THE WAUGH ZONE

By Paul Waugh. 29 September 2019.

Public/private partnerships

When Theresa May was asked in early 2017 to respond to Donald Trump’s infamous boast that he could “grab” women “by the pussy”, her shock at even being asked the question live on TV was palpable. May duly told Sky News’s fearless Sophy Ridge that Trump’s words were “unacceptable”, but her irritation was unmistakeable (and she apparently black-balled the programme for bouncing her with the quote, but that’s another story).

Later that same year, Britain’s second female PM effectively sacked both Damian Green and Michael Fallon over their accounts of various pornography use and sexual misconduct. Fallon’s departure followed a phone call from journalist Jane Merrick, who had told No.10 he had lunged at her and tried to kiss her during a lunch.

Today, Boris Johnson faced serious allegations from another journalist (we hacks and politicians are often at lunches and dinners, it’s part of the job). Initially, there seemed to be a no-comment approach from No.10 to Charlotte Edwardes’ detailed account of him grabbing her thigh under a dinner table. This was despite her writing in the Sunday Times: “His hand is high up my leg and he has enough inner flesh beneath his fingers to make me sit suddenly upright.” And he allegedly did exactly the same thing to another woman sitting next to him.

The account matters because this goes beyond the countless stories about Johnson’s marital infidelities. His "rogueish" conduct has always assumed to be “priced in”, in that politico-city-markets jargon. Of course his private life is none of our business and most voters don’t give a damn. But there is a big difference between consensual affairs and allegedly non-consensual groping.

The seriousness of the charge maybe why Downing Street had a spokesman tonight go on record to say “this allegation is untrue”. Edwardes has hit back with a tweet that makes plain she stands by every word: “If the prime minister doesn’t recollect the incident then clearly I have a better memory than he does.”

In many ways, this is a depressingly familiar #metoo moment. Are Number 10 relying on the public not believing one woman’s account? Further problems may come if other women now come forward and talk about even more recent similar incidents. Health secretary Matt Hancock tonight told Channel 4 News: “I know Charlotte well and I entirely trust what she has to say”. Former colleague Amber Rudd tweeted “I agree with Matt”.

Note, however, how this Tory conference reacts to such allegations. When Hancock was asked about them, one female audience member heckled the question. And when Liz Truss was asked about it at a fringe, more heckling of the questioner ensued. Just like Trump supporters claimed the "pussy" story was just a distraction, Johnson today himself tried to dismiss stories about him and businesswoman Jennier Arcuri by saying they were politically motivated. “If you’re in my position, you’ve got to expect a lot of shot and shell,” is how he put it. Expect more Tories, and Leave voters, to suggest new claims about his personal conduct are an attempt to stop Brexit.

As Margaret Thatcher’s former spokesman Bernard Ingham told the Sunday Express today: “I would love to see Boris conduct an election from Pentonville. It would be so wonderful that he’d gone there defending a majority decision of the nation so they put him in jail, cheeky beggars.”

One of those who knows Johnson best recently told me that the reason he can sound so evasive on most subjects is because he has spent a lifetime refusing to answer questions about his private life. Dissembling and keeping things |private" are now part of his political DNA. Maybe that’s why he privately told the cabinet this week he regretted his response on Jo Cox. It’s almost certainly why he privately apologised to the Queen about prorogation.

One former cabinet minister believes Johnson “thinks women are lesser” in many ways. But will any of it affect him at the polls? There is some polling evidence he is less popular among women voters, yet overall he could be on course for the Commons majority he so craves. What’s new tonight, after the pushback at Edwardes, is not just the suspicion that he lies to women, but that he now lies about them.

Quote Of The Day

"There was no interest to declare."

Boris Johnson on whether he declared a personal interest in the Jennifer Arcuri case when Mayor of London.

Sunday Cheat Sheet

Matt Hancock has revealed the government is looking at banning children from school if they do not get vaccinated. In an interview with HuffPost UK at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Sunday, the health secretary said there is a “very strong argument” for making vaccinations compulsory for children.

Boris Johnson sort-of apologised to Labour MP Paula Sherriff for his response to her Jo Cox remarks last week. "That was a total misunderstanding and that was wrong. I can certainly say sorry for the misunderstanding, but my intention was to refuse to be crowded out from using the word ‘surrender’ to describe the Surrender Act."

Jacob Rees-Mogg said the idea of a caretaker PM heading up a government of ‘national unity’ would lead to "a Remoaner coup, to try and frustrate what 17.4m people voted for".

Some 48% of members in a ConHome poll said they think the UK will leave the EU by 31 October. Last month 78% of Tory members thought Johnson would achieve his Brexit deadline.

What I'm Reading

The Machiavelli of Downing Street - New Statesman

Got A Tip?

Send tips, stories, quotes, pics, plugs or gossip to waugh.zone@huffpost.com.

🔊 Subscribe To Commons People

Each week, the HuffPost UK Politics team unpack the biggest stories from Westminster and beyond. Search for Commons People wherever you listen to podcasts and subscribe.

Subscribe to Commons People now.

Did someone forward the Waugh Zone to you? Subscribe here.

HuffPost is now a part of Verizon. On 25 May 2018 we introduced a new Privacy Policy which explains how your data is used and shared.