The top pollster from GE2019 has LAB lead in double figures – politicalbetting.com
In other findings 76% think Johnson broke the rules (including 72% of Tory voters) , 64% think the PM isn’t telling the truth (including 50% of Tory voters) and 67% think the police should investigate (including 52% of Tory voters)
FLOOD WARNING ISSUED IN MAIDENHEAD AS THERESA MAY IS PISSING HERSELF LAUGHING
The Prime Minister’s net approval rating has fallen to -42, down from -24 a week ago. This is same as the worst score we recorded for Theresa May in May 2019.
Labour’s @RachelReevesMP says @thefabians conference that a govt led by Keir Starmer would take firms who failed to deliver on PPE contracts during the Covid crisis to court so the Treasury gets the cash back
Well I would like Boris to try to hang on, at least until the May local elections. I want to see total humiliation. A quiet and dignified exit would be so disappointing.
Actually, I think that against all common sense he will try to hang on. The only person he actually listens to is Princess Nut Nut (aka Marie Antoinette) and she has no ambition to be stuck with a homeless, penniless ex-PM and two screaming brats
However Javid, Hunt, Gove, Truss and Patel all have 30% or less thinking they would make a good PM. All below the 31% Tory voteshare with Boris tonight.
Therefore only replacing Boris with Sunak likely to see any bounce for the Tories at all
In this context, "remain" versus "resign" is functionally equivalent to "elect" versus "reelect"
In US, rough rule of thumb is that, for an incumbent politico, 20% voter support for re-election is the functional Deadline (in the original sense of the word).
The pandemic has ended. It's over. Coinciding with the New Year was fortunate psychologically. As I predicted it's been a thorough disaster for the Conservative Party. Boris is the pandemic made flesh, and no one wants to think about it ever again. In case anyone thinks it is parties during lockdown, consider this. Would we have heard what we heard if everyone was focussed on not dying? I suspect not. The end of the pandemic has precipitated the release of all this info.
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
Labour’s @RachelReevesMP says @thefabians conference that a govt led by Keir Starmer would take firms who failed to deliver on PPE contracts during the Covid crisis to court so the Treasury gets the cash back
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell. They that had fought so well Came through the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
Solihull may be interesting to judge Tory strength in the blue Midlands.
However Javid, Hunt, Gove, Truss and Patel all have 30% or less thinking they would make a good PM. All below the 31% Tory voteshare with Boris tonight.
Therefore only replacing Boris with Sunak likely to see any bounce for the Tories at all
At question is not his guilt, only his punishment.
Johnson’s problem has not been his lying but his inability to manage it, notably when found out. He has no spin doctor, and on Wednesday had to admit himself to spin A&E. His belief that a winsome and “authentic” personality could make up for a rotten command structure and third-class aides exploded on him.
Keir Starmer…should pray for him to limp on. For Johnson, an ominous parallel is the Tory party’s ruthless ejection of Thatcher in 1990. It cleansed the Downing Street stables of the poll tax toxin, and went on under John Major to win a fourth election in a row in 1992.
If, as seems likely, Johnson’s days as a politician are now numbered, Britain’s brief excursion into populist politics will have ended. The moral of the story will be modest: that journalists, for all their vanity, should not be tempted to give up the day job.
Labour’s @RachelReevesMP says @thefabians conference that a govt led by Keir Starmer would take firms who failed to deliver on PPE contracts during the Covid crisis to court so the Treasury gets the cash back
However Javid, Hunt, Gove, Truss and Patel all have 30% or less thinking they would make a good PM. All below the 31% Tory voteshare with Boris tonight.
Therefore only replacing Boris with Sunak likely to see any bounce for the Tories at all
I know it sounds entirely crazy, but if I could actually pick a replacement for Boris it'd be Patel. (Clearly that might need further godlike powers to ensure stability thereafter)
Hunt is the best plausible choice, and then Sunak. In my view (which I've clearly massively devalued above )
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
Solihull may be interesting to judge Tory strength in the blue Midlands.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how the posh (sic) Brummies vote.
Is Sutton Coldfield holding elections this year as well? I think they VONC'd Boris Johnson earlier on this week.
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
The massacre of the innocents but, hey guys, in 2019 it was LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER.
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
Solihull may be interesting to judge Tory strength in the blue Midlands.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how the posh (sic) Brummies vote.
Is Sutton Coldfield holding elections this year as well? I think they VONC'd Boris Johnson earlier on this week.
Hey, I was born and raised in Solihull.
and Sutton Coldfield is City of Birmingham Council, so probably some wards.
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
Solihull may be interesting to judge Tory strength in the blue Midlands.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how the posh (sic) Brummies vote.
Is Sutton Coldfield holding elections this year as well? I think they VONC'd Boris Johnson earlier on this week.
Hey, I was born and raised in Solihull.
My sympathies, it explains why you like Newcastle.
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
Solihull may be interesting to judge Tory strength in the blue Midlands.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how the posh (sic) Brummies vote.
Is Sutton Coldfield holding elections this year as well? I think they VONC'd Boris Johnson earlier on this week.
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
Solihull may be interesting to judge Tory strength in the blue Midlands.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how the posh (sic) Brummies vote.
Is Sutton Coldfield holding elections this year as well? I think they VONC'd Boris Johnson earlier on this week.
Hey, I was born and raised in Solihull.
and Sutton Coldfield is City of Birmingham Council, so probably some wards.
Well I would like Boris to try to hang on, at least until the May local elections. I want to see total humiliation. A quiet and dignified exit would be so disappointing.
Actually, I think that against all common sense he will try to hang on. The only person he actually listens to is Princess Nut Nut (aka Marie Antoinette) and she has no ambition to be stuck with a homeless, penniless ex-PM and two screaming brats
At this point you have to wonder how much of Boris' downfall can be attributed to the Carrie coup at the end of 2020.
I've held off discussing it because of the vague whiff of misogyny that can often accompany such musings, but on the other hand... at least Dominic Cummings didn't get the ear of the PM by shagging him (one hopes!).
But when was the last time a PM's partner enjoyed the kind of power and influence that Carrie evidently has?
However Javid, Hunt, Gove, Truss and Patel all have 30% or less thinking they would make a good PM. All below the 31% Tory voteshare with Boris tonight.
Therefore only replacing Boris with Sunak likely to see any bounce for the Tories at all
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
Solihull may be interesting to judge Tory strength in the blue Midlands.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how the posh (sic) Brummies vote.
Is Sutton Coldfield holding elections this year as well? I think they VONC'd Boris Johnson earlier on this week.
Hey, I was born and raised in Solihull.
and Sutton Coldfield is City of Birmingham Council, so probably some wards.
Well I would like Boris to try to hang on, at least until the May local elections. I want to see total humiliation. A quiet and dignified exit would be so disappointing.
Actually, I think that against all common sense he will try to hang on. The only person he actually listens to is Princess Nut Nut (aka Marie Antoinette) and she has no ambition to be stuck with a homeless, penniless ex-PM and two screaming brats
At this point you have to wonder how much of Boris' downfall can be attributed to the Carrie coup at the end of 2020.
I've held off discussing it because of the vague whiff of misogyny that can often accompany such musings, but on the other hand... at least Dominic Cummings didn't get the ear of the PM by shagging him (one hopes!).
But when was the last time a PM's partner enjoyed the kind of power and influence that Carrie evidently has?
It's the ones we don't know about that had the most effect. So hard to decide.
A lot of Brexiteering Tory MPs (ie most of them) will see the assassination of Boris as Remainer revenge, even if, irony of ironies, it has been executed so perfectly by arch-Brexiteer Dom C.
They will be in no mood to elect a Remainer leader. Hunt won't make it to the last two. Truss is also a Remainer, but she might sneak through as "looking a bit like the next Thatcher", if the Tories are desperate
Sunak, of course, voted Leave. He has that advantage, as well
I reckon if Boris goes (and it is odds-on now, how can you possibly come back from this kind of polling) then Sunak replaces him, if the Tories have any sense (yes, yes)
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
The massacre of the innocents but, hey guys, in 2019 it was LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER.
Hey, I was out doing eve-of-poll leaflets on 21 November 1990. (The opposition ones were writing themselves.) That was plucky futility.
(Actually, it wasn't quite- the Conservative campaign ensured that the Libs won by taking Labour votes, so the Conservatives remained viable contenders in future years. But rubbish for the amiable candidate.)
It seems like only yesterday that most commentators, here and elsewhere, regarded a Labour majority government as impossible, and a Labour-led minority government as implausible.
How quickly times change - it's amazing what a few parties can do.
Hey, Rochdale, sorry to hear about your Mom, glad she's doing better - she's lucky to have you there for her.
Re: health & public safety service & COVID, in particular Omicron surge, a HUGE problem in UK, US and no doubt elsewhere right now.
Looking down the roads, would seem there will be a correspondingly big need to recruit and train an new cadre of nurses, docs, cops, EMTs, etc., etc to refill the ranks and reestablish key services for the brave new world ahead - in possible (and it is) on a better, higher level.
We need more NHS spending. End of. We were caught with our pants down, and have just scraped through.
But the NHS is not the only area that needs help; most of the public sector does.
And that means we're going to need some hefty tax rises. Any party that tries to deny this is lying - and I would prefer parties to be honest about the necessity.
Having accepted that, my vote in the next GE will probably come down to one thing: which party do I trust most to spend the money wisely?
I think the nhs needs more surge capacity. Paring everything to the bone might impress management, but it’s no good when the black swan turns up. As a country we need an honest discussion about a lot of stuff. Tax, and how much we spend on health and social care are top of the list.
We certainly need to think about how much more capacity we need for an ageing population and where the likely extra tax burden should be falling (rather than just inventing a precept that's bolted onto NI payments and then forcing the working age population to cough up the entire lot.)
When it comes to the NHS, however, there may also be deeper seated problems. IANAE but I was surprised to discover that, according to this source - https://www.statista.com/statistics/268826/health-expenditure-as-gdp-percentage-in-oecd-countries/ - which appears legitimate, UK health spending as a share of GDP wasn't particularly low going into the pandemic. Given these statistics, you have to wonder whether the British population is atypically ill, or the NHS is atypically inefficient - or, alternatively, if UK healthcare provision is not, actually, all that bad compared with the neighbours as it currently stands? For example, our life expectancy figures are very close to those of Germany.
Seattle Times ($) - 'Subtle’ tsunami surges from undersea eruption hit Washington coast, as officials warn of waves to come
The first tsunami surges from an underwater volcanic eruption in the South Pacific began hitting the Washington coast shortly after 8:30 a.m. Saturday and were — as predicted — quite modest.
“It was very subtle,” said Scott McDougall, emergency management director for Pacific County, which includes the Long Beach Peninsula. “It didn’t progress beyond the beach.”
ubsequent waves are often higher than the first.
The tsunami advisory issued by the National Tsunami Warning System does not extend into Puget Sound. But out of “an abundance of caution,” King County Emergency Management also advised residents to avoid beaches and waterfront areas where strong waves and currents might be possible, said public information officer Sheri Badger.
“We’re not sure what’s going to happen in the Puget Sound waters,” she said. “We wanted to make sure people weren’t going down to the water to watch the waves coming in.”
Pacific County issued warnings to local harbors, where even small tsunamis can sometimes be amplified. But based on reports from Hawaii, where harbors escaped damage, McDougall said he isn’t too concerned.
However, he warned people to stay off the beaches — advice that many people are not heeding. . . .
Surges of up to 3 feet were expected to continue through at least the morning, and are coinciding with a moderate high tide, he said.
“These don’t appear to be damaging waves in any way,” McDougall said. “They just appear to be rising water levels.”
But Washington’s Emergency Management Division warned in a tweet that 3-foot waves could continue to arrive for several hours, and could be worse than originally forecast.
The volcanic eruption struck off the coast of the Pacific nation of Tonga, where much larger tsunami waves sent residents fleeing for higher ground.
Tsunamis of 1- to 3- feet are expected to continue sweeping northward up the Washington coast for several hours, also extending into the Strait of Juan and around the San Juan Islands.
“I think it’s not going to be a very large tsunami,” said Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington.
In Bay Center, near the mouth of Willapa Bay, local fire commissioner Hugh Amaguq Ahnatook went door-to-door in the lowest-lying neighborhoods to alert residents, even though flooding of homes seems extremely unlikely.
He said the largest waves are likely to arrive around noon, based on readings from the offshore buoys that are part of the national tsunami warning system. Inside Willapa Bay, waves could reach two feet, he said.
Ahnatook also filmed what he believes were the initial tsunami surges, which manifested as slight ripples on what had been a perfectly calm water surface.
Hey, Rochdale, sorry to hear about your Mom, glad she's doing better - she's lucky to have you there for her.
Re: health & public safety service & COVID, in particular Omicron surge, a HUGE problem in UK, US and no doubt elsewhere right now.
Looking down the roads, would seem there will be a correspondingly big need to recruit and train an new cadre of nurses, docs, cops, EMTs, etc., etc to refill the ranks and reestablish key services for the brave new world ahead - in possible (and it is) on a better, higher level.
We need more NHS spending. End of. We were caught with our pants down, and have just scraped through.
But the NHS is not the only area that needs help; most of the public sector does.
And that means we're going to need some hefty tax rises. Any party that tries to deny this is lying - and I would prefer parties to be honest about the necessity.
Having accepted that, my vote in the next GE will probably come down to one thing: which party do I trust most to spend the money wisely?
I think the nhs needs more surge capacity. Paring everything to the bone might impress management, but it’s no good when the black swan turns up. As a country we need an honest discussion about a lot of stuff. Tax, and how much we spend on health and social care are top of the list.
We certainly need to think about how much more capacity we need for an ageing population and where the likely extra tax burden should be falling (rather than just inventing a precept that's bolted onto NI payments and then forcing the working age population to cough up the entire lot.)
When it comes to the NHS, however, there may also be deeper seated problems. IANAE but I was surprised to discover that, according to this source - https://www.statista.com/statistics/268826/health-expenditure-as-gdp-percentage-in-oecd-countries/ - which appears legitimate, UK health spending as a share of GDP wasn't particularly low going into the pandemic. Given these statistics, you have to wonder whether the British population is atypically ill, or the NHS is atypically inefficient - or, alternatively, if UK healthcare provision is not, actually, all that bad compared with the neighbours as it currently stands? For example, our life expectancy figures are very close to those of Germany.
My guess is that the answer is complicated - as is typical - and that the NHS is fantastically efficient in some areas but obscenely inefficient in others.
A lot of Brexiteering Tory MPs (ie most of them) will see the assassination of Boris as Remainer revenge, even if, irony of ironies, it has been executed so perfectly by arch-Brexiteer Dom C.
They will be in no mood to elect a Remainer leader. Hunt won't make it to the last two. Truss is also a Remainer, but she might sneak through as "looking a bit like the next Thatcher", if the Tories are desperate
Sunak, of course, voted Leave. He has that advantage, as well
I reckon if Boris goes (and it is odds-on now, how can you possibly come back from this kind of polling) then Sunak replaces him, if the Tories have any sense (yes, yes)
I think this is why Boris will survive. It's all too symbolic. Tories see Boris as the very personification of Brexit and to remove him will seem like a repudiation of Brexit itself and a tacit acknowledgement of its failure.
It seems like only yesterday that most commentators, here and elsewhere, regarded a Labour majority government as impossible, and a Labour-led minority government as implausible.
How quickly times change - it's amazing what a few parties can do.
My controversial NHS opinion is that we should get rid of GP surgeries and instead expand the 111 service, as they're crap anyway.
Why have "care navigators" of varying degrees of incompetence dotted around the country instead of big call centres in regional hubs, where standards can be monitored.
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Still likely less Tory councillors will lose their seats than in May 2019, as fewer seats are up and the Tories were only on 28% NEV in the 2019 locals
The massacre of the innocents but, hey guys, in 2019 it was LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER.
My impression is, not all that many innocents or lambs in electoral politics, from POTUS (or PM) to dog catcher (badger warden?)
Well I would like Boris to try to hang on, at least until the May local elections. I want to see total humiliation. A quiet and dignified exit would be so disappointing.
Actually, I think that against all common sense he will try to hang on. The only person he actually listens to is Princess Nut Nut (aka Marie Antoinette) and she has no ambition to be stuck with a homeless, penniless ex-PM and two screaming brats
At this point you have to wonder how much of Boris' downfall can be attributed to the Carrie coup at the end of 2020.
I've held off discussing it because of the vague whiff of misogyny that can often accompany such musings, but on the other hand... at least Dominic Cummings didn't get the ear of the PM by shagging him (one hopes!).
But when was the last time a PM's partner enjoyed the kind of power and influence that Carrie evidently has?
It's the ones we don't know about that had the most effect. So hard to decide.
Continuing my 1990 riff, I think it's agreed that Denis was key in persuading Maggie that the game really was up. Does Carrie have enough detachment from the game to do the same?
More hospitality anecdata, following on from this arvo
Parkway in Camden is absolutely buzzing (and it is a cold if clear night - 4C)
All the restaurants that were desolate last Saturday are bustling tonight, some of the pubs are spilling onto the pavements. A transformation.
Great to see, but a little peculiar. I know business always picks up from the famously dead first two weeks of Jan (even without plague) but this is a quintupling of customers.
The rules have not changed one iota, so this is a mood change. People think it's all over, they don't care any more, everyone who wants a jab has been jabbed. Enough. The first thing PM Sunak should do is get rid of the last restrictions. Next weekend
Deep irony that Boris blows it: just as Britain gets in a Borisovian mood of boosterism and bonhomie
Genuine thoughts and prayers for the Tory councillors up for election this May, they are the bloody infantry of the party.
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
Cardigan spins in his grave at the comparison.
Heck, even Zhukov wasn't this cavalier.
Even Prince Rupert would have blinked.
As a fellow historian, would think you this is a fair comparison in one of tomorrow's pieces?
'Boris Johnson being a competent PM is the greatest illusion perpetuated in this country since FUSAG'
Well, not really. I mean, FUSAG did actually fool the Germans for long enough. Johnson isn't fooling anyone now.
But Boris Johnson did fool enough people to win the Tory leadership contest and general election.
Hmmm.
Boris Johnson the new George Patton?
The Germans still believed FUSAG was a thing even after the full scale invasion of Normandy. For seven weeks they kept their best units in the Pas de Calais awaiting an invasion that had happened 220 miles to the south west. Many of their commanders at the end of the war literally died believing Normandy was a diversion that had been unexpectedly successful rendering an attempt at forcing of the Strait of Dover unnecessary.
Johnson has not managed that. Not even remotely.
A better parallel might be Edward IV claiming in 1471 that he was only trying to reclaim the title Duke of York. Nobody believed it, but enough people wanted to believe it for it to be a successful ruse.
Even so, if it hadn't been for that fog at Barnet...
However Javid, Hunt, Gove, Truss and Patel all have 30% or less thinking they would make a good PM. All below the 31% Tory voteshare with Boris tonight.
Therefore only replacing Boris with Sunak likely to see any bounce for the Tories at all
I know it sounds entirely crazy, but if I could actually pick a replacement for Boris it'd be Patel. (Clearly that might need further godlike powers to ensure stability thereafter)….
Well I would like Boris to try to hang on, at least until the May local elections. I want to see total humiliation. A quiet and dignified exit would be so disappointing.
Actually, I think that against all common sense he will try to hang on. The only person he actually listens to is Princess Nut Nut (aka Marie Antoinette) and she has no ambition to be stuck with a homeless, penniless ex-PM and two screaming brats
At this point you have to wonder how much of Boris' downfall can be attributed to the Carrie coup at the end of 2020.
I've held off discussing it because of the vague whiff of misogyny that can often accompany such musings, but on the other hand... at least Dominic Cummings didn't get the ear of the PM by shagging him (one hopes!).
But when was the last time a PM's partner enjoyed the kind of power and influence that Carrie evidently has?
It's the ones we don't know about that had the most effect. So hard to decide.
Continuing my 1990 riff, I think it's agreed that Denis was key in persuading Maggie that the game really was up. Does Carrie have enough detachment from the game to do the same?
No, but maybe Dilyn the dog can be persuaded to tell his master that his days are numbered.
Bloody hell. When I said Putin was thinking of himself as a new Peter the Great, I didn't think that might involve war with Sweden. That would be being rather too literal.
However Javid, Hunt, Gove, Truss and Patel all have 30% or less thinking they would make a good PM. All below the 31% Tory voteshare with Boris tonight.
Therefore only replacing Boris with Sunak likely to see any bounce for the Tories at all
Boris now needs to go off into exile somewhere obscure for a couple of years, re-emerging a chastened and humble man, full of regrets but ready with a few wise words for those who follow (Of course he won’t but it’s a nice thought).
Actually, hypothetical question time:
You are a famous intellectual who has fallen out of favour with the ruling family in the small autocracy that you call home, and must now flee the country.
You hole up in a small, once fashionable resort town where you spend a decade or more, making of it a kind of home but without ever losing a deep, aching yearning for your homeland. You can be regularly spotted sipping a coffee at the cafe on the corner, or taking in the sunset at a nearby viewpoint.
Well you can't argue there a range of expert topics discussed on PB, seamlessly moving from quality of high street lunch offerings to trends in porn kinks.
However Javid, Hunt, Gove, Truss and Patel all have 30% or less thinking they would make a good PM. All below the 31% Tory voteshare with Boris tonight.
Therefore only replacing Boris with Sunak likely to see any bounce for the Tories at all
I know it sounds entirely crazy, but if I could actually pick a replacement for Boris it'd be Patel. (Clearly that might need further godlike powers to ensure stability thereafter)….
Not words to use in conjunction with Patel.
No I meant if I was in a godlike position to choose it'd not be a one-off intervention. She's very fallible, but I think underestimated (and I know almost nobody agrees, and that's fine).
Boris now needs to go off into exile somewhere obscure for a couple of years, re-emerging a chastened and humble man, full of regrets but ready with a few wise words for those who follow (Of course he won’t but it’s a nice thought).
Actually, hypothetical question time:
You are a famous intellectual who has fallen out of favour with the ruling family in the small autocracy that you call home, and must now flee the country.
You hole up in a small, once fashionable resort town where you spend a decade or more, making of it a kind of home but without ever losing a deep, aching yearning for your homeland. You can be regularly spotted sipping a coffee at the cafe on the corner, or taking in the sunset at a nearby viewpoint.
Given how obvious it is that he’s been lying, that almost any child could spot, that 64% figure almost seems low.
I have a not very political friend who says "Of course he lied, but it's all about something a year ago, I'm so annoyed at Starmer for hassling him in the middle of a pandemic." Can't win 'em all...
Comments
Boris Johnson is deader than a DODO, you cannot recover from these results
63% now think the Prime Minister should resign, nearly three times the 22% who think he should remain as Conservative Party leader.
48% of those who voted Conservative in 2019 think he should go, with just 37% thinking he should stay.
The Prime Minister’s net approval rating has fallen to -42, down from -24 a week ago. This is same as the worst score we recorded for Theresa May in May 2019.
Approve 22% (-8)
Disapprove 64% (+10)
Changes on 5-7 January.
Probably.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b09gz5nz
Actually, I think that against all common sense he will try to hang on. The only person he actually listens to is Princess Nut Nut (aka Marie Antoinette) and she has no ambition to be stuck with a homeless, penniless ex-PM and two screaming brats
Boris Johnson = The 7th Earl of Cardigan
However Javid, Hunt, Gove, Truss and Patel all have 30% or less thinking they would make a good PM. All below the 31% Tory voteshare with Boris tonight.
Therefore only replacing Boris with Sunak likely to see any bounce for the Tories at all
https://twitter.com/OpiniumResearch/status/1482444647351865353?s=20
In US, rough rule of thumb is that, for an incumbent politico, 20% voter support for re-election is the functional Deadline (in the original sense of the word).
Meaning game over about 99.46% of the time.
As I predicted it's been a thorough disaster for the Conservative Party. Boris is the pandemic made flesh, and no one wants to think about it ever again.
In case anyone thinks it is parties during lockdown, consider this.
Would we have heard what we heard if everyone was focussed on not dying?
I suspect not. The end of the pandemic has precipitated the release of all this info.
Every Tory PM from Thatcher onwards has been ousted/their Premierships ruined because of relationship with our European friends.
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
Does he not have enough supporters in the Parliamentary Party who would like to see him become PM? Is he worried about losing the leadership contest?
At question is not his guilt, only his punishment.
Johnson’s problem has not been his lying but his inability to manage it, notably when found out. He has no spin doctor, and on Wednesday had to admit himself to spin A&E. His belief that a winsome and “authentic” personality could make up for a rotten command structure and third-class aides exploded on him.
Keir Starmer…should pray for him to limp on. For Johnson, an ominous parallel is the Tory party’s ruthless ejection of Thatcher in 1990. It cleansed the Downing Street stables of the poll tax toxin, and went on under John Major to win a fourth election in a row in 1992.
If, as seems likely, Johnson’s days as a politician are now numbered, Britain’s brief excursion into populist politics will have ended. The moral of the story will be modest: that journalists, for all their vanity, should not be tempted to give up the day job.
Hunt is the best plausible choice, and then Sunak. In my view (which I've clearly massively devalued above )
Is Sutton Coldfield holding elections this year as well? I think they VONC'd Boris Johnson earlier on this week.
But his statue is 16 feet tall.
That's Horatio of 3:1.
and Sutton Coldfield is City of Birmingham Council, so probably some wards.
Heck, even Zhukov wasn't this cavalier.
Even Prince Rupert would have blinked.
I've held off discussing it because of the vague whiff of misogyny that can often accompany such musings, but on the other hand... at least Dominic Cummings didn't get the ear of the PM by shagging him (one hopes!).
But when was the last time a PM's partner enjoyed the kind of power and influence that Carrie evidently has?
'Boris Johnson being a competent PM is the greatest illusion perpetuated in this country since FUSAG'
Time for you to bin Boris and promote Rishi
Dom might get the cull he was after. Perhaps this is all 3D chess again...
They can't all have been political appointees, surely.
They will be in no mood to elect a Remainer leader. Hunt won't make it to the last two. Truss is also a Remainer, but she might sneak through as "looking a bit like the next Thatcher", if the Tories are desperate
Sunak, of course, voted Leave. He has that advantage, as well
I reckon if Boris goes (and it is odds-on now, how can you possibly come back from this kind of polling) then Sunak replaces him, if the Tories have any sense (yes, yes)
Hmmm.
Boris Johnson the new George Patton?
Given it's just over two years until the next election, it's probably wise to kick him out sooner rather than later.
My guess is after the May elections.
(Actually, it wasn't quite- the Conservative campaign ensured that the Libs won by taking Labour votes, so the Conservatives remained viable contenders in future years. But rubbish for the amiable candidate.)
How quickly times change - it's amazing what a few parties can do.
When it comes to the NHS, however, there may also be deeper seated problems. IANAE but I was surprised to discover that, according to this source - https://www.statista.com/statistics/268826/health-expenditure-as-gdp-percentage-in-oecd-countries/ - which appears legitimate, UK health spending as a share of GDP wasn't particularly low going into the pandemic. Given these statistics, you have to wonder whether the British population is atypically ill, or the NHS is atypically inefficient - or, alternatively, if UK healthcare provision is not, actually, all that bad compared with the neighbours as it currently stands? For example, our life expectancy figures are very close to those of Germany.
Which means they’ll go for Truss
The first tsunami surges from an underwater volcanic eruption in the South Pacific began hitting the Washington coast shortly after 8:30 a.m. Saturday and were — as predicted — quite modest.
“It was very subtle,” said Scott McDougall, emergency management director for Pacific County, which includes the Long Beach Peninsula. “It didn’t progress beyond the beach.”
ubsequent waves are often higher than the first.
The tsunami advisory issued by the National Tsunami Warning System does not extend into Puget Sound. But out of “an abundance of caution,” King County Emergency Management also advised residents to avoid beaches and waterfront areas where strong waves and currents might be possible, said public information officer Sheri Badger.
“We’re not sure what’s going to happen in the Puget Sound waters,” she said. “We wanted to make sure people weren’t going down to the water to watch the waves coming in.”
Pacific County issued warnings to local harbors, where even small tsunamis can sometimes be amplified. But based on reports from Hawaii, where harbors escaped damage, McDougall said he isn’t too concerned.
However, he warned people to stay off the beaches — advice that many people are not heeding. . . .
Surges of up to 3 feet were expected to continue through at least the morning, and are coinciding with a moderate high tide, he said.
“These don’t appear to be damaging waves in any way,” McDougall said. “They just appear to be rising water levels.”
But Washington’s Emergency Management Division warned in a tweet that 3-foot waves could continue to arrive for several hours, and could be worse than originally forecast.
The volcanic eruption struck off the coast of the Pacific nation of Tonga, where much larger tsunami waves sent residents fleeing for higher ground.
Tsunamis of 1- to 3- feet are expected to continue sweeping northward up the Washington coast for several hours, also extending into the Strait of Juan and around the San Juan Islands.
“I think it’s not going to be a very large tsunami,” said Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington.
In Bay Center, near the mouth of Willapa Bay, local fire commissioner Hugh Amaguq Ahnatook went door-to-door in the lowest-lying neighborhoods to alert residents, even though flooding of homes seems extremely unlikely.
He said the largest waves are likely to arrive around noon, based on readings from the offshore buoys that are part of the national tsunami warning system. Inside Willapa Bay, waves could reach two feet, he said.
Ahnatook also filmed what he believes were the initial tsunami surges, which manifested as slight ripples on what had been a perfectly calm water surface.
What they are, I don't know.
Troops being sent to Gotland and tanks in the harbour town and capital Visby.
The fauxcest genre is quite popular.
Why have "care navigators" of varying degrees of incompetence dotted around the country instead of big call centres in regional hubs, where standards can be monitored.
https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/9K0ObE/hultqvist-angrepp-mot-sverige-kan-inte-uteslutas
Parkway in Camden is absolutely buzzing (and it is a cold if clear night - 4C)
All the restaurants that were desolate last Saturday are bustling tonight, some of the pubs are spilling onto the pavements. A transformation.
Great to see, but a little peculiar. I know business always picks up from the famously dead first two weeks of Jan (even without plague) but this is a quintupling of customers.
The rules have not changed one iota, so this is a mood change. People think it's all over, they don't care any more, everyone who wants a jab has been jabbed. Enough. The first thing PM Sunak should do is get rid of the last restrictions. Next weekend
Deep irony that Boris blows it: just as Britain gets in a Borisovian mood of boosterism and bonhomie
Johnson has not managed that. Not even remotely.
A better parallel might be Edward IV claiming in 1471 that he was only trying to reclaim the title Duke of York. Nobody believed it, but enough people wanted to believe it for it to be a successful ruse.
Even so, if it hadn't been for that fog at Barnet...
Dr Freud would nod wisely at the data. He knew all along
"WHY IS INCEST THE MOST POPULAR CATEGORY OF PORN?"
https://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1010/audio/podcasts/why-is-incest-the-most-popular-category-of-porn-1.9800558
Sounds a bit HYUFD.
Does Sweden have any defensive understandings with any of the Baltic states?
Actually, hypothetical question time:
You are a famous intellectual who has fallen out of favour with the ruling family in the small autocracy that you call home, and must now flee the country.
You hole up in a small, once fashionable resort town where you spend a decade or more, making of it a kind of home but without ever losing a deep, aching yearning for your homeland. You can be regularly spotted sipping a coffee at the cafe on the corner, or taking in the sunset at a nearby viewpoint.
Which resort town do you choose?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.R.:_Mysteries_of_the_Organism
Aha!
Having read the article, that would, still make sense...