Not sure whether anyone else has commented on this, but in case there might be the odd person who thinks Johnson's apology sincere, they need to take note:
The Times also reports that Tory MPs said the PM told them in the Commons Tea Room after PMQs that he did not believe he had personally done anything wrong, and said: "We're taking hits for something we don't deserve."
I think its probably because the public hear party and think there have been full on raves in #10, when what it seems to be is drinks and food in the garden, and a culture of drinking at your desk.
Boris will rationalise it as bending of the rules and wanting to be a popular boss rewarding staff. No biggie, don't see why i am getting so much grief for this.
But you can't be making the rules and then breaking them, especially when you have imposed such strict restrictions at the behest of SAGE and actually the cover up is the worst part about it.
And. A culture of "drinking at your desk" sounds unfeasibly alien to your average punter. For whom it would be instant dismissal.
That's what I mean. Putting aside Boris lying, I don't think he sees having a vino in the garden or a civil servant having a beer at 6pm at their desk as "partying". Clearly he has fostered this very lax attitude and I am pretty certain that is what has been happening, that people have been boozing at their desks when the pubs have been closed.
I mean we all know in normal times MPs got to the commons bar during "work" time.
No wonder Frosty wanted to renegotiate his own deal.
Reminds me that the ancient Persians, or was it Sassanids, would never make a treaty without getting drunk first. Then they'd look at it the next morning and see what it looked like then. Only then would they sign it ... Or was it the other way round? Anyway, seems as if Mr Frost et al forgot to do the sober bit ...
Badgers moving goalposts would be an excellent excuse, though. I think I'll use that next time a project goes over time or budget.
Curious how all the concern on PB this morning is about the extinction of the Lesser-Spotted Tory Scot, though. Much more than is normally expressed for the Commonly-Spotted Social Democratic Scot.
Edit: and the loss of genetic introgression itno the L.S.T.S. population from the southern subspecies.
Not complaining (very much) though.
No risk to the species Scotae Whingatus Vulgaris though?
That species is considered to be identical to Scotae Radius Solis in most recent academic thought.......
There is a person on here who believes that the PM's species sub genre is Radius Solis Rectum
Remember however the Tories had 0 Scottish seats in 1997 and only 1 seat even in 2015 when they won an overall UK majority.
The Scottish party is no more important to the Tory party than any other regional branch of it, it is the UK Tory party as a whole who will decide who its leader is, after all that is the whole point of the Union. The whole UK determines the UK government, not just Scots, Scots have their own parliament for much domestic policy post devolution but Westminster still remains the UK parliament
You carry on reaching out to those swing voters!
I notice his assertion the whole point of the Union of the Kingdoms is to support the Conservative Party. Just to avoid the need for any quic edits, he said" it is the UK Tory party as a whole who will decide who its leader is, after all that is the whole point of the Union."
Here is a deal: you stop kicking HYUFD and I'll stop kicking Malcolm? How long can we keep it up?
Not kicking him, just considering his philosophy. I've even been praising his logical consistency.
Well he has something on Malcolm then. I guess at least HYUFD is polite generally, and reasonably coherent. Oh shit I just did it again!
HYUFD is actually remarkably polite - he does get a lot of personal abuse whether he’s correct or misguided and never starts throwing shit around much to his credit.
He reminds me of Thurman Merman in Bad Santa, whatever abuse he gets he carries on cheerfully with his worldview and love of Santa/Boris and the wooden pickle/JRM.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
Who's to say she's not putting it on?
At least Annunziata doesn't sound like a pompous twat like her brother
I've checked Wikipedia and it looks like she was too common and/or thick to get into Eton. More seriously, since Jacob grew up in posh boarding schools, surely it is likely he got his accent there, like, say, Boris.
Jacob Rees Mogg is the absolute worst of them. A desperately mediocre man whose contrived, cut glass, accent and privileged birth have bought him position and power that his abilities do not get close to justifying. He is the English disease in its purest human form.
NE is consistently one of the hardest hit areas throughout this pandemic. If I remember correctly when we were messing with local lockdowns and tier restrictions etc, didn't part of the NE basically stay under restrictions the entire time they were a thing.
"Our weekly #COVID19 surveillance report also shows that case rates are highest in the North East and lowest in the South West."
I make a late claim for "Wrongest person of 12th Jan 2022" as the Scotland covid case figures are out and they are only 8,203. I was expecting wayyyyyyyyyy more due to starting to report the LFDs.
This is still a 28% week-on-week fall. Not as stoking as the last 4 days of 40% week-on-week falls but still pretty mega.
In May 2020, @Keir_Starmer challenged the PM to clarify the rules. Johnson replied: "Everybody understands what we're trying to do together: working as a country to obey the social distancing rules, which everybody understands."
11 May 2020: "The British people understand that this is the moment for the whole country to come together and obey those rules and apply their common sense in the application of those rules."
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
JRM doubled down in the HoC today, saying the honourable position of an elected Tory member was to support the PM. Ross now a dishonourable, small lightweight it appears.
Honour is a tough & mercurial taskmaster, dictating as it does that one tries one's level best to defend a proper PM chap under siege from the proles, or when breaking off a friendship with a chap fallen foul of the law that one does so in person, flying thousands of miles and staying with him for a few days, if necessary, rather than using pen & paper or a mobile telephonic device.
Not surprising that it's not for everyone.
I think Douglas R told Boris to his face (well, over the phone) that he was going to call on him to go. Stabbed him in the front rather than in the back. Seems a fairly honourable way of going about it.
First thing the new Leader needs to do is summarily dismiss Rees-Mogg. So long as he's around then you have a standing affront to Scots.
R4 says Truss has been doing “fizz with Liz” nights for new backbenchers…
R4 also seemed very clear that busy lizzy is way ahead with members. Worrying for the Tories' long-term prospects, if so, if you ask me.
Hence it would be pointless getting rid of Boris electorally if they end up with Tory members voting for Truss over Sunak.
Under Truss the Tories would likely be even further behind than the 9% they are under Boris in today's poll
I think that is very possible. My guess is that Truss would really struggle to connect with the kind of bloke who forms the bedrock of Johnson's support in the Red Wall and beyond. And I can't see her picking up many votes from elsewhere to compensate.
Jacob Rees Mogg is the absolute worst of them. A desperately mediocre man whose contrived, cut glass, accent and privileged birth have bought him position and power that his abilities do not get close to justifying. He is the English disease in its purest human form.
I agree with this to quite a significant extent, although his father was in some ways also even a extreme market-radical, well beyond purely the gentryish appearances of his upbringing. Rees-Mogg Senior's books are some the most overt and merciless calls to disaster capitalism you will ever come across.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
One of the finest people I have ever known had a double barrelled name and had nothing whatsoever in common with Rees Mogg. Additionally you would be placing the whole population of Spain and Portugal in Room 101 which seems unfair. Agree on chewing gum though
NE is consistently one of the hardest hit areas throughout this pandemic. If I remember correctly when we were messing with local lockdowns and tier restrictions etc, didn't part of the NE basically stay under restrictions the entire time they were a thing.
"Our weekly #COVID19 surveillance report also shows that case rates are highest in the North East and lowest in the South West."
I make a late claim for "Wrongest person of 12th Jan 2022" as the Scotland covid case figures are out and they are only 8,203. I was expecting wayyyyyyyyyy more due to starting to report the LFDs.
This is still a 28% week-on-week fall. Not as stoking as the last 4 days of 40% week-on-week falls but still pretty mega.
Nice.
I wonder how many people who get an LFD positive never bother to report it?
I didn't log mine. I isolated for the requisite number of days but felt no compunction to inform the state of my status.
indeed. He needs to think of a repost though which needs to be polite but cutting
Quite apart from the obvious stupidity of using this out of time phrase, is Mogg really so dim-witted not to realise he's dealing with someone who kot only returned the "King's shilling" but is now commenting from his own, elected office? https://twitter.com/STVKathryn/status/1481623159942139906
indeed. He needs to think of a repost though which needs to be polite but cutting
Quite apart from the obvious stupidity of using this out of time phrase, is Mogg really so dim-witted not to realise he's dealing with someone who kot only returned the "King's shilling" but is now commenting from his own, elected office? https://twitter.com/STVKathryn/status/1481623159942139906
There's a theory among Conhome commenters that we can't have Jeremy Hunt PM because the Chinese will control him by imprisoning his in laws.
I make a late claim for "Wrongest person of 12th Jan 2022" as the Scotland covid case figures are out and they are only 8,203. I was expecting wayyyyyyyyyy more due to starting to report the LFDs.
This is still a 28% week-on-week fall. Not as stoking as the last 4 days of 40% week-on-week falls but still pretty mega.
Nice.
Nice try but you’ll have to work harder to bear HYUFD to that particular accolade
A senior Scottish Tory tells me it is ‘inconceivable’ that Boris Johnson will speak at the party’s Scottish conference in March after the events of this week. This would be the first time the UK leader hasn’t. The Scottish party is very keen Johnson goes as quickly as poss. https://twitter.com/chrisdeerin/status/1481589006215303171
I suppose Ross may count it as an electoral plus? - fearlessly independent, defies impudent English pseudo-aristos, etc.
indeed. He needs to think of a repost though which needs to be polite but cutting
“Whilst the Leader of the House might feel I’m a political lightweight at least I could stay standing in a gentle breeze unlike a literal lightweight”.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
I suppose Ross may count it as an electoral plus? - fearlessly independent, defies impudent English pseudo-aristos, etc.
indeed. He needs to think of a repost though which needs to be polite but cutting
“Whilst the Leader of the House might feel I’m a political lightweight at least I could stay standing in a gentle breeze unlike a literal lightweight”.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
NE is consistently one of the hardest hit areas throughout this pandemic. If I remember correctly when we were messing with local lockdowns and tier restrictions etc, didn't part of the NE basically stay under restrictions the entire time they were a thing.
"Our weekly #COVID19 surveillance report also shows that case rates are highest in the North East and lowest in the South West."
September 18 2020 we went under them. Slightly later than some boroughs of GM. But we went in them as a region. No nipping a couple of miles down the road.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
Who's to say she's not putting it on?
At least Annunziata doesn't sound like a pompous twat like her brother
I've checked Wikipedia and it looks like she was too common and/or thick to get into Eton. More seriously, since Jacob grew up in posh boarding schools, surely it is likely he got his accent there, like, say, Boris.
She may have been the wrong gender
Since she has not transitioned, I suspect that she has the correct gender
Jacob Rees Mogg is the absolute worst of them. A desperately mediocre man whose contrived, cut glass, accent and privileged birth have bought him position and power that his abilities do not get close to justifying. He is the English disease in its purest human form.
And so hard to avoid too. Where's this Cancel Culture when you really need it? Nowhere to be seen.
indeed. He needs to think of a repost though which needs to be polite but cutting
Quite apart from the obvious stupidity of using this out of time phrase, is Mogg really so dim-witted not to realise he's dealing with someone who kot only returned the "King's shilling" but is now commenting from his own, elected office? https://twitter.com/STVKathryn/status/1481623159942139906
There's a theory among Conhome commenters that we can't have Jeremy Hunt PM because the Chinese will control him by imprisoning his in laws.
Mmm. Imprison my in laws if I don't do what you want?
indeed. He needs to think of a repost though which needs to be polite but cutting
Quite apart from the obvious stupidity of using this out of time phrase, is Mogg really so dim-witted not to realise he's dealing with someone who kot only returned the "King's shilling" but is now commenting from his own, elected office? https://twitter.com/STVKathryn/status/1481623159942139906
There's a theory among Conhome commenters that we can't have Jeremy Hunt PM because the Chinese will control him by imprisoning his in laws.
Mmm. Imprison my in laws if I don't do what you want?
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
One of the finest people I have ever known had a double barrelled name and had nothing whatsoever in common with Rees Mogg. Additionally you would be placing the whole population of Spain and Portugal in Room 101 which seems unfair. Agree on chewing gum though
And you'd lose me - with one of the finest Irish names around - and all my Italian relatives too.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
It sounds kind-of wrong...
It is wrong. Not to mention stupid on the part of the MP.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
It sounds kind-of wrong...
Didn't Susan Michie daughter work for Jezza under a similar kind of arrangement?
NE is consistently one of the hardest hit areas throughout this pandemic. If I remember correctly when we were messing with local lockdowns and tier restrictions etc, didn't part of the NE basically stay under restrictions the entire time they were a thing.
"Our weekly #COVID19 surveillance report also shows that case rates are highest in the North East and lowest in the South West."
September 18 2020 we went under them. Slightly later than some boroughs of GM. But we went in them as a region. No nipping a couple of miles down the road.
The tiers were a big mistake. Understandable in their intentions, but did more than anything else to foster grievance and gloom. Having a shit time is actually quite bearable if you know everyone's having a shit time; it's much worse if you feel arbitrarily singled out.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
It's quite common for the ultra woke these days to double barrel their surnames when they get married, rather than the woman take the man's name, or just keep her own name. It's less about being posh and more about gender equality.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
It sounds kind-of wrong...
Didn't Susan Michie daughter work for Jezza under a similar kind of arrangement?
I thought Corbyn and McDonnell were employing each other's children to achieve the same result but without money changing hands.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
It sounds kind-of wrong...
Didn't Susan Michie daughter work for Jezza under a similar kind of arrangement?
I thought Corbyn and McDonnell were employing each other's children to achieve the same result but without money changing hands.
They did as well as that. Laura Murphy worked for Jezza and her mum and dad made big donations to Jezza.
Someone has been reading what I wrote on PB a couple of weeks ago. The Emperor's New Clothes attack line is so obvious even I could think of it.
The problem with lines like that is that they're primarily used by the same old Europhiles who've spent years bashing Boris and the people who voted for him because they don't like his politics. People who want to gloat that electing Boris in 2019, or voting for Brexit in 2016 was a mistake.
Boris needs to go, I've been saying it for about four months now, but that doesn't mean people made a mistake in either 2016 or 2019. Boris can govern - he's done some very good things like getting Brexit done and ensuring we're the most vaccinated, most tested and most open economy in Europe.
But it doesn't matter how good a lawmaker is at governing, if they break their own laws, they've got to go. That is a red line that is absolute.
This China business looks like a desperately needed, and probably gratefully received, bit of respite for the government. A good distraction, even if Cameron and May are alsp implicated, and the Mail has already replaced the partygate story with pictures of Corbyn and Lee and Livingstone and Lee as its main item for the day. When you're under as much pressure as the government is at this very moment, every little helps.
Jacob Rees Mogg is the absolute worst of them. A desperately mediocre man whose contrived, cut glass, accent and privileged birth have bought him position and power that his abilities do not get close to justifying. He is the English disease in its purest human form.
And so hard to avoid too. Where's this Cancel Culture when you really need it? Nowhere to be seen.
JRM is, of course, a sad example of downward social mobility which can overtake even the most exalted families. His father was a distinguished journalist and editor who rose to the top of his profession through ability alone, and is best remembered for a Times editorial condemning the imprisonment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for drug possession.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
It sounds kind-of wrong...
A Lego a week and as many Haribos as he can eat doesn't sound too onerous.
On topic, part of Rees-Mogg's problem (as well as giving a gift to Tory opponents in Scotland by underlining that Scottish Tories have no voice and no point) is the Corbyn problem... it's just utterly absurd preaching the value of loyalty when he was so prominent in undermining May, just as it was beyond irony for Corbyn to get upset about the Centrist Dad Awkward Squad when his entire career was built on leading the Communist Grandad Awkward Squad.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
It's quite common for the ultra woke these days to double barrel their surnames when they get married, rather than the woman take the man's name, or just keep her own name. It's less about being posh and more about gender equality.
That's doable for a generation but what happens next generation? Are their kids going to have quadruple surnames?
For me one partner taking the other partner's surname made sense not for inequality or superiority but for the kids. The kids should have the same name while kids as both their parents ideally, in a family unit. But those double-barrelling have gone for a nice hit for themselves to say look how equal we are, but don't seem to have considered what their kids are going to have to do when they get married.
Jacob Rees Mogg is the absolute worst of them. A desperately mediocre man whose contrived, cut glass, accent and privileged birth have bought him position and power that his abilities do not get close to justifying. He is the English disease in its purest human form.
And so hard to avoid too. Where's this Cancel Culture when you really need it? Nowhere to be seen.
JRM is, of course, a sad example of downward social mobility which can overtake even the most exalted families. His father was a distinguished journalist and editor who rose to the top of his profession through ability alone, and is best remembered for a Times editorial condemning the imprisonment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for drug possession.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
It's quite common for the ultra woke these days to double barrel their surnames when they get married, rather than the woman take the man's name, or just keep her own name. It's less about being posh and more about gender equality.
That's doable for a generation but what happens next generation? Are their kids going to have quadruple surnames?
For me one partner taking the other partner's surname made sense not for inequality or superiority but for the kids. The kids should have the same name while kids as both their parents ideally, in a family unit. But those double-barrelling have gone for a nice hit for themselves to say look how equal we are, but don't seem to have considered what their kids are going to have to do when they get married.
In our case the kids have my name while my wife has kept hers. It doesn't seem to have caused any problems for us although you do sometimes hear about immigration people being a dick about it.
Someone has been reading what I wrote on PB a couple of weeks ago. The Emperor's New Clothes attack line is so obvious even I could think of it.
The problem with lines like that is that they're primarily used by the same old Europhiles who've spent years bashing Boris and the people who voted for him because they don't like his politics. People who want to gloat that electing Boris in 2019, or voting for Brexit in 2016 was a mistake.
Boris needs to go, I've been saying it for about four months now, but that doesn't mean people made a mistake in either 2016 or 2019. Boris can govern - he's done some very good things like getting Brexit done and ensuring we're the most vaccinated, most tested and most open economy in Europe.
But it doesn't matter how good a lawmaker is at governing, if they break their own laws, they've got to go. That is a red line that is absolute.
They didn't make a mistake in 2016 - I still hold that Boris was not he main reason for the referendum win. They did make a massive mistake in 2019. Irrespective of the effect of the outcome on the Brexit progression, no one in the rights minds should have been voting for Boris. Indeed Boris getting into power was probably a bigger threat to the long term success of Brexit than anything else on the horizon at that time and whatever you thought of that particular issue, handing over the keys to the castle to someone so utterly unsuited and irresponsible was not something anyone should have considered.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
It's quite common for the ultra woke these days to double barrel their surnames when they get married, rather than the woman take the man's name, or just keep her own name. It's less about being posh and more about gender equality.
That's doable for a generation but what happens next generation? Are their kids going to have quadruple surnames?
For me one partner taking the other partner's surname made sense not for inequality or superiority but for the kids. The kids should have the same name while kids as both their parents ideally, in a family unit. But those double-barrelling have gone for a nice hit for themselves to say look how equal we are, but don't seem to have considered what their kids are going to have to do when they get married.
Long names are quite normal in other cultures, see the actor Alexander Siddig or Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi as he's less commonly known.
Siddig has his father's and his grandfather's and his grandfather's father's names in his own, along with lots of describing and joining words. It is apparently the Sudanese way of doing things.
My guess is the kids will get the long names on the birth certificates but go by something much simpler in real life.
Indeed Boris getting into power was probably a bigger threat to the long term success of Brexit than anything else on the horizon at that time and whatever you thought of that particular issue, handing over the keys to the castle to someone so utterly unsuited and irresponsible was not something anyone should have considered.
Yup.
History will note his success in winning the referendum, and he will get the blame for the ultimate failure (although it was always destined to fail in any case)
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
It's quite common for the ultra woke these days to double barrel their surnames when they get married, rather than the woman take the man's name, or just keep her own name. It's less about being posh and more about gender equality.
That's doable for a generation but what happens next generation? Are their kids going to have quadruple surnames?
For me one partner taking the other partner's surname made sense not for inequality or superiority but for the kids. The kids should have the same name while kids as both their parents ideally, in a family unit. But those double-barrelling have gone for a nice hit for themselves to say look how equal we are, but don't seem to have considered what their kids are going to have to do when they get married.
And that's one reason why I took my wife's surname when we married. I wanted us to have a single family name and I wasn't fussed which one we used.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
It sounds kind-of wrong...
MPs do have unpaid interns, don't they, as do other organisations? They are being financially supported somehow, presumably parentally in many cases, so isn't that effectively the same?
Unless it's a mechanism to transfer MP's allowance into party funds (i.e. "do pay him from allowance (i.e. public money) but I will reimburse into party funds") in which case that's highly dodgy.
Not saying the particular case wasn't rotten on the facts, just that unpaid internships essentially involve third parties, often parents, taking on the costs in the absence of a wage.
Just logged into new Octopus Energy account (only went live shortly before Christmas, automatic transfer from bankrupt Avro) to find an apparent debt balance of ~£1k. Bit of a shocker, some mistake, Shirley? Looking into it, it was based on wild estimated readings (actual readings were not requested) which suggested we'd used 4.7MWh of electricity since October and a less eye-watering but still high 300 gas units (are they still cubic feet? cubic metres?). So I added our actual readings (~700kWh of electricity) and 150 gas units which it accepted quite happily.
But it might be worth anyone of a nervous disposition having a wee dram before logging in to Octopus and perhaps mention to any elderly relatives who might get a bit of a shock, too.
We will presumably be much closer to even once the new bill comes out - I'm expecting we might have to up payments given our prices are substantially higher than our old fixed deal.
Indeed Boris getting into power was probably a bigger threat to the long term success of Brexit than anything else on the horizon at that time and whatever you thought of that particular issue, handing over the keys to the castle to someone so utterly unsuited and irresponsible was not something anyone should have considered.
Yup.
History will note his success in winning the referendum, and he will get the blame for the ultimate failure (although it was always destined to fail in any case)
If it is such a failure why are the political parties in the UK, apart from the SNP and Plaid, not promoting rejoining
Some changes to our future relationship is sensible but it will fall short of rejoining
We both want Boris out but not for the same reasons
Someone has been reading what I wrote on PB a couple of weeks ago. The Emperor's New Clothes attack line is so obvious even I could think of it.
The problem with lines like that is that they're primarily used by the same old Europhiles who've spent years bashing Boris and the people who voted for him because they don't like his politics. People who want to gloat that electing Boris in 2019, or voting for Brexit in 2016 was a mistake.
Boris needs to go, I've been saying it for about four months now, but that doesn't mean people made a mistake in either 2016 or 2019. Boris can govern - he's done some very good things like getting Brexit done and ensuring we're the most vaccinated, most tested and most open economy in Europe.
But it doesn't matter how good a lawmaker is at governing, if they break their own laws, they've got to go. That is a red line that is absolute.
They didn't make a mistake in 2016 - I still hold that Boris was not he main reason for the referendum win. They did make a massive mistake in 2019. Irrespective of the effect of the outcome on the Brexit progression, no one in the rights minds should have been voting for Boris. Indeed Boris getting into power was probably a bigger threat to the long term success of Brexit than anything else on the horizon at that time and whatever you thought of that particular issue, handing over the keys to the castle to someone so utterly unsuited and irresponsible was not something anyone should have considered.
Had Gove or Farage being leading the Leave campaign in 2016 not Boris then it would likely have been Remain 52% Leave 48% not the reverse.
Had Boris not been Tory leader in 2019 but May still or Hunt the redwall would not have fallen and the Tories would not have got the majority needed to pass the Withdrawal Agreement and get Brexit done in the first place
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
It's quite common for the ultra woke these days to double barrel their surnames when they get married, rather than the woman take the man's name, or just keep her own name. It's less about being posh and more about gender equality.
That's doable for a generation but what happens next generation? Are their kids going to have quadruple surnames?
For me one partner taking the other partner's surname made sense not for inequality or superiority but for the kids. The kids should have the same name while kids as both their parents ideally, in a family unit. But those double-barrelling have gone for a nice hit for themselves to say look how equal we are, but don't seem to have considered what their kids are going to have to do when they get married.
And that's one reason why I took my wife's surname when we married. I wanted us to have a single family name and I wasn't fussed which one we used.
Just decide which name sounds better for the two of you and use that imo. But if its Mike Dover and Eileen Hunt getting married best to just keep to your originals though.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
It's quite common for the ultra woke these days to double barrel their surnames when they get married, rather than the woman take the man's name, or just keep her own name. It's less about being posh and more about gender equality.
That's doable for a generation but what happens next generation? Are their kids going to have quadruple surnames?
For me one partner taking the other partner's surname made sense not for inequality or superiority but for the kids. The kids should have the same name while kids as both their parents ideally, in a family unit. But those double-barrelling have gone for a nice hit for themselves to say look how equal we are, but don't seem to have considered what their kids are going to have to do when they get married.
Spanish cope with it perfectly fine, don't they?
Being another patriarchy, it is of course the grandfathers' surnames that is passed on to the grandchildren, I believe
@Beibheirli_C - what would happen if you had a blind date and a bloke called Jason Robesbury-Macintosh turned up chewing a wriggley and declaiming a Sonnet?
Interesting ; the China story seems to have already been reported by the Times last year - except that time it was about her standing outside the door of No.10. It looks like a re-leak of information which has already been out there for some time, with beautifully useful timing. The Sun is reporting it as a full blow "Red Scare" type story.
Fun fact. The other other day, Aerojet were asked how long it would take to make new RS-25 engines (updated versions of the Space Shuttle main engines, used on the new SLS launcher)
They said they'd cut the time *per engine* down to less than *3 years*.
Jacob Rees Mogg is the absolute worst of them. A desperately mediocre man whose contrived, cut glass, accent and privileged birth have bought him position and power that his abilities do not get close to justifying. He is the English disease in its purest human form.
And so hard to avoid too. Where's this Cancel Culture when you really need it? Nowhere to be seen.
JRM is, of course, a sad example of downward social mobility which can overtake even the most exalted families. His father was a distinguished journalist and editor who rose to the top of his profession through ability alone, and is best remembered for a Times editorial condemning the imprisonment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for drug possession.
Interesting ; the China story seems to have already been reported by the Times last year - except that time it was about her standing outside the door of No.10. It looks like a re-leak of information which has already been out there for some time, with beautifully useful timing.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
It sounds kind-of wrong...
A Lego a week and as many Haribos as he can eat doesn't sound too onerous.
Fun fact. The other other day, Aerojet were asked how long it would take to make new RS-25 engines (updated versions of the Space Shuttle main engines, used on the new SLS launcher)
They said they'd cut the time *per engine* down to less than *3 years*.
And one wonders why Elon Musk is winning at this space lark.....
Interesting ; the China story seems to have already been reported by the Times last year - except that time it was about her standing outside the door of No.10. It looks like a re-leak of information which has already been out there for some time, with beautifully useful timing.
...
I don't think Cummings would want the McCarthy-style anti-Corbyn coverage the Sun ( and to a lesser extent Mail ) are suddenly coming up with, though, at this particular moment. It looks more damaging for Labour. Large donatons, Corbyn and Livingstone, reds under the bed, etc.
Fun fact. The other other day, Aerojet were asked how long it would take to make new RS-25 engines (updated versions of the Space Shuttle main engines, used on the new SLS launcher)
They said they'd cut the time *per engine* down to less than *3 years*.
Successfully landed for the 10th time - they are just proving the point now.
Fun fact. The other other day, Aerojet were asked how long it would take to make new RS-25 engines (updated versions of the Space Shuttle main engines, used on the new SLS launcher)
They said they'd cut the time *per engine* down to less than *3 years*.
How much lead time does that involve for components, or is it all just assembly?
(But yes, it is a long time. Then again, the SSMEs are beasts.)
Fun fact. The other other day, Aerojet were asked how long it would take to make new RS-25 engines (updated versions of the Space Shuttle main engines, used on the new SLS launcher)
They said they'd cut the time *per engine* down to less than *3 years*.
Successfully landed for the 10th time - they are just proving the point now.
I don't like JRM, and I don't agree with defending Boris Johnson. And it's obviously not smart to attack a colleague in such terms, but this will not have any impact on anything. Sure, a few of Ross's opponents may use the quote against him come the election, but if you're in the SNP or Labour, do you REALLY want to be putting JRM quotes on your leaflets?
I suspect JRM thinks he could be heading for the backbenches if Boris goes, so it's fine for his to want to shore up the leader. JRM isn't working for the same outcomes as me, but no point in making a Munro out of a Marilyn.
Jacob Rees Mogg is the absolute worst of them. A desperately mediocre man whose contrived, cut glass, accent and privileged birth have bought him position and power that his abilities do not get close to justifying. He is the English disease in its purest human form.
And so hard to avoid too. Where's this Cancel Culture when you really need it? Nowhere to be seen.
JRM is, of course, a sad example of downward social mobility which can overtake even the most exalted families. His father was a distinguished journalist and editor who rose to the top of his profession through ability alone, and is best remembered for a Times editorial condemning the imprisonment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for drug possession.
If only Rees-Mogg got rid of that crappy affected accent of his. His sister doesn't speak like that, so he must be putting it on!
My wife is the eldest of four and has a very different accent to her younger brothers because she spent a lot of time growing up with her mother while her brothers spent time with their cousins.
So we can guess at Nanny's accent.
His nanny was Terry-Thomas?
More likely Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend from Bagpus……
Expelled Conservative rebel Sir Nicholas Soames laid into Boris Johnson’s ally Jacob Rees-Mogg and labelled him an “absolute fraud”.
He excoriated the staunch Brexiteer after he was accused of contemptuous behaviour for reclining in the House of Commons during the Brexit debate this week.
Sir Nicholas said the behaviour was “repulsive” and believed the leader of the Commons is in “serious danger of believing his own schtick”.He told The Times: “I wanted to kick him firmly in the arse and say, ‘What the hell do you think you are playing at? Sit up!’
“[Rees-Mogg] is a living example of what a moderately cut double-breasted suit and a decent tie can do with an ultra-posh voice and a bit of ginger stuck up his arse. You do not behave like that as leader of the House.”
It is why I would put double-barrelled names into Room 101, along with poetry and chewing gum.
It's quite common for the ultra woke these days to double barrel their surnames when they get married, rather than the woman take the man's name, or just keep her own name. It's less about being posh and more about gender equality.
That's doable for a generation but what happens next generation? Are their kids going to have quadruple surnames?
For me one partner taking the other partner's surname made sense not for inequality or superiority but for the kids. The kids should have the same name while kids as both their parents ideally, in a family unit. But those double-barrelling have gone for a nice hit for themselves to say look how equal we are, but don't seem to have considered what their kids are going to have to do when they get married.
My wife dropped part of her double barreled surname (which she had due to her *checks notes* ultra woke 19th century feminist ancestors) when she married me.
I don't like JRM, and I don't agree with defending Boris Johnson. And it's obviously not smart to attack a colleague in such terms, but this will not have any impact on anything. Sure, a few of Ross's opponents may use the quote against him come the election, but if you're in the SNP or Labour, do you REALLY want to be putting JRM quotes on your leaflets?
I suspect JRM thinks he could be heading for the backbenches if Boris goes, so it's fine for his to want to shore up the leader. JRM isn't working for the same outcomes as me, but no point in making a Munro out of a Marilyn.
For JRM yes trying to appeal to Scottish Conservatives would be as pointless as Corbyn trying to appeal to Blairites would have been for him
The masterstroke to make a Tory majority more likely at the next election is to get rid of the Scottish MPs before then. That way the Tories lose 6 MPs but the Opposition lose 45.
Could Rees Mogg be laying the groundwork for a Unilateral Declaration of getting rid of Scotland by the Tories?
And if that is the plan, I wonder how and when the only Tory in the village will become fully signed up to that agenda?
On today's poll Starmer would have a majority even in England and Wales so that would be pointless too, it is only the UK result giving a hung parliament. Especially as in the tables now out from last night's Yougov Scotland is now the only UK region other than the South of England where the Conservatives are still ahead of Labour https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/01/13/voting-intention-con-28-lab-38-11-12-jan
Interesting ; the China story seems to have already been reported by the Times last year - except that time it was about her standing outside the door of No.10. It looks like a re-leak of information which has already been out there for some time, with beautifully useful timing.
...
I don't think Cummings would want the McCarthy-style anti-Corbyn coverage the Sun ( and to a lesser extent Mail ) are suddenly coming up with, though. It looks more damaging for Labour. Large donatons, Corbyn and Livingstone, reds under the bed, etc.
Not to wreck your conspiracy it is all some sort of diversion tactic to knock Party-gate off the headlines, but this has come about because The Lord Speaker today has emailed everybody after MI5 briefed him that this individual is another spy operating in and around Westminster. The Lord Speaker is of course John McFall, a former Labour minister.
Luckily Jezza didn't win the election, because Barry Gardiner would be now a position of power. He could have been in charge of International Trade...
innocent until proven guilty. There are, of course, a number of UK political figures who may have connections with both the Chinese and the Russians. One suspects MI5 probably finds it more useful to pretend they don't know.
Ms Lee is a London-based solicitor who has donated £200,000 to Jeremy Corbyn ally Barry Gardiner, with her son, Daniel Wilkes, working in his office until today. She is also reported to have donated hundreds of thousands of pounds more to other parts of the Labour Party.
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
One of the things that gets me about this is that the donation paid for her son to work there. Can I go up to an MP and say: "Employ my son and I'll pay his salary?"
It sounds kind-of wrong...
MPs do have unpaid interns, don't they, as do other organisations? They are being financially supported somehow, presumably parentally in many cases, so isn't that effectively the same?
Unless it's a mechanism to transfer MP's allowance into party funds (i.e. "do pay him from allowance (i.e. public money) but I will reimburse into party funds") in which case that's highly dodgy.
Not saying the particular case wasn't rotten on the facts, just that unpaid internships essentially involve third parties, often parents, taking on the costs in the absence of a wage.
I'm unsure that follows. If I was an MP wanting an unpaid intern (and that's something I don't like either), then I should apply for one on an open market and choose the best. Their parents may be paying for them, but they have no financial input into my choice.
In this case, I get a donation and it goes straight to her son. I doubt the role was fully and properly procured, and it just so happened that her son was the 'best' candidate ...
The masterstroke to make a Tory majority more likely at the next election is to get rid of the Scottish MPs before then. That way the Tories lose 6 MPs but the Opposition lose 45.
Could Rees Mogg be laying the groundwork for a Unilateral Declaration of getting rid of Scotland by the Tories?
And if that is the plan, I wonder how and when the only Tory in the village will become fully signed up to that agenda?
On today's poll Starmer would have a majority even in England and Wales so that would be pointless too, it is only the UK result giving a hung parliament. Especially as in the tables now out from last night's Yougov Scotland is now the only UK region other than the South of England where the Conservatives are still ahead of Labour https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/01/13/voting-intention-con-28-lab-38-11-12-jan
Yes, Scotland is the only region in the UK the Conservatives are still ahead of Labour apart from the South outside London as I said.
Of course if Starmer does win most seats UK wide as this poll suggests, even if the SNP won every seat in Scotland Starmer could still ignore them as PM and just focus on Gordon Brown's grand devomax commission
Comments
He reminds me of Thurman Merman in Bad Santa, whatever abuse he gets he carries on cheerfully with his worldview and love of Santa/Boris and the wooden pickle/JRM.
Johnson should still go, though, obviously.
"Our weekly #COVID19 surveillance report also shows that case rates are highest in the North East and lowest in the South West."
https://twitter.com/UKHSA/status/1481628873225871361?s=20
This is still a 28% week-on-week fall. Not as stoking as the last 4 days of 40% week-on-week falls but still pretty mega.
Nice.
Where was his "good solid British common sense"?
https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1481595195523321859/video/1
11 May 2020: "The British people understand that this is the moment for the whole country to come together and obey those rules and apply their common sense in the application of those rules."
FOUR DAYS LATER, cheese and wine party.
NINE DAYS LATER, bring your own booze party.
First thing the new Leader needs to do is summarily dismiss Rees-Mogg. So long as he's around then you have a standing affront to Scots.
Though....
"A covert Chinese agent has infiltrated Parliament to interfere with UK politics, MI5 has revealed."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59984380
I didn't log mine. I isolated for the requisite number of days but felt no compunction to inform the state of my status.
https://twitter.com/STVKathryn/status/1481623159942139906
https://twitter.com/chrisdeerin/status/1481589006215303171
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10398665/MI5-send-urgent-email-MPs-warning-Chinese-woman.html
She is also a former chief legal adviser to the Chinese embassy in London and a legal adviser to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. She is also the secretary of the Inter-Party China Group at Westminster.
As well as embarrassment for Labour Ms Lee also has links to the Conservatives. She appears to have also developed a good relationship with David Cameron while he was prime minister. And in January 2019, she received a Points of Light Award from then premier Theresa May, in recognition of her contribution to good relations with China.
But we went in them as a region. No nipping a couple of miles down the road.
Imprison my in laws if I don't do what you want?
https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/boris-johnson-downing-street-party-cakeism-locdown-b976463.html
And what do you have against poetry, eh?
It sounds kind-of wrong...
Boris needs to go, I've been saying it for about four months now, but that doesn't mean people made a mistake in either 2016 or 2019. Boris can govern - he's done some very good things like getting Brexit done and ensuring we're the most vaccinated, most tested and most open economy in Europe.
But it doesn't matter how good a lawmaker is at governing, if they break their own laws, they've got to go. That is a red line that is absolute.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones'_Redlands_bust
For me one partner taking the other partner's surname made sense not for inequality or superiority but for the kids. The kids should have the same name while kids as both their parents ideally, in a family unit. But those double-barrelling have gone for a nice hit for themselves to say look how equal we are, but don't seem to have considered what their kids are going to have to do when they get married.
https://twitter.com/euanmccolm/status/1481649521419448330
He should be summarily dismissed
Siddig has his father's and his grandfather's and his grandfather's father's names in his own, along with lots of describing and joining words. It is apparently the Sudanese way of doing things.
My guess is the kids will get the long names on the birth certificates but go by something much simpler in real life.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1481651037291225113?s=20
History will note his success in winning the referendum, and he will get the blame for the ultimate failure (although it was always destined to fail in any case)
Unless it's a mechanism to transfer MP's allowance into party funds (i.e. "do pay him from allowance (i.e. public money) but I will reimburse into party funds") in which case that's highly dodgy.
Not saying the particular case wasn't rotten on the facts, just that unpaid internships essentially involve third parties, often parents, taking on the costs in the absence of a wage.
Just logged into new Octopus Energy account (only went live shortly before Christmas, automatic transfer from bankrupt Avro) to find an apparent debt balance of ~£1k. Bit of a shocker, some mistake, Shirley? Looking into it, it was based on wild estimated readings (actual readings were not requested) which suggested we'd used 4.7MWh of electricity since October and a less eye-watering but still high 300 gas units (are they still cubic feet? cubic metres?). So I added our actual readings (~700kWh of electricity) and 150 gas units which it accepted quite happily.
But it might be worth anyone of a nervous disposition having a wee dram before logging in to Octopus and perhaps mention to any elderly relatives who might get a bit of a shock, too.
We will presumably be much closer to even once the new bill comes out - I'm expecting we might have to up payments given our prices are substantially higher than our old fixed deal.
Some changes to our future relationship is sensible but it will fall short of rejoining
We both want Boris out but not for the same reasons
Had Boris not been Tory leader in 2019 but May still or Hunt the redwall would not have fallen and the Tories would not have got the majority needed to pass the Withdrawal Agreement and get Brexit done in the first place
Being another patriarchy, it is of course the grandfathers' surnames that is passed on to the grandchildren, I believe
https://tinyurl.com/sorryyoufeel
Lab 42%
Con 33%
LD 11%
Grn 4%
Refuk 3%
SNP 3%
PC 1%
oth 2%
Fieldwork: 12 January
1,003 respondents
More trustworthy
Starmer: 51% (+7)
Johnson: 16% (-8)
Changes vs. 20-21 Dec
Since April 2021, Johnson has dropped by *22 points* on this metric.
Johnson
Disapprove: 65% (+6)
Approve: 20% (-5)
Starmer
Disapprove: 35% (+1)
Approve: 29% (+3)
even among people who voted Conservative in 2019, more think he should resign (46%) than not (43%)
the survey, we also presented respondents with a video of Johnson's PMQs apology in full. People were not buying it.
Sincere: 24%
Not sincere: 68%
Accept the apology: 26%
Reject the apology: 63%
Remember I'm fairly happy for Boris to stay because between PartyGate and the failed promises the Tories will be toast up North.
They said they'd cut the time *per engine* down to less than *3 years*.
All his son has coined is coin.
@Jacob_Rees_Mogg says he would 'absolutely love it' if @BorisJohnson became the UK's longest ever serving prime minister https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-13/covid-rules-were-very-hard-to-obey-and-pm-wont-resign-rees-mogg-says https://twitter.com/ITVNewsPolitics/status/1481646044152668163/video/1
Agreed.
He is supporting the PM.
(But yes, it is a long time. Then again, the SSMEs are beasts.)
I suspect JRM thinks he could be heading for the backbenches if Boris goes, so it's fine for his to want to shore up the leader. JRM isn't working for the same outcomes as me, but no point in making a Munro out of a Marilyn.
It's not hard.
SNP 55%
SCon 18%
SLab 17%
SLD 6%
Grn 1%
Refuk 1%
oth 3%
In this case, I get a donation and it goes straight to her son. I doubt the role was fully and properly procured, and it just so happened that her son was the 'best' candidate ...
Of course if Starmer does win most seats UK wide as this poll suggests, even if the SNP won every seat in Scotland Starmer could still ignore them as PM and just focus on Gordon Brown's grand devomax commission