Boris Johnson advises next prime minister

Outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson bid farewell to lawmakers in his inimitable style as he pleaded with British MPs not to pay too much attention to Twitter, described the leader of the opposition Labor Party as a “senseless human pillar” ” and — his final shot — channeled Arnold Schwarzenegger as he told the House of Commons, “Hasta la vista, baby.”

Johnson, who is stepping down as a successor is chosen after a series of scandals and controversies, addressed lawmakers on Wednesday in his final session of the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions event, in which he defended his record in office and offered his parting words to Parliament.

He reminded the house that he had helped win the Conservative Party its biggest majority for 40 years at the 2019 election and had overseen a “major reset in UK politics” on Brexit, as well as the of Britain’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and support for Ukraine, saying it was “mostly mission accomplished – for now”.

Johnson also had some advice for his successor – with his former finance minister Rishi Sunak or Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to be chosen by the Conservative Party membership, with the winner announced on September 5 – saying: “I want to use the last few seconds to give a few words of advice to my follower, whoever he or she may be.”

Here were Johnson’s five pieces of wisdom:

Johnson’s first tip was to preserve the UK’s cherished “special relationship” with the US, especially as both countries seek to support Ukraine and Britain seeks to cement a trade deal with the US.

Johnson and President Joe Biden appeared at ease in each other’s company, with the pair joking together at various recent meetings of global leaders, such as the G-7 and NATO summits.

Upon hearing of Johnson’s resignation as leader of the conservative party last month, Biden issued a statement in which he said “close cooperation” between the countries would continue, particularly when it comes to supporting Ukraine, although he did not mention Johnson or his departure.

Along with the US, Britain has arguably been Ukraine’s staunchest supporter and defender when it comes to sending weapons to Kiev to help it fight Russia’s invasion and imposing a series of sanctions on Russia following its unprovoked aggression. .

Johnson was one of the first Western leaders to visit Kiev amid the conflict, a bold move echoed by other leaders and by Johnson, who last visited the Ukrainian capital in June.

When he addressed the Ukrainian Parliament, Johnson evoked the spirit of wartime Britain, known as the “spirit of the Blitz” when it faced Nazi bombs during World War II, to encourage Ukrainians to carry on.

Contrary to more divided public sentiment at home, Johnson has become a popular figure in Ukraine because of the UK’s support for the country in its hour of need.

The third piece of Johnson’s advice was a small jab at the Treasury, Britain’s finance ministry led by Sunak, who is now one of two contenders vying to replace Johnson.

It was no secret that there were tensions between 10 Downing Street and the Treasury with Johnson advocating lower taxes and more borrowing, while Sunak has recently raised taxes and argued that borrowing should be curbed.

“Cut taxes and deregulate wherever you can to make this the best place to live and invest, as it is,” Johnson said, adding: “I love the Treasury, but remember if we always listened to the Treasury , they won’t have built the M25 or the Channel Tunnel,” referring to the massive and costly infrastructure projects that revolutionized British transport routes around London and on the continent.

Moving on to a transportation theme, Johnson’s next piece of advice was to “focus on the road ahead, but always remember to check your rearview mirror,” which drew laughter from lawmakers Wednesday.

It’s hard to know exactly what Johnson was referring to, but the phrase echoes one of Johnson’s main battles in government in recent months, when she has been dogged by accusation after accusation of rule-breaking.

As more reports emerged of parties in Downing Street and other government ministries during the Covid lockdowns, Johnson and his leadership team tried to dismiss the reports.

Even when an investigation found parties that shouldn’t have happened, Johnson tried desperately to focus on the road ahead and said the public wanted to move on.

Political support for Johnson was resilient as the Partygate scandal dragged on, but, in the end, the straw that broke the camel’s back was his appointment of an official who had sexual misconduct allegations against him, which Johnson turned out to have knew despite pretending not to.

A wave of senior official resignations followed, and despite resisting calls to resign, Johnson backed down on July 7 when he announced he was leaving, setting in motion a leadership battle.

Johnson’s final advice to his successors and fellow lawmakers was not to pay too much attention to comments on social media, a digital space that is often vitriolic and destructive, or acts as an echo chamber that reinforces a point of view. someone’s

“Remember, above all, it’s not Twitter that matters; it’s the people who sent us here,” Johnson said, reminding Members of Parliament (MPs) to put their constituents, who elect them to office, theirs first, at the top of their agendas.

Johnson has been MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015 and previously for Henley from 2001 to 2008.

Whether Johnson will now return to a quieter life in the service of his constituents remains to be seen; Rishi Sunak and Truss, when asked in a televised debate to raise their hands if they would give Johnson a job in a new cabinet, did not.

Although not a reference to the other famous Terminator catchphrase – “I’ll be back” – Johnson’s parting words “Hasta la vista, baby” or “see you later”, have prompted political commentators to question whether Boris Johnson, a charismatic politician who played a little fast and loose with the rules, plans a comeback.