made his opening speech. The jokes fell flat and he exposed the difference between his rhetoric and his government’s actions. He appealed for action to protect and save the world. This a week after his Chancellor slashed internal flight taxes. His government continues to pursue oil extraction and wants to open a new coal mine. Scottish Greens climate spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP said: “We all know the Prime Minister’s actions seldom match his rhetoric but when it comes to climate crisis Johnson is taking duplicity to new levels.” (Which you must admit is an achievement, given his record of lying and obscurification). This is a man who will not even admit to how many children he has. (His father claims to have at least one more grand children than Johnson admits he has kids). His record of incompetence is amazing. Remember the water cannon that could not be used in London, it would have been illegal. They were eventually sold for scrap, at a loss of £300,000. How about the garden bridge? Failed, failed, failed. At least it only cost the taxpayers £43m (only). The list goes on. Not firing Dominic Cummings (irresponsible), Patel (incompetent bully), Hancock (incompetent – too stupid to realise he was on CCTV, JenricK (breaking covids rules) and all the others. And yet this is the man in “charge” of COP 26. God help us all.
Covid – 19. UK Government’s Mistakes and Lies. (part 1)
Covid – 19 (Coronavirus) is on the Rise, Why? Imperial College London published a major report today (29th October). It says that the pace of the covid – 19 epidemic is accelerating. The report estimates that the number of people infected is increasing by 100,000 a day. That figure is doubling every nine days. (You can read the full report here) The Government says that it has “followed the science”, that is has “put an arm round the care sector”, “provided all the PPE that is necessary”. If the government has done all it can and acted in a timely fashion why are we in this mess? Hindsight is a Wonderful Thing. I am always sceptical of those who use hindsite to justify their prejudices and have attempted to avoid hindsight wisdom here. My appologies if I failed, occassionally. You should also be aware that I have written about covid – 19 before and do not claim to be impartial when looking at the this government’s response. (Previous blogs are Here and Here) Covid – 19, Back to the Start The first confirmed fatality from covid – 19 outside China was on 2nd February. There is a feeling that Andy Gill (memebr of The Gang of Four) who died on the 1st of February may have died of Covid – 19 in St Thomas’s hospital in London. Even before that the first confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK came on 31 January when two Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York tested positive. 3 February There is a modelling group called SPI-M (The Scientific Influenza Pandemic Group on Mocdelling). It produced a report that reviewed the infection in China. One of the comments was that it was “unclear whether outbreaks can be contained by isolation and contact tracing. If a high proportion of asymptomatic cases are infectious, then containment is unlikely via these policies.” Even on 3rd February it was clear that track and trace would not work on its own to contain and control the infection when it reached this country. 27 February Chris Whitty (Chief Medical Officer) tells the media that mass gatherings such as sports events and concerts may have to be cancelled. That schools closed for more than two months, if the UK is hit badly by coronavirus. Two days later, Health Minister Edward Argar told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “decisions on large events and whether they should go ahead will be taken at the time on the basis of the evidence.” I should point out that, at this point, the SPI-M advice was that closing mass events could drive people into pubs to watch football, for example, and this could be more dangerous that letting events go ahead. I have a problem with this advice. Not many games are televised live, apart from the elite clubs. So cancelling non Premier League club games would not drive hoards of people into the pubs to the watch the games. It seems to me that this advice and the whole approach from Sage and through the government was not, and is not, rooted in the real world. 3 March The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) issued this advice; “There was agreement that Government should advise against greetings such as shaking hands and hugging, given existing evidence about the importance of hand hygiene.” The Sage sub-group, the Independent Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B), said. “A public message against shaking hands has additional value as a signal about the importance of hand hygiene.” On the very same day Boris Johnson held a press conference broadcast on national television. He said “I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.” Prick. The “contain” phase of the government’s response to covid – 19 is launched. The idea is to “detect early cases, follow up close contacts, and prevent the disease taking hold in this country for as long as is reasonably possible”. I wonder how that went. I will cover the next part of the story shortly.
I Agree With The Sun!
I Never Thought That I Would Write That….. MPs’ expenses have always been bad news, the sort that the S**m and all the rest of the gutter press relish. Couple an expenses “scandal” to a Labour MP and Rememberance Day and you have a field day for the lowest of the low. Labour front bench MP Sarah Champion claimed back £17 expenses for a poppy wreath. She should be tarred and feathered. That was the thrust of the S**m’s story. I understand the distress caused by the revelation. All MPs should be accountable for their decisions about their expenses. Back in 2009 the MP for Henly did the same, claiming £16.50 in expenses for a poppy wreath. I am surprised that the S**m did not name and shame him. His name? Boris Johnson.
Lies, Damned Lies and Boris Johnson – Part 1
In my last post about the Tory Leadership race I called Boris Johnson (real name Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson) a pratt and a serial lier. I thought that it might be a good idea to justify my accusation that his grasp on reality is frail – as well as being self serving. Originally it was going to be just 1 post, however Boris Johnson has told so many lies…… The lies, in no particular order. Brexit 1. ‘once we have settled our accounts, we will take back control of roughly £350m per week. It would be a fine thing as many of us have pointed out if a lot of that money went on the NHS, provided we use that cash injection to modernise and make the most of new technology.’ This claim has been thoroughly shown to be false. Either Boris was stupid and believed his own lie, or he was wilfully lieing. He also lied about refering to the £350m at all, until shown TV footage of him talking about it – Oops! Boris Johnson is being taken to court over this lie. Marcus Ball has raised over £200,000 from public donations to prosecute Boris over this lie. 2. ‘I look at so many young people with the 12 stars lipsticked to their faces, and I am troubled with the thought that people are beginning to have genuinely split allegiances. And when people say that they feel they have more in common with others in Europe than with people who voted leave I want to say, but that is part of the reason why people voted leave.’ OK, so not a lie, but is he really calling 16m people unpatriotic because they disagree with him??? 3. People from the EU are responsible for the housing shortage. ‘And I can think of obvious ways in which Brexit can help us tackle the housing crisis – perhaps the single biggest challenge for the younger generation.’ Where to begin with this one? He really was scraping the bottom of his barrel of lies when he pulled out this plum! It is not investors from the EU that has caused the housing crisis. It is the chronic underfunding of housing by this and previous governments that is the root cause of the problem. Changing the cause and blaming those damned foreigners is such a cheap lie. 4 It is “absolutely crazy” that the EU was setting rules on the shape of bananas. Can you believe that Alexander, sorry Boris Johnson, ever said this? Yes, at the Brexit campaign launch he made this tired, and worn old claim. It was a lie when it started doing the rounds in the 1990s it was a lie when he said it in 2016, and again in 2017. 5 Three lies for the price of one, Boris really is the gift that keeps on giving! Boris said “I am very pro-Turkish, but what I certainly can’t imagine is a situation in which 77 million [his estimate] of my fellow Turks and those of Turkish origin can come here without any checks at all. That is really mad” – Daily Express, 18 April 2016 Then he went on to say; “It’s government policy to accelerate Turkish accession” – BBC EU referendum debate, 21 June 2016 The allegation that Turkey is anywhere near joining the EU is as wrong today as it was when Boris started peddling this lie. The third lie? That he ever mentioned Turkey during the Brexit campaign! Boris Johnson has wrongly claimed that he “didn’t make any remarks about Turkey, mate” during the EU referendum campaign, in comments that overshadowed a speech in Staffordshire intended to burnish his leadership credentials. Leadership credentials? Consistancy is fundemental, Boris is consistant, he lies like the rest of us change our socks…..
Tory Leadership Race
Theresa Goes, eventually. May is leaving us with a whimper, and so is Theresa. Yesterday she told the grieving/jubilant nation (depends on whether you are Theresa or Boris) that she had failed. Give her her due, it has only taken 3 rejections by the House of Commons to realise what we all knew 2 years ago. Her “Brexit means Brexit” strategy should have been called “Brexit means exit, stage left”. Now the Tory Leadership race begins for real. Theresay May has done what had seemed impossible, she made Gordon Brown look like an effective PM. The people that I feel real sorry for are the political hacks who will have to write new pieces rather than rehashing the same “TM to be kicked out this week” stories that have dominated the Sunday papers week after week for months. Prepare for weeks of articles peppered with leaks about the Tory Leadership hopefulls from un-named sources. The knives will be out, and how. Politics as a blood sport. The runners and Riders Reading the Tory blogs and you seem to have a field for the Tory Leadership that would be almost as big as that for the Grand National, with the prospect of even m ore fallers! The listy so far; Boris Johnson (Well known prat and serial lier) Esther McVey (Ex- Children’s BBC presenter and briefly “in charge” of Works and pensions) Jeremey Hunt (Re-named, appropriately by James Naughty. Also read about his disgraceful Hilsborough comments here!) Rory Stewart (Who? I mean, really, WHO?) Matt Hancock (Secretary of State for Health, the one that promoted a private company’s health app, while being the Health Minister. He really is dedicated to the NHS, honest) Who else is saddling up to Join the Tory Leadership race? Dominic Raab (Secretary of State for Exiting the EU for about 3 months before it all became too much for the poor dear. Quit and run away rather than fight for what you believe in. At least May tried.) David Lidington (De-facto May’s number 2. Most interesting part of his political career? That he thought that it was OK to claim expenses for, amongst other things, dry cleaning, toothpaste, shower gel, body spray and vitamens. At least we paid to made him healthy and smell nice. I believe that his apology was something like “I accept that many people would see them as over-generous.” Such a fulsome apology) Michael Gove (Yes, the Govemeister is going to try again! Let’s hope that he has been forgiven for stabbing Boris in the back last time, and that he can do it again!) Penny Mordaunt (Always in the top 10 of MPs, at least for expenses in 2015. Beaten by 9 MPs who claimed for travel, like Penny, but then most of them were travelling to and from Scotland, she was travelling to and from Portsmouth North.) Andrea Leadsom (Another making another run at the top job. You will remember that last time she said that she would be a better PM because, unlike May, she had children. Oh yes, a fully paid up member of the supportive sister-hood. On the other hand she was an investment banker in a previous life, Say no more! There are others, lots of them. But I am losing the will to live thinking about these shady chancers. One Name is missing from the Tory Leadership Listings What about Amber Rudd? I hear you ask. Well, she resigned from the cabinet this week and a couple of days later May steps down. Historically, those that cause the Tory PM of the day to fall on their sword are thanked by their colleauges but not supported in the resulting ballot. Did she really cause May to go or not? I can not see how, I think that it had much more to do with May’s misjudgement over her “new, improved” offer. On the other hand she might be scared that people will remember her past record. Such as; Her part in the unlawful detention and deportation of asylum seekers. Overseeing a rise in violent crime (slash police numbers and crime goes up, who’d have thought?) Lieing to the House of Comons about knowing about targets for deprting members of the Windrush Generation. One Dark Horse for the hustings? Sir Graham Brady has resigned as chairman of the 1922 comittee. It would seem that he is readying a bid for the Tory Leadership. As he has been the chairman since 2010 he will know where all the skeletons are buried. This could get interesting! Tory Leadership Odds I think that these odds came from Bet365. I may be a cynic but perhaps their clientelle should do some research before they put any money on Farage and Corbyn………. Boris Johnson 6/4Dominic Raab 6/1David Lidington 9/1Jeremy Hunt 12/1 Andrea Leadsom 12/1 Michael Gove 14/1Penny Mordaunt 20/1Rory Stewart 22/1Sajid Javid 22/1Nigel Farage 25/1 Jeremy Corbyn 33/1Amber Rudd 80/1Jacob Rees- Mogg 80/1
Politics – UKIP From Soap Opera to Farce
UKIP Descends into Farce A week is a long time in politics,that is what Harold Wilson said, it is even longer for UKIP! Where to start? The communities spokesman for Ukip has defected to the conservative Party. Amjad Bashir, who represents Yorkshire and the Humber, met with David Cameron on Friday and has defected to The Conservatives. The Boy Cameron is delighted. Farage less so. UKIP responded by suspending Bashir as soon as the rumours started. They accuse home of financial and employment irregularities. That is a well worn track for UKIP. They did the same to Neil Hamilton. Needless to say, both men deny any wrongdoing. A spokeman for UKIP said that a file has been forwarded to the police. “The UK Independence Party has a zero-tolerance policy and takes the matters at hand extremely seriously. “The allegations against Mr Bashir are of a grave nature and we will be forwarding our evidence obtained so far to the police. Ukip will not tolerate anyone abusing their positions in the party, as we have a firm commitment to differing ourselves from the existing political classes. As a result, Mr Bashir’s involvement with the party was suspended today with immediate effect pending further investigations.” When speaking to a fringe meeting at the Conservative conference Boris Johnson said would-be defectors (Tory to UKIP) were the kind of people who might inflict “barely credible” injuries on themselves by “vacuum cleaner abuse”. I imagine Farage is harbouring similar thoughts about Bashir. What else s going on in that bizarre world that is UKIP? Lynton Yates was the PPC for UKIP in Charnwood. Yates defected from the Conservative party to UKIP after being a Conservative councilor for 12 years before defecting. I do not know how close he feels to his vacuum cleaner. Yates’ offense? he released a leaflet that saying that those on benefits “could really catch a bus” he added that that banning them from driving and owning a car would “likely remove six million cars from the road”. He also said that cyclists should “go back to the pavements”. (Great news for people in wheelchairs, visually impaired pedestrians, and parents with children and toddlers). Suspending him just because he said some strange and unhinged things seems a bit odd for UKIP, after all, most of them say strange and bizarre things none more so than UKIP party secretary Matthew Richardson. At the week end he was reported as saying that Ukip should represent ‘bigots’ and labelling the NHS a ‘waste of money’. Now, Richardson has not been suspended he has been defended by Farage. Strange party. Surely There is not More? But there is! Farage told the BBC’s Sunday Politics that, if Labour won the election on a non-referendum manifesto and Ukip failed to get any MPs into parliament, he would resign within 12 hours. “I would have failed,” he said. “I would have spent years trying to achieve this goal. I got into politics not because I wanted a career in politics, far from it, I did it because I genuinely don’t think that this European entanglement is right for our country.” Now, this is not the first time that Farage has threatened, or promised depending on your point of view, to resign as UKIP’s leader. However, he may be serious this time, although it hard to tell. In the wake of him saying that the possible replacements are beginning to show their heads above the parapets. One being touted is UKIP’s immigration spokesman, Steven Woolfe, has confirmed that he would be interested in leading the party. Well thought of Woolfe is articulate and his pronouncements on immigration are much less radical than Farage let alone that far, far right wing elements that Richardson said that they should represent. What on earth is he doing in UKIP you may well ask. Remember that he disagreed with Farage’s defense of the word “chinky” by Kerry Smith saying “We have no room for racists and homophobes in our party. “All working class people don’t say those sorts of words, that’s absolutely clear,” he said. “One thing to say with Nigel is he tries to see the good in people all the time. On this particular issue, I think we will have a difference of opinion of how we deal with it, Nigel even accepted that he [Smith] couldn’t stand as a candidate.” Who else wants the mantel? Paul Nuttall (great name) is UKIP deputy leader and he seems up for it. Nuttall, as we all know was NOT Bungle from Rainbow a childrens’ TV programme from the 70s………………..
Phil’s British Heart Foundation Donation – you know it makes sense
