Boris Johnson

[RoverAndOut 4,746]

1 hour ago, Toast said:

Article in the Spectator yesterday by Alex Massie.  I've put it in spoiler tags as it's paywalled and quite long.  Well worth a read!

Remember Dominic Scummings's wife is an editor and columnist at the Spectator.

 

Boris Johnson isn't fit to lead
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Danny Kruger, formerly Johnson’s political secretary and now the MP for Devizes, has – perhaps inadvertently – done the country some small service. In a note sent to newly-elected Tory MPs, Mr Kruger has reportedly advised his colleagues that ‘calling for Dominic Cummings to go is basically declaring no confidence in [the] prime minister.’

Well, yes, indeed. That is the point.

Because, in the end, this is not a story about Dominic Cummings but, rather, one about the Prime Minister. Even if we concede the possibility that he has not fully recovered from his own recent illness and, by making that concession, are tempted to afford him a greater measure of the benefit of the doubt than is traditionally granted to prime ministers, it remains mightily difficult to construct a coherent defence of the Prime Minister’s recent actions.

There is little escaping an obvious reality: this is a prime minister without clothes. The country can see this, even if cabinet ministers and Tory MPs pretend not to. He is what he is and he is not up to the job. In sunnier times this might not matter so very much but these are not the best of times and, right now, a significant portion of the Prime Minister’s responsibilities are wrapped up in his ability to inspire confidence. He is the captain of the ship and voters are entitled to think he is paying attention.

No such reassurance has been forthcoming. On the contrary, the manner in which the Prime Minister has sought to dismiss any and all concerns about Cummings’s behaviour has further undermined already fragile confidence in his government’s handling of this crisis. There is nothing to see here and the little people should know it is time to ‘move on’.

The prime minister should really watch his tone. His government’s response has turned a story into a scandal. A better, more empathetic, Downing Street regime would have appreciated the need for contrition at this moment. Instead the government has doubled-down on arrogant dismissal. As is so often the case, a notional demonstration of strength and resolve actually reveals the deep weaknesses at the heart of this government. It has a majority in the House of Commons but public confidence is palpably waning.

Again, Mr Kruger unwittingly shows us how. In his note to colleagues, he argues that ‘BJ and DC together are why we won the 2019 election and them together is the only way to GBD [Get Brexit Done], level up the regions and fix Whitehall - the only things which will win us the next election too. An arguable minor infraction of lockdown rules is totally secondary to that.’

But no mere advisor should ever be thought indispensable and any prime minister so wholly dependent on a single advisor, no matter how brilliant he or she may be, is a weak one. If Boris Johnson cannot function without Cummings he is not qualified to be prime minister. The price of defending Cummings is admitting Johnson’s inadequacy.

So treating the media with contempt is one thing but treating the public with an equal measure of lofty scorn is quite another. This, mystifyingly, is now the government’s preferred course of action. And this leads to some truly risible positions. Thus, Michael Gove tells LBC radio that, why, yes of course he too has hopped in his car to test his eyesight as though this was a perfectly normal thing to do and the only surprise, really, is that some people don’t think this entirely reasonable behaviour. The spectacle of intelligent people deliberately peddling nonsense is often aggravating but it’s rarely as enraging as it is now.

We now enjoy a situation in which the Prime Minister’s approval ratings appear to be correlated with his appearances in public. The more often he is seen, the lower his ratings go. That is both intolerable and unsustainable. Yesterday’s appearance before the House of Commons liaison committee once again revealed a prime minister painfully out of his depth.

That was bad enough but the situation was made worse by Johnson’s obvious impatience with the idea he appear before the committee at all. ‘The trouble is’ he whined, ‘it does take a huge amount of sherpa time, of preparation time’. Well, one can see why and how this might inconvenience the Prime Minister while also holding to the view that if the Prime Minister believes it’s a bore to be asked questions about his own government’s policies then perhaps he might rethink his desire to be prime minister. Such scrutiny, however tiresome it may be, has generally been considered part of the job.

The Prime Minister’s defenders argue he cannot function without Dominic Cummings. Perhaps this is the case but it is not obvious he can function with him either. I do not, in truth, know if this is a Black Wednesday or Poll Tax moment for this government but the mere fact those comparisons are now being made is another data point supporting the proposition that Johnson’s government is in deep trouble.

No matter how sympathetic one might be to the difficulties of government during an emergency there is now little opportunity to evade the fact that this government’s handling of the crisis has not been impressive. That is partly a matter of policy failure – for which blame can be shared by any number of actors – and partly a failure of communications, for which responsibility begins at the very top.

Public confidence in the government is not the same as liking the government. It is possible to dislike a government while thinking it broadly competent. I have every sympathy for the predicament in which Mr Cummings found himself and I suspect many voters might, had they faced a comparable situation, have liked to behave as he did. But many voters did face similar problems and they did not act as he did. They stayed at home because that is what the government had told them to do. No defence of Mr Cummings can defeat this obvious truth. From which it follows that even if the country one day agrees to ‘move on’ it will not forget. And nor, frankly, should it.

 

 

 

Thanks for this Toast, been trying to find a copy somewhere to read as I'm not paying for one article. Pretty scathing stuff, especially from a Tory magazine, hard to see how they can go back to worshipping him in six months/a year's time. What a way to haemorrhage political capital.

[JQW 282]

Even more scathing, given that Boris Johnson used to edit The Spectator for several years - he even carried on doing so when he first became an MP.

[BuffaloPhil 926]

On 28/05/2020 at 09:56, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

Up to a point I agree.

I have said that I am no fan of Cumminglingus or Johnson, and the government in general, but.....

Seriously, anybody who thinks that the BBC isn't biased has been living with their head up their arseholes for way too long.

It isn't just the BBC either, the media is festooned with 'right on' left wing comedians, if you could actually call Nish Kumar, Adam Hills et al, comedians.

The Last Leg, The Mash Report, HIGNFY, and so on, all left wing, all lampooning the right of the political spectrum even though there is ample mileage in doing the same to the left.

It is now so unbalanced it is a fucking joke in itself.

I can remember those halcyon days when Spitting Image, at its best, ripped seven bags of shit of all sides and nobody was safe.

If they brought it back today, it would be, pretty much, bash the right and hold out the left as the planets only hope of saviour.

Nowdays you are not allowed to be moderate, if you are not on the left you are a baby eating, racist bastard who should burn in hell.

The problem with Maitlis is that she has expressed her 'personal' views too often on social media, all well and good if you are a bin man from Slough but not really the thing to do when you are fronting a well known, long standing news and current affairs programme.

Basically, if you want to make Political comments, jack your job in and do something else or shut the fuck up.

Andrew Neil? Did nobody see him rip everybody who was put in front of him to pieces? He did the same with Johnson, calling him out for not being interviewed, because he was too fucking scared to sit in front of him.

Neil is what Maitlis thinks she is and will never be.

Come back Kirsty Wark!

 

Spitting Image is coming back later this year, exclusively on Britibox. Will be interesting to see if you're right, although Roger Law is still in charge so hopefully it will be good.

 

https://www.itv.com/presscentre/britbox/press-releases/spitting-image-confirms-return-2020-britbox-uk-unveils-first-original-commission

[TQR 14,396]

Noticed during PMQs: he’s wearing an earpiece. 

 

 

Given how shit he looked, I’d sack whoever’s in his ear telling him what to say if I were him. What an inflatable cock.

[Toast 16,140]

3 hours ago, The Quim Reaper said:

Noticed during PMQs: he’s wearing an earpiece. 

 

 

Given how shit he looked, I’d sack whoever’s in his ear telling him what to say if I were him. What an inflatable cock.

 

Anyone get a look at whose hand was up his arse?

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,218]

27 minutes ago, Toast said:

 

Anyone get a look at whose hand was up his arse?

Is this near enough?

[Toast 16,140]

Yeah, but not so funny.

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,218]

16 minutes ago, Toast said:

Yeah, but not so funny.

If only it really was funny.

I am finding fuck all to laugh about at the mo.

[Toast 16,140]

1 hour ago, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

If only it really was funny.

I am finding fuck all to laugh about at the mo.

 

Too true.  Don't get me started on the local troubles as well. 

[The Red Death 87]

It's his 56th birthday today! First birthday since becoming the PM of the UK!  

[TQR 14,396]

3 hours ago, The Red Death said:

It's his 56th birthday today! First birthday since becoming the PM of the UK!  

 

That disgusting genital wart is the last person we should be wishing a happy birthday. 

[TQR 14,396]

@Leon Brittan Watch your blood pressure love.

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Pictured on his Scottish tour, in Orkney for a photo op.

 

 

[Toast 16,140]

47 minutes ago, The Quim Reaper said:

Pictured on his Scottish tour, in Orkney for a photo op.

 

 

 

LOL.  Photoshopping ruined by watermarks 

[TQR 14,396]

12 minutes ago, Toast said:

 

LOL.  Photoshopping ruined by watermarks 

 

Disappointing innit  Not my work, someone WhatsApped it to me. 

 

Anyway, it's less noticeable than the lovely, tranquil landscape of Orkney being ruined by one 5'9" skidmark.

[maryportfuncity 10,646]

Coming to a streaming service near you very soon!

 

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,218]

55 minutes ago, maryportfuncity said:

Coming to a streaming service near you very soon!

 

I'm not sure whether this will work again.

Todays politics is so fucking bizarre I am not sure whether it is actually possible to lampoon it.

I don't think a Government has been so corrupt, secretive, lying and inept as these bastards are.

How the fuck do you lampoon that!

[TQR 14,396]

4 minutes ago, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

I'm not sure whether this will work again.

Todays politics is so fucking bizarre I am not sure whether it is actually possible to lampoon it.

I don't think a Government has been so corrupt, secretive, lying and inept as these bastards are.

How the fuck do you lampoon that!

Yep.

 

It’s the precise reason why The Thick Of It couldn’t happen again - our political landscape is too bewildering and lunatic-heavy even for a genius like Iannucci to top it.

[maryportfuncity 10,646]

15 minutes ago, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

I'm not sure whether this will work again.

Todays politics is so fucking bizarre I am not sure whether it is actually possible to lampoon it.

I don't think a Government has been so corrupt, secretive, lying and inept as these bastards are.

How the fuck do you lampoon that!

 

Dunno - faced with creating a political satire today I'd start by creating fictional Frank Spencer idiot characters who were in politics for all the right reasons - that would be bizarre

 

The problem with Spitting Image (though to be fair they haven't started yet so we don't know) is that people look back nostalgically and recall all the good bits forgetting how much was lame. It's similar if you watch the old Monty Python shows. We're in PC times more than we were when they started so Prince Andrew's sexual  choices - for example - are hellishly hard to represent. It'd doubtless prompt complaints if they so much as made him sing a chorus of any of Gary Glitter's greatest hits. 

[Lord Fellatio Nelson 6,218]

6 minutes ago, maryportfuncity said:

 

Dunno - faced with creating a political satire today I'd start by creating fictional Frank Spencer idiot characters who were in politics for all the right reasons - that would be bizarre

 

The problem with Spitting Image (though to be fair they haven't started yet so we don't know) is that people look back nostalgically and recall all the good bits forgetting how much was lame. It's similar if you watch the old Monty Python shows. We're in PC times more than we were when they started to Prince Andrew's sexual  choices - for example - are hellishly hard to represent. It'd doubtless prompt complaints if they so much as made him sing a chorus of any of Gary Glitter's greatest hits. 

Yes, good points.

I do remember the original series to be very hit and miss, probably more miss than hit tbf.

 

[maryportfuncity 10,646]

1 hour ago, Lord Fellatio Nelson said:

Yes, good points.

I do remember the original series to be very hit and miss, probably more miss than hit tbf.

 

 

Originally they had Thatcher - who was hated by those who disagreed with her because she DID deliver on promises and followed an ideology so - for example - so the running joke that she was more of a man than anyone in her cabinet was workable and did last. Brilliant sketch in which she arrives in the gents, talks more blokey than them, pisses noisily and leaves as they all share the shameful realization they can't piss when s/he's in the room, was comedy gold. 

 

I was wondering about how they could get a good Boris gag going, other than some demonic pact in which him and Cummings are using the dark arts. They could - like - have a running gag in which Boris has a painting in the attic of a calm and reasonable version of himself. I'll give it a watch either way.

 

 

 

[Bibliogryphon 9,582]

After Major won the 1992 election Spitting Image took a really dark turn as though the writers felt that satire was not hitting home. It was funny but felt bitter.

 

Still like the Rupert Murdoch cartoon sketch.

[DCI Frank Burnside 3,887]

 

[Bentrovato 1,088]

Is his hair taking on a Trump look. 

[YoungWillz 21,046]

Every time I see this idiot being interviewed away from Parliament, he's on a construction site in Hi-Viz and a safety helmet.

 

And, without exception, there is never anybody working.

 

Tit.