"Britain is a nation that’s changed night and day since 2016. It was a quiet, prosperous nation that became a haven for Right-wing populists, a breeding ground for racism, and a hub for misinformation. None of which is a coincidence."
"It’s the byproduct of nationalism, racism, and demagoguery. And if it sounds similar to post-2016 America, that’s because it is. Both countries began their ascent down the black hole of authoritarianism at the same time for a reason."
"Actually, two reasons: Boris Johnson and Donald Trump."
"Two men who are similar in more ways than they are different. Two men who redefined Western politics for the worse."
"Two men who are similar in more ways than they are different. Two men who redefined Western politics for the worse."
"In my mind, the obvious place to start this unfortunate comparison is 2016. Not with the election you’d rather forget, but with the referendum Britain would rather never have happened. After all, it’s where it all started."
"Before Brexit, Johnson was at best a cartoon and at worst relatively inconsequential. But it’s here, when he championed the Leave campaign, that similarities between him and Trump began to shine through and the dark future of British politics was, in consequence, foreshadowed."
"Where things changed, however, was when Johnson broke every unspoken cardinal rule of British politics in his Trump-esque pursuit of power. Gone were the soft-spoken, articulate, and seemingly intelligent politicians of old."
"And in came brashness, fear of the other, and lies — pure, unadulterated, lies."
"Perhaps the most glaring example being the “bus” that broke Britain."
"Perhaps the most glaring example being the “bus” that broke Britain."
"Johnson paraded around the country in a bus that told the British Brexit would save them £350 million a week, all of which could then go to the NHS. This was a blatant lie."
"For many, it’s what drove them to vote Leave. And Johnson and his allies knew it would. You’ve probably heard this before, but the NHS is one of the biggest sources of national pride in Britain."
"Make the claim leaving the EU would only help it and you not only reinforce the notion of the EU being a draconian overlord, but you intensify the public’s hatred towards it."
"And make no mistake — it’s a stroke of political genius."
This rather depends on whether you are one of "the people" or one of the 'super-rich' elite #Tory party donors and cronies, i.e. the beneficiaries of #Brexit!!
This rather depends on whether you are one of "the people" or one of the 'super-rich' elite #Tory party donors and cronies, i.e. the beneficiaries of #Brexit!!
"Boris Johnson and those behind Vote Leave used a bus to fool millions into believing the failings of the NHS were because of the money Britain was paying to Brussels and not the austerity his own party had been implementing for years."
"Analyze both Johnson and Trump side by side and you see a common thread running through their politics — "
"lie about the nature of the country’s problems, play the savior, attract enough emotional, nationalist, radical types, and leverage their willingness to silence the opposition for you to consolidate dictatorial power."
"Then you’ve got never-ending lies too."
"Johnson, although an expert gaslighter himself, had adopted a different approach — give the public so many different answers they forget what the question was."
"Johnson, although an expert gaslighter himself, had adopted a different approach — give the public so many different answers they forget what the question was."
"Most have interpreted his own ministers presenting completely different narratives to Johnson himself as a sign of a government that’s incomparably incompetent. But it isn’t. It’s a calculated move made by a demagogue who’s perfectly adept at the art of duping a country."
"Consider this batch of “mixed messaging” pertaining to Covid regulations that was feared to lead to rule-breaking and, by extension, more cases and more death. Confusing — or better yet misleading — the public works in Johnson’s favor."
"Consider this batch of “mixed messaging” pertaining to Covid regulations that was feared to lead to rule-breaking and, by extension, more cases and more death. Confusing — or better yet misleading — the public works in Johnson’s favor."
"Why he’d want to comes down to one thing — retention of power. Acknowledge your incompetence led to one of the worst death tolls in the world and you’ll have calls for resignation coming at you from every direction."
"It’s a hallmark of dictatorial regimes — refusing to give up power, that is. And it’s one embodied by both Trump and Johnson."
Any government that fails to govern in the national interest is NOT a government and should not be in power.
Any government that fails to govern in the national interest is NOT a government and should not be in power.
"After all, Brexit has been a disaster. The country is largely aware that bus was a lie. They’re also aware the vast majority of everything else he says is a lie. And not to mention the fact that his policies essentially allowed Covid to run rampant through Britain —"
"as if Britain were some sort of trial patient who’d been paid to get infected just so scientists could figure out what the worst-case scenario looked like."
"Consider Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and you’ll realize just how authoritarian Johnson’s consistent refusal to give up office has been."
"Suga, in charge of a country with a population of 126 million people, has decided to resign for his “failure to control the Covid outbreak.” Surely, Japans’ death toll has to be one of the highest in the world, right? Wrong. It’s 16,643."
"Britain, on the other hand, with a population of 67 million, and a prime minister refusing to vacate office, has 134,805."
UPDATED estimated deaths from Covid-19 in UK:
Last updated: April 06, 2022, 21:28 GMT : 166,148
worldometers.info/coronavirus/co…
UPDATED estimated deaths from Covid-19 in UK:
Last updated: April 06, 2022, 21:28 GMT : 166,148
worldometers.info/coronavirus/co…
"If that doesn’t highlight the difference in mindset between a leader who values democracy and accountability with one who values protecting his own power even in the face of mass death, I don’t know what does."
"This love for power, and the willingness to preserve it despite mass death, is a symptom of a much larger problem — an authoritarian mindset. One Trump already had. Boris, who grew up wanting to be “world king,” did too."
"And 2016 was enough to show Johnson he could be authoritarian. After all, Trump got elected and Brexit got done."
"It was all the evidence he needed to know the public could be lied to without consequence, a country’s future could be made more miserable if it meant you could win power, and that populism brings in enough fanatics to help you “maintain order.”"
"And one of the key ways you do that — maintain order — is through propaganda. The formula that’s worked for both men has been the same. Tap into the Far-Right, promise to win back the country from those “destroying” it, and feed them racism on the sly."
"Johnson did the same with Brexit. But he was also clever enough to regularly change his entire strategy to suit market demand. As Ian Hunt writes for The Washington Post: “When he ran to be London mayor, he was a multicultural, open-minded, cosmopolitan, centrist Tory."
"When he campaigned for Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum, he was a Euroskeptic who dabbled in racially tinged anti-immigration propaganda."
"When he was running to be Tory leader this summer, he was the most hard-line Brexiteer imaginable, who even flirted with shutting down Parliament and putting British democracy on standby so he could force through an exit from the European Union ..."
"...with no deal in place to govern Britain’s departure.”"
"What only proves Ian right is the fact that Johnson never believed in Brexit to begin with. It was a route to power — simple as can be."
"And that — the willingness to dangle your country’s future over a raging fire in exchange for a few moments in the limelight is perhaps the strongest similarity between Trump and Johnson."
"He (Johnson) stirred nationalism, spouted racism, shut down parliament, willingly drove his country over the cliff for power, and then gaslit the public for them to believe it was all for their own good."
"Trump left behind a disaster in the current crop of the GOP with the young blood working to dismantle science, humanity, and democracy. But Britain? It’s got Brexit. And the consequences of that catastrophe are only going to get worse with time."
"But it also still has the man responsible for that catastrophe. Which inevitably means it’s going to have to brace itself for more catastrophe."
medium.com/the-purple-gir…
medium.com/the-purple-gir…
#Partygate
#ToryLies
#TorySleaze
#ToryBrexitDisaster
#ToryCovidDisaster
#ToryCorruption
#ToryRussianAssets
#ToryRussianMoney
Thread 🧵👇
#ToryLies
#TorySleaze
#ToryBrexitDisaster
#ToryCovidDisaster
#ToryCorruption
#ToryRussianAssets
#ToryRussianMoney
Thread 🧵👇
https://twitter.com/Sakura509/status/1300012250967805952?s=20&t=qSFF-c0t5ovsprA9b7qGfg
"Rees-Mogg said the Russian incursion in Ukraine was “a reminder that the world is serious, that there are serious things to be discussed and serious decisions for politicians to take”."
"In contrast, he said that “whether or not the Prime Minister spent five minutes in his own garden, or 25 minutes or whatever it is… is shown up for the disproportionate fluff of politics that it was rather than something of fundamental seriousness”."
"What this reveals is an attempt by the Tories to rewrite history to suit their own purposes. Alongside the war in Ukraine, and compared with the death, destruction and displacement that is relayed to us from there every day, everything else does seem trivial, even a pandemic."
"But, in the same way as normal life here continues, so we cannot suspend judgement on our elected leaders just because there are more important issues elsewhere."
"Resist the temptation. Don’t let anyone tell you that the question of whether our government flagrantly broke the rules they set themselves is “fluff”. Don’t accept the argument that it is a trivial issue."
"Don’t allow your concentration to wander as a consequence of the obfuscations and the delays."
"This is a matter that goes to the heart of Boris Johnson’s administration’s fitness to govern. It’s about cheating, lying and a fundamental disregard for the voting public. And you can’t get any more serious than that."
inews.co.uk/opinion/partyg…
inews.co.uk/opinion/partyg…
The hypocrisy of UK Government over COVID laws and lockdown breaches.
"Police forces do not routinely gather statements from suspects via emailed questionnaires despite the use of the unusual tactic in the Downing Street parties investigation, i can reveal."
"Freedom of Information requests sent by i to every police force in England and Wales, failed to identify a single case outside of the No 10 parties probe over the past five years where suspects were sent a questionnaire via email to provide a statement “under caution”."
"The evening started with all the MPs gathering for a photo in Westminster Hall, then walking across Westminster Bridge to the Park Plaza Hotel, which is the only space large enough to fit them all in for dinner."
“I thought all walking over the bridge together was a pretty big security risk,” one minister commented.
"During his speech, Mr Johnson contrasted himself with the Russian President, saying: “One of reasons that Putin is deluded and isolated is because he has no Cabinet of equals, no 1922 Committee and nobody to write 54 letters to Sir Graham Brady!”"
"He was followed by Gyles Brandreth, the former Tory MP who is an experienced after-dinner speaker – even if some of those present remarked that they had heard his spiel before."
"Some critics considered it inappropriate to hold a party at a time when the spotlight is back on alleged No 10 wrongdoing. Maverick minister George Freeman shocked Government whips by stopping outside to talk to protesters from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice."
"It may be that our prime minister has given up on the truth. It may be that his party has given up caring about his giving up on the truth and no longer has the will to remove him."
"Some people may now argue things such as “despite Partygate, Johnson got the big calls right” or “we can’t remove him in the midst of a war” – so called “greater good” arguments, which have always served as cover for the most toxic abuses."
"But if we allow ourselves to be seduced by these arguments then we too are giving up, and accepting that the distinction between true and false is only a secondary matter."
"That is why Partygate still remains a resigning matter, and why the public must call for Johnson’s resignation more loudly than ever."
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
"The king of crass comedy quipped that they should be grateful that they did not live in Russia where Vladimir Putin has “nobody to write 54 letters to Sir Grahamski Bradyski”."
"He was especially mocking of those Conservative MPs who wrote to demand a confidence vote and then withdrew their letters after invasion of Ukraine. These missives were “elastic – they go in and you can pull out”."
Peurile, degrading humour that affronts anyone with integrity!
Peurile, degrading humour that affronts anyone with integrity!
"On their way to the revelries at the Park Plaza hotel near Westminster Bridge, Conservative MPs had to pass a protesting group of bereaved families of Covid casualties who shouted “shame on you” and “off to another party, are we?”"
"Everyone can grasp the stark hypocrisy of the denizens of Downing Street flouting the restrictions that they imposed on everyone else. Nor can it be disputed that Mr Johnson issued repeated false denials about it to both parliament and the public."
LAUGH! Decreed the emperor with no clothes.
The people cried instead, as of ONE mind, ENOUGH! YOU, #LiarJohnson, are but a charlatan and unfit to govern!
"The polling companies agree that the public have settled on a verdict that is unlikely to change, whatever happens next."
The people cried instead, as of ONE mind, ENOUGH! YOU, #LiarJohnson, are but a charlatan and unfit to govern!
"The polling companies agree that the public have settled on a verdict that is unlikely to change, whatever happens next."
"Even if he escapes a police penalty, many of the public have already concluded that the prime minister is an incorrigibly mendacious rule-breaker."
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
The people may be forgiven for not understanding the inescapable fact - Life is one big, neverending party for the super-wealthy!
https://twitter.com/ByDonkeys/status/1509414334828589059?s=20&t=I7oihpA9phWNJaIqLnmtVA
Fast-forward to today:
"It’s now official. For the first time a British prime minister has been found to have committed a criminal act while in office."
"It’s now official. For the first time a British prime minister has been found to have committed a criminal act while in office."
"Furthermore, the proverbial dog in the street now knows that he repeatedly lied to the House of Commons by protesting that there were no parties, then that there were parties but ..."
"...he did not know about them and no rules were broken, and then that he attended parties but nobody told him they were against the rules that he had himself approved."
"It is also blatantly obvious that Johnson presided over a rotten, arrogant and disgraceful culture of law-breaking in Downing Street, with his wife and no less than 50 of his closest aides and officials now identified as lawbreakers and still more likely to be fined."
"The full and presumably damning report by the civil servant Sue Gray is yet to come."
"As for the argument that Johnson should not be replaced in wartime, I would turn it on its head."
"How can we demonstrate the moral, practical and political superiority of Western democracy over Putin’s dictatorship if we spare a leader who breaks his own laws, lies to parliament and takes the people for fools?"
newstatesman.com/comment/2022/0…
newstatesman.com/comment/2022/0…
"The Russian president has started a war not just between Russia and Ukraine, but between freedom and authoritarianism. The stakes are enormous, and Johnson has been one of Ukraine’s most robust supporters. Yet that same argument can easily be turned on its head."
"Now is surely the time to demonstrate the moral, practical and political superiority of Western democracy over Putin’s dictatorship. How better to do that than remove a prime minister who breaks his own laws, lies to parliament and takes the people for fools?"
"Johnson was right to go, but he would have relished Volodymyr Zelensky’s praise for his robust leadership and the front-page coverage that his visit secured in Sunday’s papers. In fairness, any of his Downing Street predecessors would have done the same."
"That said, Johnson’s show of support for Ukraine would have been a lot more convincing had his government not made it so hard for that country’s desperate refugees to enter Britain."
"It is unlikely that Johnson dwelled on that issue in his talks with Zelensky – or that he will be staging a photo op at some camp for visa-seeking Ukrainians any time soon."
"His support would have carried more weight had his government and party not spent so long courting and soliciting funds from Russian oligarchs. Or if he had not played into Vladimir Putin’s hands by quitting – and thus weakening – the European Union."
"Or if he were not lauding Ukraine’s fight for freedom and democracy while disdaining parliament and seeking to restrict the right to protest and vote at home."
"His visit would have been a lot more palatable to his critics, moreover, was he not ignoring, or seeking so blatantly to distract attention from, the deepening omnishambles in the UK."
"British people face steepest decline in living standards since records began, the highest tax burden since the 1940s, the lowest level of benefits in half a century, and surging food & fuel prices that could force millions to choose between heating and eating before year’s end."
"For good measure, UK has a Covid infection rate nearing record levels once more, a record backlog of patients requiring NHS treatment, a record backlog of court cases, a doubling wait for passports, travel chaos at airports, 20-mile lorry queues at Dover and much else besides."
"Yes, Johnson’s government has had to contend with two huge global crises – the pandemic and the Ukraine war. But he and his third-rate cabinet cannot endlessly evade responsibility for the parlous state Britain is in."
"The truth is that they have no idea what to do. They have no coherent, joined-up strategy for reversing the country’s downward spiral. They are led by a big-spending Prime Minister and belt-tightening Chancellor who are pulling in opposite directions."
"They talk of cutting taxes while repeatedly raising them. They make lofty promises without any realistic means of delivering them."
"This government never had much of a moral compass, but it no longer has much of a political compass either. Sunak’s Spring Statement was a dud."
"So was the Prime Minister’s long-awaited energy security strategy last week – it envisaged as many as eight new nuclear power stations down the road, but made precious little mention of energy saving or contentious onshore wind farms now."
"So was Michael Gove’s recent white paper on what is supposedly the government’s flagship policy of levelling up. It was full of fine targets, but woefully short of funds for achieving them. The cost-of-living crisis is meanwhile hammering the left-behind."
"To the extent that there is an animating force in No 10 at the moment, it is the need to save a prime minister hobbled by “partygate”. Thus, its policies are determined not by the welfare of the country, but by the need to placate Conservative backbenchers."
"Thus, Johnson and his cronies discreetly seek to undermine his potential successors, and – less discreetly – to rally his base by railing against imagined enemies."
🚨🚨🚨
🚨🚨🚨
"Thus, too, he gratefully seizes headline-generating and attention-grabbing opportunities such as a surprise visit to wartime Ukraine."
Seeking fame and fortune on the backs of deadmen; men, women and children!
newstatesman.com/comment/2022/0…
Seeking fame and fortune on the backs of deadmen; men, women and children!
newstatesman.com/comment/2022/0…
In memory of all those that have sacrificed their lives in the interests of doing what is morally right, those found to have violated the laws they themselves wrote, must face the ultimate sanction for their illegal actions - #ResignJohnson #ResignSunak & others served with FPN!
Question: What was the aim of public health measures legislated for, in response to COVID-19 pandemic, in England?
Answer: "give public health professionals "strengthened powers" to keep affected people and those believed to be a possible risk of having the virus, in isolation."
Answer: "give public health professionals "strengthened powers" to keep affected people and those believed to be a possible risk of having the virus, in isolation."
"Boris Johnson had been in a running argument with his security detail about the feasibility of a visit to Kyiv for weeks, and on Saturday he finally won his battle."
"His visit was ecstatically received in Ukraine. In his latest video address Zelenskiy heaped praise on the prime minister, whom he referred to warmly as Boris."
Speaking to Ukrainians, he added: “Boris was among those who did not hesitate for a moment whether to help Ukraine.”
Speaking to Ukrainians, he added: “Boris was among those who did not hesitate for a moment whether to help Ukraine.”
"In practical terms the visit could probably achieve little that the two men’s near daily phone calls on a secure line cannot, but the symbolism of the visit is hard to surpass. It serves a useful dual purpose. It normalises Kyiv and makes Johnson a little more extraordinary."
"It is true the war could not have come at a more opportune moment for the prime minister."
"If Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan police commissioner, had not belatedly intervened on 25 January in the Downing Street Partygate affair the full report commissioned by Downing Street from Sue Gray would have been published in late January, ..."
"...the number of letters from Tory MPs demanding Johnson’s resignation might well have gone past the trigger point, and Johnson might have been forced to resign, leaving him as caretaker prime minister at the point that Russian tanks started trundling over the Ukrainian border."
"In practice, democracies can choose leaders and fight surrogate wars at the same time – in recent months there have been scheduled elections in France, Hungary, Malta and Portugal."
"But there is no appetite among Tory MPs, even if the prime minister is given a fixed-penalty notice for a breach of Covid regulations, to trigger a leadership election."
Surely, the time is long past for #Tories to put country first, ie UK, before personal political goals.
Surely, the time is long past for #Tories to put country first, ie UK, before personal political goals.
"Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, has lost a no-confidence vote in parliament after a dramatic week in which he violated the constitution in an attempt to stop the move going ahead."
"On Thursday, he was delivered a blow after Pakistan’s supreme court found he had broken the law by dissolving parliament in an attempt to prevent a no-confidence vote he was expected to lose from going ahead last week."
"On the court’s instructions, the vote finally took place on late Saturday night, though not before Khan’s party spent a 14 tumultuous hours trying to delay and block it in the national assembly."
Pakistan leads where #Tories & @UKParliament must act to safeguard UK democracy.
Pakistan leads where #Tories & @UKParliament must act to safeguard UK democracy.
"The opposition had accused Khan of trying to hold the constitution and government “hostage” and of treason after his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, attempted various means, including filibustering and legal petitions, to try to stop the vote."
Déjà Vu, anyone?!?
Déjà Vu, anyone?!?
"The opposition stated that Khan was refusing to let the vote go ahead unless he could secure a guarantee that neither he nor his cabinet ministers would face criminal cases once they stepped down. During his time in power, Khan had jailed several opposition party figures."
"Sharif, who will be sworn in as the next prime minister in coming days, told the Guardian that the opposition had no intention of taking “revenge” on Khan and “no intention to pursue the politics of hate and divisiveness. Pakistan needs healing and should look forward.”"
“The country is in all sorts of mess, thanks to the epic mismanagement of the Imran Khan government,” he said. “From paralysed bureaucracy to the foreign policy challenges to the broken economy, chaos is reigning supreme.”
"Last week’s no-confidence vote was tabled by the opposition amid an economic crisis that has pummelled Khan’s popularity."
"Shehbaz Sharif, the brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has been sworn in as the new prime minister of Pakistan."
No delays nor dithering - a decisive action to ensure continuity of governance amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
No delays nor dithering - a decisive action to ensure continuity of governance amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"Sharif, 70, took office after a historic and turbulent week in Pakistani politics in which the former prime minister Imran Khan was toppled by a no-confidence vote, which he had gone to great lengths to stop, and the opposition coalition took power."
"On Monday afternoon, Sharif was elected by lawmakers to become the next prime minister, with 174 votes in the 342-seat parliament. Speaking after the vote, Sharif said: “Truth has won.”"
In a democracy - TRUTH will always win!
aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/9/…
In a democracy - TRUTH will always win!
aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/9/…
"Tobias Ellwood, who is chair of the defence select committee, rejected the suggestion put forward by the prime minister’s supporters that the UK cannot change leaders because of the war in Ukraine."
He told Radio 4′s Today programme: “We’d like to see the United Kingdom as a beacon of democracy, an exemplar on the world stage."
“So for me, it’s actually a worrying turning point when we lose sight of those high standards, as ironically they’re being eroded across the world."
“So for me, it’s actually a worrying turning point when we lose sight of those high standards, as ironically they’re being eroded across the world."
Ellwood added: “I think the prime minister has made his intentions clear – he wants to stay – but this is bigger than the prime minister."
National interest and national security must both take priority over incumbent ministers' personal political ambitions.
National interest and national security must both take priority over incumbent ministers' personal political ambitions.
“There’s not going to be a lull in the fighting, no pause just around the corner, for us to take stock of domestic matters,” he said.
“Every month, every year, European security is going to deteriorate well beyond Ukraine, and history anyway shows that we can and do replace leaders in times of crisis."
“We did in fact replace the head of the armed forces just as recently as December, as Russian troops were amassing, with an admiral with no combat experience."
“But critically, our formidable government apparatus, our well-oiled MoD machine, allows us to do just that – to replace people if that is required."
“Our approach to Ukraine would remain consistent, so I do hope that we won’t use the war as a fig leaf to dodge these tough questions that, absolutely, we must address.”
"Only two Tory MPs have publicly called on the PM to resign since news of his Metropolitan Police fixed penalty notice broke on Tuesday."
"Justice minister Lord Wolfson also resigned, saying the 👉 “scale, context and nature” 👈of the lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street meant Johnson should go."
Too often, UK citizens & media, are manipulated to focus on a narrow definition of events biased in PM's favour!
Too often, UK citizens & media, are manipulated to focus on a narrow definition of events biased in PM's favour!
The public response to proven breaches of the law by ministers in UK Government, together with civil servants and others within No 10, is that #JohnsonOut82 is the 'will of the people'. 
"Trust is the foundation of a functioning democratic system. Effective delivery of public policy on matters such as public health, climate change, and tackling inequalities, requires a certain level of public confidence in Government and in the political system."
January 21, 2022
"In recent weeks, we have seen a decline in this trust, placing democratic wellbeing in England under severe threat."
"In recent weeks, we have seen a decline in this trust, placing democratic wellbeing in England under severe threat."
"The results are stark.
2 in 5 people in England (41%) now say that democracy is not working.
People see the biggest current threat to our democracy as a loss of trust (32%) followed by corruption (16%)."
2 in 5 people in England (41%) now say that democracy is not working.
People see the biggest current threat to our democracy as a loss of trust (32%) followed by corruption (16%)."
"76% of the public in England don’t trust MPs to take decisions that will improve their lives, while 73% don’t trust the UK Government on the same measure."
"46% of the public in England selected honesty and integrity as important values for the government to exemplify.
Yet 61% do not believe that the current UK Government reflects these values at all, while 23% believe they ‘slightly’ reflect these values."
Yet 61% do not believe that the current UK Government reflects these values at all, while 23% believe they ‘slightly’ reflect these values."
"In addition to a loss of trust in UK Government and politicians, the polling indicated issues with current levels of public participation in decision-making; misinformation, and misalignment with public values."
"The superlatives trip off the tongues of Boris Johnson and his ministers with the ease of the proverbial fisherman exaggerating the size of his catch."
"“Leading the way”, “world-beating”, “most generous” – the phrases used in the government’s childish, counter-factual boasting are now familiar fare, ..."
"... but never have they grated more than when applied to the pitiful so-called “welcome” for Ukrainian refugees fleeing indiscriminate Russian bombing at home."
"Even Conservative MPs are starting to complain, including a group of One Nation Tories led by former deputy prime minister Damian Green – who said last week that government’s chaotic, paperwork-heavy plan for family visas and a vague sponsorship system just “doesn’t cut it”."
"North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale recently tweeted: “Just 50 visas granted to date and families turned back at Calais. A disgrace.”"
"In a letter to Patel, the French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, has slammed the “lack of humanity” in the UK response: “Our coasts have been the scene of too many human tragedies. Let’s not add to that those Ukrainian families.”"
"To all this, Johnson’s approach has been to deny the official figures and insist that “we are a very, very generous country”."
To what 'generosity' does he refer?
The haphazard, illegal and fraudulent "VIP Lane" represents abuse of UK taxpayers and misappropriation of taxes!
To what 'generosity' does he refer?
The haphazard, illegal and fraudulent "VIP Lane" represents abuse of UK taxpayers and misappropriation of taxes!
"But, he went on, while an open-door policy was fine for EU countries that can’t control their borders anyway (yet somehow manage to have vastly different attitudes and acceptance numbers for refugees), this was not “appropriate” for Britain."
Never backwards in slagging others!
Never backwards in slagging others!
"Another supposed “world-beating” effort by the UK has been the implementation of sanctions. But as with all the other claims, it doesn’t bear scrutiny."
"Johnson defended lengthy checks on refugees as sensible, echoing Patel’s fears that otherwise “Russian infiltrators” might sneak in."
"Yet less rigour is being applied to the potential risk of Russian oligarchs with Putin links – including Evgeny Lebedev, ennobled despite apparent security services objections."
"While the country lags behind in the number of oligarchs sanctioned and gives those it will punish time to spirit away their money and sell their assets, Johnson claims criticism about this makes the UK look “anti-Russian” and plays into Putin’s hands."
#RussianAsset
#RussianAsset
"Diffident under questioning, Johnson is more comfortable Churchill-splaining his excellent wheezes to lead the world, the latest of which was his Six-Point Plan, no doubt a great relief to Washington, Nato and the EU as they seek ideas to tighten the screws on Putin."
"Incessant, clearly UNFOUNDED claims of world-beating greatness are usually the preserve of second-rate leaders of countries with little global influence – not those actually leading the world and making a difference."
"People with an inferiority complex who lack the self-awareness to keep a lid on outlandish, easily disprovable boasts on the world stage. The sort of people who would invent the empty phrase, global Britain."
"Who would claim they were “winning the pandemic” while racking up one of the highest death tolls in the world."
#ToryCovidDisaster
#ToryCovidDisaster
"Or trumpeting the “world-beating” benefits of Brexit and their wisdom in choosing it while complaining about the damage caused by the entirely predictable border checks the EU applies to “third countries”."
#ToryBrexitDisaster
#ToryBrexitDisaster
"So much of what is being said by (UK) government ministers sounds so obviously ridiculous and without factual basis that you wonder why they say this at all, if not simply to signal to a certain, rightwing part of the electorate that they have their back."
#ToryCorruption
#ToryCorruption
"Since securing Brexit and coming to power on the back of jingoistic slogans every bit as empty as “world-beating”, Johnson’s government has diluted institutions, brushed aside norms & weakened protections for dissenters of all kinds to the cheer of a loud section of the right."
"According to YouGov, more than three-quarters of British respondents would support a scheme to resettle Ukrainian refugees, while charities, churches, community groups and local authorities have lined up to receive them."
"As declared by a sign held up by a protester in central London: “Say it loud and clear, refugees welcome here”.
But for the denizens of Westminster, it’s obviously not nearly loud and clear enough. Who needs reality when we already have a string of “world-beating” distortions?"
But for the denizens of Westminster, it’s obviously not nearly loud and clear enough. Who needs reality when we already have a string of “world-beating” distortions?"
"The people of Ukraine are fighting for values that the British prime minister tramples on. Our support would mean more without him."
"And yet, the most troubling (complicit, contemptous and infantile excuses/lie) is the one that has now become central to Johnson’s rationale for continuing in office: that it would be wrong to remove a British prime minister while conflict rages in Ukraine."
...Syria, Yemen, Mexico, Somalia, Libya, to name only a couple of conflicts and atrocities against citizens worldwide today!
Would biased right-wing 'media' have UK citizens believe that #AlexanderBorisDePeffelJohnson is single-handedly supplying resources to all of these too!
Would biased right-wing 'media' have UK citizens believe that #AlexanderBorisDePeffelJohnson is single-handedly supplying resources to all of these too!
"It was put most starkly by the Daily Mail front page headline referring to calls from “the Left” for Johnson’s resignation: “Don’t they know there’s a war on?”"
"Even a nodding acquaintance with Britain’s past would tell you that this country has a habit of dispatching prime ministers in wartime, even during wars in which, unlike the current one in Ukraine, British forces are directly engaged."
"Odd that 1940 should have slipped the recall of Winston Churchill tribute act Boris Johnson."
"Odd too that Conservative MPs have apparently forgotten they pushed out Margaret Thatcher in 1990, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and when everyone knew it was a matter of weeks before British troops would be in combat."
"Besides, what matters to Ukraine is the position of the UK government, not just its first minister."
"Worse than ignorant, the Daily Mail argument is cheaply manipulative. It uses the desperate people of Ukraine as a human shield, exploiting their suffering to cover Johnson’s misconduct."
"The government, he (#DavidWolfson) wrote, could only “credibly defend democratic norms abroad, especially at a time of war in Europe, if we are, and are seen to be, resolutely committed both to the observance of the law and also to the rule of law”."
#Johnson broke the law!
#Johnson broke the law!
"That is the heart of the matter. Far from Partygate being dwarfed into trivial irrelevance by Ukraine, the two are linked in a way that matters greatly."
"Vladimir Putin’s attempted invasion of his neighbour has stirred the entire west because people understand what is at stake, that this is a battle not simply for territory but for democracy and the rule of law."
"In his rhetoric, Johnson stands with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But in his actions he declares his kinship with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and the others. He writes life-and-death laws which he then breaks, flagrantly and repeatedly."
"The pattern is clear: contempt for the law, contempt for those tasked with upholding it. Johnson’s defenders say he must stay in office because of Ukraine. In fact, the war for that country, and wider struggle it has come to represent, make it all the more urgent that he go."
"After the announcement that many of those who arrived in the UK on small boats from across the Channel would be removed and settled in Rwanda, Dubs said peers would fight against the “awful, shocking decision” when legislation was introduced."
“I think it’s a way of getting rid of people the government doesn’t want, dumping them in a distant African country, and they’ll have no chance of getting out of there again,” he said.
“I think it’s a breach of the 1951 Geneva conventions on refugees. You can’t just shunt them around like unwanted people.”
"Despite the home secretary Priti Patel’s reported boast to Tory MPs that she would stand up to “lefty lawyers”, Dubs said the government appeared “quite happy to ride roughshod” over the UK’s commitments under the Geneva conventions."
"The Home Office has said the £120m partnership with Rwanda was necessary because existing approaches had failed and that there was no single solution to tackling migrant crossings in the Channel."
The #BullingdonBoys' answer to life's irksome problems - throw money at them! 🤑
The #BullingdonBoys' answer to life's irksome problems - throw money at them! 🤑
@threadreaderapp unroll, please
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