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The front pages sum up the worries about Christmas – politicalbetting.com
The front pages sum up the worries about Christmas – politicalbetting.com
This is a tricky one for Johnson because as we all recall last year when a lockdown was brought in at what appeared to be the last minute. Now faced with the awful increasing COVID numbers a decision will have to be taken. This is one that cannot be ducked.
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Kevin Maguire can see the vultures circling around the hapless prime minister - and he doesn't trust any of them while thinking Liz Truss is the heir apparent"
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/liz-truss-edged-pole-position-25740844
Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving case.
… figures revealed the LAS Trust has 353 staff off due to Covid – a rise from the 214 not working because of the virus last week. Overall there are 832 staff off sick, out of its total workforce of 10,951.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/ambulance-service-engulfed-staff-covid-b1978091.html
Best prices - Next Con leader
Sunak 9/4
Truss 5/1
Gove 9/1
Hunt 16/1
Javid 18/1
Tugendhat 25/1
Patel 28/1
Mordaunt 33/1
Raab 40/1
50 bar
In a decade everyone will have utterly disowned both Brexit and Boris. Nobody will have the faintest memory of backing either.
We've filled the chest freezer with enough food to see us (hopefully!) through the New Year, so we can have a small Christmas dinner at home, as we did last year, if we need to stay.
But I'm thinking of compromises: taking the little 'un and the presents up on the day, having some food separately, and then heading back. But that won't be very nice for Mrs J being left behind, and might just be theatre anyway.
Sadly, Christmas day looks as though it's going to be really wet, so it won't be an in-the-garden day.
It's amazing that the tories managed to elect another ditherer as leader.
It was Theresa May's worst fault. It's one of Boris Johnson's many faults. In Mrs May's case I think it was genuine indecisiveness. In Johnson's case I reckon a good part of it is because of his chaotic character, lack of self-discipline, inability to grasp detail, failure to pay attention to the brief, and laziness.
The good news, I just got the booster jab, hopefully medical science will continue to win against this damn virus.
The bad news, it does appear I lost my bet with @Philip_Thompson regarding the SPoTY award. DM sent.
In addition, the comment was about Brexit. I voted remain, and don't think Brexit has gone very well so far. But it's perfectly possible that in thirty or forty years we look back on the 2016 vote and think: "Yep, they got it right."
I hope we do.
https://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2010/07/31/interview-elizabeth-truss/
"Her rebellious political radar appears to have taken shape extremely early indeed. At her Leeds comprehensive, disagreeing with left-wing teachers was one of the reasons she eventually found herself representing the Conservatives. “Most of my teachers were quite left wing and I got quite frustrated with the political correctness and lack of academic rigour. I think it was the frustration with that that started me in the direction towards the Conservative party.”
It took more than one step to get there. Following the early repulsion from her Labour roots, Truss enthusiastically adopted Liberal Democrat yellow. At the age of 17 she became a card-carrying member and went on to preside over the party society at her university, Oxford. One fellow member fondly recalls her as “a complete and utter egomaniac pain in the backside, incapable of working in a team.” This could be a job description for an MP, so I am surprised it took her ten years’ work in business to finally make it to Westminster."
Con Maj 9/5
Lab Maj 6/1
Lab Maj has been stuck at 6/1 for at least a year now, despite 14 straight Labour leads in the polls, the Paterson debacle, Peppa Pig, broken lockdown rules, 100 backbench “shits” etc etc etc.
At some point that price has to budge?
@AlexKokcharov
#Russia’s ice hockey team donned #SovietUnion uniforms today for #ChannelOneCup. Despite the #USSR collapsing 30 years ago.
They lost, against Finland. So much symbolism in this.
https://twitter.com/AlexKokcharov/status/1472713943705661440
As enemies circle, the PM was warned he could be ousted within months.
One top Tory branded No 10 a “sh**show” while another backbencher said he will hand in his letter of no confidence in the PM this week “to put him on notice”.
If it looks like the majority will be lost, the Tories will swap out the leader and re-invent themselves in office, just as they did in 2019. 80 seats is a big majority to lose in one go.
The biggest problem, as the original Cummings identified, is the wife - a somewhat more difficult problem for staff and advisors to work around.
F1: intriguing that Ladbrokes continues to rate Russell's odds as less likely than the Betfair Exchange. His odds there are down to 5.3. Which I find interesting.
Not backing anyone at this stage. If I get a free bet then Russell, Norris, and Vettel will be the ones I'm looking at.
Rather agree with Mr Jessop upthread; should the Coles be thinking about a plan B? There've been some minor teaks already. Only trouble is, some of our family, who live in SE Asia, are here already; now wondering if they might end up rearranging their flights home and not taking the opportunity to see relations Oop North.
It's not a good time to be in UK; I never thought I'd write something like this, but I feel a bit sorry for the PM. It really wasn't supposed to be like this, according to the Great Plan..... if indeed plan there was, not just overweening ambition. For his sake, I hope he's managed to keep it in his trousers while Carrie's hors de combat, and we don't hear angry shouting coming from the flat above No 11!
Given what happened this season, GR might well end up ‘paired’ with Crashtappen, told to drive aggressively against the Red Bull to give Lewis a clear run at his 8th title.
https://twitter.com/RitaPanahi/status/1472524848928751617
We decided against travelling, three years now since we’ve seen the UK family, including a young nephew we’ve yet to meet, but will have to put up with yet another FaceTime Christmas. Maybe we’ll be back in the UK in the summer.
https://www.deccanherald.com/international/most-vaccines-unlikely-to-protect-against-omicron-infections-according-to-initial-studies-1062625.html
Will be interesting to see if this becomes a “wave” and if enough media pressure to show both ends of predictions on hospitalisations/deaths and not just worst case scenarios results in less pressure to impose lockdowns then it’s a good thing.
And nice to see, if a Today editor was reading yesterday, that they don’t just run with whatever was in the guardian the previous day….
@willis_macp
Chris Woakes is the only England batter to reach double figures in every innings this series"
https://twitter.com/willis_macp/status/1472807348733419522
Understand, and sympathise with your view on travelling; we haven't got a new-born to see, but last time we saw one set of grandchildren, while the elder was obviously heading toward adulthood, we have now have two pretty teenage granddaughters.
Only one little one now!
Gideon Rachman
@gideonrachman
Prediction: in a few months time, Truss resigns as Foreign Sec, accusing Johnson of not being tough enough with the EU; repeating exactly what Johnson did to May & for same reason: to position for a leadership bid, knowing Tories will always chase rainbow of perfect hard Brexit
There is no option where Johnson stays, turns a corner and establishes a competent, successful and sufficiently popular administration for re-election. The only question is when he goes and who replaces him.
https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/11/our-cabinet-league-table-johnson-is-back-in-negative-ratings.html
Anything that happens from here, which may or may not include every Aussie sustaining comedy injuries, is irrelevant.
https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/701028930183110656
"Liz Truss
@trussliz
I am backing remain as I believe it is in Britain's economic interest and means we can focus on vital economic and social reform at home.
1:01 PM · Feb 20, 2016"
I wouldn't back Russell with my own money at those odds.
Hoping the new regulations help some teams improve, and quite a few could realistically do so.
If England had any sense, they would draw on the Lions squad. Is Liam Norwell, with his height, a better prospect than Woakes? I would say yes. Ben Foakes, the best keeper/batsman in the world, a better prospect than Buttler? Definitely. Is Bohannon worth considering ahead of Pope? Well, let's face it, he couldn't do a lot worse.
Has HYUFD expressed a preference yet?
I said yes, because Johnson doesn't have the authority any more to shut them. He's too afraid of another backbench revolt that would finish him off.
When he loses his job he won’t be his wife for long
An interesting outsider is Penny Mordaunt. Very different from May, Johnson or Truss, and maybe able to reach parts of the electorate that none of them can.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/dec/19/liz-truss-to-take-on-brexit-brief-after-lord-frost-resignation
Allies of Sunak have long been suspicious of No 10’s treatment of Truss, suspecting that she was set up as a rival to the chancellor in order to clip his wings. “Clearly she plans to bash her way to the final two [in a leadership contest] then allow a Trumpian base to carry her into No 10,” one supporter told the Observer recently...
I wonder if that will play against him significantly.
Agree about Foakes. He was 'told' to move from Essex as there were two 'keepers in front of him..... Foster, who was limpet-like, and Wheater. Foster retired (possibly took umbrage) not long afterwards and Wheater's never really cut out as a keeper. Had Foakes not moved to Surrey he'd have had a regular county keeping spot and would have demonstrated his ability to such an effect that he'd have been an England regular by now.
As far as batting is concerned, Lawrence should be in the side. He's far too good to be the drinks carrier.
She backed remain for logical reasons. The voters decided they had other priorities so put more weight on other factors. She has knocked down and implemented the voters instructions to the best of her ability
I used to be a regular over at Anthony’s blog in the first years, probably 2004-2007ish. I actually started my own blog shortly before both UK Polling Report and PB, and along with Freedom and Whisky and a few other Scottish political blogs, I used to spend all day on them. (2004 was my “year of cancer”, so I had a lot of time on my hands.)
The only one still going strong is PB. I wonder what the lifecycle of a blog is? Is PB an infant? A teenager? In the prime of life? A middle-aged tosser? Or SeanT?
Although I don't expect Lewis to decide whether to continue or not until the unavoidable changes to the race regulations are announced. The question is really, at what point (distance / laps) before the end of the race is a red flag restart automatic if a safety car is required.
This has always been about leadership from the top making the case as to why this huge sacrifice is needed. And who will listen to that hypocritical prannock this time?
I expect Hamilton to stick around. But not for too much longer.
What's intriguing is that multiple midfield teams could make the leap to join the top two (McLaren, Ferrari, Aston Martin, maybe even Alpine).
And in the last two seasons we've had four midfielders taking victories (Perez, Gasly, Ocon, Ricciardo) which has been good to see. Not to mention I, ahem, tipped two of those to happen.
There are very, very few attractive things about clowns. Without the job he’s a nobody.
(IOW he thinks he'll win.)
The Con Party are doing a very good imitation of bunnies stuck in headlights
Seems unlikely he'll leave unfinished business.
One assumes Rishi has sufficient support among MPs to be in the top two and he’s the favourite for good reason. I expect what will happen is the Baker wing will force him into public condemnation of lockdowns and then back him. But I would still be surprised if he has enough support to rig the second place.
So who is the candidate who genuinely carries the support of the anti Rishis? Who are the anti Rishis? Those who think him too inexperienced? Truss doesn’t tick that box either. Red Wallers? Do they really prefer their chances with a Remainer ex Lib Dem? Personally I think she’s a screaming lay.