THE partygate saga – both in Downing Street and the former prime minister’s weekend retreat of Chequers – was no unfortunate accident for Boris Johnson. Partygate was symptomatic of the chaotic and laissez-faire of his “style of management”.

Johnson’s government had laid down strict rules that everyone had to obey. Yet Johnson saw himself as above such restrictions. Such an attitude was deep-rooted.

A master at Eton had earlier stated in a letter to Stanley Johnson that the youthful Boris “sometimes seems affronted when criticised for what amounts to a gross failure of responsibility. I think he honestly believes that it is churlish of us not to regard him as an exception, one who should be free of the network of obligation that binds everyone else”.

But the arrogance and entitlement of partygate did not come alone.

Johnson was forced to resign as prime minister by his own Cabinet and MPs following his failure of judgement in seeking to stop Owen Paterson’s suspension from Parliament for lobbying for companies that paid him more than £500,000. This combined with Johnson’s decision to make Chris Pincher a deputy chief whip despite being told earlier of allegations of sexual assault by Pincher.

Despite such a turbulent history, when Liz Truss’s premiership imploded, Johnson cut short his Caribbean holiday to throw his hat in the ring for the Tory leadership. He expected enthusiastic support from Tory MPs on his arrival which did not materialise. He had made no plans, he had no team for his leadership challenge.

Once again, arrogant and entitled!

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said when the potential leadership contenders were jockeying for position and vying for votes, “he certainly found himself struggling and begging for votes. That was demeaning really.”

Johnson had not realised through his lies and repeated judgement failures, he had frittered away his political capital.

Johnson’s resignation honours list was yet another unedifying spectacle. Honours for cronies like Jacob Rees-Mogg alongside awards to his hairdresser and dog walker! Maintaining the trademark dishevelled hairstyle despite a thinning thatch must have been very demanding!

Minister Grant Shapps said recently “I think the world has moved on from what was quite a dramatic period”.

There are some Johnson loyalists but few Tories would contemplate a resumption of the chaotic and disorganised mess that was the Johnson government. Boris Johnson is yesterday’s man!

Andrew Milroy

Trowbridge

THE long-standing convention that members of parliament do not call one another liars must end now.

Looking back over recent years, this convention has contributed in no small way to the denigration of parliament and democracy by ministers and a series of governments that have scant respect for the law, let alone convention.

John Jamieson

South Queensferry

CAN there be a better justification for my abject disdain for the Greens than Patrick Harvie’s latest scheme to ban gas boilers from new-build domestic and commercial properties from April 2024? (The National, June 13).

Once again the theory sounds good but the practicality demonstrates the rank disregard the Greens have for those on whom they would inflict their “initiative” in their usual truncated timescale and hell mend those they impose it on and who haven’t voted for it or them.

And to impose this at a time when the production of electricity, even by eco-friendly generation, is at a record-high price to consumers who are already struggling to pay the expensive bills that government has failed to curtail, is little more than a despicable political dictatorship.

Before taking such a huge step shouldn’t the Government be recognising power generation as a public service and return it to not-for-profit public ownership? And shouldn’t electricity tariffs be standardised to allow cost-effective use all day so as to allow it to replicate the operational advantages of the gas boilers the Greens want to junk?

Green theory may be something we can all aspire to but only when it is affordable and matches the efficiency of what’s being replaced.

But then, this political convenience deal with the Greens, which voters didn’t sanction at the ballot box, has allowed them to worm their way into the heart of government and inflict their dogma despite having no electoral mandate to do so.

Doesn’t this SNP Scottish Government need to maintain common sense and rein in these wild excesses of the minority Green Party in the interests of the overwhelming majority who don’t vote for them?

Jim Taylor

Edinburgh

SANDESH Gulhane was on the radio at lunchtime on Wednesday, whinging about the SNP’s response to junior doctors in Scotland.

Of course, it is not pointed out to him that England’s doctors are on strike right now and have rejected a 5% pay rise. Not a mention nor a question regarding that.

In Scotland, the Government is negotiating with the doctors in good faith – not like the squabbling and undermining of both doctors and nurses going on in England.

The Scottish Government is trying hard to solve the situation and has offered 14% over two years with a commitment to review the situation.

He also complained at great (uninterrupted) length about the use of locum staff without pointing out that he himself has been in that category. Of course, this was not mentioned by him or the interviewer.

Brass neck has nothing on this guy.

Winifred McCartney

Paisley