I write about British politics not because it has lessons to be applied at home. I do it for fun. It’s one of my odder hobbies. It’s particularly fun right now as the Boris Johnson freak show slowly but surely unravels.
Tory voters tend to be staunch royalists, but Johnson was recently booed entering an event celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s 70th year on the throne. No cherries jubilee for Boris. In any event, the flambe aspect might scorch his hair, which resembles that of a scarecrow.
In this case, coup means a leadership vote brought on by disgruntled members of the Conservative party parliamentary caucus. It’s not a classic coup with tanks in the streets or a freak show like the Dipshit Insurrection. It’s men and women in suits voting for or against their leader.
The Brits are amateurs at caucus coups: Australian coups usually succeed. They know when their beds are burned.
Trivia time: Midnight Oil front man Peter Garrett was an Australian MP from 2004-2013 and a minister in the coup-ridden Labor government.
Back to Woody Old England.
The Jubilee Coup failed but it exposed the weakness of the Johnson government, which is best known for mendacity and arrogance. 41% of Tory MPs voted against the Prime Minister that’s more than the last Conservative coup, which was fomented, in part, by the current PM.
The Conservative party caucus are a treacherous lot who even knifed their most electorally successful leader, Margaret Thatcher. They creep up on their victim before stabbing them in the front:
Johnson is in trouble because his government imposed strict COVID rules then didn’t apply them to themselves. It’s called Partygate and it’s no picnic for the Prime Minister.
It’s been quite a fall for Boris Johnson who won a landslide victory in 2019. His majority rests on traditional Labour seats in the North of England that flipped at the last election. Northern voters may not have loved Boris and his weird hair, but they hated Lenin cap wearing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In short, it’s a shakier political foundation than the numbers would indicate.
The opposition has been winning local elections and parliamentary by-elections but it’s a steep hill to climb. That’s why many think Labour and the Liberal Democrats need an electoral pact to divide and conquer Tory seats. There’s no love lost between the parties but it’s an excellent idea given that the Lib Dems are more likely to win seats in the South and Labour in the North and Midlands. That concludes this brief geography lesson.
Boris Johnson patronizes the British public by pretending to be a bumbler. Instead, he very much knows what he’s doing. He’s an amoral and selfish brat who thinks he’s above such minor details as the law and truth. One of the funniest things that happened on Jubilee Coup day is the PM’s allies complaint that they were being lied to.
I respect the ruthlessness of Tory party politicians. They think a continued Johnson government will drag them down to defeat so they’ve acted. They’ve failed for now, but the Jubilee Coup leaves Boris slowly bleeding out like a drunken lout after a knife fight in a pub. Bleed, Boris, bleed; figuratively, not literally.
Speaking of blood, I feel a musical interlude coming on:
American Republicans talk tough but they’re cowards at heart. The macho swagger and gun waving is all for show. In the days immediately following the Dipshit Insurrection. the Turtle and KMac nearly broke with the Impeached Insult Comedian, but they flinched. That’s why the lessons of British politics rarely apply in the US&A. It takes courage to turn on the leader of your party and courage is in short supply in the GOP.
It will be fun to watch the Johnson government implode. Boris is, if nothing else, an entertainer. The Tories have been in power for 12 years. It’s time for them to go. Boris’ party is over, it’s time to call it a day.
The last word goes to Nat King Cole: