Oh dear. Although Theresa May has managed to make it through the Queen’s Speech today, the real test will come next week when MPs vote on it. With the Prime Minister’s authority already weak, talk has turned to who will be her eventual successor.
So, it was a helpful coincidence that the frontrunner to be the next Tory leader just so happened to be doing the press rounds today. Boris Johnson appeared on Radio 4, where he was interviewed by Eddie Mair on his party’s sparse legislative plans for the next two years.
Unfortunately for Johnson, the interview did not go to plan. Asked how his party’s plan would help deal with the ‘burning injustices’ in the UK, the Foreign Secretary bumbled and blustered. He repeatedly sounded as though he was shuffling through his papers for answers:
A particularly awkward point came when Johnson was asked how Theresa May would help deal with racial disparity in how people are treated by the criminal justice system:
EM: What does this Queen’s Speech do to make sure the criminal justice system stops treating black people more harshly than white?
BJ: Well, there are measures… I believe in the bill on the courts which I think is supposed to address some of those issues and I think one thing in particular that we are looking at is… err… measures to… hang on a second… [sigh]… there are all sorts of measures that we want to take to ensure we do not discriminate against everybody and… err… I think you’ll find that the Prime Minister has been strong on that.
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