So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
A Tory leader who just won a majority and a fourth consecutive term can move mountains within the party. Victory excuses all faults, defeat erases all virtues: see a certain T. May.
David Cameron won a majority in 2015 and was still forced into a referendum by the Eurosceptic right. The idea that they will play nice if Johnson seeks a two year extension and integration with the EU is for the birds. Since Major the Tory party has always seen leaders replaced by someone more hardline on Europe. Johnson will be looking over his shoulder constantly and knows that any hint of "vassalage" (aka not committing economic hari-kari) will lead to his rapid defenestration.
Er, not quite. The referendum was the centrepiece of his 2015 manifesto!
You cannot be taken seriously on this, I'm afraid. The bias is too strong.
But you can when it comes to predictions. So, say the big man gets acquitted but dropped by the Republicans - I know I know, but just say that he does - does he run as an independent?
I don't give a rats ass if I'm taken seriously on it, I'm clearly not in the league of the legal and constitutional experts on here so why would I even try? The hilarious level of hatred he inspires is thoroughly bizarre. To answer your question he wont get dropped but if he did I neither know nor care if he would run as an independent. I suspect it will be moot and the loathing that will have been uncovered in the Democrats due to their dirty tricks and crimes will see him romp home. If I'm wrong you can all have a good chuckle at my expense, but dont for one moment think that the democrats arent actively shitting it about the investigations underway.
Having said that I think I will stick to uk matters, I'm not gonna convince the trump haters and they arent going to convince me. There will be no conviction, he will run in 2020 and it will be a long old 5 years if we keep having this discussion.
I have been an Anyone But Trump from the day of his announcement on. During the campaign against Hillary, I joked "Vote Trump, He'll Be Easier to Impeach". But I had not reckoned with the extraordinary moral contortions the Congressional GOP would go to in order to defend Trump (or more accurately, to avoid deselection by Trump backers and to hold onto GOP control of the Senate).
All that said, I fear Woolie is right. There is no way that this Senate will remove Trump from office on the basis of evidence that they claim may be unprecedented - morally wrong, even - but not criminal and not reaching the bar of 'high crimes and misdemeanors'. Whatever we may think of the quality of the existing evidence in Schiff's report, and CNN's and MSNBC's daily hysteria, it will take new evidence that the Congressional GOP and, more importantly, those voters identifying as Independents or Establishment GOP, consider a smoking gun. There is nothing on the table that meets that bar - yet (we can live in hope).
So, absent such new evidence, Trump will survive impeachment and will be the GOP candidate.
And if he is up against Warren or Sanders, he will win. And impeachment proceedings will damage the Democrats. And they will give Trump a year of throwing out hand grenades to see which ones hit the target.
How on Earth is use of his political office to benefit his personal interests, via the blackmailing of a foreign power to corrupt their justice system NOT reaching the bar of "misdemeanor"?
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
It is always nice to see the Economist agreeing with what I said a couple of weeks ago (and was poo-poo-ed for by the PB Tories)
A vote for Johnson is a vote for No Deal because the deadlines are impossible to
eet.
Just like it was impossible to re-open the withdrawal agreement?
You cannot be taken seriously on this, I'm afraid. The bias is too strong.
But you can when it comes to predictions. So, say the big man gets acquitted but dropped by the Republicans - I know I know, but just say that he does - does he run as an independent?
We have a call transcript documenting the quid pro quo. We have the man making the quid pro quo saying yes it was a quid pro quo and it came from the president. We have the firing of the former ambassador so the man who made the quid pro quo could be in place. We have the cover up by trying to stash the call transcript on a hidden server. We have the president making the demand in the quid pro quo on live TV. We have the obstruction of justice by blocking all witnesses and subpoenaed documents. What more evidence could we possibly get?
And yet quid pro quo wont appear on the impeachment articles. How strange,
Indeed, the Sondland quid pro quo remark is deliberately taken out of context. The overall context of his remarks was 'of course there was a quid pro quo for a meeting at the White House. Every meeting at the White House comes with a quid pro quo."
Interesting that neither Boris or Jezza have spent that much time in the Midlands, and virtually none in the West Midlands (that used to be thought of where you had to win, to win the GE). A lot in the North East and Scotland for Jezza. North East and South West for Boris. And no interest in Wales.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
David Cameron won a majority in 2015 and was still forced into a referendum by the Eurosceptic right. The idea that they will play nice if Johnson seeks a two year extension and integration with the EU is for the birds. Since Major the Tory party has always seen leaders replaced by someone more hardline on Europe. Johnson will be looking over his shoulder constantly and knows that any hint of "vassalage" (aka not committing economic hari-kari) will lead to his rapid defenestration.
He won in 2015 promising a referendum!
It wasn't so much Cameron's promise of a referendum that won it for the Conservatives. It was Ed Miliband's failure to match that promise which allowed it to become an issue dividing the parties. In early 2013, Labour voters were in favour of a referendum by 52% to 29%.
By contrast, in 2001, Labour neutralised Hague's attempts to make the Euro an election issue, after promising a referendum even if Labour decided that it would be in the UK's interests to join.
How on Earth is use of his political office to benefit his personal interests, via the blackmailing of a foreign power to corrupt their justice system NOT reaching the bar of "misdemeanor"?
That is your opinion, and my opinion. But strangely, our opinions are not the ones that matter.
We have a Shadow Chancellor in this country that is a fan of Chairman Mao and we have someone here on the left wants to talk about people going hungry? Don't be farcical, have a look at the hunger that Chairman Mao led to then come back to us . . .
Neoliberalism doesn't cause hunger. Extremist Marxism always has.
In which case you don't consider that the DDR was an extreme Marxist system. For all it's faults the DDR was always able to feed its population adequately. Coffee was difficult to find though!
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
10 seems unreasonable. 1 or 2 would be safer for the country.
David Cameron won a majority in 2015 and was still forced into a referendum by the Eurosceptic right. The idea that they will play nice if Johnson seeks a two year extension and integration with the EU is for the birds. Since Major the Tory party has always seen leaders replaced by someone more hardline on Europe. Johnson will be looking over his shoulder constantly and knows that any hint of "vassalage" (aka not committing economic hari-kari) will lead to his rapid defenestration.
He won in 2015 promising a referendum!
It wasn't so much Cameron's promise of a referendum that won it for the Conservatives. It was Ed Miliband's failure to match that promise which allowed it to become an issue dividing the parties. In early 2013, Labour voters were in favour of a referendum by 52% to 29%.
By contrast, in 2001, Labour neutralised Hague's attempts to make the Euro an election issue, after promising a referendum even if Labour decided that it would be in the UK's interests to join.
Not to forget the Lib Dems were campaigning for one in 2010 but then swiftly forgot that!
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
The larger the majority the more likely of a schism in labour
David Cameron won a majority in 2015 and was still forced into a referendum by the Eurosceptic right. The idea that they will play nice if Johnson seeks a two year extension and integration with the EU is for the birds. Since Major the Tory party has always seen leaders replaced by someone more hardline on Europe. Johnson will be looking over his shoulder constantly and knows that any hint of "vassalage" (aka not committing economic hari-kari) will lead to his rapid defenestration.
He won in 2015 promising a referendum!
It wasn't so much Cameron's promise of a referendum that won it for the Conservatives. It was Ed Miliband's failure to match that promise which allowed it to become an issue dividing the parties. In early 2013, Labour voters were in favour of a referendum by 52% to 29%.
By contrast, in 2001, Labour neutralised Hague's attempts to make the Euro an election issue, after promising a referendum even if Labour decided that it would be in the UK's interests to join.
Most people didn't give a shit about Europe at that time, so I doubt it made any difference at all. Ed Miliband was a figure of fun, that was why he lost. Europe only became an issue to the average man on the Clapham Omnibus when the divisive 2016 referendum made it so.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
Yes, the only way Corbyn resigns is if we get a 1983, or a reverse 1997 result.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
A Tory leader who just won a majority and a fourth consecutive term can move mountains within the party. Victory excuses all faults, defeat erases all virtues: see a certain T. May.
What happens if the landslide/largish majority doesn't happen? What if it is a majority of, say 10?
He'll get Brexit 'done' but it'll be another weak government. He's got rid of the remainers in the party though.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
10 seems unreasonable. 1 or 2 would be safer for the country.
Not safe at all - basic logic tells you that Boris would be in thrall to the most bizarre whims of every single MP in his party. A sizeable majority is far safer.
Agree with most of this. We risk looking back on Ed Miliband with rose-tinted glasses; but in 2015 we were talking about how poorly Metropolitan Labour played with small town England, and I suspect that would still be the case with an Ed Miliband now.
But whe I know you've always predicted a Con majority of around 60, I just don't see it. Too many voters in places like Don Valley and Stoke will still vote Labour despite Jeremy. Most of those who will vote Con for Brexit in these seats had drifted away from Lab some time ago. It will be very, very tight.
"Red Ed", as I recall, with his Marxist "Britain hating" roots and his "dangerous socialist" ideas on interfering in the energy market.
Re the result, C60 is still where I am, perhaps higher. I sense those Lab Leavers in the North, and most particularly in the Midlands, are going to go blue for Boris and Brexit. Wallet aside, since I haven't closed out, I hope that I'm wrong and you are right.
So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
A Tory leader who just won a majority and a fourth consecutive term can move mountains within the party. Victory excuses all faults, defeat erases all virtues: see a certain T. May.
David Cameron won a majority in 2015 and was still forced into a referendum by the Eurosceptic right. The idea that they will play nice if Johnson seeks a two year extension and integration with the EU is for the birds. Since Major the Tory party has always seen leaders replaced by someone more hardline on Europe. Johnson will be looking over his shoulder constantly and knows that any hint of "vassalage" (aka not committing economic hari-kari) will lead to his rapid defenestration.
Er, not quite. The referendum was the centrepiece of his 2015 manifesto!
Quite correct. The temporary collapse of the Conservatives under May is an indication of what would have happened if Cameron went to all out war with conservatives inside the Conservative party instead of conceding.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
I'm not sure its at all possible, the labour party has lurched hugely to the left, and activists are much more motivated by that.
Ther'es no sign of a Blair Mk2, or even a Kinnock getting in at the moment.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
They thought that last time, but you might be right. What I find odd about extreme lefties is that people who follow a creed that is intrinsically negative and whingeing can be so absurdly optimistic about Jeremy Corbyn ffs!
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
If the Michael Foot defeat is anything to go by then the reaction was, one more heave, voters didn't understand our manifesto ,we need to explain it more clearly next time etc.
Will Momentum let them change the way they elect their leader as they are now in control of the party?
So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
A Tory leader who just won a majority and a fourth consecutive term can move mountains within the party. Victory excuses all faults, defeat erases all virtues: see a certain T. May.
What happens if the landslide/largish majority doesn't happen? What if it is a majority of, say 10?
He'll get Brexit 'done' but it'll be another weak government. He's got rid of the remainers in the party though.
All of them? Didn't he let some back in? Couldn't there be some low profile Tory MPs who would still be horrified by a No Deal Brexit?
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
Honestly? Corbyn and his cult need to be humiliated to be driven out of power. 10 is far too small. I think 50+ would be the tipping point at which most members will think "Sod this, we're never going to win with these clowns". Soz.
So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
A Tory leader who just won a majority and a fourth consecutive term can move mountains within the party. Victory excuses all faults, defeat erases all virtues: see a certain T. May.
What happens if the landslide/largish majority doesn't happen? What if it is a majority of, say 10?
He'll get Brexit 'done' but it'll be another weak government. He's got rid of the remainers in the party though.
All of them? Didn't he let some back in? Couldn't there be some low profile Tory MPs who would still be horrified by a No Deal Brexit?
I very much doubt Boris wants a no-deal Brexit at all.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
10 seems unreasonable. 1 or 2 would be safer for the country.
Not safe at all - basic logic tells you that Boris would be in thrall to the most bizarre whims of every single MP in his party. A sizeable majority is far safer.
A sizeable majority is far more dangrous. It means that the country will be in thrall to the most bizarre whims of Messers Johnson and Cummings.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
Yes, the only way Corbyn resigns is if we get a 1983, or a reverse 1997 result.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
Jeremy Corbyn is 70 and seems to have aged considerably since 2017. I'd not be buying his days to resignation on the spreads, especially given reports he has in the past needed persuasion to stay on.
If the Michael Foot defeat is anything to go by then the reaction was, one more heave, voters didn't understand our manifesto ,we need to explain it more clearly next time etc.
No it wasn't. The party went soft left under Kinnock.
So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
A Tory leader who just won a majority and a fourth consecutive term can move mountains within the party. Victory excuses all faults, defeat erases all virtues: see a certain T. May.
What happens if the landslide/largish majority doesn't happen? What if it is a majority of, say 10?
He'll get Brexit 'done' but it'll be another weak government. He's got rid of the remainers in the party though.
All of them? Didn't he let some back in? Couldn't there be some low profile Tory MPs who would still be horrified by a No Deal Brexit?
I very much doubt Boris wants a no-deal Brexit at all.
He, doesn’t, no-one wants to walk a away from the trading side of the agreement.
But it matters hugely to the negotiations whether or not we have the ability (in a political and regulatory capacity) to actually do so, if we feel we’re being screwed.
Agree with most of this. We risk looking back on Ed Miliband with rose-tinted glasses; but in 2015 we were talking about how poorly Metropolitan Labour played with small town England, and I suspect that would still be the case with an Ed Miliband now.
But whe I know you've always predicted a Con majority of around 60, I just don't see it. Too many voters in places like Don Valley and Stoke will still vote Labour despite Jeremy. Most of those who will vote Con for Brexit in these seats had drifted away from Lab some time ago. It will be very, very tight.
"Red Ed", as I recall, with his Marxist "Britain hating" roots and his "dangerous socialist" ideas on interfering in the energy market.
Re the result, C60 is still where I am, perhaps higher. I sense those Lab Leavers in the North, and most particularly in the Midlands, are going to go blue for Boris and Brexit. Wallet aside, since I haven't closed out, I hope that I'm wrong and you are right.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
Yes, the only way Corbyn resigns is if we get a 1983, or a reverse 1997 result.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
Jeremy Corbyn is 70 and seems to have aged considerably since 2017. I'd not be buying his days to resignation on the spreads, especially given reports he has in the past needed persuasion to stay on.
Yes but Corbyn resigning but being replaced by someone of his ilk isn't that big of an improvement and will happen if its a "one more heave" scenario.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
It depends what your definition of electable is. Electability changes from election to election depending on the priority issue.
In this election being a moderate Brexit Leaver seems to be the most electable position, but in future elections other issues could be the top priority of the public, without Brexit Labour could have won.
If you want hilarious, depressing, eye-opening and all things in-between, then go to the last thread and see the defense job done by the 50 cent crew on here.
David Cameron won a majority in 2015 and was still forced into a referendum by the Eurosceptic right. The idea that they will play nice if Johnson seeks a two year extension and integration with the EU is for the birds. Since Major the Tory party has always seen leaders replaced by someone more hardline on Europe. Johnson will be looking over his shoulder constantly and knows that any hint of "vassalage" (aka not committing economic hari-kari) will lead to his rapid defenestration.
He won in 2015 promising a referendum!
It wasn't so much Cameron's promise of a referendum that won it for the Conservatives. It was Ed Miliband's failure to match that promise which allowed it to become an issue dividing the parties. In early 2013, Labour voters were in favour of a referendum by 52% to 29%.
By contrast, in 2001, Labour neutralised Hague's attempts to make the Euro an election issue, after promising a referendum even if Labour decided that it would be in the UK's interests to join.
Most people didn't give a shit about Europe at that time, so I doubt it made any difference at all. Ed Miliband was a figure of fun, that was why he lost. Europe only became an issue to the average man on the Clapham Omnibus when the divisive 2016 referendum made it so.
So none of those 17 million people cared one way or the other? You would have thought in that case the status quo option would be a shoo in against a wave of apathy. Lije the AV referendum. There was an issue the man on the Clapham Omnibus didn't care about.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
I will perhaps surprise people by saying that my hunch is to disagree. We will get a Soft Brexit FTA (Transition extended first) and the "Boris" government will be relatively innocuous. The worst thing about it will be that we will get used to having a risible clown as our PM and our standards will thus have been lowered.
I shared this piece earlier today to deafening silence. Hopefully someone might read it this time. I differ from you in thinking that we will likely get Thatcherism on steroids, for a few reasons. (1) they keep referring to themselves as "one nation" which is a clear sign they don't expect that impression to take hold as a result of their actions; (2) most genuinely "one nation" Tories have been purged while arch-Thatcherites have been promoted; (3) the donor class who promoted Johnson and hard Brexit all the way through May's tenure and are also active in dark money Thatcherite think tanks want a return on their investment; (4) Johnson himself has no philosophy but is instinctively neoliberal on economic issues and his advisors eg Cummings share that view; (5) every Tory leader from Major on has come to power by offering a more anti-EU platform than their predecessor, and so the idea that Johnson will pivot to BINO is for the birds - he'd face immediate challenge from the right of the party - and once you accept dis-alignment from the EU and the loss of market access then you have to embrace economic shock therapy to prevent capital flight.
Absolutely I think Boris is instinctively neoliberal as any good Tory should be. Its why I backed him and why I think he'll be a good PM.
You say it as if neoliberalism is a dangerous or extreme idea. Neoliberalism is a classic, sensible way to run the country.
Thousands of hungry kids, homeless people, underfunded public services and the rage that gave rise to Brexit would suggest otherwise.
neo liberalism has ended world hunger (outside of conflict zones), we literally produce about 125% of the food we need. I have previously proved on here that the problem of hunger and food poverty in 18/19 is identical to 2010 and pretty much the same as 2005.
Oh, and homelessness is about half what it was in 2006.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
10 seems unreasonable. 1 or 2 would be safer for the country.
Not safe at all - basic logic tells you that Boris would be in thrall to the most bizarre whims of every single MP in his party. A sizeable majority is far safer.
A sizeable majority is far more dangrous. It means that the country will be in thrall to the most bizarre whims of Messers Johnson and Cummings.
If the public are tired of the drama and indecision of Hung Parliaments, the certainty offered by large majorities is a winning argument not a losing one.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
Yes, the only way Corbyn resigns is if we get a 1983, or a reverse 1997 result.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
Jeremy Corbyn is 70 and seems to have aged considerably since 2017. I'd not be buying his days to resignation on the spreads, especially given reports he has in the past needed persuasion to stay on.
Yes but Corbyn resigning but being replaced by someone of his ilk isn't that big of an improvement and will happen if its a "one more heave" scenario.
They will go sub 200 they will then chose Bailey Piddock or Rayner as purity is more important than winning.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
Yes, the only way Corbyn resigns is if we get a 1983, or a reverse 1997 result.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
Jeremy Corbyn is 70 and seems to have aged considerably since 2017. I'd not be buying his days to resignation on the spreads, especially given reports he has in the past needed persuasion to stay on.
Yes but Corbyn resigning but being replaced by someone of his ilk isn't that big of an improvement and will happen if its a "one more heave" scenario.
They will go sub 200 they will then chose Bailey Piddock or Rayner as purity is more important than winning.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Have you been drinking ?
I do not drink. Are you upset at all Boris's media appearances
Further to yesterday's discussion of the alleged Lib Dem front organisation boosting spending in key seats - I live in one of the seats which someone claims proved there was no correlation as the Lib dems don't have a prayer (I tend to agree). Anyhow, this evening I've now received one of these attack adds (zero reference to the party sending it other than size 2 font attribution on the back) - in addition to the double digit number of Lib Dem ads already received. If they really are coordinating, it feels like the load sharing has gone wrong as the amount of paid delivery stuff I've had from the yellows is bonkers in a seat they're nowhere in.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
Yes, the only way Corbyn resigns is if we get a 1983, or a reverse 1997 result.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
Jeremy Corbyn is 70 and seems to have aged considerably since 2017. I'd not be buying his days to resignation on the spreads, especially given reports he has in the past needed persuasion to stay on.
Yes but Corbyn resigning but being replaced by someone of his ilk isn't that big of an improvement and will happen if its a "one more heave" scenario.
They will go sub 200 they will then chose Bailey Piddock or Rayner as purity is more important than winning.
Or even Laura Pidcock
And I thought it was auto correct that was getting it wrong.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Have you been drinking ?
Boris is running scared of Piers Morgan (whose tweet it was) as well as Julie Etchingham and Andrew Neil.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
Yes, the only way Corbyn resigns is if we get a 1983, or a reverse 1997 result.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
The bands of possibilities is as follows:
Hung Parliament: Corbyn stays as long as he wants. Labour 35% or over, but Conservative majority: Corbyn stays for a couple of years. Labour at 32-35%: Corbyn leaves in 2021. Labour less than 32%: Corbyn steps down, leadership election during the Summer.
I don't give a rats ass if I'm taken seriously on it, I'm clearly not in the league of the legal and constitutional experts on here so why would I even try? The hilarious level of hatred he inspires is thoroughly bizarre. To answer your question he wont get dropped but if he did I neither know nor care if he would run as an independent. I suspect it will be moot and the loathing that will have been uncovered in the Democrats due to their dirty tricks and crimes will see him romp home. If I'm wrong you can all have a good chuckle at my expense, but dont for one moment think that the democrats arent actively shitting it about the investigations underway.
Having said that I think I will stick to uk matters, I'm not gonna convince the trump haters and they arent going to convince me. There will be no conviction, he will run in 2020 and it will be a long old 5 years if we keep having this discussion.
Steady on! I agree with you that he will not be convicted by the Senate. Doubt anybody seriously thinks so. The Republican Party is now the Trump Party. He has captured it. Like you, his 'base' is loyal to HIM. This is clear. Hence my question. Could you see this love object of many millions - given his ego - running as a spoiler Independent in the unlikely event of the Reps deciding to break free of (betray) him? You say you don't care. Sorry but I don't buy that. That sounds like when my niece said she "didn't care" when her crush Harry Styles left One Direction.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Have you been drinking ?
Boris is running scared of Piers Morgan (whose tweet it was) as well as Julie Etchingham and Andrew Neil.
The point is he is doing plenty of media appearances
It is only activists who are so exercised over Boris and AN
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
A Tory leader who just won a majority and a fourth consecutive term can move mountains within the party. Victory excuses all faults, defeat erases all virtues: see a certain T. May.
David Cameron won a majority in 2015 and was still forced into a referendum by the Eurosceptic right. The idea that they will play nice if Johnson seeks a two year extension and integration with the EU is for the birds. Since Major the Tory party has always seen leaders replaced by someone more hardline on Europe. Johnson will be looking over his shoulder constantly and knows that any hint of "vassalage" (aka not committing economic hari-kari) will lead to his rapid defenestration.
Er, not quite. The referendum was the centrepiece of his 2015 manifesto!
Yes but he didn't dare drop it or enforce cabinet collective responsibility on backing Remain. Point is the Tory party has only been moving rightwards and will keep doing so.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
My hunch is that a split to form SDP mark 2 is going to happen as I don't see Momentum and the rest being defeated inside the party. Lib Dems will have to merge as well. Could happen after some ghastly outcome at next election if Corbynism not drubbed at this one.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Have you been drinking ?
Boris is running scared of Piers Morgan (whose tweet it was) as well as Julie Etchingham and Andrew Neil.
The point is he is doing plenty of media appearances
It is only activists who are so exercised over Boris and AN
He’s doing soft media interviews where he can be seen stroking kittens, he is not being allowed to do risky interviews where his real policies and views make headlines.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Top trolling!
Piers Morgan getting all mardy arsed because Boris won't appear on his show is one of the top moments of the election so far......
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
To me it depends on how large a defeat happens in the so called heartlands. They will keep Liverpool, but big defeats in the North East, Yorks, Derby, Midlands and South Wales would be indefensible, because it could be Scotland all over again. If these big defeats do happen you will see a battle in the Labour party between "traditional" Labour members and the "woke" members in London et al. Who wins is another question.
I don't give a rats ass if I'm taken seriously on it, I'm clearly not in the league of the legal and constitutional experts on here so why would I even try? The hilarious level of hatred he inspires is thoroughly bizarre. To answer your question he wont get dropped but if he did I neither know nor care if he would run as an independent. I suspect it will be moot and the loathing that will have been uncovered in the Democrats due to their dirty tricks and crimes will see him romp home. If I'm wrong you can all have a good chuckle at my expense, but dont for one moment think that the democrats arent actively shitting it about the investigations underway.
Having said that I think I will stick to uk matters, I'm not gonna convince the trump haters and they arent going to convince me. There will be no conviction, he will run in 2020 and it will be a long old 5 years if we keep having this discussion.
Steady on! I agree with you that he will not be convicted by the Senate. Doubt anybody seriously thinks so. The Republican Party is now the Trump Party. He has captured it. Like you, his 'base' is loyal to HIM. This is clear. Hence my question. Could you see this love object of many millions - given his ego - running as a spoiler Independent in the unlikely event of the Reps deciding to break free of (betray) him? You say you don't care. Sorry but I don't buy that. That sounds like when my niece said she "didn't care" when her crush Harry Styles left One Direction.
And I've told you I don't think they will break with him and I dont know or care if he will run if they did. I enjoy democrat misery far more than trump happiness
If the Michael Foot defeat is anything to go by then the reaction was, one more heave, voters didn't understand our manifesto ,we need to explain it more clearly next time etc.
No it wasn't. The party went soft left under Kinnock.
I was talking about the immediate reaction to Foot's election defeat by Benn & other assorted nutters.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
I nominate you for Private Eye's "Order of the Brown Nose". Considering your comments about Boris just a few months ago.....
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
My hunch is that a split to form SDP mark 2 is going to happen as I don't see Momentum and the rest being defeated inside the party. Lib Dems will have to merge as well. Could happen after some ghastly outcome at next election if Corbynism not drubbed at this one.
If only they'd all split off at once, forming the second biggest grouping in parliament. Rather than drifting off in dribs and drabs. If it was ever going to happen, I can't help feeling it would have already happened.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Have you been drinking ?
Boris is running scared of Piers Morgan (whose tweet it was) as well as Julie Etchingham and Andrew Neil.
The point is he is doing plenty of media appearances
It is only activists who are so exercised over Boris and AN
He’s doing soft media interviews where he can be seen stroking kittens, he is not being allowed to do risky interviews where his real policies and views make headlines.
He faces Corbyn tomorrow on BBC for the second time
And I expect that will be that no matter how much wailing from activists and the media
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
I nominate you for Private Eye's "Order of the Brown Nose". Considering your comments about Boris just a few months ago.....
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Have you been drinking ?
Boris is running scared of Piers Morgan (whose tweet it was) as well as Julie Etchingham and Andrew Neil.
The point is he is doing plenty of media appearances
It is only activists who are so exercised over Boris and AN
There's a difference between a stage managed event with soft questions from punters and a forensic TV interview as you well know, or at least used to before you started Stanning on Boris Johnson. Kim Jong-Un does media appearances, it doesn't make North Korea a healthy democracy.
"the post-accident convalescence of the Hon. Winston S. Churchill necessitates the use of alcoholic spirits especially at meal times. The quantity is naturally indefinite but the minimum requirements would be 250 cubic centimeters."
Particularly enjoyed the woman trying to claim the offending passage in the book Jeremy, wrote the foreword for, was added after he wrote it. Despite being told it was in there when he first published 100 years ago. Genius.
A question I think is interesting is how bad does the defeat need to be for Labour to ditch the Marxists? I don't want Johnson to be rewarded for what he has done to my ex-party and the country, but equally I don't want Mr. Thicky rewarded in any way for his part in the catastrophe. Would a Johnson majority of 10 be enough? Or do we have to endure a larger Tory majority for Labour to come to its senses and elect someone electable?
A majority of 10 would leave the Marxists thinking "one more heave"
Yes, the only way Corbyn resigns is if we get a 1983, or a reverse 1997 result.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
The bands of possibilities is as follows:
Hung Parliament: Corbyn stays as long as he wants. Labour 35% or over, but Conservative majority: Corbyn stays for a couple of years. Labour at 32-35%: Corbyn leaves in 2021. Labour less than 32%: Corbyn steps down, leadership election during the Summer.
Yes, agree with that. But in all four scenarios he is replaced by someone else from the far left. Lab really have to be well under 30% for that to change - and possibly not even then, such is the far left's grip on the party.
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
I nominate you for Private Eye's "Order of the Brown Nose". Considering your comments about Boris just a few months ago.....
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
I nominate you for Private Eye's "Order of the Brown Nose". Considering your comments about Boris just a few months ago.....
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
I nominate you for Private Eye's "Order of the Brown Nose". Considering your comments about Boris just a few months ago.....
Great to see @BorisJohnson giving an interview to @thismorning after repeatedly promising to do @GMB. I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country. Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Have you been drinking ?
Boris is running scared of Piers Morgan (whose tweet it was) as well as Julie Etchingham and Andrew Neil.
The point is he is doing plenty of media appearances
It is only activists who are so exercised over Boris and AN
There's a difference between a stage managed event with soft questions from punters and a forensic TV interview as you well know, or at least used to before you started Stanning on Boris Johnson. Kim Jong-Un does media appearances, it doesn't make North Korea a healthy democracy.
I have a hunch that Peter Hitchens is probably right about cannabis. The problem is that the "zeitgeit" says cannabis is okay and tobacco is not okay.
Super-strength cannabis is not alright, and it's the result of prohibition. The CBD element, which is higher in pre-2000s forms, is actually used now to combat psychosis in new medications, rather than the other way round.
I have a hunch that Peter Hitchens is probably right about cannabis. The problem is that the "zeitgeit" says cannabis is okay and tobacco is not okay.
He is right. It is truly amazing how wilfully blind people are on this subject. They can’t know many people that have done it if they think it’s a safe drug.
- Boris is increasing tax for business, but cutting them - albeit modestly - for workers. - Sturgeon doing her best to scare English and unionist voters. - Kuenssberg reiterating Tories on course for largest party but majority or not is very uncertain. - Scary Momentum-esque hooligans demonstrating outside Boris's speech.
So the question is: can Boris do his Houdini act again and con his way out of his own brain-dead self-imposed deadline for a second time, this time without Letwin and Benn to blame ?
A Tory leader who just won a majority and a fourth consecutive term can move mountains within the party. Victory excuses all faults, defeat erases all virtues: see a certain T. May.
David Cameron won a majority in 2015 and was still forced into a referendum by the Eurosceptic right. The idea that they will play nice if Johnson seeks a two year extension and integration with the EU is for the birds. Since Major the Tory party has always seen leaders replaced by someone more hardline on Europe. Johnson will be looking over his shoulder constantly and knows that any hint of "vassalage" (aka not committing economic hari-kari) will lead to his rapid defenestration.
Er, not quite. The referendum was the centrepiece of his 2015 manifesto!
Yes but he didn't dare drop it or enforce cabinet collective responsibility on backing Remain. Point is the Tory party has only been moving rightwards and will keep doing so.
When did the Labour Party lurch to the far left for no reason? Oh right, in 2015...
Comments
Farage is complaining about people who defect from political parties to other parties.
By contrast, in 2001, Labour neutralised Hague's attempts to make the Euro an election issue, after promising a referendum even if Labour decided that it would be in the UK's interests to join.
Even then, the membership could replace him with someone similar, on the basis that the problem was Corbyn personally - rather than everything he stands for.
Re the result, C60 is still where I am, perhaps higher. I sense those Lab Leavers in the North, and most particularly in the Midlands, are going to go blue for Boris and Brexit. Wallet aside, since I haven't closed out, I hope that I'm wrong and you are right.
The temporary collapse of the Conservatives under May is an indication of what would have happened if Cameron went to all out war with conservatives inside the Conservative party instead of conceding.
Ther'es no sign of a Blair Mk2, or even a Kinnock getting in at the moment.
If the Michael Foot defeat is anything to go by then the reaction was, one more heave, voters didn't understand our manifesto ,we need to explain it more clearly next time etc.
Will Momentum let them change the way they elect their leader as they are now in control of the party?
Sky reporting talks continue but a deal is in the wings for
David Moyes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh....
But it matters hugely to the negotiations whether or not we have the ability (in a political and regulatory capacity) to actually do so, if we feel we’re being screwed.
Electability changes from election to election depending on the priority issue.
In this election being a moderate Brexit Leaver seems to be the most electable position, but in future elections other issues could be the top priority of the public, without Brexit Labour could have won.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7759719/Squirming-Jeremy-Corbyn-supporters-accidentally-deem-unfit-office.html
Ho hum.
Second couple going in at that price now, so anyone who wants 1.45 can probably wait half an hour for it!
PA has spotted that Boris Johnson used a Huawei phone to take his This Morning selfie with Holly & Phil https://t.co/OSr92JUP6M
I do love a man who keeps his word, especially when he wants us to trust him to run the country.
Thanks Boris! 👍👏👏 https://t.co/3z4aAwJeiG
Oh, and homelessness is about half what it was in 2006.
Anyhow, this evening I've now received one of these attack adds (zero reference to the party sending it other than size 2 font attribution on the back) - in addition to the double digit number of Lib Dem ads already received. If they really are coordinating, it feels like the load sharing has gone wrong as the amount of paid delivery stuff I've had from the yellows is bonkers in a seat they're nowhere in.
The nutter who drove his van into all those Muslim worshippers at Finsbury Park mosque was an alcoholic.
How many drunks batter their wives?
How many kiddie fiddlers like a nice dry sherry? Or a bit of communion wine?
Yet alcohol is taxed, regulated, and carefully controlled and most are able to enjoy it in moderation.
Hung Parliament: Corbyn stays as long as he wants.
Labour 35% or over, but Conservative majority: Corbyn stays for a couple of years.
Labour at 32-35%: Corbyn leaves in 2021.
Labour less than 32%: Corbyn steps down, leadership election during the Summer.
Legalisation of the “old stuff” at least allows us to raise tax money for mental health treatments.
It is only activists who are so exercised over Boris and AN
BONG.......
Good evening, everyone.
I nominate you for Private Eye's "Order of the Brown Nose". Considering your comments about Boris just a few months ago.....
And I expect that will be that no matter how much wailing from activists and the media
You are John looney and I claim my five pounds
"the post-accident convalescence of the Hon. Winston S. Churchill necessitates the use of alcoholic spirits especially at meal times. The quantity is naturally indefinite but the minimum requirements would be 250 cubic centimeters."
Despite being told it was in there when he first published 100 years ago. Genius.
I will do anything to keep Corbyn out of power
- Boris is increasing tax for business, but cutting them - albeit modestly - for workers.
- Sturgeon doing her best to scare English and unionist voters.
- Kuenssberg reiterating Tories on course for largest party but majority or not is very uncertain.
- Scary Momentum-esque hooligans demonstrating outside Boris's speech.
CCHQ couldn't have asked for better.