So anything less than 85% for the Tory tomorrow, is ipso facto a shortfall/setback for Boris Johnson?
Or moral defeat if you prefer . . . as I do.
I had another search for information on one of the candidates in the election tomorrow, that I wasn't able to find previously, and I found this, which reads:
"Message from Olga Childs - 21 January 2022:
As many have noticed, I have not campaigned in the Southend West by-election, despite having made plans to do so. I thank, and apologise to, those who helped me put forward my nomination, and were prepared to help me canvass and run events. Unfortunately, due to unexpected concerns related to my health, I will not be able to share my message in this campaign. Although it is too late to remove my name from the ballot, I ask that you treat it as if it were never there."
I wonder how many votes they will receive, regardless. Having an entirely blank canvas to vote for could be appealing.
For non-UK followers, who may be puzzled and trying to decode what they just read, this is not some euphemism, metaphorical flourish or quaint English phrase.
For non-UK followers, who may be puzzled and trying to decode what they just read, this is not some euphemism, metaphorical flourish or quaint English phrase.
The only question is now will he lose with the dignity of Donald Trump?
Seriously, isn't it (sadly) most likely that Johnson faces a VoNC but narrowly wins it, and stumbles on for another year?
His buddy JRM used to claim to believe that not winning a VONC by enough meant you were required to quit. While he would no doubt reverse on that, calamity has a way of piling on top of calamity, which might render him unsafe notwithstanding the current rules about a further challenge. Corbyn was safe after the challenge against him failed, even when people were literally fleeing the party none dared take him on again, but as we saw with May if things get even worse, not better, after a challenge, even the stubborn may run out road.
For non-UK followers, who may be puzzled and trying to decode what they just read, this is not some euphemism, metaphorical flourish or quaint English phrase.
The more I hear the new intake of Conservative MPs, the more impressed I am.
They sound genuinely non-ideological and primarily interested in helping their area and their constituents. It's a pity they owe their position to Johnsonian populism but I suspect many now realise he needs them far more than they need him.
Southend West. I said 65/30 was the lowest possible I see for a Con win, but I'm going:
Con 71 / UKIP 21 / Others 8
Bold. The highest anyone but Labour got in the Batley and Spen 2016 election was 4.8%. My gut, based on nothing, says if anyone but the Tories get over 10%, that's a pretty crappy result for the Blues.
The only question is now will he lose with the dignity of Donald Trump?
Seriously, isn't it (sadly) most likely that Johnson faces a VoNC but narrowly wins it, and stumbles on for another year?
Was Theresa May safe for a year after her VOC?
Also, if he wins and is subsequently charged by the rozzers or fined then he's out in that 12 month window.
(I honestly think he won't survived being questioned under caution.)
I hope you're right...
Even though it would increase the prospects for a Tory defeat in GE24 if Johnson stayed, and a Tory defeat is what I want to see, it would be best for the country if he went right away.
Southend West. I said 65/30 was the lowest possible I see for a Con win, but I'm going:
Con 71 / UKIP 21 / Others 8
That's quite plausible albeit probably still at the high end for UKIP. On a 15,000 turnout that would be a 7,500 Con majority with UKIP on just over 3,000.
The more I hear the new intake of Conservative MPs, the more impressed I am.
They sound genuinely non-ideological and primarily interested in helping their area and their constituents. It's a pity they owe their position to Johnsonian populism but I suspect many now realise he needs them far more than they need him.
There is an interesting potential, where a party might take a set of positions for pretty cynical reasons, or a Leader goes down a path for reasons of pure advantage only, and then seeks to pivot, only to find that the people elected on that basis genuinely believed what the leadership may have merely paid lip service to.
The only question is now will he lose with the dignity of Donald Trump?
Seriously, isn't it (sadly) most likely that Johnson faces a VoNC but narrowly wins it, and stumbles on for another year?
Was Theresa May safe for a year after her VOC?
Also, if he wins and is subsequently charged by the rozzers or fined then he's out in that 12 month window.
(I honestly think he won't survived being questioned under caution.)
May resigned, Boris won't
Sure, but everyone thinks they won't resign until they do. Think of all the people who agree to some humilating statement that they are standing down rather than accept the dignity of admitting they were sacked.
I suspect Boris won't resign, but rules can be changed if he refuses, and do we know for certain he is that stubborn, more so than May? The woman who remained Prime Minister for over half a year despite having essentially zero control over her legislative programme? Who repeatedly called public statements to tell us nothing had changed?
BREAKING: New Zealand says international border will gradually reopen from February 27, with a full reopening by October
Only have to wait until October to visit.....what's the betting they open a bit, get a spike and they reverse /delay this decision.
Does that mean people in NZ can leave this month but can’t go back until October?
I take all of @Gardenwalker ’s points about Jacinda OPT but this is getting beyond ridiculous now. I haven’t seen my mate for three years. He is imprisoned on the North Island!
It'll be fascinating to see what happens to the Tory polling numbers when these energy bills start dropping.
A large fraction of the population has little or no interest in the news, and will only realise that home fuel inflation has just hit 50% when payment is actually demanded of them.
I'm completely confident that whatever Sunak is going to announce tomorrow will defray only a modest fraction of the expense for most households, and will be entirely inadequate to the task of saving poor people from having to choose between buying the cheapest, nastiest available loaf of bread in Tesco, or slightly warming up one room by switching on a small portable heater for an hour in the evening.
BREAKING: New Zealand says international border will gradually reopen from February 27, with a full reopening by October
Only have to wait until October to visit.....what's the betting they open a bit, get a spike and they reverse /delay this decision.
Does that mean people in NZ can leave this month but can’t go back until October?
I take all of @Gardenwalker ’s points about Jacinda OPT but this is getting beyond ridiculous now. I haven’t seen my mate for three years. He is imprisoned on the North Island!
I am guessing the opposite, that gradual reopen for NZ citizens first then wider world.
Newsnight says the engine cap announcement by the regulator which is now tomorrow and will be the big news has been brought forward by a week at request by Downing Street.
The more I hear the new intake of Conservative MPs, the more impressed I am.
They sound genuinely non-ideological and primarily interested in helping their area and their constituents. It's a pity they owe their position to Johnsonian populism but I suspect many now realise he needs them far more than they need him.
Why haven't they got their letters in to the 1922? Very difficult to feel anything other than massively depressed at the state of the Conservative party right now.
There could be other feelings - rage for instance.
Newsnight says the engine cap announcement by the regulator which is now tomorrow and will be the big news has been brought forward by a week at request by Downing Street.
What's Keith's plan? Windfall taxes on business and more regulation, and?
Currently to not be Johnson. It’s working...
I have said this for years, there seems to be a huge lack of any real thinking in politics. Labour "big" policy so far is a rehash of the mid 90s i.e. whack a big windfall tax on an industry.
The more I hear the new intake of Conservative MPs, the more impressed I am.
They sound genuinely non-ideological and primarily interested in helping their area and their constituents. It's a pity they owe their position to Johnsonian populism but I suspect many now realise he needs them far more than they need him.
Why haven't they got their letters in to the 1922? Very difficult to feel anything other than massively depressed at the state of the Conservative party right now.
No, plenty to be happy about.
They will get a pasting in May, a shellacking at the 2023 locals and at the 2024 GE the Party will be pounded like a dockside hooker who has asked @TSE for a pizza with pineapple on it while listening to Radiohead during a Liverpool match.
The CT rebate will be mildly popular, but what a dog’s breakfast. Just binning the Jobs Tax would make more sense, perhaps with VAT relief on energy bills. It’s almost as if Sunak is contorting himself to avoid adopting Labour policies.
What's Keith's plan? Windfall taxes on business and more regulation, and?
Currently to not be Johnson. It’s working...
Indeed. And Labour have until 2024.
The last thing they want is to be in power during a cost of living crisis compounded by rising taxes, increased interest rates, and collapsing exports.
BREAKING: New Zealand says international border will gradually reopen from February 27, with a full reopening by October
Only have to wait until October to visit.....what's the betting they open a bit, get a spike and they reverse /delay this decision.
Does that mean people in NZ can leave this month but can’t go back until October?
I take all of @Gardenwalker ’s points about Jacinda OPT but this is getting beyond ridiculous now. I haven’t seen my mate for three years. He is imprisoned on the North Island!
In fact, most UK residents will be able to get to NZ in July - for a nice winter visit.
It's nuts that he only has 21 followers, when any old councillor can get a few hundred. His blogs aren't frequent but they're among the best political blogs on the internet.
The only question is now will he lose with the dignity of Donald Trump?
Depends how desperate he is for cash / a redemption arc afterwards.
Will he follow Nads into the Jungle?
I mentioned on here last week that somebody who knows the PM quite well will see any ousting as his Dardanelles moment.
He'll be kicked out but the country will want him back in a few years.
The way he is playing the Ukraine crisis he might see it as his moment on the backbenches fighting appeasement moment.
After the Dardanelles, wasn't the next step sending tanks to Scotland to suppress the workers then gassing the kurds?. A short spell cutting the Navy then returning to the Gold Standard at a rate causing mass unemployment?
We have a few more disasters to come before Johnson is revealed to be the saviour of us all...
BREAKING: New Zealand says international border will gradually reopen from February 27, with a full reopening by October
Only have to wait until October to visit.....what's the betting they open a bit, get a spike and they reverse /delay this decision.
Does that mean people in NZ can leave this month but can’t go back until October?
I take all of @Gardenwalker ’s points about Jacinda OPT but this is getting beyond ridiculous now. I haven’t seen my mate for three years. He is imprisoned on the North Island!
In fact, most UK residents will be able to get to NZ in July - for a nice winter visit.
BREAKING: New Zealand says international border will gradually reopen from February 27, with a full reopening by October
Only have to wait until October to visit.....what's the betting they open a bit, get a spike and they reverse /delay this decision.
Does that mean people in NZ can leave this month but can’t go back until October?
I take all of @Gardenwalker ’s points about Jacinda OPT but this is getting beyond ridiculous now. I haven’t seen my mate for three years. He is imprisoned on the North Island!
I am guessing the opposite, that gradual reopen for NZ citizens first then wider world.
What does a ‘gradual reopen’ look like in practice? Can you leave, or not? Can you visit, or not? Do you have to spend ten days at Jacinda’s pleasure, or not?
It's nuts that he only has 21 followers, when any old councillor can get a few hundred. His blogs aren't frequent but they're among the best political blogs on the internet.
It's nuts that he only has 21 followers, when any old councillor can get a few hundred. His blogs aren't frequent but they're among the best political blogs on the internet.
Newsnight says the engine cap announcement by the regulator which is now tomorrow and will be the big news has been brought forward by a week at request by Downing Street.
The isolation period for COVID-19 cases in the community is at least 14 days, including 72 hours symptom-free.
Your household members will need to remain in isolation for at least 10 days after you have been released as a case. This means they will need to be in isolation for longer than you.
The isolation period for COVID-19 cases in the community is at least 14 days, including 72 hours symptom-free.
Your household members will need to remain in isolation for at least 10 days after you have been released as a case. This means they will need to be in isolation for longer than you.
It’s batshit.
So the person who has covid is isolated for around half the time of the person who does NOT have covid? Am I reading this correctly?
The isolation period for COVID-19 cases in the community is at least 14 days, including 72 hours symptom-free.
Your household members will need to remain in isolation for at least 10 days after you have been released as a case. This means they will need to be in isolation for longer than you.
It’s batshit.
So the person who has covid is isolated for around half the time of the person who does NOT have covid? Am I reading this correctly?
The isolation period for COVID-19 cases in the community is at least 14 days, including 72 hours symptom-free.
Your household members will need to remain in isolation for at least 10 days after you have been released as a case. This means they will need to be in isolation for longer than you.
It’s batshit.
So the person who has covid is isolated for around half the time of the person who does NOT have covid? Am I reading this correctly?
Yes! It’s fucking mental.
Oh.
That is indeed absolutely crackers.
Arguably the most batshit crazy covid policy I have encountered from any Western government!
Also reminiscent of a joke from 'People Like Us': "Cheshire - sometimes described as the Surrey of the North* - apart from by people from Sussex - for whom the Surrey of the North is Surrey."
*This particular Cestrian does not endorse that view.
BREAKING: New Zealand says international border will gradually reopen from February 27, with a full reopening by October
Only have to wait until October to visit.....what's the betting they open a bit, get a spike and they reverse /delay this decision.
Does that mean people in NZ can leave this month but can’t go back until October?
I take all of @Gardenwalker ’s points about Jacinda OPT but this is getting beyond ridiculous now. I haven’t seen my mate for three years. He is imprisoned on the North Island!
In fact, most UK residents will be able to get to NZ in July - for a nice winter visit.
What's Keith's plan? Windfall taxes on business and more regulation, and?
Currently to not be Johnson. It’s working...
I have said this for years, there seems to be a huge lack of any real thinking in politics. Labour "big" policy so far is a rehash of the mid 90s i.e. whack a big windfall tax on an industry.
Because ultimately the policy that makes the most sense is a major rebalancing of taxation away from incomes and investment and towards static, dead assets (i.e. mainly houses.) Land value taxes coupled with very substantial death duties.
Labour has clearly concluded that there are too many asset rich/cash poor elderly, and too many expectant heirs waiting for Mum and Dad to kick the bucket and gift them a hugely valuable house, in the electorate for this to fly. So we stumble on, desperately scrambling around for ways to raise the gargantuan sums of money needed to care for a population that grows fatter, older and more knackered with every passing year, without whacking wages and company profits so bloody hard that the economy tanks.
This is a situation that lends itself to an attitude of delay, obfuscation, tinkering round the edges and allowing most of the country to rot away, gradually but inexorably, for lack of funds. Which is pretty much where we find ourselves.
Newsnight says the engine cap announcement by the regulator which is now tomorrow and will be the big news has been brought forward by a week at request by Downing Street.
Can't think why.
But Rishi gets the headlines, not the Big Dick
Sounds like he is getting his very own 5pm presser.
What better time to announce that his 50-odd supporters have put in letters?
BREAKING: New Zealand says international border will gradually reopen from February 27, with a full reopening by October
Only have to wait until October to visit.....what's the betting they open a bit, get a spike and they reverse /delay this decision.
Does that mean people in NZ can leave this month but can’t go back until October?
I take all of @Gardenwalker ’s points about Jacinda OPT but this is getting beyond ridiculous now. I haven’t seen my mate for three years. He is imprisoned on the North Island!
In fact, most UK residents will be able to get to NZ in July - for a nice winter visit.
Comments
Get those fcking letters in.
Or moral defeat if you prefer . . . as I do.
They floated the idea yesterday
“There was such a ballot but I won it….”
“There was such a ballot but you will have to wait for Sue Gray to investigate who actually won it….”
"Message from Olga Childs - 21 January 2022:
As many have noticed, I have not campaigned in the Southend West by-election, despite having made plans to do so. I thank, and apologise to, those who helped me put forward my nomination, and were prepared to help me canvass and run events. Unfortunately, due to unexpected concerns related to my health, I will not be able to share my message in this campaign. Although it is too late to remove my name from the ballot, I ask that you treat it as if it were never there."
I wonder how many votes they will receive, regardless. Having an entirely blank canvas to vote for could be appealing.
Will he follow Nads into the Jungle?
https://twitter.com/AaronBell4NUL/status/1488764157080096772
https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1488943557394247683
For non-UK followers, who may be puzzled and trying to decode what they just read, this is not some euphemism, metaphorical flourish or quaint English phrase.
She actually ate ostrich arsehole, live on TV. https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1488944625184247811
A generous number of Tories are disgusted with the Boris, but the majority just want to cling on to nursey for fear of something Trussey.
He'll be kicked out but the country will want him back in a few years.
The way he is playing the Ukraine crisis he might see it as his moment on the backbenches fighting appeasement moment.
“And with us in the studio is Nadine Dorries, Culture Secretary and ostrich arsehole eater.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10469891/After-Pork-Pie-Plot-Cream-Tea-Coup-Downing-Street-fears-new-plan-oust-Boris-Johnson.html
He laid bare the debate about Boris Johnson many Tory MPs are having now.
Anthony submitted his letter of no confidence moments before we met.
@ChoppersPodcast
@AnthonyMangnal1 https://twitter.com/christopherhope/status/1488998778619236354/photo/1
Letters pray.
Also, if he wins and is subsequently charged by the rozzers or fined then he's out in that 12 month window.
(I honestly think he won't survived being questioned under caution.)
Con 71 / UKIP 21 / Others 8
"And with us now, the Prime Minister, sacked twice for telling lies, is it about to be 3 times? Welcome."
Imagine trying to take over with that much brused ego on the backbenches.
(This isn't to say that someone, anyone, shouldn't try, for the sake of party and country. But it has "hospital pass" written all over it.)
Only have to wait until October to visit.....what's the betting they open a bit, get a spike and they reverse /delay this decision.
The more I hear the new intake of Conservative MPs, the more impressed I am.
They sound genuinely non-ideological and primarily interested in helping their area and their constituents. It's a pity they owe their position to Johnsonian populism but I suspect many now realise he needs them far more than they need him.
Millions to get council tax rebate to help limit impact of rising energy bills on poorer households
Sunak to announce rebates for households in bands A to C, funded by Govt grants
Households in Band A will get biggest rebates
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/598daade-8468-11ec-b939-57ea9f594ba1?shareToken=2baf5d83f361fba8f41fbd85755ee96c
Even though it would increase the prospects for a Tory defeat in GE24 if Johnson stayed, and a Tory defeat is what I want to see, it would be best for the country if he went right away.
* Council tax rebates worth hundreds of pounds for poorest households
* Energy bill rebates for all that will be clawed back in subsequent years
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/598daade-8468-11ec-b939-57ea9f594ba1?shareToken=2baf5d83f361fba8f41fbd85755ee96c
(I can't read the paywalled report)
I suspect Boris won't resign, but rules can be changed if he refuses, and do we know for certain he is that stubborn, more so than May? The woman who remained Prime Minister for over half a year despite having essentially zero control over her legislative programme? Who repeatedly called public statements to tell us nothing had changed?
He would prefer to war chest for tax cut pre-GE 2024 when he is leader, but a few £ now will have to be spent.
Keith was right...
Tomorrow’s choreography:
11am Ofgem announces bills to rise by 50% to £2000
1100 Sunak announces Govt interventions in Commons
1200 BoE interest rate announcement + inflation forecast
1700 Sunak presser
I take all of @Gardenwalker ’s points about Jacinda OPT but this is getting beyond ridiculous now. I haven’t seen my mate for three years. He is imprisoned on the North Island!
A large fraction of the population has little or no interest in the news, and will only realise that home fuel inflation has just hit 50% when payment is actually demanded of them.
I'm completely confident that whatever Sunak is going to announce tomorrow will defray only a modest fraction of the expense for most households, and will be entirely inadequate to the task of saving poor people from having to choose between buying the cheapest, nastiest available loaf of bread in Tesco, or slightly warming up one room by switching on a small portable heater for an hour in the evening.
We savers have been persecuted for over a decade.
(Would this mean Cardiff/Edinburgh/Belfast receiving a wodge of money and then up to them what they do with it?)
Turnout ~20%
Banks pass on 0.001% to savers.
Golly. What are you going to spend it all on?
Can't think why.
I was raised by a mother who viewed debt as the eighth deadliest sin, only acceptable debt was a mortgage.
I needed to save 25% of my salary and always have 2 years worth of salary as cash in hand.
They will get a pasting in May, a shellacking at the 2023 locals and at the 2024 GE the Party will be pounded like a dockside hooker who has asked @TSE for a pizza with pineapple on it while listening to Radiohead during a Liverpool match.
Probably too many in-jokes there.
The last thing they want is to be in power during a cost of living crisis compounded by rising taxes, increased interest rates, and collapsing exports.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300509477/covid19-nz-border-reopening-to-begin-from-late-february-to-proceed-in-five-stages
https://alastair-meeks.medium.com/every-conservative-mps-position-on-boris-johnson-and-the-parties-in-number-10-bc4f5f77032f
It's nuts that he only has 21 followers, when any old councillor can get a few hundred. His blogs aren't frequent but they're among the best political blogs on the internet.
We have a few more disasters to come before Johnson is revealed to be the saviour of us all...
NZ:
It surely cannot be true that a positive test gets 10 days in the cooler, but being a household contact of a positive test gets 24 days?
Eh?
Did I read that correctly?
Well done @AlastairMeeks - come back soon we miss you!
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-public/advice-people-covid-19
The isolation period for COVID-19 cases in the community is at least 14 days, including 72 hours symptom-free.
Your household members will need to remain in isolation for at least 10 days after you have been released as a case. This means they will need to be in isolation for longer than you.
It’s batshit.
It’s fucking mental.
That is indeed absolutely crackers.
Arguably the most batshit crazy covid policy I have encountered from any Western government!
*This particular Cestrian does not endorse that view.
Labour has clearly concluded that there are too many asset rich/cash poor elderly, and too many expectant heirs waiting for Mum and Dad to kick the bucket and gift them a hugely valuable house, in the electorate for this to fly. So we stumble on, desperately scrambling around for ways to raise the gargantuan sums of money needed to care for a population that grows fatter, older and more knackered with every passing year, without whacking wages and company profits so bloody hard that the economy tanks.
This is a situation that lends itself to an attitude of delay, obfuscation, tinkering round the edges and allowing most of the country to rot away, gradually but inexorably, for lack of funds. Which is pretty much where we find ourselves.
What better time to announce that his 50-odd supporters have put in letters?
"One more thing..."