Boris Johnson may have woken in the before-dawn hours yesterday to enjoy a moment of respite. His spirited performance at PMQs had showed the Old Dog had fight in him yet, while Christian Wakeford crossing the floor to Labour had momentarily galvanised his despairing MPs. Even David Davis’s harpoon — “in the name of God, go…” — only grazed because it was delivered by the oldest of assassins. Sir Keir Starmer handed him another reprieve by telling too many jokes instead of his usual forensic questioning.
By breakfast, however, any hint of calm was over: Sajid Javid told the Today programme that the parties held in Downing Street “had damaged trust in democracy and the Prime Minister”.
By midday, William Wragg, a senior Tory, and Wakeford had attacked the dark operators of Westminster, accusing them of blackmailing MPs calling for the PM to go, which would have further enraged red wall Tories. If this is what the government whips were doing, they’d think twice about it now.
There are some who still think this arch survivor will escape. Others think he’s been led into a trap of his own making. Let’s first deal with Dominic Cummings and the “partygate” report by civil servant Sue Gray. To date Cummings has delivered his little bombs with meticulous timing. Why stop now?
The party leaks wouldn’t have been so potent if Johnson hadn’t first been wooed into issuing multiple denials. Now we know that Cummings has spoken to Gray, after he wrote on his blog last week that he had warned Johnson about the party. He has said he will swear this on oath.
Others murmur that he has handed Gray a smoking gun: a message exchange with his then boss warning him the party in the No 10 garden should not go ahead. Gray has also uncovered an email to Johnson’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds warning him the party is a bad idea. It would explain why the PM’s language has changed.
His defence began with, “The first I knew about the gathering was going into the garden” and “I thought it was a work party” to saying this week, “Nobody told me what we were doing was against the rules.”
Noticeably Johnson did not repeat his defence at PMQs on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he first stated it to wide ridicule. Although Starmer dismissed his new excuse as a “carefully crafted response”, he didn’t drill further.
Even if nobody told the PM it was against the rules, the key point to discover was, did anyone warn him it was a bad idea? Johnson knows his rule evasion will not stand up in the court of public opinion — because he wrote and announced the rules.
If it is proved he was warned that the party was a terrible idea, things look very ominous. The more recent the cover-up, the more potent. People who keep evading the truth when directly asked for the answers are either desperate, or serial liars. This may be why influential Tory MP Steve Baker said Johnson was in “checkmate”...
The PM and ministers have said endlessly they will wait until Gray delivers her report. Now we hear her statement will be far from a blow-by-blow account. That won’t wash with the public either.
My suspicion is that Cummings has been watching for his chance: rather than plonking all his evidence down at once, has he led Johnson down the path yet again to ensure it is Gray who lays evidence that finally destroys him? No one escapes lying to Parliament.
Second, Johnson is relying on his possible successors failing to strike even if Gray’s words are stinging. It is why he has repeated his bullish warning that he will fight a confidence vote. Two stand to lose their jobs, as Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, if they put themselves forward for the leadership.
Jeremy Hunt is not one of those. His confidantes are saying: what have you got to lose? He doesn’t have a Cabinet job. He can soften his announcement by saying he’s loyal to the Tories and would work with the Government again. He’s there to offer an alternative to the scandal engulfing the PM.
His move could also provide the impetus finally to shunt the hesitating Chancellor into the limelight, because there will come a tipping point of public disgust that will mean continuing to hold office under Johnson will forever taint those around him.
Yes, this government has delivered the vaccine. Yes, the Prime Minister and his colleagues have worked dizzyingly hard during this horror of a pandemic. Yes, we should be focusing on what’s happening in Ukraine.
But Boris, the huge vote winner, is now in danger of dragging his party down with him. Once the bond of trust between the public and those in office is broken, it’s hard to get it back. I would hazard Johnson won’t sleep soundly this weekend.
A hunt for the lost children not at school
While the Government continues in its downward spiral, others are valiantly trying to get on with the job of recovering from the worst effects of the pandemic. There are still up to 100,000 children missing from school, lost during these past grim months.
As Dame Rachel De Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, observed this week, few of them have returned to school. “Literally, I’m going to go out and find them,” she said, launching an urgent inquiry. Others have slipped through the net to home schooling, some of which may be utterly brilliant and a parent’s only choice, but how would we know? How is a child to judge what they are taught?
We have a system where even a pupil on the at-risk register — and under a local authority protection plan — can be home-schooled. Or a child can stay out of education completely, where they frequently tip into the abyss or into the hands of a drug dealer.
One young man I know was pulled from school last year to be home educated. His GCSEs were largely a failure and he feels lost and confused by his parents’ choices. It’s all a huge challenge for Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and De Souza.
Adele weeps over halted tour. Really?
I appreciate that cancelling a series of shows last minute is highly distressing for a powerful star, but did we really need Adele’s long, sobbing, dramatic apologies after the start of her Las Vegas residency was halted?
Troops are gathering on the border of Ukraine, our government is in crisis, the world is still grappling with a pandemic. Surely a moment for calm, sensible restraint?
