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.

But they’re not throwing their hats in the ring. That’s what makes this whole shit show even more depressing. They were lining up to take over after Thatcher, Major and Cameron… but not this time. Even Gove isn’t trying. This country is so so f**d.

While this is true, none of it affects the point that the parliamentary Tory party cannot currently identify a candidate who has a better chance of GE success than Johnson. That is a whole answer to the OPs question about how he remains in power, and doesn't become any less so because people have good reasons why it shouldn't be like this.

The Tories evidently don't care about the trashing of the Nolan principles, no. This should be abundantly obvious. It would be utterly self indulgent of me to imagine that because I care about corruption, Tory MPs will prioritise it above keeping power.

Now none of this is to say that there couldn't arise an alternative who polls better than Johnson. That could happen, especially with the looming cost of living crisis. There are two by elections next month so lots to play for there. But it hasn't yet, and it should be abundantly obvious by now that the parliamentary party aren't going to act without one.

Hunt, Ellwood, Tugenhat & Truss have made their ambitions plain.

Zahawi, Javid, Sunak & Wallace are waiting but will move for leadership.

Mordant maybe.

Nonsense to pretend nobody else wants it.

It's the PM gig, there'll always be someone who wants it. However difficult the circumstances. And none of the possible candidates are sufficiently politically heavyweight to be able to choose their timing. They're all people who'd have to take their one chance.

So the issue isn't finding someone who would consent to doing the job, it's getting them into the position of being leader.

I think that the excuse of Ukraine is a really weird one. I can’t believe some people are falling for it. But then again, the Tories seem to clutch at anything to deflect and then by repeating the mantra, it seems to stick as a truth. This country becomes more Orwellian by the day and it both terrifies me and saddens me. Why there isn’t mass rioting and marching on parliament I’ve no idea. Cheating and lying has become so normalised and common, the great masses have forgotten what decency is.

The example set by the top filters down. I’m in Scotland. There was an article in the news this week about a teacher being struck off (and rightly so) for cheating because they had done the pupils’ exams for them. The number of comments from people saying that they should be reinstated because they were only trying to help the pupils was astounding, so cheating is ok then! The reality was (and I know this because my cousin works in the school), the teacher was crap at their job, couldn’t control a class and instead of admitting that and changing jobs, they tried to cover their tracks. No one takes responsibility for anything anymore, it’s all about how to shift blame. And no wonder because our shifty, corrupt government do it and get away with it all the time. The teacher is just one example but I bet there is now so much lying and cheating going on throughout the UK now because the public don’t have a decent example to follow and the thick, unable to think for themselves lot, will just take a lead from the top. This is what I find most scary.

Yeah the Ukraine excuse is ridiculous. Ukraine is a broad consensus issue in British politics and we've changed leader during war loads of times. It's clutching at straws.

Fantastic post OP. My sentiments exactly.

But I liked the swearing in your original post @noblegiraffe . It was used skilfully and to great effect. 😀

Nobody, right or left has the electoral appeal that Bozo can generate. He knows it. Both parties know it. So we're stuck with him until he decides to do something else. It really doesn't matter how good a leader anyone else might be if the voters don't like the look of him or her we won't have the opportunity to find out.

I have never felt such visceral hatred for a public figure, and all his pathetic cronies. He has out-Trumped Trump with his post-truth narcissistic contempt. He is always going to go down in history as a lying shameless shyster, and the worst Prime Minister in British history and thats his legacy- so why is he even trying to style it out? But what is hardest to live with is the idea that there are enough people out there who could return this party to government again. That is the most depressing prospect of all.
My sister had the shittiest and loneliest of ends, exacerbated by an exhausted, underfunded NHS and covid restrictions. While the 'government' partied and joked about getting away with it, and fannied about with 'investigations' when they knew and lied. And lied.
My rage and sadness is overwhelming.

"Larry the Downing Street cat could do a better job if being PM than Johnson."

The fleas on Larry could do a better job of being PM than Johnson.

The turds dropped by the fleas on Johnson's cat would make a better PM.

1. Because tory mps are cowards.
2. Because the substitute bench is woefully thin.

I'm fine with johnson being there for another general election though. Let him lose where it counts.

It's a mystery. Furlough, vaccines, opening up when Labour said nooo it will be armageddon (and it wasn’t), leading on the support for Ukraine (the Ukrainians love him even if some mumsnetters loathe him), support for businesses in the pandemic, loads of financial support for the nhs in the pandemic, government teams sourcing ppe, now the chancellor giving out lots of financial support to assist with the cost of living crisis.

I mean wtf are they playing at! .

Larry's shit in the litter tray could do a better job of being PM. And would be a lot more presentable too.

government teams sourcing ppe,
I think you mean members of government giving huge sums to their cronies in return for no PPE.
This government is more corrupt than any in my 60 years on the planet.

Ah, the Conservative Home employee has logged on. 😀

SirChenjins · Yesterday 17:23
I genuinely have no idea. Think what you like about the Tories, but they've been pretty quick in the past in jettisoning PMs whom they thought would lose them the next election. Quite why they all seem intent on defending this one is a mystery“

Former journalist (after a fashion), presumably has a great deal of dirt on an awful lot of MPs.

Ukrainians, please, you love him, take him. He's long outlived any usefulness he may have had here. Have him. Free of charge. He's all yours.

Lets All be honest here , something that our PM has never been and agree that he has an answer for everything.🫣
Its just Ridiculous what rubbish comes out of his mouth and he always gets away with it.

Its just shocking but what’s even more shocking is that he is still our PM.

the Ukrainians love him even if some mumsnetters loathe him

They think he’s amusing - they don’t admire him as a politician.

I suspect you’re right @MrsSkylerWhite

They think he's 'amusing^' You seriously think people in a war torn country, who have lost thousands to war crimes, have lost their homes and face a very uncertain future give a rat's ass if he is 'amusing'.

I think it just may be all the military and humanitarian support he has led with.

I think the Ukrainians are grateful that Johnson's government has provided military assistance. That's completely reasonable of them, it's just that the UK would be doing that regardless of who was PM, because there is broad agreement on the issue. Both amongst the political class and the general public. British armed forces have provided specialist training since 2014, ie under three PMs, and would under a fourth. Obviously the Ukrainian people might be a bit busy for that kind of analysis at the moment.

There is also some resentment at the UK having let the Russians take the piss for so long, which again is totally fair.

He's still there to enrich himself and his mates whilst making us poorer

He's certainly using it for political capital as well, but there's no reason whatsoever why the Ukrainians should give a tiny shit about that at the moment. Bigger fish to fry. One can understand that whilst still feeling a tad bilious at the Churchill cosplay.