The clusterfuck is just routine at this point, and has merged with other simultaneous clusterfucks - such as the COVID lockdown party scandals - to create one gigantic omnifuck as the UK races off into the abyss. To give one example, Boris Johnson lied to Parliament about the partying. That is a resigning offense according to the ministerial code. There is an investigation into it which is expected to confirm this. What has he done? Just changed the code! He removed all references to honesty, integrity, tranparency and accountability, and made breaches no longer a resigning matter if the offender retains the confidence of the PM - himself! #ThisWeekInTory is worth checking out on Twitter. It humorously catalogues all of this. Genuinely astonishing and frightening.
The old guard really, really will do anything to avoid change. Happening in countries around the world as the boomers are starting to die off.
One of the good things about being in isolation with COVID right now is having the time to watch the rolling news coverage as Johnson's government collapses. He appears to be threatening (another) constitutional crisis now. His ministers are resigning one by one and a gang of them are as I type, issuing an ultimatum (reportedly including the guy he appointed as chancellor yesterday evening!) But he's mentioned dissolving Parliament and calling an election to save his skin. It might be that the Queen would refuse such a dissolution.
I doubt it, much as I might want it. The "we've already voted on this!" rhetoric is still keeping down pushes for proportional representation in voting, even though the last time we had a referendum PR was kept off the ballot and we were only offered the crap option of alternative vote.
You think Her Majesty knows the old American political expression about letting someone "Twist slowly, slowly in the wind?"
It's inevitable now that Johnson is out, the question is just how many clawmarks he leaves on the walls as they drag him out.
According to BBC.com the latest poll shows that 69% of UK voters want him to quit, with more than 50% of Tory voters wanting him gone. I don't see any way of getting around that.
Until the next election that doesn't mean much unless the conservatives either: 1. Manage to change their party rules and have another party vote on his leadership. or 2. Some conservatives peel off and say they would support a parliamentary vote of no confidence (very unlikely)
I think that both are being worked on. Whether it will happen or not is unknowable at this point. However, I will say that there is a point of no return and I just don't see any way that Johnson can survive. More defections are to come and I wouldn't doubt that another delegation (that may include a Luca Brasi clone) will pay him a visit and make him an offer he can't refuse. His ability to govern is vanishing in front of our eyes. Unlike the U.S. there is a mechanism in a Westminster system to put a lame duck out of his/her/their misery.
To an extent. Even if the 1922 Committee is prepared to change their rules to allow another vote of no confidence sooner than twelve months, they would almost certainly not want that rule abused in future so I reckon they will say VONCs can be held every six months. So we'd still have Boris until December... A Parliamentary VONC is a possibility - though I've seen some suggestion that losing doesn't COMPEL him to dissolve Parliament. Whether the Tories would have the spine to force that knowing they would have to call a general election they stand a good chance of losing?
"The Prime Minister will make a statement to the nation today" Reports all saying Boris is expected to announce his resignation today, leaving office before October.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62064789 Resigning as Conservative Leader, holding onto the PM office until fall. ... apparently I understand the Westminster system less than I thought. How does one resign as majority Leader while staying on as PM? I thought the PM was the majority Leader, by definition.
The PM role is not the same necessarily as party leader. Until the Conservatives elect a new leader, they either appoint an interim or Boris stays. Either way, the incoming PM has to be recognised by the Queen - Boris already HAS been. She theoretically can ask him to stand down and thus dissolve Parliament, but legally I don't think she would risk that sort of political interference.
Not the "majority leader", but whoever - of whatever party or none - has the confidence of the House of Commons. Johnson has not technically lost that. Even that is just convention (albeit an extremely embedded one). The British constitution is flexible in all sorts of ways. One might argue from a certain point of view that the Queen can appoint whoever the hell she likes.
So as I understand it, the party can't hold a no-confidence vote (because there was one less than a year ago), but the House of Commons could. Could that happen (politically) and if so, what's the mechanism?
Could happen, but unlikely that Conservatives would vote for it since a successful vote of no confidence in the government in parliament could result in an early election.
A formal vote needs to be tabled. If Boris loses, Parliament must dissolve and an election is called UNLESS someone can garner majority support within the House within 14 days and a vote of confidence in them is passed.
It dounds to me like he’s going to be reduced to being pretty much a caretaker. I don’t see how that can work.
Isn't the whole thing with the Queen's power that Parliament lets her keep it on paper for the sake of tradition, but if she ever actually exercised it, they would tell her to fuck off and yank it for good?
