And he has a chance to redeem himself by getting on a plane to Tehran, delivering a sincere apology and coming back with the prisoner. Still doesn’t mean he won’t get reshuffled to party chairman or some other minor position though.
Patel looks increasingly guilty of insubordination, and is pretty much toast if Mrs May wants to keep her own job.
Chairman is an interesting one. I'd assumed May wouldn't let him near it, because of the opportunities for self promotion and mischief, but if his career at the top table is seen to be over and we are clearly past Peak Boris, I guess it could be a runner?
There is the downside that he would surely have to lead on the aftermath of the harassment crisis (re. party staff) for which he is particularly unsuited.
Have we been given any idea why Patel keeps having off-piste meetings with Israelis?
My thoughts are that the UK is either the largest or second largest supplier of aid through her department to Syrian refugees in various ME countries. Her department is spending serious sums of money in countries whose leadership Patel at least probably does not regard as particularly trustworthy. I suspect the UK government is also leery of finding itself supporting groups that turn out to be terrorists as we did in Hague's time.
Israel will have more hard intelligence about what is going on in these countries, these camps and the various movements connected to them than pretty much anyone else. It is, after all, their back yard. If you trust them (big if) then briefings from them could be very helpful to someone in Patel's position.
I can even understand why she and indeed the UK government would not want to make too big a deal of such briefings and meetings. Its not going to win us many other friends in the area. If she had done this under the radar with the consent and concurrence of the FO (who may have opposed it of course) she would have done nothing wrong. But if she has misled the PM about what she was doing then her motives are irrelevant, she will have to go.
@skysarahjane: #BreakingNews @skynews understands @patel4witham is returning to London from Africa trip to speak to @theresa_may following latest revelations of secret meetings with Israeli officials
If she’s on the plane already, it lands at LHR at 15:20. Sacked by 5pm?
Surely it has to be - he used to be in the department.
Rory as next leader would be superb for my book.
DFID as his entry to Cabinet. Then maybe he can replace Boris when the inevitable occurs... Could probably do with a domestic position in his CV also though.
@skysarahjane: #BreakingNews @skynews understands @patel4witham is returning to London from Africa trip to speak to @theresa_may following latest revelations of secret meetings with Israeli officials
If she’s on the plane already, it lands at LHR at 15:20. Sacked by 5pm?
If she was on last night's BA64 she landed at Heathrow at 06.06. Otherwise it's tomorrow....
Odds on BF of Patel on going next are just a tad better than leaving your money in your current account overnight.
my bet this morning looking very bad.
which was?
Laying her to be next out of Cabinet. There's a small chance maybe someone else can do something really bad before this evening I guess! Or TM could grasp the nettle and sack Boris first...
@skysarahjane: #BreakingNews @skynews understands @patel4witham is returning to London from Africa trip to speak to @theresa_may following latest revelations of secret meetings with Israeli officials
If she’s on the plane already, it lands at LHR at 15:20. Sacked by 5pm?
If she was on last night's BA64 she landed at Heathrow at 06.06. Otherwise it's tomorrow....
Surely it has to be - he used to be in the department.
Rory as next leader would be superb for my book.
DFID as his entry to Cabinet. Then maybe he can replace Boris when the inevitable occurs... Could probably do with a domestic position in his CV also though.
As he is clearly the most experienced candidate for the job, May will obviously give it to any one of the other 300-odd Tory MPs.
Regarding the Grimsby story, this is exactly the kind of thing I have been on about. A WTO Brexit will kill businesses like these dead, because the huge delays caused by a hard border adds huge cost which they simply cannot bear. Nor can they afford to wait until the last minute as DD suggested - not that his suggestion was possible anyway. The plug will start to be pulled on places like Grimsby next year as it becomes ever more likely that the cretins in government are hoping for / sliding towards no deal.
Thats assuming there is anyone left in Number 10 by then. The list of Tory ministers supposedly up for the sack by the Zombie gets ever longer with the reasons ever sillier. Major's government was under siege from his back benches but always remained competent - this lot are an inept bunch of clowns inside the cabinet. But its ok Tories, reducing Britain to ruin and your reputation in ruins won't matter, because Corbyn? You sure that your personal prejudices against the man are matched by the wider electorate?As you confidently said before the election you were going to win by a landslide...
Johnny Mercer for International Development Secretary.
As long as it's not that Tom Tugendhat... his odds got down to 25-1 on next Tory leader last night so I laid him.... seems crazy for a Remainer with no govt position at present.
Been many years since I've flown in one, are the toilet facilities now upgraded or still non existent, hmm, 20 hours.....
All of the USN/USMC C-130s I flew on had chemical latrines and/or piss tubes. I've never had the "pleasure" of being pax on a British one so I don't what the arrangement is there. Knowing the RAF they probably do it in the loadie's mouth.
@skysarahjane: #BreakingNews @skynews understands @patel4witham is returning to London from Africa trip to speak to @theresa_may following latest revelations of secret meetings with Israeli officials
If she’s on the plane already, it lands at LHR at 15:20. Sacked by 5pm?
If she was on last night's BA64 she landed at Heathrow at 06.06. Otherwise it's tomorrow....
There’s a Kenyan Airways flight NBO-LHR, KQ100. Departed 09:40L (90 mins ago) arrives 15:20Z
Brand new Kenyan 788 or 23 year old BA 747......looks like Fox & co took the Kenya Airways flight last night while Ms Patel switched to the earlier BA one to avoid parliament and the press arrive refreshed...
Regarding the Grimsby story, this is exactly the kind of thing I have been on about. A WTO Brexit will kill businesses like these dead, because the huge delays caused by a hard border adds huge cost which they simply cannot bear. Nor can they afford to wait until the last minute as DD suggested - not that his suggestion was possible anyway. The plug will start to be pulled on places like Grimsby next year as it becomes ever more likely that the cretins in government are hoping for / sliding towards no deal.
Thats assuming there is anyone left in Number 10 by then. The list of Tory ministers supposedly up for the sack by the Zombie gets ever longer with the reasons ever sillier. Major's government was under siege from his back benches but always remained competent - this lot are an inept bunch of clowns inside the cabinet. But its ok Tories, reducing Britain to ruin and your reputation in ruins won't matter, because Corbyn? You sure that your personal prejudices against the man are matched by the wider electorate?As you confidently said before the election you were going to win by a landslide...
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
Johnny Mercer for International Development Secretary.
As long as it's not that Tom Tugendhat... his odds got down to 25-1 on next Tory leader last night so I laid him.... seems crazy for a Remainer with no govt position at present.
But he’s got experience as Chair of the Foreign Select Committee.
I was wondering what the site's view was on Boris' blunder. The media focus does seem to be on Patel, which is giving the Foreign Secretary some respite from what should be relentless condemnation. Is Patel's error in judgement genuinely worse than Boris'?
Edited extra bit: Brazil, as usual, has qualifying and the race start at 4pm.
Er yes, Patel's misdemeanours are far more serious than Bozo's idiocy, they go to the heart of minister's license to operate. Bozo's gaffe on this occasion only affected one family.
Johnny Mercer for International Development Secretary.
As long as it's not that Tom Tugendhat... his odds got down to 25-1 on next Tory leader last night so I laid him.... seems crazy for a Remainer with no govt position at present.
But he’s got experience as Chair of the Foreign Select Committee.
I’m a huge Tom Tugendhat fan.
But next Tory leader? Presumably inheriting PM also? Would he even have enough support among the MPs to make a decent showing?
Plus the Remain side is already crowded with Rudd, Hammond, Hunt, Williamson... all of whom hold Cabinet positions already.
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
#LifeComesAtYouFast
I was naive. I assumed that the party who champions free trade and enterprise, who were a keen advocate for the single market, who are largely funded by and representing almost exclusively the interests of big business would not bin off the whole thing.
Behind leaver votes was a simple mood of frustration for their lot now and a hope for something better. When all this washes out it'll be clear that the something better option (EFTA/EEA) was banned from consideration by zealots and fools, delivering for people something worse. Initially they'll try and blame the EU. But the information is already here now about how its the narrow-mindedness and idiocy of May/Davis/Fox et al to blame, not the EU.
It'll kill the Tory Party. Hopefully it won't kill our economy as well.
@Nate_Cohn: I see some commentary on why Gillespie lost that seems disconnected from what just happened. He did really well in white rural Virginia! He's going to outperform Romney, Cucc in all sorts of areas. He was *annihilated* in the suburbs.
@Nate_Cohn: So, no, I don't think it's because Gillespie wasn't Trump-y enough in his tone or attitude, or even because of insufficient economic populism.
@tonyposnanski: Someone should give Ed Gillespie a Confederate monument as a participation trophy for finishing second in the Governors’ race.
If Patel and Johnson are out of the way that leaves Davis and Rees-Mogg as the leadership flag carriers for Leavers.
One of those 2 will almost certainly succeed May as PM now in my view. Probably Davis, with Rees-Mogg more likely to take over as Tory leader of the opposition if and when Corbyn manages to get enough seats to form a government.
@skysarahjane: #BreakingNews @skynews understands @patel4witham is returning to London from Africa trip to speak to @theresa_may following latest revelations of secret meetings with Israeli officials
If she’s on the plane already, it lands at LHR at 15:20. Sacked by 5pm?
If she was on last night's BA64 she landed at Heathrow at 06.06. Otherwise it's tomorrow....
There’s a Kenyan Airways flight NBO-LHR, KQ100. Departed 09:40L (90 mins ago) arrives 15:20Z
Brand new Kenyan 788 or 23 year old BA 747......looks like Fox & co took the Kenya Airways flight last night while Ms Patel switched to the earlier BA one to avoid parliament and the press arrive refreshed...
Ha yes, I hadn’t noticed the planes. BA send their old crappy ones to Africa, whereas African airlines send their nice new shiny ones to London.
Maybe Ms Patel was just being patriotic, or maybe she wanted her last ever taste of getting on a plane and going upstairs?
One of Patel’s backbench supporters, Nadhim Zahawi, offered only lukewarm backing for her on Wednesday. Zahawi, a member of the foreign affairs select committee, told BBC News: “It is totally in the gift of the prime minister [how] any cabinet minster should serve in government ... Ultimately it is up to the prime minister what she does if there are new revelations.”
I find it quite extraordinary that a Cabinet Minister who repeatedly lies to the PM, a hanging offence on its own, has not been sacked.
What is May waiting for?
Patel needs sacking. So does Johnson. His ineptness over the poor woman locked up in an Iranian jail and his arrogance in not recognising his own incompetence is unacceptable.
Mr Meeks is right. Time to bring in fresh people from the backbenchers, as I argued in my header the other day. The government needs a reset.
Regarding the Grimsby story, this is exactly the kind of thing I have been on about. A WTO Brexit will kill businesses like these dead, because the huge delays caused by a hard border adds huge cost which they simply cannot bear. Nor can they afford to wait until the last minute as DD suggested - not that his suggestion was possible anyway. The plug will start to be pulled on places like Grimsby next year as it becomes ever more likely that the cretins in government are hoping for / sliding towards no deal.
Thats assuming there is anyone left in Number 10 by then. The list of Tory ministers supposedly up for the sack by the Zombie gets ever longer with the reasons ever sillier. Major's government was under siege from his back benches but always remained competent - this lot are an inept bunch of clowns inside the cabinet. But its ok Tories, reducing Britain to ruin and your reputation in ruins won't matter, because Corbyn? You sure that your personal prejudices against the man are matched by the wider electorate?As you confidently said before the election you were going to win by a landslide...
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
#LifeComesAtYouFast
This is what we were warned would happen:
' Today, we are setting out our assessment of what would happen in the weeks and months after a vote to Leave on June 23.
It is clear that there would be an immediate and profound shock to our economy.
The analysis produced by the Treasury today shows that a vote to leave will push our economy into a recession that would knock 3.6 per cent off GDP and, over two years, put hundreds of thousands of people out of work right across the country, compared to the forecast for continued growth if we vote to remain in the EU.
In a more severe shock scenario, Treasury economists estimate that our economy could be hit by 6 per cent, there would be a deeper recession and unemployment would rise by even more. '
I was wondering what the site's view was on Boris' blunder. The media focus does seem to be on Patel, which is giving the Foreign Secretary some respite from what should be relentless condemnation. Is Patel's error in judgement genuinely worse than Boris'?
Edited extra bit: Brazil, as usual, has qualifying and the race start at 4pm.
Er yes, Patel's misdemeanours are far more serious than Bozo's idiocy, they go to the heart of minister's license to operate. Bozo's gaffe on this occasion only affected one family.
Patel will go because it seems she did not tell the PM the whole story. That never ends well.
Regarding the Grimsby story, this is exactly the kind of thing I have been on about. A WTO Brexit will kill businesses like these dead, because the huge delays caused by a hard border adds huge cost which they simply cannot bear. Nor can they afford to wait until the last minute as DD suggested - not that his suggestion was possible anyway. The plug will start to be pulled on places like Grimsby next year as it becomes ever more likely that the cretins in government are hoping for / sliding towards no deal.
Thats assuming there is anyone left in Number 10 by then. The list of Tory ministers supposedly up for the sack by the Zombie gets ever longer with the reasons ever sillier. Major's government was under siege from his back benches but always remained competent - this lot are an inept bunch of clowns inside the cabinet. But its ok Tories, reducing Britain to ruin and your reputation in ruins won't matter, because Corbyn? You sure that your personal prejudices against the man are matched by the wider electorate?As you confidently said before the election you were going to win by a landslide...
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
#LifeComesAtYouFast
This is what we were warned would happen:
' Today, we are setting out our assessment of what would happen in the weeks and months after a vote to Leave on June 23.
It is clear that there would be an immediate and profound shock to our economy.
The analysis produced by the Treasury today shows that a vote to leave will push our economy into a recession that would knock 3.6 per cent off GDP and, over two years, put hundreds of thousands of people out of work right across the country, compared to the forecast for continued growth if we vote to remain in the EU.
In a more severe shock scenario, Treasury economists estimate that our economy could be hit by 6 per cent, there would be a deeper recession and unemployment would rise by even more. '
Surely it has to be - he used to be in the department.
Rory as next leader would be superb for my book.
DFID as his entry to Cabinet. Then maybe he can replace Boris when the inevitable occurs... Could probably do with a domestic position in his CV also though.
An Etonian and Oxford PPE graduate with dirty hands from Iraq is just what the country is crying out for.
I was wondering what the site's view was on Boris' blunder. The media focus does seem to be on Patel, which is giving the Foreign Secretary some respite from what should be relentless condemnation. Is Patel's error in judgement genuinely worse than Boris'?
Edited extra bit: Brazil, as usual, has qualifying and the race start at 4pm.
Er yes, Patel's misdemeanours are far more serious than Bozo's idiocy, they go to the heart of minister's license to operate. Bozo's gaffe on this occasion only affected one family.
Patel will go because it seems she did not tell the PM the whole story. That never ends well.
Except the fundamental problem remains TMay cannot have a sacked person cause trouble so for as long as Patel decides not to go, she is safe.
The common enemy is Iran. Yemeni rebels, Qatar and now Lebanon, all supported by Iran.
A little worrying, living as I am next door to all this!
I can definitely understand being generally pro Israel in the region.
Britain had the opportunity and justification to snuff out the nascent Zionist state in 1946, but didn't bite the bullet. The consequences of not doing so are there for all to see.
What would you have done? Deport all the Jews back to Europe? Imprison them? Or cleanse them?
You’re right in your last sentence, but, as I say, my youthful memory is that there was a lot of public support for Israel.
Background hint; my parents were Telegraph readers, so that was where I started reading about politics. Didn’t start reading the Daily Worker until about 1953/4.
There was also a lot of support for the nascent Israelis on the ground, because of what many in the army had seen and experienced in Germany. This attitude started to change with the troops' experience there (particularly some brutal Jewish terrorist attacks) but by then we were on our way to pulling out - as you say, the will to stay on the ground and impose some sort of lasting solution wasn't there. With hindsight it might have been better had we tried, or quite possibly we would simply have been delaying the inevitable and prolonging our agony.
The writing was on the wall by the mid 1930s, in my view.
At the end of the day, both the Jewish immigrants and the Arab Palestinians believed they had the ultimate right to govern the whole of Palestine/Israel, and saw the British as getting in the way.
I think a two-state solution has been dead for some time and Israel (under Netanyahu) will ultimately end up with all of it, the West Bank is far too messy now, but perhaps making some sort of exception/s for Gaza.
I expect attacks and civil disorder to persist for years.
@Nate_Cohn: I see some commentary on why Gillespie lost that seems disconnected from what just happened. He did really well in white rural Virginia! He's going to outperform Romney, Cucc in all sorts of areas. He was *annihilated* in the suburbs.
@Nate_Cohn: So, no, I don't think it's because Gillespie wasn't Trump-y enough in his tone or attitude, or even because of insufficient economic populism.
@tonyposnanski: Someone should give Ed Gillespie a Confederate monument as a participation trophy for finishing second in the Governors’ race.
For the base though it will be blamed on the establishment, not Trump and there will be more primary challenges of incumbents next year.
At this point, I think May needs to do more than merely a single replacement - she needs to be seen as trying to get ahead of the game, rather than do the minimum necessary. The Patel story is a Westminster one - few people outside politics will be familiar with the Ministerial Code or see anything very worrying about her talking to people when she strictly shouldn't have.
Boris's blunder is more immediately comprehensible and his future depends somewhat on whether the Iranians do in fact increase her sentence. If they do, then no amount of jovial bluster will make up for it. But with luck they won't, as they are still trying to build bridges with Europe to make up for the hositlity from the US.
But the government appears to be entirely dysfunctional - Gove is doing a good job, and some departments seem to be ticking along quietly, but overall it's hard to detect anything more than a bunch of survivors fighting over the drinking water in a sinking lifeboat. If Hammond takes some risks to have an interesting Budget, he might gain in the Next Leader stakes merely by evincing a sense of purpose.
Regarding the Grimsby story, this is exactly the kind of thing I have been on about. A WTO Brexit will kill businesses like these dead, because the huge delays caused by a hard border adds huge cost which they simply cannot bear. Nor can they afford to wait until the last minute as DD suggested - not that his suggestion was possible anyway. The plug will start to be pulled on places like Grimsby next year as it becomes ever more likely that the cretins in government are hoping for / sliding towards no deal.
Thats assuming there is anyone left in Number 10 by then. The list of Tory ministers supposedly up for the sack by the Zombie gets ever longer with the reasons ever sillier. Major's government was under siege from his back benches but always remained competent - this lot are an inept bunch of clowns inside the cabinet. But its ok Tories, reducing Britain to ruin and your reputation in ruins won't matter, because Corbyn? You sure that your personal prejudices against the man are matched by the wider electorate?As you confidently said before the election you were going to win by a landslide...
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
Surely it has to be - he used to be in the department.
Rory as next leader would be superb for my book.
DFID as his entry to Cabinet. Then maybe he can replace Boris when the inevitable occurs... Could probably do with a domestic position in his CV also though.
An Etonian and Oxford PPE graduate with dirty hands from Iraq is just what the country is crying out for.
Don't we have to have a PPE graduate every other PM? I thought that was the rule...
David Prescott, the son of former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, was suspended “in the last few days”, according to the Daily Mirror.
When asked about the circumstances around Mr Prescott’s suspension, a spokesman for Labour told the paper they would not "comment on staffing matters".
However they added: “The party takes all complaints of sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination extremely seriously.
I was wondering what the site's view was on Boris' blunder. The media focus does seem to be on Patel, which is giving the Foreign Secretary some respite from what should be relentless condemnation. Is Patel's error in judgement genuinely worse than Boris'?
Edited extra bit: Brazil, as usual, has qualifying and the race start at 4pm.
Er yes, Patel's misdemeanours are far more serious than Bozo's idiocy, they go to the heart of minister's license to operate. Bozo's gaffe on this occasion only affected one family.
Patel will go because it seems she did not tell the PM the whole story. That never ends well.
Except the fundamental problem remains TMay cannot have a sacked person cause trouble so for as long as Patel decides not to go, she is safe.
Only if she has support in the wider party, and that doesn't seem to be the case.
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
#LifeComesAtYouFast
I was naive. I assumed that the party who champions free trade and enterprise, who were a keen advocate for the single market, who are largely funded by and representing almost exclusively the interests of big business would not bin off the whole thing.
Behind leaver votes was a simple mood of frustration for their lot now and a hope for something better. When all this washes out it'll be clear that the something better option (EFTA/EEA) was banned from consideration by zealots and fools, delivering for people something worse. Initially they'll try and blame the EU. But the information is already here now about how its the narrow-mindedness and idiocy of May/Davis/Fox et al to blame, not the EU.
It'll kill the Tory Party. Hopefully it won't kill our economy as well.
For goodness sake, even I as a Remain voter knew it was immigration which won it for Leave, especially with the working class (albeit in large part due to Blair's failure to impose transition controls in 2004).
Had it been about sovereignty alone and just switching from the EU to EFTA/EEA I doubt Leave would have got to 52%, especially when we were outside the Eurozone anyway.
Regarding the Grimsby story, this is exactly the kind of thing I have been on about. A WTO Brexit will kill businesses like these dead, because the huge delays caused by a hard border adds huge cost which they simply cannot bear. Nor can they afford to wait until the last minute as DD suggested - not that his suggestion was possible anyway. The plug will start to be pulled on places like Grimsby next year as it becomes ever more likely that the cretins in government are hoping for / sliding towards no deal.
Thats assuming there is anyone left in Number 10 by then. The list of Tory ministers supposedly up for the sack by the Zombie gets ever longer with the reasons ever sillier. Major's government was under siege from his back benches but always remained competent - this lot are an inept bunch of clowns inside the cabinet. But its ok Tories, reducing Britain to ruin and your reputation in ruins won't matter, because Corbyn? You sure that your personal prejudices against the man are matched by the wider electorate?As you confidently said before the election you were going to win by a landslide...
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
I was wondering what the site's view was on Boris' blunder. The media focus does seem to be on Patel, which is giving the Foreign Secretary some respite from what should be relentless condemnation. Is Patel's error in judgement genuinely worse than Boris'?
Edited extra bit: Brazil, as usual, has qualifying and the race start at 4pm.
Er yes, Patel's misdemeanours are far more serious than Bozo's idiocy, they go to the heart of minister's license to operate. Bozo's gaffe on this occasion only affected one family.
It's apples vs pears, but I am not sure I agree with you. Johnson has completely fucked over the lives of three citizens of the country he governs, whereas Patel is in breach, I have no doubt, of dozens of really important sub-paragraphs of the FCO's standing orders for the conduct of ministers in wibble wibble wibble wibble. The offences may be equally serious, but Patel's behaviour doesn't have (to me) the moral impact of Johnson's.
F1: perusing the markets for early bets. One thing I've just discovered is that Betfair Sportsbook has a double podium market, but with named drivers rather than teams, which is interesting. So, you can mix and match (say Ricciardo and Vettel).
At this point, I think May needs to do more than merely a single replacement - she needs to be seen as trying to get ahead of the game, rather than do the minimum necessary. The Patel story is a Westminster one - few people outside politics will be familiar with the Ministerial Code or see anything very worrying about her talking to people when she strictly shouldn't have.
Boris's blunder is more immediately comprehensible and his future depends somewhat on whether the Iranians do in fact increase her sentence. If they do, then no amount of jovial bluster will make up for it. But with luck they won't, as they are still trying to build bridges with Europe to make up for the hositlity from the US.
But the government appears to be entirely dysfunctional - Gove is doing a good job, and some departments seem to be ticking along quietly, but overall it's hard to detect anything more than a bunch of survivors fighting over the drinking water in a sinking lifeboat. If Hammond takes some risks to have an interesting Budget, he might gain in the Next Leader stakes merely by evincing a sense of purpose.
Lets hope that Hammond does some proper preparation this time instead of trying to be a comedian.
Surely it has to be - he used to be in the department.
Rory as next leader would be superb for my book.
DFID as his entry to Cabinet. Then maybe he can replace Boris when the inevitable occurs... Could probably do with a domestic position in his CV also though.
An Etonian and Oxford PPE graduate with dirty hands from Iraq is just what the country is crying out for.
Dirty hands in Iraq? He was one of the people sent in to deal with the mess wasn't he?
@Nate_Cohn: I see some commentary on why Gillespie lost that seems disconnected from what just happened. He did really well in white rural Virginia! He's going to outperform Romney, Cucc in all sorts of areas. He was *annihilated* in the suburbs.
@Nate_Cohn: So, no, I don't think it's because Gillespie wasn't Trump-y enough in his tone or attitude, or even because of insufficient economic populism.
@tonyposnanski: Someone should give Ed Gillespie a Confederate monument as a participation trophy for finishing second in the Governors’ race.
For the base though it will be blamed on the establishment, not Trump and there will be more primary challenges of incumbents next year.
The common enemy is Iran. Yemeni rebels, Qatar and now Lebanon, all supported by Iran.
A little worrying, living as I am next door to all this!
I can definitely understand being generally pro Israel in the region.
Britain had the opportunity and justification to snuff out the nascent Zionist state in 1946, but didn't bite the bullet. The consequences of not doing so are there for all to see.
What would you have done? Deport all the Jews back to Europe? Imprison them? Or cleanse them?
Britain did detain many "illegal" Jewish immigrants, in Cyprus and elsewhere, and deport some back to Europe, but it was in a parlous state after the end of WW2 and incapable of decisive action in the overseas sphere - witness the disastrous end to the Dominion of India. There was a battle in the UK government between Bevin and those more sympathetic to Zionism.
You’re right in your last sentence, but, as I say, my youthful memory is that there was a lot of public support for Israel.
Background hint; my parents were Telegraph readers, so that was where I started reading about politics. Didn’t start reading the Daily Worker until about 1953/4.
There was also a lot of support for the nascent Israelis on the ground...
The Promise dramatises that very well. In fact, it was such a powerful drama that it led to me significantly qualifying my views on Israel/Palestine.
The only way to have preserved the 1948 UN partition settlement would have been to impose it by force. That would have required British troops (in even greater numbers that 100k) keeping both sides apart and suffering significant casualties from both for years, with no guarantee of success, even if they'd stayed another 20 years.
1948 was too late. Had there been something even approaching the US commitment to rebuilding Europe (and we're talking about a much, much smaller scale), then it would have saved a huge amount of grief. Of course that would have required rather more foresight than was available at the time.
Surely it has to be - he used to be in the department.
Rory as next leader would be superb for my book.
DFID as his entry to Cabinet. Then maybe he can replace Boris when the inevitable occurs... Could probably do with a domestic position in his CV also though.
An Etonian and Oxford PPE graduate with dirty hands from Iraq is just what the country is crying out for.
Don't we have to have a PPE graduate every other PM? I thought that was the rule...
It's the last time we try a Geography graduate that's for sure.
If May doesn't dismiss her, she herself should go. You just cannot have ministers acting in this manner.
It's a government of chaos. May needs to start getting a grip, and she can start by sacking Patel. Johnson too, probably, although I think that's less clear-cut.
I think she's lost confidence in her decision making process and is now crippled by the fear of unintended consequences.
I was wondering what the site's view was on Boris' blunder. The media focus does seem to be on Patel, which is giving the Foreign Secretary some respite from what should be relentless condemnation. Is Patel's error in judgement genuinely worse than Boris'?
Edited extra bit: Brazil, as usual, has qualifying and the race start at 4pm.
Er yes, Patel's misdemeanours are far more serious than Bozo's idiocy, they go to the heart of minister's license to operate. Bozo's gaffe on this occasion only affected one family.
It's apples vs pears, but I am not sure I agree with you. Johnson has completely fucked over the lives of three citizens of the country he governs, whereas Patel is in breach, I have no doubt, of dozens of really important sub-paragraphs of the FCO's standing orders for the conduct of ministers in wibble wibble wibble wibble. The offences may be equally serious, but Patel's behaviour doesn't have (to me) the moral impact of Johnson's.
Undermining the very principles of stable government would seem to have a fairly large moral impact - albeit one diffused across the entire population rather than affecting a single individual.
If May doesn't dismiss her, she herself should go. You just cannot have ministers acting in this manner.
It's a government of chaos. May needs to start getting a grip, and she can start by sacking Patel. Johnson too, probably, although I think that's less clear-cut.
I think she's lost confidence in her decision making process and is now crippled by the fear of unintended consequences.
Then she is not fit to be PM.
I don't think anything has changed in her lack of confidence in making decisions - it's just that her much weaker position makes her unfitness more obvious.
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
#LifeComesAtYouFast
I was naive. I assumed that the party who champions free trade and enterprise, who were a keen advocate for the single market, who are largely funded by and representing almost exclusively the interests of big business would not bin off the whole thing.
Behind leaver votes was a simple mood of frustration for their lot now and a hope for something better. When all this washes out it'll be clear that the something better option (EFTA/EEA) was banned from consideration by zealots and fools, delivering for people something worse. Initially they'll try and blame the EU. But the information is already here now about how its the narrow-mindedness and idiocy of May/Davis/Fox et al to blame, not the EU.
It'll kill the Tory Party. Hopefully it won't kill our economy as well.
At this point, I think May needs to do more than merely a single replacement - she needs to be seen as trying to get ahead of the game, rather than do the minimum necessary. The Patel story is a Westminster one - few people outside politics will be familiar with the Ministerial Code or see anything very worrying about her talking to people when she strictly shouldn't have.
Boris's blunder is more immediately comprehensible and his future depends somewhat on whether the Iranians do in fact increase her sentence. If they do, then no amount of jovial bluster will make up for it. But with luck they won't, as they are still trying to build bridges with Europe to make up for the hositlity from the US.
But the government appears to be entirely dysfunctional - Gove is doing a good job, and some departments seem to be ticking along quietly, but overall it's hard to detect anything more than a bunch of survivors fighting over the drinking water in a sinking lifeboat. If Hammond takes some risks to have an interesting Budget, he might gain in the Next Leader stakes merely by evincing a sense of purpose.
Hammond has zero chance, the Tory membership will now demand a Leaver and I can tell you Rees Mogg's chances are getting better and better by the day. Indeed if he gets on the ballot he will likely win it.
I think he will wait this time though and strike in opposition, making Davis the likely successor for now who and is just about acceptable for members.
I was wondering what the site's view was on Boris' blunder. The media focus does seem to be on Patel, which is giving the Foreign Secretary some respite from what should be relentless condemnation. Is Patel's error in judgement genuinely worse than Boris'?
Edited extra bit: Brazil, as usual, has qualifying and the race start at 4pm.
Er yes, Patel's misdemeanours are far more serious than Bozo's idiocy, they go to the heart of minister's license to operate. Bozo's gaffe on this occasion only affected one family.
It's apples vs pears, but I am not sure I agree with you. Johnson has completely fucked over the lives of three citizens of the country he governs, whereas Patel is in breach, I have no doubt, of dozens of really important sub-paragraphs of the FCO's standing orders for the conduct of ministers in wibble wibble wibble wibble. The offences may be equally serious, but Patel's behaviour doesn't have (to me) the moral impact of Johnson's.
Dishonesty does have a moral impact. It is corrosive of trust. And without trust no group of people can operate effectively.
Miss Cyclefree, indeed. May should go now. The 'Brexit bullet' theory only works if the PM is vaguely competent. She's not. It would also be better for her to be free.
I find it quite extraordinary that a Cabinet Minister who repeatedly lies to the PM, a hanging offence on its own, has not been sacked.
What is May waiting for?
Patel needs sacking. So does Johnson. His ineptness over the poor woman locked up in an Iranian jail and his arrogance in not recognising his own incompetence is unacceptable.
Mr Meeks is right. Time to bring in fresh people from the backbenchers, as I argued in my header the other day. The government needs a reset.
Theresa May cannot replace the dead wood in her Cabinet without triggering a leadership election which she would lose. Her replacement would have a much freer hand provided he or she had just been elected, but if there had been a coronation then presumably other potential candidates will have been bought off with guarantees of tenure.
At this point, I think May needs to do more than merely a single replacement - she needs to be seen as trying to get ahead of the game, rather than do the minimum necessary. The Patel story is a Westminster one - few people outside politics will be familiar with the Ministerial Code or see anything very worrying about her talking to people when she strictly shouldn't have.
Boris's blunder is more immediately comprehensible and his future depends somewhat on whether the Iranians do in fact increase her sentence. If they do, then no amount of jovial bluster will make up for it. But with luck they won't, as they are still trying to build bridges with Europe to make up for the hositlity from the US.
But the government appears to be entirely dysfunctional - Gove is doing a good job, and some departments seem to be ticking along quietly, but overall it's hard to detect anything more than a bunch of survivors fighting over the drinking water in a sinking lifeboat. If Hammond takes some risks to have an interesting Budget, he might gain in the Next Leader stakes merely by evincing a sense of purpose.
When was the last time we had what might be described as a masterful Budget? It is becoming hard to remember.
Surely it has to be - he used to be in the department.
Rory as next leader would be superb for my book.
DFID as his entry to Cabinet. Then maybe he can replace Boris when the inevitable occurs... Could probably do with a domestic position in his CV also though.
An Etonian and Oxford PPE graduate with dirty hands from Iraq is just what the country is crying out for.
Dirty hands in Iraq? He was one of the people sent in to deal with the mess wasn't he?
And what a fucking great job he did, it's an earthly paradise now.
The common enemy is Iran. Yemeni rebels, Qatar and now Lebanon, all supported by Iran.
A little worrying, living as I am next door to all this!
I can definitely understand being generally pro Israel in the region.
Britain had the opportunity and justification to snuff out the nascent Zionist state in 1946, but didn't bite the bullet. The consequences of not doing so are there for all to see.
What would you have done? Deport all the Jews back to Europe? Imprison them? Or cleanse them?
You’re right in your last sentence, but, as I say, my youthful memory is that there was a lot of public support for Israel.
Background hint; my parents were Telegraph readers, so that was where I started reading about politics. Didn’t start reading the Daily Worker until about 1953/4.
There was also a lot of support for the nascent Israelis on the ground, because of what many in the army had seen and experienced in Germany. This attitude started to change with the troops' experience there (particularly some brutal Jewish terrorist attacks) but by then we were on our way to pulling out - as you say, the will to stay on the ground and impose some sort of lasting solution wasn't there. With hindsight it might have been better had we tried, or quite possibly we would simply have been delaying the inevitable and prolonging our agony.
The writing was on the wall by the mid 1930s, in my view.
At the end of the day, both the Jewish immigrants and the Arab Palestinians believed they had the ultimate right to govern the whole of Palestine/Israel, and saw the British as getting in the way.
I think a two-state solution has been dead for some time and Israel (under Netanyahu) will ultimately end up with all of it, the West Bank is far too messy now, but perhaps making some sort of exception/s for Gaza.
I expect attacks and civil disorder to persist for years.
I tend to agree. The only contrary pressure on the ground is that the Jews wont want to become a minority in their own state.
Regarding the Grimsby story, this is exactly the kind of thing I have been on about. A WTO Brexit will kill businesses like these dead, because the huge delays caused by a hard border adds huge cost which they simply cannot bear. Nor can they afford to wait until the last minute as DD suggested - not that his suggestion was possible anyway. The plug will start to be pulled on places like Grimsby next year as it becomes ever more likely that the cretins in government are hoping for / sliding towards no deal.
Thats assuming there is anyone left in Number 10 by then. The list of Tory ministers supposedly up for the sack by the Zombie gets ever longer with the reasons ever sillier. Major's government was under siege from his back benches but always remained competent - this lot are an inept bunch of clowns inside the cabinet. But its ok Tories, reducing Britain to ruin and your reputation in ruins won't matter, because Corbyn? You sure that your personal prejudices against the man are matched by the wider electorate?As you confidently said before the election you were going to win by a landslide...
You were warned that things like this could happen and you still voted Leave.
#LifeComesAtYouFast
This is what we were warned would happen:
' Today, we are setting out our assessment of what would happen in the weeks and months after a vote to Leave on June 23.
It is clear that there would be an immediate and profound shock to our economy.
The analysis produced by the Treasury today shows that a vote to leave will push our economy into a recession that would knock 3.6 per cent off GDP and, over two years, put hundreds of thousands of people out of work right across the country, compared to the forecast for continued growth if we vote to remain in the EU.
In a more severe shock scenario, Treasury economists estimate that our economy could be hit by 6 per cent, there would be a deeper recession and unemployment would rise by even more. '
But a country with an unbalanced and stagnant economy as the UK has needs radical change.
I’m not talking about what George said, I’m talking about what I said about Brexit before June 23rd.
Sure.
But none of us know what things will happen and none of us know what will be the consequences of those things happening.
And, to be blunt, there's been so many warnings of imminent disasters certain to hit us within the lifetimes of PBers (none of which actually did) that I'm rather suffering from imminent disaster fatigue.
One of Patel’s backbench supporters, Nadhim Zahawi, offered only lukewarm backing for her on Wednesday. Zahawi, a member of the foreign affairs select committee, told BBC News: “It is totally in the gift of the prime minister [how] any cabinet minster should serve in government ... Ultimately it is up to the prime minister what she does if there are new revelations.”
Not just prosecuted. Convicted. A criminal, in other words.
Another example of why Corbyn also lacks a moral compass. And shows contempt for the voters, who are the ones cheated when this sort of thing happens.
If the Tories were not so busy committing hari kiri they ought to be making hay with this sort of thing.
I don't see that this can have been for political purposes. What would be the point, in Newham, where there is virtually no competition. Her crime must surely have had some other object?
Comments
(shamelessly stolen)
There is the downside that he would surely have to lead on the aftermath of the harassment crisis (re. party staff) for which he is particularly unsuited.
Israel will have more hard intelligence about what is going on in these countries, these camps and the various movements connected to them than pretty much anyone else. It is, after all, their back yard. If you trust them (big if) then briefings from them could be very helpful to someone in Patel's position.
I can even understand why she and indeed the UK government would not want to make too big a deal of such briefings and meetings. Its not going to win us many other friends in the area. If she had done this under the radar with the consent and concurrence of the FO (who may have opposed it of course) she would have done nothing wrong. But if she has misled the PM about what she was doing then her motives are irrelevant, she will have to go.
Surely it has to be - he used to be in the department.
DFID as his entry to Cabinet. Then maybe he can replace Boris when the inevitable occurs...
Could probably do with a domestic position in his CV also though.
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/ba64#f75e280
There's a small chance maybe someone else can do something really bad before this evening I guess! Or TM could grasp the nettle and sack Boris first...
Thats assuming there is anyone left in Number 10 by then. The list of Tory ministers supposedly up for the sack by the Zombie gets ever longer with the reasons ever sillier. Major's government was under siege from his back benches but always remained competent - this lot are an inept bunch of clowns inside the cabinet. But its ok Tories, reducing Britain to ruin and your reputation in ruins won't matter, because Corbyn? You sure that your personal prejudices against the man are matched by the wider electorate?As you confidently said before the election you were going to win by a landslide...
Mr. L, knowing May has a tendency to be wrong, she might just appoint Fallon...
#LifeComesAtYouFast
I'd put Hague in the Foreign Office.....Labour would piss & moan - heck - its what they do.....
I’m a huge Tom Tugendhat fan.
When Theresa May is ousted, her replacement could do worse than have a major clearout and give some untried talent a go.
https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/928074747316928513
Would he even have enough support among the MPs to make a decent showing?
Plus the Remain side is already crowded with Rudd, Hammond, Hunt, Williamson... all of whom hold Cabinet positions already.
Behind leaver votes was a simple mood of frustration for their lot now and a hope for something better. When all this washes out it'll be clear that the something better option (EFTA/EEA) was banned from consideration by zealots and fools, delivering for people something worse. Initially they'll try and blame the EU. But the information is already here now about how its the narrow-mindedness and idiocy of May/Davis/Fox et al to blame, not the EU.
It'll kill the Tory Party. Hopefully it won't kill our economy as well.
He did really well in white rural Virginia! He's going to outperform Romney, Cucc in all sorts of areas.
He was *annihilated* in the suburbs.
@Nate_Cohn: So, no, I don't think it's because Gillespie wasn't Trump-y enough in his tone or attitude, or even because of insufficient economic populism.
@tonyposnanski: Someone should give Ed Gillespie a Confederate monument as a participation trophy for finishing second in the Governors’ race.
One of those 2 will almost certainly succeed May as PM now in my view. Probably Davis, with Rees-Mogg more likely to take over as Tory leader of the opposition if and when Corbyn manages to get enough seats to form a government.
Maybe Ms Patel was just being patriotic, or maybe she wanted her last ever taste of getting on a plane and going upstairs?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/08/priti-patels-meetings-cancelled-as-pm-considers-sacking-her?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
What is May waiting for?
Patel needs sacking. So does Johnson. His ineptness over the poor woman locked up in an Iranian jail and his arrogance in not recognising his own incompetence is unacceptable.
Mr Meeks is right. Time to bring in fresh people from the backbenchers, as I argued in my header the other day. The government needs a reset.
' Today, we are setting out our assessment of what would happen in the weeks and months after a vote to Leave on June 23.
It is clear that there would be an immediate and profound shock to our economy.
The analysis produced by the Treasury today shows that a vote to leave will push our economy into a recession that would knock 3.6 per cent off GDP and, over two years, put hundreds of thousands of people out of work right across the country, compared to the forecast for continued growth if we vote to remain in the EU.
In a more severe shock scenario, Treasury economists estimate that our economy could be hit by 6 per cent, there would be a deeper recession and unemployment would rise by even more. '
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/22/david-cameron-and-george-osborne-brexit-would-put-our-economy-in/
It didn't.
Now what will happen none of us know.
But a country with an unbalanced and stagnant economy as the UK has needs radical change.
At the end of the day, both the Jewish immigrants and the Arab Palestinians believed they had the ultimate right to govern the whole of Palestine/Israel, and saw the British as getting in the way.
I think a two-state solution has been dead for some time and Israel (under Netanyahu) will ultimately end up with all of it, the West Bank is far too messy now, but perhaps making some sort of exception/s for Gaza.
I expect attacks and civil disorder to persist for years.
Boris's blunder is more immediately comprehensible and his future depends somewhat on whether the Iranians do in fact increase her sentence. If they do, then no amount of jovial bluster will make up for it. But with luck they won't, as they are still trying to build bridges with Europe to make up for the hositlity from the US.
But the government appears to be entirely dysfunctional - Gove is doing a good job, and some departments seem to be ticking along quietly, but overall it's hard to detect anything more than a bunch of survivors fighting over the drinking water in a sinking lifeboat. If Hammond takes some risks to have an interesting Budget, he might gain in the Next Leader stakes merely by evincing a sense of purpose.
Had it been about sovereignty alone and just switching from the EU to EFTA/EEA I doubt Leave would have got to 52%, especially when we were outside the Eurozone anyway.
Had there been something even approaching the US commitment to rebuilding Europe (and we're talking about a much, much smaller scale), then it would have saved a huge amount of grief. Of course that would have required rather more foresight than was available at the time.
I think he will wait this time though and strike in opposition, making Davis the likely successor for now who and is just about acceptable for members.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/jeremy-corbyn-gives-job-as-campaign-chief-to-leftwinger-guilty-of-voter-fraud-a3684296.html
The modern Labour party...
David Davis lied to Parliament and should resign.
Another example of why Corbyn also lacks a moral compass. And shows contempt for the voters, who are the ones cheated when this sort of thing happens.
If the Tories were not so busy committing hari kiri they ought to be making hay with this sort of thing.
But none of us know what things will happen and none of us know what will be the consequences of those things happening.
And, to be blunt, there's been so many warnings of imminent disasters certain to hit us within the lifetimes of PBers (none of which actually did) that I'm rather suffering from imminent disaster fatigue.
Probably a bad sign.