Mr. Roger, you realise the Scots are British, right?
Yes but they're also Scottish which means they're Remainers SNPers and Tory Loathers. We don't have time to consider individual voters like Alastair does
I agree with this Header from (appropriately) Q. Laying each & every fancied contender for Next Bond is a good play. It's a great play, in fact, because Bond died in the last film and therefore there can't be a next one.
It's a weird one, the cognitive dissonance entailed in watching a James Bond film. I mean, what is the relationship between the British secret agent called James Bond active in the 1950s or 60s, the one active today, and all the ones active in between? They can't be the same person. But if they're different people, isn't it weird that they all have the same name and the same staff ID, but aren't related to each other? The only explanation is that each film or at least each series of films exists in its own self contained universe, in which case Bond could certainly be played by pretty much any man and perhaps even a woman, the only constraint really is that they could plausibly be called James Bond.
I'm sorry - you used that much brain activity to analyse James Bond films? (!)
Semi serious question. Is it still hurting the Union if 4 in 5 English also agree that he should resign? Seems to me there might be a meeting of minds on this particular issue across the border quite soon.
Depends on how much self reflection is involved. Scots voters will with some justification tell themselves that they’ve had a total **** inflicted on them by English voters. Will English voters take any modicum of blame for said total **** being where he is?
This one won't.
Of course Scots voters "inflicted" Gordon Brown on all of us. Thankfully most people outside Scotland are not prejudiced enough to hold this against all Scots.
The English/Scottish delta on Johnson is quite stark though. They sussed him, we for some reason didn't. But that 'we' doesn't include me! (Or you tbf.)
You could argue the same for certain regions of England. The thing I find offensive to this type of SNP approach is essentially prejudice. To many of the Nats (not all) "The English" are some uniform blob that thinks the same and must be contrasted with the more virtuous "Scots". It is simple small brain racism and should be called out as such.
This is the morning Guido. Does anyone know who cell 9 is?
I think it's one of the Chuckle Brothers.
Mark Spencer but in the 30 odd years I've known Rich Johnston (the cartoonist) he's never been the greatest at recognisable faces although in the early days that was rather useful for libel reasons.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
If a PC objects to a planning application that has been given green light by the planning officer it has to go to committee at district council level. I would say that is quite important. It also has the ability to budget for localised maintenance and also submit proposals to the highways department which may be instrumental in bringing about improvements. It can also raise or reduce precept to build facilities. The idea that parish councils (and town councils that are essentially the same) are unimportant is a misunderstanding.
Planning arrangements vary quite a lot by locality.
As with a lot in politics, soft power is at least as important as is the direct effect of decisions and spending, which is very limited for most parishes. Although the latter is on the rise - the combined effect of government cutbacks and council tax capping (which affects principal councils but not parishes) has been for various local services to be passed down to parishes - so for example my own now manages the town park, public toilets, and some of its carparks - all of which used to belong to the county council.
A credible and competent parish or town council can fulfil an important role in giving voice to the community and in lobbying the principal councillors and MP on local issues, and by involving local people in such campaigns. You can generally get a good idea of how active a parish council is from its website. The challenge is getting decent people - both councillors and staff - for an unattractive role that is either unpaid (for the councillors) or low paid (for the staff). Too many parish council elections are uncontested and if no-one makes any effort to pull in a decent cross-section of candidates, you can easily end up with assorted local eccentrics or obsessives.
This bad: rebel MPs are considering submitting subject access requests to Mark Spencer, the chief whip, so he’d have to hand over messages and emails about them
He's only got himself to blame. Storming down Downing St yelling at the journalists and photographers ' HE'S AN 'ERO! AN 'ERO' was bound t get him noticed. I wondered at the time about the wisdom of employing such a doting thug
You think whipping is more a subtle art involving pointy root veg?
Would a leadership election go ahead were Russia to launch the attack on Ukraine?
I think not.
It is even possible that one would be abandoned and postponed half way through if there was military action.
"Now is not the time etc etc"
Worth bearing in mind if peeps are betting on exit dates.
We changed Prime Ministers during both world wars, twice during WWII, Ukraine will not save Boris Johnson.
Yes, but we changed PMs during war when their war strategies had manifestly failed.
That wouldn't apply in Ukraine case and certainly not in next six weeks.
If it is over quickly then we might be back to defenestration after May's locals again.
Then the Thatcher precedent applies.
If we want a PM in time of war, surely Ben Wallace or Tobias Ellwood would be a better bet than Sunak if Boris goes? Sunak is a peacetime chancellor to do the books.
If Russia invaded Ukraine and certainly if it then went beyond Ukraine that impacts on the Tory leadership too
Why does it make sense that a former soldier is the best PM in a time of war?
Firstly I would rather have someone who doesn’t have their own prejudices developed from their time as a soldier - where their experiences likely have no real bearing on the “current war” and again you have the danger of the man at the top fighting the last war.
Second if military experience is key why not go the whole hog and put the Chief of Defence staff in charge of the country. If this is a silly idea then it also negates why an ex military man would be best leader in time of war.
Third I would rather have someone slightly removed from the military who would be able to listen to multiple points of view - if you have Wallace or Elwood do they have a bias to the Army and therefore not listen to the RAF or Navy views?
Fourth: should we have had an ex-epidemiologist as PM during covid? Didn’t hear much call for that.
Fifth and final: once the war is over do they get shuffled out and then replaced by someone with a background in the current issue of the day? Jamie Oliver to solve any food crisis, Mervin King to deal with inflation, Jeremy Clarkson to deal with Farming? Going to go through a lot of PMs
Whilst your argument carries some weight, there is a simple answer to your initial question: those that know what it is like to be put in harms way are a little less blasé about putting other peoples' sons and daughters in harms way unnecessarily.
It could be argued that had Tony Blair known what it feels like to look down the barrel of a gun, he might have taken a slightly different approach.
Both men had fought in the front lines - flown the lead bombers in formations, no less, on multiple occasions. The Germans (and Italians) targeted the lead bombers especially because they knew that they carried the commander of the raid. The loss rate was such that later, the Americans moved the raid commanders from the lead bomber.
Would you like either man running foreign policy?
I am not sure the point you are trying to make, but the answer to your question is probably no. There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking, but it does not weaken my point about Tony Blair.
The point I am making is that having ex-military people running things is not necessarily an improvement. Very often the reverse.
"those that know what it is like to be put in harms way are a little less blasé about putting other peoples' sons and daughters in harms way unnecessarily."
Well, you may be dealing with people trained in a different way - "To be a good soldier, you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love."
There is good reason that the government of the UK is always very civilian in character. And it should stay that way.,
And yet the person that most people would argue was the greatest leader we ever had was an ex-serviceman of considerable courage and service record. Besides I think you have misunderstood the context of my original post. It was to rebut the suggestion by the other poster that military experience might be counter productive to a war time PM. While it is good "Devil's advocacy" it is both counter intuitive and against a balanced view of history.
You are making the classic mistake about Churchill in thinking the greatness of his leadership during WW2 was because he had seen active service however those who really knew Churchill, the real man, would recall that he strongly opined over a pint of 151 proof Bacardi and his favourite Lambert and Butler Light cigarettes that the best preparation and the single biggest education for him that guided his leadership was his time as a journalist. In fact he did say privately that his service experience held back his greatness and the war would have been over in a year if he had focussed on journalism more.
So clearly in Boris we have the new Churchill if war comes.
I like your irony in the last sentence. Well I hope it is irony, for otherwise I will have to assume you are an idiot.
This is the morning Guido. Does anyone know who cell 9 is?
I think it's one of the Chuckle Brothers.
Mark Spencer but in the 30 odd years I've known Rich Johnston (the cartoonist) he's never been the greatest at recognisable faces although in the early days that was rather useful for libel reasons.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
Summary: 82 friendly, 92 hostile or "icy", the rest cool, neutral or unknown. Makes a VONC a near-certainty, though not yet a succesful VONC.
And the reason the iceberg is there is because this is a contrived attack, Boris is under little pressure on the greater fundamentals of policy and delivery.
Disagree. Look at the MP which defected, he'd been in talks since October. The Red-Torys are restless because the 'levelling up' isn't producing anything tangible. and no plans for education or the NHS or pressure on household bills etc etc.
What exactly is Boris and the government doing apart from meaningless sound bites is the question.
I disagree as well. The problem he has is that he is under attack from multiple angles for which his tactical "tell each person what they want to hear and worry about the rest tomorrow" style of politics isn't working. A bunch of people are worried about delivery issues - levelling up, as you say, as well as related economic concerns - and another bunch are worried about the political direction of government, seeing a lot of the objectives he is at least pretending to have as being 'unconservative'.
English Labour break into the upper 40s. Klaxons at central office.
England Lab 46% Con 36% LD 10%
Scotland SNP 45% Lab 22% Con 18% LD 9%
Wales Lab 44% Con 29% PC 11% LD 10%
(Survation/38 Degrees; 14-17 January 2022; sample size 2,036)
Is there a story in 29% for Conservatives in Wales, Brexit still good for them, still fertile ground for them to talk up and fight on?
The Welsh are as sick of the Tories as the rest of the planet.
Brexit is not good for anyone, and never will be again. Brexit is not fertile ground for anyone, and never will be again. Brexit cannot be talked up. Brexit will never be fought on.
They won the battle, but they lost the war for hearts and minds.
English Labour break into the upper 40s. Klaxons at central office.
England Lab 46% Con 36% LD 10%
Scotland SNP 45% Lab 22% Con 18% LD 9%
Wales Lab 44% Con 29% PC 11% LD 10%
(Survation/38 Degrees; 14-17 January 2022; sample size 2,036)
Is there a story in 29% for Conservatives in Wales, Brexit still good for them, still fertile ground for them to talk up and fight on?
Yes, clearly so. Boris remember is the most successful Tory leader in Wales for generations. The Tories got a higher voteshare in Wales in 2019 even than Thatcher got from 1979 to 1987, let alone Major, Cameron or May
On the topic of bonds, the markets are taking quite the hammering this year. Heavy losses again this morning.
A bear run? A rout? A minor correction? Pick your pundit and get your answer but one thing's sure: there's a huge correction going on.
Yep. Just checked my ex portfolio. I sold my shares at exactly the right time (more from luck than judgement, I should add, I got spooked by Omicron which has turned out to be less nasty than I feared)
Charges dropped and trial scrapped for Royal Ascot climate change protesters
The four climate change protesters who chained themselves to the rail by the winning post at Royal Ascot last year have had charges against them dropped, the Front Runner can reveal. A two-day trial for aggravated trespass was scheduled to take place at High Wycombe magistrates court at the end of last week but did not go ahead, for reasons the Crown Prosecution Service has yet to explain. https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/charges-dropped-and-trial-scrapped-for-royal-ascot-climate-change-protesters/533846 (not paywalled)
English Labour break into the upper 40s. Klaxons at central office.
England Lab 46% Con 36% LD 10%
Scotland SNP 45% Lab 22% Con 18% LD 9%
Wales Lab 44% Con 29% PC 11% LD 10%
(Survation/38 Degrees; 14-17 January 2022; sample size 2,036)
Is there a story in 29% for Conservatives in Wales, Brexit still good for them, still fertile ground for them to talk up and fight on?
I think the Tories have quite a decent floor in Wales (at least in GEs), at least in North Wales, West Wales and rural areas. Only in 1997 did they narrowly dip below 20%.
That said the resilience of Welsh Labour is striking. It's crazy how often people have predicting the imminent fall of Welsh Labour since 2015.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 36m Boris is imperfect (he always was), but IMO the Tory Party needs to leave their leader in place now at least until he loses a General Election. There have been too many internal battles. They just need a period of stability & continuity, & to let someone see his plans through.
English Labour break into the upper 40s. Klaxons at central office.
England Lab 46% Con 36% LD 10%
Scotland SNP 45% Lab 22% Con 18% LD 9%
Wales Lab 44% Con 29% PC 11% LD 10%
(Survation/38 Degrees; 14-17 January 2022; sample size 2,036)
Is there a story in 29% for Conservatives in Wales, Brexit still good for them, still fertile ground for them to talk up and fight on?
Yes, clearly so. Boris remember is the most successful Tory leader in Wales for generations. The Tories got a higher voteshare in Wales in 2019 even than Thatcher got from 1979 to 1987, let alone Major, Cameron or May
If you’re happy with a vote share of 29%, then I’m delighted. You set you objectives awfie low.
Summary: 82 friendly, 92 hostile or "icy", the rest cool, neutral or unknown. Makes a VONC a near-certainty, though not yet a succesful VONC.
And the reason the iceberg is there is because this is a contrived attack, Boris is under little pressure on the greater fundamentals of policy and delivery.
Disagree. Look at the MP which defected, he'd been in talks since October. The Red-Torys are restless because the 'levelling up' isn't producing anything tangible. and no plans for education or the NHS or pressure on household bills etc etc.
What exactly is Boris and the government doing apart from meaningless sound bites is the question.
I disagree as well. The problem he has is that he is under attack from multiple angles for which his tactical "tell each person what they want to hear and worry about the rest tomorrow" style of politics isn't working. A bunch of people are worried about delivery issues - levelling up, as you say, as well as related economic concerns - and another bunch are worried about the political direction of government, seeing a lot of the objectives he is at least pretending to have as being 'unconservative'.
Today we should see the HS2 bill to extend HS2 to Manchester. Going to be interesting to see how they plan to get the track into Manchester and out again while they are still pretending to use the route for trains to Leeds.
English Labour break into the upper 40s. Klaxons at central office.
England Lab 46% Con 36% LD 10%
Scotland SNP 45% Lab 22% Con 18% LD 9%
Wales Lab 44% Con 29% PC 11% LD 10%
(Survation/38 Degrees; 14-17 January 2022; sample size 2,036)
Is there a story in 29% for Conservatives in Wales, Brexit still good for them, still fertile ground for them to talk up and fight on?
I think the Tories have quite a decent floor in Wales (at least in GEs), at least in North Wales, West Wales and rural areas. Only in 1997 did they narrowly dip below 20%.
That said the resilience of Welsh Labour is striking. It's crazy how often people have predicting the imminent fall of Welsh Labour since 2015.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
If a PC objects to a planning application that has been given green light by the planning officer it has to go to committee at district council level. I would say that is quite important. It also has the ability to budget for localised maintenance and also submit proposals to the highways department which may be instrumental in bringing about improvements. It can also raise or reduce precept to build facilities. The idea that parish councils (and town councils that are essentially the same) are unimportant is a misunderstanding.
Though most council planning isn't really about judgement or whether people like the planning application- it's just does it fit the published policy?
Slight paradox. The things parish (and increasingly district) councils have discretion about are tiny and trivial, but improving the state of the flower beds by the bus stop has an outsize effect on civic pride and well-being. The cuts (for cuts there have been, both in money and discretion) were logical but perhaps unwise.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
They are the village green preservation society?
If say you are rich and live in a village with little if any crime and own your own property and have private healthcare and send your children to private schools, the parish council arguably has more impact on your life than the national government, especially if you attend the village fete, walk on the village green, use the playground and village hall, attend remembrance parades, are affected by local planning decisions in the village etc.
On the topic of bonds, the markets are taking quite the hammering this year. Heavy losses again this morning.
A bear run? A rout? A minor correction? Pick your pundit and get your answer but one thing's sure: there's a huge correction going on.
Yep. Just checked my ex portfolio. I sold my shares at exactly the right time (more from luck than judgement, I should add, I got spooked by Omicron which has turned out to be less nasty than I feared)
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
They are the village green preservation society?
If say you are rich and live in a village with little if any crime and own your own property and have private healthcare and send your children to private schools, the parish council arguably has more impact on your life than the national government, especially if you attend the village fete, walk on the village green, use the playground and village hall, attend remembrance parades, are affected by local planning decisions in the village etc.
I don't know if there's anything in it, and I can't find the tweet which I read that suggested it, but might there have been a Chinese hand in Nus Ghani's demotion?
The suggestion was that it may have been related to Gardiner's chum Christine Lee. She, or another not yet revealed, passed on the message to their Tory contacts that Ghani's stance on the Uyghurs wasn't popular among the Chinese expats and any donations would dry up while she was in place.
That would have something to do with her 'Muslimness'.
Appalling if so.
Nus Ghani has been very sound on China's persecution of the Uighurs.
Appalling. But more plausible than the generic claims that she was sacked for her “Muslimness”
Her Muslimness seems to have involved her standing up for fellow Muslims being persecuted by an evil state. Good for her!
Whether that was why she was sacked is another matter. The fact that said evil state chose to sanction her is telling.The fact that the same state uses its agents of influence in Parliament as our security services were telling us only a couple of weeks ago is also telling.
Until we know the full contents and context of all the relevant conversations (we may get this) and whether any other influence was indirectly responsible (we won't) we can't say. But I think it a possibility and one which should be followed up.
Questions should be asked. Not least of Ms Ghani herself. Does she think this might have been a factor?
Journalists really are useless at their job.
If there's any substance I'd expect Baroness Warsi to be on the case any minute now. She's improved enormously since she became unconstrained by government. She was even on a walking in Yorkshire program recently and she was good
She was already commenting on R4 this morning. An interesting point she made was that complainants were told that any complaint would be 'career ending'.
That's good news. She's like a dog with a bone and if that's correct then it's extremely serious bullying
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 36m Boris is imperfect (he always was), but IMO the Tory Party needs to leave their leader in place now at least until he loses a General Election. There have been too many internal battles. They just need a period of stability & continuity, & to let someone see his plans through.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
If a PC objects to a planning application that has been given green light by the planning officer it has to go to committee at district council level. I would say that is quite important. It also has the ability to budget for localised maintenance and also submit proposals to the highways department which may be instrumental in bringing about improvements. It can also raise or reduce precept to build facilities. The idea that parish councils (and town councils that are essentially the same) are unimportant is a misunderstanding.
Though most council planning isn't really about judgement or whether people like the planning application- it's just does it fit the published policy?
Slight paradox. The things parish (and increasingly district) councils have discretion about are tiny and trivial, but improving the state of the flower beds by the bus stop has an outsize effect on civic pride and well-being. The cuts (for cuts there have been, both in money and discretion) were logical but perhaps unwise.
Literally all a parish council can do when objecting to a planning application is to push it to the planning committee for consideration.
It's worth saying that I'm aware of places where some parish councils complain so often that committees won't discuss applications if the only complaint is from said councils...
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 36m Boris is imperfect (he always was), but IMO the Tory Party needs to leave their leader in place now at least until he loses a General Election. There have been too many internal battles. They just need a period of stability & continuity, & to let someone see his plans through.
Summary: 82 friendly, 92 hostile or "icy", the rest cool, neutral or unknown. Makes a VONC a near-certainty, though not yet a succesful VONC.
And the reason the iceberg is there is because this is a contrived attack, Boris is under little pressure on the greater fundamentals of policy and delivery.
Disagree. Look at the MP which defected, he'd been in talks since October. The Red-Torys are restless because the 'levelling up' isn't producing anything tangible. and no plans for education or the NHS or pressure on household bills etc etc.
What exactly is Boris and the government doing apart from meaningless sound bites is the question.
Yours is as opposition would say - but the reason why election results like 15 and 92 happen is because oppositions believe their own hype. That’s always a danger in politics isn’t it? Others don’t see it as you do.
If there is no vonc following Sues report, no vonc in a fortnight, as I suspect, you will be saying “stupid people lacking spines” but my analysis I just gave you is probably the real reason.
I’m a Libdem. I think he should be under immense pressure now from naff policy and lack of delivery. But from the coalition of factions which put him there I’m not part of, I don’t think he is.
Semi serious question. Is it still hurting the Union if 4 in 5 English also agree that he should resign? Seems to me there might be a meeting of minds on this particular issue across the border quite soon.
Depends on how much self reflection is involved. Scots voters will with some justification tell themselves that they’ve had a total **** inflicted on them by English voters. Will English voters take any modicum of blame for said total **** being where he is?
This is a key point for me.
There's a certain element "I hate to say we told you so, but we told you so" about this. One of the the things that would gladden the unionist part of my heart would be some kind of sign that English politics had somehow learned a lesson. But no, alongside the "everyone thinks Boris should go" is fully one in three people saying they will vote Conservative. As in "if there were an election tomorrow..."
I humbly suggest that anyone who says Boris must go, but states Conservative would be who they would vote for with Boris in charge, need not be taken at their word.
It's an age-old canard of unionism that surveys on issues show a meeting of minds between England and Scotland. It's a tempting argument, but it raises the question of why Scotland and England constantly vote in quite different ways. And the lack of engagement with that question from the unionist side quickens the nationalist part of my heart.
If you vote for the SNP at Westminster (which only stands in 59 out of 650 constituencies), then it's by default impossible for you to get the government you want.
Summary: 82 friendly, 92 hostile or "icy", the rest cool, neutral or unknown. Makes a VONC a near-certainty, though not yet a succesful VONC.
And the reason the iceberg is there is because this is a contrived attack, Boris is under little pressure on the greater fundamentals of policy and delivery.
Disagree. Look at the MP which defected, he'd been in talks since October. The Red-Torys are restless because the 'levelling up' isn't producing anything tangible. and no plans for education or the NHS or pressure on household bills etc etc.
What exactly is Boris and the government doing apart from meaningless sound bites is the question.
I disagree as well. The problem he has is that he is under attack from multiple angles for which his tactical "tell each person what they want to hear and worry about the rest tomorrow" style of politics isn't working. A bunch of people are worried about delivery issues - levelling up, as you say, as well as related economic concerns - and another bunch are worried about the political direction of government, seeing a lot of the objectives he is at least pretending to have as being 'unconservative'.
Today we should see the HS2 bill to extend HS2 to Manchester. Going to be interesting to see how they plan to get the track into Manchester and out again while they are still pretending to use the route for trains to Leeds.
The bill for the track to Manchester is on dedicated track all the way to Manchester - no element of sharing with the classic network. Apologies if I've misunderstood! Manchester City Council would quite like a solution at Manchester which allows for a link to a new NPR line to Leeds - it will be a bit of a scrap to get it!
On the topic of bonds, the markets are taking quite the hammering this year. Heavy losses again this morning.
A bear run? A rout? A minor correction? Pick your pundit and get your answer but one thing's sure: there's a huge correction going on.
Yep. Just checked my ex portfolio. I sold my shares at exactly the right time (more from luck than judgement, I should add, I got spooked by Omicron which has turned out to be less nasty than I feared)
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
If a PC objects to a planning application that has been given green light by the planning officer it has to go to committee at district council level. I would say that is quite important. It also has the ability to budget for localised maintenance and also submit proposals to the highways department which may be instrumental in bringing about improvements. It can also raise or reduce precept to build facilities. The idea that parish councils (and town councils that are essentially the same) are unimportant is a misunderstanding.
Though most council planning isn't really about judgement or whether people like the planning application- it's just does it fit the published policy?
Slight paradox. The things parish (and increasingly district) councils have discretion about are tiny and trivial, but improving the state of the flower beds by the bus stop has an outsize effect on civic pride and well-being. The cuts (for cuts there have been, both in money and discretion) were logical but perhaps unwise.
Literally all a parish council can do when objecting to a planning application is to push it to the planning committee for consideration.
It's worth saying that I'm aware of places where some parish councils complain so often that committees won't discuss applications if the only complaint is from said councils...
Yes and no; the Localism Act gives them the right to develop Neighbourhood Plans, which are good at involving local people with considering planning policy, less good at delivering major changes to said policy but they can tweak the approach the county or district takes in their patch, as well as unlocking additional funding through the local element of CIL.
I agree with this Header from (appropriately) Q. Laying each & every fancied contender for Next Bond is a good play. It's a great play, in fact, because Bond died in the last film and therefore there can't be a next one.
It's a weird one, the cognitive dissonance entailed in watching a James Bond film. I mean, what is the relationship between the British secret agent called James Bond active in the 1950s or 60s, the one active today, and all the ones active in between? They can't be the same person. But if they're different people, isn't it weird that they all have the same name and the same staff ID, but aren't related to each other? The only explanation is that each film or at least each series of films exists in its own self contained universe, in which case Bond could certainly be played by pretty much any man and perhaps even a woman, the only constraint really is that they could plausibly be called James Bond.
I'm sorry - you used that much brain activity to analyse James Bond films? (!)
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 36m Boris is imperfect (he always was), but IMO the Tory Party needs to leave their leader in place now at least until he loses a General Election. There have been too many internal battles. They just need a period of stability & continuity, & to let someone see his plans through.
Not my view. But I think that is what will happen now. I thought at first he couldn't survive this, but now I think he will cling on.
I will be amazed if he lasts this year, never mind 2024. Indeed, I expect movement this week.
How on earth does he survive? His authority is shot and he has no real means of staying in power. What is his message to critics? What can he offer them? Why is he there? He can neither threaten nor bribe if people expect him out within months because the words are empty in both cases.
And when Sue Gray does report, then assuming it's not a whitewash (which reports have been in the past, so can't be ruled out, though that would do far more to damage Gray than to save Johnson), it merely removes the holding position and giving MPs a moment to act on.
When Thatcher was brought down, she could at least point to her leadership and a long record of delivery. As it turned out, it wasn't enough because Europe and the Poll Tax.
When Major was under constant attack, his supporters could say that he was the only thing preventing an outright civil war on Europe and much else. Right or not, it was grudgingly accepted.
As with Major, so with May initially - with the added complication that removing her might bring down a minority govt and trigger an election. But then that risk became the lesser of the two as it was clear the party was heading for catastrophe anyway.
But the closest to where Johnson is, is IDS in 2003. He was elected to do a job (keep Clarke out in 2001, get Brexit done in 2019). Both missions were accomplished; both had (or have) outlasted any usefulness they may have had.
Semi serious question. Is it still hurting the Union if 4 in 5 English also agree that he should resign? Seems to me there might be a meeting of minds on this particular issue across the border quite soon.
Depends on how much self reflection is involved. Scots voters will with some justification tell themselves that they’ve had a total **** inflicted on them by English voters. Will English voters take any modicum of blame for said total **** being where he is?
This one won't.
Of course Scots voters "inflicted" Gordon Brown on all of us. Thankfully most people outside Scotland are not prejudiced enough to hold this against all Scots.
The English/Scottish delta on Johnson is quite stark though. They sussed him, we for some reason didn't. But that 'we' doesn't include me! (Or you tbf.)
You could argue the same for certain regions of England. The thing I find offensive to this type of SNP approach is essentially prejudice. To many of the Nats (not all) "The English" are some uniform blob that thinks the same and must be contrasted with the more virtuous "Scots". It is simple small brain racism and should be called out as such.
It's hardly small-brained or racist when it's a central predicate of the international system. I mean, look even at the word "international". It's not a fiction, it's more a first-order approximation. And we all indulge in it every day.
I am referring to the post. It was very small brained and looked pretty racist as it suggests that "The English" are an amorphous group that should be worthy of disdain. It is a perfectly defensible thing to suggest that independence and therefore localised decisions might lead to better governance, even if one accepts this might not be the case in practice.
The problem with at least three of the Nat posters on here is that they give away their real motivation which is just a dislike of English people. When they are taken to task on this they invariably resort to abuse, which confirms their general aggressive and unpleasant approach. Scottish Nationalism might have a little more credibility (at least on this forum) if those who do not share their prejudice took them to task rather than defend them.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
None of those are very important. Useful additions, perhaps; pleasant features, maybe. But not central to people's lives - which is, after all, why they're Parish Council responsibilities in the first place. If they were actually important, they'd be dealt with higher up the food chain.
English Labour break into the upper 40s. Klaxons at central office.
England Lab 46% Con 36% LD 10%
Scotland SNP 45% Lab 22% Con 18% LD 9%
Wales Lab 44% Con 29% PC 11% LD 10%
(Survation/38 Degrees; 14-17 January 2022; sample size 2,036)
Is there a story in 29% for Conservatives in Wales, Brexit still good for them, still fertile ground for them to talk up and fight on?
Yes, clearly so. Boris remember is the most successful Tory leader in Wales for generations. The Tories got a higher voteshare in Wales in 2019 even than Thatcher got from 1979 to 1987, let alone Major, Cameron or May
There's an issue in some parts of Wales (not the Valleys, obvs) with second home owners becoming first home owners as they retire. So Tory one-time second home owners become immigrants and, especially as they're retirees, become local Tory voters. Not necessarily older people, either.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
If a PC objects to a planning application that has been given green light by the planning officer it has to go to committee at district council level. I would say that is quite important. It also has the ability to budget for localised maintenance and also submit proposals to the highways department which may be instrumental in bringing about improvements. It can also raise or reduce precept to build facilities. The idea that parish councils (and town councils that are essentially the same) are unimportant is a misunderstanding.
Though most council planning isn't really about judgement or whether people like the planning application- it's just does it fit the published policy?
Slight paradox. The things parish (and increasingly district) councils have discretion about are tiny and trivial, but improving the state of the flower beds by the bus stop has an outsize effect on civic pride and well-being. The cuts (for cuts there have been, both in money and discretion) were logical but perhaps unwise.
There's a *lot* of leeway within published policy.
Mark Spencer as chief whip has been a disaster for the conservatives
He was very much involved in the Paterson debacle, is now subject to blackmail allegations and the racism accusations by Nusrat
It is good to see the support she is receiving across the party
The conservative party are in an existential crises which can only be lanced by Boris leaving his premiership.
I hope Sue Gray's report is the catalyst for that as urgent attention is needed to so many other issues
I would also suggest to one over excited poster who promoters Scots Independence from abroad that at this time in the political cycle it would be astonishing if the conservatives were doing well in the polls, and importantly support for Scots independence is not breaking through 50% and Sturgeon continues her procrastination started in 2017 that now is not the time but apparently 2023 is
The conservative party need to take some big decisions but to assume the polls today will reflect the polls in 2024 leading into a general election are make believe
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
None of those are very important. Useful additions, perhaps; pleasant features, maybe. But not central to people's lives - which is, after all, why they're Parish Council responsibilities in the first place. If they were actually important, they'd be dealt with higher up the food chain.
It depends on how you see being 'important' in politics. Some things are very important to small numbers of people; other things are of marginal importance to larger numbers of people.
From the politicians' perspective, local government offers far greater opportunities for a determined or able representative to make a difference on their own - if on a much smaller stage - than does national politics, where many of the backbenchers can spend entire careers without themselves having changed very much at all.
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 36m Boris is imperfect (he always was), but IMO the Tory Party needs to leave their leader in place now at least until he loses a General Election. There have been too many internal battles. They just need a period of stability & continuity, & to let someone see his plans through.
Not my view. But I think that is what will happen now. I thought at first he couldn't survive this, but now I think he will cling on.
I will be amazed if he lasts this year, never mind 2024. Indeed, I expect movement this week.
How on earth does he survive? His authority is shot and he has no real means of staying in power. What is his message to critics? What can he offer them? Why is he there? He can neither threaten nor bribe if people expect him out within months because the words are empty in both cases.
And when Sue Gray does report, then assuming it's not a whitewash (which reports have been in the past, so can't be ruled out, though that would do far more to damage Gray than to save Johnson), it merely removes the holding position and giving MPs a moment to act on.
When Thatcher was brought down, she could at least point to her leadership and a long record of delivery. As it turned out, it wasn't enough because Europe and the Poll Tax.
When Major was under constant attack, his supporters could say that he was the only thing preventing an outright civil war on Europe and much else. Right or not, it was grudgingly accepted.
As with Major, so with May initially - with the added complication that removing her might bring down a minority govt and trigger an election. But then that risk became the lesser of the two as it was clear the party was heading for catastrophe anyway.
But the closest to where Johnson is, is IDS in 2003. He was elected to do a job (keep Clarke out in 2001, get Brexit done in 2019). Both missions were accomplished; both had (or have) outlasted any usefulness they may have had.
My view exactly. I think if he is still in place by mid-Feb it will be in a caretaker capacity only.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
If a PC objects to a planning application that has been given green light by the planning officer it has to go to committee at district council level. I would say that is quite important. It also has the ability to budget for localised maintenance and also submit proposals to the highways department which may be instrumental in bringing about improvements. It can also raise or reduce precept to build facilities. The idea that parish councils (and town councils that are essentially the same) are unimportant is a misunderstanding.
As a former councillor on a Metropolitan unitary authority, who chaired a committee with Highways responsibilities, I can say with some experience that representations from Parish Councils made a difference only on the merits of their arguments - which is no more and no less than the influence that a single member of the public might have, writing on the same plan.
My understanding from colleagues on the Planning committees was that pretty much the same applied there.
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
If a PC objects to a planning application that has been given green light by the planning officer it has to go to committee at district council level. I would say that is quite important. It also has the ability to budget for localised maintenance and also submit proposals to the highways department which may be instrumental in bringing about improvements. It can also raise or reduce precept to build facilities. The idea that parish councils (and town councils that are essentially the same) are unimportant is a misunderstanding.
Though most council planning isn't really about judgement or whether people like the planning application- it's just does it fit the published policy?
Slight paradox. The things parish (and increasingly district) councils have discretion about are tiny and trivial, but improving the state of the flower beds by the bus stop has an outsize effect on civic pride and well-being. The cuts (for cuts there have been, both in money and discretion) were logical but perhaps unwise.
Literally all a parish council can do when objecting to a planning application is to push it to the planning committee for consideration.
It's worth saying that I'm aware of places where some parish councils complain so often that committees won't discuss applications if the only complaint is from said councils...
Yes and no; the Localism Act gives them the right to develop Neighbourhood Plans, which are good at involving local people with considering planning policy, less good at delivering major changes to said policy but they can tweak the approach the county or district takes in their patch, as well as unlocking additional funding through the local element of CIL.
And great at introducing Nimbyism on a local level - thinking of one local village where there are battle lines over where the extra houses are going to go because neither side wants them and they are part of the local plan.
Mark Spencer as chief whip has been a disaster for the conservatives
He was very much involved in the Paterson debacle, is now subject to blackmail allegations and the racism accusations by Nusrat
It is good to see the support she is receiving across the party
The conservative party are in an existential crises which can only be lanced by Boris leaving his premiership.
I hope Sue Gray's report is the catalyst for that as urgent attention is needed to so many other issues
I would also suggest to one over excited poster who promoters Scots Independence from abroad that at this time in the political cycle it would be astonishing if the conservatives were doing well in the polls, and importantly support for Scots independence is not breaking through 50% and Sturgeon continues her procrastination started in 2017 that now is not the time but apparently 2023
The conservative party need to take some big decisions but to assume the polls today will reflect the polls in 2024 leading into a general election are make believe
The 2024 polls will be worse for the Tories.
Even at my advanced age I'm still hopeful. Or dreaming!!
Andrew Lilico @andrew_lilico · 36m Boris is imperfect (he always was), but IMO the Tory Party needs to leave their leader in place now at least until he loses a General Election. There have been too many internal battles. They just need a period of stability & continuity, & to let someone see his plans through.
Not my view. But I think that is what will happen now. I thought at first he couldn't survive this, but now I think he will cling on.
I will be amazed if he lasts this year, never mind 2024. Indeed, I expect movement this week.
How on earth does he survive? His authority is shot and he has no real means of staying in power. What is his message to critics? What can he offer them? Why is he there? He can neither threaten nor bribe if people expect him out within months because the words are empty in both cases.
And when Sue Gray does report, then assuming it's not a whitewash (which reports have been in the past, so can't be ruled out, though that would do far more to damage Gray than to save Johnson), it merely removes the holding position and giving MPs a moment to act on.
When Thatcher was brought down, she could at least point to her leadership and a long record of delivery. As it turned out, it wasn't enough because Europe and the Poll Tax.
When Major was under constant attack, his supporters could say that he was the only thing preventing an outright civil war on Europe and much else. Right or not, it was grudgingly accepted.
As with Major, so with May initially - with the added complication that removing her might bring down a minority govt and trigger an election. But then that risk became the lesser of the two as it was clear the party was heading for catastrophe anyway.
But the closest to where Johnson is, is IDS in 2003. He was elected to do a job (keep Clarke out in 2001, get Brexit done in 2019). Both missions were accomplished; both had (or have) outlasted any usefulness they may have had.
My view exactly. I think if he is still in place by mid-Feb it will be in a caretaker capacity only.
Mark Spencer as chief whip has been a disaster for the conservatives
He was very much involved in the Paterson debacle, is now subject to blackmail allegations and the racism accusations by Nusrat
It is good to see the support she is receiving across the party
The conservative party are in an existential crises which can only be lanced by Boris leaving his premiership.
I hope Sue Gray's report is the catalyst for that as urgent attention is needed to so many other issues
I would also suggest to one over excited poster who promoters Scots Independence from abroad that at this time in the political cycle it would be astonishing if the conservatives were doing well in the polls, and importantly support for Scots independence is not breaking through 50% and Sturgeon continues her procrastination started in 2017 that now is not the time but apparently 2023
The conservative party need to take some big decisions but to assume the polls today will reflect the polls in 2024 leading into a general election are make believe
The 2024 polls will be worse for the Tories.
Even at my advanced age I'm still hopeful. Or dreaming!!
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
None of those are very important. Useful additions, perhaps; pleasant features, maybe. But not central to people's lives - which is, after all, why they're Parish Council responsibilities in the first place. If they were actually important, they'd be dealt with higher up the food chain.
I wouldn't disagree, but it depends on what you regard as important I guess. You could argue that even district councils aren't that important, when months and years of debate on a planning application can simply be overturned by the whim of a secretary of state
Semi serious question. Is it still hurting the Union if 4 in 5 English also agree that he should resign? Seems to me there might be a meeting of minds on this particular issue across the border quite soon.
Depends on how much self reflection is involved. Scots voters will with some justification tell themselves that they’ve had a total **** inflicted on them by English voters. Will English voters take any modicum of blame for said total **** being where he is?
This is a key point for me.
There's a certain element "I hate to say we told you so, but we told you so" about this. One of the the things that would gladden the unionist part of my heart would be some kind of sign that English politics had somehow learned a lesson. But no, alongside the "everyone thinks Boris should go" is fully one in three people saying they will vote Conservative. As in "if there were an election tomorrow..."
I humbly suggest that anyone who says Boris must go, but states Conservative would be who they would vote for with Boris in charge, need not be taken at their word.
It's an age-old canard of unionism that surveys on issues show a meeting of minds between England and Scotland. It's a tempting argument, but it raises the question of why Scotland and England constantly vote in quite different ways. And the lack of engagement with that question from the unionist side quickens the nationalist part of my heart.
If you vote for the SNP at Westminster (which only stands in 59 out of 650 constituencies), then it's by default impossible for you to get the government you want.
How many GEs is it now that if Scotland had voted Lab in every single Westminster seat we would still not have got the government we wanted?
Summary: 82 friendly, 92 hostile or "icy", the rest cool, neutral or unknown. Makes a VONC a near-certainty, though not yet a succesful VONC.
And the reason the iceberg is there is because this is a contrived attack, Boris is under little pressure on the greater fundamentals of policy and delivery.
Disagree. Look at the MP which defected, he'd been in talks since October. The Red-Torys are restless because the 'levelling up' isn't producing anything tangible. and no plans for education or the NHS or pressure on household bills etc etc.
What exactly is Boris and the government doing apart from meaningless sound bites is the question.
I disagree as well. The problem he has is that he is under attack from multiple angles for which his tactical "tell each person what they want to hear and worry about the rest tomorrow" style of politics isn't working. A bunch of people are worried about delivery issues - levelling up, as you say, as well as related economic concerns - and another bunch are worried about the political direction of government, seeing a lot of the objectives he is at least pretending to have as being 'unconservative'.
Today we should see the HS2 bill to extend HS2 to Manchester. Going to be interesting to see how they plan to get the track into Manchester and out again while they are still pretending to use the route for trains to Leeds.
The bill for the track to Manchester is on dedicated track all the way to Manchester - no element of sharing with the classic network. Apologies if I've misunderstood! Manchester City Council would quite like a solution at Manchester which allows for a link to a new NPR line to Leeds - it will be a bit of a scrap to get it!
I'm trying to find the article but this morning one of the mentions of the bill included the fact it included a bit that just enters Yorkshire before returning to one of the existing East West routes to Leeds.
The question is how does that bit work as the IPR states its part of the NPR demands that have been left in as it's worth doing now rather than later.
English Labour break into the upper 40s. Klaxons at central office.
England Lab 46% Con 36% LD 10%
Scotland SNP 45% Lab 22% Con 18% LD 9%
Wales Lab 44% Con 29% PC 11% LD 10%
(Survation/38 Degrees; 14-17 January 2022; sample size 2,036)
Is there a story in 29% for Conservatives in Wales, Brexit still good for them, still fertile ground for them to talk up and fight on?
Yes, clearly so. Boris remember is the most successful Tory leader in Wales for generations. The Tories got a higher voteshare in Wales in 2019 even than Thatcher got from 1979 to 1987, let alone Major, Cameron or May
There's an issue in some parts of Wales (not the Valleys, obvs) with second home owners becoming first home owners as they retire. So Tory one-time second home owners become immigrants and, especially as they're retirees, become local Tory voters. Not necessarily older people, either.
The reason Boris is “ the most successful Tory leader in Wales for generations” is Brexit/time to level up. Will it ever unwind!
There are loads of ex servicemen and women and members of the security services who would not be suitable for policymaking,
My behaviour on our parish council is a fucking disgrace. 50% Andy Kaufman, 50% Subcomandante Marcos.
As an observer or as a councillor? Parish councils are a menace.
What's worse is that both parish councils and some members often seem to have delusions about their importance.
If you live in a village, parish councillors are very important in terms of what happens there
Examples needed, I think? A good parish council can make a useful difference at the margins but nothing important is their responsibility.
The village green, village fete, village war memorial, village toilets, village playground, village hall, all key aspects of village life, are the parish council's responsibility
Summary: 82 friendly, 92 hostile or "icy", the rest cool, neutral or unknown. Makes a VONC a near-certainty, though not yet a succesful VONC.
And the reason the iceberg is there is because this is a contrived attack, Boris is under little pressure on the greater fundamentals of policy and delivery.
Disagree. Look at the MP which defected, he'd been in talks since October. The Red-Torys are restless because the 'levelling up' isn't producing anything tangible. and no plans for education or the NHS or pressure on household bills etc etc.
What exactly is Boris and the government doing apart from meaningless sound bites is the question.
I disagree as well. The problem he has is that he is under attack from multiple angles for which his tactical "tell each person what they want to hear and worry about the rest tomorrow" style of politics isn't working. A bunch of people are worried about delivery issues - levelling up, as you say, as well as related economic concerns - and another bunch are worried about the political direction of government, seeing a lot of the objectives he is at least pretending to have as being 'unconservative'.
Today we should see the HS2 bill to extend HS2 to Manchester. Going to be interesting to see how they plan to get the track into Manchester and out again while they are still pretending to use the route for trains to Leeds.
The bill for the track to Manchester is on dedicated track all the way to Manchester - no element of sharing with the classic network. Apologies if I've misunderstood! Manchester City Council would quite like a solution at Manchester which allows for a link to a new NPR line to Leeds - it will be a bit of a scrap to get it!
I'm trying to find the article but this morning one of the mentions of the bill included the fact it included a bit that just enters Yorkshire before returning to one of the existing East West routes to Leeds.
The question is how does that bit work as the IPR states its part of the NPR demands that have been left in as it's worth doing now rather than later.
I don't THINK that's the case - but if you do find any info to that effect I'd be very interested - could you PM me?
Summary: 82 friendly, 92 hostile or "icy", the rest cool, neutral or unknown. Makes a VONC a near-certainty, though not yet a succesful VONC.
And the reason the iceberg is there is because this is a contrived attack, Boris is under little pressure on the greater fundamentals of policy and delivery.
Disagree. Look at the MP which defected, he'd been in talks since October. The Red-Torys are restless because the 'levelling up' isn't producing anything tangible. and no plans for education or the NHS or pressure on household bills etc etc.
What exactly is Boris and the government doing apart from meaningless sound bites is the question.
I disagree as well. The problem he has is that he is under attack from multiple angles for which his tactical "tell each person what they want to hear and worry about the rest tomorrow" style of politics isn't working. A bunch of people are worried about delivery issues - levelling up, as you say, as well as related economic concerns - and another bunch are worried about the political direction of government, seeing a lot of the objectives he is at least pretending to have as being 'unconservative'.
Today we should see the HS2 bill to extend HS2 to Manchester. Going to be interesting to see how they plan to get the track into Manchester and out again while they are still pretending to use the route for trains to Leeds.
The bill for the track to Manchester is on dedicated track all the way to Manchester - no element of sharing with the classic network. Apologies if I've misunderstood! Manchester City Council would quite like a solution at Manchester which allows for a link to a new NPR line to Leeds - it will be a bit of a scrap to get it!
I'm trying to find the article but this morning one of the mentions of the bill included the fact it included a bit that just enters Yorkshire before returning to one of the existing East West routes to Leeds.
The question is how does that bit work as the IPR states its part of the NPR demands that have been left in as it's worth doing now rather than later.
I don't THINK that's the case - but if you do find any info to that effect I'd be very interested - could you PM me?
Will do - as soon as the Bill is actually released and I've had a chance to read it.
Summary: 82 friendly, 92 hostile or "icy", the rest cool, neutral or unknown. Makes a VONC a near-certainty, though not yet a succesful VONC.
And the reason the iceberg is there is because this is a contrived attack, Boris is under little pressure on the greater fundamentals of policy and delivery.
Disagree. Look at the MP which defected, he'd been in talks since October. The Red-Torys are restless because the 'levelling up' isn't producing anything tangible. and no plans for education or the NHS or pressure on household bills etc etc.
What exactly is Boris and the government doing apart from meaningless sound bites is the question.
I disagree as well. The problem he has is that he is under attack from multiple angles for which his tactical "tell each person what they want to hear and worry about the rest tomorrow" style of politics isn't working. A bunch of people are worried about delivery issues - levelling up, as you say, as well as related economic concerns - and another bunch are worried about the political direction of government, seeing a lot of the objectives he is at least pretending to have as being 'unconservative'.
Today we should see the HS2 bill to extend HS2 to Manchester. Going to be interesting to see how they plan to get the track into Manchester and out again while they are still pretending to use the route for trains to Leeds.
The bill for the track to Manchester is on dedicated track all the way to Manchester - no element of sharing with the classic network. Apologies if I've misunderstood! Manchester City Council would quite like a solution at Manchester which allows for a link to a new NPR line to Leeds - it will be a bit of a scrap to get it!
I'm trying to find the article but this morning one of the mentions of the bill included the fact it included a bit that just enters Yorkshire before returning to one of the existing East West routes to Leeds.
The question is how does that bit work as the IPR states its part of the NPR demands that have been left in as it's worth doing now rather than later.
I don't THINK that's the case - but if you do find any info to that effect I'd be very interested - could you PM me?
Would a leadership election go ahead were Russia to launch the attack on Ukraine?
I think not.
It is even possible that one would be abandoned and postponed half way through if there was military action.
"Now is not the time etc etc"
Worth bearing in mind if peeps are betting on exit dates.
We changed Prime Ministers during both world wars, twice during WWII, Ukraine will not save Boris Johnson.
Times have changed. Even sensible lose their shit over switching PMs without an election, of the tories just anointing one or their members picking one, and couldn't handle the idea of Raab (or anyone) being primary among the Cabinet while the PM was in hospital. How could decisions be made was the cry.
No way the Tories do a switch if there's a european war flaring up. Not now.
EU foreign ministers are planning to condemn "Russia's continued aggressive actions and threats against Ukraine", while calling for de-escalation at Monday's (24 January) meeting in Brussels.
Comments
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jan/23/chief-whip-mark-spencer
As with a lot in politics, soft power is at least as important as is the direct effect of decisions and spending, which is very limited for most parishes. Although the latter is on the rise - the combined effect of government cutbacks and council tax capping (which affects principal councils but not parishes) has been for various local services to be passed down to parishes - so for example my own now manages the town park, public toilets, and some of its carparks - all of which used to belong to the county council.
A credible and competent parish or town council can fulfil an important role in giving voice to the community and in lobbying the principal councillors and MP on local issues, and by involving local people in such campaigns. You can generally get a good idea of how active a parish council is from its website. The challenge is getting decent people - both councillors and staff - for an unattractive role that is either unpaid (for the councillors) or low paid (for the staff). Too many parish council elections are uncontested and if no-one makes any effort to pull in a decent cross-section of candidates, you can easily end up with assorted local eccentrics or obsessives.
Brexit is not good for anyone, and never will be again.
Brexit is not fertile ground for anyone, and never will be again.
Brexit cannot be talked up.
Brexit will never be fought on.
They won the battle, but they lost the war for hearts and minds.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/quote/^FTSE?p=^FTSE
The four climate change protesters who chained themselves to the rail by the winning post at Royal Ascot last year have had charges against them dropped, the Front Runner can reveal. A two-day trial for aggravated trespass was scheduled to take place at High Wycombe magistrates court at the end of last week but did not go ahead, for reasons the Crown Prosecution Service has yet to explain.
https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/charges-dropped-and-trial-scrapped-for-royal-ascot-climate-change-protesters/533846 (not paywalled)
That said the resilience of Welsh Labour is striking. It's crazy how often people have predicting the imminent fall of Welsh Labour since 2015.
@andrew_lilico
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36m
Boris is imperfect (he always was), but IMO the Tory Party needs to leave their leader in place now at least until he loses a General Election. There have been too many internal battles. They just need a period of stability & continuity, & to let someone see his plans through.
https://twitter.com/andrew_lilico/status/1485552041766404103
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Not my view. But I think that is what will happen now. I thought at first he couldn't survive this, but now I think he will cling on.
Slight paradox. The things parish (and increasingly district) councils have discretion about are tiny and trivial, but improving the state of the flower beds by the bus stop has an outsize effect on civic pride and well-being. The cuts (for cuts there have been, both in money and discretion) were logical but perhaps unwise.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/downing-street-police-gave-extremely-damning-evidence-to-partygate-inquiry/ar-AAT4RHK?ocid=entnewsntp
On the other, this smacks of the person who murders their parents and pleads for mercy because they have just become an orphan.
It's worth saying that I'm aware of places where some parish councils complain so often that committees won't discuss applications if the only complaint is from said councils...
I said it and keep saying it.
I see some PBers are getting the message:
Boris Corbyn is GOING NOWHERE.
If there is no vonc following Sues report, no vonc in a fortnight, as I suspect, you will be saying “stupid people lacking spines” but my analysis I just gave you is probably the real reason.
I’m a Libdem. I think he should be under immense pressure now from naff policy and lack of delivery. But from the coalition of factions which put him there I’m not part of, I don’t think he is.
Apologies if I've misunderstood!
Manchester City Council would quite like a solution at Manchester which allows for a link to a new NPR line to Leeds - it will be a bit of a scrap to get it!
How on earth does he survive? His authority is shot and he has no real means of staying in power. What is his message to critics? What can he offer them? Why is he there? He can neither threaten nor bribe if people expect him out within months because the words are empty in both cases.
And when Sue Gray does report, then assuming it's not a whitewash (which reports have been in the past, so can't be ruled out, though that would do far more to damage Gray than to save Johnson), it merely removes the holding position and giving MPs a moment to act on.
When Thatcher was brought down, she could at least point to her leadership and a long record of delivery. As it turned out, it wasn't enough because Europe and the Poll Tax.
When Major was under constant attack, his supporters could say that he was the only thing preventing an outright civil war on Europe and much else. Right or not, it was grudgingly accepted.
As with Major, so with May initially - with the added complication that removing her might bring down a minority govt and trigger an election. But then that risk became the lesser of the two as it was clear the party was heading for catastrophe anyway.
But the closest to where Johnson is, is IDS in 2003. He was elected to do a job (keep Clarke out in 2001, get Brexit done in 2019). Both missions were accomplished; both had (or have) outlasted any usefulness they may have had.
The problem with at least three of the Nat posters on here is that they give away their real motivation which is just a dislike of English people. When they are taken to task on this they invariably resort to abuse, which confirms their general aggressive and unpleasant approach. Scottish Nationalism might have a little more credibility (at least on this forum) if those who do not share their prejudice took them to task rather than defend them.
Not necessarily older people, either.
Mark Spencer as chief whip has been a disaster for the conservatives
He was very much involved in the Paterson debacle, is now subject to blackmail allegations and the racism accusations by Nusrat
It is good to see the support she is receiving across the party
The conservative party are in an existential crises which can only be lanced by Boris leaving his premiership.
I hope Sue Gray's report is the catalyst for that as urgent attention is needed to so many other issues
I would also suggest to one over excited poster who promoters Scots Independence from abroad that at this time in the political cycle it would be astonishing if the conservatives were doing well in the polls, and importantly support for Scots independence is not breaking through 50% and Sturgeon continues her procrastination started in 2017 that now is not the time but apparently 2023 is
The conservative party need to take some big decisions but to assume the polls today will reflect the polls in 2024 leading into a general election are make believe
From the politicians' perspective, local government offers far greater opportunities for a determined or able representative to make a difference on their own - if on a much smaller stage - than does national politics, where many of the backbenchers can spend entire careers without themselves having changed very much at all.
My understanding from colleagues on the Planning committees was that pretty much the same applied there.
(*) If it isn't, then this probably isn't a novel observation...
Even at my advanced age I'm still hopeful. Or dreaming!!
It is just to volatile to predict
The question is how does that bit work as the IPR states its part of the NPR demands that have been left in as it's worth doing now rather than later.
New, rather good, thread
https://www.hs2.org.uk/in-your-area/map/#12/53.4907/-2.2256/filter=hs2-stations,hs2-network
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister
No way the Tories do a switch if there's a european war flaring up. Not now.
EU foreign ministers are planning to condemn "Russia's continued aggressive actions and threats against Ukraine", while calling for de-escalation at Monday's (24 January) meeting in Brussels.
https://euobserver.com/world/154167