Thursday 9 December 2021

Time is running out for Johnson

Johnson took another pummelling yesterday at PMQs. The Christmas party in December last year has been another damaging and self inflicted blow to the prime minister’s rapidly diminishing authority. His own MPs looked mutinous. He tried to deflect the worst of it by announcing an ‘inquiry’ into the party to be conducted by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case. I have seen Mr Case in front of a select committee and he comes across as a bit of a drip.

Let me preempt what Case’s inquiry will find. A summary:

  • The PM didn’t know a party of 40-50 people took place in Downing Street
  • Nobody told him it was about to happen
  • He did not attend
  • His wife did not attend
  • It was organised by civil servants against the rules in place at the time 
  • In the subsequent days and weeks nobody mentioned it
  • His closest aids and advisers kept him entirely in the dark
  • After news of it was leaked he asked and was told it didn’t happen
  • Then he was told if it had happened all the rules were followed
  • He didn’t ask how the rules were followed 
  • Johnson is a busy man and couldn’t be expected to know
  • A few minions have resigned, been moved or dismissed
  • Some senior aids have had a written warning 
  • End of story

I am not sure it will succeed in the same way that it did with Cummings.

It also assumes no more details emerge of other parties in Downing Street that took place against the rules and he is known to have attended. Carrie is said to be very fond of parties.  

At his press conference announcing new covid restrictions last night it was noticeable all the questions from the hacks were about the Christmas parties. None of them asked about face masks or travel or working from home. The whole sorry tale is now getting in the way of public health messaging.

There is no doubt time is running out for Johnson and the longer he’s in office the more likely it is that the consequences of his cavalier attitude to rules and manically disorganised management style will be revealed. It's hard to see him leading the party into the next election.

Another poll showing Labour with a 4 point lead came out yesterday and I can’t see that reversing anytime soon. In January the post Brexit import rules will be implemented and is certain to reduce trade, raise costs and cause delays. Some people have suggested the changes will have a bigger impact than last year. If so, it will be even more noticeable and is hardly calculated to improve Johnson’s standing with voters.

In fact it's hard to see anything bright on the horizon at all.

Peter North

I think I’ve mentioned Peter North on this blog on a couple of occasions. He is the son of Dr Richard North who writes the EU Referendum blog and contributes to Turbulent Times. The blogs seem to be family endeavours and a source of income. Peter is also very active on Twitter and usually very offensive. Some of his tweets are truly shocking.  Have a look at this:


He seems to be a bit unbalanced to me but I note he has now been permanently banned from Twitter. A lot of the bile has been directed towards Sunder Katwala Director of @britishfuture  on identity and integration, immigration and opportunity.  He tweeted earlier this week:

This is the most severe punishment that Twitter hands out. He is not allowed to create any new accounts, although I assume he probably will.  There is nothing on his own blog about the ban or on EU Referendum but there are several posts on Turbulent Times about it starting with this one.  

Peter has been banned before apparently. In 2019 he was banned from his own account (@peternorth303) and also from @eureferendum for "celebrating intimidation & threats of violence." But he switched to another account @leaveHQ. Now they have all been banned.

Yesterday he posted a longer piece in his own defence.

"In more recent times I’ve used Twitter to speak out against the encroachment of toxic transgender ideology, to call for tighter immigration controls and to speak out about the grooming of young girls for sexual exploitation. Having grown up in Bradford I have a reasonable idea of what’s happening, where and why."

This is how he 'speaks out' :

He and his father seem cast from the same mould. 

One wonders what goes on inside his head and in their household. Where does all the hate come from? I get that they wanted Brexit but now they have it the pair are attacking liberals, the government, environmentalists and just about anybody who doesn't agree with them. I assume if they were to go back in time, they would both be marching alongside Oswald Moseley.

I used to think Brexit for the Norths was driven by some principled reasons around sovereignty or democracy but now I think it was nothing more than plain old racism.

Posted by at