Shiny Rishi seems to have lost some of his buff this week. That your wife as a foreign national holds ‘non-dom’ status and can pay some tax elsewhere is perfectly legal. There’s no laws against having a US green card while in UK office. All in all these show modern international cosmopolitanism refreshingly at odds with the Little England Conservative Party, this Scotsman would have to approve wholeheartedly. For someone seemingly on track to lead a country it shows a disqualifying half-hearted approach to that country though.
Saint Rishi is a political novice. A professional would have fixed this long ago. But there’s also no laws against inexperience.
He’s just had a much bigger test however. Saint Rishi and Honest Boris got fined for breaking the covid law they wrote. This is unacceptable. It’s a piffling break of the rules. But their rules. They must make the example. And cabinet breaking criminal law is a step too far.
The expectation and precedent is that they resign. Johnson will never do that, he thinks himself above rules and doesn’t care what precedents he creates – no-matter the constitutional damage he does (something beyond his ken). Nobody will expect Johnson to do any decent thing and he’s unlikely to surprise us. Johnson’s had his time though, he’s done the top job and now’s just looking for money.
Saint Rishi however should be looking to his future. If he were a natural politician (or had better advice) he would resign now. The second from top job will be hard to relinquish, but he’d look principled and self-sacrificing. The black mark of the fine would quickly fade and his reputation would end up enhanced. Looking a man of integrity and wisdom in a year or less he’d be considered prime Prime Ministerial material. As a bonus he’d make his boss look like the self-serving crook he is.
The next day or so will prove his political qualities, and his future. If he goes – the sooner the better – the more competent a politician he is. Let’s hope he’s got that at least; he’s not been much of a chancellor.