Angela Rayner asks the question on everyone’s lips as cabinet members back PM’s coup

Angela Rayner
Ed Sykes


On 29 August, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner asked the question on everyone’s lips about cabinet members who are backing Boris Johnson’s parliamentary coup. In particular, she targeted health secretary Matt Hancock, who’d insisted in June that “proroguing Parliament undermines parliamentary democracy”. But that’s exactly what Johnson is now doing. And Hancock is remaining conspicuously silent about it.

A day before, Rayner had said:

 

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And on 29 August, she asked:

when are you resigning…?

When is your boss ‘undermining democracy’ not serious enough to resign? When you’re a slimy careerist.

Channel 4 News had earlier released a video exposing Tory MPs who opposed ‘proroguing’ but are now in Johnson’s cabinet:

In fact, as the video shows, even Johnson had said previously:

I’m not attracted to archaic devices like proroguing.

Johnson is a serial liar, of course, so it’s no surprise that he’s now done a U-turn on the issue. But if any of his anti-proroguing cabinet members had an ounce of self-respect or integrity left, they would resign immediately.

Featured image via Rwendland

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  • Show Comments

    1. Hypocrisy is no bar to attaining, and remaining in, high office. It is a truth applicable all political parties. It is a consequence of representative democracy wherein, for the most part, people of talent, imagination, and ability to perceive the ‘big picture’, find better things to do with their lives than canvassing, suffering fools gladly, and climbing the greasy pole of professional politics.

      Climbing the pole requires conformity. Most of the few starting out with praiseworthy aptitudes, commitment, and personal integrity, have had ability to ‘think outside the box’ knocked out of them before attaining high office.

      1. I guess that’s why J Corbyn has gotten on so well, by sucking up to the likes of T Blair and voting for illegal wars… No, wait a minute, you are actually right. It took him 30 or so years of going against the grain to be recognised as someone with integrity.
        Just don’t tar all politicians with the same brush.

    2. The relevance of the Royality in being astute seems to be an issue now.
      Royality used to mean a guidance beyond what was available through partisian politics.
      Royality now appears as a rubber stamp without any concerns for the people who finance it.

    3. Oh, if resignation was on their minds, they would be men and women of honour. They are defenders of sectional interest and when people defend an interest, objectivity evaporates. The most difficult thing to be objective about is your own mind. Einstein got gravity but how to get on with women defeated him. He didn’t know why. He was baffled.
      These people don’t even begin to be either objective or honourable, They want power. Remember Loudon Wainwright: “Wealth and fame are what I’m after/Bucks and praise are what I crave/ How I get’em hardly matters/ For these things I’ll be your slave.” They are slaves to their own ambition, illusion, avarice, egotism.
      We shall have to teach them a lesson about humility, honesty, objectivity and democracy. One they won’t forget.

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