Best Of

@tpgroberts.bsky.social‬

I think people are broadly right that the public don't process these defections as "failures keep joining Reform" so much as "Reform are clearly doing well to have people join them" but there must surely be a limit to that.

‪@stephenkb.bsky.social‬

It all depends on how the Conservative leadership chooses to act, I think. Reform could end up looking as 'the Conservatives, changed and will be different this time' (generally a good position to have in British politics) or 'the party of failed extremist dregs' depending on what the Tories do.

Kemi needs to work out how to make Reform look like 'the party of failed extremist dregs' - but I don't think she has the ability to do so...

Cleverly could do so, Kemi not so much. Which is why she needs to ensure the Tories are second on NEV in May or Tory MPs will be thinking ex Home and Foreign Secretary Sir James will be better able to win over the centre ground and Labour and LD tactical votes in their seats to beat a hard right Reform than Kemi is.

A VONC in Kemi's leadership then becomes likely

You keep repeating this ad infinitum when in practice the consevative party has the best leader for them already

Jenrick, Braverman and others defecting has made her position secure and she will lead into GE 29

It really hasn’t.

She’s lost the firewall of Jenrick succeeding her.

Jenrick has found his home with the spivs of Reform.

He will never rise to a decent role in government again.

A rare agreement with you @TSE

The statement is beyond crass, it must have been written by some 20 year old dickhead in CCHQ

I’d say the same if it was about Diane Abbott or, god help me, Nicola Sturgeon

Why? Because

1. If it is true it is grotesque and cruel, and way beyond the pale of political abuse

Or, if it is, as I strongly suspect

2. Totally untrue, it is a nasty, childish, boorish, unfunny slur, which disgraces the Tory Party

Also, it is totally unnecessary. There are multiple ways to give Braverman a subtle kicking as she quits, they flawlessly chose the worst

How many on the left have in the past said Cruella was "mad as a box of frogs"?

Spolier: most of them.

The hypocrisy is off the scale...

"Mad" is a colloquialism that can denote a subscriber to off-beam views or someone who otherwise behaves oddly and doesn't necessarily refer to a person's mental health. Calling someone mad is therefore okay I think, a certain amount of rough and tumble being an acceptable part of public life. The Tory tweet though crossed a line by specifically referencing Braverman's mental health, as their subsequent retraction implies. I have no idea whether it is accurate of course, but that is kind of irrelevant.

Jesus fucking Christ this forum is now near-useless

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good bye

Don't like the door hit you on the way out.

Don’t worry I’ll be banned again soon enough. Whatevs

I do get the Impression the majority here would rather have a group where everyone shares the same core set of views and just spend all day broadly agreeing with each other.

Well, yes. It makes them feel comfy, it is quite sad

We used to compare PB to a raucous pub, which it was, at its best. It has become more of a low-to-middling golf club crossed with pre-trans Mumsnet

The irony is that you and Taz are the ones currently having a circle jerk