The Conservative Party and MSM Coup d'état
Both parties seem to be regretting ousting Boris Johnson as the majority of the public defend him as the best Prime Minister alongside Churchill and Thatcher
No human is perfect and without faults, and no politician has ever told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. These are the facts of life, in that human frailties exist. The electorate and Conservative MPs knew what they were voting for when Boris stood to be the leader of the party, warts, scandal and all, and they did vote for him because he was the best choice at the time. That hasn’t changed much, and in fact with the recent showcase of what is on offer, Boris is looking like he is still the best hope for Britain. All the greatest leaders have their faults, Churchill had many and made mistakes, as did Thatcher, but that doesn’t take away their achievements in the most trying of times. There are other great leaders around the world, one of my favourites is Theodore Roosevelt who has been criticized recently and like Churchill, they were men in a different era and generation and should not be compared to the standards and morals of today.
The nation needs someone who is not afraid to stand up for the people, who will not appease the EU or Russia, and who works in the best interests of the people and the nation. He has made some mistakes as we all do, but he has done his best under the circumstances. Covid-19 was an unexpected test for the entire world, and no country got it exactly right, for how could they when the world was battling an invisible enemy? We had lockdowns, restrictions, and vaccinations, but there was pressure to ease the restrictions from the business community and the government relented. To be critical of a leader for ‘failing’ to get Covid rules right is like saying God got things wrong—there is never a perfect solution where everyone is happy.
The mainstream media have had a part to play in this saga, and I think some are regretting it now having seen ‘Fishy Rishi’ in action, and that evidence points to the his planning to oust Boris for more than a year with the aid of Dominic Cummings who has Russian ties. When people see Boris, they know he is slightly scruffy, at times he says things that are off-the-cuff, but he has personality and wit, plus intelligence even if you don’t wish to admit it.
Years ago, I was tasked to be in a photo call with him as I was involved in a major project in London when he was the Mayor of London. Most of my fellow colleagues all groaned when we heard he was coming, and I too rolled my eyes, but when he arrived he knew exactly what was going on with the project, posed for the media and rolled his eyes at them and was professional and charming. The media often choose not to capture such moments because the UK press like to mock all politicians.
If the media thought they could influence the voters by taking Boris down, then they were wrong because what it has done is made the Boris supporters speak out. Times have changed since the same happened to Margaret Thatcher as social media has allowed people to air their views without being censored. People didn’t always like Thatcher, but she worked in the best interests of the nation whether people liked those decisions of not. The fact that Russia and the EU (EEC then) were afraid of her was a good thing, because it meant that the UK would be protected. The same has happened with Boris, both the EU and Russia didn’t like him, and were afraid of him because he wouldn’t back down like Cameron or May. That means he has worked in the best interests of the nation too. Despite being ousted as the leader of the Conservatives, Thatcher will remain one of the greatest Prime Ministers even if you didn’t like what she did.
Voters can be fickle, and Winston Churchill is prime example. When he became the war Prime Minster in 1940, many didn't want him, but had no choice as no one else wanted the job or was capable. Having saved the nation, you’d think the People would reward him by voting for him to remain Prime Minister, but they didn’t and booed him when he travelled to make speeches around the country. They were happy to shake his hand and say ‘thanks’ for saving them, but that was not enough to secure a vote for him. Churchill bounced back six years later and became the Prime Minister again, also having learned from some mistakes from his earlier campaigns.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed the geopolitical fragilities that have always existed, in that we must question whether Russian figures are pulling the strings of the political structures in other countries? There was talk of the Russians influencing the US elections, and now Boris, who was supporting Ukraine has been pushed out with consecutive campaigns to undermine him and to remove him. The Russians are probably breathing a sigh of relief that they don’t have to send a hit squad after him, they did it through backchannels instead.
There will be of course a number of people who will cheering the downfall of Boris—Labour supporters, Remainers, and those who simply don’t like him. Penny Mordaunt has said that it should be less about the leader, and more about the ship in her speech to run as leader of the party. Even though she seems to be popular, MPs lack the ability to understand why people vote—they vote because they like the person, and because of the party. People vote for their local MP when there are local elections, but for the party when it comes to a general election.
Tony Blair won because he told the electorate what they wanted to hear, and then he did whatever he wanted without telling them, plus John Major was a weak leader who had no business being there. He was there because he stabbed Thatcher in the back, and was the ideal candidate that the others could manipulate. People didn’t like Major, nor did they like William Hague who also seemed weak. Theresa May ended up in the job because David Cameron resigned, but she was also seen as weak. As you can see, who the leader is and whether people like them does matter.
When you look back at why Labour failed to win, that is because the leaders were unpopular. Michael Foot was considered dangerous as a Communist and lacked charm or any personable skills, Neil Kinnock seemed weak, but then again he was up against Thatcher most of the time, and Jeremy Corbyn has faced so many no confidence votes that even hardcore Labour supporters didn’t want to vote for him. John Smith was the only decent one who sadly died in office. The current leader, Sir Keir Starmer might be qualified and intelligent, but he has no persona. All I recall is that he has caught Covid-19 several times, and the general feeling is that should Labour win, Labour will then oust Starmer to hand power over to Rayner who is more of a hard left winger.
The Red Wall as it was coined has shown that the country has changed when Labour voters openly declare they voted Conservative because of Boris. Most people would not admit that, but Labour has failed to move with the times, as the party (like The Guardian) like to find something to protest about no matter how petty it is. Decades ago, in red territory, no one dare even utter the word Conservative unless you wanted to be attacked and I was brought up in such an area. The Red Wall is large, and they are people who will vote for the best person and not the party, and how can Labour win them back? Are they even trying?
Many Labour voters now consider themselves ‘lower middle class’ rather than working class—a class that has derived from people being able to buy their council homes, and who have been able to be shareholders of companies where some have made money. I have friends who have done such things (bought a London council flat for £20k that is worth over £250k now), but they struggle to admit that the Conservative government gave them that opportunity. Labour voters don’t want to protest all the time, but they now want a decent and comfortable life. Fighting and protesting all the time as a career is exhausting when life isn’t that bad.
Many Labour voters liked Boris because he talked in a straightforward manner and they wanted someone who was going to get Brexit done. Boris also acknowledged that many people voted for Conservative for the first time and thanked them, and also accepted that it might be a one off to get Brexit done. At least he was not deluded and knew he was tasked with getting the nation through what is the most difficult period to date (bar the World Wars), and that was to leave the EU and to ensure the interests of the UK were safe, and to remain on good terms with the EU members. The latter was probably unrealistic in truth because the EU have always loathed Britain.
There are people who still do not accept the ‘leave’ vote of the referendum, and are doing what they can to make Brexit more difficult. They seem to believe that things can be reversed and that the UK can apply to join the EU again. Many of the current challengers to be the leader of the Conservatives favoured the ‘remain’ vote, and there are concerns that a ‘remain’ leader will stall on completing the Brexit process.
I have opposed the UK being in the UK since I was a teenager, when I first learned that the European Parliament wanted to take control of the domestic laws in the UK. That is not what the people signed up for when they voted for the EEC referendum, and I could see the pitfalls back then as a child. History was one of my best subjects at school, although I never understood quite why and when we were tasked with writing a special project on a period of history, I chose ‘why the UK joined the EEC’.
I wrote to Edward Heath and Harold Wilson, the Prime Ministers at the time and asked them the simple question as to why they advocated joining an alliance that would strip away the domestic sovereign powers of the land. I was but a child then, and the House of Commons kindly sent me copies of their speeches and wished me well with my project. The more I studied and read, the more I was convinced that this was not in the best interests of the UK, bar the trade agreements which was the purpose of the joining the alliance. You see, my opinion of the EEC/EU has been consistent for decades, yet I have tolerated EU interference as it was in the hands of the government. Those who wished to, ‘remain’ often had personal motives, and do not want to look at the bigger picture, or have the ability to understand this is not about the present, but the future of the nation. That is the same as keeping Boris Johnson as the Prime Minister— it is about getting the job done for the future of the nation.
Very often, those who only like to read the headlines of politics only grasp the bits that apply to them, whether it be about taxes, or welfare benefits. They don’t look at the overall picture and that is essential when you look for a leader who will govern the nation. I think many Conservatives are regretting stabbing Boris in the back, and those who have done so publicly are foolish if they think this will win them brownie points with their constituents. From what I have seen, many have played it all wrong and may find themselves out of a job for who wants their local MP to be a disloyal backstabber?
I saw the resignation letter of Kemi Badenoch, (never heard of her either) who was one who resigned en masse, and is now running to be the leader. All I can say is that if you can’t write you own resignation letter, and have to do it with others (safety in numbers to avoid criticism) then you have no business running to lead a country. Again, it looks as if people got together and conspired rather than to think for themselves, and the tone is rather childish—thanks for giving me a job when I had no experience and was a nobody, but now you have to go because I think I can do a better job than you.
I believe that Boris may do a ‘Churchill’ and return because there is no one else around at present that can do any better. The Conservative Party may have to admit this, but what they have done in over the past few weeks has been political suicide. If they vote Sunak in, then they will lose the general election because while on paper Sunak may tick all the boxes, he doesn’t tick the boxes for the everyday voter on the street. There are attacks on Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss as well, and other camps are digging up what dirt they can and attacking them with petty issues that the actual voters don’t care about. Ask a 75 year old man who is widowed and lives a quiet life in a village if he cares about Mordaunt’s position on gender equality, and if it affects his vote. He’ll laugh at you. Compare that to the former Chancellor of the Exchequer stating he will reform taxes and inflation when that was supposed to have been his job for the last 2.5 years up until a 10 days ago. That is an issue that will affect a vote because taxes and inflation affects everyone.
People who vote Conservative are unhappy with how the party has behaved—the people voted Boris (with all his flaw)s to be Prime Minister and they should accept that. Instead, they have tried to manipulate things by pushing him out to replace him with another who has other policies they prefer. The people voted for Boris and his manifesto, and the Conservative MPs would do well to remember that. The current contenders to replace Boris are either bland or look corrupt. A weak leader makes the country vulnerable (think the Major or the Brown years when the EU laughed at the UK), and what the Conservatives have done is removed a strong leader and left us defenceless. For some, the penny has dropped and they have realised the error they have made, but it is too late as Putin cracks open another bottle of vodka to celebrate the arrogance of the Conservatives who have created their own downfall. Is it too late for the arrogant lawmakers to concoct a plan to save face and the nation while they are at it? Even the MSM didn’t stick the knife in when Boris resigned and thanked him for his service. Perhaps they are regretting their part in promoting his downfall?
The only ones to benefit from Boris leaving office are the Labour Party, Putin, and some members of the EU. All that the Conservative traitors and backstabbers have done is empowered Labour, weakened the nation, boosted Putin’s plans, and left Ukraine more vulnerable than it already is. People have never forgotten those who betrayed Margaret Thatcher, and the same will happen to those who stabbed Boris in the back. The least they could have done is let him see out his term, but it seems that other forces couldn’t wait.
The MSM and the Conservatives should remember that people are not so easily manipulated these days into being persuaded who to vote for, as they have resources available to them that they didn’t have a decade or so ago. David Cameron assumed he would win the Brexit referendum because polls told him he would, yet the people voted and showed that the polls don’t get it right and a politician should never bank their future on what PR and polls tell you.
Very powerful post i also agree completely.