I was listening to Crispin Blunt this morning on R5L.
He commented that Farage couldn't be considered for an ambassador's role because he wasn't a member of the Conservative party. I didn't realise that only party supporters were considered.
he also hinted that he wasn't a gentleman. It's possible that he didn't quite mean to say that, but surely admitting that ambassadors were political appointees wasn't wise, even if it is true?
I doubt if he did Ukip any harm. A toff called Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt being condescending to the plebs wasn't all that wise either.
UKIP would do well to remember that headlines in the Mail and the Express are not necessarily reflective of UK public opinion generally. I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
I was listening to Crispin Blunt this morning on R5L. He commented that Farage couldn't be considered for an ambassador's role because he wasn't a member of the Conservative party. I didn't realise that only party supporters were considered. he also hinted that he wasn't a gentleman. It's possible that he didn't quite mean to say that, but surely admitting that ambassadors were political appointees wasn't wise, even if it is true? I doubt if he did Ukip any harm. A toff called Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt being condescending to the plebs wasn't all that wise either.
I remember it like yesterday. I was with a group of other software guys in a small company. We got a phone call from someone's wife to say it had just been on telly (no Web then).
After jumping around the office for a bit we went to the pub.
Glorious!
Three days before my first boy was born.
I made a fair bit of money out of it. Invested in 150 Evening Standards and picture frames. Put the front cover in the frame and sold each one for - I think - £5 outside Camden Town tube station. They all went in a day and it paid for us to get back to Spain, where we were living at the time.
Margaret Thatcher would have been proud of your enterprise.
Ha, ha.
I have never hidden the fact that on a personal level I did very well out of Thatcherism. A lot of what she did was very necessary and she did release enterprise, I think that is undoubtedly true. Like any good leftie, I used to hate her. But nowadays my views are a lot more nuanced. Get past the southern Midlands and her legacy becomes a lot more debatable.
LOL you're just drifting to the right as do all people who age Mr SO
You're still only a Leftie because you're a late developer :-)
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
Nah sorry I don't agree at all. The primary twin purpose of an Ambassador is to communicate the Government's considered view on matters to the host nation and to give as much insight as possible to the Government into the views and possible actions of the host nation. As much as humanly possible the Ambassador should have no personal axe to grind in either direction and should be there solely to serve the Government . Farage is fantastically, extraordinarily unsuited to that role.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
Nah sorry I don't agree at all. The primary twin purpose of an Ambassador is to communicate the Government's considered view on matters to the host nation and to give as much insight as possible to the Government into the views and possible actions of the host nation. As much as humanly possible the Ambassador should have no personal axe to grind in either direction and should be there solely to serve the Government . Farage is fantastically, extraordinarily unsuited to that role.
I think he might also be a little too fond of a drink.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
Nah sorry I don't agree at all. The primary twin purpose of an Ambassador is to communicate the Government's considered view on matters to the host nation and to give as much insight as possible to the Government into the views and possible actions of the host nation. As much as humanly possible the Ambassador should have no personal axe to grind in either direction and should be there solely to serve the Government . Farage is fantastically, extraordinarily unsuited to that role.
I remember it like yesterday. I was with a group of other software guys in a small company. We got a phone call from someone's wife to say it had just been on telly (no Web then).
After jumping around the office for a bit we went to the pub.
Glorious!
Three days before my first boy was born.
I made a fair bit of money out of it. Invested in 150 Evening Standards and picture frames. Put the front cover in the frame and sold each one for - I think - £5 outside Camden Town tube station. They all went in a day and it paid for us to get back to Spain, where we were living at the time.
Margaret Thatcher would have been proud of your enterprise.
Ha, ha.
I have never hidden the fact that on a personal level I did very well out of Thatcherism. A lot of what she did was very necessary and she did release enterprise, I think that is undoubtedly true. Like any good leftie, I used to hate her. But nowadays my views are a lot more nuanced. Get past the southern Midlands and her legacy becomes a lot more debatable.
By God! What are you doing mooching about PB, Southam? We've never seen eye to eye on anything political Southam, but If I were you - M&S need a smart CEO - see what you can do. It might be the remaking of the company and kudos with riches for you.
Good news. This is starting to look like an orchestrated campaign. If so, good on the government.
If you are tech company doing work where borders do not matter, then now is absolutely the time to get into the UK. We are currently Europe's tech capital, with open borders ensuring a free flow of top talent from across the continent. Waiting a few years - when the drawbridge could have been lifted - is not a good idea. Cloud-related services, as well as the kind of work that Google and Amazon do, is not predicated on access to the single market, just on the availability of good people. We have those in spades right now. Hopefully, we will ensure that continues after Brexit, too. That's what makes the work visa regime that is put in place so important. Being able to get your visa in the UK having travelled as a tourist to find work will be absolutely essential.
Two problems with basing our future on cloud-based services. First is that unlike the American government, HMG does not favour or protect British providers, so the industry is US-dominated. Second, the main attraction of European-based infrastructure is protection from American legislation -- but that comes from the EU.
Well, if IBM did speak to the government before making its investment that is very interesting.
I think part of the reason US tech companies are all jumping in now is because they think we're heading for a reasonable free trade deal but ultimately won't be under EU jurisdiction which has been very hostile to their business models. Even if there isn't a free trade deal, services are tariff free and it doesn't cost Google anything to export services from the UK to the EU whether we are in or out. Skilled workers which these companies are looking for will never be under any kind of restrictions so any that are placed on free movement won't really matter, they aren't looking to hire Spanish waitresses.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
Nah sorry I don't agree at all. The primary twin purpose of an Ambassador is to communicate the Government's considered view on matters to the host nation and to give as much insight as possible to the Government into the views and possible actions of the host nation. As much as humanly possible the Ambassador should have no personal axe to grind in either direction and should be there solely to serve the Government . Farage is fantastically, extraordinarily unsuited to that role.
I have never said that Farage would be a good idea. Darroch has personal views on the EU that are europhile. He also cannot communicate effectively to the next POTUS since Trump clearly mistrusts him.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I was listening to Crispin Blunt this morning on R5L.
He commented that Farage couldn't be considered for an ambassador's role because he wasn't a member of the Conservative party. I didn't realise that only party supporters were considered.
he also hinted that he wasn't a gentleman. It's possible that he didn't quite mean to say that, but surely admitting that ambassadors were political appointees wasn't wise, even if it is true?
I doubt if he did Ukip any harm. A toff called Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt being condescending to the plebs wasn't all that wise either.
UKIP would do well to remember that headlines in the Mail and the Express are not necessarily reflective of UK public opinion generally. I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
It may not end well for UKIP, but for Farage personally, it couldn't be a better ticket to the gravy train than friendship with POTUS.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
Nah sorry I don't agree at all. The primary twin purpose of an Ambassador is to communicate the Government's considered view on matters to the host nation and to give as much insight as possible to the Government into the views and possible actions of the host nation. As much as humanly possible the Ambassador should have no personal axe to grind in either direction and should be there solely to serve the Government . Farage is fantastically, extraordinarily unsuited to that role.
I have never said that Farage would be a good idea. Darroch has personal views on the EU that are europhile. He also cannot communicate effectively to the next POTUS since Trump clearly mistrusts him.
Finding people in the FCO who aren't Europhile could be an issue.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
By "Trade focused" do you mean is interested in cooking up real estate deals with Trump? Most of Scotland will be a golf course by the end of the first term.
Ha ha. Seriously, I mean a Lord Digby Jones type of Ambassador. Let us break away from FO diplomats and retiring politicians.
I don't want to get OGH into trouble with m'learned friends but, seriously, anyone who knows anything about Digby Jones's business career wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. Some people are lucky not to get their just desserts.
Yes, this has been little short of a national humiliation. Trump clearly holds the May government in contempt and regards British diplomacy as nothing other than a playpen for the amusement of his pet joke Englishman. What a depressing state of affairs. It's good that May offered this current rebuff, but we know that Farage will be indulged eventually - the Tory hard-Right, obsessed with his alchemy, will clamour for it.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
Nah sorry I don't agree at all. The primary twin purpose of an Ambassador is to communicate the Government's considered view on matters to the host nation and to give as much insight as possible to the Government into the views and possible actions of the host nation. As much as humanly possible the Ambassador should have no personal axe to grind in either direction and should be there solely to serve the Government . Farage is fantastically, extraordinarily unsuited to that role.
I have never said that Farage would be a good idea. Darroch has personal views on the EU that are europhile. He also cannot communicate effectively to the next POTUS since Trump clearly mistrusts him.
How do you know he has personal views on the EU? What relevance is that to his job as US ambassador?
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I was listening to Crispin Blunt this morning on R5L.
He commented that Farage couldn't be considered for an ambassador's role because he wasn't a member of the Conservative party. I didn't realise that only party supporters were considered.
he also hinted that he wasn't a gentleman. It's possible that he didn't quite mean to say that, but surely admitting that ambassadors were political appointees wasn't wise, even if it is true?
I doubt if he did Ukip any harm. A toff called Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt being condescending to the plebs wasn't all that wise either.
UKIP would do well to remember that headlines in the Mail and the Express are not necessarily reflective of UK public opinion generally. I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
It may not end well for UKIP, but for Farage personally, it couldn't be a better ticket to the gravy train than friendship with POTUS.
Indeed Trump has found a neat segway from the Brussels European Parliament gravy turn to a potentially an even more lucrative one. If it results in him staying that side of the Atlantic then everyone's a winner.
I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
I am more upbeat about Brexit and Trump today than I have been for a while as it seems ever more likely that the sheer weight of fuckwittery will overwhelm the key protagonists sooner rather than later
I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
I am more upbeat about Brexit and Trump today than I have been for a while as it seems ever more likely that the sheer weight of fuckwittery will overwhelm the key protagonists sooner rather than later
Is that what Faisal thinks?
Meanwhile, the rest of us are waiting for Blair, with the backing of his billionaire tax exile chums, to upset the apple cart when he takes over the reins of Team Remain. What could possibly go wrong.
Just heard a snippet of some Labour fool talking about £500bn in additional spending and borrowing. Those historically low interest rates would suddenly be a lot higher if the government announced £500bn in new Gilts and prices crash. Idiot.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
Nah sorry I don't agree at all. The primary twin purpose of an Ambassador is to communicate the Government's considered view on matters to the host nation and to give as much insight as possible to the Government into the views and possible actions of the host nation. As much as humanly possible the Ambassador should have no personal axe to grind in either direction and should be there solely to serve the Government . Farage is fantastically, extraordinarily unsuited to that role.
I have never said that Farage would be a good idea. Darroch has personal views on the EU that are europhile. He also cannot communicate effectively to the next POTUS since Trump clearly mistrusts him.
Finding people in the FCO who aren't Europhile could be an issue.
I imagine that they are currently struggling to find someone who knows what Twitter is.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
By "Trade focused" do you mean is interested in cooking up real estate deals with Trump? Most of Scotland will be a golf course by the end of the first term.
Ha ha. Seriously, I mean a Lord Digby Jones type of Ambassador. Let us break away from FO diplomats and retiring politicians.
I don't want to get OGH into trouble with m'learned friends but, seriously, anyone who knows anything about Digby Jones's business career wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. Some people are lucky not to get their just desserts.
He's impressively traded from an okayish regional banking firm. Nigel Knowles-esque.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
By "Trade focused" do you mean is interested in cooking up real estate deals with Trump? Most of Scotland will be a golf course by the end of the first term.
Ha ha. Seriously, I mean a Lord Digby Jones type of Ambassador. Let us break away from FO diplomats and retiring politicians.
I don't want to get OGH into trouble with m'learned friends but, seriously, anyone who knows anything about Digby Jones's business career wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. Some people are lucky not to get their just desserts.
He's impressively traded from an okayish regional banking firm. Nigel Knowles-esque.
Nothing impressive about his trading. More like Macavity the cat.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
By "Trade focused" do you mean is interested in cooking up real estate deals with Trump? Most of Scotland will be a golf course by the end of the first term.
Ha ha. Seriously, I mean a Lord Digby Jones type of Ambassador. Let us break away from FO diplomats and retiring politicians.
I don't want to get OGH into trouble with m'learned friends but, seriously, anyone who knows anything about Digby Jones's business career wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. Some people are lucky not to get their just desserts.
He's impressively traded from an okayish regional banking firm. Nigel Knowles-esque.
Nothing impressive about his trading. More like Macavity the cat.
Impressive in the sense of moving on up. Nothing more.
I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
This is to entirely misunderstand the relationship. Trump genuinely thinks Farage has been a major help to him. First, in helping to secure Brexit, and then helping to secure him the presidency by tweaking his campaign. Which he did. Its not about arse-likhan.
He thinks Farage is a highly capable guy, based on what Nige has done for him. Free of charge.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I was listening to Crispin Blunt this morning on R5L.
He commented that Farage couldn't be considered for an ambassador's role because he wasn't a member of the Conservative party. I didn't realise that only party supporters were considered.
he also hinted that he wasn't a gentleman. It's possible that he didn't quite mean to say that, but surely admitting that ambassadors were political appointees wasn't wise, even if it is true?
I doubt if he did Ukip any harm. A toff called Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt being condescending to the plebs wasn't all that wise either.
UKIP would do well to remember that headlines in the Mail and the Express are not necessarily reflective of UK public opinion generally. I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
It may not end well for UKIP, but for Farage personally, it couldn't be a better ticket to the gravy train than friendship with POTUS.
That is a fair point. There is probably money to be made from being the US president's pet Englishman. He is currently like the winner of the X Factor getting to number one in the charts just after the final. Soon, though, it will cruise ships, shop openings in the provinces and a column in This England. Then, thankfully, we'll not have to entertain any more lectures from him about patriotism, sovereignty and not interfering in other people's elections/politics. We all know now that he is a total charlatan and hypocrite.
"He briefed us on Brussels procedures, and how we might stop — or at least reduce — the flow of unwanted bureaucracy. It was a fascinating and enlightening conversation. The only problem was: almost everything he told us turned out to be completely wrong."
I have never hidden the fact that on a personal level I did very well out of Thatcherism. A lot of what she did was very necessary and she did release enterprise, I think that is undoubtedly true. Like any good leftie, I used to hate her. But nowadays my views are a lot more nuanced. Get past the southern Midlands and her legacy becomes a lot more debatable.
So Islington's proudest bennies-boy (and 'Intellectual-Property business-man') plagiarised a viable business for his own self-gain? What a freckin' pile of :tumbleweed:
Farage would be totally unsuitable for anyone other than President Trump. And he might not be that great with Trump, but a compliment from the POTUS is something that Gordon and Tony would have died for.
Just a hint of sour grapes from some on here.
Trump maintains his maverick image, Farage can cast himself in the martyr role ... Think not what your country can do for you but what ... etc
No one else comes out well. That Trump man ... he's a genius!
I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
I am more upbeat about Brexit and Trump today than I have been for a while as it seems ever more likely that the sheer weight of fuckwittery will overwhelm the key protagonists sooner rather than later
Farage is an irrelevance to Brexit. That he is desperately getting his buddy over the water to find a role for him should tell you how far removed he is from the action.
Trump will want, both personally and politically*, to be seen to succeed, but it doesn't necessarily have to be on his current terms.
*One suspects the political is less important to him!
The two are now inextricably linked. He can't be a personal success and a failed president. He was a billionaire to start with so there's no value to him in acting like Yanukovych.
Trump is a chump on this matter but he has given us an advantage. He wants someone different there. It is good that we now know that Darroch is unwelcome with Trump. Maybe Darroch was also unwelcome to Obama, but Obama never told us - we just got overlooked...
I don't know why you'd think that Trump knows who the current UK ambassador to the US, let alone has an opinion about him.
Has the British Ambassador not made himself known to the Presdent elect or previously to the Republican presidential candidate?
If not, the Ambassador should be sacked.
Trump is currently dealing a blizzard of problems and exciting grift opportunities. The idea that he's spending brain cycles on ambassadors of medium-sized countries is ridiculous.
We have a europhile Ambassador whom Farage does not like. Farage poisons the well and Darroch had not created strong links in the months beforehand. So Darroch is toast. We now have an opportunity for a Trade focused Ambassador to the USA, something which Darroch has no record in undertaking.
By "Trade focused" do you mean is interested in cooking up real estate deals with Trump? Most of Scotland will be a golf course by the end of the first term.
Ha ha. Seriously, I mean a Lord Digby Jones type of Ambassador. Let us break away from FO diplomats and retiring politicians.
I don't want to get OGH into trouble with m'learned friends but, seriously, anyone who knows anything about Digby Jones's business career wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. Some people are lucky not to get their just desserts.
He's impressively traded from an okayish regional banking firm. Nigel Knowles-esque.
Really? Thought he was a lawyer at Edge & Ellison. Ended up as Senior Partner.
I remember it like yesterday. I was with a group of other software guys in a small company. We got a phone call from someone's wife to say it had just been on telly (no Web then).
After jumping around the office for a bit we went to the pub.
Glorious!
Three days before my first boy was born.
I made a fair bit of money out of it. Invested in 150 Evening Standards and picture frames. Put the front cover in the frame and sold each one for - I think - £5 outside Camden Town tube station. They all went in a day and it paid for us to get back to Spain, where we were living at the time.
Margaret Thatcher would have been proud of your enterprise.
Ha, ha.
I have never hidden the fact that on a personal level I did very well out of Thatcherism. A lot of what she did was very necessary and she did release enterprise, I think that is undoubtedly true. Like any good leftie, I used to hate her. But nowadays my views are a lot more nuanced. Get past the southern Midlands and her legacy becomes a lot more debatable.
LOL you're just drifting to the right as do all people who age Mr SO
You're still only a Leftie because you're a late developer :-)
I have definitely moved right as I have got older, but I have not got to crossover and I don't think I will. Funnily enough, my Dad went the other way. He was very middle of the road but by the time he died he had drifted to the edge of the left and had become very anti-American. We would have fallen out over Corbyn big time.
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
A good question.
I'm not at all sure that Trump would be able to make the distinction between the two. Someone who has won against all expectations risks believing his own propaganda (where is the person telling him: "Sire, you too are mortal") and risks believing that he understands America's interests without having to pay any regard for those who disagree with him.
There was a reason why the Founding Fathers built in so many checks and balances. We have to hope that they work now as they were intended to.
Yes, this has been little short of a national humiliation. Trump clearly holds the May government in contempt and regards British diplomacy as nothing other than a playpen for the amusement of his pet joke Englishman. What a depressing state of affairs. It's good that May offered this current rebuff, but we know that Farage will be indulged eventually - the Tory hard-Right, obsessed with his alchemy, will clamour for it.
"the idea of this being carried out on social media is a graphic example of the new world we are in."
"There’s a form of blackmail in Trump’s Tweet"
These two statements do not both necessarily have to be true.
In my mind, the latter is, the former is not. This, at least viewed in terms of international diplomacy, is an example of one man's way, not the world's. But even in that, "signaling" - whether verbal or non-verbal - has been part of negotiations since the dawn of mankind. This is just an extreme example of it within the context of diplomacy.
However, I do not see it as the new standard for how it will be done routinely in the future. Most diplomacy will still be done out of sight and earshot.
Well, this is the big question. There are a lot of constraints on Presidential power, especially once the appointments have been made.
Trump will want, both personally and politically*, to be seen to succeed, but it doesn't necessarily have to be on his current terms.
*One suspects the political is less important to him!
If the House and Senate don't want to put constraints on his power, there aren't a lot of constraints on his power.
If also he has control of a vast, unaccountable surveillance system, which he does, a judge or politician has to be quite brave to put any constraints on his power.
The one mitigating factor here is that the place the president has the most unaccountable power is over foreign policy, and Trump doesn't seem to be very interested in foreign policy.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
In all the hullabaloo over Trump’s win, no one has given a seconds thought to Milibanana’s dashed hopes of reaching Capitol Hill. Doesn’t he have a brother, what ever happened to him?
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
Just remembered when Lady Thatcher became Prime Minister, she wanted to make Ted Heath our Ambassador to the United States.
Thank heavens Ted Heath refused, and she appointed Sir Nicholas Henderson instead, who was an absolute star during the Falklands war.
One thing that occurs with Trump, there was talk a while ago that Twitter might be in a bit of financial trouble but now Donald seems intent to conduct the Presidency via Twitter they have probably become the important news outlet of all time. Bet Mr Dorsey can't believe his luck.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Yes, this has been little short of a national humiliation. Trump clearly holds the May government in contempt and regards British diplomacy as nothing other than a playpen for the amusement of his pet joke Englishman. What a depressing state of affairs. It's good that May offered this current rebuff, but we know that Farage will be indulged eventually - the Tory hard-Right, obsessed with his alchemy, will clamour for it.
In reality, Tories hate Farage's guts.
There is no point wasting hatred on a has-been, no matter how successful he was in his day, nor how recent his day was.
Well, this is the big question. There are a lot of constraints on Presidential power, especially once the appointments have been made.
Trump will want, both personally and politically*, to be seen to succeed, but it doesn't necessarily have to be on his current terms.
*One suspects the political is less important to him!
If the House and Senate don't want to put constraints on his power, there aren't a lot of constraints on his power.
If also he has control of a vast, unaccountable surveillance system, which he does, a judge or politician has to be quite brave to put any constraints on his power.
The one mitigating factor here is that the place the president has the most unaccountable power is over foreign policy, and Trump doesn't seem to be very interested in foreign policy.
Well, there aren't that many Senators signed up to Trumpism. Of course, that doesn't mean they won't support it...
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
In all the hullabaloo over Trump’s win, no one has given a seconds thought to Milibanana’s dashed hopes of reaching Capitol Hill. Doesn’t he have a brother, what ever happened to him?
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
Would
i) A Republican House impeach him?
and
ii) Would around 18 Republican Senators vote to convict him?
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
No, down that road leads people calling for impeachment, which neither the House or the Senate will vote for because they're afraid of primaries and personal retribution.
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
In all the hullabaloo over Trump’s win, no one has given a seconds thought to Milibanana’s dashed hopes of reaching Capitol Hill. Doesn’t he have a brother, what ever happened to him?
Who, Steve?
I thought the Prince over the Water was planning to head home now that US Cabinet is out.
One thing that occurs with Trump, there was talk a while ago that Twitter might be in a bit of financial trouble but now Donald seems intent to conduct the Presidency via Twitter they have probably become the important news outlet of all time. Bet Mr Dorsey can't believe his luck.
Time to "buy" Twitter?
If nothing else they are likely to be in the news a lot more with Trump related headlines.
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
Still wouldn't be appointed. There are only two useful sources of ambassadors: professional diplomats and members of the governing party. They have to not only represent the government of the day but be seen to be doing so. Appointing someone from a rival party (even one who has been out of the domestic scene for a while and who is a former Foreign Secretary) fails that second point. Even if Miliband were capable of acting as Theresa May's voice in Washington, it would take a long time before he would credibly be seen so.
In any case, I think it's pretty unlikely that Hillary would have presumed to tell another government who its representative to her should be. It's just not how diplomacy is done.
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
She would never ask... and neither Cameron nor Miliband would ever accept.
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
Just remembered when Lady Thatcher became Prime Minister, she wanted to make Ted Heath our Ambassador to the United States.
Thank heavens Ted Heath refused, and she appointed Sir Nicholas Henderson instead, who was an absolute star during the Falklands war.
Too right.
Heath would probably have been lining the US up to back Galtieri.
Yes, this has been little short of a national humiliation. Trump clearly holds the May government in contempt and regards British diplomacy as nothing other than a playpen for the amusement of his pet joke Englishman. What a depressing state of affairs. It's good that May offered this current rebuff, but we know that Farage will be indulged eventually - the Tory hard-Right, obsessed with his alchemy, will clamour for it.
Well when the Government has a serious discussion on whether to ban you from entering the UK it isn't exactly condusive to good relations.
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
Still wouldn't be appointed. There are only two useful sources of ambassadors: professional diplomats and members of the governing party. They have to not only represent the government of the day but be seen to be doing so. Appointing someone from a rival party (even one who has been out of the domestic scene for a while and who is a former Foreign Secretary) fails that second point. Even if Miliband were capable of acting as Theresa May's voice in Washington, it would take a long time before he would credibly be seen so.
In any case, I think it's pretty unlikely that Hillary would have presumed to tell another government who its representative to her should be. It's just not how diplomacy is done.
There's also the slight consideration that David Miliband was an absolutely shite Foreign Secretary.....
One thing that occurs with Trump, there was talk a while ago that Twitter might be in a bit of financial trouble but now Donald seems intent to conduct the Presidency via Twitter they have probably become the important news outlet of all time. Bet Mr Dorsey can't believe his luck.
Time to "buy" Twitter?
If nothing else they are likely to be in the news a lot more with Trump related headlines.
International summits will be interesting. You can imagine him kicking off a global media storm while the people around the table are unaware of what he's just tweeted.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
Would
i) A Republican House impeach him?
and
ii) Would around 18 Republican Senators vote to convict him?
In the case of abuse of power for personal gain, then yes, I think they would.
Trump is not really of the GOP and I doubt they have much love for him; it's not as partisan a question as it would normally be. Also, it would depend on the public mood. A billionaire using his office to further his own business interests (for example) is hardly likely to be well-regarded by the 'little guy' in Florida - and those in Congress who might back him would have to be ready to accept the taint by association.
And the history of Watergate suggests that a Congress could be prepared to go all the way if the evidence is there; that party colleagues can only be relied on so far - and Trump starts with less support there than most presidents.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
No, down that road leads people calling for impeachment, which neither the House or the Senate will vote for because they're afraid of primaries and personal retribution.
Only up til the point where Trump becomes a liability.
I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
This is to entirely misunderstand the relationship. Trump genuinely thinks Farage has been a major help to him. First, in helping to secure Brexit, and then helping to secure him the presidency by tweaking his campaign. Which he did. Its not about arse-likhan.
He thinks Farage is a highly capable guy, based on what Nige has done for him. Free of charge.
Yes, people are missing this. I also think Britishness (Farage is a bit spivvy in some eyes but he speaks with a bantam-weight posh accent, which is enough) carries some weight in the US. He also has a lot of knowledge about politics, especially British and EU politics, that Trump doesn't have. In short he's an asset to Trump. Something which Teresa May's Government, sadly, is so far being rather lead-footed about.
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
Still wouldn't be appointed. There are only two useful sources of ambassadors: professional diplomats and members of the governing party. They have to not only represent the government of the day but be seen to be doing so. Appointing someone from a rival party (even one who has been out of the domestic scene for a while and who is a former Foreign Secretary) fails that second point. Even if Miliband were capable of acting as Theresa May's voice in Washington, it would take a long time before he would credibly be seen so.
In any case, I think it's pretty unlikely that Hillary would have presumed to tell another government who its representative to her should be. It's just not how diplomacy is done.
There's also the slight consideration that David Miliband was an absolutely shite Foreign Secretary.....
I always find it very weird how Banana Man is always held up of as the potential saviour for the Labour Party.
I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
This is to entirely misunderstand the relationship. Trump genuinely thinks Farage has been a major help to him. First, in helping to secure Brexit, and then helping to secure him the presidency by tweaking his campaign. Which he did. Its not about arse-likhan.
He thinks Farage is a highly capable guy, based on what Nige has done for him. Free of charge.
Yes, people are missing this. I also think Britishness (Farage is a bit spivvy in some eyes but he speaks with a bantam-weight posh accent, which is enough) carries some weight in the US. He also has a lot of knowledge about politics, especially British and EU politics, that Trump doesn't have. In short he's an asset to Trump. Something which Teresa May's Government, sadly, is so far being rather lead-footed about.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
No, down that road leads people calling for impeachment, which neither the House or the Senate will vote for because they're afraid of primaries and personal retribution.
Only up til the point where Trump becomes a liability.
They've been saying he's a liability all along so why would they be believed?
Yes, this has been little short of a national humiliation. Trump clearly holds the May government in contempt and regards British diplomacy as nothing other than a playpen for the amusement of his pet joke Englishman. What a depressing state of affairs. It's good that May offered this current rebuff, but we know that Farage will be indulged eventually - the Tory hard-Right, obsessed with his alchemy, will clamour for it.
Well when the Government has a serious discussion on whether to ban you from entering the UK it isn't exactly condusive to good relations.
Opposition morons in Parliament that should never be allowed near power again decided to have an immature debate in Parliament based on petition legislation passed by the last Labour government. The Government didn't have that discussion.
Whether Trump picks up on that nuance is another question.
Yes, this has been little short of a national humiliation. Trump clearly holds the May government in contempt and regards British diplomacy as nothing other than a playpen for the amusement of his pet joke Englishman. What a depressing state of affairs. It's good that May offered this current rebuff, but we know that Farage will be indulged eventually - the Tory hard-Right, obsessed with his alchemy, will clamour for it.
Like TSE I think you're reading too much into this. He isn't interested in diplomacy or foreign policy. Watch the debates: He's been running for president for the best part of a decade, and still has absolutely no idea about the main issues of the day. He simply isn't paying attention to any of it.
What he is interested in is people who help and flatter him. There was a British person who seems ideologically aligned, and helped and flattered him when he was losing. He's been busily giving jobs to his friends. He tweeted that this person should get the most important job he could think of that a British person gets in America.
The best part about Trump's twitter account is that it is clearly mostly him.
There are obviously a few tweets that have been composed by whichever lackey has been given the gig to do his social media stuff, but by and large it is raw, unvarnished Trump.
That is a big contrast to most leaders who clearly aren't writing their own tweets.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
Would
i) A Republican House impeach him?
and
ii) Would around 18 Republican Senators vote to convict him?
In the case of abuse of power for personal gain, then yes, I think they would.
Trump is not really of the GOP and I doubt they have much love for him; it's not as partisan a question as it would normally be. Also, it would depend on the public mood. A billionaire using his office to further his own business interests (for example) is hardly likely to be well-regarded by the 'little guy' in Florida - and those in Congress who might back him would have to be ready to accept the taint by association.
And the history of Watergate suggests that a Congress could be prepared to go all the way if the evidence is there; that party colleagues can only be relied on so far - and Trump starts with less support there than most presidents.
Very true, but I do note Edmund's point about those Representatives and Senators will need Trump supporters in future primaries and actual full elections.
The best part about Trump's twitter account is that it is clearly mostly him.
There are obviously a few tweets that have been composed by whichever lackey has been given the gig to do his social media stuff, but by and large it is raw, unvarnished Trump.
That is a big contrast to most leaders who clearly aren't writing their own tweets.
Just imagine being the Number 10 staffer in charge of Theresa May's twitter account and one night Trump tags her in an 'interesting' tweet.
MD Congressional 6 does not look so bad on the face of it, but the lower right blob lumps Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Germantown in with the entire Western Panhandle, swamping the rural vote.
Even MD Congressional 5, although a fairly logical shape, has a bump in it to ensure that the densely populated eastern DC suburbs swamp out the Amish farmers down in St Mary's.
Just finally, to see the extent of gerrymandering, look at the 1991 congressional district map against the current one:
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
Would
i) A Republican House impeach him?
and
ii) Would around 18 Republican Senators vote to convict him?
In the case of abuse of power for personal gain, then yes, I think they would.
Trump is not really of the GOP and I doubt they have much love for him; it's not as partisan a question as it would normally be. Also, it would depend on the public mood. A billionaire using his office to further his own business interests (for example) is hardly likely to be well-regarded by the 'little guy' in Florida - and those in Congress who might back him would have to be ready to accept the taint by association.
And the history of Watergate suggests that a Congress could be prepared to go all the way if the evidence is there; that party colleagues can only be relied on so far - and Trump starts with less support there than most presidents.
The more recent history of Bill Clinton suggests that such votes are highly partisan. And if anything- politics in the US is even more polarized than in Clinton's time.
The best part about Trump's twitter account is that it is clearly mostly him.
There are obviously a few tweets that have been composed by whichever lackey has been given the gig to do his social media stuff, but by and large it is raw, unvarnished Trump.
That is a big contrast to most leaders who clearly aren't writing their own tweets.
Just imagine being the Number 10 staffer in charge of Theresa May's twitter account and one night Trump tags her in an 'interesting' tweet.
Trump continues to use his own account on twitter.
@POTUS is used by Obama. Will Trump get control of that when he takes office?
The best part about Trump's twitter account is that it is clearly mostly him.
There are obviously a few tweets that have been composed by whichever lackey has been given the gig to do his social media stuff, but by and large it is raw, unvarnished Trump.
That is a big contrast to most leaders who clearly aren't writing their own tweets.
Just imagine being the Number 10 staffer in charge of Theresa May's twitter account and one night Trump tags her in an 'interesting' tweet.
Trump continues to use his own account on twitter.
@POTUS is used by Obama. Will Trump get control of that when he takes office?
I can't help thinking that Farage's current Trump arse-lick is not going to end well for him.
This is to entirely misunderstand the relationship. Trump genuinely thinks Farage has been a major help to him. First, in helping to secure Brexit, and then helping to secure him the presidency by tweaking his campaign. Which he did. Its not about arse-likhan.
He thinks Farage is a highly capable guy, based on what Nige has done for him. Free of charge.
Yes, people are missing this. I also think Britishness (Farage is a bit spivvy in some eyes but he speaks with a bantam-weight posh accent, which is enough) carries some weight in the US. He also has a lot of knowledge about politics, especially British and EU politics, that Trump doesn't have. In short he's an asset to Trump. Something which Teresa May's Government, sadly, is so far being rather lead-footed about.
Not sadly. Rightly.
I'm not sure what rectitude has to do with it. We don't demand the removal of Assad yet suck up to the Saudis, ignore Mugabe, do a hairpin turn on Iran, for rightness' sake do we? We treat all these misbehavers totally differently because of geopolitical currents and influences, mainly emanating from the US.
Farage would obviously be totally unsuitable to be the ambassador (has anyone even asked him and his poor wife if they even want the job?), but as a sort of on-off part of a welcome/trade delegation, I don't think the door should have been closed so firmly.
It also can't be ruled out that Trump makes time during his state visit to see Farage then. Which again would be a huge slap in the face to the Government. For now, they need to get Farage inside the tent pissing out.
The best part about Trump's twitter account is that it is clearly mostly him.
There are obviously a few tweets that have been composed by whichever lackey has been given the gig to do his social media stuff, but by and large it is raw, unvarnished Trump.
That is a big contrast to most leaders who clearly aren't writing their own tweets.
Just imagine being the Number 10 staffer in charge of Theresa May's twitter account and one night Trump tags her in an 'interesting' tweet.
Trump continues to use his own account on twitter.
@POTUS is used by Obama. Will Trump get control of that when he takes office?
The @barackobama handle has many times more followers than POTUS. I expect Trump will continue to use his own and leave the POTUS one to the staff.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
No, down that road leads people calling for impeachment, which neither the House or the Senate will vote for because they're afraid of primaries and personal retribution.
Only up til the point where Trump becomes a liability.
He's already a liability. But there's a collective action problem. If it was a single vote then they could all move on it at once, but it's a slow, complicated, multi-step process. They have to keep this up against the furious anger of their base, and the person they're trying to remove has a reputation for petty retribution, and control of a secretive agency that keeps records of basically all their communications data.
The Republicans could do it, but they'd have to be extremely courageous. And they didn't get where they are today by being extremely courageous.
Apart from being sent out to lie for the Government of the day, the four requirements for an ambassador are to be diplomatic, posh, follow orders, and preferably know which knife to use with fish. Farage ticks the boxes on the second and last.
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
I would not describe Trump as posh. Not at all. Rather a common little man, if anything. As is Trump. Money does not mean poshness. No wonder they get on.
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
The interesting line there is "his own interests". Where will he fall if there's a choice between his interests and the US' interest?
I am surprised you even ask the question. Trump's interests are the US's interests. End of.
Down that road lies impeachment.
No, down that road leads people calling for impeachment, which neither the House or the Senate will vote for because they're afraid of primaries and personal retribution.
Only up til the point where Trump becomes a liability.
They've been saying he's a liability all along so why would they be believed?
He will become a liability when the American people decide that he is. Any guesses, two years maybe? It should become clear whether he is or isn't following the mid terms.
Comments
"Sympathetic to the government" would be a more felicitous turn of phrase."
He also complained that Farage probably wouldn't "take a brief". In other words, "Do as you're told by HMG."
You're still only a Leftie because you're a late developer :-)
https://twitter.com/matthaig1/status/800970936283340800
Trump was just doing him a favour as pay-back. And sending a shot across the bows.
What relevance is that to his job as US ambassador?
Meanwhile, the rest of us are waiting for Blair, with the backing of his billionaire tax exile chums, to upset the apple cart when he takes over the reins of Team Remain. What could possibly go wrong.
Farage isn;t interested in the gravy train. He wants power, influence and revenge on those who dismissed him.
His ideal is the likes of Blair and Cameron, bending the knee.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/731900/memo-UK-plan-Donald-Trump-exploit-inexperience-British-ambassador-Sir-Kim-Darroch
Speaking bluntly, saying what needs to be said is one thing. But neither of these imply that one has to be ill-mannered and offensive.
Trump is a bully. If this tweet finally persuades the British political establishment that the so-called relationship is nothing of the kind and that Trump will look after his own interests and no-one else's then he will have done us a favour.
What you don't do to bullies - or their sidekicks - is appease them. Britain used to understand this. Time for it to remember this basic lesson. Again.
This is to entirely misunderstand the relationship. Trump genuinely thinks Farage has been a major help to him. First, in helping to secure Brexit, and then helping to secure him the presidency by tweaking his campaign. Which he did. Its not about arse-likhan.
He thinks Farage is a highly capable guy, based on what Nige has done for him. Free of charge.
Trump will want, both personally and politically*, to be seen to succeed, but it doesn't necessarily have to be on his current terms.
*One suspects the political is less important to him!
@Freedland: UKippers thrilled by Trump's nomination of Farage to be UK Amb to the US: we don't really need listen to them on "sovereignty" ever again
"He briefed us on Brussels procedures, and how we might stop — or at least reduce — the flow of unwanted bureaucracy. It was a fascinating and enlightening conversation. The only problem was: almost everything he told us turned out to be completely wrong."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3603793/Why-quit-EU-Cameron-s-guru-Friend-strategist-Steve-Hilton-breaks-ranks-Brexit-say-Britain-literally-ungovernable-unless-power-self-serving-elite.html#ixzz4QjvipDEW
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Just a hint of sour grapes from some on here.
Trump maintains his maverick image, Farage can cast himself in the martyr role ... Think not what your country can do for you but what ... etc
No one else comes out well. That Trump man ... he's a genius!
Remain and Hillary Clinton have won. Dave is still PM, and he's received a discreet telegram from Hillary saying that though she doesn't have any room in her cabinet a certain D Miliband would be a great US-UK ambassador...
I'm not at all sure that Trump would be able to make the distinction between the two. Someone who has won against all expectations risks believing his own propaganda (where is the person telling him: "Sire, you too are mortal") and risks believing that he understands America's interests without having to pay any regard for those who disagree with him.
There was a reason why the Founding Fathers built in so many checks and balances. We have to hope that they work now as they were intended to.
"the idea of this being carried out on social media is a graphic example of the new world we are in."
"There’s a form of blackmail in Trump’s Tweet"
These two statements do not both necessarily have to be true.
In my mind, the latter is, the former is not. This, at least viewed in terms of international diplomacy, is an example of one man's way, not the world's. But even in that, "signaling" - whether verbal or non-verbal - has been part of negotiations since the dawn of mankind. This is just an extreme example of it within the context of diplomacy.
However, I do not see it as the new standard for how it will be done routinely in the future. Most diplomacy will still be done out of sight and earshot.
If also he has control of a vast, unaccountable surveillance system, which he does, a judge or politician has to be quite brave to put any constraints on his power.
The one mitigating factor here is that the place the president has the most unaccountable power is over foreign policy, and Trump doesn't seem to be very interested in foreign policy.
Wouldn't bother me either, in that case.
Thank heavens Ted Heath refused, and she appointed Sir Nicholas Henderson instead, who was an absolute star during the Falklands war.
Time to "buy" Twitter?
Gist: anybody who can make Keith Vaz the head of a powerful commons select committee has maybe lost the right to make appointments.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/which-republican-senators-are-most-likely-to-fight-trump/
i) A Republican House impeach him?
and
ii) Would around 18 Republican Senators vote to convict him?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/11/22/spectators-sleep-overnight-old-trafford-toilet-bid-watch-man/
In any case, I think it's pretty unlikely that Hillary would have presumed to tell another government who its representative to her should be. It's just not how diplomacy is done.
Heath would probably have been lining the US up to back Galtieri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6qlPeS1kGY
Trump is not really of the GOP and I doubt they have much love for him; it's not as partisan a question as it would normally be. Also, it would depend on the public mood. A billionaire using his office to further his own business interests (for example) is hardly likely to be well-regarded by the 'little guy' in Florida - and those in Congress who might back him would have to be ready to accept the taint by association.
And the history of Watergate suggests that a Congress could be prepared to go all the way if the evidence is there; that party colleagues can only be relied on so far - and Trump starts with less support there than most presidents.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/11/will-philip-hammond-arrested-autumn-statement/
Whether Trump picks up on that nuance is another question.
What he is interested in is people who help and flatter him. There was a British person who seems ideologically aligned, and helped and flattered him when he was losing. He's been busily giving jobs to his friends. He tweeted that this person should get the most important job he could think of that a British person gets in America.
There are obviously a few tweets that have been composed by whichever lackey has been given the gig to do his social media stuff, but by and large it is raw, unvarnished Trump.
That is a big contrast to most leaders who clearly aren't writing their own tweets.
Ahem. I live in a Blue State - Maryland. We are second to none in gerrymandering.
MD Congressional 3 has to be about the single worst district in the US for gerrymandering.
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2011/images/14403-3rd-district-2.jpg
MD Congressional 4
http://anthonybrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MD-4-District-Map.jpg
MD Congressional 2
http://www.nextcontestant.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/2nd-District-Map-from-Govtrack-Screen-Shot-2012-07-29.png
MD Congressional 6 does not look so bad on the face of it, but the lower right blob lumps Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Germantown in with the entire Western Panhandle, swamping the rural vote.
http://searchengineland.com/figz/wp-content/seloads/2012/08/MarylandCongressionalDistrict-600x398.png
MD Congressional 7 looks a lot like 4:
MD Congressional 8 takes all the rural areas of Frederick, Howard and Carroll counties and overwhelms them with Silver Spring, Chevy Chase and Takoma Park
http://marylandreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/8th-Congressional-Distirct-Map.jpg
Even MD Congressional 5, although a fairly logical shape, has a bump in it to ensure that the densely populated eastern DC suburbs swamp out the Amish farmers down in St Mary's.
Just finally, to see the extent of gerrymandering, look at the 1991 congressional district map against the current one:
1991: http://www.mdp.state.md.us/images/OurProducts/redistricting/conDistMap1991.jpg
2013: http://imgur.com/EW8j4OJ
And if anything- politics in the US is even more polarized than in Clinton's time.
He really was a plonker, a boy messing about rather than manning up and getting on with the job.
@POTUS is used by Obama. Will Trump get control of that when he takes office?
Farage would obviously be totally unsuitable to be the ambassador (has anyone even asked him and his poor wife if they even want the job?), but as a sort of on-off part of a welcome/trade delegation, I don't think the door should have been closed so firmly.
It also can't be ruled out that Trump makes time during his state visit to see Farage then. Which again would be a huge slap in the face to the Government. For now, they need to get Farage inside the tent pissing out.
The Republicans could do it, but they'd have to be extremely courageous. And they didn't get where they are today by being extremely courageous.
Or possibly news of Government borrowing falling on record October tax take?