Mr Johnson and Mr Cummings

Urmstongran

Tongue in cheek comment in Michael Deacon’s sketch article in the Telegraph this morning made me smile.

Here’s an excerpt:

“During the Barnard Castle affair, Labour called Dominic Cummings a lying scoundrel who would say anything to save his own skin. Now he has made allegations that could damage Boris Johnson, they have decided Mr Cummings is a model of integrity whose word we can trust.

Tories, too, have been showing themselves admirably receptive to fresh points of view. During the Barnard Castle affair, they called Mr Cummings a model of integrity whose word we can trust. Now he has made allegations that could damage Boris Johnson, they have decided Mr Cummings is a lying scoundrel who would say anything to save his own skin.

It is heartening to see politicians demonstrate such eagerness to reassess their assumptions. Let them be an inspiration to us all.”

??

This is not a startlingly novel idea, Ug. It's so unnovel that we've even covered it on this thread.

When you're dealing with two liars you just have to make a judgement about which lie is most likely to be nearest the truth.

aroline Lucas
@CarolineLucas

There’s a reason Johnson carefully choreographs his image as casual & sloppy, down to fake ruffling of hair before he goes into #PMQs or on TV - it’s to help give impression his lies are accidental but it’s a script & he knows exactly what he’s doing. And it’s dangerous #R4Today

Seriously Michael Deacon ? Among friends with Tory and Labour and Lib Dem etc views all are agreed Johnson and Cummings are as bad as each other but DC us cleverer possibly.

It appears to me, that from cartoons to editorials to articles, the Telegraph is working very hard to tell us that there is no problem here at all, and our capable and hardworking PM is just getting on with the job.

Well it's not going to work, we have eyes in our heads.

This is an interesting video to watch

There's a Sickness at the Heart of British Democracy & It's called Corruption

m.youtube.com/watch?v=LxVbuVugTCc

Urmstongran ? Yes, just what I have been saying about posters on this thread, it’s given me some amusement this week to see the rush to believe in Dom.
I can’t blame Labour for hoping something will come out of the allegations, as they have had precious little comfort lately with Johnson and the Conservatives still riding high in the polls.I think it will blow over soon, as allegations is all it is.
The voters are looking forward to Summer and seeing family, not worrying about who paid for Johnsons curtains.

That’s what Anne Widdecombe said ?????

Its convenient, isn't it, to say that anybody who has doubts about the honesty and morals of the PM is just looking for negative stories about him, and that we are all gullible enough to believe that lying snake Cummings because it suits us?

I give the UK population more credit for being concerned with a potentially corrupt government and most of them know its got nothing to do with curtains. Although it could be a Tory trait to take the approach that the masses are pretty dumb and care more about their holidays than the fact we have a government we can't trust.

It is all to do with the voters ability to trust the government to carry out its business with integrity and transparency.

Yes any one of us may strongly agree or disagree with government policies, but none of us should have to question the integrity and dishonesty.

There is no democracy down that road.

The voters are looking forward to Summer and seeing family, not worrying about who paid for Johnsons curtains

Isn't it odd the way voters' concerns have radically altered in the years since the Parliamentary Expenses scandal. They appeared at that time to be hugely concerned with the way public money was being spent by their elected representatives. Some even remember details after all this time and bring them up from time to time!

But now they don't have any concerns at all.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that 8 (?) years ago all the MSM was screaming blue murder about MPs' corruption, but now some of them are strangely silent?

8It's easy to be unconcerned about something you don't even know about.

I think it’s more to do with the voters being extremely grateful that Boris tasked Kate Bingham to procure vaccines and she did that so brilliantly (by making sure the placed orders drawn up by lawyers were watertight for delivery) we are in the UK the highly grateful beneficiaries.

This trumps any allegations of sleaze right now. It is not what is uppermost on the minds of most of the populace.

This, from Philip Johnston’s column in the Telegraph today illustrates this fact:

“Last December, the Conservatives and Labour were neck and neck in the polls. Most recent surveys have shown the Tories between three and 10 points ahead, which is remarkable for a party that has been in government in one guise or another for 11 years.

The allegations of sleaze appear to have reduced that lead in recent days, but turnout at these elections is notoriously low. Those most likely to vote are older people, all of whom will have been offered the Covid jab. Labour may gnash their teeth in frustrated anger but a vaccine bounce for Boris looks likely.

How does Sir Keir Starmer counter it? He can hardly denounce the vaccine programme as a fraud unless he wants to commit electoral suicide. The best his team has managed so far is to condemn the Government for not giving the nurses a bigger pay rise, while extolling the role of the NHS in the vaccine programme. They are playing up the conveniently catch‑all word “sleaze” because they have nowhere else to go.”

I think Kate Bingham did a spectacular job. Johnson got it right by appointing her and then getting out of the way. The contracts were part of the story but she approached the whole project in the right way and its turned out fabulously.

Nothing trumps allegations of sleaze. If its not uppermost on the minds of the populace its only because they don't know about it. How long is Johnson going to play on the vaccination success? Until we forget the 127,000?

We have elections in Scotland next week. I doubt there will be a Boris bounce. Maybe a Douglas dive.

Whitewavemark2

PippaZ

It is certainly pleasing for all, not just those working for the government, that the Civil Service union (FDA) has won the right to a full court hearing into Johnson's decision that Home Secretary Priti Patel had not broken the ministerial code over bullying allegations. I hope for a large kick in the privilege from the court.

She was found guilty of bullying.

Johnson chose to ignore it and allowed the situation to continue.

Exactly. It will be at least at his door as hers when we hear the court hearing.

Those most likely to vote are older people, all of whom will have been offered the Covid jab. Labour may gnash their teeth in frustrated anger but a vaccine bounce for Boris looks likely.

I've had both my vaccine doses. They didn't take away my ability to think, to smell corruption, or completely remove my moral compass. I won't be voting tory.

Watching J Vine this am the Telegraph journalist Sherelle ... having difficulty dealing with the question of corruption whilst Gemma Forte had the facts at her fingertips.

Whataboutery came up re Tony Blair. What Tories fail to recognise is that Labour supporters think he is toxic. I doubt that there are any who would argue that he didn't lie over Iraq whereas Johnson fans are ignoring the evidence against Johnson.

MaizieD

Urmstongran

Tongue in cheek comment in Michael Deacon’s sketch article in the Telegraph this morning made me smile.

Here’s an excerpt:

“During the Barnard Castle affair, Labour called Dominic Cummings a lying scoundrel who would say anything to save his own skin. Now he has made allegations that could damage Boris Johnson, they have decided Mr Cummings is a model of integrity whose word we can trust.

Tories, too, have been showing themselves admirably receptive to fresh points of view. During the Barnard Castle affair, they called Mr Cummings a model of integrity whose word we can trust. Now he has made allegations that could damage Boris Johnson, they have decided Mr Cummings is a lying scoundrel who would say anything to save his own skin.

It is heartening to see politicians demonstrate such eagerness to reassess their assumptions. Let them be an inspiration to us all.”

??

This is not a startlingly novel idea, Ug. It's so unnovel that we've even covered it on this thread.

When you're dealing with two liars you just have to make a judgement about which lie is most likely to be nearest the truth.

Or understand why they are would be telling some sort of truth for once Maizie.

It is possible to believe Cummings in this case because we believe he would want revenge. It doesn't make him a nice person or an always believable person and the Telegraph writes like this because it is just trying to retain the poor saps, who don't realise they have had taken back precisely nothing but handed more power to those with unearned priviledge, as their readers,

Whitewavemark2

That’s what Anne Widdecombe said ?????

Oh well that’s a ringing endorsement then !

I repeat ....Labour supporters (I gather that is what GN all’s anybody who doesn’t approve of this governments behaviour) don’t approve of Cummings either! But he knows a lot
,

Electoral Commission

“Reasonable grounds to suspect an offence”

We have a Prime Minister who consistently breaks the law, lies and lacks moral judgement and integrity.

5 minutes ago — Watchdog say there are 'reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred'

Note the words - ‘reasonable’ and ‘may’.

We will have to wait. Hold the line.

Electoral Commission on No11: “We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case."

And ‘whether’ too.

Johnson has had days and days to come up with an explanation.

He hasn’t.

He squirms and wriggles and lies and obfuscates.

Reason?

Because he is guilty!

Blustering Conservative on Politics Live. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant" so very good to hear this.

Urmstongran

^5 minutes ago — Watchdog say there are 'reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred'^

Note the words - ‘reasonable’ and ‘may’.

We will have to wait. Hold the line.

If they are looking into it those are the words they must use until they have actually done the looking.

If someone did pay or loan him they money we need to know who and why and why the heck he couldn't just say what happened.

Urmstongran

^5 minutes ago — Watchdog say there are 'reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred'^

Note the words - ‘reasonable’ and ‘may’.

We will have to wait. Hold the line.

They aren't going to say 'We know the lying has definitely committed an offence', are they?

To me, there is no doubt that he has lied. The question is whether or not he's covered his back enough to have avoided breaking the law or the Ministerial Code.