If he's really stubborn he might resort to appointing non-MP loyalists to the Lords in order to give them junior ministerial jobs.
Even if he loses the leadership of the Conservative Party, might be try to stay on as PM, and dare Conservative MPs to vote against him in a Commons vote of No Confidence? With an implied general election and deselection for any MPs who vote against him?
To clarify my election talk - Boris can head to the palace before the confidence vote. If he loses a '22 vote and doesn't leave it's a different issue though. My guess is that Starmer would call a VONC and - unusual circs as they are it'd pass in the extreme circumstances Boris has then created.
Would Starmer do that? Or would he fancy his chances in the country against Boris.
To clarify my election talk - Boris can head to the palace before the confidence vote. If he loses a '22 vote and doesn't leave it's a different issue though. My guess is that Starmer would call a VONC and - unusual circs as they are it'd pass in the extreme circumstances Boris has then created.
If he had lost the 1922 committe vote, then his position as party leader will be have been vacated, and the party structure would organise the election of a replacement.
The ‘22 changing the rules would be a right mess.
The Tory MPs though, will see it as an internal party matter, and there would be 368 (?) votes against a formal VONC from Starmer.
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
Should add that this isn’t the first time this scenario has been suggested to me. The first time was a few months back by a former Tory MP, who said “It’ll take him losing an election, and maybe not even then.” https://twitter.com/mikeysmith/status/1544661951757926404
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
Sweden and Finland NATO accession ratification being fast-tracked through Parliament, before the recess.
Wonder how Magic Grandpa will vote...
Lammy says Labour will be supporting, as well as supporting the 2.5% target (up from 2%) of GDP on defence spending.
The few Russophiles still left in Parliament exposing themselves will be worth documenting. Yes, Magic Grandpa will be one of them.
No reversal of Brexit. No Single Market. No Customs Union. A boost to defence spending. The left are going to hate the next Labour Government quite quickly, and call them Tories aren’t they?
Giving the MoD more money is the same as burning it. Total waste. They should cut it to 1.5% and finally force some hard choices.
I find the attachment to a fixed percentage of GDP silly anyway. Do those in favour want to cut defence in a recession? I suspect not. As with anything, you decide what you want to achieve, check if you can afford it, and go from there. Like health, defence is a potential bottomless pit without a clear strategy.
Agree 100% work back from what you want. Meaningless increases in budget are no more than a bung to the defence industry (and not always the UK one).
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
If the arrangements are anything like my brother-in-law's holiday chalet, then he cannot use it for 12 months a year; there has to be a gap of a month. The site is closed and inaccessible! I'm not enthusiastic about what my brother-in-law does either! Loading up his car with food before leaving England rather than shopping at a Welsh supermarket isn't my idea of supporting the economy!
Sajid Javid struggled but the points he made re integrity were clear .
The 1922 committee need to act now a help rid the country of the Johnson virus .
I thought his speech all the more effective for lacking any rhetorical flourish; it came across as sincere.
Which is something no one has ever said of anything Boris has opined on.
He is a TERRIBLE speaker tho, and it does hinder his chances; which should matter to punters
Didn’t he do some awful Christmas vid where this lack of oratorical skill was painfully revealed?
Agreed; PM Saj is rather a stretch for my imaginative powers, too.
But like Howe's, it was a very effective speech from a person lacking in any rhetorical skills.
He is one of the bass guitarists of politics
You can be the bassist and blow the rest of the band off the stage. Not Saj mind.
- though this is perhaps not the most auspicious example as it was Kim Deal blowing the rest of the band off the stage which sort of led to the Pixies' acrimonious dissolution. (This is high in my mind right now having seen them at the Castlefield Bowl in Manchester last night. Wonderful night. Not Kim wasn't Kim but she Kimmed very well, and crucially didn't seem to irritate Charles with her mere presence. #middleagedmaninmoshpit #cautiouslyfavouringleftkneeafteroprtationonright)
Someone please offer him a seven figure book deal and a large advance, today.
Would prefer him to get forced out today and not receive any book deal and not end up with high pay. Arrogant bastard doesn’t deserve anything - he could have walked out preserving a reputation but he is just being an utter cock.
Well-placed source convinced Boris Johnson won’t quit, even if the 22 change the rules, and he loses a VONC.
Instead, he’ll claim he has a mandate from 14m voters, and will threaten to force an election - but not before deselecting everyone who voted against him.
This was more or less the scorched-earth strategy the PM employed during the 2018 Brexit crisis, which saw him withdraw the whip from 21 MPs who tried to stop him bringing the UK’s fragile constitution to its knees.
That said, he had a somewhat punchier team of advisors behind him at the time…
And others who know the PM well are telling me he’s “done.”
That would make for a fantastic constitutional crisis. He loses a VONC and is no longer the Prime Minister. He remains Prime Minister because that person does not have to be leader of a party or even an MP. He says "fuck you all" and asks the palace for a dissolution.
Question - how is such a request met? As he is no longer the leader of the governing party he is unlikely to command a majority either before or after an election. So his request surely would be invalid and thus ignored. The palace *might* treat such a request instead as a resignation and call an alternative PM - after all the governing party has a substantial majority.
No, his team may be blustering about such madcap japes, but they don't remotely work. At the point when he realises that he will walk. Not PM, not MP for Uxbridge. Not likely even in this country. Wonder if he will go to see his Russian friends?
An election would require the ratification of parliament wouldn't it? IF enough tories voted against it then there would not be an election.
At which point the Queen would want to know who could form a government and ask that person to do so. Clue. It would not be Johnson.
Can the Tory party get on with this please. Brady needs to change the rules tonight and get the vote done tomorrow.
I do wonder what has happened to the Tories. Say what you like about them, in years past they could always be relied upon efficiently and ruthlessly remove an unwanted PM.
These days, they make Labour look decisive.
Sir Graham Brady Old Lady needs to sort it out, PDQ.
That's a myth.
Agreed. It relied on the sitting leader playing ball and realising it was over. It was the unspoken rule if you lost about 30-35% of the MPs you quit, despite the written rules saying something else.
BOTH Labour and the Conservatives are now finding out that if you want 'unspoken' rules, you can't. You write them down as the proper rules.
Corbyn would've been binned in 2016 if Labour had proper leadership rules. Johnson would've been gone three weeks ago likewise.
Both rulebooks are not fit for purpose.
Except Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn and IDS for example were all elected leaders of Labour and the Tories despite the fact most of their party MPs did not vote for them, they won because of the votes of party members and supporters.
Once members got a vote in the party leadership then leaders could press on even with a significant minority of their MPs opposed to them in the Tories case or despite a majority of their MPs opposed to them in Labour's case (hence Corbyn survived)
The rules for election are not the same as saying an MP does not have confidence in the leader. A party does have to have a connect with the membership (I'd be pretty pissed off in the 1960s if as a Conservative member, there was no consulting me at all). But once elected, even those who didn't vote for the leader usually then say they are prepared to give the new leader a chance. At least at the start, they have confidence (or perhaps its fairer to say they don't have 'no confidence') in the leader. Look at Benn and Burnham. Prepared to serve in Corbyn's cabinet, at least initially, to give him a chance.
Johnson was elected by members yes, but there is an unspoken rule (hence the problem) that no more than about 30% of MPs will not have 'no confidence' in your ability to lead. It's not possible to run a serious Parliamentary party without that.
It's why Corbyn's shadow cabinet was such a shambles, with people doubling up positions, and promotion of people clearly not up to the job, or with only a few months Parliamentary experience (ref: Cat Smith.... and my own MP, Peter Dowd, both part of the May 2015 intake with the former in the Shadow Cabinet by October of that same year!).
It's also why Johnson can't continue. We know 41% (plus all the latest resignations) have no confidence in Johnson. If that isn't yet 50%, its so close to it that he cannot continue.
Labour should lay down a Parliamentary VONC. If Starmer really WAS thinking about the good of the country, he'd do that, and make clear to the 'rebels' that he wouldn't ask for GE, merely getting rid of the current government. I suspect if he did that, the Rebels would vote with the opposition and Johnson would be forced out.
Someone please offer him a seven figure book deal and a large advance, today.
Would prefer him to get forced out today and not receive any book deal and not end up with high pay. Arrogant bastard doesn’t deserve anything - he could have walked out preserving a reputation but he is just being an utter cock.
Actually, have we unwittingly uncovered the truth in our two posts? He’s doing all this to create a gripping ending to the book.
Well-placed source convinced Boris Johnson won’t quit, even if the 22 change the rules, and he loses a VONC.
Instead, he’ll claim he has a mandate from 14m voters, and will threaten to force an election - but not before deselecting everyone who voted against him.
This was more or less the scorched-earth strategy the PM employed during the 2018 Brexit crisis, which saw him withdraw the whip from 21 MPs who tried to stop him bringing the UK’s fragile constitution to its knees.
That said, he had a somewhat punchier team of advisors behind him at the time…
And others who know the PM well are telling me he’s “done.”
That would make for a fantastic constitutional crisis. He loses a VONC and is no longer the Prime Minister. He remains Prime Minister because that person does not have to be leader of a party or even an MP. He says "fuck you all" and asks the palace for a dissolution.
Question - how is such a request met? As he is no longer the leader of the governing party he is unlikely to command a majority either before or after an election. So his request surely would be invalid and thus ignored. The palace *might* treat such a request instead as a resignation and call an alternative PM - after all the governing party has a substantial majority.
No, his team may be blustering about such madcap japes, but they don't remotely work. At the point when he realises that he will walk. Not PM, not MP for Uxbridge. Not likely even in this country. Wonder if he will go to see his Russian friends?
We established that he can't get back his American citizenship?
I am going away for a while but I feel compelled to point out that it is not a soft cock flounce. I am going to Cairo to do an Arabic teaching course. You will be untroubled by photos of my breakfast from Umm al-Dunya.
Well-placed source convinced Boris Johnson won’t quit, even if the 22 change the rules, and he loses a VONC.
Instead, he’ll claim he has a mandate from 14m voters, and will threaten to force an election - but not before deselecting everyone who voted against him.
This was more or less the scorched-earth strategy the PM employed during the 2018 Brexit crisis, which saw him withdraw the whip from 21 MPs who tried to stop him bringing the UK’s fragile constitution to its knees.
That said, he had a somewhat punchier team of advisors behind him at the time…
And others who know the PM well are telling me he’s “done.”
That would make for a fantastic constitutional crisis. He loses a VONC and is no longer the Prime Minister. He remains Prime Minister because that person does not have to be leader of a party or even an MP. He says "fuck you all" and asks the palace for a dissolution.
Question - how is such a request met? As he is no longer the leader of the governing party he is unlikely to command a majority either before or after an election. So his request surely would be invalid and thus ignored. The palace *might* treat such a request instead as a resignation and call an alternative PM - after all the governing party has a substantial majority.
No, his team may be blustering about such madcap japes, but they don't remotely work. At the point when he realises that he will walk. Not PM, not MP for Uxbridge. Not likely even in this country. Wonder if he will go to see his Russian friends?
It would be difficult, from a practical point of view, to carry on having lost the confidence of the house but I believe the PM is the person who is best placed to command the confidence of the house. If there is no one better to command that confidence, then BJ could remain PM until the House emphatically declares it does not have confidence in him.
It’s weird how DALL-E hasn’t *quite* mastered eyes and noses - yet. I suspect this is a lagging glitch from its former constraint - don’t use faces
Hair colours totally wrong for Betty and Barny. Fail.
The actual Flintstone's content there is very low. Outfits, jewellery, hairstyles on the ladies are totally different. I'm not 'knocking' the technology; it's interesting. But I think I'm missing something. It just runs through hundreds of thousands of stock images on a database and finesses them into a single image using the command - is that right? That's impressive but not an unexpected or radical development surely?
It does seem to be a key element of how it works. Where they talk about 'training data', that's all the world's art and photography libraries (one assumes) that has been run through it. Don't get me wrong; it's very clever, just not imo extremely radical.
Dalle-2 can be recreated by any moderately capable programmer, if given massive amounts of free computer time.
1. Take existing image recognition library 2. Lazily parse input text ("oil painting", "Homer Simpson" etc) 3. Start with 100 randomly generated images 4. Score those 100 against your input text (of course you'll get 0.0000001 for "oil painting" in even your best random image). Choose the best 10. 5. Randomly transform each of those 10 in 10 different ways so they don't move too much between images. 6. Keep scoring and keep randomly changing the images until you get to 0.73 on "oil painting" and 0.82 on "Homer Simpson"
I'm tempted to do it myself, just to prove there is no magic involved.
Yep - nothing new there at all Kevin Kelly covered it in Out of Control back in 1995 so it's been around since at least 1990 albeit randomly editing 10 pictures in 10 different ways would have taken a week back then.
So what? I imagine human consciousness went through some pretty primitive phases before getting where we are now, in fact "nothing new there at all" might be evolution's motto. Explaining something is not the same as explaining it away
Yes, I was thinking the exact same thing. At each stage of evolution some nerd could have said, in a nasal voice, “So what, it’s only got three cells”, or “so what, it’s just a fish”, or “so what, it still shits in the woods, lol” right up to “so what, anyone can write a play in blank verse”
Yet you’ve gone from yeast to William Shakespeare
I think the point is that some people (mentioning no names) want to ascribe the same value to the new tech as to the works of Shakespeare (or Van Gogh; whatever). Which is totally wrong: it looks similar, but in fact it's just mindless mimicry. Technologically impressive, and the implications on society are potentially vast, but it's not "thinking" in any real sense, because it isn't qualitatively different to "dumb" tech that already exists; just more powerful.
So, it doesn't mean we're on the verge of creating a race of sentient beings. Which I think is the undercurrent of the commentary from those who seek to overstate the achievement.
You’re missing the point, too, with all due respect
What if “sentience” is just…. mimicry. What if intelligence is just autocomplete (like GPT3)? In this light, we are machines reacting to stimuli, Free Will is an illusion, so we are much closer to these computers than we realise
Put it differently: we like to believe we are unique talented beings, with some divine spark of Whatever, therefore we are insulted when a “dumb” machine appears to do what we, and only we, can do. Create, imagine, paint, write, dream, sing, and make others laugh
And yet what if it turns out the algorithms for this are really quite simple? And you just need a massive data set? Bit of a bummer for human self regard, but there we go
Mr. Tubbs, some time ago people elsewhere that I frequented guessed my age. Ranged from 20s to 60s with most being around 30-40. I was 18 at the time.
To be fair, you must see how you can come across as stuck in your ways (for example, your perplexing refusal to use the quote function even though you must know that it hinders discussion).
I cherish that particular idiosyncrasy as one of the site's quirks. In the old days, Morris also used to refuse to use the convention of referring to the number of the comment your reply pertained to. It makes life more difficult, yes, but why must we always strive towards ease and conformity?
We don't need to, but we should avoid intentionally making things more difficult.
He isn't intentionally making things more difficult. The rest of us are intentionally making things easier; Morris is rather gloriously making a one man stand in maintaining his own particular tradition. I don't know when this goes from a cause of irritation to celebration but I'd suggest 18 years is well past that point.
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
If the arrangements are anything like my brother-in-law's holiday chalet, then he cannot use it for 12 months a year; there has to be a gap of a month. The site is closed and inaccessible! I'm not enthusiastic about what my brother-in-law does either! Loading up his car with food before leaving England rather than shopping at a Welsh supermarket isn't my idea of supporting the economy!
Its used by some as a council tax fiddle. They close for month, so you only there for 48 weeks of the year and people use a relatives address for various things, thus you claim you can't and don't live there full time.
Imminent decision on coal mine in Cumbria. Suffice to say the Green lobbyists are up in arms at the thought.
Time to ignore these nutters and just do what we need to. Steel is an important industry (now) so we need to protect it and let the crackpots howl into the wind.
The big question now is whether the Torys have to end their run of "worst prime minister" at only 3. I reckon they could make it to 4 - certainly if they go for Priti or Nadine.
To clarify my election talk - Boris can head to the palace before the confidence vote. If he loses a '22 vote and doesn't leave it's a different issue though. My guess is that Starmer would call a VONC and - unusual circs as they are it'd pass in the extreme circumstances Boris has then created.
Tories would need a new PM to rally around, to propose to HM the Q and prevent a general election. Which is the fun bit....
After voting "no confidence" in him, Damien Moore wanted to give PM time to regain trust. Now feels "nothing has been learnt from past mistakes, I have sadly concluded that nor does there seem to have been an intention to do so"
No it isn't. Wind turbines have to be manufactured (from steel?), using a lot of dirty, carbon belching processes, then shipped over (probably) from their country of manufacture, then installed, then at the end of their life, decommissioned. Leaving carbon aside (not the only measure of green) they also have an impact on fauna (bird life) and the landscape. So it's nowhere near that simple.
Predominantly steel but a fair bit of Resin/Plastic too. The Just Stop Oil Loons seem to forget oil also produces products other than much needed fossil fuels.
Of course Wind Energy is 100% green., the wind blows and energy is extracted from it. Producing the wind turbines isn't, but then neither is getting the oil out of the ground and transporting it across the world in supertankers (affecting wildlife when they spill) or pipelines and refining it. Then moving it around the country in tankers.
@correcthorsebattery – I’d suggest what would do you good right now is not a ban from here but a spell with real people in real life.
Humans are pretty good at getting along with each other in person. We’ve thousands of years of practice at it. We communicate in all sorts of ways, many of which predate language. We seek out agreement (and so traditionally, in areas where we may find disagreement, like politics and religion, we traditionally trod very carefully). When someone in real life presents a controversial opinion which others do not agree with, more often than not disagreement will be cautious, or, more likely, the subject will be gradually steered to safer territory; the presenter of the controversial opinion may not even be aware others do not agree with him. But we are pretty bad at getting on with each other online, where we do not have the filters and assistance of non-verbal communication, and tend to seek out disagreement. Some people relish this sort of thing; you, I suspect, like me, do not. You prefer to find areas of agreement to areas of disagreement, but are in an environment where people will cheerfully and aggressively disagree in a way which they would not in real life. This can give the impression that there is more that we disagree on than that we agree on, which is bad for the mental health – though in really, there is far more in the world that we can agree on, or at least not mind about disagreeing on. Have a brief spell with real people in real life and remind yourself how agreeable the real world can be! And come back refreshed.
Sweden and Finland NATO accession ratification being fast-tracked through Parliament, before the recess.
Wonder how Magic Grandpa will vote...
Lammy says Labour will be supporting, as well as supporting the 2.5% target (up from 2%) of GDP on defence spending.
The few Russophiles still left in Parliament exposing themselves will be worth documenting. Yes, Magic Grandpa will be one of them.
No reversal of Brexit. No Single Market. No Customs Union. A boost to defence spending. The left are going to hate the next Labour Government quite quickly, and call them Tories aren’t they?
Giving the MoD more money is the same as burning it. Total waste. They should cut it to 1.5% and finally force some hard choices.
I find the attachment to a fixed percentage of GDP silly anyway. Do those in favour want to cut defence in a recession? I suspect not. As with anything, you decide what you want to achieve, check if you can afford it, and go from there. Like health, defence is a potential bottomless pit without a clear strategy.
What needs to happen now, is a move from innovation to production.
There’s an imminent threat, and we need to see increased manufacturing of current-generation weapons, and get them on the ground in Ukraine.
LOL, Corbyn on his feet in the Commons, asking why we’re not trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Imminent decision on coal mine in Cumbria. Suffice to say the Green lobbyists are up in arms at the thought.
Time to ignore these nutters and just do what we need to. Steel is an important industry (now) so we need to protect it and let the crackpots howl into the wind.
NEW: pound drops beneath $1.19 vs US dollar for the first time since March 2020.
BUT before anyone tries to attribute this to ongoing UK political chaos, this latest fall looks more like a story of dollar strength than sterling weakness. Still: we’re heading for v v low levels… https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1544663569207377920/photo/1
I am going away for a while but I feel compelled to point out that it is not a soft cock flounce. I am going to Cairo to do an Arabic teaching course. You will be untroubled by photos of my breakfast from Umm al-Dunya.
Have fun! If we hear of any camels being taken for a joyride, we'll know who's behind the mischief ...
Imminent decision on coal mine in Cumbria. Suffice to say the Green lobbyists are up in arms at the thought.
Time to ignore these nutters and just do what we need to. Steel is an important industry (now) so we need to protect it and let the crackpots howl into the wind.
And steam trains.
+2 - the only source of suitable coal at the moment is Russia - so we really have no choice but to open that mine if we want to manufacture steel in the UK
NEW: pound drops beneath $1.19 vs US dollar for the first time since March 2020.
BUT before anyone tries to attribute this to ongoing UK political chaos, this latest fall looks more like a story of dollar strength than sterling weakness. Still: we’re heading for v v low levels… https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1544663569207377920/photo/1
NEW: pound drops beneath $1.19 vs US dollar for the first time since March 2020.
BUT before anyone tries to attribute this to ongoing UK political chaos, this latest fall looks more like a story of dollar strength than sterling weakness. Still: we’re heading for v v low levels… https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1544663569207377920/photo/1
USD / Euro is basically parity now, lowest for 20 years.
Sweden and Finland NATO accession ratification being fast-tracked through Parliament, before the recess.
Wonder how Magic Grandpa will vote...
Lammy says Labour will be supporting, as well as supporting the 2.5% target (up from 2%) of GDP on defence spending.
The few Russophiles still left in Parliament exposing themselves will be worth documenting. Yes, Magic Grandpa will be one of them.
No reversal of Brexit. No Single Market. No Customs Union. A boost to defence spending. The left are going to hate the next Labour Government quite quickly, and call them Tories aren’t they?
Giving the MoD more money is the same as burning it. Total waste. They should cut it to 1.5% and finally force some hard choices.
I find the attachment to a fixed percentage of GDP silly anyway. Do those in favour want to cut defence in a recession? I suspect not. As with anything, you decide what you want to achieve, check if you can afford it, and go from there. Like health, defence is a potential bottomless pit without a clear strategy.
What needs to happen now, is a move from innovation to production.
There’s an imminent threat, and we need to see increased manufacturing of current-generation weapons, and get them on the ground in Ukraine.
LOL, Corbyn on his feet in the Commons, asking why we’re not trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
I am going away for a while but I feel compelled to point out that it is not a soft cock flounce. I am going to Cairo to do an Arabic teaching course. You will be untroubled by photos of my breakfast from Umm al-Dunya.
You have my sympathies - not because of the course, which I'm sure is excellent, but because I'm learning Arabic and it is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. Tied with learning about conic sections at school, anyway.
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
If the arrangements are anything like my brother-in-law's holiday chalet, then he cannot use it for 12 months a year; there has to be a gap of a month. The site is closed and inaccessible! I'm not enthusiastic about what my brother-in-law does either! Loading up his car with food before leaving England rather than shopping at a Welsh supermarket isn't my idea of supporting the economy!
Its used by some as a council tax fiddle. They close for month, so you only there for 48 weeks of the year and people use a relatives address for various things, thus you claim you can't and don't live there full time.
It's not just a council tax fiddle, it's a planning one as well...
He said something like "I'm not going to defend the indefensible". While defending Boris Johnson.
He made the awful mistake of giving an evasive non answer at least twice on the subject of whether Boris tells him the truth, before coming out with a strangulated 'Yes' followed by more waffly qualification.
I can just about comprehend those like him who have stuck with their current job, though clearly wrong, but the kiss of death surrounding those who have taken a new job, like the new CoE, must be final and absolute. What can they be thinking?
I am going away for a while but I feel compelled to point out that it is not a soft cock flounce. I am going to Cairo to do an Arabic teaching course. You will be untroubled by photos of my breakfast from Umm al-Dunya.
I am going away for a while but I feel compelled to point out that it is not a soft cock flounce. I am going to Cairo to do an Arabic teaching course. You will be untroubled by photos of my breakfast from Umm al-Dunya.
You are teaching Arabic to the Cairenes? Impressive!
Might say you are going out to shepherd the Egyptians . . . save they sadly burnt down Shepheard's Hotel years ago.
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
If the arrangements are anything like my brother-in-law's holiday chalet, then he cannot use it for 12 months a year; there has to be a gap of a month. The site is closed and inaccessible! I'm not enthusiastic about what my brother-in-law does either! Loading up his car with food before leaving England rather than shopping at a Welsh supermarket isn't my idea of supporting the economy!
Its used by some as a council tax fiddle. They close for month, so you only there for 48 weeks of the year and people use a relatives address for various things, thus you claim you can't and don't live there full time.
Can easily believe that; in fairness to brother-in-law he does have a house elsewhere and lives there some 30% of the year
I am going away for a while but I feel compelled to point out that it is not a soft cock flounce. I am going to Cairo to do an Arabic teaching course. You will be untroubled by photos of my breakfast from Umm al-Dunya.
Have fun! Though I understand they have the internet in Cairo so you may be able to maintain your presence.
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
If the arrangements are anything like my brother-in-law's holiday chalet, then he cannot use it for 12 months a year; there has to be a gap of a month. The site is closed and inaccessible! I'm not enthusiastic about what my brother-in-law does either! Loading up his car with food before leaving England rather than shopping at a Welsh supermarket isn't my idea of supporting the economy!
Its used by some as a council tax fiddle. They close for month, so you only there for 48 weeks of the year and people use a relatives address for various things, thus you claim you can't and don't live there full time.
Can easily believe that; in fairness to brother-in-law he does have a house elsewhere and lives there some 30% of the year
You would have thought Drake the Snake would be keen to close such loopholes and get more revenue in......
Sweden and Finland NATO accession ratification being fast-tracked through Parliament, before the recess.
Wonder how Magic Grandpa will vote...
Lammy says Labour will be supporting, as well as supporting the 2.5% target (up from 2%) of GDP on defence spending.
The few Russophiles still left in Parliament exposing themselves will be worth documenting. Yes, Magic Grandpa will be one of them.
No reversal of Brexit. No Single Market. No Customs Union. A boost to defence spending. The left are going to hate the next Labour Government quite quickly, and call them Tories aren’t they?
Giving the MoD more money is the same as burning it. Total waste. They should cut it to 1.5% and finally force some hard choices.
I find the attachment to a fixed percentage of GDP silly anyway. Do those in favour want to cut defence in a recession? I suspect not. As with anything, you decide what you want to achieve, check if you can afford it, and go from there. Like health, defence is a potential bottomless pit without a clear strategy.
What needs to happen now, is a move from innovation to production.
There’s an imminent threat, and we need to see increased manufacturing of current-generation weapons, and get them on the ground in Ukraine.
LOL, Corbyn on his feet in the Commons, asking why we’re not trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Really? I'd love to hear what he's said.
Parliamentlive.tv. Go to the House of Commons session, and the video comes up. Rewind to 13:21.
(Yes, it’s “I condemn the invasion, but shouldn’t we just let them keep what they stole?”)
No it isn't. Wind turbines have to be manufactured (from steel?), using a lot of dirty, carbon belching processes, then shipped over (probably) from their country of manufacture, then installed, then at the end of their life, decommissioned. Leaving carbon aside (not the only measure of green) they also have an impact on fauna (bird life) and the landscape. So it's nowhere near that simple.
Predominantly steel but a fair bit of Resin/Plastic too. The Just Stop Oil Loons seem to forget oil also produces products other than much needed fossil fuels.
Of course Wind Energy is 100% green., the wind blows and energy is extracted from it. Producing the wind turbines isn't, but then neither is getting the oil out of the ground and transporting it across the world in supertankers (affecting wildlife when they spill) or pipelines and refining it. Then moving it around the country in tankers.
Nobody has argued that the accompanying processes of oil are environmentally friendly; that doesn't make those accompanying wind power any better.
Sweden and Finland NATO accession ratification being fast-tracked through Parliament, before the recess.
Wonder how Magic Grandpa will vote...
Lammy says Labour will be supporting, as well as supporting the 2.5% target (up from 2%) of GDP on defence spending.
The few Russophiles still left in Parliament exposing themselves will be worth documenting. Yes, Magic Grandpa will be one of them.
No reversal of Brexit. No Single Market. No Customs Union. A boost to defence spending. The left are going to hate the next Labour Government quite quickly, and call them Tories aren’t they?
Giving the MoD more money is the same as burning it. Total waste. They should cut it to 1.5% and finally force some hard choices.
I find the attachment to a fixed percentage of GDP silly anyway. Do those in favour want to cut defence in a recession? I suspect not. As with anything, you decide what you want to achieve, check if you can afford it, and go from there. Like health, defence is a potential bottomless pit without a clear strategy.
What needs to happen now, is a move from innovation to production.
There’s an imminent threat, and we need to see increased manufacturing of current-generation weapons, and get them on the ground in Ukraine.
LOL, Corbyn on his feet in the Commons, asking why we’re not trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Really? I'd love to hear what he's said.
Parliamentlive.tv. Go to the House of Commons session, and the video comes up. Rewind to 13:21.
Probably also on YouTube by now. In fact, already is
Robert Jenrick declares no confidence - the third of the ambitious ministers who backed Boris campaign in 2019, along with Sunak and Dowden - helping to propel him to the leadership
I am going away for a while but I feel compelled to point out that it is not a soft cock flounce. I am going to Cairo to do an Arabic teaching course. You will be untroubled by photos of my breakfast from Umm al-Dunya.
Bon voyage, young Dura. Your acerbic wit and occasional wisdom with be much missed.
Sweden and Finland NATO accession ratification being fast-tracked through Parliament, before the recess.
Wonder how Magic Grandpa will vote...
Lammy says Labour will be supporting, as well as supporting the 2.5% target (up from 2%) of GDP on defence spending.
The few Russophiles still left in Parliament exposing themselves will be worth documenting. Yes, Magic Grandpa will be one of them.
No reversal of Brexit. No Single Market. No Customs Union. A boost to defence spending. The left are going to hate the next Labour Government quite quickly, and call them Tories aren’t they?
Giving the MoD more money is the same as burning it. Total waste. They should cut it to 1.5% and finally force some hard choices.
I find the attachment to a fixed percentage of GDP silly anyway. Do those in favour want to cut defence in a recession? I suspect not. As with anything, you decide what you want to achieve, check if you can afford it, and go from there. Like health, defence is a potential bottomless pit without a clear strategy.
What needs to happen now, is a move from innovation to production.
There’s an imminent threat, and we need to see increased manufacturing of current-generation weapons, and get them on the ground in Ukraine.
LOL, Corbyn on his feet in the Commons, asking why we’re not trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Really? I'd love to hear what he's said.
Parliamentlive.tv. Go to the House of Commons session, and the video comes up. Rewind to 13:21.
Thanks. I've just listened to that. He's clueless. Or that's giving him the benefit of the doubt: he's intelligent enough to know that what he's calling for is all to Russia's advantage, and not Ukraine's.
The big question now is whether the Torys have to end their run of "worst prime minister" at only 3. I reckon they could make it to 4 - certainly if they go for Priti or Nadine.
I was reminiscing with something approaching fondness the quiet dignity of Theresa May earlier today. Theresa May earns her place in the pantheon of ‘worst PMs of my life’ for one reason and one reason alone: the failure to win a majority against Jeremy Corbyn. Every failure of hers stemmed from that. I’d suggest almost anyone would have struggled as much as she did from 2017 onwards, and most would have struggled more. And her failure to win against Jeremy Corbyn was the result of many factors, but I’d suggest a big one was the Dementia Tax, which was a notable attempt to introduce an actual solution to the problem of adult social care which wasn’t either a) just putting it off, or b) extracting yet more from the working age population. It may not have been popular, but no-one’s yet made any better ideas work. So I retain some sympathy for her.
The Welsh First Minister leading the crackdown on second homes has a Pembrokeshire holiday 'chalet' that will be exempt from his Government's new higher tax charges.
Mark Drakeford has admitted to owning a holiday ‘chalet’ just as the Welsh Government launched a crackdown on second homes and holiday lets.
If the arrangements are anything like my brother-in-law's holiday chalet, then he cannot use it for 12 months a year; there has to be a gap of a month. The site is closed and inaccessible! I'm not enthusiastic about what my brother-in-law does either! Loading up his car with food before leaving England rather than shopping at a Welsh supermarket isn't my idea of supporting the economy!
Its used by some as a council tax fiddle. They close for month, so you only there for 48 weeks of the year and people use a relatives address for various things, thus you claim you can't and don't live there full time.
Can easily believe that; in fairness to brother-in-law he does have a house elsewhere and lives there some 30% of the year
You would have thought Drake the Snake would be keen to close such loopholes and get more revenue in......
As your gather in-laws and I don't see eye to eye over the situation! However, admittedly somewhat hypocritically, the Cole's have stayed there
Well-placed source convinced Boris Johnson won’t quit, even if the 22 change the rules, and he loses a VONC.
Instead, he’ll claim he has a mandate from 14m voters, and will threaten to force an election - but not before deselecting everyone who voted against him.
This was more or less the scorched-earth strategy the PM employed during the 2018 Brexit crisis, which saw him withdraw the whip from 21 MPs who tried to stop him bringing the UK’s fragile constitution to its knees.
That said, he had a somewhat punchier team of advisors behind him at the time…
And others who know the PM well are telling me he’s “done.”
NEW: pound drops beneath $1.19 vs US dollar for the first time since March 2020.
BUT before anyone tries to attribute this to ongoing UK political chaos, this latest fall looks more like a story of dollar strength than sterling weakness. Still: we’re heading for v v low levels… https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1544663569207377920/photo/1
Pound is currently up against the Euro. So, Dollar strong, Euro weak is the current state of play.
Once the Euro has fallen below parity with the Dollar the currency speculators will start looking for another target.
Sweden and Finland NATO accession ratification being fast-tracked through Parliament, before the recess.
Wonder how Magic Grandpa will vote...
Lammy says Labour will be supporting, as well as supporting the 2.5% target (up from 2%) of GDP on defence spending.
The few Russophiles still left in Parliament exposing themselves will be worth documenting. Yes, Magic Grandpa will be one of them.
No reversal of Brexit. No Single Market. No Customs Union. A boost to defence spending. The left are going to hate the next Labour Government quite quickly, and call them Tories aren’t they?
Giving the MoD more money is the same as burning it. Total waste. They should cut it to 1.5% and finally force some hard choices.
I find the attachment to a fixed percentage of GDP silly anyway. Do those in favour want to cut defence in a recession? I suspect not. As with anything, you decide what you want to achieve, check if you can afford it, and go from there. Like health, defence is a potential bottomless pit without a clear strategy.
What needs to happen now, is a move from innovation to production.
There’s an imminent threat, and we need to see increased manufacturing of current-generation weapons, and get them on the ground in Ukraine.
LOL, Corbyn on his feet in the Commons, asking why we’re not trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Really? I'd love to hear what he's said.
Parliamentlive.tv. Go to the House of Commons session, and the video comes up. Rewind to 13:21.
Thanks. I've just listened to that. He's clueless. Or that's giving him the benefit of the doubt: he's intelligent enough to know that what he's calling for is all to Russia's advantage, and not Ukraine's.
Yes, it’s “I condemn the invasion, but shouldn’t we just let them keep what they stole?”
I always regarded Peter Bone as a bit dim, but watching his current interview, "Bonehead" would be a better surname...
BTW - he is lauding the extra £5 per week in tax cuts because means that voters will be rejoicing and angels will be singing Hosananas as they spend it all in one shop...
Sweden and Finland NATO accession ratification being fast-tracked through Parliament, before the recess.
Wonder how Magic Grandpa will vote...
Lammy says Labour will be supporting, as well as supporting the 2.5% target (up from 2%) of GDP on defence spending.
The few Russophiles still left in Parliament exposing themselves will be worth documenting. Yes, Magic Grandpa will be one of them.
No reversal of Brexit. No Single Market. No Customs Union. A boost to defence spending. The left are going to hate the next Labour Government quite quickly, and call them Tories aren’t they?
Giving the MoD more money is the same as burning it. Total waste. They should cut it to 1.5% and finally force some hard choices.
I find the attachment to a fixed percentage of GDP silly anyway. Do those in favour want to cut defence in a recession? I suspect not. As with anything, you decide what you want to achieve, check if you can afford it, and go from there. Like health, defence is a potential bottomless pit without a clear strategy.
What needs to happen now, is a move from innovation to production.
There’s an imminent threat, and we need to see increased manufacturing of current-generation weapons, and get them on the ground in Ukraine.
LOL, Corbyn on his feet in the Commons, asking why we’re not trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Really? I'd love to hear what he's said.
Parliamentlive.tv. Go to the House of Commons session, and the video comes up. Rewind to 13:21.
Thanks. I've just listened to that. He's clueless. Or that's giving him the benefit of the doubt: he's intelligent enough to know that what he's calling for is all to Russia's advantage, and not Ukraine's.
Yes, it’s “I condemn the invasion, but shouldn’t we just let them keep what they stole?”
"And let's forget they took Crimea eight years ago, and invaded from there."
Well-placed source convinced Boris Johnson won’t quit, even if the 22 change the rules, and he loses a VONC.
Instead, he’ll claim he has a mandate from 14m voters, and will threaten to force an election - but not before deselecting everyone who voted against him.
This was more or less the scorched-earth strategy the PM employed during the 2018 Brexit crisis, which saw him withdraw the whip from 21 MPs who tried to stop him bringing the UK’s fragile constitution to its knees.
That said, he had a somewhat punchier team of advisors behind him at the time…
And others who know the PM well are telling me he’s “done.”
All you need is Gove. Will He get there before old lady Brady? Gone gone gone. It is done.
It was Othello yesterday. Macbeth today.
"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well / It were done quickly."
FFS. Get on with it.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace till the last syllable of recorded time. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out! Out! Brief candle
The big question now is whether the Torys have to end their run of "worst prime minister" at only 3. I reckon they could make it to 4 - certainly if they go for Priti or Nadine.
I was reminiscing with something approaching fondness the quiet dignity of Theresa May earlier today. Theresa May earns her place in the pantheon of ‘worst PMs of my life’ for one reason and one reason alone: the failure to win a majority against Jeremy Corbyn. Every failure of hers stemmed from that. I’d suggest almost anyone would have struggled as much as she did from 2017 onwards, and most would have struggled more. And her failure to win against Jeremy Corbyn was the result of many factors, but I’d suggest a big one was the Dementia Tax, which was a notable attempt to introduce an actual solution to the problem of adult social care which wasn’t either a) just putting it off, or b) extracting yet more from the working age population. It may not have been popular, but no-one’s yet made any better ideas work. So I retain some sympathy for her.
She was totally right, but bought the issue up suddenly in an election campaign, with the worst possible background and no prior kite-flying. It was immeditely disparaged and she never recovered.
Comments
If he's really stubborn he might resort to appointing non-MP loyalists to the Lords in order to give them junior ministerial jobs.
Even if he loses the leadership of the Conservative Party, might be try to stay on as PM, and dare Conservative MPs to vote against him in a Commons vote of No Confidence? With an implied general election and deselection for any MPs who vote against him?
I'm wondering how far he's going to push things.
The 32 is going to be reached today. And that's just named people.
The ‘22 changing the rules would be a right mess.
The Tory MPs though, will see it as an internal party matter, and there would be 368 (?) votes against a formal VONC from Starmer.
https://twitter.com/mikeysmith/status/1544661951757926404
I'm not enthusiastic about what my brother-in-law does either! Loading up his car with food before leaving England rather than shopping at a Welsh supermarket isn't my idea of supporting the economy!
- though this is perhaps not the most auspicious example as it was Kim Deal blowing the rest of the band off the stage which sort of led to the Pixies' acrimonious dissolution.
(This is high in my mind right now having seen them at the Castlefield Bowl in Manchester last night. Wonderful night. Not Kim wasn't Kim but she Kimmed very well, and crucially didn't seem to irritate Charles with her mere presence. #middleagedmaninmoshpit #cautiouslyfavouringleftkneeafteroprtationonright)
At which point the Queen would want to know who could form a government and ask that person to do so. Clue. It would not be Johnson.
BTW, did you know you are still eligible to serve another term - perhaps YOU could save the GOP!
A party does have to have a connect with the membership (I'd be pretty pissed off in the 1960s if as a Conservative member, there was no consulting me at all).
But once elected, even those who didn't vote for the leader usually then say they are prepared to give the new leader a chance. At least at the start, they have confidence (or perhaps its fairer to say they don't have 'no confidence') in the leader. Look at Benn and Burnham. Prepared to serve in Corbyn's cabinet, at least initially, to give him a chance.
Johnson was elected by members yes, but there is an unspoken rule (hence the problem) that no more than about 30% of MPs will not have 'no confidence' in your ability to lead.
It's not possible to run a serious Parliamentary party without that.
It's why Corbyn's shadow cabinet was such a shambles, with people doubling up positions, and promotion of people clearly not up to the job, or with only a few months Parliamentary experience (ref: Cat Smith.... and my own MP, Peter Dowd, both part of the May 2015 intake with the former in the Shadow Cabinet by October of that same year!).
It's also why Johnson can't continue. We know 41% (plus all the latest resignations) have no confidence in Johnson. If that isn't yet 50%, its so close to it that he cannot continue.
Labour should lay down a Parliamentary VONC. If Starmer really WAS thinking about the good of the country, he'd do that, and make clear to the 'rebels' that he wouldn't ask for GE, merely getting rid of the current government. I suspect if he did that, the Rebels would vote with the opposition and Johnson would be forced out.
@LordCFalconer
The Solicitor-General leaves. The Attorney-General and the Lord Chancellor stay. Feeds the idea that most lawyers have no principles…
The Mind is Flat: The Illusion of Mental Depth and The Improvised Mind
Imminent decision on coal mine in Cumbria. Suffice to say the Green lobbyists are up in arms at the thought.
Time to ignore these nutters and just do what we need to. Steel is an important industry (now) so we need to protect it and let the crackpots howl into the wind.
After voting "no confidence" in him, Damien Moore wanted to give PM time to regain trust. Now feels "nothing has been learnt from past mistakes, I have sadly concluded that nor does there seem to have been an intention to do so"
Producing the wind turbines isn't, but then neither is getting the oil out of the ground and transporting it across the world in supertankers (affecting wildlife when they spill) or pipelines and refining it. Then moving it around the country in tankers.
There’s an imminent threat, and we need to see increased manufacturing of current-generation weapons, and get them on the ground in Ukraine.
LOL, Corbyn on his feet in the Commons, asking why we’re not trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
NEW: pound drops beneath $1.19 vs US dollar for the first time since March 2020.
BUT before anyone tries to attribute this to ongoing UK political chaos, this latest fall looks more like a story of dollar strength than sterling weakness.
Still: we’re heading for v v low levels… https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/1544663569207377920/photo/1
If he does it he could lead a delegation of cabinet ministers (tho plenty wouldn’t take part)
https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1544663947747495939
I can just about comprehend those like him who have stuck with their current job, though clearly wrong, but the kiss of death surrounding those who have taken a new job, like the new CoE, must be final and absolute. What can they be thinking?
Might say you are going out to shepherd the Egyptians . . . save they sadly burnt down Shepheard's Hotel years ago.
Gotta say this week he has pretty much won me round (more of less accepting Brexit, supporting NATO expansion and totally eviscerating Johnson)
Labour for me at next available opportunity I think - Tories need a period in opposition to sort themselves out.
Though I understand they have the internet in Cairo so you may be able to maintain your presence.
I reckon Boris makes a good Nero, but the video is let down by the fact that it doesn't transfer the hair.
Go to the House of Commons session, and the video comes up. Rewind to 13:21.
(Yes, it’s “I condemn the invasion, but shouldn’t we just let them keep what they stole?”)
Should NOT be long before he's giving his sage counsel to Big Dog in HIS time of need.
Overrated.
Gone gone gone.
It is done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVyUMjcnNvQ
https://www.facebook.com/RobertJenrickNewark
Theresa May earns her place in the pantheon of ‘worst PMs of my life’ for one reason and one reason alone: the failure to win a majority against Jeremy Corbyn. Every failure of hers stemmed from that. I’d suggest almost anyone would have struggled as much as she did from 2017 onwards, and most would have struggled more.
And her failure to win against Jeremy Corbyn was the result of many factors, but I’d suggest a big one was the Dementia Tax, which was a notable attempt to introduce an actual solution to the problem of adult social care which wasn’t either a) just putting it off, or b) extracting yet more from the working age population. It may not have been popular, but no-one’s yet made any better ideas work.
So I retain some sympathy for her.
Macbeth today.
"If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well / It were done quickly."
FFS. Get on with it.
Once the Euro has fallen below parity with the Dollar the currency speculators will start looking for another target.
1922 meeting at 4pm is intended to be a discussion about changing rules to allow 2nd confidence vote, with decision taken at later meeting. But poss it could all move fast.
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1544666463776161794
BTW - he is lauding the extra £5 per week in tax cuts because means that voters will be rejoicing and angels will be singing Hosananas as they spend it all in one shop...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62001426
I killed 54 people ..