Point of Order: Much more than a minerals deal

Full credit to European politicians: they know how to brief.

Latest in London’s Daily Telegraph is that “Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have together pulled off a remarkable feat of high statecraft” in shaping the US – Ukraine minerals deal signed a few days ago. There are even some nice words for Boris Johnson’s contribution.

Who knows, it could even be true. But it’s perhaps more important that they’re thinking that way.

Simon O'Connor: Fundamental(ist) mistakes

Just when you think Kim Hill and the people at Radio NZ cannot embarrass themselves – and New Zealand – anymore, they go ahead and outdo themselves.

During a recent visit, former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was invited for an interview with Hill. Meandering through a variety of topics, she eventually stated that those who voted for Brexit were racists and xenophobes.

Brendan O'Neill: The outrageous ousting of Boris Johnson

Of all the claims and counterclaims in the Partygate affair, this one stuck with me. Harriet Harman, the veteran Labour MP who’s been chairing the parliamentary probe into whether Boris fibbed to the Commons about lockdown-era parties in Downing St, shared a blog post by Alastair Campbell last April. Boris and his then chancellor, Rishi Sunak, are ‘lying charlatans’ who ‘deserve to be swept away’, said Campbell in his usual crass style. ‘They lied. Repeatedly’, Campbell cried, causing a hundred thousand Iraqis to turn in their graves. Two months after reposting this deranged screed, this febrile pronouncement of guilt, Harman was appointed to chair the Partygate committee.

Garrick Tremain: Boris quits

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on Donald advising Boris.

Garrick Tremain: Watchdogs

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on the difference of media between the UK and New Zealand! 

NZCPR Weekly: A Changing of the Guard

On Thursday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would be stepping down as leader of the ruling Conservatives in the face of mounting pressure from the party.

While he will remain prime minister until a replacement is chosen, his resignation has triggered a contest within the party to find a new leader and PM.

Boris Johnson had led the Conservatives to a landslide election victory in 2019 on a platform of delivering on the Brexit referendum and orchestrating Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Melanie Phillips: Stranded on the political zip-wire

BoJo isn’t why the Conservative party’s in trouble. He became PM because it already was - first published Dec 20.

Boris Johnson’s current multi-pronged political crisis is consuming Britain’s media. It’s not just that journalists detect an imminent prime ministerial fall from the dizzy heights (although Boris has escaped tight spots before now on the zip-wire of his career). It’s also because, with many journalists riven with jealousy or dislike of their former comrade-in-ink, they would like nothing better than to see him brought down.

However, Boris Johnson is not the real story. Despite the often foul-mouthed apoplexy of Conservative MPs who blame him for behaving exactly as anyone who knew him could have predicted he would behave (and many did indeed so predict from the start) Johnson is not the reason the Conservative party is in trouble. The reason it elected him party leader was because it was already in trouble.

Mike Hosking: UK Free Trade deal a rare bright spot

 

Yet another reason to thank Boris Johnson and be grateful that there remain a few visionaries about the place that want us to prosper and succeed. 

By all accounts, our free trade deal with the UK is a winner. It's open and truly free, the hurdles remain few and far between. The gains we stand to make are enormous. 

It's a tangible example of what we envisaged when we entered into the world of free trading all those years ago under the previous Labour govt of David Lange and Sir Roger Douglas. We are the free trade pioneers and we deserve this level of success. 

Melanie Phillips: Downing Street's green emperor has no clothes

Boris Johnson's government is in denial over the crisis it has created

In a hole, Boris Johnson is still digging — oblivious to the toxic rubble he’s piling up in the process.

Off to the US to persuade the Biden administration to stop dragging its feet over “climate change” targets at next month’s COP 26 climate summit, Britain’s prime minister played down the chances of world leaders agreeing to a $100 billion fund to help the developing world “go green”. Said Johnson:

It's going to be tough. But people need to understand that this is crucial for the world.

Ye gods! How can such an intelligent man be so bone-headedly…dumb?? It’s Boris Johnson who needs to understand that the policy he is promoting of Net Zero carbon emissions is leading his country and the world off the edge of an economic and social cliff.

Kate Hawkesby: UK will be an interesting experiment in managing Covid

 

I see Chris Hipkins is saying we won't, in this country, aim to be like the UK and take the approach that we just have to learn to live with Covid. Hipkins says lifting restrictions like the UK is about to is not a realistic option for us long term.

So it seems the eradication strategy is still NZ's goal. And if this is true, then are we in for a life of lockdowns and closed borders?

As of the 19th of July the UK, rightly or wrongly, is ditching all restrictions and opening the place back up, normal life can resume. They are desperate for it, let's be honest they've been locked down a very long time, but the new Health Minister's approach is – learn to live with Covid, take some personal responsibility, this is what it is.

Melanie Phillips: Boris’s mind turns to mush

 

Is it Cabinet Cognitive Collapse or unbridled cynicism? Which is worse?

Whatever you may think about Boris Johnson’s character or fitness for the great office of Britain’s prime minister that he currently occupies, there has never been any serious questioning of his brain capacity. This is deemed to be sufficient to negotiate with the EU in Latin while simultaneously writing his book on Shakespeare and beating Emanuel Macron at strip poker.

However, something horrible appears to have happened to the Johnson grey matter. An early symptom of this affliction (which he seems to have contracted directly from an earlier and distressing victim of Cabinet Cognitive Collapse, Michael Gove) was his evangelical promotion of “net zero” carbon emissions to arrest “climate change”.

Melanie Phillips: Goodbye to the demoralised past. Hello, world

At 11 pm this evening, the United Kingdom will have left the European Union. 

These are words that, throughout the nightmare of the past three and a half years, those of us who were solid Brexiteers feared we might never be able to say.

From the moment in 2016 that Britain voted by 52-48 per cent to leave the EU, the political, intellectual and media Remainer establishment threw everything they had into stopping Brexit and reversing that people’s vote.

Melanie Phillips: Ruthless Johnson signals “Brexit do or die”

The commentariat has been utterly convulsed by the composition of new prime minister Boris Johnson’s government. 

As Remainer ministers and those disloyal to Johnson were either sacked or fell on their swords to be replaced by Brexiteers in every key position, Brexit supporters were as ecstatic as Remainers were choked with horror and rage.

Johnson’s purpose in effecting this ruthless transformation was clear: to send an unequivocal signal that the Remainers’ game is now up. Britain will be leaving the EU on October 31, “do or die”.