Boris Johnson and his illiberal regime

Boris Johnson has only just won his 80-seat majority, and his dictatorial governing style is already detectable.

One of the first to congratulate Johnson on winning the general election in the early hours of December 13th was United States President Donald Trump. He tweeted (obviously) ‘Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT’.

It was fitting that Trump led the reactions by world leaders. After all, Johnson has spent long enough waxing lyrical about a potential trade deal with the US. But the two share more in common than just a yearning for this fanciful deal which is supposedly the cure for just about everything.

Indeed, Trump is known for excluding journalists from reporting on certain activities of his administration. And Johnson took a leaf out of his playbook on February 3rd 2020. №10 sent out invitations for a ‘technical background briefing’ on the PM’s plans to negotiate a Canadian-style free trade agreement with the EU by the end of the year. But when political correspondents from various outlets arrived inside №10, they were asked their names and told to stand in two groups on opposite sides of the entrance hall. Then Johnson’s most senior communications adviser, Lee Cain, tried to exclude reporters from the Mirror, the i, HuffPost, PoliticsHome, the Independent and others.

It is incontestable Johnson’s conduct is an unabashed attempt to limit the perusal directed at his government. And his actions since the election illustrate that.

As the news broke that Tony Hall was stepping down as director general of the BBC in the summer, it also emerged Johnson and his Machiavellian aide Dominic Cummings intend to have significant influence over the appointment of a new director general.

Likewise, when Johnson failed to turn up to a leadership debate on Channel 4 in the election period, the network replaced him with an ice sculpture. He and his government responded by threatening to reassess the channels broadcasting license.

Then when Lewis Goodall, a journalist formerly employed by Sky News, moved to the BBC Newsnight team as the policy editor, Conservative ministers stated they would be avoiding appearing on the show. Their justification? That Goodall is apparently too left wing, and their evidence is a string of anti-Tory comments on social media. Or what is routinely known as journalists doing their job.

That would mean Johnson and his party being held to account. And that is the last thing on his agenda, even though it is basic democratic process. It explains why he chickened out of an interview with the unsparing Andrew Neil from the BBC. The objective is clear here. Avoid any encounters which could paint him in and his party in bad light, and then delegitimise those very outlets and institutions.

But that approach is not limited to just the media apparatus. Johnson’s disdain for political protocol has been conspicuous since he took over the reins, as best exhibited when he prorogued Parliament in September 2019.

Johnson for years talked of taking back control of British laws and restoring sovereignty to parliament after years of alleged British subservience to the unelected bureaucrats in the European Union. Hence, in September, with the October 31st deadline looming, a date the unelected prime minister insisted Britain would exit the EU by, he suspended parliament. After six parliamentary defeats in six days, the prospect of no-deal looming and MP’s adamant on scrutinising and thwarting any chaotic departure, Johnson evaded it all in a bid to force through his extreme proposition.

Hardly the conduct you would expect from the man leading the Great British democracy. But democracy is just an illusion, certainly whilst Johnson is at the helm.

To put things into perspective, Johnson is launching an assault on the media in this country and shut down parliament to prevent legislation passing that could hamper his plans. And the next target in his onslaught is the judiciary.

When his decision to shut down parliament went to the Supreme Court in September, the unanimous ruling from 11 justices in the UK’s highest court was that Johnson’s advice to the queen and the proroguing was unlawful.

So, what has been the response from Johnson and his companions?

In the immediate aftermath the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox proclaimed it may be time for ‘parliamentary scrutiny’ of judicial appointments. Then the Conservative manifesto for the election made reference to examining the relationship between the government and the courts, raising fears that the power of the Supreme Court could be curbed by the prime minister.

In fact, it is believed Johnson is now devising a revenge plot against British judges following his humiliating defeat in the Supreme Court. This could include a ‘constitution, democracy and rights commission’ tasked with ensuring judicial reviews are not ‘abused to conduct politics by another means or to create needless delays.’

Judicial review is the process where members of the public can take the government to court to rule on whether their actions are lawful. It is a crucial power of the court system, and exists to make sure governments — however strong their hold on power — have to operate within the law.

And the idea of independent institutions standing firm and maintaining a balance of power has clearly bothered Johnson. The sole institution which remained objective throughout the Brexit debacle and was not swept along by the deceit and misinformation and ergo held Johnson to account has now been made a target. Johnson did not get his way, and is now throwing his toys out the pram because some scrutiny came his way. Straight from the illiberal manual of Hungary’s authoritarian ruler Viktor Orban, who recently demolished the independence of the judiciary.

An unshakeable judiciary is the lifeblood of democracy. So too is a nonpartisan media and a sovereign parliament where the leader of the country can be forensically questioned in a sophisticated manner. Yet with each passing day, the validity of these institutions is being eroded.

Johnson delivered a thumping majority by shattering Labour’s foundations in the red wall, and is now fracturing the foundations of democracy with his tyrannical rule.