Boris Johnson the lame duck PM will cling on as long as possible

On Monday 6th June Boris Johnson won a no-confidence vote of Tory MPs. The vote was triggered by submission of letters by 54 or more Tory MPs to the 1922 committee. Many, including the MPs themselves were surprised by the outcome. Johnson 'won' with 211 votes to 148. That's 59 - 41%. The result was a disaster for Johnson who, despite what he thinks, is now a lame duck PM. 

Of course, after the vote was announced Johnson was back with the ususal blether and bluster saying he'd won and it was time to "move on". I couldn't help wondering how many cabinet ministers voted against him - assuming the ballot really was secret enough to keep their intentions safe.

So where do we go now? Johnson is safe for now but there are two byelections in Wakefield and Tiverton coming up on 23 June which the Tories are expected to lose. Will that be enough to spark another rebellion? I think it will, and I've no doubt that plotting to remove him is happening as I write this and that, next time, it will be much more effective. There are also ongoing investigations into Partygate which will damage Johnson further.

I'm confident that Johnson will be gone by the next general election but who will replace him? No doubt Jeremy Hunt will fancy his chances, and Liz Truss has been named as a favourite to be the next leader (!). The problem is that there are no obvious outstanding candidates and whover gets the job we can expect very little to change.

The Tories are devoid of any useful ideas that can help to improve conditions for people in the UK. They have already started blethering about tax cuts which is about all they can think of, but tax cuts will not solve the cost of living crisis, nor any othe other multiple crises we face.

Johnson's latest 'vote winner' is a plan to allow a right to buy for tenants who live in housing association properties. This is a barmy idea which will further reduce the stock of social housing and is unlikely to resonate with the electorate. 

The good news is that Johnson is going and that he has fucked up his career yet again. The bad news is that any replacement is unlikely to be better than him and could potentially be worse, not to mention the fact that we have nothing that could be desrcibed as an 'oppostion' in the UK.

The struggle for economic justice and equlaity goes on!