politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Why I’ve resigned from the Conservative Party
Comments
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Britain Trump.surbiton19 said:https://twitter.com/VinnyMcAv/status/1154065916730253313
He can't keep his mouth shut.0 -
Not very popular with wannabe ministers though, is it?oxfordsimon said:
Slimming down the payroll vote is no bad thing. Do we need so many departments and associated ministers?Cicero said:
ognoneoftheabove said:I am struggling to see how he fills the payroll vote. If his mates get all the cabinet positions, how many are willing to accept demotions for what could a be govt of a couple of months. Maybe we dont need 150+ govt MPs, guessing a mix of doubling up roles and a few Lords will be needed.
I see what you mean, he really is cutting this fine. Once you've fired the Remainers, the May-dealers, the Hunt supporters, the pool that is left is pretty small and not exactly impressive. This is going to be a very fragile government. Suppose some of these late "big beasts" decide to go into the private sector? BoJo then faces some horrible by elections and gradually loses control over events.0 -
Unfortunately all her tin men have already been brown nosing and prostrating themselves to Boris. Hopefully Jelly Boy Mundell gets his marching orders, a more odious individual would be hard to find.El_Capitano said:
There is a reasonably plausible route to this happening.ajb said:
I do wonder whether we will soon see an attempt to found a successor party. There are some obvious problems:
- CHUK already tried and failed
- They might be blamed for bringing down the government/letting in Corbyn
- In the present situation, it's not necessary for the immediate goal of influencing the government, since a caucus can be formed within the Parliamentary conservative party.
However for the longer term, it's not obvious that the sane faction can do much within the existing party other than fight a losing battle, as they will be under threat from deselection. To provide a sane version of the conservatives, it may be necessary to 'dismiss the membership and elect another', IE, form a new party.
Some advantages:
- Business, rather than the membership, has always been the major support of the party anyway. Businesses may be receptive to an alternative to Boris 'F*ck Business' Johnson.
- 96,000 members may not me that hard to replace, given enough funding.
- It should be fairly easy not to make the same mistakes as CHUK. Some obvious names, for example: 'Serious Conservatives' , 'Sensible Conservatives', or even 'Sane Conservatives' (Not sure what the Electoral Commission rules are exactly, but they don't seem to completely object to other parties with 'Conservative' or 'Labour' in the name).
- Boris will need a coalition with someone, and may actually not mind giving up the 31st Oct date as long as someone else forces him to do so.
One thing the CHUKkers proves though, is that a few defectors is not enough. It has to be a mass exodus or nothing. How many MPs are up for it?
Ruth Davidson stares into the electoral abyss of a Boris-led Conservative party in Scotland, and realises the only way to salvage her lifetime achievement - a successful centre-right, unionist party in Scotland - is to split.
Her fellow Scottish Conservatives go with her, forming the Union Party.
From here there are two choices:
a) Union Party welcomes members (and defectors) south of the border. Tricky given the CUK precedent but not impossible.
b) A UK alliance - more or less formal - with the Lib Dems. Not implausible and would make Swinson’s seat safer.
Think tank for Davidson.0 -
A_View_From_Cumbria5 said:
Well, As you are confident in someone sufficiently to appoint them as your proxy you DO NOT have a problem in the real world. Fill out the form and sign it without the date and they can fill in the date etc and hand it in. If you can't trust them to do that then they are not appropriate to be a proxy.OllyT said:
I asked if anyone knew the minimum timetable for a GE not whether you are bothered whether I lose my vote or not.JBriskinindyref2 said:
So you might end of being disenfrainshed for an election - just deal with - do you know the odds on your one vote actually making a difference?OllyT said:I should know this but is there a minimum period between a GE being called and polling day?
The reason I ask is that we are abroad for about 6 weeks in September/October and I have just discovered that I cannot appoint a proxy without knowing the date of the election I want it for.
The problem is I could well be abroad by the time I know a date and talking to the Electoral Registration office trying to do it whilst abroad sounds a bit hit and miss to say the least. It's a bit of a Catch-22. Anybody got any suggestions?
BUT, I'm pretty sure you can apply for a permanent proxy at any time. But go to your local registration authority unitary / district. They are always much more helpful.
Cheers, I've been told I do not have a valid reason to appoint a permanent proxy. As others have suggested I will leave the forms pre-signed for someone else to complete if an election is called.0 -
Indeed so. I can empathise with him from how I felt at the beginning of 1997 when I declined to renew my Labour Party membership after 27 years. It caused me a bit of an emotional breakdown - and to this day , it is one reason I despise Blair so intensely. I hope Richard finds it easier than I did.AlastairMeeks said:On topic, this must have been very painful for Richard.
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He has decided to cast his lot with people who are not socially liberal, who hate foreigners and immigrants and who are perfectly happy to damage the economy, peace in Northern Ireland and the lives of others in pursuit of their monomaniacal obsession.dodrade said:
It is rather strange. Thatcher was a cold fish so easy to cast as a hate figure but Boris is funny, genial and socially liberal yet remainers react as if he is the blond Nick Griffin.GIN1138 said:
Boris drives some people absolutety crackers...Fenster said:I'll be honest, maybe I'm stupid (I am pretty stupid) but I don't get why, for a lifelong stalwart Tory member, Boris becoming leader is any more depressing than May becoming leader?
I thought May was massively unsuited to leadership. Not unsuited to a cabinet role, but very much unsuited to leading a political party in modern times.
My instinct is that Boris will be much better at it. A better delegator, communicator and listener.
The circumstances in which both of them have had to operate as PM are obviously very tough, but May was a disastrous pick from the start for me. I just couldn't get my head round it.
And he has decided to do so not out of principle but purely to satisfy his own personal ambition.
That’s why he is disliked and why his record as London Mayor will not help him. He’s turned his back on the reasons why he people voted for him as Mayor and has turned his back on those voters. He won’t be getting them back any time soon, if ever.
His decision to throw his lot in with the fruitcakes, loonies and racists is a giant F U to those voters and we are going to give him a giant F U back.1 -
David Mundell leaves the government.0
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Mundell joins the list (unsurprisingly)0
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Like Corbyn, if you are a rubbish leader, you surround yourself with your mates and those very young and biddable.AndyJS said:The one person I didn't expect to get sacked was Penny Mordaunt. Very surprising.
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That is what I was about to suggest to you!OllyT said:A_View_From_Cumbria5 said:
Well, As you are confident in someone sufficiently to appoint them as your proxy you DO NOT have a problem in the real world. Fill out the form and sign it without the date and they can fill in the date etc and hand it in. If you can't trust them to do that then they are not appropriate to be a proxy.OllyT said:
I asked if anyone knew the minimum timetable for a GE not whether you are bothered whether I lose my vote or not.JBriskinindyref2 said:
So you might end of being disenfrainshed for an election - just deal with - do you know the odds on your one vote actually making a difference?OllyT said:I should know this but is there a minimum period between a GE being called and polling day?
The reason I ask is that we are abroad for about 6 weeks in September/October and I have just discovered that I cannot appoint a proxy without knowing the date of the election I want it for.
The problem is I could well be abroad by the time I know a date and talking to the Electoral Registration office trying to do it whilst abroad sounds a bit hit and miss to say the least. It's a bit of a Catch-22. Anybody got any suggestions?
BUT, I'm pretty sure you can apply for a permanent proxy at any time. But go to your local registration authority unitary / district. They are always much more helpful.
Cheers, I've been told I do not have a valid reason to appoint a permanent proxy. As others have suggested I will leave the forms pre-signed for someone else to complete if an election is called.0 -
The wait for a female CotE goes on then...HYUFD said:Looks like Javid Chancellor
https://twitter.com/ShippersUnbound/status/1154070730956595200?s=200 -
Ross Thompson dead cert as replacement. Hic.0
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The vile Patel is back .0
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Well deserved, a battle of the chumpsCicero said:
Trouble is that the Scottish Tory MPs include such as Ross Thomson or Colin Clark who are very pro Johnson, so any such move will lead to a horrific split in the SC&UP... Ruth is in a serious bind.El_Capitano said:
There is a reasonably plausible route to this happening.ajb said:
I do wonder whether we will soon see an attempt to found a successor party. There are some obvious problems:
- CHUK already tried and failed
- They might be blamed for bringing down the government/letting in Corbyn
- In the present situation, it's not necessary for the immediate goal of influencing the government, since a caucus can be formed within the Parliamentary conservative party.
However for the longer term, it's not obvious that the sane faction can do much within the existing party other than fight a losing battle, as they will be under threat from deselection. To provide a sane version of the conservatives, it may be necessary to 'dismiss the membership and elect another', IE, form a new party.
Some advantages:
- Business, rather than the membership, has always been the major support of the party anyway. Businesses may be receptive to an alternative to Boris 'F*ck Business' Johnson.
- 96,000 members may not me that hard to replace, given enough funding.
- It should be fairly easy not to make the same mistakes as CHUK. Some obvious names, for example: 'Serious Conservatives' , 'Sensible Conservatives', or even 'Sane Conservatives' (Not sure what the Electoral Commission rules are exactly, but they don't seem to completely object to other parties with 'Conservative' or 'Labour' in the name).
- Boris will need a coalition with someone, and may actually not mind giving up the 31st Oct date as long as someone else forces him to do so.
One thing the CHUKkers proves though, is that a few defectors is not enough. It has to be a mass exodus or nothing. How many MPs are up for it?
Ruth Davidson stares into the electoral abyss of a Boris-led Conservative party in Scotland, and realises the only way to salvage her lifetime achievement - a successful centre-right, unionist party in Scotland - is to split.
Her fellow Scottish Conservatives go with her, forming the Union Party.
From here there are two choices:
a) Union Party welcomes members (and defectors) south of the border. Tricky given the CUK precedent but not impossible.
b) A UK alliance - more or less formal - with the Lib Dems. Not implausible and would make Swinson’s seat safer.0 -
Shagger is determined to see me quit the party tonight
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/11540727912867266560 -
https://twitter.com/BBCNormanS/status/1154069982193561600
Perhaps someone should tell him about the parliamentary arithmetic.
You know, the bit of politics were you have to be able to count rather than write.0 -
I wonder who will be the new Foreign Secretary?0
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The rise of the Azns-1
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Has Boris finally gone stark stare raving mad.TheScreamingEagles said:Shagger is determined to see me quit the party tonight
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1154072791286726656
That is the worst Cabinet appointment in my lifetime. For a start she was sacked for lying to a PM about running a secret negotiation with a foreign power.0 -
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Hold on. If Patel's gone in, why hasn't Saj come out?TheScreamingEagles said:Shagger is determined to see me quit the party tonight
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/11540727912867266560 -
Johnson must believe he will not have to win a vote to stagger across the Brexit finish line.surbiton19 said:https://twitter.com/DavidMundellDCT/status/1154072007241322504
First sign of bitterness publicly.0 -
This screams "early election".rottenborough said:https://twitter.com/BBCNormanS/status/1154069982193561600
Perhaps someone should tell him about the parliamentary arithmetic.
You know, the bit of politics were you have to be able to count rather than write.0 -
It helps you win votes and keep discipline. Important when you have a majority of 1 and want to radically change the country (not very conservative but there you go).oxfordsimon said:
Slimming down the payroll vote is no bad thing. Do we need so many departments and associated ministers?Cicero said:
ognoneoftheabove said:I am struggling to see how he fills the payroll vote. If his mates get all the cabinet positions, how many are willing to accept demotions for what could a be govt of a couple of months. Maybe we dont need 150+ govt MPs, guessing a mix of doubling up roles and a few Lords will be needed.
I see what you mean, he really is cutting this fine. Once you've fired the Remainers, the May-dealers, the Hunt supporters, the pool that is left is pretty small and not exactly impressive. This is going to be a very fragile government. Suppose some of these late "big beasts" decide to go into the private sector? BoJo then faces some horrible by elections and gradually loses control over events.0 -
And I am right that a permanent proxy can only be for a specific set of listed reasons.OllyT said:
Thanks for the advice. I have applied for postal votes three times in the past few years because I was going to be away but none arrived before we left - the second wave of postal votes (ie those applied for after an election has been called) go out very late in the day and I am told that a good percentage do not arrive in time.Flanner said:
There's an easy solution. Download the application form nearer the date from, for example, https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/222465/Particular-election-proxy-vote-application-form.pdf or the Electoral Services dept of yoiur local authority. Or go to https://www.gov.uk/apply-vote-proxyOllyT said:
I asked if anyone knew the minimum timetable for a GE not whether you are bothered whether I lose my vote or not.JBriskinindyref2 said:
So you might end of being disenfrainshed for an election - just deal with - do you know the odds on your one vote actually making a difference?OllyT said:I should know this but is there a minimum period between a GE being called and polling day?
The reason I ask is that we are abroad for about 6 weeks in September/October and I have just discovered that I cannot appoint a proxy without knowing the date of the election I want it for.
The problem is I could well be abroad by the time I know a date and talking to the Electoral Registration office trying to do it whilst abroad sounds a bit hit and miss to say the least. It's a bit of a Catch-22. Anybody got any suggestions?
Complete the form, take it to a post office or the local equivalent of Mailboxes etc abroad and send it by a courier-style method to your Electoral Services dept in the UK.
There's nothing remotely hit and miss about this. Returning Officers live in the 21st century and are, in my experience, highly efficient at getting you your vite.
What surprised me when I talked to the ER office is that you cannot appoint a proxy until you know the date of the election and that is a problem if you spend long periods abroad. Yes you can try to sort it out while you are abroad if an election is called but it seems unnecessarily cumbersome.0 -
Whether or not you like them as people or approve of their politics, there is something worth noting about having two of the three big cabinet jobs taken by people of colour.
Of course promotions to these jobs should be on merit - but it is still a significant step in terms of representation0 -
Moved into Number 11, there's an interconnecting door between the two.DecrepitJohnL said:
Hold on. If Patel's gone in, why hasn't Saj come out?TheScreamingEagles said:Shagger is determined to see me quit the party tonight
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/11540727912867266560 -
Surely one or two of them will go the whole hog and resign as MPs, thus removing Johnson's majority with the DUP.SirNorfolkPassmore said:
This screams "early election".rottenborough said:https://twitter.com/BBCNormanS/status/1154069982193561600
Perhaps someone should tell him about the parliamentary arithmetic.
You know, the bit of politics were you have to be able to count rather than write.0 -
I don't care if Patel was purple with orange spots, she is utterly unsuited to high office.oxfordsimon said:Whether or not you like them as people or approve of their politics, there is something worth noting about having two of the three big cabinet jobs taken by people of colour.
Of course promotions to these jobs should be on merit - but it is still a significant step in terms of representation0 -
Hot take from Ms Brisk - Saj to remain home secretary ?DecrepitJohnL said:
Hold on. If Patel's gone in, why hasn't Saj come out?TheScreamingEagles said:Shagger is determined to see me quit the party tonight
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/11540727912867266560 -
Broke means blow-up.rottenborough said:0 -
Hunt to the backbenches.0
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Or perhaps they will all come out on the steps together - presenting the new teamTheScreamingEagles said:
Moved into Number 11, there's an interconnecting door between the two.DecrepitJohnL said:
Hold on. If Patel's gone in, why hasn't Saj come out?TheScreamingEagles said:Shagger is determined to see me quit the party tonight
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/11540727912867266560 -
Sacking Mundell is a real shot across Ruth's bows.. There is going to be consternation in Northumberland Street if a certain rumour is true.rottenborough said:
Johnson must believe he will not have to win a vote to stagger across the Brexit finish line.surbiton19 said:https://twitter.com/DavidMundellDCT/status/1154072007241322504
First sign of bitterness publicly.
1 -
Yup. Shoring up his base. You cannot win in UK with a fluke Electoral College result. Surely there will be an "alliance" with BXP. Farage possibly going to the US as ambassador.SirNorfolkPassmore said:
This screams "early election".rottenborough said:https://twitter.com/BBCNormanS/status/1154069982193561600
Perhaps someone should tell him about the parliamentary arithmetic.
You know, the bit of politics were you have to be able to count rather than write.0 -
Hunt out - via Sky0
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Hunt gone
I have lost count now0 -
What time is Justine Greenings resignation of the whip?AndyJS said:
Surely one or two of them will go the whole hog and resign as MPs, thus removing Johnson's majority with the DUP.SirNorfolkPassmore said:
This screams "early election".rottenborough said:https://twitter.com/BBCNormanS/status/1154069982193561600
Perhaps someone should tell him about the parliamentary arithmetic.
You know, the bit of politics were you have to be able to count rather than write.1 -
Priti Patel as Foreign Secretary would be — interesting.0
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They don't have enough to cover a small amount of the briefs never mind a shuffle, its at least 4 jobs each and that is including the cleaners, their dogs , etcoxfordsimon said:Has there been the LD reshuffle yet?
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Hunt gone0
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Although not partisan myself, I regret Richard's unwilling resignation. We need loyal partisans of good intention.
Slightly on topic, the floppy haired Robespierre is sending the Girondins to the tumbrils.0 -
A Home Secretary who favours the death penalty. I look forward to HYUFD defending the return of the noose.0
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Politics is a brutal business, as they say.oxfordsimon said:Hunt gone
I have lost count now0 -
Plus Jeremy Wright.0
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Ken Clarke not spotted going in to No 10 as yet?
Only a matter of time I'm sure.0 -
Another one for the rebel alliance.TheScreamingEagles said:Hunt to the backbenches.
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What’s the rumour if I may ask?Cicero said:
Sacking Mundell is a real shot across Ruth's bows.. There is going to be consternation in Northumberland Street if a certain rumour is true.rottenborough said:
Johnson must believe he will not have to win a vote to stagger across the Brexit finish line.surbiton19 said:https://twitter.com/DavidMundellDCT/status/1154072007241322504
First sign of bitterness publicly.0 -
Hunt out ! Bloody hell! dUd , the U stood for Unity !!
I will tell you. Richard Nabavi knew something well beforehand or he is a saint !0 -
It feels very unusual for a Cabinet not to include representatives from all major wings of the party of government. Are there any precedents?0
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that's unneccesarily harsh.nico67 said:The vile Patel is back .
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OT my meagre Boris winnings are rapidly disappearing on some very slow horses. I really shouldn't bet in this heat.0
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At this rate I have severe fears for the Downing Street cat.0
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I wonder how much of all this clear-out is Cummings, and how much Johnson. The answer would be useful in revealing just how vengeful Johnson is, or isn't.0
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I remember Michael Portillo accusing IDS of surrounding himself with "short grasses" so that he seemed like a giant by comparison with them.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1422810/Portillo-onslaught-rocks-Tories.html0 -
Ah! Our resident ray of Scottish sunshine, how we missed you so...malcolmg said:
Well deserved, a battle of the chumpsCicero said:
Trouble is that the Scottish Tory MPs include such as Ross Thomson or Colin Clark who are very pro Johnson, so any such move will lead to a horrific split in the SC&UP... Ruth is in a serious bind.El_Capitano said:
There is a reasonably plausible route to this happening.ajb said:
I do wonder whether we will soon see an attempt to found a successor party. There are some obvious problems:
- CHUK already tried and failed
- They might be blamed for bringing down the government/letting in Corbyn
- In the present situation, it's not necessary for the immediate goal of influencing the government, since a caucus can be formed within the Parliamentary conservative party.
However for the longer term, it's not obvious that the sane faction can do much within the existing party other than fight a losing battle, as they will be under threat from deselection. To provide a sane version of the conservatives, it may be necessary to 'dismiss the membership and elect another', IE, form a new party.
Some advantages:
- Business, rather than the membership, has always been the major support of the party anyway. Businesses may be receptive to an alternative to Boris 'F*ck Business' Johnson.
- 96,000 members may not me that hard to replace, given enough funding.
- It should be fairly easy not to make the same mistakes as CHUK. Some obvious names, for example: 'Serious Conservatives' , 'Sensible Conservatives', or even 'Sane Conservatives' (Not sure what the Electoral Commission rules are exactly, but they don't seem to completely object to other parties with 'Conservative' or 'Labour' in the name).
- Boris will need a coalition with someone, and may actually not mind giving up the 31st Oct date as long as someone else forces him to do so.
One thing the CHUKkers proves though, is that a few defectors is not enough. It has to be a mass exodus or nothing. How many MPs are up for it?
Ruth Davidson stares into the electoral abyss of a Boris-led Conservative party in Scotland, and realises the only way to salvage her lifetime achievement - a successful centre-right, unionist party in Scotland - is to split.
Her fellow Scottish Conservatives go with her, forming the Union Party.
From here there are two choices:
a) Union Party welcomes members (and defectors) south of the border. Tricky given the CUK precedent but not impossible.
b) A UK alliance - more or less formal - with the Lib Dems. Not implausible and would make Swinson’s seat safer.0 -
Why she’s an unhinged lunatic .SquareRoot said:
that's unneccesarily harsh.nico67 said:The vile Patel is back .
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Looks to me as if the gamble is to make the BXP redundant, send Farage to Washington as ambassador, and hope he doesn’t lose too many sensible conservatives from the other end.surbiton19 said:
Yup. Shoring up his base. You cannot win in UK with a fluke Electoral College result. Surely there will be an "alliance" with BXP. Farage possibly going to the US as ambassador.SirNorfolkPassmore said:
This screams "early election".rottenborough said:https://twitter.com/BBCNormanS/status/1154069982193561600
Perhaps someone should tell him about the parliamentary arithmetic.
You know, the bit of politics were you have to be able to count rather than write.
Alternatively, he doesn’t want a no deal Brexit and needs to make absolutely sure there are enough unhappy Tories to force him into an extension against his will.0 -
Maybe it's Patel, Javid and Raab in contention for the 3 big jobs.0
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This Cabinet must be worth 5% to the Lib Dems’ polling (cf the thread header).0
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This screams prorogation to me. Mmmm.0
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It is a dog's breakfast, must have been designed by a blind maneek said:https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1154067867429740547
In other news how on earth did they make new twitter worse than the previous version...0 -
Night of the Long Knives was SEVEN sackings..
(just for context)1 -
STimes had a detailed write up of the Cabinet job deliberations going on within Boris's team. Cummings was not mentioned.WhisperingOracle said:I wonder how much of all this clear-out is Cummings, and how much Johnson. The answer would be useful in revealing just how vengeful Johnson really is, or isn't.
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So much talent being needlessly shunted off the main stage. This is starting to look like one of Corbyn's reshuffles.0
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Hmm.rottenborough said:
STimes had a detailed write up of the Cabinet job deliberations going on within Boris's team. Cummings was not mentioned.WhisperingOracle said:I wonder how much of all this clear-out is Cummings, and how much Johnson. The answer would be useful in revealing just how vengeful Johnson really is, or isn't.
Johnson did have a reputation as somewhat vengeful from earlier on, it has to be said.0 -
0
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Boris only had to wait 167 weeks between leaving the London Mayor's office and becoming PM today.
https://www.timeanddate.com/date/durationresult.html?d1=09&m1=05&y1=2016&d2=24&m2=7&y2=20190 -
Did the cat send Corporal Williamson a screenshot of his vote for Boris? If not why let it stay?solarflare said:At this rate I have severe fears for the Downing Street cat.
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Since when did anyone believe a word Boris says ?surbiton19 said:Hunt out ! Bloody hell! dUd , the U stood for Unity !!
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At least he can find out what is beyond Calais....rottenborough said:It gets worse:
https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/11540749651777536000 -
Patel's the signature to me: if he gives her a senior position, then he;s got f-all sense.0
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To me it looks more like Boris wants to ram through a deal so is packing the payroll vote and banking on the sacked to support him on policy grounds.dixiedean said:This screams prorogation to me. Mmmm.
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He meant to say "I'd like to stay on."Gallowgate said:“At his request”
https://twitter.com/samcoatessky/status/1154061506834837504?s=211 -
And rising.AlastairMeeks said:This Cabinet must be worth 5% to the Lib Dems’ polling (cf the thread header).
Raab and Patel in top jobs? The worst Cabinet in my lifetime by a country mile.
Fucking dangerous in fact.0 -
Good God you’re right . Raab is another vile creep .rottenborough said:It gets worse:
https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/11540749651777536000 -
More if they can get three defections from the cabinet - reach out early and you never know!AlastairMeeks said:This Cabinet must be worth 5% to the Lib Dems’ polling (cf the thread header).
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Let's put it this way, so far I'm not regretting my resignation.10
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Well now isn't this pants-shittingly funny? Just as you thought that Shagger as PM wasn't absurd enough, he stands outside Number 10 pledging to unite the country then sets to work eviscerating those who supported his opponent.
Its not a new cabinet. Its a "lets pretend Redwood beet Major in 1995 and had to appoint his batshit crazy supporters to cabinet" reenactment society.0 -
OK. Sajid CoE, RaaB Foreign, Patel Home.
Who would have thunk it ?0 -
I'm very sorry indeed that we have lost Richard from the party. We need to remain a broad church and losing such thoughtful voices is not a good sign.
But the "world as it is" consists of a Parliament that has proven unwilling to ratify Brexit, despite (in my judgement) there being a latent majority for the much-maligned Withdrawal Agreement. There is plenty of blame to go around for that: Mrs May; the ERG; the Tory Remain wing; and plenty of Opposition MPs too. It is not surprising that this failure has provoked a reaction from both Tory MPs (whose support for Mr Johnson surprised me) and of course the membership.
If you believe that Brexit must happen, but that the current Parliament will not allow it (including by preventing No Deal, which I believe is properly within its authority), then an imminent General Election surely beckons, as per @Cyclefree's thread earlier.
As a Conservative, to believe that Jeremy Hunt would have had a better chance in such an election than Boris Johnson would seem to be engaging in exactly the sort of denial Richard accuses the rest of our members of. Like it or not, until Brexit is delivered we won't be winning back votes from those who would much rather it didn't happen. Elections are usually won on the centre ground, but, for once, the risk is genuinely greater on the flank.
I am sure Boris does not intend to leave with No Deal: as Richard suggests, "it won't be easy" is a significant understatement. Quite how Boris will finesse the election and the October 31st deadline remains to be seen: it's going to be an extraordinary three moths.0 -
Election before October 31 it must surely be, now.rottenborough said:It gets worse:
https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1154074965177753600
Otherwise all this is simply pointless.0 -
A creep?nico67 said:
Good God you’re right . Raab is another vile creep .rottenborough said:It gets worse:
https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/11540749651777536000 -
Raab is the obvious choice for the Foreign Office now he has discovered abroad starts just past Dover.williamglenn said:0 -
Just wait until he finds out why oil tankers go through the Strait of Hormuz.Scrapheap_as_was said:
At least he can find out what is beyond Calais....rottenborough said:It gets worse:
https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/11540749651777536000 -
Mundell to backbenches0
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Night of the Blond Knives, rather0
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One wonders what the sane wing of the Tory MPs will be thinking with Raab and Patel first appointments?
Can't see Johnson holding on to all his MPs now, nor a cat's chance of winning votes that matter on Brexit.
He is going to test the constitution by ignoring Parliament and leaving.1 -
On-topic:
The fact that Richard has had to make this undoubtedly hard decision says so much. I can only hope the Conservative Party finds itself in a position where a decent undoubted Conservative can happily rejoin.0 -
Bloody hell. Even fans of Dominic Raab didn't expect this.williamglenn said:0 -
The sane wing might bring him down tomorrow if Jezza has the guts to call a motion.WhisperingOracle said:
Election before October 31 it must surely be, now.rottenborough said:It gets worse:
https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1154074965177753600
Otherwise all this is simply pointless.0 -
So there has been endless speculation whether we would get 'good' or 'bad' Boris.
I think we have got Richard Nixon late stage Boris. Mad.0 -
Boris setting up Raab as his natural successor.0
