“Johnson is … the most accomplished liar in public life – perhaps the best liar ever to serve as prime minister,” he said. “He has mastered the use of error, omission, exaggeration, diminution, equ

Stewart, like many others of high calibre and integrity do not have the stomach for the type of politics the current Tory party represents.

They are almost certainly aware of the cabal both inside and outside parliament that runs the Tory party, and do not like what they see.

lemongrove

Yes, Gove suffers for the same reason Aleg ...which is why he has no chance ever of becoming PM.

Not the only reason…. Being a weasel goes against him.

The reason that Stewart got nowhere in the London Mayoral race is that he didn't have a Party Machine behind him. Or a very wealthy backer. These are essential in the higher levels of the political hierarchy these days. You can only succeed as an Independent at very local level; parish or county councillor.

He was a good Minister; only got thrown out of the tory party because he didn't back Johnson. One of the very few tories I have ever had time for.

Whitewavemark2

???Stewart didn’t fail, he resigned from the Tory party because he quite rightly understood that it was no longer the Tory party he joined.

There are plenty of really good people out there of the same ilk as Stewart all watching with horror from the sidelines.

Their day will come.

Absolutely. He left because he had said he could never remain in a party that Johnson was leader of. He left because he has principles and he stuck by them. And of course his constituents were disappointed. Who wouldn’t be if you’d lost someone who was a great constituency MP. Anna Soubry felt the same way about Johnson and has also written articles to that effect.

I agree with everything Stewart says, but what most drew my attention to this article was the sheer quality of the English and the erudition of his political invective.

I do really enjoy reading material by people with a command of everything the English language offers.

The para I am constantly drawn to is the one that was truncated for some reason at the start of this thread

Johnson is the most accomplished liar in public life – perhaps the best liar ever to serve as prime minister. He has mastered the use of error, omission, exaggeration, diminution, equivocation and flat denial. He has perfected casuistry, circumlocution, false equivalence and false analogy. He is equally adept at the ironic jest, the fib and the grand lie; the weasel word and the half-truth; the hyperbolic lie, the obvious lie, and the bullshit lie – which may inadvertently be true.

How wonderful to be able to write like that - and when he is describing someone I dislike for just the reason that he is a lying t***, it is a joy to read, I roll the words around my mouth.

So few political commentators now come even within a country mile of that quality of invective.

So...to recap, he is highly popular on this thread because he dislikes Johnson. Any Tory who disliked Johnson or disliked leaving the EU is often popular on GN ( or rather with non Conservative voters.)
Even ‘Demonic’ Cummings is popular now.It figures I suppose.?

lemongrove

So...to recap, he is highly popular on this thread because he dislikes Johnson. Any Tory who disliked Johnson or disliked leaving the EU is often popular on GN ( or rather with non Conservative voters.)
Even ‘Demonic’ Cummings is popular now.It figures I suppose.?

No he is highly popular because he hates what the Tory party has become.

A populist divisive entity, that will support a leader totally without integrity or competence.

lemongrove

So...to recap, he is highly popular on this thread because he dislikes Johnson. Any Tory who disliked Johnson or disliked leaving the EU is often popular on GN ( or rather with non Conservative voters.)
Even ‘Demonic’ Cummings is popular now.It figures I suppose.?

He’s popular because he expresses himself beautifully and calls Johnson out for what he is.

He's popular because he has intelligence, integrity and is competent.

Yesterday in the Observer:

Another YouGov survey for the Times yesterday showed that the Tory lead had fallen to just four points from 13 points during the past week. Other trends are clear in most of the polls. The public’s confidence in Johnson’s government to handle the pandemic and in the prime minister’s leadership abilities, which had been boosted by the vaccination rollout, are all spiralling downwards.

Opinium found that net approval of the government’s handling of the pandemic now stands at -16%, the lowest since the height of the second wave in January. Johnson’s own approval rating has fallen from -8 a fortnight ago to -13 now, with 34% approving of the way he is doing his job and 47% disapproving.

So perhaps people are more aware of Johnson’s inaptitude and lies

Stewart is not dead. He hasn't "failed" in anything.

Stewart called Johnson out as "... most accomplished liar in public life". Why would anyone who believes that to be true not be glad that someone is bringing it to the attention of others?

The subhead of the article in the TLS is "Boris Johnson: an amoral figure for a bleak, coarse culture". We so often see that culture played out on these boards. We need more conservatives speaking out against Johnson and the rest of the sado-populist New Tories. Johnson, Sunak, Raab, Patel and the rest are without an ounce of empathy or the most basic understanding of what life is like for those without the guilding they are used to. It is not what I want to see in my country. So yes, I support what he is saying.

However, I have heard him talk on many subjects (including Hedgehogs ). He 'thinks'. Johnson finds that almost impossible. Yes, he can repeat what he has learned in the past, But he buys in his tacticians - or marries them. His only aim is to see himself "win". There is little beyond that. He will hurt whatever group he needs to keep his voters - some of them with pretty vile beliefs - onboard.

Yes of course Lucca....that’ll be all it is.?

MaizieD

He's popular because he has intelligence, integrity and is competent.

I think you are expecting a lot for that to appeal to anyone who thinks Johnson is fit to be PM

Brilliant PippaZ

PippaZ

Stewart is not dead. He hasn't "failed" in anything.

Stewart called Johnson out as "... most accomplished liar in public life". Why would anyone who believes that to be true not be glad that someone is bringing it to the attention of others?

The subhead of the article in the TLS is "Boris Johnson: an amoral figure for a bleak, coarse culture". We so often see that culture played out on these boards. We need more conservatives speaking out against Johnson and the rest of the sado-populist New Tories. Johnson, Sunak, Raab, Patel and the rest are without an ounce of empathy or the most basic understanding of what life is like for those without the guilding they are used to. It is not what I want to see in my country. So yes, I support what he is saying.

However, I have heard him talk on many subjects (including Hedgehogs ). He 'thinks'. Johnson finds that almost impossible. Yes, he can repeat what he has learned in the past, But he buys in his tacticians - or marries them. His only aim is to see himself "win". There is little beyond that. He will hurt whatever group he needs to keep his voters - some of them with pretty vile beliefs - onboard.

?

lemongrove

So...to recap, he is highly popular on this thread because he dislikes Johnson. Any Tory who disliked Johnson or disliked leaving the EU is often popular on GN ( or rather with non Conservative voters.)
Even ‘Demonic’ Cummings is popular now.It figures I suppose.?

Stewart can't be that popular or he would now be PM

rosie1959

lemongrove

So...to recap, he is highly popular on this thread because he dislikes Johnson. Any Tory who disliked Johnson or disliked leaving the EU is often popular on GN ( or rather with non Conservative voters.)
Even ‘Demonic’ Cummings is popular now.It figures I suppose.?

Stewart can't be that popular or he would now be PM

So what's your opinion of the content of the article?

Growstuff well its a blistering attack on Johnson but to what ends
Apart from that he doesn't really say much

More and more people are seeing Johnson for what he really is. It’s as if the fog is lifting….

MayBee70

More and more people are seeing Johnson for what he really is. It’s as if the fog is lifting….

And some continue to say they aren’t particularly fans of Boris but yet won’t hear of any criticism of him.

I normally stay out of political threads but could Alegrias1 please enlighten on her comment about him being 'an adopted baby' have to do with anything.
Other than being offensive to adopted children, do you expect them not to do well ?

I didn't mean to be offensive, I'm very sorry if it came across that way. I was trying to say that he must have had a hard start in life, but that his adoptive family clearly gave him a good chance in life and gave him all the good things they could.

I don't think much of Michael Gove but nobody can deny he has got very far in his career and in life in general, no doubt due to his own efforts.

I am very sorry that anything I said offended anyone.

rosie1959

Growstuff well its a blistering attack on Johnson but to what ends
Apart from that he doesn't really say much

So you agree with the substance of the article? Are you agreeing that Johnson is an accomplished liar?

growstuff no I am not agreeing

rosie1959

growstuff no I am not agreeing

OK! So which claims do you disagree with?