Irish Examiner view: Buffoonery has consequences

If Boris Johnson had not announced last week that he was stepping down as an MP, the committee would have recommended he be suspended for more than 10 days, which might have triggered a by-election in his constituency. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

A report on whether former British prime minister Boris Johnson misled that country’s parliament over covid lockdown parties was published yesterday morning, and the opening word in one BBC report sums up the general reaction — “blimey”.

The report, issued by the House of Commons privileges committee, demolished Johnson. It found that he misled his fellow MPs and that he was guilty of the serious charge of contempt of parliament. 

If he had not announced last week that he was stepping down as an MP, the committee would have recommended he be suspended for more than 10 days, which might have triggered a by-election in his constituency.

At any point in the last couple of centuries a report along these lines would have precipitated a constitutional crisis in the UK. It is difficult to think of another long-standing democracy in which a premier has had his political credibility incinerated in so thorough a manner.

It is a (very) backhanded compliment to Johnson, however, that the chaotic political atmosphere he helped to create means this report does not come as a surprise. His unsuitability for the highest role in British political life was never really in doubt; the only uncertainty surrounded the precise circumstances in which he would eventually come a cropper.

The lowering of political standards in the UK has direct consequences for us here also. 

While we might be inclined to snigger at Johnson’s bluster and buffoonery, the contradictions and inaccuracies he spouted about the implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland had serious consequences for the entire island of Ireland, for instance. 

His erratic performance as prime minister contributed to the ongoing uncertainty about the political institutions in the North.

We are certainly living in extraordinary times when a House of Commons report all but expels a former prime minister from parliament. 

It remains to be seen if Johnson can somehow resurrect his political career — and if this report is a harbinger of a Labour landslide in the next British election.