Boris Johnson — a racist, sexist, homophobic lying buffoon who has been repeatedly caught out using lies to sway public opinion — is now, incredibly, tipped to become the leader of the Conservative Party and thus the Prime Minister of the UK (this is because outgoing PM Theresa May totally bungled Brexit, and the UK’s form of parliamentary democracy lets the ruling party fill the PM’s seat with a vote of party members, and the British Tories have become the swivel-eyed racist loony party, and Boris is the perfect nominee for King of the Racist Swivel-Eyed Loons).
One legacy of Theresa May’s incompetence is the slender Conservative majority in Parliament, which only exists thanks to a tie-up with the authoritarian religious fanatics of the DUP, who had to be bought off with a one billion pound state giveaway. The situation is so fragile that a defection from even a few Conservative MPs could bring down the government with a no-confidence vote that could result in another general election being called — with a strong possibility that Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party will form the next government.
Enter the Conservative Party itself, whose membership and Parliamentary caucus are both deeply divided between run-of-the-mill bigots, oligarchs, bootlickers, virulent racists, temporarily embarrassed millionaires, colonialism larpers, misogynists, dominionists, islamophobes, homophobes, posh boys, and garden variety Little Englanders. With just a tiny bit of dissent — three MPs — the party could pull off that no-confidence vote, which Labour has promised to call the day after the election.
Two Tory MPs Guto Bebb and Phillip Lee, are set to defect if Boris wins; the majority may be broken in a by-election triggered by the ouster of a Tory MP who was caught defrauding the exchequer by fiddling his expenses. There are reportedly “a dozen or so” Tory MPs who are ready to join a no-confidence vote if Boris stands firm on his plan for a “crash-out” Brexit (that is, a Brexit with no deal in place to continue trade with the EU).
Despite being routinely slagged off in the press for half a decade, Corbyn’s policies are incredibly popular among all age groups, with his main opposition coming from armed far-right domestic terrorists and their friends, oligarchs, robber barons and the finance sector.
Defections, coupled with a potential by-election loss, could shatter the fragile four seat Conservative-DUP working majority in the House of Commons and topple Mr Johnson from power.Theresa May is set to officially depart as Prime Minister on 24 July, following the conclusion of the Conservative Party leadership election.
A no-confidence motion is expected to be tabled by Jeremy Corbyn one day later, on 25 July, with Labour MPs already told to expect a three-line whip.
According to the newspaper, Tory chief whip Julian Smith has warned Mr Johnson’s campaign team that there is a high likelihood that he could lose the vote immediately after taking power.
Even if the plot fails, Mr Johnson is likely to face another challenge in October if he seeks to take the UK out of the EU without a deal or permission from Parliament.
Boris Johnson could be prime minister for just one day as MPs plot no confidence vote [Nick Duffy/Inews]
Brexit: ‘Dozen’ Tories could back no confidence vote, says Ellwood [BBC]
Boris Johnson ‘could face Tory coup’ over no-deal Brexit stance [Peter Walker/The Guardian]
(via Naked Capitalism)