PB Boris haters having another day scoffing at him. Yesterday they were cheering on the Luxembourg PM for setting up Boris. More considered commentators like the Times leader writers had a far more balanced view of the boorish and ill mannered behaviour of the Luxembourg PM, a view that will be shared by most objective readers. The PB Boris haters are so keen to criticise him for anything and everything they've lost their ability to make reasoned judgement.
An interesting case study this one. The guys political persuasion and who he worked for are not really the issue although clearly someone as politically active as him will not be swayed by anything a Tory PM might say so it is to be expected that when the opportunity presented itself he let rip.The press no press thing is decidedly weird but other than that I'm not sure theres anything else anyone could or should have done. You dont remonstrate with the father of a sick child, you listen and let him have his say. The hospital has explained the reason for the staffing issues the night before but the really important thing is that, as he pointed out, his little girl nearly died but a and e were excellent and she thankfully survived and I think he said is in a better state today. The NHS did its job, and the PM has learned first hand about the frustration and anger that dealing with the NHS can bring to people in stressful situations. Strip away the flim and flam and positive things can be drawn from encounters like this. However it will all be used to portray a narrative by the press and thus utterly devalued.
Good post. The misstep remains however the there's no press comment. Even if the cameraman was a member of the public Boris should have been able to handle the situation. It was just bizarre.
I honestly find that repugnant. Is the man’s daughter ill? Is she receiving treatment? How the f*** is that a set up then?
It is of course ridiculous to hold the PM responsible for an alleged shortage of staff on a particular ward. It is equally appalling to use sick kids as some sort of prop to show how you “care”. Pretending it’s not a PR stunt when it so obviously is is pretty contemptible. Politicians who play with fire occasionally get burnt. It goes with the territory.
Thousands of parents have kids in hospital everyday, most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting
The reason why "most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting" is because he is not visiting the hospital at the same time as them
I realise you are an adherent of Boris but surely you must realise that the scenario you have outlined is simply not possible.
This guy was a Labour activist with an agenda, I notice no other parents of patients bothered to leave their kids bedside to rant with the PM
Man with history of political activism has the confidence to tell public figure their opinion?
Other News at 10.
Seriously mate. Get a grip. This is pathetic.
Man with history of Labour activism seeks a political stunt.
I assume it's an allusion to your party leader's campaigning abilities?
"HYUFD's a fountain of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry that moments of levity actually cause him pain; give him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
Every time you use a quote Sunil, I never have a fecking clue where it's from or what it's supposed to imply.
It is not possible for him to have arranged for his daughter to be seriously ill on the same date and time that Boris turned up on a publicity visit that he couldn't possibly have known about in advance.
Your conclusion is obviously gibberish and speaks poorly of you.
It is possible for his daughter to be ill, coincidentally find out that the PM is visiting the same hospital then for partisan reasons take the opportunity to ambush him which has presented itself before you though.
Poor Boris can't deal with:
1) Parliament 2) Rebels in his own Party 3) Luxembourg Prime Ministers 4) Members of the public in hospitals
He can, he dealt with the ideological agendas of all of them with calm and determination
Just stop, everyone's laughing at you.
Philip Thompson and LuckyGuy certainly aren't even if it is mainly the left on tonight
TBF anyone to the left of you, PT and LG encompasses quite a wide spectrum of folk.
On education there are 8 state secondary schools in Dundee and 1 private. The private school, year after year, gets more passes of science subjects at higher than the other 8 put together. It gets a higher proportion of A passes than any of the other schools get passes. It teaches subjects, like economics, that are not available in any of the state schools.
The disgrace is not that the private school gets some tax relief. The disgrace is that generations of children in state schools are being failed and only the private school shows what is possible. Why do we accept such levels of performance? Why is this ok? What are we going to do about it?
Hmmm. You don't think it's anything to do with the spend per pupil?
Average uk private spend per secondary pupil per year = £14,466, state spend = £6,200.
DHS is thankfully a bit less than the average but not much. Yes spending is a part of the problem although economies of scale should reduce the differential somewhat. But as @ydoethur says, it is only a part of the problem. Our state schools are dominated by producer interests. We tolerate failure far too readily and for far too long.
The day our comprehensive school beat Dundee High in a Latin recitation competition was a sweet one. Money can't buy you everything.
I finished my education at a comprehensive in Dundee which competed seriously with DHS for the number of kids sent to Oxbridge. The performance gap, if any, was very small in those days.
On education there are 8 state secondary schools in Dundee and 1 private. The private school, year after year, gets more passes of science subjects at higher than the other 8 put together. It gets a higher proportion of A passes than any of the other schools get passes. It teaches subjects, like economics, that are not available in any of the state schools.
The disgrace is not that the private school gets some tax relief. The disgrace is that generations of children in state schools are being failed and only the private school shows what is possible. Why do we accept such levels of performance? Why is this ok? What are we going to do about it?
Hmmm. You don't think it's anything to do with the spend per pupil?
Average uk private spend per secondary pupil per year = £14,466, state spend = £6,200.
The private school wonga is going on fancy sports centres and so forth; I went to one in the 90s when the spending/fees were in line with current state school expenditure
I know more money can always help but £6,200 per pupil per year should be able to achieve a decently high level of education.
Stating the bleeding obvious here but... £6,200 per pupil doesn't mean that your little darling is getting £6,200 spent on them. Most probably the troubled kid in the class is getting £25,000 spent on them (price up the extra TA cover and management time, and that might be an understatement) and your kid is fighting for the scraps with the rest of the class.
The good parts of the state sector are extraordinarily efficient and most of the private sector is... well, I hesitate to say inefficient, but profligate. But they get around it not just because £14k gives them the headroom, but because selection (by income and by entrance exam) means they don't have to spend vast amounts on troubled kids.
A lot of state school teachers end up sending their kids to private schools. It's not a coincidence.
I struggle to see how most state school teachers could afford to send their kids to private schools, given state school teacher salaries.
Indeed! most suggests a majority, and I find that hard to believe. What is the source?
Most private school teachers that I know have their children at state schools....
The PB Corbyn mob out for HYUFD in rather the same way that the twitter mob is out for Kuenssberg tonight. Both equally unattractive
Smithson makes a fair point that Johnson needs to handle this better. But the rest of the twitter mob narrative just isnt taking hold. He was a Labour activist. Everyone now knows it. Most peoples' minds are unchanged one way or the other.
The unpleasantness of the mob is held up for all to see, though.
An interesting case study this one. The guys political persuasion and who he worked for are not really the issue although clearly someone as politically active as him will not be swayed by anything a Tory PM might say so it is to be expected that when the opportunity presented itself he let rip.The press no press thing is decidedly weird but other than that I'm not sure theres anything else anyone could or should have done. You dont remonstrate with the father of a sick child, you listen and let him have his say. The hospital has explained the reason for the staffing issues the night before but the really important thing is that, as he pointed out, his little girl nearly died but a and e were excellent and she thankfully survived and I think he said is in a better state today. The NHS did its job, and the PM has learned first hand about the frustration and anger that dealing with the NHS can bring to people in stressful situations. Strip away the flim and flam and positive things can be drawn from encounters like this. However it will all be used to portray a narrative by the press and thus utterly devalued.
Good post. The misstep remains however the there's no press comment. Even if the cameraman was a member of the public Boris should have been able to handle the situation. It was just bizarre.
Very bizarre. I'm guessing he was flustered and was trying to deny it was a press photo op but came out with what he did. Its done now and theres little point him trying to clarify. Chalk that part of it up as a Boris bungle.
PB Boris haters having another day scoffing at him. Yesterday they were cheering on the Luxembourg PM for setting up Boris. More considered commentators like the Times leader writers had a far more balanced view of the boorish and ill mannered behaviour of the Luxembourg PM, a view that will be shared by most objective readers. The PB Boris haters are so keen to criticise him for anything and everything they've lost their ability to make reasoned judgement.
They seem, literally, to have lost their minds.
The red mist is not a good lens through which to view the world. Which is probably why the remain lobby seems to be making mistake after mistake.
On education there are 8 state secondary schools in Dundee and 1 private. The private school, year after year, gets more passes of science subjects at higher than the other 8 put together. It gets a higher proportion of A passes than any of the other schools get passes. It teaches subjects, like economics, that are not available in any of the state schools.
The disgrace is not that the private school gets some tax relief. The disgrace is that generations of children in state schools are being failed and only the private school shows what is possible. Why do we accept such levels of performance? Why is this ok? What are we going to do about it?
Hmmm. You don't think it's anything to do with the spend per pupil?
Average uk private spend per secondary pupil per year = £14,466, state spend = £6,200.
The private school wonga is going on fancy sports centres and so forth; I went to one in the 90s when the spending/fees were in line with current state school expenditure
I know more money can always help but £6,200 per pupil per year should be able to achieve a decently high level of education.
Stating the bleeding obvious here but... £6,200 per pupil doesn't mean that your little darling is getting £6,200 spent on them. Most probably the troubled kid in the class is getting £25,000 spent on them (price up the extra TA cover and management time, and that might be an understatement) and your kid is fighting for the scraps with the rest of the class.
The good parts of the state sector are extraordinarily efficient and most of the private sector is... well, I hesitate to say inefficient, but profligate. But they get around it not just because £14k gives them the headroom, but because selection (by income and by entrance exam) means they don't have to spend vast amounts on troubled kids.
A lot of state school teachers end up sending their kids to private schools. It's not a coincidence.
I struggle to see how most state school teachers could afford to send their kids to private schools, given state school teacher salaries.
Indeed! most suggests a majority, and I find that hard to believe. What is the source?
Most private school teachers that I know have their children at state schools....
Tbf I used 'most' in the sense that most could not afford it.
@El_Capitano said 'A lot of state school teachers end up sending their kids to private schools', not most.
On education there are 8 state secondary schools in Dundee and 1 private. The private school, year after year, gets more passes of science subjects at higher than the other 8 put together. It gets a higher proportion of A passes than any of the other schools get passes. It teaches subjects, like economics, that are not available in any of the state schools.
The disgrace is not that the private school gets some tax relief. The disgrace is that generations of children in state schools are being failed and only the private school shows what is possible. Why do we accept such levels of performance? Why is this ok? What are we going to do about it?
Hmmm. You don't think it's anything to do with the spend per pupil?
Average uk private spend per secondary pupil per year = £14,466, state spend = £6,200.
DHS is thankfully a bit less than the average but not much. Yes spending is a part of the problem although economies of scale should reduce the differential somewhat. But as @ydoethur says, it is only a part of the problem. Our state schools are dominated by producer interests. We tolerate failure far too readily and for far too long.
The day our comprehensive school beat Dundee High in a Latin recitation competition was a sweet one. Money can't buy you everything.
I finished my education at a comprehensive in Dundee which competed seriously with DHS for the number of kids sent to Oxbridge. The performance gap, if any, was very small in those days.
The comprehensive that Fox jr went to sends more kids to Oxbridge than Leicester Grammar (private) just a couple of miles away. Not so many to medical school though.
Indeed last year, 4 from the same class in Fox jr's old primary school got into Oxbridge. It was a particuarly good year!
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
You are making a short term tactical point. To solve the NHS issues will take a 10 year minimum, multi party plan.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
Well in fairness he's hardly the only reason we cannot resolve any of our problems. The intractable division in the country plays a mighty big part of it. But he doesn't seem particularly concerned with resolving any of those problems, even if he is able, though I hope he can surprise me.
I assume it's an allusion to your party leader's campaigning abilities?
"HYUFD's a fountain of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry that moments of levity actually cause him pain; give him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
Every time you use a quote Sunil, I never have a fecking clue where it's from or what it's supposed to imply.
I understand about four in five of them and I'm not sure it's to my credit.
It was Steve Buscemi in "Con Air" (1997).
I know, I got this one. I also got the recent Die Hard, Trainspotting and Star Wars ones. They are a welcome jollity. Keep at it.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
The only way we can get a functioning government is through a GE. Unfortunately you liberals are too scared to have one.
On education there are 8 state secondary schools in Dundee and 1 private. The private school, year after year, gets more passes of science subjects at higher than the other 8 put together. It gets a higher proportion of A passes than any of the other schools get passes. It teaches subjects, like economics, that are not available in any of the state schools.
The disgrace is not that the private school gets some tax relief. The disgrace is that generations of children in state schools are being failed and only the private school shows what is possible. Why do we accept such levels of performance? Why is this ok? What are we going to do about it?
Hmmm. You don't think it's anything to do with the spend per pupil?
Average uk private spend per secondary pupil per year = £14,466, state spend = £6,200.
DHS is thankfully a bit less than the average but not much. Yes spending is a part of the problem although economies of scale should reduce the differential somewhat. But as @ydoethur says, it is only a part of the problem. Our state schools are dominated by producer interests. We tolerate failure far too readily and for far too long.
The day our comprehensive school beat Dundee High in a Latin recitation competition was a sweet one. Money can't buy you everything.
I finished my education at a comprehensive in Dundee which competed seriously with DHS for the number of kids sent to Oxbridge. The performance gap, if any, was very small in those days.
The comprehensive that Fox jr went to sends more kids to Oxbridge than Leicester Grammar (private) just a couple of miles away. Not so many to medical school though.
Indeed last year, 4 from the same class in Fox jr's old primary school got into Oxbridge. It was a particuarly good year!
Seriously impressive. The performance of private schools in England seems much more mixed and there are of course some excellent state schools. Why are they excellent despite modest resources? I would tentatively suggest the quality of leadership. Good heads are gold dust.
I assume it's an allusion to your party leader's campaigning abilities?
"HYUFD's a fountain of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry that moments of levity actually cause him pain; give him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
Every time you use a quote Sunil, I never have a fecking clue where it's from or what it's supposed to imply.
I understand about four in five of them and I'm not sure it's to my credit.
It was Steve Buscemi in "Con Air" (1997).
I know, I got this one. I also got the recent Die Hard, Trainspotting and Star Wars ones. They are a welcome jollity. Keep at it.
Dead cat in the room! This isn’t the first time this is orchestrated to do least damage to Boris Johnson
Quite right. She has no need to apologise for anything
This is a disgraceful statement. At the bare minimum, you should've suspended her. I can't wait for BBC reforms!!!!!
Such unity.
Honestly, I don't know how people get so worked up on twitter. It's hard enough work getting worked up on PB, but the outrage levels (usually) are so much higher on social media, it looks exhausting.
PB Boris haters having another day scoffing at him. Yesterday they were cheering on the Luxembourg PM for setting up Boris. More considered commentators like the Times leader writers had a far more balanced view of the boorish and ill mannered behaviour of the Luxembourg PM, a view that will be shared by most objective readers. The PB Boris haters are so keen to criticise him for anything and everything they've lost their ability to make reasoned judgement.
It's the opposite. Johnson is so dishonest and so incompetent, in another place or in other times he would be out the door by now. Yet for people like yourself, who aren't few in number, none of this matters.
PB Boris haters having another day scoffing at him. Yesterday they were cheering on the Luxembourg PM for setting up Boris. More considered commentators like the Times leader writers had a far more balanced view of the boorish and ill mannered behaviour of the Luxembourg PM, a view that will be shared by most objective readers. The PB Boris haters are so keen to criticise him for anything and everything they've lost their ability to make reasoned judgement.
Agree. And I'm not even sure that Boris' failure to deal with these situations with slick aplomb will do him any harm.
His kid is clearly poorly and it's not really on to have a go at him personally for having a moan to the PM, even if it's wholly misdirected in the circumstances. The PM has to just take that sort of thing in his stride, make nice noises about record NHS spending and tell him his thoughts are with them. News editor runs a tried and tested story called Minister Looks A Tit, nobody actually cares. Docs and nurses go back to tending the sick, No10 thanks them for their hard work in public statement.
The idea that Salem's criticism of the PM is less valid because he's an opposition activist has some small merit, but that shouldn't extend to being actively shitty towards the chap.
I think the man's behaviour was, and continues to be, apalling. I only hope his daughter was completely out of the woods before he decided to use her as a political football.
In what sense has he used her as a political football?
Because he used her plight to justify his attack, which would otherwise have appeared nakedly political.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
You are making a short term tactical point. To solve the NHS issues will take a 10 year minimum, multi party plan.
Dead cat in the room! This isn’t the first time this is orchestrated to do least damage to Boris Johnson
Quite right. She has no need to apologise for anything
This is a disgraceful statement. At the bare minimum, you should've suspended her. I can't wait for BBC reforms!!!!!
Such unity.
Honestly, I don't know how people get so worked up on twitter. It's hard enough work getting worked up on PB, but the outrage levels (usually) are so much higher on social media, it looks exhausting.
Yes. Doesn't mean he should have been there. Doesn't mean that there is not something rancid about politicians using people and children who are suffering as props (or policemen for that matter). But some humanity in recognising that the person concerned was distressed and rightly so.
Laura K’s chief transgression in life is being a shit journalist. She almost never breaks any good stories and relies on government (or sometimes opposition) spin and pick and mix social media fluff for her lines. She is mediocre in the extreme.
I am not, to state things at their very mildest, a fan of Boris Johnson but I do not think he handled this hospital incident particularly badly. Certainly if I were one of those strange and unfathomable creatures we call 'floating voters' I would not, having viewed it on TV, be less inclined to vote for him than I was before.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
The only way we can get a functioning government is through a GE. Unfortunately you liberals are too scared to have one.
Maybe if Boris had not sanctioned £100 million of Government advertising on Brexit to run concurrently with his original electoral plan you would have a point. But his plot failed, you will likely get your election but it won't be on his terms or with the benefit of the Government manipulating the people with short-term giveaways. Boris cannot get a QS through the Commons, which means no tax cuts or public spending increases...
I assume it's an allusion to your party leader's campaigning abilities?
"HYUFD's a fountain of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry that moments of levity actually cause him pain; give him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
Every time you use a quote Sunil, I never have a fecking clue where it's from or what it's supposed to imply.
I understand about four in five of them and I'm not sure it's to my credit.
It was Steve Buscemi in "Con Air" (1997).
I know, I got this one. I also got the recent Die Hard, Trainspotting and Star Wars ones. They are a welcome jollity. Keep at it.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
You are making a short term tactical point. To solve the NHS issues will take a 10 year minimum, multi party plan.
Multi-party? So it needs a miracle then?
I am sad to say yes. The politicisation of the last 20 years has done immense damage.
Laura K’s chief transgression in life is being a shit journalist. She almost never breaks any good stories and relies on government (or sometimes opposition) spin and pick and mix social media fluff for her lines. She is mediocre in the extreme.
I agree with that overall, although I did think she was quite good pressing Boris after the Luxembourg no-show.
Looking at the two LK tweets on the Boris hospital spat they seem fair to me.
I presume none have been deleted?
The accusations against her are doxing the father but she merely linked his Twitter thread which others had too, and pointing out hes an activist which seems fair enough for completeness in reporting, even the Mirror added it to the story.
I honestly find that repugnant. Is the man’s daughter ill? Is she receiving treatment? How the f*** is that a set up then?
It is of course ridiculous to hold the PM responsible for an alleged shortage of staff on a particular ward. It is equally appalling to use sick kids as some sort of prop to show how you “care”. Pretending it’s not a PR stunt when it so obviously is is pretty contemptible. Politicians who play with fire occasionally get burnt. It goes with the territory.
Thousands of parents have kids in hospital everyday, most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting
The reason why "most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting" is because he is not visiting the hospital at the same time as them
I realise you are an adherent of Boris but surely you must realise that the scenario you have outlined is simply not possible.
This guy was a Labour activist with an agenda, I notice no other parents of patients bothered to leave their kids bedside to rant with the PM
Man with history of political activism has the confidence to tell public figure their opinion?
Other News at 10.
Seriously mate. Get a grip. This is pathetic.
Man with history of Labour activism seeks a political stunt.
I assume it's an allusion to your party leader's campaigning abilities?
"HYUFD's a fountain of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry that moments of levity actually cause him pain; give him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
Every time you use a quote Sunil, I never have a fecking clue where it's from or what it's supposed to imply.
I understand about four in five of them and I'm not sure it's to my credit.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
We lack a functioning Government because you Liberal Democrats apparently hate democracy and are running scared of an election.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
You are making a short term tactical point. To solve the NHS issues will take a 10 year minimum, multi party plan.
Multi-party? So it needs a miracle then?
I am sad to say yes. The politicisation of the last 20 years has done immense damage.
I am not, to state things at their very mildest, a fan of Boris Johnson but I do not think he handled this hospital incident particularly badly. Certainly if I were one of those strange and unfathomable creatures we call 'floating voters' I would not, having viewed it on TV, be less inclined to vote for him than I was before.
It does seem to be a bit of a theme, though, member of the public remonstrating with him and him coming across as a bit shifty. Today was a drip, but it's been drip drip drip. Now he's out of the relatively chummy university debating arena that was the leadership contest and into the messy world of public interactions, he's looking increasingly like a second-rater. The fury of the Boris fans tells you something about their perception of this vulnerability. The freeze frame of the guy's belt ("it's a microphone!") and so on... this looks like damage limitation rather than shrugging off a trifle.
It is not possible for him to have arranged for his daughter to be seriously ill on the same date and time that Boris turned up on a publicity visit that he couldn't possibly have known about in advance.
Your conclusion is obviously gibberish and speaks poorly of you.
It is possible for his daughter to be ill, coincidentally find out that the PM is visiting the same hospital then for partisan reasons take the opportunity to ambush him which has presented itself before you though.
The father had a genuine reason to be in the hospital; Boris was there for publicity...
Unless you want a privatised healthcare system and the government to take a totally hands-off approach to healthcare then publicity is a genuine reason for politicians to go to visit hospitals.
Is that what you want? Will you condemn MPs of all parties for visiting hospitals? Do you want to take politics, and thus taxes, out of the NHS?
Think carefully about what you're saying.
Doesn't Boris have a Queen's Speech to prepare for? He seems to need 5 weeks for it, should he be wasting time on jolly jaunts to hospitals instead?
I would say BBC News somewhat deflecting here, which in turn suggests implicit acknowledgement of an issue with Kuenssberg's reporting of the story. The accusation against Kuenssberg isn't malicious intent. The accusation is of poor editorial judgement that allowed a largely irrelevant detail about the parent's political background dominate a story about Johnson's visit to the hospital.
I am not, to state things at their very mildest, a fan of Boris Johnson but I do not think he handled this hospital incident particularly badly. Certainly if I were one of those strange and unfathomable creatures we call 'floating voters' I would not, having viewed it on TV, be less inclined to vote for him than I was before.
It does seem to be a bit of a theme, though, member of the public remonstrating with him and him coming across as a bit shifty. Today was a drip, but it's been drip drip drip. Now he's out of the relatively chummy university debating arena that was the leadership contest and into the messy world of public interactions, he's looking increasingly like a second-rater. The fury of the Boris fans tells you something about their perception of this vulnerability. The freeze frame of the guy's belt ("it's a microphone!") and so on... this looks like damage limitation rather than shrugging off a trifle.
Indeed and he is controlling the negotiation- not the Finnish PM.
I don't believe the over the top pro-BJ propaganda in the Brexit supporting media, a point will come when even those who believe it at the moment will come to resent the folly they preach...
On education there are 8 state secondary schools in Dundee and 1 private. The private school, year after year, gets more passes of science subjects at higher than the other 8 put together. It gets a higher proportion of A passes than any of the other schools get passes. It teaches subjects, like economics, that are not available in any of the state schools.
The disgrace is not that the private school gets some tax relief. The disgrace is that generations of children in state schools are being failed and only the private school shows what is possible. Why do we accept such levels of performance? Why is this ok? What are we going to do about it?
Is this one of these trick questions where we pretend the spend per pupil doesn't have an effect, the ability of the private school to exclude potential problem pupils to have an 'ideal' student body and the highly motivated parents are all immaterial?
On education there are 8 state secondary schools in Dundee and 1 private. The private school, year after year, gets more passes of science subjects at higher than the other 8 put together. It gets a higher proportion of A passes than any of the other schools get passes. It teaches subjects, like economics, that are not available in any of the state schools.
The disgrace is not that the private school gets some tax relief. The disgrace is that generations of children in state schools are being failed and only the private school shows what is possible. Why do we accept such levels of performance? Why is this ok? What are we going to do about it?
Hmmm. You don't think it's anything to do with the spend per pupil?
Average uk private spend per secondary pupil per year = £14,466, state spend = £6,200.
DHS is thankfully a bit less than the average but not much. Yes spending is a part of the problem although economies of scale should reduce the differential somewhat. But as @ydoethur says, it is only a part of the problem. Our state schools are dominated by producer interests. We tolerate failure far too readily and for far too long.
The day our comprehensive school beat Dundee High in a Latin recitation competition was a sweet one. Money can't buy you everything.
I finished my education at a comprehensive in Dundee which competed seriously with DHS for the number of kids sent to Oxbridge. The performance gap, if any, was very small in those days.
The comprehensive that Fox jr went to sends more kids to Oxbridge than Leicester Grammar (private) just a couple of miles away. Not so many to medical school though.
Indeed last year, 4 from the same class in Fox jr's old primary school got into Oxbridge. It was a particuarly good year!
Seriously impressive. The performance of private schools in England seems much more mixed and there are of course some excellent state schools. Why are they excellent despite modest resources? I would tentatively suggest the quality of leadership. Good heads are gold dust.
Oadby schools are generally very good, in the City a bit more variable, but Fox jrs school is a genuine comprehensive.
House prices in Oadby are a little higher than Leicester City, but 3 bed semis in the catchment area are about £250 k.
I would say BBC News somewhat deflecting here, which in turn suggests implicit acknowledgement of an issue with Kuenssberg's reporting of the story. The accusation against Kuenssberg isn't malicious intent. The accusation is of poor editorial judgement that allowed a largely irrelevant detail about the parent's political background dominate a story about Johnson's visit to the hospital.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
We lack a functioning Government because you Liberal Democrats apparently hate democracy and are running scared of an election.
CPI inflation fell to 1.7% in August, meaning wages are growing at about 2.2% above wider inflation. I'm old enough to remember the times when that would be the headline news.
I would say BBC News somewhat deflecting here, which in turn suggests implicit acknowledgement of an issue with Kuenssberg's reporting of the story. The accusation against Kuenssberg isn't malicious intent. The accusation is of poor editorial judgement that allowed a largely irrelevant detail about the parent's political background dominate a story about Johnson's visit to the hospital.
'Largely irrelevant' the political background of this diehard Labour activist was the entire reason this story even emerged in the first place due to his Corbynista rant against the PM
I honestly find that repugnant. Is the man’s daughter ill? Is she receiving treatment? How the f*** is that a set up then?
Thousands of parents have kids in hospital everyday, most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting
The reason why "most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting" is because he is not visiting the hospital at the same time as them
I realise you are an adherent of Boris but surely you must realise that the scenario you have outlined is simply not possible.
This guy was a Labour activist with an agenda, I notice no other parents of patients bothered to leave their kids bedside to rant with the PM
Man with history of political activism has the confidence to tell public figure their opinion?
Other News at 10.
Seriously mate. Get a grip. This is pathetic.
Man with history of Labour activism seeks a political stunt.
I assume it's an allusion to your party leader's campaigning abilities?
"HYUFD's a fountain of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry that moments of levity actually cause him pain; give him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
Every time you use a quote Sunil, I never have a fecking clue where it's from or what it's supposed to imply.
I understand about four in five of them and I'm not sure it's to my credit.
It was Steve Buscemi in "Con Air" (1997).
One of the best bad films ever made.
"They somehow managed to get every Brexiteer and Leaver in the universe onto this one plane. And then somehow managed to let them take it over. And then somehow managed to stick us right smack in the middle."
I would say BBC News somewhat deflecting here, which in turn suggests implicit acknowledgement of an issue with Kuenssberg's reporting of the story. The accusation against Kuenssberg isn't malicious intent. The accusation is of poor editorial judgement that allowed a largely irrelevant detail about the parent's political background dominate a story about Johnson's visit to the hospital.
'Largely irrelevant' the political background of this diehard Labour activist was the entire reason this story even emerged in the first place due to his Corbynista rant against the PM
Well, I guess we should be grateful that you gave up on the 'microphone truther' angle.
I think Boris meant to say it wasn't a press conference, but it came out wrong *ducks behind sofa*
The version I heard was that he meant they weren't press journalists but broadcast media.
That's what I assumed - since he worked in print media he doesn't think of TV bods as being the press. This is one of the big differences with Trump, who is a TV guy through and through. Johnson is a newspapers guy, in an era when nobody reads newspapers.
It does seem to be a bit of a theme, though, member of the public remonstrating with him and him coming across as a bit shifty. Today was a drip, but it's been drip drip drip. Now he's out of the relatively chummy university debating arena that was the leadership contest and into the messy world of public interactions, he's looking increasingly like a second-rater. The fury of the Boris fans tells you something about their perception of this vulnerability. The freeze frame of the guy's belt ("it's a microphone!") and so on... this looks like damage limitation rather than shrugging off a trifle.
He is very good in unstructured situations so long as the atmosphere is lighthearted. Clowning around in a fish factory, that sort of thing. Without wanting to get too Carly Simon about it, nobody does it better.
But if the setting is serious and/or hostile he often struggles.
My view of the chap that confronted Boris is that he would have been far more successful if he had made his point in a polite and focused manner.
If he had of approached Boris and said "I see you are here with the CEO of the hospital and i have been telling him that the ward where my daughter is being treated is under staffed. Can you PM raised this with him and try to get it fixed."
I think the public would support this approach, but I think the public are just sick o the ping pong attacks that solve nothing.
PM get's lectured shock! TM did not seem to get them but I can remember many of the incidents from Cameron to Blair. If party supporters are so thinned skinned they cannot allow any criticism they should stop getting involved in politics. Instead of slagging off a concerned parent, those who have been in power for the last 9 years should be saying what would you like us to do? Boris screwed up by not telling the truth. Sometimes it is better to own up to a mistake than protest innocence...
You are making my point, this is now not about how to solve the problems in the NHS it is now about pro Boris or anti Boris. That scenario solves nothing.
Your Mr Johnson - and his antics - is the reason why we as a country cannot now resolve any of our problems. We do not have a functioning government.
We lack a functioning Government because you Liberal Democrats apparently hate democracy and are running scared of an election.
Bollocks to democracy.
"We had to destroy Prorogue democracy to save it!"
I would say BBC News somewhat deflecting here, which in turn suggests implicit acknowledgement of an issue with Kuenssberg's reporting of the story. The accusation against Kuenssberg isn't malicious intent. The accusation is of poor editorial judgement that allowed a largely irrelevant detail about the parent's political background dominate a story about Johnson's visit to the hospital.
'Largely irrelevant' the political background of this diehard Labour activist was the entire reason this story even emerged in the first place due to his Corbynista rant against the PM
You're overcommitting to this. Even Boris Johnson's twitter account said he was "glad this gentleman told me his problems". His political background doesn't invalidate his voice. Labour voters' views are just as important as anyone else's.
Looking at the Pro Brexit media and their utilisation of countdown clocks makes me wonder if someone needs to start counting up the number of Whoppers Boris utters each day! I take a dim view of BJ trying to project an image that involves seriously ill children. Where is the limit to how low he will go? Next he will be visiting mortuary's and posing for pictures with those who cannot object...
I honestly find that repugnant. Is the man’s daughter ill? Is she receiving treatment? How the f*** is that a set up then?
Thousands of parents have kids in hospital everyday, most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting
The reason why "most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting" is because he is not visiting the hospital at the same time as them
I realise you are an adherent of Boris but surely you must realise that the scenario you have outlined is simply not possible.
This guy was a Labour activist with an agenda, I notice no other parents of patients bothered to leave their kids bedside to rant with the PM
Man with history of political activism has the confidence to tell public figure their opinion?
Other News at 10.
Seriously mate. Get a grip. This is pathetic.
Man with history of Labour activism seeks a political stunt.
I assume it's an allusion to your party leader's campaigning abilities?
"HYUFD's a fountain of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry that moments of levity actually cause him pain; give him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
Every time you use a quote Sunil, I never have a fecking clue where it's from or what it's supposed to imply.
I understand about four in five of them and I'm not sure it's to my credit.
It was Steve Buscemi in "Con Air" (1997).
One of the best bad films ever made.
"They somehow managed to get every Brexiteer and Leaver in the universe onto this one plane. And then somehow managed to let them take it over. And then somehow managed to stick us right smack in the middle."
It does seem to be a bit of a theme, though, member of the public remonstrating with him and him coming across as a bit shifty. Today was a drip, but it's been drip drip drip. Now he's out of the relatively chummy university debating arena that was the leadership contest and into the messy world of public interactions, he's looking increasingly like a second-rater. The fury of the Boris fans tells you something about their perception of this vulnerability. The freeze frame of the guy's belt ("it's a microphone!") and so on... this looks like damage limitation rather than shrugging off a trifle.
He is very good in unstructured situations so long as the atmosphere is lighthearted. Clowning around in a fish factory, that sort of thing. Without wanting to get too Carly Simon about it, nobody does it better.
But if the setting is serious and/or hostile he often struggles.
Since becoming PM Boris has improved his net approval rating with the public from -21% to -16%.
Corbyn on the other hand is still stuck on an abysmal -49%
I honestly find that repugnant. Is the man’s daughter ill? Is she receiving treatment? How the f*** is that a set up then?
Thousands of parents have kids in hospital everyday, most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting
The reason why "most of them spend their time with their kids not going on ideological rants against the prime minister to push a political agenda just as he happens to be visiting" is because he is not visiting the hospital at the same time as them
I realise you are an adherent of Boris but surely you must realise that the scenario you have outlined is simply not possible.
This guy was a Labour activist with an agenda, I notice no other parents of patients bothered to leave their kids bedside to rant with the PM
Man with history of political activism has the confidence to tell public figure their opinion?
Other News at 10.
Seriously mate. Get a grip. This is pathetic.
Man with history of Labour activism seeks a political stunt.
I assume it's an allusion to your party leader's campaigning abilities?
"HYUFD's a fountain of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry that moments of levity actually cause him pain; give him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
Every time you use a quote Sunil, I never have a fecking clue where it's from or what it's supposed to imply.
I understand about four in five of them and I'm not sure it's to my credit.
It was Steve Buscemi in "Con Air" (1997).
One of the best bad films ever made.
"They somehow managed to get every Brexiteer and Leaver in the universe onto this one plane. And then somehow managed to let them take it over. And then somehow managed to stick us right smack in the middle."
The more I think about it the more furious I am that a Labour activist’s child dared to get a life-threatening condition just before Boris Johnson went looking for photo opportunities in the hospital she ended up in. These people hate Britain.
On topic: Some observations on the Boris encounter with the Labour activist father:
1. The guy attacking Boris seemed completely genuine. Labour activist as be might be, this clearly wasn't set up, and he clearly was genuinely angry (though very probably not justifiably so).
2. If it had just been a rant, well, politicians get lots of those (Blair, Brown and Cameron were all ambushed with NHS-related rants). What made this special was the fact that Boris handled it so badly. Firstly he bumbles and mumbles, then he comes out with the utterly bizarre line about no press being present, then, when he's unsurprisingly picked up on that, he bumbles more and then turns to the cameras with his trademark impish grin.
3. Thinking about how a skilled politician such as Blair or Cameron would have handled it, I think the big missing ingredient is that Boris doesn't engage in any way with the ranter. He doesn't ask any questions, he doesn't offer anything, he does nothing to disarm and charm the guy. OK, that's not at all an easy thing to do, but isn't folksy charm supposed to be Boris's strength, the one which will win over Labour-inclined voters?
We lack a functioning Government because you Liberal Democrats apparently hate democracy and are running scared of an election.
Bollocks to democracy.
What about the 300+ Conservative MPs? Were they a disciplined and loyal party they'd have had the numbers to make Leave happen but instead they are more interested in their internal divisions than respecting the result of the referendum.
If anyone has disrespected democracy, it's the Conservative Party which was so principled it declared neutrality in the 2016 Referendum and now lambasts those who took a side and a view. As usual, Conservatives try to play both sides and somehow expect the rest of us to sort out their mess.
The sooner the Party schisms the better for all of us.
I’m afraid this is just the loony Corbynista left once again trying to discredit Laura Kuenssberg simply because they don’t like her. The idiots have now made this the story.
I would say BBC News somewhat deflecting here, which in turn suggests implicit acknowledgement of an issue with Kuenssberg's reporting of the story. The accusation against Kuenssberg isn't malicious intent. The accusation is of poor editorial judgement that allowed a largely irrelevant detail about the parent's political background dominate a story about Johnson's visit to the hospital.
'Largely irrelevant' the political background of this diehard Labour activist was the entire reason this story even emerged in the first place due to his Corbynista rant against the PM
You're overcommitting to this. Even Boris Johnson's twitter account said he was "glad this gentleman told me his problems". .
This is where those overeager to prove their loyalty and dedication overstep, and either must roll back when the deity does not go as far, or they themselves are implicitly criticising their great hero who has not engaged in the same response.
Other than the press comment being odd there's not actually much in this story - when we hear that there is a story about someone speaking to a politician its not like we expect it to be them saying what a great job that politician is doing.
I'm not clued enough about twitter mechanics to judge, but even at the time it did seem rather abrupt and dismissive.
Come on. If it had been the other way round, a Tory activist haranguing Jeremy Corbyn, everyone would have been crowing about it. British politics is totally tribal now, which is not good.
I would say BBC News somewhat deflecting here, which in turn suggests implicit acknowledgement of an issue with Kuenssberg's reporting of the story. The accusation against Kuenssberg isn't malicious intent. The accusation is of poor editorial judgement that allowed a largely irrelevant detail about the parent's political background dominate a story about Johnson's visit to the hospital.
'Largely irrelevant' the political background of this diehard Labour activist was the entire reason this story even emerged in the first place due to his Corbynista rant against the PM
You're overcommitting to this. Even Boris Johnson's twitter account said he was "glad this gentleman told me his problems". His political background doesn't invalidate his voice. Labour voters' views are just as important as anyone else's.
Comments
Most private school teachers that I know have their children at state schools....
Smithson makes a fair point that Johnson needs to handle this better. But the rest of the twitter mob narrative just isnt taking hold. He was a Labour activist. Everyone now knows it. Most peoples' minds are unchanged one way or the other.
The unpleasantness of the mob is held up for all to see, though.
The red mist is not a good lens through which to view the world. Which is probably why the remain lobby seems to be making mistake after mistake.
In any case, enter the dragon!
@El_Capitano said 'A lot of state school teachers end up sending their kids to private schools', not most.
Indeed last year, 4 from the same class in Fox jr's old primary school got into Oxbridge. It was a particuarly good year!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U63buhiMDbY
Dead cat in the room! This isn’t the first time this is orchestrated to do least damage to Boris Johnson
Quite right. She has no need to apologise for anything
This is a disgraceful statement. At the bare minimum, you should've suspended her. I can't wait for BBC reforms!!!!!
Such unity.
Honestly, I don't know how people get so worked up on twitter. It's hard enough work getting worked up on PB, but the outrage levels (usually) are so much higher on social media, it looks exhausting.
What's the matter with you????
You're a DISGRACE!!!!
I presume none have been deleted?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentalism
The fury of the Boris fans tells you something about their perception of this vulnerability. The freeze frame of the guy's belt ("it's a microphone!") and so on... this looks like damage limitation rather than shrugging off a trifle.
Jezza is sitting on the fence over whether he will continue to sit on the fence.
This isn't me taking the piss - reported on News at Ten!
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/18/press-opportunity-johnsons-most-awkward-moments-with-hecklers-so-far
American Gigolo for me.
Terrible movie.
Seen it at least 10 times. Would watch it again right now if it came on.
House prices in Oadby are a little higher than Leicester City, but 3 bed semis in the catchment area are about £250 k.
But that's a damn good reconstruction Sky have done in the thread header video.
I think the more generous interpretation (which I'd probably believe) is he felt awkward and was just spluttering out words without thinking.
It May not come till the spring or later?
https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/1174318249460281346
and then linked to his twitter account.
I'm not clued enough about twitter mechanics to judge, but even at the time it did seem rather abrupt and dismissive.
But if the setting is serious and/or hostile he often struggles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV_TG7ooF9E
Corbyn on the other hand is still stuck on an abysmal -49%
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/09/17/despite-difficulties-parliament-boris-has-grown-po
1. The guy attacking Boris seemed completely genuine. Labour activist as be might be, this clearly wasn't set up, and he clearly was genuinely angry (though very probably not justifiably so).
2. If it had just been a rant, well, politicians get lots of those (Blair, Brown and Cameron were all ambushed with NHS-related rants). What made this special was the fact that Boris handled it so badly. Firstly he bumbles and mumbles, then he comes out with the utterly bizarre line about no press being present, then, when he's unsurprisingly picked up on that, he bumbles more and then turns to the cameras with his trademark impish grin.
3. Thinking about how a skilled politician such as Blair or Cameron would have handled it, I think the big missing ingredient is that Boris doesn't engage in any way with the ranter. He doesn't ask any questions, he doesn't offer anything, he does nothing to disarm and charm the guy. OK, that's not at all an easy thing to do, but isn't folksy charm supposed to be Boris's strength, the one which will win over Labour-inclined voters?
If anyone has disrespected democracy, it's the Conservative Party which was so principled it declared neutrality in the 2016 Referendum and now lambasts those who took a side and a view. As usual, Conservatives try to play both sides and somehow expect the rest of us to sort out their mess.
The sooner the Party schisms the better for all of us.
Other than the press comment being odd there's not actually much in this story - when we hear that there is a story about someone speaking to a politician its not like we expect it to be them saying what a great job that politician is doing.