Back Story Newsletter
Good morning,
A Political Slap Down
The British Prime Minister wasn’t knocked out last night in a no confidence vote by his own party, but it was a serious ‘slap down’ for Boris Johnson by the Conservative party. 148 of his own MP’s showed they had no confidence in their own leader and wanted him to resign.
211 voted to support him of course, despite the fact he has lied to Parliament over the party gate affair, which involved a string of parties inside Number 10 downing street, which later included fines from the Met Police.
Johnson himself was fined for his participation in the Covid lockdown parties even though he denied the parties took place and later had to admit it when pictures of him hoisting drinks became front page news.
Johnson of course has claimed the vote is over and “lets move on”. But the fact is in British history scraping through a vote like this is a death knell, and he is a zombie Prime Minister.
In 2018 Teresa May survived a no confidence vote but was out 6 months later. In 1990 Margaret Thatcher had a similar result, and later resigned.
When more than four in ten of your own MPs think the country would be better off without you, you have a problem.
A twitter poll this morning on ITV News showed 91% of the public has no confidence in Johnson, and two upcoming by-elections will likely seal his fate if the Conservatives lose. One by-election was called after a Tory MP had to resign because he was caught watching pornography on his phone during debate in the House of Commons!
Imagine, this past weekend with the country cheering the Queens Jubilee, millions showing love and support of the Queen and lining the streets to cheer the Monarch, Boris Johnson and his wife were jeered and booed as they entered St. Pauls Cathedral.
The spectacle of this lying, bumbling, inept British Prime Minister still has some legs left after last nights vote, but the political wound appears terminal and the bleed is a loss of authority and a slow death instead of a quick knock out punch.
The decline of Johnson has only just begun and in political terms his bare survival of this no confidence vote, means he is a dead man walking.
U.S. Insurrection
Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, and four other members of the far-right group were indicted on Monday for seditious conspiracy for their role in the Jan 6 Capitol riot.
This is by far the most serious charge on the books, and reflects months of secret evidence collected by the U.S. Justice Dep’t.
A second far right group the Oath Keepers militia were also charged with sedition in January.
What’s important as you watch this unfold, is this portrays the Jan 6 riots, not as a loose collection of Trumps hooligans, fuelled by his calls to “fight like hell”, but evidence of a highly secret and organized plot to overthrow the Government of America.
And remember in the Presidential debate with Biden, Trump told these groups “stand back and stand by” which some say makes Trump complicit and possibly culpable.
Who directed them, and organized them is still not been made public but thats coming as the Jan 6 House Committee investigation continues to collect evidence. A charge of seditious conspiracy requires prosecutors to prove that force was used either to overthrow the government or to interfere with the execution of federal law.
Ukraine War
Putin’s illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine continues with fierce fighting reported in eastern Ukraine. Heavy fighting continues in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, with the situation "changing every hour," according to Ukrainian officials.
Oleksandr Striuk, the head of the city's military administration, said "there are enough Ukrainian forces and means to recapture the city. There are fierce battles and street fights."
Striuk said Russian forces had a substantial numerical advantage. "They tried to attack the city, and it is happening now. They are throwing away more and more human resources, which of course complicates the situation," the official said.
Russia’s ambassador has stormed out of a UN Security Council meeting in which Moscow was accused of weaponizing a global food crisis and committing war crimes in Ukraine.
And Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov has threatened a “wider attack” if long range weapons are delivered to Ukraine from the U.S. and UK which have both promises rocket artillery capable of striking 50 miles.
Negotiations with Russia continue to free up grain shipments out of Ukraine through the Black Sea, but Russian warships still blockade part of the Black Sea and are a threat to commercial shipping. The talk of forcing Russia to back away from Odesa port is at a fever pitch, including international calls to sink Russian ships.
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Dana Lewis