PRIME Minister Boris Johnson jetted off to India yesterday in advance of the vote by MPs on a Labour motion to launch an investigation into the claims that he lied to parliament over the parties held at Downing Street during the Covid lockdown.
Labour has made it clear that this motion will not simply state the fact that everyone knows to be true, namely that Johnson lied repeatedly and was in contempt of parliament – a charge that would require immediate resignation – but merely calls for a Privileges Committee inquiry.
By limiting themselves to a motion calling for yet another inquiry into Johnson’s acknowledged law breaking and the continual stream of lies he uses to wriggle out of the rapidly developing crisis surrounding his leadership, Labour leader Keir Starmer is just appealing to Tory MPs to ‘do the right thing’ and depose him.
Starmer urged Tory MPs to seize the opportunity to get rid of Johnson and ‘bring decency, honesty and integrity back into our politics.’ Since when has decency, honesty and integrity ever existed in the Houses of Parliament?
All the political scandal surrounding Johnson and his administration, including chancellor Rishi Sunak and his dubious tax avoidance schemes, has brought to light the depths of political corruption at the heart of capitalism.
By bringing this into the public glare, Johnson has rendered his continuation as prime minister increasingly untenable, creating a massive crisis for the Tories and the ruling class.
Despite all attempts to rally round him, Tory MPs are increasingly distancing themselves from him with some leading Tories openly declaring that he must go.
Ten Tory MPs have broken ranks to publicly declare they have submitted letters of no confidence in Johnson, with former chief whip Mark Harper branding his actions ‘indefensible’.
Johnson’s assumed invulnerability, due to his vital role as the US’ faithful lap dog in the imperialist war drive against Russia, is now being questioned by Tory MPs who see their chances of re-election rapidly disappearing in the face of public revulsion at his contempt for the law and for the working class.
With the ground rapidly shifting under Johnson’s feet the ruling class is desperately seeking ways out of this political crisis.
With no obvious successor in sight after Sunak’s political collapse, the prospect of a national coalition government is becoming increasingly attractive to the bosses and bankers.
They require a government that will not only prosecute the war against Russia but will carry out the war against the working class at home.
Starmer has relentlessly positioned himself and the Labour Party as willing accomplices with the Tories in just such a government of national emergency.
Every move by Starmer, from expelling any member suspected of having socialist ideals, his refusal to accept the policy of £15 per hour minimum wage as voted on by the Labour conference, right through to his enthusiastic support for Johnson throughout the war on Russia – including the economic sanctions that have driven the cost of living through the roof – has been designed to prove his loyalty to capitalism and fitness to faithfully serve alongside Tories in a national government.
Starmer declared he ‘stood as one’ with Johnson in the war, and he is preparing to stand as one with the capitalist class as it faces taking on the working class and forcing millions into poverty, as British capitalism dives into the biggest economic recession in its history.
The working class must take warning from these moves to dump the unsustainable Johnson in favour of a reactionary national government to force the working class to pay the cost of the war on Russia and the world crisis of the bankrupt capitalist system.
The trade unions must be made to use the strength of the working class to get rid not just of Johnson but the entire Tory government, and put a stop to any plans for a national government by calling a general strike to kick out the Tories and bring in a workers’ government and socialism.
