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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Is John Rentoul right – Was Boris’ speech a disaster and Th
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Is John Rentoul right – Was Boris’ speech a disaster and Theresa May has just come a little closer to being Theresa Will?
Unsurprisingly It has lead to pieces like Boris Johnson’s philosophy isn’t just elitist – it’s sinister and Boris Johnon is Still a ‘Nasty Piece of Work’? even George Osborne distanced himself from parts of the speech this morning.
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This reminds me of a passage from the Prince (been listening to the audiobook a bit lately). When you move your stall from centre to left or right, or vice versa, then those on your new ground are disinclined to believe your sincerity, and those on your old ground consider you something of a traitor.
A draw - worst possible outcome.... keeps me hoping that 'what if we beat Fulham and Sunderland this week... Sturridge is out for our next home game in the PL'...
It's the hope.
MPs often do not like being overshadowed by extraparliamentary politicians, and Boris is too pro immigration and pro europe for the real headbangers. Where does this Etonian differ politically from our current Etonian?
A speech worthy of the Lady.
Not really, I just think it exposes left leaning commentators as rather daft and prone to over hyping.
Did any of the myriad of champagne socialist luvvies actually throw themselves under double-deckers or leave London…? – Thought not.
Osborne got it right by saying there may be inequality about outcomes but one should strive to create equality of opportunity!Atleast he got something right even if it`s not the economy!
Anyway, the issue is more 'power' than 'wealth'. And on the greed=good thing, well he's only saying what most people reckon Tories think. That's the root of the toxic Tory meme.
especially when coupled with dodgy arguments about IQ (rich people are rich because they are cleverer than everyone else, hmmmm)
Do you intend to withdraw your previous comment or bluster and fudge?
Bojo: - " Gerard Lyons, my economic adviser, thinks we could be looking at growth of 4 per cent next year; and so I hope that in many ways it is NOT like the 1980s all over again.
I don’t imagine that there will be a return of teddy bear braces and young men and women driving Porsches and bawling into brick sized mobiles. But I also hope that there is no return to that spirit of Loadsamoney heartlessness – figuratively riffling banknotes under the noses of the homeless; and I hope that this time the Gordon Gekkos of London are conspicuous not just for their greed – valid motivator thought greed may be for economic progress – as for what they give and do for the rest of the population, many of whom have experienced real falls in their incomes over the last five years.
And if there is to be a boom in the 20-teens, I hope it is one that is marked by a genuine sense of community and acts of prodigious philanthropy, and I wish the snob value and prestige that the Americans attach to act of giving would somehow manifest itself here, or manifest itself more vividly. "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/london-mayor-election/mayor-of-london/10480321/Boris-Johnsons-speech-at-the-Margaret-Thatcher-lecture-in-full.html
a) repeatedly made dubious statements about what is achievable and been forced to apologise to Parliament at least once (more perhaps?) May too often engages her mouth before her brain is fired up.
b) is failing in her main task (immigration) and her 'successes' in regards to crime are decidedly questionable
c) has alienated the police and created an environment of mutual mistrust to the extent that she now wants to tout outside the UK for senior police officers (how long would it take for her to get the Heywood treatment that IDS and Maude have received?)
d) Suffers that common failing of many MP's of her gender do in too often playing to her own gender at the expense of the other.
e) Supports the Snoopers Charter and the reining back of the HRA (in itself not a bad thing) so will be a deterrent to Liberal Tory voters.
And if there is one thing more absurd than seeing Miliband's distorted cartoon features on the White House lawn its the idea that May's spotty boots might one day stand upon it.
If the Tory's make May their leader in 2015 its another gift to UKIP and as it goes the Liberal Democrats as well.
This 'leftie' wealth envy bull is a blind. It's power, vested interests, backscratching etc - the stuff that keeps it all in the 'family'. That's the issue.
And philanthropy? It's fine for the Bill Gates of the world when they get to that age where they realise that money isn't everything and go looking for a sense of self worth before they pop their clogs.
But global corporations? Do me a favour.
My mum was a personnel officer on a big family-owned pottery factory. There was a real sense of loyalty to the company from the workers and the company valued that. They put on trips for families, xmas parties for the kids, booked out the swimming baths once a week for employee use, had an advice centre etc. Decent pay and conditions.
Those days are gone, for the drones anyway.
Which boils down to " Leading Tory candidate to replace Cameron gets criticised by left-wing mouthpieces"
Go figure.......
I sometimes wonder what social Darwinists think about fluctuations in employment rates due to economic crises. Do they think people coincidentally start getting lazy at about the same time as the economy crashes?
As opposed to Cameron who courted plaudits from Guardian readers by hugging a huskie when they were never going to vote for him - Boris has only annoyed idiots who would never have voted for him anyway.
That shows Boris as being the better politician.
All based on a point at home....
I hope your parents didn't spend anything on yours.
Martin Jol's been sacked.
In the economic upturns, though, jobs are sloshing about and its difficult to avoid accidentally stumbling in to one. Then people feel comfortable, relax, forget the lessons of history and vote in a Labour govt ...then the jobs dry up.
Jobs are still around but require a bit of effort to find so it's easier just to crack open a can of Stella, fire up the flat screen tv and open the dole cheque envelope until the next Tory administration comes around and repairs it all again.
"This reminds me of a passage from the Prince (been listening to the audiobook a bit lately). When you move your stall from centre to left or right, or vice versa, then those on your new ground are disinclined to believe your sincerity, and those on your old ground consider you something of a traitor."
A more appropriate Machiavellian quote also from The Prince
“The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.”
I do wonder if the vehemence of The Guardian's reaction is because it sees in Boris not only an echo of Thatcher's policies but also her electability; of a public agreeing with a philosophy opposed to everything the Guardian and its four readers stand for.
Here's a link to the video:
http://www.cps.org.uk/events/q/date/2013/11/27/the-2013-margaret-thatcher-lecture-boris-johnson/
I'd urge anyone with a spare 45 minutes to watch it. Boris comes across as an all-round, well-balanced, dare I say one nation, Tory.
He talked positively about:
"Academic competition" (not grammar schools)
Low taxes and low spending
The social responsibility of people who have succeeded
Infrastructure, particularly houses, roads, airports
Immigration
Apprenticeships and social mobility generally
The free economy but negatives of too much inequality
He also emphasised a few times the squeeze on living standards.
The example of IQ was probably a bad idea as lefties have just jumped on that, but it was only used to outline that equality of outcome is not possible or desirable.
http://www.conservativehome.com/video/2013/11/watch-boris-johnsons-margaret-thatcher-lecture-in-full.html
We all have a hard few years ahead and my recruitment phase was designed to weed out the lazy, the stupid and the feckless from the applicants. Making a success of the venture depends on eliminating the weak links. Economic Darwinism. Leave the weakest antelope behind.
"Britain's worst gang hit neighbourhoods are seeing levels of sexual violence as bad as in war zones, it was claimed today.
The warning came following the publication of a report for the Office of the Children's Commissioner that found girls as young as 11 are being systematically groomed, exploited and raped."
I truely hope and pray that every single member of the BBC and political class burn in hell.
Evening @GeoffM - Hope your Stan James account is still alive and growing nicely
Awesome.
Extra awesome.
Note - I don't seriously think Saints will challenge for the title, but I'm absolutely loving the fact that it's even a vague possibility!
Good thing a Tory didn't say that, it would have been seen as condescending. However, as you're not a Tory, I take and agree with your point.
First, overdue condolences to Mike and family.
On-topic, one of the problems of speeches is that a few well or ill-judged words taken out of context can undermine the rest of the argument. Boris is suffering from some words which don't in isolation sound at all good. Johnson comes across as a kind of British Ronald Reagan from the 1970s - for me, it's much more about the optimistic tone then the actual content.
Johnson won in London in 2008 and 2012 because he was the "happy" candidate against the "dour" Ken Livingstone and that played well to the zeitgeist. He was a contrast to the austerity of Government and the doom-mongers of Opposition.
Could that optimism enthuse a beaten Conservative Party in 2015 ? Sometimes, beaten parties choose the leader they want rather than the one that appeals most to the electorate but it's possible Johnson would stand in marked contrast to Prime Minister Miliband and the realities of Government.
None of this makes him a good or great Prime Minister - his record in London is, in my view, mixed at best. He has taken far more power for himself than Livingstone in terms of transport and the Police and his personal empire-building has been at London's expense His sunny optimism belies some large areas where little has changed for the better.
As Prime Minister, he'd oversee our national decline but we'd all go down smiling.
I thought demobilisation was after the election, as we were still fighting Japan.
Very true , apart from those unemployed at the time of the 1945 GE , there were some 4 million service men and women who were demobbed over the next 18 months . The vast majority had been found jobs well before 1951 .
At the time of the July 1945 election there was 0.9% unemployment, rising to 1.4% at the time of the October 1951 electiion.
Both are figures we would envy now, but it is true that unemployment went up in that Labour govt. I suspect it was mostly the economy restructuring from a war footing.
Boris adds. I suspect he's the most popular politician in the country. He even seems to be able to deliver when in office. There's some chance that Cameron will continue in the job for many year, and it may or may not be that Boris has his moment.
Somehow he needs to promulgate whatever it is he's on. Popular Tory politics - it's historically been pretty hard to do. Obviously anyone with any sense (or money) has always voted for the right, and that explains Labours popularity entirely (the enemy of my enemy), but there is a chance that people like Boris can actually make the self-evident case to the populace.
Misleading to look at in isolation, I agree, but strictly speaking a correct statement.
Unrelated to where we started off as the start and finish points of the stats are different, but quite fun to know cheers.
Mr. Omnium, Boris may add, but I suspect (and I think I recall reading here) that's very much a South/London bonus from Boris.
Not to forget Phil Woolas, Alan Johnson and that other bloke he appointed from the co op.
http://www.espn.co.uk/mclaren/motorsport/story/138211.html
All I think it does is strengthen the sense that London can do even better if it didn't have the rest of the UK acting as a drag on its fortunes. If you want a political development for the 2030s and 2040s, how about the emergence of a party supporting an Independent London ?
I suppose it's a matter of perspective. Apart from the "fact" bit of course.
The@Libdems have selected Sarah Smith to stand for Parliament for Dover and Deal in the 2015 General Election #deal, #dover..."
twitter.com/BethIsobelRobso/status/407130493604597760
Liking the TSE articles. Busy with a 2 year old so back to lurking.
Or the morning thread maybe about electoral reform.
Kind regards
The Guest Editor and Liverpool fan.
electionista @electionista 54s
Croatia - first results show #referendum to ban same-sex marriage has passed with 64.6%
At last.
A back-to-basics Tory policy you can get behind, tim.