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New poll for the Daily Mail has Rishi beating Boris as “Best PM” – politicalbetting.com
New poll for the Daily Mail has Rishi beating Boris as “Best PM” – politicalbetting.com
The graphic above is from today’s Daily Mail and has numbers that will seriously worry Downing Street. For as can been seen it suggests that those polled want Rishi Sunak to replace Johnson as PM and for the change to take place if not now then within a year.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-58167339
(There's a podcast linked from the bottom btw.)
We are lucky British elections and referendums are immune!
Oh, and that Russian outfit running the anti-vax campaign? It's registered in Britain.
https://about.fb.com/news/2021/08/july-2021-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-report/
You say that like it is a a revelation. Its not new or a massive secret that the editor of the Daily Mail despises Boris and Brexit. They aren't the Daily Boris-graph. People seem to fail to grasp this. The only thing that restrains this is they have to be careful not lose the readership.
But their COVID coverage has been incredibly critical of the government's handling, I would say up there with the most hostile, government too slow, government too fast, not spending enough, spending too much....sometimes all these articles in the same day.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/11/nurse-in-germany-suspected-of-replacing-covid-vaccines-with-saline-solution
Best price in that market now is 15/2 (PP). Alternatively, there is this market:
Next G20 leader to leave - Smarkets
- Which of the listed G20 leaders will be the next to leave their position?
Yoshihide Suga, Japan 10/11
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil 10/3
Emmanuel Macron, France 36/5
Boris Johnson, England 38/5
Joe Biden, U.S. 39/5
Justin Trudeau, Canada 42/5
Cyril Ramaphosa, S Africa 56/5
Vladimir Putin, Russia 56/5
Xi Jinping, China 68/5
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey 68/5
(“In the event of the death of any of the listed contracts before the completion of this market, the market will be void.”)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/10/not-lords-keep-stand-named-england-captain-family-ties-slavery/
What a dickhead statement....if that's your standard, pretty much every bodies surname could be considered taboo, as I am sure somebody somewhere at some point called that did something really bad. And of course lots of people whose family wealth was built on things now considered bad, famously used that advantage for good, should we also cancel them because their forefathers did evil stuff?
Thankfully Holding is more sensible chap.
“I would not be crucifying family members for what happened 100 years ago. That aspect I don’t care about. The Warner Stand is named after him, but he was not someone actively involved in slavery. I have no problem with that.”
70% of private school entries A or higher as Williamson at risk after series of missteps
The credibility of the A-level system risks being undermined by soaring grade inflation, politicians and education experts warned after yesterday’s unprecedented results.
Michael Holding's masterpiece might be the most important sports book you read
https://www.racingpost.com/news/michael-holdings-masterpiece-might-be-the-most-important-sports-book-you-read/504206
The government has a cunning plan to replace grade letters A to E with numbers.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/10/a-level-grades-could-scrapped-end-top-marks-free-for-all/ (£££)
… Andrew’s team is likely to wage a protracted battle over the U.S. court’s jurisdiction while arguing that their client is entitled to immunity as a member of the royal family.
https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/celebrities/article253400255.html
This strikes me as being profoundly unwise. There are shades of Tories breaking Covid rules (Johnson, Jenrick, Cummings, Gove, Hancock, Seely etc): one rule for the plebs but another rule for the entitled.
Why should teenage girls be protected in law from sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape and sex trafficking, but then when it transpires that the repulsive middle-aged man who allegedly forced her to have sex was a member of a royal family, then… oh well… that’s alright then?
A lot of people will forgive, or at least look away, when ministers break Covid rules. These are after all busy people doing important jobs. But what that pathetic man is accused of doing is utterly unforgivable. There is zero excuse.
Luckily the US courts will not swallow such guff. One hates to think how the English courts would have (mis)handled this case.
Doubtless some conspiracy theorists will be disappointed no MI6 assassins are sent to Australia to silence the accuser.
ETA the Mail doubts Andrew has immunity anyway, not being the Queen.
And good morning everyone. Brighter looking today, weatherise, although it's only 3 deg, according to my app.
Fergie’s social media outing last week was gut-wrenching. I urge anyone who missed it to catch up. You will not believe your eyes.
One feels sorry for Her Majesty who has to share a breakfast table this morning with that pair. If I was her I’d kick them out the door and release the hounds.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15834016/prince-andrew-bombshell-lawsuit-rape-first-degree/
I know in Scotland they are planning some changes, but from what I’ve seen so far it’s likely the same people who have screwed up before will simply be left running a new, even less coherent quango.
The place to deny allegations of criminal “incidents” against a teenager is in a court of law, not in the media.
Rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault and sex abuse are illegal. If the person is 7, 17, 27 or 87, it is illegal. These are very serious criminal acts.
If it also transpires that the victim was underage in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred, that will increase the sentence.
Incidentally, the man in a powerful position in Scotland actually faced the allegations in a court of law, and was cleared on all counts:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-52004285
And why is the Daily Mail focussing on Andrew and Fergie losing their grace and favour (ie taxpayer-funded) mansion in Windsor? I’ll tell you why: this is the establishment setting up their own idea of what a reasonable “punishment” is for a royal deviant: getting his vast mansion taken away so that he can live in another slightly less vast mansion. They really do despise the public. Take their cash and then spit in their faces.
Most of the actually important functions of the three education admin bodies could be moved elsewhere and done better - the DfE’s functions to the Treasury or the DCLG, OFSTED’s to the HSE and OFQUAL’s to either the universities (who used to hold it) or to the major professional bodies.
The last is probably the way we’re heading anyway given unis and professional associations are looking at having their own entrance exams.
How about an Archbishop as head of the church, a lords clerk to rubber stamp bills, and an honorary position to entertain lesser dignitaries that the PM is too busy to meet. Johanna Lumley perhaps. Or Jo Rowling, Michael Palin. Russell Brand for the ones you want to get given an earful.
And if the US President visits, he can jolly well do what we have to do and put up with listening to our elected leader.
Whatever happens ought to happen in a planned and thoughtful way. Not hastily and piecemeal.
Prince Andrew's accuser feared for her life if she did not have sex with him on the late financier Jeffrey Epstein's orders…
… accused the royal of "sexual assault and battery" when she was 17 years old in a court filing alleging abuse in London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
… "During each of the aforementioned incidents, [Giuffre] was compelled by express or implied threats by Epstein, Maxwell, and/or Prince Andrew to engage in sexual acts with Prince Andrew, and feared death or physical injury to herself or another and other repercussions for disobeying Epstein, Maxwell, and Prince Andrew due to their powerful connections, wealth, and authority."
She had previously complained to the Metropolitan Police about Prince Andrew's conduct but Britain's biggest police force had dropped the investigation.
…"In this country no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law, and no person, no matter how powerless or vulnerable, can be deprived of the law's protection.”
https://www.newsweek.com/prince-andrew-ghislaine-maxwell-feared-death-defied-epstein-lawsuit-new-york-1617735?amp=1
In the U.S. no person is above the law, but the Metropolitan Police do not recognise that basic principle.
https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1199113816077824001
It's a mess but not a particularly English one.
But Bill Oddie or Graeme Garden would do. Even a giant white kitten would suffice.
Possibly along with Epstein...
One of the alleged crimes took place in London. If her case had ever got to court it would have been tried under English law, in an English court, led by a member of the English judiciary. The N Ireland and Scottish legal systems lack jurisdiction to try a criminal case alleged to have taken place in England.
Failures in this case lie fairly and squarely with England’s law enforcement and legal system. Don’t blame the rest of us.
Annoyingly sometimes I'm one of life's larks; I wake early and, when I was concerned about such things, my best working time was about 7.30am - 2pm. After that I tended to tail off.
My next duty this morning, having dispensed wisdom and good cheer here, is to go and make my wife a coffee to start her day. We both start early, but she not quite as early as me.
It's August but I'd say commuting traffic is at least 50% of normal (a normal Wednesday; I'd expect Fridays to be very quiet).
He's not even bothering to try and hide it.
IIRC the child of a slave was presumed to be a slave, even though it's father was free.
But this is different. This Windsor scandal could seriously piss off the Americans. Just as the Tories are desperately trying to scrape together a trade deal. Then add in Joe Biden’s unswerving support for Clinton’s Good Friday Agreement, and the Tories have a diplomatic nightmare on their hands.
And troubles usually come in threes. Any other big issues on the horizon where the U.S. is going to be displeased with its 51st colony?
He spends the whole journey up to Waterloo sitting in a quiet carriage whilst noisly screwing and unscrewing his thermos so he can take regular sips of coffee the whole way.
Woe betide you if you are seated within 2-3 rows of him. It drives you mad like a dripping tap.
… The pair are said to be desperate to shift it to repay part of a reported £6.7 million debt…
… a chalet which reportedly boasts a 650 square foot indoor pool, sauna, sun terrace and bar…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9071557/TALK-TOWN-Prince-Andrew-set-lose-13m-quick-sale-Verbier-skiing-chalet.html
This guy just doesn't get it - even though he gets DefCon1 grade British looks at times from others.
In the end "the economy, stupid" is probably where Conservatives may well decide that Johnson isn´t a Conservative. If that happens then his grip on power will be gone immediately. The problem for GBNI is that the endless soap opera of Tory party leadership challenges is the epitome of Westminster bubble politics: in the end frustration at government failures may vent with "a plague of all your houses" and then no Tory leader looks credible.
Therefore those who think that Sunak is the 7th cavalry riding to the rescue may well find that this figure who has risen without trace is a straw man at a barn fire. An urbane Wykhamist who married his money is not exactly a firey tribune of the people.
Wait until the polls get really bad in the late winter. Starmer (and Davey) have gravitas and that may well be what counts as the country faces ever increasing problems from the slow puncture Brexit and the government´s sloppy fiscal incontinence while the economy wallows in post Covid incompetence and inefficiency and the spectre of exploding government debt turns into a crisis.
Calls to "Get a grip" will move to "Get Lost". Johnson may then be the fall guy, but looking at the cabinet I, for one, see no beginning to their talents. Choosing a Jim Hacker like figure such as Sunak will not alter that.
The pendulum will be really swinging by then.
How embarrassing for them.
Internationalist?
Sorry - that's just funny.
This, of course, is a civil suit so what she will need to prove is that this occurred in the US, specifically in NY. The case has been raised to prevent it being time barred for ever on the expiry of a time limited exemption for claimants who were children at the time of the alleged conduct. I suspect that the jurisdiction dispute will be lengthy.
Andrew does not benefit from Crown immunity.
Worse people will now be expecting changes for next year and that isnt going to help anyone.
Poor old Boris all he ever wanted to do was be PM without a care in the world and having saved the
worldUK from the EU and then the vaccine some beastly upstart seems to be challenging for his position.I remember when we went to the Olympics with the kids on one of the special advance tickets that got you into London cheaply before 9am. The Peterborough crew didn't like their train invading one little bit.
Not really like that on the Transpennine trains - not so much Northern friendliness, more that it is a much more mixed group of passengers, so never the sense that commuters rule the roost.
The substantial lead for spend/borrow less seems to be among all voters, not just Tories, if that's correctly reported. That represents a substantial gap between the voters and the current policies of all the major parties, and I wonder how proof it will be against actual substantial tax rises.
Williamson, not so much.
If given a hypothetical forced choice between Boris and Rishi then I might say I think Rishi could do a better job, but I still want Boris to stay. For one thing, I don't know if Boris goes if he will definitely be replaced by Rishi or if he could be replaced by someone worse like Williamson (no sniggering in the back).
If you want to know what percentage of CON voters want Boris to stay then ask that question, don't put up a forced choice between him and another Tory and then claim everyone who doesn't choose him wants him to go.