Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Takes a peek. Sees that we are all still talking about birthday cake. goes back to lurking for a few more days.
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, the PM is in Kiev today for a meeting with President Zelensky. Ukraine is getting worried that US interests and media are unnecessarily talking up the chances of a Russian invasion this month. There’s a fine line to tread between being supportive of an ally, and antagonising the Russians which makes the conflict more likely to happen.
Putin needs permission and political coverage from Xi to invade Ukraine. That isn't going to be forthcoming while it will fuck up the Winter Olympics so no invasion until the 21st.
Covid is doing a pretty good job of that anyway. Maybe Xi will authorise the invasion to draw attention away from the games and the inevitable disastrous consequences of going ahead with them.
My big fear is that Xi makes a play for Taiwan at the same time - i.e. during the Olympics. The US, UK and allies will not be able to put substantial aid to both Ukraine and Taiwan, and China will have lots of hostages guests staying for the Olympics.
It's unlikely, but would be a good way for both to achieve their goals.
A Xi invasion of Taiwan could be coordinated with a Putin invasion of Ukraine.
It makes sense for them as they know the West will not go to war to defend Ukraine or Taiwan, only a NATO nation, South Korea or Japan.
Yougov finds meanwhile a majority of Germans and a plurality of voters in most other NATO nations oppose going to war with Russia if it invades Ukraine. Only a plurality of Americans and Danes favour going to war with Russia over the Ukraine but even then only 38% of Danes and 35% of Russians back war. Britons are split
It is absolutely insane that 30% of Britons want a war with Russia if they invade Ukraine. Apart from the risk of nuclear escalation we simply don't have the forces to do so.
Define going to war
- declaring war - declaring war and sanctions - declaring war and sending more military aid - declaring war and send only ships and aircraft - declaring war and sending a token number of troops, plus ships and aircraft - declaring war and sending a meaningful ground forces.
I suspect that people on that survey were thinking of one of those options.
That and the sad fact that if Putin goes on tour, again, he will have another territorial demand beyond that. And he is running out places that aren't in NATO/EU to go on tour in.
Still sets the bar too high.
Is giving the Ukranians anti tank missiles going to war? Is training them how to use them with 100 personnel on the ground? Would giving them satallite imagery or drone technology be going to war? Would undeclared special forces giving "technical" assistance amount to war?
Declaring war is a frankly old fashioned concept. If the public were asked if they supported the steps I have suggested, most, possibly all, of which the government is already doing, you would get a different answer.
And so, in true Trump style, the smear embeds itself in British public consciousness. And over time it will crystallise and harden into an immutable fact for the right wing.
Not the first example of this from Johnson. He knows exactly what he is doing.
Plenty of pics of Saville standing with Tory Government members if you want to go that way of course.
Takes a peek. Sees that we are all still talking about birthday cake. goes back to lurking for a few more days.
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, the PM is in Kiev today for a meeting with President Zelensky. Ukraine is getting worried that US interests and media are unnecessarily talking up the chances of a Russian invasion this month. There’s a fine line to tread between being supportive of an ally, and antagonising the Russians which makes the conflict more likely to happen.
Putin needs permission and political coverage from Xi to invade Ukraine. That isn't going to be forthcoming while it will fuck up the Winter Olympics so no invasion until the 21st.
Covid is doing a pretty good job of that anyway. Maybe Xi will authorise the invasion to draw attention away from the games and the inevitable disastrous consequences of going ahead with them.
My big fear is that Xi makes a play for Taiwan at the same time - i.e. during the Olympics. The US, UK and allies will not be able to put substantial aid to both Ukraine and Taiwan, and China will have lots of hostages guests staying for the Olympics.
It's unlikely, but would be a good way for both to achieve their goals.
A Xi invasion of Taiwan could be coordinated with a Putin invasion of Ukraine.
It makes sense for them as they know the West will not go to war to defend Ukraine or Taiwan, only a NATO nation, South Korea or Japan.
Yougov finds meanwhile a majority of Germans and a plurality of voters in most other NATO nations oppose going to war with Russia if it invades Ukraine. Only a plurality of Americans and Danes favour going to war with Russia over the Ukraine but even then only 38% of Danes and 35% of Russians back war. Britons are split
It is absolutely insane that 30% of Britons want a war with Russia if they invade Ukraine. Apart from the risk of nuclear escalation we simply don't have the forces to do so.
What's your answer then? Let Putin's evil take over Ukraine, and cast a pall over Eastern Europe?
Of course, you can always go over there and do one of the 'non-violent' protests you've trained for. That'd be fun to see.
No, I think it is reasonable to oppose by non military means, for example the sanctions package that Truss was announcing yesterday. I am actually in line with government on this, at least so far.
Do you really want British troops there, fighting Russians face to face in the snow and mud?
No, I don't want it. Only a fool wants war. But neither am I willing to say 'never'.
However, the person threatening war is Putin, not us. He invades other countries. He jails or murders journalists. He poisons people in other countries. He enriches himself and his friends as his country descends down into the mire. (*)
We are facing an evil in the form of Putin's expansionism. Many times in the past we have seen people back down from evil, and evil expand. There comes a time to say 'no more'. The question is when that time is.
People like you - so keen to have pathetic little non-violent protests in a liberal country - should be the first to argue against real evils.
(*) I'm expecting certain parallels about this...
I find the attempts to moral equivalence the Ukrainian situation interesting.
If the Russia sent all the soldiers massing on the Ukrainian border to the pub, Russia would be in no danger. Ukraine has no wish for bit of Russia. They have even, pretty much, given up on getting Crimea back.
Interesting. I think Raab protested too much. I don't think he was trying to defend him at all. He just went through the motions. He seemed a little to pleased with the way the questioning was going!
The attacks on Starmer over Saville were a disgrace.
Starmer can be rightly criticised for the prosecutions of journalists. But this was irrelevant to the issues the government is facing.
One of the points raised by Gray was access to offices and control and oversight of this, as well as poor whistleblowing practices.
The government has removed a requirement for officials to flag concerns about security concerns.
The interesting question is whether Johnson knew the story to be fake or whether he just hadn't bothered to look into it which even with his scant interest in detail seems unlikely
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Ed Davey could be a Little Red Booker, for all anyone knows or cares about him.
In some ways, the worst thing that could happen from Labour’s perspective is that the Tories quickly and efficiently dispatch with Boris Johnson (via @bopinion)https://trib.al/NWV7m8v
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Okay, but again, how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and Soical Democrats. That point just shows the affiliations of two leadership contenders.
Takes a peek. Sees that we are all still talking about birthday cake. goes back to lurking for a few more days.
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, the PM is in Kiev today for a meeting with President Zelensky. Ukraine is getting worried that US interests and media are unnecessarily talking up the chances of a Russian invasion this month. There’s a fine line to tread between being supportive of an ally, and antagonising the Russians which makes the conflict more likely to happen.
Putin needs permission and political coverage from Xi to invade Ukraine. That isn't going to be forthcoming while it will fuck up the Winter Olympics so no invasion until the 21st.
Covid is doing a pretty good job of that anyway. Maybe Xi will authorise the invasion to draw attention away from the games and the inevitable disastrous consequences of going ahead with them.
My big fear is that Xi makes a play for Taiwan at the same time - i.e. during the Olympics. The US, UK and allies will not be able to put substantial aid to both Ukraine and Taiwan, and China will have lots of hostages guests staying for the Olympics.
It's unlikely, but would be a good way for both to achieve their goals.
A Xi invasion of Taiwan could be coordinated with a Putin invasion of Ukraine.
It makes sense for them as they know the West will not go to war to defend Ukraine or Taiwan, only a NATO nation, South Korea or Japan.
Yougov finds meanwhile a majority of Germans and a plurality of voters in most other NATO nations oppose going to war with Russia if it invades Ukraine. Only a plurality of Americans and Danes favour going to war with Russia over the Ukraine but even then only 38% of Danes and 35% of Russians back war. Britons are split
It is absolutely insane that 30% of Britons want a war with Russia if they invade Ukraine. Apart from the risk of nuclear escalation we simply don't have the forces to do so.
Define going to war
- declaring war - declaring war and sanctions - declaring war and sending more military aid - declaring war and send only ships and aircraft - declaring war and sending a token number of troops, plus ships and aircraft - declaring war and sending a meaningful ground forces.
I suspect that people on that survey were thinking of one of those options.
That and the sad fact that if Putin goes on tour, again, he will have another territorial demand beyond that. And he is running out places that aren't in NATO/EU to go on tour in.
Still sets the bar too high.
Is giving the Ukranians anti tank missiles going to war? Is training them how to use them with 100 personnel on the ground? Would giving them satallite imagery or drone technology be going to war? Would undeclared special forces giving "technical" assistance amount to war?
Declaring war is a frankly old fashioned concept. If the public were asked if they supported the steps I have suggested, most, possibly all, of which the government is already doing, you would get a different answer.
Indeed.
To answer your questions - I think that most of the above can (and has been done) by countries claiming neutrality, *during* military conflicts.
The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can't just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate. https://twitter.com/JulianSmithUK/status/1488436899215818753
He wont withdraw it as he shares the common political view that admitting any error or mistake (at least when it cannot be done jovially) makes you weak. The result is even blatant mistakes or errors are defended as if your life depends on it, no matter how ridiculous it is to defend it.
I have to say that I find the conventions surrounding debate in the Commons baffling. It's okay to lie, but you get thrown out for pointing out the lie. And you wonder why the public don't trust politicians?
Went to the local pub at 7 tonight. Monday evening. Quiet. There is a corner where a group of peeps meet whatever day of week - mainly young lads. 3 or 4 middle aged. I think they are something to do with 5-a-side football or golf.
The entire hour I was there they banged on about Johnson and basically what a lying twat he is. All of them sharing one mobile phone picture, tweet, joke, meem after another. They can't decide whether to laugh at the lying fat twat or be upset that things have come to this.
Middle England.
Bet the Tories long after the days when their PM waffled on about the Middle England of long shadows on county grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers, pools fillers and cones hotlines.
That part of Middle England is currently drowning in Focus leaflets promising action on potholes and pointing out that Sir Henry Bufton-Tufton MP has done nothing to stop Thames Water filling the River Lovelybourne with sewage.
I note that the Lib Dems are now above 20% in the South West (yesterday’s Redfield & Wilton). If those voters are in the right seats, there will be many fewer Sir Henry Bufton-Tuftons. His party is on an eye-watering 25%!
Oh rly? Excellent, making sir G Cox's flesh creep may be easier than I thought. He took this seat off LD in 2005
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
It is the astonishing ability of the UK state to deny truths that we all hold as self evident if it is in their personal interest to do so. See also Iraq.
It is a constitutional flaw but we are not unique as the failure to impeach Trump for January 6th showed all too clearly.
Can someone give me a breakdown of why Wales and Scotland's Covid numbers are substantially lower than England's? What combination of restrictions and reporting differences has caused it, as it appears rather stark on the maps.
Scotland and Wales do far less testing than England.
From the latest data its:
England Daily tests 1,045,718 Total tests 406,873,679
Scotland Daily tests 13,608 Total tests 14,984,779
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
And you think Sunak is going to be exciting?
No. But he will surely stop Labour winning a majority, and could easily get a slender majority of his own. Plus he might have actual ideas as to what to do next, other than build a bridge to Greenland for the lolz
I know I've suggested on here that Boris might bounce back - he is uniquely bouncy for a British politician - but - from the far distant perspective of the Laccadive Sea, in the Indian Ocean, this seems increasingly impossible
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
The difference between you and most people, save the obvious, is that you want politics to be entertaining. A privilege of the well off. Most of us just want government to do its various jobs wth the facless efficiency of a good waiter. If I want to be entertained I'll read a book, watch TV, or spend an evening scrolling through HYUFD's contributions on here over the years. We want government to be grimly efficient but anonymous, like decent plumbing, or your writing.
Takes a peek. Sees that we are all still talking about birthday cake. goes back to lurking for a few more days.
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, the PM is in Kiev today for a meeting with President Zelensky. Ukraine is getting worried that US interests and media are unnecessarily talking up the chances of a Russian invasion this month. There’s a fine line to tread between being supportive of an ally, and antagonising the Russians which makes the conflict more likely to happen.
Putin needs permission and political coverage from Xi to invade Ukraine. That isn't going to be forthcoming while it will fuck up the Winter Olympics so no invasion until the 21st.
Covid is doing a pretty good job of that anyway. Maybe Xi will authorise the invasion to draw attention away from the games and the inevitable disastrous consequences of going ahead with them.
My big fear is that Xi makes a play for Taiwan at the same time - i.e. during the Olympics. The US, UK and allies will not be able to put substantial aid to both Ukraine and Taiwan, and China will have lots of hostages guests staying for the Olympics.
It's unlikely, but would be a good way for both to achieve their goals.
A Xi invasion of Taiwan could be coordinated with a Putin invasion of Ukraine.
It makes sense for them as they know the West will not go to war to defend Ukraine or Taiwan, only a NATO nation, South Korea or Japan.
Yougov finds meanwhile a majority of Germans and a plurality of voters in most other NATO nations oppose going to war with Russia if it invades Ukraine. Only a plurality of Americans and Danes favour going to war with Russia over the Ukraine but even then only 38% of Danes and 35% of Russians back war. Britons are split
It is absolutely insane that 30% of Britons want a war with Russia if they invade Ukraine. Apart from the risk of nuclear escalation we simply don't have the forces to do so.
What's your answer then? Let Putin's evil take over Ukraine, and cast a pall over Eastern Europe?
Of course, you can always go over there and do one of the 'non-violent' protests you've trained for. That'd be fun to see.
No, I think it is reasonable to oppose by non military means, for example the sanctions package that Truss was announcing yesterday. I am actually in line with government on this, at least so far.
Do you really want British troops there, fighting Russians face to face in the snow and mud?
No, I don't want it. Only a fool wants war. But neither am I willing to say 'never'.
However, the person threatening war is Putin, not us. He invades other countries. He jails or murders journalists. He poisons people in other countries. He enriches himself and his friends as his country descends down into the mire. (*)
We are facing an evil in the form of Putin's expansionism. Many times in the past we have seen people back down from evil, and evil expand. There comes a time to say 'no more'. The question is when that time is.
People like you - so keen to have pathetic little non-violent protests in a liberal country - should be the first to argue against real evils.
(*) I'm expecting certain parallels about this...
Well the poll says 30% want war with Russia if they invade Ukraine, which rather ignores that they already have done so twice in Crimea and the Donbas.
Considering our last few expeditionary wars were fiascos, perhaps tackling the worlds third strongest military may not be wise.
We should perhaps address our elites love of Russian oligarchs and their money laundromat in London if we oppose Putinism.
I oppose Putins fascism, but start with the simple stuff including the Russian influence on our establishment.
After yesterday's Commons performance I have to tell you that I shall never vote Conservative while Boris Johnson remains in office, and never vote for any candidate currently taking the Conservative whip unless Johnson is forced out by the party by the end of this month.
I have voted Conservative in every GE since 1979 with one exception, and my principal interest in life is trail hunting. I am therefore fairly representative of a fairly large part of your core vote.
Ishmael xx
I'm sure it's fun riding on horses after a strange smell of fox urine, that dogs seem to like, laid down by people pretending to be foxes, but I rather doubt that people who enjoy this are "fairly representative of a fairly large part of Boris' core vote"
Can someone give me a breakdown of why Wales and Scotland's Covid numbers are substantially lower than England's? What combination of restrictions and reporting differences has caused it, as it appears rather stark on the maps.
Scotland and Wales do far less testing than England.
From the latest data its:
England Daily tests 1,045,718 Total tests 406,873,679
Scotland Daily tests 13,608 Total tests 14,984,779
Whatever the reality, it is one of those things that can never be unheard.
It was gutter politics from Johnson, but effective gutter politics nonetheless.
I disagree. Yes, Johnson's Saville smear was gutter politics. But I don't think it was effective. It was a seriously wrong claim that is beyond the pale - not just to lefties like me, but to a lot of Tories as well. I think it may come back to haunt Johnson, and he will end up regretting it. He certainly won't double down on it.
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
And you think Sunak is going to be exciting?
No. But he will surely stop Labour winning a majority, and could easily get a slender majority of his own. Plus he might have actual ideas as to what to do next, other than build a bridge to Greenland for the lolz
I know I've suggested on here that Boris might bounce back - he is uniquely bouncy for a British politician - but - from the far distant perspective of the Laccadive Sea, in the Indian Ocean, this seems increasingly impossible
Or Truss. Why not Truss. She might be fun
FGS not Ben Wallace
I’m a Truss fan. But not for reasons you would approve of.
The smear made against Keir Starmer relating to Jimmy Saville yesterday is wrong & cannot be defended. It should be withdrawn. False and baseless personal slurs are dangerous, corrode trust & can't just be accepted as part of the cut & thrust of parliamentary debate. https://twitter.com/JulianSmithUK/status/1488436899215818753
Shocking story coming out of Afghanistan. Only 3% of the population living above the poverty line. They are in serious danger of starvation. The UK government have a serious responsibility for whats going on. A good opportunity for Johnson to change the habit of a lifetime and try to do some good.
Is that relative or absolute poverty? Makes a mockery of the word poverty to have it chopped and changed like that.
In my humble opinion we should wash our hands of Afghanistan and have absolutely no responsibility for the nation and absolutely no aid should be going there. We tried to be responsible for them, they rejected us an installed the Taliban instead.
Let the Taliban take responsibility. You don't get to reject our help then say "but keep sending us money and food".
Yes, they are all relatively poor in that they have slightly smaller oled tvs than their neighbours
You are as self parodic as HYUFD
It seems the point went well over your head.
The poverty is absolute, not relative. If you go on relative measures they'd probably have less than 97% in poverty since on relative measures it's almost impossible to have 97% 'relatively' impoverished.
My point was that the word poverty has been debased by referring to "smaller TVs" as poverty when what Afghanistan has is real poverty. But regrettably Afghanistan is no longer our responsibility.
As for the claim we "chose not to fight the Taliban", we fought them for twenty years. We spent twenty years trying to build Afghanistan and their police and army etc to be able to fight the Taliban and instead they just melted away.
The poverty in Afghanistan is terrible, it's also not our responsibility. We tried for two decades to take responsibility, they didn't want us. The people in the country chose to fight our soldiers etc for two decades and eventually we've left and they've got the Taliban now.
It's the Taliban's problem to deal with now, if they wanted our aid they should have fought the Taliban.
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
The difference between you and most people, save the obvious, is that you want politics to be entertaining. A privilege of the well off. Most of us just want government to do its various jobs wth the facless efficiency of a good waiter. If I want to be entertained I'll read a book, watch TV, or spend an evening scrolling through HYUFD's contributions on here over the years. We want government to be grimly efficient but anonymous, like decent plumbing, or your writing.
Can you name a recent British government that has done this? Been "grimly efficient but anonymous", that has had the "facless [sic] efficiency of a good waiter"?
I can't. They all seem to lurch from crisis to crisis, or, in retrospect, they were a disaster only we didn't realise it
I was about to say the first term of Blair's New Labour but then they brought in the insane, partisan Devolution Settlement which has strained the Union close to shattering, so fuck them
Before then? Maybe mid period Thatcher, from about 1985-1989? But of course many would utterly disagree
Can someone give me a breakdown of why Wales and Scotland's Covid numbers are substantially lower than England's? What combination of restrictions and reporting differences has caused it, as it appears rather stark on the maps.
It's all to do with the Great Scottish Central Desert and the lack of population apart from a few sheep, acc to the PBTories of old. (Ignorant of the density and interconnectedness of population where it does occur.)
It seems that the testing usage is different. Whether this is structural/cultural/policy is another question.
The raw positivity numbers show this - they have shown a similar pattern for a long, long time.
Looking at that frankly weird data set several things stand out. Firstly it isn't date of test unless no tests are conducted on one day of the week every week in Wales. Could this be the case? Is it only PCR results, and no PCR on a sunday (as covid is in church?) Secondly its rather facile to say the covid rates are lower in Scotland and Wales based on reported cases per 100,000, but the positivity suggests something else - England is testing more people generally and finding mor cases, but with a lower positivity.
So like a lot of stats its horses for courses. Scotland and Wales can say "we have lower cases per 100,000", and in England we can say "ah, but our positivity is lower".
And the only numbers that really matter are hospital patients, ICU and MV beds,
It was utterly despicable and outrageous for Boris Johnson to stand in the House of Commons yesterday and slander Keir Starmer, with these comments about Jimmy Saville.
Takes a peek. Sees that we are all still talking about birthday cake. goes back to lurking for a few more days.
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, the PM is in Kiev today for a meeting with President Zelensky. Ukraine is getting worried that US interests and media are unnecessarily talking up the chances of a Russian invasion this month. There’s a fine line to tread between being supportive of an ally, and antagonising the Russians which makes the conflict more likely to happen.
Putin needs permission and political coverage from Xi to invade Ukraine. That isn't going to be forthcoming while it will fuck up the Winter Olympics so no invasion until the 21st.
Covid is doing a pretty good job of that anyway. Maybe Xi will authorise the invasion to draw attention away from the games and the inevitable disastrous consequences of going ahead with them.
My big fear is that Xi makes a play for Taiwan at the same time - i.e. during the Olympics. The US, UK and allies will not be able to put substantial aid to both Ukraine and Taiwan, and China will have lots of hostages guests staying for the Olympics.
It's unlikely, but would be a good way for both to achieve their goals.
A Xi invasion of Taiwan could be coordinated with a Putin invasion of Ukraine.
It makes sense for them as they know the West will not go to war to defend Ukraine or Taiwan, only a NATO nation, South Korea or Japan.
Yougov finds meanwhile a majority of Germans and a plurality of voters in most other NATO nations oppose going to war with Russia if it invades Ukraine. Only a plurality of Americans and Danes favour going to war with Russia over the Ukraine but even then only 38% of Danes and 35% of Russians back war. Britons are split
It is absolutely insane that 30% of Britons want a war with Russia if they invade Ukraine. Apart from the risk of nuclear escalation we simply don't have the forces to do so.
What's your answer then? Let Putin's evil take over Ukraine, and cast a pall over Eastern Europe?
Of course, you can always go over there and do one of the 'non-violent' protests you've trained for. That'd be fun to see.
No, I think it is reasonable to oppose by non military means, for example the sanctions package that Truss was announcing yesterday. I am actually in line with government on this, at least so far.
Do you really want British troops there, fighting Russians face to face in the snow and mud?
No, I don't want it. Only a fool wants war. But neither am I willing to say 'never'.
However, the person threatening war is Putin, not us. He invades other countries. He jails or murders journalists. He poisons people in other countries. He enriches himself and his friends as his country descends down into the mire. (*)
We are facing an evil in the form of Putin's expansionism. Many times in the past we have seen people back down from evil, and evil expand. There comes a time to say 'no more'. The question is when that time is.
People like you - so keen to have pathetic little non-violent protests in a liberal country - should be the first to argue against real evils.
(*) I'm expecting certain parallels about this...
Well the poll says 30% want war with Russia if they invade Ukraine, which rather ignores that they already have done so twice in Crimea and the Donbas.
Considering our last few expeditionary wars were fiascos, perhaps tackling the worlds third strongest military may not be wise.
We should perhaps address our elites love of Russian oligarchs and their money laundromat in London if we oppose Putinism.
I oppose Putins fascism, but start with the simple stuff including the Russian influence on our establishment.
One thing I find interesting, is that people seem to conflate Putin's friends and his enemies when they talk about "Oligarchs" in the UK.
The UK is one of the main locations where Putin's enemies congregate.
After yesterday's Commons performance I have to tell you that I shall never vote Conservative while Boris Johnson remains in office, and never vote for any candidate currently taking the Conservative whip unless Johnson is forced out by the party by the end of this month.
I have voted Conservative in every GE since 1979 with one exception, and my principal interest in life is trail hunting. I am therefore fairly representative of a fairly large part of your core vote.
Ishmael xx
I'm sure it's fun riding on horses after a strange smell of fox urine, that dogs seem to like, laid down by people pretending to be foxes, but I rather doubt that people who enjoy this are "fairly representative of a fairly large part of Boris' core vote"
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
And you think Sunak is going to be exciting?
No. But he will surely stop Labour winning a majority, and could easily get a slender majority of his own. Plus he might have actual ideas as to what to do next, other than build a bridge to Greenland for the lolz
I know I've suggested on here that Boris might bounce back - he is uniquely bouncy for a British politician - but - from the far distant perspective of the Laccadive Sea, in the Indian Ocean, this seems increasingly impossible
Or Truss. Why not Truss. She might be fun
FGS not Ben Wallace
Even Boris will stop Labour winning a majority on current polls.
Only if that changes and polls suggest Starmer wins a Labour majority will Boris be replaced by Sunak I think to save the Tory furniture
In some ways, the worst thing that could happen from Labour’s perspective is that the Tories quickly and efficiently dispatch with Boris Johnson (via @bopinion)https://trib.al/NWV7m8v
A quick and efficient dispatch of Johnson would have happened at least a fortnight ago. We're already into the drawn-out and messy zone.
Some way to go until we reach protracted shambles, but I have every confidence in the ability of Tory MPs to make it that far.
After yesterday's Commons performance I have to tell you that I shall never vote Conservative while Boris Johnson remains in office, and never vote for any candidate currently taking the Conservative whip unless Johnson is forced out by the party by the end of this month.
I have voted Conservative in every GE since 1979 with one exception, and my principal interest in life is trail hunting. I am therefore fairly representative of a fairly large part of your core vote.
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
The difference between you and most people, save the obvious, is that you want politics to be entertaining. A privilege of the well off. Most of us just want government to do its various jobs wth the facless efficiency of a good waiter. If I want to be entertained I'll read a book, watch TV, or spend an evening scrolling through HYUFD's contributions on here over the years. We want government to be grimly efficient but anonymous, like decent plumbing, or your writing.
Can you name a recent British government that has done this? Been "grimly efficient but anonymous", that has had the "facless [sic] efficiency of a good waiter"?
I can't. They all seem to lurch from crisis to crisis, or, in retrospect, they were a disaster only we didn't realise it
I was about to say the first term of Blair's New Labour but then they brought in the insane, partisan Devolution Settlement which has strained the Union close to shattering, so fuck them
Before then? Maybe mid period Thatcher, from about 1985-1989? But of course many would utterly disagree
There really aren't many examples, at all
What we want and what we get are very different things.
Professionally, when I want to accuse someone of lying I use the term ‘fundamental inaccuracy’.
Sir, your evidence in your statement from December contains a plethora of fundamental inaccuracies.
Should be fine in The Commons.
Good one. All should share their euphemisms.
If I want to say something is bollocks I say it "does not withstand reasonable analysis'.
That plethora sentence has a Fog Index of 23.
Very lawyerly !
One of the fun bits of my job is that I get to call people liars to their face in a way that is not really acceptable anywhere else (at least not without a punch in the face).
And when you catch someone out on a whopper which they continue to deny you can ask, "And is that as true as the rest of your evidence, is it?"
Can someone give me a breakdown of why Wales and Scotland's Covid numbers are substantially lower than England's? What combination of restrictions and reporting differences has caused it, as it appears rather stark on the maps.
It's all to do with the Great Scottish Central Desert and the lack of population apart from a few sheep, acc to the PBTories of old. (Ignorant of the density and interconnectedness of population where it does occur.)
It seems that the testing usage is different. Whether this is structural/cultural/policy is another question.
The raw positivity numbers show this - they have shown a similar pattern for a long, long time.
Looking at that frankly weird data set several things stand out. Firstly it isn't date of test unless no tests are conducted on one day of the week every week in Wales. Could this be the case? Is it only PCR results, and no PCR on a sunday (as covid is in church?) Secondly its rather facile to say the covid rates are lower in Scotland and Wales based on reported cases per 100,000, but the positivity suggests something else - England is testing more people generally and finding mor cases, but with a lower positivity.
So like a lot of stats its horses for courses. Scotland and Wales can say "we have lower cases per 100,000", and in England we can say "ah, but our positivity is lower".
And the only numbers that really matter are hospital patients, ICU and MV beds,
Oh indeed - the point is that simply comparing case numbers across jurisdictional boundaries simply doesn't work.
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Okay, but again, how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and Soical Democrats. That point just shows the affiliations of two leadership contenders.
As Orange Bookers are fiscal conservatives, social democrats are not. The LDs are divided between the 2 even if they are united on disliking Brexit and liking social liberalism
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
The difference between you and most people, save the obvious, is that you want politics to be entertaining. A privilege of the well off. Most of us just want government to do its various jobs wth the facless efficiency of a good waiter. If I want to be entertained I'll read a book, watch TV, or spend an evening scrolling through HYUFD's contributions on here over the years. We want government to be grimly efficient but anonymous, like decent plumbing, or your writing.
Can you name a recent British government that has done this? Been "grimly efficient but anonymous", that has had the "facless [sic] efficiency of a good waiter"?
I can't. They all seem to lurch from crisis to crisis, or, in retrospect, they were a disaster only we didn't realise it
I was about to say the first term of Blair's New Labour but then they brought in the insane, partisan Devolution Settlement which has strained the Union close to shattering, so fuck them
Before then? Maybe mid period Thatcher, from about 1985-1989? But of course many would utterly disagree
There really aren't many examples, at all
What we want and what we get are very different things.
So you are asking for something that never happens. Anonymously efficient British government, like in Switzerland
In which case, we might as well have fun, amusing politics, AKA Boris Johnson. Tho even I now admit the laughter has faded, very badly
Can someone give me a breakdown of why Wales and Scotland's Covid numbers are substantially lower than England's? What combination of restrictions and reporting differences has caused it, as it appears rather stark on the maps.
Wales and Scotland don't currently report lateral flow tests to the dashboard. In England and NI they account for around ~50% of results, the actual positive test rate in Wales and Scotland will be around double what is currently being reported on the dashboard. I think the Scottish data is being added at some point and will be backfilled but Wales don't bother reporting them at all.
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
And you think Sunak is going to be exciting?
No. But he will surely stop Labour winning a majority, and could easily get a slender majority of his own. Plus he might have actual ideas as to what to do next, other than build a bridge to Greenland for the lolz
I know I've suggested on here that Boris might bounce back - he is uniquely bouncy for a British politician - but - from the far distant perspective of the Laccadive Sea, in the Indian Ocean, this seems increasingly impossible
Or Truss. Why not Truss. She might be fun
FGS not Ben Wallace
Even Boris will stop Labour winning a majority on current polls.
Only if that changes and polls suggest Starmer wins a Labour majority will Boris be replaced by Sunak I think to save the Tory furniture
2 years still for the stink of corruption to be recognised by those who still like Boris.
It's highly likely that it's all downhill from here.
Cost of living crisis Tax increases Levelling up being revealed to be empty promises (Red Wall seats) Levelling up resulting in the South having to spend money (old Southern seats)
All 4 of those are now going to occur in the next 3 months and the result is an inevitable and slow dripping away of Tory support.
And note 3 and 4 are true at the same time, Boris has created a party whose supporters have 2 contradictory demands.
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Okay, but again, how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and Soical Democrats. That point just shows the affiliations of two leadership contenders.
As Orange Bookers are fiscal conservatives, social democrats are not. The LDs are divided between the 2 even if they are united on disliking Brexit and social liberalism
Thanks for the patronising evidence-free explanation. You specialise in lecturing me on institutions I am/ was a member of. I used to be a member of the Lib Dems, and remain with the Oxford Union. You have just repeated an assertion without providing any evidence.
Please provide evidence that the LD's are "split" between these two factions, something you have again failed to do.
After yesterday's Commons performance I have to tell you that I shall never vote Conservative while Boris Johnson remains in office, and never vote for any candidate currently taking the Conservative whip unless Johnson is forced out by the party by the end of this month.
I have voted Conservative in every GE since 1979 with one exception, and my principal interest in life is trail hunting. I am therefore fairly representative of a fairly large part of your core vote.
Ishmael xx
I'm sure it's fun riding on horses after a strange smell of fox urine, that dogs seem to like, laid down by people pretending to be foxes, but I rather doubt that people who enjoy this are "fairly representative of a fairly large part of Boris' core vote"
Sir G Cox's core vote. West Devon.
I’ve become a bit of a Devon fan lately. We’ve become friends with a couple of Devonians (is that what you’re called) and we keep getting bombarded with West Country luxury treats. I gobbled my way through almost 3 pack of some amazing Cornish biscuits in December, and yesterday we received 2 jars of Otter Vale chutney. Closest I’ve ever actually been is Wiltshire and Bath, but now I’m determined to get further west.
Takes a peek. Sees that we are all still talking about birthday cake. goes back to lurking for a few more days.
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, the PM is in Kiev today for a meeting with President Zelensky. Ukraine is getting worried that US interests and media are unnecessarily talking up the chances of a Russian invasion this month. There’s a fine line to tread between being supportive of an ally, and antagonising the Russians which makes the conflict more likely to happen.
Putin needs permission and political coverage from Xi to invade Ukraine. That isn't going to be forthcoming while it will fuck up the Winter Olympics so no invasion until the 21st.
Covid is doing a pretty good job of that anyway. Maybe Xi will authorise the invasion to draw attention away from the games and the inevitable disastrous consequences of going ahead with them.
My big fear is that Xi makes a play for Taiwan at the same time - i.e. during the Olympics. The US, UK and allies will not be able to put substantial aid to both Ukraine and Taiwan, and China will have lots of hostages guests staying for the Olympics.
It's unlikely, but would be a good way for both to achieve their goals.
A Xi invasion of Taiwan could be coordinated with a Putin invasion of Ukraine.
It makes sense for them as they know the West will not go to war to defend Ukraine or Taiwan, only a NATO nation, South Korea or Japan.
Yougov finds meanwhile a majority of Germans and a plurality of voters in most other NATO nations oppose going to war with Russia if it invades Ukraine. Only a plurality of Americans and Danes favour going to war with Russia over the Ukraine but even then only 38% of Danes and 35% of Russians back war. Britons are split
It is absolutely insane that 30% of Britons want a war with Russia if they invade Ukraine. Apart from the risk of nuclear escalation we simply don't have the forces to do so.
What's your answer then? Let Putin's evil take over Ukraine, and cast a pall over Eastern Europe?
Of course, you can always go over there and do one of the 'non-violent' protests you've trained for. That'd be fun to see.
No, I think it is reasonable to oppose by non military means, for example the sanctions package that Truss was announcing yesterday. I am actually in line with government on this, at least so far.
Do you really want British troops there, fighting Russians face to face in the snow and mud?
No, I don't want it. Only a fool wants war. But neither am I willing to say 'never'.
However, the person threatening war is Putin, not us. He invades other countries. He jails or murders journalists. He poisons people in other countries. He enriches himself and his friends as his country descends down into the mire. (*)
We are facing an evil in the form of Putin's expansionism. Many times in the past we have seen people back down from evil, and evil expand. There comes a time to say 'no more'. The question is when that time is.
People like you - so keen to have pathetic little non-violent protests in a liberal country - should be the first to argue against real evils.
(*) I'm expecting certain parallels about this...
Well the poll says 30% want war with Russia if they invade Ukraine, which rather ignores that they already have done so twice in Crimea and the Donbas.
Considering our last few expeditionary wars were fiascos, perhaps tackling the worlds third strongest military may not be wise.
We should perhaps address our elites love of Russian oligarchs and their money laundromat in London if we oppose Putinism.
I oppose Putins fascism, but start with the simple stuff including the Russian influence on our establishment.
One thing I find interesting, is that people seem to conflate Putin's friends and his enemies when they talk about "Oligarchs" in the UK.
The UK is one of the main locations where Putin's enemies congregate.
Sure. Russia has a corrupt opposition as well as a corrupt government, it is back to Tsarist court politics. Some oligarchs may well be in opposition, but plenty are willing friends of the Putin regime. Hence we never did see the full Russia Report.
It's obviously not true of some people in advanced stages who are reduced to staring at the wall, unable to communicate at all. But from my experience with my father - who described his final years as the happiest in his life - I do see echoes.
Essentially his dementia came down to unreliable memory of a basic kind - he could never be sure that he would remember anything (e.g. the first sign was when he forgot what I did for a living - my mother instantly "He's a ballet dancer, he dances beautifully", which was so ridiculous that it made him laugh and broke the tension), but he was aware of his condition and most of the time he remembered everything around him. So he wouldn't go on walks alone in case he forgot the way home, practical measures like that. I think that's a bit, writ large, like the fact that I find I can't rely on remembering names - apparently this isn't a dementia symptom, happily, but something that gradually increases as one gets older - so the "name on the tip of one's tongue" becomes common. Reducing the disease to its practical symptoms reduces the terror that most people feel about it. That has to be good.
My father died when he was 74. I'm 72 this week and have three jobs and a very uninhibited outlook, so with a bit of luck it's not as hereditary as some people fear. But if it eventually proves otherwise, I'll think back on this review (and, with luck, the book when I get it). I'm posting the comment here since perhaps others in our curious community of common interests will have related experiences and will find it helps.
Takes a peek. Sees that we are all still talking about birthday cake. goes back to lurking for a few more days.
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, the PM is in Kiev today for a meeting with President Zelensky. Ukraine is getting worried that US interests and media are unnecessarily talking up the chances of a Russian invasion this month. There’s a fine line to tread between being supportive of an ally, and antagonising the Russians which makes the conflict more likely to happen.
Putin needs permission and political coverage from Xi to invade Ukraine. That isn't going to be forthcoming while it will fuck up the Winter Olympics so no invasion until the 21st.
Covid is doing a pretty good job of that anyway. Maybe Xi will authorise the invasion to draw attention away from the games and the inevitable disastrous consequences of going ahead with them.
My big fear is that Xi makes a play for Taiwan at the same time - i.e. during the Olympics. The US, UK and allies will not be able to put substantial aid to both Ukraine and Taiwan, and China will have lots of hostages guests staying for the Olympics.
It's unlikely, but would be a good way for both to achieve their goals.
A Xi invasion of Taiwan could be coordinated with a Putin invasion of Ukraine.
It makes sense for them as they know the West will not go to war to defend Ukraine or Taiwan, only a NATO nation, South Korea or Japan.
Yougov finds meanwhile a majority of Germans and a plurality of voters in most other NATO nations oppose going to war with Russia if it invades Ukraine. Only a plurality of Americans and Danes favour going to war with Russia over the Ukraine but even then only 38% of Danes and 35% of Russians back war. Britons are split
It is absolutely insane that 30% of Britons want a war with Russia if they invade Ukraine. Apart from the risk of nuclear escalation we simply don't have the forces to do so.
What's your answer then? Let Putin's evil take over Ukraine, and cast a pall over Eastern Europe?
Of course, you can always go over there and do one of the 'non-violent' protests you've trained for. That'd be fun to see.
No, I think it is reasonable to oppose by non military means, for example the sanctions package that Truss was announcing yesterday. I am actually in line with government on this, at least so far.
Do you really want British troops there, fighting Russians face to face in the snow and mud?
No, I don't want it. Only a fool wants war. But neither am I willing to say 'never'.
However, the person threatening war is Putin, not us. He invades other countries. He jails or murders journalists. He poisons people in other countries. He enriches himself and his friends as his country descends down into the mire. (*)
We are facing an evil in the form of Putin's expansionism. Many times in the past we have seen people back down from evil, and evil expand. There comes a time to say 'no more'. The question is when that time is.
People like you - so keen to have pathetic little non-violent protests in a liberal country - should be the first to argue against real evils.
(*) I'm expecting certain parallels about this...
Well the poll says 30% want war with Russia if they invade Ukraine, which rather ignores that they already have done so twice in Crimea and the Donbas.
Considering our last few expeditionary wars were fiascos, perhaps tackling the worlds third strongest military may not be wise.
We should perhaps address our elites love of Russian oligarchs and their money laundromat in London if we oppose Putinism.
I oppose Putins fascism, but start with the simple stuff including the Russian influence on our establishment.
Ah, so you're willing to have your feeble protests about relatively minor matters in the UK, but are willing to see the Russian bear take over eastern Europe? Because you do not have an answer to the immediate problem, only platitudes.
It's a view, I suppose. Chamberlain in 1938 showed the issues with that - and whilst the parallels are imperfect, they are there.
I agree about tackling Russian influence in the UK - including in all political parties (cough)Portsmouth South(cough) - oh, but he was a Lib Dem, wasn't he? - but that'll do nothing about the evil Ukraine is directly facing.
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jew's don't count.
What has the world come to?
No, it is about black lives. The obsession with BLM means that the concept of racism is now focussed almost entirely on black people, and white racism versus them, with the odd genuflection at Hispanics, or Native Americans, sometimes even Arabs or Asians. But 90% of the time, in the USA, it is ALL about black people
Which is how a clever person like Goldberg can end up saying something as offensively stupid as this
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jews don't count.
What has the world come to?
Goldberg's comments aren't even true. Amazingly enough Adolf "racial purity" Hitler was not actually a big fan of black people, but particularly mixed race relationships - echoing a key tenet of 1960s US segregationism.
"Underlining Hitler’s obsession with racial purity, by 1937 every identified mixed-race child in the Rhineland had been forcibly sterilised, in order to prevent further ‘race polluting’, as Hitler termed it."
It was utterly despicable and outrageous for Boris Johnson to stand in the House of Commons yesterday and slander Keir Starmer, with these comments about Jimmy Saville.
He should apologise publicly.
It was notable that Starmer didn’t fall into the Streisand Effect trap.
But it was a clear Dead Cat, no doubt dreamt up by Lynton and it has worked. Everyone is now talking about the PM spreading fake news, rather than focusing on him being under criminal investigation for breaches of the law in his own private residence.
The Tory MPs should hang their heads in shame that they have allowed this to go on a single day longer.
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Okay, but again, how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and Soical Democrats. That point just shows the affiliations of two leadership contenders.
As Orange Bookers are fiscal conservatives, social democrats are not. The LDs are divided between the 2 even if they are united on disliking Brexit and social liberalism
Thanks for the patronising evidence-free explanation. You specialise in lecturing me on institutions I am/ was a member of. I used to be a member of the Lib Dems, and remain with the Oxford Union. You have just repeated an assertion without providing any evidence.
Please provide evidence that the LD's are "split" between these two factions, something you have again failed to do.
You really are tedious.
The simple obvious fact that Orange Book LDs not only worked with the Tories from 2010 to 2015 in pursuing austerity and keeping tax down but even like Davey were Ministers in Cameron's government.
LDs like Moran however would only ever work with Labour and pursue more spending and increased tax on the rich.
They are ideologically apart on economics, only their dislike for Brexit and support for social liberalism unites them.
Ed Davey is even economically right of Boris, let alone Moran and Starmer, even if both were anti Brexit
Mr. Dickson, Devon was one of two places I regularly went on holiday as a child. Have vague, but fond, memories of the seaside and pubs. Fewer castles than Wales but nicer weather.
Cynics have previously suggested this smear had been trialled for use at the general election. That might be why Boris had it on his mind.
Looking at that briefly, its an interesting parallel (from a very warped perspective). You can argue that Starmer was DPP at the time when no action was taken. You can argue that Johnson was in charge when 'gatherings/parties' happened. So its not completely black and white.
However, it seems that the Saville stuff failed at a much lower level than Starmer, and it sadly is the case that probably a lot of people who knew him, knew stuff, but kept quiet.
And for Johnson - the cover-up is what annoys me most of all. The lies to parliament - 'I am shocked' - Really - you were feckin there you tool. Yes the culture in No 10 is clearly part of the problem, but who sets that culture? Who comes into a group of people 'at work' with prosecco on the go and says well done, carry on?
Can someone give me a breakdown of why Wales and Scotland's Covid numbers are substantially lower than England's? What combination of restrictions and reporting differences has caused it, as it appears rather stark on the maps.
Wales and Scotland don't currently report lateral flow tests to the dashboard. In England and NI they account for around ~50% of results, the actual positive test rate in Wales and Scotland will be around double what is currently being reported on the dashboard. I think the Scottish data is being added at some point and will be backfilled but Wales don't bother reporting them at all.
For analysis of positivity by day and so forth it's best just to stick with the English numbers. The non reporting days of Wales and Scotland make analysis tougher.
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
And you think Sunak is going to be exciting?
No. But he will surely stop Labour winning a majority, and could easily get a slender majority of his own. Plus he might have actual ideas as to what to do next, other than build a bridge to Greenland for the lolz
I know I've suggested on here that Boris might bounce back - he is uniquely bouncy for a British politician - but - from the far distant perspective of the Laccadive Sea, in the Indian Ocean, this seems increasingly impossible
Or Truss. Why not Truss. She might be fun
FGS not Ben Wallace
Even Boris will stop Labour winning a majority on current polls.
Only if that changes and polls suggest Starmer wins a Labour majority will Boris be replaced by Sunak I think to save the Tory furniture
2 years still for the stink of corruption to be recognised by those who still like Boris.
It's highly likely that it's all downhill from here.
Cost of living crisis Tax increases Levelling up being revealed to be empty promises (Red Wall seats) Levelling up resulting in the South having to spend money (old Southern seats)
All 4 of those are now going to occur in the next 3 months and the result is an inevitable and slow dripping away of Tory support.
And note 3 and 4 are true at the same time, Boris has created a party whose supporters have 2 contradictory demands.
After yesterday's Commons performance I have to tell you that I shall never vote Conservative while Boris Johnson remains in office, and never vote for any candidate currently taking the Conservative whip unless Johnson is forced out by the party by the end of this month.
I have voted Conservative in every GE since 1979 with one exception, and my principal interest in life is trail hunting. I am therefore fairly representative of a fairly large part of your core vote.
Is there a chance yesterday's "update" is all we get?
Dominic Raab said this morning it is "not clear" whether anything else would be added to a further report from Sue Gray - and tried to claim on Sky News the report had already been published "in full"
Surely the opposition will call a vote on this and they probably have the numbers at the moment based on the number of Tories who asked the PM to guarantee this yesterday.
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jew's don't count.
What has the world come to?
No, it is about black lives. The obsession with BLM means that the concept of racism is now focussed almost entirely on black people, and white racism versus them, with the odd genuflection at Hispanics, or Native Americans, sometimes even Arabs or Asians. But 90% of the time, in the USA, it is ALL about black people
Which is how a clever person like Goldberg can end up saying something as offensively stupid as this
'Racism' is becoming increasingly insular. It is about 'my' group, and excludes other groups. Hence I'm black, and racism is only against blacks. I'm Jewish, and racism is only against Jews (*) I'm Asian, and racism is only against Asians.
It's sad that we'll losing the important message that should be. "Yes, I am minority (x). There is racism against us. But I also see racism against minorities (y), (z), etc." There is a heck of a lot of commonality in racism, whatever group it is targeted against, and these divisions make fighting racism much harder.
Racism against anyone: black, Asian, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Muslim, and yes, white, is often very similar. Combatting one part of it involves combatting all of it.
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jews don't count.
What has the world come to?
Hmm, I think @Leon is right. Across the US there has been a downplaying of racism experienced by Asians, it happens over here as well to a lesser degree. Somehow being called a paki is no big deal because Asian people are financially successful in the UK. We're no longer considered part of the oppressed community here or in the US, only black people are and this leads to idiotic thinking shown by Whoopi Goldberg, that people who aren't "oppressed" can't experience racism.
BLM has always been a front for socialism and promoting the idea that the world is split into oppressors (white people and other "race traitors") and the oppressed (black people). It's a ridiculous movement that in 5 years no one will admit to supporting.
After yesterday's Commons performance I have to tell you that I shall never vote Conservative while Boris Johnson remains in office, and never vote for any candidate currently taking the Conservative whip unless Johnson is forced out by the party by the end of this month.
I have voted Conservative in every GE since 1979 with one exception, and my principal interest in life is trail hunting. I am therefore fairly representative of a fairly large part of your core vote.
Ishmael xx
I'm sure it's fun riding on horses after a strange smell of fox urine, that dogs seem to like, laid down by people pretending to be foxes, but I rather doubt that people who enjoy this are "fairly representative of a fairly large part of Boris' core vote"
Sir G Cox's core vote. West Devon.
I’ve become a bit of a Devon fan lately. We’ve become friends with a couple of Devonians (is that what you’re called) and we keep getting bombarded with West Country luxury treats. I gobbled my way through almost 3 pack of some amazing Cornish biscuits in December, and yesterday we received 2 jars of Otter Vale chutney. Closest I’ve ever actually been is Wiltshire and Bath, but now I’m determined to get further west.
Though a lot needed to make up for the crime of Buckfast Tonic.
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jews don't count.
What has the world come to?
Goldberg's comments aren't even true. Amazingly enough Adolf "racial purity" Hitler was not actually a big fan of black people, but particularly mixed race relationships - echoing a key tenet of 1960s US segregationism.
"Underlining Hitler’s obsession with racial purity, by 1937 every identified mixed-race child in the Rhineland had been forcibly sterilised, in order to prevent further ‘race polluting’, as Hitler termed it."
Mr. Dickson, Devon was one of two places I regularly went on holiday as a child. Have vague, but fond, memories of the seaside and pubs. Fewer castles than Wales but nicer weather.
Devon is one of the most beautiful corners of the UK, indeed of the world
A unique, fascinating, historic city: Plymouth (I know others differ but come at it afresh and it is astonishing)
Lush pastoral landscapes
Endless lovely villages, with attending churches and stately homes
Big enough not to have been ruined by over-population (ditto roads and rails, tho it probably needs more rails)
Two distinct coastlines, the mild, succulent south, the bracing wild north
Two impressive moorland wildernesses
Thick woods, gorgeous beaches, excellent seafood, delightful pubs, and areas -like northwest Devon, and the higher Tamar valley - that seem almost entirely empty in a way inconceivable in mild southern England.
And it has mostly escaped the huge influx that now plagues Cornwall
They need to fix two major things: rebuild ugly redbrick Exeter exactly as it was before the Germans flattened it. Do something about the tattier coastal resorts, Teignmouth, Dawlish, etc
Head of Civil Service HR, Rupert McNeil, is leaving his job, it's understood - but the departure is said to be not connected to the findings of the Sue Gray report - the move was announced internally two weeks ago https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/1488444767352545281
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jews don't count.
What has the world come to?
Hmm, I think @Leon is right. Across the US there has been a downplaying of racism experienced by Asians, it happens over here as well to a lesser degree. Somehow being called a paki is no big deal because Asian people are financially successful in the UK. We're no longer considered part of the oppressed community here or in the US, only black people are and this leads to idiotic thinking shown by Whoopi Goldberg, that people who aren't "oppressed" can't experience racism.
BLM has always been a front for socialism and promoting the idea that the world is split into oppressors (white people and other "race traitors") and the oppressed (black people). It's a ridiculous movement that in 5 years no one will admit to supporting.
I don't think this disparaging of BLM is a universal sentiment among Asian people, certainly not in the UK. Some of the strongest supporters of BLM that I know are Asian, precisely because they recognise the importance of challenging racism.
The Header clarifies things nicely. “The Rules” in pandemic parlance means the Law plus the Guidance. So whether the Met issues a blizzard of tickets or not, and whether Johnson gets one or not, he has without a shadow of a doubt lied to Parliament. Even the censored Report was enough to demonstrate that.
However, we have entered a new era where lying to Parliament is no longer a resigning or removal offence and lawmakers *can* be lawbreakers if they don’t understand the laws they’ve made or just consider them to be too tedious for words. It’s the Boris Johnson effect. Hard to view it as a positive but there we are.
Big picture, he survives this and now it’s down to the public. We have the polls and the May local elections for them to make their voice heard. Johnson will be replaced if Tory MPs know they face a thrashing at the general election if he isn’t. Until they reach this view I think he stays.
Or more accurately *unless* they reach this view – since they might never. In fact I make it close to a 50/50 chance that he survives to fight the election in 2024. Therefore I turn once more to my favourite market – Next PM – and the Starmer price. It should imo be around 5 but it’s almost 9.
Shocking story coming out of Afghanistan. Only 3% of the population living above the poverty line. They are in serious danger of starvation. The UK government have a serious responsibility for whats going on. A good opportunity for Johnson to change the habit of a lifetime and try to do some good.
Is that relative or absolute poverty? Makes a mockery of the word poverty to have it chopped and changed like that.
In my humble opinion we should wash our hands of Afghanistan and have absolutely no responsibility for the nation and absolutely no aid should be going there. We tried to be responsible for them, they rejected us an installed the Taliban instead.
Let the Taliban take responsibility. You don't get to reject our help then say "but keep sending us money and food".
It is outright terrible poverty. A Biblical Famine is emerging in Afghanistan
However half of me, at least, feels like you. Enough. You want a mad Islamist government that hates the world? Here you go. This is what happens
There's that - but it would also make show the world that we're prepared to let such a famine happen in order to make the point.
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jews don't count.
What has the world come to?
Hmm, I think @Leon is right. Across the US there has been a downplaying of racism experienced by Asians, it happens over here as well to a lesser degree. Somehow being called a paki is no big deal because Asian people are financially successful in the UK. We're no longer considered part of the oppressed community here or in the US, only black people are and this leads to idiotic thinking shown by Whoopi Goldberg, that people who aren't "oppressed" can't experience racism.
BLM has always been a front for socialism and promoting the idea that the world is split into oppressors (white people and other "race traitors") and the oppressed (black people). It's a ridiculous movement that in 5 years no one will admit to supporting.
Hang on, Goldberg wasn't engaged in Holocaust denying, indeed in the interview she was saying that the banning of a graphic novel of the Holocaust for nudity rather than mass killing was absurd.
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jew's don't count.
What has the world come to?
No, it is about black lives. The obsession with BLM means that the concept of racism is now focussed almost entirely on black people, and white racism versus them, with the odd genuflection at Hispanics, or Native Americans, sometimes even Arabs or Asians. But 90% of the time, in the USA, it is ALL about black people
Which is how a clever person like Goldberg can end up saying something as offensively stupid as this
'Racism' is becoming increasingly insular. It is about 'my' group, and excludes other groups. Hence I'm black, and racism is only against blacks. I'm Jewish, and racism is only against Jews (*) I'm Asian, and racism is only against Asians.
It's sad that we'll losing the important message that should be. "Yes, I am minority (x). There is racism against us. But I also see racism against minorities (y), (z), etc." There is a heck of a lot of commonality in racism, whatever group it is targeted against, and these divisions make fighting racism much harder.
Racism against anyone: black, Asian, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Muslim, and yes, white, is often very similar. Combatting one part of it involves combatting all of it.
(*) Yes, I have seen this.
I would suspect that the example of "I'm Jewish, and racism is only against Jews" you came across is from someone who lives entirely "inside" the Jewish community and shuns outsiders. Is that correct?
As to the general point - yes. There are some quite thick people who don't think a thing is real unless it happens to *them*. Since they are not, say, from Tibet, they have never experienced racism against people from there. Therefore it must not happen.
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Okay, but again, how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and Soical Democrats. That point just shows the affiliations of two leadership contenders.
As Orange Bookers are fiscal conservatives, social democrats are not. The LDs are divided between the 2 even if they are united on disliking Brexit and social liberalism
Thanks for the patronising evidence-free explanation. You specialise in lecturing me on institutions I am/ was a member of. I used to be a member of the Lib Dems, and remain with the Oxford Union. You have just repeated an assertion without providing any evidence.
Please provide evidence that the LD's are "split" between these two factions, something you have again failed to do.
Agree 100%. As a LD and in the Orange Book category I don't recognise the word 'split' whatsoever. In my decades in the party I can never recall it being discussed, there being any disputes, or anything along those lines. At the merger those in either camp worked very well together with generally very similar views on most things (those that didn't, didn't join) The overlaps are huge. If I had to give a distinction I would say that the Orange Bookers are more radical (liberal) and the Social Democrats more pragmatic in their ideas of achieving the same ends.
After yesterday's Commons performance I have to tell you that I shall never vote Conservative while Boris Johnson remains in office, and never vote for any candidate currently taking the Conservative whip unless Johnson is forced out by the party by the end of this month.
I have voted Conservative in every GE since 1979 with one exception, and my principal interest in life is trail hunting. I am therefore fairly representative of a fairly large part of your core vote.
Ishmael xx
I'm sure it's fun riding on horses after a strange smell of fox urine, that dogs seem to like, laid down by people pretending to be foxes, but I rather doubt that people who enjoy this are "fairly representative of a fairly large part of Boris' core vote"
Sir G Cox's core vote. West Devon.
I’ve become a bit of a Devon fan lately. We’ve become friends with a couple of Devonians (is that what you’re called) and we keep getting bombarded with West Country luxury treats. I gobbled my way through almost 3 pack of some amazing Cornish biscuits in December, and yesterday we received 2 jars of Otter Vale chutney. Closest I’ve ever actually been is Wiltshire and Bath, but now I’m determined to get further west.
Though a lot needed to make up for the crime of Buckfast Tonic.
Indeed.
Haven’t bought Buckfast for three decades, but apparently Scottish retailers are no longer allowed to display the product. Strictly “under the counter“: you have to specifically ask a member of staff.
Disgusting stuff.
But those Cornish biscuits! OMG
Unfortunately we got a big bag of “Cornish Coffee” beans. I hadn’t realised climate change had got that bad.
Mr. Dickson, Devon was one of two places I regularly went on holiday as a child. Have vague, but fond, memories of the seaside and pubs. Fewer castles than Wales but nicer weather.
Devon is one of the most beautiful corners of the UK, indeed of the world
A unique, fascinating, historic city: Plymouth (I know others differ but come at it afresh and it is astonishing)
Lush pastoral landscapes
Endless lovely villages, with attending churches and stately homes
Big enough not to have been ruined by over-population (ditto roads and rails, tho it probably needs more rails)
Two distinct coastlines, the mild, succulent south, the bracing wild north
Two impressive moorland wildernesses
Thick woods, gorgeous beaches, excellent seafood, delightful pubs, and areas -like northwest Devon, and the higher Tamar valley - that seem almost entirely empty in a way inconceivable in mild southern England.
And it has mostly escaped the huge influx that now plagues Cornwall
They need to fix two major things: rebuild ugly redbrick Exeter exactly as it was before the Germans flattened it. Do something about the tattier coastal resorts, Teignmouth, Dawlish, etc
Have you ever thought about taking up travel writing?
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
The difference between you and most people, save the obvious, is that you want politics to be entertaining. A privilege of the well off. Most of us just want government to do its various jobs wth the facless efficiency of a good waiter. If I want to be entertained I'll read a book, watch TV, or spend an evening scrolling through HYUFD's contributions on here over the years. We want government to be grimly efficient but anonymous, like decent plumbing, or your writing.
Can you name a recent British government that has done this? Been "grimly efficient but anonymous", that has had the "facless [sic] efficiency of a good waiter"?
I can't. They all seem to lurch from crisis to crisis, or, in retrospect, they were a disaster only we didn't realise it
I was about to say the first term of Blair's New Labour but then they brought in the insane, partisan Devolution Settlement which has strained the Union close to shattering, so fuck them
Before then? Maybe mid period Thatcher, from about 1985-1989? But of course many would utterly disagree
There really aren't many examples, at all
There's an argument that the Cameron/Clegg coalition was about as close as we've got to that happy state. The need to keep both sides happy (sort of) allowed Dave and Nick to sideline their own iconoclasts and trouble-makers and focus on governing.
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Okay, but again, how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and Soical Democrats. That point just shows the affiliations of two leadership contenders.
As Orange Bookers are fiscal conservatives, social democrats are not. The LDs are divided between the 2 even if they are united on disliking Brexit and social liberalism
Thanks for the patronising evidence-free explanation. You specialise in lecturing me on institutions I am/ was a member of. I used to be a member of the Lib Dems, and remain with the Oxford Union. You have just repeated an assertion without providing any evidence.
Please provide evidence that the LD's are "split" between these two factions, something you have again failed to do.
You really are tedious.
The simple obvious fact that Orange Book LDs not only worked with the Tories from 2010 to 2015 in pursuing austerity and keeping tax down but even like Davey were Ministers in Cameron's government.
LDs like Moran however would only ever work with Labour and pursue more spending and increased tax on the rich.
They are ideologically apart on economics, only their dislike for Brexit and support for social liberalism unites them.
Ed Davey is even economically right of Boris, let alone Moran and Starmer, even if both were anti Brexit
Just because you keep asserting something does not make something a "simple obvious fact" otherwise your assertions on here would have magically opened up a new sea route to Kuwait and Iraq avoiding the Strait of Hormuz. All you have posited is there are a number of opinions in the LD's, as there have to be in any party that wants to get elected to Parliament, including your own, but that wide spectrum of opinions does not mean that there is a "split".
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jews don't count.
What has the world come to?
Hmm, I think @Leon is right. Across the US there has been a downplaying of racism experienced by Asians, it happens over here as well to a lesser degree. Somehow being called a paki is no big deal because Asian people are financially successful in the UK. We're no longer considered part of the oppressed community here or in the US, only black people are and this leads to idiotic thinking shown by Whoopi Goldberg, that people who aren't "oppressed" can't experience racism.
BLM has always been a front for socialism and promoting the idea that the world is split into oppressors (white people and other "race traitors") and the oppressed (black people). It's a ridiculous movement that in 5 years no one will admit to supporting.
Hang on, Goldberg wasn't engaged in Holocaust denying, indeed in the interview she was saying that the banning of a graphic novel of the Holocaust for nudity rather than mass killing was absurd.
She didn't deny the Holocaust - but she made the thoroughly stupid comment about it, that has been attributed to her.
Justice Sec Dominic Raab refuses to repeat Boris Johnson’s false allegation - made under parliamentary privilege - that Keir Starmer as DPP protected Jimmy Savile.
He describes it as the “normal cut and thrust of politics” but admits: “I can’t substantiate that claim”. #Today
I’m confused. The parliamentary rules allow you to slander another MP by falsely accusing him of aiding and abetting a paedophile? But not to say than an MP has misled the house, when any objective reading of the facts is that he did?
The whole system is a joke.
And to be thrown out even when he offers to suggest that Mr Johnson had "inadvertently" misled the House.
Precisely, Blackwood was thrown out when he refused to withdraw his earlier comment and replace it with inadvertently. He appeared not to be sure whether he wanted to be thrown out or not, and had a go at being allowed to stay by adding to, rather than replacing, his earlier commentary, which the speaker took a moment or two to realise.
I assume Liz Truss, like millions of others, believed Jimmy Savile to be a just deceased man of good works. She wasn't part of the conspiracy of journalists who knew who he really was but help promote his image for TV programming or newspaper copy.
ITV have just made a film about him coming out in March called 'The Reckoning'. It's good.
"Justin Trudeau’s woke agenda is tearing Canadian society apart Trudeau has been almost as polarising for Canada as Donald Trump has been for the US Eric Kaufman" (£)
And so, in true Trump style, the smear embeds itself in British public consciousness. And over time it will crystallise and harden into an immutable fact for the right wing.
Not the first example of this from Johnson. He knows exactly what he is doing.
It won't impress his MPs, however, which is his more pressing priority.
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Okay, but again, how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and Soical Democrats. That point just shows the affiliations of two leadership contenders.
As Orange Bookers are fiscal conservatives, social democrats are not. The LDs are divided between the 2 even if they are united on disliking Brexit and social liberalism
Thanks for the patronising evidence-free explanation. You specialise in lecturing me on institutions I am/ was a member of. I used to be a member of the Lib Dems, and remain with the Oxford Union. You have just repeated an assertion without providing any evidence.
Please provide evidence that the LD's are "split" between these two factions, something you have again failed to do.
Takes a peek. Sees that we are all still talking about birthday cake. goes back to lurking for a few more days.
Meanwhile, apropos of nothing, the PM is in Kiev today for a meeting with President Zelensky. Ukraine is getting worried that US interests and media are unnecessarily talking up the chances of a Russian invasion this month. There’s a fine line to tread between being supportive of an ally, and antagonising the Russians which makes the conflict more likely to happen.
Putin needs permission and political coverage from Xi to invade Ukraine. That isn't going to be forthcoming while it will fuck up the Winter Olympics so no invasion until the 21st.
Covid is doing a pretty good job of that anyway. Maybe Xi will authorise the invasion to draw attention away from the games and the inevitable disastrous consequences of going ahead with them.
My big fear is that Xi makes a play for Taiwan at the same time - i.e. during the Olympics. The US, UK and allies will not be able to put substantial aid to both Ukraine and Taiwan, and China will have lots of hostages guests staying for the Olympics.
It's unlikely, but would be a good way for both to achieve their goals.
A Xi invasion of Taiwan could be coordinated with a Putin invasion of Ukraine.
It makes sense for them as they know the West will not go to war to defend Ukraine or Taiwan, only a NATO nation, South Korea or Japan.
Yougov finds meanwhile a majority of Germans and a plurality of voters in most other NATO nations oppose going to war with Russia if it invades Ukraine. Only a plurality of Americans and Danes favour going to war with Russia over the Ukraine but even then only 38% of Danes and 35% of Russians back war. Britons are split
It is absolutely insane that 30% of Britons want a war with Russia if they invade Ukraine. Apart from the risk of nuclear escalation we simply don't have the forces to do so.
What's your answer then? Let Putin's evil take over Ukraine, and cast a pall over Eastern Europe?
Of course, you can always go over there and do one of the 'non-violent' protests you've trained for. That'd be fun to see.
No, I think it is reasonable to oppose by non military means, for example the sanctions package that Truss was announcing yesterday. I am actually in line with government on this, at least so far.
Do you really want British troops there, fighting Russians face to face in the snow and mud?
No, I don't want it. Only a fool wants war. But neither am I willing to say 'never'.
However, the person threatening war is Putin, not us. He invades other countries. He jails or murders journalists. He poisons people in other countries. He enriches himself and his friends as his country descends down into the mire. (*)
We are facing an evil in the form of Putin's expansionism. Many times in the past we have seen people back down from evil, and evil expand. There comes a time to say 'no more'. The question is when that time is.
People like you - so keen to have pathetic little non-violent protests in a liberal country - should be the first to argue against real evils.
(*) I'm expecting certain parallels about this...
Well the poll says 30% want war with Russia if they invade Ukraine, which rather ignores that they already have done so twice in Crimea and the Donbas.
Considering our last few expeditionary wars were fiascos, perhaps tackling the worlds third strongest military may not be wise.
We should perhaps address our elites love of Russian oligarchs and their money laundromat in London if we oppose Putinism.
I oppose Putins fascism, but start with the simple stuff including the Russian influence on our establishment.
Ah, so you're willing to have your feeble protests about relatively minor matters in the UK, but are willing to see the Russian bear take over eastern Europe? Because you do not have an answer to the immediate problem, only platitudes.
It's a view, I suppose. Chamberlain in 1938 showed the issues with that - and whilst the parallels are imperfect, they are there.
I agree about tackling Russian influence in the UK - including in all political parties (cough)Portsmouth South(cough) - oh, but he was a Lib Dem, wasn't he? - but that'll do nothing about the evil Ukraine is directly facing.
'IT'S A VIEW I SUPPOSE' Surely the most hackneyed expression on PB. It needs to be banned!
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jews don't count.
What has the world come to?
Hmm, I think @Leon is right. Across the US there has been a downplaying of racism experienced by Asians, it happens over here as well to a lesser degree. Somehow being called a paki is no big deal because Asian people are financially successful in the UK. We're no longer considered part of the oppressed community here or in the US, only black people are and this leads to idiotic thinking shown by Whoopi Goldberg, that people who aren't "oppressed" can't experience racism.
BLM has always been a front for socialism and promoting the idea that the world is split into oppressors (white people and other "race traitors") and the oppressed (black people). It's a ridiculous movement that in 5 years no one will admit to supporting.
Hang on, Goldberg wasn't engaged in Holocaust denying, indeed in the interview she was saying that the banning of a graphic novel of the Holocaust for nudity rather than mass killing was absurd.
Where did I say she denied the Holocaust? I said she was stupid in her thinking that it wasn't racism. The idea that race wasn't the overriding factor in the Holocaust is idiotic.
I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that Boris has to go, if only because this scandal is now just so fucking BORING
And you think Sunak is going to be exciting?
No. But he will surely stop Labour winning a majority, and could easily get a slender majority of his own. Plus he might have actual ideas as to what to do next, other than build a bridge to Greenland for the lolz
I know I've suggested on here that Boris might bounce back - he is uniquely bouncy for a British politician - but - from the far distant perspective of the Laccadive Sea, in the Indian Ocean, this seems increasingly impossible
Or Truss. Why not Truss. She might be fun
FGS not Ben Wallace
Even Boris will stop Labour winning a majority on current polls.
Only if that changes and polls suggest Starmer wins a Labour majority will Boris be replaced by Sunak I think to save the Tory furniture
2 years still for the stink of corruption to be recognised by those who still like Boris.
It's highly likely that it's all downhill from here.
Cost of living crisis Tax increases Levelling up being revealed to be empty promises (Red Wall seats) Levelling up resulting in the South having to spend money (old Southern seats)
All 4 of those are now going to occur in the next 3 months and the result is an inevitable and slow dripping away of Tory support.
And note 3 and 4 are true at the same time, Boris has created a party whose supporters have 2 contradictory demands.
I don't think it's impossible that, with sufficient chutzpah, and a veneer of credibility, these issues can be reconciled and managed successfully.
1. Specific policy may be seen to address the energy crisis, and the inflation rate might peak soon and begin to decline. 2. The tax increases can be sold now as a necessary post-Covid investment in the NHS to address the backlog, and they create the fiscal headroom for the pre-election income tax cut. 3. For all that we debate government spending the things that will do most to create a sense of levelling up is growth in the regional economies, jobs, housing and people having money to spend. The economy isn't doing that badly. None of the rail schemes would have been finished in time to make a difference to the economy for the next election anyway. 4. The pre-election income tax cut might be enough to reassure wealthier Tories that the government is on the right track, and current high levels of taxation are in part a temporary Covid aberration.
The situation is certainly bad for the Tories now, and the window for recovery is narrowing, but I don't think it's yet irretrievable.
Whatever the reality, it is one of those things that can never be unheard.
It was gutter politics from Johnson, but effective gutter politics nonetheless.
I disagree. Yes, Johnson's Saville smear was gutter politics. But I don't think it was effective. It was a seriously wrong claim that is beyond the pale - not just to lefties like me, but to a lot of Tories as well. I think it may come back to haunt Johnson, and he will end up regretting it. He certainly won't double down on it.
The damage to Starmer's reputation is complete. Starmer's association with Saville may be a work of fiction, but throughout the morning press briefings that is all that is being talked about.
I was castigated yesterday for seeing it as a below the belt knock out blow from Johnson.
Think about it, they try and VONC him, and he survives and then he's either charged or fined, he'll try and brazen it out, safe in the knowledge the party cannot oust him for 12 months.
Better to wait until he's charged/fined.
The threshold to remove him keeps moving up for arbitrary reasons. It now seems to be that he be found to have committed a criminal offence.
Yes I noticed that too. Whereas until a few days ago it was about misleading (lying to) the House. Which he obviously did.
The problem is that the Conservative Party has to find somebody to replace him who will not plunge it into a costly civil war whilst at the same time appearing plausible to the public at large. It needs to buy time to arrange this. This is the only explanation for its delay in removing the oaf.
He's a goner, but what comes next is far from clear. If it goes badly for them, the Party could soon be replacing the LibDems as the third largest Party in Westminster.
The LDs will never win more seats than the Tories.
Only party that might is RefUK if they overtook the Tories as the main party of the right as Labour overtook the Liberals as the main party of the centre left early last century.
The LDs are now split between centre right Orange Bookers and centre left social democrats
You are describing the party 10 years ago. 11 of the party’s 13 MPs weren’t even in Parliament when The Orange Book came out.
Davey is LD leader and was a Cabinet Minister in Cameron's government and even helped write the Orange Book.
Boris of course never served in Cameron's Cabinet unlike Ed Davey
Indeed. But how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and social democrats?
Ed Davey is an Orange Booker, his opponent for LD leader in 2020 was Layla Moran, a social democrat
Okay, but again, how does that demonstrate your contention that the party is now split between Orange Bookers and Soical Democrats. That point just shows the affiliations of two leadership contenders.
As Orange Bookers are fiscal conservatives, social democrats are not. The LDs are divided between the 2 even if they are united on disliking Brexit and social liberalism
Thanks for the patronising evidence-free explanation. You specialise in lecturing me on institutions I am/ was a member of. I used to be a member of the Lib Dems, and remain with the Oxford Union. You have just repeated an assertion without providing any evidence.
Please provide evidence that the LD's are "split" between these two factions, something you have again failed to do.
Agree 100%. As a LD and in the Orange Book category I don't recognise the word 'split' whatsoever. In my decades in the party I can never recall it being discussed, there being any disputes, or anything along those lines. At the merger those in either camp worked very well together with generally very similar views on most things (those that didn't, didn't join) The overlaps are huge. If I had to give a distinction I would say that the Orange Bookers are more radical (liberal) and the Social Democrats more pragmatic in their ideas of achieving the same ends.
I wonder if Sir Ed Davey could make history?
The first person to serve as a cabinet minister under both a Conservative and Labour PM without being a member of either party.
Although no exact figures exist, it is known that a significant number of black people were detained in concentration camps and forced labour camps during the Nazi reign, and that many were murdered. Nonetheless, there seems to be little interest in Hitler’s black victims. Their plight is not talked about enough. This is partly because unlike Jews, Roma and Sinti, black people were not marked for destruction. But they were denied their human rights, sterilised, persecuted, experimented upon and murdered in camps.
Nazis were virulent racists. In 1935, after the enactment of the notorious Nuremberg racial laws, which designated black people as a minority with “alien blood”, many left Germany. Those who remained were isolated and suffered horrendous racial abuse. And while the exclusion of black children from public schools became official policy in 1941, it is a matter of record that they had long suffered racist abuse in their classrooms.
The Header clarifies things nicely. “The Rules” in pandemic parlance means the Law plus the Guidance. So whether the Met issues a blizzard of tickets or not, and whether Johnson gets one or not, he has without a shadow of a doubt lied to Parliament. Even the censored Report was enough to demonstrate that.
However, we have entered a new era where lying to Parliament is no longer a resigning or removal offence and lawmakers *can* be lawbreakers if they don’t understand the laws they’ve made or just consider them to be too tedious for words. It’s the Boris Johnson effect. Hard to view it as a positive but there we are.
Big picture, he survives this and now it’s down to the public. We have the polls and the May local elections for them to make their voice heard. Johnson will be replaced if Tory MPs know they face a thrashing at the general election if he isn’t. Until they reach this view I think he stays.
Or more accurately *unless* they reach this view – since they might never. In fact I make it close to a 50/50 chance that he survives to fight the election in 2024. Therefore I turn once more to my favourite market – Next PM – and the Starmer price. It should imo be around 5 but it’s almost 9.
Not sure it's about black lives, instead pinging David Baddiel: Jew's don't count.
What has the world come to?
No, it is about black lives. The obsession with BLM means that the concept of racism is now focussed almost entirely on black people, and white racism versus them, with the odd genuflection at Hispanics, or Native Americans, sometimes even Arabs or Asians. But 90% of the time, in the USA, it is ALL about black people
Which is how a clever person like Goldberg can end up saying something as offensively stupid as this
'Racism' is becoming increasingly insular. It is about 'my' group, and excludes other groups. Hence I'm black, and racism is only against blacks. I'm Jewish, and racism is only against Jews (*) I'm Asian, and racism is only against Asians.
It's sad that we'll losing the important message that should be. "Yes, I am minority (x). There is racism against us. But I also see racism against minorities (y), (z), etc." There is a heck of a lot of commonality in racism, whatever group it is targeted against, and these divisions make fighting racism much harder.
Racism against anyone: black, Asian, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Muslim, and yes, white, is often very similar. Combatting one part of it involves combatting all of it.
(*) Yes, I have seen this.
I agree with this I the context of Britain although there is a need for BLM in America and it does have clear policy aims such as more accountable policing and freeing non violent drug offenders.
Comments
Is giving the Ukranians anti tank missiles going to war?
Is training them how to use them with 100 personnel on the ground?
Would giving them satallite imagery or drone technology be going to war?
Would undeclared special forces giving "technical" assistance amount to war?
Declaring war is a frankly old fashioned concept. If the public were asked if they supported the steps I have suggested, most, possibly all, of which the government is already doing, you would get a different answer.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-jimmy-savile-s-close-friendship-with-margaret-thatcher-8432351.html
If the Russia sent all the soldiers massing on the Ukrainian border to the pub, Russia would be in no danger. Ukraine has no wish for bit of Russia. They have even, pretty much, given up on getting Crimea back.
#PoorDesdemona.
Very lawyerly !
To answer your questions - I think that most of the above can (and has been done) by countries claiming neutrality, *during* military conflicts.
South West
Lab 43%
Con 25%
LD 21%
Grn 5%
Ref 3%
oth 2%
"Whoopi Goldberg is facing a backlash after she said on a US talk show that the Holocaust "was not about race".
"The actress and television personality said on ABC's The View that the Nazi genocide of the Jews involved "two groups of white people"."
Only Black Lives Matter, people. Only Black Lives
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60209527
It is a constitutional flaw but we are not unique as the failure to impeach Trump for January 6th showed all too clearly.
From the latest data its:
England
Daily tests 1,045,718
Total tests 406,873,679
Scotland
Daily tests 13,608
Total tests 14,984,779
Wales
Daily tests 23,069
Total tests 8,165,759
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/testing?areaType=nation&areaName=England
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/testing?areaType=nation&areaName=Scotland
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/testing?areaType=nation&areaName=Wales
Don't know why this difference exists.
It was gutter politics from Johnson, but effective gutter politics nonetheless.
This form was filled in by someone lacking experience and wit.
Which translates as ‘Fuck me, a ten year old would have done better.’
I know I've suggested on here that Boris might bounce back - he is uniquely bouncy for a British politician - but - from the far distant perspective of the Laccadive Sea, in the Indian Ocean, this seems increasingly impossible
Or Truss. Why not Truss. She might be fun
FGS not Ben Wallace
Considering our last few expeditionary wars were fiascos, perhaps tackling the worlds third strongest military may not be wise.
We should perhaps address our elites love of Russian oligarchs and their money laundromat in London if we oppose Putinism.
I oppose Putins fascism, but start with the simple stuff including the Russian influence on our establishment.
The poverty is absolute, not relative. If you go on relative measures they'd probably have less than 97% in poverty since on relative measures it's almost impossible to have 97% 'relatively' impoverished.
My point was that the word poverty has been debased by referring to "smaller TVs" as poverty when what Afghanistan has is real poverty. But regrettably Afghanistan is no longer our responsibility.
As for the claim we "chose not to fight the Taliban", we fought them for twenty years. We spent twenty years trying to build Afghanistan and their police and army etc to be able to fight the Taliban and instead they just melted away.
The poverty in Afghanistan is terrible, it's also not our responsibility. We tried for two decades to take responsibility, they didn't want us. The people in the country chose to fight our soldiers etc for two decades and eventually we've left and they've got the Taliban now.
It's the Taliban's problem to deal with now, if they wanted our aid they should have fought the Taliban.
Can you name a recent British government that has done this? Been "grimly efficient but anonymous", that has had the "facless [sic] efficiency of a good waiter"?
I can't. They all seem to lurch from crisis to crisis, or, in retrospect, they were a disaster only we didn't realise it
I was about to say the first term of Blair's New Labour but then they brought in the insane, partisan Devolution Settlement which has strained the Union close to shattering, so fuck them
Before then? Maybe mid period Thatcher, from about 1985-1989? But of course many would utterly disagree
There really aren't many examples, at all
Secondly its rather facile to say the covid rates are lower in Scotland and Wales based on reported cases per 100,000, but the positivity suggests something else - England is testing more people generally and finding mor cases, but with a lower positivity.
So like a lot of stats its horses for courses. Scotland and Wales can say "we have lower cases per 100,000", and in England we can say "ah, but our positivity is lower".
And the only numbers that really matter are hospital patients, ICU and MV beds,
He should apologise publicly.
The UK is one of the main locations where Putin's enemies congregate.
Only if that changes and polls suggest Starmer wins a Labour majority will Boris be replaced by Sunak I think to save the Tory furniture
Some way to go until we reach protracted shambles, but I have every confidence in the ability of Tory MPs to make it that far.
His MP is Jonathan Gullis, one of the PM’s most steadfast public defenders of late
https://twitter.com/daveevans188/status/1488216798164094979
https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/01/tory-mps-now-have-no-excuse-not-to-remove-boris-johnson
And when you catch someone out on a whopper which they continue to deny you can ask, "And is that as true as the rest of your evidence, is it?"
It is always more complex than that.
In which case, we might as well have fun, amusing politics, AKA Boris Johnson. Tho even I now admit the laughter has faded, very badly
It's highly likely that it's all downhill from here.
Cost of living crisis
Tax increases
Levelling up being revealed to be empty promises (Red Wall seats)
Levelling up resulting in the South having to spend money (old Southern seats)
All 4 of those are now going to occur in the next 3 months and the result is an inevitable and slow dripping away of Tory support.
And note 3 and 4 are true at the same time, Boris has created a party whose supporters have 2 contradictory demands.
Please provide evidence that the LD's are "split" between these two factions, something you have again failed to do.
What has the world come to?
A touching book review - the book's author has dementia, and writes about how to enjoy life with it:
https://www.theguardian.com/.../what-i-wish-people-knew...
It's obviously not true of some people in advanced stages who are reduced to staring at the wall, unable to communicate at all. But from my experience with my father - who described his final years as the happiest in his life - I do see echoes.
Essentially his dementia came down to unreliable memory of a basic kind - he could never be sure that he would remember anything (e.g. the first sign was when he forgot what I did for a living - my mother instantly "He's a ballet dancer, he dances beautifully", which was so ridiculous that it made him laugh and broke the tension), but he was aware of his condition and most of the time he remembered everything around him. So he wouldn't go on walks alone in case he forgot the way home, practical measures like that. I think that's a bit, writ large, like the fact that I find I can't rely on remembering names - apparently this isn't a dementia symptom, happily, but something that gradually increases as one gets older - so the "name on the tip of one's tongue" becomes common.
Reducing the disease to its practical symptoms reduces the terror that most people feel about it. That has to be good.
My father died when he was 74. I'm 72 this week and have three jobs and a very uninhibited outlook, so with a bit of luck it's not as hereditary as some people fear. But if it eventually proves otherwise, I'll think back on this review (and, with luck, the book when I get it). I'm posting the comment here since perhaps others in our curious community of common interests will have related experiences and will find it helps.
It's a view, I suppose. Chamberlain in 1938 showed the issues with that - and whilst the parallels are imperfect, they are there.
I agree about tackling Russian influence in the UK - including in all political parties (cough)Portsmouth South(cough) - oh, but he was a Lib Dem, wasn't he? - but that'll do nothing about the evil Ukraine is directly facing.
Which is how a clever person like Goldberg can end up saying something as offensively stupid as this
"Underlining Hitler’s obsession with racial purity, by 1937 every identified mixed-race child in the Rhineland had been forcibly sterilised, in order to prevent further ‘race polluting’, as Hitler termed it."
https://www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/nazi-persecution/black-people/
But it was a clear Dead Cat, no doubt dreamt up by Lynton and it has worked. Everyone is now talking about the PM spreading fake news, rather than focusing on him being under criminal investigation for breaches of the law in his own private residence.
The Tory MPs should hang their heads in shame that they have allowed this to go on a single day longer.
The simple obvious fact that Orange Book LDs not only worked with the Tories from 2010 to 2015 in pursuing austerity and keeping tax down but even like Davey were Ministers in Cameron's government.
LDs like Moran however would only ever work with Labour and pursue more spending and increased tax on the rich.
They are ideologically apart on economics, only their dislike for Brexit and support for social
liberalism unites them.
Ed Davey is even economically right of Boris, let alone Moran and Starmer, even if both were anti Brexit
However, it seems that the Saville stuff failed at a much lower level than Starmer, and it sadly is the case that probably a lot of people who knew him, knew stuff, but kept quiet.
And for Johnson - the cover-up is what annoys me most of all. The lies to parliament - 'I am shocked' - Really - you were feckin there you tool. Yes the culture in No 10 is clearly part of the problem, but who sets that culture? Who comes into a group of people 'at work' with prosecco on the go and says well done, carry on?
Just seen this collection of videos of Mad Nad from last night. Was she pissed? or is she normally like that?
She's like Marjorie Taylor Green without the good looks or charm.
It's sad that we'll losing the important message that should be. "Yes, I am minority (x). There is racism against us. But I also see racism against minorities (y), (z), etc." There is a heck of a lot of commonality in racism, whatever group it is targeted against, and these divisions make fighting racism much harder.
Racism against anyone: black, Asian, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Muslim, and yes, white, is often very similar. Combatting one part of it involves combatting all of it.
(*) Yes, I have seen this.
BLM has always been a front for socialism and promoting the idea that the world is split into oppressors (white people and other "race traitors") and the oppressed (black people). It's a ridiculous movement that in 5 years no one will admit to supporting.
The main reason they didn't murder more black people was the lack of black people to murder, where they were.
*The Japanese militarists had one, and even write it down...
A unique, fascinating, historic city: Plymouth (I know others differ but come at it afresh and it is astonishing)
Lush pastoral landscapes
Endless lovely villages, with attending churches and stately homes
Big enough not to have been ruined by over-population (ditto roads and rails, tho it probably needs more rails)
Two distinct coastlines, the mild, succulent south, the bracing wild north
Two impressive moorland wildernesses
Thick woods, gorgeous beaches, excellent seafood, delightful pubs, and areas -like northwest Devon, and the higher Tamar valley - that seem almost entirely empty in a way inconceivable in mild southern England.
And it has mostly escaped the huge influx that now plagues Cornwall
They need to fix two major things: rebuild ugly redbrick Exeter exactly as it was before the Germans flattened it. Do something about the tattier coastal resorts, Teignmouth, Dawlish, etc
https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/1488444767352545281
However, we have entered a new era where lying to Parliament is no longer a resigning or removal offence and lawmakers *can* be lawbreakers if they don’t understand the laws they’ve made or just consider them to be too tedious for words. It’s the Boris Johnson effect. Hard to view it as a positive but there we are.
Big picture, he survives this and now it’s down to the public. We have the polls and the May local elections for them to make their voice heard. Johnson will be replaced if Tory MPs know they face a thrashing at the general election if he isn’t. Until they reach this view I think he stays.
Or more accurately *unless* they reach this view – since they might never. In fact I make it close to a 50/50 chance that he survives to fight the election in 2024. Therefore I turn once more to my favourite market – Next PM – and the Starmer price. It should imo be around 5 but it’s almost 9.
As to the general point - yes. There are some quite thick people who don't think a thing is real unless it happens to *them*. Since they are not, say, from Tibet, they have never experienced racism against people from there. Therefore it must not happen.
Haven’t bought Buckfast for three decades, but apparently Scottish retailers are no longer allowed to display the product. Strictly “under the counter“: you have to specifically ask a member of staff.
Disgusting stuff.
But those Cornish biscuits! OMG
Unfortunately we got a big bag of “Cornish Coffee” beans. I hadn’t realised climate change had got that bad.
Trudeau has been almost as polarising for Canada as Donald Trump has been for the US
Eric Kaufman" (£)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/31/justin-trudeaus-woke-agenda-tearing-canadian-society-apart/
About the nearest I've seen tbh.
1. Specific policy may be seen to address the energy crisis, and the inflation rate might peak soon and begin to decline.
2. The tax increases can be sold now as a necessary post-Covid investment in the NHS to address the backlog, and they create the fiscal headroom for the pre-election income tax cut.
3. For all that we debate government spending the things that will do most to create a sense of levelling up is growth in the regional economies, jobs, housing and people having money to spend. The economy isn't doing that badly. None of the rail schemes would have been finished in time to make a difference to the economy for the next election anyway.
4. The pre-election income tax cut might be enough to reassure wealthier Tories that the government is on the right track, and current high levels of taxation are in part a temporary Covid aberration.
The situation is certainly bad for the Tories now, and the window for recovery is narrowing, but I don't think it's yet irretrievable.
I was castigated yesterday for seeing it as a below the belt knock out blow from Johnson.
Evil, but effective. Lynton Crosby?
The first person to serve as a cabinet minister under both a Conservative and Labour PM without being a member of either party.
Perhaps she should read this piece in the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/27/black-people-were-hitlers-victims-too-that-must-not-be-forgotten
Although no exact figures exist, it is known that a significant number of black people were detained in concentration camps and forced labour camps during the Nazi reign, and that many were murdered. Nonetheless, there seems to be little interest in Hitler’s black victims. Their plight is not talked about enough. This is partly because unlike Jews, Roma and Sinti, black people were not marked for destruction. But they were denied their human rights, sterilised, persecuted, experimented upon and murdered in camps.
Nazis were virulent racists. In 1935, after the enactment of the notorious Nuremberg racial laws, which designated black people as a minority with “alien blood”, many left Germany. Those who remained were isolated and suffered horrendous racial abuse. And while the exclusion of black children from public schools became official policy in 1941, it is a matter of record that they had long suffered racist abuse in their classrooms.