61
votes
Accepted
Why does Boris Johnson seek to renegotiate the Brexit deal with the EU?
Brexit recreated/uncovered problems which the EU membership of Ireland and the UK had allowed to recede. If there are no hard borders, then people and goods can travel from the rest of the UK to ...
- 106k
56
votes
Accepted
Why is the vote of no confidence on the prime minister for Conservative MPs only?
Because it's not a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister, it's a vote of confidence in the Leader of the Conservative Party, who also happens to be the Prime Minister. See the announcement from the ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
50
votes
Why is Boris Johnson visiting only Paris & Berlin if every member of the EU needs to agree on a withdrawal deal?
It is difficult to tell why Johnson really does things, since he is a serial liar with opaque motives even by the low standards of British politics.
However, from various other public statements, we ...
- 22k
47
votes
Accepted
Why did Boris Johnson call for new elections?
Doesn't this effectively end Johnson's short stint as Prime Minister?
Only if he loses, which is not a foregone conclusion. And even then, he doesn't leave office until a replacement is ready to ...
- 3,604
47
votes
Accepted
What does "2 fingers to Scotland" mean in Peter Grant's statement about Johnson not listening to the SNP's Westminster leader speeches?
In the UK, two fingers is an insult much like the middle finger in the USA. Done in a palm-out orientation it is the victory sign, as done by Winston Churchill. The other way around, palm inwards (...
- 7,468
44
votes
Accepted
Is it usual for a US president to make specific comments about a UK Prime Minister's suitability during a general election?
According to VOA, it hasn't been this blatant before, at least as actual elections go:
During his time in office, Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, weighed in on Brexit in 2016, provoking fury from ...
- 146k
44
votes
Accepted
Could Boris Johnson have run for re-election in the July 2022 Conservative party leadership election?
No, he could not have run for re-election; Rule 2 of Schedule 2 - Rules for the Election of the Leader of the Conservative Party Constitution (as amended January 2021) states that:
A Leader resigning ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
36
votes
Accepted
Why is Boris Johnson visiting only Paris & Berlin if every member of the EU needs to agree on a withdrawal deal?
I'm not sure you'll get a specific sourced answer for this question, so I'll attempt to answer in generalities.
France and Germany are often seen as the driving forces behind the EU project. Along ...
- 23.9k
36
votes
Why does Boris Johnson seek to renegotiate the Brexit deal with the EU?
The problem is the Brexit Trilemma.
From Wikipedia:
Following the Brexit referendum, the first May government decided that
not only should the United Kingdom leave the European Union but also
that it ...
- 2,941
32
votes
Accepted
If Boris Johnson returns as an MP, would he have to serve the 90-day suspension for lying to Parliament?
No, he would not. The report voted on by Parliament doesn't even recommend a 90-day suspension, it instead states that had Johnson not resigned that that would have been their recommendation.
In the ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
29
votes
Accepted
Boris Johnson Partygate Report: What are the possible consequences for Johnson?
Now that the recommendations of the report of the privileges committee have been adopted without amendment, Boris Johnson will receive the only sanction left available to the Commons now that he has ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
28
votes
Why did Boris Johnson call for new elections?
Calling a general election dissolves Parliament, which is currently giving Johnson grief. However, he remains Prime Minister, with the executive power of that office, until a new Prime Minister is ...
- 2,089
27
votes
Could Boris Johnson face criminal charges for illegally proroguing Parliament?
No.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49810261
The notion of unlawful here means only that the prorogation does not comply with how the supreme court interprets the political rule book.
It ...
- 1,297
24
votes
Accepted
Could Boris Johnson face criminal charges for illegally proroguing Parliament?
IANAL, but probably the only thing he could be charged with is misconduct in public office. I haven't seen anyone suggest that he should be charged (for this, this time).
The charge does not require ...
- 146k
24
votes
What does "2 fingers to Scotland" mean in Peter Grant's statement about Johnson not listening to the SNP's Westminster leader speeches?
In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the two fingers (sometimes also two-fingered salute) is a sign whose meaning can approximately equated to the middle finger which is used in North America, Europe ...
- 13.1k
22
votes
Why does Boris Johnson seek to renegotiate the Brexit deal with the EU?
The argument appears to boil down to: the situation under the current Protocol is unsustainable, the British government feels that it would be entitled to invoke Article 16 of the Protocol, allowing ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
20
votes
Is it usual for a US president to make specific comments about a UK Prime Minister's suitability during a general election?
It's generally not done in US politics with other functional democratic countries either, not just the UK. Doing so is simply really bad statecraft.
The problem with weighing on one side in an ...
- 14.1k
20
votes
Why does Boris Johnson seek to renegotiate the Brexit deal with the EU?
The answer to this question dates back to 2019. Theresa May's government rejected the current solution, a border in the Irish Sea, and instead proposed a "backstop" that would keep the ...
- 17.6k
19
votes
Could Boris Johnson face criminal charges for illegally proroguing Parliament?
While this is a small difference, the supreme court found that the prorogation was unlawful rather than illegal. This may seem pedantic, but the law is often so. Boris will not be charged with a crime,...
- 602
18
votes
Accepted
Was there a precedent of circumventing Commons supermajority requirement?
There is no precedent for requiring a supermajority in the commons - the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act was the first time this was ever required. There is, therefore, no precedent for circumventing such ...
- 5,786
17
votes
Could Boris Johnson have run for re-election in the July 2022 Conservative party leadership election?
This used to be possible. From here:
With the Conservative government remaining divided on Europe and much
more, John Major, in an attempt to silence his critics and opponents,
announced his ...
- 271
15
votes
What did Boris Johnson mean when he said "extra 34 billion going into the NHS"
It means exactly what the words say. There is a plan. Plans don't cost anything much to produce. All you need is a computer running MS Office, and in half an hour you are done.
Whether the plan will ...
- 2,224
15
votes
Why did Boris Johnson call for new elections?
If he calls an election then it's possible he will gain a greater majority than he had (at the moment he has no majority of course).
This will mean that not only for Brexit, but for other stuff he ...
- 1,436
15
votes
What political power does former prime minister Boris Johnson wield?
Does Johnson have any similar ability?
Not really.
Johnson has slightly more "hard power" than Mr. Trump, because Mr. Johnson is still a member of parliament (MP) while Mr. Trump held no ...
- 73.8k
14
votes
What is Boris Johnson carrying?
The most probable answer here is that he is carrying notes for his speech.
The caption for that image is
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a folder as he delivers a statement outside 10 ...
- 346
13
votes
What political power does former prime minister Boris Johnson wield?
It would help if you can make the distinction between "hard power" and "soft power".
In terms of hard power, Johnson currently has none as he is no longer Prime Minister. He does ...
- 10.4k
12
votes
Accepted
What does Boris Johnson stand to gain from holding an election on the 12th rather than the 9th of December?
There are a number of factors here which may be relevant, although as observers we cannot be certain which are actually weighing on private decisions.
In favour of the 12th:
The 12th of December is ...
- 3,604
12
votes
Accepted
How did Boris Johnson manage to be elected Mayor of London for two terms when London is usually staunchly Labour?
According to the Guardian:
London used not to be “a Labour city”. London was defined in its current sprawling form, Greater London, by the Conservatives in 1963: in part to offset Labour support in ...
- 146k
11
votes
Why did Boris Johnson call for new elections?
Calling an election has a number of benefits.
Fresh blood
First of all, it's an opportunity to get rid of MPs from one's own party who aren't absolutely loyal. Those people may at one point or another ...
JJJ♦
- 38.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible