And when that cup of tea is served in a favourite mug, brewed strong and milky, with a couple of sweeteners, one could almost believe that there was nothing wrong with the world.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. Johnson is now our Prime Minister, a man who failed as Foreign Secretary, causing more harm to Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe. He discussed beating up a journalist with a friend. He was described as a “nasty piece of work” by a BBC journalist, completely correctly in my view. And now this man is our Prime Minister.
That might be enough to make your heart sink, but wait, there’s more....
He has taken it upon himself to appoint Priti Patel as Home Secretary. Priti was previously dismissed by Theresa May for seemingly making up foreign policy on the hoof and not informing the Foreign Office. There is another issue brewing about a possible breach of the ministerial code, but yet here we are, with a Home Secretary who was openly supporting the return of the death sentence just a few years ago.
You might think the Home Secretary appointment was bad, but he has appointed Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary. Raab doesn’t even understand the importance of towns in his own country, i.e. Dover, let alone (I imagine) the geo-political machinations going on beyond our borders. He tweeted yesterday “Thanks, beautiful!” to a fellow Foreign Minister:
The man is a dunderhead of the highest order, and B Johnson has decided he is fit to represent the UK abroad? That is some serious misjudgement. I’m sure that Raab is a lovely, personable fellow, but if he can’t get the detail right, we’re likely to end up with another Zagari-Ratcliffe scenario.
And then there are the special advisors, the SpAds. Dominic Cummings, who has been held in contempt of Parliament earlier this year. He was also involved in running Vote Leave, found guilty of overspending in the Brexit Referendum. And Chloe Westley, previously of the Tax Payers’ Alliance and Vote Leave, is now appointed by Johnson as a (if not *the only*) “digital advisor”.
I think the government has taken a massive swing to the right, although I think that Johnson himself is more socially liberal than his appointments suggest. But if you surround yourself with reactionaries and illiberals, that is going to rub off sooner or later.
I don’t particularly think Johnson’s thoughtless scribblings for the Telegraph prove that he is a racist, but they certainly bring his views into question. I think, much as Danny Baker was recently sacked by the BBC, he creates a picture and doesn’t self-edit or think it through. Hence his writings are littered with phrases and allusions which can be construed as offensive.
I thought his speech on the steps of Downing Street wasn’t too bad, but then I didn’t think Theresa May’s speech was too bad either - it just wasn’t backed up by any matching actions - and that is my concern for Johnson’s premiership. Warm words butter no parsnips, and if he doesn’t implement inclusive policies, then I can see the country becoming more divided. I can certainly see us leaving the EU on 31st October without a deal - if you surround yourself with people who don’t care whether we leave with a deal or not, then leaving without a deal suddenly isn’t important. The question is whether Parliament can do anything to stop that now, and my hunch - given that they have had several opportunities and not taken them - is that they won’t. The fact that I might finally win a bet (oh last of the Big Spenders) is cold comfort:
Still, until then, I’ve got my cup of tea, right?
TTFN.
That might be enough to make your heart sink, but wait, there’s more....
He has taken it upon himself to appoint Priti Patel as Home Secretary. Priti was previously dismissed by Theresa May for seemingly making up foreign policy on the hoof and not informing the Foreign Office. There is another issue brewing about a possible breach of the ministerial code, but yet here we are, with a Home Secretary who was openly supporting the return of the death sentence just a few years ago.
You might think the Home Secretary appointment was bad, but he has appointed Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary. Raab doesn’t even understand the importance of towns in his own country, i.e. Dover, let alone (I imagine) the geo-political machinations going on beyond our borders. He tweeted yesterday “Thanks, beautiful!” to a fellow Foreign Minister:
The man is a dunderhead of the highest order, and B Johnson has decided he is fit to represent the UK abroad? That is some serious misjudgement. I’m sure that Raab is a lovely, personable fellow, but if he can’t get the detail right, we’re likely to end up with another Zagari-Ratcliffe scenario.
And then there are the special advisors, the SpAds. Dominic Cummings, who has been held in contempt of Parliament earlier this year. He was also involved in running Vote Leave, found guilty of overspending in the Brexit Referendum. And Chloe Westley, previously of the Tax Payers’ Alliance and Vote Leave, is now appointed by Johnson as a (if not *the only*) “digital advisor”.
I think the government has taken a massive swing to the right, although I think that Johnson himself is more socially liberal than his appointments suggest. But if you surround yourself with reactionaries and illiberals, that is going to rub off sooner or later.
I don’t particularly think Johnson’s thoughtless scribblings for the Telegraph prove that he is a racist, but they certainly bring his views into question. I think, much as Danny Baker was recently sacked by the BBC, he creates a picture and doesn’t self-edit or think it through. Hence his writings are littered with phrases and allusions which can be construed as offensive.
I thought his speech on the steps of Downing Street wasn’t too bad, but then I didn’t think Theresa May’s speech was too bad either - it just wasn’t backed up by any matching actions - and that is my concern for Johnson’s premiership. Warm words butter no parsnips, and if he doesn’t implement inclusive policies, then I can see the country becoming more divided. I can certainly see us leaving the EU on 31st October without a deal - if you surround yourself with people who don’t care whether we leave with a deal or not, then leaving without a deal suddenly isn’t important. The question is whether Parliament can do anything to stop that now, and my hunch - given that they have had several opportunities and not taken them - is that they won’t. The fact that I might finally win a bet (oh last of the Big Spenders) is cold comfort:
Still, until then, I’ve got my cup of tea, right?
TTFN.
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