SHORTLY after praising the Priory Boxing Club in Dudley – the order of proceedings at Prime Minister’s Questions is most peculiar – Boris Johnson found himself reeling on the ropes yesterday as the SNP’s Westminster Leader came out swinging.
Of course, Ian Blackford always does but, on this occasion, he had a horseshoe in his glove with which to blooter the heavyweight PM. Jab: Mr Johnson had been told it was wrong to visit Scotland last week in the middle of a pandemic. Cross: Now it turns out there’d been an outbreak of Covid-19 at the Livingston vaccine plant he’d visited. Hook: He knew about this before he came. Uppercut: But still he came. Knee in the nads: why did the PM persist in taking this “irresponsible decision” to carry out “a PR stunt”?
READ MORE: PM condemned for 'utterly reckless' visit to Scottish site which had Covid outbreak in January
Mr Johnson, who stings like a butterfly and floats like a drowned bee, ducked and weaved, occasionally flapping at the air. He praised the “commitment of Scottish scientists” and, once more, issued that insult disguised as solidarity in which he promises “to help Scotland with the roll-out of vaccines”. Scotland, which obviously can’t do anything without Mother England’s help.
Mr Blackford came back fighting: “There is the wow factor once again with the Prime Minister.” Hmm, not sure I’d go that far. More of an oops factor usually. At any rate, quoth Mr B, the PM had made “a shocking error of judgment.” The Skye man went on to accuse him of putting “politics before health”, adding: “Is it any wonder that people in Scotland have no faith in this Prime Minister?”
Once more, it looked like Mr J’s key defensive tactic was to completely ignore the question. “I had a fantastic time,” he reported airily, as if he’d been waddling up and doon Munros. But then, almost as an aside, he added: “Nobody, by the way, raised that issue with me before or since.”
Eh? According to the Livingston company concerned, as quoted in the Daily Record: “They [Downing Street] were made aware we’d had some reported cases and had implemented our control procedures.”
Unabashed, if slightly bashed, Mr Johnson blustered that it was his job to visit all parts of the UK – “and nothing or nobody is going to stop me”. Fighting talk.
READ MORE: Downing Street condemns ‘unacceptable’ verbal attack on chief medical officer
Plenty of that, too, from Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist), who complained that the Northern Ireland protocol, agreed between the EU and the UK, made his people “feel like foreigners in our own country”. With gastronomic incisiveness, he added: “Tea and sympathy will not cut the mustard,” which any gourmet will confirm is technically correct.
Among other highlights yesterday, Rosie Cooper (Lab) called for a flood prevention scheme in her West Lancashire constituency “that doesn’t require canoes”. Earlier, we’d suffered another wet exchange between the PM and the Labour opposition leader, Sir Keir Starmer.
Recently, Mr Johnson referred to Sir Keir as “a weather vane”, for the way in which he just goes where the wind blows. But, if we’re going to have meteorological comparisons, it has to be with the cynical weatherman in Groundhog Day, because yesterday we got the same question as last week and, if I remember rightly, the week before that: why are the borders still open?
Over and over, every Wednesday morning, Sir Keir wakes up to Sonny and Cher on his radio alarm, singing ‘I’ve got you, Boris’. But, over and over, Boris boasts of having “one of the toughest regimes in the world”. And, over and over, Sir Keir says the PM isn’t taking the matter seriously. And, over and over, Boris says: “Have fun in Punxsutawney.”
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