The Tories are all stabbing each other in the back, and the Labour opposition is kind of just sitting there, by the looks of things. Meanwhile, the cost of living has skyrocketed, and it doesn't look like it will be coming down any time soon. Wages on the other hand, still aren't rising in line with the cost of living, and a recent pay rise may have put lots of low-income poeple into a higher tax bracket, which means that they are worse-off in real terms. We're heading for the cool zone certainly, if not already there.
I must admit, I haven't been following Johnson's woes too closely. With all the talk af mass shootings in the States and the collapse of the Democrats, I didn't see that Sunak and Javid, two of the top Tory cabinet members, had resigned yesterday; besides which, it just seemed like more people complaining about him having a party during lockdown, which I personally just can't get that angry about. All of the things he has done, and that's the one the public can't stand?
However, it's looking like he won't survive to lead the party in another election because of some more recent allegations about hiring a known sex pest as the Deputy Chief Whip, then lying about it, and because of the loss of safe Tory seats in the recent by-elections.
If he's ousted before the end of the year, we could even end up with another general election - the third in 6 years (I feel like another election would probably happen in 2023 though, which upsets the statistics a bit). It would also mean that neither of the last two Prime Ministers have managed to complete a full term.
What do you guys think?
Edit: as some have pointed out, I was wrong about tax itself, but means testing thresholds are usually the same which means that benefits could still be cut off as wages rise even marginally in line with the cost of living.
Should... But doesn't mean it actually does.
If he tries to call an election I think this will create a decision the queen has to make. She will have to decide whether or not to accept his request for her to dissolve the government for an election.
The problem here is that he can't be Prime Minister if he's not the leader of the Tory party. The leader of the Tory party is Prime Minister.
Surely the rules of the Tory Party don't let a deposed leader rule by fiat? And if they do, surely the 1922 Committee can resolve that.
One would hope her answer would be 'no', from the perspective of his removal, but that ultimately comes down to the degree to which the Queen (or whomever is puppetting her dead body) feels she is directly bound to the exact demands of the sitting PM. If her office feels that she doesn't actually have to listen to Boris, her answer should obviously be no, but if her office feels that the informal constitution compels her to comply...
I'm pretty sure that still requires an actual vote in the Commons? I could be wrong, of course.
No, no vote required, though sometimes when a Prime Minister has struggled to gain a majority it has happened to prove he has it. (and occasionally as late as the 19th century a Prime Minister has governed in minority even without confidence). The office of Prime Minister only exists by convention.
The Queen can in principle appoint her cat, her favourite lamp, or even inanimate objects like Prince Charles to the Prime Minister's position.
Of course like with most of her other powers she gets to do this exactly once and if she's very lucky there's still a monarchy at the end of it.
Hmmmm I'm honestly not entirely certain. Need to find and speak to a constitutional expert AND an expert in party rules.
It's definitely a mess though. Knives in the back time.
Backstabbing one-another is the default mode of the Tories, so really this is just a regression to the mean.