Sun over the yardarm so an o/t which has just come up on the feed from the Sm,ithsonian - the rocket sled on display at the (new/future?) galleries in the Air and Space Museum in Wash DC. Pretty impressive braking using water troughs (I think)? Definitely one for @Dura_Ace .
The Tories were in trouble anyway, but all this god awful honours list does is re-emphasise just how crap and - dare I say it - corrupt this whole government is
Rees-Mogg knighted makes me feel sick
JRSexytimeM is such a cartoon character that he entertains me more than he annoys me. Do we know what flavour of gong he got? Something more exclusive? Or is he just a common or garden Knight Batchelor?
Guido is actually among the better ones for linking and showing the documents referred to in a story - garden variety.
I see the co-chair of the Tory party Ben Elliot got a knighthood, continuing the trend of the co-chair responsible for bringing in the cash (the other co-chair being an MP) getting a knighthood. Nothing to see here.
I have said before and will say again - the GOP persecution complex, along with establishment GOP defences of Trump, will mean this will make it more likely Trump will be the GOP nominee, not less. I would expect it to be worse for him in the general.
Even "I'm here to talk truths to Trump about how he is unfit to be president" Chris Christie has not jumped on this, and has taken a "let's see where the evidence takes us" approach. Political leaders sometimes forget their ability to shape base perceptions; maybe the base will punish GOP politicians for calling out Trump, but if the party had a clear line they all shared denouncing him their would be less chance of punishment (not that it would necessarily mean they'd agree).
At the end of the day, it might be better for the GOP establishment to let Trump be nominee again and go down to another defeat so they can move on longer term than try and block him if most of the base still stick with him
The problem with that tactic, which is what they are clearly going for (barring Christie, even with not jumping on this issue), is it didn't work last time so why would it work again?
Asa Hutchinson has also said Trump should not run. I feel we should give credit where it's due, even if most people will not know who he is.
Blimey, I'd not even heard of him, so I assume he's an even bigger no hoper than Christie.
I think Doug Burgum nabs that title.
I feel bad for him now, since having googled him he's at least a serving Governor yet I half thought you'd made him up.
So did I, for a moment. (Thought he might be one of the minor roles in Fargo. He does look as though he ought to be.)
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
People always overreact to honours when they are awarded, about who does not 'deserve' this or that, and how it shows a disgrace etc, but even though this example is no different the very nature of Boris being to escalate matters means it might get more traction this time.
The Tories were in trouble anyway, but all this god awful honours list does is re-emphasise just how crap and - dare I say it - corrupt this whole government is
Rees-Mogg knighted makes me feel sick
JRSexytimeM is such a cartoon character that he entertains me more than he annoys me. Do we know what flavour of gong he got? Something more exclusive? Or is he just a common or garden Knight Batchelor?
I don't know if Guido uploaded the proper version or managed to type it up, but if the former then it has the crappy formatting that you sometimes see in a rush job where someone was removed last minute and mucked up the headings and page alignment like so.
As this is a political betting site, can someone please help me?
How do I put a bet on for the Mid Bedfordshire by election which will happen following Nadine Dories announcing that she is standing down with immediate effect?
Thank you
Betfair and various bookmakers will probably open markets in the next day or two.
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
In 1841 under Peel yes Fabricant would have still been a Conservative but in 1832 when Wellington was Tory leader Fabricant would likely have been a Whig. Jacob Rees Mogg, Bill Cash and Edward Leigh would definitely have been Tories even in 1832 however
I think Nadine is correct to resign. A place in the House of Lords isn't sufficient compensation for having her head wedged up Broris Johnson's backside for three and a half years.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns. I think this says it all. The only way is up, truly.
The only way is the abolition of the entire system, which has clearly fallen into utter disrepute. So bad that even Nadine appears to have refused an honour.
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
In 1841 under Peel yes Fabricant would have still been a Conservative but in 1832 when Wellington was Tory leader Fabricant would likely have been a Whig. Jacob Rees Mogg, Bill Cash and Edward Leigh would definitely have been Tories even in 1832 however
Where would they have fallen during second baron's war?
Another week ends with another shambles. 18 more months of this malarkey.
Are you referring to the government or was it a bad day at school?
Obviously he was talking about a bunch of screaming, childish people who still have a lot to learn about the real world, giving the sensible people who are trying to do something worthwhile a massive headache. If that answers your question.
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
In 1841 under Peel yes Fabricant would have still been a Conservative but in 1832 when Wellington was Tory leader Fabricant would likely have been a Whig. Jacob Rees Mogg, Bill Cash and Edward Leigh would definitely have been Tories even in 1832 however
Where would they have fallen during second baron's war?
There were no political parties then, the first MPs were effectively all Independents
The Lib Dems must be saying " We love Nadine". She has given the party a great chance whether the by election is held in July or October. If I were Central Office I would go for July, get it out of the way as quickly as possible, the sooner the Lib Dems win, the sooner the result will be forgotten.
And the “help in the Mid Beds by-election” email from LibDem HQ has just landed…
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
In 1841 under Peel yes Fabricant would have still been a Conservative but in 1832 when Wellington was Tory leader Fabricant would likely have been a Whig. Jacob Rees Mogg, Bill Cash and Edward Leigh would definitely have been Tories even in 1832 however
Where would they have fallen during second baron's war?
There were no political parties then, the first MPs were effectively all Independents
I thought she actually did a reasonable job as health minister during the pandemic and was one of the more sensible members of the government at that time.
As the civilised world stands agog at the disgrace that is the Boris dishonours list, BJO thinks "great people, far worthier to be the government than Keir Starmer"
BJO has been a Boris fan since Brexit. I'd personally like to see SKS give up worrying about Corbyn's Leavers and start trying to win over more of the middle of the road Remainers many of whom are voting Lib Dem or even Tory. There are almost 70% pro remain votes out there. Far easier to attract than the fringe Corbynites in the Red Wall
I don't know if this is true, but it sounds plausible
I recently got around to reading a biography of Sir Frank Whittle, who invented the jet engine. The entire thing was basically him begging for £1,000 from the Air Ministry for research and Whitehall saying it wasn't value for money. Eventually he just moved to America. https://twitter.com/yuanyi_z/status/1667155681491709952?cxt=HHwWgMCzyczQ9qIuAAAA
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
In 1841 under Peel yes Fabricant would have still been a Conservative but in 1832 when Wellington was Tory leader Fabricant would likely have been a Whig. Jacob Rees Mogg, Bill Cash and Edward Leigh would definitely have been Tories even in 1832 however
They would all have been useless lying twats and a disgrace to national life whatever age they served in.
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
In 1841 under Peel yes Fabricant would have still been a Conservative but in 1832 when Wellington was Tory leader Fabricant would likely have been a Whig. Jacob Rees Mogg, Bill Cash and Edward Leigh would definitely have been Tories even in 1832 however
Where would they have fallen during second baron's war?
There were no political parties then, the first MPs were effectively all Independents
How strange of me not to have noticed.
You can remember the Second Barons' War? I've always wondered - was it true about the sack of Grantham?
(Incidentally while Hyufd is correct there were no parties, there were occasional loose factions - for example, under Richard III there was a King's Party with Catesby as its organiser.)
I thought she actually did a reasonable job as health minister during the pandemic and was one of the more sensible members of the government at that time.
I don't know if this is true, but it sounds plausible
I recently got around to reading a biography of Sir Frank Whittle, who invented the jet engine. The entire thing was basically him begging for £1,000 from the Air Ministry for research and Whitehall saying it wasn't value for money. Eventually he just moved to America. https://twitter.com/yuanyi_z/status/1667155681491709952?cxt=HHwWgMCzyczQ9qIuAAAA
Poor Andrea Jenkyns. Gives us the finger and gets a Damehood. Had she done both middle fingers and perhaps "fuck you scrubbers" she'd have got a seat in the House of Lords.
My biggest sin in life.
Helping Andrea Jenkyns get elected.
It was by some measure, and your (mild) penance, for I am a forgiving soul, will be another couple of best bubbles at our next working man’s convocation in September.
The Lib Dems must be saying " We love Nadine". She has given the party a great chance whether the by election is held in July or October. If I were Central Office I would go for July, get it out of the way as quickly as possible, the sooner the Lib Dems win, the sooner the result will be forgotten.
And the “help in the Mid Beds by-election” email from LibDem HQ has just landed…
“just” is doing some heavy lifting in ” The Conservatives had a majority of just 24,664 here…”
“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so.
These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.” https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1667182301069955076
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
In 1841 under Peel yes Fabricant would have still been a Conservative but in 1832 when Wellington was Tory leader Fabricant would likely have been a Whig. Jacob Rees Mogg, Bill Cash and Edward Leigh would definitely have been Tories even in 1832 however
Where would they have fallen during second baron's war?
There were no political parties then, the first MPs were effectively all Independents
How strange of me not to have noticed.
You can remember the Second Barons' War? I've always wondered - was it true about the sack of Grantham?
The Lib Dems must be saying " We love Nadine". She has given the party a great chance whether the by election is held in July or October. If I were Central Office I would go for July, get it out of the way as quickly as possible, the sooner the Lib Dems win, the sooner the result will be forgotten.
And the “help in the Mid Beds by-election” email from LibDem HQ has just landed…
“just” is doing some heavy lifting in ” The Conservatives had a majority of just 24,664 here…”
As this is a political betting site, can someone please help me?
How do I put a bet on for the Mid Bedfordshire by election which will happen following Nadine Dories announcing that she is standing down with immediate effect?
Thank you
If you go to oddschecker, it lists markets available in British politics. When a market on Mid Beds is created, it will be listed there. British political betting tends to be split into two parts (three if you include spread betting, but I'm not covering that). They are:
fixed-odds betting (Ladrokes, Betfred, William Hill etc: high-street shops)
exchange betting (Betfair Exchange, Smarkets)
In the former you bet with the bookie that something will happen. In the latter you bet with somebody else that something will or will not happen, and the bookie holds your money until it's done. In the former you can do it online or in person. Online requires ID, opening an account, depositing money, and has a bit of a time lag. In person requires going into a bookie's shop, filling out a very short piece of paper, and giving them money: it's instantaneous and no ID is required. If you win you get money back and some profit. If you lose, you get nothing.
How sleazy do you have to be to accept an "honour" from BoZo..?
Michael Fabricant sounds like a Knight to remember....
I always thought Fabricant would be a good person to intercede between William and Harry and lower the tensions between those on the royal line of succession.
One look at Fabricant and you can't help but think: heir peace
Nice set up....the question is, when the inevitable requirement for compensation arises, someone is bound to ask "who is toupee?"
This needs an HYUFD judgement, as per his purity test last night, on whether Fabricant would have voted Tory in the 1842 general election.
In 1841 under Peel yes Fabricant would have still been a Conservative but in 1832 when Wellington was Tory leader Fabricant would likely have been a Whig. Jacob Rees Mogg, Bill Cash and Edward Leigh would definitely have been Tories even in 1832 however
That Fabricant would be affiliated with Whigs does not surprise me.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg was always going to happen from the moment he was born wasn't it?
Jacob's wife's grandfather was an Earl, so a mere knighthood is a bit of a comedown for his family.
Albeit an Earldoom would make it a bit more difficult for him to stay in the House of Commoners
Would a new hereditary peerage count as a life peerage for Lords membership?
I realise it's very unlikely to be an issue given no non-royal hereditary peerage has been created since 1984, but I was wondering.
I don't think so as you say. Technically there are still hereditaries in the Lords elected by their peers from those Blair did not remove from the Lords in 1999 but they only exist for life.
Now apart from the 90 or so hereditaries in the Lords it is really mostly a House of Commoners as much as the Commons is, life peers get their peerages supposedly on merit due to what they have done in their careers and their expertise, not from birth as most members of the Lords got their places for centuries (except for the Bishops).
Indeed you can now get hereditary peers in the Commons too, Viscount Thurso the first hereditary peer ever to be elected and allowed to be elected as an MP in 2001 when he won Caithness and Sutherland for the LDs having lost his automatic place in the Lords in 1999
Being trans doesn't affect anyone else either, when it comes to pronouns etc, but does when it comes to safeguarding. When it comes to safeguarding, there needs to be a sensible balance of risk, that's what safeguarding is all about.
I'm just curious. Can anyone point to a case where a criminal offence has been facilitated (in any practical way) by the perpetrator claiming to be trans?
Thanks. So that was a case of someone claiming to be trans being transferred to a women's prison and then sexually assaulting female prisoners.
I wonder - are there any cases outside the prison system? As women's toilets loom so large in the online discussion, are there any cases involving women's toilets?
I don't know. This was the obvious one but even then I spent 20 minutes or so checking because it is not always as it appears in the papers. This does appear to be a genuine case of someone using their trans status to get access to victims.
There was also the case where a female patient was sexually assaulted on a women's ward by a trans patient and was told by the hospital it could not have happened because there were no men on the ward.
I find the toilets example rather strange given that some places have mixed sex toilets. It seems to me that if someone is taking advantage of their trans status to commit assaults in toilets they could just as easily do it in mixed sex facilities whch have been around for decades.
If you feel like watching Shakespeare outdoors, in areas the hoi polloi such as ourselves rarely get to see, and want to risk the great English summer weather, then it may just be for you.
I've been many times, and always enjoyed it.
"An evening at the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival is a unique experience. Prior to the performance, members of the audience can picnic in this idyllic setting, before sitting back to enjoy an evening of dynamic and highly visual theatre. The Festival prides itself on an artistic policy which strips away unnecessary theatrical artifice and gimmickry, and the Company exists to provide access for all to these marvellous works without assuming any prior knowledge of the author or the play in question.
The productions themselves are vivid and spectacular, and are performed in full period costume with live Elizabethan music. Imperceptibly the evening passes from a glorious summer evening to dusk and then to night. The moon rises to provide additional lighting in a way that no theatre could match."
The Spanish far-left Podemos party, which rose to become one of the country’s great hopes for political change, has been forced to face up to its own final demise after agreeing to merge with another “progressive” movement.
The party announced today that it will run in next month’s general election with the new Sumar movement led by Yolanda Díaz, a deputy prime minister and a communist.
Boris's honours list, for some reason, made me think of my long-gone teaching days. As in, it is what would happen if I had a typical exam class, rated them in terms of ability, and then reversed the list, with the prizes going to the bottom quartile.
The Lib Dems must be saying " We love Nadine". She has given the party a great chance whether the by election is held in July or October. If I were Central Office I would go for July, get it out of the way as quickly as possible, the sooner the Lib Dems win, the sooner the result will be forgotten.
Labour I would thought would be hoping to win it too, their opinion poll rating is about 5%+ higher than it was at the time of the Shopshire North by election in Dec 2021 and on current polls they would be just behind the Conservatives in Mid Bedfordshire.
If Labour HQ put some effort in it as they didn't in North Shropshire or Chesham and Amersham and Tiverton and Honiton it could be a 3 way contest
HYUFD you are being a naughty boy by trying to muddy the water. Good try but I don't think it will work.
Poor Andrea Jenkyns. Gives us the finger and gets a Damehood. Had she done both middle fingers and perhaps "fuck you scrubbers" she'd have got a seat in the House of Lords.
My biggest sin in life.
Helping Andrea Jenkyns get elected.
It was by some measure, and your (mild) penance, for I am a forgiving soul, will be another couple of best bubbles at our next working man’s convocation in September.
Boris's honours list, for some reason, made me think of my long-gone teaching days. As in, it is what would happen if I had a typical exam class, rated them in terms of ability, and then reversed the list, with the prizes going to the bottom quartile.
Tough school you were teaching in, by the sound of it.
I don't know if Guido uploaded the proper version or managed to type it up, but if the former then it has the crappy formatting that you sometimes see in a rush job where someone was removed last minute and mucked up the headings and page alignment like so.
It was reported yesterday that Guto Harri was downgraded from Knighthood to CBE as one of the last minute changes.
I don't know if this is true, but it sounds plausible
I recently got around to reading a biography of Sir Frank Whittle, who invented the jet engine. The entire thing was basically him begging for £1,000 from the Air Ministry for research and Whitehall saying it wasn't value for money. Eventually he just moved to America. https://twitter.com/yuanyi_z/status/1667155681491709952?cxt=HHwWgMCzyczQ9qIuAAAA
Sounds like MOD procurement 101.
After the war he got £100,000 for developing the jet engine - though he’d been a serving officer all the way through. He had a breakdown from the effects of years of overwork, retired and became a roving consultant on jet engine MSV with BOAC.
Like many bright pioneers his later ideas were a bit off. His ideas for the souped up W.2 to power the Miles 52 - sometimes described as an afterburner, but wasn’t really - didn’t work out.
The reason the 52 was cancelled, incidentally, was that without the souped up W.2, it couldn’t accelerate in a climb. The reason for a climb was for total speed control by the pilot. Many aircraft had been lost to that date as a result of loss of control in high speed dives.
The alternative of a rocket engine (which is what the Americans used) wasn’t available.
When the managers of the project suggested that they change the flight profile of the 52 to diving through the sound barrier, the civil servants in charge of the funding stopped it on the grounds of the extreme danger to the pilot.
Boris’s honours list is bad, but not as bad as it could be. If I were Alok Sharma, who by all accounts did well in the COP20 role before being sacked by Rishi “don’t give a fuck about green issues” Sunak, I’d be very pissed off.
A damehood for Andrea Jenkyns is like something from a satirical novel about the decline of the Austro-Hungarian empire. And, if Nadine was prevented from a peerage, why no consolation prize for her?
Of the peerages, the most egregious are Charlotte Owen, who is about 30, and now seems to have a job for life in the legislature for being Carrie Johnson’s BFF.
And Ross Kempsell, 31, whose main claim to fame was digging up smut on the semi-pornographic blog, Guido Fawkes.
At least the others have records - however feeble - of public service.
The Mid Beds by election is quite interesting. Bets so far suggest Tories and LD in close competition.
But, given we are not far from a GE, and Labour came second in MB, and Labour are expected to come first in the GE, why would not the momentum be with Labour (now about 7/1) rather than LDs.
Labour face a tricky tactical issue. Would they really want to come a bad third from second place before, as in N Shropshire?
My sense is that the Tories will win it. But early days.
In February 2020, Jenkyns defended her decision to provide a character reference for the court case of a Conservative Party activist who made violent threats to Labour MP Yvette Cooper and was subsequently jailed for nine weeks. The statement described the activist as a "decent and honest person whose heart is in the right place".
I continue to defend the House of Lords, although it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
The practice of having any PM involvement in peerages needs to be scrapped asap.
Agree. Reform not abolish. An elected 2nd chamber would be awful. if you picked just the best 200 or so of the present lot it would be pretty good as an advising/revising/amending/reporting body.
The Lib Dems must be saying " We love Nadine". She has given the party a great chance whether the by election is held in July or October. If I were Central Office I would go for July, get it out of the way as quickly as possible, the sooner the Lib Dems win, the sooner the result will be forgotten.
And the “help in the Mid Beds by-election” email from LibDem HQ has just landed…
“just” is doing some heavy lifting in ” The Conservatives had a majority of just 24,664 here…”
Indeed, but how extraordinary that the Billy Bunters are anticpating a close run thing.
I don't know if Guido uploaded the proper version or managed to type it up, but if the former then it has the crappy formatting that you sometimes see in a rush job where someone was removed last minute and mucked up the headings and page alignment like so.
It was reported yesterday that Guto Harri was downgraded from Knighthood to CBE as one of the last minute changes.
Harri has been supportive of Boris but perhaps too indiscreet. Maybe this is punishment. The internal horsetrading revealed here is incredibly sordid.
In February 2020, Jenkyns defended her decision to provide a character reference for the court case of a Conservative Party activist who made violent threats to Labour MP Yvette Cooper and was subsequently jailed for nine weeks. The statement described the activist as a "decent and honest person whose heart is in the right place".
Surely character witness statement can only be done about the person *you* know? If I knew someone who was a friend, and I had never seen done anything wrong, and acted normally, would I say so? I'd like to think so.
We can only speak of people as we know them, not as they turn out to be.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns. I think this says it all. The only way is up, truly.
"Andrea, can you show us which way is the only way?"
Truly, there is nothing like a Dame.
I actually found her response to that affair more dignified, in a way, than usual political twisting and distraction. In that she said she felt provoked, should have shown more composure, but was only human. Whilst rude in doing it that response was at least more honest and less theatrically outraged at being criticised than you often get.
I thought she actually did a reasonable job as health minister during the pandemic and was one of the more sensible members of the government at that time.
I continue to defend the House of Lords, although it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
The practice of having any PM involvement in peerages needs to be scrapped asap.
I agree. But at least they're not as insidious as presidential pardons.
How about neither.
NZ maintains the honours system (Jacinda Ardern was just “Damed”) and it is entirely uncontroversial, at least in terms of who is recognized. The main recipients tends to be retired eye surgeons, notable (not just any) MPs, authors, painters, long-serving charity workers, and rugby players.
We don’t have an Upper House (but the quid pro quo is that the electoral term is only 3 years).
“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so.
These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.” https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1667182301069955076
The Lib Dems must be saying " We love Nadine". She has given the party a great chance whether the by election is held in July or October. If I were Central Office I would go for July, get it out of the way as quickly as possible, the sooner the Lib Dems win, the sooner the result will be forgotten.
And the “help in the Mid Beds by-election” email from LibDem HQ has just landed…
“just” is doing some heavy lifting in ” The Conservatives had a majority of just 24,664 here…”
I'm sure it will look wafer-thin when presented in graphical form.
Boris’s honours list is bad, but not as bad as it could be. If I were Alok Sharma, who by all accounts did well in the COP20 role before being sacked by Rishi “don’t give a fuck about green issues” Sunak, I’d be very pissed off.
A damehood for Andrea Jenkyns is like something from a satirical novel about the decline of the Austro-Hungarian empire. And, if Nadine was prevented from a peerage, why no consolation prize for her?
Of the peerages, the most egregious are Charlotte Owen, who is about 30, and now seems to have a job for life in the legislature for being Carrie Johnson’s BFF.
And Ross Kempsell, 31, whose main claim to fame was digging up smut on the semi-pornographic blog, Guido Fawkes.
At least the others have records - however feeble - of public service.
David Canzini is OBE'd for being Lynton Crosby's man in CCHQ.
“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so.
These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.” https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1667182301069955076
He's a class act
Even unclassy people like Barr have been clear all Trump had to do was return the documents when asked. If this was a frame up it was the easiest one in the world to overcome by just, you know, handing the stuff back.
"Aha, our cunning plan to nab him for illegally holding onto documents has failed because he said 'no problem, here you go'"
But I'd still argue that is (very slightly) less odious than defending the murdering of children on British soil.
He's excusing the murder of many Ukrainian children on Ukrainian soil. And the deportation of thousands of others, thousands of miles away from their families to the heart of holy Russia.
Yes, British soil gives it an added edge. But I'd argue the current events are more immediate; and hence more important. People follow Farage. People worship Farage, including some on here, in the past. His views will sway the credulous much more than Fox did, as bad as her views were.
2021 Conservative Mayoral Candidate and London Assembly member Shaun Bailey becomes Lord Shaun Bailey and will enter the House of Lords under Boris' resignation honours list. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65861936
Let's not forget the other implied defence of not prosecuting people even if they may have committed crimes - that other people might have done it but have not (yet) been charged as well.
Because as we all know, unless you can charge and convict everyone who has committed a particular offence, it is unfair to charge anyone else with that crime. Some murderers get away with it, so why are people coming after me?
It'd make more sense if people did stick to just claiming the party in question is innocent, since acquittal is always possible!
This case might be the most worrying for Trump simply because I think his chaotic nature making proving intent so hard will not be as relevant.
Why anyone is surprised at Johnson's honours list fails to recognise he couldn't care less if he upsets people, as long as his loyal followers are rewarded above their station
I genuinely hope this is the last thing Johnson gets away with and the privilege committee deliver the coup de grace
It seems Sunak submitted the original list to the House of Lords honours committee who amended it and Sunak has accepted the amended list
I am not normally someone who delights in the downfall of someone, but Dories own actions today resulting in her immediate exit from the HOC and no promotion to the HOL has genuinely made my day
As has Johnson's father's exclusion from the list
To be honest the whole honours system needs revamping, and lets not forget as bad as this list is labour have just put Tom Watson in the HOL
Obviously we all know, including the tweeter, why the GOP candidates in particular are not taking the line suggested, but it is significant none of them are doing it even so. They could imply backing without bending over the Trump, but they know that would destroy them.
RpsAgainstTrump: No one even expected you to attack Trump. But you could at least say that these allegations are serious, and you think that the government has the burden of proving its charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Your statement is pure garbage, and you know it. Shameful!
NikkiHaley: This is not how justice should be pursued in our country.
The American people are exhausted by the prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and vendetta politics.
It’s time to move beyond the endless drama and distractions.
But I'd still argue that is (very slightly) less odious than defending the murdering of children on British soil.
He's excusing the murder of many Ukrainian children on Ukrainian soil. And the deportation of thousands of others, thousands of miles away from their families to the heart of holy Russia.
Yes, British soil gives it an added edge. But I'd argue the current events are more immediate; and hence more important. People follow Farage. People worship Farage, including some on here, in the past. His views will sway the credulous much more than Fox did, as bad as her views were.
You make an excellent point. And I retract the last part of my comment.
This will be fun, given the appeals court in that district had to slap down Judge Cannon for some bizarre reasoning about this very matter when Trump was trying to get the documents back after seizure. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, initially assigned to oversee his case https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe/status/1667162424615510017?cxt=HHwWgoCx4YzZ-aIuAAAA
Comments
But it won't stop me helping the LibDems in the by election.
18 more months of this malarkey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lNkgrtJZg8
https://order-order.com/2023/06/09/read-in-full-boriss-resignation-honours/
(Thought he might be one of the minor roles in Fargo. He does look as though he ought to be.)
(Incidentally, CH is of course a government recommendation.)
So bad that even Nadine appears to have refused an honour.
A big scoop in @JewishChron: scientists at UK universities are helping Iran develop its Shahed suicide drones, which Russia is using to terrorize Ukraine:
https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1667142122695213057
I thought she actually did a reasonable job as health minister during the pandemic and was one of the more sensible members of the government at that time.
I recently got around to reading a biography of Sir Frank Whittle, who invented the jet engine. The entire thing was basically him begging for £1,000 from the Air Ministry for research and Whitehall saying it wasn't value for money. Eventually he just moved to America.
https://twitter.com/yuanyi_z/status/1667155681491709952?cxt=HHwWgMCzyczQ9qIuAAAA
(Incidentally while Hyufd is correct there were no parties, there were occasional loose factions - for example, under Richard III there was a King's Party with Catesby as its organiser.)
Albeit an Earldoom would make it a bit more difficult for him to stay in the House of Commoners
I realise it's very unlikely to be an issue given no non-royal hereditary peerage has been created since 1984, but I was wondering.
“Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so.
These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.”
https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1667182301069955076
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1667217185528266770
- fixed-odds betting (Ladrokes, Betfred, William Hill etc: high-street shops)
- exchange betting (Betfair Exchange, Smarkets)
In the former you bet with the bookie that something will happen. In the latter you bet with somebody else that something will or will not happen, and the bookie holds your money until it's done. In the former you can do it online or in person. Online requires ID, opening an account, depositing money, and has a bit of a time lag. In person requires going into a bookie's shop, filling out a very short piece of paper, and giving them money: it's instantaneous and no ID is required. If you win you get money back and some profit. If you lose, you get nothing.Would you like some more detail?
https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics
Now apart from the 90 or so hereditaries in the Lords it is really mostly a House of Commoners as much as the Commons is, life peers get their peerages supposedly on merit due to what they have done in their careers and their expertise, not from birth as most members of the Lords got their places for centuries (except for the Bishops).
Indeed you can now get hereditary peers in the Commons too, Viscount Thurso the first hereditary peer ever to be elected and allowed to be elected as an MP in 2001 when he won Caithness and Sutherland for the LDs having lost his automatic place in the Lords in 1999
There was also the case where a female patient was sexually assaulted on a women's ward by a trans patient and was told by the hospital it could not have happened because there were no men on the ward.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/17/hospital-told-police-patient-not-raped-alleged-attacker-transgender/
I find the toilets example rather strange given that some places have mixed sex toilets. It seems to me that if someone is taking advantage of their trans status to commit assaults in toilets they could just as easily do it in mixed sex facilities whch have been around for decades.
The schedule is out for this year's Cambridge Shakespeare Festival:
https://cambridgeshakespeare.com/programme/
If you feel like watching Shakespeare outdoors, in areas the hoi polloi such as ourselves rarely get to see, and want to risk the great English summer weather, then it may just be for you.
I've been many times, and always enjoyed it.
"An evening at the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival is a unique experience. Prior to the performance, members of the audience can picnic in this idyllic setting, before sitting back to enjoy an evening of dynamic and highly visual theatre. The Festival prides itself on an artistic policy which strips away unnecessary theatrical artifice and gimmickry, and the Company exists to provide access for all to these marvellous works without assuming any prior knowledge of the author or the play in question.
The productions themselves are vivid and spectacular, and are performed in full period costume with live Elizabethan music. Imperceptibly the evening passes from a glorious summer evening to dusk and then to night. The moon rises to provide additional lighting in a way that no theatre could match."
No podemos nunca mas.
The Spanish far-left Podemos party, which rose to become one of the country’s great hopes for political change, has been forced to face up to its own final demise after agreeing to merge with another “progressive” movement.
The party announced today that it will run in next month’s general election with the new Sumar movement led by Yolanda Díaz, a deputy prime minister and a communist.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/db003cd0-06da-11ee-b1f9-dbcd37af20fb?shareToken=32a1632348efec98526bacb33b832753
This does make a difference- a united left list will pick up quite a few more seats than two separate lists.
https://smarkets.com/listing/politics/uk/by-elections
Who is the bookie in Ladbrokes since Shadsy left?
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jun/09/police-investigate-dozens-of-deaths-royal-sussex-county-hospital-brighton
Like many bright pioneers his later ideas were a bit off. His ideas for the souped up W.2 to power the Miles 52 - sometimes described as an afterburner, but wasn’t really - didn’t work out.
The reason the 52 was cancelled, incidentally, was that without the souped up W.2, it couldn’t accelerate in a climb. The reason for a climb was for total speed control by the pilot. Many aircraft had been lost to that date as a result of loss of control in high speed dives.
The alternative of a rocket engine (which is what the Americans used) wasn’t available.
When the managers of the project suggested that they change the flight profile of the 52 to diving through the sound barrier, the civil servants in charge of the funding stopped it on the grounds of the extreme danger to the pilot.
Truly, there is nothing like a Dame.
https://tg24.sky.it/cronaca/2023/06/09/nave-sequestrata-napoli-liberazione
If I were Alok Sharma, who by all accounts did well in the COP20 role before being sacked by Rishi “don’t give a fuck about green issues” Sunak, I’d be very pissed off.
A damehood for Andrea Jenkyns is like something from a satirical novel about the decline of the Austro-Hungarian empire. And, if Nadine was prevented from a peerage, why no consolation prize for her?
Of the peerages, the most egregious are Charlotte Owen, who is about 30, and now seems to have a job for life in the legislature for being Carrie Johnson’s BFF.
And Ross Kempsell, 31, whose main claim to fame was digging up smut on the semi-pornographic blog, Guido Fawkes.
At least the others have records - however feeble - of public service.
The practice of having any PM involvement in peerages needs to be scrapped asap.
But, given we are not far from a GE, and Labour came second in MB, and Labour are expected to come first in the GE, why would not the momentum be with Labour (now about 7/1) rather than LDs.
Labour face a tricky tactical issue. Would they really want to come a bad third from second place before, as in N Shropshire?
My sense is that the Tories will win it. But early days.
In February 2020, Jenkyns defended her decision to provide a character reference for the court case of a Conservative Party activist who made violent threats to Labour MP Yvette Cooper and was subsequently jailed for nine weeks. The statement described the activist as a "decent and honest person whose heart is in the right place".
The good ones wouldn't stand for election.
Titles start complex and get simpler as you go up -
Xth) The Right Honourable and Most Noble Bastard
:
2) Right Bastard
1) Bastard
We can only speak of people as we know them, not as they turn out to be.
I still find that utterly incomprehensible.
Nigel Farage, by comparison, is a saint.
NZ maintains the honours system (Jacinda Ardern was just “Damed”) and it is entirely uncontroversial, at least in terms of who is recognized. The main recipients tends to be retired eye surgeons, notable (not just any) MPs, authors, painters, long-serving charity workers, and rugby players.
We don’t have an Upper House (but the quid pro quo is that the electoral term is only 3 years).
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nigel-farage-ukraine-russia-eu-b2022400.html
In that light, I hope you rethink your comment.
But I'd still argue that is (very slightly) less odious than defending the murdering of children on British soil.
"Aha, our cunning plan to nab him for illegally holding onto documents has failed because he said 'no problem, here you go'"
(Don't anyone tell Luckyguy)
Yes, British soil gives it an added edge. But I'd argue the current events are more immediate; and hence more important. People follow Farage. People worship Farage, including some on here, in the past. His views will sway the credulous much more than Fox did, as bad as her views were.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65861936
Because as we all know, unless you can charge and convict everyone who has committed a particular offence, it is unfair to charge anyone else with that crime. Some murderers get away with it, so why are people coming after me?
It'd make more sense if people did stick to just claiming the party in question is innocent, since acquittal is always possible!
This case might be the most worrying for Trump simply because I think his chaotic nature making proving intent so hard will not be as relevant.
Why anyone is surprised at Johnson's honours list fails to recognise he couldn't care less if he upsets people, as long as his loyal followers are rewarded above their station
I genuinely hope this is the last thing Johnson gets away with and the privilege committee deliver the coup de grace
It seems Sunak submitted the original list to the House of Lords honours committee who amended it and Sunak has accepted the amended list
I am not normally someone who delights in the downfall of someone, but Dories own actions today resulting in her immediate exit from the HOC and no promotion to the HOL has genuinely made my day
As has Johnson's father's exclusion from the list
To be honest the whole honours system needs revamping, and lets not forget as bad as this list is labour have just put Tom Watson in the HOL
Because of the range and speed of the missiles, it actually makes little difference if they're a few hundred miles closer to their targets.
RpsAgainstTrump: No one even expected you to attack Trump. But you could at least say that these allegations are serious, and you think that the government has the burden of proving its charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Your statement is pure garbage, and you know it. Shameful!
NikkiHaley: This is not how justice should be pursued in our country.
The American people are exhausted by the prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and vendetta politics.
It’s time to move beyond the endless drama and distractions.
Claire Fox is still a shit, mind.
But he was, for a decent time, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and an MP for 20 years.
Wikipedia barely mentions his involvement in Operation Midland.
The whataboutery doesn’t seem proportionate, although of course it is coming from the usual suspects.
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, initially assigned to oversee his case
https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe/status/1667162424615510017?cxt=HHwWgoCx4YzZ-aIuAAAA
Which we all already knew.