BJ – Gone but Definitely not Forgotten
Not surprisingly BJ has made a dramatic exit by resigning as an MP before he was pushed into contesting a By-Election in his constituency. The outcome of the Privileges Committee’s Review was really a forgone conclusion, albeit the final report is still to be published.
BJ departure from politics, for now, is like the rest of his political career, orchestrated to achieve the most for BJ. Despite his manner, he is quite a smart individual, despite what you might think.
He has always been a flamboyant but often divisive character that predominately only did things that suited him and his own purposes.
If you are a BJ supporter you will say , like he did in his resignation address, that he was hounded out of politics by a kangaroo court that was based upon people who did not like him. There is an element of truth about this, when parliamentary MP’s investigate other MP’s like the Privileges Committee has done.
MP’s have clear views and opinions and when trying to impartially conduct a review of the conduct of BJ, if you dislike him or have differing views then it can be difficult to remain impartial, similarly if you are a supporter and like him, it is also the case.
But I think the UK electorate had already made up it’s own mind and by all accounts the majority of people think he misled parliament. Even conservative supporters are split over his guilt and only those that truly like him have remained loyal, which is pretty obvious in the circumstances.
I have personally not been a fan of him, but I admire the way he has with getting people to support him and like him. Winning an 80-seat majority at a General Election is testament to that. I am not sure we will see a result of that magnitude for a long time, if ever.
All historic leaders while famous for their actions have still divided opinion, which is inevitable in politics, hard left supporters are unlikely to give credit to any Tory, which is clear from recent expressed views, and hard right conservatives are similarly unlikely to give any credit to a Labour Prime Minister, assuming there will ever be one, but that is for another day as we get closer to a General Election.
MT, TB, NS, and BJ are all from the same mould, despite their political differences and even while the sun was shining on their premierships, they still had their dissenters, but when the tide turns, does it turn. I remember when TB was elected every Labour supporter was cock a hoop, but if you were to ask them now I wonder if they would be so convinced about his creditworthiness. While MT was a truly divisive leader, you predominately loved her or loathed her. I also include NS who also now in the firing line having been so sanctimonious throughout her career.
I didn’t particularly like either of them MT, TB, NS, or BJ, but I admired them all for doing the thing they believed in and leading the country and being our Prime Minister or First Minister, no matter what their political persuasion, they deserve our support, especially when representing us on the world stage. However that does not mean that they are free from criticism and review and should always be true, honourable, and open to scrutiny.
That is possibly where BJ slipped up, in not always recognising what is true and honourable, and this was his downfall.
He has done what he has always done, and made a grand exit while making the greatest headline splash, being not to concerned about the consequences or likely fallout to the conservative party or the government.
Conservatives I believe had already tried to move on and this headline grabbing will soon dissipate, but not before his allies and opponents, in both the media and parliament will have also had their say, all seeking as politicians and reporters do, to make their point, but so often being so hypocritical in the process.
Have we seen the end of BJ politically, most likely, but never say never………but for the time being, definitely gone but not forgotten.
