Louise Mensch is taking the Ben Wallace decision badly.
"Louise Mensch 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @LouiseMensch Replying to @BWallaceMP Ben, duty calls. There is absolutely nobody better for this job than you, and moreover there is nobody who will do it nearly as well, I really hope you will change your mind you are by far and away the most likely person to win and you would be easily the best at the job. 12:57 PM · Jul 9, 2022"
Terrible news, he was the only candidate who could have united the party.
My preference is now for Tugendhat
What will you do when he eventually backs Rishi
He won't and after today's Telegraph article that Sunak refuses to cut taxes, Truss, Mordaunt, Braverman, even Hunt as well as Tugendhat will all fancy their chances as that will go down like a lead balloon with the party membership and many Tory MPs
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
It is noticeable that the so-called progressive party hasn't even come close to electing anything that a white male leader.
And we are already starting to hear that Wes is an exceptional talent ... so maybe the next leader may have to be another white guy
Quite unlikely, I think the party and/or Beer Korma are clearly setting up the contest to be between a range of (white) woman leader aspirants.
It is tricky.
I would tend to agree that Wes does look exceptional. So, why should he not stand in a leadership election ?
OTH, it is getting very embarrassing for Labour to be talking the talk, and never actually doing anything.
I think Labour would have been well advised not to have chosen the very average SKS, but one of the female candidates -- and the quid pro quo may turn out be Labour can't have Wes next time.
Streetings tweetings would see him as the first leadership candidate cancelled by historic social media misuse
The new education minister Andrea Jenkyns MP has released a statement after she was caught on camera appearing to make a rude gesture while entering Downing Street ahead of Boris Johnson's resignation speech.
I am rooting for Penny too, now we know her as woke and will take the Tory Party on over woke issues and put them right.
The two biggest threats facing the Conservatives today are the mess they are getting into over woke, and the mess they will be in if they oppose Net Zero 2050 and green taxes to get us there. Those two things can keep them out of power for decades.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
It would be a brilliant achievement of the Conservative policy of encouraging quality ethnic minority candidates to stand, as opposed to the Labour policy of quotas and AWS.
Oh, and watching the far-left SJW Twitter the day after it happened, will be rather amusing.
The new education minister Andrea Jenkyns MP has released a statement after she was caught on camera appearing to make a rude gesture while entering Downing Street ahead of Boris Johnson's resignation speech.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
I am rooting for Penny too, now we know her as woke and will take the Tory Party on over woke issues and put them right.
The two biggest threats facing the Conservatives today are the mess they are getting into over woke, and the mess they will be in if they oppose Net Zero 2050 and green taxes to get us there. Those two things can keep them out of power for decades.
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
A VONC is a vote about the government as a whole not an individual member of that government.
There is already the equivalent of an impeachment process underway against Boris via the attempt to prove he was lying.
So that is the only legitimate way of removing an individual from the house.
Labour needs to learn more about the rules of the house and the conventions in our Constitution if they seriously believe that Boris would be removed from No10 by their promised stunt.
Tory benches will vote to support the party knowing that the process to select a new leader is well underway and an election is not desirable.
We don't have a position of a deputy PM in our Constitution. It is a title given out from to time to time as a consolation prize.
There is a debate to be had about establishing the role on a more formal footing. But now is not the time to have that.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
It would be a brilliant achievement of the Conservative policy of encouraging quality ethnic minority candidates to stand, as opposed to the Labour policy of quotas and AWS.
Oh, and watching the far-left SJW Twitter the day after it happened, will be rather amusing.
It makes it easier when the Tory is an Oxonian with a billion quid and the Labour equivalent would be a union rep in something like social care or the railways or a metro elite but assetpoor solicitor. In fact, millions of quid make a lot of things easier.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
Sunak wouldn't have a chance except A. he handed his spine and other appendages to Dominic when Javid insisted on keeping his B. three years in a row of multi-billion magic money tree
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
I think uncertainty is higher than usual. Options range from “Ukraine wins soon, negations with Russia smooth out the economic disruption, and Biden engineers a boom” to “we’re all fucked”.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
So final 2 to be Rishi and a Stop Rishi candidate - Mordaunt or Truss presumably?
It’s a Tory leadership contest. One or more of the above is getting knifed.
Co-ordinated by Boris sat in Downing Street....
You were once big Rishi fan Mark? what actually did change everyone’s opinion? News of all the forty billion pounds of fraud on his watch?
Not so much a fan as such, I observed in February at the SW Conference that Rishi was very clearly on manoeuvres. He worked the room over lunch and gave a very good account of himself in a subsequent Q&A.
Boris, in contrast, phoned in a 30 second piece recorded at a railway station.
I won't have a problem if (as looks most likely) he is one of the two put to members. But I would rather have him as one of the big beasts supporting PM Penny Mordaunt.
Louise Mensch is taking the Ben Wallace decision badly.
"Louise Mensch 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @LouiseMensch Replying to @BWallaceMP Ben, duty calls. There is absolutely nobody better for this job than you, and moreover there is nobody who will do it nearly as well, I really hope you will change your mind you are by far and away the most likely person to win and you would be easily the best at the job. 12:57 PM · Jul 9, 2022"
There are three possible attitudes to the last few years.
The first is that Johnson's toppling is a scandal and disgrace. Roughly the position of those who remained in, or joined, the government since Tuesday. (Maybe not Wallace, given there is a war on.)
The second is that Johnson was the right man at the right time, and that time continued through until June 2022. Roughly the attitude of those who have resigned in the last week.
The third is that Johnson should have gone long ago, or never been appointed. I've forgotten- did anyone resign over Partygate or anything else the PM has done? Look at the select committees for them.
Sunak is positioning himself as the candidate of the second group. Truss looks like being the biggest beast in the first group. I don't think any Cassandras from Group 3 get through the MP's vote, and they certainly don't get past the membership.
There's a lot wrong with Sunak- he tied himself to Johnson for far too long, he's made some significant mistakes as Chancellor, and someone saying "I will tell you the truth" ought to make us all count our teaspoons. But he's also the best realistic option for the Conservatives and the country.
I wonder who the leading contenders would have in senior positions in their cabinet. That, in many ways, is far more important in the handling of day to day politics that the leader.
Sunak would probably bring back Javid to No11
But trying to play fantasy cabinets for the various front runners could be fun
You can see that from the footage. After the first shot misses, the security people just stand around in shock, doing nothing to protect him. They only react after the second shot, which is too late.
I wonder who the leading contenders would have in senior positions in their cabinet. That, in many ways, is far more important in the handling of day to day politics that the leader.
Sunak would probably bring back Javid to No11
But trying to play fantasy cabinets for the various front runners could be fun
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
I think that we are in for a very difficult winter but I suspect (hope) that this is an overstatement. With some judicious management of our affairs and a willingness to recognise the non existence of the MMT I think things could look much better by next summer. The UK has many long term strategic advantages which should not be overlooked.
The English language. London with its remarkable concentration of skills, expertise and liquidity resulting in nearly half of the investment in IT businesses in Europe being in this country. A remarkable collection of top level, world leading, universities. A very attractive job market. An extremely open and welcoming culture.
We will do alright in the medium to long term, especially if we start to build on these strengths instead of undermining them. Short term, man the pumps.
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
The "ah, it's only a 4 percent hit to GDP, we'll barely notice it" attitude is already looking awfully decadent.
What I take from that is the ip until Partygate he was no more unpopular than he was when he won a majority of 80. That suggests to me that the net figure is less relevant than the absolute favourable score.
Patterson not Partygate was the catalyst.
Was it, though?
The Paterson affair was right at the start of November. Johnson did take a polling hit, but the Tories actually retained a small polling lead in the days after his resignation, and it was even stevens throughout November. It was only in early December, when Partygate broke, that it spiraled out of control. Conservatives under Johnson never led a poll again after 8th December (a month after Paterson had gone) and his personal rating collapsed and never recovered.
Not saying Paterson doesn't matter, but I'm not sure it had that much public cut-through. What it did is set up a very bad by-election (which happened in the midst of Partygate) and it enraged MPs who'd been whipped by Johnson to debase themselves by saving Paterson, and had the rug pulled from under them inside 24 hours as it was more convenient to Johnson. A lot of his MPs never forgave him for that. But that is more Westminster anger... the man on the Clapham Omnibus wasn't exactly delighted about it, but the image created by Partygate (champagne while you couldn't visit your dying Mum) was far worse than Johnson trying to help out a dodgy pal.
I wonder who the leading contenders would have in senior positions in their cabinet. That, in many ways, is far more important in the handling of day to day politics that the leader.
Sunak would probably bring back Javid to No11
But trying to play fantasy cabinets for the various front runners could be fun
I am sure that is the ongoing discussions this weekend as leading candidates wheel and deal for support.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
It is noticeable that the so-called progressive party hasn't even come close to electing anything that a white male leader.
And we are already starting to hear that Wes is an exceptional talent ... so maybe the next leader may have to be another white guy
Quite unlikely, I think the party and/or Beer Korma are clearly setting up the contest to be between a range of (white) woman leader aspirants.
It is tricky.
I would tend to agree that Wes does look exceptional. So, why should he not stand in a leadership election ?
OTH, it is getting very embarrassing for Labour to be talking the talk, and never actually doing anything.
I think Labour would have been well advised not to have chosen the very average SKS, but one of the female candidates -- and the quid pro quo may turn out be Labour can't have Wes next time.
The best PM aspirants who were women weren't in the field, like Rayner. The position in 2019 seemed dire with the real prospect of a split, and early during Covid even more so. Thus you had two woman rivals to Starmer, one who seemed to be running against Labour's core vote of multiethnic metropolitans and the other firmly of the third rank.
I wonder who the leading contenders would have in senior positions in their cabinet. That, in many ways, is far more important in the handling of day to day politics that the leader.
Sunak would probably bring back Javid to No11
But trying to play fantasy cabinets for the various front runners could be fun
Sunak and Javid were poor Chancellors.
I think we have to ask some questions about the quality of the Treasury officials, noting its addiction to short term “clever” wheezes going back 20 years. Too many young grads and not enough life experience, I think. You could address some of that with a trawl around the CS, but it also needs external brainpower.
I wonder who the leading contenders would have in senior positions in their cabinet. That, in many ways, is far more important in the handling of day to day politics that the leader.
Sunak would probably bring back Javid to No11
But trying to play fantasy cabinets for the various front runners could be fun
Rishi Rich went down the tubes for me when it turned out his wife was a multi-millionaire nom-dom while he was hiking taxes for the plebs to the highest level in 70 years.
I do understand that a lot of the recent tax-rises are down to him having a big-spending PM to deal with but it just looks dreadful and shows that for all the glitz and slickness he has absolutely no political antenna at all...
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
I am rooting for Penny too, now we know her as woke and will take the Tory Party on over woke issues and put them right.
The two biggest threats facing the Conservatives today are the mess they are getting into over woke, and the mess they will be in if they oppose Net Zero 2050 and green taxes to get us there. Those two things can keep them out of power for decades.
LOL nice try!
Nice try at what? I’m spot on.
As my killer question proved yesterday, if I agree with Nadine Dorries on transgender athletes in sport however also agree with Penny Mourdant’s onslaught on It Aint Half Hot Mum, do I need to wear a woke ribbon in public that suggests I disagree with Dorries on Transgender? The Tories are tying themselves into an absolute mess on woke. Fact.
Given the discussion earlier, perhaps the Tories need to elect their leader using Tinder....
Can't they do it like Gladiators - on a plank with giant cotton buds?
Advantage Mordaunt?
A trans woman writes:
Something dramatic happened in the House of Commons yesterday [1 March 2021]: Penny Mordaunt told MPs that ‘transmen are men and transwomen are women’. This mantra – for that is what it is – has been said so often in recent years that it might now be an unremarkable way in which to wind up a debate. But it is a worrying sign to see it repeated so unthinkingly in parliament.
Mordaunt is wrong: transwomen are male, and women are female. Male people are not female people, and therefore transwomen are not women. As a transwoman I should know: I fathered three children – I am definitely male. Their mother was a female person. She is a woman, not me.
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
The "ah, it's only a 4 percent hit to GDP, we'll barely notice it" attitude is already looking awfully decadent.
Losing 4% of GDP over twenty years hardly puts a country into the same league as Burkina Faso.
Were we still in the EU, oil prices would still have jumped, low productivity would still be a problem (offset in part by high employment), Russia would still be at war in Ukraine, and Covid would still have hit us.
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
The "ah, it's only a 4 percent hit to GDP, we'll barely notice it" attitude is already looking awfully decadent.
Losing 4% of GDP over twenty years hardly puts a country into the same league as Burkina Faso.
Were we still in the EU, oil prices would still have jumped, low productivity would still be a problem (offset in part by high employment), Russia would still be at war in Ukraine, and Covid would still have hit us.
And we would still have a massive trade deficit with the EU.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
What I take from that is the ip until Partygate he was no more unpopular than he was when he won a majority of 80. That suggests to me that the net figure is less relevant than the absolute favourable score.
Patterson not Partygate was the catalyst.
Was it, though?
The Paterson affair was right at the start of November. Johnson did take a polling hit, but the Tories actually retained a small polling lead in the days after his resignation, and it was even stevens throughout November. It was only in early December, when Partygate broke, that it spiraled out of control. Conservatives under Johnson never led a poll again after 8th December (a month after Paterson had gone) and his personal rating collapsed and never recovered.
Not saying Paterson doesn't matter, but I'm not sure it had that much public cut-through. What it did is set up a very bad by-election (which happened in the midst of Partygate) and it enraged MPs who'd been whipped by Johnson to debase themselves by saving Paterson, and had the rug pulled from under them inside 24 hours as it was more convenient to Johnson. But that is more Westminster anger... the man on the Clapham Omnibus wasn't exactly delighted about it, but the image created by Partygate (champagne while you couldn't visit your dying Mum) was far worse than Johnson trying to help out a dodgy pal.
So you are saying Patterson was the catalyst then? Sure. It was minor compared to Partygate. Patterson established without doubt he was a devious chancer. Partygate firmly re-inforced that view across even the least attentive. Pincher finished it off. The bookends were minuscule in comparison, sure, and each survivable. But Partygate alone wouldn't, and didn't, bring him down without the other two. Plus the economy of course.
After 1990 you could never find a single person who would admit to voting for the blessed lady Margaret (PBUH), which makes you wonder how she ever won three elections at a gallop.
your memory is not the same as my memory. I knew plenty of people in 1991 who were fervent admirers of Thatcher.
Louise Mensch is taking the Ben Wallace decision badly.
"Louise Mensch 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @LouiseMensch Replying to @BWallaceMP Ben, duty calls. There is absolutely nobody better for this job than you, and moreover there is nobody who will do it nearly as well, I really hope you will change your mind you are by far and away the most likely person to win and you would be easily the best at the job. 12:57 PM · Jul 9, 2022"
I wonder who the leading contenders would have in senior positions in their cabinet. That, in many ways, is far more important in the handling of day to day politics that the leader.
Sunak would probably bring back Javid to No11
But trying to play fantasy cabinets for the various front runners could be fun
Sunak and Javid were poor Chancellors.
I think we have to ask some questions about the quality of the Treasury officials, noting its addiction to short term “clever” wheezes going back 20 years. Too many young grads and not enough life experience, I think. You could address some of that with a trawl around the CS, but it also needs external brainpower.
Well all economists have been doing the best they can to run away and hide recently. Sort of odd that their number hasn't been condemned, but then the alchemists werent quite addressed.
I am rooting for Penny too, now we know her as woke and will take the Tory Party on over woke issues and put them right.
The two biggest threats facing the Conservatives today are the mess they are getting into over woke, and the mess they will be in if they oppose Net Zero 2050 and green taxes to get us there. Those two things can keep them out of power for decades.
So, by how much further should prices for petrol and domestic fuel be allowed to rise, in order to maintain the commitment to Net Zero?
A question on which it would be useful to see some polling in Con/Lab marginal seats.
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
I think that we are in for a very difficult winter but I suspect (hope) that this is an overstatement. With some judicious management of our affairs and a willingness to recognise the non existence of the MMT I think things could look much better by next summer. The UK has many long term strategic advantages which should not be overlooked.
The English language. London with its remarkable concentration of skills, expertise and liquidity resulting in nearly half of the investment in IT businesses in Europe being in this country. A remarkable collection of top level, world leading, universities. A very attractive job market. An extremely open and welcoming culture.
We will do alright in the medium to long term, especially if we start to build on these strengths instead of undermining them. Short term, man the pumps.
The flimsiest of straws but I opened a BoS business account last week (Santander were pish at getting their act together when contacted btw) and our guy said that they'd stopped offering biz accounts during Covid, but since they started again they've been absolutely innundated, 4-6 weeks before we'd be up and running. Never a shortage of maddies charging headlong into a recession (eg me) of course, but..
I wonder who the leading contenders would have in senior positions in their cabinet. That, in many ways, is far more important in the handling of day to day politics that the leader.
Sunak would probably bring back Javid to No11
But trying to play fantasy cabinets for the various front runners could be fun
Sunak and Javid were poor Chancellors.
I think we have to ask some questions about the quality of the Treasury officials, noting its addiction to short term “clever” wheezes going back 20 years. Too many young grads and not enough life experience, I think. You could address some of that with a trawl around the CS, but it also needs external brainpower.
A mate's boy had a Treasury job offer out of university (MSc Econ) but took three times the cash from a bank. For everything said on here, civil service salaries are often well below market rates. JRM cancelling this year's fast stream probably won't help.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
You can see that from the footage. After the first shot misses, the security people just stand around in shock, doing nothing to protect him. They only react after the second shot, which is too late.
Even more amazing to me was the footage of members of the public milling around Abe after he'd been shot. There didn't seem to be any attempt to shield Abe or get rid of the bystanders. He was a sitting duck for a second shooter.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
The question for the UK is why, DESPITE having all the advantages enumerated by @DavidL, it has fallen so far behind the GDP frontier of the USA and Western Europe.
I am rooting for Penny too, now we know her as woke and will take the Tory Party on over woke issues and put them right.
The two biggest threats facing the Conservatives today are the mess they are getting into over woke, and the mess they will be in if they oppose Net Zero 2050 and green taxes to get us there. Those two things can keep them out of power for decades.
So, by how much further should prices for petrol and domestic fuel be allowed to rise, in order to maintain the commitment to Net Zero?
A question on which it would be useful to see some polling in Con/Lab marginal seats.
The country is solidly behind Net Zero 50 - the Tories just due to a noisy and brain dead clique in their own party, could put them up against the electorate and so lose election after election.
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
I think that we are in for a very difficult winter but I suspect (hope) that this is an overstatement. With some judicious management of our affairs and a willingness to recognise the non existence of the MMT I think things could look much better by next summer. The UK has many long term strategic advantages which should not be overlooked.
The English language. London with its remarkable concentration of skills, expertise and liquidity resulting in nearly half of the investment in IT businesses in Europe being in this country. A remarkable collection of top level, world leading, universities. A very attractive job market. An extremely open and welcoming culture.
We will do alright in the medium to long term, especially if we start to build on these strengths instead of undermining them. Short term, man the pumps.
The flimsiest of straws but I opened a BoS business account last week (Santander were pish at getting their act together when contacted btw) and our guy said that they'd stopped offering biz accounts during Covid, but since they started again they've been absolutely innundated, 4-6 weeks before we'd be up and running. Never a shortage of maddies charging headlong into a recession (eg me) of course, but..
I got £500 from Santander after I complained to the Financial Ombudsman about how long it took them to set me up with a business account for a small society.
The Times comment team is leading the charge for Rishi Sunak & proposing the contest be truncated to a fortnight (favours the front runner) and stripped of members’ vote. The paper has 3 news stories helpful to Sunak too.
I am rooting for Penny too, now we know her as woke and will take the Tory Party on over woke issues and put them right.
The two biggest threats facing the Conservatives today are the mess they are getting into over woke, and the mess they will be in if they oppose Net Zero 2050 and green taxes to get us there. Those two things can keep them out of power for decades.
So, by how much further should prices for petrol and domestic fuel be allowed to rise, in order to maintain the commitment to Net Zero?
A question on which it would be useful to see some polling in Con/Lab marginal seats.
Fuel prices aren't rising because of the commitment to net zero.
The Guardian, via Jonathan Freedland, wants to reverse Brexit, now Boris is gone
“The dots are all there. Voters are already beginning to join them, even as Starmer insists that the subject is essentially closed. The politicians might not want to say it, but this week is a milestone in the fate of Brexit. The prime author of Britain’s exit from the EU has fallen: the standing of his calamitous project is heading the same way.”
See that phrase and feel the chills in your blood
“A milestone in the fate of Brexit”
What fate? It’s done. Isn’t it?
They want to reverse it and they will try to reverse it and Starmer won’t be able to resist the pressure to have a go
Wrong question. Is anyone polling on whether people want to rejoin, via a referendum”? We’re out now - the question is about joining and on what terms.
Whilst I don't think there is an appetite for a rejoining referendum right now, anyone who believes that the Brexit issue is done and dusted when only 36% (and dropping) believe it was the right decision is delusional.
The Max Hastings analysis- we're stuck with it, but the next generation will likely revisit it- seems sound. It's an unwanted gift from a distant relative, but it's rude to put it in eBay just yet.
Trouble is twofold. How do we reduce the harm in the meantime, and what if the best path is to dilute Brexit to a homeopathic degree?
The scale of the hit coming to the UK economy is gathering tsunami proportions. Whoever gets this is going to spend most of their term clinging on to the wreckage. Even the continuing depreciation of Sterling is not off-setting the hindrances of Brexit and the outlook is for semi-stagflation for quite a while. Government finances are poor, and taxes will have to rise and government expenditure fall. Most serious of all is the continuing productivity gap which is becoming a chasm as other European economies invest and educate at a faster rate than Britain does.
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
I think that we are in for a very difficult winter but I suspect (hope) that this is an overstatement. With some judicious management of our affairs and a willingness to recognise the non existence of the MMT I think things could look much better by next summer. The UK has many long term strategic advantages which should not be overlooked.
The English language. London with its remarkable concentration of skills, expertise and liquidity resulting in nearly half of the investment in IT businesses in Europe being in this country. A remarkable collection of top level, world leading, universities. A very attractive job market. An extremely open and welcoming culture.
We will do alright in the medium to long term, especially if we start to build on these strengths instead of undermining them. Short term, man the pumps.
The flimsiest of straws but I opened a BoS business account last week (Santander were pish at getting their act together when contacted btw) and our guy said that they'd stopped offering biz accounts during Covid, but since they started again they've been absolutely innundated, 4-6 weeks before we'd be up and running. Never a shortage of maddies charging headlong into a recession (eg me) of course, but..
Well, good luck. It can be a good time to launch a business as a lot of competitors will fall away so long as you have the capital for the first year or so.
Less welcome than a Conservative Party leadership election contest is the Stodge Saturday Patent which returns after a few week's spent assessing the losses.
Today is a big day on quantity and to a certain extent quality as well.
As I'm a little late posting, I'll put the selections later in the afternoon so you've time to have a final sentimental talk with your money before you never see it again:
INNSE GALL - 5.30 Chester PERIPATETIC - 7.15 Salisbury WILD THUNDER - 8.00 Hamilton
I’m old enough to remember @HYUFD telling us that Wallace was definitely going to stand and definitely going to win.
I hope you are old enough to remember me saying he was going to ask his family, because being PM in Downing Street wasn't necessarily something he had signed his family up for.
Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP @BWallaceMP United Kingdom government official After careful consideration and discussing with colleagues and family, I have taken the decision not to enter the contest for leadership of the Conservative Party. I am very grateful to all my parliamentary colleagues and wider members who have pledged support.
I guess his recommendation is going to carry a lot of weight?
Given the talk of him being a front runner, definitely.
The Times comment team is leading the charge for Rishi Sunak & proposing the contest be truncated to a fortnight (favours the front runner) and stripped of members’ vote. The paper has 3 news stories helpful to Sunak too.
Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP @BWallaceMP United Kingdom government official After careful consideration and discussing with colleagues and family, I have taken the decision not to enter the contest for leadership of the Conservative Party. I am very grateful to all my parliamentary colleagues and wider members who have pledged support.
I guess his recommendation is going to carry a lot of weight?
Given the talk of him being a front runner, definitely.
Kudos to those who called he would not run..
I said Wallace and Javid won’t run. So far so good
Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP @BWallaceMP United Kingdom government official After careful consideration and discussing with colleagues and family, I have taken the decision not to enter the contest for leadership of the Conservative Party. I am very grateful to all my parliamentary colleagues and wider members who have pledged support.
I guess his recommendation is going to carry a lot of weight?
Given the talk of him being a front runner, definitely.
Kudos to those who called he would not run..
I said Wallace and Javid won’t run. So far so good
Less welcome than a Conservative Party leadership election contest is the Stodge Saturday Patent which returns after a few week's spent assessing the losses.
Today is a big day on quantity and to a certain extent quality as well.
As I'm a little late posting, I'll put the selections later in the afternoon so you've time to have a final sentimental talk with your money before you never see it again:
INNSE GALL - 5.30 Chester PERIPATETIC - 7.15 Salisbury WILD THUNDER - 8.00 Hamilton
If that doesn’t bring @malcolmg back, nothing will.
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
The Times comment team is leading the charge for Rishi Sunak & proposing the contest be truncated to a fortnight (favours the front runner) and stripped of members’ vote. The paper has 3 news stories helpful to Sunak too.
A coronation is the last thing the Tories need. They need to have it out, and decide what they stand for.
I dont think they do, not really. They stand for whatever might keep them in office. A new leader wont stick to a policy plan even if they outline one.
But a contest is probably a good idea nonetheless.
Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP @BWallaceMP United Kingdom government official After careful consideration and discussing with colleagues and family, I have taken the decision not to enter the contest for leadership of the Conservative Party. I am very grateful to all my parliamentary colleagues and wider members who have pledged support.
I guess his recommendation is going to carry a lot of weight?
Given the talk of him being a front runner, definitely.
Kudos to those who called he would not run..
I said Wallace and Javid won’t run. So far so good
Javid hasn’t committed one way or another yet.
The Saj; Penny Mordaunt; Liz Truss (who's been in the air). None have committed to running.
Big shame about Wallace not running, he would have been the best to unite the party plus amongst the public. But I think his public stature only goes up with this decision.
Rishi has clearly done a deal with Javid, with the latter as CoE. But he won't win. He's too clever (and obviously sneaky) by half. johnson's supporters are out to get him and the RW MPs are likely to be petrified about his comments about balancing the books. Multi millionaire married to an heiress with non-Dom status balances the books and hits the poor - no thanks.
Mordaunt - unless she repudiates her "trans women are women" comments, she's out. The Tories know that is one dividing line that will get them votes. Having Mordaunt as PM negates that.
Final point - the dog that hasn't barked (yet). For all the contenders so far, none have come from the Red Wall faction. When does that change?
I am rooting for Penny too, now we know her as woke and will take the Tory Party on over woke issues and put them right.
The two biggest threats facing the Conservatives today are the mess they are getting into over woke, and the mess they will be in if they oppose Net Zero 2050 and green taxes to get us there. Those two things can keep them out of power for decades.
So, by how much further should prices for petrol and domestic fuel be allowed to rise, in order to maintain the commitment to Net Zero?
A question on which it would be useful to see some polling in Con/Lab marginal seats.
Fuel prices aren't rising because of the commitment to net zero.
The failure to cut fuel duty and VAT on domestic fuel - which is probably the largest single factor in current rising inflation, has Net Zero and Treasury capture all over it.
My two big reservations about Rishi, are that he’s too rich to notice the effect of fuel prices on average people, and that he was totally housetrained by the Treasury mandarins.
Louise Mensch is taking the Ben Wallace decision badly.
"Louise Mensch 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @LouiseMensch Replying to @BWallaceMP Ben, duty calls. There is absolutely nobody better for this job than you, and moreover there is nobody who will do it nearly as well, I really hope you will change your mind you are by far and away the most likely person to win and you would be easily the best at the job. 12:57 PM · Jul 9, 2022"
Seeing as there's quite a bit of chat going around the Tories choosing someone from a visible ethnic minority as their new leader, here are some quick thoughts from focus groups where I've asked Tory *voters* - not members - this question in focus groups recently...
So could a black or brown Tory win a general election? Emphatically yes.
Comments
At the lection Labour get to say they voted to keep BoZo the Clown in Downing Street.
And he is going to cause at least one more major fuckup before he finally leaves.
The two biggest threats facing the Conservatives today are the mess they are getting into over woke, and the mess they will be in if they oppose Net Zero 2050 and green taxes to get us there. Those two things can keep them out of power for decades.
Oh, and watching the far-left SJW Twitter the day after it happened, will be rather amusing.
1) Not really, the Tories just say “erm…. we sacked him”.
2) Nah. The die is cast. Any scandal Lebedev is a personal thing now, and well priced in.
After deleting the tweet Jolyon has been mounting a furious rear guard action TLDR: “I was right”!
Under such circumstances I think much of the current conventional wisdom will be junked, as indeed will the Conservative Party.
There is already the equivalent of an impeachment process underway against Boris via the attempt to prove he was lying.
So that is the only legitimate way of removing an individual from the house.
Labour needs to learn more about the rules of the house and the conventions in our Constitution if they seriously believe that Boris would be removed from No10 by their promised stunt.
Tory benches will vote to support the party knowing that the process to select a new leader is well underway and an election is not desirable.
We don't have a position of a deputy PM in our Constitution. It is a title given out from to time to time as a consolation prize.
There is a debate to be had about establishing the role on a more formal footing. But now is not the time to have that.
I was expecting him to retire to his windmill to sell rough ground brown flower and wholemeal scones, but I think he sold that.
A. he handed his spine and other appendages to Dominic when Javid insisted on keeping his
B. three years in a row of multi-billion magic money tree
https://twitter.com/ShippersUnbound/status/1545754439226740737
We'll have to see if Ben Wallace endorses anyone.
Advantage Mordaunt?
Boris, in contrast, phoned in a 30 second piece recorded at a railway station.
I won't have a problem if (as looks most likely) he is one of the two put to members. But I would rather have him as one of the big beasts supporting PM Penny Mordaunt.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-62106442
That's cleared that up then.
The first is that Johnson's toppling is a scandal and disgrace. Roughly the position of those who remained in, or joined, the government since Tuesday. (Maybe not Wallace, given there is a war on.)
The second is that Johnson was the right man at the right time, and that time continued through until June 2022. Roughly the attitude of those who have resigned in the last week.
The third is that Johnson should have gone long ago, or never been appointed. I've forgotten- did anyone resign over Partygate or anything else the PM has done? Look at the select committees for them.
Sunak is positioning himself as the candidate of the second group. Truss looks like being the biggest beast in the first group. I don't think any Cassandras from Group 3 get through the MP's vote, and they certainly don't get past the membership.
There's a lot wrong with Sunak- he tied himself to Johnson for far too long, he's made some significant mistakes as Chancellor, and someone saying "I will tell you the truth" ought to make us all count our teaspoons. But he's also the best realistic option for the Conservatives and the country.
Sunak would probably bring back Javid to No11
But trying to play fantasy cabinets for the various front runners could be fun
The English language.
London with its remarkable concentration of skills, expertise and liquidity resulting in nearly half of the investment in IT businesses in Europe being in this country.
A remarkable collection of top level, world leading, universities.
A very attractive job market.
An extremely open and welcoming culture.
We will do alright in the medium to long term, especially if we start to build on these strengths instead of undermining them. Short term, man the pumps.
The Paterson affair was right at the start of November. Johnson did take a polling hit, but the Tories actually retained a small polling lead in the days after his resignation, and it was even stevens throughout November. It was only in early December, when Partygate broke, that it spiraled out of control. Conservatives under Johnson never led a poll again after 8th December (a month after Paterson had gone) and his personal rating collapsed and never recovered.
Not saying Paterson doesn't matter, but I'm not sure it had that much public cut-through. What it did is set up a very bad by-election (which happened in the midst of Partygate) and it enraged MPs who'd been whipped by Johnson to debase themselves by saving Paterson, and had the rug pulled from under them inside 24 hours as it was more convenient to Johnson. A lot of his MPs never forgave him for that. But that is more Westminster anger... the man on the Clapham Omnibus wasn't exactly delighted about it, but the image created by Partygate (champagne while you couldn't visit your dying Mum) was far worse than Johnson trying to help out a dodgy pal.
I do understand that a lot of the recent tax-rises are down to him having a big-spending PM to deal with but it just looks dreadful and shows that for all the glitz and slickness he has absolutely no political antenna at all...
Dead loss.
Love it when people rule themselves out of a contest nobody had ruled them into.
As my killer question proved yesterday, if I agree with Nadine Dorries on transgender athletes in sport however also agree with Penny Mourdant’s onslaught on It Aint Half Hot Mum, do I need to wear a woke ribbon in public that suggests I disagree with Dorries on Transgender? The Tories are tying themselves into an absolute mess on woke. Fact.
Something dramatic happened in the House of Commons yesterday [1 March 2021]: Penny Mordaunt told MPs that ‘transmen are men and transwomen are women’. This mantra – for that is what it is – has been said so often in recent years that it might now be an unremarkable way in which to wind up a debate. But it is a worrying sign to see it repeated so unthinkingly in parliament.
Mordaunt is wrong: transwomen are male, and women are female. Male people are not female people, and therefore transwomen are not women. As a transwoman I should know: I fathered three children – I am definitely male. Their mother was a female person. She is a woman, not me.
https://debbiehayton.com/2021/03/17/why-does-penny-mordaunt-think-trans-men-are-men/#more-2002
Were we still in the EU, oil prices would still have jumped, low productivity would still be a problem (offset in part by high employment), Russia would still be at war in Ukraine, and Covid would still have hit us.
Sure. It was minor compared to Partygate.
Patterson established without doubt he was a devious chancer.
Partygate firmly re-inforced that view across even the least attentive.
Pincher finished it off.
The bookends were minuscule in comparison, sure, and each survivable.
But Partygate alone wouldn't, and didn't, bring him down without the other two.
Plus the economy of course.
A question on which it would be useful to see some polling in Con/Lab marginal seats.
So if you hear anybody shout "BOOOOOOOOOOORING......"
Reminder: The last “coronation” picked Theresa May https://twitter.com/JoeMurphyLondon/status/1545759634497183744/photo/1
Has he been sin-binned?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-62105698
Less welcome than a Conservative Party leadership election contest is the Stodge Saturday Patent which returns after a few week's spent assessing the losses.
Today is a big day on quantity and to a certain extent quality as well.
As I'm a little late posting, I'll put the selections later in the afternoon so you've time to have a final sentimental talk with your money before you never see it again:
INNSE GALL - 5.30 Chester
PERIPATETIC - 7.15 Salisbury
WILD THUNDER - 8.00 Hamilton
https://twitter.com/girkingirkin/status/1545759862587539457?
And lo, it came to pass.
Kudos to those who called he would not run..
They need to have it out, and decide what they stand for.
This, despite being a plutocrat with non-dom issues, and a record of poor judgment as Chancellor.
He only looks good if you put him next to Truss or Braverman.
But animal cruelty? Not my scene
But a contest is probably a good idea nonetheless.
Big shame about Wallace not running, he would have been the best to unite the party plus amongst the public. But I think his public stature only goes up with this decision.
Rishi has clearly done a deal with Javid, with the latter as CoE. But he won't win. He's too clever (and obviously sneaky) by half. johnson's supporters are out to get him and the RW MPs are likely to be petrified about his comments about balancing the books. Multi millionaire married to an heiress with non-Dom status balances the books and hits the poor - no thanks.
Mordaunt - unless she repudiates her "trans women are women" comments, she's out. The Tories know that is one dividing line that will get them votes. Having Mordaunt as PM negates that.
Final point - the dog that hasn't barked (yet). For all the contenders so far, none have come from the Red Wall faction. When does that change?
My two big reservations about Rishi, are that he’s too rich to notice the effect of fuel prices on average people, and that he was totally housetrained by the Treasury mandarins.