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Boris seems overwhelmingly the choice of Tory MPs, winning the votes of 141 MPs. Jeremy Hunt, a Remainer who has flip-flopped so many times over Brexit, won 43 votes, and Michael Gove, despite the cocaine, 37.
27 votes apiece went to Dominic Raab, a reasonable man who resigned from the cabinet over the way Mrs May misled it and Sajid Javid, who is so boring and who is playing the class and race cards. They should drop out now.
Shocklingly, 20 people voted for the gormless Matt Hancock, who should have been dropped from the government after his hilarious humiliation at the hands of Andrew Neil.
Perhaps Andrew Neil should be the next Prime Minister. He is cleverer than any of the candidates, a Tory and a Brexiteer.
The selfishness and vanity of Theresa May have postponed the Tory election, at a time
when speed is of the essence because of the Hallowe'en deadline for leaving the EU. Had she resigned in a timely way Boris could have been Prime Minister in time to meet Donald Trump and go to Normandy with him, and much more importantly take the government in charge.
There is no-one else who could be Prime Minister, much as I like Rory Stewart, but now it looks after last night's defeat that the House of Commons will not be able to seize control of its order paper and will not be able to prevent the Government leaving the EU without a deal.
I rather wonder if this is really what Boris wants. Being forced to call a referendum or an election might have suited him better.
27 votes apiece went to Dominic Raab, a reasonable man who resigned from the cabinet over the way Mrs May misled it and Sajid Javid, who is so boring and who is playing the class and race cards. They should drop out now.
Shocklingly, 20 people voted for the gormless Matt Hancock, who should have been dropped from the government after his hilarious humiliation at the hands of Andrew Neil.
Perhaps Andrew Neil should be the next Prime Minister. He is cleverer than any of the candidates, a Tory and a Brexiteer.
The selfishness and vanity of Theresa May have postponed the Tory election, at a time
when speed is of the essence because of the Hallowe'en deadline for leaving the EU. Had she resigned in a timely way Boris could have been Prime Minister in time to meet Donald Trump and go to Normandy with him, and much more importantly take the government in charge.
There is no-one else who could be Prime Minister, much as I like Rory Stewart, but now it looks after last night's defeat that the House of Commons will not be able to seize control of its order paper and will not be able to prevent the Government leaving the EU without a deal.
I rather wonder if this is really what Boris wants. Being forced to call a referendum or an election might have suited him better.
He needs a strong number two, as he had when Mayor of London in Sir Simon Milton, my contemporary at university, who died in his late forties.
Michael Gove might have done the job had he not sabotaged Boris's election three years ago and inflicted Theresa May on an ungrateful nation. Andrew Neil recently announced his retirement from the BBC. Perhaps he could be drafted in to help?
Rory Stewart, who only just entered the cabinet and is not a real candidate, does not think Boris Johnson should prorogue Parliament to achieve Brexit. He sounded like he had rebellion in mind, real rebellion I mean, when he spoke to Sky News a moment ago:
Is he mad or brilliant?
At the moment all the candidates should drop out, bar Boris, for the sake of the greater good but if the others did Mr Stewart would remain in and have the time of his life stomping the country for weeks.
How un-English and un-Tory the Tory election is becoming, but Mr. Stewart is not English and I am not sure if he is a Tory.
Michael Gove might have done the job had he not sabotaged Boris's election three years ago and inflicted Theresa May on an ungrateful nation. Andrew Neil recently announced his retirement from the BBC. Perhaps he could be drafted in to help?
Rory Stewart, who only just entered the cabinet and is not a real candidate, does not think Boris Johnson should prorogue Parliament to achieve Brexit. He sounded like he had rebellion in mind, real rebellion I mean, when he spoke to Sky News a moment ago:
"Number one, let’s get Boris to be straight. Does he or does he not consider locking the doors of parliament to be acceptable?
"That is an unconstitutional, improper, really disturbing suggestion that you try to get something through by locking the doors of parliament.
"Answer us. I’ve been asking for a week, ‘Boris, are you going to lock the doors of parliament?’ If so, tell people, because we want to know what kind of leader or prime minister we are voting for.
"But he won’t be able to. I guarantee you, if he were to try, I and every other member of parliament will sit across the road in Methodist Central Hall and we will hold our own session of parliament and we will bring him down because you do not, ever, lock the doors on parliament in this country, or in any other country with any respect in the world."
Is he mad or brilliant?
At the moment all the candidates should drop out, bar Boris, for the sake of the greater good but if the others did Mr Stewart would remain in and have the time of his life stomping the country for weeks.
How un-English and un-Tory the Tory election is becoming, but Mr. Stewart is not English and I am not sure if he is a Tory.
Stewart is of course both mad and brilliant. He would be much happier in the Lib Dems, where he has always belonged. He will be miserable and a major source of trouble in a party led by Boris. This afternoon I managed to get a large bet on Boris, at 4 to 1 on, and enough on Raab at 50 to 1 to cover the losses, as Raab now looks like the only other possible winner. Stewart would be miserable under Raab, too.
ReplyDeleteRory Stewart is great in many ways. He's intelligent, of a good family and makes a good case against leaving with no deal. He said tariffs will be devastating for dairy farming. In my utter ignorance I did not know that we export a lot of milk. I remember when John Biffen didn't want to allow UHT milk to be sold. I do wonder why dairy farmers cannot make up from the domestic market what they lose in the export market or why exporting milk thousands of miles is a good idea. However, I know nothing about the dairy industry.
DeleteQuoth the internet: "Although the UK is largely self-sufficient in milk, the value of UK exports of milk products is much lower than the value of imports." So I wonder why RS says dairy farmers will have to close up and sell their cows.
DeleteAndrew Neil is a titan. Meanwhile Rory Stewart, real name Roderick, is an impish opportunist placeman charlatan Establishment stooge.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. "End this farce and elect Boris now!" https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/06/end-this-farce-and-elect-boris-now/
DeleteTheresa May will leave office with the label fixed to her of the worst Prime Minister in history. But the reason she was able to last so long is that she had no obvious replacement. As I write, her most likely replacement is Boris Johnson. He is lazy. He is unprincipled. He is a thug. He is an adulterer who procured at least one of his mistresses to have an abortion. He was a ludicrous Mayor of London. He was the worst Foreign Secretary I can recall. This Conservative Government has landed us in a first-class national and international crisis. It has provoked the European Union into refusing to entertain any leaving terms short of the ruinous. It has made no good preparations for leaving without a deal. It has landed us in a position where the best exit involves throwing ourselves on the mercy of the Americans, and to hope that they will treat us no more ruthlessly than they did in 1940. The last person we should ask to navigate this crisis is Boris Johnson.
ReplyDeleteHe will be brushed aside by the Europeans. He will be taken for a ride by his fellow Americans. That is if, before then, he can avoid a general election in which he will by murdered by Jeremy Corbyn. I am told, in his defence, that only he who is without sin should cast the first stone. Well, I have never done what Boris Johnson so far has. So hand me that first stone, and make it a big one.
Sean Gabb Newsletter, 15th June 2019
They should have replaced her with someone else after the 2017 election, but Gove had disqualified himself, David Davies, who had advised her to call the election, decided not to kill her. Boris was willing to wound and yet afraid to strike. He wanted the palm without the dust.
ReplyDeleteI have met Sean Gabb. I agree with him on many first principles but few conclusions.
'Boris was willing to wound and yet afraid to strike'
DeleteThe mind can play tricks, even with recent history. It is often forgotten that the reason Johnson quit the race three years ago, when Gove performed his own version of the Night of the Long Knives, was that he was far from being the favourite. Tory members preferred the de-dramatisation of a chaotic political situation ostensibly offered by May, and polls showed they were 55% to 38% in support of her rather than Johnson.
Her victory among Tory MPs was overwhelming in both rounds, to the point that there was no point taking the contest to the membership. Johnson may have been “frit” to have pulled out, to use one of Margaret Thatcher’s favourite words, but he rightly feared defeat.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/johnson-is-the-favourite-but-he-may-be-three-years-too-late-5z5crjh2b
She is the worst PM in history so far. Let's see if she preserves the distinction.
ReplyDeleteI can see no-one better than Boris, despite his private life and not keeping his word.