We saw something extraordinary this week.
They haven’t announced it publicly, but Tory MPs finally decided that they weren’t going to lash themselves to the Boris Johnson mast because they know that ship is going down.
They know even stormier waters lie ahead. He’s already the first Prime Minister in British history to receive a criminal sanction.
With fifty fines, Johnson’s Downing Street is already the biggest law-breaking workplace in the country.
And there will almost certainly be more fines.
One day the photos will come out. One day the Sue Gray report will be published.
And thanks to the decision on Thursday, a Commons has already found unanimously that it seems that he misled parliament and a committee will investigate whether the prime minister deliberately and knowingly lied to parliament when he said all the rules had been followed in Downing Street.
That too is a first for Britain.
By tradition a minister who lies to parliament stands down immediately. They don’t wait for an investigation. It’s a matter of British honour.
But of course Boris Johnson always finds himself innocent in the court of his own opinion.
That’s why it’s a question of when not whether the removal van will turn up at Downing Street.
Boris Johnson is toast – if that’s not doing a disservice to toast. As one brave Tory put it ‘the gig’s over.’
Not quite yet, though. Johnson will try to cling on.
He tried desperately all week to force Tory MPs to defend him.
He said they’d be thrown out of the party if they didn’t turn up and vote for him.
But Tory after Tory told me they were going to stay away.
One said he would probably get Covid, another said he was having his hair washed all day (he’s bald). Dozens had terribly important things to do in their constituencies.
Why? Because they believe – what I believe – Boris Johnson lies.
I know it’s an ugly word. It rarely improves a conversation.
But sometimes, when the evidence is staring you in the face, you have to call out the lies, because otherwise the liar gets away with it.
Johnson was lying when he told the Commons no laws were broken – and he knows it, because he was there when the laws were broken. One minister let the cat out of the bag when he said ‘the prime minister was as honest as he could be’. Yes, that’s the problem. Johnson doesn’t have it in him to be honest. This is what he is. And he won’t ever change.
The trouble with lies is that they always breed more lies and liars have to get others to lie for them. It’s been depressing seeing how happy Johnson’s mates have been to dip their hands in the blood of his lies.
The excuses have come thick and fast. Michael Fabricant excused Johnson’s Covid birthday party because he said many teachers, doctors and nurses had all had a drink in the staff room after their shift during Covid. Wrong. Utterly untrue. Offensively untrue, too.
Another Tory said that everyone broke the rules during Covid. No. Wrong. The vast majority of people stuck by the rules because they knew it protected others. They didn’t see their child being born, they didn’t visit their dying nan. And now they feel guilty that they abided by the rules when the prime minister didn’t.
The worst excuse, though, was that the prime minister’s fine is just like a speeding ticket, and even if you get four tickets for driving at 35 miles an hour, that doesn’t mean you were driving at 140 miles an hour.
Yes. That’s true. Sort of. But it misses the point. If you get four speeding tickets you almost certainly lose your licence and you get a criminal record. It’s time Johnson lost his licence to govern.
And then there’s the Jacob Rees-Mogg line. This doesn’t really matter, he says. It’s just fluff. It’s time people moved on.
The problem with that arrogant and patronising argument is that character does actually matter in public life. It’s true we face two massive crises: the Tory cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine.
I have constituents in tears because they don’t know where to find the money for the rent, the heating bills, the petrol to get them to work, the school uniform and the weekly food shop. Inflation is really hurting. It’s bonkers that Johnson and Sunak are putting taxes up at this time, but the prime minister might soon have to ask people to make further sacrifices because the UK economy is in trouble. How on earth could Boris Johnson do that when we all know he didn’t share in the sacrifices everyone else made during Covid?
It’s the same with Ukraine. The rape, torture and murder is terrible. We must do everything we can to make sure Putin fails. But this may yet get much worse. In a few months’ time a British Prime Minister may have to decide to put British troops in danger because Putin attacks a NATO ally. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen, but at times of national and international crisis we need a leader of completely unquestionable moral authority, not a proven liar.
I detest those who use the murder of innocent civilians in Ukraine as a screen for Johnson. And I get irritated by those who refuse to act even though they know he’s a wrong ‘un. They look on like the dowager duchess of Grantham clutching her pearls when she sees a stable boy up to no good in the woodshed – but do nothing. That makes them guilty of his lies. They’re all in it together.
One final thing. I normally chair the committee that will look at this, but I have stepped aside and won’t be taking part in this inquiry.
I think that was right because I have already declared a view.
I think Johnson deliberately and repeatedly lied to parliament. He’s not fit to govern. Britain deserves better. Now it’s up to the Committee.
