Boris the Bust

The overnight by-election disaster for Tories in North Shropshire may be the best thing that’s happened to Britain in a while.  

I say that as one who still considers Labour and the LibDems worse than the Conservatives.  And I know very well the by-election was a train wreck.  The district had been Tory for 200 years.  Boris Johnson won it by over 20,000 in 2019.  But a swing of 34 percentage points has handed it to the LibDems.  It wasn’t even close.  To make matters worse, Reform UK (whom I would have voted for) had a weak showing.

So why does this despiser of all things Left think this good nonetheless?  Because it pushes Tory MPs closer to dumping Boris Johnson as Conservative leader and Prime Minister.

Yes, this is all quite a switch not only for many once Tory voters but for me as well.  I once was a great admirer of Boris.  He was an excellent Mayor of London after the insanity of Red Ken Livingston.  He showed political courage in backing Brexit and then insisting it be carried out. He seemed to be politically savvy.  So I expected him to be an excellent Prime Minister, possibly a great one.

But since then, he has been a horrible disappointment.  Look, I know British Conservatives are centrist at best by American standards, and I knew he would be no Margaret Thatcher (still my heroine).  But I did not expect him to be more Blair than Thatcher.  I did not expect him to swallow Climate Change Net Zero madness hook, line, and sinker.  I did not expect him to RAISE taxes.  I certainly did not expect him to persist in COVID lockdowns and then revive restrictions even after it was very clear they do not work and cause far more harm than good.

In short, Boris Johnson began with a remarkable amount of good will as reflected in the 2019 elections and has pissed it all away — and not just by getting pissed at a certain Christmas Party at Downing Street.

Perhaps I should disclose this is personal for me.  I had planned to visit the UK again in 2020.  I then thought I would instead visit in 2021.  Instead I now have bought tickets for 2022 though I fear it will be a sad place thanks to the devastation Johnson’s COVID tyranny has wrought.  If the absurd entry requirements continue, I will cancel those tickets as well.  (It’s a good thing I have travel insurance.)  Not only that, since the UK once looked more sensible and politically stable than the US, I was considering moving there.  Not any more!  I now intend to stay put in Texas, thank you.

Anyway, Boris Johnson has lost most of the good will and patience of the British.  He is worse than a failure.  If Tory MPs have any wisdom, they will turn the big lemon of the North Shropshire by-election into lemonade and use it to dump Boris.