And so, true to form, a man without loyalty to anyone but himself bails out, leaving his supporters in the lurch. Given how many times he did exactly that as Prime Minister, one does wonder how, indeed why, people keep falling for his schtick.
Does this mean that we have a coronation for the leadership of the Conservative Party, or will Johnson supporters opt to switch to Penny Mordaunt in the hope of denying Rishi? Time is short, but such a thing isn’t impossible and, given the membership’s proven judgement, could Rishi win over the members? If the individual who rang Sangita Myska’s show on LBC is to be believed, the answer is no.
But, by the time this column returns next week, we’ll know the answer to both questions…
Elsewhere, congratulations to Charley Hasted of this parish, who was elected unopposed to be the new Chair of LGBT+ Liberal Democrats yesterday. It can be a challenging role, especially when there are those who seem to think that opposing equality and restricting the freedoms of others is acceptable, but I’m confident that they’ll do a perfectly good job of standing up for their membership.
The last outing for the 2020-22 delegation to ALDE Party Council has been confirmed as being to Bratislava, Slovakia on 2-3 December. Liberal Democrat Voice will be previewing the event in due course, and covering it as events unfold.
And, of course, ballot papers for the Party’s internal elections go out tomorrow. I’d encourage every member to take part – it’s our Party and the best way to influence it is to support candidates who think like you do, or who you think will do a good job. Preferably both, of course!
The two treaties that made up the Peace of Westphalia were signed on this day in 1648, thus ending the Thirty Years’ War which had caused the death of approximately eight million Europeans.
Finally, the Liberal Democrat Voice team would like to wish a belated happy birthday to Lord Roger Roberts, who was eighty-seven yesterday. His dedication to liberal values, and determined challenge to the Government of the day in defence of the less fortunate is something to warm the hearts of us all. Hopefully, there’ll be many more to come.
* Mark Valladares is the Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice.
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Some kids just need more hugs and cuddles
Test post 6
The Joy of Six 1323
Could there be a Trump-style coup in the UK?
Mick Taylor
Steve Trevethan
Ricky Treadwell
Christopher Haigh
Katie Wilson-Downie
9 Comments
The Tories are whittling through their offerings of second rate politicians to lead us into the promised land but at least we will not have to witness another disastrous Johnson regime, thank goodness for small mercies! A mighty relief personally.
For those of an historical mindset, this is almost an introverted reverse mirror image of the Asquith/Lloyd George situation in the early 1920’s. Guess which one Johnson is.
What is a fact though is that the ‘don’t wash your dirty linen in public’ tradition in the Tory Party looks to be well and truly on the back burner for now….. and a change of government is very much on the public’s agenda.
David: I have just read an account of the 1920s Asquith/ Lloyd George affair, very interesting ,could something similar be happening to the Conservative party now?
While he’s still an MP, I wouldn’t completely rule out Johnson returning.
The thought of Johnson returning leaves me absolutely cold with fear! People keep on about his “achievements”; what achievements? Brexit most certainly has not been done as Northern Ireland still has to be sorted; the Covid vaccination programme was achieved by scientists and the NHS.
David Goble: I totally agree with your views on Johnson, he has disgraced the high office he held and if he is ever allowed anywhere near such influence again it would be a disaster for our country!
“While he’s still an MP, I wouldn’t completely rule out Johnson returning.”
But, given the brush-off he appears to have received from fellow tory MPs – how long might it be before he quits Parliament, causing a by-election?
Brexit haas ‘Done For Us!’
Nonconformistradical – Johnson has nothing to lose by remaining as an MP – I doubt he will resign, and he can only be forced out before the next General Election if the Parliamentary Standards Committee suspends him for long enough to warrant a by-election. In the meantime he continues to enjoy support among many Conservative MP’s and members, and some of the public; he can continue to receive his MP’s salary for doing no work; he can use the Commons as a platform for his views, to maintain a profile, and to undermine Sunak; and he can play a waiting game to see if another opportunity at the premiership presents itself.