So Stratton has gone - and good riddance. But why is Rees Mogg seemingly getting away with it after being caught doing basically the same thing ?
He comes from a background of privilege and wealth and the Bullingdon Club, (apparently he still shouts "buller" at other members) where he could act as disgracefully as he wanted without any consequenses so it's not suprising that his moral compass has been compromised. He honestly believes that he can lie his way out of any situation without a modicum of guilt or shame.
I hate to break it to you but it very much seems like he can. In days gone by him and many of his cabinet would have been forced to resign by now. Some of them multiple times. For example Raab and Afghanistan But inexplicably we don’t live in that world. Maybe it is the Brexit thing. Maybe just increased partisanship. Increased apathy. A perplexing combo of all of them I will be staggered if anyone of note faces criminal charges. That just seems like wishful thinking
I would have thought the answer to that is obvious. One is very rich and in a position of power and influence. The other is not
If people want an example - look at Matt Hancock . Boris was not going to fire him. And given the day’s delay between the story and his resignation it seemed like he was going to try and weather it until it became obvious that he couldn’t And even then they tried to shift the talking point as to why there were cameras! Why does that matter ?
Precisely my point. The relative pleb falls (rightly) on her sword, while that untouchable, arrogant slime-bag gets away with it.
I agree with your first paragraph Ian but I think your second is wishful thinking. I think we are in an interesting stage of politics at the moment. Of all the reasons for this government to be under pressure, an illicit office party seems to be relatively trivial. But all of a sudden people's views are being heard. From the media, the general public, the opposition and even other Tories, there has been a noticeable change. I think the reason for this is that the Tory machine is in motion and his days could now be numbered. The longer he is in power the closer we get to a general election and when it comes to getting re-elected the Tory's are ruthless. Having said that, I can still see a Tory government in power after the next GE and a criminal enquiry is possible but I think highly unlikely.
Intriguing. So you are suggesting that the “turn” is because less people are running cover? I did not that LK seemed to be somewhat grilling him when for the longest time she pay as well have been his personal press secretary / PR person
Just read that Carrie Johnson gave birth to a baby girl, this morning. Induced so he can feck off on paternity leave?
What with the Covid announcement and now this, he has certainly had a good couple days "to bury bad news".
A reminder that Johnson wrote a column in 2013, in the Torygraph, explaining the “Dead cat” ploy. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/p...Y3Iy39qGwmd00aKmqB0z2qRcCu_K-SxxCBT83icQfSjAU
So, in the last 5 minutes I have seen the following 3 stories. 1. The Tory party has been fined for breach of ethics and Johnson misled everyone over the redecoration of No10. 2. The person leading the investigation into the “alleged” party/ies attended at least one of them. 3. Rumours are that Parliament will go into recess 2 days early, which will avoid another PMQ. I guess this is normal in a Fascist state.
The 1922 committee are all about re-election and holding on to power. If they see BJ as a risk to that, he won't be around at the next general election or quite possibly a lot sooner. They have got what they wanted from him (Brexit) and what I think may be happening now is that they have had enough of what he is doing to the image of the party. They have considerable influence on the right wing media and the process starts with them (the media). They run stories of an unhappy public, and unease among Tory back benchers who start to see an end to their gravy train. That, together with giving the opposition more coverage leads to a vulnerable PM who can then be given the boot after a vote of no confidence. The above may of course be a load of rubbish but there does appear to be more critical comments coming from all directions at the moment. I think the Tories are in a flap and the Christmas party seems to have been the catalyst.
I wonder who would be on the list to replace him should it happen? Who they would think is more electable. They might think Rishi would get credit for the covid subsidies / furlough etc. I’m not convinced that will stand up to scrutiny (if of course, he is put under and appropriate amount which is far from certain) Your point on the “right wing media” - by and large in the U.K. that is “the media”. At least the print media of any significance