Boris stands down as MP with immediate effect part 3

[DuncinToffee]

Tomorrow is the Commons vote on the Privileges Committee's findings that Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over Downing Street parties during lockdown

The vote is a free vote rather than being whipped either way. Tories have been told that the vote will be a one-line whip, meaning they will not be obliged to participate.

Boris Johnson is believed to have advised his backers to not vote against it.

Michael Gove confirmed on live tv that he will abstain

Tobias Elwood has u-turned on abstaining after hearing stories from voters

Rishi Sunak, who knows

"Vintage Stuff" by Tom Sharpe was a pretty good exemplar of the English Public School System.

I think Boris is bright but combines that with a genuine lack of understanding of some things. And there's no contradiction between being clever and sometimes showing terribly poor judgement. There are other things to take into consideration too.

So take eg the handling of Partygate. At the outset, the most sensible thing to do would've been to come clean and apologise, tell the public I realise now that we may not have complied with all law and guidance but even if we did, it was still inappropriate, I take responsibility etc. But understanding and accepting that would've required more than intelligence. And sometimes arrogance gets in the way of other advantages.

I look forward to Jenkyns being massacred at the next election.

Chums by Simon Kuper is a brilliant read. Highly recommend it.

@DuncinToffee if Rishi Sunak does an interview during the next General Election campaign with someone from Sky, his absence will not be forgotten. BBC will ignore it because of the bullying by the Tories over the licence fee.

I think some posters can go home now. The emoji and hashtag are genuinely what ChatGPT produced.

After Boris Johnson was forced to resign as MP because he was found to have lied to parliament while he was prime minister, several supporters have attempted to derail serious discussions by posting in chat forums to distract attention. Provide 3 examples of how such posts might read keeping each to under 200 words. You may include references to opponents behaviour and bearing.

Example 1:
"Have we already forgotten how politicians of all stripes have made less-than-accurate claims in the past? Let's not forget Blair's WMDs that never existed! Isn't it curious how some are so quick to crucify Johnson for 'misleading' statements, yet they're mute on past instances? Surely, it can't be because it's convenient for their agenda... 🤔 #SelectiveAmnesia"

Example 2:
"I'm seeing a lot of chatter here about Johnson's resignation but let's not get sidetracked. The real issue is the state of our nation's economy. Joblessness is on the rise and inflation is out of control, all thanks to poor decision-making from our current leaders. Let's focus on what's genuinely harming Britons instead of dwelling on a single politician's exit. #RealIssues"

Example 3:
"Amazing how some people are so fixated on Johnson's downfall! Yet, they turn a blind eye to the hypocrisy within their own party lines. Remember that time when Corbyn was accused of breaching Parliament's rules? Why isn't there the same outrage? Or does accountability only apply when it's the other side of the aisle? #DoubleStandards"

I don’t think you can act the stupid buffoon as well as he does without having a percentage of your character actually being a stupid buffoon.

The failing position with Boris has been his desire to play King. He should never have been allowed near any position that meant he could impact other peoples lives or access anything of value to trade. His dodgy finance history would have been enough (as I understand it) to keep him out of the police, various financial institutions or intelligence services. Everything about the man screams weak point and security risk.

I think it will be years before we find out just how much of a security risk has been.

In the interests of the balance that @Janiie mentions - it's only on a bad day that I loathe Johnson. On a typical day during his premiership I lamented the fact that he was elected to be PM despite being so unsuitable. On charitable days, I feel sorry for him - he clearly feels very hard done by and I strongly suspect he had a difficult childhood and inadequate father.

The sins of the father and all that. However that is mitigation, not defence. And it's dangerous to introduce such nuanced concepts into a broad brush debate like this, as it is wide open goal for some posters to keep kicking their "misunderstanding" through.

Somewhere, there is a quite well off person who was paid a decent sum for goading Boris into giving up his US citizenship. At least the US is safe from him as president.

I have a horrible feeling you're right.

On charitable days, I feel sorry for him - he clearly feels very hard done by and I strongly suspect he had a difficult childhood and inadequate father

I’m pretty sure it’s a matter of public record that he absolutely had a difficult childhood but I’m afraid you’re far more charitable than me.

None of us have control over our childhood environments but growing up and experiencing life on our own terms offers insights that might have been missing from our foundations. There’s a point people choose who they are, life isn’t a passive experience. Reaching your 50’s/60’s with no sign of introspection or growth just makes you happy with being a wanker. It may be possible to change past that but there’s likely to be a lot of irreparable relationships you’re going to have to reconcile as lost.

Unfortunate phraseology

Totally agree with @Cornettoninja Jo Johnson and Rachel Johnson had the same upbringing. They both seem to have far less chaotic lives.

Re example one Blair didn't look for WMD himself he was TOLD that they were there he acted on that information crucify the person falsifying the information

I'm guessing Chat GPT took examples from MN and other forums to create those posts

ChatGPT is scary.

Hopefully our security services were doing their fucking job (for a change) and handled this one properly. We already know he wasn't allowed access to really classified stuff. And his attempt to exfiltrate what he have access to suggests that was the right decision.

It's a large language learning model. That rather demands access to large language. However it also tends towards picking up the noisiest, rather than the brightest of content. Fans of engineering will recall the differences between positive and negative feedback in control systems.

Who remembers an ad "Is it live, or is it Memorex ?"

Is it Donald ?

"Let me tell you, folks, this entire situation with Boris is nothing short of a witch hunt. The biggest one I've ever seen. And I know a thing or two about witch hunts, believe me. Boris, he's a fighter. A fantastic leader. Did an incredible job with Brexit. Stood up for the British people when nobody else would.

Now they're going after him because he supposedly 'lied'? Come on. Every politician bends the truth a little. That's how the game is played. But when Boris does it, oh boy, suddenly it's a big scandal. A whopping 384 votes against him. Ridiculous! Unfair!

Look at their side. They've got politicians who've done way worse. But do they resign? No way. Do they get held accountable? Not even close. They just sweep it under the rug and pretend like nothing happened. But when Boris does something, they're all over him like a pack of wolves.

The real problem here isn't Boris. It's the double standard. It's the biased media. It's the fact that they're so afraid of strong leaders like Boris and me, that they'll do anything to bring us down.

But we won't let them, will we? We stand with Boris. Because he's a leader, he's a winner, and he's the best thing that ever happened to Britain. Don't let them distract you with their fake outrage and their double standards. Stand up for what's right. Stand up for Boris. Because if they can do this to him, they can do it to anyone. And that's not the kind of world we want to live in, is it?"

Is that Chat GPT or Trump?

Now they're going after him because he supposedly 'lied'? Come on. Every politician bends the truth a little. That's how the game is played. But when Boris does it, oh boy, suddenly it's a big scandal. A whopping 384 votes against him. Ridiculous! Unfair

Does he not know about misleading Parliament and the repercussions?

"He" being ChatGPT to answer a previous poster "knows" fuck all.

Incidentally, tip o' the hat to the wag who suggested Boris now has more children than supporters.

What was the committee he was in front of last year where he suddenly dropped in a meeting with lebedev and I think his father and he hadn’t told anyone about it. There was a stunned silenced where the committee were ‘wtf’ before questioning him on it. Meanwhile Boris just carried because he has no idea why what he’s said is an issue.