[Crabcakes]

So perplexing that Johnson is away just as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is released. You'd think he'd want to be here to hear how much she appreciated his efforts to free her, first as foreign secretary and then as PM.

It's almost like he expects to be embarrassed by something...

[Andy McDandy]

I imagine any meeting between them would be like that between Geoff and the widow at the start of The Long Good Friday.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Absofuckinglutely brilliant.

[Boiler]

And precisely what happened to Patel?

Oh yeah - nothing.

This may give PLU a smile, but it won't harm Johnson one iota.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Johnson's had a "rethink" on second jobs for MPs. No limit on them now. Doubtless this will help keep a few backbenchers onside.

[satnav]

Johnson clearly thought today was a good day to bury bad news with all the attention on the Ukraine and the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

[Youngian]

Pretty please let me attend

Boris Johnson open to attending European Council, says source

EU leaders and Joe Biden will meet next week to discuss war in Ukraine, but PM has not yet been invited https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ays-source

[Watchman]

A narrative seems to have been started (well in the Mail), that de Piffle “having a good war” will save him from all the domestic fuck ups

[Boiler]

Oh it will, trust me. After this it'll all look like petty sniping and they'll re-establish a lead over Labour, just in time for a GE which could get called early.

[RedSparrows]

Johnson isn't a war leader. Britain isn't at war. His easy 'let's back Ukraine' talk hasn't been matched by anything actually inspiring, or particularly unusual as compared to 95% of the world.

[Andy McDandy]

Which sadly suits his followers fine. Back slaps all round for being big damn heroes, whereas the government's efforts have amounted to selling guns, changing some lightbulbs, and making sure their bigoted supporters aren't going to get any sudden new neighbours.

[Watchman]

Basically, he’s had his “convenient war” (see Falklands et al), but with no British blood spilt…win-win in his eyes

[Boiler]

Johnson isn't a war leader. Britain isn't at war. His easy 'let's back Ukraine' talk hasn't been matched by anything actually inspiring, or particularly unusual as compared to 95% of the world.

There will be the "We've been training the Ukrainian army since 2014 and that's why they've resisted the Russians so well"...

[Youngian]

Tory opinion poll ratings are pretty static and that’s with scandal on the back-burner and Johnson showing himself at his best in this war. And that’s the problem, his best isn’t very good, is it?
Mayor Johnson was rumbled as a man with no energy or talent to govern once the ‘Good ol’ Boris’ stunts ran their course.

[Youngian]

Only one person follows Putin back

[Tubby Isaacs]

Johnson isn't having a war leader's approval ratings,

[Crabcakes]

So, P&O - owned by firm owned by UAE govt. sack 800 people on Thursday.

Johnson was in UAE on Wednesday. Apparently it wasn’t discussed.

It now turns out the govt. knew on Wednesday night about sacking but did nothing due to ‘commercial sensitivity’.

I give it another week before it turns out Johnson knew. And a week after that before it turns out he encouraged it or profited in some way.

For any other leader/govt. this would be tinfoil hat stuff. For him, it’d be strange for their *not* to be a cover-up and lie involved.

[mattomac]

The something new every week will just drain continuously, politics is quite divided, the war provided the flock back to Johnson moment, it’s not really happened. Releasing puff pieces about who has had a good war doesn’t help.

I’m not sure where Sunak’s tax cuts come from and whether they will help, Labour won’t a win a majority this election, this election was always about preventing one for the Tories. Expect the most draconian shit to go through this next year.

[Cyclist]

Expect the most draconian shit to go through this next year.

Maybe not

The Conservative chairman has announced that Boris Johnson will kick off a two-year election campaign from May, as he hit out at “net zero dogma” and sought to pitch Labour as still linked to Jeremy Corbyn.

https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ign-in-may

Johnson and chums may well be stupid, but there will be people with some intelligence who will point out that imposing Draconian measures during an election campaign might not be the best of ideas.

[RedSparrows]

This cynicism about net zero is pretty disgusting. I'm not surprised, tho.