Resignation speech

”BJ may have done some bad things, but he has had more to contend with than most PMs - Brexit, Covid (both the pandemic and getting it personally) and then Ukraine”.

Brexit was completely selfinflicted, Covid was a pandemic so not restricted to the UK, Ukraine is supported by many other countries.

I know we like to believe we are the only country that is offering support to Ukraine and that it was BJ who led the way. It all seems to be part of this depressing ”worldbeating” mentality this nation suffers from.

So what is he supposed to apologise for?
Brexit? Pandemic vaccinations? Supporting Ukraine? Or Partygate?
Yes, he is flawed, as are we all, so how many of you bent / broke the rules far more than he did during Lockdown, and got away with it?

How many of you have to rely on a group of lily livered idiots who cannot see the consequences of what they have done, and how much they have delighted the Labour party, Lib Dems and Putin?

I do wish he had less failings,and would have respected a more civilised way of forward planning in terms of succession. But all we are seeing at the moment is self preservation, delusions of grandeur and lots of plotting .

No Greta, it's part of the intelligence, integrity and morality possessed by the majority of this country.
And Brexit was not 'self inflicted', whatever that means. There was a democratic vote.
Boris responded far more quickly to Covid ( cf France) than most countries.
And he was one of the first to support Ukraine, whilst many leaders of other countries were wittering and worrying about the consequences of doing so.

Dillonsgranma

Well I’d much rather have Boris than Keir starmer ! And that awful woman who is his deputy. She is so awful it’s almost unbelievable!

How very strange….

rowyn I agree with everything you say - no one is perfect and Boris certainly has his flaws but he had them before he was elected so why the fury when he has been caught out telling a couple of 'fibs' - he has had a fairly busy love life and in order to that one probably needs to be able to talk one's way out of a situation! Also he has been pretty occupied with running the country and world problems so many things may have escaped his notice or he may have forgotten facts that certainly felt very trivial to him at the time.

rowyn

No Greta, it's part of the intelligence, integrity and morality possessed by the majority of this country.
And Brexit was not 'self inflicted', whatever that means. There was a democratic vote.
Boris responded far more quickly to Covid ( cf France) than most countries.
And he was one of the first to support Ukraine, whilst many leaders of other countries were wittering and worrying about the consequences of doing so.

We seem to have found a chink in the barrier between the universes and slid into a parallel one ?

DaisyL

When I joined GN I thought that there might be lots of nice, reasonable people on it! That was an error - I have seldom encountered a nastier, more self-righteous, humourless bunch. BJ may have done some bad things, but he has had more to contend with than most PMs - Brexit, Covid (both the pandemic and getting it personally) and then Ukraine. I can't wait to read the stream of vitriol that will undoubtedly come my way now!

It's one thing to be 'nice' or jovial at a WI meeting. it's quite another to be expected to smile at or overlook dishonesty in the leader of our country though. The whole point of having a PM is that s/he can be looked upon to deal with crises - not to use them as excuses for incompetence.

Oh, and it's not 'nice' to insult a bunch of Gransnetters and then attempt to neutralise their replies by writing them off as a 'stream of vitriol' either . One of the few advantages of being long in the tooth is that we can see through that sort of thing at a hundred paces.

DaisyL

rowyn I agree with everything you say - no one is perfect and Boris certainly has his flaws but he had them before he was elected so why the fury when he has been caught out telling a couple of 'fibs' - he has had a fairly busy love life and in order to that one probably needs to be able to talk one's way out of a situation! Also he has been pretty occupied with running the country and world problems so many things may have escaped his notice or he may have forgotten facts that certainly felt very trivial to him at the time.

You need to read this to educate yourself about what’s actually been happening DaisyL. There are plenty of other sources of information available for anybody who can be bothered to find out the truth of his known misdemeanours. The scary thing is that this is just the ones we know about so far.
www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/01/scandal-timeline-tory-sleaze-boris-johnson

Thought that would get you all going
You must all be lucky people
Obviously you dont want to think about the 1 million people who need homes in this country, the ones that cant get a doctor's appointment or a school place. Dont tell me the "Government " should build more
With what? We dont have enough money to keep paying for people who come here because we are a land of milk and honey. We are an island. We will run out of land, not enough , roads to take any more traffic, etc
How many more millions of people are you happy to have. No one answers that..to There are millions of people from all over the world on the move. We cant take them all
We need a world wide thought and decision on what to do
You can be as "nice " as you like , but no- one comes up.with a solution
How many have illegal immigrants living with them and paying for them.? Its always lets just be nice
The problem is being pushed down the line to our children and grandchildren.

Am I the only one who’s heard that Boris wants to stay on as PM so that he has access to Chequers for his planned summer wedding party?

I am concerned about Ukraine. I hope whoever succeeds BJ will continue to support them. I worry about Putin, and the effect all western leaders have on his thinking. ? that the new leader will be supportive.

Basically he has had to leave office for gross misconduct. In ANY other job that would mean being escorted off the premises. Johnson, go right now before you do any more damage.

Autumnrose

Am I the only one who’s heard that Boris wants to stay on as PM so that he has access to Chequers for his planned summer wedding party?

Also he doesn't want the humiliation of spending less time in No. 10 than Theresa May!

Gosh Susie3042 You must be absolutely furious with the party that has been in power for the last 12 years.

DaisyL said
"he may have forgotten facts that certainly felt very trivial to him at the time."

I agree that other people being unable to say goodbye to their dying relatives or being unable to go to the funeral of someone they had been close to, did seem very trivial to Boris Johnson.

maddyone

I am concerned about Ukraine. I hope whoever succeeds BJ will continue to support them. I worry about Putin, and the effect all western leaders have on his thinking. ? that the new leader will be supportive.

I am concerned about Johnson’s links with Russia. Maybe his friendships with KGB members gave Putin the idea that western leaders would turn a blind eye to him invading Ukraine.

DaisyL I also had the same thoughts about the people on this site when I joined, I also thought they would be a jolly, friendly bunch, soon found out the truth though. Wavemark2 be careful about stating that everyone is entitled to an opinion, I was asked why I needed to state that fact by a member a few days ago, apparently she finds in irritating, you have been warned

Autumnrose

Am I the only one who’s heard that Boris wants to stay on as PM so that he has access to Chequers for his planned summer wedding party?

Old news. He was intending to have his wedding celebration there, but he's been 'persuaded' to go elsewhere.. Probably because it was reported in some of the press this morning...

jennyvg

DaisyL I also had the same thoughts about the people on this site when I joined, I also thought they would be a jolly, friendly bunch, soon found out the truth though. Wavemark2 be careful about stating that everyone is entitled to an opinion, I was asked why I needed to state that fact by a member a few days ago, apparently she finds in irritating, you have been warned

I'm afraid that anyone who wants to be completely agreed with has come to the wrong place on News and Politics, where 'opinions' are challenged.

Lots of nice friendly threads on other forums.

Susie,
I'm truly sorry you feel as miserable as you do.

I am grateful every day for my own good fortune in that I have a roof over my head and food in my belly.
Those of us who have worked, helped in a personal way or volunteered with a person or any group of people who are marginalised or underprivileged are not blind to the problems we face here in the UK but we are, nevertheless, fortunate compared to many fleeing wars, torture and oppression elsewhere.

Try not to be so bitter against those with nothing.
every person is just that. A person, like you and me.
Why is trying to be "kind" so dreadful?

(Also, your comments about Carrie Johnson aren't very nice to be honest.)

I’d be grateful Susie3042 if you could

- explain the difference between illegal immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers
- provide evidence for your claims re the numbers of illegal immigrants

Thank you.

how many of you bent / broke the rules far more than he did during Lockdown, and got away with it?

Just guessing, but I dont' think too many GNetters were having raucous, suitcase full of booze, swing breaking, vomiting on the floor Abba all nighters during lockdown. Nor were they lying about it repeatedly in parliament.

It was technically a good speech, typically Boris the journalist at his best. The parting line set out what his future is from now, probably TV, a talk show, book deal for the fastest written memoir ever, at least two newspaper columns maybe even President Zelenski of Ukraine will offer him a job. I must admit Boris was always a guilty pleasure, great to watch, he made British politics cool and interesting for 3 years instead of prim, proper dull as ditch water. Now it will be back to a 'wallpaper' PM, instantly forgettable on a global stage, that aside we are still now a 'banana republic' in comparison to others in Europe and beyond.

why the fury when he has been caught out telling a couple of 'fibs' - he has had a fairly busy love life and in order to that one probably needs to be able to talk one's way out of a situation!

DaisyL Are we meant to admire the special skills of deception that Johnson has developed during his many years of cheating on his wife with a string of other women?

TwiceAsNice

He did get brexit some others didn’t. I think they all cocked up the pandemic and labour would have us still locked up wearing a mask! He is flawed on a lot of things( as was Tony Blair) but I fear for Ukraine now he’s gone because the rest of Europe couldn’t care less. Be careful what you wish for it’s just going to get worse. Starmer doesn’t stand up for anything!

He certainly didn't stand to prosecute allegations of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile when in charge of the CPS (cf Starmer's criticism of Johnson's appointment of Chris Pincher despite accusations sexual abuse)

Stop Press: Starmer cleared of BeerGate! What a Cop out!