One thing for certain is Johnson is definitely not an towering intellectual. He is one of those classic seemingly bright kids who are good with words, which makes them appear far brighter than their peers. He definitely has "talent" for writing entertaining waffle, but it seems pretty clear that by the time he got to Oxford that was the peak of his level.
The problem is I think he believes he is far more intelligent than he really is, still harking back to those days as a school kid where he knocked together an essay in half an hour before class and still getting a good grade.
Cameron was once known as the “essay-crisis prime minister”, different though he was from Boris in many ways:
Brown was/is an intellectual. However he lost (maybe never had) the knack for retail politics and was plagued with self-doubt.
If Mordaunt, for example, became PM, she would certainly be the thickest PM in living memory.
They have all tended to be above average IQ, if not necessarily “intellectual”.
Mordaunt is clearly both brighter and more intellectually and emotionally flexible than May, I would say.
Emotionally flexible, sure, but not smarter, I’d say.
I suspect in terms of pure intellect, it goes.
1. Brown 2. Thatcher 3. Blair 4. Boris 5. Cameron / May / Major
Where is the evidence for Brown's great intellect?
He got a PhD, which requires some intellect… although sometimes I think it as much requires stubbornness!
He took forever to complete it (in fact he would now be kicked out of most PhD programmes these days for taking too long. Nobody will give you 10 years to complete at a good institution now) and it was the history of the Labour Party for a select few years...not at all impressive really.
He was doing it part-time. I have a good colleague who took that long. I had a student who took that long, and turned the work into a very successful business afterwards. If you don’t have some intellectual ability, no amount of time will be enough for a PhD. It still usually demonstrates some ability.
PhDs are generally on very specific topics. That’s academia.
I’ve not read Brown’s PhD. I don’t know what it was like. PhDs are funny things and I’ve seen some crappy ones get passed, so I’m not saying this is slam dunk evidence.
I've found Brown's PhD dissertation online. Skimming through it, it reads like 500 pages of HYUFD.
Actually that's true. Dan Brown is such a bad writer.
Maybe so, but he can entertain. I like to put his books next to some much more worthy books on the shelf so people do a double take when they see Deception Point next to Crime and Punishment.
Back to the leadership contest… What if the pro-Boris faction are mostly not going to support Tugendhat, Mordaunt or the traitorous Sunak however well they perform? What if the hardline Brexiteer, populist Right are mostly not going to support Tugendhat, Mordaunt or Sunak however well they perform?
This is classic “lane” theory. There isn’t one contest. There’s two contests and the one for the Right/Borisite lane is between Truss and Badenoch. So, Liz has a big lead on Kemi. Was she bad enough to lose that? Was Kemi good enough? I think not. So I think Truss still has a good chance of being in the final 2.
I speak for the nation and took part in this poll and called it for Tom, then Penny, then Rishi, then Badenoch in the distance, and Truss, oh dear.
Sunak in a different league imo despite the derivative Blairisms. Easily the best performer on both style and substance. It was like a lead singer with his backing band. If I had a vote that's where it would go and it wouldn't be a tough choice.
Mordaunt seems vacant. Tug is a bit stodgy. Badenoch is miles from PM material. Truss is just bad on every level. Poundshop Maggie is too kind.
But all 5 would be fabulous PMs compared to the last bloke. This was my main feeling watching the debate. Sheer joy and relief that Boris Johnson is history. It's been a few days now but the heart remains cockled that he's gone.
How on earth did the Tories ever think it was ok to foist that man on the country? This is the question they'll be hoping doesn't occur to the electorate come the time. I hope it will.
It does seem odd to me, as a non Tory, seeing the PB Tories alight on one no-hoper moron then another, while it is patently clear that Sunak is the only halfway decent candidate on offer.
With our Lab hats on - come on the Truss! 😅
I know that’s a joke but… we should want what’s best for the country… not what’s best for Labour!
Brown was/is an intellectual. However he lost (maybe never had) the knack for retail politics and was plagued with self-doubt.
If Mordaunt, for example, became PM, she would certainly be the thickest PM in living memory.
They have all tended to be above average IQ, if not necessarily “intellectual”.
Mordaunt is clearly both brighter and more intellectually and emotionally flexible than May, I would say.
Emotionally flexible, sure, but not smarter, I’d say.
I suspect in terms of pure intellect, it goes.
1. Brown 2. Thatcher 3. Blair 4. Boris 5. Cameron / May / Major
Where is the evidence for Brown's great intellect?
He got a PhD, which requires some intellect… although sometimes I think it as much requires stubbornness!
He took forever to complete it (in fact he would now be kicked out of most PhD programmes these days for taking too long. Nobody will give you 10 years to complete at a good institution now) and it was the history of the Labour Party for a select few years...not at all impressive really.
He was doing it part-time. I have a good colleague who took that long. I had a student who took that long, and turned the work into a very successful business afterwards. If you don’t have some intellectual ability, no amount of time will be enough for a PhD. It still usually demonstrates some ability.
PhDs are generally on very specific topics. That’s academia.
I’ve not read Brown’s PhD. I don’t know what it was like. PhDs are funny things and I’ve seen some crappy ones get passed, so I’m not saying this is slam dunk evidence.
I've found Brown's PhD dissertation online. Skimming through it, it reads like 500 pages of HYUFD.
Actually that's true. Dan Brown is such a bad writer.
Maybe so, but he can entertain. I like to put his books next to some much more worthy books on the shelf so people do a double take when they see Deception Point next to Crime and Punishment.
One thing for certain is Johnson is definitely not an towering intellectual. He is one of those classic seemingly bright kids who are good with words, which makes them appear far brighter than their peers. He definitely has "talent" for writing entertaining waffle, but it seems pretty clear that by the time he got to Oxford that was the peak of his level.
The problem is I think he believes he is far more intelligent than he really is, still harking back to those days as a school kid where he knocked together an essay in half an hour before class and still getting a good grade.
Cameron was once known as the “essay-crisis prime minister”, different though he was from Boris in many ways:
Doesn't surprise me....Cameron is smarter than Boris, that managed to continue to do his last minute dash even at Oxford and beyond. Also, although I am sure there is an element of arrogance in that, I don't think he kidded himself that he knows everything about everything and that expert advice is required from a number of quarters to then be considered. If I remember correctly the civil service were very complimentary about him after he left that he would always do the Red box, always listen take things in to try and get a handle on situations.
Boris on the other hand seems to have somebody tell him something, which he then goes yes great or no rubbish.....move on...without much consideration. It seems with COVID they had to construct very clear simple charts to finally get their message home.
Brown was/is an intellectual. However he lost (maybe never had) the knack for retail politics and was plagued with self-doubt.
If Mordaunt, for example, became PM, she would certainly be the thickest PM in living memory.
They have all tended to be above average IQ, if not necessarily “intellectual”.
Mordaunt is clearly both brighter and more intellectually and emotionally flexible than May, I would say.
Emotionally flexible, sure, but not smarter, I’d say.
I suspect in terms of pure intellect, it goes.
1. Brown 2. Thatcher 3. Blair 4. Boris 5. Cameron / May / Major
Where is the evidence for Brown's great intellect?
He got a PhD, which requires some intellect… although sometimes I think it as much requires stubbornness!
He took forever to complete it (in fact he would now be kicked out of most PhD programmes these days for taking too long. Nobody will give you 10 years to complete at a good institution now) and it was the history of the Labour Party for a select few years...not at all impressive really.
He was doing it part-time. I have a good colleague who took that long. I had a student who took that long, and turned the work into a very successful business afterwards. If you don’t have some intellectual ability, no amount of time will be enough for a PhD. It still usually demonstrates some ability.
PhDs are generally on very specific topics. That’s academia.
I’ve not read Brown’s PhD. I don’t know what it was like. PhDs are funny things and I’ve seen some crappy ones get passed, so I’m not saying this is slam dunk evidence.
I've found Brown's PhD dissertation online. Skimming through it, it reads like 500 pages of HYUFD.
Only three people read a PhD. You, the supervisor and the external and the last is debatable. As is the second. And possibly the first.
Lucky people have a partner who makes it four, although he/she may be lying.
They’re easier to get hold of nowadays what with the interwebs. I have read one PhD thesis for fun, on how Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials was translated into Chinese and what this showed about cultural views of women’s roles.
I was pleasantly surprised at Tom. Needs to cut down on the smiling a bit but otherwise came across as kind, sincere and honest.
Also, good glassmanship
I thought Kemi scored points by turning out in that nice yellow. wtf were the other women thinking, going all drab when you don't have to?
Truss should have turned up in a red evening dress to maximise the impression of unhinged, vampiric lunacy.
I thought Truss dressed like the kind of teacher you hated at school. Mordaunt dressed like the head teacher. I hated the fact that Sunak didn’t wear a tie. You know full well he has thousands of pounds worth in his walking in wardrobe but was told that he’d look cooler if he didn’t wear one.
covid has killed ties, only salesmen wear them these days
Time to kill them off for good. In today’s enlightened times, why shoul smart dress for people who identify as female be a floaty summer dress, and for mean a suit and tie? Business attire is changing, and for the better. What is the point of a tie?
Edit: posted after wearing said tie for 10 hours at graduation today...
I like wearing a suit and tie, I feel more productive as I mentally switch into work mode. But the tie at least will not remain a ubiquitous part of business attire, I am sure.
My work attire has not really changed in the last 300 years so I am not chucking my ties just yet.
I hope you still have your mourning bands and weepers, last worn for the death of the late King Olav V in 1991!
They, at last, have fallen into desuetude. There was a direction from Her Majesty (I kid you not) that she did not think it necessary for the judiciary or bar to wear weapers on the death of Philip and that she would not expect it on her passing either.
Which was something of a relief because I have never bought any. I do recall a local sheriff wearing weapers on the death of the Queen Mum but even then most thought it a little eccentric.
I speak for the nation and took part in this poll and called it for Tom, then Penny, then Rishi, then Badenoch in the distance, and Truss, oh dear.
Sunak in a different league imo despite the derivative Blairisms. Easily the best performer on both style and substance. It was like a lead singer with his backing band. If I had a vote that's where it would go and it wouldn't be a tough choice.
Mordaunt seems vacant. Tug is a bit stodgy. Badenoch is miles from PM material. Truss is just bad on every level. Poundshop Maggie is too kind.
But all 5 would be fabulous PMs compared to the last bloke. This was my main feeling watching the debate. Sheer joy and relief that Boris Johnson is history. It's been a few days now but the heart remains cockled that he's gone.
How on earth did the Tories ever think it was ok to foist that man on the country? This is the question they'll be hoping doesn't occur to the electorate come the time. I hope it will.
It does seem odd to me, as a non Tory, seeing the PB Tories alight on one no-hoper moron then another, while it is patently clear that Sunak is the only halfway decent candidate on offer.
With our Lab hats on - come on the Truss! 😅
I know that’s a joke but… we should want what’s best for the country… not what’s best for Labour!
The best for country is a safe pair of hands who can govern with managerial competence before safety taking the Tories into opposition.
There is not much on offer, but maybe Tom is he man for that task.
David L: My work attire has not really changed in the last 300 years so I am not chucking my ties just yet.
SSI - In Seattle, lawyers are just about the only men who wear neckties on even a quasi-regular basis.
Yours truly occasionally wears a tie (generally at election offices) but only when I'm impersonating a lawyer; I don't SAY I'm a lawyer, but the tie makes them THINK I am.
I avoid wearing suit or even sports coat, instead sport a pile vest with my tie. Very Pacific Northwest look and also communicates that, I mean business but I am NOT a "suit".
David L: My work attire has not really changed in the last 300 years so I am not chucking my ties just yet.
SSI - In Seattle, lawyers are just about the only men who wear neckties on even a quasi-regular basis.
Yours truly occasionally wears a tie (generally at election offices) but only when I'm impersonating a lawyer; I don't SAY I'm a lawyer, but the tie makes them THINK I am.
I avoid wearing suit or even sports coat, instead sport a pile vest with my tie. Very Pacific Northwest look and also communicates that, I mean business but I am NOT a "suit".
A professorial colleague looks at her diary in the morning. If she’s meeting medics, she wears a dress. If she’s meeting computer scientists, she wears jeans.
I was pleasantly surprised at Tom. Needs to cut down on the smiling a bit but otherwise came across as kind, sincere and honest.
Also, good glassmanship
I thought Kemi scored points by turning out in that nice yellow. wtf were the other women thinking, going all drab when you don't have to?
Truss should have turned up in a red evening dress to maximise the impression of unhinged, vampiric lunacy.
I thought Truss dressed like the kind of teacher you hated at school. Mordaunt dressed like the head teacher. I hated the fact that Sunak didn’t wear a tie. You know full well he has thousands of pounds worth in his walking in wardrobe but was told that he’d look cooler if he didn’t wear one.
covid has killed ties, only salesmen wear them these days
Time to kill them off for good. In today’s enlightened times, why shoul smart dress for people who identify as female be a floaty summer dress, and for mean a suit and tie? Business attire is changing, and for the better. What is the point of a tie?
Edit: posted after wearing said tie for 10 hours at graduation today...
I like wearing a suit and tie, I feel more productive as I mentally switch into work mode. But the tie at least will not remain a ubiquitous part of business attire, I am sure.
My work attire has not really changed in the last 300 years so I am not chucking my ties just yet.
I hope you still have your mourning bands and weepers, last worn for the death of the late King Olav V in 1991!
They, at last, have fallen into desuetude. There was a direction from Her Majesty (I kid you not) that she did not think it necessary for the judiciary or bar to wear weapers on the death of Philip and that she would not expect it on her passing either.
Which was something of a relief because I have never bought any. I do recall a local sheriff wearing weapers on the death of the Queen Mum but even then most thought it a little eccentric.
David L: My work attire has not really changed in the last 300 years so I am not chucking my ties just yet.
SSI - In Seattle, lawyers are just about the only men who wear neckties on even a quasi-regular basis.
Yours truly occasionally wears a tie (generally at election offices) but only when I'm impersonating a lawyer; I don't SAY I'm a lawyer, but the tie makes them THINK I am.
I avoid wearing suit or even sports coat, instead sport a pile vest with my tie. Very Pacific Northwest look and also communicates that, I mean business but I am NOT a "suit". Not sure what has happened to the blockquote here. I said:
Wow that sounds complicated. By far the best thing about wearing a suit and tie is that I can dress in the morning without having to wake up.
There was a bloke at my work called ‘scary Gareth’ who took dressing down in summer to an extreme, he used to turn up in a grubby t shirt, speedos and a Columbo style trench coat.
Badenoch - out of her depth and a twat Mordaunt - shifty, surly Sunak - far too sure of himself Truss - utter cretin Tugendhat - out of his depth but not a twat
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
Badenoch - out of her depth and a twat Mordaunt - shifty, surly Sunak - far too sure of himself Truss - utter cretin Tugendhat - out of his depth but not a twat
Brown was/is an intellectual. However he lost (maybe never had) the knack for retail politics and was plagued with self-doubt.
If Mordaunt, for example, became PM, she would certainly be the thickest PM in living memory.
They have all tended to be above average IQ, if not necessarily “intellectual”.
Mordaunt is clearly both brighter and more intellectually and emotionally flexible than May, I would say.
Emotionally flexible, sure, but not smarter, I’d say.
I suspect in terms of pure intellect, it goes.
1. Brown 2. Thatcher 3. Blair 4. Boris 5. Cameron / May / Major
Where is the evidence for Brown's great intellect?
He got a PhD, which requires some intellect… although sometimes I think it as much requires stubbornness!
He took forever to complete it (in fact he would now be kicked out of most PhD programmes these days for taking too long. Nobody will give you 10 years to complete at a good institution now) and it was the history of the Labour Party for a select few years...not at all impressive really.
He was doing it part-time. I have a good colleague who took that long. I had a student who took that long, and turned the work into a very successful business afterwards. If you don’t have some intellectual ability, no amount of time will be enough for a PhD. It still usually demonstrates some ability.
PhDs are generally on very specific topics. That’s academia.
I’ve not read Brown’s PhD. I don’t know what it was like. PhDs are funny things and I’ve seen some crappy ones get passed, so I’m not saying this is slam dunk evidence.
I've found Brown's PhD dissertation online. Skimming through it, it reads like 500 pages of HYUFD.
Actually that's true. Dan Brown is such a bad writer.
Maybe so, but he can entertain. I like to put his books next to some much more worthy books on the shelf so people do a double take when they see Deception Point next to Crime and Punishment.
Thinking of which, reading Dan Brown is both a crime and its own punishment.
Badenoch - out of her depth and a twat Mordaunt - shifty, surly Sunak - far too sure of himself Truss - utter cretin Tugendhat - out of his depth but not a twat
So? She's not a twat because she's a Black woman. She's a twat because she's a twat. Are you a White man? Because you're a twat.
Brown was/is an intellectual. However he lost (maybe never had) the knack for retail politics and was plagued with self-doubt.
If Mordaunt, for example, became PM, she would certainly be the thickest PM in living memory.
They have all tended to be above average IQ, if not necessarily “intellectual”.
Mordaunt is clearly both brighter and more intellectually and emotionally flexible than May, I would say.
Emotionally flexible, sure, but not smarter, I’d say.
I suspect in terms of pure intellect, it goes.
1. Brown 2. Thatcher 3. Blair 4. Boris 5. Cameron / May / Major
Where is the evidence for Brown's great intellect?
He got a PhD, which requires some intellect… although sometimes I think it as much requires stubbornness!
He took forever to complete it (in fact he would now be kicked out of most PhD programmes these days for taking too long. Nobody will give you 10 years to complete at a good institution now) and it was the history of the Labour Party for a select few years...not at all impressive really.
He was doing it part-time. I have a good colleague who took that long. I had a student who took that long, and turned the work into a very successful business afterwards. If you don’t have some intellectual ability, no amount of time will be enough for a PhD. It still usually demonstrates some ability.
PhDs are generally on very specific topics. That’s academia.
I’ve not read Brown’s PhD. I don’t know what it was like. PhDs are funny things and I’ve seen some crappy ones get passed, so I’m not saying this is slam dunk evidence.
I've found Brown's PhD dissertation online. Skimming through it, it reads like 500 pages of HYUFD.
Actually that's true. Dan Brown is such a bad writer.
Maybe so, but he can entertain. I like to put his books next to some much more worthy books on the shelf so people do a double take when they see Deception Point next to Crime and Punishment.
Thinking of which, reading Dan Brown is both a crime and its own punishment.
It's only a crime to logical plotting and characterisation.
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
It may well boil down to whether the membership have a collective moment of clarity and think actually the guy who seems to understand the finance stuff should be PM in the worst economic mess in decades.
I was pleasantly surprised at Tom. Needs to cut down on the smiling a bit but otherwise came across as kind, sincere and honest.
Also, good glassmanship
I thought Kemi scored points by turning out in that nice yellow. wtf were the other women thinking, going all drab when you don't have to?
Truss should have turned up in a red evening dress to maximise the impression of unhinged, vampiric lunacy.
I thought Truss dressed like the kind of teacher you hated at school. Mordaunt dressed like the head teacher. I hated the fact that Sunak didn’t wear a tie. You know full well he has thousands of pounds worth in his walking in wardrobe but was told that he’d look cooler if he didn’t wear one.
covid has killed ties, only salesmen wear them these days
Time to kill them off for good. In today’s enlightened times, why shoul smart dress for people who identify as female be a floaty summer dress, and for mean a suit and tie? Business attire is changing, and for the better. What is the point of a tie?
Edit: posted after wearing said tie for 10 hours at graduation today...
I like wearing a suit and tie, I feel more productive as I mentally switch into work mode. But the tie at least will not remain a ubiquitous part of business attire, I am sure.
My work attire has not really changed in the last 300 years so I am not chucking my ties just yet.
I hope you still have your mourning bands and weepers, last worn for the death of the late King Olav V in 1991!
They, at last, have fallen into desuetude. There was a direction from Her Majesty (I kid you not) that she did not think it necessary for the judiciary or bar to wear weapers on the death of Philip and that she would not expect it on her passing either.
Which was something of a relief because I have never bought any. I do recall a local sheriff wearing weapers on the death of the Queen Mum but even then most thought it a little eccentric.
Re Boris, when he went to Oxford, it was quite a well known path that, if you weren't that bright but you did want to go to Oxford, you'd apply for Classics(or Literae Humaniores as they called it). There was an 80pc acceptance rate when BJ did it and, if you had any vague knowledge of Ancient Greek, you were in.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
Never forget that an only slightly earlier version of this electorate thought IDS was a better option than Ken Clarke. Just let that sink in once more and put all certainty to one side.
Badenoch - out of her depth and a twat Mordaunt - shifty, surly Sunak - far too sure of himself Truss - utter cretin Tugendhat - out of his depth but not a twat
So? She's not a twat because she's a Black woman. She's a twat because she's a twat. Are you a White man? Because you're a twat.
Way back in the previous thread, Theuniondivvie asked: "Anyway, a reminder that there are (even) worse potential leaders out there. Didn’t Ivana accuse him of rape at one point?"
Yes and no. Yes, under oath, when they were having their divorce fight, no later. (I can't help suspecting that, in the latter, she was hoping for better deals for her kids in Donald Trump's will.)
Re Boris, when he went to Oxford, it was quite a well known path that, if you weren't that bright but you did want to go to Oxford, you'd apply for Classics(or Literae Humaniores as they called it). There was an 80pc acceptance rate when BJ did it and, if you had any vague knowledge of Ancient Greek, you were in.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
I don’t think Boris is “extremely intelligent”. He is naturally gifted, but lazy, and I think his curiosity about the world ended approx age 18.
He only scraped a second in Classics.
I doubt he is especially numerate, either
Why would he need to be, other people should pay for his stuff and he doesn't even bother to be curious about who is doing so.
Being incurious about finance did help him out a bit though when Livingstone seemingly presumed Boris fiddled his taxes.
I can believe that Boris probably did perfectly well in the interview as well. Confident bluffing and memorable. It is only when you get past that initial interaction you then go hold on a sec. Just like his turns doing after dinner speaking or his Telegraph columns, not thinking too hard, people will say that was entertaining, with some funny lines and a good tale, it only when people go hold on that claim he made, is that really true....you find he pulled it out his arse or didn't understand the some nuance around the actual facts.
Adam Bienkov @AdamBienkov · 1h Three per cent of voters thought Liz Truss came across most as "charismatic".
===
I guess we have a floor on % of people on drugs on a Friday evening.
There was a couple of moments when I thought the whole lizard disguise was going to slip off leaving her exposed. It was a troubling thought, not least because @Leon would never, ever stop telling us that he told us so.
Badenoch - out of her depth and a twat Mordaunt - shifty, surly Sunak - far too sure of himself Truss - utter cretin Tugendhat - out of his depth but not a twat
So? She's not a twat because she's a Black woman. She's a twat because she's a twat. Are you a White man? Because you're a twat.
Hey buddy, you're the one who thinks that just because someone is a Black women she must be above reproach. I don't know what made you racist and sexist, but I hope you find a way to restart your brain.
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
Never forget that an only slightly earlier version of this electorate thought IDS was a better option than Ken Clarke. Just let that sink in once more and put all certainty to one side.
Its the same electorate - only they are all twenty years older.
I'm not so sure. In a way, Mark Francois and the ERGers may have over the path for Badenoch given their comments that the latter should quit to ensure a candidate of the Right made it through to the final round. Post-tonight, I think the Badenoch camp can turn that argument on its head and say Truss can't win, why don't you vote for us.
While 15 votes between the two seems large, if 7-8 MPs switch from Truss to Badenoch, the gap is erased, all other things being equal.
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
There was a bloke at my work called ‘scary Gareth’ who took dressing down in summer to an extreme, he used to turn up in a grubby t shirt, speedos and a Columbo style trench coat.
Badenoch - out of her depth and a twat Mordaunt - shifty, surly Sunak - far too sure of himself Truss - utter cretin Tugendhat - out of his depth but not a twat
So? She's not a twat because she's a Black woman. She's a twat because she's a twat. Are you a White man? Because you're a twat.
Hey buddy, you're the one who thinks that just because someone is a Black women she must be above reproach. I don't know what made you racist and sexist, but I hope you find a way to restart your brain.
Brown was/is an intellectual. However he lost (maybe never had) the knack for retail politics and was plagued with self-doubt.
If Mordaunt, for example, became PM, she would certainly be the thickest PM in living memory.
They have all tended to be above average IQ, if not necessarily “intellectual”.
Mordaunt is clearly both brighter and more intellectually and emotionally flexible than May, I would say.
Emotionally flexible, sure, but not smarter, I’d say.
I suspect in terms of pure intellect, it goes.
1. Brown 2. Thatcher 3. Blair 4. Boris 5. Cameron / May / Major
Where is the evidence for Brown's great intellect?
He got a PhD, which requires some intellect… although sometimes I think it as much requires stubbornness!
He took forever to complete it (in fact he would now be kicked out of most PhD programmes these days for taking too long. Nobody will give you 10 years to complete at a good institution now) and it was the history of the Labour Party for a select few years...not at all impressive really.
He was doing it part-time. I have a good colleague who took that long. I had a student who took that long, and turned the work into a very successful business afterwards. If you don’t have some intellectual ability, no amount of time will be enough for a PhD. It still usually demonstrates some ability.
PhDs are generally on very specific topics. That’s academia.
I’ve not read Brown’s PhD. I don’t know what it was like. PhDs are funny things and I’ve seen some crappy ones get passed, so I’m not saying this is slam dunk evidence.
Brian May completed his PhD after a 40 year gap.
Yeah, but in the meantime he was you know a bit busy becoming a member of a world famous band. Gordon Brown taught at Glasgow College of Technology.
Nobody is suggesting Brown was a thickie (like Boris), but a part time PhD in the history of the Labour Party isn't exactly a PhD in Astro-physics.
A PhD is a PhD. At least from Russell group unis.
The time taken is irrelevant.
Not all PhDs are equal. Far from it.
Not everyone can have a critical race theory PhD, and you shouldn't look down on people that get them in inferior subjects, like physics.
I don’t think Boris is “extremely intelligent”. He is naturally gifted, but lazy, and I think his curiosity about the world ended approx age 18.
He only scraped a second in Classics.
I doubt he is especially numerate, either
I have a theory about Boris. I know there are issues about his home life etc but he got a scholarship to Eton. I just wonder whether like a lot of high achievers at a young age he suffered as a result. Ended up settling for being a superficial rake.
He ended up as Mayor of London, as prime minister of the United Kingdom, and he also changed the world - by winning the Brexit Referendum
If that is “settling for something”, god knows what he could have done, if he’d tried. Conquered the solar system during lunch?
One difference between Britain and the US that has fascinated me for years: As I understand it, almost every educated Brit can describe your class system with a letter code, A, B, C1, C2, and so on. There really is no equivalent shorthand here, though class is nearly as important here as it is there.
So, what letter would describe Sir Keir when he was growing up, and what letter describes him now?
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
Never forget that an only slightly earlier version of this electorate thought IDS was a better option than Ken Clarke. Just let that sink in once more and put all certainty to one side.
Its the same electorate - only they are all twenty years older.
What a nightmare.
They must surely be in their 90s at least, as they all seem to think they fought WW2.
Badenoch - out of her depth and a twat Mordaunt - shifty, surly Sunak - far too sure of himself Truss - utter cretin Tugendhat - out of his depth but not a twat
So? She's not a twat because she's a Black woman. She's a twat because she's a twat. Are you a White man? Because you're a twat.
Hey buddy, you're the one who thinks that just because someone is a Black women she must be above reproach. I don't know what made you racist and sexist, but I hope you find a way to restart your brain.
I'll stop humiliating you if you promise to stop humiliating yourself. Fair deal?
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
It may well boil down to whether the membership have a collective moment of clarity and think actually the guy who seems to understand the finance stuff should be PM in the worst economic mess in decades.
Or they may think he was there, didn't do much/had no ideas on how to fix those problems and therefore had his chance.
The membership may want more of an outsider, a clean slate.
You seriously had to f**k it up in the interview not to be offered a place given that acceptance rate and, as you say, Boris probably had a certain charm.
Hell, Trinity thought JRM was acceptable and they are supposed to be one of the better colleges. He only got a Third.
Re Boris, when he went to Oxford, it was quite a well known path that, if you weren't that bright but you did want to go to Oxford, you'd apply for Classics(or Literae Humaniores as they called it). There was an 80pc acceptance rate when BJ did it and, if you had any vague knowledge of Ancient Greek, you were in.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
I don’t think Boris is “extremely intelligent”. He is naturally gifted, but lazy, and I think his curiosity about the world ended approx age 18.
He only scraped a second in Classics.
I doubt he is especially numerate, either
Why would he need to be, other people should pay for his stuff and he doesn't even bother to be curious about who is doing so.
Being incurious about finance did help him out a bit though when Livingstone seemingly presumed Boris fiddled his taxes.
I can believe that Boris probably did perfectly well in the interview as well. Confident bluffing and memorable. It is only when you get past that initial interaction you then go hold on a sec. Just like his turns doing after dinner speaking or his Telegraph columns, not thinking too hard, people will say that was entertaining, with some funny lines and a good tale, it only when people go hold on that claim he made, is that really true....you find he pulled it out his arse or didn't understand the some nuance around the actual facts.
I'm not so sure. In a way, Mark Francois and the ERGers may have over the path for Badenoch given their comments that the latter should quit to ensure a candidate of the Right made it through to the final round. Post-tonight, I think the Badenoch camp can turn that argument on its head and say Truss can't win, why don't you vote for us.
While 15 votes between the two seems large, if 7-8 MPs switch from Truss to Badenoch, the gap is erased, all other things being equal.
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
The ERG WhatsApp groups must have been something tonight as Truss imploded.
There was a bloke at my work called ‘scary Gareth’ who took dressing down in summer to an extreme, he used to turn up in a grubby t shirt, speedos and a Columbo style trench coat.
The trench coat being scariest albeit least-revealing item.
Gordon Brown’s idea of a bedtime read was to snuggle up with “Varieties of Capitalism” by Hall, Soskice (OUP, 2001).
I’m pretty sure Thatcher too actually “read and understood” (a la Jackie Weaver), Hayek, Friedman et al. Not to mention Isaiah Berlin. She probably liked the idea of Oakeshott, but couldn’t be bothered reading all the way through.
I suspect Blair was more of a New Statesman Op Ed and bios of Bill Gates type character.
Cameron was very middle-brow in his cultural consumption, as far as I can tell.
Gladstone read Trollope most afternoons iirc.
I thought he tried to save trollops most afternoons.
There has surely never before been anything like such a huge movement arising from a leadership debate.
But Kemi's odds haven't moved much so it doesn't appear to represent change in sentiment towards Kemi.
Surely the only justification for such a big move would be MPs ditching Truss. But is there any evidence that is happening? OK, maybe some are but I don't think any MP has actually said any such thing.
Why oh why has nobody made the pun “Tom Turgidhat” yet?
I thought he did fine, and I say that as someone who is not a natural TT person. So that epitaph might be a bit harsh.
He did come across though as slightly earnest.
One quick comment re Mike's point on the poll. Channel 4 is not a natural habitat for Conservatives so I'm not sure whether people watching on C4 is representative of the Conservative member population.
I'm not so sure. In a way, Mark Francois and the ERGers may have over the path for Badenoch given their comments that the latter should quit to ensure a candidate of the Right made it through to the final round. Post-tonight, I think the Badenoch camp can turn that argument on its head and say Truss can't win, why don't you vote for us.
While 15 votes between the two seems large, if 7-8 MPs switch from Truss to Badenoch, the gap is erased, all other things being equal.
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
The ERG WhatsApp groups must have been something tonight as Truss imploded.
One difference between Britain and the US that has fascinated me for years: As I understand it, almost every educated Brit can describe your class system with a letter code, A, B, C1, C2, and so on. There really is no equivalent shorthand here, though class is nearly as important here as it is there.
So, what letter would describe Sir Keir when he was growing up, and what letter describes him now?
Now, he’s A: Higher managerial, administrative or professional
Gordon Brown’s idea of a bedtime read was to snuggle up with “Varieties of Capitalism” by Hall, Soskice (OUP, 2001).
I’m pretty sure Thatcher too actually “read and understood” (a la Jackie Weaver), Hayek, Friedman et al. Not to mention Isaiah Berlin. She probably liked the idea of Oakeshott, but couldn’t be bothered reading all the way through.
I suspect Blair was more of a New Statesman Op Ed and bios of Bill Gates type character.
Cameron was very middle-brow in his cultural consumption, as far as I can tell.
Gladstone read Trollope most afternoons iirc.
I thought he tried to save trollops most afternoons.
Macmillan always said, after a long hard day, no greater pleasure than enjoying a good Trollop in bed.
There has surely never before been anything like such a huge movement arising from a leadership debate.
But Kemi's odds haven't moved much so it doesn't appear to represent change in sentiment towards Kemi.
Surely the only justification for such a big move would be MPs ditching Truss. But is there any evidence that is happening? OK, maybe some are but I don't think any MP has actually said any such thing.
I remember the Cleggasm when, thankfully briefly, it looked possible he was about to become PM.
I can’t see any other option from this than Mordaunt v Sunak. I have not seen anyone so comprehensively butcher their chances as I have Liz Truss in this debate.
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
Never forget that an only slightly earlier version of this electorate thought IDS was a better option than Ken Clarke. Just let that sink in once more and put all certainty to one side.
Its the same electorate - only they are all twenty years older.
What a nightmare.
They must surely be in their 90s at least, as they all seem to think they fought WW2.
The reality is that actually they are all Baby Boomers born in the 40s or earlier 50s who lives have been dramatically changed and made easier by the Welfare State they supposedly hate, whose lives have been enlightened by the BBC they want to close down and whose twilight years will be damn easier if the care home could get more eastern European staff again.
Gordon Brown’s idea of a bedtime read was to snuggle up with “Varieties of Capitalism” by Hall, Soskice (OUP, 2001).
I’m pretty sure Thatcher too actually “read and understood” (a la Jackie Weaver), Hayek, Friedman et al. Not to mention Isaiah Berlin. She probably liked the idea of Oakeshott, but couldn’t be bothered reading all the way through.
I suspect Blair was more of a New Statesman Op Ed and bios of Bill Gates type character.
Cameron was very middle-brow in his cultural consumption, as far as I can tell.
Gladstone read Trollope most afternoons iirc.
I thought he tried to save trollops most afternoons.
"Shall I save you, my dear, or shall you beat me? Or should be take it turn and turn about?"
Millions of disposable vapes containing valuable metal ending up in landfill
Users in the UK are throwing away around two disposable vapes every second. The number of discarded disposable vapes accounts for around 10 tonnes of lithium being sent to landfill or waste incinerators each year - enough of the metal to make batteries for 1,200 electric cars.
There has surely never before been anything like such a huge movement arising from a leadership debate.
But Kemi's odds haven't moved much so it doesn't appear to represent change in sentiment towards Kemi.
Surely the only justification for such a big move would be MPs ditching Truss. But is there any evidence that is happening? OK, maybe some are but I don't think any MP has actually said any such thing.
I'm not convinced the change in the way MPs will vote will be anything like as dramatic as the change in odds.
You seriously had to f**k it up in the interview not to be offered a place given that acceptance rate and, as you say, Boris probably had a certain charm.
Hell, Trinity thought JRM was acceptable and they are supposed to be one of the better colleges. He only got a Third.
Re Boris, when he went to Oxford, it was quite a well known path that, if you weren't that bright but you did want to go to Oxford, you'd apply for Classics(or Literae Humaniores as they called it). There was an 80pc acceptance rate when BJ did it and, if you had any vague knowledge of Ancient Greek, you were in.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
I don’t think Boris is “extremely intelligent”. He is naturally gifted, but lazy, and I think his curiosity about the world ended approx age 18.
He only scraped a second in Classics.
I doubt he is especially numerate, either
Why would he need to be, other people should pay for his stuff and he doesn't even bother to be curious about who is doing so.
Being incurious about finance did help him out a bit though when Livingstone seemingly presumed Boris fiddled his taxes.
I can believe that Boris probably did perfectly well in the interview as well. Confident bluffing and memorable. It is only when you get past that initial interaction you then go hold on a sec. Just like his turns doing after dinner speaking or his Telegraph columns, not thinking too hard, people will say that was entertaining, with some funny lines and a good tale, it only when people go hold on that claim he made, is that really true....you find he pulled it out his arse or didn't understand the some nuance around the actual facts.
There has surely never before been anything like such a huge movement arising from a leadership debate.
But Kemi's odds haven't moved much so it doesn't appear to represent change in sentiment towards Kemi.
Surely the only justification for such a big move would be MPs ditching Truss. But is there any evidence that is happening? OK, maybe some are but I don't think any MP has actually said any such thing.
I remember the Cleggasm when, thankfully briefly, it looked possible he was about to become PM.
That was huge. Everyone at school fell in love with him overnight.
There has surely never before been anything like such a huge movement arising from a leadership debate.
But Kemi's odds haven't moved much so it doesn't appear to represent change in sentiment towards Kemi.
Surely the only justification for such a big move would be MPs ditching Truss. But is there any evidence that is happening? OK, maybe some are but I don't think any MP has actually said any such thing.
I'm not convinced the change in the way MPs will vote will be anything like as dramatic as the change in odds.
You seriously had to f**k it up in the interview not to be offered a place given that acceptance rate and, as you say, Boris probably had a certain charm.
Hell, Trinity thought JRM was acceptable and they are supposed to be one of the better colleges. He only got a Third.
Re Boris, when he went to Oxford, it was quite a well known path that, if you weren't that bright but you did want to go to Oxford, you'd apply for Classics(or Literae Humaniores as they called it). There was an 80pc acceptance rate when BJ did it and, if you had any vague knowledge of Ancient Greek, you were in.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
I don’t think Boris is “extremely intelligent”. He is naturally gifted, but lazy, and I think his curiosity about the world ended approx age 18.
He only scraped a second in Classics.
I doubt he is especially numerate, either
Why would he need to be, other people should pay for his stuff and he doesn't even bother to be curious about who is doing so.
Being incurious about finance did help him out a bit though when Livingstone seemingly presumed Boris fiddled his taxes.
I can believe that Boris probably did perfectly well in the interview as well. Confident bluffing and memorable. It is only when you get past that initial interaction you then go hold on a sec. Just like his turns doing after dinner speaking or his Telegraph columns, not thinking too hard, people will say that was entertaining, with some funny lines and a good tale, it only when people go hold on that claim he made, is that really true....you find he pulled it out his arse or didn't understand the some nuance around the actual facts.
Gordon Brown’s idea of a bedtime read was to snuggle up with “Varieties of Capitalism” by Hall, Soskice (OUP, 2001).
I’m pretty sure Thatcher too actually “read and understood” (a la Jackie Weaver), Hayek, Friedman et al. Not to mention Isaiah Berlin. She probably liked the idea of Oakeshott, but couldn’t be bothered reading all the way through.
I suspect Blair was more of a New Statesman Op Ed and bios of Bill Gates type character.
Cameron was very middle-brow in his cultural consumption, as far as I can tell.
Gladstone read Trollope most afternoons iirc.
I thought he tried to save trollops most afternoons.
Macmillan always said, after a long hard day, no greater pleasure than enjoying a good Trollop in bed.
You seriously had to f**k it up in the interview not to be offered a place given that acceptance rate and, as you say, Boris probably had a certain charm.
Hell, Trinity thought JRM was acceptable and they are supposed to be one of the better colleges. He only got a Third.
Re Boris, when he went to Oxford, it was quite a well known path that, if you weren't that bright but you did want to go to Oxford, you'd apply for Classics(or Literae Humaniores as they called it). There was an 80pc acceptance rate when BJ did it and, if you had any vague knowledge of Ancient Greek, you were in.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
I don’t think Boris is “extremely intelligent”. He is naturally gifted, but lazy, and I think his curiosity about the world ended approx age 18.
He only scraped a second in Classics.
I doubt he is especially numerate, either
Why would he need to be, other people should pay for his stuff and he doesn't even bother to be curious about who is doing so.
Being incurious about finance did help him out a bit though when Livingstone seemingly presumed Boris fiddled his taxes.
I can believe that Boris probably did perfectly well in the interview as well. Confident bluffing and memorable. It is only when you get past that initial interaction you then go hold on a sec. Just like his turns doing after dinner speaking or his Telegraph columns, not thinking too hard, people will say that was entertaining, with some funny lines and a good tale, it only when people go hold on that claim he made, is that really true....you find he pulled it out his arse or didn't understand the some nuance around the actual facts.
Truss withdraws this weekend via a deal with another candidate - first woman CoE?
Only Tugendhat has any incentive to do that.
And Tugendhat wouldn't benefit much from it anyway. It's not like Truss is going to bring all her supporters along with her even if she tried. The ERG swivels aren't going to back TT, the continuity Borisers won't either. The candidates where she could expect her supporters to follow wouldn't want her as their CoE. I think Truss has little option but to fight on and probably lose. Difference is she might end up 4th, not 3rd, now.
I'd be happy with any of TT, KB and PM as long as he doesn't get it. He would be the modern day equivalent of Marie-Antoinette and "let them eat cake".
You seriously had to f**k it up in the interview not to be offered a place given that acceptance rate and, as you say, Boris probably had a certain charm.
Hell, Trinity thought JRM was acceptable and they are supposed to be one of the better colleges. He only got a Third.
Re Boris, when he went to Oxford, it was quite a well known path that, if you weren't that bright but you did want to go to Oxford, you'd apply for Classics(or Literae Humaniores as they called it). There was an 80pc acceptance rate when BJ did it and, if you had any vague knowledge of Ancient Greek, you were in.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
I don’t think Boris is “extremely intelligent”. He is naturally gifted, but lazy, and I think his curiosity about the world ended approx age 18.
He only scraped a second in Classics.
I doubt he is especially numerate, either
Why would he need to be, other people should pay for his stuff and he doesn't even bother to be curious about who is doing so.
Being incurious about finance did help him out a bit though when Livingstone seemingly presumed Boris fiddled his taxes.
I can believe that Boris probably did perfectly well in the interview as well. Confident bluffing and memorable. It is only when you get past that initial interaction you then go hold on a sec. Just like his turns doing after dinner speaking or his Telegraph columns, not thinking too hard, people will say that was entertaining, with some funny lines and a good tale, it only when people go hold on that claim he made, is that really true....you find he pulled it out his arse or didn't understand the some nuance around the actual facts.
You seriously had to f**k it up in the interview not to be offered a place given that acceptance rate and, as you say, Boris probably had a certain charm.
Hell, Trinity thought JRM was acceptable and they are supposed to be one of the better colleges. He only got a Third.
Re Boris, when he went to Oxford, it was quite a well known path that, if you weren't that bright but you did want to go to Oxford, you'd apply for Classics(or Literae Humaniores as they called it). There was an 80pc acceptance rate when BJ did it and, if you had any vague knowledge of Ancient Greek, you were in.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
I don’t think Boris is “extremely intelligent”. He is naturally gifted, but lazy, and I think his curiosity about the world ended approx age 18.
He only scraped a second in Classics.
I doubt he is especially numerate, either
Why would he need to be, other people should pay for his stuff and he doesn't even bother to be curious about who is doing so.
Being incurious about finance did help him out a bit though when Livingstone seemingly presumed Boris fiddled his taxes.
I can believe that Boris probably did perfectly well in the interview as well. Confident bluffing and memorable. It is only when you get past that initial interaction you then go hold on a sec. Just like his turns doing after dinner speaking or his Telegraph columns, not thinking too hard, people will say that was entertaining, with some funny lines and a good tale, it only when people go hold on that claim he made, is that really true....you find he pulled it out his arse or didn't understand the some nuance around the actual facts.
That's my memory too, although it may have undergone some sneaky editing along the way.
I recall him well from the Oxford Union. Pretty much every time he stood up there was a collective groan from the cheap seats (including me).
As a distinctly naive grammar school boy, I had never seen such a creature before.
I'm glad that he seems as odd to everyone else now as he did to me then.
On the other side of the coin, there were quite a few others from that time that have turned up in front line politics and they were all pretty much instantly forgettable.
Comments
Almost bordering on unhinged . Is this really the person you want with the nuclear codes .
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/david-cameron-s-conference-speech-shows-the-essay-crisis-prime-minister-has-finally-planned-ahead
It’s a shame he didn’t stand. I know it’s a data point of one, but unlike all the others he was able to reach my teenage son.
This is classic “lane” theory. There isn’t one contest. There’s two contests and the one for the Right/Borisite lane is between Truss and Badenoch. So, Liz has a big lead on Kemi. Was she bad enough to lose that? Was Kemi good enough? I think not. So I think Truss still has a good chance of being in the final 2.
Not to be recommended.
https://twitter.com/efaakelly/status/1546815824069070849?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1546815824069070849|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/twelfth-parades-video-shows-disorder-24467327
https://www.alamy.com/da-vinci-code-horse-manure-for-sale-at-rosslyn-chapel-image7496799.html
He comes across like an over-enthusiastic crypto salesman.
Sunak 3.2
Truss 5.8
Badenoch 36
Tugendhat 100
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.160663234
Boris on the other hand seems to have somebody tell him something, which he then goes yes great or no rubbish.....move on...without much consideration. It seems with COVID they had to construct very clear simple charts to finally get their message home.
Which was something of a relief because I have never bought any. I do recall a local sheriff wearing weapers on the death of the Queen Mum but even then most thought it a little eccentric.
There is not much on offer, but maybe Tom is he man for that task.
SSI - In Seattle, lawyers are just about the only men who wear neckties on even a quasi-regular basis.
Yours truly occasionally wears a tie (generally at election offices) but only when I'm impersonating a lawyer; I don't SAY I'm a lawyer, but the tie makes them THINK I am.
I avoid wearing suit or even sports coat, instead sport a pile vest with my tie. Very Pacific Northwest look and also communicates that, I mean business but I am NOT a "suit".
The job will send her properly bonkers within months imho. She just has that air about her of desperate and heading to unhinged.
(No Labour contestant would ever appear tieless. But the upper classes live by different rules!)
Yours truly occasionally wears a tie (generally at election offices) but only when I'm impersonating a lawyer; I don't SAY I'm a lawyer, but the tie makes them THINK I am.
I avoid wearing suit or even sports coat, instead sport a pile vest with my tie. Very Pacific Northwest look and also communicates that, I mean business but I am NOT a "suit".
A professorial colleague looks at her diary in the morning. If she’s meeting medics, she wears a dress. If she’s meeting computer scientists, she wears jeans.
https://sirhenrybrooke.me/2017/08/04/mourning-bands-and-weepers/
Yours truly occasionally wears a tie (generally at election offices) but only when I'm impersonating a lawyer; I don't SAY I'm a lawyer, but the tie makes them THINK I am.
I avoid wearing suit or even sports coat, instead sport a pile vest with my tie. Very Pacific Northwest look and also communicates that, I mean business but I am NOT a "suit".
Not sure what has happened to the blockquote here. I said:
Wow that sounds complicated. By far the best thing about wearing a suit and tie is that I can dress in the morning without having to wake up.
I just can’t be arsed anymore.
There was a bloke at my work called ‘scary Gareth’ who took dressing down in summer to an extreme, he used to turn up in a grubby t shirt, speedos and a Columbo style trench coat.
Badenoch - out of her depth and a twat
Mordaunt - shifty, surly
Sunak - far too sure of himself
Truss - utter cretin
Tugendhat - out of his depth but not a twat
But as Mordaunt v Sunak looks more likely as the final two, so too we may have to re-evaluate who actually wins out of that pairing. At the moment I’d still wager it would be Mordaunt, but she can’t afford to have quite as disappointing a performance as today in future matchups - for the first time I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Rishi could actually win with the membership.
White (privileged) man = non-twat
Imagine if someone from the Right made that observation.
Tarrifs on your Friday Fish.
Are you a White man? Because you're a twat.
Hence, barely scrapping a second doesn't surprise me. I don't think it's a case of "bright but never did any work", more of a case of "not that bright (and never did any work)".
@AdamBienkov
·
1h
Three per cent of voters thought Liz Truss came across most as "charismatic".
===
I guess we have a floor on % of people on drugs on a Friday evening.
Yes and no. Yes, under oath, when they were having their divorce fight, no later. (I can't help suspecting that, in the latter, she was hoping for better deals for her kids in Donald Trump's will.)
What a nightmare.
While 15 votes between the two seems large, if 7-8 MPs switch from Truss to Badenoch, the gap is erased, all other things being equal.
If that is “settling for something”, god knows what he could have done, if he’d tried. Conquered the solar system during lunch?
So, what letter would describe Sir Keir when he was growing up, and what letter describes him now?
The membership may want more of an outsider, a clean slate.
Hell, Trinity thought JRM was acceptable and they are supposed to be one of the better colleges. He only got a Third.
There has surely never before been anything like such a huge movement arising from a leadership debate.
But Kemi's odds haven't moved much so it doesn't appear to represent change in sentiment towards Kemi.
Surely the only justification for such a big move would be MPs ditching Truss. But is there any evidence that is happening? OK, maybe some are but I don't think any MP has actually said any such thing.
He did come across though as slightly earnest.
One quick comment re Mike's point on the poll. Channel 4 is not a natural habitat for Conservatives so I'm not sure whether people watching on C4 is representative of the Conservative member population.
So why have her odds moved so much? How she performs should have already been priced in.
S&M GOM-style
Users in the UK are throwing away around two disposable vapes every second. The number of discarded disposable vapes accounts for around 10 tonnes of lithium being sent to landfill or waste incinerators each year - enough of the metal to make batteries for 1,200 electric cars.
https://news.sky.com/story/millions-of-disposable-vapes-containing-valuable-metal-ending-up-in-landfill-12652211
Why have the reusable ones gone about of fashion?
She's out at 6.
Thoughts and prayers.
Any more of this and she could become the value bet of the weekend.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Rees-Mogg
He shops at Gap for Kids.
Truss withdraws this weekend via a deal with another candidate - first woman CoE?
Otoh, Badenoch was disappointing compared with her Commons performances. As was Mordaunt.
The candidates where she could expect her supporters to follow wouldn't want her as their CoE. I think Truss has little option but to fight on and probably lose. Difference is she might end up 4th, not 3rd, now.
Is Britain ready for someone like that?
I don’t think so.
So my memory is shite. I stand corrected. Sorry JRM if you are reading this, I'm sorry I thought you got a Third *
* He is still pretty useless though.
I recall him well from the Oxford Union. Pretty much every time he stood up there was a collective groan from the cheap seats (including me).
As a distinctly naive grammar school boy, I had never seen such a creature before.
I'm glad that he seems as odd to everyone else now as he did to me then.
On the other side of the coin, there were quite a few others from that time that have turned up in front line politics and they were all pretty much instantly forgettable.