Hunt built up a small business into a reasonably large one, he will be more aware than most of how complicated the tax and compliance regime has become over the years, and how many seemingly innocuous changes have resulted in major administrative burdens on SMEs.
(I’ve run a very small business in the U.K., and now do so abroad).
It seems a small part of being a chancellor, spending decisions and controlling the budgets that each dept wants to grow (and they can all persuade why their one needs more) is the bigger challenge, especially if you are not working closely with the PM.
Ongoing changes to red tape does create a burden to small businesses, but it is not all one way. Take the changes to employee pensions, we used to pay our accountants to do it, they wanted something like 30% more to do it with the new regulations. At that point we looked into alternatives and decided to bring it in house with payroll software, which is around 20% of the existing cost we were paying the accountants plus maybe an average extra hours work a month internally.
It is a reasonable saving, not huge in the big scheme of things but has worked out fine. Without the new legislation we would probably not have switched from the expensive accountants, and the software company might not have invested so much in their payroll product to make it simple and easy to use.
More exemptions for micro businesses would definitely be helpful for the economy, once you get employee numbers into double figures keeping up with changes should be do-able, sometimes there will be a cost, other times it provides a driver for improving processes that inertia would otherwise leave unchanged.
A good point about accountants. One of the reasons we hear so much about automation stealing jobs in the news, is that it’s now coming for the white-collar professions such as accountants, lawyers and even doctors. It doesn’t bother me too much, as I work in the tech sector which benefits from all this.
One genuine problem that needs addressing is how government collects taxes in an environment where more and more people work for themselves, as the burdens on employing people become higher. IR35 is a complete nightmare and becoming even more so, with HMRC now arguing that six month contacts count as employment, and for blue-collar “gig economy” workers there’s a good chance that HMRC are going to screw them in future.
interesting conversation between katy Adler and Laura Kuinsberg about the future of Brexit on radio 5. Adler seems to be very wary about Johnson and his chances of success. Kuinsberg is like an excited school girl where everything might be brilliant.
Adler is showing herself to have a much deeper understanding of what's required and the people involved on both sides. Kuinsberg is just giddy.Talking about how enthusiasm might carry us through and quoting Johnson press releases
Kuinsberg is crap
I hadn't thought so but I do now. So short on insight. All morning Tories have been chanting Boris handouts .....very disappointing that Kuinsberg unlike Adler is just doing the same
Yeah. Plus Kuensberg...Kuensberg...something about that name, eh Rog?
Kuensberg is a light weight. I remember her giddy with excitement on the night in 2015 when the Tories won their majority. That's when l began to distrust her impartiality. She also is shallow in her analysis. Andrew Neil barely tolerates her - and he's a Tory.
I think she's great. She is as good a political commentator as any other and better than a lot. No idea why she provokes such a dislike. As I said for some perhaps it's the name, which has something of the night about it. Or perhaps that she is a woman. Who knows?
I explained why l don't rate her. It's nothing to do with her name(!) or that's she's a woman. She's a lightweight in her analysis. I suspect she's aware of this but can't do anything about it. Adler shows her up. And she's a woman with a funny name.
I honestly can't tell the difference between her, Adler, Norman Smith, etc. Pienaar I rate very highly. Are you really saying that one europe/political correspondent is significantly worse than all the others? Well of course it's up to you and we are all political geeks on here but I find it strange.
I don't get the hate for Laura K. I'm not sure she's especially enlightened but she does the job fairly well (remember, her audience is the general public, not us obsessives).
On the other hand, I find it remarkable that Beth Rigby has made it to the equivalent position at Sky News.
Indeed. By all accounts Penny is doing a good job at the MoD.
What has she actually done? Announced the name of a ship that will be launched in 2034 and delayed the Challenger 2 Life Extension (again).
And decided that a part of the E7 fleet will be based on pre-enjoyed 737s from the commercial market because it always works out just great when we decide to save a quid like that. I forgot about that.
If this is true, then we should brace ourselves for things to be even worse than expected. Cummings was the architect of many of Gove's disastrous and now we must conclude, failed reforms. In my few dealings with him, he displayed boundless self-confidence. Unfortunately, his mind is mediocre (that he got a first at Oxford doesn't say much for their quality control processes) and his ideas often degenerated into cliché. Worse, he is lazy, disorganised and bad at paperwork, so very few things got done in the way he intended. Finally, he is a fluent liar who makes things up as he goes along and does not care when he is caught out.
He's a British version of Martin Selmayr. He is utterly unfit to hold any sort of public office - even a trustee at Parkhurst, which if we're honest is probably where he belongs.
interesting conversation between katy Adler and Laura Kuinsberg about the future of Brexit on radio 5. Adler seems to be very wary about Johnson and his chances of success. Kuinsberg is like an excited school girl where everything might be brilliant.
Adler is showing herself to have a much deeper understanding of what's required and the people involved on both sides. Kuinsberg is just giddy.Talking about how enthusiasm might carry us through and quoting Johnson press releases
Kuinsberg is crap
I hadn't thought so but I do now. So short on insight. All morning Tories have been chanting Boris handouts .....very disappointing that Kuinsberg unlike Adler is just doing the same
Yeah. Plus Kuensberg...Kuensberg...something about that name, eh Rog?
Kuensberg is a light weight. I remember her giddy with excitement on the night in 2015 when the Tories won their majority. That's when l began to distrust her impartiality. She also is shallow in her analysis. Andrew Neil barely tolerates her - and he's a Tory.
I think she's great. She is as good a political commentator as any other and better than a lot. No idea why she provokes such a dislike. As I said for some perhaps it's the name, which has something of the night about it. Or perhaps that she is a woman. Who knows?
I explained why l don't rate her. It's nothing to do with her name(!) or that's she's a woman. She's a lightweight in her analysis. I suspect she's aware of this but can't do anything about it. Adler shows her up. And she's a woman with a funny name.
I honestly can't tell the difference between her, Adler, Norman Smith, etc. Pienaar I rate very highly. Are you really saying that one europe/political correspondent is significantly worse than all the others? Well of course it's up to you and we are all political geeks on here but I find it strange.
If Boris is VoNC'ed and no alternative government put together within a fortnight, " .. the last day for tabling of a vote of no confidence to guarantee a change of Government through an election is today, not September 3rd, and the Leader of the Opposition’s dithering has virtually guaranteed that this cannot be used"
If he had any political sense he would have called for one yesterday.
Corbyn is completely incompetent. He couldn't call a VoNC if his life depended on it.
I mean, in the four years he has been leader, he has made only one attempt at a VoNC and then only after EXTREME pressure from Watson and Starmer to do so.
I don't believe Corbyn will call a VoNC. In fact, I don't think he'll call a VoNC in September or October. If a VoNC comes, it'll have to come from the SNP and Bercow turning a blind eye to convention.
It is curious. For all that Jezbollah endlessly spouts on about the need for a new general election. For all the death cult worshippers have been indoctrinated to endlessly post #jc4pm in response to anything. When it comes to actually making an election happen he is completely inert.
I don't think he has the slightest interest in becoming Prime Minister. I believe him to be hoping to permanently reshape the Labour Party to deliver the Bennite dream, and then pass the baton (in opposition) to someone who will actually take it forward. In opposition its easy to be self-righteous and oppose oppose oppose. In office you have to compromise, and for a cult who refuse to compromise on anything actually being elected into office must be a terrifying concept.
A friend asked me what I thought would happen if there was a snap election. I said Labour would be eviscerated. She then asked what about the Tories?'Difficult to say'. The only certainty is that Corbyn will never be PM because in a hung parliament the only way Labour would get other party support would be to ditch him. What if Labour got a majority? She asked. Impossible because they need the Scottish votes and that isn't going to happen....
Have I missed something? Is there a route to Corbyn becoming PM?
interesting conversation between katy Adler and Laura Kuinsberg about the future of Brexit on radio 5. Adler seems to be very wary about Johnson and his chances of success. Kuinsberg is like an excited school girl where everything might be brilliant.
Adler is showing herself to have a much deeper understanding of what's required and the people involved on both sides. Kuinsberg is just giddy.Talking about how enthusiasm might carry us through and quoting Johnson press releases
Kuinsberg is crap
I hadn't thought so but I do now. So short on insight. All morning Tories have been chanting Boris handouts .....very disappointing that Kuinsberg unlike Adler is just doing the same
Yeah. Plus Kuensberg...Kuensberg...something about that name, eh Rog?
Kuensberg is a light weight. I remember her giddy with excitement on the night in 2015 when the Tories won their majority. That's when l began to distrust her impartiality. She also is shallow in her analysis. Andrew Neil barely tolerates her - and he's a Tory.
I think she's great. She is as good a political commentator as any other and better than a lot. No idea why she provokes such a dislike. As I said for some perhaps it's the name, which has something of the night about it. Or perhaps that she is a woman. Who knows?
I explained why l don't rate her. It's nothing to do with her name(!) or that's she's a woman. She's a lightweight in her analysis. I suspect she's aware of this but can't do anything about it. Adler shows her up. And she's a woman with a funny name.
I honestly can't tell the difference between her, Adler, Norman Smith, etc. Pienaar I rate very highly. Are you really saying that one europe/political correspondent is significantly worse than all the others? Well of course it's up to you and we are all political geeks on here but I find it strange.
They’re all significantly worse than Andrew Neil?
Yes well I'm a big Neil fan. Plenty of MPs dislike his gotcha approach but I, as a punter, love it. But I'm also talking about standing with a microphone on College Green telling us what's going on.
interesting conversation between katy Adler and Laura Kuinsberg about the future of Brexit on radio 5. Adler seems to be very wary about Johnson and his chances of success. Kuinsberg is like an excited school girl where everything might be brilliant.
Adler is showing herself to have a much deeper understanding of what's required and the people involved on both sides. Kuinsberg is just giddy.Talking about how enthusiasm might carry us through and quoting Johnson press releases
Kuinsberg is crap
I hadn't thought so but I do now. So short on insight. All morning Tories have been chanting Boris handouts .....very disappointing that Kuinsberg unlike Adler is just doing the same
Yeah. Plus Kuensberg...Kuensberg...something about that name, eh Rog?
Kuensberg is a light weight. I remember her giddy with excitement on the night in 2015 when the Tories won their majority. That's when l began to distrust her impartiality. She also is shallow in her analysis. Andrew Neil barely tolerates her - and he's a Tory.
I think she's great. She is as good a political commentator as any other and better than a lot. No idea why she provokes such a dislike. As I said for some perhaps it's the name, which has something of the night about it. Or perhaps that she is a woman. Who knows?
Afaik Laura Kuenssberg isn't Jewish while Kaytya Adler (upon whom praise is being heaped) is, so I'm not really sure where you're going with this.
You could at least read the articles that you link to.
'Ms Kuenssberg, who is not Jewish'
And it doesn't seem to trouble the trolls. Because you know, a berg here, a berg there...
I realise because your party is an absolute binfire that sniffing out antisemitism (preferably of the Labour variety) is your last wee comfort zone, but seeing antisemites under the bed is close to a disordered state of mind, not a political strategy.
I was reading the new leader's speech - noisily "inclusive" but seems to identify a lot of "not one of us" groups, with a couple of slightly obvious faux pas.
Anyhoo, I was trying to identify my nearest Lib Dem Councillor, either Local Authority or County, and I couldn't find one within about 10 miles.
Locally (Ashfield, Mansfield etc) libdems are as extant as dodos.
I can find one in Crich (Amber Valley) which seems to be LibDem Village, Clowne (NE Derbys I think), Newark, and Beeston in Nottingham. All more than 10 miles away by Google.
But does anyone have a list of councillors who can point me councillors in roughly North Derbys or North Notts and their wards?
interesting conversation between katy Adler and Laura Kuinsberg about the future of Brexit on radio 5. Adler seems to be very wary about Johnson and his chances of success. Kuinsberg is like an excited school girl where everything might be brilliant.
Adler is showing herself to have a much deeper understanding of what's required and the people involved on both sides. Kuinsberg is just giddy.Talking about how enthusiasm might carry us through and quoting Johnson press releases
Kuinsberg is crap
I hadn't thought so but I do now. So short on insight. All morning Tories have been chanting Boris handouts .....very disappointing that Kuinsberg unlike Adler is just doing the same
Yeah. Plus Kuensberg...Kuensberg...something about that name, eh Rog?
Kuensberg is a light weight. I remember her giddy with excitement on the night in 2015 when the Tories won their majority. That's when l began to distrust her impartiality. She also is shallow in her analysis. Andrew Neil barely tolerates her - and he's a Tory.
I think she's great. She is as good a political commentator as any other and better than a lot. No idea why she provokes such a dislike. As I said for some perhaps it's the name, which has something of the night about it. Or perhaps that she is a woman. Who knows?
Afaik Laura Kuenssberg isn't Jewish while Kaytya Adler (upon whom praise is being heaped) is, so I'm not really sure where you're going with this.
You could at least read the articles that you link to.
'Ms Kuenssberg, who is not Jewish'
And it doesn't seem to trouble the trolls. Because you know, a berg here, a berg there...
I realise because your party is an absolute binfire that sniffing out antisemitism (preferably of the Labour variety) is your last wee comfort zone, but seeing antisemites under the bed is close to a disordered state of mind, not a political strategy.
Yep that's what's served Labour (your party?) so well - dismiss out of hand any suggestions of anti-semitism and call those who highlight it mentally ill.
I was reading the new leader's speech - noisily "inclusive" but seems to identify a lot of "not one of us" groups, with a couple of slightly obvious faux pas.
Anyhoo, I was trying to identify my nearest Lib Dem Councillor, either Local Authority or County, and I couldn't find one within about 10 miles.
Locally (Ashfield, Mansfield etc) libdems are as extant as dodos.
I can find one in Crich (Amber Valley) which seems to be LibDem Village, Clowne (NE Derbys I think), Newark, and Beeston in Nottingham. All more than 10 miles away by Google.
But does anyone have a list of councillors who can point me councillors in roughly North Derbys or North Notts and their wards?
Loads of the buggers near me
The Indys in Ashfield are mostly LibDems,who split away after the Jason affair.
I read that Guardian article last night. Fairly predictable but underneath all the contempt I could also sense a bit of fear. Fear that Boris will be popular with the "deplorables".
If an election does happen and Boris wins a majority, it would not only mean Brexit actually being delivered but potentially kill off any hope of rejoining as we will have started to diverge from the EU after 5 years.
Cummings's appointment presumably confirms that DD and IDS are now consigned to the dustbin of history - he'd never agree to work them them, nor they him.
I was reading the new leader's speech - noisily "inclusive" but seems to identify a lot of "not one of us" groups, with a couple of slightly obvious faux pas.
Anyhoo, I was trying to identify my nearest Lib Dem Councillor, either Local Authority or County, and I couldn't find one within about 10 miles.
Locally (Ashfield, Mansfield etc) libdems are as extant as dodos.
I can find one in Crich (Amber Valley) which seems to be LibDem Village, Clowne (NE Derbys I think), Newark, and Beeston in Nottingham. All more than 10 miles away by Google.
But does anyone have a list of councillors who can point me councillors in roughly North Derbys or North Notts and their wards?
There's only one way I can see that Boris Johnson is going to be able to meet all the promises he's made to Tory MPs. It's a very 21st century solution: job shares.
Yep that's what's served Labour (your party?) so well - dismiss out of hand any suggestions of anti-semitism and call those who highlight it mentally ill.
Classy.
I shall leave you to shelter beneath the crumbling edifice of the pishy conspiracy theory that you built around a few posters not rating Kuenssbeg as a political commentator.
The real irony is that you were the one whose nose started twitching because someone's name ended in -berg.
interesting conversation between katy Adler and Laura Kuinsberg about the future of Brexit on radio 5. Adler seems to be very wary about Johnson and his chances of success. Kuinsberg is like an excited school girl where everything might be brilliant.
Adler is showing herself to have a much deeper understanding of what's required and the people involved on both sides. Kuinsberg is just giddy.Talking about how enthusiasm might carry us through and quoting Johnson press releases
Kuinsberg is crap
I hadn't thought so but I do now. So short on insight. All morning Tories have been chanting Boris handouts .....very disappointing that Kuinsberg unlike Adler is just doing the same
Yeah. Plus Kuensberg...Kuensberg...something about that name, eh Rog?
Kuensberg is a light weight. I remember her giddy with excitement on the night in 2015 when the Tories won their majority. That's when l began to distrust her impartiality. She also is shallow in her analysis. Andrew Neil barely tolerates her - and he's a Tory.
I think she's great. She is as good a political commentator as any other and better than a lot. No idea why she provokes such a dislike. As I said for some perhaps it's the name, which has something of the night about it. Or perhaps that she is a woman. Who knows?
I explained why l don't rate her. It's nothing to do with her name(!) or that's she's a woman. She's a lightweight in her analysis. I suspect she's aware of this but can't do anything about it. Adler shows her up. And she's a woman with a funny name.
I honestly can't tell the difference between her, Adler, Norman Smith, etc. Pienaar I rate very highly. Are you really saying that one europe/political correspondent is significantly worse than all the others? Well of course it's up to you and we are all political geeks on here but I find it strange.
They’re all significantly worse than Andrew Neil?
Yes well I'm a big Neil fan. Plenty of MPs dislike his gotcha approach but I, as a punter, love it. But I'm also talking about standing with a microphone on College Green telling us what's going on.
Why the TV stations continue to conduct open air reports and interviews on College Green is one of the great modern mysteries. They’re continually drowned out by the protest of the day, and it wouldn’t cost them much in the grand scheme of things to rent a room in an adjacent building that they could control.
I was reading the new leader's speech - noisily "inclusive" but seems to identify a lot of "not one of us" groups, with a couple of slightly obvious faux pas.
Anyhoo, I was trying to identify my nearest Lib Dem Councillor, either Local Authority or County, and I couldn't find one within about 10 miles.
Locally (Ashfield, Mansfield etc) libdems are as extant as dodos.
I can find one in Crich (Amber Valley) which seems to be LibDem Village, Clowne (NE Derbys I think), Newark, and Beeston in Nottingham. All more than 10 miles away by Google.
But does anyone have a list of councillors who can point me councillors in roughly North Derbys or North Notts and their wards?
Loads of the buggers near me
The Indys in Ashfield are mostly LibDems,who split away after the Jason affair.
Zadrozny has a good shot at winning Ashfield as an independent I think at the next GE if he wants to run.
Yep that's what's served Labour (your party?) so well - dismiss out of hand any suggestions of anti-semitism and call those who highlight it mentally ill.
Classy.
I shall leave you to shelter beneath the crumbling edifice of the pishy conspiracy theory that you built around a few posters not rating Kuenssbeg as a political commentator.
The real irony is that you were the one whose nose started twitching because someone's name ended in -berg.
I don't know much about Cummings, but I'd have thought the really key thing is not how he gets on with the ERG, but how he gets on with Farage and the BXP. Does anyone know?
I'd also have thought that putting him ion the heart of Number 10 invites a lot more Parliamentary scrutiny of the Vote Leave campaign and its various connections.
A risky appointment, but one that Johnson clearly feels he has to make.
If Boris is serious about uniting the country he won’t be taking a leaf out of the book of Trump, Bibi and Salvini. I appreciate they are popular but they are not uniting figures are they?
Boris will need to do some things differently and he will need to reach out to your so called “die hard remainers” if he is going to be a true uniting figure.
Impossible, diehard Remainers refused to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and oppose No Deal and want to stop Brexit, they are the enemy if Boris wishes to deliver Brexit and win the next general election
So, Remainers are “the enemy”? You do realise that you are talking about one third of your party’s supporters? Or have you already jumped ship to Farage’s company?
Voting to remain does not make you a ‘remainer’, thinking that the deal is poor doesn’t make you a ‘remainer’. Wanting to undo the referendum result and being unwilling to accept any kind of agreement that involves us leaving the EU makes you a ‘remainer’.
Voting Remain doesn’t make you a remainer?
Next you’ll be telling us that taking communion doesn’t make you a Christian, knifing someone doesn’t make you a murderer and drinking a bottle of Scotch a day doesn’t make you an alcoholic. And that voting Leave doesn’t make you a leaver.
A ‘remainer’ is not someone who voted remain. It is someone who refuses to accept the referendum and any kind of agreement to actually leave.
The point is that HY has been quite happy to throw the "remainer" tag around at people like Hunt, who are now committed to Brexit.
I have never called Hunt a diehard Remainer
A "diehard" retmainer is simply someone who believes that this country is better of as a member of the EU and is not prepared to change their opinion just because slightly more people felt the opposite in an advisory referendum.
It is perfectly plausible to support Brexit to honour the referendum result whilst still arguing that it is a mistake to do so. That's pretty much y position. But you have gone from remainer to full on No Deal leaver largely, I suspect, because you can see how the wind is blowing in the party in which you want to do well, Honouring the referendum result is your fig leaf.
Dominic Cummings is an incredibly bright guy. My concern about him, though, is whether he's the kind of guy who is right for a Chief of Staff role.
He's a brilliant ideas person. A guy with a million thoughts, who talks fast, and can be extremely persuasive. But he's also a little bit lazy, and not a good manager.
He's the guy you want to be the CEO, but who needs a really solid COO underneath him to convert his ideas into action. (And who can unruffle feathers after Cummings ruffles them.)
Basically, I can think of Cummings doing many roles brilliantly. But Chief of Staff is not one of them. You see, Cummings is a bit too like Johnson. You need a mix between ideas and implementation. Johnson is an ideas person. He needs an implementation person.
(Mrs May, by contrast was an implementation person who kept hiring other implementation people... Gavin Barwell, for example, was not an ideas person. Nor was Fiona Hill.)
Yep that's what's served Labour (your party?) so well - dismiss out of hand any suggestions of anti-semitism and call those who highlight it mentally ill.
Classy.
I shall leave you to shelter beneath the crumbling edifice of the pishy conspiracy theory that you built around a few posters not rating Kuenssbeg as a political commentator.
The real irony is that you were the one whose nose started twitching because someone's name ended in -berg.
If Boris is VoNC'ed and no alternative government put together within a fortnight, " .. the last day for tabling of a vote of no confidence to guarantee a change of Government through an election is today, not September 3rd, and the Leader of the Opposition’s dithering has virtually guaranteed that this cannot be used"
If he had any political sense he would have called for one yesterday.
Corbyn is completely incompetent. He couldn't call a VoNC if his life depended on it.
I mean, in the four years he has been leader, he has made only one attempt at a VoNC and then only after EXTREME pressure from Watson and Starmer to do so.
I don't believe Corbyn will call a VoNC. In fact, I don't think he'll call a VoNC in September or October. If a VoNC comes, it'll have to come from the SNP and Bercow turning a blind eye to convention.
It is curious. For all that Jezbollah endlessly spouts on about the need for a new general election. For all the death cult worshippers have been indoctrinated to endlessly post #jc4pm in response to anything. When it comes to actually making an election happen he is completely inert.
I don't think he has the slightest interest in becoming Prime Minister. I believe him to be hoping to permanently reshape the Labour Party to deliver the Bennite dream, and then pass the baton (in opposition) to someone who will actually take it forward. In opposition its easy to be self-righteous and oppose oppose oppose. In office you have to compromise, and for a cult who refuse to compromise on anything actually being elected into office must be a terrifying concept.
A friend asked me what I thought would happen if there was a snap election. I said Labour would be eviscerated. She then asked what about the Tories?'Difficult to say'. The only certainty is that Corbyn will never be PM because in a hung parliament the only way Labour would get other party support would be to ditch him. What if Labour got a majority? She asked. Impossible because they need the Scottish votes and that isn't going to happen....
Have I missed something? Is there a route to Corbyn becoming PM?
In a snap election, Labour would presumably do what it did at Peterborough and in 2017, which is campaign on issues other than Brexit.
Basically, I can think of Cummings doing many roles brilliantly. But Chief of Staff is not one of them. You see, Cummings is a bit too like Johnson. You need a mix between ideas and implementation. Johnson is an ideas person. He needs an implementation person.
This contradicts the quote upthread from someone who claims he "gets stuff done"...
In a snap election, Labour would presumably do what it did at Peterborough and in 2017, which is campaign on issues other than Brexit.
The difference this time is that people might interpret that as ducking the question, as opposed to 2017 when it was just taken for granted that both main parties supported honouring the result. Also, there's no way Johnson wouldn't bash Corbyn over the head on the issue at every opportunity during the inevitable debates.
If Boris is serious about uniting the country he won’t be taking a leaf out of the book of Trump, Bibi and Salvini. I appreciate they are popular but they are not uniting figures are they?
Boris will need to do some things differently and he will need to reach out to your so called “die hard remainers” if he is going to be a true uniting figure.
Impossible, diehard Remainers refused to vote for the Withdrawal Agreement and oppose No Deal and want to stop Brexit, they are the enemy if Boris wishes to deliver Brexit and win the next general election
So, Remainers are “the enemy”? You do realise that you are talking about one third of your party’s supporters? Or have you already jumped ship to Farage’s company?
Voting to remain does not make you a ‘remainer’, thinking that the deal is poor doesn’t make you a ‘remainer’. Wanting to undo the referendum result and being unwilling to accept any kind of agreement that involves us leaving the EU makes you a ‘remainer’.
Voting Remain doesn’t make you a remainer?
Next you’ll be telling us that taking communion doesn’t make you a Christian, knifing someone doesn’t make you a murderer and drinking a bottle of Scotch a day doesn’t make you an alcoholic. And that voting Leave doesn’t make you a leaver.
A ‘remainer’ is not someone who voted remain. It is someone who refuses to accept the referendum and any kind of agreement to actually leave.
The point is that HY has been quite happy to throw the "remainer" tag around at people like Hunt, who are now committed to Brexit.
I have never called Hunt a diehard Remainer
A "diehard" retmainer is simply someone who believes that this country is better of as a member of the EU and is not prepared to change their opinion just because slightly more people felt the opposite in an advisory referendum.
It is perfectly plausible to support Brexit to honour the referendum result whilst still arguing that it is a mistake to do so. That's pretty much y position. But you have gone from remainer to full on No Deal leaver largely, I suspect, because you can see how the wind is blowing in the party in which you want to do well, Honouring the referendum result is your fig leaf.
Yeah. He's a remainer. Awks when you have been wheeled in front of Penny Mordaunt but a remainer nevertheless.
I think that pretty much sums up Mr Cummings. Bright and brilliant. But doesn't realise that political parties aren't businesses run by dictators, but are fragile coalitions of interests and egos.
Another referendum would certainly be interesting.
Mr. B2, I might have to write tomorrow off. Trying to get work done in sweltering conditions is not great (writing's not exactly physically intensive but you do need to be able to concentrate).
I was reading the new leader's speech - noisily "inclusive" but seems to identify a lot of "not one of us" groups, with a couple of slightly obvious faux pas.
Anyhoo, I was trying to identify my nearest Lib Dem Councillor, either Local Authority or County, and I couldn't find one within about 10 miles.
Locally (Ashfield, Mansfield etc) libdems are as extant as dodos.
I can find one in Crich (Amber Valley) which seems to be LibDem Village, Clowne (NE Derbys I think), Newark, and Beeston in Nottingham. All more than 10 miles away by Google.
But does anyone have a list of councillors who can point me councillors in roughly North Derbys or North Notts and their wards?
I think that pretty much sums up Mr Cummings. Bright and brilliant. But doesn't realise that political parties aren't businesses run by dictators, but are fragile coalitions of interests and egos.
I think that pretty much sums up Mr Cummings. Bright and brilliant. But doesn't realise that political parties aren't businesses run by dictators, but are fragile coalitions of interests and egos.
The description of him as a Tory Leninist is not entirely off the mark.
He's certainly an institution wrecker by temperament.
Demonstrates to me that he knows what he is talking about. Good news for the UK if he is going to bring some influence to the expected chaos of the Johnson government
If this is true, then we should brace ourselves for things to be even worse than expected. Cummings was the architect of many of Gove's disastrous and now we must conclude, failed reforms. In my few dealings with him, he displayed boundless self-confidence. Unfortunately, his mind is mediocre (that he got a first at Oxford doesn't say much for their quality control processes) and his ideas often degenerated into cliché. Worse, he is lazy, disorganised and bad at paperwork, so very few things got done in the way he intended. Finally, he is a fluent liar who makes things up as he goes along and does not care when he is caught out.
You can pretty much rule Sir Lynton Crosby running a Tory GE campaign if Cummings is working for Boris.
Boy do those two have history.
Crosby has worked for Boris for years. I expect a few ackers would calm any misgivings.
But if you are right, or rather if Boris believes it too, that might mean Boris does not intend calling a snap election but I'd not read too much into it. These are interesting times.
I think that pretty much sums up Mr Cummings. Bright and brilliant. But doesn't realise that political parties aren't businesses run by dictators, but are fragile coalitions of interests and egos.
The description of him as a Tory Leninist is not entirely off the mark.
He's certainly an institution wrecker by temperament.
I believe Steve Bannon has described himself as a Leninist in the past..
If this is true, then we should brace ourselves for things to be even worse than expected. Cummings was the architect of many of Gove's disastrous and now we must conclude, failed reforms. In my few dealings with him, he displayed boundless self-confidence. Unfortunately, his mind is mediocre (that he got a first at Oxford doesn't say much for their quality control processes) and his ideas often degenerated into cliché. Worse, he is lazy, disorganised and bad at paperwork, so very few things got done in the way he intended. Finally, he is a fluent liar who makes things up as he goes along and does not care when he is caught out.
In a snap election, Labour would presumably do what it did at Peterborough and in 2017, which is campaign on issues other than Brexit.
The difference this time is that people might interpret that as ducking the question, as opposed to 2017 when it was just taken for granted that both main parties supported honouring the result. Also, there's no way Johnson wouldn't bash Corbyn over the head on the issue at every opportunity during the inevitable debates.
That would be inevitable debates with Boris who spent the first half of the leadership campaign ducking debates? SOP for Lynton Crosby is to hide the leader from debates: see Cameron, Boris, May.
Tough. They voted for Brexit, they are about to reap what they sow.
Further evidence for my belief that (uneducated) plebs should not have the vote.
Stay in the EU and it'll be OK they said:
Nissan scrap 10,000 jobs within the EU
Oh!
Meaningless. Businesses are impacted by lots of stuff not least there own competence as well as the market. You have to look at the impact of Brexit or otherwise and that alone. The car industry is going through trauma at the moment, but will Brexit make it better or worse here or have no impact. Well considering they depend on JIT a lot the answer is obvious. The fact that there will be cut backs in the EU because of other reasons is of no relevance to that argument.
See my post of a few days ago re a bid I described in Cyprus. If that bid was now and knowing how critical the customs issue was we would have had 2 choices:
a) Lose the bid b) Move European operations from UK to the EU.
Would putting not very bright Pritti in the HO count as the most tokenist appointment of recent political history?
Struggling to top it, that's for sure. I don't think you need - cringe alert - a 'rolls royce mind' to be an effective senior politician but Patel is a little too far down the quartiles. We're talking Hillman Imp.
Would be interested in the reaction to this appointment of those who bang on about the 'thick as shit' black female Cambridge graduate from a state school who will be shadowing her.
I've got a horrible feeling that Cummings could rapidly become Boris's Andy Coulson.
Always worth respecting the judgement of a woman who lied about what side of the referendum she was on in order to get a top job. Given how far her status has fallen in the past 3 years via Change UK it's probably best to take her views with a pinch of salt.
In a snap election, Labour would presumably do what it did at Peterborough and in 2017, which is campaign on issues other than Brexit.
The difference this time is that people might interpret that as ducking the question, as opposed to 2017 when it was just taken for granted that both main parties supported honouring the result. Also, there's no way Johnson wouldn't bash Corbyn over the head on the issue at every opportunity during the inevitable debates.
That would be inevitable debates with Boris who spent the first half of the leadership campaign ducking debates? SOP for Lynton Crosby is to hide the leader from debates: see Cameron, Boris, May.
Yeah, cos Gove, Stewart and Hunt might have scored some points off him. There's literally no fear of that with Corbyn; it's just about whether Johnson self destructs. It's got to be a risk worth taking, given that a) Corbyn is massively exposed on Brexit and b) we all know what happens if he doesn't take part. It seems unlikely that Corbyn will duck the fight: cowardice is certainly not one of his faults.
Would putting not very bright Pritti in the HO count as the most tokenist appointment of recent political history?
Struggling to top it, that's for sure. I don't think you need - cringe alert - a 'rolls royce mind' to be an effective senior politician but Patel is a little too far down the quartiles. We're talking Hillman Imp.
Would be interested in the reaction to this appointment of those who bang on about the 'thick as shit' black female Cambridge graduate from a state school who will be shadowing her.
Tokenism would imply she has no real relationship to the brief.
Well, yesterday we learnt that seanT knew Boris was destined for greatness when he saw him repairing a bike puncture outside Plimico Tube in 1999, so these boys must have a sixth sense or something.
I think that pretty much sums up Mr Cummings. Bright and brilliant. But doesn't realise that political parties aren't businesses run by dictators, but are fragile coalitions of interests and egos.
The description of him as a Tory Leninist is not entirely off the mark.
He's certainly an institution wrecker by temperament.
I believe Steve Bannon has described himself as a Leninist in the past..
Lenin could do ideas and implementation at a stellar level. That's what makes him the greatest political figure of the 20th C.
What odds on May a) crying b) reprising Cameron gag on "my diary this afternoon looks remarkably empty or c) both?
I expect her to be rather chipper. She's going to have a grand old time sat in the corner on the government benches surrounded by most of her cabinet. The insurrectionist loons who made her position untenable now get to feel her revenge as the positions are reversed.
Another referendum would certainly be interesting.
Mr. B2, I might have to write tomorrow off. Trying to get work done in sweltering conditions is not great (writing's not exactly physically intensive but you do need to be able to concentrate).
Handy tip: Hyperkewl. So far I've only tried the wrist straps but they seem to work admirably. I got onto them through watching Formula 1 on the telly. That is the sport where, as predicted, the driver umpteen points clear and who'd won five of the last six British Grand Prix, won the British Grand Prix.
A cool bath or shower can also bring your core body temperature down for a bit.
Domestic air conditioning is also becoming affordable, at least for my rich acquaintances if not for me. If you do go down that route, get proper air con with an outside fan, not one of the useless portable ones with a pipe you vent out of the window.
I think that pretty much sums up Mr Cummings. Bright and brilliant. But doesn't realise that political parties aren't businesses run by dictators, but are fragile coalitions of interests and egos.
The description of him as a Tory Leninist is not entirely off the mark.
He's certainly an institution wrecker by temperament.
I believe Steve Bannon has described himself as a Leninist in the past..
Lenin could do ideas and implementation at a stellar level. That's what makes him the greatest political figure of the 20th C.
Describing oneself as a Leninist does not automatically grant those abilities.
I've got a horrible feeling that Cummings could rapidly become Boris's Andy Coulson.
Always worth respecting the judgement of a woman who lied about what side of the referendum she was on in order to get a top job. Given how far her status has fallen in the past 3 years via Change UK it's probably best to take her views with a pinch of salt.
You seem to be hopelessly confused. Sarah Wollaston correctly points out that Dominic Cummings was found in contempt of Parliament. That's a fact, not a view.
What odds on May a) crying b) reprising Cameron gag on "my diary this afternoon looks remarkably empty or c) both?
I expect her to be rather chipper. She's going to have a grand old time sat in the corner on the government benches surrounded by most of her cabinet. The insurrectionist loons who made her position untenable now get to feel her revenge as the positions are reversed.
Just what the Tory Party needs - another sulking elder statesman sourpuss, to follow in the great traditions of Heath and Major....
Comments
One genuine problem that needs addressing is how government collects taxes in an environment where more and more people work for themselves, as the burdens on employing people become higher. IR35 is a complete nightmare and becoming even more so, with HMRC now arguing that six month contacts count as employment, and for blue-collar “gig economy” workers there’s a good chance that HMRC are going to screw them in future.
https://twitter.com/MPphilwilson/status/1153938105856090112
On the other hand, I find it remarkable that Beth Rigby has made it to the equivalent position at Sky News.
And decided that a part of the E7 fleet will be based on pre-enjoyed 737s from the commercial market because it always works out just great when we decide to save a quid like that. I forgot about that.
He's a British version of Martin Selmayr. He is utterly unfit to hold any sort of public office - even a trustee at Parkhurst, which if we're honest is probably where he belongs.
Anyway, I'm on holiday.
Further evidence for my belief that (uneducated) plebs should not have the vote.
Have I missed something? Is there a route to Corbyn becoming PM?
https://twitter.com/carolecadwalla/status/1153946012727369728
All those talented middle aged white men available and they don't get a look in.
When will we come to our senses?
Classy.
If an election does happen and Boris wins a majority, it would not only mean Brexit actually being delivered but potentially kill off any hope of rejoining as we will have started to diverge from the EU after 5 years.
Boy do those two have history.
David Hancock https://www.facebook.com/CllrDavidHancock/ Tupton councillors & De facto Lib Dem North derbyshire leaders
Leon Duveen https://eastmidslibdems.org.uk/en/contact/leon-duveen North Notts
The real irony is that you were the one whose nose started twitching because someone's name ended in -berg.
Only 10:15.
Going to be a bugger getting work done later today and (especially) tomorrow, though.
I'd also have thought that putting him ion the heart of Number 10 invites a lot more Parliamentary scrutiny of the Vote Leave campaign and its various connections.
A risky appointment, but one that Johnson clearly feels he has to make.
Right up there with PICK UP A PENGUIN.
It is perfectly plausible to support Brexit to honour the referendum result whilst still arguing that it is a mistake to do so. That's pretty much y position. But you have gone from remainer to full on No Deal leaver largely, I suspect, because you can see how the wind is blowing in the party in which you want to do well, Honouring the referendum result is your fig leaf.
He's a brilliant ideas person. A guy with a million thoughts, who talks fast, and can be extremely persuasive. But he's also a little bit lazy, and not a good manager.
He's the guy you want to be the CEO, but who needs a really solid COO underneath him to convert his ideas into action. (And who can unruffle feathers after Cummings ruffles them.)
Basically, I can think of Cummings doing many roles brilliantly. But Chief of Staff is not one of them. You see, Cummings is a bit too like Johnson. You need a mix between ideas and implementation. Johnson is an ideas person. He needs an implementation person.
(Mrs May, by contrast was an implementation person who kept hiring other implementation people... Gavin Barwell, for example, was not an ideas person. Nor was Fiona Hill.)
https://twitter.com/cjayanetti/status/1153955187503108098?s=20
Another referendum would certainly be interesting.
Mr. B2, I might have to write tomorrow off. Trying to get work done in sweltering conditions is not great (writing's not exactly physically intensive but you do need to be able to concentrate).
https://twitter.com/RobDotHutton/status/1153960257741365249
He's certainly an institution wrecker by temperament.
Nissan scrap 10,000 jobs within the EU
Oh!
But if you are right, or rather if Boris believes it too, that might mean Boris does not intend calling a snap election but I'd not read too much into it. These are interesting times.
The vast majority of new electric car and battery plants will not now be built on these shores.
He hates the ERG and is a brilliant campaigner so should be interesting.
See my post of a few days ago re a bid I described in Cyprus. If that bid was now and knowing how critical the customs issue was we would have had 2 choices:
a) Lose the bid
b) Move European operations from UK to the EU.
Both would have been devastating.
'Yet with his imposing physical build, his thick neck and his broad, Germanic forehead, there was also something of Nietzsche’s Übermensch about him.'
https://twitter.com/toadmeister/status/1153941204977016832
Would be interested in the reaction to this appointment of those who bang on about the 'thick as shit' black female Cambridge graduate from a state school who will be shadowing her.
In truth she's a complete hardliner.
earnget paid well into the six figures.A cool bath or shower can also bring your core body temperature down for a bit.
Domestic air conditioning is also becoming affordable, at least for my rich acquaintances if not for me. If you do go down that route, get proper air con with an outside fan, not one of the useless portable ones with a pipe you vent out of the window.