Why the fuck is Boris Johnson still Prime Minister?

[noblegiraffe]

Fucksake. I mean seeing minister after minister wheeled out to defend the indefensible in the media rounds. Do they have no shame? Prattling on about how it was an 'essential part of leadership' to be a Toastmaster to an illegal piss-up. No, leadership was the Queen sat alone at a funeral, like so many of her subjects had to do. Not carrying on with your unprofessional boozy work culture and then have your team crow about how they 'got away with it' when they successfully didn't vomit in front of the cameras there for another press conference telling everyone how important it was to stick to the rules.

Johnson knew it wasn't right to have birthday parties when he personally wrote to a kid saying they were right to not have theirs, but then thought it was just fine to have one of his own and then announce that all rules had been followed to Parliament? (The police disagree, as does anyone who was forced to cancel their own celebrations).

Telling people that it was his duty to have a party for leaving colleagues while at the same time people couldn't be with dying family?

And now they are having the gall to say that he has accepted full responsibility? How? That sort of statement is followed by a resignation, not a 'now let's forget about it and move on'. How has he demonstrated that he has done anything apart from his utmost to weasel out of taking any sort of responsibility, to the point of asking Sue Gray to give up on her report? The report that that he told the rest of us that we had to wait months for the outcome of to find out what he already knew.

He says he wants to deliver what the British people want. Polls said yesterday that a majority want him to resign. Get the fuck on with it then.

But polls also showed that only a tiny minority of people actually believe he has the integrity to do the right thing (learned from bitter experience).

So what, the British people are stuck with this craven, corrupt liar as leader?

Well no. He could be no-confidenced by his MPs. What the fuck are they waiting for? Do they think it is to their benefit to have him shitting over public office every day? 'Oh but they can't think of anyone better'. What exactly does that say about the state of the Tory party if that's true?

Cannot stand seeing his face, hearing his pathetic lies, seeing his shitty schtick any more. JUST FUCK OFF BORIS.

Oh, Carrie Clav is still around 😂

To be fair they're not alone - just rather more vocal and sycophantic than most. There are plenty of Johnson apologists and ardent Brexiteers who will blithely vote for the Conservatives again even if Johnson leads them into the next election. They make weak or dishonest justification for it or whine about not being allowed to have different opinions.

I maintain that anyone prepared to vote for a party headed by Johnson at the next election is as lacking in moral compass as he is, and they will be as culpable as the spineless Tory MPs who allow such an election to take place.

It wouldn't persuade me to vote Conservative but at least he is a man with integrity and courage - qualities totally lacking in Johnson. The way his fellow Tory MPs heckled him in Parliament was disgraceful.

BringBackCoffeeCreams
I saw that the Express did a poll too. 95% of their readers think he should .... off too.

Do you have a link?

26 May 2022
Then, Express.co.uk asked: “Should the Prime Minister resign?”

A total of 8,646 people responded to this question and the vast majority – 78 percent (6,784 people) – said “no”, Mr Johnson should not resign.

www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1616464/boris-johnson-resign-partygate-pictures-downing-street-photos-poll-results-spt

The Daily Express did report YouGov's snap poll but have you transposed the 5 with the 9? Should be 59% not 95%??

www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1615964/boris-johnson-opinion-polls-partygate-resign-evg

twitter.com/daily_express/status/1529471227055702017?s=21&t=qYDCwaM9tvTJaNTGy4vlPA

97%

They are all awful.

But I would fear Jacob Rees Mogg as pm more.

Sorry that should read 97% of 89,751 votes.

Sorry that should read 97% of 89,751 votes

25 May - 97% think he should resign
26 May - 78% think he should not resign

That's an improvement!

The parliamentary Conservative party would have to be electorally suicidal to let him anywhere near it. They aren't.

It's not an improvement, Clav, it's a different demographic.

I'm pleased that even on MN, where threads will be full of people defending voting Conservative, there is such little support for Johnson.

'I'm pleased that even on MN, where threads will be full of people defending voting Conservative, there is such little support for Johnson.'

Oh there will be don't worry but many folk will work and probably cba to take some of you on and who can blame them. The level of debate seems to be to throw about insults, mock and sneer. I occasionally try to put forward some balanced points but the old 'Tory shill!' 'its Carrie!' etc etc is all a bit childish tbh.

I'm talking about the poll at the top of the thread, Janiie that doesn't require 'taking people on' to click 'YABU'. Very little support for Johnson even when it requires barely any effort.

'Throwing insults, mocking and sneering'. Seen that on here from the overly-committed defenders of the indefensible, 11% minority on this thread, not so much from the rest.

I started my own thread on this. Now I have discovered this one I have asked for my thread to be deleted.

Seriously - how is he still leading the Conservatives and the country? And now he changes the rules so if he is caught again he doesn't have to resign. I don't understand how he is getting away with it. Trashing our democracy while his party look on and do nothing.

Welcome, nappyvalley

I think the country should be very nervous of a leader who repeatedly attempts to rewrite the rules to keep him and his mates in power.

We didn't stand for it over Paterson.

I read yesterday that virtually all of the red wall seats that the Conservative party won in 2019 and any Conservative held seat with a lead of less than 15 points would be likely to be lost to Labour in the event of an election. That includes Johnson's own seat. How many Tory MPs have anything much to lose by doing the decent thing and submitting a letter?

Only someone utterly reprehensible would defend Johnson's actions yesterday. And @JaniieJones I stand by that however much you keep with the sneering and insults line.

If true, their marriage did not last long. Their child must be very young still.

Given that terrible polling data, ilovesooty it is inexplicable that some still argue that Boris is still in position because the Tories believe he is their best shot at winning the next election.

He's toxic to their brand.

It is too late to change prime minister though.
Rushing Sunak might have been a good replacement for them, but boris poisoned that well.

It's two years till the next election, it's certainly not 'too late' if it's elections you're worried about. In fact, for the Tories, it's becoming rather imperative to change PM if it's elections they're worried about.

Thanks Noble
It just feels like there is nothing he could do that would make his MPs remove him and that is very scary.

I think if MPs think that not sending in their letter might lose them their seat, that might concentrate a few minds.

I wouldn't say there's nothing, necessarily. The cost of living crisis is going to really damage Johnson. If they can come up with someone who isn't as tainted by it they might be more minded to boot him.

Yet again, best shot at winning and good chance of winning are not synonymous. There's no contradiction whatsoever between being a leader a lot of the public loathe (which was even true in 2019 actually, Rob Ford has done some interesting stuff on this) and still being the Conservative who polls better than the others. There's just not.

And that is why the Tory MPs continue to keep Johnson in post. That's the answer to your OP. Until there is clear evidence of an alternative they view as more likely to win, that will not change.

I honestly can't understand for the life of me why the Tories are leaving him in power.

I have repeatedly written to my Tory MP in recent months to ask if she considers Johnson to be fit for public office. She has repeatedly said that she is waiting for the Sue Gray report to be published, despite all of the other evidence that was already in the public domain to help her make a judgement. I am not sure what she is waiting for now that the Sue Gray report has been published, but inexplicably, she still seems incapable of offering an opinion.

My only thought is that the Tories know that the next year or so is going to be absolutely fucking awful for people, so they're taking a gamble on riding out the shittiest bit with BJ at the helm, so that they can blame it all on him and then wheel out a shiny new leader when things eventually start to improve, who will be able to distance themselves from the serious hardship that people are about to face. It's a very risky strategy though, which has the potential to seriously backfire.

At the same time, perhaps no potential leader in their right mind would actually put their hand up to take over at a time when everything is going to absolute shit... so maybe they feel that they have no choice? The best thing they could probably do for the long term future of the Tory party right now would probably be to call a general election and let the Labour party inherit and take the blame for the mess!