Boris Johnson’s government seems to be on the sharp edge of criticism from the public, opposition parties and even some of his own party. Seemingly disturbed these days, he delivered a bizarre speech in front of CBI members, much to the surprise of his fellow party members. The inability to manage covid 19 during the pandemic, the fuel crisis, Brexit, tax increases and pressure on the people, the scandals and corruption of Conservative party members, and Johnson’s handling of the Patterson case has drawn widespread criticism. Polls show a decline in the Conservative Party’s popularity in Britain. This may be the endpoint for Boris Johnson in running the country.
Speech at CBI Meeting
In a critical report on the performance of Boris Johnson, the Spanish news agency Efe wrote: The British Prime Minister with his tangled hair is a kind politician for some and an optimist for others; the traits he was able to use to come to power in July 2019, but now these traits are increasingly being questioned. His stuttering in his speeches in Parliament or when answering press questions annoy the conservative ranks instead of making people laugh. His last controversy among the employers of the CBI was about the need to “increase the creativity of the country’s workforce”. He said, “the real lesson to be learned from (childish animation) “Peppa Pig World” is about the power of British creativity. Who believes that a pig that looks like a hairdryer will be exported to 180 countries and become a business that earns £6 billion for our country”. Johnson, however, paused during the speech, moving his lecture sheets for a long time, and said under his breath three times, “Excuse me.”
Spokesman’s Justification
According to the Guardian, a spokesman for the British Prime Minister said: “Prime Minister Johnson briefly lost his focus. He has given hundreds of speeches. I do not think it is strange for people to lose focus in rare cases. A spokesman for the British prime minister declined to comment on the BBC’s report on an unnamed source, who said there were “many concerns” about Johnson.
But these were not the only questionable moments in Johnson’s speech. He lost his notes as he spoke, and while he did not know what to say, he tried to arrange the pages of his lecture and tangle the papers. Pictures of him were recorded in long silences and confused faces. In his speech, Johnson used the imitation of a car to refer to vivacity, but rather than being laughed at; he was shown to be an erratic and strange politician.
Former Conservative Health Minister Jeremy Hunt admitted in an interview with the media that the speech was “not a good moment”. “There are a lot of concerns”, and the situation is “getting worse,” Efeh concluded, quoting a source in the prime minister’s office. Johnson’s speech was “terrible” and “shows the turbulent management style” of the government.
In recent weeks, a series of political mistakes that are more common among amateurs have led to the free fall of Boris Johnson and his failed attempt to open a parachute, the Spanish newspaper EL PAÍS reported.
Johnson’s Political Goof
In recent days, Johnson has also announced the reduction of rail infrastructure projects for the North of England, which is one of the major election promises for “levelling and equality” in different parts of the country. Despite this promise, Johnson was forced to withdraw his vote in defence of Owen Peterson, a member of Parliament accused of using his position to defend the interests of two companies that earned more than £100,000 a year.
In the days leading up to the corruption scandal involving a former Conservative minister in the British Conservative Party, opinion polls show voters believe second-highest-paid jobs outside Parliament should be scrapped and a judge should be held accountable to investigate violations.
According to the Daily Mail, however, Boris Johnson, even in the midst of widespread criticism of his misbehaviour in an attempt to undermine the standard parliamentary system, is ahead of Keir Starmer in the fight for personal popularity.
The poll was conducted during a controversial week in the British Parliament; the week ended with the resignation of Owen Patterson, a former British Cabinet member of Parliament, a senior conservative figure who seriously questioned Johnson’s support for him.
Patterson has previously pleaded guilty to lobbying for two companies that paid him £ 500,000 for violating the House of Commons law and was suspended for 30 days as a punishment.
In an effort to pull Patterson out of the predicament, the British government-backed and won a vote on an anti-corruption bill. But later, the British government was forced into a humiliating retreat in the face of public outcry and the anger of conservatives who were forced to support the amendment. After Johnson effectively withdrew his support for Patterson, he announced that he was leaving the “brutal world of politics.”
In an effort to pull Patterson out of the predicament, the British government-backed and won a vote on an anti-corruption bill. But the next morning, the British government was forced into a humiliating retreat in the face of public outcry and the anger of conservatives who were forced to support the amendment. Patterson eventually resigned, and following the government’s withdrawal, Conservative MPs publicly expressed outrage that they were forced to vote against their conscience.
What Polls Say
A poll by JL Partners for the Daily Mail shows that about one in three (31%) believe that Boris Johnson’s administration has had the worst corruption behaviour since Margaret Thatcher’s administration in 1979. A total of 22 per cent of respondents said the Tony Blair administration was “corrupt”, and 9 per cent of voters said it was an embarrassing assessment of the David Cameron administration. In contrast, only 2% of voters in the governments of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Labour and Theresa May, the former Conservative Prime Minister, “corrupt”. A total of 53 per cent say Johnson is “corrupt,” but only 20 per cent put Keir Starmer in the category. Similarly, about half, or 46 per cent, said the Conservative Party as a whole was “corrupt,” but only 17 per cent described it as Labour. Another separate poll, which a week ago showed the British Conservative Party’s 5% lead over the Labour Party, now shows that the lead has been reduced to just 1%. According to the Mill poll, 69% of voters say the Prime Minister’s job of ordering Conservative MPs to hold a referendum to get Patterson out of trouble was wrong. A total of 71 per cent also said he would have to repay £ 500,000 in income from his second job.
The poll also reflected a recent warning from Lord Evans, the former head of Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency and the Chair of the Committee of Standards in Public Life, that “Britain is gradually becoming a corrupt country”. According to the poll, a total of 57% agreed with the assessment and 18% opposed it. According to the poll, 41% also chose Boris Johnson as a “better leader”, while 27% chose Keir Starmer for this description. Conservatives were also considered more competent than the Labor Party, which is still considered a more divisive party. A total of 1,021 British adults took part in the survey online.
According to the latest Observer poll, Johnson’s personal popularity has dropped to an all-time high, with the Conservatives’ lead over the Labour Party falling to one per cent.
The latest poll shows that Boris Johnson’s popularity has dropped to its lowest level since taking office. The main component identified in the survey as the main cause of Johnson dissatisfaction is the prevalence of the Covid virus. Currently, 34% of the participants in the Opinion Institute poll published in The Observer newspaper are satisfied with Johnson’s performance, and 49% are dissatisfied, which is 2% more than in the previous poll. Among British political parties, the Conservatives are still 7% ahead of the Labour Party, with 42% of the popular vote. The Liberal Democrats are next with 7% and the Greens with 5%. However, a coalition between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democratic Party looks set to lead to the fall of the Johnson administration in the election.
During the first months of the covid outbreak in Britain, Boris Johnson stubbornly prevented the minimal closure of public places and offices. He believed that the covid virus could be defeated by relying on a “collective safety” strategy. The cost of this approach of the British government is to get this country to its current point! Many medical analysts and experts in the UK blame the Boris Johnson administration for this. The British Prime Minister mocked the virus by imitating Trump’s actions in the early days of the covid outbreak, and even shook hands with everyone, despite health and medical advice, and ignored the closure of crowded meetings.
Government’s Reaction
The Boris Johnson government has rejected new allegations of corruption following the publication of a controversial report proposing a seat to the main sponsors of the British Conservative Party in the House of Lords. According to Reuters, the London government has been embroiled in a corruption scandal since last week, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to no longer support a lawmaker accused of violating his party’s lobbying laws.
The Times reported that all but one of the 16 strongest supporters of the British Conservative Party, which has donated more than £3 million to the party over the past two decades, had been offered a seat in the House of Lords. The role of conservative sponsors has become an honourable job in Britain, more than the leaders of British institutions and charities and even former prime ministers. “The Boris Johnson Conservative Party is corrupt, deceitful, dirty and bribe-taker,” Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the British Labor Opposition, wrote in a Twitter message.
British Environment Minister George Justice denied the allegations to the BBC, saying: “They are philanthropists who spend large sums of money on charity and have been very successful in business and should therefore be considered by the House of Lords.” The minister also described the controversy over the misconduct of Owen Patterson, a conservative lawmaker who stepped down after the government’s plans to scrutinise a system to tackle parliamentary corruption as “nonsense.” The controversy raised new doubts about Johnson’s position on morality. He faces other charges, including trying to secretly use his party’s sponsors to rebuild his home in the prime minister’s office. Johnson, however, emphasises that he has been subject to the law in this matter.
Major’s Strong Criticism
Former Prime Minister John Major on Saturday attacked Boris Johnson’s crackdown on corruption, saying the government’s arrogant behaviour violated the law and political corruption. Johnson, who was trying to protect a lawmaker by passing laws in Parliament, was forced to step down. According to Reuters, Major, the British Prime Minister between 1990 and 1997, said his party had squandered Parliament’s credibility. The former prime minister, who was accused of indifference by his own government, said he would face a dilemma in the next election as to whether to vote for Johnson. “I think the government’s approach to this issue was shameful, wrong and inappropriate,” he said in an interview.” There is a thought in their behaviour that ‘we are the master now,'” he added. “They also had other corrupt and inappropriate political behaviours.” A Johnson spokesman said monetary lobbying was wrong, and elected officials had to abide by the rules. This debate has raised new questions about Johnson’s ethics. He faces other charges, including using donations from party donors to renovate his luxury apartment.
Major, who fought to keep Britain in the EU and criticised Johnson for running for office, said Johnson’s behaviour could hurt the party in the future. “In many cases, they have broken their promise,” he said. “I have been conservative all my life, and if I am worried about the behaviour of the government, surely many others are.” Major also said that Johnson would be very foolish if he acted on threats to use emergency powers to suspend parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is part of the Bargaining Agreement at the centre of the dispute with the European Union.
Ellwood’s Position
According to the Press Association, former Secretary of Defense Tobias Ellwood also warned Boris Johnson in a statement that if he considers the Parliament to be in his service, he risks becoming a “former occupier” of the Prime Minister’s Office. Ellwood wrote that this challenging time made people expect the government to provide “leadership, governance and insight”. Tobias Ellwood noted that a prime minister who sees Parliament as serving him would not achieve any of these, and in the end, he will be described not as an influential figure but as a former occupier of the prime minister’s office. The senior Conservative figure, who left the government in July 2019, said the dispute should be used as an opportunity to press the restart button for the entire relationship between the government and the British Parliament and then reconvene. There is real anger among the forces.
Scottish SNP Leader’s Criticism
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has levelled harsh accusations against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his party, telling reporters: “There is a lot of evidence of systemic corruption at the heart of the Johnson administration. Conservatives in Johnson’s party are currently embroiled in a series of scandals, with the majority of the government initially blocking the suspension of a party representative for improper lobbying. British Conservative MP Owen Patterson recently resigned over a scandal.
Johnson initially supported the suspension of Patterson’s sentence but later withdrew his support in an unexpected move. Patterson was suspended from the House of Commons for violating lobbying laws. Johnson’s handling of the Patterson case has been widely criticised. In another part of his speech, Sturgeon stated that at the heart of the Johnson administration is a deep distrust of rules and adherence to standards. Johnson apparently thinks the rules apply to everyone but himself and his party. If we saw such behaviour in Russia or other countries, Boris Johnson would have condemned it as corruption. “Johnson’s behaviour is convincing more and more people in Scotland to take control of their future,” he said, referring to Scotland’s plan for independence from Britain, which is being promoted by his party.