out of the frying pan

If as some people believe, Russia was behind the Brexit vote, might it be possible they have been influencing social media to turn the population against Johnson? It is not as though everyone was not aware he found truth dull at best, to be glossed over with mockery or buried in fluff of Latin quotes. I don't see why, just now, everyone has suddenly noticed the emperor has no clothes?

If Putin were responsible for Johnson becoming PM, as he was the only person who could make Brexit happen and therefore split Britain from the EU and weaken both, it would be ironic for the Russian president to influence Johnson's fall, because of his support for Ukraine?

Or maybe the turning of public opinion could be due to other influential, behind the scenes Brexit backers, the ones who wanted Britain to lose regulation and employment rights, and were unhappy that instead there was talking of "levelling up" even though not enough to achieve this was offered, it would have been seen as a step in the wrong direction

And now, disgruntled Consdervative MPs are constantly complaining that he is against their traditional values of low tax, small government. 

This is what caused Austerity! Is that what they want back,in getting rid of him? Is it the raising of taxes to try to stave off the collapse of the Health Service and Care that they are complaining about? Perhaps they would rather borrow more at a time of rising costs to borrowing? That doesn't seem very competant?

If they want small government, low taxes and no borrowing, then the only alternative is another go of austerity, when surely it was unhappiness at the last lot that caused some to vote Brexit.

Maybe inflation is worse because of Furlough, you can't make extra money without it making everything cost more, just like putting water in one end of the bath will make it go up the other, eventually. Maybe he should have targetted it better. Maybe he should have ensured that landlords were not owed rent for a lot longer, which would have kept money in the hands of those who really need it for longer. 

Maybe he should have cancelled HS2. Maybe he should have given Ukraine the weapons needed at the beginning of the war so it didn't drag on at the loss of thousands of lives and economic loss to his country and others

But if he goes, and if a leader takes his place who is more to the liking of the Right wing Brexit backers, we are in for a very bad time

There's no magic wand other than taxing the Super Rich to make inflation go down, to stop fuel shortages, to fix everything that fell apart under George Osborne's idea for fixing things. and is still broken. Johnson should not be blamed for all that. That he is being blamed is interesting. There are waiting wannabe PMs perhaps more amenable to hints from party donors, 

I don't like him, he lied about Brexit, I believe because it was his only chance to become Prime Minister. He lies about everything as if truth is a sleight of hand, or he an author of fiction who can change  the world to be whatever he wants.. I don't believe he has the vision to sort out Climate Change. BUT I don't think he is happy at the idea of causing suffering, and that is what will happen if there's someone with "Traditional Conservative Values" in charge. Would Sunak have offered so much help if Johnson hadn't leaned on him? Is this the fundamental difference of opinion Sunak mentioned in his resignation letter? It's lower taxes and raise cutbacks, or borrow more when interest rates can only go up, and there's no sign of economic growth to help pay off the growing debt.. The only alternative would be to re organise taxation and the Conservatives cannot do this as they are in the pockets of the elites, probably went to school with them. Perhaps no political party can, perhaps Democracy is doomed because there is no other way of sorting out wealth inequality, and thus ensuring stability by consensus, and the alternative involves the banning of protests, of marches, of strikes....

So many people have a visceral hatred of Johnson,but beware what you wish for, there might not be another election till January 2025. 

Comments

Dear Di, there are many good points in what yo say. I'd like to make just one general comment.

Let me first say that I am a foreigner resident in the UK not entitled to vote in the national elections of this country. Obviously, the economy and politics affect my life as well as everybody else.

I can only observe and comment. My feeling about the current situation is that it is about POWER. A bunch of hypocrites who didn't have the guts or the guile, in a secret ballot, to get rid of a PM they thought unsuitable to govern had to resort to underhand ways to force him out. As soon as the chancellor and the health minister resigned I sensed that they will be the front runners to replace him. Everybody always thinks that he/she can do a better job than the incumbent. Forget power to the people: 650 members of Parliament are supposed to speak for 67million UK citizens How many of those 650 are speaking for themselves?

 

Luigi it is lovely to hear from you, thankyou so much for reading and commenting, it is great to have your point of view. I think you are right, about them wanting his job. It is just why it's all piled up so suddenly that I keep wondering about,as though he tripped up into a wasp's nest? Was it Oligarchs who didn't like the sanctions? Something seems to have swung public opinion because he is not a different person, has never pretended he is not like this? Unlike you I am not Conservative and have not fallen under his charm, I think he did a terrible thing with Brexit. But I don't understand why they have all turned on him so suddenly, how they think anyone else could handle the dire situation we are in any better. And am not sure it's ok to replace him with someone people did not vote for

 

Just to clarify your assumption that  I am a Conservative, Di. As I pointed out I am just an apolitical bystander who is disenfranchised making a point about the behaviour of certain politicians, of whatever colour, who put self-interest above everything. 

Best, Luigi x

 

 

gosh, it is unusual to find a supporter of his who is not - Is it because he is a fellow anecdote teller? You are right though, does not matter what party is all a bit unedifying just now

 

I was hoping to read that my anecdotes were more interesting and amusing than his but never mind, I'll try to do better. laugh

Cheers, Luigi x

 

Luigi, of course your anecdotes are more interesting and amusing!!! I didn't mention it because it is so obvious!

 

No, I don't think so. Yes, another three years of Patel, Dorries, Rees-Mogg driven politics is going to be bad. Make no mistake, however, Boris is a bad person. We all have our faults, but some of the things in his personal life are so appalling that one cannot help but presume a huge deficiency of character, such that he should never have been elected, not as leader of the Tories, nor as de-facto Prime Minister.

And that deficency of character has been revealed, but not by Partygate, all of the lies and probably every reason that people will give when asked to point out reasons for his departure. Like the fat boy at school, he wants to be liked not just by his peers, but by everyone. He says or promises whatever he thinks the person he is talking to wants to hear. This led to unfinished projects and unfulfilled promises whilst he was London's Mayor and during his (thankfully short) time at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

For the second time in just under 15 years we will have an unelected Prime Minister.

The Tories have been unlucky, they will say and they may have a point. But they have been in power either in coalition or with a majority for 12 years. 12 years! If only Blair had not lied about Iraq. If... if... if...

I believe Brexit to have been a grave error. Yes, the Franco-German obsession with federalism was a major problem, but as a trading bloc and market for our goods it was a marvellous thing. Having lived in Spain for 15 years, I can tell you that every time the UK implemented one of the laws that so infuriated the Brexiteers, Spain would vote its adoption too and completely fail to comply with it, if they didn't like it. I know much the same happened in Greece. Tougher words from Blair/Brown and Cameron would have been useful at the time.

I would like to see a General Election called, however it is not going to be as far as I can tell. Constitutionally, only the PM can dissolve parliament. Perhaps, somewhere, there is a very dusty document that says the Queen can do it in dire circumstances, but she won't.

 
One major failing at the very outset of joining the EEC - as it was then - was the decision to allow the social and health care rights of EC citizens in other countries to be those of the country of residence. So Hans retires and comes to Halifax and gets the use of the NHS free at the point of access. Bert goes to Bremen and will pay for medical insurance direct to the state... if he is under 50. Otherwise, tough, private insurance all the way and it is nearly as expensive as US medical cover.

Yes, I would take Starmer, As far as I know or can tell, he is well-meaning and yes, boring, but that would do me just fine.

 

Thankyou so much for taking the time to give your opinion Ewan, as always very informative. For me, that he lied about why his ethics adviser resigned was the lowest. I don't see that there could be an election - they will put it off as long as possible because they will lose. I wonder if the Lib Dems will be in the same position they were with Cameron, what they will do? If they would actually have majority, with SNP? I can't see Scotland staying. If Starmer wins, he is more likely to let Independence, do you think? At this rate Northern Ireland will go too. And Wales. What will hapen about defence, then?

 

I am very much afraid the Devolution Dragon is definitely on the loose. Irrespective of what damage it may cause, I know the sums do not work for Scotland, I doubt that they do for Wales. Northern Ireland may as well throw in their lot with Eire, if the border in the Irish Sea is enforced. Defence? The Armed Forces are now so lacking in numbers, if Boris declared war before he finally goes, it certainly wouldn't frighten Mad Vlad.

Who knows what will happen? I don't. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for the next disaster.

Thankyou so much for coming back to this, Ewan. I worry you are right about the sums. However I am not sure they are going to work for England either, without malodorous money from oligarchs. If the government of any party decide to borrow more to plug the gaps/tax cuts and the debt gets so big no one lends money any more it might be better to be a new country with a clean slate? And there is all the potential for making wind and tidalpower, just need some EU investment?

 

Point of order, Ewan. I don't know much about Hans retiring in Halifax and receiving free NHS treatment but I know of a chap called Luigi who came to this country in 1961, worked, paid taxes and NI contributions for 39 years before retiring, so perhaps we shouldn't generalise. It is my understanding that for Hans to receive free NHS treatment if he retired in England he would have had to be living lawfully in the UK on or before 31st December 2020

 

I failed to point out that Hans and Bert's respective retirements were under pre-Jan 2021 conditions; that is, before Brexit. The fact is, neither Bert nor Hans's plans are possible now.
This chap called Luigi arrived and worked here, so I expect that he is enjoying retirement and benefits accrued over the last 39 years. However, thanks to Brexit, I suspect Luigi's modern day counterpart would not be allowed to come in the first place. But yes, perhaps we shouldn't generalise. Quite how Hans and Bert's hypothetical plans equate to your own hard earned retirement, I don't understand.

Thanks for clarifying that you were talking of a hypothetical pre-Brexit situation which is no longer relevant. That was exactly the point I was making. Now, unless Hans was a lawfully and settled UK resident he would not have access to free treatment without having the right to a pension. If I'm not mistaken you need 30 years of National Insurance Contributions or credits to be eligible for the full basic State Pension. This means you were either: working and paying National Insurance.

I hope it explains how Hans' hypothetical situation equates to Luigi's.

 

I turned on the radio this morning and was surprised Boris was no longer PM. As you know, I’m not neutral. I hate him and the scumocracy he represents. They sit in opposition to working-class values almost diametrically. We’re all telling different stories. My understanding is no straight lines. Putin didn’t get Boris elected. Nor did he get him fired. The Russian autocrat’s influence is waning. Nuclear war is a real possibility.

Putin did help get the moron moron elected. He provided funding and expertise and with the help of Facebook, Trump triumphed.

Little Trump, Boris had the backing of all those Tory freetraders that imagine little or no government is a good thing. The freeloader party had a thinktank attitude and they hired Aaron Banks who was funded by the Russian Secret Service. They needed a front man. Boris didn’t, originally, think leaving the EEC was a good think (and it has been disastrous, knocking around five percent off the GDP with more to come), but the former PM was easily persuaded to go against Cameron, his old Etonian buddy. As you know, he came out with the preposterous idea that it would save the NHS £350 million a week. Boris parked the bus. Like Trump who mirrored the racist attitude to almost every policy in his make America great again, Boris’s code was gaining control. A coded way of saying keep the coloured people the other side of the Channel. As Ewan, rightly, pointed out, most EEC countries pay lip-service to legislation. Boris and his cronies twisted the narrative. Made it a single issue, which made him PM. The next PM of the scumocracy will be more of the same. It gives politicians, like the very rich former Chancellor of the Exchequer breathing room to hit the austerity button again and destroy the country, in much the way Putin’s cronies destroy their country. The same but different.

 

 

Am most worried about Human Rights - already there are issues with peaceful protest. So far they don't tear gas people like in France. Thankyou for reading and commenting, CM. As you say, will have to be  the same tune because the same party donors are paying the piper.

Although not the same characters at all, there is a parallel between Independence and Brexit as both meant to make everything better, but I hope that Scotland will grow with freedom to look outwards whereas England seems doomed to shrink

 

Labour can't hold power without SNP support. If they give SNP what they want (I want) Labour can't hold power. 

 

So, what will they do? D you think there could be an alliance? There will have to be some kind, for defence budget, do you think?

 

Yes, there’ll be an alliance. I hoped that would have been the case for the Corbyn era. Even before that, when the Liberals decided to go with Cameron and Osborne, I felt relieved at the time. After the implosion of vast handouts to bankers, I didn’t want Labour to carry the can. Little did I know Austerity, a policy of taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich would become state policy for the next ten years and more. The twin Etonian charlatans that loved to hate the working class, were replaced by a comic figure, whom the tabloids and right-wing press loved. The love-in is finished. Tory-scum policy remains on track. Only a SNP-Labour alliance will give enough Parliamentary seats for government. In truth, SNP policy was stolen from Labour’s handbook. So there is no difference. Not really, apart from us ceding from UK. If we’d did so in the 1970s we’d be one of the richest nations in Europe. Like Norway, we’d have a sovereign fund that would have been the envy of the world. Money wasted on right-wing shibboleths, unemployment and destroying traditional industries. Short-term and stupid.  

 

I hope others agree with you.

In one way I am glad Jeremy Corbyn was defeated too,  as for sure his ideas would have been blamed for inflation. But as it is they have still not been tested. Or Bernie Sanders. a program I listened to recently said the new President in Chile had similar ideas so perhaps it will be possible to see if they work. On the radio today someone said Johnson going meant the end of tackling climate change as a priority. Hopefully the coalition with Greens in Scotland will keep Labour on track if they do get into government in England. Although the liberal democrat and John MacDonald idea of balancing the budget by downsizing nuclear weapons won't hold for anyone at all now.  Thankyou again for commenting, is good to read about politics from people who know what they are talking about :0)