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Trump at a 25% chance looks value for the WH2024 GOP nomination – politicalbetting.com

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  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,688
    Allison Pearson
    @AllisonPearson
    ·
    2h
    60 million people were helping police with their inquiries…
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    This is a breach of the rules he is responsible for and he should resign

    I would be surprised if he is post by monday
    Nah - Friday, after a positive B&S?
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362
    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    Hes already apologised for horizontal jogging. Did the health minister wear a hat is the next question.

    And Marquee Mark has raised the best question of all: how did The Sun get hold of this?
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    Ratters said:

    More seriously, good to see in the ONS infection survey that the increase in cases has been driven primarily by the Year 12 (age 16-17) to age 24 cohort that will have not been vaccinated at the time of the study.

    In contrast, cases within ages 25-34 have stated to drop back down slightly from their peak. Infection rates for older age groups remain low.

    The rate at which young adults are getting Covid will surely burn out in a few weeks through a combination of vaccines and infections.

    One very puzzling thing, which @BristOliver pointed out on Twitter, is that the ONS figures show infections at a level a bit below those of April, whereas the dashboard positive tests figures are around four times higher than they were in April. Something a bit strange is happening with the sampling - maybe we're getting better at targeted testing, and that is making the figures look worse than they are?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,962
    edited June 2021

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046
    edited June 2021

    "The timing of the embrace was in clear breach of the Government's social distancing rules on embracing someone from outside his social bubble.

    The guidance in place since March 2020 had ordered people to stay two metres apart from anyone outside their household or bubble. The rules were only relaxed on May 17."

    Telegraph.


    Sack him. Today.

    How can he possibly be sent out to tell people to continue with restrictions or take on new ones now?

    The Health secretary is caught having an affair and had to resign not because of the affair, but because he had legislated to make it illegal for two people from different households to gather indoors?

    Another bizarre tale to send back a few years and see what the reaction is.
    He would have faced calls to resign even then - the subordinate on government property angle - but it'd be harder to make the case for it.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,688

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Exactly.

    In earlier times a minister would have automatically resigned in these circumstances.

    There is no honour amongst this set of grifting scumbags.

  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,950
    Ratters said:

    Good to see that, under Boris' leadership, his core principles of lying, adultery and lack of accountability have started to filter through to the rest of the Cabinet. Really speaks to the importance of workplace culture.

    I think Hapless Hancock is about to discover the difference between someone who has all their life been fed on entitlement and a world class belief they can always get away with it and his own abilities in those areas.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.

    One irony is that if the 21 June unlocking had proceeded on time as it should have done, this story would have less bite now. That people are rightly angry they're still subject to restrictions that he wrote and broke is the awful part of this story.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,784

    Ratters said:

    More seriously, good to see in the ONS infection survey that the increase in cases has been driven primarily by the Year 12 (age 16-17) to age 24 cohort that will have not been vaccinated at the time of the study.

    In contrast, cases within ages 25-34 have stated to drop back down slightly from their peak. Infection rates for older age groups remain low.

    The rate at which young adults are getting Covid will surely burn out in a few weeks through a combination of vaccines and infections.

    One very puzzling thing, which @BristOliver pointed out on Twitter, is that the ONS figures show infections at a level a bit below those of April, whereas the dashboard positive tests figures are around four times higher than they were in April. Something a bit strange is happening with the sampling - maybe we're getting better at targeted testing, and that is making the figures look worse than they are?
    Yes, LFTs are picking up a huge proportion of the asymptotic infections that were previously invisible to the testing system but not to the ONS random sampling.
  • FenmanFenman Posts: 1,047
    Hancock has been an arse. He should be sacked. But Boris doesn't want to set a precedent. After all, if being an arse gets you sacked..
  • justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
  • maaarshmaaarsh Posts: 3,590

    Ratters said:

    More seriously, good to see in the ONS infection survey that the increase in cases has been driven primarily by the Year 12 (age 16-17) to age 24 cohort that will have not been vaccinated at the time of the study.

    In contrast, cases within ages 25-34 have stated to drop back down slightly from their peak. Infection rates for older age groups remain low.

    The rate at which young adults are getting Covid will surely burn out in a few weeks through a combination of vaccines and infections.

    One very puzzling thing, which @BristOliver pointed out on Twitter, is that the ONS figures show infections at a level a bit below those of April, whereas the dashboard positive tests figures are around four times higher than they were in April. Something a bit strange is happening with the sampling - maybe we're getting better at targeted testing, and that is making the figures look worse than they are?
    Hospital admissions are sitting at first week in April levels, so hmmmmmmm.
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,300

    Would handy cock have been in as much trouble if he was quietly having this affair out of office hours?

    I can't imagine The Shagger In Chief would be too concerned what time of the day he exercises his trouser snake. The danger here perhaps for Bozo fanbois is that how long will it be before Johnson gets caught with his Johnson in a place he recently vowed it shouldn't be?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046
    edited June 2021

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,688

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Ironically, if Cummings was still his Chief Aide then Hancock would be walking.

    Cummings: "Well Boris, I've been telling you to sack the hopeless twat for months now haven't I?"
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,169
    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    The question is, did he 'Eat out to help out' ?
  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 13,677
    Pulpstar said:

    Be funny if Hancock got shuffled to Northern Ireland. Perhaps a promotion for Zahawi to health ?

    His enormous head is too frightening on television for such a high profile role as health. He’s like a Pertwee era Doctor Who monster.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,205

    Ratters said:

    More seriously, good to see in the ONS infection survey that the increase in cases has been driven primarily by the Year 12 (age 16-17) to age 24 cohort that will have not been vaccinated at the time of the study.

    In contrast, cases within ages 25-34 have stated to drop back down slightly from their peak. Infection rates for older age groups remain low.

    The rate at which young adults are getting Covid will surely burn out in a few weeks through a combination of vaccines and infections.

    One very puzzling thing, which @BristOliver pointed out on Twitter, is that the ONS figures show infections at a level a bit below those of April, whereas the dashboard positive tests figures are around four times higher than they were in April. Something a bit strange is happening with the sampling - maybe we're getting better at targeted testing, and that is making the figures look worse than they are?
    I think the latter - the testing is more targeted.

    The age bands in the oNS is confirmation of what has been evident from the cases - it's speeding in the young adult/older teen groups, primarily.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,012
    The media have this as their main story and they will not let this go
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046
    gealbhan said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    Hes already apologised for horizontal jogging. Did the health minister wear a hat is the next question.

    And Marquee Mark has raised the best question of all: how did The Sun get hold of this?
    It is a good question, and raises concerns, but expect to see it used to distract from the political issue. A lot of 'the real outrage here' stuff.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,962
    edited June 2021
    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
  • Alphabet_SoupAlphabet_Soup Posts: 3,242
    Bearing in mind the precedent set by the admirable Robin Cook, Hancock should do the decent thing and ditch his wife.
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.
    No Philip that is not correct. The issue is Hancock's motivation for imposing the rules, and more importantly his motivation for maintaining them.

    We understand that one reason Johnson delayed June 21 was because Hancock sat on data.

    Why did he sit on that data? what was Hancock's motivation for putting thousand of British businesses at risk?

    Was it so that he could keep enjoying the power paradise Hancock found himself in?
  • glwglw Posts: 9,906

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Boris should have sacked Hancock as soon as the details became clear, just as he should have sacked Cummings last year.

    One problem for Boris though is there must be a decent chance of him having done something similar to Hancock.
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,300

    Ratters said:

    Good to see that, under Boris' leadership, his core principles of lying, adultery and lack of accountability have started to filter through to the rest of the Cabinet. Really speaks to the importance of workplace culture.

    I think Hapless Hancock is about to discover the difference between someone who has all their life been fed on entitlement and a world class belief they can always get away with it and his own abilities in those areas.
    Your ex-leader, who was famously described by his QC as a bully and sex pest, waves.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Pulpstar said:

    Someone on twitter has put forward the argument that myocarditis risk for teenagers (From Pfizer) is greater than catching Covid even assuming 100% infection.
    I assume that's a nonsense.

    The FDA said exactly the opposite the other day when they added it to the label
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,012
    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    I do not intend speculating on the definition of an affair
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,576

    Ratters said:

    More seriously, good to see in the ONS infection survey that the increase in cases has been driven primarily by the Year 12 (age 16-17) to age 24 cohort that will have not been vaccinated at the time of the study.

    In contrast, cases within ages 25-34 have stated to drop back down slightly from their peak. Infection rates for older age groups remain low.

    The rate at which young adults are getting Covid will surely burn out in a few weeks through a combination of vaccines and infections.

    One very puzzling thing, which @BristOliver pointed out on Twitter, is that the ONS figures show infections at a level a bit below those of April, whereas the dashboard positive tests figures are around four times higher than they were in April. Something a bit strange is happening with the sampling - maybe we're getting better at targeted testing, and that is making the figures look worse than they are?
    Yes, the huge amounts of testing mean that more asymptotic cases are detected.

    We have the same issue where I’m living in the UAE. Roughly 2.5% of the population is tested daily, and the case numbers are pretty stable at around 0.8% positive. (2,000 cases, in a population of 10m).

    Other countries, who are still only testing symptomatic individuals, are reporting lower infection rates - but actual infection rates may be much higher.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,707
      
    MaxPB said:

    Fuck Hancock. Rules for thee not for me. Should be sacked immediately. He was making the fucking rules as the minister in charge of the pandemic response and then chose to break them for his mistress. Imposed misery in millions while he was happy shagging someone outside of his family bubble and telling randy teenagers they weren't allowed to meet people outside of their family bubbles at all.

    Wanker.

    If only.

  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,492

    Ratters said:

    More seriously, good to see in the ONS infection survey that the increase in cases has been driven primarily by the Year 12 (age 16-17) to age 24 cohort that will have not been vaccinated at the time of the study.

    In contrast, cases within ages 25-34 have stated to drop back down slightly from their peak. Infection rates for older age groups remain low.

    The rate at which young adults are getting Covid will surely burn out in a few weeks through a combination of vaccines and infections.

    One very puzzling thing, which @BristOliver pointed out on Twitter, is that the ONS figures show infections at a level a bit below those of April, whereas the dashboard positive tests figures are around four times higher than they were in April. Something a bit strange is happening with the sampling - maybe we're getting better at targeted testing, and that is making the figures look worse than they are?
    I think the targeting testing will be part, but I think that as we are now doing a lot of 'mass' testing in schools collages and university's, which are prissily the age groups that are not vaccinated yet, it is making the numbers look worse than they are, in comparison to earlier in the pandemic.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,169
    edited June 2021
    Charles said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Someone on twitter has put forward the argument that myocarditis risk for teenagers (From Pfizer) is greater than catching Covid even assuming 100% infection.
    I assume that's a nonsense.

    The FDA said exactly the opposite the other day when they added it to the label
    Thanks - every time an antivaxxer raises a (vaguely) plausible argument - myocarditis is a known risk for Pfizer I do like to check it out. Good to know it's a nonsense.
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,300

    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
    Zahawi is ne of the few high profile members of this government who has actually achieved things outside politics. I would think he should rise to the challenge. He does appear competent and impressive, which is probably why Johnson won't promote him.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,576
    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    I’m sure my wife’s answer to that question would be “yes”.
  • maaarshmaaarsh Posts: 3,590
    Recent precedent here would be Simon Clarke who resigned to the backbenches last September after being caught in an affair with a civil servant he was working with.

    That's actually the lesser of Hancock's crimes and he's still trying to brazen it out regardless of the hurt and damage caused to his family - nasty piece of work.
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,300

    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
    Zahawi is ne of the few high profile members of this government who has actually achieved things outside politics. I would think he should rise to the challenge. He does appear competent and impressive, which is probably why Johnson won't promote him.
    I just realised "rising to the challenge" may not be a good thing to say about a prospective replacement for Mr Hand-cock.
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.
    What about the argument it is the affair if the story becomes damaging? Wall to wall days of media shouting sleaze and hypocrisy could impact the by election?

    Take the Telegraph for example, since last week election defeat a marked shift in tone to now supporting the Conservative Party, not the Boris Party. Does number 10 need momentum to that theme, by ignoring what Conservatives think about the affair, not just the little rule breach.
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207
    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    His wife might have a view
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046
    Sandpit said:

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    I’m sure my wife’s answer to that question would be “yes”.
    We settle that question as we do with everything - with polling

    https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/05/27/one-five-british-adults-admit-affair

    https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/hnkaqncwlu/SunResults_150518_affairs_W.pdf
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362
    edited June 2021

    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
    Zahawi is ne of the few high profile members of this government who has actually achieved things outside politics. I would think he should rise to the challenge. He does appear competent and impressive, which is probably why Johnson won't promote him.
    I just realised "rising to the challenge" may not be a good thing to say about a prospective replacement for Mr Hand-cock.
    He’s firming up as a candidate in my book.
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    I wonder which ministers have today been making discrete enquiries about the location of security cameras within Whitehall.
  • MrEdMrEd Posts: 5,578
    Fenman said:

    Hancock has been an arse. He should be sacked. But Boris doesn't want to set a precedent. After all, if being an arse gets you sacked..

    Who cares? It's not as though he was a manipulating older man seducing some fresh young thing. They are both married and both have kids. Nor did she exactly need the job, given who her husband is, so it's not as though Hancock is taking advantage of someone vulnerable. It is two married people who thought they could get away with a fling and now find it plastered across the papers.
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,300
    The Secretary of State for Health has just issued a new slogan: Hand Cock Face.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,169
    gealbhan said:

    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
    Zahawi is ne of the few high profile members of this government who has actually achieved things outside politics. I would think he should rise to the challenge. He does appear competent and impressive, which is probably why Johnson won't promote him.
    I just realised "rising to the challenge" may not be a good thing to say about a prospective replacement for Mr Hand-cock.
    He’s firming up as a candidate in my book.
    Hancock - "more than enough" Pfizer

    https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-more-than-enough-doses-of-pfizer-and-moderna-for-under-30s-says-matt-hancock-12268997
  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,300
    Sandpit said:

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    I’m sure my wife’s answer to that question would be “yes”.
    that is not what she said to me the other night....
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,397
    edited June 2021
    The two met at Oxygen FM.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046
    alex_ said:

    I wonder which ministers have today been making discrete enquiries about the location of security cameras within Whitehall.

    Discreet and discrete enquiries both, in fact.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 38,784
    MrEd said:

    Fenman said:

    Hancock has been an arse. He should be sacked. But Boris doesn't want to set a precedent. After all, if being an arse gets you sacked..

    Who cares? It's not as though he was a manipulating older man seducing some fresh young thing. They are both married and both have kids. Nor did she exactly need the job, given who her husband is, so it's not as though Hancock is taking advantage of someone vulnerable. It is two married people who thought they could get away with a fling and now find it plastered across the papers.
    Well done for completely missing the actual story which is Hancock breaking his own rules that he imposed on the rest of the country. Rules for thee, not for me. I really don't care that he had an affair, that's his and his wife's business. The rule breaking is the nation's business.
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    I do not intend speculating on the definition of an affair
    Anything short of Oral and Penetration is merely friendship?
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118

    The media have this as their main story and they will not let this go

    Rightly so. Boris has to sack him & will suffer in the polls/elections if he doesn’t
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,885
    Odds on Hancock losing his job now pretty big. He admitted lying cheating breaking the law....I know in a Johnson administration this would normally lead to promotion (witness Patel) but this time it looks like the law is involved
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046
    gealbhan said:

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    I do not intend speculating on the definition of an affair
    Anything short of Oral and Penetration is merely friendship?
    If you're a bonobo, maybe.
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207
    Sandpit said:

    German health minister: 'Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer'
    The more infectious Delta coronavirus variant will become dominant in Germany over the summer, health minister Jens Spahn said this morning.

    “The Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer, it’s more a matter of weeks than months,” Spahn told a news conference, adding the variant currently makes up more than 15% of coronavirus cases reported in Germany.

    ---

    But its ok, everybody to the beaches and nightclubs of Southern Europe to intermingle.....

    Crowding the unvaccinated youth of Europe in the 10,000 capacity nightclubs of Ibiza, definitely isn’t going to result in a massive new wave of infection all over the continent.
    But hey - lets quarantine the Brits.......
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518
    Completely O/T - but i don't suppose anyone has had any further news today in relation to DavidL? It's all very concerning if not.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 81,962
    The LibDems are also having a go, calling Hancock “a terrible health secretary and should have been sacked a long time ago”

    Open goal....clean through....and they fire over the bar.....
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362

    The media have this as their main story and they will not let this go

    Hence Philip Thompson has it completely wrong again, like his views on removing Covid restrictions he is incapable of thinking like a spin doctor in the Prime Ministers ear.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    gealbhan said:

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.
    What about the argument it is the affair if the story becomes damaging? Wall to wall days of media shouting sleaze and hypocrisy could impact the by election?

    Take the Telegraph for example, since last week election defeat a marked shift in tone to now supporting the Conservative Party, not the Boris Party. Does number 10 need momentum to that theme, by ignoring what Conservatives think about the affair, not just the little rule breach.
    We're not in the 19th century anymore. I don't think anyone is naive enough to think sex is an issue in this day and age.

    Telling the rest of us to lockdown while he doesn't. That's the story and that's serious.

    Affairs? Couldn't care less. People have tried to destroy politicians like Truss and Boris over affairs before and nobody cares anymore. Quite right too!
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
    No, the issue is his motivation for appropriating his extraordinary power, wielding it, and most importantly of all, withholding its return.

    It has emerged there are powerful reasons why Matt Hancock might not want to give British people their freedoms back, over and above any issues with regard to disease.

    That is the issue.
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207
    gealbhan said:

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    I do not intend speculating on the definition of an affair
    Anything short of Oral and Penetration is merely friendship?
    I knew a couple of good Christian stock that took the line it was ok to, errr indulge in O and A level studies before they were married
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,547
    Floater said:

    Sandpit said:

    German health minister: 'Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer'
    The more infectious Delta coronavirus variant will become dominant in Germany over the summer, health minister Jens Spahn said this morning.

    “The Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer, it’s more a matter of weeks than months,” Spahn told a news conference, adding the variant currently makes up more than 15% of coronavirus cases reported in Germany.

    ---

    But its ok, everybody to the beaches and nightclubs of Southern Europe to intermingle.....

    Crowding the unvaccinated youth of Europe in the 10,000 capacity nightclubs of Ibiza, definitely isn’t going to result in a massive new wave of infection all over the continent.
    But hey - lets quarantine the Brits.......
    So who are they going to blame when it demonstrably can't be our fault?
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,926

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
    No, the issue is his motivation for appropriating his extraordinary power, wielding it, and most importantly of all, withholding its return.

    It has emerged there are powerful reasons why Matt Hancock might not want to give British people their freedoms back, over and above any issues with regard to disease.

    That is the issue.
    Ah, so lockdowns are nothing to do with Covid? Absurd.
  • alex_alex_ Posts: 7,518

    The LibDems are also having a go, calling Hancock “a terrible health secretary and should have been sacked a long time ago”

    Open goal....clean through....and they fire over the bar.....

    Absolutely. Way to dilute the message.

    "Yes this was bad, but he shouldn't have been in post anyway".

    I do however suspect that there's a lot of nervousness among politicians that a lot of them across parties may well be guilty of similar things, even if they weren't the ones actively promoting the rules. Also to separate the message to being the rules rather than the apparent "affair".
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,397
    "Ultimately, this is a personal matter...it is for him to decide."
    Appears to be the line to spin. In case anyone is unsure.
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,883
    gealbhan said:

    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
    Zahawi is ne of the few high profile members of this government who has actually achieved things outside politics. I would think he should rise to the challenge. He does appear competent and impressive, which is probably why Johnson won't promote him.
    I just realised "rising to the challenge" may not be a good thing to say about a prospective replacement for Mr Hand-cock.
    He’s firming up as a candidate in my book.
    He could stand up for Britain...
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
    No, the issue is his motivation for appropriating his extraordinary power, wielding it, and most importantly of all, withholding its return.

    It has emerged there are powerful reasons why Matt Hancock might not want to give British people their freedoms back, over and above any issues with regard to disease.

    That is the issue.
    No it hasn't. This has nothing to do with that. What does Hancock kissing someone have to do with taking powers, besides the hypocrisy?

    Quite the opposite. If the powers had been removed, this wouldn't be a story. If the powers hadn't been taken, this wouldn't be a story. That's an incentive to relinquish these powers not one to hold them.
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    gealbhan said:

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.
    What about the argument it is the affair if the story becomes damaging? Wall to wall days of media shouting sleaze and hypocrisy could impact the by election?

    Take the Telegraph for example, since last week election defeat a marked shift in tone to now supporting the Conservative Party, not the Boris Party. Does number 10 need momentum to that theme, by ignoring what Conservatives think about the affair, not just the little rule breach.
    We're not in the 19th century anymore. I don't think anyone is naive enough to think sex is an issue in this day and age.

    Telling the rest of us to lockdown while he doesn't. That's the story and that's serious.

    Affairs? Couldn't care less. People have tried to destroy politicians like Truss and Boris over affairs before and nobody cares anymore. Quite right too!
    Your attempts to shill for the tories really are getting increasingly desperate.

    Hancock has not merely told us to lock down.

    He has locked us down by arbitrarily seized extraordinary powers at penalty of fines and police harassment.

    What is his motivation for having those powers? why in any sensible universe should he be allowed to continue with them?
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207

    Floater said:

    Sandpit said:

    German health minister: 'Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer'
    The more infectious Delta coronavirus variant will become dominant in Germany over the summer, health minister Jens Spahn said this morning.

    “The Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer, it’s more a matter of weeks than months,” Spahn told a news conference, adding the variant currently makes up more than 15% of coronavirus cases reported in Germany.

    ---

    But its ok, everybody to the beaches and nightclubs of Southern Europe to intermingle.....

    Crowding the unvaccinated youth of Europe in the 10,000 capacity nightclubs of Ibiza, definitely isn’t going to result in a massive new wave of infection all over the continent.
    But hey - lets quarantine the Brits.......
    So who are they going to blame when it demonstrably can't be our fault?
    At a wild guess - us still......
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,588
    @DaveKeating
    Angela #Merkel confirms at her closing #EUCO press conference that part of her reason for wanting an EU summit with Putin was for EU sovereignty, to show #Biden’s summit wasn’t speaking for the EU.


    https://twitter.com/DaveKeating/status/1408398299913129986
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,547
    isam said:

    The media have this as their main story and they will not let this go

    Rightly so. Boris has to sack him & will suffer in the polls/elections if he doesn’t
    Bounce if he does?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,205
    Pulpstar said:

    Charles said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Someone on twitter has put forward the argument that myocarditis risk for teenagers (From Pfizer) is greater than catching Covid even assuming 100% infection.
    I assume that's a nonsense.

    The FDA said exactly the opposite the other day when they added it to the label
    Thanks - every time an antivaxxer raises a (vaguely) plausible argument - myocarditis is a known risk for Pfizer I do like to check it out. Good to know it's a nonsense.
    Just tried to find some numbers - 1200 cases investigated out of 150 million

    which gives us a 0.0008% chance of myocarditis. Can't find an age banded data....



  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,492
    Pulpstar said:

    gealbhan said:

    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
    Zahawi is ne of the few high profile members of this government who has actually achieved things outside politics. I would think he should rise to the challenge. He does appear competent and impressive, which is probably why Johnson won't promote him.
    I just realised "rising to the challenge" may not be a good thing to say about a prospective replacement for Mr Hand-cock.
    He’s firming up as a candidate in my book.
    Hancock - "more than enough" Pfizer

    https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-more-than-enough-doses-of-pfizer-and-moderna-for-under-30s-says-matt-hancock-12268997
    I had thought it was under 40s who where not being given the AZ, maybe that's just my memory?

    ether way it does look a mistake at this point, do we know who made that diction, Vaccine minister or Hancock?
  • maaarshmaaarsh Posts: 3,590
    edited June 2021
    dixiedean said:

    "Ultimately, this is a personal matter...it is for him to decide."
    Appears to be the line to spin. In case anyone is unsure.

    If only he hadn't spent the last 15 months taking everyone else's private lives in to public ownership.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,926

    isam said:

    The media have this as their main story and they will not let this go

    Rightly so. Boris has to sack him & will suffer in the polls/elections if he doesn’t
    Bounce if he does?
    Johnson should bury the hatchet with Hunt and appoint him.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,173

    @DaveKeating
    Angela #Merkel confirms at her closing #EUCO press conference that part of her reason for wanting an EU summit with Putin was for EU sovereignty, to show #Biden’s summit wasn’t speaking for the EU.


    https://twitter.com/DaveKeating/status/1408398299913129986

    Have to think that HMS Defender's journey the other day was to demonstrate to Biden who his closest ally really is.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,169
    dixiedean said:

    "Ultimately, this is a personal matter...it is for him to decide."
    Appears to be the line to spin. In case anyone is unsure.

    Not exactly fulsome support is it :D
  • eekeek Posts: 28,362

    isam said:

    The media have this as their main story and they will not let this go

    Rightly so. Boris has to sack him & will suffer in the polls/elections if he doesn’t
    Bounce if he does?
    Unlike, more like another slight delay in an inevitable decline in the polls...

    Mainly because I really cannot see any more votes that Boris can grab the Tories already have every possible vote that Boris can win them.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 17,207
    edited June 2021
    dixiedean said:

    The two met at Oxygen FM.

    I'm sure neither of them had anything to do with this, but it's a good story from 1999;

    The Radio Authority has today (6 September) announced that it has fined Oxygen FM (Oxford) £20,000 and has shortened its eight year licence by two years for fabricating live on-air a day’s programming in an attempt to deceive its regulator. These are the most serious sanctions which the Authority has ever imposed.

    At its meeting on 1 September, the Authority decided to impose these sanctions on Oxygen FM, which broadcasts to students and the younger Oxford community, for what was described by the Chairman of the Authority, Sir Peter Gibbings, as showing "shocking disrespect for its listeners".

    A complainant alleged that Oxygen had been breaching its Format which includes debate, discussion and science and arts programmes. In order to investigate this claim the Authority made a number of requests for tapes of the output during the period in question and in particular for 1 March. As tapes for this day were not available, on the 8 March the management of the station broadcast the day's output as if it were a week earlier; fabricating programming live on-air and referring to the date incorrectly as 1 March.

    When the Authority requested the 8 March output it was sent the output of 15 March labelled as 8 March. The Authority subsequently collected tapes for an entire week only to find that none of 21 tapes contained broadcasts of the week in question. The Authority was therefore unable to check whether the programmes which Oxygen is required to put on-air were being broadcast.


    https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080715074235/http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/rau/newsroom/news-release/99/pr128.htm
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    gealbhan said:

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.
    What about the argument it is the affair if the story becomes damaging? Wall to wall days of media shouting sleaze and hypocrisy could impact the by election?

    Take the Telegraph for example, since last week election defeat a marked shift in tone to now supporting the Conservative Party, not the Boris Party. Does number 10 need momentum to that theme, by ignoring what Conservatives think about the affair, not just the little rule breach.
    We're not in the 19th century anymore. I don't think anyone is naive enough to think sex is an issue in this day and age.

    Telling the rest of us to lockdown while he doesn't. That's the story and that's serious.

    Affairs? Couldn't care less. People have tried to destroy politicians like Truss and Boris over affairs before and nobody cares anymore. Quite right too!
    Your attempts to shill for the tories really are getting increasingly desperate.

    Hancock has not merely told us to lock down.

    He has locked us down by arbitrarily seized extraordinary powers at penalty of fines and police harassment.

    What is his motivation for having those powers? why in any sensible universe should he be allowed to continue with them?
    His motivation is Covid.

    His motivation is not to have an affair then be caught breaching his own rules.

    Just what do you think his motivation is?
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,240
    Floater said:

    Floater said:

    Sandpit said:

    German health minister: 'Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer'
    The more infectious Delta coronavirus variant will become dominant in Germany over the summer, health minister Jens Spahn said this morning.

    “The Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer, it’s more a matter of weeks than months,” Spahn told a news conference, adding the variant currently makes up more than 15% of coronavirus cases reported in Germany.

    ---

    But its ok, everybody to the beaches and nightclubs of Southern Europe to intermingle.....

    Crowding the unvaccinated youth of Europe in the 10,000 capacity nightclubs of Ibiza, definitely isn’t going to result in a massive new wave of infection all over the continent.
    But hey - lets quarantine the Brits.......
    So who are they going to blame when it demonstrably can't be our fault?
    At a wild guess - us still......
    Germany doesn't let us in anyway. So they must have got Delta some other way.
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362

    gealbhan said:

    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
    Zahawi is ne of the few high profile members of this government who has actually achieved things outside politics. I would think he should rise to the challenge. He does appear competent and impressive, which is probably why Johnson won't promote him.
    I just realised "rising to the challenge" may not be a good thing to say about a prospective replacement for Mr Hand-cock.
    He’s firming up as a candidate in my book.
    He could stand up for Britain...
    I give that the Dutch Salute.
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    RobD said:

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
    No, the issue is his motivation for appropriating his extraordinary power, wielding it, and most importantly of all, withholding its return.

    It has emerged there are powerful reasons why Matt Hancock might not want to give British people their freedoms back, over and above any issues with regard to disease.

    That is the issue.
    Ah, so lockdowns are nothing to do with Covid? Absurd.
    Now when we get to the nub of the matter, the central office shills appear. Ask Hancock what his motivation for imposing, maintaining and above all extending lockdown was.

    It was the preservation of his extraordinary power. Power he manifestly got off on.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046

    The LibDems are also having a go, calling Hancock “a terrible health secretary and should have been sacked a long time ago”

    Open goal....clean through....and they fire over the bar.....

    Yes, I think that is the wrong approach - as it makes clear their reason is historical and performance related, which Tories will naturally contest, rather than what he has done wrong now.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,547
    Hancock should announce he will be standing down from 18th July.

    Boris can say he is grateful for what Hancock has achieved in getting us to the point where Covid restrictions are being lifted but "his departure is the right and honorable thing to do".

    Full reshuffle effective on 18th.
  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758

    Charles said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Wow how naive are you....

    I feel sorry for the many many people who were not allowed to embrace their dying relatives under lockkdown. Matt Hancock was the architect of that system

    It now turns out he completely flouted his own rules, and clearly got off on the power he was given.

    What were his priorities then? What are they now?
    Why do any of these points make you feel less sorry for 3 kids who are going to have a horrible time?
    How could you possibly know whether his kids are going to have a horrible time, how could you possibly know the situation they are in? Many kids have had a horrible time because of Hancock's laws, I don't see you posting about them

    Sorry but this is too important. Way too important.

    Hancock used covid to seize extraordinary powers over the people of Great Britain. He has mightily abused those powers as people who get extraordinary powers usually do.
    Because teenagers as a rule are vile and will torment Hancock’s kids.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,576
    edited June 2021
    RobD said:

    isam said:

    The media have this as their main story and they will not let this go

    Rightly so. Boris has to sack him & will suffer in the polls/elections if he doesn’t
    Bounce if he does?
    Johnson should bury the hatchet with Hunt and appoint him.
    The SoS for health who ignored the recommendations of the 2016 pandemic preparedness exercise?
  • gealbhangealbhan Posts: 2,362

    gealbhan said:

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.
    What about the argument it is the affair if the story becomes damaging? Wall to wall days of media shouting sleaze and hypocrisy could impact the by election?

    Take the Telegraph for example, since last week election defeat a marked shift in tone to now supporting the Conservative Party, not the Boris Party. Does number 10 need momentum to that theme, by ignoring what Conservatives think about the affair, not just the little rule breach.
    We're not in the 19th century anymore. I don't think anyone is naive enough to think sex is an issue in this day and age.

    Telling the rest of us to lockdown while he doesn't. That's the story and that's serious.

    Affairs? Couldn't care less. People have tried to destroy politicians like Truss and Boris over affairs before and nobody cares anymore. Quite right too!
    Call me naive then. Libertarian minds like yours may smirk into the waiting lips of adulterery, but Conservatives believe in the sanctity of marriage and think of the children. Leader of the Conservative Party has to think like this.
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    gealbhan said:

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.
    What about the argument it is the affair if the story becomes damaging? Wall to wall days of media shouting sleaze and hypocrisy could impact the by election?

    Take the Telegraph for example, since last week election defeat a marked shift in tone to now supporting the Conservative Party, not the Boris Party. Does number 10 need momentum to that theme, by ignoring what Conservatives think about the affair, not just the little rule breach.
    We're not in the 19th century anymore. I don't think anyone is naive enough to think sex is an issue in this day and age.

    Telling the rest of us to lockdown while he doesn't. That's the story and that's serious.

    Affairs? Couldn't care less. People have tried to destroy politicians like Truss and Boris over affairs before and nobody cares anymore. Quite right too!
    Your attempts to shill for the tories really are getting increasingly desperate.

    Hancock has not merely told us to lock down.

    He has locked us down by arbitrarily seized extraordinary powers at penalty of fines and police harassment.

    What is his motivation for having those powers? why in any sensible universe should he be allowed to continue with them?
    His motivation is Covid.

    His motivation is not to have an affair then be caught breaching his own rules.

    Just what do you think his motivation is?
    FFS you must think the people on here are stupid. Or twelve. Or both.

  • Nigel_ForemainNigel_Foremain Posts: 14,300

    gealbhan said:

    kle4 said:

    I think the Hancock story is quite a blow for the government. I reckon it's 50:50 whether he hangs on. But whether he stays or goes, it doesn't look good. Staying may be more damaging. But him having to resign, or be sacked, essentially for breaking his own Covid rules/guidance is also not a good look with the pandemic still on.

    I imagine Boris, struggling with the decision, quietly humming his adapted Clash song: "Should he stay or should he go?" A very tricky decision for him.

    Despite Boris calling Hancock useless, he hasn't actually been that...but he has to go. I would be giving Jeremy Hunt a ring....very safe pair of hands.
    As gealbhan says, Zahawi surely gets the nod as a current insider whose stock is high, as opposed to he who dared to try to stop Boris's destiny, then refused to serve under him?
    That is probably what will happen and despite ScottP saying he was a moron who would be a disaster, he has been very solid....but that is very different from running the whole of the DoH. It is a monster job, especially as we still have COVID, we have huge backlogs, they want to reform PHE, need a new NHS boss, etc.
    Zahawi is ne of the few high profile members of this government who has actually achieved things outside politics. I would think he should rise to the challenge. He does appear competent and impressive, which is probably why Johnson won't promote him.
    I just realised "rising to the challenge" may not be a good thing to say about a prospective replacement for Mr Hand-cock.
    He’s firming up as a candidate in my book.
    He could stand up for Britain...
    When he said "It is only a very small prick" his aide later realised he had not been referring to the vaccination
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,885

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
    I agree with Philip. This is just a case of a Tory behaving like a Tory. If the public don't want a sleazy lying hypocrite as a Minister why vote for a party with a leader who has a proven record of being all of those things and appointing ministers cut from the same cloth
  • StereodogStereodog Posts: 692
    On the Hancock affair, Labour remind me of a third rate history student. They turn in their paper and their facts aren't wrong but they miss any kind of insight or overarching narrative.

    If I were in charge my response would be that Hancock's personal life is entirely his own but once again this shows one rule for them and one rule for us. It ties in so well with all that football stuff. The whole influx of sponsors thing has managed to unite my anti vaxxer father and my zero COVID supporting mother in contempt for the government.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,926

    RobD said:

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
    No, the issue is his motivation for appropriating his extraordinary power, wielding it, and most importantly of all, withholding its return.

    It has emerged there are powerful reasons why Matt Hancock might not want to give British people their freedoms back, over and above any issues with regard to disease.

    That is the issue.
    Ah, so lockdowns are nothing to do with Covid? Absurd.
    Now when we get to the nub of the matter, the central office shills appear. Ask Hancock what his motivation for imposing, maintaining and above all extending lockdown was.

    It was the preservation of his extraordinary power. Power he manifestly got off on.
    Yes, nothing at all to do with Covid.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,588
    Sandpit said:

    @DaveKeating
    Angela #Merkel confirms at her closing #EUCO press conference that part of her reason for wanting an EU summit with Putin was for EU sovereignty, to show #Biden’s summit wasn’t speaking for the EU.


    https://twitter.com/DaveKeating/status/1408398299913129986

    So they’re more interested in courting Putin than Biden.

    But they wonder why the UK left...
    I'd like to see Macron try his creepy body language with Putin.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,046
    dixiedean said:

    "Ultimately, this is a personal matter...it is for him to decide."
    Appears to be the line to spin. In case anyone is unsure.

    Unsustainable. It presupposes (or rather pretends) people are most angry about the affair aspect, or that political issues cannot run concurrent with personal ones.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,547
    RobD said:

    isam said:

    The media have this as their main story and they will not let this go

    Rightly so. Boris has to sack him & will suffer in the polls/elections if he doesn’t
    Bounce if he does?
    Johnson should bury the hatchet with Hunt and appoint him.
    Maybe. Hunt carries lots of responsibility for the PPE stocks being in such poor shape at the start of the pandemic.
  • Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826

    gealbhan said:

    gealbhan said:

    Good that Hancock has apologised.

    I wonder how many people who said Cummings should have apologised will graciously accept Hancock's apology?

    It is not enough

    Even Burley left Sky for 6 months when she breached covid rules

    And this is the person who is responsible for them

    I cannot see how any conservative can defend him and this conservative does not
    Where do you stand on the argument he is only playing follow the leader, so how can the leader sack him?
    The issue is breaking the rules. Not having an affair.
    What about the argument it is the affair if the story becomes damaging? Wall to wall days of media shouting sleaze and hypocrisy could impact the by election?

    Take the Telegraph for example, since last week election defeat a marked shift in tone to now supporting the Conservative Party, not the Boris Party. Does number 10 need momentum to that theme, by ignoring what Conservatives think about the affair, not just the little rule breach.
    We're not in the 19th century anymore. I don't think anyone is naive enough to think sex is an issue in this day and age.

    Telling the rest of us to lockdown while he doesn't. That's the story and that's serious.

    Affairs? Couldn't care less. People have tried to destroy politicians like Truss and Boris over affairs before and nobody cares anymore. Quite right too!
    Your attempts to shill for the tories really are getting increasingly desperate.

    Hancock has not merely told us to lock down.

    He has locked us down by arbitrarily seized extraordinary powers at penalty of fines and police harassment.

    What is his motivation for having those powers? why in any sensible universe should he be allowed to continue with them?
    His motivation is Covid.

    His motivation is not to have an affair then be caught breaching his own rules.

    Just what do you think his motivation is?
    FFS you must think the people on here are stupid. Or twelve. Or both.

    I think you are.

    What do you think his motivation is?
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,576
    alex_ said:

    Completely O/T - but i don't suppose anyone has had any further news today in relation to DavidL? It's all very concerning if not.

    Yes, was rather concerning about @DavidL. Hope he’s okay and in hospital.
  • FishingFishing Posts: 5,032
    Roger said:

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
    I agree with Philip. This is just a case of a Tory behaving like a Tory. If the public don't want a sleazy lying hypocrite as a Minister why vote for a party with a leader who has a proven record of being all of those things and appointing ministers cut from the same cloth
    There is nothing at all particularly Tory about lying or hypocrisy, especially when it comes to sex.
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    justin124 said:

    justin124 said:

    ping said:

    I genuinely feel sorry for Hancock’s family.

    Wiki says he has 3 kids, I assume are school age. That’s gonna be nasty for them.

    Where is the proof that Hancock is actually bonking this lady? Many will get involved to the extent of a good snog - which is all this CCTV shows - without taking things so far as a full physical relationship. At what point does it become adultery? Before or after the people concerned have slept together? Until the mid-1960s many couples engaged in 'courtship' for years and managed to abstain from full sex until the wedding night.
    The proof he broke his own covid rules is in the public domain

    And he has admitted the affair
    Ok - but that still begs the question as to what is meant by 'having an affair'? If it went no further than a good snog, has he committed adultery?
    Who cares?

    The issue is he broke his own distancing rules.

    Whether he did that with his tongue or his penis isn't relevant at all.
    No, the issue is his motivation for appropriating his extraordinary power, wielding it, and most importantly of all, withholding its return.

    It has emerged there are powerful reasons why Matt Hancock might not want to give British people their freedoms back, over and above any issues with regard to disease.

    That is the issue.
    Ah, so lockdowns are nothing to do with Covid? Absurd.
    Now when we get to the nub of the matter, the central office shills appear. Ask Hancock what his motivation for imposing, maintaining and above all extending lockdown was.

    It was the preservation of his extraordinary power. Power he manifestly got off on.
    Yes, nothing at all to do with Covid.
    At the beginning, COVID. Maybe

    But now......FFS grow up.
This discussion has been closed.