Be Excellent To Each Other

Diana Johnson: "Could you just confirm, a simple yes or no is acceptable, that you met with former KGB office Lebedev when you were head of the F.O, without officials in August 2018?
Boris: "Bluah hrrrm weelll..."
DJ: "Are you having another lapse of memory?"

And then they pull out the hammer and nails.

This is like the flashback episode before the grand finale.

Fuck me, what's he still doing there? He looks like he's about to have a nervous breakdown.

It's every exam anxiety dream you've ever had.

Except he's sitting there doing an exam when it's all over and he's already been kicked off the course. Just bizarre.

And here we go. Good bitter parting shot from Stephen McPartland to the effect of, "Frankly looking from the backbenchers you're going to have an incredibly hard job filling the vacant posts with anything like their talent."

Very helpful of BBC News to include an on-screen resignation counter.

With that and seeing the names of resigning ministers flick up on the screen it's almost as if this is the weirdest Twitch stream ever.

Not quite at Mrs May's level yet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_d ... y_ministry

He's starting to lose his composure...

unless...

he came very close to saying something he was going to regret there!

I like the paper and/or energy saving measures behind this five-at-a-time resignation.

After a long litany directly put to him by both parties of procrastination, ill thought out policies, and fuck-ups, it's incredible that he's arguing straight back great successes, going strength to strength, ever increasing yadda yadda yadda

Hehe. Amazing.

Oh my word, that would be incredible!

These last ten minutes... its like watching someone on fire loudly denying to the room that he's on fire.

That was brutal.

The absolute least he deserves.

This... this is happening right? Remember when, "Did you threaten to over-rule him?" was considered high drama?

Best pre-Edinburgh tryout show I've seen in ages.

So is everyone in Downing Street for a work event?

I'm on a Zoom for the next hour so could people hold off their resignations until I'm back? Ta.

Brandon Lewis: "No."

Apparently that was a bit premature.

He's sacked Gove!

This could get interesting...

Oh no, not Gove! He was the one who was, er... well I mean he... um... I'm sure he was doing something pretty important!

He knows the most about where the bodies are buried.

Off to bed. What a day. The complete collapse of a government, a PM torn to shreds in committee, and now he's bunkered up in Downing Street.

And it's very, very satisfying.

I honestly don’t find it satisfying at all. Much as I want to see the man go in the most humiliating way possible, how do you humiliate someone who has no humility? There’s not even any schadenfreude in seeing someone fall when they are so deluded that they’d never even believe they fell.

But more than that, where does it leave us? If Johnson held on until the next GE I reckon there would be a good chance of the Tories being out. The best chance in years. Even tried and tested Tories would, in their number, hold a good percentage of people that couldn’t bear to vote for this lunatic.

But if he quits, it’s giving the party a blank slate in the eyes of many voters who think he is the *entire* problem with the party, and these resignations just support those optics. Then at the next GE they’d get in, Scotland will get their independence, leaving us without the numbers to turn the Tories over for, I don’t know, but it feels like forever.

The only way I can see this as a win is if Johnson digs his heels in and calls a snap election, but that’s not going to happen, is it?

Can you imagine Prime Minister Priti Patel? Or any of them. Jeez.

I don't think I can stand seeing any more " Paul Gascoigne with a fishing rod and a box of chicken" jokes yet at the same time I want to make a "Paul Gascoigne with a fishing rod and a box of chicken" joke

This is quite the car crash.

Deep down, I think he's shitting himself about his legacy and how he'll be remembered. Like a certain ex-US President, he has to keep telling himself that he was the most successful but was betrayed by the system in order to maintain his sense of self-identity.



I'm fully aware about the dearth of talent in the Tory party and that who comes next will likely be worse. I'm also aware that Johnson is one heck of an asset for the opposition, and any new leader, even Truss, would get a bounce in the polls promising a new start. But I just don't think it's healthy for the country or the UK's world standing for this ghastly man and his acolytes to remain in power a second longer.

On a personal level, I am really looking forward to never having to see his wretched smirk ever again .

As he's the Minister for Brexit Opportunities, I'm sure Rees-Mogg has plenty of spare time to take up one or two other posts.

They usually bring a smile, but Downfall parodies remain the gold standard of Internet mirth.

https://twitter.com/itvpeston/status/15 ... 9419772929

.@Peston: A number of your colleagues have wondered if you have thought about standing?@SuellaBraverman: I’ll be honest with you, Robert. Yes, I will.

The Attorney General says she wants to be the UK’s next Prime Minister.#Peston pic.twitter.com/mpjcDejEoe

— Peston (@itvpeston) July 6, 2022

HahahahahhAhahHhA oh holy shitballs.

Intellectual titan Suella wants the big chair.

She's Dorries but without the whimsy.

Him being there is *terrible* for the country, and has been for the past three years, but I question whether having someone like Priti Patel, Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman, etc is going to be any better, but with the added horror that they’ll be there forever.

Who do you think would be the likely next PM? Rishi being one of those that kicked this off makes it look certain he’d stand. Billionaire Prime Minister can’t be a good thing.

Given the purge of the parliamentary party and the rabidness of the 2019 intake, I'm afraid it's going to be someone equally unpleasant, if slightly more competent. I think the transition will be swift and not involve the party membership.

Off the top of my head, the only names I can think of that don't make me sick are Ellwood, Tugendhat, and Hunt, but none of them would get the support of the parliamentary parties.



Which is why we should ditch first-past-the-post at the first opportunity.

FTFY

FPTP is an absolute nightmare for the country. But who is going to instil a new system when it’s so beneficial to this lot?

Leadsom, or Hunt, I would have thought.

My Hope is that Labour win the next election, but need the Lib Dems to rule, and that they DEMAND PR and some form of way back to the EU (or single market at least) as the price for that.

If that doesn't happen then I think we're probably doomed for the next 20+ years

Are there any morning flights to South America? Asking for a friend.

Heck of a way to start your first full day. I'd still be working out the coffee machine.