If ever 1 minute nailed Rishi Sunak’s premiership so far then it’s surely this exchange about Partygate today
Rishi Sunak – no stick with us, please! – was interviewed today where he was asked about how he’d be voting in the Commons on Monday over the parliamentary investigation that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs.
Sunak, you remember, promised ‘integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level’ when he first entered 10 Downing Street.
So presumably he’d be leading by example and be first in the queue to vote in favour of the committee’s findings. No of course not!
And if ever one minute of Sunak captured the essence of his premiership so far, then surely this is it.
Will you turn up?
I wouldn’t want to influence anyone pic.twitter.com/PT659vsqsf— John Stevens (@johnestevens) June 19, 2023
Just in case that’s still not clear what he’s going to do …
BREAKING: Rishi Sunak is not planning to attend the debate and potential vote on whether Boris Johnson should be sanctioned for lying to Parliment.
His spokesman repeatedly refuses to say what Sunak's views are and says he doesn't want to "influence" whatever other MPs decide.
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) June 19, 2023
And here are our 19 favourite things people said about it.
1.
Imagine you're a member of a cross party Parliamentary committee and you've had to install extra security measures after you've been called a 'Kangaroo Court', and then the Prime Minister signals he won't be present to support your cross- party conclusion. https://t.co/bJTTHh402G
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) June 19, 2023
2.
If a prime minister doesn’t want to influence anyone it’s not entirely clear what the point of him is. https://t.co/Cen18I9f8h
— Tom Hamilton (@thhamilton) June 19, 2023
3.
Really not great leadership by @RishiSunak.
If you think it’s unfair to Boris Johnson, vote against report
If you think it’s fair and just then vote for it.
But don’t duck and run for cover https://t.co/1iZxlyT1lI— Jon Sopel (@jonsopel) June 19, 2023
4.
Pathetic. leadership is meant to be one of the Nolan principles of public life https://t.co/1NFTpwTh78
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) June 19, 2023
5.
Rishi Sunak does not think it would be appropriate for him, in his capacity as an MP, party leader and *prime minister*, to express a view on this question of moral integrity and democratic accountability.
Ok, sure. Sorry for asking. What's your favourite ice cream flavour? https://t.co/PItchLPGHl
— Rafael Behr (@rafaelbehr) June 19, 2023
6.
There is a very real chance he will blow up completely during a campaign. He is so bad at this. https://t.co/wfJJ28yFfL
— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) June 19, 2023
7.
The major problem from the start is that nobody took responsibility for what happened – and that remains the case.
If Johnson had taken responsibility, rather than evading it, I suspect the position would be very different now.
Sunak can hardly wash his hands of this – he was… https://t.co/P0ENkBreK5
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) June 19, 2023
8.
The absence of leadership.
Absence of the integrity he promised.
Rishi Sunak is following Boris Johnson not leading his party. https://t.co/kaXhZQ74LP
— Peter Kyle (@peterkyle) June 19, 2023
9.
You're still part of the fucking house mate. https://t.co/LkZPRutCDT
— Richard K Herring (@Herring1967) June 19, 2023
10.
Sunak being prepared for meeting the press. https://t.co/aF7HFvbqKS pic.twitter.com/6I14x7P4vV
— Colin the Dachshund (@DachshundColin) June 19, 2023