Marcelo could miss Real Madrid game at Chelsea because of local election duties
Brazilian selected to monitor local elections
Madrid hoping to reverse decision
Real Madrid stand to be without Marcelo for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Chelsea unless they can excuse him from duties at a polling station for a local election.
The Brazilian has been selected to monitor elections to the Madrid assembly on 4 May. Although the game at Stamford Bridge is the following night the Madrid squad will travel on election day and there are complications relating to Covid-19 regulations if Marcelo carries out his polling duties.
Madrid hope to receive permission from local authorities for Marcelo to stand aside. The Levante goalkeeper Aitor Fernández was named on a reserve list to work during the November 2019 general election but was excused and allowed to play a La Liga match at Athletic Bilbao. Athletic’s Inaki Williams was excused from working at a polling station in 2015 because voting clashed with a match against Levante.
Marcelo obtained Spanish nationality in 2011 and all Spanish nationals on the electoral register are liable to be called up to work at polling stations, for which they are paid €65 (£56), and require mitigating circumstances to be excused.
Marcelo started the first leg against Chelsea in the absence of the injured Ferland Mendy.
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
Question: suppose the imbecile goes in the next few months. Is it a walk in the park for Sunak? Will Hunt or Truss be his principal opponent?
I think Raab is underestimated as the 'PM falls under a bus candidate'.
Honestly the nicest politician I have ever met. I don't think his warmth comes across on screen, but person to person, amongst colleagues, I can see it working.
Raab would be a good choice, although I do think Hunt would be even better, Matt Hancock deserves a shot at the job as well.
Hunt wouldn't get it because he wouldn't score particularly well in the Red Wall parts. I'd agree Raab is underestimated. Hancock has definitely upped his chances but I don't think by enough.
Trouble for Raab is Esher & Walton now not safe, big Lib remain vote.
Liz Truss is the dark horse. Done a great job on trade. Proper quite dry conservative. Not tainted by any of the covid stuff. Sound on wokery. Doesn't secretly crave Islington voters. Third female Tory PM.
Strong Remainer though.
That would be a good way to reunite the Conservative Party then from the damage done by Johnson. She is hardly likely to take us back in is she? Unless you are suggesting that some party members and insiders are soooo small minded that they worry about that 5 years after the referendum? Oh, OK you might be right.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
Terrific piece of prose. I really am wondering whether to close my bet on him still being PM on 1st July 2022. It's still in decent profit but it's getting smaller. Maybe Johnson's days truly are numbered. Maybe I've been calling this wrong and El Capitano (Topping) has it right. That he's so enormously and obviously unfit to be PM that he simply cannot last for more than a couple of years. Hmm. Dunno.
Don’t be swayed by prose in the guardian. Mistaking elegance for insight will make you a fool. For betting purposes it’s irrelevant.
The value is on him staying the course, IMO
100% agree. Johnson is at no risk until he fall behind in the polls, and would probably get a year or so to turn it around even then. He might get a kick in the teeth if the sleaze stories do hit at just the right/wrong time for the locals and they lose a couple of mayoralties they could have won, but it's looking likely they will have a good night and rightly or wrongly (and tbh, I think quite reasonably) the Tory membership and MPs care a lot more about that than headlines which last a few days.
The only exception to this is if he gets into serious legal trouble, but which I'd expect actual criminal charges. I think an electoral commission fine wouldn't be an issue.
So if the Electoral Commission conclude that he broke electoral law and fine him for doing so, he should just carry on? Any other laws that he should be allowed to break?
The Electoral Commission aren't a court of law. After the way they treated Grimes et al if that happens the decision should be appealled to a proper court of law.
What are they?
They make judgements and fine people.
Well, Boris would have broken the law only in a specific and limited way. So that is fine?
On the one hand, the percentages of those over 50 who've had their first shot stands variously at 89-98% (Scotland 98%, England 95%) in the Home Countries, whereas if you look at the uptake by ethnicity and age group, the very highest sub-group, which happens to be the smallest such group, is 97%
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
On the one hand, the percentages of those over 50 who've had their first shot stands variously at 89-98% (Scotland 98%, England 95%) in the Home Countries, whereas if you look at the uptake by ethnicity and age group, the very highest sub-group, which happens to be the smallest such group, is 97%
How can this be?
When they quote figures, is it seats offered, or arms taken?
I understood all along the number quoted each day and total is vaccines offered, not number actually given.
No, but 1.47 for the pm to last 15 months is a great bet.
Meaning I should top up not cover or close. I'm long at 1.8 and could have laid back at 1.2 a couple of weeks ago. Nearly did but didn't.
Thing is, a core part of my political betting technique is to identify (and lay at too short prices) Not Happening Events which the consensus wrongly (imo) thinks are quite likely. Recent examples being No Deal Brexit, Jez becoming PM, Trump getting another term, a 2nd EU referendum.
And I'd added this one (lurid early Fall of BoJo) to my portfolio. Never had a moment's doubt about it but now I am. Perhaps this Not Happening Event is actually going to happen.
But, ok, thanks and noted. Think I'll take the middle ground and neither top up nor cover back. Just leave it for now.
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
It’s still only small percentages allowed in arenas after the 17th, not full houses?
When they talk about fans in grounds, I hadn’t realised for Leicester semi you could only go if you lived in Brent. The fans looked more bemused than excited.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
European Union lawyers today demanded AstraZeneca immediately deliver Covid-19 vaccines from its factories in Britain, in a move that risks reigniting tensions with Downing Street over scarce vaccine supplies in the bloc.
Do you think vaccine nationalism is getting worse not better? What would you say personally to an Indian, in the depth of this crisis over there, who asks why Indian factories have been vaccinating Britain not India?
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
Kind of reminds me of some shitty novel I once picked up as a result of the author often being on this site.
It is indeed a little pompous, but the central message is there. Johnson is unfit for high office. The number of his apologists will no doubt experience an exponential decay until you are the only one left, no doubt telling us that overrated lying obese polemists/journalists/3rd rate novelists are born for the role of PM.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
But only in reference to a vaccine anyone paying any attention knew was a badly designed rush job.
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
The idea of 'data not dates' is fine in principle, but the idea of 'not before xx' is now meaning we are not using data. I believe SAGE etc wished to be sure that increasing cases were not going to lead to more hospitalizations and deaths. Well here's a newsflash - cases aren't rising, so ergo neither will the hospitalization and death. I am not blase about the risks, and the argument that there are still many unvaccinated people out there. But we have now protected the most vulnerable, and the effects have been astonishing on that front. We have drifted into a zero-covid approach without the consent of the public, or at least without a genuine discussion of this.
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
It’s still only small percentages allowed in arenas after the 17th, not full houses?
When they talk about fans in grounds, I hadn’t realised for Leicester semi you could only go if you lived in Brent. The fans looked more bemused than excited.
That's the point I'm making. The events I cite are a few days before 21 June – they should be allowed full crowds.
European Union lawyers today demanded AstraZeneca immediately deliver Covid-19 vaccines from its factories in Britain, in a move that risks reigniting tensions with Downing Street over scarce vaccine supplies in the bloc.
Do you think vaccine nationalism is getting worse not better? What would you say personally to an Indian, in the depth of this crisis over there, who asks why Indian factories have been vaccinating Britain not India?
European Union lawyers today demanded AstraZeneca immediately deliver Covid-19 vaccines from its factories in Britain, in a move that risks reigniting tensions with Downing Street over scarce vaccine supplies in the bloc.
Do you think vaccine nationalism is getting worse not better? What would you say personally to an Indian, in the depth of this crisis over there, who asks why Indian factories have been vaccinating Britain not India?
Is this the one Germany has just asked head-mistress to be allowed to order 30m of?
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
But only in reference to a vaccine anyone paying any attention knew was a badly designed rush job.
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
The idea of 'data not dates' is fine in principle, but the idea of 'not before xx' is now meaning we are not using data. I believe SAGE etc wished to be sure that increasing cases were not going to lead to more hospitalizations and deaths. Well here's a newsflash - cases aren't rising, so ergo neither will the hospitalization and death. I am not blase about the risks, and the argument that there are still many unvaccinated people out there. But we have now protected the most vulnerable, and the effects have been astonishing on that front. We have drifted into a zero-covid approach without the consent of the public, or at least without a genuine discussion of this.
No we haven't - businesses also wanted a lot of certainty and the only why to provide that was to offer fixed dates.
We may be opening up slower than you wished for but that's way better than opening up too quickly and having to then lock down again.
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
It’s still only small percentages allowed in arenas after the 17th, not full houses?
When they talk about fans in grounds, I hadn’t realised for Leicester semi you could only go if you lived in Brent. The fans looked more bemused than excited.
That's the point I'm making. The events I cite are a few days before 21 June – they should be allowed full crowds.
Do you think there will be full crowds everywhere after 21 June? It’s not mandatory is it, venues have right to restrict and distance.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
But only in reference to a vaccine anyone paying any attention knew was a badly designed rush job.
I think they were rushin a little too much. Perhaps it would have worked if they had Putin a little more data
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
Lord Evans' letter to the PM this afternoon. "We note that the Adviser will still lack the authority to initiate investigations. We will want to consider how far the new arrangements provide the degree of independence and transparency that the Committee believes is necessary". https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/1387414493316194304/photo/1
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
Terrific piece of prose. I really am wondering whether to close my bet on him still being PM on 1st July 2022. It's still in decent profit but it's getting smaller. Maybe Johnson's days truly are numbered. Maybe I've been calling this wrong and El Capitano (Topping) has it right. That he's so enormously and obviously unfit to be PM that he simply cannot last for more than a couple of years. Hmm. Dunno.
Don’t be swayed by prose in the guardian. Mistaking elegance for insight will make you a fool. For betting purposes it’s irrelevant.
The value is on him staying the course, IMO
It's not the eloquence it's the argument. That if something is truly absurd, the fact of it being so will dawn at some point. If it has not yet happened, (eg No Deal Brexit, EU Ref2, Trump 2nd Term, PM Corbyn) it will never happen, and if it has happened (eg Boris Johnson as PM) it will be reversed.
But then again, there's the inertia rule that says far more big things (eg the lurid Fall of Johnson) don't happen than happen. And he's popular. And he won a landslide GE quite recently. And the polls are good. And he's about to win Hartlepool.
So on balance, 1.47 to still be PM on 1st July next year? Yep, still more a buy than a lay, isn't it.
Have you got any bets on Johnson exit markets?
The thing that makes this different/dangerous is that there is someone close to the PM who is clearly out to get him.
Yes.
"I set up the election for his landslide. I did all the work to prop the lazy fucker up in the job. Then he sacks me just cos his girly tells him to and now the treacherous little runt is trashing me all over the shop. It's not on. Nobody puts Dom in the corner like that. I'm gonna send him down. Send him down to Chinatown."
On the one hand, the percentages of those over 50 who've had their first shot stands variously at 89-98% (Scotland 98%, England 95%) in the Home Countries, whereas if you look at the uptake by ethnicity and age group, the very highest sub-group, which happens to be the smallest such group, is 97%
How can this be?
When they quote figures, is it seats offered, or arms taken?
I understood all along the number quoted each day and total is vaccines offered, not number actually given.
I figured that they had to be two different data sets, and something along those lines - the first being jabs offered, and the ethnic uptake breakdown being based on actual jabs.
But if so, the Beeb should make that explicit. They should not run incompatible data sets without explanation.
Just seen that No 10 says Johnson will retain final say over internal inquiry into whether he broke ministerial code. I.e. he can simply refuse to implement whatever the inquiry says must be done. All very well for Starmer to say that Johnson would have to resign if he'd lied. The problem is we have a system/constitution in which the PM is all powerful.
“Tonight is the triumph of Boris Johnson, his advisors and his style.
His honeymoon will not last because he will remain a rather nasty unempathetic coward with a lack of respect for the truth and for others.
But Tory MPs, as ever, have little sentiment in dumping leaders.”
I think Boris is fairly safe, but not prepared to bet the bank on it. Respect to those in deep.
It's actually a similar calculation to the "is there intelligent life somewhere out in space (because there's bugger all down here in SW1)" conversation yesterday.
For life, the calculation is the low probability of life on any given planet x lots and lots of planets
For Boris's political death, the calculation is the low probability of any given fiasco bringing him down x lots and lots of fiascos.
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
The idea of 'data not dates' is fine in principle, but the idea of 'not before xx' is now meaning we are not using data. I believe SAGE etc wished to be sure that increasing cases were not going to lead to more hospitalizations and deaths. Well here's a newsflash - cases aren't rising, so ergo neither will the hospitalization and death. I am not blase about the risks, and the argument that there are still many unvaccinated people out there. But we have now protected the most vulnerable, and the effects have been astonishing on that front. We have drifted into a zero-covid approach without the consent of the public, or at least without a genuine discussion of this.
No we haven't - businesses also wanted a lot of certainty and the only why to provide that was to offer fixed dates.
We may be opening up slower than you wished for but that's way better than opening up too quickly and having to then lock down again.
We have clearly deviated from protecting the NHS from being overwhelmed. I have set out my case for why I believe that we will not have to lock down again - the data we have NOW show this. There is no increase in cases following the April 26th 'release'. Lets bring forward the next step, and wait and see. I am not advocating throwing everything open today, but we could safely advance the unlocking, based on DATA.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
This sort of dribble says so much more about the author than anyone else. But hopefully it made him feel better, more pure, or whatever.
If that is your best defence I hope you are a non-contentious lawyer! It is time all Conservatives woke up and smelt the coffee, even if they don't like articles in the Guardian. We have our version of Trump: a man totally unfit for office. Like Trump he thinks he can break all conventions and his base will mindlessly back him up. Proper Conservatives need to stand up and say this is not Conservatism. Johnson needs to get some advisors with balls who can keep him in line or he should step aside. I wish he would choose the latter, but as he is clearly a man with no dignity or honour, I am not holding my breath. I guess he will also want to get some value out "his" investment in No11
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
This sort of dribble says so much more about the author than anyone else. But hopefully it made him feel better, more pure, or whatever.
Edit, I see @Leon has made the same point, apologies.
It doesn't strike me as particular contentious, as Johnson analyses go. The structural points are fairly sound, and have even been gently echoed in the rightwing press from time to time, with some of his nice verbal flourishes on top. Many Tories know they are riding the tiger of an expedient charlatan, and eventually that charlatanism will become too obvious, either now or later.
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
It’s still only small percentages allowed in arenas after the 17th, not full houses?
When they talk about fans in grounds, I hadn’t realised for Leicester semi you could only go if you lived in Brent. The fans looked more bemused than excited.
That's the point I'm making. The events I cite are a few days before 21 June – they should be allowed full crowds.
Do you think there will be full crowds everywhere after 21 June? It’s not mandatory is it, venues have right to restrict and distance.
No it's not mandatory. If Ascot want to run a half crowd then up to them, ditto Wembley, pandemic or no pandemic, that's their right. But given those events I cite are literally a few days before 21 June then mandating the restrictions is farcical.
To put that in clear terms: England play Scotland on Friday 18 June. That's the biggest football match on these shores for years. The restrictions are due to be lifted the following Monday. Under the current plans, Wembley would be limited to 10,000 fans – not even enough to meet Scotland's away allocation, never mind England's. If the game were staged just 60 hours later, they could sell out all 90,000 tickets.
Royal Ascot is the same week 15-19 June.
What exactly is your point? I find it hard to infer from your posts at times.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
Nope. The vaccine in question hasn't been approved by our regulator. So that's a stupid post by you I'm afraid.
My problem with the wallpaper story is that I just don’t GAFS.
Everyone knows Boris and most another politicians chisel a bit here and there, so why is everyone surprised? This example seems fairly trivial in the scheme of things, albeit quite amusing as a distraction.
Same here. I like seeing politicians on the ropes no matter the trivial scandal but there's too many dimensions and subplots of this for me to care about and keep track of. I've even forgotten about most of them, the only two that stick in my mind are the bodies comment and the questionable funding about the flat.
There's also saving football but did he give the goahead first?
More importantl imo is that he tried to frame an innocent man, even if it was only Dominic Cummings.
ETA and who paid for Boris's holiday? (Is there a theme developing?)
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
This sort of dribble says so much more about the author than anyone else. But hopefully it made him feel better, more pure, or whatever.
Edit, I see @Leon has made the same point, apologies.
Actually, I think Rafael Behr is a good writer. But I can see what happened here, he did a couple of polished paragraphs, with fine phrases, then got over-excited by his own fluency, and wet himself with purple prose in the next passages.
Sometimes when knapping a sex toy I’ll make the same mistake, I look down at the heavy, half-formed lithic phallus in my hand and I think Ooooh, that looks Goooood, and then I’ll give it two metres in length with chalcedony ‘rabbit ears’ for supra-clitoral agitation and it ends up looking silly
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
Terrific piece of prose. I really am wondering whether to close my bet on him still being PM on 1st July 2022. It's still in decent profit but it's getting smaller. Maybe Johnson's days truly are numbered. Maybe I've been calling this wrong and El Capitano (Topping) has it right. That he's so enormously and obviously unfit to be PM that he simply cannot last for more than a couple of years. Hmm. Dunno.
Don’t be swayed by prose in the guardian. Mistaking elegance for insight will make you a fool. For betting purposes it’s irrelevant.
The value is on him staying the course, IMO
It's not the eloquence it's the argument. That if something is truly absurd, the fact of it being so will dawn at some point. If it has not yet happened, (eg No Deal Brexit, EU Ref2, Trump 2nd Term, PM Corbyn) it will never happen, and if it has happened (eg Boris Johnson as PM) it will be reversed.
But then again, there's the inertia rule that says far more big things (eg the lurid Fall of Johnson) don't happen than happen. And he's popular. And he won a landslide GE quite recently. And the polls are good. And he's about to win Hartlepool.
So on balance, 1.47 to still be PM on 1st July next year? Yep, still more a buy than a lay, isn't it.
Have you got any bets on Johnson exit markets?
The thing that makes this different/dangerous is that there is someone close to the PM who is clearly out to get him.
Yes.
"I set up the election for his landslide. I did all the work to prop the lazy fucker up in the job. Then he sacks me just cos his girly tells him to and now the treacherous little runt is trashing me all over the shop. It's not on. Nobody puts Dom in the corner like that. I'm gonna send him down. Send him down to Chinatown."
Always worth remembering that Cummings is not a conservative (either with a big C or a little c).
(I know ... some would say that he is a big C ...)
My business partner is generally very supportive of Johnson. Not an enthusiast, but very much prefers him to any Labour offerings. He said to me today that the wallpaper doesn't worry him at all, but the bodies piled up comment does, adding it's exactly the sort of thing, the "stupid b******" would say.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
Nope. The vaccine in question hasn't been approved by our regulator. So that's a stupid post by you I'm afraid.
Some quite funny Corbynite snarkiness and postings on that thread.
"I became a lifelong Sir Keith cultist after I saw him prosecute Mafia leaders in the 1985 ‘commission trial’ & personally throw hands with violent Corbynista hitman and Russian Mafia don Seumas mcPutin Milne."
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
Nope. The vaccine in question hasn't been approved by our regulator. So that's a stupid post by you I'm afraid.
On the positive side, it should mean that an increasing number of people get vaccinated by Sputnik-5, and without having to bother with all the hassle of getting an injection.
Impressive. It's almost as if voters don't actually care all that much about the oh-so-important things that send obsessive nullities into an onanistic frenzy.
Whatever will the poor dears do if Boris manages to take their best shot without any permanent damage...
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
This sort of dribble says so much more about the author than anyone else. But hopefully it made him feel better, more pure, or whatever.
If that is your best defence I hope you are a non-contentious lawyer! It is time all Conservatives woke up and smelt the coffee, even if they don't like articles in the Guardian. We have our version of Trump: a man totally unfit for office. Like Trump he thinks he can break all conventions and his base will mindlessly back him up. Proper Conservatives need to stand up and say this is not Conservatism. Johnson needs to get some advisors with balls who can keep him in line or he should step aside. I wish he would choose the latter, but as he is clearly a man with no dignity or honour, I am not holding my breath. I guess he will also want to get some value out "his" investment in No11
Boris is neither Trump at the one extreme nor Attlee at the other. he is a fascinating mixture of ordinarily bad and extraordinarily able which makes his ordinary badness distinctive.
Something will probably demolish him but the chances are it won't be this current stuff. But and however he was elected for a particular purpose, and intends to stay on for other purposes; and he intends to finish in his time not as dictated by others. If he succeeds it will be something of a first. At the moment I wouldn't bet against it.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
This sort of dribble says so much more about the author than anyone else. But hopefully it made him feel better, more pure, or whatever.
Edit, I see @Leon has made the same point, apologies.
It doesn't strike me as particular contentious, as Johnson analyses go. The structural points are fairly sound, and have even been gently echoed in the rightwing press from time to time, with some of his nice verbal flourishes on top. Many Tories know they are riding the tiger of an expedient charlatan, and eventually that charlatanism will become too obvious, either now or later.
People make themselves look either philistine or ultra partisan calling that bad writing. It reminds me of when Leavers got so upset with Matthew Parris about his extreme Remoania that many of them started to slag him off as a writer, even though his columns were as erudite and elegant as ever. It's fascinating how bias can interfere with the appreciation of prose quality. I'm not immune. I once lashed out at a lacerating piece of antiwokery, calling it "pseudy" and "facile" and "bloated", when on reflection I realized that the actual writing (if not the sentiments) was high quality.
On the one hand, the percentages of those over 50 who've had their first shot stands variously at 89-98% (Scotland 98%, England 95%) in the Home Countries, whereas if you look at the uptake by ethnicity and age group, the very highest sub-group, which happens to be the smallest such group, is 97%
How can this be?
The ONS population estimates are a bit low.
We know they're low because 1,983,864 out of 1,940,686 75 - 79 year olds have had a 1st dose in England.
The NIMS population estimate for England is 61,520,307 punters; the ONS estimate is 56,286,961
50+ vaccinated: 20,002,116 (As at 18th April) 50+ ONS : 21,043,663 (95.05%) 50+ NIMS : 22,433,743 (89.16%)
@narendramodi "Had an excellent conversation with my friend President Putin today. We discussed the evolving COVID-19 situation, and I thanked President Putin for Russia's help and support in India's fight against the pandemic.
We also reviewed our diverse bilateral cooperation, especially in the area of space exploration and renewable energy sector, including in hydrogen economy. Our cooperation on Sputnik-V vaccine will assist humanity in battling the pandemic.
To add further momentum to our strong strategic partnership, President Putin and I have agreed to establish a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between our Foreign and Defence Ministers."
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
The people most likely to sneer at John Lewis for being safely and boringly bourgeois are the very same sort of people who become columnists at the Guardian. Marina Hyde (daughter of Sir Alastair Edgcumbe James Dudley-Williams, 2nd Baronet) would rather sandpaper her tits for a week than buy a John Lewis cutlery set
On the one hand, the percentages of those over 50 who've had their first shot stands variously at 89-98% (Scotland 98%, England 95%) in the Home Countries, whereas if you look at the uptake by ethnicity and age group, the very highest sub-group, which happens to be the smallest such group, is 97%
How can this be?
The ONS population estimates are a bit low.
We know they're low because 1,983,864 out of 1,940,686 75 - 79 year olds have had a 1st dose in England.
The NIMS population estimate for England is 61,520,307 punters; the ONS estimate is 56,286,961
50+ vaccinated: 20,002,116 (As at 18th April) 50+ ONS : 21,043,663 (95.05%) 50+ NIMS : 22,433,743 (89.16%)
Thanks. But again this implies the Beeb is using two different bases for calculating percentages within the same article without any explanation.
Arlene Foster has told Sky News she will step down as DUP leader and Northern Ireland's First Minister following calls within the party for a leadership contest
Watched PMQs after the billing here. Found the line of questioning not only tedious but actually a little insulting to the electorate. I was all set to vote Alliance next month in the locals but having seen that joke of a performance from the LOTO I’m minded to give the government my backing instead.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
Nope. The vaccine in question hasn't been approved by our regulator. So that's a stupid post by you I'm afraid.
Not wishing to belittle the regulatory authorities in those countries (it's because I don't have evidence of their quality, rather than evidence of their lack of quality) but I'd be leery about taking any medication approved by any one (or all of those countries) but approved by none of MHRA, FDA or EMA.
It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
The author clearly doesn't read PB
The fanbois will never leave him...
Big_G made his amazing journey on a two-way street.
@narendramodi "Had an excellent conversation with my friend President Putin today. We discussed the evolving COVID-19 situation, and I thanked President Putin for Russia's help and support in India's fight against the pandemic.
We also reviewed our diverse bilateral cooperation, especially in the area of space exploration and renewable energy sector, including in hydrogen economy. Our cooperation on Sputnik-V vaccine will assist humanity in battling the pandemic.
To add further momentum to our strong strategic partnership, President Putin and I have agreed to establish a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between our Foreign and Defence Ministers."
Arlene Foster has told Sky News she will step down as DUP leader and Northern Ireland's First Minister following calls within the party for a leadership contest
My business partner is generally very supportive of Johnson. Not an enthusiast, but very much prefers him to any Labour offerings. He said to me today that the wallpaper doesn't worry him at all, but the bodies piled up comment does, adding it's exactly the sort of thing, the "stupid b******" would say.
So just froth? Maybe, but maybe not.
This is what I was thinking when Nick Robinson was cooing over Sarah Vine's favourable view of Boris Johnson's wallpaper this morning.
The press have decided that the refurbishment is the bigger story, for now, but the 'bodies' comment and issue will anger a lot more people, I think.
Question: suppose the imbecile goes in the next few months. Is it a walk in the park for Sunak? Will Hunt or Truss be his principal opponent?
I think Raab is underestimated as the 'PM falls under a bus candidate'.
Honestly the nicest politician I have ever met. I don't think his warmth comes across on screen, but person to person, amongst colleagues, I can see it working.
Raab would be a good choice, although I do think Hunt would be even better, Matt Hancock deserves a shot at the job as well.
Hunt wouldn't get it because he wouldn't score particularly well in the Red Wall parts. I'd agree Raab is underestimated. Hancock has definitely upped his chances but I don't think by enough.
Trouble for Raab is Esher & Walton now not safe, big Lib remain vote.
Liz Truss is the dark horse. Done a great job on trade. Proper quite dry conservative. Not tainted by any of the covid stuff. Sound on wokery. Doesn't secretly crave Islington voters. Third female Tory PM.
Ridiculed by Party insiders.
Would that be the same "insiders" who ridiculed Johnson before he won an eighth seat majority?
Truss has been a stalwart in Cabinet for three different PMs for nearly a decade and is massively outshining the Foreign Secretary on international relations.
Party insiders. Not members who think it's fine if the PM breaks the law.
I don't think it's fine if the PM breaks the law. If a court rules he's broken the law then he should go.
Which "party insiders" are you talking about are ridiculing a Cabinet Secretary who has been in the Cabinet for almost a decade, under three consecutive PMs and has done a tremendous job negotiating on behalf of the UK with countries around the world?
PS its members who get the vote of course in the end between the final two.
Obvs can't say.
OK. Can you say if they're an insider who would have backed Johnson or ridiculed him before he won two-thirds of the vote in the Leadership Election and went on to win an eighty seat majority?
BREAKING: Arlene Foster says she will step down as DUP leader and Northern Ireland’s First Minister, following calls within the party for a leadership contest. More on @SkyNews now.
Reading this article, it appears the real reason for the EU action is to come to a settlement where 'best efforts' are turned into contractual obligations.
Impressive. It's almost as if voters don't actually care all that much about the oh-so-important things that send obsessive nullities into an onanistic frenzy.
Whatever will the poor dears do if Boris manages to take their best shot without any permanent damage...
These figures exactly in line, taking account of margin of error, with all polls for the last month and more. I think the true figure is around C 42 Lab 36/35 and that hasn't changed for quite a time now - slight swing to Labour since the GE on 2019. Labour should squeak home at Hartlepool unless all the Brexiteers turn up in force.
BREAKING: Arlene Foster says she will step down as DUP leader and Northern Ireland’s First Minister, following calls within the party for a leadership contest. More on @SkyNews now.
They will open up the country quickly to get pressure off the buffoon, claim the virus is beaten.
If that was the case Boris rather than Hancock would be there.
This is to mark some achievement number or other and nothing more.
The clever thing to do would be to say that the data is looking a lot better than predicted so a review is being made to look into potentially bringing forward the timeline. That can then be speculated over for days, then in a few days time Boris can say "mission accomplished, we're bringing forward the 17 May unlocking by a fortnight.
On the one hand, the percentages of those over 50 who've had their first shot stands variously at 89-98% (Scotland 98%, England 95%) in the Home Countries, whereas if you look at the uptake by ethnicity and age group, the very highest sub-group, which happens to be the smallest such group, is 97%
How can this be?
The ONS population estimates are a bit low.
We know they're low because 1,983,864 out of 1,940,686 75 - 79 year olds have had a 1st dose in England.
The NIMS population estimate for England is 61,520,307 punters; the ONS estimate is 56,286,961
50+ vaccinated: 20,002,116 (As at 18th April) 50+ ONS : 21,043,663 (95.05%) 50+ NIMS : 22,433,743 (89.16%)
Thanks. But again this implies the Beeb is using two different bases for calculating percentages within the same article without any explanation.
The ethnic/age group data are also NHS England only and to a different date cut-off. And, as Pulpstar mentions, it's often the denominator populations that are hard - we only count people every ten years and the last count is ten years out, so it's all estimates and different groups will use different sources (in my research team, we don't use ONS mid-year population estimates as, by their own admission, they're not great for ethnic minorities).
They do put the sources in the article, but yes, they could do with a note that this might mean things don't add up.
They will open up the country quickly to get pressure off the buffoon, claim the virus is beaten.
If that was the case Boris rather than Hancock would be there.
This is to mark some achievement number or other and nothing more.
The clever thing to do would be to say that the data is looking a lot better than predicted so a review is being made to look into potentially bringing forward the timeline. That can then be speculated over for days, then in a few days time Boris can say "mission accomplished, we're bringing forward the 17 May unlocking by a fortnight.
So you think pubs that aren't open yet so won't have stock can open at zero notice?
My business partner is generally very supportive of Johnson. Not an enthusiast, but very much prefers him to any Labour offerings. He said to me today that the wallpaper doesn't worry him at all, but the bodies piled up comment does, adding it's exactly the sort of thing, the "stupid b******" would say.
So just froth? Maybe, but maybe not.
This is what I was thinking when Nick Robinson was cooing over Sarah Vine's favourable view of Boris Johnson's wallpaper this morning.
The press have decided that the refurbishment is the bigger story for now, but the 'bodies' comment and issue will anger a lot more people, I think.
With refurbishment, Johnson is completely on the hook because there's an audit trail. He's avoiding answering key questions but the truth will out as there is a trail.
With bodies, journalists have verified via independent witnesses, but Johnson denies it and there is unlikely to be a recording. It's very likely he said it in reality, but harder to make it stick.
BREAKING: Arlene Foster says she will step down as DUP leader and Northern Ireland’s First Minister, following calls within the party for a leadership contest. More on @SkyNews now.
But I think we can already answer the big question: Will the DUP appoint a leader who will let us into the secret of what the DUP wants from Brexit and the border issue instead of the long list of what they don't? QTWTAIN
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
This sort of dribble says so much more about the author than anyone else. But hopefully it made him feel better, more pure, or whatever.
Edit, I see @Leon has made the same point, apologies.
Actually, I think Rafael Behr is a good writer. But I can see what happened here, he did a couple of polished paragraphs, with fine phrases, then got over-excited by his own fluency, and wet himself with purple prose in the next passages.
Sometimes when knapping a sex toy I’ll make the same mistake, I look down at the heavy, half-formed lithic phallus in my hand and I think Ooooh, that looks Goooood, and then I’ll give it two metres in length with chalcedony ‘rabbit ears’ for supra-clitoral agitation and it ends up looking silly
And what about Giles? How many out of 10 for him as a writer?
Scale of 0 for Tony Parsons and 10 for Shakespeare.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
Nope. The vaccine in question hasn't been approved by our regulator. So that's a stupid post by you I'm afraid.
On the positive side, it should mean that an increasing number of people get vaccinated by Sputnik-5, and without having to bother with all the hassle of getting an injection.
Not necessarily, as this thread discusses. https://twitter.com/angie_rasmussen/status/1387397186372005893 ... I don't know enough about the specific AdV system used here, but it's reasonable to think that if E1 recombined w/ the Ad vector, it might replace spike. So that's doubly bad: you not only have a replication-competent Ad5, it's not expressing spike. Which is...the entire point....
Roll out the footy analogies... 'We are 6-0 up, in the last minute of the game, but sides have lost from here before...'
LOL
I'd like to think our journalists would ask about lifting restrictions early, but I suspect they will be wittering on about holidays again, and with a subsidary about decorating... I firmly believe we have enough evidence in terms of cases (not rising), population antibodies (thanks ONS), evidence of real world vaccine effects (both within patient, and in preventing/reducing transmission) to be less cautious, but I'd be amazed if any of the lobby ask about it.
It is very odd how the May 17 date is now seemingly set in stone. What the government could offer – through its own rules – is a raft of so-called test events with full crowds – e.g. Royal Ascot and the England vs Scotland Euro 2021 match at Wembley. Those dates are so close to the end date of June 21 (just a few days before it) that imposing restrictions on them seems farcical.
It’s still only small percentages allowed in arenas after the 17th, not full houses?
When they talk about fans in grounds, I hadn’t realised for Leicester semi you could only go if you lived in Brent. The fans looked more bemused than excited.
That's the point I'm making. The events I cite are a few days before 21 June – they should be allowed full crowds.
Do you think there will be full crowds everywhere after 21 June? It’s not mandatory is it, venues have right to restrict and distance.
No it's not mandatory. If Ascot want to run a half crowd then up to them, ditto Wembley, pandemic or no pandemic, that's their right. But given those events I cite are literally a few days before 21 June then mandating the restrictions is farcical.
To put that in clear terms: England play Scotland on Friday 18 June. That's the biggest football match on these shores for years. The restrictions are due to be lifted the following Monday. Under the current plans, Wembley would be limited to 10,000 fans – not even enough to meet Scotland's away allocation, never mind England's. If the game were staged just 60 hours later, they could sell out all 90,000 tickets.
Royal Ascot is the same week 15-19 June.
What exactly is your point? I find it hard to infer from your posts at times.
My point being that your point is a good one. 60 hours later could be potential sell out. So why not special dispensation for the full house?
Well, the date may have been fabricated on basis it is sixty hours this side in the first place. My point being, if it was sixty hours or more later, they wouldn’t have tried to sell anything near the full house. The government and scientists wouldn’t’ the have been comfortable with that, nor Wembley stadium.
Why can't Labour supporters see that making a fuss about Johnson's apartment is entirely the wrong subject to have a go at him with? It ought to be all about his failure to close the borders in March last year, and also his bizarre assertion that vaccines aren't causing the number of cases to drop when most of the experts say it is. They always seem to choose the wrong subject.
“Tonight is the triumph of Boris Johnson, his advisors and his style.
His honeymoon will not last because he will remain a rather nasty unempathetic coward with a lack of respect for the truth and for others.
But Tory MPs, as ever, have little sentiment in dumping leaders.”
I think Boris is fairly safe, but not prepared to bet the bank on it. Respect to those in deep.
One of my most controversial opinions is that this isn't in fact true, and that Tory MPs have only been ruthless this century once which was against IDS. Hague and Howard went after losing election. Cameron lost a referendum, May lost an election and still survived for a couple of years despite 80% of the party wanting her out.
Even Major held on for 5 years with a tiny majority (and years when it was obvious he was on the way to defeat) and Thatcher was deposed but only after a very long premiership making enemies over time and not before becoming electorally problematic.
Labour, who are often suggested to be less ruthless, got Blair to step down midway through a parliament too. And the move against Corbyn where almost the entire shadow cabinet resigned was more ruthless than anything the Tories have done for decades - it just didn't work because they don't have a 1922 Vote of No Confidence mechanism. But the Tories rarely use that mechanism, in truth. Nor does it cause leaders to resign in fear of losing one.
They will open up the country quickly to get pressure off the buffoon, claim the virus is beaten.
If that was the case Boris rather than Hancock would be there.
This is to mark some achievement number or other and nothing more.
The clever thing to do would be to say that the data is looking a lot better than predicted so a review is being made to look into potentially bringing forward the timeline. That can then be speculated over for days, then in a few days time Boris can say "mission accomplished, we're bringing forward the 17 May unlocking by a fortnight.
So you think pubs that aren't open yet so won't have stock can open at zero notice?
Next Monday is the 3rd May...
Saying that you can open is not the same thing as saying you have to open.
There are many pubs open across the country for outside trade only so they'll have stock for that already, saying they can allow people inside is something businesses can adapt to rather rapidly. Similarly many restaurants have stock as they've been open for takeaways, so they'll be able to adapt to being open for tables too.
If premises wish to remain closed and still reopen 17 May that's their choice, nobody will be compelled to open but it would be nice for the business to have a choice.
Plus of course the 17 May opening has many other elements like allowing people into family and friends living rooms etc too.
BREAKING: Arlene Foster says she will step down as DUP leader and Northern Ireland’s First Minister, following calls within the party for a leadership contest. More on @SkyNews now.
Which means that the next leader will be more unionist and Sinn Fein will win the 2022 election.
Not at all, Sinn Fein are only ahead now as the DUP have lost hardliners to Traditional Unionist Voice.
The latest NI Assembly poll has Sinn Fein on 24%, the DUP on 19%, the Alliance on 18% and the SDLP on 13%, the UUP on 12% and Traditional Unionist Voice on 10%.
If you are a moderate Unionist you will already be voting UUP not DUP. If you are a centrist you will be voting Alliance not DUP and if you are a Nationalist you will obviously never vote DUP anyway.
My business partner is generally very supportive of Johnson. Not an enthusiast, but very much prefers him to any Labour offerings. He said to me today that the wallpaper doesn't worry him at all, but the bodies piled up comment does, adding it's exactly the sort of thing, the "stupid b******" would say.
So just froth? Maybe, but maybe not.
This is what I was thinking when Nick Robinson was cooing over Sarah Vine's favourable view of Boris Johnson's wallpaper this morning.
The press have decided that the refurbishment is the bigger story, for now, but the 'bodies' comment and issue will anger a lot more people, I think.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
Nope. The vaccine in question hasn't been approved by our regulator. So that's a stupid post by you I'm afraid.
On the positive side, it should mean that an increasing number of people get vaccinated by Sputnik-5, and without having to bother with all the hassle of getting an injection.
Not necessarily, as this thread discusses. https://twitter.com/angie_rasmussen/status/1387397186372005893 ... I don't know enough about the specific AdV system used here, but it's reasonable to think that if E1 recombined w/ the Ad vector, it might replace spike. So that's doubly bad: you not only have a replication-competent Ad5, it's not expressing spike. Which is...the entire point....
They will open up the country quickly to get pressure off the buffoon, claim the virus is beaten.
If that was the case Boris rather than Hancock would be there.
This is to mark some achievement number or other and nothing more.
The clever thing to do would be to say that the data is looking a lot better than predicted so a review is being made to look into potentially bringing forward the timeline. That can then be speculated over for days, then in a few days time Boris can say "mission accomplished, we're bringing forward the 17 May unlocking by a fortnight.
So you think pubs that aren't open yet so won't have stock can open at zero notice?
Next Monday is the 3rd May...
Saying that you can open is not the same thing as saying you have to open.
There are many pubs open across the country for outside trade only so they'll have stock for that already, saying they can allow people inside is something businesses can adapt to rather rapidly. Similarly many restaurants have stock as they've been open for takeaways, so they'll be able to adapt to being open for tables too.
If premises wish to remain closed and still reopen 17 May that's their choice, nobody will be compelled to open but it would be nice for the business to have a choice.
Plus of course the 17 May opening has many other elements like allowing people into family and friends living rooms etc too.
The prime minister approaches truth the way a toddler handles broccoli. He understands the idea that it contains some goodness, but it will touch his lips only if a higher authority compels it there. Everyone who has worked with him in journalism and politics describes a pattern of selfishness and unreliability. He craves affection and demands loyalty, but lacks the qualities that would cultivate proper friendship. The public bonhomie hides a private streak of brooding paranoia. Being incapable of faithfulness, he presumes others are just as ready to betray him, which they duly do, provoked by his duplicity.
Johnson is driven by a restless sense of his own entitlement to be at the apex of power and a conviction, supported by evidence gathered on his journey to the top, that rules are a trap to catch weaker men and honour is a plastic trophy that losers award themselves in consolation for unfulfilled ambition. Having such a personality at the heart of government makes a nonsense of unwritten protocol. Much of British politics proceeds by the observance of invisible rails guarding against the tyrannical caprices that formal constitutions explicitly prohibit.
Conservative MPs are not under any illusions about the man who leads them. They appointed a rogue as their king because they craved the success that his methods bring. It was inevitable that evidence of his unsuitability for the job would leak into the public domain, even if it takes a while for misrule to have an electoral consequence. The question pinging around Tory WhatsApp groups is how far the current furore reaches beyond Westminster.
Downing Street is now a machine for generating vindictive enmity. Energies that should be spent on policy are consumed settling scores and lighting new fires to fight old ones. This is not a phase, nor is it an accident. It is a new mode of government being improvised because events flattened the old way. The court of King Boris combines the zealotry of a revolution with the conceit of an empire and the probity of gangsters. It is hard to predict how long such a regime can last, but two things can be forecast with confidence: the fall will be messy, and few who cheer Johnson today will boast of having done so once he is gone.
“ The Sputnik V vaccine Ad5 vector is evidently replication competent. The makers apparently neglected to delete E1, so getting this vaccine means being infected with live adenovirus 5.
That's a shocking error. Especially given all that we know about Ad5 and HIV susceptibility. Whatever authorisations this has need to be rescinded ASAP.
So the antivaxxers kinda have a point…
Nope. The vaccine in question hasn't been approved by our regulator. So that's a stupid post by you I'm afraid.
On the positive side, it should mean that an increasing number of people get vaccinated by Sputnik-5, and without having to bother with all the hassle of getting an injection.
Not necessarily, as this thread discusses. https://twitter.com/angie_rasmussen/status/1387397186372005893 ... I don't know enough about the specific AdV system used here, but it's reasonable to think that if E1 recombined w/ the Ad vector, it might replace spike. So that's doubly bad: you not only have a replication-competent Ad5, it's not expressing spike. Which is...the entire point....
Why can't Labour supporters see that making a fuss about Johnson's apartment is entirely the wrong subject to have a go at him with? It ought to be all about his failure to close the borders in March last year, and also his bizarre assertion that vaccines aren't causing the number of cases to drop when most of the experts say it is. They always seem to choose the wrong subject.
If there wasn’t a big problem with whoever originally paid for the job, then he wouldn’t have been so obviously unwilling to answer the question.
On the one hand, the percentages of those over 50 who've had their first shot stands variously at 89-98% (Scotland 98%, England 95%) in the Home Countries, whereas if you look at the uptake by ethnicity and age group, the very highest sub-group, which happens to be the smallest such group, is 97%
How can this be?
The ONS population estimates are a bit low.
We know they're low because 1,983,864 out of 1,940,686 75 - 79 year olds have had a 1st dose in England.
The NIMS population estimate for England is 61,520,307 punters; the ONS estimate is 56,286,961
50+ vaccinated: 20,002,116 (As at 18th April) 50+ ONS : 21,043,663 (95.05%) 50+ NIMS : 22,433,743 (89.16%)
Thanks. But again this implies the Beeb is using two different bases for calculating percentages within the same article without any explanation.
UK 50+ population is very white, 93.7% according to the 2011 census. 90.6% if you add in all the 40-49s and exclude 85+ from it...
BREAKING: Arlene Foster says she will step down as DUP leader and Northern Ireland’s First Minister, following calls within the party for a leadership contest. More on @SkyNews now.
But I think we can already answer the big question: Will the DUP appoint a leader who will let us into the secret of what the DUP wants from Brexit and the border issue instead of the long list of what they don't? QTWTAIN
And will a disgruntled Foster shuffle off to form the Uladh party?
Edit: not the 'Uladh' party, d'oh. Unless she has a major change of heart about Irish/British identity.
BREAKING: Arlene Foster says she will step down as DUP leader and Northern Ireland’s First Minister, following calls within the party for a leadership contest. More on @SkyNews now.
Which means that the next leader will be more unionist and Sinn Fein will win the 2022 election.
Not at all, Sinn Fein are only ahead now as the DUP have lost hardliners to Traditional Unionist Voice.
The latest NI Assembly poll has Sinn Fein on 24%, the DUP on 19%, the Alliance on 18% and the SDLP on 13%, the UUP on 12% and Traditional Unionist Voice on 10%.
If you are a moderate Unionist you will already be voting UUP not DUP. If you are a centrist you will be voting Alliance not DUP and if you are a Nationalist you will obviously never vote DUP anyway.
It is hardliners the DUP needs to win back
If the DUP moves to win back hardliners they are likely to lose softer voters to the Alliance.
I am sure the lefties on here are grateful to Mr Smithson for allowing them a thread to froth over. Its been a long time where the left have had to suck it up... Time to give them a moment to enjoy, if wallpaper be the subject of their wrath, so be it.
Comments
Brazilian selected to monitor local elections
Madrid hoping to reverse decision
Real Madrid stand to be without Marcelo for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Chelsea unless they can excuse him from duties at a polling station for a local election.
The Brazilian has been selected to monitor elections to the Madrid assembly on 4 May. Although the game at Stamford Bridge is the following night the Madrid squad will travel on election day and there are complications relating to Covid-19 regulations if Marcelo carries out his polling duties.
Madrid hope to receive permission from local authorities for Marcelo to stand aside. The Levante goalkeeper Aitor Fernández was named on a reserve list to work during the November 2019 general election but was excused and allowed to play a La Liga match at Athletic Bilbao. Athletic’s Inaki Williams was excused from working at a polling station in 2015 because voting clashed with a match against Levante.
Marcelo obtained Spanish nationality in 2011 and all Spanish nationals on the electoral register are liable to be called up to work at polling stations, for which they are paid €65 (£56), and require mitigating circumstances to be excused.
Marcelo started the first leg against Chelsea in the absence of the injured Ferland Mendy.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/28/marcelo-could-miss-real-madrid-game-at-chelsea-because-of-polling-duties
Rage.
Rage against the John Lewis interior...
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55274833
On the one hand, the percentages of those over 50 who've had their first shot stands variously at 89-98% (Scotland 98%, England 95%) in the Home Countries, whereas if you look at the uptake by ethnicity and age group, the very highest sub-group, which happens to be the smallest such group, is 97%
How can this be?
I understood all along the number quoted each day and total is vaccines offered, not number actually given.
Thing is, a core part of my political betting technique is to identify (and lay at too short prices) Not Happening Events which the consensus wrongly (imo) thinks are quite likely. Recent examples being No Deal Brexit, Jez becoming PM, Trump getting another term, a 2nd EU referendum.
And I'd added this one (lurid early Fall of BoJo) to my portfolio. Never had a moment's doubt about it but now I am. Perhaps this Not Happening Event is actually going to happen.
But, ok, thanks and noted. Think I'll take the middle ground and neither top up nor cover back. Just leave it for now.
Exciting times.
When they talk about fans in grounds, I hadn’t realised for Leicester semi you could only go if you lived in Brent. The fans looked more bemused than excited.
It is indeed a little pompous, but the central message is there. Johnson is unfit for high office. The number of his apologists will no doubt experience an exponential decay until you are the only one left, no doubt telling us that overrated lying obese polemists/journalists/3rd rate novelists are born for the role of PM.
I am not blase about the risks, and the argument that there are still many unvaccinated people out there. But we have now protected the most vulnerable, and the effects have been astonishing on that front. We have drifted into a zero-covid approach without the consent of the public, or at least without a genuine discussion of this.
NEW Westminster Voting Intention:
Con 42 (-1)
Lab 35 (+1)
LDM 8 (+1)
SNP 5 (=)
Green 3 (-1)
Other 7 (=)
23-25 April
(Changes from 16-18 April) https://twitter.com/SavantaComRes/status/1387410602918821892/photo/1
Or would it be just a batch error?
At the back of my mind at times like these is @david_herdson ’s pinned tweet on the eve of Johnson’s election win;
https://twitter.com/DavidHerdson/status/1205257427861561344
“Tonight is the triumph of Boris Johnson, his advisors and his style.
His honeymoon will not last because he will remain a rather nasty unempathetic coward with a lack of respect for the truth and for others.
But Tory MPs, as ever, have little sentiment in dumping leaders.”
I think Boris is fairly safe, but not prepared to bet the bank on it. Respect to those in deep.
We may be opening up slower than you wished for but that's way better than opening up too quickly and having to then lock down again.
Edit, I see @Leon has made the same point, apologies.
"We note that the Adviser will still lack the authority to initiate investigations. We will want to consider how far the new arrangements provide the degree of independence and transparency that the Committee believes is necessary".
https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/1387414493316194304/photo/1
"I set up the election for his landslide. I did all the work to prop the lazy fucker up in the job. Then he sacks me just cos his girly tells him to and now the treacherous little runt is trashing me all over the shop. It's not on. Nobody puts Dom in the corner like that. I'm gonna send him down. Send him down to Chinatown."
But if so, the Beeb should make that explicit. They should not run incompatible data sets without explanation.
All very well for Starmer to say that Johnson would have to resign if he'd lied. The problem is we have a system/constitution in which the PM is all powerful.
For life, the calculation is the low probability of life on any given planet x lots and lots of planets
For Boris's political death, the calculation is the low probability of any given fiasco bringing him down x lots and lots of fiascos.
It’s not as banal or embarrassing as Marina Hyde but it’s still rather smug and self serving. It just comes over as all being a game to these people.
Boris Johnson Facing Tough New Rules To Force Him To Correct ‘Lies’ To Parliament
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/boris-johnson-new-rules-to-correct-lies-to-parliament-speaker-hoyle_uk_60896f80e4b02e74d2223224?i59
To put that in clear terms: England play Scotland on Friday 18 June. That's the biggest football match on these shores for years. The restrictions are due to be lifted the following Monday. Under the current plans, Wembley would be limited to 10,000 fans – not even enough to meet Scotland's away allocation, never mind England's. If the game were staged just 60 hours later, they could sell out all 90,000 tickets.
Royal Ascot is the same week 15-19 June.
What exactly is your point? I find it hard to infer from your posts at times.
Nope. The vaccine in question hasn't been approved by our regulator. So that's a stupid post by you I'm afraid.
More importantl imo is that he tried to frame an innocent man, even if it was only Dominic Cummings.
ETA and who paid for Boris's holiday? (Is there a theme developing?)
Sometimes when knapping a sex toy I’ll make the same mistake, I look down at the heavy, half-formed lithic phallus in my hand and I think Ooooh, that looks Goooood, and then I’ll give it two metres in length with chalcedony ‘rabbit ears’ for supra-clitoral agitation and it ends up looking silly
(I know ... some would say that he is a big C ...)
This is to mark some achievement number or other and nothing more.
My business partner is generally very supportive of Johnson. Not an enthusiast, but very much prefers him to any Labour offerings. He said to me today that the wallpaper doesn't worry him at all, but the bodies piled up comment does, adding it's exactly the sort of thing, the "stupid b******" would say.
So just froth? Maybe, but maybe not.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_COVID-19_vaccine_authorizations#Sputnik_V
"I became a lifelong Sir Keith cultist after I saw him prosecute Mafia leaders in the 1985 ‘commission trial’ & personally throw hands with violent Corbynista hitman and Russian Mafia don Seumas mcPutin Milne."
Whatever will the poor dears do if Boris manages to take their best shot without any permanent damage...
Something will probably demolish him but the chances are it won't be this current stuff. But and however he was elected for a particular purpose, and intends to stay on for other purposes; and he intends to finish in his time not as dictated by others. If he succeeds it will be something of a first. At the moment I wouldn't bet against it.
We know they're low because 1,983,864 out of 1,940,686 75 - 79 year olds have had a 1st dose in England.
The NIMS population estimate for England is 61,520,307 punters; the ONS estimate is 56,286,961
50+ vaccinated: 20,002,116 (As at 18th April)
50+ ONS : 21,043,663 (95.05%)
50+ NIMS : 22,433,743 (89.16%)
@narendramodi
"Had an excellent conversation with my friend President Putin today. We discussed the evolving COVID-19 situation, and I thanked President Putin for Russia's help and support in India's fight against the pandemic.
We also reviewed our diverse bilateral cooperation, especially in the area of space exploration and renewable energy sector, including in hydrogen economy. Our cooperation on Sputnik-V vaccine will assist humanity in battling the pandemic.
To add further momentum to our strong strategic partnership, President Putin and I have agreed to establish a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between our Foreign and Defence Ministers."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/28/john-lewis-nightmare-boris-johnson-flat-refurbishment?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
The people most likely to sneer at John Lewis for being safely and boringly bourgeois are the very same sort of people who become columnists at the Guardian. Marina Hyde (daughter of Sir Alastair Edgcumbe James Dudley-Williams, 2nd Baronet) would rather sandpaper her tits for a week than buy a John Lewis cutlery set
For more on this and other news visit http://news.sky.com
https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/1387421902847754247
The press have decided that the refurbishment is the bigger story, for now, but the 'bodies' comment and issue will anger a lot more people, I think.
https://twitter.com/skydavidblevins/status/1387421383471345673?s=20
They do put the sources in the article, but yes, they could do with a note that this might mean things don't add up.
Next Monday is the 3rd May...
With bodies, journalists have verified via independent witnesses, but Johnson denies it and there is unlikely to be a recording. It's very likely he said it in reality, but harder to make it stick.
I have been invited to a birthday party for 12 people on Friday 14th.
Scale of 0 for Tony Parsons and 10 for Shakespeare.
Arlene was the reasonable one.
https://twitter.com/angie_rasmussen/status/1387397186372005893
... I don't know enough about the specific AdV system used here, but it's reasonable to think that if E1 recombined w/ the Ad vector, it might replace spike. So that's doubly bad: you not only have a replication-competent Ad5, it's not expressing spike. Which is...the entire point....
Well, the date may have been fabricated on basis it is sixty hours this side in the first place. My point being, if it was sixty hours or more later, they wouldn’t have tried to sell anything near the full house. The government and scientists wouldn’t’ the have been comfortable with that, nor Wembley stadium.
After June 21st it’s not normal, it’s new normal.
Even Major held on for 5 years with a tiny majority (and years when it was obvious he was on the way to defeat) and Thatcher was deposed but only after a very long premiership making enemies over time and not before becoming electorally problematic.
Labour, who are often suggested to be less ruthless, got Blair to step down midway through a parliament too. And the move against Corbyn where almost the entire shadow cabinet resigned was more ruthless than anything the Tories have done for decades - it just didn't work because they don't have a 1922 Vote of No Confidence mechanism. But the Tories rarely use that mechanism, in truth. Nor does it cause leaders to resign in fear of losing one.
There are many pubs open across the country for outside trade only so they'll have stock for that already, saying they can allow people inside is something businesses can adapt to rather rapidly. Similarly many restaurants have stock as they've been open for takeaways, so they'll be able to adapt to being open for tables too.
If premises wish to remain closed and still reopen 17 May that's their choice, nobody will be compelled to open but it would be nice for the business to have a choice.
Plus of course the 17 May opening has many other elements like allowing people into family and friends living rooms etc too.
The latest NI Assembly poll has Sinn Fein on 24%, the DUP on 19%, the Alliance on 18% and the SDLP on 13%, the UUP on 12% and Traditional Unionist Voice on 10%.
So given the DUP + TUV is on 29% combined ie more than Sinn Fein on 24%, if the new DUP leader is sufficiently hardline they can win back those voters lost to TUV and retake the lead.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election
If you are a moderate Unionist you will already be voting UUP not DUP. If you are a centrist you will be voting Alliance not DUP and if you are a Nationalist you will obviously never vote DUP anyway.
It is hardliners the DUP needs to win back
Edit: not the 'Uladh' party, d'oh. Unless she has a major change of heart about Irish/British identity.