Coveny has it the wrong way around. The Internal Markets Bill will be dropped once a trade deal is in place. It’s the UK’s insurance policy against no deal, a backstop if you will.
George Eustice has just said as much on Sophy Ridge
Since the fire break ended in Wales it has gone crazy with people out and about, traffic queues ( yes and they are rare here) shops packed, as are pubs and restaurants
It is as if ending the fire break has ended covid in many minds
I do fear that this will not end well
And 'Celebrity' starts tonight and the activity around Abergele and the Castle is amazing.
I have never watched the programme but I may tonight
Isn’t this the point about “flip flopping” that the Govt have never grasped. You can’t legislate for people to behave. I fear that in England people were actually being more careful before we went to the current lockdown. There were incentives in the system (because of the moving between tiers). People were actively taking decisions to restrict their social gatherings to the outdoors, despite the inclement weather, and pubs and restaurants were planning to accommodate al fresco winter socialising. Now there are no incentives and people are socialising in ways so they won’t be caught - ie in private houses. It might “work” ultimately if schools were shut but major transmission vectors have been left wide open.
And if things are relaxed in December then people are going to take advantage, in full expectation that everything will be shut again in the new year.
Remember younger people are not living in fear of this virus.
If our part of Wales is anything to go by those living in England have good cause to worry greatly about Christmas and beyond
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
Zoom
Missing the point there BigG...
Maybe but I am just delighted Carrie, Allegra and other ladies managed to see off Cummings
I do find it almost amusing but the hatred for Cummings from so many now seem to want to move on to Carrie and the ladies, often with schoolboy insults because they removed the object of their anger
Also as bad as 2020 has been it has at least seen the end of Trump, Cummings and Corbyn
You misunderstand the dynamic. What people want is a PM who is not somebody else's poodle. A change of ownership doesn't really cut it, and is bound to put the spotlight on the new owner.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
No. And she wouldn’t even be First Lady in the US (which IS an official role).
She is not paid by the Government. She does not get given a budget. She does no work for the Government. She is accountable to nobody. Her “role” such as it is, is limited entirely to whispering in Johnson’s ear. Which she doesn’t need “friends round” to achieve.
So far as I can see the fracas in the offices at Downing st has little to do with either the politics of Brexit or anything else. It seems to be not just BoZo's violin that got smashed in this symbolic emasculation. The fairytale princess rescuing the Sultan from his evil Grand Vizier is pure theatre. The photographs of Cummings leaving with his box via the front door in a photoshoot were well trailed and clearly with his approval.
I know some of the people involved in this fracas slightly and I wish them well personally. But all this quarrelling would be tedious if it was happening to our close relatives. None of the arguments seem to be about the day job of running the country. As a central preoccupation at a time with the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of passengers dying every day, it is beyond a joke.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
No. And she wouldn’t even be First Lady in the US (which IS an official role).
She is not paid by the Government. She does not get given a budget. She does no work for the Government. She is accountable to nobody. Her “role” such as it is, is limited entirely to whispering in Johnson’s ear. Which she doesn’t need “friends round” to achieve.
So far as I can see the fracas in the offices at Downing st has little to do with either the politics of Brexit or anything else. It seems to be not just BoZo's violin that got smashed in this symbolic emasculation. The fairytale princess rescuing the Sultan from his evil Grand Vizier is pure theatre. The photographs of Cummings leaving with his box via the front door in a photoshoot were well trailed and clearly with his approval.
Come to think of it, Cummings could have a great future in pantomime if all else fails. All he's short of is a moustache to twirl.
But what’s in the box? Controllable models of the cabinet that replicate in real life. The project continues fromDoms basement.
Labour want new law to censor anti-vax fake news. As a libertarian this worries me and I doubt the oracticality frankly.
If a parent is tricked into refusing a vaccine for their children, and then a child dies, that's not a freedom-maximising outcome. State power is necessary to balance the coercive tyranny or parental negligence.
Only the most extremist and rabid libertarian would deny the merit of curbing some speech - shouting "fire!" in a theatre, threatening violence to achieve political goals, etc. Given that as a starting point, the question is where lying about vaccines fits into the list. FWIW, here's my rough schema:
MOST DAMAGING threatening violence to achieve political outcomes ("if you vote X, I'll shoot you") calling for violence against individuals or groups of people ("hang the gays") publishing grossly false claims about the health outcomes of certain actions ("vaccines make your legs fall off") speech that could cause panic or hysteria (shouting "fire!" in a theatre) making false claims to damage a individuals reputation ("person X is a kiddy-fiddler") ------------- everything above this line should be subject to legal sanctions ------------- persuading someone to harm themselves ("kill yourself") making false claims to damage a group's reputation ("libertarians enjoy seeing babies suffer") making true claims to damage an individuals reputation ("Boris Johnson has a history of infidelity") insulting someone ("Boris Johnson is an idiot") political speech ("the Conservatives are unfit for power") LEAST DAMAGING
Well doh - of course. None of which I actually suggested. Maybe making vague calls for new laws with unspecified powers should be on your pretty damaging list.
Uh, no, that's political speech. It's right at the bottom of the list. Laws need to be tightly defined. Discussing policy ideas in the media really don't have to be that precise. What strange priorities you seem to have.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
Zoom
Missing the point there BigG...
Maybe but I am just delighted Carrie, Allegra and other ladies managed to see off Cummings
I do find it almost amusing but the hatred for Cummings from so many now seem to want to move on to Carrie and the ladies, often with schoolboy insults because they removed the object of their anger
Also as bad as 2020 has been it has at least seen the end of Trump, Cummings and Corbyn
You misunderstand the dynamic. What people want is a PM who is not somebody else's poodle. A change of ownership doesn't really cut it, and is bound to put the spotlight on the new owner.
I agree it is time for Boris to get a grip but it is also amusing how the anti Cummings brigade have now switched to another target and in some cases with childish name calling
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
Still missing the point as ever. There is no point in reaching agreements with Governments that show willing to unilaterally amend those agreements if they decide later they don't like what's in them.
So the EU "compromise" to achieve a deal (no doubt you would argue matched by "compromises" on the UK side). Once both sides have "compromised" to reach a deal, why should the EU assume that the UK won't later decide that they didn't really care for the compromises that they needed to make and unilaterally decide to amend those bits of the agreement?
It's not about what the changes in the Internal Markets bill do to the Withdrawal Agreement. It's about the fact that they make changes at all. To an agreement made (they thought) in good faith. By the very Government now intending to renege on it. And which contains remedies for things that the UK claims the IMB is necessary to address.
Johnson is the cushion bearing the impression of the last arse to sit on him. We are witnessing the baton being passed from Dominic to Princess Nut Nuts, and I can see her getting quite disliked quite quickly. I would reinvest a small part of the Biden payout in this tip, if it had happened.
This nickname seems to have come out of nowhere, I don't recall ever seeing it before yesterday.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is coming under fire, this time from a prominent SAGE member. There's no doubt that 'Eat Out to Help Out' in fact helped spread the virus.
Although I think Sunak remains favourite to succeed Johnson I'm glad I cashed out.
What spread the virus was unis going back. True, there were avoidable mistakes over the summer, but that was the grand daddy. And from unis, it inevitably leaked into the wider community and is now rampaging through schools as well while everything else is shut down.
It’s even more bizarre because he now wants to move to a post-results admissions service, which can’t be done without moving the start of the university year to January. Here was a golden chance to do it. And he muffed it.
I think ‘average minds’ is an exceedingly generous assessment of this government’s intellectual capacity.
An academic was telling me there is a plan to return to face-to-face teaching in January. I found it quite unbelievable. Do these people never learn anything?
Unfortunately, it would appear not.
But if anything, I would say it’s a sign of how venal university managers are, rather than how stupid.
I think the academics are pretty much all in favour of remote teaching continuing for another term, but the managerial class has always been a bit detached from reality. And the financial situation is, for some institutions, potentially terminal if they don't get both fees and rent from students.
I wish the Universities that aren't in financial peril would lead the way and announce remote teaching next term. I fear that they won't.
Coveny has it the wrong way around. The Internal Markets Bill will be dropped once a trade deal is in place. It’s the UK’s insurance policy against no deal, a backstop if you will.
I disagree with the tactic completely, but that is probably the plan.
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
I wonder what you will be saying in January when, even if a deal is struck, the UK will be facing the greatest domestic crisis since the general strike.
Without a wholesale reset of deadlines and the recognition of the scale of the trade crisis that will begin on Jan 1, the Tory government will be torn apart and Johnson won´t be out in a year, he will be out in 2-3 months.
The Tsunami is coming, the Farage Garage system, even if it exceeds expectations, will make operation Stack look like your local NCP.
The departure of Cummings is not the end of the crisis, it is the beginning.
Johnson is the cushion bearing the impression of the last arse to sit on him. We are witnessing the baton being passed from Dominic to Princess Nut Nuts, and I can see her getting quite disliked quite quickly. I would reinvest a small part of the Biden payout in this tip, if it had happened.
This nickname seems to have come out of nowhere, I don't recall ever seeing it before yesterday.
Allegedly coined by Cummings and discovered during a review of his text messages in a no 10 showdown. Nasty (I do not propose to use it again) but effective.
I must say the logic seems irrefutable. What sense does an agreement make, with someone who is declaring that they won't honour their agreements?
By the same logic though theres no sense doing an agreement even if he drops it. What sense does an agreement make with someone who declared their intention to not honour an agreement until forced to back down?
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is coming under fire, this time from a prominent SAGE member. There's no doubt that 'Eat Out to Help Out' in fact helped spread the virus.
Although I think Sunak remains favourite to succeed Johnson I'm glad I cashed out.
What spread the virus was unis going back. True, there were avoidable mistakes over the summer, but that was the grand daddy. And from unis, it inevitably leaked into the wider community and is now rampaging through schools as well while everything else is shut down.
It’s even more bizarre because he now wants to move to a post-results admissions service, which can’t be done without moving the start of the university year to January. Here was a golden chance to do it. And he muffed it.
I think ‘average minds’ is an exceedingly generous assessment of this government’s intellectual capacity.
An academic was telling me there is a plan to return to face-to-face teaching in January. I found it quite unbelievable. Do these people never learn anything?
Unfortunately, it would appear not.
But if anything, I would say it’s a sign of how venal university managers are, rather than how stupid.
I think the academics are pretty much all in favour of remote teaching continuing for another term, but the managerial class has always been a bit detached from reality. And the financial situation is, for some institutions, potentially terminal if they don't get both fees and rent from students.
I wish the Universities that aren't in financial peril would lead the way and announce remote teaching next term. I fear that they won't.
--AS
I have some sympathy with the need for money, having been an academic, but if ever there was a case for the government to step in and keep things ticking over for six months with a subsidy, it was here. It would have been far cheaper and less damaging than the disaster that has unfolded.
Johnson is the cushion bearing the impression of the last arse to sit on him. We are witnessing the baton being passed from Dominic to Princess Nut Nuts, and I can see her getting quite disliked quite quickly. I would reinvest a small part of the Biden payout in this tip, if it had happened.
This nickname seems to have come out of nowhere, I don't recall ever seeing it before yesterday.
Allegedly coined by Cummings and discovered during a review of his text messages in a no 10 showdown. Nasty (I do not propose to use it again) but effective.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
She fucking isn’t. Prince Philip is.
Prince Philip is the figurehead equivalent, not the political equivalent. And he's retired.
Head of Government is more important than Head of State.
FLOTUS is only a ceremonial role, so there is no political equivalent. And you can be a retired figurehead.
I feel bad for spouses of the American president. That theres a title and office confers some expectation of official work even if its ceremonial. Its going to upset someones regular life being married to a head of state, but it should mean official demands on them, or implication of any authority.
I must say the logic seems irrefutable. What sense does an agreement make, with someone who is declaring that they won't honour their agreements?
By the same logic though theres no sense doing an agreement even if he drops it. What sense does an agreement make with someone who declared their intention to not honour an agreement until forced to back down?
Well, I suppose one might ask what sense there is in making an agreement with Boris Johnson anyway, given his proven record of serial dishonesty.
But no doubt some level of pragmatism is needed in the face of imminent disaster.
Johnson is the cushion bearing the impression of the last arse to sit on him. We are witnessing the baton being passed from Dominic to Princess Nut Nuts, and I can see her getting quite disliked quite quickly. I would reinvest a small part of the Biden payout in this tip, if it had happened.
This nickname seems to have come out of nowhere, I don't recall ever seeing it before yesterday.
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
I wonder what you will be saying in January when, even if a deal is struck, the UK will be facing the greatest domestic crisis since the general strike.
Without a wholesale reset of deadlines and the recognition of the scale of the trade crisis that will begin on Jan 1, the Tory government will be torn apart and Johnson won´t be out in a year, he will be out in 2-3 months.
The Tsunami is coming, the Farage Garage system, even if it exceeds expectations, will make operation Stack look like your local NCP.
The departure of Cummings is not the end of the crisis, it is the beginning.
If that happens I'd be surprised. I'm not expecting a major crisis.
A bit of minor disruption that people get over and adapt to.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
No. And she wouldn’t even be First Lady in the US (which IS an official role).
She is not paid by the Government. She does not get given a budget. She does no work for the Government. She is accountable to nobody. Her “role” such as it is, is limited entirely to whispering in Johnson’s ear. Which she doesn’t need “friends round” to achieve.
So far as I can see the fracas in the offices at Downing st has little to do with either the politics of Brexit or anything else. It seems to be not just BoZo's violin that got smashed in this symbolic emasculation. The fairytale princess rescuing the Sultan from his evil Grand Vizier is pure theatre. The photographs of Cummings leaving with his box via the front door in a photoshoot were well trailed and clearly with his approval.
The suspicion has to be there. Though it would show some personal growth from Cummings as he allowed himself to be humiliated in service to the cause.
Johnson is the cushion bearing the impression of the last arse to sit on him. We are witnessing the baton being passed from Dominic to Princess Nut Nuts, and I can see her getting quite disliked quite quickly. I would reinvest a small part of the Biden payout in this tip, if it had happened.
This nickname seems to have come out of nowhere, I don't recall ever seeing it before yesterday.
There is, according to t’internet, a child’s party organisation of that name in Havering. Make of that what you can; I can see neither right nor wrong.
Personally I think Johnson is much more likely to be PM for several years than others seem to. But for those who think he is likely to go in 2021 can I point you to the Betfair market on his exit date which you can lay 'July 2022 or Later' at odds on. An odds against bet on him going in the next 18 months.
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
Or just do a deal
A deal involves compromises.
Or do you think a deal can be done without compromises?
Compromise has to come from both sides
Or one side does something the other side explicits stares is a red line - say by voting for the internal market bill in its original form.. At which point the EU will be able to say the Tories created the mess and it will be very hard to avoid the Government having full ownership of the mess No Deal will create
A lot of things are looking quite worrying this morning.
The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness central to the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
"Boris Johnson remains the “hardest in the room” in his unwillingness to budge to secure a Brexit deal, government insiders said this weekend, amid warnings that just days remain to finalise an agreement.
However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
Of course, ignoring previous agreements the instant you think you are strong enough to do so yet then signing more is probably an apt description of most international agreements prior to the modern age so really Boris was just being traditional.
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
Or just do a deal
A deal involves compromises.
Or do you think a deal can be done without compromises?
Compromise has to come from both sides
Or one side does something the other side explicits stares is a red line - say by voting for the internal market bill in its original form.. At which point the EU will be able to say the Tories created the mess and it will be very hard to avoid the Government having full ownership of the mess No Deal will create
The blame game in a no deal falls on the shoulders of the negotiators on both sides, but who the public blame and to what an extent at this moment is hard to predict
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
I wonder what you will be saying in January when, even if a deal is struck, the UK will be facing the greatest domestic crisis since the general strike.
Without a wholesale reset of deadlines and the recognition of the scale of the trade crisis that will begin on Jan 1, the Tory government will be torn apart and Johnson won´t be out in a year, he will be out in 2-3 months.
The Tsunami is coming, the Farage Garage system, even if it exceeds expectations, will make operation Stack look like your local NCP.
The departure of Cummings is not the end of the crisis, it is the beginning.
If that happens I'd be surprised. I'm not expecting a major crisis.
A bit of minor disruption that people get over and adapt to.
If you're wrong and there is a major crisis, will you give some pause to the thought that you were a bit casual in your attitude to the whole thing?
A lot of things are looking quite worrying this morning. The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness in the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
"However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
Nothing has changed in a year, the exact same arguments have been made about the sides accidentally falling into no deal even if they actually want one.
It's very important and may well be true but it's so utterly tiresome as theyd all say the same things if it weren't true.
A lot of things are looking quite worrying this morning. The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness in the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
"However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
Nothing has changed in a year, the exact same arguments have been made about the sides accidentally falling into no deal even if they actually want one.
It's very important and may well be true but it's so utterly tiresome as theyd all say the same things if it weren't true.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is coming under fire, this time from a prominent SAGE member. There's no doubt that 'Eat Out to Help Out' in fact helped spread the virus.
Although I think Sunak remains favourite to succeed Johnson I'm glad I cashed out.
What spread the virus was unis going back. True, there were avoidable mistakes over the summer, but that was the grand daddy. And from unis, it inevitably leaked into the wider community and is now rampaging through schools as well while everything else is shut down.
It’s even more bizarre because he now wants to move to a post-results admissions service, which can’t be done without moving the start of the university year to January. Here was a golden chance to do it. And he muffed it.
I think ‘average minds’ is an exceedingly generous assessment of this government’s intellectual capacity.
An academic was telling me there is a plan to return to face-to-face teaching in January. I found it quite unbelievable. Do these people never learn anything?
Unfortunately, it would appear not.
But if anything, I would say it’s a sign of how venal university managers are, rather than how stupid.
I think the academics are pretty much all in favour of remote teaching continuing for another term, but the managerial class has always been a bit detached from reality. And the financial situation is, for some institutions, potentially terminal if they don't get both fees and rent from students.
I wish the Universities that aren't in financial peril would lead the way and announce remote teaching next term. I fear that they won't.
--AS
I have some sympathy with the need for money, having been an academic, but if ever there was a case for the government to step in and keep things ticking over for six months with a subsidy, it was here. It would have been far cheaper and less damaging than the disaster that has unfolded.
Has the university link been proven? It sounds plausible but does it really match the data? The timing fits but what about the geographic spread? Shouldn't students have carried the virus round the country? My impression is the same areas have had high or low incidence for weeks. Surely this is more consistent with schools and not universities being the main vector?
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
Or just do a deal
A deal involves compromises.
Or do you think a deal can be done without compromises?
Compromise has to come from both sides
Or one side does something the other side explicits stares is a red line - say by voting for the internal market bill in its original form.. At which point the EU will be able to say the Tories created the mess and it will be very hard to avoid the Government having full ownership of the mess No Deal will create
The blame game in a no deal falls on the shoulders of the negotiators on both sides, but who the public blame and to what an extent at this moment is hard to predict
The Express will blame the EU, in banner headlines. What the Mail will do is somewhat harder to predict, ATM!
Now I know he is a nice chap and its sad for his family, friends and mildly sad for his former viewers and fans but is the death of Des O Connor (88 years old and a TV entertainer) really worthy of BBC 's dramatic breaking news banner ? Another example of how the BBC is losing the plot as a serious newscaster and how its turnign its website into something akin to Hello magazine. Does anyone under 45 know who is his anyway?
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is coming under fire, this time from a prominent SAGE member. There's no doubt that 'Eat Out to Help Out' in fact helped spread the virus.
Although I think Sunak remains favourite to succeed Johnson I'm glad I cashed out.
What spread the virus was unis going back. True, there were avoidable mistakes over the summer, but that was the grand daddy. And from unis, it inevitably leaked into the wider community and is now rampaging through schools as well while everything else is shut down.
It’s even more bizarre because he now wants to move to a post-results admissions service, which can’t be done without moving the start of the university year to January. Here was a golden chance to do it. And he muffed it.
I think ‘average minds’ is an exceedingly generous assessment of this government’s intellectual capacity.
An academic was telling me there is a plan to return to face-to-face teaching in January. I found it quite unbelievable. Do these people never learn anything?
Unfortunately, it would appear not.
But if anything, I would say it’s a sign of how venal university managers are, rather than how stupid.
I think the academics are pretty much all in favour of remote teaching continuing for another term, but the managerial class has always been a bit detached from reality. And the financial situation is, for some institutions, potentially terminal if they don't get both fees and rent from students.
I wish the Universities that aren't in financial peril would lead the way and announce remote teaching next term. I fear that they won't.
--AS
I have some sympathy with the need for money, having been an academic, but if ever there was a case for the government to step in and keep things ticking over for six months with a subsidy, it was here. It would have been far cheaper and less damaging than the disaster that has unfolded.
Has the university link been proven? It sounds plausible but does it really match the data? The timing fits but what about the geographic spread? Shouldn't students have carried the virus round the country? My impression is the same areas have had high or low incidence for weeks. Surely this is more consistent with schools and not universities being the main vector?
Schoolchildren go home to their parents each day. Uni students not so much!
Now I know he is a nice chap and its sad for his family, friends and mildly sad for his former viewers and fans but is the death of Des O Connor (88 years old and a TV entertainer) really worthy of BBC 's dramatic breaking news banner ? Another example of how the BBC is losing the plot as a serious newscaster and how its turnign its website into something akin to Hello magazine. Does anyone under 45 know who is his anyway?
It seems unkind, but I often have the same thought on such occasions (without extrapolating it out as having wider implications on news output)
Since the fire break ended in Wales it has gone crazy with people out and about, traffic queues ( yes and they are rare here) shops packed, as are pubs and restaurants
It is as if ending the fire break has ended covid in many minds
I do fear that this will not end well
And 'Celebrity' starts tonight and the activity around Abergele and the Castle is amazing.
I have never watched the programme but I may tonight
Isn’t this the point about “flip flopping” that the Govt have never grasped. You can’t legislate for people to behave. I fear that in England people were actually being more careful before we went to the current lockdown. There were incentives in the system (because of the moving between tiers). People were actively taking decisions to restrict their social gatherings to the outdoors, despite the inclement weather, and pubs and restaurants were planning to accommodate al fresco winter socialising. Now there are no incentives and people are socialising in ways so they won’t be caught - ie in private houses. It might “work” ultimately if schools were shut but major transmission vectors have been left wide open.
And if things are relaxed in December then people are going to take advantage, in full expectation that everything will be shut again in the new year.
Remember younger people are not living in fear of this virus.
Obviously there's a whole spectrum of behaviour. At one end, people who will go to the trouble of working out exactly what the rules are and will observe them puntiliously. At the other, people who don't give a toss and will do what the hell they like.
The number of deaths will be determined by a rather complicated weighted average of the behaviour over that whole spectrum. It's not easy to judge what the optimal startegy is. But I think it's fair to say that governments that have erred on the side of laxity are finding it doesn't work very well. Witness Austria yesterday, having imposed a rather loose lockdown, is now going to impose a much stricter one.
Absolute scenes. Uber boosters always used the self driving research was the knight in shining armour to justify Uber's existence. Sure, they would say, they are a gigantic loss making mini-cab firm with no route to profitability but once they perfected self driving car tech then magic would happen and suddenly they would be profitable.
The theory is correct - it’s just highly unlikely that Uber will make the breakthroughs. I guess now they’re hoping that their customer side infrastructure has enough value to keep them in the game. Won’t be the first tech company to fail, if it does.
They seem to be making a great go of being the worst rated company on trustpilot:
A lot of things are looking quite worrying this morning. The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness in the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
"However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
Nothing has changed in a year, the exact same arguments have been made about the sides accidentally falling into no deal even if they actually want one.
It's very important and may well be true but it's so utterly tiresome as theyd all say the same things if it weren't true.
The difference is that time's up.
That's not a difference, time was up for the last phase last time too.
A lot of things are looking quite worrying this morning. The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness in the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
"However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
Nothing has changed in a year, the exact same arguments have been made about the sides accidentally falling into no deal even if they actually want one.
It's very important and may well be true but it's so utterly tiresome as theyd all say the same things if it weren't true.
The difference is that time's up.
That's not a difference, time was up for the last phase last time too.
What has being woke got to do with climate change? Or has woke been redefined to just mean anything that elderly rural reactionaries get themselves into a lather about?
Johnson is the cushion bearing the impression of the last arse to sit on him. We are witnessing the baton being passed from Dominic to Princess Nut Nuts, and I can see her getting quite disliked quite quickly. I would reinvest a small part of the Biden payout in this tip, if it had happened.
This nickname seems to have come out of nowhere, I don't recall ever seeing it before yesterday.
There is, according to t’internet, a child’s party organisation of that name in Havering. Make of that what you can; I can see neither right nor wrong.
Blame us for Andrew Rosindell if you must. I don't think you can blame us for Princess Nut Nuts.
Now I know he is a nice chap and its sad for his family, friends and mildly sad for his former viewers and fans but is the death of Des O Connor (88 years old and a TV entertainer) really worthy of BBC 's dramatic breaking news banner ? Another example of how the BBC is losing the plot as a serious newscaster and how its turnign its website into something akin to Hello magazine. Does anyone under 45 know who is his anyway?
As he hosted Countdown for a time, probably quite a lot.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is coming under fire, this time from a prominent SAGE member. There's no doubt that 'Eat Out to Help Out' in fact helped spread the virus.
Although I think Sunak remains favourite to succeed Johnson I'm glad I cashed out.
What spread the virus was unis going back. True, there were avoidable mistakes over the summer, but that was the grand daddy. And from unis, it inevitably leaked into the wider community and is now rampaging through schools as well while everything else is shut down.
It’s even more bizarre because he now wants to move to a post-results admissions service, which can’t be done without moving the start of the university year to January. Here was a golden chance to do it. And he muffed it.
I think ‘average minds’ is an exceedingly generous assessment of this government’s intellectual capacity.
An academic was telling me there is a plan to return to face-to-face teaching in January. I found it quite unbelievable. Do these people never learn anything?
Unfortunately, it would appear not.
But if anything, I would say it’s a sign of how venal university managers are, rather than how stupid.
I think the academics are pretty much all in favour of remote teaching continuing for another term, but the managerial class has always been a bit detached from reality. And the financial situation is, for some institutions, potentially terminal if they don't get both fees and rent from students.
I wish the Universities that aren't in financial peril would lead the way and announce remote teaching next term. I fear that they won't.
--AS
I have some sympathy with the need for money, having been an academic, but if ever there was a case for the government to step in and keep things ticking over for six months with a subsidy, it was here. It would have been far cheaper and less damaging than the disaster that has unfolded.
Has the university link been proven? It sounds plausible but does it really match the data? The timing fits but what about the geographic spread? Shouldn't students have carried the virus round the country? My impression is the same areas have had high or low incidence for weeks. Surely this is more consistent with schools and not universities being the main vector?
I don't think it's believed that students carried the virus around the country when they went to University. Rather that, once there, they amplified local infections by passing it amongst themselves rapidly.
The data I saw strongly suggested that outbreaks in teenagers and university-agers rose first, with other age groups following. That doesn't prove causation but it's suggestive.
Because students aren't sampled by the ONS survey, we don't know the real rates of infection there. University testing services show high or very high positivity rates, suggesting widespread mostly-asymptomatic infection. So it's even plausible that the dreaded topic of Herd Immunity might come into play for Universities next term. If it doesn't, more outbreaks seem inevitable.
Now I know he is a nice chap and its sad for his family, friends and mildly sad for his former viewers and fans but is the death of Des O Connor (88 years old and a TV entertainer) really worthy of BBC 's dramatic breaking news banner ?
Now I know he is a nice chap and its sad for his family, friends and mildly sad for his former viewers and fans but is the death of Des O Connor (88 years old and a TV entertainer) really worthy of BBC 's dramatic breaking news banner ? Another example of how the BBC is losing the plot as a serious newscaster and how its turnign its website into something akin to Hello magazine. Does anyone under 45 know who is his anyway?
Just imagine what's planned for when QE2 goes. In Jeremy Paxman's autobiography he says that there used to be a protocol in the event of it happening during Newsnight. They'd put on a holding video or something whilst he'd rush off to get changed into a suit with a black tie so that he could come back and announce the news wearing appropriate attire
... Campaign officials described the episode as disastrous, saying it scared off many of the lawyers they spent months recruiting, who now no longer wanted to be involved. With the campaign already facing exceedingly long odds in its recount efforts, there are widespread concerns within Trumpworld and GOP circles that Giuliani’s antics are thwarting the president’s legal machinery from within....
... Yet Giuliani is taking on a heightened role. The president on Friday appointed him to oversee any new post-election litigation.
What has being woke got to do with climate change? Or has woke been redefined to just mean anything that elderly rural reactionaries get themselves into a lather about?
Woke is becoming like "politically correct", and in losing its specificity. That's very silly for the Right to do.
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
Or just do a deal
A deal involves compromises.
Or do you think a deal can be done without compromises?
Compromise has to come from both sides
Or one side does something the other side explicits stares is a red line - say by voting for the internal market bill in its original form.. At which point the EU will be able to say the Tories created the mess and it will be very hard to avoid the Government having full ownership of the mess No Deal will create
The blame game in a no deal falls on the shoulders of the negotiators on both sides, but who the public blame and to what an extent at this moment is hard to predict
Blame can be attached to both sides without being equally attached.
Who the public will blame will depend first on tribalism and second on how many people are impacted or cannot avoid seeing the impact.
Given party support about half of the public will blame the government primarily, and so if the impact is sizable and a fair chunk of what would normally be government backing people turn, you're looking at a big number.
A lot of things are looking quite worrying this morning.
The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness central to the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
"Boris Johnson remains the “hardest in the room” in his unwillingness to budge to secure a Brexit deal, government insiders said this weekend, amid warnings that just days remain to finalise an agreement.
However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
'Hold out for better terms'
Dear oh dear. This whole 'the EU will blink first' attitude needs to go. It isn't likely to happen. Either we accept their terms or get ready for no deal.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
No. And she wouldn’t even be First Lady in the US (which IS an official role).
She is not paid by the Government. She does not get given a budget. She does no work for the Government. She is accountable to nobody. Her “role” such as it is, is limited entirely to whispering in Johnson’s ear. Which she doesn’t need “friends round” to achieve.
So far as I can see the fracas in the offices at Downing st has little to do with either the politics of Brexit or anything else. It seems to be not just BoZo's violin that got smashed in this symbolic emasculation. The fairytale princess rescuing the Sultan from his evil Grand Vizier is pure theatre. The photographs of Cummings leaving with his box via the front door in a photoshoot were well trailed and clearly with his approval.
I know some of the people involved in this fracas slightly and I wish them well personally. But all this quarrelling would be tedious if it was happening to our close relatives. None of the arguments seem to be about the day job of running the country. As a central preoccupation at a time with the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of passengers dying every day, it is beyond a joke.
They're such a tedious bunch of twats. Perhaps it'll make the Tories will think twice before choosing another ex Bullingdon oaf to lead them.
I appreciate the whole "accidentally falling into no-deal risks" mood music has begun to take on an air of Groundhog Day over the last few years, but it is important to think back and get some perpective. Most of this entire year we've actually heard very little of this relative to other issues, and it's really the climax of last year that's providing the sense of weary familiarity, that can merge into a sense of the unreal.
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
Or just do a deal
A deal involves compromises.
Or do you think a deal can be done without compromises?
OK then. What compromises from its current position and red lines would you be happy with the UK making? Don't worry- this isn't about revealing the UK's negotiating secrets. What would you personally be chilled about?
Now I know he is a nice chap and its sad for his family, friends and mildly sad for his former viewers and fans but is the death of Des O Connor (88 years old and a TV entertainer) really worthy of BBC 's dramatic breaking news banner ?
What has being woke got to do with climate change? Or has woke been redefined to just mean anything that elderly rural reactionaries get themselves into a lather about?
Woke is becoming like "politically correct", and in losing its specificity. That's very silly for the Right to do.
It's just right wing virtue signalling. Or whatever the equivalent is for people who aren't virtuous.
Johnson is the cushion bearing the impression of the last arse to sit on him. We are witnessing the baton being passed from Dominic to Princess Nut Nuts, and I can see her getting quite disliked quite quickly. I would reinvest a small part of the Biden payout in this tip, if it had happened.
This nickname seems to have come out of nowhere, I don't recall ever seeing it before yesterday.
There is, according to t’internet, a child’s party organisation of that name in Havering. Make of that what you can; I can see neither right nor wrong.
Blame us for Andrew Rosindell if you must. I don't think you can blame us for Princess Nut Nuts.
Sorry, but from their website:http://www.nutnuts-softplay.co.uk they are an "Award Winning, family run company NutNuts Soft Play Hire, based in Havering, Essex"
A lot of things are looking quite worrying this morning.
The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness central to the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
"Boris Johnson remains the “hardest in the room” in his unwillingness to budge to secure a Brexit deal, government insiders said this weekend, amid warnings that just days remain to finalise an agreement.
However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
'Hold out for better terms'
Dear oh dear. This whole 'the EU will blink first' attitude needs to go. It isn't likely to happen. Either we accept their terms or get ready for no deal.
The idea the EU never blinks or never shifts position has persisted throughout this issue for years even though it goes against the whole principle of negotiation and they themselves would claim compromise has occuured. So I think the attitude of an utterly immovable EU needs to stop being made as it's just silly, like when we were told and I believed theyd never make more changes to the deal then did.
So it's more is there any incentive for them to blink now, other than the general wish to avoid no deal, in response to the specific situation. And there I dont see how it's in their interests, as it's one think for a deal to fail as both sides are stubborn, the EU might get internal blowback, and another where it's around the other side not dropping a promise to break the last agreement before they sign. It's probably not worth giving anything new last minute when it looks like its extracted from such a threat.
What has being woke got to do with climate change? Or has woke been redefined to just mean anything that elderly rural reactionaries get themselves into a lather about?
Being "woke" has nothing to do with climate change.
What has being woke got to do with climate change? Or has woke been redefined to just mean anything that elderly rural reactionaries get themselves into a lather about?
Woke is becoming like "politically correct", and in losing its specificity. That's very silly for the Right to do.
It's just right wing virtue signalling. Or whatever the equivalent is for people who aren't virtuous.
People have different perceptions of virtues, so virtue signalling can apt across the spectrum, it's why I like it as a non partisan term. Same with snowflake.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
No. And she wouldn’t even be First Lady in the US (which IS an official role).
She is not paid by the Government. She does not get given a budget. She does no work for the Government. She is accountable to nobody. Her “role” such as it is, is limited entirely to whispering in Johnson’s ear. Which she doesn’t need “friends round” to achieve.
So far as I can see the fracas in the offices at Downing st has little to do with either the politics of Brexit or anything else. It seems to be not just BoZo's violin that got smashed in this symbolic emasculation. The fairytale princess rescuing the Sultan from his evil Grand Vizier is pure theatre. The photographs of Cummings leaving with his box via the front door in a photoshoot were well trailed and clearly with his approval.
The suspicion has to be there. Though it would show some personal growth from Cummings as he allowed himself to be humiliated in service to the cause.
No, I think it suited Cummings. He doesn't do anything for other people, just himself, and that won't change at his age.
He wants people to know that he is not part of what happens next. You don't need to be a superforecaster to know why a rat leaves a sinking ship. The bilges are filling up with seawater...
... Campaign officials described the episode as disastrous, saying it scared off many of the lawyers they spent months recruiting, who now no longer wanted to be involved. With the campaign already facing exceedingly long odds in its recount efforts, there are widespread concerns within Trumpworld and GOP circles that Giuliani’s antics are thwarting the president’s legal machinery from within....
... Yet Giuliani is taking on a heightened role. The president on Friday appointed him to oversee any new post-election litigation.
It looks like someone is getting their excuses in first. It is not Giuliani who is sabotaging the "legal machinery". Judges up and down the country are throwing out cases where there is no evidence and in some cases not even a clear complaint, or even that have been taken to the wrong court entirely.
Too big to rig; too real to steal. There are just too many votes for Biden in too many states. That's the GOP problem in a nutshell. This is not like Bush/Gore 2000 when just 500 disputed votes in a single state tipped the White House.
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
I wonder what you will be saying in January when, even if a deal is struck, the UK will be facing the greatest domestic crisis since the general strike.
Without a wholesale reset of deadlines and the recognition of the scale of the trade crisis that will begin on Jan 1, the Tory government will be torn apart and Johnson won´t be out in a year, he will be out in 2-3 months.
The Tsunami is coming, the Farage Garage system, even if it exceeds expectations, will make operation Stack look like your local NCP.
The departure of Cummings is not the end of the crisis, it is the beginning.
If that happens I'd be surprised. I'm not expecting a major crisis.
A bit of minor disruption that people get over and adapt to.
If you're wrong and there is a major crisis, will you give some pause to the thought that you were a bit casual in your attitude to the whole thing?
I appreciate the whole "accidental falling into no-deal risks" mood music has begun to take an air of Groundhog Day over the last few years, but it is important to think back and get some perpective. Most of this entire year we've actually heard very little of this relative to other issues, and it's really the climax of last year that's providing the sense of weary familiarity, that can merge into a sense of the unreal.
The stakes and risks are definitely real though.
A lot of this is continued signalling to the other party. A risk of Cummings going is that the EU over interpret it and think they can get a deal without compromising on any of their red lines, and the UK side want to discourage that line of thinking. The main risk is that both sides overestimate the strength of their own position - the EU thinking it needn't compromise at all, the UK thinking it needn't do most of the compromising, as the weaker negotiating partner. No deal remains a significant risk if not the baseline scenario. January will be difficult whatever happens. Brexit continues to be a bad idea, badly executed by bad people acting in bad faith.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
No. And she wouldn’t even be First Lady in the US (which IS an official role).
She is not paid by the Government. She does not get given a budget. She does no work for the Government. She is accountable to nobody. Her “role” such as it is, is limited entirely to whispering in Johnson’s ear. Which she doesn’t need “friends round” to achieve.
So far as I can see the fracas in the offices at Downing st has little to do with either the politics of Brexit or anything else. It seems to be not just BoZo's violin that got smashed in this symbolic emasculation. The fairytale princess rescuing the Sultan from his evil Grand Vizier is pure theatre. The photographs of Cummings leaving with his box via the front door in a photoshoot were well trailed and clearly with his approval.
The suspicion has to be there. Though it would show some personal growth from Cummings as he allowed himself to be humiliated in service to the cause.
No, I think it suited Cummings. He doesn't do anything for other people, just himself, and that won't change at his age.
He wants people to know that he is not part of what happens next. You don't need to be a superforecaster to know why a rat leaves a sinking ship. The bilges are filling up with seawater...
I wonder what Mrs Dom thinks of it all.She has after all, stayed married to him for 9 years.
Now I know he is a nice chap and its sad for his family, friends and mildly sad for his former viewers and fans but is the death of Des O Connor (88 years old and a TV entertainer) really worthy of BBC 's dramatic breaking news banner ? Another example of how the BBC is losing the plot as a serious newscaster and how its turnign its website into something akin to Hello magazine. Does anyone under 45 know who is his anyway?
Just imagine what's planned for when QE2 goes. In Jeremy Paxman's autobiography he says that there used to be a protocol in the event of it happening during Newsnight. They'd put on a holding video or something whilst he'd rush off to get changed into a suit with a black tie so that he could come back and announce the news wearing appropriate attire
Thst excellent Guardian longpiece on that topic from a few years back suggests something like 10 days of coverage.
Of course even last time it happened it was hard to sit on the story even for a few hours so preparations could occur on announcement, if what I saw of The Crown before i fell asleep is accurate, so now Itll be broken by jimmyfartknocker23 on parler or something.
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
Or just do a deal
A deal involves compromises.
Or do you think a deal can be done without compromises?
Compromise has to come from both sides
Or one side does something the other side explicits stares is a red line - say by voting for the internal market bill in its original form.. At which point the EU will be able to say the Tories created the mess and it will be very hard to avoid the Government having full ownership of the mess No Deal will create
The blame game in a no deal falls on the shoulders of the negotiators on both sides, but who the public blame and to what an extent at this moment is hard to predict
Blame can be attached to both sides without being equally attached.
Who the public will blame will depend first on tribalism and second on how many people are impacted or cannot avoid seeing the impact.
Given party support about half of the public will blame the government primarily, and so if the impact is sizable and a fair chunk of what would normally be government backing people turn, you're looking at a big number.
The trouble is that blaming the EU for the chaos of no deal would be to implicitly acknowledge reliance on the EU. I thought Brexiteers believed in self-reliance, owning your own s*** as it were. I don't hold a candle for isolationism but I could respect that attitude to a degree.
I really don't understand the opposition to a border both in Ireland and in the Irish Sea. Isn't having a border the fundamental basis of being an independent nation?
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
Supposing this has happened - I have no idea. But the defence could be this. Boris is WFH. Others who come to the flat do so because they are working. This is legal in principle. Carrie interacts at a social distance because she is part of the same household as Boris.
What has being woke got to do with climate change? Or has woke been redefined to just mean anything that elderly rural reactionaries get themselves into a lather about?
Woke is becoming like "politically correct", and in losing its specificity. That's very silly for the Right to do.
It's just right wing virtue signalling. Or whatever the equivalent is for people who aren't virtuous.
People have different perceptions of virtues, so virtue signalling can apt across the spectrum, it's why I like it as a non partisan term. Same with snowflake.
I prefer snowflake to virtue signalling personally. "Snowflake" is usually used more accurately. "Virtue signalling" tends to be used rhetorically and frequently deflects from the real issues. It is used to close down a debate more often than to advance it.
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
No. And she wouldn’t even be First Lady in the US (which IS an official role).
She is not paid by the Government. She does not get given a budget. She does no work for the Government. She is accountable to nobody. Her “role” such as it is, is limited entirely to whispering in Johnson’s ear. Which she doesn’t need “friends round” to achieve.
So far as I can see the fracas in the offices at Downing st has little to do with either the politics of Brexit or anything else. It seems to be not just BoZo's violin that got smashed in this symbolic emasculation. The fairytale princess rescuing the Sultan from his evil Grand Vizier is pure theatre. The photographs of Cummings leaving with his box via the front door in a photoshoot were well trailed and clearly with his approval.
The suspicion has to be there. Though it would show some personal growth from Cummings as he allowed himself to be humiliated in service to the cause.
No, I think it suited Cummings. He doesn't do anything for other people, just himself, and that won't change at his age.
He wants people to know that he is not part of what happens next. You don't need to be a superforecaster to know why a rat leaves a sinking ship. The bilges are filling up with seawater...
There are two sorts of political resignation. Most are about the resigner admitting that the game is up. The other, rarer sort, is resigning to stay in the game. Think Peter Mandelson (for sure), William Hague or Ed Milliband (arguably), or Rory Stewart (I hope).
It's pretty clear which sort of resignation Dom thinks he's done, but it's not entirely up to him.
A lot of things are looking quite worrying this morning.
The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness central to the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
"Boris Johnson remains the “hardest in the room” in his unwillingness to budge to secure a Brexit deal, government insiders said this weekend, amid warnings that just days remain to finalise an agreement.
However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
'Hold out for better terms'
Dear oh dear. This whole 'the EU will blink first' attitude needs to go. It isn't likely to happen. Either we accept their terms or get ready for no deal.
The idea the EU never blinks or never shifts position has persisted throughout this issue for years even though it goes against the whole principle of negotiation and they themselves would claim compromise has occuured. So I think the attitude of an utterly immovable EU needs to stop being made as it's just silly, like when we were told and I believed theyd never make more changes to the deal then did.
So it's more is there any incentive for them to blink now, other than the general wish to avoid no deal, in response to the specific situation. And there I dont see how it's in their interests, as it's one think for a deal to fail as both sides are stubborn, the EU might get internal blowback, and another where it's around the other side not dropping a promise to break the last agreement before they sign. It's probably not worth giving anything new last minute when it looks like its extracted from such a threat.
The EU is in a stronger position with No Deal, because No Deal is not an end state, but rather allows negotiations to restart with a new baseline, and the EU is in a stronger position on that baseline.
Meanwhile, there has been a massive new Trade Deal agreed in the Western Pacific.2.2 billion people in the strongest economies in the world, quite a powerf
Has anyone asked the question as to how Carrie Symonds, who has no official (or unofficial come to that) role in the Government is able to meet other people than Johnson in the flat in Downing Street without being in breach of Covid laws under the current lockdown?
She's what the Americans would call First Lady.
You don't think that's an unofficial role at least?
No. And she wouldn’t even be First Lady in the US (which IS an official role).
She is not paid by the Government. She does not get given a budget. She does no work for the Government. She is accountable to nobody. Her “role” such as it is, is limited entirely to whispering in Johnson’s ear. Which she doesn’t need “friends round” to achieve.
So far as I can see the fracas in the offices at Downing st has little to do with either the politics of Brexit or anything else. It seems to be not just BoZo's violin that got smashed in this symbolic emasculation. The fairytale princess rescuing the Sultan from his evil Grand Vizier is pure theatre. The photographs of Cummings leaving with his box via the front door in a photoshoot were well trailed and clearly with his approval.
The suspicion has to be there. Though it would show some personal growth from Cummings as he allowed himself to be humiliated in service to the cause.
No, I think it suited Cummings. He doesn't do anything for other people, just himself, and that won't change at his age.
He wants people to know that he is not part of what happens next. You don't need to be a superforecaster to know why a rat leaves a sinking ship. The bilges are filling up with seawater...
I wonder what Mrs Dom thinks of it all.She has after all, stayed married to him for 9 years.
That is part of the political theatre. These are all friends from The Spectator. We have outsourced our politics to an oversexed and well lubricated Tory party fanzine's editorial board.
Comments
If the EU want these measures removing they can compromise.
https://twitter.com/ForecasterEnten/status/1327751785696595969?s=20
https://twitter.com/RiegerReport/status/1327365787921821697
So the EU "compromise" to achieve a deal (no doubt you would argue matched by "compromises" on the UK side). Once both sides have "compromised" to reach a deal, why should the EU assume that the UK won't later decide that they didn't really care for the compromises that they needed to make and unilaterally decide to amend those bits of the agreement?
It's not about what the changes in the Internal Markets bill do to the Withdrawal Agreement. It's about the fact that they make changes at all. To an agreement made (they thought) in good faith. By the very Government now intending to renege on it. And which contains remedies for things that the UK claims the IMB is necessary to address.
I wish the Universities that aren't in financial peril would lead the way and announce remote teaching next term. I fear that they won't.
--AS
Without a wholesale reset of deadlines and the recognition of the scale of the trade crisis that will begin on Jan 1, the Tory government will be torn apart and Johnson won´t be out in a year, he will be out in 2-3 months.
The Tsunami is coming, the Farage Garage system, even if it exceeds expectations, will make operation Stack look like your local NCP.
The departure of Cummings is not the end of the crisis, it is the beginning.
Or do you think a deal can be done without compromises?
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.128151441
But no doubt some level of pragmatism is needed in the face of imminent disaster.
A bit of minor disruption that people get over and adapt to.
Trouble is, there is no Gandalf.
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.160740937?loginStatus=SUCCESS&loginStatus=SUCCESS&loginStatus=SUCCESS&ott=F3i6uBghKVxirMO7jM0wvohKCVFO20xTMq64hqFxNrZ4+OJSRRm9BMhsKjZVDirS&ott=wTXMdnlJqtFjb63bqi2ngtIOAXbDUeyUrq9Pne8HIbqhj/+HTKVtFNrJeHrXMSZk&ott=MQdQJ0xVZXmTJEHPoZ0Wo/BCED4SB91MfN2ueMdugL7xviL/7r16nbNd/GtXY1I7
The chances of a no-deal accident arising out of miscommunication are really quite high now, because the new no.10 team is clearly desperate to play up Johnson's Brexiter credentials to his core constituency, after the allegations of softness central to the Cummings/Symonds debacle. There's very little time left, and very little time for the EU side to process how much of this is posturing, and recalibrate their own stance accordingly.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/15/no-deal-fears-rise-as-boris-johnson-least-willing-to-budge-on-brexit
"Boris Johnson remains the “hardest in the room” in his unwillingness to budge to secure a Brexit deal, government insiders said this weekend, amid warnings that just days remain to finalise an agreement.
However, sources familiar with the government’s deliberations said that, at repeated meetings, it had been the prime minister himself who had been the most hardline in wanting to hold out for better terms. They said the departure of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, and Lee Cain, his communications chief, would not change the fact that Johnson himself remained determined and hard to read."
Good deal > No deal > Bad deal
And I'm not afraid of no deal.
It's very important and may well be true but it's so utterly tiresome as theyd all say the same things if it weren't true.
The number of deaths will be determined by a rather complicated weighted average of the behaviour over that whole spectrum. It's not easy to judge what the optimal startegy is. But I think it's fair to say that governments that have erred on the side of laxity are finding it doesn't work very well. Witness Austria yesterday, having imposed a rather loose lockdown, is now going to impose a much stricter one.
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/ubereats.com
Surely not THAT George Pascoe Watson?
The data I saw strongly suggested that outbreaks in teenagers and university-agers rose first, with other age groups following. That doesn't prove causation but it's suggestive.
Because students aren't sampled by the ONS survey, we don't know the real rates of infection there. University testing services show high or very high positivity rates, suggesting widespread mostly-asymptomatic infection. So it's even plausible that the dreaded topic of Herd Immunity might come into play for Universities next term. If it doesn't, more outbreaks seem inevitable.
--AS
Do you think the Brexiteers are willing to sign that?
No-one signs an agreement with a government that rips up its own previous agreement within a year. It would be crazy to do so.
Giuliani wrecks Trump campaign's well-laid legal plans
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/14/giuliani-trump-legal-plans-436475
The campaign spent months building a legal apparatus to contest close elections. Then along came the former New York City mayor...
... Campaign officials described the episode as disastrous, saying it scared off many of the lawyers they spent months recruiting, who now no longer wanted to be involved. With the campaign already facing exceedingly long odds in its recount efforts, there are widespread concerns within Trumpworld and GOP circles that Giuliani’s antics are thwarting the president’s legal machinery from within....
... Yet Giuliani is taking on a heightened role. The president on Friday appointed him to oversee any new post-election litigation.
Who the public will blame will depend first on tribalism and second on how many people are impacted or cannot avoid seeing the impact.
Given party support about half of the public will blame the government primarily, and so if the impact is sizable and a fair chunk of what would normally be government backing people turn, you're looking at a big number.
Dear oh dear. This whole 'the EU will blink first' attitude needs to go. It isn't likely to happen. Either we accept their terms or get ready for no deal.
The stakes and risks are definitely real though.
What compromises from its current position and red lines would you be happy with the UK making?
Don't worry- this isn't about revealing the UK's negotiating secrets. What would you personally be chilled about?
I expect they're delighted at the free publicity.
So it's more is there any incentive for them to blink now, other than the general wish to avoid no deal, in response to the specific situation. And there I dont see how it's in their interests, as it's one think for a deal to fail as both sides are stubborn, the EU might get internal blowback, and another where it's around the other side not dropping a promise to break the last agreement before they sign. It's probably not worth giving anything new last minute when it looks like its extracted from such a threat.
He wants people to know that he is not part of what happens next. You don't need to be a superforecaster to know why a rat leaves a sinking ship. The bilges are filling up with seawater...
Too big to rig; too real to steal. There are just too many votes for Biden in too many states. That's the GOP problem in a nutshell. This is not like Bush/Gore 2000 when just 500 disputed votes in a single state tipped the White House.
If you're wrong and there isn't then will you?
Of course even last time it happened it was hard to sit on the story even for a few hours so preparations could occur on announcement, if what I saw of The Crown before i fell asleep is accurate, so now Itll be broken by jimmyfartknocker23 on parler or something.
I really don't understand the opposition to a border both in Ireland and in the Irish Sea. Isn't having a border the fundamental basis of being an independent nation?
https://twitter.com/BBCkatyaadler/status/1327913455056261122
Meanwhile BF Exchange are still taking bets on the outcome in Georgia.
?!?
Or maybe it's all informal baby care.
It's pretty clear which sort of resignation Dom thinks he's done, but it's not entirely up to him.
Meanwhile, there has been a massive new Trade Deal agreed in the Western Pacific.2.2 billion people in the strongest economies in the world, quite a powerf That is part of the political theatre. These are all friends from The Spectator. We have outsourced our politics to an oversexed and well lubricated Tory party fanzine's editorial board.