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The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Would it do the Tories any favours to bring back Boris Johnson?
Having endured their worst general election performance ever, followed by a similar humiliation in the local elections and plumbing fresh lows in the opinion polls, how long will it be before the Tories turn to their most self-destructive habit – blind panic? Given the general paucity of talent in what remains of the parliamentary party, there are even a few murmurs, again, about bringing back Boris Johnson. That must count as desperation, and the old rascal could easily make things worse for them... Why bring back Boris? Aside from the desperate panic, many Tories still hold fond memories of his undoubted electoral prowess, albeit that it lies firmly in the past. A full listing would have to include his improbable election as mayor of London in 2008, and subsequent re-election; the 2016 Brexit referendum; and the 2019 general election, which yielded the best parliamentary result since 1987 and the highest Tory vote share since 1979. So there are warm feelings about the glory days, and a probably vain hope that he and he alone can magically recreate that campaigning success. The strange resurrection of Donald Trump in the United States has also stimulated thoughts of a Johnson return. If he can do it, why not Boris? Why not Boris? Well, there's also the indelible memory of Partygate, assorted sleaze stories, chaos, Dominic Cummings, wallpapergate, broken promises on levelling up, the collapse of his government beneath him, the unlawful prorogation of parliament, misleading the late Queen, and being found to have lied to the House of Commons, for which he was sanctioned. It's also true that by the time his position was becoming untenable in 2022, Johnson was losing local elections and parliamentary by-elections, and his poll ratings were slipping badly. If he couldn't win elections, he was of no further use and had to go. His most grievous disservice to the nation was in making sure that Liz Truss rather than Rishi Sunak succeeded him – she was calculated to make him look good by comparison. Could be elected leader immediately? No. He's not an MP, so not eligible. Could be become an MP? The classic method, used by Johnson twice before, is to find a safe Tory seat to fight at the next general election. Or somehow exploit or engineer such an opportunity sooner, in a by-election. The trouble is, there is no longer any such thing as a safe Tory seat that is impervious to challenge by Reform UK, even with the charismatic Johnson standing. If he did get elected, there's also the unfinished business of the three-month suspension imposed on him in the last parliament. Expert opinion varies on whether Johnson's first act as a newly elected MP would be to go away again for three months. Would he transform the party's fortunes? Not if the polls are anything to go by. A recent opinion poll did show that Johnson was the only candidate out of himself, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick who as leader might beat Nigel Farage and Reform, but only by a small margin (26 per cent to 23 per cent). Whether it would be worth the upheaval is highly debatable. There are possibly better options – James Cleverly, for example. Johnson is also closely associated with Brexit and his 'oven-ready deal', and that project isn't as popular as it was. Definitely a wasting asset. Meanwhile, ex-Labour voters, notably in the red-wall seats gained so spectacularly in 2019, still feel betrayed about the failure of levelling up, while pro-Europe moderates in the former blue wall who defected to the Liberal Democrats loathe him. Would the Tories want Johnson? In the party, Johnson has collected many enemies, all too willing to tell the world why this untrustworthy, unreliable, cynical and compromised individual would be entirely unsuited to being premier, and even less cut out for the hard slog of being leader of the opposition. He's always been trouble, and only his ability to win elections overcame the severe doubts about his character. These remain, but it's fair to add that the membership, even as he was being deposed, still loved him – though the MPs might prevent him from getting as far as a members' poll. Less remarked upon than his supposed campaigning skills are the policy positions that are now deeply disliked among the Tory grassroots, such as net zero; his fiscal incontinence; and the level of legal migration under his famous post-Brexit 'Australian-style points-based system', which reached a record high. Uncharitably, it's been called the 'Boris wave' by his enemies. In a scrap for the right-wing vote with Farage, these would count as weak points. Could it happen? If Johnson were brought back, it would be the end of the Conservative Party. Keir Starmer often got the better of him back in the day, and would do so again, while Farage is a formidable rival. The Tory party is so weak now that it would take more than a Johnson revival to rescue it. Indeed, the very reason why the party did so calamitously in the 2024 general election was its overall record in government – including the many disappointments, scandals and failures during the Johnson administration. In other words, Johnson is part of the problem and not part of the answer. They need a fresher start, and a rethink on Brexit. The next Tory leader may not even be in parliament yet.
The Independent
29-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Michael Gove's advice to Kemi Badenoch reveals how far the Tories have fallen
Michael Gove was the most consequential minister of the 14 years of Conservative government. It could be argued that, without him, Britain would have stayed in the European Union: he paved the way for Boris Johnson to lead the Leave campaign in the referendum. And, despite having twice stood unsuccessfully for the party leadership, he also had a substantial record as a reforming minister at education, justice and levelling-up. As the editor of The Spectator, he will continue to be influential in Tory politics, so it was worth hearing what he had to say on Thursday, to the students that I teach at King's College London, when he gave this term's final class in the 'Conservative Years' module taught by Dr Jack Brown. He offered a brief survey of the period of Tory turmoil, ending with an honest assessment of the way it ended, with Liz Truss's mini-Budget in 2022 being the point of no return. 'I think this was, even more than Partygate, the single greatest blot on the Conservative record,' he said. 'The fact that people in real time saw the costs of their mortgages rise, and saw the country enter a period of economic instability, wrecked the Conservatives' reputation, such as it was, for economic management. 'But more than that, the fact that it was we, the Conservatives – our members and our MPs – who said, 'This person is ready to be prime minister', and the fact that just after 40 days people thought, 'What were you smoking?'' That meant that whoever took over, and even though it was Rishi Sunak, 'who had predicted that this would end in tears', they would be 'on a losing wicket '. As Gove stood down from Parliament, the Conservative Party suffered the worst defeat in its history. 'We are now with Keir Starmer, having promised change,' said Gove. 'As a result of change, what we have now is a government that is committed to austerity, staying close to a Republican president, increasing defence spending and seeing more children going into poverty. So, as you can see, a radical shift from the preceding 14 years.' One of the students asked what Gove thought the party should do now. He admitted that it would be 'very, very difficult' for the Conservatives to recover. The last time they were in opposition, 'it took the Conservatives three elections before they found the leader and the platform that actually got them to government'. In 2010, he said, 'the requirements for the Conservatives to get into government were: one, Tony Blair to be replaced; two, policies on the economy and the public sector that did not look as though they exclusively favoured the wealthier. And three, ownership of policies that were about or signified altruism – so David Cameron's embrace of green policies was both important in itself, this issue is rising up the salience in people's minds, but also, this is a policy about our children.' Now, he said, 'the difficulties the Conservative Party have are linked to perceptions of incompetence – but how can you prove you're competent unless and until you're back in office?' He said that Kemi Badenoch, his protégé as Tory leader, needs to take drastic action to try to change perceptions of the party – although he phrased it as something that 'Conservative leaders', plural, should do, implying that there may be more than one before the Tories win again. He also thought that they would not take his advice. 'What I think Conservative leaders should do, but what I think will not happen, is that they should say: 'I am so sorry about the Liz Truss mini-Budget. And do you know why we got it wrong? We got it wrong because we preferred ideology and self-regard to reality and thinking about the whole country. That will never happen again, and I'm going to change the way in which leaders are elected in order to ensure that it doesn't.'' In other words, he would take the right to choose the party leader away from the members and restore it to MPs alone, as was the norm before William Hague widened the franchise in 1998 to defend himself against a challenge from Michael Portillo – of whom, incidentally, Gove wrote an admiring biography. As for his own leadership ambitions, Gove was asked why he withdrew his support for Johnson after the referendum. 'I convinced myself towards the end of the referendum campaign that Boris had moved from being Prince Hal to Henry V; he had moved from being the jester to the heir presumptive, the potential monarch,' Gove said. 'But without wanting to go into too much detail, in the days that followed, Boris reverted back to the more chaotic figure that I had hoped that he had managed to transcend, and there were a variety of things that I would have anticipated that someone would have done if they were on the brink of becoming prime minister, if that prize was there, that he didn't do and seemed disinclined to do. 'So I thought, I can't say at this stage to the country, 'This man is ready to be prime minister.' Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I should probably have said that and then just retreated and withdrew, rather than putting myself forward. But at the time, it struck me that you can't just say, 'Oh, well, he's not suitable,' and then not provide an answer. 'All I would say is that sometimes politicians, like everyone, can indulge in wishful thinking, and sometimes politicians, like everyone, can find that, after a period of exhaustion and adrenaline, their judgement is impaired.' Gove turned against Johnson a second time after Johnson had been prime minister for three years, but he offered a 'plea in mitigation' on Johnson's behalf over Partygate: 'Boris is not someone who is naturally gregarious. Boris is not someone who thought, 'Brilliant; nobody knows what goes on behind the black door: party, party, party!'' Gove said: 'Boris genuinely believed that what he was doing was legit, 'strictly necessary for work purposes'. What he didn't do was take the trouble to say, 'Look, these rules that I've just told everyone about – it would appear that we're not really … hold on a moment.'' Johnson's mistake, Gove thought, was to continue to insist that the rules had been followed. 'Boris's governing style was that of someone who was a gambler – prime ministers often are – and his gambles a lot of the time came off, and then eventually, one gamble too many led to his fall'. Gove was asked which of the five prime ministers of the period was best at managing the civil service, and which of them would have been best at handling the coronavirus pandemic. In both cases, his answer was 'David Cameron', but he also said that Tony Blair had been influential during the pandemic. The Labour former prime minister pressed for a policy of 'first doses first' for the vaccines, widening the gap between the two doses, thus maximising the numbers receiving the greater protection of the first dose. 'As a result of both being influential and pressing for some of the things for which he argued, he helped the overdue revival in his political reputation,' Gove said, adding: 'In my lifetime, the single most impressive politician in the English-speaking world has been Tony Blair.' As I have always said, Michael Gove was the real Tory heir to Blair, and should have been prime minister instead of Boris Johnson.
Sky News
23-03-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Five years since COVID-19 lockdown: The images we can't forget
Daily briefings were held in Downing Street . Professor Chris Whitty, the UK's chief medical adviser, and Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, became household names. Three weeks after announcing a nationwide lockdown, Boris Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to intensive care for three days. As the country was living under restrictions and fines were being issued for breaching them, gatherings and events were being held in Downing Street, which prominent figures faced scrutiny over in a scandal which became known as Partygate. Dominic Cummings, then chief adviser to the prime minister, came under fire for travelling from London to Barnard Castle in Durham in May 2020 - a trip which went against lockdown rules, which he said was to test whether his eyesight was good enough to drive.
Sky News
23-03-2025
- Health
- Sky News
It's five years since Boris Johnson told people to "stay at home".
The nation had been holding its breath waiting for an official lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19. The Chinese city of Wuhan - where the virus had first broken out - had been in lockdown for nearly two months. Images of a bus driver with no protective gear transporting passengers who had just landed in the UK from Wuhan sparked fear and concern. The virus officially first reached the UK on 31 January. Several cases in the weeks after were linked to a man thought to be a "superspreader". Wuhan in January 2020 In March, about 250,000 people attended the Cheltenham Festival and more than 50,000 gathered to watch Liverpool play Atletico Madrid at Anfield. At the time, Professor Tim Spector, a scientist from King's College London, said it was likely the two events had caused "increased suffering and death that wouldn't otherwise have occurred". He said data from an app used to report COVID-19 symptoms showed that Cheltenham and the North West both became "key hotspots" for the coronavirus. And then came lockdown People could only leave their homes for basic necessities, medical requirements and one form of exercise a day - either alone or with a member of their household. Pubs, restaurants, clothing stores and all other non-essential shops shut their doors, while once bustling cities and town centres became ghost towns. The sight of empty supermarket shelves led many to fear food shortages. The limitations led to a surge in people feeling lonely, with about 3.7 million adults in the UK reporting they often or always felt alone from October 2020 to February 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. The Clap for our Carers social movement - a national applause on a Thursday evening for ten weeks - was established as a way to show appreciation for the NHS, as it coped with the growing cases. Daily briefings were held in Downing Street. Professor Chris Whitty, the UK's chief medical adviser, and Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, became household names. Three weeks after announcing a nationwide lockdown, Boris Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to intensive care for three days. As the country was living under restrictions and fines were being issued for breaching them, gatherings and events were being held in Downing Street, which prominent figures faced scrutiny over in a scandal which became known as Partygate. Dominic Cummings, then chief adviser to the prime minister, came under fire for travelling from London to Barnard Castle in Durham in May 2020 - a trip which went against lockdown rules, which he said was to test whether his eyesight was good enough to drive. The NHS and health care systems across the nation were under huge strain. The Army was required to help deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline workers. In April, east London's ExCel exhibition centre was converted into a temporary NHS Nightingale Hospital, with space for 4,000 beds. It was built in just nine days. Between March 2020 and 5 May 2023, when the WHO declared the global health emergency over, almost 227,000 people died in the UK with Covid-19 listed as one of the causes on their death certificate To combat "profound" economic challenges facing the UK as a result of COVID, then chancellor Rishi Sunak launched the Eat Out To Help Out Scheme in August. This involved a 50% discount of up to £10 per head on food and non-alcoholic drinks on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to get Britons back to restaurants, cafes and pubs. In October 2020 the government announced a new three-tier system of restrictions. Areas were categorised as either medium, high or very high and different restrictions were implemented according to an area's alert level. The tiered system was in force until 2021. The stark impact lockdown had on the nation is plain to see when comparing London's landmarks and busiest stations before and after it was introduced. London under lockdown In February 2021, the government published its four-step plan to ease lockdown restrictions in England. This involved the reopening of schools and allowing outdoor events to be held. The presence of more than 200,000 festivalgoers at Glastonbury in June 2022 was a stark contrast to the social distancing that had dominated British lives for the past two years. The National Covid Memorial Wall in London was created a year after lockdown as a public mural to commemorate victims of the pandemic 'Where losing someone this way has been very isolating for many different reasons, the wall is a reminder we aren't alone' Volunteers of National Covid Memorial Wall Credits Reporting and production: Lauren Russell, news reporter Editing: Rebecca Harty and Serena Kutchinsky, assistant editors Picture research: Daniel Daukes, picture editor Pictures: Press Association, Reuters, Associated Press Top Built with Shorthand
The Independent
18-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
What Labour's crackdown on government credit cards reveals about its approach to public spending
The dour Scotsman holding the title of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet Office minister, Pat McFadden, doesn't seem much of a space cowboy but he has in common with Elon Musk an apparent zeal to eliminate waste. Being more sensible and considerably less excitable than his (rough) US counterpart, McFadden has not yet egregiously breached the British constitution but he has summarily abolished almost all of the civil service 'credit cards', a distinctly Doge-like action. It's more than just a symbolic move… What's the problem? The immediate one is the sometimes seemingly wanton use of some 20,000 government procurement cards (GPCs) that enable officials to order relatively trivial items – ie not new aircraft carriers or reservoirs – without too much onerous invoicing and other paperwork in the digital age. Typically this means paying for ad hoc official hospitality, travel and office equipment. However, Labour in opposition discovered some expenditure that seemed questionable. This included: A £4,445 dinner in New York for the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, for himself and 24 of his staff About £1,500 on lunch and dinner for Liz Truss, as foreign secretary, in two upmarket restaurants in Jakarta Rishi Sunak, when chancellor, spending £3,000 on 13 photographs to brighten up the Treasury Buying DJ equipment, which raises the possibility that the karaoke kit that featured in the Partygate horror was paid for by the taxpayer Total spending on GPCs has quadrupled in the last few years to a non-trivial total of £600m. What's the answer? An immediate Muskian freeze on GPCs, a reduction in the item limit for hospitality from £2,500 to £500, and any spend more than £500 requiring director general (top civil servant) approval. Civil servants will also be banned from using cards where there is either a departmental or cross-government procurement route. McFadden would like to radically reduce the number of GPCs in circulation. Is McFadden 'the British Musk'? Joking apart, he and his colleagues in the Cabinet Office and Treasury are pursuing waste, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness across the British state, the most high-profile examples being the abolition of NHS England; the current review of social security long-term sickness and disability benefits; Yvette Cooper's attempts to get spending on migrant hotels down; and Angela Rayner's drive to reorganise local government. Regulators are being told to prioritise growth, and the government wants to rationalise agencies and quangos. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has actually created a new quango, the Office for Value for Money, to reassure the public about things, though the parliamentary public accounts committee has expressed scepticism about its role. The cuts in overseas aid are the nearest functional parallel to Doge, though, to be fair, British ministers don't argue that such transfers are corrupt and wasteful. Why does it matter? In the great scheme of things, this is 'sweating the small stuff' and doesn't make much difference to the big picture in a public spending total exceeding £1 trillion a year. However, McFadden and his colleagues recognise, if not fear, the damage that lurid stories about abuse do to the reputation of the state and trust in government. Tony Blair always used to say that the public didn't mind paying more in tax for public services provided they could be sure it wasn't being wasted, and, as they couldn't have such confidence, were therefore reluctant. The public's dismay at the £3bn a year that's been spent on migrant hotels is a prime example of how things can go wrong. Is Labour now the party of prudence? Funnily enough, the GPCs were introduced by the New Labour government in 1997, to reduce administrative costs, but things appear to have got out of control in the Conservative years. There will always be waste and inefficiency, even in the most cash-starved of organisations in the public or private sectors; but at least McFadden, Keir Starmer and Reeves seem to be genuinely appalled by it. Maybe one day they too will drift into the kind of bad habits parties develop after a prolonged time in power.
