Hague was the best Tory orator of his generation by far
Borrowing a phrase from Mr Freggles upthread "oh give over".
Hague was the worst Tory leader for centuries, treated as a complete joke figure by the electorate. Even IDS wasn't as bad as Hague in my view. It might have been different had he become leader say 10 years later.
I did not say Hague was a great leader, I said he had charisma and was a great orator.
Unfortunately for him he was facing the very charismatic Tony Blair leading Labour and took over after the worst Tory defeat in over a century
Hague was the best Tory orator of his generation by far, Ed Miliband speeches make watching paint dry seem exciting
So do Gavin Williamson speeches. I find your view that he's charismatic utterly baffling; he's one of the dullest senior politicians I've ever heard.
He asks Russia to "come back to us", then in the next breath tells them to go away. So what does he actually want them to do ?. His statement was self contradictory in about the space of two seconds.
@patrick_kidd: They tell me that Gavin Williamson is known in the MoD for his poker face. Not because he plays cards but because he got whacked in the fireplace showroom by an old flame.
Williamson may be a cross between Alan Partridge, Frank Spencer and Francis Underwood but he does at least have a bit of charisma. Not many you can say that about in the Cabinet apart from Boris and maybe Mourdaunt
I heard his press conference this morning and he comes over as very young and callow, (indeed he is younger than my youngest son) and his comment on Russia was wholly immature.
Not at all impressed - needs to grow up and mature
ie be more dull. There are plenty of serious types in Cabinet, Hammond, Rudd, Liddington, of course May herself, there is room for a few who speak their mind and call a spade a spade.
Macron is younger than Williamson
Give over. It's not even witty which would be the upside of a Boris premiership
I prefer Boris to Williamson but as I said finding charisma in the Cabinet is from a very limited field
Your approach is too formulaic to stand muster. A good leader needs to combine a series of positive characteristics. Williamson lacks any.
Hague was the best Tory orator of his generation by far
Borrowing a phrase from Mr Freggles upthread "oh give over".
Hague was the worst Tory leader for centuries, treated as a complete joke figure by the electorate. Even IDS wasn't as bad as Hague in my view. It might have been different had he become leader say 10 years later.
I did not say Hague was a great leader, I said he had charisma and was a great orator.
Unfortunately for him he was facing the very charismatic Tony Blair leading Labour and took over after the worst Tory defeat in over a century
Oratory isn't charisma though is it. Hague had all the charisma of a rotting fish. I was in a room of Tory activists when Maggie Thatcher walked into it and everyone suddenly stood up, starstruck. I was in a room of Tory activists when William Hague walked into it and they stayed sitting, kept talking to each other and ignored him.
Williamson may be a cross between Alan Partridge, Frank Spencer and Francis Underwood but he does at least have a bit of charisma. Not many you can say that about in the Cabinet apart from Boris and maybe Mourdaunt
I heard his press conference this morning and he comes over as very young and callow, (indeed he is younger than my youngest son) and his comment on Russia was wholly immature.
Not at all impressed - needs to grow up and mature
ie be more dull. There are plenty of serious types in Cabinet, Hammond, Rudd, Liddington, of course May herself, there is room for a few who speak their mind and call a spade a spade.
Macron is younger than Williamson
Give over. It's not even witty which would be the upside of a Boris premiership
I prefer Boris to Williamson but as I said finding charisma in the Cabinet is from a very limited field
Your approach is too formulaic to stand muster. A good leader needs to combine a series of positive characteristics. Williamson lacks any.
Which is why I said I prefer Boris first but Williamson put of the rest of the Cabinet has more drive than most of them
Hague was the best Tory orator of his generation by far
Borrowing a phrase from Mr Freggles upthread "oh give over".
Hague was the worst Tory leader for centuries, treated as a complete joke figure by the electorate. Even IDS wasn't as bad as Hague in my view. It might have been different had he become leader say 10 years later.
I did not say Hague was a great leader, I said he had charisma and was a great orator.
Unfortunately for him he was facing the very charismatic Tony Blair leading Labour and took over after the worst Tory defeat in over a century
Oratory isn't charisma though is it. Hague had all the charisma of a rotting fish. I was in a room of Tory activists when Maggie Thatcher walked into it and everyone suddenly stood up, starstruck. I was in a room of Tory activists when William Hague walked into it and they stayed sitting, kept talking to each other and ignored him.
Well you should have been in a room when IDS came into it then! Hague speeches at Tory conferences were standing room only, IDS speeches saw half the audience asleep if not cringing with embarrassment at the stage managed ovations.
Of course Hague did not have the charisma of Thatcher who was the most charismatic Tory leader since Churchill but he certainly had more charisma than his predecessor and successor, Major and IDS
@patrick_kidd: They tell me that Gavin Williamson is known in the MoD for his poker face. Not because he plays cards but because he got whacked in the fireplace showroom by an old flame.
”whacked in the fireplace showroom” joins ”take her up the National Liberal Club” in the PB lexicon of euphemisms.
Mr HYUFD rarely answers the question asked of him. I can't decide if it's because he's a bit thick or wants to become a Tory MP (or perhaps both).
Downthread I asked him if he had been forced to watch Threads at school in the 80s like most of us were at the time....he answered "yes I was alive in the 1980s".
Hague was the best Tory orator of his generation by far, Ed Miliband speeches make watching paint dry seem exciting
So do Gavin Williamson speeches. I find your view that he's charismatic utterly baffling; he's one of the dullest senior politicians I've ever heard.
He asks Russia to "come back to us", then in the next breath tells them to go away. So what does he actually want them to do ?. His statement was self contradictory in about the space of two seconds.
All things to all men. He should be a politician if he can face two ways at once. oh.....
Mr HYUFD rarely answers the question asked of him. I can't decide if it's because he's a bit thick or wants to become a Tory MP (or perhaps both).
Downthread I asked him if he had been forced to watch Threads at school in the 80s like most of us were at the time....he answered "yes I was alive in the 1980s".
Or rather 'Mr HYUFD rarely answers questions in the way I want him to...'
Hague was the best Tory orator of his generation by far, Ed Miliband speeches make watching paint dry seem exciting
So do Gavin Williamson speeches. I find your view that he's charismatic utterly baffling; he's one of the dullest senior politicians I've ever heard.
Having attended a Gavin Williamson speech and Q&A I have to say not only has Gavin Williamson had a charisma bypass operation alongside a humour and emotional intelligence bypass.
Just watched the clip of Gavin Williamson and Russia , reminded me of Pyke in Dads Army.
Um no. Unless May was planning on leaving NATO and abandoning the 800 British troops deployed to Estonia already, then there would certainly be a response.
Dura Ace can always be relied upon to b[out personal bias ahead of any real knowledge he might have.
Post Basra the even try then you are simply wrong.
Article V or not, NATO is not going to start a war with Russia over Estonia. They are just not.
It would not just be British troops but French, German, Italian, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, Latvian, Danish, American and Canadian troops too.
The core principle of NATO is that an attack on a NATO country is an attack on all NATO countries which is why Putin is unlikely to try it
Putin also knows what everyone else knows and that is that an incursion is gonna happen.
In the event of a full-scale invasion of a NATO country it almost certainly would with NATO forces being sent an masse to reinforce NATO forces already in Estonia as soon as the first Russian tank crossed the border
I doubt it. Where would it all come from and when, even if there was the will to do it?
But I applaud your championing of the resignation of our sovereignty to NATO.
Poland, the Czechs, the Latvians, the Lithuanians, the Turks, most of Western European NATO forces and US forces garrisoned in Europe before further US and Canadian reinforcements arrive
haha hahahaha hahahahahahahahahahaha
How many MBTs do the Latvians have?
The Germans and Poles have plenty which would be quickly sent to the Baltic States
Am looking at that on my phone, but looking at it in terms of tanks, there's one full Armoured Cavalry Regiment, 1 Squadron* from another Cavalry Regiment, that's not a lot of tanks.
So it's not like during the cold war when 3 or 4 Armoured Divisions and a few Mechanised Infantry Divisions were stationed in Germany as part of VII Corp.
I guess there's no plans for another REFORGER?
*Why are Cavalry formations called squadrons and not battalions, has always bugged me.
Am looking at that on my phone, but looking at it in terms of tanks, there's one full Armoured Cavalry Regiment, 1 Squadron* from another Cavalry Regiment, that's not a lot of tanks.
So it's not like during the cold war when 3 or 4 Armoured Divisions and a few Mechanised Infantry Divisions were stationed in Germany as part of VII Corp.
I guess there's no plans for another REFORGER?
*Why are Cavalry formations called squadrons and not battalions, has always bugged me.
Hague was the best Tory orator of his generation by far, Ed Miliband speeches make watching paint dry seem exciting
So do Gavin Williamson speeches. I find your view that he's charismatic utterly baffling; he's one of the dullest senior politicians I've ever heard.
Having attended a Gavin Williamson speech and Q&A I have to say not only has Gavin Williamson had a charisma bypass operation alongside a humour and emotional intelligence bypass.
Just watched the clip of Gavin Williamson and Russia , reminded me of Pyke in Dads Army.
Indeed so. There is not a snowflake's chance in hell of him being chosen by MPs as one of the two finalists in any leadership contest (and even if he were, he'd still have no chance).
Indeed so. There is not a snowflake's chance in hell of him being chosen by MPs as one of the two finalists in any leadership contest (and even if he were, he'd still have no chance).
Not sure about the "unified" part. "Dignified" perhaps.
Am looking at that on my phone, but looking at it in terms of tanks, there's one full Armoured Cavalry Regiment, 1 Squadron* from another Cavalry Regiment, that's not a lot of tanks.
So it's not like during the cold war when 3 or 4 Armoured Divisions and a few Mechanised Infantry Divisions were stationed in Germany as part of VII Corp.
I guess there's no plans for another REFORGER?
*Why are Cavalry formations called squadrons and not battalions, has always bugged me.
The more relevant question is not what forces the US has in Germany but whether you think Trump would toss them into the grinder to save Estonia.
It's not clear why Williamson got made Defence Sec over the eminently better qualified Morduant.
It is not clear to me why he was appointed ahead of the eminently better qualified Noddy who showed superb tactical awareness in his fights with the goblins and even had a suit named after him.
It's not clear why Williamson got made Defence Sec over the eminently better qualified Morduant.
It is not clear to me why he was appointed ahead of the eminently better qualified Noddy who showed superb tactical awareness in his fights with the goblins and even had a suit named after him.
It makes clear that the recommended way forward is to scrap the County Council, as it is so bad it should not be given another chance, and instead try for a clean beginning with two new unitary authorities - West and North.
Just glancing at the executive summary, its very strong language for a government report.
That’s clearly an almighty f-up. Hope there’s a way of making sure that the councillors and the senior executives are disbarred from being involved in any new structure.
I agree. My preference would be two new unitaries and a new city region centred around Milton Keynes encompassing West Northamptonshire, Bedford and central Beds, and Northern Bucks. However the Ministry this week also announced it was minded to approve a single Buckshireshire unitary authority so that would make the MK city region more difficult.
I think that makes sense as a region - it's not far from the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership area. But it's far too big as a single authority, I'd expect pitch fights between the towns and urban/rural areas.
The report is utterly damning, but actually puts most of the blame on the officers, the councillors get off relatively lightly. I suspect that heads will have to roll in both NCC and in LGSS as a result. We're involved with the LGSS partnership and I wasn't expecting the language to be as strident here as it was; this will clearly need a full review.
They were lucky the door was crap, many planes have ended up as smoking holes in the ground after the load shifted and made them unflyable.
The less said about the flight manifest “9 tons of concrete containing precious metals”, and the disparity with what was actually the cargo, the better. But that’s Russia for you.
Indeed so. There is not a snowflake's chance in hell of him being chosen by MPs as one of the two finalists in any leadership contest (and even if he were, he'd still have no chance).
Hard to know how many are represented by these anonymous briefings though. And we can be fairly sure he is angling for the job. I’m keeping him green for now.
I was not in Salisbury today when someone shouted.
'We love you Theresa'
I’m still 3,500 miles from home too. Maybe there’s more of us around that we thought! (Was probably someone I know from the Salisbury Con Club, not that I’ve been there for a few years).
F1: just a coincidence the president of the FIA was previously Ferrari's team principal ttps://twitter.com/autosport/status/974265129100595201
[Being serious, a similar thing has happened with a chap going to Renault].
Thats shitty from Ferrari. After the FIA technical guy left for Renault, the teams all agreed that someone moving from the FIA to a team should observe 12 months’ leave - as the FIA guys know a lot about all the cars on the grid. Yet six months later the red team sign an FIA guy on three months’ notice.
BTW these two were both potential successors to Charlie Whiting, the F1 Race Director, who’s 65. Big hole in the FIA succession planning now, they’ll need to get a budget to stop their good people being poached by the teams.
Comments
https://www.rt.com/on-air/rt-uk-air/
Unfortunately for him he was facing the very charismatic Tony Blair leading Labour and took over after the worst Tory defeat in over a century
I've changed my view on this.
I think in the short term, it would strengthen Putin if the extent of Russian money in Mayfair were exposed, because most will be the oligarchs'.
But going forward it would be better to bring it into the light.
Of course Hague did not have the charisma of Thatcher who was the most charismatic Tory leader since Churchill but he certainly had more charisma than his predecessor and successor, Major and IDS
Or do you mean right at this second?
Downthread I asked him if he had been forced to watch Threads at school in the 80s like most of us were at the time....he answered "yes I was alive in the 1980s".
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Cavalry_Regiment_(United_States)
I was not in Salisbury today when someone shouted.
'We love you Theresa'
Am looking at that on my phone, but looking at it in terms of tanks, there's one full Armoured Cavalry Regiment, 1 Squadron* from another Cavalry Regiment, that's not a lot of tanks.
So it's not like during the cold war when 3 or 4 Armoured Divisions and a few Mechanised Infantry Divisions were stationed in Germany as part of VII Corp.
I guess there's no plans for another REFORGER?
*Why are Cavalry formations called squadrons and not battalions, has always bugged me.
https://twitter.com/georgeeaton/status/974291188411981824
Plus guess who it was who had to suggest names to be Defence Secretary to Mrs May?
Gavin Williamson.
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/974295621573206018
Rory Stewart, Tom Tugendhat, and Johnny Mercer to name but three.
The report is utterly damning, but actually puts most of the blame on the officers, the councillors get off relatively lightly. I suspect that heads will have to roll in both NCC and in LGSS as a result. We're involved with the LGSS partnership and I wasn't expecting the language to be as strident here as it was; this will clearly need a full review.
The less said about the flight manifest “9 tons of concrete containing precious metals”, and the disparity with what was actually the cargo, the better. But that’s Russia for you.
And we can be fairly sure he is angling for the job.
I’m keeping him green for now.
'The First Cut Is The Deepest'
(Was probably someone I know from the Salisbury Con Club, not that I’ve been there for a few years).
https://twitter.com/autosport/status/974265129100595201
[Being serious, a similar thing has happened with a chap going to Renault].
BTW these two were both potential successors to Charlie Whiting, the F1 Race Director, who’s 65. Big hole in the FIA succession planning now, they’ll need to get a budget to stop their good people being poached by the teams.
NEW THREAD