[Politics] Johnson resigns from parliament

[A1X]

Unfortunately he did decide to throw the U.K. under the bus

True, and indeed the only old boy you could claim he did throw under a bus was Johnson, causing him to help break Britain

 

[The Clamp]

Any Questions and indeed, Any Answers is my favourite political show. It consistently delivers. Far better than Question time. Once again, BBC Radio 4 does what it does best.

 

[um bongo molongo]

Good post. I differ in that the Tory party wasn't struggling when they turned to Johnson -- they'd secured the largest party representation three times by that point and, in the only election he had as PM, he increased that majority.
Doesn't say much for either the electorate, or the voting system in my book.

The thing I think people miss in this is just how toxic Corbyn was to a lot of the electorate. I’m not sure how many votes ‘for’ Boris/the Tories were actually votes against Corbyn’s Labour. I personally found voting in that election like having to choose a side in a game between Palace and Potter’s Chelsea.

 

[Simster]

it really wasnt a "there's these great visionary Tories" point, it was about Johnson not having anything to work with. just latch on to one popular cause at the time.

But you said "of course there was a vision" when I said there wasn't, yet you haven't explained what that might have been.

Not surprising really, as it is total bollocks.

 

[Machiavelli]

For me, British / English exceptionalism.

The idea that the rules don’t apply to us because we’re British / English. It’s everywhere. British people moving abroad are “ex-pats” with TV shows based around helping them do it, whereas people moving to Britain are “immigrants” and demonised. Imagine if a German enclave like Benidorm existed in Essex, there’d be riots. Then there’s the idea that we Brits were being somehow “controlled” by Brussels, ignoring that a country like Poland (which has spent centuries fighting most European powers for the right to exist as a nation) are quite happy within it.

Look at the attitudes to many other things; Eurovision, foreign language films, European football, all of it shows an arrogance by the British (as a collective, not everyone individually and don’t bother replying to tell me it’s not you because I don’t care), ranging from “those silly foreigners, what are they like?” through to “This is awful, why are we sullying ourselves with this foreign rubbish?”.

Even in Brexit there’s a level of outrage that “the rules” are applying to us. How dare they cause queues at Dover? Why can’t I use the fast track passport queue? Why isn’t everyone falling over themselves to give us a trade deal?

Imagine for a moment that Brexit had been Frexit, and we’d sat and watched the French spit their dummy out, act like toddlers and threaten us directly for “being awkward”, those who push Brexit would be furious. How dare they? Who do they think they are? Who won the bloody war anyway?

I think there's something in this, but one obvious problem is that it doesn't explain why the UK entered the EEC in the first place, which was soon endorsed by 2/3 of the electorate.
The decline of the UK might be a related issue too. Brexit was both a symptom of that, and an accelerant.
FWIW, I think it's that the model introduced by Thatcher, Reagan, Pinochet, etc, which then spread around other parts of the globe, which I think is best characterised as neoliberal financialised globalisation went into crisis in 2008, and certainly it's ability to forward its ideological agenda (which is key to any project/vision) became problematic. We've been in zombie or interregnum territory subsequently.

 

[Machiavelli]

The thing I think people miss in this is just how toxic Corbyn was to a lot of the electorate. I’m not sure how many votes ‘for’ Boris/the Tories were actually votes against Corbyn’s Labour. I personally found voting in that election like having to choose a side in a game between Palace and Potter’s Chelsea.

Oh, agreed completely. I had the smug choice of voting for Caroline Lucas, which is no longer open
But, yes, Corbyn was a disaster. I'm sure others would disagree, but some of the economic policies McDonnell introduced were promising, but Corbyn was just an awful politician. The notion that you would appeal to the electorate by pretty much avoiding the media was, how shall we put it, a strange one in the 21C.

 

[birthofanorange]

For me, British / English exceptionalism.

The idea that the rules don’t apply to us because we’re British / English. It’s everywhere. British people moving abroad are “ex-pats” with TV shows based around helping them do it, whereas people moving to Britain are “immigrants” and demonised. Imagine if a German enclave like Benidorm existed in Essex, there’d be riots. Then there’s the idea that we Brits were being somehow “controlled” by Brussels, ignoring that a country like Poland (which has spent centuries fighting most European powers for the right to exist as a nation) are quite happy within it.

Look at the attitudes to many other things; Eurovision, foreign language films, European football, all of it shows an arrogance by the British (as a collective, not everyone individually and don’t bother replying to tell me it’s not you because I don’t care), ranging from “those silly foreigners, what are they like?” through to “This is awful, why are we sullying ourselves with this foreign rubbish?”.

Even in Brexit there’s a level of outrage that “the rules” are applying to us. How dare they cause queues at Dover? Why can’t I use the fast track passport queue? Why isn’t everyone falling over themselves to give us a trade deal?

Imagine for a moment that Brexit had been Frexit, and we’d sat and watched the French spit their dummy out, act like toddlers and threaten us directly for “being awkward”, those who push Brexit would be furious. How dare they? Who do they think they are? Who won the bloody war anyway?

In a nutshell, this. ^
Pride, like arrogance, comes before a fall, and my.....how we've fallen.

 

[A1X]

I think there's something in this, but one obvious problem is that it doesn't explain why the UK entered the EEC in the first place, which was soon endorsed by 2/3 of the electorate.
The decline of the UK might be a related issue too. Brexit was both a symptom of that, and an accelerant.
FWIW, I think it's that the model introduced by Thatcher, Reagan, Pinochet, etc, which then spread around other parts of the globe, which I think is best characterised as neoliberal financialised globalisation went into crisis in 2008, and certainly it's ability to forward its ideological agenda (which is key to any project/vision) became problematic. We've been in zombie or interregnum territory subsequently.

I think part of it is generational. In 1975 most of the electorate had first hand experience of at least one World War, and could see for themselves what acrimony and division in Europe led to. By 2016 we’d lost that, and the ideas about the war were shaped by triumphalist rose-tinted nostalgia (“The Dambusters! Enigma! The Blitz Spirit!”). It’s no coincidence the 90+ demographic, unusually among the over 50s, was heavily Remain.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

of course they have. you might not agree or like them, many have some sort of ideology to fall back on. Johnson has always been devoid of any real agenda, a lite conservative happy to hitch on a bandwagon as he did. then had no idea what to do once in office, hijacked by various fringe players.

Johnson will do anything for money, and those that pay the price call the tune.
Fringe players such as the ERG, the TPA and IEA were manipulating him, as were Lebedev and his son. Carrie was part of it with her Friends of Russia, and Dominic Cummings thought he was until Carrie thought he was no longer useful.

 

[Javeaseagull]

For me, British / English exceptionalism.

The idea that the rules don’t apply to us because we’re British / English. It’s everywhere. British people moving abroad are “ex-pats” with TV shows based around helping them do it, whereas people moving to Britain are “immigrants” and demonised. Imagine if a German enclave like Benidorm existed in Essex, there’d be riots. Then there’s the idea that we Brits were being somehow “controlled” by Brussels, ignoring that a country like Poland (which has spent centuries fighting most European powers for the right to exist as a nation) are quite happy within it.

Look at the attitudes to many other things; Eurovision, foreign language films, European football, all of it shows an arrogance by the British (as a collective, not everyone individually and don’t bother replying to tell me it’s not you because I don’t care), ranging from “those silly foreigners, what are they like?” through to “This is awful, why are we sullying ourselves with this foreign rubbish?”.

Even in Brexit there’s a level of outrage that “the rules” are applying to us. How dare they cause queues at Dover? Why can’t I use the fast track passport queue? Why isn’t everyone falling over themselves to give us a trade deal?

Imagine for a moment that Brexit had been Frexit, and we’d sat and watched the French spit their dummy out, act like toddlers and threaten us directly for “being awkward”, those who push Brexit would be furious. How dare they? Who do they think they are? Who won the bloody war anyway?

I agree with much of what you say. I don’t call myself an ex-pat and describe myself as an economic migrant. I do get funny looks when I say this in British company which isn’t often. I go on to say that I have a much better lifestyle than I could ever afford in the UK and am reliant on an efficient Health Service here in Spain. My children accept that I can never return to the shambles that they have to put up with, because of my medical issues. I am just sad that they cannot take advantage like I did to re-locate abroad. To my mind that is criminal and I blame Johnson mostly even if he was being used cleverly by others. They knew a narcissistic psychopath when the saw one and used his vanity ruthlessly.

 

[lawros left foot]

Getting serious for Sunak now.


Laura Kuensberg and Fiona Bruce have resigned from the Government.

 

[Lever]

The thing I think people miss in this is just how toxic Corbyn was to a lot of the electorate. I’m not sure how many votes ‘for’ Boris/the Tories were actually votes against Corbyn’s Labour. I personally found voting in that election like having to choose a side in a game between Palace and Potter’s Chelsea.

Good simile, same here....

 

[Thunder Bolt]

The thing I think people miss in this is just how toxic Corbyn was to a lot of the electorate. I’m not sure how many votes ‘for’ Boris/the Tories were actually votes against Corbyn’s Labour. I personally found voting in that election like having to choose a side in a game between Palace and Potter’s Chelsea.

Much of that was the poisonous media. I didn’t particularly like him but the tabloids did a number on him, like they tried with Starmer and the Durham by-election. Even now you still read people believing that Starmer ‘got away with it’.

 

[The Oldman]

Getting serious for Sunak now.


Laura Kuensberg and Fiona Bruce have resigned from the Government.

 

[The Oldman]

Flipping heck. I have always thought those 2 were Labour!

 

[Lever]

Last words on Johnson, although they were said some time ago...

 

[Stat Brother]

 

[Wokeworrier]

Yet one of those sheep is your racist Dad following any Tory leader.

I fear you have made a terrible mistake of believing claims made by serial trolls given a free pass on NSC.

FYI My 75 year old Dad is in the final stages of cancer after a particularly shitty year so I would be ever so grateful if you would withdraw that comment and apologise.

 

[BadFish]

I fear you have made a terrible mistake of believing claims made by serial trolls given a free pass on NSC.

FYI My 75 year old Dad is in the final stages of cancer after a particularly shitty year so I would be ever so grateful if you would withdraw that comment and apologise.

I thought that withdrawing comments and apologising for jokes was something you were warrioring against?

 

[birthofanorange]

I fear you have made a terrible mistake of believing claims made by serial trolls given a free pass on NSC.

FYI My 75 year old Dad is in the final stages of cancer after a particularly shitty year so I would be ever so grateful if you would withdraw that comment and apologise.

If what you say is true, I can only offer my heartfelt empathy, as I lost my own father just a few weeks ago. It's a horrible thing to go through and I wish you nothing but the strength to get through it, for yourself and your family.
Aside from that, you're personally an obnoxious freak, imho, and it's pathetic (again, imho) that you reappear here under a ridiculous pseudonym/account to inform of your emotional state, interspersed with the unswerving love you seem to have for both Johnson and the Tories as a whole.
Are you after a sympathy vote?