Personally, I find it rather disturbing that given the choice of Johnson, Corbyn or Farage only 12% of my fellow countryman opt for Swinson as best PM. It's really not that difficult ...
Most of the public will say 'who'
She needs lots of time in the news cycle
That would change rapidly during a GE campaign.
She needs it before then and to be honest she probably will
One of the arguments put forward in the campaign was Jo would be able to get more media coverage and get coverage in areas that Ed Davey couldn't reach. Charles Kennedy did HIGNFY and so of course has Boris Johnson so that may be a start.
As has been said, a GE campaign will be a big help and naturally there will be plenty in the duopoly who will want to shut the LDs and TBP and others out of the debate but I think that genie is well out of the bottle.
Wonder if the cretins still believe it's going to hurt them more than us?
Depends how you define hurt.
IMNSHO if the EU continues to insist upon the backstop it will under our new leadership hurt the EU more than it hurts us, which wasn't the case under May. Which is why they should drop it.
Our circa 280 bn exports subject to wto terms hurts a lot. The 340bn imports hurt is split 26 ways German hurt eg is 20% of our hurt France 15% etc etc. Gove must be a thick fucker
Of course, if the UK lowers most tariffs the EU hurt will be significantly reduced - and there will be no need for anyone to do a trade deal with us.
LOL there is that too.
Obviously those with chlorinated chicken are going to put Britain at the front of their queue though.
I'm not quite sure why @JBriskinindyref2 has it in for me. But I suggest that he drops it. He doesn't like my headers. I don't suppose he's alone. It doesn't bother me but the nit-picking over every other word etc, must be tedious for others on here.
Oh - and BTW - it's "vassal" with an "a" not an "e".
I can do nit-picking too. And I hate bad spelling. But hey it might be the typing.
Anyway, time to have a nice evening.
Yup always better to continue an argument into the next thread I find.
Laters
I'm happy to confirm that I find your attacks on Cyclefree misguided as well as tedious, and also that you should learn how and when to use commas.
On topic: I think there are two important points to be made here. One is that Johnson's leadership rating are inevitably tarnished by the hangover of May's appalling ratings towards the end of her time in office, and the spillover onto the Tory brand. The second is that I think Johnson would probably do quite well out of an election campaign where he was front and centre, providing he played it more or less straight and cut out most of his usual histrionics.
I don't "attack" Cyclefree. I criticise her poorly written thread headers and then she gets very passive-aggressive with me. Maybe she just gets fawned over all the time so it has come as a bit of a surprise to her.
As Edmund Burke stated-
"Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field."
I have done nothing of the kind. I pointed out that your criticisms of certain phrases were criticisms of phrases used by Boris i.e. quotes. If you don't like their style go after him.
I'm fine with you not liking or disagreeing with my headers. Why don't you write one yourself and see if it is accepted.
I have rarely in my life been fawned over.
Still, someone who likes Edmund Burke, one of my great political heroes, is not all bad. It's a very good quote.
Have a lovely evening.
"pottering in the garden" again I see.
Burke is an arch tory - it's no surprise you like him.
I did write a thread header - I posted it on the last thread. I wish you could keep your drivel to the comments part - but they're probably too long.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
I'm not quite sure why @JBriskinindyref2 has it in for me. But I suggest that he drops it. He doesn't like my headers. I don't suppose he's alone. It doesn't bother me but the nit-picking over every other word etc, must be tedious for others on here.
Oh - and BTW - it's "vassal" with an "a" not an "e".
I can do nit-picking too. And I hate bad spelling. But hey it might be the typing.
Anyway, time to have a nice evening.
Yup always better to continue an argument into the next thread I find.
Laters
I'm happy to confirm that I find your attacks on Cyclefree misguided as well as tedious, and also that you should learn how and when to use commas.
On topic: I think there are two important points to be made here. One is that Johnson's leadership rating are inevitably tarnished by the hangover of May's appalling ratings towards the end of her time in office, and the spillover onto the Tory brand. The second is that I think Johnson would probably do quite well out of an election campaign where he was front and centre, providing he played it more or less straight and cut out most of his usual histrionics.
I don't "attack" Cyclefree. I criticise her poorly written thread headers and then she gets very passive-aggressive with me. Maybe she just gets fawned over all the time so it has come as a bit of a surprise to her.
As Edmund Burke stated-
"Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field."
I have done nothing of the kind. I pointed out that your criticisms of certain phrases were criticisms of phrases used by Boris i.e. quotes. If you don't like their style go after him.
I'm fine with you not liking or disagreeing with my headers. Why don't you write one yourself and see if it is accepted.
I have rarely in my life been fawned over.
Still, someone who likes Edmund Burke, one of my great political heroes, is not all bad. It's a very good quote.
Have a lovely evening.
"pottering in the garden" again I see.
Burke is an arch tory - it's no surprise you like him.
I did write a thread header - I posted it on the last thread. I wish you could keep your drivel to the comments part - but they're probably too long.
Now, what did we just say about keeping it constructive?
I'm not quite sure why @JBriskinindyref2 has it in for me. But I suggest that he drops it. He doesn't like my headers. I don't suppose he's alone. It doesn't bother me but the nit-picking over every other word etc, must be tedious for others on here.
Oh - and BTW - it's "vassal" with an "a" not an "e".
I can do nit-picking too. And I hate bad spelling. But hey it might be the typing.
Anyway, time to have a nice evening.
You are a wonderful contributor to this site and I read all your threads and posts with great interest and respect. I do not agree with all you write but that is not a reason to become rude, but rather a reason to try to make my own views in a fair and sensible manner
Please have a glass of wine, relax and think of your gardening that gives you so much pleasure (as indeed our garden does for my dear wife) and continue to provide us with your interesting knowledge and views
All the carping against Bojo on here, twitter and elsewhere is totally tedious. Talking with my family this week - they're staying with us on holiday - what struck me was the only thing they really want now is to get Brexit done. Like me we all voted remain - but they just want it done and like me they believe the vote must be honoured. I think this factor is the biggest reason for the 'bounce'. If he 'gets it done' he'll sweep all before him and if not he'll be an amusing footnote in History. But the sense of palpable panic on the left and also from 'Remain' from a few lousy polls suggests to me that they are shit scared.
Leaving isn't the end, it's not even the beginning of the end. It's only the end of the beginning.
I'm not quite sure why @JBriskinindyref2 has it in for me. But I suggest that he drops it. He doesn't like my headers. I don't suppose he's alone. It doesn't bother me but the nit-picking over every other word etc, must be tedious for others on here.
Oh - and BTW - it's "vassal" with an "a" not an "e".
I can do nit-picking too. And I hate bad spelling. But hey it might be the typing.
Anyway, time to have a nice evening.
Having written a couple of headers myself, I appreciate your efforts even when I disagree.
In terms of style they read well to me. The hardest bit I find is keeping it down to a reasonable length.
Yes - that is hard. It's that Pascal (?) quote: "I have written you a long letter because I did not have time to write a short one."
I've always thought that the point is to stimulate discussion amongst others (but on the subject matter rather than style) rather than get people to agree.
There are some acclaimed writers who I simply cannot get on with - and I am a great reader - so I find it troubling when I cannot finish a book. Dickens, for instance; Salman Rushdie, EM Forster come to mind. I simply cannot read them.
I also find many Russian writers difficult, though not Tolstoy: Anna Karenina is one of my top 5 novels. Quite brilliant.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
She made a massive blunder with her ideological stance clashing with her need to be verbose in the last paragraph of the last thread. I picked her up on it - she could have let it lie (as Vic and Bob used to say) but instead she just played the victim card asap on this fresh (if a tad boring) thread.
Personally, I find it rather disturbing that given the choice of Johnson, Corbyn or Farage only 12% of my fellow countryman opt for Swinson as best PM. It's really not that difficult ...
Most of the public will say 'who'
She needs lots of time in the news cycle
That would change rapidly during a GE campaign.
She needs it before then and to be honest she probably will
One of the arguments put forward in the campaign was Jo would be able to get more media coverage and get coverage in areas that Ed Davey couldn't reach. Charles Kennedy did HIGNFY and so of course has Boris Johnson so that may be a start.
As has been said, a GE campaign will be a big help and naturally there will be plenty in the duopoly who will want to shut the LDs and TBP and others out of the debate but I think that genie is well out of the bottle.
I hope she does well. We badly need it. But so far, I am afraid, she comes across as lightweight. Yvette does not. Emily does not. Rebecca Long-name mind you comes across as a total featherweight.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
Interesting that Priti Patel talks about ending EU citizens’ automatic right of entry to the UK in her MoS article today. Two thoughts on that: 1. Visas for visits to the UK for them means visas for us to visit EU countries. 2. You can’t end automatic entry without a hard border in Northern Ireland.
Does she mean visas for tourism, or an end to free movement to move here?
Visas for tourism would be an absurd situation to be in. Treating EU citizens the same as we treat Australian, Kiwi, Canadian and American citizens would be perfectly reasonable.
You should know. You are their biggest cheerleader. I do not know exactly how we treat the people from the nations you mention. To go to Australia, we have to buy an online visa but to the USA, I believe no visa is required if the stay is less than 3 months. Unless that has changed.
You need an ESTA for the US.
Didnt the EU announce they were going to introduce their own equivalent of the ESTA and the UK citizens (regardless of deal / no deal) would be required to get one?
I'm not quite sure why @JBriskinindyref2 has it in for me. But I suggest that he drops it. He doesn't like my headers. I don't suppose he's alone. It doesn't bother me but the nit-picking over every other word etc, must be tedious for others on here.
Oh - and BTW - it's "vassal" with an "a" not an "e".
I can do nit-picking too. And I hate bad spelling. But hey it might be the typing.
Anyway, time to have a nice evening.
Having written a couple of headers myself, I appreciate your efforts even when I disagree.
In terms of style they read well to me. The hardest bit I find is keeping it down to a reasonable length.
Yes - that is hard. It's that Pascal (?) quote: "I have written you a long letter because I did not have time to write a short one."
I've always thought that the point is to stimulate discussion amongst others (but on the subject matter rather than style) rather than get people to agree.
There are some acclaimed writers who I simply cannot get on with - and I am a great reader - so I find it troubling when I cannot finish a book. Dickens, for instance; Salman Rushdie, EM Forster come to mind. I simply cannot read them.
I also find many Russian writers difficult, though not Tolstoy: Anna Karenina is one of my top 5 novels. Quite brilliant.
I cannot get past page 56 of Moby Dick. I can't even remember what he said in the first 55 pages. I assume a whale is involved, but that's just me guessing. Dostoevsky's good, although I didn't start until the John Simm TV adaptation.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
She made a massive blunder with her ideological stance clashing with her need to be verbose in the last paragraph of the last thread. I picked her up on it - she could have let it lie (as Vic and Bob used to say) but instead she just played the victim card asap on this fresh (if a tad boring) thread.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
Yes, that's a good point and one that had occurred to me recently.
I do occasionally buy newspapers and magazines, including the two you mention, but I find few articles any better than many of the thread pieces here.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
She made a massive blunder with her ideological stance clashing with her need to be verbose in the last paragraph of the last thread. I picked her up on it - she could have let it lie (as Vic and Bob used to say) but instead she just played the victim card asap on this fresh (if a tad boring) thread.
Speaking seriously, the best response for you would be to actually write an article and submit it. If Mike/Robert/TSE don't publish it, you can always send it round to others as an attachment.
Boris seems to be crushing it in his initial pollings, I expect we'll see a Tory lead in Wales tommorow too. He has his October 31st pledge to err deal with though.
Interesting that Priti Patel talks about ending EU citizens’ automatic right of entry to the UK in her MoS article today. Two thoughts on that: 1. Visas for visits to the UK for them means visas for us to visit EU countries. 2. You can’t end automatic entry without a hard border in Northern Ireland.
Does she mean visas for tourism, or an end to free movement to move here?
Visas for tourism would be an absurd situation to be in. Treating EU citizens the same as we treat Australian, Kiwi, Canadian and American citizens would be perfectly reasonable.
You should know. You are their biggest cheerleader. I do not know exactly how we treat the people from the nations you mention. To go to Australia, we have to buy an online visa but to the USA, I believe no visa is required if the stay is less than 3 months. Unless that has changed.
You need an ESTA for the US.
Didnt the EU announce they were going to introduce their own equivalent of the ESTA and the UK citizens (regardless of deal / no deal) would be required to get one?
Only in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, I believe.
Interesting that Priti Patel talks about ending EU citizens’ automatic right of entry to the UK in her MoS article today. Two thoughts on that: 1. Visas for visits to the UK for them means visas for us to visit EU countries. 2. You can’t end automatic entry without a hard border in Northern Ireland.
Does she mean visas for tourism, or an end to free movement to move here?
Visas for tourism would be an absurd situation to be in. Treating EU citizens the same as we treat Australian, Kiwi, Canadian and American citizens would be perfectly reasonable.
You should know. You are their biggest cheerleader. I do not know exactly how we treat the people from the nations you mention. To go to Australia, we have to buy an online visa but to the USA, I believe no visa is required if the stay is less than 3 months. Unless that has changed.
You need an ESTA for the US.
Didnt the EU announce they were going to introduce their own equivalent of the ESTA and the UK citizens (regardless of deal / no deal) would be required to get one?
Yes.
An ESTA is the best known visa waiver programme, i.e. "you don't need a VISA as long as you tick the right boxes. Are you a terrorist? Yes [ ] No [ ]"
A similar scheme coming to the EU for Brits (and vice versa) under pretty much all Brexit scenarios. There may or may not be a fee of £9 or so.
Why can't you lazy sods write the words out in full rather than leaving the unitiated amongst us guessing what the letters stand for?
Gove Is Thick Fucker Will Never Be Prime Minister. It's a clapback to the pre-2015 election, where "Ed (Miliband) is crap!" posts were met with "EICWNBPM" on the same basis.
Boris seems to be crushing it in his initial pollings, I expect we'll see a Tory lead in Wales tommorow too. He has his October 31st pledge to err deal with though.
I doubt it. The movement in the UK polls is TBP -> Tory.
TBP strongholds in Wales are the Valleys seats & NE Wales -- I just can't see them voting for Boris.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
She made a massive blunder with her ideological stance clashing with her need to be verbose in the last paragraph of the last thread. I picked her up on it - she could have let it lie (as Vic and Bob used to say) but instead she just played the victim card asap on this fresh (if a tad boring) thread.
Speaking seriously, the best response for you would be to actually write an article and submit it. If Mike/Robert/TSE don't publish it, you can always send it round to others as an attachment.
Mike and co don't need to read my zany scribblings - my best outlet is on the comments and I'm thankful they let me here.
I read and enjoyed your piece on Boris. Thank you.
You may be interested in the following article written when Boris was Foreign Secretary. It is by Noah Richler, son of novelist Mordecai Richler and brother of Martha Richler (aka Marf, occasionally of this parish.)
I've met Noah and can personally vouch for his integrity and judgement, so I found his assessment particularly interesting. It's also nice to read a North American perspective.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
She made a massive blunder with her ideological stance clashing with her need to be verbose in the last paragraph of the last thread. I picked her up on it - she could have let it lie (as Vic and Bob used to say) but instead she just played the victim card asap on this fresh (if a tad boring) thread.
Boris seems to be crushing it in his initial pollings, I expect we'll see a Tory lead in Wales tommorow too. He has his October 31st pledge to err deal with though.
I doubt it. The movement in the UK polls is TBP -> Tory.
TBP strongholds in Wales are the Valleys seats & NE Wales -- I just can't see them voting for Boris.
He was a candidate in Clwyd South in 1997 and got humiliated.
That said, of course, he was hardly unusual in that among Tory candidates in '97!
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
She made a massive blunder with her ideological stance clashing with her need to be verbose in the last paragraph of the last thread. I picked her up on it - she could have let it lie (as Vic and Bob used to say) but instead she just played the victim card asap on this fresh (if a tad boring) thread.
“Massive blunder”!!!!!!
She obviously thought it was or she wouldn't have came out all guns blazing (playing the victim card, natch) on the next thread.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
Boris seems to be crushing it in his initial pollings, I expect we'll see a Tory lead in Wales tommorow too. He has his October 31st pledge to err deal with though.
I'm not sure but wurely the only "breakthrough" poll in Wales would be PC leading, wouldn't it? There were a few Tory leads before
I read and enjoyed your piece on Boris. Thank you.
You may be interested in the following article written when Boris was Foreign Secretary. It is by Noah Richler, son of novelist Mordecai Richler and brother of Martha Richler (aka Marf, occasionally of this parish.)
I've met Noah and can personally vouch for his integrity and judgement, so I found his assessment particularly interesting. It's also nice to read a North American perspective.
Boris is more Berlusconi than May, May was more Gordon Brown
I have my reservations on Boris but he is no Berlusconi
Indeed he is on the liberal social left
Who, Boris or Berlusconi? Boris was on the liberal social left when he wanted to win in London. Not now. Priti Patel as HS? He may go there again, if it suits him, as with everything else. If you mean Berlusconi, apologies.
Boris still is on tne social left as you will see as he unveils more of his domestic agenda
I oppose Boris on no deal but not the policies he is putting forward
A couple of weeks ago you could not bring yourself to vote for Boris, now you are applauding warmly on all but one policy.
Incredible!
Why? Is he not allowed to change his mind?
One way of showing you have a mind is being prepared to change it.....
Indeed, but it is quite the volte face.
Not really, Boris is putting forward the kind of policies Big_G himself supports so why shouldn't he be applauding those policies?
It would be rather hypocritical or closed-minded to oppose a politician putting forward what you've previously suggested, because of who it is.
So why not express that support with a vote?
A vote on what?
We're not due another vote on anything until after 31 October now at which point Schrodinger's Brexit should have been resolved.
Perhaps you missed the recent voting by Tory members?
*sigh!*
I did indeed miss it, because I wasn't a member. I'm tempted to rejoin now though, I feel as a socially liberal Tory that I've got my party back now May's gone.
I suspect and hope it will be many years before there's another leadership election though.
I have never been a member of any party, but I have voted across the political spectrum over the years and that does include having voted Tory at more than one GE.
Given the antics of the current Tory party, I cannot see anything "conservative" about them.
They are not the party they once were even 10 years ago and certainly not 20 or 30 years ago. They need some radical changes before I could vote for them again
I read and enjoyed your piece on Boris. Thank you.
You may be interested in the following article written when Boris was Foreign Secretary. It is by Noah Richler, son of novelist Mordecai Richler and brother of Martha Richler (aka Marf, occasionally of this parish.)
I've met Noah and can personally vouch for his integrity and judgement, so I found his assessment particularly interesting. It's also nice to read a North American perspective.
What an amazing coincidence. I too have met Noah Richler - years and years ago at a party held by the previous owners of my home here when they still lived here - about a year before I bought it. (You may well know them as well.) He was introduced to me by an old Canadian friend of mind. Small world, eh!
Mr Cummings told the group of advisers that if any of them tried to take him to an employment tribunal "you will be dead to me", according to one source.
I read and enjoyed your piece on Boris. Thank you.
You may be interested in the following article written when Boris was Foreign Secretary. It is by Noah Richler, son of novelist Mordecai Richler and brother of Martha Richler (aka Marf, occasionally of this parish.)
I've met Noah and can personally vouch for his integrity and judgement, so I found his assessment particularly interesting. It's also nice to read a North American perspective.
I'm not so sure that Canada is so different given the Canadian PM is the son of a Canadian PM.
I think I know what you are saying but it isn't quite the same thing, is it? Nepotism (if that's what the Trudeau thing is) wouldn't necessarily be a feature of class.
Incidentally, he ran against Trudeau's Party at the last election. He hates T junior with a passion!
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
Boris still is on tne social left as you will see as he unveils more of his domestic agenda
I oppose Boris on no deal but not the policies he is putting forward
A couple of weeks ago you could not bring yourself to vote for Boris, now you are applauding warmly on all but one policy.
Incredible!
Why? Is he not allowed to change his mind?
One way of showing you have a mind is being prepared to change it.....
Indeed, but it is quite the volte face.
Not really, Boris is putting forward the kind of policies Big_G himself supports so why shouldn't he be applauding those policies?
It would be rather hypocritical or closed-minded to oppose a politician putting forward what you've previously suggested, because of who it is.
So why not express that support with a vote?
A vote on what?
We're not due another vote on anything until after 31 October now at which point Schrodinger's Brexit should have been resolved.
Perhaps you missed the recent voting by Tory members?
*sigh!*
I did indeed miss it, because I wasn't a member. I'm tempted to rejoin now though, I feel as a socially liberal Tory that I've got my party back now May's gone.
I suspect and hope it will be many years before there's another leadership election though.
I have never been a member of any party, but I have voted across the political spectrum over the years and that does include having voted Tory at more than one GE.
Given the antics of the current Tory party, I cannot see anything "conservative" about them.
They are not the party they once were even 10 years ago and certainly not 20 or 30 years ago. They need some radical changes before I could vote for them again
Globalisation, the bank bailouts and a trillion quid of government borrowing have killed conservatism.
The only arguments left are who gets what place at the trough.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
She made a massive blunder with her ideological stance clashing with her need to be verbose in the last paragraph of the last thread. I picked her up on it - she could have let it lie (as Vic and Bob used to say) but instead she just played the victim card asap on this fresh (if a tad boring) thread.
“Massive blunder”!!!!!!
She obviously thought it was or she wouldn't have came out all guns blazing (playing the victim card, natch) on the next thread.
No - I have no idea what you're on about. And, frankly, you're becoming more than a little tedious - and rude. It is not fair to the others on here so if you have anything to say to me you can VM me. I can't promise to respond, mind.
I don't know how this turned into a plebiscite on @Cyclefree's fitness to write articles, but I s'pose I shall chip in. I automatically skip past them because they are orthogonal to my interests - as a rough rule of thumb, if there's no graph, table or betting-related info it's not "tractable", in the jargon - but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a nice piece of prose every now and then and she's ten times better than any of the shit you get in the Spectator or Grauniad, so I've no problems if she carries on carrying on.
Can't we have a Venn diagram? I like Venn diagrams.
Given the present political polarisation, I can't help thinking all the Venn Diagrams would consist of two separate circles on different sides of the room. In different houses. On different planets. In space...
Boris still is on tne social left as you will see as he unveils more of his domestic agenda
I oppose Boris on no deal but not the policies he is putting forward
A couple of weeks ago you could not bring yourself to vote for Boris, now you are applauding warmly on all but one policy.
Incredible!
Why? Is he not allowed to change his mind?
One way of showing you have a mind is being prepared to change it.....
Indeed, but it is quite the volte face.
Not really, Boris is putting forward the kind of policies Big_G himself supports so why shouldn't he be applauding those policies?
It would be rather hypocritical or closed-minded to oppose a politician putting forward what you've previously suggested, because of who it is.
So why not express that support with a vote?
A vote on what?
We're not due another vote on anything until after 31 October now at which point Schrodinger's Brexit should have been resolved.
Perhaps you missed the recent voting by Tory members?
*sigh!*
I did indeed miss it, because I wasn't a member. I'm tempted to rejoin now though, I feel as a socially liberal Tory that I've got my party back now May's gone.
I suspect and hope it will be many years before there's another leadership election though.
I have never been a member of any party, but I have voted across the political spectrum over the years and that does include having voted Tory at more than one GE.
Given the antics of the current Tory party, I cannot see anything "conservative" about them.
They are not the party they once were even 10 years ago and certainly not 20 or 30 years ago. They need some radical changes before I could vote for them again
Globalisation, the bank bailouts and a trillion quid of government borrowing have killed conservatism.
The only arguments left are who gets what place at the trough.
A couple of weeks ago you could not bring yourself to vote for Boris, now you are applauding warmly on all but one policy.
Incredible!
Why? Is he not allowed to change his mind?
One way of showing you have a mind is being prepared to change it.....
Indeed, but it is quite the volte face.
Not really, Boris is putting forward the kind of policies Big_G himself supports so why shouldn't he be applauding those policies?
It would be rather hypocritical or closed-minded to oppose a politician putting forward what you've previously suggested, because of who it is.
So why not express that support with a vote?
A vote on what?
We're not due another vote on anything until after 31 October now at which point Schrodinger's Brexit should have been resolved.
Perhaps you missed the recent voting by Tory members?
*sigh!*
I did indeed miss it, because I wasn't a member. I'm tempted to rejoin now though, I feel as a socially liberal Tory that I've got my party back now May's gone.
I suspect and hope it will be many years before there's another leadership election though.
I have never been a member of any party, but I have voted across the political spectrum over the years and that does include having voted Tory at more than one GE.
Given the antics of the current Tory party, I cannot see anything "conservative" about them.
They are not the party they once were even 10 years ago and certainly not 20 or 30 years ago. They need some radical changes before I could vote for them again
I can't imagine ever voting for them, given their current trajectory.
I read and enjoyed your piece on Boris. Thank you.
You may be interested in the following article written when Boris was Foreign Secretary. It is by Noah Richler, son of novelist Mordecai Richler and brother of Martha Richler (aka Marf, occasionally of this parish.)
I've met Noah and can personally vouch for his integrity and judgement, so I found his assessment particularly interesting. It's also nice to read a North American perspective.
What an amazing coincidence. I too have met Noah Richler - years and years ago at a party held by the previous owners of my home here when they still lived here - about a year before I bought it. (You may well know them as well.) He was introduced to me by an old Canadian friend of mind. Small world, eh!
And the link works, thank you. Will read later.
No, I don't know them but Marf might. I'll mention it next time I see her.
Noah is very solid. He worked here for the BBC for many years before returning to Canada where he is a well-known broadcaster,journalist and writer.
Mr Cummings told the group of advisers that if any of them tried to take him to an employment tribunal "you will be dead to me", according to one source.
I read and enjoyed your piece on Boris. Thank you.
You may be interested in the following article written when Boris was Foreign Secretary. It is by Noah Richler, son of novelist Mordecai Richler and brother of Martha Richler (aka Marf, occasionally of this parish.)
I've met Noah and can personally vouch for his integrity and judgement, so I found his assessment particularly interesting. It's also nice to read a North American perspective.
What an amazing coincidence. I too have met Noah Richler - years and years ago at a party held by the previous owners of my home here when they still lived here - about a year before I bought it. (You may well know them as well.) He was introduced to me by an old Canadian friend of mind. Small world, eh!
And the link works, thank you. Will read later.
No, I don't know them but Marf might. I'll mention it next time I see her.
Noah is very solid. He worked here for the BBC for many years before returning to Canada where he is a well-known broadcaster,journalist and writer.
I read and enjoyed your piece on Boris. Thank you.
You may be interested in the following article written when Boris was Foreign Secretary. It is by Noah Richler, son of novelist Mordecai Richler and brother of Martha Richler (aka Marf, occasionally of this parish.)
I've met Noah and can personally vouch for his integrity and judgement, so I found his assessment particularly interesting. It's also nice to read a North American perspective.
I'm not so sure that Canada is so different given the Canadian PM is the son of a Canadian PM.
I think I know what you are saying but it isn't quite the same thing, is it? Nepotism (if that's what the Trudeau thing is) wouldn't necessarily be a feature of class.
Incidentally, he ran against Trudeau's Party at the last election. He hates T junior with a passion!
I suspect there are few places where, or few times when, vacuous well connected posh boys have struggled.
Now perhaps PM Boris shows that the UK is perhaps more vulnerable to such people reaching the top but it was not an inevitability and depended upon the failings of May and the general unfitness for purpose of the Conservative party.
Interesting that Priti Patel talks about ending EU citizens’ automatic right of entry to the UK in her MoS article today. Two thoughts on that: 1. Visas for visits to the UK for them means visas for us to visit EU countries. 2. You can’t end automatic entry without a hard border in Northern Ireland.
Does she mean visas for tourism, or an end to free movement to move here?
Visas for tourism would be an absurd situation to be in. Treating EU citizens the same as we treat Australian, Kiwi, Canadian and American citizens would be perfectly reasonable.
You should know. You are their biggest cheerleader. I do not know exactly how we treat the people from the nations you mention. To go to Australia, we have to buy an online visa but to the USA, I believe no visa is required if the stay is less than 3 months. Unless that has changed.
Mr Cummings told the group of advisers that if any of them tried to take him to an employment tribunal "you will be dead to me", according to one source.
He's above the law then is he?
He thinks he is. To be fair, you don't generally have much of a social relationship with bosses you sue. But this sort of behaviour is so contrary to best HR practice that if he carries on like this and someone does sue, it will be kerching, kerching for them.
Trump won't be removed though, the senate numbers simply aren't there.
If the Democrats want to impeach Trump, they have to do it quick. Since the Senate would not even vote for it 50% [ let alone 67% ], the whole idea is to damage Trump. I remember 1974 well. It was going slowly until it suddenly speeded up probably due to the tapes and Rosemary Woods "accidentally" erasing 18 minutes of it. That changed it. Once Nixon realized he would be impeached and removed, he resigned. The current crop of Republicans are shameless. Many of them have been treated like dirt by Trump. Rubio, Cruz, McConnell...……..
@Cyclefree’s thread header the other day about what are oppositions for was probably the best piece I have read on politics this year. I have forwarded and commended it to several friends who are not regular readers of the site. I like her style, her humour and her erudition. What are people complaining about?
Trump won't be removed though, the senate numbers simply aren't there.
If the Democrats want to impeach Trump, they have to do it quick. Since the Senate would not even vote for it 50% [ let alone 67% ], the whole idea is to damage Trump. I remember 1974 well. It was going slowly until it suddenly speeded up probably due to the tapes and Rosemary Woods "accidentally" erasing 18 minutes of it. That changed it. Once Nixon realized he would be impeached and removed, he resigned. The current crop of Republicans are shameless. Many of them have been treated like dirt by Trump. Rubio, Cruz, McConnell...……..
Wouldnt Trump enjoy being impeached, knowing he would be found not guilty by the senate. Investigate but not impeach seems a clear best strategy for the democrats.
@Cyclefree’s thread header the other day about what are oppositions for was probably the best piece I have read on politics this year. I have forwarded and commended it to several friends who are not regular readers of the site. I like her style, her humour and her erudition. What are people complaining about?
One way of showing you have a mind is being prepared to change it.....
Indeed, but it is quite the volte face.
Not really, Boris is putting forward the kind of policies Big_G himself supports so why shouldn't he be applauding those policies?
It would be rather hypocritical or closed-minded to oppose a politician putting forward what you've previously suggested, because of who it is.
So why not express that support with a vote?
A vote on what?
We're not due another vote on anything until after 31 October now at which point Schrodinger's Brexit should have been resolved.
Perhaps you missed the recent voting by Tory members?
*sigh!*
I did indeed miss it, because I wasn't a member. I'm tempted to rejoin now though, I feel as a socially liberal Tory that I've got my party back now May's gone.
I suspect and hope it will be many years before there's another leadership election though.
I have never been a member of any party, but I have voted across the political spectrum over the years and that does include having voted Tory at more than one GE.
Given the antics of the current Tory party, I cannot see anything "conservative" about them.
They are not the party they once were even 10 years ago and certainly not 20 or 30 years ago. They need some radical changes before I could vote for them again
Conservatives aren't conservative enough so need radical change. Got it.
Mr Cummings told the group of advisers that if any of them tried to take him to an employment tribunal "you will be dead to me", according to one source.
He's above the law then is he?
He thinks he is. To be fair, you don't generally have much of a social relationship with bosses you sue. But this sort of behaviour is so contrary to best HR practice that if he carries on like this and someone does sue, it will be kerching, kerching for them.
Indeed. My (admittedly limited) experience of this management style is that the perpetrators think the rules don't apply to them, until they suddenly find they do.
@Cyclefree’s thread header the other day about what are oppositions for was probably the best piece I have read on politics this year. I have forwarded and commended it to several friends who are not regular readers of the site. I like her style, her humour and her erudition. What are people complaining about?
Oh FFS - Nobody is complaining apart from me (and that was about the last thread)
On-thread: Pretty impressive poll for Swinson, as she’s hardly been in the media and even her election was crowded out by the Boris effect.
Appalling for Corbyn. Simply appalling. Is this the lowest Preferred PM % for a LotO ever?
Personally I find it shocking that 15% of the population think he is the best qualified to be PM, even amongst that rather rum bunch. What are these people thinking?
Interesting that Priti Patel talks about ending EU citizens’ automatic right of entry to the UK in her MoS article today. Two thoughts on that: 1. Visas for visits to the UK for them means visas for us to visit EU countries. 2. You can’t end automatic entry without a hard border in Northern Ireland.
Does she mean visas for tourism, or an end to free movement to move here?
Visas for tourism would be an absurd situation to be in. Treating EU citizens the same as we treat Australian, Kiwi, Canadian and American citizens would be perfectly reasonable.
So you’re in favour of passport checks at the Irish border?
Mr Cummings told the group of advisers that if any of them tried to take him to an employment tribunal "you will be dead to me", according to one source.
He's above the law then is he?
He thinks he is. To be fair, you don't generally have much of a social relationship with bosses you sue. But this sort of behaviour is so contrary to best HR practice that if he carries on like this and someone does sue, it will be kerching, kerching for them.
Indeed. My (admittedly limited) experience of this management style is that the perpetrators think the rules don't apply to them, until they suddenly find they do.
A Cummings is not for life, just until Christmas.
No one expects political longevity for him. He has been brought in only to get Brexit done and the BXP destroyed.
I am not convinced that he will manage either. The idea that certain spindoctors are mysterious Svengalis is for the birds. It is all smoke and mirrors.
On-thread: Pretty impressive poll for Swinson, as she’s hardly been in the media and even her election was crowded out by the Boris effect.
Appalling for Corbyn. Simply appalling. Is this the lowest Preferred PM % for a LotO ever?
Personally I find it shocking that 15% of the population think he is the best qualified to be PM, even amongst that rather rum bunch. What are these people thinking?
36% can't even choose from 4 options, 4! Actually .....
On-thread: Pretty impressive poll for Swinson, as she’s hardly been in the media and even her election was crowded out by the Boris effect.
Appalling for Corbyn. Simply appalling. Is this the lowest Preferred PM % for a LotO ever?
Personally I find it shocking that 15% of the population think he is the best qualified to be PM, even amongst that rather rum bunch. What are these people thinking?
Unbelievable... It was ok to gut public services in cause of austerity but it's fine to chuck fiscal probity out of the window to pursue No Deal.
I am strongly against no deal and think it will be a disaster. I also think it is still unlikely to happen (although far more likely than it ever got to in March). Given where we are I think it prudent to spend billions to reduce the impact if we do no deal.
The focus of criticism should be on the lack of understanding for no deal, the economic pain it will cause, the ludicrous arbitrary end date, the lack of plan or even discussion for what happens after no deal, the failure to communicate sensibly with businesses both big and small.
The expenditure for planning and mitigation is not a problem of the same order as any of the above imo.
On-thread: Pretty impressive poll for Swinson, as she’s hardly been in the media and even her election was crowded out by the Boris effect.
Appalling for Corbyn. Simply appalling. Is this the lowest Preferred PM % for a LotO ever?
Personally I find it shocking that 15% of the population think he is the best qualified to be PM, even amongst that rather rum bunch. What are these people thinking?
36% can't even choose from 4 options, 4! Actually .....
To slightly misquote the film this is not the choice you were looking for. It’s sub optimal that this is the choice we have. Having said that we are where we are and a choice needs to be made. Maybe if the question was least bad PM they might get a better response.
On-thread: Pretty impressive poll for Swinson, as she’s hardly been in the media and even her election was crowded out by the Boris effect.
Appalling for Corbyn. Simply appalling. Is this the lowest Preferred PM % for a LotO ever?
Personally I find it shocking that 15% of the population think he is the best qualified to be PM, even amongst that rather rum bunch. What are these people thinking?
I see your Bomb the Bass and raise you a mashup of Neneh Cherry and the Ting Tings. Yes, really. Well it's either that or "Lucretia My Reflection", so count yourself lucky...
On-thread: Pretty impressive poll for Swinson, as she’s hardly been in the media and even her election was crowded out by the Boris effect.
Appalling for Corbyn. Simply appalling. Is this the lowest Preferred PM % for a LotO ever?
Personally I find it shocking that 15% of the population think he is the best qualified to be PM, even amongst that rather rum bunch. What are these people thinking?
Comments
As has been said, a GE campaign will be a big help and naturally there will be plenty in the duopoly who will want to shut the LDs and TBP and others out of the debate but I think that genie is well out of the bottle.
Obviously those with chlorinated chicken are going to put Britain at the front of their queue though.
It's a very short queue I hear
And unlike Law, he does not - I hope - have oesophageal cancer.
His performance against Corbyn was frankly embarrassing. Rambling and hesitant.
But then, he has always spoken like that.
I've always thought that the point is to stimulate discussion amongst others (but on the subject matter rather than style) rather than get people to agree.
There are some acclaimed writers who I simply cannot get on with - and I am a great reader - so I find it troubling when I cannot finish a book. Dickens, for instance; Salman Rushdie, EM Forster come to mind. I simply cannot read them.
I also find many Russian writers difficult, though not Tolstoy: Anna Karenina is one of my top 5 novels. Quite brilliant.
It harks back to a simpler time on PB, then "Ed is Crap is Prime Minister" was teh confident refrain, which worked out, er, badly....
I do occasionally buy newspapers and magazines, including the two you mention, but I find few articles any better than many of the thread pieces here.
Can I ask if you still think Jo Johnson is a man of principle ?
He has his October 31st pledge to err deal with though.
An ESTA is the best known visa waiver programme, i.e. "you don't need a VISA as long as you tick the right boxes. Are you a terrorist? Yes [ ] No [ ]"
A similar scheme coming to the EU for Brits (and vice versa) under pretty much all Brexit scenarios. There may or may not be a fee of £9 or so.
TBP strongholds in Wales are the Valleys seats & NE Wales -- I just can't see them voting for Boris.
I read and enjoyed your piece on Boris. Thank you.
You may be interested in the following article written when Boris was Foreign Secretary. It is by Noah Richler, son of novelist Mordecai Richler and brother of Martha Richler (aka Marf, occasionally of this parish.)
I've met Noah and can personally vouch for his integrity and judgement, so I found his assessment particularly interesting. It's also nice to read a North American perspective.
Let me know if the link doesn't work.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/07/17/boris-johnson-plays-the-long-game.html
That said, of course, he was hardly unusual in that among Tory candidates in '97!
http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2018/11/06/the-november-6th-us-midterms-where-we-are-and-what-might-happen-part-ii/
http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2019/02/03/the-january-29th-2019-amendments-and-the-extension-rumours/
Or, if you want prose:
http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2019/03/24/viewcode-on-the-chronicle-of-a-bet-foretold/
Given the antics of the current Tory party, I cannot see anything "conservative" about them.
They are not the party they once were even 10 years ago and certainly not 20 or 30 years ago. They need some radical changes before I could vote for them again
https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1155549151641387010?s=19
BTW - when did we get a "Like" button?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/09/jo-johnson-quits-as-minister-over-theresa-mays-brexit-plan-boris
What an amazing coincidence. I too have met Noah Richler - years and years ago at a party held by the previous owners of my home here when they still lived here - about a year before I bought it. (You may well know them as well.) He was introduced to me by an old Canadian friend of mind. Small world, eh!
And the link works, thank you. Will read later.
Mr Cummings told the group of advisers that if any of them tried to take him to an employment tribunal "you will be dead to me", according to one source.
Incidentally, he ran against Trudeau's Party at the last election. He hates T junior with a passion!
Can't we have a Venn diagram? I like Venn diagrams.
The only arguments left are who gets what place at the trough.
I'm watching IndyCar anyway.
But if there's anymore frotting to your goodself I will respond.
Noah is very solid. He worked here for the BBC for many years before returning to Canada where he is a well-known broadcaster,journalist and writer.
Now perhaps PM Boris shows that the UK is perhaps more vulnerable to such people reaching the top but it was not an inevitability and depended upon the failings of May and the general unfitness for purpose of the Conservative party.
And then run that next to someone reading out a Trump crime as a campaign ad.
The Dems are passing up the oppertunity of the government funding their next election cycle.
I remember 1974 well. It was going slowly until it suddenly speeded up probably due to the tapes and Rosemary Woods "accidentally" erasing 18 minutes of it. That changed it. Once Nixon realized he would be impeached and removed, he resigned.
The current crop of Republicans are shameless. Many of them have been treated like dirt by Trump. Rubio, Cruz, McConnell...……..
Appalling for Corbyn. Simply appalling.
Is this the lowest Preferred PM % for a LotO ever?
Biden is not going away.
She wins - I give up
Well played on your new thread trick Cyclefree
https://youtu.be/trbvx1U6Ry8
No one expects political longevity for him. He has been brought in only to get Brexit done and the BXP destroyed.
I am not convinced that he will manage either. The idea that certain spindoctors are mysterious Svengalis is for the birds. It is all smoke and mirrors.
That is the Corbyn core vote.
The focus of criticism should be on the lack of understanding for no deal, the economic pain it will cause, the ludicrous arbitrary end date, the lack of plan or even discussion for what happens after no deal, the failure to communicate sensibly with businesses both big and small.
The expenditure for planning and mitigation is not a problem of the same order as any of the above imo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBtnfygYkVk
And some of them are apparently not sure.