There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
Concerning that Northern Ireland is going back to Working From Home. That’s a chunk of the UK with the same vaccination experience as the UK.
Did NI not open up as early and emphatically as England? What makes Belfast different to London?
Genuine questions. Because if there isn’t a big difference then WFH could be returning to mainland Britain as well
They have done fewer vaccines per 100 and they took a more European style reopening maintaining social distancing measures and mask wearing indoors. I don't think night clubs and late night bars have reopened there.
The problem is that almost everyone in Europe outside of England kept with the notion that suppressing cases via NPIs was a good idea post-PIs.
It was a terrible idea.
It should have always been obvious that if you need a mask in the summer then how the hell are you planning on coping in the winter?
That said, there is an awful lot of voluntary mask wearing atm in the UK for a country that doesn't mandate mask wearing.
Where? Not in London much other than the Piccadilly line from Heathrow.
In shops there is still tons of mask wearing.
Edit: plus the last time I was on the tube (couple of weeks ago) it was 60-70% mask wearing.
Piccadilly line? And which shops? Not up here.
Not forgetting some people look so much better in a mask so should leave them on.
Concerning that Northern Ireland is going back to Working From Home. That’s a chunk of the UK with the same vaccination experience as the UK.
Did NI not open up as early and emphatically as England? What makes Belfast different to London?
Genuine questions. Because if there isn’t a big difference then WFH could be returning to mainland Britain as well
They have done fewer vaccines per 100 and they took a more European style reopening maintaining social distancing measures and mask wearing indoors. I don't think night clubs and late night bars have reopened there.
The problem is that almost everyone in Europe outside of England kept with the notion that suppressing cases via NPIs was a good idea post-PIs.
It was a terrible idea.
It should have always been obvious that if you need a mask in the summer then how the hell are you planning on coping in the winter?
That said, there is an awful lot of voluntary mask wearing atm in the UK for a country that doesn't mandate mask wearing.
Where? Not in London much other than the Piccadilly line from Heathrow.
In shops there is still tons of mask wearing.
Edit: plus the last time I was on the tube (couple of weeks ago) it was 60-70% mask wearing.
Piccadilly line? And which shops? Not up here.
Central, Northern, Jubilee. All where people not in masks are the exception.
Perhaps the Piccadilly Line is a particularly happy go lucky line.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
I don't deny others find him charismatic. I don't. Never have done. Maybe that's why I don't hate him?
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
That was effective but the killer (imo) was him driving a truck through the fake wall in that factory. The wall was the Brexit impasse and he just damn well drove through it and knocked it over, boom, it's gone. For the Brexit election, with most of the country sick and tired of the wrangling, it was perfect. Worth a million words. And it played to his big bear physicality, also it ... oh ffs I can't go on, all true, this stuff, but I just can't be typing any more of it out, it both bugs and bores me at the same time. BoJo gave us Brexit, yes, but a deeper truth is that Brexit gave us BoJo and we're stuck with him until we aren't.
The more I ponder it, the more I wonder if he will be gone sooner than you think. I get Dura Ace's angle that Boris likes the perks of the job, and the status (and surely Carrie likes them even more, probably a lot more), but Boris is easily bored, and impulsive (as we have discussed), I can easily see him waking up one day, the baby screaming, the media haranguing him, everyone shouting at him, or looking disappointed - and he will think "Fuck this for a game of toy soldiers, I got Brexit done, I got us through the pandemic, I'm nearly 60 and I want to earn loads of money and trot around the world like Blair, then I can hire a million nannies as well"
Highly possible. If it is going to happen it will be when the pandemic is clearly finished. Summer next year?
Nah. He is PM. It is what every politician and many non-politicians aspire to. The top. Numero Uno. You simply don't give that up unless you have to.
He might be presented with a revolver and a bottle of whisky but it won't be voluntary.
Dunno. I agree with your general rule, it is true of 98% of politicians, but Boris Johnson is exceptional in good and bad ways. He could be in the 2%
My thinking is that he makes mad random decisions quite a lot (much more than most people). This could be one: "Fuck it, I'm done"
To pluck a figure out of my ass I would say there's a 23% chance he will do this before the next GE. I do NOT believe he will ever be handed the revolver. No one in the Tory Party has the cullions
Concerning that Northern Ireland is going back to Working From Home. That’s a chunk of the UK with the same vaccination experience as the UK.
Did NI not open up as early and emphatically as England? What makes Belfast different to London?
Genuine questions. Because if there isn’t a big difference then WFH could be returning to mainland Britain as well
They have done fewer vaccines per 100 and they took a more European style reopening maintaining social distancing measures and mask wearing indoors. I don't think night clubs and late night bars have reopened there.
The problem is that almost everyone in Europe outside of England kept with the notion that suppressing cases via NPIs was a good idea post-PIs.
It was a terrible idea.
It should have always been obvious that if you need a mask in the summer then how the hell are you planning on coping in the winter?
That said, there is an awful lot of voluntary mask wearing atm in the UK for a country that doesn't mandate mask wearing.
Where? Not in London much other than the Piccadilly line from Heathrow.
In shops there is still tons of mask wearing.
Edit: plus the last time I was on the tube (couple of weeks ago) it was 60-70% mask wearing.
Just had a trip. Local X-Ray dept; everyone (including Mrs C & myself) masked. Petrol station. Outside,m so no problem. CurrysPCWorld; no request for mask, staff all.... what there were of them .... unmasked. One customer, in front of us in the queue for till masked. Incidentally, advice adequate but they really didn't want to take my money. One chap on duty who was also, apparently, giving advice.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
It was above all CORBYN.
I loathe Boris. I loathe Brexit. But I loathe Corbyn about a million million million times more.
And I imagine as I think so does perhaps a majority-winning number of reasonably centrist types around the country.
It was above all CORBYN.
You are absolutely right Topping. 🤙
Un prime ministerial Boris versus Un prime ministerial terrorist sympathiser.
I voted libdem.
Hmm. This has just popped up on the Graun feed.
'A Conservative councillor has agreed to pay “substantial” damages and legal costs to Jeremy Corbyn for a tweet containing a fake photograph of the former Labour leader at the scene of the Liverpool terrorist attack.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Paul Nickerson, a councillor on East Riding of Yorkshire council, has apologised and taken “full responsibility” for the doctored tweet, which showed Corbyn laying a poppy wreath at the burning taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital, and was captioned with the word “unsurprisingly”, PA Media reports.'
Edit: some odd wording in the photographed statement in that tweet as to the circumstances of the original tweet-at-issue's posting.
Hmm indeed. It's a reasonably good photoshop (bit of searching brings up the image) but pretty obviously a fake (apart from anything else, Corbyn obviously wasn't there when the car was burning and he's shown uncomfortably close). Clearly bad taste, but possible to defend it as satire, I'd have thought? If it looked convincing and people actually believed Corbyn had done it then I see the damage caused. But as an (obvious?) joke I'm a bit concerned about 'damages' (what damage?) being paid here.
Kind of thing that I wouldn't be too surprised to see someone share on a family whatsapp. I'd never tweet it, but I don't use twitter in that kind of way (or, indeed, much at all). How I think about it depends, I guess, on how 'substantial' the damages are. I'd have thought a public apology was more than sufficient.
Can we transpose Johnson on to the Naked Gun 'nothing to see here' image with a sign saying 'Brexit' on the remains of the building without getting sued?
I'm also struck by the fact that Mr Nickerson goes further and withdraws any suggestion or inference that Mr C is a supporter of terrorist violence.
Substantial damages = more than £10.
That's lawyer speak for you.
"and costs", mind. And grovelling in public.
One of my favourite phrases.
‘We demand an act of oral satisfaction.’
Your mind is filthy Eagles! And I don’t just mean it today.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
That was effective but the killer (imo) was him driving a truck through the fake wall in that factory. The wall was the Brexit impasse and he just damn well drove through it and knocked it over, boom, it's gone. For the Brexit election, with most of the country sick and tired of the wrangling, it was perfect. Worth a million words. And it played to his big bear physicality, also it ... oh ffs I can't go on, all true, this stuff, but I just can't be typing any more of it out, it both bugs and bores me at the same time. BoJo gave us Brexit, yes, but a deeper truth is that Brexit gave us BoJo and we're stuck with him until we aren't.
How much of that campaign really brilliance of Boris or spin doctors utilising him effectively with their own brilliant ideas?
And another element in winning elections, making promises people like and reassures them. Surely the simple answer as polls go against you is you didn’t deliver your promises.
I believe people vote in election for the more hope(ful) option.
If you look at Brexit referendum in that light - Brexit won because it sold the poorer worker a brighter future (no immigrants competing for the jobs and keeping wages down).
Boris then doubled down in 2019 and won the Red Wall seats by offering both Brexit and better jobs and better local amenities.
If those better jobs and better amenities don't arrive I can't see Boris having much chance of winning again.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
Jess Phillips a Maggie Thatcher Fan... Who would have thunk it?
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
That was effective but the killer (imo) was him driving a truck through the fake wall in that factory. The wall was the Brexit impasse and he just damn well drove through it and knocked it over, boom, it's gone. For the Brexit election, with most of the country sick and tired of the wrangling, it was perfect. Worth a million words. And it played to his big bear physicality, also it ... oh ffs I can't go on, all true, this stuff, but I just can't be typing any more of it out, it both bugs and bores me at the same time. BoJo gave us Brexit, yes, but a deeper truth is that Brexit gave us BoJo and we're stuck with him until we aren't.
How much of that campaign really brilliance of Boris or spin doctors utilising him effectively with their own brilliant ideas?
And another element in winning elections, making promises people like and reassures them. Surely the simple answer as polls go against you is you didn’t deliver your promises.
I believe people vote in election for the more hope(ful) option.
If you look at Brexit referendum in that light - Brexit won because it sold the poorer worker a brighter future (no immigrants competing for the jobs and keeping wages down).
Boris then doubled down in 2019 and won the Red Wall seats by offering both Brexit and better jobs and better local amenities.
If those better jobs and better amenities don't arrive I can't see Boris having much chance of winning again.
As an ex-canvasser I'm usually polite to those who knock on my door, but I can see things getting nasty for the Tories in some places.
Concerning that Northern Ireland is going back to Working From Home. That’s a chunk of the UK with the same vaccination experience as the UK.
Did NI not open up as early and emphatically as England? What makes Belfast different to London?
Genuine questions. Because if there isn’t a big difference then WFH could be returning to mainland Britain as well
They have done fewer vaccines per 100 and they took a more European style reopening maintaining social distancing measures and mask wearing indoors. I don't think night clubs and late night bars have reopened there.
The numbers @Leon: England 88.1%, 80%, 26.5% NI 84.9%, 78.9%, 18.7%
That's for first doses, second doses and booster doses.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
That was effective but the killer (imo) was him driving a truck through the fake wall in that factory. The wall was the Brexit impasse and he just damn well drove through it and knocked it over, boom, it's gone. For the Brexit election, with most of the country sick and tired of the wrangling, it was perfect. Worth a million words. And it played to his big bear physicality, also it ... oh ffs I can't go on, all true, this stuff, but I just can't be typing any more of it out, it both bugs and bores me at the same time. BoJo gave us Brexit, yes, but a deeper truth is that Brexit gave us BoJo and we're stuck with him until we aren't.
How much of that campaign really brilliance of Boris or spin doctors utilising him effectively with their own brilliant ideas?
And another element in winning elections, making promises people like and reassures them. Surely the simple answer as polls go against you is you didn’t deliver your promises.
I believe people vote in election for the more hope(ful) option.
If you look at Brexit referendum in that light - Brexit won because it sold the poorer worker a brighter future (no immigrants competing for the jobs and keeping wages down).
Boris then doubled down in 2019 and won the Red Wall seats by offering both Brexit and better jobs and better local amenities.
If those better jobs and better amenities don't arrive I can't see Boris having much chance of winning again.
I 99% agree with you again Eek. But the 1% depends what he is up against, which is what the thread header is reminding us. And not to forget Corbyn stitched up his successors leaving them so low in seats it’s harder to change government next time.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
True but remember May's 2017 disaster - people don't understand how the old system work so the new system (because it's written down and being presented) looks way worse...
Now the reality may be different but few people understand that reality.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
- Lack of empathy for others - Impulsive behavior - Attempting to control others with threats or aggression - Using intelligence, charm, or charisma to manipulate others - Not learning from mistakes or punishment - Lying for personal gain - Showing a tendency to physical violence and fights - Generally superficial relationships - Sometimes, stealing or committing other crimes - Threatening suicide to manipulate without intention to act - Sometimes, abusing drugs or alcohol - Trouble with responsibilities such as a job, paying bills, etc.
I've got 6 or 7 of them. Does that make me semi-sociopathic?
It's probably a fair description, but on the other hand these lists are absurd. I imagine most people tick several boxes. Who doesn't "use intelligence charm or charisma to manipulate others"? That's human society in a nutshell. Everyone TRIES to do that, at the very least, tho most might fail
Which one don't you have.
I don't have numbers
1 3 7 8 10 12
Clear BS!
12 is debatable, I grant you. Some of these things have come and gone in my life. I am sincerely trying to be honest. It would be interesting to know how many boxes are ticked by other PB-ers.
In your case, I’d wonder about 1 given some of the rubbish you post, 3 is a slam-dunk given your notorious outbursts whenever you run out of arguments with someone of a different viewpoint, 7 can only be speculation but the aggression of some of your drunken rants would at least present a ‘?’, on 8 you’ve posted before about the hundreds of women you wouldn’t sleep with again (or vice versa, obvs), 10 I grant you, 12 you’re probably rescued from merely by dint of being a high earner rather than any by actual intrinsic capability.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
That was effective but the killer (imo) was him driving a truck through the fake wall in that factory. The wall was the Brexit impasse and he just damn well drove through it and knocked it over, boom, it's gone. For the Brexit election, with most of the country sick and tired of the wrangling, it was perfect. Worth a million words. And it played to his big bear physicality, also it ... oh ffs I can't go on, all true, this stuff, but I just can't be typing any more of it out, it both bugs and bores me at the same time. BoJo gave us Brexit, yes, but a deeper truth is that Brexit gave us BoJo and we're stuck with him until we aren't.
The more I ponder it, the more I wonder if he will be gone sooner than you think. I get Dura Ace's angle that Boris likes the perks of the job, and the status (and surely Carrie likes them even more, probably a lot more), but Boris is easily bored, and impulsive (as we have discussed), I can easily see him waking up one day, the baby screaming, the media haranguing him, everyone shouting at him, or looking disappointed - and he will think "Fuck this for a game of toy soldiers, I got Brexit done, I got us through the pandemic, I'm nearly 60 and I want to earn loads of money and trot around the world like Blair, then I can hire a million nannies as well"
Highly possible. If it is going to happen it will be when the pandemic is clearly finished. Summer next year?
Two points: T Blair gives no impression of enjoying his global act of having a correct strategy for all situations but no power to implement.
The pandemic won't clearly end. Covid is a fact in reality, and likely to be permanent . Whether it is seen as pandemic, epidemic, endemic or something else will depend as much on the uncertainties of group think and zeitgeist as anything else. This is in the head, not in the outer world.
My best guess is that spring/summer 2022 will see a shift in perspective from pandemic/crisis to epidemic/endemic. This can only happen (in western Europe) in a time of decent weather and outside autumn/winter.
After 21 months it continues to be in the news agenda every day without fail. This is highly unusual. The shift will only be clear when this stops, and becomes irregular. It is by far the easiest way of taking the temperature of the issue. As I write this it is right at the top of the BBC and Guardian websites, and near the top of the FT. After 21 months that is amazing. (and very boring).
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
That was effective but the killer (imo) was him driving a truck through the fake wall in that factory. The wall was the Brexit impasse and he just damn well drove through it and knocked it over, boom, it's gone. For the Brexit election, with most of the country sick and tired of the wrangling, it was perfect. Worth a million words. And it played to his big bear physicality, also it ... oh ffs I can't go on, all true, this stuff, but I just can't be typing any more of it out, it both bugs and bores me at the same time. BoJo gave us Brexit, yes, but a deeper truth is that Brexit gave us BoJo and we're stuck with him until we aren't.
How much of that campaign really brilliance of Boris or spin doctors utilising him effectively with their own brilliant ideas?
And another element in winning elections, making promises people like and reassures them. Surely the simple answer as polls go against you is you didn’t deliver your promises.
I believe people vote in election for the more hope(ful) option.
If you look at Brexit referendum in that light - Brexit won because it sold the poorer worker a brighter future (no immigrants competing for the jobs and keeping wages down).
Boris then doubled down in 2019 and won the Red Wall seats by offering both Brexit and better jobs and better local amenities.
If those better jobs and better amenities don't arrive I can't see Boris having much chance of winning again.
As an ex-canvasser I'm usually polite to those who knock on my door, but I can see things getting nasty for the Tories in some places.
Well having been called a nazi while canvassing for the Cons in 2017 I can tell you that it would be nothing out of the ordinary.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house?
It's the other set of grandparents - the capitalist ones - that she's taking about now.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
That was effective but the killer (imo) was him driving a truck through the fake wall in that factory. The wall was the Brexit impasse and he just damn well drove through it and knocked it over, boom, it's gone. For the Brexit election, with most of the country sick and tired of the wrangling, it was perfect. Worth a million words. And it played to his big bear physicality, also it ... oh ffs I can't go on, all true, this stuff, but I just can't be typing any more of it out, it both bugs and bores me at the same time. BoJo gave us Brexit, yes, but a deeper truth is that Brexit gave us BoJo and we're stuck with him until we aren't.
The more I ponder it, the more I wonder if he will be gone sooner than you think. I get Dura Ace's angle that Boris likes the perks of the job, and the status (and surely Carrie likes them even more, probably a lot more), but Boris is easily bored, and impulsive (as we have discussed), I can easily see him waking up one day, the baby screaming, the media haranguing him, everyone shouting at him, or looking disappointed - and he will think "Fuck this for a game of toy soldiers, I got Brexit done, I got us through the pandemic, I'm nearly 60 and I want to earn loads of money and trot around the world like Blair, then I can hire a million nannies as well"
Highly possible. If it is going to happen it will be when the pandemic is clearly finished. Summer next year?
There's also the point that he would be utterly hopeless, far more so than now, if he had to deal with a very narrow majority (which looks at least reasonably likely) after the next election. And I think he must recognise that.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house?
LOL! Well even Scargill attempted to buy a council property under Mrs T's "Right To Buy" didn't he?
(Revealed many years after the event I seem to remember)
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
True, but as HYUFD helpfully shows us passim, the Tories are currently making a big thing of intergenerational wealth transfer, and to tax the poor more highly on that than the rich* is not exactly consistent with Mrs T's original promise.
*before IHT kicks in on anyone who hasn't claimed all the allowances that benefit rich Tory voting southerners disporportionately already, and who hasn't put in place basic avoidance methods.
- Lack of empathy for others - Impulsive behavior - Attempting to control others with threats or aggression - Using intelligence, charm, or charisma to manipulate others - Not learning from mistakes or punishment - Lying for personal gain - Showing a tendency to physical violence and fights - Generally superficial relationships - Sometimes, stealing or committing other crimes - Threatening suicide to manipulate without intention to act - Sometimes, abusing drugs or alcohol - Trouble with responsibilities such as a job, paying bills, etc.
I've got 6 or 7 of them. Does that make me semi-sociopathic?
It's probably a fair description, but on the other hand these lists are absurd. I imagine most people tick several boxes. Who doesn't "use intelligence charm or charisma to manipulate others"? That's human society in a nutshell. Everyone TRIES to do that, at the very least, tho most might fail
Which one don't you have.
I don't have numbers
1 3 7 8 10 12
Clear BS!
12 is debatable, I grant you. Some of these things have come and gone in my life. I am sincerely trying to be honest. It would be interesting to know how many boxes are ticked by other PB-ers.
Most parents are guilty of 3, I guess. I mean, I try and have reasoned debates with my 4 year old, but sometimes it's "no TV later unless you put your coat on now" that cuts through. Maybe 4, on a good day, as a parent, too
Honestly, I don't think I tick any of the boxes. I feel a bit dull now Impulsive, sometimes, perhaps. I'm a sucker for feeling empathy for others, too, which probably makes me a prime victim for 4 and 10.
- Lack of empathy for others - Impulsive behavior - Attempting to control others with threats or aggression - Using intelligence, charm, or charisma to manipulate others - Not learning from mistakes or punishment - Lying for personal gain - Showing a tendency to physical violence and fights - Generally superficial relationships - Sometimes, stealing or committing other crimes - Threatening suicide to manipulate without intention to act - Sometimes, abusing drugs or alcohol - Trouble with responsibilities such as a job, paying bills, etc.
I've got 6 or 7 of them. Does that make me semi-sociopathic?
It's probably a fair description, but on the other hand these lists are absurd. I imagine most people tick several boxes. Who doesn't "use intelligence charm or charisma to manipulate others"? That's human society in a nutshell. Everyone TRIES to do that, at the very least, tho most might fail
Which one don't you have.
I don't have numbers
1 3 7 8 10 12
Clear BS!
12 is debatable, I grant you. Some of these things have come and gone in my life. I am sincerely trying to be honest. It would be interesting to know how many boxes are ticked by other PB-ers.
In your case, I’d wonder about 1 given some of the rubbish you post, 3 is a slam-dunk given your notorious outbursts whenever you run out of arguments with someone of a different viewpoint, 7 can only be speculation but the aggression of some of your drunken rants would at least present a ‘?’, on 8 you’ve posted before about the hundreds of women you wouldn’t sleep with again (or vice versa, obvs), 10 I grant you, 12 you’re probably rescued from merely by dint of being a high earner rather than any by actual intrinsic capability.
Yeah, yeah, enough of the flattery, I still won't be your friend
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
The comma could easily be removed from the last sentence.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
This comment I nicked from somewhere seems to me to balance out the argument a bit:
No person will be worse off under these new proposals than currently.
Poorer households already receive means tested help with their social care costs. They will continue to do so. None of them will be 'hit' by anything. There is no 'scaling back' of social care support. No-one will in future face real catastrpohe. by being hit with very large care costs.
A cap on care costs is being introduced. It will benefit both those who currently receive no help with their care costs and those who do. Those who have to pay their care costs in full themselves will tot up care costs faster to reach the cap than those whose care costs are already being subsidised.
There is no inequity in this. The only 'inequity' is an envy that other people who, unlike oneself, have not previously received a benefit are now receiving one.
- Lack of empathy for others - Impulsive behavior - Attempting to control others with threats or aggression - Using intelligence, charm, or charisma to manipulate others - Not learning from mistakes or punishment - Lying for personal gain - Showing a tendency to physical violence and fights - Generally superficial relationships - Sometimes, stealing or committing other crimes - Threatening suicide to manipulate without intention to act - Sometimes, abusing drugs or alcohol - Trouble with responsibilities such as a job, paying bills, etc.
I've got 6 or 7 of them. Does that make me semi-sociopathic?
It's probably a fair description, but on the other hand these lists are absurd. I imagine most people tick several boxes. Who doesn't "use intelligence charm or charisma to manipulate others"? That's human society in a nutshell. Everyone TRIES to do that, at the very least, tho most might fail
Which one don't you have.
I don't have numbers
1 3 7 8 10 12
Clear BS!
12 is debatable, I grant you. Some of these things have come and gone in my life. I am sincerely trying to be honest. It would be interesting to know how many boxes are ticked by other PB-ers.
In your case, I’d wonder about 1 given some of the rubbish you post, 3 is a slam-dunk given your notorious outbursts whenever you run out of arguments with someone of a different viewpoint, 7 can only be speculation but the aggression of some of your drunken rants would at least present a ‘?’, on 8 you’ve posted before about the hundreds of women you wouldn’t sleep with again (or vice versa, obvs), 10 I grant you, 12 you’re probably rescued from merely by dint of being a high earner rather than any by actual intrinsic capability.
Yeah, yeah, enough of the flattery, I still won't be your friend
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house?
LOL! Well even Scargill attempted to buy a council property under Mrs T's "Right To Buy" didn't he?
(Revealed many years after the event I seem to remember)
Whereas, Bob Crow got grief (unfairly, in my opinion) for living in a council house...
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
The comma could easily be removed from the last sentence.
Actually, you could also remove the "idiot". That was a little sharp. Apologies Anabobazina. Perhaps I am a bit of a "3" as well
But it WAS a ridiculous question. Who on earth would rather talk to that Whatsherface MP?! Even loathers of Boris would surely be curious enough to talk to him
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
That was effective but the killer (imo) was him driving a truck through the fake wall in that factory. The wall was the Brexit impasse and he just damn well drove through it and knocked it over, boom, it's gone. For the Brexit election, with most of the country sick and tired of the wrangling, it was perfect. Worth a million words. And it played to his big bear physicality, also it ... oh ffs I can't go on, all true, this stuff, but I just can't be typing any more of it out, it both bugs and bores me at the same time. BoJo gave us Brexit, yes, but a deeper truth is that Brexit gave us BoJo and we're stuck with him until we aren't.
The more I ponder it, the more I wonder if he will be gone sooner than you think. I get Dura Ace's angle that Boris likes the perks of the job, and the status (and surely Carrie likes them even more, probably a lot more), but Boris is easily bored, and impulsive (as we have discussed), I can easily see him waking up one day, the baby screaming, the media haranguing him, everyone shouting at him, or looking disappointed - and he will think "Fuck this for a game of toy soldiers, I got Brexit done, I got us through the pandemic, I'm nearly 60 and I want to earn loads of money and trot around the world like Blair, then I can hire a million nannies as well"
Highly possible. If it is going to happen it will be when the pandemic is clearly finished. Summer next year?
Nah. He is PM. It is what every politician and many non-politicians aspire to. The top. Numero Uno. You simply don't give that up unless you have to.
He might be presented with a revolver and a bottle of whisky but it won't be voluntary.
Dunno. I agree with your general rule, it is true of 98% of politicians, but Boris Johnson is exceptional in good and bad ways. He could be in the 2%
My thinking is that he makes mad random decisions quite a lot (much more than most people). This could be one: "Fuck it, I'm done"
To pluck a figure out of my ass I would say there's a 23% chance he will do this before the next GE. I do NOT believe he will ever be handed the revolver. No one in the Tory Party has the cullions
I don't think he does make mad random decisions, though. I agree that is his image, but it doesn't seem to match reality.
On Brexit it sounds like he struggled to decide which way to go to the extent that he wrote more articles on the subject than he was paid for. Given his track record on late article writing this qualifies as an extended bout of tortured introspection.
Similarly he only resigned after Chequers when his hand was forced by the resignation of David Davis - this was not the action of a man prone to mad random decisions.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
This comment I nicked from somewhere seems to me to balance out the argument a bit:
No person will be worse off under these new proposals than currently.
Poorer households already receive means tested help with their social care costs. They will continue to do so. None of them will be 'hit' by anything. There is no 'scaling back' of social care support. No-one will in future face real catastrpohe. by being hit with very large care costs.
A cap on care costs is being introduced. It will benefit both those who currently receive no help with their care costs and those who do. Those who have to pay their care costs in full themselves will tot up care costs faster to reach the cap than those whose care costs are already being subsidised.
There is no inequity in this. The only 'inequity' is an envy that other people who, unlike oneself, have not previously received a benefit are now receiving one.
Again it doesn't matter because no one knows how the current system really works... You can argue all you want but people don't know the current system and the new one is documented in black and white as Labour highlights the unfairness (remember it's a regressive inheritance tax) of it.
That was what screwed May in 2017 and it will screw the Tories at the next election because it only starts from October 2023 (which is the starting point for the next election, as that is when the new boundaries kick off).
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
This is interesting, or is at least an indication of how fed up most doctors are now with the people who refuse to get vaccinated. Berlin doctors are asking for unvaccinated patients treated for covid to be made to pay a share of the costs of treatment:
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
I suspect the context and venue is all important when it comes to meeting Boris.
Concerning that Northern Ireland is going back to Working From Home. That’s a chunk of the UK with the same vaccination experience as the UK.
Did NI not open up as early and emphatically as England? What makes Belfast different to London?
Genuine questions. Because if there isn’t a big difference then WFH could be returning to mainland Britain as well
They have done fewer vaccines per 100 and they took a more European style reopening maintaining social distancing measures and mask wearing indoors. I don't think night clubs and late night bars have reopened there.
The numbers @Leon: England 88.1%, 80%, 26.5% NI 84.9%, 78.9%, 18.7%
That's for first doses, second doses and booster doses.
And remember comparing 88.1 to 84.9 is not about the 3.2% difference, its exaggerated because of the ratio of unvaccinated (11.9 vs 15.1%).
Today I learned, while endlessly prevaricating instead of tackling a difficult flint, that the population of the Ukraine has declined from a peak of 52 million in 1993 to just 41.9 million today (some recent estimates put it down at around 37 million)
That is an incredible fall. A fifth of the country has disappeared in 25 years. If it continues Ukraine will cease to exist in the next century, and will be virtually deserted within a few decades
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
This comment I nicked from somewhere seems to me to balance out the argument a bit:
No person will be worse off under these new proposals than currently.
Poorer households already receive means tested help with their social care costs. They will continue to do so. None of them will be 'hit' by anything. There is no 'scaling back' of social care support. No-one will in future face real catastrpohe. by being hit with very large care costs.
A cap on care costs is being introduced. It will benefit both those who currently receive no help with their care costs and those who do. Those who have to pay their care costs in full themselves will tot up care costs faster to reach the cap than those whose care costs are already being subsidised.
There is no inequity in this. The only 'inequity' is an envy that other people who, unlike oneself, have not previously received a benefit are now receiving one.
Again it doesn't matter because no one knows how the current system really works... You can argue all you want but people don't know the current system and the new one is documented in black and white as Labour highlights the unfairness (remember it's a regressive inheritance tax) of it.
That was what screwed May in 2017 and it will screw the Tories at the next election because it only starts from October 2023 (which is the starting point for the next election, as that is when the new boundaries kick off).
Thankfully I'm not Boris Johnson and I'm not required to care how popular these measures are, I'm just pleased they've been implemented, as a start.
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
I suspect the context and venue is all important when it comes to meeting Boris.
Also being a buxom blonde helps, quite a bit.
Boris has shagged himself stupid through his life. Given that he is not the most attractive man, physically, he clearly has charm and humour - when he wants
I fear he may have thought "Anabobazina" was not worth the effort
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
I suspect the context and venue is all important when it comes to meeting Boris.
Also being a buxom blonde helps, quite a bit.
Boris has shagged himself stupid through his life. Given that he is not the most attractive man, physically, he clearly has charm and humour - when he wants
I fear he may have thought "Anabobazina" was not worth the effort
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
True, but as HYUFD helpfully shows us passim, the Tories are currently making a big thing of intergenerational wealth transfer, and to tax the poor more highly on that than the rich* is not exactly consistent with Mrs T's original promise.
*before IHT kicks in on anyone who hasn't claimed all the allowances that benefit rich Tory voting southerners disporportionately already, and who hasn't put in place basic avoidance methods.
There is no tax on the poor, if you are poor you won't own a property but will be living in social housing or using housing benefits and all your care costs will still be paid anyway.
The £86,000 care cap applies to all homeowners, rich or poor.
The only other alternative would be to say have a policy where nobody will pay more than 40% of their assets in care costs but that would be an administrative nightmare to administer and very costly
In about an hour. Today and tomorrow will be maximum panic days as last week there was a bit of reporting lag building up.
I confess, psychologically, I will be a little freaked if we go over 50K.
It is almost meaningless, I know, but it will impact, nonetheless
Thanks for the NI numbers. The lag in boosters over there might be playing a significant role
I think with the latest guidance on doing a LFT at any time before a social meeting getting above 50k cases will be inevitable. We will end up with 20-30% more tests being done than we have at the moment.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
Great exchange, guys. Keep it going.
PS - Am I the only person who found Boris's Peppa Pig trolling of the shirts at the CBI a real LOL moment? My impression is that while he may be going off the rails, at least he seems to be enjoying himself. (Takes cover...)
Today I learned, while endlessly prevaricating instead of tackling a difficult flint, that the population of the Ukraine has declined from a peak of 52 million in 1993 to just 41.9 million today (some recent estimates put it down at around 37 million)
That is an incredible fall. A fifth of the country has disappeared in 25 years. If it continues Ukraine will cease to exist in the next century, and will be virtually deserted within a few decades
Bulgaria's has shrunk 30% since 1988 - and that excludes any impact from a separate movement from the countryside into Sofia and the other larger towns.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
I've never met him, and don't want to.
I've met Rosena Allin-Khan, however, and she was simply delightful.
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
I suspect the context and venue is all important when it comes to meeting Boris.
Also being a buxom blonde helps, quite a bit.
Boris has shagged himself stupid through his life. Given that he is not the most attractive man, physically, he clearly has charm and humour - when he wants
I fear he may have thought "Anabobazina" was not worth the effort
Was your then incarnation a buxom blonde when you met ?
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
True, but as HYUFD helpfully shows us passim, the Tories are currently making a big thing of intergenerational wealth transfer, and to tax the poor more highly on that than the rich* is not exactly consistent with Mrs T's original promise.
*before IHT kicks in on anyone who hasn't claimed all the allowances that benefit rich Tory voting southerners disporportionately already, and who hasn't put in place basic avoidance methods.
There is no tax on the poor, if you are poor you won't own a property but will be living in social housing or using housing benefits and all your care costs will still be paid anyway.
The £86,000 care cap applies to all homeowners, rich or poor.
The only other alternative would be to say have a policy where nobody will pay more than 40% of their assets in care costs but that would be an administrative nightmare to administer and very costly
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
I've never met him, and don't want to.
I've met Rosena Allin-Khan, however, and she was simply delightful.
I can believe it, she seems like a lovely lady. I have met Boris Johnson, but wish I'd met Rosena instead!
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
"My Mom" - is this a Birmingham thing? The only place I know of in England who don't have a "Mum" are those in the North East who have a "Mam".
Yeah mom is a Birmingham thing, it is weird.
Also very much a US thing.
Yes that's what I meant by it being weird that it's also a Birmingham thing, you don't think of people in the UK saying it but they definitely do in Brum.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
I suspect the context and venue is all important when it comes to meeting Boris.
Also being a buxom blonde helps, quite a bit.
Boris has shagged himself stupid through his life. Given that he is not the most attractive man, physically, he clearly has charm and humour - when he wants
I fear he may have thought "Anabobazina" was not worth the effort
He probably didn't. Still, quite an underwhelming bloke.
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
True, but as HYUFD helpfully shows us passim, the Tories are currently making a big thing of intergenerational wealth transfer, and to tax the poor more highly on that than the rich* is not exactly consistent with Mrs T's original promise.
*before IHT kicks in on anyone who hasn't claimed all the allowances that benefit rich Tory voting southerners disporportionately already, and who hasn't put in place basic avoidance methods.
There is no tax on the poor, if you are poor you won't own a property but will be living in social housing or using housing benefits and all your care costs will still be paid anyway.
The £86,000 care cap applies to all homeowners, rich or poor.
The only other alternative would be to say have a policy where nobody will pay more than 40% of their assets in care costs but that would be an administrative nightmare to administer and very costly
Like National Insurance is not a tax, you mean?
I'm not sure what you meant by your original point. The wealthier will pay more for their care. Perhaps less as a % of their assets (depending on which comparison you choose), but we have never had a system that taxes wealth other than IHT. Even Council Tax likely fails that test.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
True, but as HYUFD helpfully shows us passim, the Tories are currently making a big thing of intergenerational wealth transfer, and to tax the poor more highly on that than the rich* is not exactly consistent with Mrs T's original promise.
*before IHT kicks in on anyone who hasn't claimed all the allowances that benefit rich Tory voting southerners disporportionately already, and who hasn't put in place basic avoidance methods.
There is no tax on the poor, if you are poor you won't own a property but will be living in social housing or using housing benefits and all your care costs will still be paid anyway.
The £86,000 care cap applies to all homeowners, rich or poor.
The only other alternative would be to say have a policy where nobody will pay more than 40% of their assets in care costs but that would be an administrative nightmare to administer and very costly
Basically, if you want to be sure that you leave your kids more than £20k you need to save more than £106k over your lifetime. If you are in the majority they get all that you leave, subject to IHT if you are really rich. If you are unlucky you get a bill capped at £86K, whatever your care costs are and they get the balance with a guaranteed £20k. Still pretty generous on the part of taxpayers if you ask me.
It is not the job of a Social care system to seek to rebalance wealth inequality. It is overreach for it to do so. You can argue for more IHT, less CGT reliefs, whatever but the job of this system is to fund SC at a cost that taxpayers can afford. That's it. Its this sort of whataboutery and distraction which has allowed Dilnott's proposals to gather dust for more than a decade.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
I suspect the context and venue is all important when it comes to meeting Boris.
Also being a buxom blonde helps, quite a bit.
Boris has shagged himself stupid through his life. Given that he is not the most attractive man, physically, he clearly has charm and humour - when he wants
I fear he may have thought "Anabobazina" was not worth the effort
Was your then incarnation a buxom blonde when you met ?
From the official France Diplomacy account: Foreign Minister @JY_LeDrian claims that @BorisJohnson is a "populist who uses all elements at his disposal to blame others for problems he faces internally."
Today I learned, while endlessly prevaricating instead of tackling a difficult flint, that the population of the Ukraine has declined from a peak of 52 million in 1993 to just 41.9 million today (some recent estimates put it down at around 37 million)
That is an incredible fall. A fifth of the country has disappeared in 25 years. If it continues Ukraine will cease to exist in the next century, and will be virtually deserted within a few decades
Bulgaria's has shrunk 30% since 1988 - and that excludes any impact from a separate movement from the countryside into Sofia and the other larger towns.
Yes. People who eulogise the EU forget that the expansion into the East has been calamitous for several countries there, as all their young people vigorously decanted to the richer West, en masse
A good proportion of the indicators for sociopathy are common-or-garden narcissism, and we do need a certain amount of narcissism to function so most people will look down the list and think some of the indicators apply to them. Though they don't, really, it's only when they become a problem.
There's a boring 'in the middle' truth here. The Con GE19 landslide WAS due to Corbyn's weakness as a candidate. But it was also due to Johnson's strength. It was, truly, the Brexit election and it was Brexit that cemented the negative/positive view of the 2 leaders. For Johnson, hellbent on pushing Brexit through, his breezy 'can-do' persona was burnished. For Corbyn, dithering and triangulating, his previous rep as a man of principle was destroyed. So, that 80 seat result, it was Corbyn, and it was Johnson, but above all it was BREXIT.
Yes
And remember that brilliant Xmas Election ad with Boris at the door
The best British political ad I've ever seen. Powerful and persuasive, and it relies almost entirely on Boris' charm and charisma. Of recent prime ministers only Blair at his peak could equal that. Imagine Major or Cameron or May trying it on. Cringe
Farooq made a brilliant analogy on the prior thread. Campaigning is like conceiving, Governing is like parenting. Boris is now surrounded by the tedious nappies of political reality (and real nappies, as well). He needs to learn to be a decent Dad, super quick
Such inventive genius that Rosena Allin-Khan shamelessly copied it a fortnight earlier.
Jesus F Christ. We had this tedious debate at the time. Allin-Khan didn't invent it, either. She ripped it off Love Actually. But then Richard Curtis quasi-plagiarised it from Bob Dylan, and the same technique has been used by lots of other people, over the decades
The point is that Boris and his media team did it superbly well, better than anyone, and they pitched it perfectly at an electorate bloody bored of Brexit. And it has that genius payoff when Boris, shoulders slumped like Churchill, gruffly walks to the camera, and says "Enough. Enough. Let's get this done" - giving a growly voice to the heartfelt desire of practically the entire country
I get that Boris has many many flaws. But it is futile to deny his charisma. Those that do are blinded by their hatred of him, and thus under-estimate him. Fatally. And it is this charisma which also enables him to overcome the flaws - until now, perhaps.....
Not really, she used the meme to make a political ad. And the Ludicrous Boris shamelessly copied it.
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
QED. You fear and loathe him, and it warps your judgement of him
I neither fear nor loathe him. I just think he is an embarrassment.
And you didn't answer my question.
Who would I rather have knocking on my door? Boris Johnson or Rosina Allin-Khan? Is that a serious question??
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
I've met Boris twice – believe me, he's remarkably tedious IRL.
I've also met him, did not find him tedious at all
Great exchange, guys. Keep it going.
PS - Am I the only person who found Boris's Peppa Pig trolling of the shirts at the CBI a real LOL moment? My impression is that while he may be going off the rails, at least he seems to be enjoying himself. (Takes cover...)
Which would be fine if it weren't at our expense. So no, I didn't see the joke.
From the official France Diplomacy account: Foreign Minister @JY_LeDrian claims that @BorisJohnson is a "populist who uses all elements at his disposal to blame others for problems he faces internally."
Today I learned, while endlessly prevaricating instead of tackling a difficult flint, that the population of the Ukraine has declined from a peak of 52 million in 1993 to just 41.9 million today (some recent estimates put it down at around 37 million)
That is an incredible fall. A fifth of the country has disappeared in 25 years. If it continues Ukraine will cease to exist in the next century, and will be virtually deserted within a few decades
Bulgaria's has shrunk 30% since 1988 - and that excludes any impact from a separate movement from the countryside into Sofia and the other larger towns.
Yes. People who eulogise the EU forget that the expansion into the East has been calamitous for several countries there, as all their young people vigorously decanted to the richer West, en masse
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links!
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
What a difference four months make:
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
You don't get sent to a selective grammar school. You win a place as a result of what can be a loaded exam.
"My Mom" - is this a Birmingham thing? The only place I know of in England who don't have a "Mum" are those in the North East who have a "Mam".
Yeah mom is a Birmingham thing, it is weird.
Also very much a US thing.
it's not. It is definitely British parlance now. Do you not have kids?
"Mum" will probably be gone entirely within 20 years. Blame social media
Really? Our kids still say "mum" despite two of them actually being American. In this country I've only ever heard "Mom" from Brummies. Other Americanisms are happening in our house, though. We do correct them when we can and try to encourage use of proper South London idioms in keeping with our surroundings.
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
True, but as HYUFD helpfully shows us passim, the Tories are currently making a big thing of intergenerational wealth transfer, and to tax the poor more highly on that than the rich* is not exactly consistent with Mrs T's original promise.
*before IHT kicks in on anyone who hasn't claimed all the allowances that benefit rich Tory voting southerners disporportionately already, and who hasn't put in place basic avoidance methods.
There is no tax on the poor, if you are poor you won't own a property but will be living in social housing or using housing benefits and all your care costs will still be paid anyway.
The £86,000 care cap applies to all homeowners, rich or poor.
The only other alternative would be to say have a policy where nobody will pay more than 40% of their assets in care costs but that would be an administrative nightmare to administer and very costly
Thinking about this some more, it is all about wealth transfer to the next generation. As Tory party policyt and your own frequent comments make clear.
So it has to be seen in the context also of Tory IHT policy. Which does indeed claim 40% of dutiable assets, at the cost of a fair bit of hassle.
And which is carefully crafted to minimise the effect on home owners in wealthier parts of the UK (because it differentiates between the house and other wealth).
You can't suddenly suggest that complex IHT calculations are acceptable while claiming that similar calculations are impossible for wealth in life.
@Leon, those Ukraine demographic statistics are horrendous.
Yes, the equivalent in the UK would be our population falling from 67 million to about 50 million in the next 25 years. Twice the population of London: disappearing. In one generation. Remarkable and desolating
However as @eek points out, other East European countries have it even worse. And the demographic crunch is spreading....
@Leon, those Ukraine demographic statistics are horrendous.
Yes, the equivalent in the UK would be our population falling from 67 million to about 50 million in the next 25 years. Twice the population of London: disappearing. In one generation. Remarkable and desolating
However as @eek points out, other East European countries have it even worse. And the demographic crunch is spreading....
Yep, you can see the same in Italy with people both moving abroad and those who don't moving abroad leaving the village for say Milan...
Today I learned, while endlessly prevaricating instead of tackling a difficult flint, that the population of the Ukraine has declined from a peak of 52 million in 1993 to just 41.9 million today (some recent estimates put it down at around 37 million)
That is an incredible fall. A fifth of the country has disappeared in 25 years. If it continues Ukraine will cease to exist in the next century, and will be virtually deserted within a few decades
Bulgaria's has shrunk 30% since 1988 - and that excludes any impact from a separate movement from the countryside into Sofia and the other larger towns.
Yes. People who eulogise the EU forget that the expansion into the East has been calamitous for several countries there, as all their young people vigorously decanted to the richer West, en masse
Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips Mrs Thatcher told my Gran to buy her council house. She said it would mean she had something to leave her family. Boris Johnson says to all those who bought their modest 2 bed houses that he's going to take it all away, while people like him get to keep so much
As has always been the case. There has never been a time when older people have been protected from losing their homes. Nor would it be prevented by implementation of Dilnot's primary recommendations.
True, but as HYUFD helpfully shows us passim, the Tories are currently making a big thing of intergenerational wealth transfer, and to tax the poor more highly on that than the rich* is not exactly consistent with Mrs T's original promise.
*before IHT kicks in on anyone who hasn't claimed all the allowances that benefit rich Tory voting southerners disporportionately already, and who hasn't put in place basic avoidance methods.
There is no tax on the poor, if you are poor you won't own a property but will be living in social housing or using housing benefits and all your care costs will still be paid anyway.
The £86,000 care cap applies to all homeowners, rich or poor.
The only other alternative would be to say have a policy where nobody will pay more than 40% of their assets in care costs but that would be an administrative nightmare to administer and very costly
Thinking about this some more, it is all about wealth transfer to the next generation. As Tory party policyt and your own frequent comments make clear.
So it has to be seen in the context also of Tory IHT policy. Which does indeed claim 40% of dutiable assets, at the cost of a fair bit of hassle.
And which is carefully crafted to minimise the effect on home owners in wealthier parts of the UK (because it differentiates between the house and other wealth).
You can't suddenly suggest that complex IHT calculations are acceptable while claiming that similar calculations are impossible for wealth in life.
Yup, that’s about it.
They’re the socialism for the rich party, paid for by the working poor.
They’ve managed to pull off quite the scam in recent years, getting the working poor to vote against their own interests.
Comments
And who would you rather have knocking on your door?
Perhaps the Piccadilly Line is a particularly happy go lucky line.
I don't. Never have done.
Maybe that's why I don't hate him?
My thinking is that he makes mad random decisions quite a lot (much more than most people). This could be one: "Fuck it, I'm done"
To pluck a figure out of my ass I would say there's a 23% chance he will do this before the next GE. I do NOT believe he will ever be handed the revolver. No one in the Tory Party has the cullions
Incidentally, advice adequate but they really didn't want to take my money. One chap on duty who was also, apparently, giving advice.
If you look at Brexit referendum in that light - Brexit won because it sold the poorer worker a brighter future (no immigrants competing for the jobs and keeping wages down).
Boris then doubled down in 2019 and won the Red Wall seats by offering both Brexit and better jobs and better local amenities.
If those better jobs and better amenities don't arrive I can't see Boris having much chance of winning again.
And you didn't answer my question.
England 88.1%, 80%, 26.5%
NI 84.9%, 78.9%, 18.7%
That's for first doses, second doses and booster doses.
And not to forget Corbyn stitched up his successors leaving them so low in seats it’s harder to change government next time.
Now the reality may be different but few people understand that reality.
'I was given a sense of injustice from the day I was born. My grandparents set up the independent Labour party in Birmingham. My grandad was a flag-waving activist. I was born, in 1981, to socialist parents who worked in the public sector. Mrs Thatcher was in power and we’d go on rallies, marches and take part in picket lines from before I can remember.' (Jess Phillips, The Guardian, 18 July 2021)
Granny must have been less of a flag-waving socialist activist than she let on. Wonder how her picketing, rallying kids felt about mum obeying Margaret Thatcher's injunction to buy her council house? Given that they sent darling Jess to a selective grammar school ten years later, perhaps it was where the rot set in.
The pandemic won't clearly end. Covid is a fact in reality, and likely to be permanent . Whether it is seen as pandemic, epidemic, endemic or something else will depend as much on the uncertainties of group think and zeitgeist as anything else. This is in the head, not in the outer world.
My best guess is that spring/summer 2022 will see a shift in perspective from pandemic/crisis to epidemic/endemic. This can only happen (in western Europe) in a time of decent weather and outside autumn/winter.
After 21 months it continues to be in the news agenda every day without fail. This is highly unusual. The shift will only be clear when this stops, and becomes irregular. It is by far the easiest way of taking the temperature of the issue. As I write this it is right at the top of the BBC and Guardian websites, and near the top of the FT. After 21 months that is amazing. (and very boring).
lol. Again: QED
Would I rather have some boring, horse-faced non-entity of a Woke Labour MP for Nowheretown come to visit, or would I rather have the rollicking Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the country, father of seven, husband of three, ex editor of the Spectator, winner of the Brexit wars, clown and/or hero to millions.
Ooh. Tough question. Which one gets invited in for some egg nog and a gossip?
The fecking prime minister, idiot
And I think he must recognise that.
(Revealed many years after the event I seem to remember)
*before IHT kicks in on anyone who hasn't claimed all the allowances that benefit rich Tory voting southerners disporportionately already, and who hasn't put in place basic avoidance methods.
Honestly, I don't think I tick any of the boxes. I feel a bit dull now
Given the choice, of course Boris Johnson won.
No person will be worse off under these new proposals than currently.
Poorer households already receive means tested help with their social care costs. They will continue to do so. None of them will be 'hit' by anything. There is no 'scaling back' of social care support. No-one will in future face real catastrpohe. by being hit with very large care costs.
A cap on care costs is being introduced. It will benefit both those who currently receive no help with their care costs and those who do. Those who have to pay their care costs in full themselves will tot up care costs faster to reach the cap than those whose care costs are already being subsidised.
There is no inequity in this. The only 'inequity' is an envy that other people who, unlike oneself, have not previously received a benefit are now receiving one.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513521/Bob-Crow-says-moral-duty-leave-council-house-despite-generous-salary.html
But it WAS a ridiculous question. Who on earth would rather talk to that Whatsherface MP?! Even loathers of Boris would surely be curious enough to talk to him
On Brexit it sounds like he struggled to decide which way to go to the extent that he wrote more articles on the subject than he was paid for. Given his track record on late article writing this qualifies as an extended bout of tortured introspection.
Similarly he only resigned after Chequers when his hand was forced by the resignation of David Davis - this was not the action of a man prone to mad random decisions.
It is almost meaningless, I know, but it will impact, nonetheless
Thanks for the NI numbers. The lag in boosters over there might be playing a significant role
He hasn't had a positive approval rating in a single opinion poll since April!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership_approval_opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election#Keir_Starmer
Richard Tice
@TiceRichard
· 42m
Number of voters in Bexley saying yesterdays shambolic speech by Boris the final straw, extraordinary!
Dad of Birmingham Jess Phillips MP writes glorious letter defending her roots
...my Mom worked as a conductor on the buses during the war... My Mom remarried when I was four years old, and with my wonderful stepfather we eventually got a council house of our own in Sheldon (also part of Jess's constituency). Jess's other Grandma was a dinner lady at the local school in Yardley - are you getting the links! An exam which most people don't have the choice to take, thanks to Labour. However, I apologise wholeheartedly to Jess's parents. Apparently Jess was : "A precocious child who insisted, against the wishes of her parents, on attending the local grammar school". Sadly, she had more sense at 11 than she does now.
720 deaths in the Ukraine - equivalent to about 1200 in the UK
We are still a week from December: we are still theoretically in autumn. This winter could be utterly brutal in Europe
That was what screwed May in 2017 and it will screw the Tories at the next election because it only starts from October 2023 (which is the starting point for the next election, as that is when the new boundaries kick off).
"Boris Johnson is not unwell and has not lost his grip, says No 10
Downing Street spokesperson responds to questions about PM’s health after rambling speech to CBI on Monday"
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/23/boris-johnson-is-not-unwell-and-has-not-lost-his-grip-says-no-10
Berlin doctors are asking for unvaccinated patients treated for covid to be made to pay a share of the costs of treatment:
https://www.kvberlin.de/die-kv-berlin/pressemitteilungen/detailansicht/pm211123
I don't know how realistic it is, but I think it would be quite popular.
That is an incredible fall. A fifth of the country has disappeared in 25 years. If it continues Ukraine will cease to exist in the next century, and will be virtually deserted within a few decades
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Ukraine
Boris has shagged himself stupid through his life. Given that he is not the most attractive man, physically, he clearly has charm and humour - when he wants
I fear he may have thought "Anabobazina" was not worth the effort
The £86,000 care cap applies to all homeowners, rich or poor.
The only other alternative would be to say have a policy where nobody will pay more than 40% of their assets in care costs but that would be an administrative nightmare to administer and very costly
PS - Am I the only person who found Boris's Peppa Pig trolling of the shirts at the CBI a real LOL moment? My impression is that while he may be going off the rails, at least he seems to be enjoying himself. (Takes cover...)
I've met Rosena Allin-Khan, however, and she was simply delightful.
My older daughter calls her Mum "Mom". I find it a little sad
Boris just looks unwell - that expression reminds me of my Grandfather after 5 years of Parkinson's
"Mum" will probably be gone entirely within 20 years. Blame social media
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2021/11/356_319318.html
I think unfair is an understatement don't you?
It is not the job of a Social care system to seek to rebalance wealth inequality. It is overreach for it to do so. You can argue for more IHT, less CGT reliefs, whatever but the job of this system is to fund SC at a cost that taxpayers can afford. That's it. Its this sort of whataboutery and distraction which has allowed Dilnott's proposals to gather dust for more than a decade.
https://twitter.com/francediplo_EN/status/1462834768563822609
But, each to his own.
So no, I didn't see the joke.
Do you not understand the meaning of "also" ?
So it has to be seen in the context also of Tory IHT policy. Which does indeed claim 40% of dutiable assets, at the cost of a fair bit of hassle.
And which is carefully crafted to minimise the effect on home owners in wealthier parts of the UK (because it differentiates between the house and other wealth).
You can't suddenly suggest that complex IHT calculations are acceptable while claiming that similar calculations are impossible for wealth in life.
However as @eek points out, other East European countries have it even worse. And the demographic crunch is spreading....
They’re the socialism for the rich party, paid for by the working poor.
They’ve managed to pull off quite the scam in recent years, getting the working poor to vote against their own interests.