[Tubby Isaacs]

Ben Wallace had to deny that Johnson had intervened to the select committee. I'm not sure Johnson actually lied to Parliament, did he?

[The Weeping Angel]

Meanwhile, "Starmer Out" is trending on Twitter...

I shouldn't worry too much

[Tubby Isaacs]

What's Trudy Harrison's explanation for this? Was "The Boss" actually referring to herself, like Paul Ince calling himself "The Guvnor"?

Harrison is the MP for Copeland. Maybe this is "moving right on culture", as Matthew Goodwin calls it.

[Nigredo]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bori ... -6tv2bxhkl

Though I doubt this is solely the fault of the pork haystack, I'm sure Shiny Dave and Gideon were perfectly happy to turn a blind eye to it as well.

EDIT: Good point @Tubby Isaacs , have linked an archive page below:

https://archive.is/CdzuX

[Tubby Isaacs]

Worth a preview to that, very important.

Boris Johnson has been accused of letting Britain become a “haven for kleptocrats and money launderers” after quietly ditching an anti-fraud law that he appeared to promise President Biden only a month ago.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This would be good. Though I'm not sure how many senior backbenchers with any standards didn't get out in 2019.

A new raft of Conservative MPs are poised to send letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson when the long-awaited “partygate” report is published, as the prime minister was pressured by his supporters to oversee a complete clearout of No 10.

Newly elected MPs wounded by the publicising of the so-called pork pie plot are understood to have remonstrated with more senior colleagues for leaving them exposed. But a consensus has now formed among more experienced MPs that Johnson should face a no confidence vote.

[Youngian]

Meanwhile, "Starmer Out" is trending on Twitter...

FFS Let it go, boys and girls

[Bones McCoy]

Orwell:
Four legs good, two legs bad.


Modern Tories:
Fur babies good, refugees bad,

[satnav]

Johnson appears to have spent much of the last week meeting with various backbench MPs to try and sure up his support but he seems to have given different messages to different MPs. He seems to have told many of the newer MPs that he is very contrite and that he is prepared to change is ways, but at the same time he is telling long serving MPs that it has all been a big witch hunt led by Labour and certain parts of the media and that he will quickly bounce back. There two positions are clearly at odds with each other because if he really doesn't think he has done anything wrong why would he change his ways? And talk of 'bouncing back' suggest business as usual rather than making any major changes to his leadership style.

[mattomac]

He is now lying to himself.

I would assume the truth leans more to the latter. Evidently he has been on coke these last two PMQs.

[Youngian]

Orwell:
Four legs good, two legs bad.


Modern Tories:
Fur babies good, refugees bad,

Where Pen Farthing cultists intersect on a Venn diagram with anti-vaxxers, Corbynbots and Brexiters I don’t know but it’s a similar vibe.

[Boiler]

So... who thinks the Gray report is going to get buried until Friday teatime at least? Y'know, like that inconvenient Russia report?

I think the poster on here who said it'll get covered in gravy and fed to Dilyn is spot-on.

[Boiler]

Orwell:
Four legs good, two legs bad.


Modern Tories:
Fur babies good, refugees bad,

Rees-Mogg in the Commons today:

In the Commons Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and member of the foreign affairs committee, asked Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the house, about the new email evidence that was published yesterday suggesting that Boris Johnson was lying when he said he was not involved in the decision to authorise the rescue of dogs and cats from Afghanistan last summer as part of the humanitarian airlift.

Rees-Mogg answered:

"Under Operation Pitting (the Kabul evacuation) our armed forces and civil service worked around the clock to evacuate 15,000 people, including around 8,300 British nationals and 5,000 people through the Afghan relocations policy.

This was an incredibly successful and pressurised operation and our armed forces once again, showed what amazing things they can do when called upon to do it.

And [Bryant] is fussing about a few animals. I think it shows the level of seriousness which he characteristically brings to today’s debate."

[Andy McDandy]

The more I think about Johnson and Mogg, the more I think that the guards at Yekatrinburg might have had a point.

[Bones McCoy]

Orwell:
Four legs good, two legs bad.


Modern Tories:
Fur babies good, refugees bad,

Where Pen Farthing cultists intersect on a Venn diagram with anti-vaxxers, Corbynbots and Brexiters I don’t know but it’s a similar vibe.

[Tubby Isaacs]

How come I hadn't seen this before? Absolutely pathetic. He hasn't done a stroke of work for this meeting.

[davidjay]

Orwell:
Four legs good, two legs bad.


Modern Tories:
Fur babies good, refugees bad,

Where Pen Farthing cultists intersect on a Venn diagram with anti-vaxxers, Corbynbots and Brexiters I don’t know but it’s a similar vibe.

There's a strange crossover between animals rightsists and the far-right that goes beyond halal is cruel cos of the muzzies .

[Andy McDandy]

Literal fluffy bunny syndrome. You can't say I'm bad becos I wuv the widdle fings.

[Cyclist]

.

[Andy McDandy]

Meanwhile the fix has gone in. The Met have requested the Gray report not reference any events the police are investigating. So we'll get 2 reports.

Gray will say "Some bad stuff happened, but no mention of breaking the law". Met report (much later) will say "Some minor illegality, NFA". Sighs of relief in Downing Street, move on, sack some SpAds, never again, promise, line drawn. Any further criticism will be painted as whingeing about trivial details.

And I suspect that, going back to the 2008 expenses scandal, this is what it's all been about. Establish "ALL MPs are corrupt", and it's a short step to "Don't be surprised if they act corruptly", then "Best of a bad lot, but what can you do?". Destroy expectations of conduct in public office. Make the public see any apparently decent MP as a hypocrite waiting to be exposed, or a wild-eyed zealot. Set up a ruling class of literally "too rich/protected to fall", no matter how incompetent they are.