U.K. Politics: Boris Johnson referred to police (AGAIN) over potential Covid rule breaches

[Wayne]

Cabinet to meet as pressure builds on Boris Johnson amid leaks

Boris Johnson will chair a cabinet meeting later as he attempts to shift the focus from a series of claims and questions over his conduct.

Among them is an accusation the PM once said he would rather see "bodies pile high" than approve a third lockdown.

Mr Johnson and No 10 strongly denied he said the phrase, as the PM described multiple reports as "total rubbish".

The prime minister is also facing mounting pressure over the cost of redecorating his Downing Street flat.

Downing Street refused to say whether Mr Johnson received a loan from the Conservative Party to pay for renovations, but said any "gifts or benefits" would be declared in the ministerial transparency registers.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Johnson had not explained how the renovation was being funded.

"If he wanted to prove to the country that he has acted entirely above reproach, he should give us that full and frank explanation - but so far he's refused to do it," Mr Ashworth said.

Asked about the funding, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey told BBC Breakfast: "The only thing I do know is the prime minister has said that he paid for the expenses of redecoration."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56897213

[Artoo]

I think the most annoying thing about all this is that the Prime Minister gets £30k a year grant from public taxes to spend on the flat - why in the hell do they need that much to begin with?

[SholasBoy]

Within a month of being voted in, our local mayor spent £1k on a new robe.

[Artoo]

DUP trying to pull a Boris and oust Arlene Foster in a vote of no confidence.

[Artoo]

And she’s going! Arlene Foster announces she’s stepping down as DUP leader at the end of May and as First Minister at the end of June.

[BehindBreakaway]

And she’s going! Arlene Foster announces she’s stepping down as DUP leader at the end of May and as First Minister at the end of June.

I'd celebrate but she's one of the few dup who wanted to ban conversion therapy. So I'd hate to see what her replacement believes.

[shinydiscopaul]

This government is getting worse by the day, The UK has never been in such a state.

[bm08]

The way Sir Keir Starmer feels insignificant.

[Wayne]

Says it all.

[Thriller]

Look at that “neither/don’t know” stat for Keir. That’s the real tell - he’s just no opposition. The Labour Party is in tatters and I don’t think it can even be repaired by the 2024 GE.

[bm08]

It gives the Conservatives ample room to frame him however they want if they choose to do so. They may be able to just run without even mentioning him

[Wayne]

The fact that Boris is 3% more satisfactory than he was before the pandemic, and Keir is 9% less satisfactory says it all.

The Labour Party is buggered - I know people said to give Keir time, but how much time and ammunition does he need?

[Artoo]

I guess Kier doesn’t want to point score off the back of a pandemic, or he agrees with Boris’ decisions - meaning we’d have been screwed either way.

Labour will need to bring it at some point this year though, all guns blazing. If he isn’t after the summer recess he’s just another useless leader to add to the rest over the last 14 year and I honestly don’t know where we go from here.

I still want a real UK centrist party but it’ll never happen and Labour continues to have an identity crisis. The real problem though is that the left vote is now split between Labour and SNP, making it very unlikely Labour will ever achieve a comfortable majority ever again.

[Artoo]

So people are facing financial ruin but Boris is spending £850 per roll of wallpaper. This £30,000 annual allowance for the PM flat needs reviewing - you could decorate a full house for £850!

[bm08]

A 26 point drop in support for Labour among 25 - 49 year olds. Shocking!

Sir Keir's party has almost entirely erased their 26 point lead over the Tories amongst 25-49 year olds last December.

Now 39% would vote Labour amongst 25-49 year olds, while 37% would vote Tory in a group where only a small proportion have had one vaccine jab, suggesting this demographic has the potential to shift even more heavily against Labour in coming weeks.

Labour still maintains a clear advantage amongst 18-24 year olds, although turnout in this group is often low.
https://news.sky.com/story/labour-wh...ember-12291340

[Wayne]

Oh god - the birth of a new movement, I swear that I’ve never known a more divisive time in my lifetime than what we are currently living through. As a country, we are so fragmented - beyond just borders.

[Thriller]

I know, it’s awful. The nationalism just reeks.

[Artoo]

It’s all just a sad state of affairs. I blame Farage, Sammond and Sturgeon, but most of all Cameron for opening a right can of worms by approving those bloody referendums in the first place. I hope the SNP lose their majority in next week’s elections.

[heppolo]

The fact that Boris is 3% more satisfactory than he was before the pandemic, and Keir is 9% less satisfactory says it all.

The Labour Party is buggered - I know people said to give Keir time, but how much time and ammunition does he need?

Keir needs to make up his mind. He can't be a mellow fence sitter, he either needs to go guns blazing on every Boris' move or become a full-on Blairite with "Things Can Only Get Better 2.0".

[bm08]

I think Boris is getting significant national attention due to the pandemic. There are press conferences and news almost every day and each news item seems to have a great impact on people's living.

Labour being closer in December makes sense in this context as the country was in lockdown and people (I know) were pissed about Christmas isolation and being away from their families etc. Right now, there is success story after success story about the vaccine rollout and I think people are crediting BoJo for this success.

I think Keir doesnt seem to have an answer to anything right now and he is not commanding national attention at all, IMO.

[Artoo]

I think Starmer probably agrees with the steps Boris has taken and it’s probably better he sits and says nothing, rather than supporting him publicly or condemning him on something that could back fire and be thrown in his face later.

He’s a smart man but he’s only been a politician for a few years (first became MP 2015) so I’m hoping in this ‘down time’ he’s been working on a new Labour manifesto and working out how to revitalise the party - because Labour needs to offer something different not only to the Tories but the SNP now too to stand any real chance of winning an election.

He’s a defence lawyer by trade so giving Boris a hard time in parliament should be his arena - he needs a level of showmanship about him as the Angry Lefty Corbyn routine won’t work and his background should hopefully afford him that level of ‘clever ridicule’ that will get him media support as the media (and public) will love the piss being taken out of Boris.

Essentially we need a Labour leader who can play the game and we haven’t had that in a long time: Gordon Brown couldn’t do it, Ed Miliband was the joke and Jeremy Corbyn was never anything more than a glorified backbencher.

[Wayne]

This man is our leader.

[Thriller]

All that child maintenance.

[bm08]

Incredible

[Artoo]

I have no sympathy for anyone who cannot live on £7000 a month post tax, especially when they get plenty of work perks like free housing and a £30,000 annual total government grant to sodding decorate.