Is Boris Johnson going to turn up to Prime Minister’s Questions next week? The final answer he gave to Keir Starmer at today’s session suggested he either thought this was his valedictory PMQs, or that he’s planning to be elsewhere next Wednesday.
He said the next leader might be chosen by ‘acclamation’ – which doesn’t seem likely given how hostile the many camps are being to one another. Johnson added that ‘it is possible this will be our last confrontation’, and gave a barbed thanks to the Labour leader for being ‘considerably less lethal than many other members of this house’. He also said he would be leaving with his ‘head held high’. It was in part his goodbye and also his rejoinder to Starmer saying he was going to ‘miss this weekly nonsense from him’.
The focus of the session wasn’t on Johnson and whether his head was held high or not. Starmer and Ian Blackford were both more interested in talking about the leadership race, with the Labour leader asking for Johnson’s verdict on the candidates, and Blackford describing the contest as toxic. Starmer wanted to do two things: give Johnson the opportunity to endorse one of the contenders, which he has thus far declined to do because it wouldn’t help their chances much; and also to highlight some of the more extreme (or unbelievable) pledges made so far, including Nadhim Zahawi saying he would cut Whitehall departments by 20 per cent. Johnson largely declined to get involved – which isn’t much of a change from his usual attitude to PMQs in fairness.
The session opened with some drama from two Alba MPs who were thrown out of the chamber and then suspended by the Speaker. It was quite hard to make out what they were shouting about – though an educated guess would be Scottish independence – but they clearly feared this might be the last PMQs of a man who has been a great asset to the pro-independence movement.
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