Surely Cressida Dick now has to go. She's presided over more cock-ups than someone in her position should be allowed. Killing a completely innocent Brazilian commuter should have been it but she's been allowed to continue and she's caused mayhem with whatever she's touched. I'm surprised Sue Grey doesn't resign. She's been humiliated
Only now has to go...should have happened ages ago.
You think she should have gone ages ago? I say she should never have been appointed!
That said, who was the last half decent Commissioner? It's not a role that people tend to excel in.
The Met itself should be dismembered.
It should be re-focused on crime in Greater London, answerable to the London Mayor, and it’s national functions bestowed on a new body, answerable to the Home Secretary.
One thing that is a consolation, it appears to have united us all across the political spectrum that this is wrong and inexcusable
Surely Cressida Dick now has to go. She's presided over more cock-ups than someone in her position should be allowed. Killing a completely innocent Brazilian commuter should have been it but she's been allowed to continue and she's caused mayhem with whatever she's touched. I'm surprised Sue Grey doesn't resign. She's been humiliated
Only now has to go...should have happened ages ago.
You think she should have gone ages ago? I say she should never have been appointed!
That said, who was the last half decent Commissioner? It's not a role that people tend to excel in.
Commissioner Gordon was a role Neil Hamilton excelled in (1970s Batman)
Really? That's amazing considering how shit he was while heading up UKIP.
Commissioner Gordon had the Bat Phone
Commissioner Dick the Fat Phone by the looks of it
After making such a fuss over all the Crown Office/Salmond stuff, and sticking the head above the parapet on Johnson, Ross is going to have CSU the Tories up here.
It's been a catastrophic few weeks for Whitehall/Westminster/UK establishment. It's basically Washington down there; just need them to appoint JRM to the Supreme Court and it's over.
(Labour have to be careful over the boundary changes. If they claim gerrymandering on them then the UK is finished as a sane democracy)
But if the SCUP split they've lost half the battle in pretending that the UK is a single polity.They havce basically admitted, in the most brutal fashion, that that is simply not true.
Labour, in contrast, remain a single GB-wide party (possibly UK wide, tecnnically) and will be left as the sole true Unionists, Ms Ballantyne's lot aside.
You're right. It's interesting that Murdo Fraser is so keen though, he's a proper old fashioned Tory (or at least sounds/looks like one).
I noticed that Sturgeon went along with Met corruption on twitter. Feeling very confident, particularly given her past as solicitor and the record Police Scotland.
Mr Fraser is certainly an old fashioned one in such things as this tweet:
And more seriously he did want to go back to the old days of the Unionist Party being independent of London. Only to get a knee in the goolies in the leadership election when Ms Davidson won.
What a roaster.
I'm still wondering what the SCUP should do if Mr Johnson can carry on with his limpet impersonation for the next 2-3 years. And I just can't decide (partly cos we don't know about the cash and property). One thing for sure, some of the MPs have screwed the pooch in terms of patronage under the JOhnson regime (but others have remained loyal AFAIK).
One sort of semirational thing would be to fib and adopt one policy in Holyrood and another in Westminster and hope nobody noticed. That is already happening to some extent de facto in terms of pro- and anti-Johnsonism.
The other point is that IIRC the boundary changes don't make that much difference in Scotland anyway. Or am I misremembering? So that's another problem for Labour.
I think you are attributing them more honour than they are deserving of. I suspect they will do very little other than hoping no-one mentions it, and waffling something about "unity" or "frank discussions" if it does come up.
I did note the other day that I got a leaflet through the door from a West of Scotland regions Conservative MSP, although you had to work EXTREMELY hard to find any mention of the ford conservative on it at all. I think if it wasn't for the fact the MSP in question had the word in his facebook profile (or whatever it was) you would not have ben able to tell at all, but to be fair I did not scan every single word of text.
But I think that is essentially the template for what they will do - don't mention it and hope no-one's remembered to bring it up or look for it.
Did they mention independence and referenda at all? If not, like my Lothians one, it is a huge policy change - in recent years they didn't use the C word in anything other than electron microscope readable size either, bujt it was all 'Ruthie Party Says No tto Indy" with a few words tacked on about other things. Now it's like a LD local election leaflet with the wrong colour.
I had another look as it was sitting in the recycling pile.
You're right, no mention of independence or referenda - island communities, local roads, boosting police numbers, standing up for the NHS and local shops and all that jazz. [We're also supposed to be impressed because the MSP in question has asked X questions and attended Y committees and has visited "multiple businesses".] The only mention it gets is on the return "sixty second survey" form/slip where one of the 5 questions is "do you support a second referendum on Scottish independence".
Thanks. That does confirm it. But why? It's very odd. They could be LDs for all one knows.
Surely Cressida Dick now has to go. She's presided over more cock-ups than someone in her position should be allowed. Killing a completely innocent Brazilian commuter should have been it but she's been allowed to continue and she's caused mayhem with whatever she's touched. I'm surprised Sue Grey doesn't resign. She's been humiliated
Only now has to go...should have happened ages ago.
You think she should have gone ages ago? I say she should never have been appointed!
That said, who was the last half decent Commissioner? It's not a role that people tend to excel in.
Glancing at the list on Wikipedia, it may have been Sir Charles Rowan:
If it will cheer anyone up and restore faith in humanity, I'd like to report that Half Man Half Biscuit were every bit as awesome as I'd hoped, and that the Peveril of the Peak and the Britons Protection were utterly crammed with HMHB fans. Britain is returning to life.
Hmm. Lucy Fisher tells Newsnight that the Tory party is entering what is known as 'AGM season' in Mar and April when local parties have their big annual AGMs and meetings. Could be v tricky time for Big Lying Dog.
Has anybody mentioned that Ms Dick is another graduate of that dump in Oxford, with a degree in Agriculture and Forest Sciences....isn't that the sort of degree specially designed for the rowers?
Back when Olympic oars.. people?... were queuing up for the Blue Boat, that was a thing.
With modern, intensive training, no-one specialising in 2000m still water, straight course races (Olympic and every other competition) wants to participate in a 6800m race on a tidal river which twists like a Met detective being asked about his expenses.
So no Olympic rowers accidentally getting into Oxford or Cambridge.
I still remember the peak of that comedy though - when someone suggested Steve Redgrave would go and get a degree at either University.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
My interpretation of your post. The first bit is spot on, the second, I couldn't disagree with more.
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more dangerous a Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
Has anybody mentioned that Ms Dick is another graduate of that dump in Oxford, with a degree in Agriculture and Forest Sciences....isn't that the sort of degree specially designed for the rowers?
Back when Olympic oars.. people?... were queuing up for the Blue Boat, that was a thing.
With modern, intensive training, no-one specialising in 2000m still water, straight course races (Olympic and every other competition) wants to participate in a 6800m race on a tidal river which twists like a Met detective being asked about his expenses.
So no Olympic rowers accidentally getting into Oxford or Cambridge.
I still remember the peak of that comedy though - when someone suggested Steve Redgrave would go and get a degree at either University.
Hmm. Lucy Fisher tells Newsnight that the Tory party is entering what is known as 'AGM season' in Mar and April when local parties have their big annual AGMs and meetings. Could be v tricky time for Big Lying Dog.
Could be could be could be, won’t be.
Boris is safe unless Gray/Cummings can deliver a coup de grace in the next week, or if polling (or May results) continues to show that Boris is a severe drag on Tory electoral prospects.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
My interpretation of your post. The first bit is spot on, the second, I couldn't disagree with more.
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more dangerous a Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
He has no guard rails.
This was not true of May, Cameron, Major or even Thatcher.
We saw that in prorogation, and his appointment of Patel to the Home Office. We see it in his continued, shameless lying.
I would note too that he manifests a personal fecklessness with money and that is now clearly permeating across Whitehall, eg wallpapergate, the Northern Irish bridge study, the jets etc etc.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris. I think many Corbynites were Brexiteers and despise the ultra Remoaners like SKS and Cooper
I agree Corbynites hated Cameron and Osborne more than Boris over austerity.
It is upper middle class diehard Remainers, over represented here, who truly despise Boris and always have done
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
My interpretation of your post. The first bit is spot on, the second, I couldn't disagree with more.
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more dangerous a Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
He has no guard rails.
This was not true of May, Cameron, Major or even Thatcher.
We saw that in prorogation, and his appointment of Patel to the Home Office. We see it in is continued, shameless lying.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
Brexit was done the moment Theresa triggered Article 50. Boris merely cobbled together a crap trade deal.
Yup. The claim that Johnson is a genius of state-craft for "getting Brexit done" is preposterous because of (a) his sabotage of May actually getting Brexit done; (b) his "getting Brexit done" involved a deal with the EU so bad he pretends he never agreed to it; (c) the fact he is trying to change it all shows it isn't, in fact "done"
That all may be true but I think misses some important elements. He is not a genius, but however he managed it he did break the deadlock which had caused the government and parliament to essentially be unable to function for around 10 months. Yes he was part of why it was deadlocked, but there was stuff on all sides causing that, from Brexit headbangers to those seeking to reverse direction completely.
He may not have got it done, but he did get it through, and while as you note he himself by his actions is repudiating part of how he managed that, he did still manage it and that is not nothing, as political accomplishments go. It's just not as enduring an accomplishment as he is trying to make it out.
Really it isn't a great achievement. Brexit was done in 2016 with the referendum. That the UK would leave the EU in short order was never in doubt, to me at least. Technically Brexit was "done" by the simple method of sending a letter to the EU Commission in Brussels. Maybe there was a certain political achievement in winning a majority in an election after which he had a free hand to do what wants.
Did you sleep through the 2017-9 Parliament?
No but it was all noise. Brexit has so far largely turned out the way I expected it to turn out, without making any claims for foresight. If you have a referendum for something you will do that thing in some form; if you tell the EU you are leaving you will leave. The root cause of all the arguments is the inherent contradictions of Brexit and they haven't been resolved yet. Brexit was and is a mistake, but it was a mistake that was definitely going to happen.
Labour staff who are Unite members have voted in favour of strike action in an indicative ballot which closed at noon today
They voted to reject the party's offer of a real terms pay cut (2% salary increase) this year
They've asked Labour for a meeting next week
There'll be a lot of this sort of thing going on later in the year. Steep inflation + tight-fisted bosses + workers at the end of their tether + lack of available replacements = strikes.
Has anybody mentioned that Ms Dick is another graduate of that dump in Oxford, with a degree in Agriculture and Forest Sciences....isn't that the sort of degree specially designed for the rowers?
Back when Olympic oars.. people?... were queuing up for the Blue Boat, that was a thing.
With modern, intensive training, no-one specialising in 2000m still water, straight course races (Olympic and every other competition) wants to participate in a 6800m race on a tidal river which twists like a Met detective being asked about his expenses.
So no Olympic rowers accidentally getting into Oxford or Cambridge.
I still remember the peak of that comedy though - when someone suggested Steve Redgrave would go and get a degree at either University.
James Cracknell did a few years ago...
That was a interesting one - he was retired from rowing at that point - by something like 15 years! Quite impressive that he qualified for the Blue boat.
Random thought: we should pay much more attention to BBC News app push notifications.
Reckon they are way more important for public opinion than papers, news at 10, radio etc.
Why are they more important in your view?
Because by a considerable number more people get their news by television and radio than they do from Newspapers. Even most who read the red Tops rarely get their news from there. It's interesting to watch and listen to the BBC now. It seems clear to me that they've got their mojo back and given up serving the tepid crap they've been dishing us up over the last two years. I really hope it continues. We need a fearless and independent BBC
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
Correct regarding 2016, I can't speak for the Corbynites, although BJO seems to have shot that fox for you.
Now Brexit. I don't blame Farage, or Gove, or Cummings or Bridgen or any of these other fools who genuinely believed in Brexit. I detest Johnson because he saw jumping on the Vote Leave bandwagon as a route up the greasy pole. He even had no idea he would win. I listed earlier a whole raft of charges as to why I detest the man, and I am not listing them again.
The current debacle and his "thumbs up you peasants" stunts are really grating on me. Replace this outrageous man with someone else. Anyone else, quite frankly.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
Well put thats a summary of my view too
I can see several similarities between Johnson and Corbyn. Primarily they're both hopeless and they're both narcissists.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
My interpretation of your post. The first bit is spot on, the second, I couldn't disagree with more.
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more dangerous a Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
He has no guard rails.
This was not true of May, Cameron, Major or even Thatcher.
We saw that in prorogation, and his appointment of Patel to the Home Office. We see it in is continued, shameless lying.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
Well put thats a summary of my view too
I can see several similarities between Johnson and Corbyn. Primarily they're both hopeless and they're both narcissists.
And both have been through several marriages, which statistically is not *that* common.
But, Boris says what you want him to say, whereas Corbyn sticks to his beliefs. And Corbyn is a quintessential Roundhead, whereas Boris is a consummate Cavalier.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
My interpretation of your post. The first bit is spot on, the second, I couldn't disagree with more.
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more dangerous a Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
Johnson does appear to have the clinical traits of a sociopath, eg
Lack of empathy for others
Impulsive behavior
Attempting to control others with threats or aggression
Using intelligence, charm, or charisma to manipulate others
Not learning from mistakes or punishment
Lying for personal gain
Trouble with responsibilities such as a job, paying bills, etc.
Surely Cressida Dick now has to go. She's presided over more cock-ups than someone in her position should be allowed. Killing a completely innocent Brazilian commuter should have been enough but she's been allowed to continue and cause mayhem with whatever she's touched. I'm surprised Sue Grey doesn't resign. She's been humiliated
It doesn't take a genius to work out why Dick keeps her role. Double O 0.000001.
I believe she keeps her role because she is thought to be improving issues inside the Met which are of concern to the Home Office etc but not politically salient so we don’t really hear about them.
The widespread assumption that she worked for the security services doesn’t have much to do with it, I think - unless it is thought that the Met’s main issue is combating domestic terrorism.
I suspect that the Met think that is their main role, which is why they treat so many people as if they are terrorists.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
Brexit was done the moment Theresa triggered Article 50. Boris merely cobbled together a crap trade deal.
Nope, it was only done when Boris got the majority needed to get Brexit through Parliament
Nope. Brexit was inevitable regardless of what parliament did, unless you think the EU was going to agree to a never ending succession of extensions.
It did agree that under May
It says something when Theresa May looks the states person tonight after her article
It was interesting that Alastair didn't include Theresa May in his list of Boris opponents or Damian Green for that matter. It shows how cautious his list was. Now he'll have to rewrite it.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Well Poots and DUP ministers are about to ban checks on goods going to and from NI to GB which Truss will not challenge so that will not last long
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
Well put thats a summary of my view too
I can see several similarities between Johnson and Corbyn. Primarily they're both hopeless and they're both narcissists.
And both have been through several marriages, which statistically is not *that* common.
But, Boris says what you want him to say, whereas Corbyn sticks to his beliefs. And Corbyn is a quintessential Roundhead, whereas Boris is a consummate Cavalier.
Yep. I'm a Lefty Cavalier. I instinctively have an affinity with him. Wouldn't trust him with my salad drawer, mind.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Well Poots and DUP ministers are about to ban checks on goods going to and from NI to GB which Truss will not challenge so that will not last long
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Well Poots and DUP ministers are about to ban checks on goods going to and from NI to GB which Truss will not challenge so that will not last long
Probably acting illegally under UK law I understand and definitely in breach of treaty terms. This is not going in a good direction.
If the Stormont Executive DUP ministers wish to remove all border checks to and from GB let them. Truss and the UK government will correctly not take any action against them, let the EU try and take action against the DUP
I can't remember when the Met last had a good day.
They blunder from one self-inflicted disaster to the next. It's got to the point where officers taking photos of brutally slain murder victims and sharing them round for a laugh is one of their more minor offences against basic decency. If it looks rotten, smells rotten and acts rotten, it's probably rotten.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Unfortunately we don't have actual reunification. Northern Ireland is a costly liability. The Republic is welcome to her.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
Did you vote Leave? I can't imagine a Remainer taking such a lenient view.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Well Poots and DUP ministers are about to ban checks on goods going to and from NI to GB which Truss will not challenge so that will not last long
Probably acting illegally under UK law I understand and definitely in breach of treaty terms. This is not going in a good direction.
This is NI.
Where senior members of one of the largest political parties watched as a man was beaten to death in a bar, by one of their "associates". Then denied seeing anything. And nothing happened to them.
Well, I see that others are finally realising how utterly useless the Met are - and have been - and why Cressida Dick should have been sacked a long while ago.
I have been criticising the police for some years now. There is a toxic culture there, an arrogance, an incompetence, a tin ear that needs addressing - and not just by a bit of tinkering.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
I like Boris
I don't. He's a sociopath. But he's far more my kind of Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
Did you vote Leave? I can't imagine a Remainer taking such a lenient view.
Absolutely not. I'm an out and proud Remainer. I'm not obsessed by Brexit. A distraction from the deep issues in the country.
I can't remember when the Met last had a good day.
They blunder from one self-inflicted disaster to the next. It's got to the point where officers taking photos of brutally slain murder victims and sharing them round for a laugh is one of their more minor offences against basic decency. If it looks rotten, smells rotten and acts rotten, it's probably rotten.
That’s a good point. Johnson, and by extension Dick, might survive this. But the next time the Met screws up - which will probably only be a few months away - the knives will be out for her. I suspect there are journalists trying to find dirt on the Met right now, and they probably won’t have to look too hard.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Well Poots and DUP ministers are about to ban checks on goods going to and from NI to GB which Truss will not challenge so that will not last long
Probably acting illegally under UK law I understand and definitely in breach of treaty terms. This is not going in a good direction.
If the Stormont Executive DUP ministers wish to remove all border checks to and from GB let them. Truss and the UK government will correctly not take any action against them, let the EU try and take action against the DUP
Just wait till we have a Sinn Fein First Minister.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Unfortunately we don't have actual reunification. Northern Ireland is a costly liability. The Republic is welcome to her.
No NI is an important part of the UK. Though there is some polling evidence voters in the Republic do not want to pay extra taxes to fund it however
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Well Poots and DUP ministers are about to ban checks on goods going to and from NI to GB which Truss will not challenge so that will not last long
Probably acting illegally under UK law I understand and definitely in breach of treaty terms. This is not going in a good direction.
If the Stormont Executive DUP ministers wish to remove all border checks to and from GB let them. Truss and the UK government will correctly not take any action against them, let the EU try and take action against the DUP
Just wait till we have a Sinn Fein First Minister.
No this will be before then to help ensure the DUP wins back hardline Unionists lost to TUV, thus keeping first place and stopping SF getting the FM position anyway
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Well Poots and DUP ministers are about to ban checks on goods going to and from NI to GB which Truss will not challenge so that will not last long
Probably acting illegally under UK law I understand and definitely in breach of treaty terms. This is not going in a good direction.
If the Stormont Executive DUP ministers wish to remove all border checks to and from GB let them. Truss and the UK government will correctly not take any action against them, let the EU try and take action against the DUP
Just wait till we have a Sinn Fein First Minister.
No this will be before then to help ensure the DUP wins back hardline Unionists lost to TUV, thus keeping first place and stopping SF getting the FM position anyway
Is it just me or has Boris Derangement Syndrome reached a new level of hysteria?
Yesterday Dominic Minghella was calling for Liz Truss to be locked up for flying on a government plane, and now a Professor of Journalism is alleging that for Boris Johnson to stay in office now is the equivalent of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, winning many approving comments and retweets.
Is it just me or has Boris Derangement Syndrome reached a new level of hysteria?
Yesterday Dominic Minghella was calling for Liz Truss to be locked up for flying on a government plane, and now a Professor of Journalism is alleging that for Boris Johnson to stay in office now is the equivalent of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, winning many approving comments and retweets.
Is it just me or has Boris Derangement Syndrome reached a new level of hysteria?
Yesterday Dominic Minghella was calling for Liz Truss to be locked up for flying on a government plane, and now a Professor of Journalism is alleging that for Boris Johnson to stay in office now is the equivalent of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, winning many approving comments and retweets.
Is it just me or has Boris Derangement Syndrome reached a new level of hysteria?
Yesterday Dominic Minghella was calling for Liz Truss to be locked up for flying on a government plane, and now a Professor of Journalism is alleging that for Boris Johnson to stay in office now is the equivalent of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, winning many approving comments and retweets.
Is it just me or has Boris Derangement Syndrome reached a new level of hysteria?
Yesterday Dominic Minghella was calling for Liz Truss to be locked up for flying on a government plane, and now a Professor of Journalism is alleging that for Boris Johnson to stay in office now is the equivalent of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, winning many approving comments and retweets.
I never take seriously anything I see on Twitter. That's the best way of approaching it IMO. Otherwise you start to get dragged into the insanity of it all.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
Well Poots and DUP ministers are about to ban checks on goods going to and from NI to GB which Truss will not challenge so that will not last long
Probably acting illegally under UK law I understand and definitely in breach of treaty terms. This is not going in a good direction.
If the Stormont Executive DUP ministers wish to remove all border checks to and from GB let them. Truss and the UK government will correctly not take any action against them, let the EU try and take action against the DUP
Just wait till we have a Sinn Fein First Minister.
No this will be before then to help ensure the DUP wins back hardline Unionists lost to TUV, thus keeping first place and stopping SF getting the FM position anyway
Are you sure?
Ask your self this - why was SF consulting various lawyers and trying to get a ruling on what counts as a political party vs a coalition of parties under the rather baroque Stormont rules?
I can't remember when the Met last had a good day.
They blunder from one self-inflicted disaster to the next. It's got to the point where officers taking photos of brutally slain murder victims and sharing them round for a laugh is one of their more minor offences against basic decency. If it looks rotten, smells rotten and acts rotten, it's probably rotten.
That’s a good point. Johnson, and by extension Dick, might survive this. But the next time the Met screws up - which will probably only be a few months away - the knives will be out for her. I suspect there are journalists trying to find dirt on the Met right now, and they probably won’t have to look too hard.
All they have to do is read my headers on the topic. It's all laid out there, for God's sake.
Under their new more rightwing leader, Friedrich Merz, interesting.
Merz is already shifting the CDU away from Merkelism after her chosen candidate, Armin Laschet, lost last year's Federal election. He also wants a tougher line on Russia over Ukraine than Chancellor Scholz
Is it just me or has Boris Derangement Syndrome reached a new level of hysteria?
Yesterday Dominic Minghella was calling for Liz Truss to be locked up for flying on a government plane, and now a Professor of Journalism is alleging that for Boris Johnson to stay in office now is the equivalent of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, winning many approving comments and retweets.
Britbox has made me very happy by adding Bugs, one of my favourite 90s series. The technology is hilariously outdated, like watching an old episode of Tomorrow's World with someone getting excited over a CD. But the show holds up OK (I think) as a silly bit of fun. And why don't they make theme tunes like this any more?
Is it just me or has Boris Derangement Syndrome reached a new level of hysteria?
Yesterday Dominic Minghella was calling for Liz Truss to be locked up for flying on a government plane, and now a Professor of Journalism is alleging that for Boris Johnson to stay in office now is the equivalent of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, winning many approving comments and retweets.
I can't remember when the Met last had a good day.
They blunder from one self-inflicted disaster to the next. It's got to the point where officers taking photos of brutally slain murder victims and sharing them round for a laugh is one of their more minor offences against basic decency. If it looks rotten, smells rotten and acts rotten, it's probably rotten.
That’s a good point. Johnson, and by extension Dick, might survive this. But the next time the Met screws up - which will probably only be a few months away - the knives will be out for her. I suspect there are journalists trying to find dirt on the Met right now, and they probably won’t have to look too hard.
All they have to do is read my headers on the topic. It's all laid out there, for God's sake.
Though to be fair, the Met spend much of their time trying to make the most bizarre comedy sketches mundane
A classic
- Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor, was hit from behind by a policeman during a riot. He died. - A Senior police officer alleged that it was done by rioters and that rioters had prevented officers giving first aid. - It just so happened that zillions of people had secretly used their Evul "Cell Phones" to record the bit where the police threatened with arrest one of the protestors trying to give first aid. - The officer, Simon Harwood, turned out to have been under investigation by the Met for a number of things. Including road rage. So he left the Met to become a civilian control centre operator, then Surrey police force and then back to the Met. Which had all stopped any investigation. - The Met arrange for the autopsy to be conducted by Freddy Patel. Patel, was well known in medical circles and was being investigated for incompetence. His speciality was finding deaths to be natural causes when they were obviously not. He had appeared in Private Eye and medical students made jokes about him. Patel found that Tomlinson died of coronary artery disease. - After complaints, 2 more autopsies were conducted. It turned out that Patel had destroyed much of the evidence. Which made it nearly impossible to prove the death wasn't the fault of the police officer. - Yes, the Met nearly managed to frame the bloke they were trying to protect. - No CCTV was working in the area. In the City of London. So the Met said.. - The Met tried to claim that video shot by professional news crews was unusable.
Under their new more rightwing leader, Friedrich Merz, interesting.
Merz is already shifting the CDU away from Merkelism after her chosen candidate, Armin Laschet, lost last year's Federal election. He also wants a tougher line on Russia over Ukraine than Chancellor Scholz
Yes, so do the Greens, though conversely the poll is also very good for the Left, possibly voters seeing the Government stance as too Cold War-like. It may be only an outlier - the recent polls don't really have a clear trend:
And both have been through several marriages, which statistically is not *that* common.
But, Boris says what you want him to say, whereas Corbyn sticks to his beliefs. And Corbyn is a quintessential Roundhead, whereas Boris is a consummate Cavalier.
Yep. I'm a Lefty Cavalier. I instinctively have an affinity with him. Wouldn't trust him with my salad drawer, mind.
A useful distinction, that. I like earnest Roundheads - Corbyn, Letwin, Brown, May - which is odd as I don't take life very seriously myself.
And both have been through several marriages, which statistically is not *that* common.
But, Boris says what you want him to say, whereas Corbyn sticks to his beliefs. And Corbyn is a quintessential Roundhead, whereas Boris is a consummate Cavalier.
Yep. I'm a Lefty Cavalier. I instinctively have an affinity with him. Wouldn't trust him with my salad drawer, mind.
A useful distinction, that. I like earnest Roundheads - Corbyn, Letwin, Brown, May - which is odd as I don't take life very seriously myself.
True Cavaliers are not about not taking life seriously and ignoring rules. They are about bringing joy to life. There is a difference.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
You're a remainer. He beat you without mercy. Also, Boris is obviously left wing with his lavish tax and spend policies.
If you're keeping score, that's Boris 2-0 HYUFD.
So, given all that, what's the difference between you and those who hate him? I'll tell you: you enjoy the humiliation.
A connoisseur's item is the TripAdvisor reviews for Pontins in Southport. Not just the abysmal ratings but the lurid descriptions of the place: holes where the roof should be; huge bloodstains on on the wall; a carefully constructed pile of sand in the corner of room; being unable to close the door because it's come off the hinge; people being randomly required to drop their trousers to show they are not carrying drugs; families succumbing one by one to undercooked chicken nuggets ...
These reviews have been flooding out for a decade or more. You would have thought by now people would have stopped going or the place would have been shut down.
Almost certainly going to be missed, but if anyone knows I live in Bootle. My wife has a friend who lives nearby who has twice 'holidayed' in that very Pontins. It's a twenty five minute drive in rush hour traffic!
I suppose if they didn't like it, they could always just drive home. They clearly liked it. They went twice.
"The Partygate investigation is looking into an exchange between the Prime Minister's wife, 33, and at least one other senior official after she offered to bring a cake to an allegedly lockdown-breaking birthday party for Boris Johnson, according to The Telegraph."
Interesting that out of all the many things that could have been leaked overnight, this one is. It plays straight into the narrative that was so helping the government a couple of days ago, with "cake" and trifling things at one end, and the basic principles of governmental accountability, and public anger over wider principles, driving the story yesterday, at the other - and also shifts the focus and attention to Carrie.
“Not really. If you spend money on holidays, for a family, you tend to end up in something like that. Unless you really fight the demand for luxury bathrooms etc.”
+++++
I do not wish to pry into PB-ears private circumstances, but this is an intriguing comment
If you had a family holiday here - the Galle hotel we have been discussing - you’d need three rooms for yourself, one for you and the partner, two for the kids
But let’s budget and say just two rooms, and the kids share
Rooms are £500 a night. That’s £1000 a night. For two weeks that’s £14,000. Add in flights to Sri Lanka, trips, and the rest, and you’re heading for £20,000. For a winter holiday
Exactly how wealthy is the average PB-er?!
Well I push up the average lol.
Good to hear!
I’m quite well off, I guess, but I would blink furiously at dropping £20k on a winter holiday
In my professional capacity for the Knappers Gazette I’ve done trips that would have cost £100,000 for 2 weeks. They were great fun. But they certainly weren’t worth £100,000. I suppose some people are just so rich it doesn’t matter
Spend £100k every two weeks and it adds up to £2.6m in a year, or £26m in a decade.
There have been a few lottery jackpots that would still be left largely intact after that.
The economics of the holiday industry baffle me. I don't feel well-off. But I know what the average family income is, and we earn a fair bit more than that. I usually tick one of the top two boxes in surveys on the 'household income' page. And while I'll never feel entirely comfortable, we're probably top decile for capital. And yet almost all holidays I see advertised are wildly, wildly unaffordable. I consider £3000 for a week away for five towards the upper end of extravagant. Yet almost any foreign family holiday that isn't transparently worse than staying at home seems to be more than this. I simply don't understand how this works. There surely can't be that many people who can afford a holiday like this every year. And don't get me started on Disneyland. Not that I want to go - but I don't see how more than a tiny proportion of the population can ever afford it.
The average family holiday to Spain or France, even in the height of summer, would cost far less than £3,000 probably under £1,000
Well maybe. But just getting four return tickets by air in the school holidays would cost over £1000. There must be cheap holidays out there - or no-one would be able to afford holidays at all. But those that I've seen look awful - at least compared to the option of staying at home. I don't know much about the abroad market. But I know a fair bit about the British market. And it's dashed difficult to get a self-catering place for 5 in the school holidays for much under £1000.
A family holiday in France or Spain for under £1000, for a fortnight, during the school hols? How? Surely impossible, unless you drive and camp or something, and do it mega cheap, buying all your food in the nearest Aldi
How many do that?
I guess for a week at a two star hotel, but even then you’d be hard pushed with a family
Even if you drive, the ferry costs at that time push the bill up quite steeply. The overnight from Portsmouth to St Malo is really convenient and great fun (especially with a few friends' families) but costs a few bob in the school holidays. More than flying, although you then save on the car hire.
Maybe @Leon could write an article on it. Take some nephews or nieces (none over 16) on a camping trip to Normandy on a budget. Now that would really be something to brag about!
Arse licking to Leon now, can you get lower than a rattlesnake in a rut.
PS. I doubt I can get lower than your IQ. I was teasing Leon you dipshit!
Butt licker extrodinaire , now F Off scumbag, as if I care what you are doing or thinking.
5 posts of rants in a row indicates you care a teensy-weensy bit.
@tres No it does not , I just hate the F***ing bas****.
For all the clown image, the one thing that Boris has always understood- intuitively and brilliantly- is power. How to gain it and how to keep it. It's why some hate and fear him, and why others are happy to be the Number 2 to his Number 1.
Of course one of his first acts was to get rid of anyone with the potential to depose him.
Indeed, only 3 Tory leaders and Tory PMs since WW2 have been global titans, Churchill, Thatcher and Boris.
Boris in 2019 also won the third biggest Tory majority after Thatcher and Macmillan in the last 70 years
Mr Johnson a global titan?! You mean, competing with Mr Chaplin and Monsieur Hulot?
He got Brexit done, the biggest policy change of any Tory PM after Thatcher's economic reforms and winning the Cold War and Churchill's winning world war 2.
Boris is also probably the most recognised western world leader after the POTUS and he is still far more charismatic and dynamic than Biden
What do you mean by he got Brexit done? Once he won the election it was always done. A cactus could claim that. What matters is what done means. Are you happy with the deal he got done is what counts. What he got done isn't good even for Brexiters.
It is, it ended free movement and enabled us to do our own trade deals as Leavers promised while still having a trade deal with the EU
Don't tell me, Johnson also solved the worlds covid problem by a single bound. I suppose its on a par with Hitler building the autobahn, mussolini getting the trains to run on time and Fred west building some good conservatories.
Ah yes, he’s no different from two murderous dictators or a serial killer.
Jesus.
Diehard Remainers will never forgive Boris for defeating them in 2016 and leftwingers will never forgive Boris for crushing Corbyn Labour in 2019.
They despise him because he beat them without mercy
You're a remainer. He beat you without mercy. Also, Boris is obviously left wing with his lavish tax and spend policies.
If you're keeping score, that's Boris 2-0 HYUFD.
So, given all that, what's the difference between you and those who hate him? I'll tell you: you enjoy the humiliation.
I am not a diehard Remainer and Boris is a populist not leftwing. Boris has nationalised no industries nor put up income and inheritance tax
Comments
Commissioner Dick the Fat Phone by the looks of it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissioner_of_Police_of_the_Metropolis
Britain is returning to life.
With modern, intensive training, no-one specialising in 2000m still water, straight course races (Olympic and every other competition) wants to participate in a 6800m race on a tidal river which twists like a Met detective being asked about his expenses.
So no Olympic rowers accidentally getting into Oxford or Cambridge.
I still remember the peak of that comedy though - when someone suggested Steve Redgrave would go and get a degree at either University.
They voted to reject the party's offer of a real terms pay cut (2% salary increase) this year
They've asked Labour for a meeting next week
I don't. He's a sociopath.
But he's far more dangerous a Tory than any of the other leaders I've endured.
Boris is safe unless Gray/Cummings can deliver a coup de grace in the next week, or if polling (or May results) continues to show that Boris is a severe drag on Tory electoral prospects.
This was not true of May, Cameron, Major or even Thatcher.
We saw that in prorogation, and his appointment of Patel to the Home Office. We see it in his continued, shameless lying.
I would note too that he manifests a personal fecklessness with money and that is now clearly permeating across Whitehall, eg wallpapergate, the Northern Irish bridge study, the jets etc etc.
Good.
Now Brexit. I don't blame Farage, or Gove, or Cummings or Bridgen or any of these other fools who genuinely believed in Brexit. I detest Johnson because he saw jumping on the Vote Leave bandwagon as a route up the greasy pole. He even had no idea he would win. I listed earlier a whole raft of charges as to why I detest the man, and I am not listing them again.
The current debacle and his "thumbs up you peasants" stunts are really grating on me. Replace this outrageous man with someone else. Anyone else, quite frankly.
https://twitter.com/thebadstats/status/1486103450446303234?s=21
But, Boris says what you want him to say, whereas Corbyn sticks to his beliefs. And Corbyn is a quintessential Roundhead, whereas Boris is a consummate Cavalier.
- Lack of empathy for others
- Impulsive behavior
- Attempting to control others with threats or aggression
- Using intelligence, charm, or charisma to manipulate others
- Not learning from mistakes or punishment
- Lying for personal gain
- Trouble with responsibilities such as a job, paying bills, etc.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/signs-sociopathI was v excited that they’ve used Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” for the trailer, although I believe the usage is ahistorical.
Talking to old friends living in Belfast, GB firms' websites are starting to show warnings about "Increased delivery costs to the Republic" (note: Belfast in in the UK) or over the phone saying that they cannot deliver to Ireland. The corker was one lot saying that Belfast is not in the UK. It is almost like N Ireland has left the UK.
De facto reunification a la Brexit
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-checks-dup-liz-truss-b2002745.html
I'm a Lefty Cavalier. I instinctively have an affinity with him.
Wouldn't trust him with my salad drawer, mind.
Stewart Wood
@StewartWood
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48m
The Met has had a terrible day. And their line just cannot hold.
https://twitter.com/StewartWood/status/1487194561290063875
Where senior members of one of the largest political parties watched as a man was beaten to death in a bar, by one of their "associates". Then denied seeing anything. And nothing happened to them.
I have been criticising the police for some years now. There is a toxic culture there, an arrogance, an incompetence, a tin ear that needs addressing - and not just by a bit of tinkering.
Root and branch reform is needed.
Good to have so many on board, finally.
I'm not obsessed by Brexit. A distraction from the deep issues in the country.
https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/centenaries/centenarypoll/majority-favour-a-united-ireland-but-just-22pc-would-pay-for-it-40375875.html
https://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/
Yesterday Dominic Minghella was calling for Liz Truss to be locked up for flying on a government plane, and now a Professor of Journalism is alleging that for Boris Johnson to stay in office now is the equivalent of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, winning many approving comments and retweets.
https://twitter.com/BrianCathcart/status/1487092525080981507
Sadly we live in an Age of Loons.
Merz is already shifting the CDU away from Merkelism after her chosen candidate, Armin Laschet, lost last year's Federal election. He also wants a tougher line on Russia over Ukraine than Chancellor Scholz
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DI-gsQf_F-I
Stripped of context, it is known as something like the Bad Dancing White Woman meme.
A classic
- Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor, was hit from behind by a policeman during a riot. He died.
- A Senior police officer alleged that it was done by rioters and that rioters had prevented officers giving first aid.
- It just so happened that zillions of people had secretly used their Evul "Cell Phones" to record the bit where the police threatened with arrest one of the protestors trying to give first aid.
- The officer, Simon Harwood, turned out to have been under investigation by the Met for a number of things. Including road rage. So he left the Met to become a civilian control centre operator, then Surrey police force and then back to the Met. Which had all stopped any investigation.
- The Met arrange for the autopsy to be conducted by Freddy Patel. Patel, was well known in medical circles and was being investigated for incompetence. His speciality was finding deaths to be natural causes when they were obviously not. He had appeared in Private Eye and medical students made jokes about him. Patel found that Tomlinson died of coronary artery disease.
- After complaints, 2 more autopsies were conducted. It turned out that Patel had destroyed much of the evidence. Which made it nearly impossible to prove the death wasn't the fault of the police officer.
- Yes, the Met nearly managed to frame the bloke they were trying to protect.
- No CCTV was working in the area. In the City of London. So the Met said..
- The Met tried to claim that video shot by professional news crews was unusable.
https://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/
If you're keeping score, that's Boris 2-0 HYUFD.
So, given all that, what's the difference between you and those who hate him? I'll tell you: you enjoy the humiliation.
My wife has a friend who lives nearby who has twice 'holidayed' in that very Pontins.
It's a twenty five minute drive in rush hour traffic!
I suppose if they didn't like it, they could always just drive home.
They clearly liked it. They went twice.
Interesting that out of all the many things that could have been leaked overnight, this one is. It plays straight into the narrative that was so helping the government a couple of days ago, with "cake" and trifling things at one end, and the basic principles of governmental accountability, and public anger over wider principles, driving the story yesterday, at the other - and also shifts the focus and attention to Carrie.
https://twitter.com/JohnRentoul/status/1487335579490697217?s=20&t=zNnJV8gWrvK-XspN8id0UA