Boris Johnson broke the law.
He partied while repeatedly telling us the importance of “staying home, protecting the NHS and saving lives”. I have no issues with the laws of the time, as they were necessary to protect the immuno-compromised. What I have an issue with, however, is how we were lied to by our Prime Minister.
He had the gall to stand in parliament and deliver an “unreserved apology”, encouraging us to let the government “get on with the job”. Correct me if I’m wrong, the person giving the apology doesn’t decide when to move on, but rather the recipient of the apology does. I’m sure I speak for the majority when I say, we are not ready to move on.
Our nation’s public office holders are expected to meet the 7 standards of the Nolan Principles:
- Selflessness
- Integrity
- Objectivity
- Honesty
- Leadership
- Openness
- Accountability
I honestly cannot give an example of how Boris Johnson has met a single standard.
He is the first sitting Prime Minister to break the law. He has knowingly misled parliament regarding his attendance of the aforementioned Downing Street parties. He frequently uses the Russian Invasion of Ukraine to deflect taking responsibility for his unlawful actions. When the country needed strong leadership, he fled into hiding. He was happy for civil servants to take the fall for his unlawful actions. His ties to the Kremlin, whether it be through his friendship with Baron Lebedev of Siberia or his attendance at Lebedev’s party in Italy, make him a security threat.
The fact Boris Johnson remains as Prime Minister is not only a black mark for our democracy, but also highlights the constitutional and moral failures of the Conservative Party. For Tory MPs to sit by, either ignoring or even defending Johnson while he blatantly undermines the high office he holds and laughs in the face of every single person that followed the rules, made sacrifices and did the right thing is unforgivable.
Johnson and his supporters continually ask for patience from the public, to withhold their judgement of the Prime Minister and his law-breaking activities, in the form of the Sue Gray Report, and now the Metropolitan Police investigation. Well, Mr Johnson, perhaps it’s time you lifted your head out of the sand and faced reality; the court of public opinion has passed its judgement , and we find you guilty.
So please, Mr Johnson, listen to the nation and do the right thing: resign.
* Jack Meredith is a Welsh Liberal Democrat member.
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13 Comments
I honestly cannot give an example of how Boris Johnson has met a single standard.
Really? I can think of many examples, but only one is required. Johnson has demonstrated clear leadership of not just the UK’s, but of the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
‘Ukraine: Johnson pledges aid to Zelensky in Kyiv meeting’ [9th. April 2022]:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61052643.amp
It takes a very special, possibly dim-witted, kind of politician to misuse terms like forgiveness and repentance in a way that causes us to reach for the vomit bowl. I look back with some nostalgia to days when we tried not to laugh when Tory back-benchers used the language of their class to denounce “scoundrels”. Many of those who stood up to defend their right not to do anything about Johnson have probably forgotten the meaning of that one too!
@Jeff
Re Johnson and Ukraine – Is your implication that no other politician could have provided better leadership?
‘Johnson helping Ukraine more, thanks to British public pressure, Zelenskiy says’. (March 28, reported by most news outlets here – tho’ some of the pro-Tory ones glossed over the ‘public pressure’ bit!
He added that national leaders were reacting according to how their constituents do.
So yeah, Johnson has done what most Brits were pushing the government to do. Though the initial sanctions were against, IIRC, four people, and then with loads of notice, till there was a public outcry.
And he’s spoiled that by using it for his own ends (the ‘you can’t get rid of me now because of Ukraine’ line).
Nonconformistradical 20th Apr ’22 – 4:38pm:
Re Johnson and Ukraine – Is your implication that no other politician could have provided better leadership?
Not necessarily and there may be valid criticisms of Johnson’s approach, but a lack of leadership is not one of them.
Our resident Tory stooge could hardly be more obvious about the strategy – every criticism of Johnson’s corruption and dishonesty is to be speedily met with a claim about Johnson’s so-called leadership on the war in Ukraine. Deflect, dissemble, rinse, repeat. We all know Johnson’s only interest in Ukraine is how he can use it to shore up his political position domestically. It’s not like the Ukrainian government are going to turn down military aid for the price of a photo-op and a couple of supportive tweets.
The fight for democracy is not best led by a man who displays open contempt for democratic norms. Much as it might be in the interests of the opposition for the Tory party to keep smashing themselves against the will of the British people the times are too serious for a ‘rogue prime minister’ who can be relied upon only to put his personal interests ahead of the good of the country.
Johnsons sister, has been asking that we give him a chance. I thought families were a separate issue in politics.
In so many ways boundaries have been crossed. I feel like a pawn in the game of the Johnson regime.
The open discussions between heat and eat, the use of Food Banks. Supermarkets with empty shelves.
Is it beyond realism that we can’t trade with the EU? My concern is with healthy eating for our children and families.
Does it produce pollution with long queues of goods vehicles wanting to cross the channel, often waiting without any toilet facilities.
These coming elections are more than a vote for a political party, it’s our very right and need for freedom and honesty. There is a long way to go.
The idea that Johnson shows ‘leadership’ is laughable..In any crisis his first action is to go missing; his second is prevarication and, only after he has been dragged ‘kicking and screaming’ into media scrutiny will he act..Always too little and too late..From the 2011 ‘London Riots’ to ‘Covid’ the story is the same..
As for Ukraine; I can think of no post war PM who would not have acted as well if not better than Johnson.. As Andrew Melmoth (20th Apr ’22 – 7:03pm) points out the Ukrainian crisis is a godsend to Johnson and he will milk every opportunity to use it to deflect from problems at home..
He is no Churchill, he’s barely a Chamberlain, and his personal links with pro Putin Russian Oligarchs (and their money) has allowed Russia the hold it has in England..
As section 50 the Russian Report states .” In brief, Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal’, and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth. This level of integration – in ‘Londongrad’ in particular – means that any measures now being taken by the Government are not preventative but rather constitute damage limitation.”
At last, it seems that Conservative MPs are abandoning Johnson, largely in acknowledgement of his lack of all of the standards outlined in the opinion piece.
We need to turn our attention to his possible successors (and how Liberal Democrats might be affected).
Could the Tories rebrand? The history of the Tory party for the last 30 years has been dominated by infighting over its relationship with Europe. I can only see this continuing. The Conservative party has so much shifted (and been bullied by Johnson and co.) into a UKIP mark 2 that a pragmatic replacement (Hunt? Tugendhat?) would be pulled apart.
Sunak is no longer a possibility. Lib Dem activism rules out Raab and many ministers have impaled themselves defending Johnson, however Truss has been carefully positioning herself (and has a very safe seat).
I’m afraid I don’t share Martin’s opinion on Truss. I’m afraid she’s a lightweight, and the ‘Cheese’ speech will follow her for the rest of her career.
Liz Truss CHEESE Speech : HIGH DEFINITION – YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com › watch
24 Jan 2022 — : · Education Minister Liz Truss refuses to take spelling test.
My hunch is watch out for that solid ex-Scots Guardsman, Ben Wallace.
Almost anyone will do in the short term as long as it is not Johnson, and then the Tories need to be replaced at the next election, they have been taking the British electorate for granted for much too long. Easier said than done I know, but our country needs a fundamental overhaul urgently.
David Raw:
I gave no opinion on Truss’s capability other than that she has been carefully positioning herself. She has very little record of intrinsic capability and less evidence of constructive thought, though to some extent some of her lightweight vacuity could be intentional.
Like Johnson she pays more attention to her image than to any idea of content. She has clearly decided that she can get on in politics by going along with the prevailing wind, so not one for difficult decisions. It is noticeable how she has rationed her support for Johnson. If Truss succeeds Johnson it is because the far right in her party believe they can manipulate her.
My point, though is that we need already to be working out how we respond to Johnson’s fall and possible successors. It should not be too hard, because the Tories have painted themselves into a corner in which recognition of reality is a heresy. Unfortunately large parts of the media are either complicit with or outspoken in support for the Conservatives.
If a challenge to Johnson goes ahead – what’s to stop him calling for a General Election ? That needs a two-thirds majority in The Commons but who would vote against ?
If Johnson thinks he might not survive a challenge what has he got to lose ?
Perhaps we should be preparing for a possible Snap Election ?