As a former political journalist watching the events turn out the way they did this summer in British politics has been nothing short of engaging and exciting.
The perfect recipe of a scandal remains intact in its ingredients – sex, lies, and cover-ups. The fall of Boris Johnson, who took office only three years ago after successfully organizing a coup against the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been a cringe-worthy affair. This will always be the story of a man who tainted the land’s highest office while he was in charge and was equally disgraceful as he exited it. The list of scandals and his denials were a match made in hell. The shambolic display of events eventually caught up with this jocular self-serving PM. Here’s how it all unfolded.
Using Snippet Storytelling Principles
The elements of my story consist of the Setting, Character, Plot, Conflict and Arc, hence using the storytelling principles to craft better tweets but focusing on Twitter moments while deciding the topic and ways to make it engaging.
The Setting
The story revolves around Westminster Politics, and the downfall of yet another Tory Prime Minister marred with scandals and cover-ups. A summer of scandals indeed!
Character
At the forefront of it is the disgraced PM, Boris Johnson, who reeks of lies and deceit as soon as he opens his mouth. Not too far away is his Cabinet Ministers, who have defended him for far too long. Finally, the British Public are as much a part of this nasty business where they continue to be lied to and cheated upon simply because this PM will not stop lying.
Plot
One after another, the series of scandals tainted the pillars of this Tory government – Partygate and Pincher was the top of the list where the Prime Minister lied to the British public and misled the Parliament.
Conflict
The internal investigation of the Partygate scandal led by Senior Civil Servant Sue Gray revealed multiple gatherings, wine, vomiting and fights in the parties held in No 10.
“The report also reveals that a leaving do at No 10 on 17 June that year included “pizza and prosecco” and a karaoke machine. During this event – which went on until 03:00 – one person was sick, and there was a “minor altercation” between two others.“
While the British public followed the rules and stayed indoors, at the cost of being unable to be by the side of their dying loved ones in care homes and hospitals while not being able to attend funerals, those who made the rules thought themselves to be above those same set of rules.
It might have appeared that Boris johnson had survived Partygate by the skin of his teeth. When came the Pincher saga where it was the case of –Pincher by name, Pincher by nature! Serving the fatal blow to Johnson’s Premiership.
Arc
My story has a clear beginning, middle and end.
The End
Once the lies caught up and it was found out that the PM indeed was made aware of the sexual misconduct allegations brought against Chris Pincher even before he was appointed as the Deputy Chief Whip of the Tory Party, it was time for his backbenchers to draw blood. The Cabinet resignations sparked by Sajid Javed, the Health Secretary and Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Ex Chequer, forced the herd to leave Johnson’s side.
With almost 50 resignations, the PM was now hanging by a thread!
Twitter Moments
The chosen topic is an ongoing tale of British politics, hence relevant and timely. The political news story presented through snippet storytelling uses images, videos, hashtags and news links to inform and entertain the audience to evoke a reaction and improve discoverability.
My Twitter story also adheres to the different types of moments as laid out in the Twitter Moments. It’s a commentary on a current story that uses humour and satire to reach a broader audience that does not consider itself political. You don’t have to like Boris the bonkers. You only have to say aww to Larry, the cat!
EXSM 3989 - Digital Storytelling Class Blog 