Letter: It Was Fellow Conservatives Who Could Not Tolerate Boris Johnson

Published on: 10 Jun, 2023
Updated on: 10 Jun, 2023

Boris Johnson

From Howard Smith

Labour borough councillor for Westborough

In response to: Boris Johnson’s Departure Should Ring Alarm Bells

Oh dear, the letter from Christian Holliday is completely laughable.

If there was any hounding of the former PM it was from members of his own party.

He resigned as PM when his own appointed ministers quit en masse when they found they could no longer tolerate his behaviour, particularly lies about “Partygate”.

He has now resigned as an MP after an investigation by the Commons Privileges Committee, a committee dominated by his own Tory MPs (4 Conservative / 2 Labour) and it seems, found guilty of lying about it to Parliament.

Far from being a “Remainer” plot, the fact is that Johnson is no longer in Parliament is simply because his own party could no longer tolerate his lies.

It says something about Christian Holiday that he apparently, is still supporting him.

Responses to Letter: It Was Fellow Conservatives Who Could Not Tolerate Boris Johnson

John Perkins Reply

June 12, 2023 at 4:34 pm

I agree that it was not a Remainer plot. It was conducted by a devious and ambitious politician who saw an opportunity and took it.
Stuart Barnes Reply

June 12, 2023 at 7:38 pm

The labels put on MPs these days do not mean a thing. To call most of the MPs elected as “Conservative” since the defenestration of our greatest PM, Margaret Thatcher, is stretching the meaning of the word to a ridiculous degree. Just look at the background and philosophies of those forced on the Party by such appalling PMs as Heath, Cameron and May for instance.

Boris is/was never a genuine Conservative but at least he tried to follow the democratic instruction of the British people to get us out of the corrupt and failed EU. He did not do it very well but at least he tried and he thwarted most of the disgraceful machinations of anti-democrats like Bercow and other remoaners. However despite millions of our people having voted for Brexit it still has not been done.

To find genuine Conservatives these days it is necessary to go to the small parties where people such as Anne Widdecombe, Nigel Farage, Dan Wootton etc., still exist. There are very few in the so called Conservative Party (I except Sir Jacob of course).

I doubt if the four “Conservatives” in the Privileges Committee would have been recognised as such in the glory days of Lady Thatcher. I don’t think we expected anything better from them in the Boris witch hunt.
- Mark Stamp Reply
  
  June 14, 2023 at 11:03 am
  
  I’m glad Mr Barnes is able to spot corrupt institutions and anti-democrats so clearly although I seem to recall “Sir” Jacob lying to the Queen to illegally prorogue parliament and then introducing a bill that would see ministers amending and revoking laws without parliamentary scrutiny.
  
  Smaller parties, such as Reform and Reclaim (which it appears Mr Barnes supports) would get more representation in a PR system. Would Mr Barnes support a change to the first past the post system?
  - John Perkins Reply
    
    June 15, 2023 at 8:37 am
    
    Recollections may vary, but Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg could not have lied to the Queen as he was only able to ask for her approval and not give any reason or explanation.
    
    The accusation of a lie is pure fiction.
  - Stuart Barnes Reply
    
    June 17, 2023 at 9:25 am
    
    Sir Jacob did not lie to The Queen. It would appear that the judiciary (not for the first time) made a “slight change” to precedents and accepted practice after the event.
    
    I do not support any particular party these days as, like most other people I know, the best I can do is to vote tactically against those parties I hate most. It would be nice to have a genuine party of the right to vote for.
    
    PR is an interesting subject. I wonder how many MPs Nigel Farage would have got for his four million or so votes under such a system?
David Roberts Reply

June 14, 2023 at 5:20 pm

“Conservative” has always been a flexible label. As a louche social liberal and populist rabble-rouser, Johnson was an untypical Tory. But so was Thatcher, whose economic neo-liberalism alienated many traditional party members. Her list of achievements included the creation of the European Single Market.

Sir Bernard Jenkin, the ranking Tory member of the Privileges Committee was already a “genuine” Conservative when he stood as a Conservative candidate during her “glory days” in 1987.

Johnson, by contrast, will be remembered only as a charlatan who lied and conned the British into Brexit, before making a hash of the Covid crisis.
- Stuart Barnes Reply
  
  June 15, 2023 at 9:13 am
  
  I would point out that the Ted Heath “lied and conned the British” into joining the corrupt and failed EU in the first place.
  
  As for Sir Bernard Jenkin, the latest news about him is causing even a few Remoaners to have queries.
- John Perkins Reply
  
  June 15, 2023 at 9:59 am
  
  Mrs Thatcher did indeed believe in and help create the Single Market, but she was also adamantly opposed to political unity.
  
  Jacques Delors was the main architect of the Single Market. He was appointed to the role of Commission president by Kohl and Mitterrand without the knowledge of any of the other EU leaders and it’s likely she would not have supported that had she been given the opportunity.
  
  Sir Bernard Jenkin first claimed he “did not not attend any drinks parties during lockdown”, though later claimed he didn’t recall. It seems a party was given by Dame Eleanor Laing for the 65th birthday of Sir Bernard’s wife. An odd thing to forget.
  
  Dame Eleanor insisted she carefully measured the distance between guests using a two-metre ruler, ignoring the facts that, in order to do, she would have to be at best mid way between them and, in any case, the rule being broken was that no more than six people from different households could mix together in a room. One has to question the veracity of this “ranking Tory”.
  
  It’s a little unfair to blame Johnson for making a hash of the Covid crisis as many of the worst decisions were made while he was in hospital or weakened by his experience.
  
  As for conning the British into Brexit, both sides were primarily characterised by their willingness to lie. Two lies do not make a truth, but believing one is to take part in it.
John Perkins Reply

June 16, 2023 at 11:30 am

Only the most ardent and blinkered fan would argue that Johnson is not untrustworthy and he had an appalling habit of backing colossally expensive and useless projects. But he did get some things right and will be remembered for them. Who will remember Bernard Jenkin?

Margaret Thatcher did nor create the European Single Market, that would be Jacques Delors.
Mark James Reply

June 17, 2023 at 10:47 am

Let’s just not forget that people like Sir Paul Beresford stood staunchly behind the utterly disgraceful Johnson while he lied to the nation and parties away whilst people were dying alone, come election time. There will be a much needed and long overdue draining of the swamp of these terrible MPs who have done so much to ruin the nation for personal gain.