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Following the explosive testimony by Dom Cummings Matt Hancock now betting favourite to be next Cabi
Following the explosive testimony by Dom Cummings Matt Hancock now betting favourite to be next Cabinet exit – politicalbetting.com
Firstly an apology. I was totally wrong when I predicted yesterday that the Dom Cummings appearance today before MPs would be a damp squib and would not live up to its billing.
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A Washington Post journalist. The actual Washington Post factchecker. This time last year:
"Glenn Kessler
@GlennKesslerWP
I fear @tedcruz missed the scientific animation in the video that shows how it is virtually impossible for this virus jump from the lab. Or the many interviews with actual scientists. We deal in facts, and viewers can judge for themselves."
WE DEAL IN FACTS
VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE
https://twitter.com/GlennKesslerWP/status/1256267931220049920?s=20
And now, the same guy, a year later:
"Glenn Kessler
@GlennKesslerWP
NEW #FactChecker --> Timeline: How the Wuhan lab-leak theory suddenly became credible"
https://twitter.com/GlennKesslerWP/status/1397166166590767111?s=20
Not a shred of remorse, no apology, not even a Whoops!
WE DEAL IN FACTS
He actually says this in his own piece
"As a reader service, here is a timeline of key events that have led to this reassessment. In some instances, important information was available from the start but was generally ignored. But in other cases, some experts fought against the conventional wisdom and began to build a credible case, rooted in science, that started to change people’s minds. This has led to renewed calls for a real investigation into the lab’s activities before the coronavirus emerged."
I wonder who was "generally ignoring" important information, Mr We-Deal-With-Facts-And-Actual-Scientists?
Villareal 4.4
Draw 3.65
Man U 1.99
Prices via betfair.com
Or both?
But Hancock has been Health Secretary for nearly three years now, nearly half that time under a pandemic, which in political years is decade, so a transfer upwards/sidewards says Cummuings was talking rubbish.
Johnson could always give Williamson the boot and move Hancock to Education, but that's a pure guess on my part, of course.
There are rumours he is to be moved to Education. In a way, that would make sense. That of course piles the pressure on Williamson, the one cabinet minister whose performance under Johnson has been absolutely without any redeeming feature whatsoever.
For that reason as well, I’m not tempted.
Of course, he is a liar, and not very competent, albeit he is more trustworthy and more competent than Cummings. But I’m doubtful about how much pressure he’s under.
https://www.tes.com/news/covid-catch-up-schools-no-plan-dfe-resistant-learning-covid-lessons
I do admire Hancock, he definitely subscribes to David Cameron's view of Cummings, which is shared by many, including Priti Patel.
I also expect Hancock will not be demoted but moved to another important ministry
Mind you, wee Jimmy showed the same thing with poor old Salmond's mangling.
Like watching France versus Wales at rugby. You want them both to lose.
Tory MPs now think Cummings will be back in Downing Street if Sunak becomes PM.
But then I thought - who are they?
Actually, I’m not sure I agree. Surely the one man who still sees him as an asset is the big loser? There must be huge question marks in the mind of every Tory MP about Michael Gove’s judgement.
DCMS would be a demotion though.
Or Northern Ireland.
If Scotland goes independent in the next few years then Brexit will a factor behind that.
Proud Scottish Unionist Gove helped Scotland secede is the stuff that keeps Gove awake at night.
Well, it takes all sorts.
"Drew Holden
@DrewHolden360
That the Covid pandemic could’ve leaked from a lab in Wuhan went from terrible, racist conspiracy theory to plausible overnight for the mainstream media, without a shred of accountability.
If you don’t believe me, look at these stories side-by-side, then vs. now"
"But it wasn’t just NYT. There’s a lot of ammo from @CNN, too.
Not even two months ago, they ran a piece writing off the lab leak theory as “like something out of a comic book.”
Yesterday, the tone had changed, without any reference to their own role in the previous debate."
"For @BBCNews, the lab leak theory went from a conspiracy theory on par with China’s suggestion that the US created the virus to “all hypotheses are on the table” without an ounce of self awareness."
I agree with one of his conclusions
"Instead, because they hated Trump so much, they preferred to trust a lab run by shadowy hostile autocrats who had every incentive to lie (and long history of lying) about something that could turn out to be the most consequential coverup in living memory.
That’s...not good."
Whole thread worth a look. A lesson here
https://twitter.com/DrewHolden360/status/1397334751774658562?s=20
Because of the time value of money we're not likely to have ever had a billionaire as PM.
I'm trying to think, relatively speaking, the richest PM we've ever had.
Thatcher was quite wealthy thanks to her husband's business interests.
Going back further it might be the Earl of Derby who was worth £7 million back in the 19th century, which must be worth £500 million in today's money?
White House finalizing plans for Biden to meet with Queen Elizabeth II
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/richest-british-prime-minister
If you want to compare the value of a £7,000,000 0s 0d Commodity in 1869 there are four choices. In 2019 the relative:
real price of that commodity is £651,400,000.00
labour value of that commodity is £4,241,000,000.00
income value of that commodity is £6,152,000,000.00
economic share of that commodity is £15,290,000,000.00
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-sunday-times-rich-list-2017-the-top-10-in-wales-7xt5wdj67
It says 7 million in 1850 is 964 million today, so pretty close!
In Sunderland apparently.
Get that and a Tesla factory, would be very good result.
You've picked out one story where they've chosen to aim towards impariality for a change.
"What tint are your glasses?"
Bojo is an over-promoted lazy **** who is yet to finish a sentence. Cummings and he make a good pair. They're both up their own arses. The same for Salmond and Wee Jimmy.
But The COVID year has shown how basically stupid our press is. Never mind the facts, print a story. Although I had laugh at Peston for mixing up antibodies and antigens. Better to let them think you're stupid than to remove all doubt.
Not many have enhanced their reputations.
Britishvolt said it had bought the 235-acre (95 hectare) Blyth Power Station site and would have "spades in the soil" by the summer.
And potentially one on site of Coventry airport.
Does seem like EV production is really stepping up.
If I were still teaching politics (which I did in a previous life), I could get a whole term's teaching out of it, entitled something like "The Machinery of Government in a Time of Crisis". Tons of material on the PM, ministers, SPADs, the civil service, departments, government agencies etc. etc. Dom covered a vast range of stuff in the seven hours.
I'd then set the following essay: "Assess the strengths and weaknesses of our current political system and the machinery of government for dealing with a crisis like Covid". (Obviously, students would draw on a much wider range of stuff than Dom's tour de force). I'm with Richard Tyndall and others - it was gripping as well as coruscating, and may have more influence on future events than some suspect. Or not, who knows.
It's just the same as when there's a hurricane in Jamaica that makes first or second story on the main bulletin, so the local news programme interviews a woman whose brother lives in Kingston and got slightly wet in it.
One of the big ones is producing battery packs for commercial vehicles and I'm told the government is looking to get a march on Europe in that area so the UK can rebuild commercial vehicle manufacturing.
@BritainElects
Share of voters who trust/do not trust what [X] has to say about the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis:
Boris Johnson
Trust: 38%
Do not trust: 55%
Dominic Cummings
Trust: 14%
Do not trust: 75%
via
@YouGov"
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1397580519731343362
Whatever the truth of his behaviour and actions it will take balls the size of cannonballs for him to face the media.
I have no idea how this will influence our politics largely because Starmer and Labour are not at the races but also Cummings has little creditability with the public
"I predict that the winner of this weeks National Lottery will be either a man or a woman, celebrating a birthday sometime this year"
- sacking the health secretary even at the tail end of a pandemic would be stupid
- It would lead people to ask “why” and take the patina off the success story they have told
Far more likely he gets moved in a post summer reshuffle. Either sideways or a promotion.
But in all seriousness it's about what you'd expect - it's like the Salmond rating, old opponents still don't trust him even if he is attacking a shared enemy, and new opponents who used to be allies will hate him with the fire of a thousand suns.
There, I have said a nice thing about him
Next.
But then, so are most people.