British Prime Minister Johnson: “Rule breaker” before the turning point?

Johnson deceives, twists facts – and more and more opponents accuse him of lying. During Brexit, the British would have conceded that to their prime minister – now they want honesty, says a political scientist.

The accusation of lying is serious. Anyone who formulates this accusation in the lower house of the British Parliament will be kicked out – regardless of whether it is true or not. That’s what the rules say. Most recently, Ian Blackford, the group leader of the Scottish National Party SNP with 48 MPs, had to experience this.

He accuses Prime Minister Boris Johnson of saying that the rules on contact restrictions were always followed during the Downing Street meetings – which has been refuted at the latest after the investigation report. Ian Blackford calls the Prime Minister’s statements a lie.

Blackford said on Monday that he stood up for his constituents who knew the prime minister had lied – and then flew out of the courtroom.

From Brexit to “rule breaker” Johnson

In this Corona crisis, many people have become aware of how important it is to stick to the rules, says Meg Russell, professor of politics at UCL University in London. Many people would have experienced hard cuts, for example celebrating their 50th birthday alone or not being able to visit relatives in the hospital.

In this context, if the Prime Minister does not follow rules, then many will realize that rules are important. That will now become clear. It was different during Brexit: “The Brexit period was an extraordinary time that resulted in the election of a rule-breaker. Everything was lost,” says Russell. “Society was divided, so was Parliament, the government couldn’t deliver. That enabled the election of Johnson as a charismatic leader who made big promises, even if they were difficult to keep.”

Desire for valid rules

But this view of people has apparently changed over the past year, argues Russell: In a study conducted in the summer of 2021, the professor found that after a series of scandals, people want honest politicians again. This characteristic was named as the most important in the survey.

The researchers also asked what is particularly important for a functioning democracy: always acting within the framework of the rules or finally being able to check things off – sometimes even in violation of rules.

“Boris Johnson broke rules when he didn’t let Parliament meet so that the Brexit plans could not be examined. The Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal. Nevertheless, he was elected afterwards. People accepted that,” Russell looks back. “But in the 2021 poll before the election, 75 percent said politicians should follow the rules, only six percent said they should be broken in order to get things done.”

Johnson knows what he’s doing

Boris Johnson knows what he’s doing. The rule-breaking is calculated, part of politics, as a passage from a House of Commons debate shows: The Conservatives have a vision, Johnson introduced, before pointing to opposition leader Keir Starmer: “The problem with the Labor Party is that he’s a lawyer and no leader” – a dig at the alleged principled horseman whose adherence to the law stands in the way, while Johnson acts himself.

It fits with this self-image that the British government wants to curtail the power of the courts – for example, to prevent judgments like that about the adjourned parliamentary session in 2019. But, stresses politics professor Russell: “Our surveys show that people want the courts to have this power.”

Boris Johnson’s time may be over – the polls suggest it.