“Johnson’s scheming puppet master Dominic Cummings orders brutal cabinet cull” announce the Mirror on their dystopian front page as the UK makes another dangerous lurch towards dictatorship with a reshuffle to consolidate power, silence dissent, banish scrutiny and permanently outlaw any Government accountability. Telling it like it is they warn: “Anyone who has dared to question the PM or his spin doctor is forced out” and describe the newly appointed team as an “Inept government of spineless stooges.” Where are we headed?
Suella Braverrnan was appointed to replace the eminently more experienced and qualified Geoffrey Cox as Atourney General. Braverman, a hardline Brexiteer, had certainly been making all the right noises attacking “judicial activism” saying that judges were “trespassing” on politics just as the PM heralds a tough crackdown on our legal system that will destroy vital checks and balances. As the government’s most senior legal adviser, she will now play a crucial role in defining the new relationship between the courts and Government as outlined in the page 48 manifesto pledge priority to “take back control from the judiciary.” After her recently published blistering attack on human rights litigation and the overuse of judicial review challenges, her appointment in such a key role should deeply worry us all.
In his resignation letter Cox said of his past efforts in government during the volatile Brexit period: “Throughout that process, I have sought, as my role requires, to give candid and independent legal advice both to you and to your predecessor on how that desirable outcome might best be achieved lawfully and effectively.” Outspoken ex-Tory Soubry tweeted: “Genuine concern that as a hardline, no-deal Brexiteer with little experience will not undertake the important role of AG – which invariably means giving firm legal advice a Govt/PM doesn’t want to hear because it doesn’t suit them politically.” It brings to mind that classic sarcastic skit: “What about the Vegetables? Oh, they’ll have the same as me!”
Excelling in one’s job is no longer good enough for our desperately insecure and malicious aspiring despot. The PM sacked Julian Smith as Northern Ireland secretary just one month after he accomplished the challenging task of brokering a deal that restored power to the Stormont Assembly. Was this due to his agreement to investigate alleged crimes by British soldiers during the Troubles, Smith’s disparaging remarks about the damaging consequences of a no-deal Brexit, or both? But the real shock of the day came when Chancellor Sajid Javid refused to bend to the will of our uncompromising dictatorial PM
The ever tightening grip of Boris Johnson’s untrammelled power was wielded when Chancellor Sajid Javid was ordered to fire all of his Special advisors (SPADs). Javid demonstrated enough courage to refuse and offer his resignation just one month before presenting his first and only budget; a record for an early walk-out. It was announced that Rishi Sunak will replace him to “play Chancellor of the Exchequer” on television. He is the perfect PR stooge with all the right credentials: BME Tory MP from a northern constituency; he has pitched well on TV already, plus I think Boris Johnson knows he can rely on Sunak’s absolute compliance.
There was a suggestion that Boris Johnson was perhaps going too far with his targeting of MPs who, despite still doing well in their role, have not always agreed with him. On “Politics Live” Andrew Neal asked: “Is this a bit personal?” To which Tom Newton-Dunn made the barbed reply: “I think we’ve certainly seen already by his first cabinet reshuffle, with his first appointments back in July, something that we have not seen before from Boris Johnson, a vindictiveness, a meanness and certainly a ruthlessness to put it politely….” “Vindictive, mean and ruthless,” very strong criticism coming from a leading hard core right wing journalist in the heavily Tory supporting press!
Newton-Dunn went on to say about Boris Johnson that: “…He can pull the trigger on people with free abandon if they cross him and I think there is a theme across this reshuffle now, whether it’s the loud voice of Geoffrey Cox, the gaining voice of Sajid Javid and certainly the loud voice of Andrea Ledsom; he doesn’t like loud voices and he doesn’t like loud voices that challenge him, even at this early stage, even when he’s got this socking great mandate, he still feels the need to politically execute people that get in his way and it’s a very intriguing trait…”
I wouldn’t call it “a very intriguing trait,” I would call it a really scary warning sign; this is another classic demonstration of the PM’s insecurity as this narcissistic dictator ramps up his stranglehold on absolute power. Of course this might have been the demand of Dominic Cummings, whose Machiavellian PsyOps tricks helped rig the election to give Boris Johnson his fake “landslide” victory. It was Cummings who already removed one of the Chancellor’s SPADS, stripping her of her work and personal phones before ordering her marched out of number ten by armed police officers! No one warned Javid of the firing and this order was the last straw.
“The March of Shame” is a standard US tactic of falsely accusing potential whistleblowers to humiliate and ostracize them while destroying their credibility and intimidating their colleagues into refusing all future contact. I know firsthand exactly how highly effective this rogue strategy is in silencing outspoken conscientious employees who are forced to endure this disgrace. The unnecessary excessive show of force and public degradation virtually criminalize the whistleblower to insure that they are totally isolated from friends or support and they are publically discredited as a “disgruntled former employee with an axe to grind.”
“at will Firing” and the “Walk of Shame” are well established American “Business Friendly” practices that will be imported as rapidly as chlorinated chicken in order to serve the needs of our new US corporate masters. However, what I found so alarming about the rapid removal of Sonja Khan, Javid’s fired SPAD, was the timid acceptance of an event that clearly violated current UK Human Resources protocols. This event got a brief mention in the press as we heard Sajid Javid hadn’t approved the dismissal, but it blew over very quickly. Did this SPAD know something that made her a prime target? Is Sonja Khan OK or is she living in fear, far too terrified to challenge what seemed like an unfair dismissal?
This brutal political bloodbath comes at a steep price to our fading democracy. Under the sinister hypnotic influence of his dark sidekick, each time this narcissistic PM decides to throw his toys out of the pram in a vindictive spitefest like this it costs tax payers dearly as we must pick up the tab: a £100k bill for ministerial severance pay. Last year’s rearrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic cost us £250,000! The universally despised Ester McVey, who inflicted so much misery on those struggling to survive on frozen benefit payments, will be handsomely rewarded with yet another £25.000 windfall for her second brief cabinet assignment. Just keep leveling-up Boris…!
This is no longer a functioning government. It has rapidly deteriorated into a dangerous cult of compliance after the unfathomable “landslide” majority seeded all power to the unelected puppet master controlling our PM after he successful rigging the election in his favour. Once a powerful despot is firmly in control of our court, gagged the press and abolished our human rights it will be too lat to fight back; such despots take decades to remove. This dubious election result cannot go unchallenged; this is no time to be complacent while we can still make a difference. Please read, sign, share and Link to this Petition on AVAAZ: 2019 TORY LANDSLIDE VICTORY DEMANDS URGENT NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATION.