UK Politics

Boris Johnson’s bad behaviour: How declining trust in the prime minister affects trust in British democracy.

— A new survey shows a strong link between trusting the prime minister and trusting the government, Parliament and political parties.

Brexit

Post-Brexit Britain is going rotten.

— The moral rot of Boris Johnson’s conduct is part and parcel of a deeper malaise in which Brexit and ‘Brexit COVID’ have created a country that is literally and metaphorically rotting away.

OPINION

Putin’s retaliatory list is a badge of honour.

— Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been included on a list of politicians from the UK who have been sanctioned by Vladimir Putin’s regime and banned from ever visiting Russia again. Wee Ginger Dug explains what it means for Scotland.

Analysis

British voters want lying politicians to face consequences.

— Does it matter to people what consequences there should be for politicians who break rules or mislead parliament? Yes, they want ministers to be kept in constant check by parliament, courts and the public at large.

Brexit

Peek-a-boo Brexit.

— Professor Chris Grey on how the current travel chaos and the impending decision on import controls show how Brexit impacts fragile complex systems and how the Brexiter denial of complex reality doesn’t make it disappear.

Downing Street Parties

Boris Johnson fined by police over partygate.

— The British prime minister, his wife and the chancellor of the exchequer are all in legal trouble over lockdown gatherings. What happens next?

Long-Read

Confusion abounds.

— Professor Chris Grey on the confusion of Boris Johnson with a national leader, confusions on all sides about P&O Ferries, confusions in the CBI’s attempts to get behind Brexit, and the different kinds of Brexit failure that shouldn’t be confused.

What The Experts Say

COVID numbers are spiking, yet still no public health messaging.

— The views of experts and health professionals on whether there is cause for concern as COVID case numbers are rising again, the risk of a new variant to show up, the situation in schools and long COVID.

Justice

None of the Prime Minister’s phone messages prior to April 2021 can be searched.

— The Government has admitted that all of Boris Johnson’s pandemic phone messages are unavailable. What is the Prime Minister trying to hide from the public?

OPINION

Reason Johnson is unfit for office number 9,999.

— Boris Johnson comparing the agonies of Ukraine with Brexit, claiming that both are examples of standing up for freedom, is a crass insult to crassness.

Long-Read

Performative politics is gaslighting post-Brexit Britain.

— Professor Chris Grey looking at last week’s events in terms of the blurring of truth and lies that is in part a legacy of Brexit, and has strange parallels with Putin’s ‘spy’ mindset.

OPINION

Bear faced hypocrisy.

— As they lament the terrible spectacle of Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine, the UK Government’s hand-wringing has more than a touch of hypocrisy.

Brexit

The dogs that caught the car.

— Professor Chris Grey’s analysis on Rees-Mogg’s early stumbles, a discussion of Solvency II as a case of post-Brexit regulatory change, and Ukraine.

OPINION

British nationalism means power is never held to account.

— As you don’t agree to an out of court settlement if you are confident that you can win your case in a court of law, you just don’t give a prime minister the power of unaccountability.

Justice

High Court rules Dido Harding and Mike Coupe appointments were unlawful.

— According to the High Court, the Prime Minister and the former Health Secretary Matt Hancock broke the law by pushing their associates and donors into key jobs during the pandemic.

COMMENT

PM resignation – A show of hypocrisy.

— Tory MP tweets her indignation at the thought that Senior Conservatives such as John Major or Theresa May dare to publicly call for Boris Johnson’s resignation... forgetting she, herself, tweeted about Theresa May being toasted back in 2019 and having voted her out.