The BFD | Johnson Goes Further Down the Gurgler

November 26th, 2021.

Following on from my piece of 15 November it’s time for an update. Boris Johnson’s political capital is just about exhausted, and some MPs have lodged letters of no confidence with the 1922 Committee (the organisation of backbench MPs). Whilst nowhere near enough to trigger a formal no-confidence vote in his leadership, they will stay on file. Other MPs are free to lodge a letter as time passes and eventually there will be enough letters lodged to trigger a no-confidence vote in Johnson’s leadership.

Much of the opposition is coming from the new MPs, many from the north, who do not have close relationships with the upper echelons of the Conservative party. (In other words, they aren’t traditional Tory toffs or the old boys’ network!) They are in constituencies that will revert to Labour or even a new party being whispered about (think Nigel Farage).

The biggest issue for him now is immigration. Britain has always welcomed genuine refugees as long as they have gone through the appropriate channels and scrutiny. The problem with those attempting to enter the UK via lorries and dinghies is that they are bypassing the system. This hurts genuine refugees, taking resources away from them and resulting in them suffering from the increasing anger and resentment engendered by these illegal migrants. Figures show that the majority of the occupants of the dinghies are young and male. They are economic migrants not refugees. In the north, there is huge anger at the government’s inaction in stopping this trade.

This has seen political posturing (but no action) on both sides of the channel with Macron of France and Johnson locking horns. Macron is flexing his muscles because he is losing support in the run up to the French elections next year and also because he can see opportunities for France to increase its influence in the EU with the departure of Merkel.

If we move 1,400 miles to the east, we reach Belarus where immigrants are massing on the border to try and gain entrance to Poland and by definition the EU. They had been given tourist visas by the Belarus government, who are weaponising them to put pressure on the EU. The UK has sent 150 troops (specialist engineers) to the Poland/Belarus border to support the Polish troops. They are specialists in building fences and are giving support to the Poles.

Contrast this with the treatment the UK is getting from France. Actions like this are strengthening ties between Poland and the UK and as a result the Eastern European members of the EU. They have no love for Macron or Merkel and are pressuring France into talking with the UK to find a political solution and stop the pull factor in migrants crossing Europe via Poland to reach the UK.

Breaking news: 600 migrants have been repatriated to Iraq from Belarus with more flights planned.

Meanwhile, back in the UK Johnson continues to struggle, losing his notes in a speech to the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) which degenerated into a ramble about Peppa Pig World.