Government watch

I'm a bit confused about what Johnson and his followers expect from the EU. The three main elements of the withdrawal agreement (deal) are Ireland, citizens' rights and the "divorce bill".

There is no solution to Ireland, citizens' rights shouldn't be that difficult to sort out and the "divorce bill" will almost certainly go to court.

If it's not sorted by 31st October, it will all drag on until there IS an agreement. Meanwhile, the UK will have to deal with the EU on WTO tariffs and will become increasingly untrustworthy.

The UK is the one in a very weak position and was responsible for creating the mess in the first place.

The 27 other EU countries will just get on with things. What do people expect it to do?

The only 'negotiations' that has taken place, has been a statement from Johnson 'we want the backstop removed' ...
this is NOT negotiating. And he also knew perfectly well that this could never happen. Firstly because it would be EU at risk of tons of unsafe goods, meat and other products entering the EU via the NI border. SEcondly because it threatens a Member State, and thirdly because it threatens the Good Friday Agreement.

NO alternative, working propositions have been provided, NONE whatsoever. How can that be called 'negotiating'?

He doesn't have a clue. It's easy to forget that Johnson has never had a job which requires negotiation and compromise.

.... and never had a job which he couldn't lie and blag his way out of the inevitable mess.

Parliament may have agreed,*Grandad*, but the Bulk has declared that he intends to ignore the law. If he does so, by the time he can be brought to book (by way of a court case, presumably) Oct 31st will have come and gone and we'll be out.

I see that Liz Truss has apologised for accidentally and illegally selling arms to Saudi Arabia

What on earth can you say??

Who on earth thought this shower were suitable to be in government.

Exactly MOnica. You can almost see it now, can't you? He won't last long, so will go back to the chat show circuit and be paid mega-bucks for joking about what a lark it was to cause such havoc. Sadly, people will still think he's funny.

MaizieD in regard to post @-13:17 today, I believe that should Johnson ignore the legislation that Parliament has laid down in terms of Britain leaving Europe on October 31st, then this nation would enter the greatest legal, political and constitutional crisis it has faced since the 1640s.

It just doesn't bear thinking about.

If parliament was sitting there mould undoubtedly be questions about this and our voice would be heard

James Melville
@JamesMelville
Two questions:

1. How on earth did Liz Truss ‘accidentally' or ‘inadvertently’ grant new export licences of military equipment to Saudi Arabia, when it is banned by the court of law?
2. Why is she still in her job of International Trade Secretary?

Oh yes, same 2 questions.

Something else we can’t ask questions about

lowdownnhs.info/private-providers/collapse-of-private-ambulance-firm-hits-nhs-999-care/

Johnson isn’t popular is he?

He was talking to a father whose child is in hospital.

dave ❄️ ?
@davemacladd
·

"There are not enough doctors or nurses on this ward, the NHS is being destroyed and now you come here for a press opportunity" ??

Boris Johnson meets the public and it turns out really badly, episode 459 you know the drill

Oh I don’t know that WW

He’s only been in post a few short weeks! Busy with Brexit too. Blame Cameron and May perhaps, but not Boris (just yet anyway).

At least he is trying to engage with the public. Out and about.

And the guy who approached Boris?

Not just a caring, concerned dad but a well known Labour activist ....

Sometimes one has to dig a little deeper into the story!

He is also a father with a son in hospital. So being a Labour activist should take away his right to express his beliefs?

Are you also suggesting that he arranged for the confrontation, by ensuring his son was sick in hospital at the time of Johnson’s visit.

If I was in his position I would have said exactly the same.

I don’t think so.

urm the father's politics are irrelevant here. You missed a chance there to defend Johnson by claiming that it was all genuine and not set up to have him only meeting supporters. You are slipping!

I am quite struck between the resemblance between Johnson and Trump.

Both absolutely love the adulation of right-wing rallies but are absolutelty unable to cope with the legitimate grievances of ordinary voters who challenge them in any way.

The poor father was perfectly right to blame the Tories. I feel pointing out that he is a LP supporter is no better than saying Cameron only knows "privileged" pain. Both these people are fathers and that is surely all that matters. I think Johnson's response shows just how far he and others like him are from those whose lives the have ruined.

I still have to come back to ‘why blame Boris?’

He’s new to the job.

And I did acknowledge that the dad in question was there innocently (because his son was ill).

But an opportunity nonetheless. He wouldn’t have been shy.

However, his outrage ought to have been directed to those who were in power/made the decisions at the time that resulted in his perception of the ward shortages!

Actually Sorry for his baby......but shouting and bawling backfired on him he looks like he's showing off his activist labour role!

Salem worked as Emily Lady Nugee Thornberry's personal assistant for two years. Says all you need to know about this political stunt!

Urm you’re so clued up about this story you can’t even get the sex of the baby correct. The hospital has acknowledged the truth of what the father said, that there was a staffing problem that affected the ward his daughter was on. It was the BBC who reported on his political links - and then Laura K tweeted a link to his twitter feed. Is that the role of the BBC?

Urm havevyou the slightest idea how your last post reads? This man has a seriously ill very young child. And as for the childish ‘ Lady Nugee’ words fail me.

What a dreadful thing to imply - that a visibly distressed and angry father would use his seriously ill child to score a political point.

Like many other hospitals, Whipps Cross is doing its best to cope under very difficult circumstances. It is a very old hospital and there are plans for re-development but the current plans mean there will be fewer rather than more beds, even though the demand is now much higher, partly because other local hospitals have been closed.

Do you really think that because this man worked for Emily Thornberry and is a Labour supporter his distress was not real but was just play acting?

Has no-one noted that Johnson said there was no press there when he was actually being followed round by a tv camera and journalists? And that the visit had been set up as media opportunity?

The No.10 'operational note' is on this tweet:
mobile.twitter.com/johnny_malham/status/1174368470370271233

His lying is so normalised that it doesn't get any attention.

Good point, Eloethan. Reading it reminded me of the current thread about Cameron and the death of his son. Quite correctly, people are pointing out that the father's occupation/position has nothing to do with the son. I don't really see a difference here. Nobody's claiming the child wasn't very ill and the hospital has now admitted there were indeed problems. The father has no less right to be angry because he was/is a Labour activist.

Shame on Laura Kuenssberg for getting ionvolved.

Imran Khan

Hearing uncomfirmed reports that the man in that video in the hospital was sacked by the Times for making up quotes in a story, and by Michael Howard for lying about an affair, and once conspired to get a journalist beaten up.

Can anyone confirm?