William Pitt The Younger, a Conservative, was elected to serve as Britain's youngest prime minister in 1783 (age 24) but that isn't why he is known as the Younger. That was to distinguish between himself and his father, who was prime minister a few years before him. Having lost his first election (the University of Cambridge seat) he was given a rotten borough by a family friend. He opposed Britain's continued war against the American colonies (the American Revolution) but spent much of his life fighting Napoleon. Pitt was the only prime minister to lose his first vote in Parliament-- until yesterday.Today, batty right-winger, Boris Johnson, was defeated by a grand coalition of Labour, Lib-Dems and Conservatives who want to stir his plan to crash out of Brexit without a deal. Johnson had threatened he would treat the balloting today as a "confidence" vote. He lost and immediately turned around and called for a snap election. Since I brought up Pitt, it's worth mentioning that he lost a no-confidence vote a few months (1784) after being elected but dealt with it by refusing to resign (with the backing George III and the House of Lords).Batty Boris And Pitt The YoungerThe mechanics of what happened today is the Commons voted 328-301 to seize control of the agenda, in effect, making it possible for them to introduce legislation tomorrow. 21 Conservatives, including several former cabinet members, Philip Hammond, Rory Stewart and David Gauke, joined the rebellion that led to Johnson's stunning humiliation. Johnson has said the 21 will be refused the right to run for their seats as Conservatives. At least one already joined the Lib-Dems. And Winston Churchill's grandson, Nicholas Soames, who voted against the government announced he will not stand for reelection.Tomorrow's bill will allow Parliament to move the deadline from October 31 to January 31. The Conservatives plan to announce an election on October 15 but there's a problem. Johnson needs a two-thirds majority (432 members) to pass it and he doesn't even control a bare majority (325). Jermey Corbyn-- with the backing of the Lib Dems and the Greens-- has already said election should come after a no deal Brexit is off the table. These are the 21 Conservatives Batty Boris kicked out of the Conservative Party right after the vote:Batty Boris' full statement, delivered on the floor of Commons after his historic humiliation this afternoon:
Let there be no doubt about the consequences of this vote tonight. It means that Parliament is on the brink of wrecking any deal we might be able to strike in Brussels.Because tomorrow’s bill would hand control of the negotiations to the EU. And that would mean more dither, more delay, more confusion.And it would mean that the EU themselves would be able decide how long to keep this country In the EU.And since I refuse to go along with that plan ... we are going to have to make a choice, Mr Speaker. I don’t want an election. The public don’t want an election.But if the House votes for this bill tomorrow, the public will have to choose who goes to Brussels on October 17 to sort this out and take this country forward.Everyone will know if the Rt Hon Gentleman is the prime minister [a reference to Jeremy Corbyn], he will go to Brussels, he will beg for an extension, you will accept whatever Brussels demands and we’ll have years more arguments over Brexit.And by contrast, everyone will know that if I am prime minister, I will go to Brussels, I will go for a deal and get a deal but if they won’t do a deal we will leave anyway on 31 October.The people of this country will have to choose.The leader of the opposition has been begging for an election for two years.I don’t want an election, but if MPs vote tomorrow to stop the negotiations and to compel another pointless delay of Brexit, potentially for years, then that will be the only way to resolve this.I can confirm that tonight we will are tabling a motion under the Fixed Term Parliament Act.
Trump is thoroughly detested in the U.K. and his coziness with Batty Boris is hurting the Conservative cause-- just as it is doing in the U.S.
