No-one with even a grain of sense would rely on what Cummings tells them unless there is contemporary documentary evidence corroborating it. This is a man who was untruthful about his activities in spring 2020 and who alters his blog.
If Sue Gray hasn't even been given the authority to get hold of emails and WhatsApp messages then her investigation is not, frankly, worth waiting for.
Not sure that matters now. The argument was, only a few hours ago, that Cummings claimed some people had told Johnson the massive piss-up was against the rules. Johnson of course denies this. But he denied it by saying 'nobody told me the massive piss-up was against the rules'.
EXC As many as 20 Tory MPs from the 2019 intake are planning to submit letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson tomorrow.
The number could breach the 54 letters required for a confidence vote. One 2019 Tory MP told me it could be the PM’s “D-Day”, adding: “His time has gone.
However, I think Rishi Sunak has the best chance of damage limitation. If they get this wrong the tories will be out for a generation as happened post Thatcher-Major and post Blair. If they get this right they could still cause a hung parliament from here.
No-one with even a grain of sense would rely on what Cummings tells them unless there is contemporary documentary evidence corroborating it. This is a man who was untruthful about his activities in spring 2020 and who alters his blog.
If Sue Gray hasn't even been given the authority to get hold of emails and WhatsApp messages then her investigation is not, frankly, worth waiting for.
However, several journalists seem to have found other sources corroborating his story on the party. Haven't some of them also mentioned seeing emails, too ?
Please - let it not be Sunak. Really don't like him.
Last thing we need is some smarmy hedge fund git in charge.
Tending to agree, both on this count, and on the basis that we need someone who doesn't carry the baggage of this government, now somewhat tainted, but a very experienced back bencher for a bit as PM.
If Rishi has resigned a few weeks ago and given reasons he would be in a better position.
All eyes will be on Mail tonight. Dacre will back his man no doubt. Probably some headline about Net Zero costing pensioners money or some such.
War.
And if Boris gets to PMQs tomorrow. Dear Boris isn’t the danger, Putin is the danger. Rally round the flag. Like my Dad predicted. (I think he is wrong this time, they might try it but it ain’t going to work).
EXC As many as 20 Tory MPs from the 2019 intake are planning to submit letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson tomorrow.
The number could breach the 54 letters required for a confidence vote. One 2019 Tory MP told me it could be the PM’s “D-Day”, adding: “His time has gone.
I still cannot think of a PM who was removed by losing an internal party vote. Thatcher would be closest, but she actually won, just not by a big enough margin.
We are in unprecedented territory if Johnson is removed by a VONC, which he will be if one is called. The party dare not risk this dragging on like in 2018-19 and he's far more damaged than ever May was.
Difference is that Maggie and May, although they didn't formally lose their VONCs, could see the writing on the wall, and had enough class to accept that. Major (who set himself a target (66%? Well above half, anyway) which he just met) was much the same.
But we have known for ages that Bozza doesn't work like that; if he has that much class, he wouldn't still be in Downing Street and arguably would never have got close.
Some mixture of confidence and stupidity means that he might have to have his fingers prised from the No 10 railings one by one. Either that, or they get a vet with one of those tranquilising darts to fire at his rump.
EXC As many as 20 Tory MPs from the 2019 intake are planning to submit letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson tomorrow.
The number could breach the 54 letters required for a confidence vote. One 2019 Tory MP told me it could be the PM’s “D-Day”, adding: “His time has gone.
However, I think Rishi Sunak has the best chance of damage limitation. If they get this wrong the tories will be out for a generation as happened post Thatcher-Major and post Blair. If they get this right they could still cause a hung parliament from here.
Maybe. Though they may be out for a generation anyway, all a PM Sunak might do is save the furniture before the Tories move to the populist right under say Truss or Patel in opposition.
I am 40 and have only seen 2 changes of government in my lifetime, 1997 and 2010. When the British public decide the governing party is no longer fit for power they rarely change their mind for at least a decade or more.
The only real exception was the economic chaos and strikes of the 1970s and we all want to avoid that
I think Christopher Hope's tweet rings very true about the "sickening" reaction to eve of Prince Philip's funeral party. It was the counterpoint picture of Her Majesty sitting all by herself in Westminster Abbey that drove the stake through Boris Johnson's heart.
It's impossible to recover from that. The monarchy may be in jeopardy but you screw with the person who has served this country more than any other for 70 years and you really deserve to be shredded by the people.
I wonder if those involved saw that image the next day and though “oh we’ve fucked it haven’t we”. Or if the cognitive dissonance was so strong they didn’t put two and two together.
Anyhow, just opened a nice bottle of rum to mark the end of Project Boris. Hard to take pleasure from it all. He had the ingredients in place for greatness and threw it away by having the wrong people and not thinking anything through. For a govt of journalists, the public communication was absurdly poor. He’s deserved to go for a year for the disgraceful way his govt has weaponised fear, partygate is so potent because it’s the event that has pulled the scales from so many millions of eyes. “Why have I lived like a frightened rabbit when the people in charge haven’t been cautious at all?”.
But what a privilege it is to live in a country with such a sharp feedback loop between the desires of the governed and the fate of the governed. Don’t take that for granted peeps.
Reminds me of Plan B, original rebellion rumoured to be around 50-60, whips thought that they got it down into the 20s, but all their whipping did is drive it up to 100.
Several Tory MPs tell me a caucus of Conservative Red Wall and 2019 MPs have met and reached a collective position (“a mutual understanding”) that Johnson should go, though each MP is individually deciding whether to write a “no confidence” letter now or after Sue Gray reports https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1483551358901014532
Paul Brand @PaulBrandITV · 4m 🚨 Senior Conservative backbencher tells me tonight they are confident of getting to 54 letters tomorrow to try and oust the PM.
“Up the revolution!” they tell me.
No 10 / whips subjecting them to “threats and blackmail” but has only angered MPs further, they say.
No-one with even a grain of sense would rely on what Cummings tells them unless there is contemporary documentary evidence corroborating it. This is a man who was untruthful about his activities in spring 2020 and who alters his blog.
If Sue Gray hasn't even been given the authority to get hold of emails and WhatsApp messages then her investigation is not, frankly, worth waiting for.
Not sure that matters now. The argument was, only a few hours ago, that Cummings claimed some people had told Johnson the massive piss-up was against the rules. Johnson of course denies this. But he denied it by saying 'nobody told me the massive piss-up was against the rules'.
That quote will end his career.
Perhaps Boris knew about these planned gatherings but assumed they'd be modest affairs - he didn't realize that the intention was to stage an event that would have broken COVID restrictions. If he had been properly informed about what the organizers had in mind, then he'd have stepped in and ordered then to tone it down or cancel. Anyway, that's a defence me might try.
Talking about food, tonight we had a simple meal of lentil soup, fresh vegetable salad, a sandwich with Brie and Cranberry sauce, and a fresh fruit salad to finish. I love food, me.
Several Tory MPs tell me a caucus of Conservative Red Wall and 2019 MPs have met and reached a collective position (“a mutual understanding”) that Johnson should go, though each MP is individually deciding whether to write a “no confidence” letter now or after Sue Gray reports https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1483551358901014532
No-one with even a grain of sense would rely on what Cummings tells them unless there is contemporary documentary evidence corroborating it. This is a man who was untruthful about his activities in spring 2020 and who alters his blog.
If Sue Gray hasn't even been given the authority to get hold of emails and WhatsApp messages then her investigation is not, frankly, worth waiting for.
Not sure that matters now. The argument was, only a few hours ago, that Cummings claimed some people had told Johnson the massive piss-up was against the rules. Johnson of course denies this. But he denied it by saying 'nobody told me the massive piss-up was against the rules'.
That quote will end his career.
Perhaps Boris knew about these planned gatherings but assumed they'd be modest affairs - he didn't realize that the intention was to stage an event that would have broken COVID restrictions. If he had been properly informed about what the organizers had in mind, then he'd have stepped in and ordered then to tone it down or cancel. Anyway, that's a defence me might try.
Given the rules at the time were you can meet 1 other person in an outside space that isn’t going to work
EXC As many as 20 Tory MPs from the 2019 intake are planning to submit letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson tomorrow.
The number could breach the 54 letters required for a confidence vote. One 2019 Tory MP told me it could be the PM’s “D-Day”, adding: “His time has gone.
However, I think Rishi Sunak has the best chance of damage limitation. If they get this wrong the tories will be out for a generation as happened post Thatcher-Major and post Blair. If they get this right they could still cause a hung parliament from here.
Yup. Rishi probably loses, especially with the bad news in the pipeline. But he loses with dignity, with the chance of a Major '92 nice surprise, and with a better result than Bozza manages from here.
So the questions are: 1 Are the Conservatives ready to accept the logic of that- that they're probably out in '23/'24? 2 Is Rishi ready to accept his role as the newly-appointed Captain of the Titanic?
If you had asked me what would have caused Boris Johnson's premiership ending after 30 months because of scandal, I would have assumed it was due to a Profumo style sex scandal.
Never would have thought it would have been a non sex thing.
Except that two of the fault lines which run through Boris Johnson are promiscuity and lying.
If the former didn't get him, the latter has.
p.s. well actually it's a bit more than just lying. That comes on top of chaotic incompetence, total disregard for loyalty, and being bone idle.
Re-read the Eton Master's report and it was all there written in the stars. If only we had all paid attention.
We did!
Even the late lamented @Charles warned us he was a “very bad man”.
But the Brexit lust was too great.
Has Charles left?
Yeah, my fault. He did a Do You Know Who I Am post no.4556, and I pointed out (truthfully) that I know lots of his cousins who get through life quite comfortably without reminding people Who They Are every second utterance, and why didn't he follow their example. Mistake. I now feel guilty about this, because I am pretty fucking irritating myself, but there you are.
I shouldn't feel too bad about it.
He flounced, no one made him. I expect we will survive without hearing about his family this, his family that yadda yadda yadda...
I know it is churlish, but he was namedropping bore who seldom missed an opportunity to exculpate misbehaving Tories because they were our betters.
His claim that he had been doxxed was also risible. Anyone who read more than one or two threads was quite able to divine who he actually was.
Reliable sources have told me, much much worse about the Downing Street parties and Boris Johnson's wider conduct during lockdown will come out.
That explains Boris Johnson's demeanour today.
Douglas Ross called it right.
What did he do, serve pineapple pizza at one of the parties?
They had Radiohead come and play live.....
'Live' is an odd adjective to use concerning Radiohead.
I’ve seen Radiohead live several times over the years. Street spirit in the driving drive after several hours of consuming things that are illegal approached a religious experience. So there.
EXC As many as 20 Tory MPs from the 2019 intake are planning to submit letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson tomorrow.
The number could breach the 54 letters required for a confidence vote. One 2019 Tory MP told me it could be the PM’s “D-Day”, adding: “His time has gone.
However, I think Rishi Sunak has the best chance of damage limitation. If they get this wrong the tories will be out for a generation as happened post Thatcher-Major and post Blair. If they get this right they could still cause a hung parliament from here.
Labour managed a hung Parliament in 2010. By the time of the next election they will have spent longer out of office than three landslides gained them time in it.
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
As entertaining as it is that Liar is about to get shish-kebabbed, there is a problem.
The next Prime Minister would be Dominic Fucking Raab.
It's like letting Father Dougal do a funeral.
He would only be PM if he is acting caretaker because Johnson has flounced. If there is any possibility of him being leadership runner or not going at end of caretaker period then Palace will sound out someone else e.g. Hague, May etc.
Of course we could get Raab as caretaker, supposedly for six weeks, then Putin walks into Ukraine and the leadership election needs to be put on hold.
I don't know why but I have the urge to watch The Death of Stalin tonight.
Watch for the moment where Vasily Stalin tells the Chinese ambassador that conspirators are sucking the cock and balls of American Jews, and the ambassador's interpreter solemnly translates *with gestures*.
As entertaining as it is that Liar is about to get shish-kebabbed, there is a problem.
The next Prime Minister would be Dominic Fucking Raab.
It's like letting Father Dougal do a funeral.
He would only be PM if he is acting caretaker because Johnson has flounced. If there is any possibility of him being leadership runner or not going at end of caretaker period then Palace will sound out someone else e.g. Hague, May etc.
Of course we could get Raab as caretaker, supposedly for six weeks, then Putin walks into Ukraine and the leadership election needs to be put on hold.
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
NEW: the 20 MPs of the 2019 intake who met today did a secret ballot on how many had already submitted letters to Sir Graham Brady and over half of the group already had. They decided not to do a public statement -to protect other colleagues. But others persuaded to follow suit. https://twitter.com/AnushkaAsthana/status/1483553657148870661
The slightly annoying thing about this is that retarded fantasist Cummings will spend the rest of his life claiming credit for Johnson's downfall if he is ejected tomorrow, when he played a frankly minor and unconvincing role in this as with most things in his worthless and unsuccessful life.
But that would be a small price to pay for getting rid of Johnson.
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
What ever happened to the person who claimed repeatedly that Gilbraltar had 'cancelled Christmas'?
One reads that some Tories are all for defenestrating Johnson as soon as possible; others still want to wait for the Gray Report, for fear that if a snap vote is held before it's published some MPs will chicken out absent the evidence. Although, frankly, how much more evidence they need given the Rigby interview and much of what has preceded it during the Prime Minister's time in office, Lord alone knows.
I am going to say something that may surprise some of you and it is this.
Of course the PM should have known the rules and followed them.
But it is perfectly plausible and in my experience often happens that 2 people have a conversation and both come away with a different genuine recollection/interpretation of what was said and what was meant. This is often the case when people know each other well and so don't talk in clear finished perfectly crafted sentences.
I can well imagine that Cummings thought he said "A", Boris understood "B" and that now 18 months or more later when they hate each other and are seeking advantage over the other their memories have hardened into what suits them. It happens quite often.
It is one reason why contemporaneous evidence is so valuable and also why you need a skilled interviewer.
Mind you I expect Sue Gray is probably pretty good at the latter given the skills she will necessarily have acquired running a pub in Northern Ireland's Bandit country during the Troubles. No wonder Boris was looking pained.
But what Gray uncovers is not the issue. It never has been. The government - and I include the Cabinet in this - were taking the piss out of the electorate. The electorate has now found this out and Tory MPs, hoping to save themselves, hope that Boris can be offered up as the scapegoat so that they can save their careers.
As entertaining as it is that Liar is about to get shish-kebabbed, there is a problem.
The next Prime Minister would be Dominic Fucking Raab.
It's like letting Father Dougal do a funeral.
He would only be PM if he is acting caretaker because Johnson has flounced. If there is any possibility of him being leadership runner or not going at end of caretaker period then Palace will sound out someone else e.g. Hague, May etc.
Of course we could get Raab as caretaker, supposedly for six weeks, then Putin walks into Ukraine and the leadership election needs to be put on hold.
Unless Russia withdraws or invades a NATO member state unlike Ukraine I don't see why. If Russia invaded Ukraine it would likely be there indefinitely, in that case Raab would lead the Tories into the next general election as PM. A UK Gerald Ford given the tensions in Eastern Europe when he assumed the Presidency after Nixon in the mid 1970s
I see I have missed the big news tonight. @Scott_xP's fulsome apology for his earlier popular music indiscretion.
In other news I was casually looking back and one of my favourite posts on the subject (April last year) was to say that Boris would fall but fuck knows how. At least now we know.
Although I am not yet counting chickens. @HYUFD is right. The new Cons MPs owe their presence in the HoC to Boris. They will think carefully before they ditch him.
Reliable sources have told me, much much worse about the Downing Street parties and Boris Johnson's wider conduct during lockdown will come out.
That explains Boris Johnson's demeanour today.
Douglas Ross called it right.
What did he do, serve pineapple pizza at one of the parties?
They had Radiohead come and play live.....
'Live' is an odd adjective to use concerning Radiohead.
I’ve seen Radiohead live several times over the years. Street spirit in the driving drive after several hours of consuming things that are illegal approached a religious experience. So there.
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
What ever happened to the person who claimed repeatedly that Gilbraltar had 'cancelled Christmas'?
Oh yes, he's still posting.
I missed that episode, wasn’t on here much over Xmas. Too busy christmassing. No doubt others will fill in the gaps for the unaware
I am going to say something that may surprise some of you and it is this.
Of course the PM should have known the rules and followed them.
But it is perfectly plausible and in my experience often happens that 2 people have a conversation and both come away with a different genuine recollection/interpretation of what was said and what was meant. This is often the case when people know each other well and so don't talk in clear finished perfectly crafted sentences.
I can well imagine that Cummings thought he said "A", Boris understood "B" and that now 18 months or more later when they hate each other and are seeking advantage over the other their memories have hardened into what suits them. It happens quite often.
It is one reason why contemporaneous evidence is so valuable and also why you need a skilled interviewer.
Mind you I expect Sue Gray is probably pretty good at the latter given the skills she will necessarily have acquired running a pub in Northern Ireland's Bandit country during the Troubles. No wonder Boris was looking pained.
But what Gray uncovers is not the issue. It never has been. The government - and I include the Cabinet in this - were taking the piss out of the electorate. The electorate has now found this out and Tory MPs, hoping to save themselves, hope that Boris can be offered up as the scapegoat so that they can save their careers.
They're all a bunch of *ankers, frankly.
It is also still more important to have such evidence when both parties are (a) stupid (b) dishonest (c) fit past events to suit their own narratives and (d) have very bad memories anyway.
One reads that some Tories are all for defenestrating Johnson as soon as possible; others still want to wait for the Gray Report, for fear that if a snap vote is held before it's published some MPs will chicken out absent the evidence. Although, frankly, how much more evidence they need given the Rigby interview and much of what has preceded it during the Prime Minister's time in office, Lord alone knows.
Would be funny if the VONC came before Sue Gray's report, there's just enough ambiguity for him to win it albeit massively damaged, then Gray reports and buries him with it but technically at least he's safe...
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
Tests indicate leukemia treatment going exceptionally well, despite having a non-standard treatment lastv summer due to the epidemic - all blood factors in normal ranges.
It is one reason why contemporaneous evidence is so valuable and also why you need a skilled interviewer.
Mind you I expect Sue Gray is probably pretty good at the latter given the skills she will necessarily have acquired running a pub in Northern Ireland's Bandit country during the Troubles. No wonder Boris was looking pained.
There are rumours her interview skills are one reason she ended up running a pub in Northern Ireland's Bandit country during the Troubles before resuming a senior career in London...
Do they still have men in grey suits? Do they still provide a bottle of whiskey and a loaded revolver? EDIT should be whisky ( I know)
The men in suits only work in the context of a shared concept of shame or guilt. Boris is invulnerable because he has no such concept. Compare captain Grimes in Waughs Decline and Fall, who just drinks all the whisky and laughs at the chaps who come back in expecting to find his corpse.
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
You have an impressively encyclopaedic knowledge of pb posters for a newbie. How would we all be in the pub? Actually don’t answer that…
And calling for himself to come back under two different names, when he is supposed to be banned, just makes the mods look about as clued up as the prime minister
Reliable sources have told me, much much worse about the Downing Street parties and Boris Johnson's wider conduct during lockdown will come out.
That explains Boris Johnson's demeanour today.
Douglas Ross called it right.
What did he do, serve pineapple pizza at one of the parties?
They had Radiohead come and play live.....
'Live' is an odd adjective to use concerning Radiohead.
I’ve seen Radiohead live several times over the years. Street spirit in the driving drive after several hours of consuming things that are illegal approached a religious experience. So there.
How could you tell?
Religious experiences and mind altering substances have been happy bedfellows for many thousands of years. Even the catholics go in for it a bit. Where they go wrong is their music is mostly shit. They should set their hymn lyrics to The Bends instead.
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
EXC As many as 20 Tory MPs from the 2019 intake are planning to submit letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson tomorrow.
The number could breach the 54 letters required for a confidence vote. One 2019 Tory MP told me it could be the PM’s “D-Day”, adding: “His time has gone.
However, I think Rishi Sunak has the best chance of damage limitation. If they get this wrong the tories will be out for a generation as happened post Thatcher-Major and post Blair. If they get this right they could still cause a hung parliament from here.
Yup. Rishi probably loses, especially with the bad news in the pipeline. But he loses with dignity, with the chance of a Major '92 nice surprise, and with a better result than Bozza manages from here.
So the questions are: 1 Are the Conservatives ready to accept the logic of that- that they're probably out in '23/'24? 2 Is Rishi ready to accept his role as the newly-appointed Captain of the Titanic?
Sunak is a pretty savvy operator - I wouldn’t be surprised to see the tax rises swept under the rug
The slightly annoying thing about this is that retarded fantasist Cummings will spend the rest of his life claiming credit for Johnson's downfall if he is ejected tomorrow, when he played a frankly minor and unconvincing role in this as with most things in his worthless and unsuccessful life.
But that would be a small price to pay for getting rid of Johnson.
Yeah the why this is happening we haven’t really discussed and bottomed out? It’s not just a bitter Cummings and ambitious Sunak imo.
Before I came back to London my Dad said the party is going to remove Boris now. They are going to carry on with it until he is gone. I can’t take credit for just reporting what he told me, but it was so quiet till to about a week ago wasn’t it?
The reason he said is the business friendly Tories they want to take control of policy which is wasted in Boris hands, so the leader goes to conference speeches and CBI with something to say to them. The bit I added in my own mind is all that was coming from Boris is everything is fantastic and going to be boostered and that’s rubbish wasn’t it? He wasn’t business friendly?
So it’s not the parties why they want to get rid of him, it’s the parties being used to get rid of him because the business friendly ones they want to take back control. How does that argument stack up?
At least 58 Conservative MPs have criticised Boris Johnson or his team in letters to constituents/Facebook posts/local press. Analysis reveals anger with the PM is much deeper than commonly appreciated in Westminster
EXC As many as 20 Tory MPs from the 2019 intake are planning to submit letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson tomorrow.
The number could breach the 54 letters required for a confidence vote. One 2019 Tory MP told me it could be the PM’s “D-Day”, adding: “His time has gone.
However, I think Rishi Sunak has the best chance of damage limitation. If they get this wrong the tories will be out for a generation as happened post Thatcher-Major and post Blair. If they get this right they could still cause a hung parliament from here.
Yup. Rishi probably loses, especially with the bad news in the pipeline. But he loses with dignity, with the chance of a Major '92 nice surprise, and with a better result than Bozza manages from here.
So the questions are: 1 Are the Conservatives ready to accept the logic of that- that they're probably out in '23/'24? 2 Is Rishi ready to accept his role as the newly-appointed Captain of the Titanic?
Not quite. Rishi has a high chance of being destroyed simply by being at the centre of a morally and politically bankrupt regime in the eyes of many. Also there will undoubtedly be material for the same enemies to use against him. There could easily be a sentiment against any new PM from this government. Rishi should have resigned a few weeks ago if he was serious.
And/but the next election could be a good one to lose.
And a third source of the 2019-ers. Tells me that 20 members of the 2019 intake have put letters in - and are apparently "apoplectic" at way been handled. My angry source tells me: "No 10 are too thick to understand what they need to do" https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1483556298457337857
At least 58 Conservative MPs have criticised Boris Johnson or his team in letters to constituents/Facebook posts/local press. Analysis reveals anger with the PM is much deeper than commonly appreciated in Westminster
James Forsyth @JGForsyth · 6m Things moving. One level headed MP's view is that the numbers are 'getting there'. One person with experience of these things says, 'It is more on this evening than it was this morning and it was more on this morning than yesterday'. All still v uncertain, but atmosphere changing
Evening all! First big customer presentation in 2 years went well, much good happening with work and I'm about to have a parmo (in Manchester...) to celebrate.
Has the pillock resigned yet?
The Parmo is a Protected geographical name - they shouldn't exist outside Teesside.
Regional protection of named cuisines was an EU thing... so now any clown can do it. There is supposed to be a UK version, but it stops at Dover if it is even in place at all.
I believe we kept the regional protection to some extent.
I am now in the US, and man, do I miss those regional protections. Cheese is dire.
Did you end up in NYC? Avoid the main supermarkets (Gristides, Key Markets etc) and try Trader Joe's or Whole Foods instead. Even our little C-Town out here in the 'burbs has an adequate selection of imported cheese.
And for British food generally, there's Myers of Keswick and Tea and Sympathy in the West Village. Or, if you don't mind venturing up to the North Bronx, the Irish shops in Woodlawn have all the same stuff as the UK but cheaper than the WV shops.
I am on the UWS after all.
I went to Gristedes which comes across as a cross between Iceland and the Aldi middle aisle, with prices from the Harrods Food Court.
I was quite shocked during the couple of months we lived on the UES before moving to Westchester just how shit the "regular" supermarkets like Gristedes are in the city. Apparently the guy who owns Gristedes just runs the stores to have an income from the sites before their value rises enough to make them worth selling for development.
I just want an Ocado equivalent - decent veges, good variety, alcohol etc - with easy delivery. Appears there is no obvious parallel.
I will PM you separately.
Fresh Direct is the nearest thing to Ocado. You won't find any online grocery that also delivers booze though. Don't forget this country was founded by people calling themselves "Puritans".
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
Whoa - has Leon gone?
Libel, banned, everyone was happy. Now unbanned, but has returned with a second account. So we can look forward to his tedious wittering in stereo,
You seem to dislike him? What did he do? I only lurked sporadically so I am unaware of the "granular backstory"
Did you compare penii and come off badly? What?!
This site is brilliant!
Charles, your new identity is very unconvincing.
“Penii” was the tell, as the only previous citation was a post where Charles explained that his Aunty Gladys explained the concept of the Crown-in-Parliament to him using borrowed members from the Hunterian collection.
At least 58 Conservative MPs have criticised Boris Johnson or his team in letters to constituents/Facebook posts/local press. Analysis reveals anger with the PM is much deeper than commonly appreciated in Westminster
At least 58 Conservative MPs have criticised Boris Johnson or his team in letters to constituents/Facebook posts/local press. Analysis reveals anger with the PM is much deeper than commonly appreciated in Westminster
At least 58 Conservative MPs have criticised Boris Johnson or his team in letters to constituents/Facebook posts/local press. Analysis reveals anger with the PM is much deeper than commonly appreciated in Westminster
And a third source of the 2019-ers. Tells me that 20 members of the 2019 intake have put letters in - and are apparently "apoplectic" at way been handled. My angry source tells me: "No 10 are too thick to understand what they need to do" https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1483556298457337857
Without wanting to sound like a nostalgist, I've often been struck by how much cruder these unattributed briefings have sounded in the last five years or so. Something has changed in the way politicians are communicating, and possibly thinking, and I think social media is probably something to do with it as well. There's also often much more swearing in them than even five years or so ago too, for instance. There's a fairly recent change somewhere here.
I've had £11.79 at 352.6 on Teresa May to be next PM - to win over £4k.
Richard Nabavi is quite right. The unfolding drama could well result in the need for an interim PM and, if that is the case, that person could well be viewed as the actual next PM for Betfair settling purposes. Raab has every chance but to me Teresa May seems a far more suitable person. Especially at the odds I just got. She was our most recent PM, can have no ambition to stand for the leadership if Boris is forced aside, is largely respected by the Tory party, would most likely be trusted to be impartial and is available.
EXC As many as 20 Tory MPs from the 2019 intake are planning to submit letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson tomorrow.
The number could breach the 54 letters required for a confidence vote. One 2019 Tory MP told me it could be the PM’s “D-Day”, adding: “His time has gone.
They were elected with Boris and they will go out with Boris, even Sunak is not going to hold most of the redwall. Any of the good redwall MPs need to hope some ageing Tory MPs in safer seats retire so they can put in their CVs as most of them are probably now doomed. Removing Boris will not save most of them https://order-order.com/2022/01/18/poll-shows-rishi-wont-save-the-tories/
At this point I’m not sure that Johnson would hold the red wall either. Which means the Tories are stuffed either way & need someone competent to hold the line whilst they spend some fruitful time working out how they’re going to re-invent themselves this time.
At least 58 Conservative MPs have criticised Boris Johnson or his team in letters to constituents/Facebook posts/local press. Analysis reveals anger with the PM is much deeper than commonly appreciated in Westminster
iSam! Charles! Eadric! David Herdson! Leon! Alistair Meeks!
If they want!
What happened to that chap who was an anti vaxxer because he thought the govt were lying when they said vaccines were the pathway to no restrictions? Hopefully he didn’t move to NZ.
Reliable sources have told me, much much worse about the Downing Street parties and Boris Johnson's wider conduct during lockdown will come out.
That explains Boris Johnson's demeanour today.
Douglas Ross called it right.
What did he do, serve pineapple pizza at one of the parties?
They had Radiohead come and play live.....
'Live' is an odd adjective to use concerning Radiohead.
I’ve seen Radiohead live several times over the years. Street spirit in the driving drive after several hours of consuming things that are illegal approached a religious experience. So there.
How could you tell?
Religious experiences and mind altering substances have been happy bedfellows for many thousands of years. Even the catholics go in for it a bit. Where they go wrong is their music is mostly shit. They should set their hymn lyrics to The Bends instead.
No, I mean how could you tell that they were alive.
Comments
P/S Food is really important.
That quote will end his career.
However, I think Rishi Sunak has the best chance of damage limitation. If they get this wrong the tories will be out for a generation as happened post Thatcher-Major and post Blair. If they get this right they could still cause a hung parliament from here.
If Rishi has resigned a few weeks ago and given reasons he would be in a better position.
“Up the revolution!” they tell me.
No 10 / whips subjecting them to “threats and blackmail” but has only angered MPs further, they say.
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1483550603997597702
And if Boris gets to PMQs tomorrow. Dear Boris isn’t the danger, Putin is the danger. Rally round the flag. Like my Dad predicted. (I think he is wrong this time, they might try it but it ain’t going to work).
Macron - Zemmour = Not very close, Macron victory
Macron - Pecresse = Very close, probable Pecresse victory
Macron - Melanchon - Not very close, Macron victory
What odds can I get on Macron again?
But we have known for ages that Bozza doesn't work like that; if he has that much class, he wouldn't still be in Downing Street and arguably would never have got close.
Some mixture of confidence and stupidity means that he might have to have his fingers prised from the No 10 railings one by one. Either that, or they get a vet with one of those tranquilising darts to fire at his rump.
The next Prime Minister would be
Dominic
Fucking
Raab.
It's like letting Father Dougal do a funeral.
I am 40 and have only seen 2 changes of government in my lifetime, 1997 and 2010. When the British public decide the governing party is no longer fit for power they rarely change their mind for at least a decade or more.
The only real exception was the economic chaos and strikes of the 1970s and we all want to avoid that
Anyhow, just opened a nice bottle of rum to mark the end of Project Boris. Hard to take pleasure from it all. He had the ingredients in place for greatness and threw it away by having the wrong people and not thinking anything through. For a govt of journalists, the public communication was absurdly poor. He’s deserved to go for a year for the disgraceful way his govt has weaponised fear, partygate is so potent because it’s the event that has pulled the scales from so many millions of eyes. “Why have I lived like a frightened rabbit when the people in charge haven’t been cautious at all?”.
But what a privilege it is to live in a country with such a sharp feedback loop between the desires of the governed and the fate of the governed. Don’t take that for granted peeps.
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1483551358901014532
@PaulBrandITV
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🚨 Senior Conservative backbencher tells me tonight they are confident of getting to 54 letters tomorrow to try and oust the PM.
“Up the revolution!” they tell me.
No 10 / whips subjecting them to “threats and blackmail” but has only angered MPs further, they say.
Toast.
It were done quickly:
So the questions are:
1 Are the Conservatives ready to accept the logic of that- that they're probably out in '23/'24?
2 Is Rishi ready to accept his role as the newly-appointed Captain of the Titanic?
His claim that he had been doxxed was also risible. Anyone who read more than one or two threads was quite able to divine who he actually was.
https://twitter.com/mikegalsworthy/status/1483437438227914760?s=20
No10 inviting MPs in for urgent talks in the morning but fear is too many 2019ers are too advanced to pull back now
https://twitter.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1483552974005755905
Of course we could get Raab as caretaker, supposedly for six weeks, then Putin walks into Ukraine and the leadership election needs to be put on hold.
The rest of it is pretty funny too.
IDS
https://twitter.com/AnushkaAsthana/status/1483553657148870661
It was made public the following morning and the secret ballot was held between 6-8pm. https://twitter.com/paulbranditv/status/1483551962008281091
But that would be a small price to pay for getting rid of Johnson.
Oh yes, he's still posting.
Of course the PM should have known the rules and followed them.
But it is perfectly plausible and in my experience often happens that 2 people have a conversation and both come away with a different genuine recollection/interpretation of what was said and what was meant. This is often the case when people know each other well and so don't talk in clear finished perfectly crafted sentences.
I can well imagine that Cummings thought he said "A", Boris understood "B" and that now 18 months or more later when they hate each other and are seeking advantage over the other their memories have hardened into what suits them. It happens quite often.
It is one reason why contemporaneous evidence is so valuable and also why you need a skilled interviewer.
Mind you I expect Sue Gray is probably pretty good at the latter given the skills she will necessarily have acquired running a pub in Northern Ireland's Bandit country during the Troubles. No wonder Boris was looking pained.
But what Gray uncovers is not the issue. It never has been. The government - and I include the Cabinet in this - were taking the piss out of the electorate. The electorate has now found this out and Tory MPs, hoping to save themselves, hope that Boris can be offered up as the scapegoat so that they can save their careers.
They're all a bunch of *ankers, frankly.
In other news I was casually looking back and one of my favourite posts on the subject (April last year) was to say that Boris would fall but fuck knows how. At least now we know.
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/3334575#Comment_3334575
Although I am not yet counting chickens. @HYUFD is right. The new Cons MPs owe their presence in the HoC to Boris. They will think carefully before they ditch him.
Like with say, Johnson and Cummings...
Now unbanned, but has returned with a second account. So we can look forward to his tedious wittering in stereo,
I wonder if Yokes knows?
If you want a full range of food (ie “the weekly shop”) it looks like you need to go to a range of places, whether digitally or otherwise.
At least that is my initial exeprience.
Before I came back to London my Dad said the party is going to remove Boris now. They are going to carry on with it until he is gone. I can’t take credit for just reporting what he told me, but it was so quiet till to about a week ago wasn’t it?
The reason he said is the business friendly Tories they want to take control of policy which is wasted in Boris hands, so the leader goes to conference speeches and CBI with something to say to them. The bit I added in my own mind is all that was coming from Boris is everything is fantastic and going to be boostered and that’s rubbish wasn’t it? He wasn’t business friendly?
So it’s not the parties why they want to get rid of him, it’s the parties being used to get rid of him because the business friendly ones they want to take back control. How does that argument stack up?
At least 58 Conservative MPs have criticised Boris Johnson or his team in letters to constituents/Facebook posts/local press. Analysis reveals anger with the PM is much deeper than commonly appreciated in Westminster
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e463c5c4-789e-11ec-9998-b2483743c25e?shareToken=86802f95fc6bf2e290810d2b65025892
On the 29th December, someone registered http://inlizwetruss.com and http://inlizwetruss.co.uk
I wonder if someone is building a campaign website? https://twitter.com/Psythor/status/1483552032443224064/photo/1
And/but the next election could be a good one to lose.
https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1483556298457337857
Amazon? They do an excellent supermarket-esque delivery service. Or you could Instacart.
@JGForsyth
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Things moving. One level headed MP's view is that the numbers are 'getting there'. One person with experience of these things says, 'It is more on this evening than it was this morning and it was more on this morning than yesterday'. All still v uncertain, but atmosphere changing
“Penii” was the tell, as the only previous citation was a post where Charles explained that his Aunty Gladys explained the concept of the Crown-in-Parliament to him using borrowed members from the Hunterian collection.
The redwall Tory MPs are 48 max
Richard Nabavi is quite right. The unfolding drama could well result in the need for an interim PM and, if that is the case, that person could well be viewed as the actual next PM for Betfair settling purposes. Raab has every chance but to me Teresa May seems a far more suitable person. Especially at the odds I just got. She was our most recent PM, can have no ambition to stand for the leadership if Boris is forced aside, is largely respected by the Tory party, would most likely be trusted to be impartial and is available.
Step forward Mrs May?
Unlike May he also already has one landslide general election win behind him and has delivered Brexit
*I jest