Kate Plummer
Jul 07, 2022
Indy
While Boris Johnson was resigning today, his predecessor Theresa May was taking a swipe at him in a speech.
May lost her grip on power in 2019 in part due to Johnson so she must have been pretty thrilled while she gave a lecture at the Institute for Government this afternoon.
The speech was in tribute to her former Tory Cabinet minister James Brokenshire, who died from lung cancer in October last year, with the theme of public service.
"What a week in which to hold this lecture!," she joked.
"But, for the avoidance of doubt, this is the speech I would have given regardless of circumstances."
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\u201cAbsolutely perfect timing that Theresa May is delivering a speech at the @instituteforgov on restoring faith in politics. \n\n"What a week to hold this lecture," she starts. "But for the avoidance of doubt this is the speech I would have delivered regardless."\u201d— Pippa Crerar (@Pippa Crerar) 1657192175
Next, she praised cricket and compared it to politics to further dig at Johnson.
"In cricket, it's not enough to avoid breaking the rules," she said. "In fact the game requires adherence to its traditions as much as its laws."
She added: "In politics, of course, playing by the rules means following the law."
\u201cTheresa May currently trolling her successor at @ifg: \n\n"In cricket, it's not enough to avoid breaking the rules. In fact the game requires adherence to its traditions as much as its laws," she observes.\n\n"In politics, of course, playing by the rules means following the law."\u201d— Jim Pickard (@Jim Pickard) 1657192734
In his speech today, Johnson predictably praised himself for his record in government before expressing regret that he would not be continuing. However, he said he would stay in post until the Tories found a replacement leader.
As for May, later she also slammed Johnson over Partygate, saying: "The incidents shown to have taken place during the pandemic in Downing Street and Whitehall over the last two years have done little to dispel these perceptions of excess and exceptionalism at a time when the rest of the country was making sacrifices.
"Breaking the rules and the perception of breaking the rules damages faith."
Maybot who?
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