‘He is leaving this country in chaos’
MPS’ DAMNING VERDICT ON JOHNSON’S ‘LEGACY OF LIES’
NORTH East MPS have given their verdict on Boris Johnson after his announcement he will leave office and their comments are less than flattering.
The Prime Minister addressed the nation after he faced overwhelming calls to go amid scores of resignations of ministers and letters from MPS.
Jarrow MP Kate Osborne said: “Boris Johnson’s time in Government will be symbolised by sleaze, austerity, lies and relentless attacks on the working class.
“It is of course pleasing to see his Prime Ministership finally crumble – but let’s be very clear, this isn’t a principled position from those resigning over the last two days. They and we have all known what Boris Johnson has been doing for months.
“He leaves behind a legacy of lies and incompetence and is not fit to stay as a caretaker PM.”
North Tyneside MP Mary Glindon has called for a general election. She said: “Boris Johnson is leaving this country in chaos.
“The public are facing a worsening cost of living crisis, yet due to this Conservative chaos we now face months without a functioning Government all the while ordinary peoples’ wages are being stretched week by week by spiralling prices.
“The public don’t want months of the same band of Tories playing musical chairs in Downing Street.
“The country needs a general election, and a new Labour Government to get to grips with the challenges facing people every day.”
Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott, Labour, said: “It has taken yet more bluster and lies for Tory MPS to finally topple the hapless Prime Minister, but it is important to remember that these Conservative MPS were happy to back the Prime Minister as he lied, and lied again.
“Whilst the cost of living crisis goes on, living costs spiral and waiting lists are as long as ever, we are going to face a summer of Conservative in-fighting, as they forget they serve the country, not themselves. It is time the Tories stepped aside. It’s time for change.”
Conservative Berwick-upon-tweed MP Anne-marie Trevelyan said Boris Johnson ‘had a certain magic with nontraditional Conservative voters.’ She said: “Over the last three years, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has led this great country of ours through an unprecedented period. He had a certain magic with non-traditional Conservative voters which gave him the largest mandate of any Tory Prime Minister since the 1980s. He was therefore able to deliver Brexit, beyond all the odds, allowing us to take back control of our decision-making as a country.
“He supported the lives and livelihoods of our people across the UK throughout the pandemic – driving forward a world-beating taskforce to create a successful vaccine, and then a mammoth vaccination programme rollout.
“Not just protecting our UK citizens but for the world. He has been a PM who, notwithstanding the challenges, always threw his all into trying to deliver for every part of the country. His global leadership supporting the Ukrainians against Putin’s barbaric and illegal invasion has been exemplary. I thank Boris Johnson for his service to our country.”
Labour South Shields MP Emma Lewell-buck said: “No humility, no
apologies, no sense at all of the damage he has done to our democracy. A resignation that was long overdue.”
Newcastle North MP Catherine Mckinnell, Labour, said: “It has been clear for months, if not years, that Boris Johnson is not fit for Downing Street. His legacy is one of degrading of our democracy and standards in public life, lying to Parliament, defending the indefensible, losing two ethics advisors and being the first Prime Minister to have been found to have broken his own laws. “His leaving speech showed a complete lack of dignity and contrition for his actions. Whilst Conservative MPS now seek to distance themselves from him, we cannot overlook that they enabled his actions throughout by failing to take a stand. Rather than addressing the very real issues we are facing with the cost of living crisis, lack of investment in our public services and supporting business and communities to recover from the pandemic, they have covered up and defended his actions.”
Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery said: “The man is an absolute disgrace and has never been fit for public office. Despite that he stands in front of the nation to list his ‘achievements’ and but did not once show any remorse for his actions.
“The resignations of Tory MPS in recent days do not in any way absolve or cleanse their souls as they have stood at his side disaster after disaster. Whilst this charlatan had to go, I fear that whoever comes next for the Tories will simply continue an ideology that has seen the rich get richer and the working classes getting poorer. “To get a government truly on the side of working people we need a general election.”
Blaydon MP Liz Twist said: “Finally Boris has accepted his fate, but we can’t continue with this chaos, the damage he has caused to the highest office in the country is unforgivable. He can’t be allowed to cling on for months, he must resign now and give Britain the fresh start it deserves.”
Durham Tory MPS Richard Holden and Dehenna Davison did not respond to our request for comment.