Jeremy Hunt
Thanks to the campaigns of the two Tory Party May-Replacement candidates, we can discern the shape of the Brexit Betrayal to come. If you thought that BoJo would be the Brexit deliverer, think again. Mr Hunt, always a Remainer, seems to think he can secure his place in 10 Downing Street by canvassing the whole country promoting his ‘ideas’ for ‘his’ government. More on that below.
First we’ll have to deal with the actual situation in the HoC, where Tory Remainers are plotting to get rid of Boris should he win. RemainCentral, a.k.a. The Times reports:
“Boris Johnson is to be given six weeks’ probation as prime minister before a group of Tory MPs determined to avoid a no-deal Brexit try to bring down his government. Mr Johnson will inherit a working majority of three if he wins the Conservative leadership race, the result of which is expected on July 23. Theresa May is expected to resign on July 24. Julian Smith, the chief whip, is thought to have told Mr Johnson’s camp that Labour has put its MPs on a three-line whip for the following day with the expectation of a vote of no-confidence. Mr Smith said it would take only a handful of Tory MPs to scuttle his administration and said that two were already on a defection watch-list. (link, paywalled)
Wait – there’s worse to come:
Mrs May could even be prevented from recommending that the Queen appoint Mr Johnson if enough Tory MPs committed themselves to supporting a vote of no-confidence in advance. One of the Tory MPs involved in efforts to stop a no-deal Brexit said that Mr Johnson could be given a chance to renegotiate the EU deal over the summer. Pushing a vote of no-confidence just before the summer recess could backfire, they said.” (link, paywalled)
The arrogance of those Tory Remainers stinks to high heaven. Not only are they happily stomping on the customs and procedures which have been the hallmark of oud democracy, they would rather throw the doors wide open to a Marxist Labour government. Reports over the weekend of planned Labour policies to tax anything that moves are not scary enough, it would seem.
These Tory ‘grandees’ seem to think they will be immune from such Labour policies. They seem to regard as acceptable the hounding of BoJo and his girlfriend (see here). That’s just a joke, right, just as that comedienne’s remark about throwing acid rather than milkshakes was ’just a joke’ …
In a coming GE expect to see more of the same – but that seems to be acceptable for those Tory Remainers because Labour is now labouring to turn into the Remain Party. Venezuelan Socialism while being a colony of the EU: that’s fine provided we stay In!
Mind you, the ERG is also making some noises. Here’s a report naming names:
“Brexiteers are also ready to topple Mr Johnson if he makes it to No 10 but then fails to take Britain out of the EU by October 31. MPs in the European Research Group of Brexiteer Tories insisted they will force a confidence vote if he does not stick to his promise of leaving in the autumn with or without a deal. […] Former Cabinet ministers Esther McVey and Owen Paterson along with ex-Brexit minister David Jones, Tory MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan and the DUP’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson signed to the “Stand Up 4 Brexit” campaign to ensure Britain is out by October 31. They said Theresa May’s agreement was dead and must be abandoned. It follows fears among some of Mr Johnson’s supporters that he has softened his language about meeting the exit date.” (link)
While Boris has been lying low over the weekend thanks to ‘that affair’ – and isn’t it interesting that those ‘concerned’ neighbours are Remaiers to the core, getting money from the EU – Jeremy H has been busy travelling the country and telling the Nation of his plans. Of course he’d keep us in:
“Preserving the United Kingdom is more important than achieving Brexit, Jeremy Hunt said after a poll showed that a majority of Scots would back independence if Boris Johnson were to become prime minister” (link, paywalled)
This statement is based on one poll which show that Brexit would fuel the national independence movements, see here. There’s more, and Mr Hunt nails his colours to his mast:
“While in Peterhead Mr Hunt toured the Westro, a fishing boat owned and skippered by James West, 42, after a 20-minute meeting with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and Scottish Seafood Association. Both industries have expressed concerns about plans to tighten immigration rules with vacancy levels of up to 30 per cent in fish processing, which already relies heavily on EU migrant workers. Under Home Office plans, employees earning less than £30,000 may no longer have the automatic right to work in Britain after the country leaves the EU. More than 4,500 EU citizens work in the Scottish fishing industry and 21,000 have jobs in tourism, 11.6 per cent of all posts in the sector. The plans have attracted criticism from across the political spectrum, including from Scottish Conservatives who are concerned about the economic impact of the new rules.” (link, paywalled)
While it’s nice of Hunt to speak to fishermen, it beggars belief that he didn’t mention the disastrous EU Common Fishery Policy (CFP). No, it’s immigration, and this headline in the Remain Daily Mail (not paywalled) underlines it: “Jeremy Hunt vows to abandon Theresa May’s immigration target if he becomes Prime Minister, insisting Britain should not ‘pull down the shutters’ after leaving the EU”.
Oh dear. Words fail me. He doesn’t seem to be aware of the fact that such immigration policy won’t be needed when we stay in the EU because of the CFP which will continue to destroy our fisheries.
But don’t worry, Hunt had another interesting proposal, also picked up in the Daily Mail: “UK could consider joining Trump in war on Iran says Hunt as potential PM vows to consider support on ‘case-by-case basis’.
How this can be achieved while we Remain, with our Armed Forces becoming ever more integrated in Brussel’s Army is his secret. Why doesn’t he come out with “Strong and Stable inside the EU”? It’s what he and his Remain supporters actually mean!
Then there’s the edifying (not!) spectacle of Hunt playing the man, telling Johnson ‘to come clean’ about that affair (here) and accusing Johnson of cowardice because he’s ‘not talking’ to the MSM. Flexing his muscles by writing in The Times Hunt remarks:
“Scrutiny of the candidates matters. One of the strengths of our system is that we scrutinise our politicians with more intelligent ferocity than anywhere in the world. But in this case it just isn’t happening. Boris has done just one interview on Today in the past year. I have done 16.” (link, paywalled)
Well, he’s a Minister whereas BoJo is a backbencher. Guess whom the MSM invite more often … Hunt enumerates his TV appearances and continues:
“That scrutiny is made all the more important by the fact that our prime minister will be chosen, for the first time in history, by just 160,000 Conservative Party members. I am one of them and have been for the past 30 years and I totally trust their judgment, but I also know they want a fair and open contest, not one that one side is trying to rig to avoid scrutiny. Nothing could be worse for a new prime minister in these challenging times than to come to power with a fake contest.” (link, paywalled)
While stroking the Tory membership he actually calls the hustings for them ‘a fake contest’ – you couldn’t make it up! Hunt then remarks: “I am not interested in debating Boris’s private life.” – ah, that’s why he cries elsewhere for BoJo ‘to come clean’ on ‘that affair’, yeah right … Finally, Hunt concludes:
“A new prime minister needs the legitimacy of having made his arguments publicly and having them subjected to scrutiny. Only then can you walk through the front door of No 10 with your head held high instead of slinking through the back door, which is what Boris appears to want.” (link, paywalled)
Thus Hunt finishes with another personal swipe. However, I’m afraid I have to agree with him here, because Boris Johnson’s Monday column in the (paywalled) DT is singularly lacking in substance. It reads like a campaign speech, and all there is in it is the reiteration that ‘we can, we must and we will’ come out on October 31st.
How ‘we’, how he is going to do that: not one word. That is singularly disappointing, especially when we look at the inimitable Sir John Redwood’s Diary entry where he reports on the latest EU measures for a No Deal Brexit (here). Is Johnson frit?
Interestingly but not surprisingly the Remain Establishment seems to have taken their collective eyes off the ball that is TBP. To cheer you up, read this article in yesterday’s Express.
Be aware: this May-Replacement spectacle is about getting a firm Remainer or a wobbly Remainer into No 10. Let’s hope then that the suicidal Tory MPs will gift us with a GE. According to polls last week, that might not lead to a LabCon win …
KBO!
Interesting steps for Boris. Bare bones.
1. Announce, as Mrs May did, no deal is etc. Inform the country that Conservative party will look with favour on constituencies that deselect non compliant absentee MPs from their own constituency, then, and supported by the Brexit party.
Would that wash do you think ?
2 Repeat the same sort of exercise in Northern constituencies I’m not in politics so would Nigel or Boris work Together. Would a peerage smooth the path. Nigel should have one anyway
3. etc Talk to unions. Necessary for reform and future success anyway. A new one year short manifesto up to a GE.
4. the only way out of Mrs Mays mess is by surgery.. Voting will not get us out of this mess
Just a thought
I do not hold out much hope for Boris. If he hadn’t voted for that terrible WA then things may be different. But your suggestions are great, if only. By not accepting the result of the Referendum, as promised, MPs have divided the country. Many who voted Remain would have felt more able to accept the result if there hadn’t been all the denial. What you are suggesting would start to mend that and bring people together. As you say there would be a lot Boris could do to reassure people that leaving without a deal may be a bumpy ride to start but would return us to an independent country. It would of course be music to the ears of many on the Continent who can see what is happening.
Even if he is aggressively attacked by the other traitors he will, maybe for a short time, have the best position in the country to make a case. It would I believe mark the end of the Remain argument.
When the Peterborough by election results were released I was disappointed but had to accept the result. Someone said it was fixed and I thought that was sour grapes and unlikely. Then the news of postal votes were exposed where 29% of the votes were postal votes and an election fraudster was helping Labour secure Muslim votes in Peterborough a city with a high Muslim population. News has now been released that TBP are going to challenge that result as being fraudulent.
Here is also the legal challenge to May’s extension from the 29th March.
It seems to me that the Conservative Party will be a non-entity if they do not deliver Brexit on the 31st October.
Hunt is to many a useless and deceitful man who continues to show a condescending smile. Of course he has nothing to lose as a millionaire. But it will always be the ‘little people’ who will pick up the tab. For loss of money and loss of freedom!
I read somewhere that the postage vote part of the turnout was nearly 39% when it is usually only half that. That is highly suspicious.
History repeats itself. The peasant’s revolt of 1381 provides a lesson for Brexiteers. Brexiteers are finding themselves in a similar position to the peasant’s who believed that the king would keep his word and concede to the people demands. But when the people went home the leaders of the revolt were hanged.
Similarly when the referendum results came in the people believed that they were leaving the EU. But when they went home it transpires that the government who promised to carry out people wishes had no intention of doing so and have carried out a campaign of character assassination against those leaders of the “revolt”.
More “civilised” today but nothing has changed. So unless there a major change it is inevitable that Brexit will never happen???.
It has changed. Our leaders have not been “hanged” and if anything are growing stronger. The people are now sovereign and are still able to demonstrate that, despite the war being waged against them.
NOW will someone believe me when I say that the Party ‘system’ is corrupt? It doesn’t matter who party members might vote for, 66 million none party members are irrelevant. I think the name for that is tyranny, isn’t it?
We have the ‘Remain Daily Mail’, we’ve always known that The Times is ‘Remain Central’ and now the Daily Express has changed its editor to a Remainer it’s noticeable that slowly but surely the paper’s political stance is changing.
I’ve now cancelled my papers and taken out a subscription to The Telegraph – at least that is still a Brexit paper. The alternative is The Sun and I’m sure there are those who like red-tops who will be satisfied with the paper’s political stance. I must admit, it sometimes has some good scoops if you can get past the showbiz and celebrity stories.
What a pity the number of Main Stream Media prepared to stand up for the 17.4million Brexit voters is diminishing. Something to do with the leftie nature of journalism?
Forget the Daily Mail and Daily Express to tell the truth about anything. They are comics at best. Discounting the Daily Telegraph which is too expensive, you would be better off reading the tea leaves at the bottom of your cuppa in the morning, assuming that is that you drink loose leaf tea and pour with a strainer. Talking of which, we need a mighty big strainer with the two buffoons heading up the conservative leadership race. The Brexit Party and Nigel Farage is the only route to political salvation in this country now.
“they would rather throw the doors wide open to a Marxist Labour government” Not that surprising really, I’m sure the Marxists within the Tory ranks wouldn’t much mind such an eventuality.
“Jeremy Hunt breached anti-money laundering legislation brought in by his own government when he set up a company to buy seven luxury flats, The Telegraph can disclose.
The Health Secretary, who has a personal fortune of more than £14 million, initially failed to declare his 50 per cent interest in the property firm to Companies House – a criminal offence punishable by a fine or up to two years in prison.
Mr Hunt also failed to disclose his interest in the property firm on the Parliamentary Register of Members’ interests within the required 28 days.”(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/04/12/exclusive-jeremy-hunt-admits-breaking-governments-rules-company/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw)
There is also his “great” record on managing NHS.
I wonder if it really matter which of them two will become PM. Looks like none will be able (or even willing) to Leave the EU. I am looking forward to next General Election.
A really good comment that I read earlier, the Conservative party, is at war with democracy, at war with the party members and at war with themselves, It could also be said of the Labour party too.The head line writers of the MSN are having a field day over Boris this morning, perhaps that’s why so many copies stay unsold each day.
As the ‘establishment’ have now trashed the parliamentary system, the party system, confidence in most of the public services , the broadcast and print media, the infra structure and are having a really good try at trashing the environment, perhaps someone in the ‘establishment’ should get ‘woke’ look and listen to what people outside of the ‘bubble’ and BBC/Sky are saying, because what they think we are saying is not what they actually are.