Johnson's visit to Scotland yesterday didn't go so well

[Denzil_DC]

Early on the fifth day of his honeymoon period, the newly self-anointed Minister for the Union visited HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane (a few miles from where I live), to be shown around a Trident sub, where he thankfully kept his paws to himself.



He might have wished he'd stayed down the hatch when he faced some unusually robust press questioning before his minders decided enough was enough:



Ah yes, that clandestine tryst with the hen party, as covered back in May, when his premiership was just a foreboding clusterfuck on the horizon ...



His yearning for the regimented tranquility of Royal Navy hospitality might have become more pronounced as the day wore on.

Link to tweet

Mike Galsworthy
@mikegalsworthy

Boris Johnson booed as he turns up in Scotland.

Gives the word ‘divisive’ extra meaning. You can feel the UK tearing.

[Twitter video]

(If you don't do Twitter, this Mirror article gives the gist: Boris Johnson welcomed to Scotland with shouts of 'lying a***hole'.)

Sturgeon didn't seem exactly overjoyed with having to entertain him and the new Secretary of State for Scotland, the filthy rich borders laird Alister Jack.



Johnson's entry to Bute House in Edinburgh was a choice moment if you can watch the Twitter video above, as the First Minister deftly parried his attempt to usher her through her own front door with a gesture which could be interpreted as "Ach, get away in there and don't even think of laying hands on me", or possibly a feint at a below-the-belt karate chop.

The hooting crowd was still there an hour later when the joyous meeting (where the questions of Brexit and the prospects of a second Scottish independence referendum - Johnson was reportedly unsure how many we've had so far - were on the agenda) had ground to a halt, so he was reduced to sneaking out via a back entrance ...



There's now a lively Twitter hashtag which may have some longevity: #BackDoorBoris

After that, a meeting with the leader of the Scottish branch of the Tory Party might have seemed a more relaxing prospect, but ...

Johnson in Scotland: Was PM's toughest meeting with Ruth Davidson?

...

Ms Davidson made no secret of the fact that she did not want Mr Johnson as PM.

And in the few days since he took charge relations have already gone further south.

He ignored his Scottish leader's advice not to sack the Scottish Secretary David Mundell and replace him with the pro-Brexit MP Alister Jack.

He then further snubbed the Scottish contingent of parliamentarians when he put an MP who sits for an English seat into the Scotland office as a minister.

Ms Davidson has said publicly that she would not support a no-deal exit from the EU and that as leader of the Scottish party she does not have to sign up to any loyalty pledge to support a no deal.

She believes the PM would have sacked her if he could. But he can't - and she will take full advantage of her ability to speak out in public.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-49155013

Davidson, once the media darling touted as the saviour of the Scottish Tories and a possible future UK prime minister, hasn't had a good few weeks since she returned from maternity leave. The candidates she backed for Tory leader each fell in turn, "her" MPs in Scotland have proven more loyal to Johnson than to her, and Jo Swinson's election as Lib Dem leader has left her somewhat in the shade. How much longer she'll have any stomach for her post is a question being widely asked.

Unfortunately, unless events or parliamentary developments intervene, it looks like we're stuck with Johnson for a while.

UPDATE: Here's tomorrow's National front page:

[OnDoutside]

1. And it took him nearly a week to have a phonecall with the Irish PM.

[Denzil_DC]

3. Indeed. He's now in Northern Ireland:

Boris Johnson dines with DUP on arrival in Northern Ireland ahead of power-sharing talks

Boris Johnson had dinner with the DUP leadership on Tuesday evening after arriving in Northern Ireland for talks with political parties.

The Prime Minister attended a dinner with party leader Arlene Foster, deputy leader Nigel Dodds and MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson ahead of his official visit on Wednesday.

It is understood the meeting focused on the Conservatives' Westminster relationship with the party and the potential renewal of the confidence and supply deal that is keeping Mr Johnson's minority administration in power.

...

He will meet with Northern Ireland's five main political parties for discussions on restoring power-sharing on Wednesday.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/boris-johnson-dines-with-dup-on-arrival-in-northern-ireland-ahead-of-powersharing-talks-38359263.html

[OnDoutside]

4. A former Irish ambassador to the UK was just on BBC Newsnight

and correctly said that the Johnson policy of pushing for a no deal Brexit will hasten the breakup of the UK, not least in NI. The DUP are getting it in the neck from the big Unionist farmers and businesspeople, and I expect the pressure to ramp up as a no deal Brexit approaches. We'll all suffer on the island of Ireland, but the North will be hit far harder. For example, a lot of NI trucks get on the M1 motorway down to Dublin Port or Rosslare, but they'll be stopped for hours with a new hard border put in place and all the added paperwork.

The irony is that the backstop would be less of an issue if there was a joint customs on the island of Ireland, but the DUP blocked it.

[elleng]

2. This will take him far!

I may make a return visit (to Ireland and Scotland) after they split (OR he's gone!)

[msongs]

5. broken links nt

[Denzil_DC]

6. Really? I just tried them all and they're working OK here (in the UK). n/t

[Haggis for Breakfast]

7. That's right Boris, piss off the Scots . . .

That will work out well. I see another referendum on the horizon. This time without the interference and lies. Poor Nicola Sturgeon looks like she'd rather be mucking sheep.

[T_i_B]

8. Don't be surprised if there's internal maneuvering in the Tory party...

...against Ruth Davidson. We've seen grassroots Tories going after MP's such as Dominic Grieve and it would not surprise me at all if they go after Ruth Davidson for not being ideologically pure enough. It's worth remembering at this point that one of the main things they wanted from Boris Johnson was a purge of those considered "remainers" from top appointments.

The hardcore Brexshitters in the Tory Party are even worse than Momentum for internal shenanigans in the name of ideological purity to be honest.