Timothy Pope, Timothy Pope, Took one more look through his telescope He looked at the sky. He looked at the ground. He looked left and right. He looked all around. And this is what he saw…. THERE’S A SHARK IN THE PARK!
Houses are destroyed and some are floating away as Ian's eyewall hammers southwest Florida. This is video from Fort Myers Beach, Florida off Estero Blvd by Loni Architects https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920
It is going to be a very expensive fix. Florida is fortunate they have a one nation President to help them out.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Possibly they genuinely thought he was a much better choice than any other on offer and believed the members would see that too?
You were right. No punches being pulled on local Radio.
Somebody should produce a compilaton.
Financial crisis? What financial crisis? Cost of mortgages going up? Don’t know anything about that. It’s global, nothing to do with us. But let me tell you how we’re going to cap heating bills. A dozen prime-ministerial interviews boiled down to 280 characters
It's beginning to feel like the end of the Tory Party.
Didn't expect that in my lifetime.
The Conservative Party always has been undead. It constantly reinvents itself, borrowing/stealing ideas from the other parties as society changes. There'll be a new, hopefully sane, iteration along in a few years.
Whereas Labour is less keen to change - hence why they elected a leader whose viewpoints and beliefs were at least forty years out of date. And I guess will again in a few years. And why they hark back to the good old days of BR and nationalised industries.
That requires some sort of nucleus for a sane Conservatism to form round. In the past that's always been identifiable. Think of Thatcher's promotion of people like Hesteltine or Pattern. Howard did the same for Cameron.
The series of purges since 2016 make it much harder to see how the Conservatives can be led back from la la land, even after a defeat. Look at what's happened to the US Republicans.
Are there any sound money/ decent to your neighbour / unobsessed with Woke Conservatives worth watching out for?
It's not just that, it's also and are they going to be MPs after GE 24
Next Tory pm probably started school this autumn.
The Tory party has left the mainstream of politics, and there seems to be no way back for it now. Will there ever be another Tory PM after the next GE? My working assumption is no there won't be one under the current electoral system. Possibly there could be a Tory PM in a multi-party coalition such as in countries like Italy and Israel. I would like to see the Liberal Democrats act as a nucleus to form an alternative to Labour as the opposition.
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Worst decision since Andrew decided on the Emily thing.
We simply cannot have 2 years of this
We can. We are wrong to laugh at her. Her performance was great The markets were wrong to short £ and gilts. The budget was great The media are wrong to say this is a crisis just because we nearly bankrupted pension funds yesterday. This is fine. The economists are wrong to claim (with details) this is the fault of the budget. Its the fault of America/Putin/Remoaners
etc etc. If they want to be brazen and stupid they can carry on with this. With two problems: 1. "I could lose my house" has replaced "how do I heat my house". And the savage cuts to come won't assuage these fears. You can't tell people "this is fine" when it isn't fine. 2. The Tories can't help laughing and sneering at people's concerns. They are masters of the universe now, and the little people need to shut up and take the medicine they didn't vote for so that The Man can get rich and later they will do better.
The singular lesson from Brexit was that when you ignore and belittle people, they don't take it well. Yet this seems to be the entire Truss playbook. Until either the voters remove her and remove her hard. Or the MPs who will be wiped out remove her and try one last desperate u-turn.
How far down the list would they need to advance to become the opposition?
EDIT - during the 2019 "Flight of Icarus" Swinson world tour, they wanted us to work on Harrogate (22), York Outer (60), and even Berwick-upon-Tweed (97) at various points...
Berwick was Liberal not that long ago iirc. Had a very long serving MP whose name escapes me at the moment.
Alan Beith. Will be important to see how Brexit has affected the local farmers and fishers, as Ms Trevelyan is an ardent Brexiter. Andf a promiment cabinet minister in the current situation, which won't in itself help her.
A1 will get the go ahead for dual carriageway all the way to Berwick - that may get her a few votes from those who don't grasp that it's been done so you don't actually need to reward her..
I can't get my head around HOW STUPID the government currently is....
Someone needs to start an intervention.
The fact that people like MaxPB, Casino Royale, and myself are all contemplating voting Labour at the next election tells you how bad this government is.
Even Sandpit was last seen fleeing on a camel in the direction of Qatar
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Rishi was right. They backed Rishi because Rishi detailed exactly what was going to happen. When things are bad you select someone who recognises that it is bad, understands why it is bad, and proposes action to make it less bad.
The problem isn't MPs. The problem is the demented giffers that make up the Tory membership. What they should have done was unite so massively around Rishi that there was no contest to put to them.
BBC Stoke's @johnacres48: Is it time to reverse what you've done?
Truss: "No it isn't."
Again claims that the "vast majority" of what was announced was the energy bill support. Except that wasn't in the mini-budget which has tanked the pound and threatened pensions. https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1575394615779278849
The "geniuses" in No. 10 have clearly decided to try to link the energy price cap announcement with the half-a-budget. They seem to imagine that the entire country will forget that these are two different things.
I'm calling it now, Liz Truss is dangerously stupid.
Ed Davey must be excited about being the official Leader of the Opposition after the election.
Sir Ed v Sir Keir, sounds very Game of Thrones.
If there was to be a non Tory leader of the Opposition to a Starmer government it would be led by Farage not Davey, if the Tories completely collapsed Canada 1993 style and were replaced by RefUK
You will know more than I do how many seats the LD’s are second to the Tories in so I am possibly wrong but surely if the Tories haemorrhage votes a lot will go to the Lib Dems as things stand (West Country, Winchester type seats).
If there is a Farage party up and running ahead of the next election they will indeed attract a lump of Tory votes but of the Tory vote gets split three ways (Farage, Tory hold-outs and LD) then the Tories will be wiped and Faragists unlikely to pick up many seats at the election.
Added to those seats that will go from Tory to Labour I can easily see a way for Ed Davey to be next leader of the opposition.
No, if the Tory vote collapsed completely ie to about 10% most of that would go to Farage as in the European elections who would then win most of the remaining Tory safe seats while Labour picked up most of the marginals. Even if the LDs picked up a few Tory home counties seats
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Oh god, it’s worse than I even imagined. I couldn’t listen to more than 2 of those. Cringeworthy in the extreme.
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Worst decision since Andrew decided on the Emily thing.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Possibly they genuinely thought he was a much better choice than any other on offer and believed the members would see that too?
Rishi's final overperformance of the polling indicates to me that Truss would have lost to either Kemi or Mordaunt. It was the Media/Frost hit job on Mordaunt that got Truss into #10.
Low interest rates are not an argument for more government borrowing G. R. STEELE 7 MARCH 2017 The announcement by Phillip Hammond that there will be no Budget spending sprees is to be welcomed. When interest rates are low and economic activity is below the full employment level, it has become a familiar canard that the government should borrow in order to spend its way to growth. Where the lay public and its politicians might be excused for warming to the idea, others ought to know better. It is a matter of regret that so many economists are inclined to give professional support to the idea.
Though if he'd borrowed to build half a dozen nuclear power stations, for example, he'd be looking pretty damn smart right now. They were a very good argument for government borrowing to fund long term capital projects.
Borrowing for infrastructure is a legitimate investment - wifi, travel networks, green energy and more. This also begets productivity. What doesn't beget productivity is the train service linking your two most economically important conurbations stripped to the bone and cancelling one out of every seven trains (for example). Nor do brownouts, nor does a lack of affordable housing, nor does people being off sick because treatment is simply unavailable, nor do crumbling school buildings and classrooms without adequate teachers.
Borrowing so the wealthy can retain more wealth is nutzoid. I'm not a low-tax-small-state person, but I respect the argument's logical cohesion. What we have now is genuinely the worst aspects of classical liberalism and socialism combined. It's astonishing, and we shouldn't stop being astonished at the sheer ineptitude on display.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Possibly they genuinely thought he was a much better choice than any other on offer and believed the members would see that too?
Then they were ridiculously naive. There is no point Rishi supporters bleating now how he was right. The fact is they were wrong to back him as he was never, ever going to win with members against Truss. They are just as responsible for Truss being there as Truss supporters are. Stop bleating now and do something about it.
Timothy Pope, Timothy Pope, Took one more look through his telescope He looked at the sky. He looked at the ground. He looked left and right. He looked all around. And this is what he saw…. THERE’S A SHARK IN THE PARK!
Houses are destroyed and some are floating away as Ian's eyewall hammers southwest Florida. This is video from Fort Myers Beach, Florida off Estero Blvd by Loni Architects https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920
It is going to be a very expensive fix. Florida is fortunate they have a one nation President to help them out.
Hmm, I feel bad now for posting about a children's book! Will require some serious short and long term assistance for those affected.
Ed Davey must be excited about being the official Leader of the Opposition after the election.
Sir Ed v Sir Keir, sounds very Game of Thrones.
If there was to be a non Tory leader of the Opposition to a Starmer government it would be led by Farage not Davey, if the Tories completely collapsed Canada 1993 style and were replaced by RefUK
You will know more than I do how many seats the LD’s are second to the Tories in so I am possibly wrong but surely if the Tories haemorrhage votes a lot will go to the Lib Dems as things stand (West Country, Winchester type seats).
If there is a Farage party up and running ahead of the next election they will indeed attract a lump of Tory votes but of the Tory vote gets split three ways (Farage, Tory hold-outs and LD) then the Tories will be wiped and Faragists unlikely to pick up many seats at the election.
Added to those seats that will go from Tory to Labour I can easily see a way for Ed Davey to be next leader of the opposition.
No, if the Tory vote collapsed completely ie to about 10% most of that would go to Farage as in the European elections who would then win most of the remaining Tory safe seats while Labour picked up most of the marginals. Even if the LDs picked up a few Tory home counties seats
Farage got 4m votes and no seats last time he tried. This time he won't get 4m votes but he would get 0 seats. What we are seeing now is NOT Tory voters looking at Truss and thinking "she isn't going far enough", its the opposite. So the vote will go to parties and candidates who are less insane than the Tories.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
The dilemma is that if they 'act' now then they will be the ones who are blamed for the crisis. Truss is desperately trying to find anything else to blame for the situation. But you could alternatively take the view that the only way of resolving this is by acting very decisively to remove the cause of the problem.
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Worst decision since Andrew decided on the Emily thing.
We simply cannot have 2 years of this
Although I suspect she'll be sweating after her round of TV interviews.
Considering well over half of Tory MPs didn't want Truss isn't there at least a reasonable chance that a move to instate Rishi might be underway? Like him or not he's a very slick operator. What's more everything he predicted and LOUDLY has happened. He said her plans were 'cloud cuckoo land' and would be a disaster and so it's proved. Cummings who is nobody's fool also knew it 'She's as close to probper crackers as anyone I've met in Parliament'
In my opinion ruling out a Tory putsch is a mistake
Cummings most definitely is a fool. He's a liar, a forger, a failure, a fantasist and a bully who has failed spectacularly at everything he's ever done because he has shocking judgment and a lazy intellect coupled, rather unfortunately, to a highly over-active imagination and a raging egomania.
That doesn't mean he's wrong about Truss, of course. In fact, if even somebody as bonkers as him thought she was a bit weird, that was probably a warning sign.
"who has failed spectacularly at everything he's ever done"
Exhibit 1: Brexit
You may hate Brexit, but delivering it was an historically spectacular achievement - the like of which few ever get to achieve.
And he (a) was far less important in it than he likes to pretend and (b) it hasn't delivered what he said it would. Which makes it a failure.
Even if I concede your point - which as you can see, I don't - name me one other achievement. Any other. In his whole life.
Cummings succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of most spin doctors. And that is how he must be judged
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Oh god, it’s worse than I even imagined. I couldn’t listen to more than 2 of those. Cringeworthy in the extreme.
Reminds me of Palin/Couric.
KENT: Opens with quotes from astonished listeners and opens up with "are you ashamed of what you've done". Truss tries to claim she inherited the mess. "But you've made it worse". https://twitter.com/TobyonTV/status/1575386522597163009
A five minute local radio interview - when they are stacked one after the other - is like speed dating only its punching not dating. What prannock in Downing Street decided this was a good idea? Who is Director of Communications now?
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
BBC Stoke's @johnacres48: Is it time to reverse what you've done?
Truss: "No it isn't."
Again claims that the "vast majority" of what was announced was the energy bill support. Except that wasn't in the mini-budget which has tanked the pound and threatened pensions. https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1575394615779278849
The "geniuses" in No. 10 have clearly decided to try to link the energy price cap announcement with the half-a-budget. They seem to imagine that the entire country will forget that these are two different things.
I'm calling it now, Liz Truss is dangerously stupid.
Many on here called her that before she dashed back from whatever summit she was at when Bozo quit..
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Rishi was right. They backed Rishi because Rishi detailed exactly what was going to happen. When things are bad you select someone who recognises that it is bad, understands why it is bad, and proposes action to make it less bad.
The problem isn't MPs. The problem is the demented giffers that make up the Tory membership. What they should have done was unite so massively around Rishi that there was no contest to put to them.
They should have had another round of voting which I expect would have shown a good majority of MP might have supported Rishi
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Possibly they genuinely thought he was a much better choice than any other on offer and believed the members would see that too?
Rishi's final overperformance of the polling indicates to me that Truss would have lost to either Kemi or Mordaunt. It was the Media/Frost hit job on Mordaunt that got Truss into #10.
Which may be true, but is also irrelevant. Neither of them were remotely ready to be PM.
In many ways, the real issue is the weakness of the Johnson cabinet that saw incoherent lightweights like Truss, Patel, Buckland, Zahawi and Raab promoted far beyond their abilities to start with and made them contenders for the leadership. That could also apply to Sunak, incidentally, with the important difference that he made the step up mostly quite effectively while the others crashed and burned around him.
No way should Truss, or Tugendhat, or Badenoch, or Mordaunt ever have been within a thousand miles of standing for the leadership except as a Hugh Fraser style hopeless cause. That they not only stood but one of them actually won is a truly damning indictment of their party.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Rishi was right. They backed Rishi because Rishi detailed exactly what was going to happen. When things are bad you select someone who recognises that it is bad, understands why it is bad, and proposes action to make it less bad.
The problem isn't MPs. The problem is the demented giffers that make up the Tory membership. What they should have done was unite so massively around Rishi that there was no contest to put to them.
The MPs know the members. They knew the result in advance and yet they put Rishi in to face Truss. Truss got 113 vs Mordaunt's 105 in the final round of MP voting. All it would have taken is for 9 of Rishi's supporters to have appreciated this and Truss would have been out. It was clear at the time. They were idealistic rather than pragmatic. They need to accept this, own it and now do something about it.
BBC Stoke's @johnacres48: Is it time to reverse what you've done?
Truss: "No it isn't."
Again claims that the "vast majority" of what was announced was the energy bill support. Except that wasn't in the mini-budget which has tanked the pound and threatened pensions. https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1575394615779278849
The "geniuses" in No. 10 have clearly decided to try to link the energy price cap announcement with the half-a-budget. They seem to imagine that the entire country will forget that these are two different things.
I'm calling it now, Liz Truss is dangerously stupid.
The bit I REALLY don't get is that The energy stuff was absolutely fine. Barely a whimper from the markets. How on earth did they manage to follow it with such a shambolic 'budget' ?
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Worst decision since Andrew decided on the Emily thing.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
True, but we can’t have Kemi or Penny replacing Liz now. If the Tories do remove Truss before the GE (despite everything, I still have severe doubts that they can) it can’t be a roll of the dice, potentially not-ready-for-prime-time option. They will need to have someone who can step in, take the reigns and reassure everyone from day one.
That is a very limited set of candidates I think. Hunt, Wallace, Gove. At a pinch, Javid, Rishi and even TMay (no laughing at the back).
It's funny how many of the posters on here who screeched and wailed about the evils of Europe and desired Brexit above everything else, are now condemning the government that gave them exactly what you wanted.
Your desire for Brexit got us extremists into government. Each PM has been more 'extreme' than the last: but it did not matter, as long as you got Brexit.
Although I bet most of you are fairly well-off, and so won't suffer too much in the economic downturn *your* perverted dream has caused.
Agreed. Surely this is the Singapore-on-Thames Brexit that the ERG dreamed of.
Brexit itself was bad enough but the calibre of Brexiteer governments that it brought in in its wake has been a total disaster
Timothy Pope, Timothy Pope, Took one more look through his telescope He looked at the sky. He looked at the ground. He looked left and right. He looked all around. And this is what he saw…. THERE’S A SHARK IN THE PARK!
Houses are destroyed and some are floating away as Ian's eyewall hammers southwest Florida. This is video from Fort Myers Beach, Florida off Estero Blvd by Loni Architects https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920
It is going to be a very expensive fix. Florida is fortunate they have a one nation President to help them out.
Hmm, I feel bad now for posting about a children's book! Will require some serious short and long term assistance for those affected.
I wouldn't, and my post wasn't intended as any kind of comment on yours - which illustrated just how unusually big the storm was. Though it's likely the new normal.
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Worst decision since Andrew decided on the Emily thing.
You cannot be serious. That is not remotely credible. Surely someone has made that up?
Nah. There's a merry-go round of people who fail at one job often going straight into a better one near the top levels of whitehall etc. See Andrew Bailey at the FCA/BoE.
Truss simply doesn't have the presentation skills to sell this farce though. I doubt anyone does. Perhaps Bill Clinton or Blair at their peaks could. But they never had to sell such disasters.
You cannot be serious. That is not remotely credible. Surely someone has made that up?
It's kinda true.
Jason Stein, special adviser, political
Everyone in Westminster seems to know Jason Stein.
Once a non-partisan Whitehall press officer, he was tempted over to the politically-charged SpAd world by Truss when she was at the Treasury.
He later worked for Tory big hitter Amber Rudd at the Department for Work and Pensions, before she quit in 2019.
After leaving government he was briefly recruited by Prince Andrew, and soon found himself in the spotlight after it emerged he had counseled the Queen’s second son against agreeing to an interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis over his past association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Stein left two weeks before the infamous Newsnight interview took place, his own reputation intact.
Stein was among the first of Truss’ former colleagues to join the leadership campaign this summer, and even some on the rival Sunak team acknowledge he did a fine job, particularly in turning around Truss’ initially wooden presentational skills.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
True, but we can’t have Kemi or Penny replacing Liz now. If the Tories do remove Truss before the GE (despite everything, I still have severe doubts that they can) it can’t be a roll of the dice, potentially not-ready-for-prime-time option. They will need to have someone who can step in, take the reigns and reassure everyone from day one.
That is a very limited set of candidates I think. Hunt, Wallace, Gove. At a pinch, Javid, Rishi and even TMay (no laughing at the back).
It would have to be Gove or May. Wallace clearly doesn't want it (I think his wife has said NO) and Hunt got zero support in July so isn't an option...
It's rather scary when you look at the available options and go well May's probably your best option there...
Forget about Ukraine and the drop in my Legal and General shares , I have just had the most disturbing news of 2022.Every two years I buy the new Whitakers Almanack and so when i went onto Amazon for the 2022 edition it was not there so googled it and there is not one going to be issued. They say it maybe is a hiatus rather than a end but I fear this great book and institution that goes back to 1868 is lost !
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Oh god, it’s worse than I even imagined. I couldn’t listen to more than 2 of those. Cringeworthy in the extreme.
Reminds me of Palin/Couric.
KENT: Opens with quotes from astonished listeners and opens up with "are you ashamed of what you've done". Truss tries to claim she inherited the mess. "But you've made it worse". https://twitter.com/TobyonTV/status/1575386522597163009
A five minute local radio interview - when they are stacked one after the other - is like speed dating only its punching not dating. What prannock in Downing Street decided this was a good idea? Who is Director of Communications now?
Inherited the mess, as one of the the longest serving cabinet members still in government ?
BBC Stoke's @johnacres48: Is it time to reverse what you've done?
Truss: "No it isn't."
Again claims that the "vast majority" of what was announced was the energy bill support. Except that wasn't in the mini-budget which has tanked the pound and threatened pensions. https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1575394615779278849
The "geniuses" in No. 10 have clearly decided to try to link the energy price cap announcement with the half-a-budget. They seem to imagine that the entire country will forget that these are two different things.
I'm calling it now, Liz Truss is dangerously stupid.
The bit I REALLY don't get is that The energy stuff was absolutely fine. Barely a whimper from the markets. How on earth did they manage to follow it with such a shambolic 'budget' ?
The energy stuff was probably mostly down to the previous cabinet, as they would have been working on all the components prior to Truss being elected. The mad half-a-budget — "don't worry about the numbers, it'll be fine" — is Truss and Kwarteng's work.
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Oh god, it’s worse than I even imagined. I couldn’t listen to more than 2 of those. Cringeworthy in the extreme.
Reminds me of Palin/Couric.
If Labour don't have a highlights reel of this on Twitter sharpish their comms people are asleep on the job.
Hell, this is the Labour party political broadcast for the foreseeable future. This, then a few seconds of Starmer saying something sane.
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
He's got a physics degree. So much for wanting more STEM politicians in government.
RETURN TO YOUR HOMES! THE ENEMY EMERGENCY HAS BEEN REPELLED!! RETURN AND FEAST ON THE SWEET FREEDOMS THAT FALL FROM OUR LEADER’S BENEFICENT LAP. NAYSAYERS, PLEASE REPORT TO QUADRANT FIVE FOR PROCESSING!
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Oh god, it’s worse than I even imagined. I couldn’t listen to more than 2 of those. Cringeworthy in the extreme.
Reminds me of Palin/Couric.
If Labour don't have a highlights reel of this on Twitter sharpish their comms people are asleep on the job.
Hell, this is the Labour party political broadcast for the foreseeable future. This, then a few seconds of Starmer saying something sane.
'Labour is the party of sound money' should do it.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Rishi was right. They backed Rishi because Rishi detailed exactly what was going to happen. When things are bad you select someone who recognises that it is bad, understands why it is bad, and proposes action to make it less bad.
The problem isn't MPs. The problem is the demented giffers that make up the Tory membership. What they should have done was unite so massively around Rishi that there was no contest to put to them.
The MPs know the members. They knew the result in advance and yet they put Rishi in to face Truss. Truss got 113 vs Mordaunt's 105 in the final round of MP voting. All it would have taken is for 9 of Rishi's supporters to have appreciated this and Truss would have been out. It was clear at the time. They were idealistic rather than pragmatic. They need to accept this, own it and now do something about it.
You are assuming that those MPs weren't rational. Every single one of Rishi's supporters were probably thinking - Rishi is the only sane option in the list. I know I would have been working on that principal...
Considering well over half of Tory MPs didn't want Truss isn't there at least a reasonable chance that a move to instate Rishi might be underway? Like him or not he's a very slick operator. What's more everything he predicted and LOUDLY has happened. He said her plans were 'cloud cuckoo land' and would be a disaster and so it's proved. Cummings who is nobody's fool also knew it 'She's as close to probper crackers as anyone I've met in Parliament'
In my opinion ruling out a Tory putsch is a mistake
Cummings most definitely is a fool. He's a liar, a forger, a failure, a fantasist and a bully who has failed spectacularly at everything he's ever done because he has shocking judgment and a lazy intellect coupled, rather unfortunately, to a highly over-active imagination and a raging egomania.
That doesn't mean he's wrong about Truss, of course. In fact, if even somebody as bonkers as him thought she was a bit weird, that was probably a warning sign.
"who has failed spectacularly at everything he's ever done"
Exhibit 1: Brexit
You may hate Brexit, but delivering it was an historically spectacular achievement - the like of which few ever get to achieve.
And he (a) was far less important in it than he likes to pretend and (b) it hasn't delivered what he said it would. Which makes it a failure.
Even if I concede your point - which as you can see, I don't - name me one other achievement. Any other. In his whole life.
Cummings succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of most spin doctors. And that is how he must be judged
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
He's got a physics degree. So much for wanting more STEM politicians in government.
Coffey and Philip makes me yearn for more PPE graduates in the cabinet.
Timothy Pope, Timothy Pope, Took one more look through his telescope He looked at the sky. He looked at the ground. He looked left and right. He looked all around. And this is what he saw…. THERE’S A SHARK IN THE PARK!
Houses are destroyed and some are floating away as Ian's eyewall hammers southwest Florida. This is video from Fort Myers Beach, Florida off Estero Blvd by Loni Architects https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920
It is going to be a very expensive fix. Florida is fortunate they have a one nation President to help them out.
My Trumpite friend in Florida thinks climate change is a myth.
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
Yes. The construction of that sentence.
I'm blaming auto-correct.
You know, I had an odd feeling you were going to say that.
I just can't see how autocorrect puts in that extraneous 'a.'
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
Yes. The construction of that sentence.
I'm blaming auto-correct.
You know, I had an odd feeling you were going to say that.
I just can't see how autocorrect puts in that extraneous 'a.'
It's a new iPhone, we're getting to know each other.
Considering well over half of Tory MPs didn't want Truss isn't there at least a reasonable chance that a move to instate Rishi might be underway? Like him or not he's a very slick operator. What's more everything he predicted and LOUDLY has happened. He said her plans were 'cloud cuckoo land' and would be a disaster and so it's proved. Cummings who is nobody's fool also knew it 'She's as close to probper crackers as anyone I've met in Parliament'
In my opinion ruling out a Tory putsch is a mistake
Cummings most definitely is a fool. He's a liar, a forger, a failure, a fantasist and a bully who has failed spectacularly at everything he's ever done because he has shocking judgment and a lazy intellect coupled, rather unfortunately, to a highly over-active imagination and a raging egomania.
That doesn't mean he's wrong about Truss, of course. In fact, if even somebody as bonkers as him thought she was a bit weird, that was probably a warning sign.
"who has failed spectacularly at everything he's ever done"
Exhibit 1: Brexit
You may hate Brexit, but delivering it was an historically spectacular achievement - the like of which few ever get to achieve.
And he (a) was far less important in it than he likes to pretend and (b) it hasn't delivered what he said it would. Which makes it a failure.
Even if I concede your point - which as you can see, I don't - name me one other achievement. Any other. In his whole life.
Cummings succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of most spin doctors. And that is how he must be judged
Brexit was epochal
You're back. The Library of Congress saw your rant last night, and posted an explanation.
https://twitter.com/librarycongress/status/1575148293767700485 For those concerned about the flute: Music Division curators made sure it could be played without damage. This sort of thing is not all that unusual, in fact. Some of the Library's priceless instruments were donated with the stipulation that they remain functional & be played.
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
He's got a physics degree. So much for wanting more STEM politicians in government.
Coffey and Philip makes me yearn for more PPE graduates in the cabinet.
Truss' performance this morning would have benefited from high level PPE.
To be exact, her wearing some kind of gas mask so nobody could hear what she was saying.
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Rishi was right. They backed Rishi because Rishi detailed exactly what was going to happen. When things are bad you select someone who recognises that it is bad, understands why it is bad, and proposes action to make it less bad.
The problem isn't MPs. The problem is the demented giffers that make up the Tory membership. What they should have done was unite so massively around Rishi that there was no contest to put to them.
The MPs know the members. They knew the result in advance and yet they put Rishi in to face Truss. Truss got 113 vs Mordaunt's 105 in the final round of MP voting. All it would have taken is for 9 of Rishi's supporters to have appreciated this and Truss would have been out. It was clear at the time. They were idealistic rather than pragmatic. They need to accept this, own it and now do something about it.
No. Even your premise is wrong because until the final ballot, by which time it was too late, it looked like it would be Penny Mordaunt and not Liz Truss going to the members' vote.
ETA it is fair to blame Team Rishi for running an awful hustings campaign.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
Rishi was right. They backed Rishi because Rishi detailed exactly what was going to happen. When things are bad you select someone who recognises that it is bad, understands why it is bad, and proposes action to make it less bad.
The problem isn't MPs. The problem is the demented giffers that make up the Tory membership. What they should have done was unite so massively around Rishi that there was no contest to put to them.
The MPs know the members. They knew the result in advance and yet they put Rishi in to face Truss. Truss got 113 vs Mordaunt's 105 in the final round of MP voting. All it would have taken is for 9 of Rishi's supporters to have appreciated this and Truss would have been out. It was clear at the time. They were idealistic rather than pragmatic. They need to accept this, own it and now do something about it.
You are assuming that those MPs weren't rational. Every single one of Rishi's supporters were probably thinking - Rishi is the only sane option in the list. I know I would have been working on that principal...
I expect Mordaunt's true support was less than 105. Rishi probably did have a deep inside team lending their votes (Gove, the fireplace salesman) but they wanted to be sure he got the votes so didn't go far enough on the special operation. Gove's support of Badenoch was as transparent an attempt to split the right as you'll ever see.
I suppose he'd know all about ghastly, unsightly, unwanted, parasites that seem to survive in the body politic no matter what one does to get rid of them.
You were right. No punches being pulled on local Radio.
Somebody should produce a compilaton.
Financial crisis? What financial crisis? Cost of mortgages going up? Don’t know anything about that. It’s global, nothing to do with us. But let me tell you how we’re going to cap heating bills. A dozen prime-ministerial interviews boiled down to 280 characters
It's beginning to feel like the end of the Tory Party.
Didn't expect that in my lifetime.
The Conservative Party always has been undead. It constantly reinvents itself, borrowing/stealing ideas from the other parties as society changes. There'll be a new, hopefully sane, iteration along in a few years.
Whereas Labour is less keen to change - hence why they elected a leader whose viewpoints and beliefs were at least forty years out of date. And I guess will again in a few years. And why they hark back to the good old days of BR and nationalised industries.
That requires some sort of nucleus for a sane Conservatism to form round. In the past that's always been identifiable. Think of Thatcher's promotion of people like Hesteltine or Pattern. Howard did the same for Cameron.
The series of purges since 2016 make it much harder to see how the Conservatives can be led back from la la land, even after a defeat. Look at what's happened to the US Republicans.
Are there any sound money/ decent to your neighbour / unobsessed with Woke Conservatives worth watching out for?
It's not just that, it's also and are they going to be MPs after GE 24
Next Tory pm probably started school this autumn.
The Tory party has left the mainstream of politics, and there seems to be no way back for it now. Will there ever be another Tory PM after the next GE? My working assumption is no there won't be one under the current electoral system. Possibly there could be a Tory PM in a multi-party coalition such as in countries like Italy and Israel. I would like to see the Liberal Democrats act as a nucleus to form an alternative to Labour as the opposition.
Would be lovely to see the likes of JRM and patel lose their seats on election night
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
He's got a physics degree. So much for wanting more STEM politicians in government.
It's Oxford with their 8 week terms. How on earth do you learn anything when you only study 20 weeks in every year...
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
He's got a physics degree. So much for wanting more STEM politicians in government.
Coffey and Philip makes me yearn for more PPE graduates in the cabinet.
Coffey's not really done anything yet. I assume the NHS is going to get a small increase now - which with aging and inflationary pressures will be effectively a cut. So not the easiest job. Philp's made himself look a right plonker with that tweet. I'm surprised it was him and not Simon Clarke on to defend tbh - Clarke wasn't bad during the campaign for Truss on the interviews.
BBC Stoke's @johnacres48: Is it time to reverse what you've done?
Truss: "No it isn't."
Again claims that the "vast majority" of what was announced was the energy bill support. Except that wasn't in the mini-budget which has tanked the pound and threatened pensions. https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1575394615779278849
The "geniuses" in No. 10 have clearly decided to try to link the energy price cap announcement with the half-a-budget. They seem to imagine that the entire country will forget that these are two different things.
I'm calling it now, Liz Truss is dangerously stupid.
You are calling it now? You are MONTHS too late. I warned she was utterly useless before the Tory Election Roadshow got underway.
Although I must confess, I did not expect her to able to inflict this level of damage so quickly
Timothy Pope, Timothy Pope, Took one more look through his telescope He looked at the sky. He looked at the ground. He looked left and right. He looked all around. And this is what he saw…. THERE’S A SHARK IN THE PARK!
Houses are destroyed and some are floating away as Ian's eyewall hammers southwest Florida. This is video from Fort Myers Beach, Florida off Estero Blvd by Loni Architects https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920
It is going to be a very expensive fix. Florida is fortunate they have a one nation President to help them out.
My Trumpite friend in Florida thinks climate change is a myth.
There will be a certain sad irony when climate change is completely undeniable and instead many people will believe that Florida, like Atlantis, is a myth.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
In fairness to the MPs I don't think it was *that* obvious at the time that Sunak couldn't win with the members. Didn't the markets have him odds-on at one point during the MP rounds? That might be my memory playing tricks on me but he definitely wasn't trading an "obviously doomed" kind of price.
It's funny how many of the posters on here who screeched and wailed about the evils of Europe and desired Brexit above everything else, are now condemning the government that gave them exactly what you wanted.
Your desire for Brexit got us extremists into government. Each PM has been more 'extreme' than the last: but it did not matter, as long as you got Brexit.
Although I bet most of you are fairly well-off, and so won't suffer too much in the economic downturn *your* perverted dream has caused.
Agreed. Surely this is the Singapore-on-Thames Brexit that the ERG dreamed of.
Brexit itself was bad enough but the calibre of Brexiteer governments that it brought in in its wake has been a total disaster
It isn't SoT. Yet. The market calamity has collapsed our room to maneuverer. So we must have Massive Spending Cuts. And a Bonfire of Regulations. So that the workshy scum which is the British working people will be forced to finally work hard for their masters.
In late November, the plan is to take an axe to the safety net, to support services, and to all the woke things that make us soft. To your rights as an employee, to your rights as a resident, to your rights as a human being in a western democracy.
They talk about fracking and planning. That means they can develop land next to you without you having a say. Without your NIMBY consent. The creation of these Special Economic Zones where private cabals can do what they like in a low tax low regulation free-for-all.
Will it be good for the public? Hell no. Will it be great for Tory donors and patrons? Oh yeah. cf South Tees Development Corporation for a road map. Note that BBC Tees asked about local sea life death. Which the Mayor insists is nothing at all to do with dredging done by STDC's masters with no public oversight.
I can’t see how we can have a situation in this country where someone like Truss gets to the position of PM
Her rise through cabinet wasn’t even impressive. It is bizarre. There’s not a single positive thing I can see that she has delivered - she seems to have slithered under the radar in most departments and ended up in the top job
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 2m That was an utter disaster for Liz Truss. But there was no way it couldn't have been a disaster. There is nothing left to debate now. She either reverses course, or she gets wiped out politically. Those are the choices she faces.
But what actually happens? Do we have a zombie government for another two years just so that Tory backbenchers can keep their jobs for a bit longer?
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 2m That was an utter disaster for Liz Truss. But there was no way it couldn't have been a disaster. There is nothing left to debate now. She either reverses course, or she gets wiped out politically. Those are the choices she faces.
But what actually happens? Do we have a zombie government for another two years just so that Tory backbenchers can keep their jobs for a bit longer?
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 2m That was an utter disaster for Liz Truss. But there was no way it couldn't have been a disaster. There is nothing left to debate now. She either reverses course, or she gets wiped out politically. Those are the choices she faces.
But what actually happens? Do we have a zombie government for another two years just so that Tory backbenchers can keep their jobs for a bit longer?
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 2m That was an utter disaster for Liz Truss. But there was no way it couldn't have been a disaster. There is nothing left to debate now. She either reverses course, or she gets wiped out politically. Those are the choices she faces.
But what actually happens? Do we have a zombie government for another two years just so that Tory backbenchers can keep their jobs for a bit longer?
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
In fairness to the MPs I don't think it was *that* obvious at the time that Sunak couldn't win with the members. Didn't the markets have him odds-on at one point during the MP rounds? That might be my memory playing tricks on me but he definitely wasn't trading an "obviously doomed" kind of price.
The markets didn't make him nearly long enough when the hypothetical members polling came out. About 5 minutes before the vote was announced he was out to 33+ which I thought was a more accurate reflection of his chances. As it was he overperformed the polls but the gap was always way too large to bridge. The 1.1 Truss was at for ages was a big price.
Also, immediately after the polling I made the argument he should be 10s (He had time on his side to pull back at that point) with Truss and Mordaunt having most of the true chance between themselves. He was between 3 and 5 at that point iirc. I think I was right and the market was wrong.
That was the worst provincial campaign of any of our leaders since autumn 1216 when King John marched about dealing with a rebellion & two invasions, caught dysentery in Norfolk, lost the Crown Jewels in The Wash and died in Nottinghamshire https://twitter.com/thehistoryguy/status/1575410358113771520
Black Bob Craufurd (rearguard & open breaches) @BobCrauford · 5m Replying to @BobCrauford and @julianHjessop The idea that the UK yield curve shift is due to mini-budget tax cuts is risibly myopic.
Gilts are catching up with the US yield curve as the Fed hikes to rein in inflation and end the era of QE to infinity and asset purchases:-
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 2m That was an utter disaster for Liz Truss. But there was no way it couldn't have been a disaster. There is nothing left to debate now. She either reverses course, or she gets wiped out politically. Those are the choices she faces.
But what actually happens? Do we have a zombie government for another two years just so that Tory backbenchers can keep their jobs for a bit longer?
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 2m That was an utter disaster for Liz Truss. But there was no way it couldn't have been a disaster. There is nothing left to debate now. She either reverses course, or she gets wiped out politically. Those are the choices she faces.
But what actually happens? Do we have a zombie government for another two years just so that Tory backbenchers can keep their jobs for a bit longer?
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 2m That was an utter disaster for Liz Truss. But there was no way it couldn't have been a disaster. There is nothing left to debate now. She either reverses course, or she gets wiped out politically. Those are the choices she faces.
But what actually happens? Do we have a zombie government for another two years just so that Tory backbenchers can keep their jobs for a bit longer?
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 2m That was an utter disaster for Liz Truss. But there was no way it couldn't have been a disaster. There is nothing left to debate now. She either reverses course, or she gets wiped out politically. Those are the choices she faces.
But what actually happens? Do we have a zombie government for another two years just so that Tory backbenchers can keep their jobs for a bit longer?
Yes with the tories its always party first
Literally, in the case of Johnson and much of the Civil Service.
At least there will be plenty of booze every time Truss opens her mouth from now on.
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
He's got a physics degree. So much for wanting more STEM politicians in government.
Coffey and Philip makes me yearn for more PPE graduates in the cabinet.
Truss' performance this morning would have benefited from high level PPE.
To be exact, her wearing some kind of gas mask so nobody could hear what she was saying.
It was great to hear her reassuring monotone drone again after all this time, at least know she’s okay and not been hospitalised.
Now let’s be fair and give her some space so she can own her moment
Ian Dunt @IanDunt · 15m The idea that Kwarteng must go is boilerplate Westminster tactical horseshit. If the Budget had Truss' backing, she is as culpable as he is. If it didn't, she lacks even basic administrative competence. Therefore: if he must go, she must go. Ian Dunt @IanDunt · 13m The only possible argument you could make for it is as a human sacrifice ritual, taking place alongside a full U-turn, in a bid to calm the markets. But even that could go either way.
Surely there must be a large amount of non-wealthy Tory MPs who are looking at the Polls, listening to Truss, looking at unemployment in two years, working out that their mortgage increase coupled with their downgraded income possibilities and realising that they are buggered and their only slight chance of keeping their jobs and paying the mortgage is to risk a change of PM.
The damage has been done. Even if the Tories dumped Truss today, the brand has been badly affected. And there aren’t enough Tory MPs to form a government by the time the Johnsonites and Trussites have both been excluded and/or go and sit in a sulk.
When we look back we will wonder just how a government with a majority of 80 all elected on the same broad ideological bent (Brexit/levelling up) managed to f**k up so spectacularly in less than 3 years.
Covid plus war. I want them out as much as the next but there have been a very special set of challenges that would have tested the best administrations.
Timothy Pope, Timothy Pope, Took one more look through his telescope He looked at the sky. He looked at the ground. He looked left and right. He looked all around. And this is what he saw…. THERE’S A SHARK IN THE PARK!
Houses are destroyed and some are floating away as Ian's eyewall hammers southwest Florida. This is video from Fort Myers Beach, Florida off Estero Blvd by Loni Architects https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920
It is going to be a very expensive fix. Florida is fortunate they have a one nation President to help them out.
My Trumpite friend in Florida thinks climate change is a myth.
There will be a certain sad irony when climate change is completely undeniable and instead many people will believe that Florida, like Atlantis, is a myth.
There is something about Trump supporters that makes them cling to their mistaken beliefs even unto death, quite literally.
No gotcha moments from the interviews then? Truss seems to have done quite well to take all that clobbering back to back and not fall apart or end up promising something she can't do.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
In fairness to the MPs I don't think it was *that* obvious at the time that Sunak couldn't win with the members. Didn't the markets have him odds-on at one point during the MP rounds? That might be my memory playing tricks on me but he definitely wasn't trading an "obviously doomed" kind of price.
By the time it got to the final 4/3 there were polls that said Rishi lost to all the other candidates.
But I will repeat my comment from earlier - many sane MPs probably knew that Rishi was the only sane option in the circumstances.
No gotcha moments from the interviews then? Truss seems to have done quite well to take all that clobbering back to back and not fall apart or end up promising something she can't do.
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
He's got a physics degree. So much for wanting more STEM politicians in government.
Coffey and Philip makes me yearn for more PPE graduates in the cabinet.
Truss' performance this morning would have benefited from high level PPE.
To be exact, her wearing some kind of gas mask so nobody could hear what she was saying.
It was great to hear her reassuring monotone drone again after all this time, at least know she’s okay and not been hospitalised.
Now let’s be fair and give her some space so she can own her moment
It's not been a great 24 hours for Yorkshire, has it? Even before Truss opened her gob.
Ed Davey must be excited about being the official Leader of the Opposition after the election.
Sir Ed v Sir Keir, sounds very Game of Thrones.
If there was to be a non Tory leader of the Opposition to a Starmer government it would be led by Farage not Davey, if the Tories completely collapsed Canada 1993 style and were replaced by RefUK
You will know more than I do how many seats the LD’s are second to the Tories in so I am possibly wrong but surely if the Tories haemorrhage votes a lot will go to the Lib Dems as things stand (West Country, Winchester type seats).
If there is a Farage party up and running ahead of the next election they will indeed attract a lump of Tory votes but of the Tory vote gets split three ways (Farage, Tory hold-outs and LD) then the Tories will be wiped and Faragists unlikely to pick up many seats at the election.
Added to those seats that will go from Tory to Labour I can easily see a way for Ed Davey to be next leader of the opposition.
No, if the Tory vote collapsed completely ie to about 10% most of that would go to Farage as in the European elections who would then win most of the remaining Tory safe seats while Labour picked up most of the marginals. Even if the LDs picked up a few Tory home counties seats
No, most of it wouldn't go to Farage.
At 28% the Tory vote has already collapsed by 17% on the GE and most of the switchers have not gone to Farage. According to the YouGov poll with Labour 17% ahead, the voting intention of Con 2019 voters is that 12% of those voting would now vote Labour, 6% Reform UK 3% the LDs, 3% Green and 2% Others. So of those switching, little more than a fifth have switched to Reform.
So even in an incredible scenario where the Tory vote collapsed to 10% (i.e. double the present collapse) there's no way that Reform/Farage would get most of the switchers. The different between the European elections and now is that any Tory switchers to Labour would not have to contemplate voting for a party led by Jeremy Corbyn, so the Euro election precedent is irrelevant.
No gotcha moments from the interviews then? Truss seems to have done quite well to take all that clobbering back to back and not fall apart or end up promising something she can't do.
@HYUFD - sorry, you've lost your PB Tory loyalist clown crown due to an excess of sanity and realism. Please report to CCHQ for re-education
No gotcha moments from the interviews then? Truss seems to have done quite well to take all that clobbering back to back and not fall apart or end up promising something she can't do.
You are one of the media spin room people, forthrightly insisting that Comical Ali's "there are no American troops here" interview was done quite well.
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
In fairness to the MPs I don't think it was *that* obvious at the time that Sunak couldn't win with the members. Didn't the markets have him odds-on at one point during the MP rounds? That might be my memory playing tricks on me but he definitely wasn't trading an "obviously doomed" kind of price.
The final round of MP voting when Penny dropped out was 20th July. Opinion polling on final 2 taken before this shown here:
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
True, but we can’t have Kemi or Penny replacing Liz now. If the Tories do remove Truss before the GE (despite everything, I still have severe doubts that they can) it can’t be a roll of the dice, potentially not-ready-for-prime-time option. They will need to have someone who can step in, take the reigns and reassure everyone from day one.
That is a very limited set of candidates I think. Hunt, Wallace, Gove. At a pinch, Javid, Rishi and even TMay (no laughing at the back).
It would have to be Gove or May. Wallace clearly doesn't want it (I think his wife has said NO) and Hunt got zero support in July so isn't an option...
It's rather scary when you look at the available options and go well May's probably your best option there...
In replacing Liz Truss, MPs will be looking to save their own seats. They will remember how badly Theresa May did in the 2017 election, and how badly Michael Gove polls with the public. They might take a chance that Boris can regain his mojo but the Privileges Committee might end his career in December. The best replacement for Conservative MPs is probably Rishi Sunak, who warned against Trussonomics, or risk a relatively clean skin.
Chris Philp will be delighted that Truss's interview rounds are getting all the attention, as he was dreadful on R4 this morning.
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
Chris Philip is a product of a grammar school and the university of Oxford, is a there a more ghastly combo?
Yes. The construction of that sentence.
I'm blaming auto-correct.
You know, I had an odd feeling you were going to say that.
I just can't see how autocorrect puts in that extraneous 'a.'
It's a new iPhone, we're getting to know each other.
I'd believe you if it was your first iPhone - as it isn't nope - your typing style forms part of the profile that's transferred across..
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
True, but we can’t have Kemi or Penny replacing Liz now. If the Tories do remove Truss before the GE (despite everything, I still have severe doubts that they can) it can’t be a roll of the dice, potentially not-ready-for-prime-time option. They will need to have someone who can step in, take the reigns and reassure everyone from day one.
That is a very limited set of candidates I think. Hunt, Wallace, Gove. At a pinch, Javid, Rishi and even TMay (no laughing at the back).
It would have to be Gove or May. Wallace clearly doesn't want it (I think his wife has said NO) and Hunt got zero support in July so isn't an option...
It's rather scary when you look at the available options and go well May's probably your best option there...
In replacing Liz Truss, MPs will be looking to save their own seats. They will remember how badly Theresa May did in the 2017 election, and how badly Michael Gove polls with the public. They might take a chance that Boris can regain his mojo but the Privileges Committee might end his career in December. The best replacement for Conservative MPs is probably Rishi Sunak, who warned against Trussonomics, or risk a relatively clean skin.
She got over 40% of the vote. I think they'd take that next time...
Attention Anti-Truss Tory MPs reading this. I know there will be some!
Why the f*** did you back Rishi when all the polling said he would lose with members? Either Kemi or Penny would have beaten Rishi and not done this. This is on you! You are going to lose in 2024. There is no avoiding it. Your job now is to bring back some sanity. You can act. You must act.
True, but we can’t have Kemi or Penny replacing Liz now. If the Tories do remove Truss before the GE (despite everything, I still have severe doubts that they can) it can’t be a roll of the dice, potentially not-ready-for-prime-time option. They will need to have someone who can step in, take the reigns and reassure everyone from day one.
That is a very limited set of candidates I think. Hunt, Wallace, Gove. At a pinch, Javid, Rishi and even TMay (no laughing at the back).
It would have to be Gove or May. Wallace clearly doesn't want it (I think his wife has said NO) and Hunt got zero support in July so isn't an option...
It's rather scary when you look at the available options and go well May's probably your best option there...
In replacing Liz Truss, MPs will be looking to save their own seats. They will remember how badly Theresa May did in the 2017 election, and how badly Michael Gove polls with the public. They might take a chance that Boris can regain his mojo but the Privileges Committee might end his career in December. The best replacement for Conservative MPs is probably Rishi Sunak, who warned against Trussonomics, or risk a relatively clean skin.
How many seats you think can be saved? Can't be more than about 150, can it?
And remember folks. Having been nicely warmed up on radio, she now does 16 TV interviews. Where the hacks won't just be wanting a piece of clippable audio. They will want to see her gob flapping silently. Imagine how bad they will be when she gets past 10 of these...
Oh god, it’s worse than I even imagined. I couldn’t listen to more than 2 of those. Cringeworthy in the extreme.
Reminds me of Palin/Couric.
KENT: Opens with quotes from astonished listeners and opens up with "are you ashamed of what you've done". Truss tries to claim she inherited the mess. "But you've made it worse". https://twitter.com/TobyonTV/status/1575386522597163009
A five minute local radio interview - when they are stacked one after the other - is like speed dating only its punching not dating. What prannock in Downing Street decided this was a good idea? Who is Director of Communications now?
A little while ago, Guido posted a photo of some of the special advisers that Truss had just appointed. It struck me at the time that they looked less like wise and experienced counsellors and very much more like members of a harem. They were all very pretty.
Perhaps personal appearance was not the best criterion for appointing them?
Considering well over half of Tory MPs didn't want Truss isn't there at least a reasonable chance that a move to instate Rishi might be underway? Like him or not he's a very slick operator. What's more everything he predicted and LOUDLY has happened. He said her plans were 'cloud cuckoo land' and would be a disaster and so it's proved. Cummings who is nobody's fool also knew it 'She's as close to probper crackers as anyone I've met in Parliament'
In my opinion ruling out a Tory putsch is a mistake
Cummings most definitely is a fool. He's a liar, a forger, a failure, a fantasist and a bully who has failed spectacularly at everything he's ever done because he has shocking judgment and a lazy intellect coupled, rather unfortunately, to a highly over-active imagination and a raging egomania.
That doesn't mean he's wrong about Truss, of course. In fact, if even somebody as bonkers as him thought she was a bit weird, that was probably a warning sign.
"who has failed spectacularly at everything he's ever done"
Exhibit 1: Brexit
You may hate Brexit, but delivering it was an historically spectacular achievement - the like of which few ever get to achieve.
And he (a) was far less important in it than he likes to pretend and (b) it hasn't delivered what he said it would. Which makes it a failure.
Even if I concede your point - which as you can see, I don't - name me one other achievement. Any other. In his whole life.
Cummings succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of most spin doctors. And that is how he must be judged
Brexit was epochal
And, on his terms, a failure.
To give Cummings some due credit, he did at least want Brexit to happen in order to achieve other stuff. The connections were somewhere between thin and utterly stupid, but they were there.
The trouble is that Brexit is now the prisoner of sozzled old farts for whom Brexit in itself is the achievement- possibly the only real achievement of their lives. That means that, however badly it harms future us, it is still a great achievement and cannot be reversed, diluted or even questioned.
No gotcha moments from the interviews then? Truss seems to have done quite well to take all that clobbering back to back and not fall apart or end up promising something she can't do.
@HYUFD - sorry, you've lost your PB Tory loyalist clown crown due to an excess of sanity and realism. Please report to CCHQ for re-education
I give a lot of credit to @HYUFD for his Damascene conversion.
Comments
https://twitter.com/wxkaitlin/status/1575188234010705920
It is going to be a very expensive fix.
Florida is fortunate they have a one nation President to help them out.
We are wrong to laugh at her. Her performance was great
The markets were wrong to short £ and gilts. The budget was great
The media are wrong to say this is a crisis just because we nearly bankrupted pension funds yesterday. This is fine.
The economists are wrong to claim (with details) this is the fault of the budget. Its the fault of America/Putin/Remoaners
etc etc. If they want to be brazen and stupid they can carry on with this. With two problems:
1. "I could lose my house" has replaced "how do I heat my house". And the savage cuts to come won't assuage these fears. You can't tell people "this is fine" when it isn't fine.
2. The Tories can't help laughing and sneering at people's concerns. They are masters of the universe now, and the little people need to shut up and take the medicine they didn't vote for so that The Man can get rich and later they will do better.
The singular lesson from Brexit was that when you ignore and belittle people, they don't take it well. Yet this seems to be the entire Truss playbook. Until either the voters remove her and remove her hard. Or the MPs who will be wiped out remove her and try one last desperate u-turn.
The problem isn't MPs. The problem is the demented giffers that make up the Tory membership. What they should have done was unite so massively around Rishi that there was no contest to put to them.
I'm calling it now, Liz Truss is dangerously stupid.
the marginals. Even if the LDs picked up a few Tory home counties seats
Reminds me of Palin/Couric.
Borrowing so the wealthy can retain more wealth is nutzoid. I'm not a low-tax-small-state person, but I respect the argument's logical cohesion. What we have now is genuinely the worst aspects of classical liberalism and socialism combined. It's astonishing, and we shouldn't stop being astonished at the sheer ineptitude on display.
Brexit was epochal
For 15 minutes, basically he just repeatedly said "Putin" in response to every question about who's to blame for the current turmoil. I'm not sure that blaming Putin for Kwarteng's 'budget' and its consequences is necessarily a winner.
https://twitter.com/TobyonTV/status/1575386522597163009
A five minute local radio interview - when they are stacked one after the other - is like speed dating only its punching not dating. What prannock in Downing Street decided this was a good idea? Who is Director of Communications now?
As it was, it was close to 1/3 for each of them.
In many ways, the real issue is the weakness of the Johnson cabinet that saw incoherent lightweights like Truss, Patel, Buckland, Zahawi and Raab promoted far beyond their abilities to start with and made them contenders for the leadership. That could also apply to Sunak, incidentally, with the important difference that he made the step up mostly quite effectively while the others crashed and burned around him.
No way should Truss, or Tugendhat, or Badenoch, or Mordaunt ever have been within a thousand miles of standing for the leadership except as a Hugh Fraser style hopeless cause. That they not only stood but one of them actually won is a truly damning indictment of their party.
That is a very limited set of candidates I think. Hunt, Wallace, Gove. At a pinch, Javid, Rishi and even TMay (no laughing at the back).
Utterly bizarre response to her own local BBC station asking why the roof of the local hospital is held up by dozens of props.
Truss tells BBC Norfolk that she will lobby the health secretary as a local MP.
But won’t make promises on her behalf.
What?!?
https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1575384145014005761
Brexit itself was bad enough but the calibre of Brexiteer governments that it brought in in its wake has been a total disaster
Though it's likely the new normal.
Nah. There's a merry-go round of people who fail at one job often going straight into a better one near the top levels of whitehall etc. See Andrew Bailey at the FCA/BoE.
Truss simply doesn't have the presentation skills to sell this farce though. I doubt anyone does. Perhaps Bill Clinton or Blair at their peaks could. But they never had to sell such disasters.
Jason Stein, special adviser, political
Everyone in Westminster seems to know Jason Stein.
Once a non-partisan Whitehall press officer, he was tempted over to the politically-charged SpAd world by Truss when she was at the Treasury.
He later worked for Tory big hitter Amber Rudd at the Department for Work and Pensions, before she quit in 2019.
After leaving government he was briefly recruited by Prince Andrew, and soon found himself in the spotlight after it emerged he had counseled the Queen’s second son against agreeing to an interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis over his past association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Stein left two weeks before the infamous Newsnight interview took place, his own reputation intact.
Stein was among the first of Truss’ former colleagues to join the leadership campaign this summer, and even some on the rival Sunak team acknowledge he did a fine job, particularly in turning around Truss’ initially wooden presentational skills.
https://www.politico.eu/article/team-truss-downing-street-cabinet/
It's rather scary when you look at the available options and go well May's probably your best option there...
Hell, this is the Labour party political broadcast for the foreseeable future. This, then a few seconds of Starmer saying something sane.
https://twitter.com/Aiannucci/status/1575409068658888705
I just can't see how autocorrect puts in that extraneous 'a.'
The Library of Congress saw your rant last night, and posted an explanation.
https://twitter.com/librarycongress/status/1575148293767700485
For those concerned about the flute: Music Division curators made sure it could be played without damage. This sort of thing is not all that unusual, in fact. Some of the Library's priceless instruments were donated with the stipulation that they remain functional & be played.
And a short clip of her playing another rare flute in the collection.
https://twitter.com/librarycongress/status/1575136007854460931
To be exact, her wearing some kind of gas mask so nobody could hear what she was saying.
ETA it is fair to blame Team Rishi for running an awful hustings campaign.
Gove's support of Badenoch was as transparent an attempt to split the right as you'll ever see.
Philp's made himself look a right plonker with that tweet. I'm surprised it was him and not Simon Clarke on to defend tbh - Clarke wasn't bad during the campaign for Truss on the interviews.
Although I must confess, I did not expect her to able to inflict this level of damage so quickly
In late November, the plan is to take an axe to the safety net, to support services, and to all the woke things that make us soft. To your rights as an employee, to your rights as a resident, to your rights as a human being in a western democracy.
They talk about fracking and planning. That means they can develop land next to you without you having a say. Without your NIMBY consent. The creation of these Special Economic Zones where private cabals can do what they like in a low tax low regulation free-for-all.
Will it be good for the public? Hell no. Will it be great for Tory donors and patrons? Oh yeah. cf South Tees Development Corporation for a road map. Note that BBC Tees asked about local sea life death. Which the Mayor insists is nothing at all to do with dredging done by STDC's masters with no public oversight.
Her rise through cabinet wasn’t even impressive. It is bizarre. There’s not a single positive thing I can see that she has delivered - she seems to have slithered under the radar in most departments and ended up in the top job
Also, immediately after the polling I made the argument he should be 10s (He had time on his side to pull back at that point) with Truss and Mordaunt having most of the true chance between themselves. He was between 3 and 5 at that point iirc. I think I was right and the market was wrong.
https://twitter.com/thehistoryguy/status/1575410358113771520
Black Bob Craufurd (rearguard & open breaches)
@BobCrauford
·
5m
Replying to
@BobCrauford
and
@julianHjessop
The idea that the UK yield curve shift is due to mini-budget tax cuts is risibly myopic.
Gilts are catching up with the US yield curve as the Fed hikes to rein in inflation and end the era of QE to infinity and asset purchases:-
Gilts vs. UST 👇 6m Gilt curve chg 👇
https://twitter.com/BobCrauford/status/1575410603421736960
At least there will be plenty of booze every time Truss opens her mouth from now on.
Now let’s be fair and give her some space so she can own her moment
https://twitter.com/IanDunt/status/1575408331027521537
Ian Dunt
@IanDunt
·
15m
The idea that Kwarteng must go is boilerplate Westminster tactical horseshit. If the Budget had Truss' backing, she is as culpable as he is. If it didn't, she lacks even basic administrative competence. Therefore: if he must go, she must go.
Ian Dunt
@IanDunt
·
13m
The only possible argument you could make for it is as a human sacrifice ritual, taking place alongside a full U-turn, in a bid to calm the markets. But even that could go either way.
Glad we don't have people like that over here.
{Clears throat.}
But I will repeat my comment from earlier - many sane MPs probably knew that Rishi was the only sane option in the circumstances.
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1575381576665497600
The US will purchase additional 18 HIMARS for Ukraine from the manufacturer rather than pull them directly from military inventory, as has been done with the 16 HIMARS
It may take "a few years" for the 18 to arrive, supporting Ukraine in the long-term
#stillgloating
At 28% the Tory vote has already collapsed by 17% on the GE and most of the switchers have not gone to Farage. According to the YouGov poll with Labour 17% ahead, the voting intention of Con 2019 voters is that 12% of those voting would now vote Labour, 6% Reform UK 3% the LDs, 3% Green and 2% Others. So of those switching, little more than a fifth have switched to Reform.
So even in an incredible scenario where the Tory vote collapsed to 10% (i.e. double the present collapse) there's no way that Reform/Farage would get most of the switchers. The different between the European elections and now is that any Tory switchers to Labour would not have to contemplate voting for a party led by Jeremy Corbyn, so the Euro election precedent is irrelevant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Conservative_Party_leadership_election_(UK)
Sunak was always going to lose to Truss.
Anyone know why?
Senior minister tells me: "I don’t think the present plan *or people* will regain market credibility."
Others think there is no alternative to pressing ahead.
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/tory-mps-kwasi-kwarteng-bank-of-england-save-pension-funds-pound-1883709
Perhaps personal appearance was not the best criterion for appointing them?
The trouble is that Brexit is now the prisoner of sozzled old farts for whom Brexit in itself is the achievement- possibly the only real achievement of their lives. That means that, however badly it harms future us, it is still a great achievement and cannot be reversed, diluted or even questioned.
https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/status/1575414118588219395