Today I use that well known and oft used idiom to comment further on the misfortunes of the Tory Party and it’s hapless leader the Unfortunate Rishi Sunak.
The Unfortunate Sunak must be ruing his predicament! When history is written, I think it will actually be kinder to the Tories than it now is. The Unfortunate Sunak might be thinking back to those Halcyon Days of 2019 when the problems were there but they were manageable.
But then COVID-19 arrived on these shores.
If there was ever an event that shows just how much retrospective wisdom there is in the world it is the COVID-19 pandemic. By and large, had Labour been in government they would have done much the same! Indeed, folks will remember that the cries from the opposition benches were invariably “More, More!”
The opposition wanted longer lockdowns and earlier lockdowns. The opposition wanted more vaccinations not less.
The one thing the Tories did get badly wrong was to allow their mates to cash in on the protective wear the NHS staff had to wear – the infamous PPE!
Then of course there were the monumental levels of additional public spending – made with the full support of the opposition.
Spending all that money and crashing the economy with lockdowns was always going to come back to haunt whoever was unfortunate enough to be in government!
Of course, the smart Alecs will say that there should have been no lockdowns. There should have been no vaccination programme. Had this been the case the Tories would have been even more unpopular than they now are! The NHS would have ceased to function. There would have been hundreds of thousands of deaths. The government would have fallen.
In a previous post (https://british-gazette.com/nothing-is-as-it-seems-nor-is-it-otherwise/) I described mainstream politicians as “self serving virtue signalling opportunists”. I do not retract this.
The FACT is thus: Had he been in #10, during the pandemic Sir Keir Starmer would have been in much the same predicament that the Unfortunate Sunak now finds himself in!
Faced with the real prospect of being reduced to minor party status (not being His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition) after the election, numerous Tories are now considering what to do to avoid this fate. Their plans do not focus on winning the general election. They know that they cannot win. What they have to concentrate on is beating the Liberal Democrats to second place!
It appears that some Labour figures MIGHT be looking at some limited form of pact with the Liberal Democrats – not to stand Labour candidates in a number of seats that have huge Tory majorities.
Insofar as the Tory plotters are concerned they realise that if the “Men in Grey Suits” require the Unfortunate Sunak to vacate the scene, continuing until the late autumn will be out of the question. They will realise that if they unseat the Unfortunate Sunak they have to call a general election at that point.
IF the plotters are going to act – it seems that they have chosen The Right Honourable Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons, Lord President of the Council and the Member for Portsmouth North to be their standard bearer – speed is of the essence.
IF they act and replace the Unfortunate Sunak with Captain, the Right Honourable Penelope Mary Mordaunt, PC, RNR they will have to act quickly.
By quickly I mean from today (17th March), the Feast of Saint Patrick to Lady Day – the traditional name of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on 25 March. IF they wait until after the local elections on the 2nd May, it will be far too late as the Labour Party will have gained a momentum which would be unstoppable.
Penny Mordaunt served in the Royal Naval Reserve. From 2010 until 2015, she served as an acting sub-lieutenant, at shore establishment HMS King Alfred on Whale Island, Portsmouth. Despite never served at sea the lady received rapid promotion and was appointed as an Honorary Commander in April 2019 and was subsequently promoted to Captain (with no apparent fanfare or publicity) last year.
NB: An honorary service commission is an honour, not a substantive rank. It is not awarded as a form of promotion to career military but to people of public distinction from other backgrounds. The James Bond actor Daniel Craig was one of the recent recipients. It neither requires nor qualifies for active military employment. Its purpose is the advocacy, support and promotion of the service, and of associated good causes. Penny Mordaunt may be well qualified for these roles. She did not, however, ‘serve’ as a naval officer.
However, should Captain, the Right Honourable Penelope Mary Mordaunt, PC, RNR find herself in #10 in the near future she will know that her task will be to lead the Tories into battle! At a general election!
This will be a case of glorious defeat! Of course, as a defeated leader and in all probability a defeated MP (her 2019 majority being 15,780) she will be required to fall on her sword.
NB: Normally, when it comes to a woman politician undergoing the figurative political suicide I like to use the Cleopatraean idiom “Clasp the asp to her bosom” – but given the Right Honourable and Gallant Lady’s penchant for military service, we’ll stick with the masculine sword!
They say all political careers end in failure. Well, her defeat will enable Captain, the Right Honourable Mordaunt, PC, RNR to gallantly go down with her ship! Albeit at the count in Portsmouth and not out at sea!
The Right Honourable and Gallant Lady will of course be able to take some satisfaction that she will be able to claim the generous Prime Ministerial Pension!
The BG has a well earned representation for being politically incorrect!
Well, I’m going to give another well earned example: Many will have a jaundiced view of Captain, the Right Honourable Mordaunt, PC, RNR. Well I don’t. I remember her at the Coronation. That was a physically demanding role for a woman and she carried it off splendidly. Yes she might like to parade in her Captain’s uniform but damn it all – she’s a woman! Thus she gets a free pass from me on this. A pass I would never extend to any member of my own sex!