Politics
Ellie Abraham
Jan 27, 2022
Independent TV
Boris Johnson’s jibe at Keir Starmer in which he criticised him for being a “lawyer not a leader” at PMQs yesterday has majorly backfired as a new spin on it trends on social media.
It was yet another challenging Prime Minister’s Questions for Johnson as MPs continued to call for his resignation over “Partygate”.
The wounded PM attempted to show some fight with a jibe directed at the Labour Party leader and lawyer Starmer.
Johnson said: “The problem with the Labour Party today, Mr Speaker, is that he’s a lawyer not a leader.”
Boris Johnson -The problem with the Labour Party, today, is that he's a lawyer, not a leader. \n\nLloyd Russell-Moyle - I would prefer to be led by a lawyer, than a liar.\n\n#PMQspic.twitter.com/JYwIfnXK95— Haggis_UK \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa (@Haggis_UK \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa) 1643201640
But it didn’t take long for Johnson’s jibe to come back to bite him, as Labour & Co-operative MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle retorted: “I would prefer to be led by a lawyer, than a liar. Will he [Johnson] now resign?” He was told to withdraw his comment as it is not considered within the boundaries of parliamentary etiquette to call another member a liar.
The Labour MP said: “I withdraw it. That’s what my constituents think.”
Unfortunately for Johnson, it appears many agree with Russell-Moyle’s constituents sentiments as the hashtag “#ALiarNotALeader” began to appear on Twitter.
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Using the hashtag, many argued that some claims Johnson has made in regards to the economy, Brexit, partygate, and other topics are "lies".
One person wrote: “‘The government denies the queues are Brexit-related’ #ALiarNotALeader,” referencing queues that are said to be caused by new border checks, though the government denies this.
"the government denies the queues are Brexit-related"\n\n#ALiarNotALeaderhttps://twitter.com/itvnews/status/1486422747106402311\u00a0\u2026— Steve Walker #ThePeoplesLockdown (@Steve Walker #ThePeoplesLockdown) 1643273166
Others claimed his remarks on the economy are only true when looking at a certain way of measuring the data:
#ALiarNotALeaderhttps://twitter.com/adamjschwarz/status/1486311141127110667\u00a0\u2026— TimeForChange #SaveOurNHS #GTTO #FBPE (@TimeForChange #SaveOurNHS #GTTO #FBPE) 1643272993
Boris Johnson is #ALiarNotALeaderhttps://twitter.com/AdamJSchwarz/status/1486311141127110667\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\udf39\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa \ud83c\udf0d\ud83d\udc99 #GTTO #FBPE (@\ud83c\udf39\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa \ud83c\udf0d\ud83d\udc99 #GTTO #FBPE) 1643272701
Another argued: “Johnson’s tactic is to claim the public are all bored with the lies and law breaking. That’s why he’s dragging it all out.
“Don’t fall for it. He’s unfit for public office. He hasn’t been ‘ambushed by cake’ He’s broken the law & mislead Parliament. #ALiarNotALeader.”
Johnson\u2019s tactic is to claim the public are all bored with the lies and law breaking. That\u2019s why he\u2019s dragging it all out. \nDon\u2019t fall for it. He\u2019s unfit for public office. He hasn\u2019t been \u2018ambushed by cake\u2019 He\u2019s broken the law & mislead Parliament. #ALiarNotALeader— Heather Rufus Countess of Midlandshire (@Heather Rufus Countess of Midlandshire) 1643272812
Spot on. 'Decent Tories'is a contradiction in terms, don't hold your breath for them to appear. #ALiarNotALeader #BorisJohnsonOuthttps://twitter.com/SiobhanBenita/status/1486294328377061376\u00a0\u2026— Janice Woodcock (@Janice Woodcock) 1643272634
It comes as we await the finding of Sue Gray’s report into the numerous alleged parties held at Number 10 and as events remain under investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
Meanwhile, politicians have frequently accused the PM of "lying". Dawn Butler was kicked out of parliament for making the accusation last year, while Rory Stewart has also said he lies.
Someone has even made a website called Liar.co.uk redirect to Johnson's Wikipedia page.
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