Am intrigued we haven't heard the official Tory response yet. It's been nearly 3 hours since we've known this.
Apart from throwing out more dirt on Starmer.
But this puts them in a right bind.
I am NO WAY as confident as others here that SKS thinks he's in the clear. I think he may be falling on his sword to a) pile pressure on Johnson and b) propel Labour to victory at the next GE.
Very, very easy. The biggest medical exemption of all.
Ever tried testing yourself when wearing a mask?
1. Mask off and in pocket (or invisible in left hand, here) 2. swab 3. Hand swab to nice lady 4. Mask back on.
This is clearly stage 3 (eyes watering as well).
Indeed. Pretty hard to swab with mask on Technically possible to get mask on one-handed while holding sample in other hand (increased risk of contamination while faffing about). But certainly I never did that (we had a testing centre at uni quite early on, required for any office access).
Simple, lower the mask below the nose/mouth, take the test, put it back. All with one hand!
Doesn't work for the kind of disposable mask with loops over the ears.
Huh? Yes it does, in fact it's probably even easier with the disposable ones because the loops are stretchy. You can just pull it down below your chin.
Not in the ones I get from a specialist chemist firm and see in doctors etc.
Different kind of disposable mask, no doubt. I don't agree with you that it is impossible to do one-handed though.
I can assure you that that is the case. UNless you have a spare tentacle or three, or a prehensile tail to help. And can do it without banging the swab into the wall or table.
What?! I've done plenty of COVID tests with the chin strap mask position using the crappy blue masks from Amazon. It's easy. Lower mask over chin, take nasal swab, raise mask back above nostrils, give swab to test person through car window. It's really not difficult at all.
Once again, the reason this is an issue is because of all the stupid rules Starmer voted through, not because he slipped up. We all did from time to time. He presents this holier than thou image of being some kind of lockdown and rule abiding person but really he's as fallible as the rest of us. This wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't in favour of lockdowns, masks and social distancing. Honestly, if it were up to him I wouldn't be surprised to see some COVID measures come back.
Keir was consistently wrong on Covid. I don’t see why that justifies a witch-hunt against him.
The actual reason this story exists at all is that Boris was desperate to find something which would provoke voters into thinking “they’re all the same”.
Maybe it’s worked, I don’t know. But it’s a disgraceful spectacle.
It's because he was consistently wrong on COVID that he deserves everything coming to him. If he's mustered some ability to tell the government "no" his beer and curry wouldn't have potentially fallen foul of the ridiculous rules.
He opened pandora's box of COVID rules alongside Boris. He's in the special category of arsehole just the same where any minor infraction of the law or even guidance means it's a resigning issue. I've said plenty of times that Boris should have resigned once the party stuff came out, that the MPs should remove him, that his position is untenable, I quit the Tory party when Dom went for his joyride through Durham. I am very consistent on this position - those who make the rules can't break them. Keir Starmer voted in favour of the second lockdown, he voted in favour of the government extending it, he voted in favour of all the idiotic rules. All while there was enough opposition within Tory ranks to force the government to back down. He is as responsible for the lamentable state of affairs we had from February to May.
As I've said plenty of times today - the best outcome is Starmer being forced to resign and bringing Boris down with him. Neither are fit to be PM and clearly think the rules are for the little people. His tawdry actions today to try and force the Durham police into a corner of clearing him shows, once again, that he is unfit to be PM, it's a move worthy of Boris.
But he didn’t break the rules. I too want Keir gone, I don’t think he is up to it. But not on trumped up charges.
How do you know he didn't break the rules? I'm not even sure what the rules were. Beers and a curry with people from outside your household until late into the night doesn't sound as though it was allowed, though the specific rules were fairly vague at the time and not easy to understand.
You are very certain he didn't break the rules, why? Because he's said he didn't? Rishi said he didn't break the rules and he still got a FPN. Rishi, despite everything, doesn't strike me as a party animal or someone who would simply cover up his own known wrongdoing by lying about it. Just because Starmer doesn't think he broke the rules it doesn't necessarily mean he hasn't.
Obviously I’m not in a position to say Keir didn’t break any rules. Unlike some other posters, I don’t rifle through his rubbish bins.
I don’t really understand why Sunak (or even Boris) for an FPN for cake-gate. I assume we don’t know all the facts.
Regarding Durham, I always viewed it as working “curry” just like I’ve had to put on a hundred times for developers working late, and so I’ve never understood at all how it could be considered a breach under any reasonable test.
Keir will not receive an FPN. Keir will not resign.
Full credit tho, Boris has avoided an ouster. Sue Gray‘s report could find him overseeing a mass orgy of coke-snorting dwarves, and Tory MPs won’t summon up the courage to shift him.
This, despite appalling council elections too.
It’s been an absolute master class.
Some say Boris is a good campaigner, personally I don’t think he is; he spent the last election campaign refusing to do interviews and hiding in a fridge.
But he is a world-class operator. Maybe the best the country’s ever seen.
Is he? I just wonder whether it isn't a conspiracy where a cabal of lizard people see it very useful having a complete fuckwit in No10. Alternatively it could all just be very random. I think possibly the latter.
So, Starmer will resign if he’s fined but won’t resign if he’s found to have committed an offence but doesn’t get fined.
Can some of his supporters explain how that shows his ‘integrity’?
This isn't something that can happen in practice because, ultimately, it's the courts rather than the Police who find someone to have committed an offence.
In this sort of case, the Police can issue an FPN and the recipient can pay it. But all that is is the Police saying, "We're minded to prosecute you on the basis of that we have ample evidence we have against you and are pretty sure a court would convict, but you can save yourself and us time and money (and a criminal record for you) by paying a penalty". The receipient is perfectly entitled to then say "I won't pay and will take my chances in court" (or to put their hands up and pay - but it's their choice).
There really is no such thing as the Police "finding" someone has committed an offence but not issuing an FPN.
There was for Cummings.
No they didn't. They said he "may" have broken lockdown rules. They made no finding that he did break the rules and it would have been meaningless if they had as Cummings could quite properly have said, "well I didn't, and never had the chance to have the evidence weighed by an impartial court of law".
I don't wish to alarm PBers but OGH is currently on a short break, and I'm looking after PB for the next few days.
As I said earlier on
Sods law says SKS and Raynor are both going to get FPNs. Boris will then quickly announce a general election because if he doesn't do it now the situation ain't going to get any better for him...
I think people would regard it as not cricket to call a general election when the opposition didn't have a leader.
So? He is World King. The rules don't apply to him so if there is advantage to steal just do it.
Labour Rule Book 2022 says if both leader and deputy "unavailable" then NEC in consultation with Shadow Cabinet may appoint an interim leader until ballot.
That will be interesting. I suspect they shouldn't appoint anyone who is planning to run. So some elder statesman/woman? Marge Beckett once again?
Keir will not receive an FPN. Keir will not resign.
Full credit tho, Boris has avoided an ouster. Sue Gray‘s report could find him overseeing a mass orgy of coke-snorting dwarves, and Tory MPs won’t summon up the courage to shift him.
This, despite appalling council elections too.
It’s been an absolute master class.
Some say Boris is a good campaigner, personally I don’t think he is; he spent the last election campaign refusing to do interviews and hiding in a fridge.
But he is a world-class operator. Maybe the best the country’s ever seen.
Is he? I just wonder whether it isn't a conspiracy where a cabal of lizard people see it very useful having a complete fuckwit in No10. Alternatively it could all just be very random. I think possibly the latter.
I think if you add up
- the way the Met and Gray investigations played out
- the hit job on Sunak
- the witch-hunt on Starmer
Plus little things like the Saville smear…it adds up to someone with incredible understanding of how to use power to maintain power.
Today, in Moscow they had the Victory day parade, I've just seen that the 'Air' component, the Fly past was cancelled, Officially because of bad weather.
What do we think? is this the real reason? (sorry if this was discussed on last thread?)
3 possibility's spring to mind.
a) Maybe this was because of the weather but it does not seem to be that bad to me, occasional light rain, with intermittent clawed and low winds, not the best but still, that sounds flyable to me, and a non aviation person?
b) To many planes have been shot down/damaged/needed for operations.
c) The kremlin seeing possible defeat on the horizon has decided to play down the war and particular the whole Z thing, and the highlight of the fly-passed was going to be a big Z formation.
d) They were concerned of someone in the area with a Stinger or other MANPAD system. Shooting down a plane taking part in the parade on live TV would be very embarrassing.
e) They were concerned a pilot might accidentally lose control and fly into the VIP grandstand.
Keir will not receive an FPN. Keir will not resign.
Full credit tho, Boris has avoided an ouster. Sue Gray‘s report could find him overseeing a mass orgy of coke-snorting dwarves, and Tory MPs won’t summon up the courage to shift him.
This, despite appalling council elections too.
It’s been an absolute master class.
Some say Boris is a good campaigner, personally I don’t think he is; he spent the last election campaign refusing to do interviews and hiding in a fridge.
But he is a world-class operator. Maybe the best the country’s ever seen.
No chance. Tony Blair in his prime was far out of Boris's league.
Hmmm, this is just flat out dishonest from you, as is obvious to anyone who actually clicks on the link. Unless you are trying to make some kind of point about how easy it is to spread disinformation?
The level of dishonesty on here has actually shocked me.
I thought PB was reasonably above board. More fool me!
They'd take a pic of SKS patting a cute puppy on the head and claim that it was infallible evidence that "SKS had barbecued doggie indoors with 523 activists the night before the funeral of the DoE".
I have come to the conclusion that something ghastly happened to @williamglenn . He has turned from thoughtful, moderate, right of centre voice of reason to a ludicrous, frothing, right wing anti-EU zealot. I think his account details must have been hacked by SeanT
The potentially career-ending video of Keir Starmer drinking a beer in Durham was filmed by Ivo Delingpole, the student son of the Breitbart writer James Delingpole.
Delingpole, who graduated from the University of Durham last year, was at his student house in the city, close to a venue where the Labour leader held a political campaign event on 30 April 2021.
According to individuals with knowledge of the video’s creation, it was Delingpole who spotted the Labour leader through the window of Durham Miners Hall. Starmer was drinking with a team of campaigners eating a takeaway curry at a time when the country was still under partial lockdown and large indoor social gatherings were banned.
The short video was subsequently passed to the anti-lockdown activist Laurence Fox, who tweeted it out to his followers.
Mainstream media outlets largely ignored the footage for nine months, but as public fury over parties in Downing Street escalated over the winter the Daily Mail put the Starmer video on its front page in January and accused the Labour leader of hypocrisy.
Comments
But this puts them in a right bind.
I am NO WAY as confident as others here that SKS thinks he's in the clear. I think he may be falling on his sword to a) pile pressure on Johnson and b) propel Labour to victory at the next GE.
I don’t really understand why Sunak (or even Boris) for an FPN for cake-gate. I assume we don’t know all the facts.
Regarding Durham, I always viewed it as working “curry” just like I’ve had to put on a hundred times for developers working late, and so I’ve never understood at all how it could be considered a breach under any reasonable test.
New Thread. Unbelievably.
https://order-order.com/2022/05/09/starmer-copies-blairs-tactic-of-pressuring-police-to-make-right-conclusion/
I can see the point, but I would hope the police didn’t behave differently due to this.
- the way the Met and Gray investigations played out
- the hit job on Sunak
- the witch-hunt on Starmer
Plus little things like the Saville smear…it adds up to someone with incredible understanding of how to use power to maintain power.
e) They were concerned a pilot might accidentally lose control and fly into the VIP grandstand.
f) All of the above...
If he broke the law he should resign regardless of what the punishment is
The footage is what it is. It stands or falls on its own. The identity of the person holding the phone is irrelevant