POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

I'm listening to our new Chancellor ducking and weaving and refusing to answer difficult questions.... It's very boring and I shall go back to bed....

[Whyperion]

Not certain if ministerial resignations total a dozen or a bakers dozen at present

Latest 8am ones going children's minister Will Quince and Laura Trott, a ministerial aide in the Department for Transport

In his resignation letter, Mr Quince thanks the prime minister for "your sincere apology regarding briefings I received from No 10 ahead of Monday's media round, which we now know to be inaccurate".


Was there any basis that Zahawi was going to resign if not getting Chancellor role (supposedly Liz Truss penciled in for it ) Zahawi denies it so one assumes that is one of the made up media stories.

Daily Mail calls Johnson The Greased Piglet.

Noting that Zahawi was born in Iraq in 1967 Coming to UK as a Child (Family) Refugee

[PanBiker]

I'm listening to our new Chancellor ducking and weaving and refusing to answer difficult questions....

He already has a track record, he had to pay back illegally claimed ministerial expenses for electricity used in his stables. Good start, he obviously knows how to fiddle the books.

[Tripps]

he obviously knows how to fiddle the books.

You're barely scratching the surface - there's plenty more. I clipped this last year. Time to show again.

21 May 2021 Going Postal. Question time review.

As a Question Time regular, Puffins are familiar with Nadhim Zahawi, Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon and Minister for Covid Vaccine Delivery.

Previously we have learned of Mr Zahawi’s £25 million property empire, his well-paid connections with the Caribbean tax havens and Kurdish Iraq’s oil concessions, and his horses having their stables heated on his Westminster expenses.

Following his January 6th appearance on Question Time (the review being published on the 7th) the QT Review spotlight illuminated Warren Medical, a company set up in June 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Warren Medical’s three company directors were Mr Zahawi’s wife, confusingly declaring herself as Ms Lana Fawsi Jamil Saib, and two of Mr Zahawi’s sons, confusingly declaring themselves as Jaafar Shanshal and Ahman Shanshal. Even more confusingly, the Zahawi’s family interest in the medical business was not declared in Nadhim Zahawi’s December 2020 list of parliamentary interests.

Interestingly, the subsequent Minister for Vaccine Deployment’s family had no previous medical experience other than, in the interests of equality of opportunity, Jaafar Shanshal having been employed as a researcher by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

May QT Review claim a scalp? Signed and dated documents lodged at Companies House show that the day after QT Review was published, January 8th 2021, Ms Saib and Messrs Shanshal applied to have Warren Medical struck off the company’s register and be dissolved.


Need more?

Try this from The Guardian. Lemon Kurd and Bean Kurd


The idea that this person is now Chancellor of the Exchequer is grotesque.

[Whyperion]

Justice minister Victoria Atkins has resigned, saying "we can and must be better than this".

Robin Walker resigned as schools standards minister

Treasury Minister John Glen resigned


PMQs will be a cringeing watch live, mostly because we dont get clear answers from Johnson (are those replies to the Formal Q of what is/will the PM be doing / has done , now if not answered correctly leaves PM open to more scrutiny - if he says he had meetings and didnt etc ). We dont get killer questions from Starmer either

Another one went at 1120ish
Parliamentary Private Secretary Felicity Buchan, the MP for Kensington, has quit her role.
She says she still believes in "Conservative values" and she wants the government to implement "Conservative politices (pasted from BBC) without distractions".

[Tripps]

Times up - its' twelve o'clock

Big Kev owes me a silver shilling.

[plaques]

To add my two penny worth...

Does Nadhim Zahawi own YouGov?
Born to a Kurdish family in Baghdad, Zahawi was co-founder of international Internet-based market research firm YouGov of which he was chief executive until February 2010 and was, until January 2018, chief strategy officer for Gulf Keystone Petroleum.

There was some concern when You Gov held back a pol to show that Corbyn won the popular vote in a debate.

[Whyperion]

There was some concern when You Gov held back a pol to show that Corbyn won the popular vote in a debate.

They should have published it, it was a Labour run debate and Corbyn didnt get a substantial majority after it on the poll !


Meanwhile , who has gone now ?

Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) Housing Minister
health minister Jo Churchill Bury St Edmunds.
There have now been 21 resignations from the government in less than 24 hours.


We've just heard three Parliamentary Private Secretaries - David Johnson, Claire Coutinho and Selaine Saxby (North Devon )- have left their roles.

After Sajid Javid's resignation statement, the prime minister got up to leave the chamber.

As the Speaker said there would be no further personal statements in the Commons today, several MPs were heard to shout "Bye Boris".

What perhaps was worrying about Javid was 'Javid says he had so much planned for the long term for the NHS.' (BBC). That statement can be read in a multitude of ways

[Whyperion]

The Two O'Clock Tick Tock
Aside from MPs writing to withdraw their support from the PM
Five further ministers have just resigned from the government.

Julia Lopez a culture minister. Lee Rowley a business minister. Alex Burghart an education minister. Neil O'Brien a levelling up minister. Kemi Badenoch a local government minister.

+1 Mims Davies employment minister at the Department for Work and Pensions.

Gove has gone missing in New Palace Yard apparently.

Actually I still have some sympathy with Johnson, I think he belives what he does is right, and will tend to stand by people and does not really like bringing them ( and obviously himself ) into a bad light. He appears baffled why anyone would not support him (if only for the party sake).

[Tizer]

Michael Gove has told Boris Johnson to step down and now...
16.28 Breaking News on BBC web site...
Group of cabinet ministers will tell PM to go. A group of cabinet ministers are about to tell the PM to resign, including the chief whip, the BBC understands.

16:31 Cabinet ministers on the way to tell PM time is up
As we've just told you, a group of cabinet ministers are on their way to tell Boris Johnson it's time to go.
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart is one of them. He made it clear to No 10 yesterday that it was "game over" but it shouldn’t have to come by ministerial resignations.

[Tripps]

I'm watching him live now fielding questions from a Commons committee.

Brass neck covered with thick skin.

Crisis what crisis?

PS they've just told him that his mates are waiting to 'tip him the black spot' (copyright Long John Silver) when he gets back to Number 10.

Says he's going to carry on governing the country and is not going to give a running commentary.

I think the irresistible force is about to meet the immovable object.

[Tizer]

Grant Schapps and Brandon Lewis have joined the happy throng. I hope you've got your popcorn to hand.
It's a cup of tea and a currant bun for me!

[Tripps]

Now he sounds as if he's doing us all a favour by staying and 'delivering on' his manifesto promises.

If he says 'no I'm not quitting' - what can they do? Nothing quickly I'd guess.

Fascinating. . . .

I think he's had it though. He'll find himself the only one at cabinet meetings. That won't work.
No obvious successor so a long process to find someone. Not a joyful prospect.

I just checked - the Fixed Term Parliament act has been repealed. There can be a snap election. Maybe that's his nuclear option? Should concentrate a few minds.

Here's a flavour of the proceedings.

[Whyperion]

You can't have a general election in the middle of a war in europe


as the numbers of those gone are too long heres the present list, and those cabinet ones staying apparently telling Johnson to go. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62058278

[Tripps]

He's gone to see HM Queen - regular weekly meeting (yeah right)

This seems a bit harsh though. . . .

► Show Spoiler

p45.jpg

[Whyperion]

MP For Redcar resigns as a PPS, MP for Greater Grimsby stays as the PM's PPS.

And to ring the changes
Johnson Fires Gove and calls him as Snake.

A No 10 source said: "You can't have a snake who is not with you on any of the big arguments who then gleefully tells the press the leader has to go.

Meanwhile https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-62064506 MI5 and FBI finally catch up with what I have been saying for years. China steals intellectual property, undermines western industry , uses the `000s of students it sends to UK and USA to learn english and spy translating technical journals, China also destabilises elections and targets the internet and private comms / data networks - and thats before we start on space technology and the odd missile or two. Time to make friends with Japan and South Korea.

[Tripps]

I believe the 1922 Committee have ordered several of these on special 'next day guaranteed by 1.00 pm' delivery.

PM Persuaders

[plaques]

And to ring the changes
Johnson Fires Gove and calls him as Snake.

Yond Gove has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

[Stanley]

I kept out of all this yesterday and waited until I could survey the piste this morning.
First, than you David I knew there were reasons why Nadhim Zahawi was not a fit person but I had forgotten about the Archer connection....
I saw THIS and thought it was entirely appropriate that Johnson should get his revenge on Gove for stabbing him in the back in the Leadership campaign of 2016 when Gove said that Johnson was unfit to hold the office. (He was right wasn't he....)
My overall impression is that I have never seen anything like this or read about it either. How is he going to fill all the vacant posts, indeed is there anyone who would accept a ministerial post from him?
I thought the supreme irony was Priti Patel advising him to resign. Remember the bullying scandal?
I quite like a good joke but bugger a pantomime and that is what this is now. Why don't we have a vote of No Confidence and an election. (Or is everyone afraid of taking control when we are so far into the shit.)
We have often commented on the damage Johnson has inflicted on our international image. Hard to see how he could do anything worse than this.

One last thing, I wish they would stop calling him Boris, Johnson will do.

[Whyperion]

If you didnt think it could get any worse

"Suella Braverman has put her hat in the ring to be the next leader of the Conservative Party"

on Wednesday night, former loyalist Ms Braverman joined the calls for Mr Johnson to stand down, telling ITV's Peston that he had handled matters "appallingly" in recent days.

She said she would not resign as it was her duty to carry on in her current job - but said: "If there is a leadership contest, I will put my name into the ring."


The Tories are corrupt, basically. Labour is Incompetant. A General Election would probably get a Con Maj with Boris as Leader - he remains popular among voters. (but without Cummins and Gove would Johnson struggle to run a campaign?)

[Sue]

I am not sure Boris is popular with the voters, I think the tide has turned as they say.,

[Stanley]

Quite right Sue. I have just got up after an early return to bed and find that two more of his ministers have resigned before 07:00 this morning. One of them is Brandon Lewis the N Ireland minister.
I have just heard that Damien Hinds the Security Minister has just resigned....
There's just been another, a Mr George Freeman from the Department of Science?. I'm not sure I am losing track!

[Stanley]

Question... Why is this still all about the Tory Party, what's happening is a disaster for UK PLC. Why can't Parliament step in and stop all this nonsense. Instead we have idiots saying that 'Johnson's successor must be a low tax traditional Conservative'.
Oh really... ?

[Wendyf]

Is the Minister of State for Transport still hanging in there with Boris?

[plaques]

I am not sure Boris is popular with the voters, I think the tide has turned as they say.,

Fully agree with that Sue.
Putting to one side that some of us on OG have been anti Johnson from day one. I think or at least hoping that many of the electorate who were taken in by his showboating charisma are now see everything was built on lies and promises. The NHS is going down the tube gradually being sold to private enterprises The oven ready NI is everything but oven ready and there is still no sign of the unicorn that they hoped for. Brexit is the biggest mistake that's hitting everyone's pocket. By making trade with our nearest and biggest market more difficult and leaving ourselves open to international capitalism where the mantra is 'when a man is down that's the time to kick him' will see them screw us for every penny they can get.
It must be remembered that the Conservative party supported Johnson through these lies and just because they resigned at the final curtain doesn't make them squeaky clean.

Andrew Stevenson MP for Pendle and Mister of Transport is still hanging on to Johnson. An honourable man would have tendered his resignation.