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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Any Tory who defended Boris's Savile smear as 'cut and thrust' should immediately recant

379 replies

noblegiraffe · 07/02/2022 20:27

Any of the despicable lot who did the media rounds defending Boris making a far-right smear in parliament as 'political cut and thrust' should be faced with a journalist tomorrow asking whether they had reconsidered in the light of the mob surrounding Keir Starmer tonight calling him a fucking traitor, saying he should be hung, and repeating the same accusation. Their responses should be collated and published.

In recent years we have seen two MPs murdered. These mobs must be taken seriously. They should not be whipped up by the Prime Minister in the Houses of Parliament.

Boris has to accept responsibility for this, and every fucker who defended it as acceptable should be called to account.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
Clavinova · 08/02/2022 11:01

noblegiraffe
Angela Rayner 'unreservedly apologised' for her 'scum' comments.

After Sir David Amess was murdered - not beforehand.

And yes, I did notice this;
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said the comments were “not language that I would have used” and said it is a matter for Ms Rayner whether she apologised.

SportsMother · 08/02/2022 11:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

noblegiraffe · 08/02/2022 11:05

Why would I want my 13-year-old ds (ds2) to repeatedly hear 'tank-topped bum-boys' on the radio

Because it speaks to the character of the Prime Minister who has yet to apologise for those remarks?

It also demonstrates, doesn't it, that horrendously offensive and unacceptable remarks are rather a habit of this PM, whose team resigned over the most recent one of a week ago.

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daimbarsatemydogsbone · 08/02/2022 11:05

@BerylStrip

I'm a newcomer here with just a few posts, but received wisdom across the internet with people like Clavinova is "Don't feed the troll". I've noticed mumsnet often advises people to 'grey rock' or similar with family members who behave like Clavinova.

Don't rise to the bait. Just ignore him/her and they eventually tire of it because they're not provoking a reaction.

I posted something similar and had my post reported and deleted - good luck.
BerylStrip · 08/02/2022 11:06

I have to say, as well, with Angela Rayner that the complete double standards being applied are quite astonishing. She made a general comment rather than anything specific directed at a specific person (and a comment, with hindsight, that is proving to be correct given current behaviours of some Tories), and was widely pilloried.

Johnson makes a defamatory remark at a specific person knowing full well that if he did not have parliamentary privilege to hide behind he would almost certainly be sued for defamation. Worse still, the accusation is the type of accusation that has, in the past, often led to people being harrassed, beaten up and forced to flee. Anyone remember the case of the the Paediatric Doctor in Wales who was basically driven out of her home because vigilante's couldn't tell the difference between 'Paediatric' and 'Paedophile' ? Accusations of paedophilia often lead to a braying mob and Johnson knows that full well which is why he chose to play to that particular gallery. The link with alt-right groups peddling that particular meme I'm sure was a welcome bonus in his book.

I absolutely will not consider Angela Rayner's remark to be on the same level as Johnson's and in any event, she gave a proper and fullsome apology which he - and his cohorts - refuse to do and, instead, peddle the line that it's somehow just part of politics. Unfortunately, it seems they are right.

noblegiraffe · 08/02/2022 11:06

@TooBigForMyBoots

The Angela Rayner "scum" thing was widely reported in part to hide this gem: www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19606166.tory-mp-apologises-suggesting-bomb-planted-oxford-mp-anneliese-dodds-office/

And it worked. Lots of frothing about AR (which continues to this day, despite her apology) and nothing about James Gray.Shock

Wow.
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ClaudineClare · 08/02/2022 11:07

The linking AR "scum" comment with Amess' murder is straight out of the current Tory playbook.

Do you think David Amess' family will be happy seeing people use his murder to deflect from Johnson's despicable behaviour?

Shame on you.

baroqueandblue · 08/02/2022 11:11

@Clavinova

noblegiraffe Clav, to be clear, you don't think that people should repeat historical offensive remarks made by the current Prime Minister, some, unapologetically, because they are offensive?

Why would I want my 13-year-old ds (ds2) to repeatedly hear 'tank-topped bum-boys' on the radio (a quote from a 1995 Spectator column) ??

Oh, I don't know - so that you can explain to him why he has nothing to fear from a parent who's a frequent apologist for the corrupt homophobe responsible for saying it in the first place?

Oh, wait...

DuncinToffee · 08/02/2022 11:13

Why would I want my 13-year-old ds (ds2) to repeatedly hear 'tank-topped bum-boys' on the radio (a quote from a 1995 Spectator column) ??

Yes it must be difficult to explain to your ds why you would vote for such a man and why you keep defending him

Clavinova · 08/02/2022 11:14

The linking AR "scum" comment with Amess' murder is straight out of the current Tory playbook.

I don't personally think her comment was to blame (not at all) - but you can't deny that she wasn't under pressure to apologise after Sir David was murdered. She probably would not have apologised otherwise - she had already refused to do so.

KellyABC · 08/02/2022 11:15

@BerylStrip
Yes, exactly this.

Clavinova · 08/02/2022 11:18

Yes it must be difficult to explain to your ds why you would vote for such a man and why you keep defending him

Pink News
In Parliament, Boris Johnson was an early pro-LGBT rebel. Despite his early beliefs, Johnson’s legislative record is markedly more liberal.

Elected to Parliament for the first time in 2001, Johnson rebelled against his own party on several occasions to back LGBT+ rights measures.

Defying the Conservative leadership at the time, Johnson voted in 2003 to abolish Section 28, which banned the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools, and voted in 2004 to permit civil partnerships for same-sex couples.

Alongside George Osborne and John Bercow, Johnson was one of just a handful of Tory MPs who were willing to back the Labour government’s LGBT+ reforms.

www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/06/18/boris-johnson-lgbt-rights-record-anti-gay-slurs-liberal-stance/

TooBigForMyBoots · 08/02/2022 11:19

@Clavinova, PM Johnson lifted QAnon conspiracy shit, and threw it at KS in the HoC, which prompted an attempted mobbing. Is that who the Conservative party are now?

Tory voters must be so proud.

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 08/02/2022 11:21

[quote TooBigForMyBoots]@Clavinova, PM Johnson lifted QAnon conspiracy shit, and threw it at KS in the HoC, which prompted an attempted mobbing. Is that who the Conservative party are now?

Tory voters must be so proud.[/quote]
You're wasting your time - all you'll get is a C&P of some whataboutery regarding something unrelated.

BerylStrip · 08/02/2022 11:22

Boris Johnson's "pro gay" stance ?

He has consistently spoken out against 'gays in the military'

He agreed with Robert Mugabe (yes, that Robert Mugabe) and said 'there was a grit of truth in Mugabe's comment that New Labour was composed of gay gansters' (presumably they come and rearrange your furniture with menaces or something)

He has referred to gay men as 'tank topped bum boys'

So forgive me for thinking he's basically a homophone (on top of the rest of his - considerable - list of undesirable traits)

noblegiraffe · 08/02/2022 11:26

It's keeping the thread in active though. Hopefully more people will have spotted their MP on the list of defenders and been prompted to email them asking them to retract their support.

That list again:

Dominic Raab ('cut and thrust')
Kwasi Kwarteng ('perfectly reasonable')
Nadine Dorries ('he does tell the truth')
Sajid Javid (time to move on)
James Cleverly ('factually accurate')
Jacob Rees-Mogg ('They are perfectly fair and reasonable points of political debate.')
Michael Gove ('It is the case that the CPS apologised for the handling of this case and what happened in 2009 and I think we should acknowledge that an apology was given and respect that')
Michael Fabricant ('If Boris can be blamed for events in Number 10 when he was not there because he was the boss, Starmer can be blamed for the non-prosecution of Jimmy Savile when he was the boss as Director of Public Prosecutions.')
Chris Philp ('Perfectly normal to refer to an MP's track record')

It's super easy to email your MP if you use www.writetothem.com/ you don't even need to look them up or their email address. It also checks back with you later to see if you got a response and keeps a league table of MPs good/bad at responding to emails.

Not just that list though, any Conservative MP can be asked to denounce Johnson's behaviour here.....or write a letter.

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daimbarsatemydogsbone · 08/02/2022 11:28

I know it's just a typo but homophone as an accusation made me smile.

Peregrina · 08/02/2022 11:29

Johnson 'pro gay'? No, he saw the way public opinion was going and ran ahead with it.

noblegiraffe · 08/02/2022 11:34

Clav inexplicably didn't c&p this bit from her Pink News article link where Johnson likens homosexuality to bestiality.

"Johnson claimed: “If gay marriage was OK – and I was uncertain on the issue – then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men, or indeed three men and a dog.”

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BerylStrip · 08/02/2022 11:34

Let's look at Johnson's stance on racial equality:

He spoke about the 'cowing of the police by the MacPherson report' (this is the report into the Stephen Lawrence murder which led to the conclusion that the Metropolitan police was institutionally racist)

He refers to Muslim women wearing traditional dress using descriptions like 'letterbox', referring to the Burqa as "wacko womens gear" - which tends to poo-poo his article in the Telegraph where he says women should be allowed to wear what they want. One assumes they either wear twinset and pearls, or skimpy little tops and short skirts, depending on age and perceived attractiveness in Johnson's world.

While serving as an MP, Johnson had a fictional character he used to illustrate his 'points' called Sammy Katz. This person had such highlights in their life as "relying on immigrant labour" and "cruising red light districts in search of a bit of black" (so two racial slurs for the price of one there - such economy !). This particular list goes on but it's quite disgusting so I'll stop now.

Let's turn to Mr Johson's stance on paedophiles as he clearly believes very strongly it is something that needs to be dealt with. He referred to police investigations into paedophiles as the police "deployed in desperate attempts to catch paedophiles in ancient public schools". I wonder what Dame Dick made of that.

Other choice comments include pillorying single mothers as raising children who are "ignorant, aggressive and illegitimate" and that married couples "pay for their desire to procreate independently of men" (and if I was faced with a choice of being a single mother or having Mr Johnson as a husband I can well see the attraction of single motherhood).

He thinks single mothers "should face destitution on a Victorian scale" to deter them from having babies. I suppose these mothers have learned to procreate via parthenogenesis ? In his defence, he is living up to his promises here and implementing policies to deliver what he believes.

He solution to stop single mothers is to have "plot lines in soap operas in which double-first girls marry illiterate bricklayers". Given the choice between a hard-working builder or Mr Johnson I don't suppose it's a wildly difficult choice so, again, perhaps he's right after all.

He is fair in his epithets though because "Working class men are drunk, criminal, aimless, feckless and hopeless". And he should know !

He thinks you should deal with advice from a female colleague by "patting her on the bottom and sending her on her way". I'd like to see him try that with Therese Coffey I must say.

I mean, I can just go on (and on) here...

ClaudineClare · 08/02/2022 11:35

@Peregrina

Johnson 'pro gay'? No, he saw the way public opinion was going and ran ahead with it.
I agree. I wonder if he also already had plans to run for Mayor of London and knew his homophobia wouldn't go down well with the electorate.
kickupafuss · 08/02/2022 11:37

Apparently he can only get these poor quality politicians to work with him - anyone decent wouldn't do it. They all know that when he goes, they go too. That's why they have to defend him.

NETSRIK · 08/02/2022 11:40

When he goes all the nodding dogs will go with him and the adults will be back in the room. Until he goes we are stuck with a front bench of self interested idiots who wouldn't last 5 minutes in the real world.

noblegiraffe · 08/02/2022 11:40

He referred to police investigations into paedophiles as the police "deployed in desperate attempts to catch paedophiles in ancient public schools".

Johnson also said:
"You know, £60 million I saw was being spaffed up a wall on some investigation into historic child abuse."

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flashy44 · 08/02/2022 11:44

@madIam

I wrote to my Tory mp last week after the comments were first made and I've still not had a response, not even an automated one - it was an email.

This is all so depressing and frightening. I hate what this country is turning into.

I did too,no response either. Bojo is a disgrace i cant even watch the news anymore ,when he appears on any footage looking like a gormless jackassi have to turn off as i feel my blood boiling