"The prime minister's official spokesman cannot double as a liar. Both the press and the public need to know that they can trust what is being said in the name of the prime minister and the government. And that action should not have rested with the prime minister - it should have been the cabinet secretary who made clear that the lies had besmirched the civil service's reputation and demanded their departure." Jill Rutter says Simon Case must stop the No. 10 press office telling lies. James Kirkup offers a penetrating character sketch of Boris Johnson: "Yes, he went to ...
Boris Johnson is the worst Prime Minister of my lifetime, arguably the worst of the last century and maybe the worst of all time. In the line of fifty five Prime Ministers starting with Walpole, Johnson could be ranked 55th, a transatlantic partnership with his fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, ranked by most commentators the [...]
It's a long and winding bus journey from Ludlow to Shrewsbury and like many of the passengers this morning I was beginning to doze. Then. "He's gone!" a man at the front of the bus shouted. Everyone cheered. Brian, the bus driver turned on the radio. People startled into awakedness stared earnestly at their smart phones. The bus briefly buzzed with chatter. The excitement faded as I caught a second bus to Shirehall with a sobering thought: how do we get out of this mess? I think that was the thought on the mind of the forty odd Conservatives who ...
Ed Davey has been writing on the Guardian website. He lashes out at Boris Johnson but reserves his main criticism for the Tory MPs who have kept Johnson at the helm for far too long: He broke the law. He lied. He has failed disastrously to tackle the cost of living emergency or the crisis in our NHS. He has shredded the public's trust in the government and in politics. But Johnson didn't act alone. For three years, he has been backed to the hilt by more than 350 co-conspirators on the Conservative benches. They nodded along to every shameful ...
Liberal Democrat party members in Surrey Heath constituency have selected Alasdair Pinkerton to be their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate.
The Whitehall farce that has unfolded over the last 24 hours is an embarrassment not just for the Tory party but for the whole country. When our own Prime Minister, with a history of lying and rule-breaking, effectively barricades himself in to 10 Downing Street, in defiance of his own Ministers, and refuses to budge, then we have to question the whole basis of our constitution. The very idea being put about by Johnson and his allies that he had a mandate, as if we have a presidential system, just underlines how our whole democracy is being subverted by personality ...
Embed from Getty ImagesBoris Johnson is to resign as leader of the Conservative Party but envisages staying on as caretaker prime minister while a new Tory leader is chosen. This cannot be allowed to happen. All the flaws that have led to this move are also reasons why he is not fit to be caretaker PM either. Plus if you leave him at No. 10 with nothing to lose there's a danger that he'll pocket the silver and declare war on some random nation. The Tories need to find a caretaker PM who will enjoy not only the confidence of ...
Some quick work from the Liberal Democrat research team, as reported by The Independent: Under the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, MPs leaving office are entitled to 25 per cent of their annual salaries in severance... Over 50 ministers and parliamentary private secretaries have quit their roles in the last 36 hours in a bid to oust Mr Johnson - meaning Tory infighting could land the taxpayer with a bill of over £420,000. Even Chris Pincher, the Tamworth MP whose alleged behaviour ultimately triggered the government meltdown, is entitled to a £7,920 pay-off for leaving his job ...
Okay, so just back from my farm and I've discovered that Johnson is to resign. Alas, one of the Lib Dems' best recruiting sergeants is to exit the stage. So who could be in the running to replace him as Tory leader?Priti Patel - aaaargh please no.Dominic Raab - needs to spend more time with his small majority.Sajid Javid - not to be underestimated.Nadhim Zahawi - quietly running his leadership
Wed, 12:05: RT @JGForsyth: One senior figure on the '22 tells me that they now favour a delegation going to tell Boris Johnson that it is over, and tha... Wed, 12:08: RT @JohnGlenUK: With deep regret I am resigning from the government. I will not be doing media interviews regarding this. https://t.co/IT0... Wed, 12:44: RT @faisalislam: "I can no longer pirouette around our fractured values" says home office minister Victoria Atkins on her Insta citing "Pat... Wed, 12:56: RT @apcoworldwide: With only four months to go until #COP27, we invite you to tune into a webinar with APCO's expert climate ...
Unbridled joy? Schadenfreude? Anger? The public won't forgive the Conservatives for propping Boris Johnson up for so long. Conservatives have spent months defending him instead of focusing on the cost-of-living crisis & the crisis in our NHS. Trust in the Conservative Party has gone and it will not be coming back. pic.twitter.com/3i0p54dbPz — Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) July 7, 2022 And not a squeak from the Conservative Party or Boris Johnson. * Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and ...
You may be forgiven for not noticing that Richard Foord, our newest MP, made his maiden speech yesterday. But that's exactly what he did at 5.20pm, when the rest of us were watching which Cabinet members were making their way into No 10. Richard was speaking in the debate on the spending of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the strategy for international development. Richard Foord paid tribute to two of his predecessors, Neill Parish and Lord Palmerston. He cited Parish's campaigning for schools and opposition to importing food produced to lower animal health standards. Foord promised to fight ...
I have written to the senior official responsible for local government in the UHLCG Ministry suggesting a way forward for dealing with the latest letter from the Commissioners in Liverpool to the Secretary of State who is no longer in ... Continue reading →
As I write (7am on Thursday 7th July) the morning news says that Mr Johnson is still in 10, Downing Street clinging to the premiership in spite of the fact that that key figures in his cabinet have told him that he should resign " for the good of the party and nation" and 46 (and counting ) ministers have resigned from his government. (That still leaves around 100 in it.) Johnson claims, with some justification, that he led the party at the last general election, won a stonikng majority of over 80, and therefore is entitled to remain in ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of City Fibre duct installation works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Session Street (at its junction with Hawkhill), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Monday 11 July 2022 for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Session Street / Guthrie Street / Brown Street. For further information contact 433082. Executive Director of ...
The government spent Thursday stuck in quicksand. The prime minister was in sand up to his neck. But he still blundered and blustered on regardless through PMQs and a parliamentary committee most people had not heard of. More than forty members of the government have resigned, some from the top table, some the servers who usually bow and scrape. Michael Gove was sacked. I write this article in the early hours of Thursday before heading off for a lengthy day battling in a Tory dominated council. Will Boris Johnson still be prime minister when I leave the council chamber? Will ...
