Bruce Anderson 21 May 2019 12:06 PM 21 May 2019 12:06 PM Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Whatsapp In the old days, if the Tory party was in trouble, old hands who had seen it all before would attempt to steady the buffs with a traditional rallying-cry: ‘pro bono publico – no bloody panico.’ Today, that message is needed as never before, but would the MPs take any notice? In the nineteenth century, an Irish Parliamentarian lamented that: ‘Ireland’s cup of troubles is overflowing – and it is not yet full.’ For Ireland, read the Tory party. It seems quite likely that on Thursday, the Tories will come fifth in the Euro elections, behind the Brexit Party, Labour, the Liberals and the Greens, struggling to get into double figures in percentage terms. That would be the worst result for either of the two leading parties in British political history. In the aftermath, there will be a lot of panic. A lot of MPs will be … [Read more...] about The case against Boris Johnson
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Boris Johnson’s fox-hunting enthusiast donor
Steerpike 21 March 2019 2:25 PM 21 March 2019 2:25 PM Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Whatsapp With Theresa May’s premiership on the ropes, there’s an expectation of a Tory leadership contest later this year. It follows that Conservative heavyweights are currently working their hardest to lay the groundwork for a future campaign. In that vein, the latest register of interests shows that rivals Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Amber Rudd and Michael Gove are among the Tories to get recent donations which could prove helpful in the months to come. However, there is one donation that Mr S suspects could come back to haunt its recipient. Boris Johnson has been given a donation of £16,000 by Johan Christofferson. Christofferson is a hedge fund manager with a history of fox hunting – as a one time master of a fox hunt in the Isle of Wight. This not the first time the fox-hunting enthusiast has donated money to a Conservative … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson’s fox-hunting enthusiast donor
What Theresa May revealed to Boris Johnson
James Forsyth 20 March 2019 4:24 PM 20 March 2019 4:24 PM Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Whatsapp In the House of Commons today, Theresa May indicated that she would quit as Prime Minister if the UK hadn’t left the EU by the 30th of June. She was, in effect, suggesting that if MPs vote down her deal again next week, they’ll be making her departure from Downing Street more likely. But this is the opposite of the promise many Tories want her to give. A growing number of senior figures in the party believe that May should say that she’ll go if her deal passes. In other words, vote for the deal and then you can pick a new Prime Minister. They believe that this carrot might entice some Brexiteer rebels to back the deal. I report in the forthcoming issue of The Spectator, on all good newsstands tomorrow, that when Boris Johnson saw Theresa May yesterday, he asked her what would change in the second phase of the negotiations. May replied … [Read more...] about What Theresa May revealed to Boris Johnson
Tory MPs vow to quit party if Boris Johnson becomes leader
Conservative MPs are orchestrating against a potential leadership campaign by Boris Johnson, with several talking of resigning the whip if he were to become party leader. With Tories convinced that Theresa May’s days in No 10 are numbered, MPs are feverishly discussing who will seek to replace her, how organised the teams are and whether a general election would be necessary. Johnson is the current favourite of Brexit-backing Tory activists, who will pick the leader out of a final two candidates. However, the former London mayor would first have to clear the hurdle of convincing Conservative MPs to put him on the final list of two. One minister said she would leave the party if Johnson and his supporters, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, took over the Conservatives. Another minister said he knew of five or six Conservatives who were openly saying they were so opposed to a Johnson premiership that they could not stay in the party run by him and a group of “Brexit ultras”. Anna … [Read more...] about Tory MPs vow to quit party if Boris Johnson becomes leader
Boris Johnson: Why I won’t vote for Theresa May’s Brexit deal
Steerpike 12 March 2019 6:16 PM 12 March 2019 6:16 PM Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Whatsapp Boris Johnson says he will still vote against Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Here is his verdict on the PM’s revised Withdrawal Agreement: I sincerely hoped that the Government would be able to make the wholly modest changes that this House urged them to make. And that there would be no risk that this country would find itself trapped in the backstop or no risk that we would lose our democratic right to make laws for this country, or pass them to a foreign entity for all time as we’re in danger of doing. But whatever the Government tried to do it has not I’m afraid succeeded. Now I congratulate the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General on their efforts. The result is that like Adam and Eve in the garden they have sewed an apron of fig leaves that does nothing to conceal the embarrassment and indignity of the UK. And as the Attorney … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson: Why I won’t vote for Theresa May’s Brexit deal