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Johnson exit betting: Now odds-on he’ll survive till 2024 or later – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited May 2022 in General
imageJohnson exit betting: Now odds-on he’ll survive till 2024 or later – politicalbetting.com

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  • Yes and first
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,040

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Let's hope it ends the same way.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,087
    edited May 2022
    Er ... this is going on longer than repainting the Forth Bridge.
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 5,129

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Let's hope it ends the same way.
    With the Russians in Berlin?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,040
    Visegrád 24
    @visegrad24
    ·
    54m
    The Azov Regiment has written on Telegram that they are "implementing the decision of the Supreme Military Command" in order to save lives.

    Russian sources say 300 have left Azovstal tonight while the remaining 2000 will lay down their weapons tomorrow.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,837
    US Congressman not exactly enamoured of the Bozza's activity today.
    Talking about "special meat".
    Him and Clinton Baptiste. It's like early noughties comedy is a way of life now.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 6,763

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Let's hope it ends the same way.
    With the Russians in Berlin?
    😂

    I think he meant “with the baddies losing”
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    Johnson will lead the Brexit Revolutionary Party into the next UK GE.
    Johnson will lead the Brexit Revolutionary Party to defeat at the next UK GE.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415
    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 19,618
    Arsenalsy
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,263
    edited May 2022

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Interesting to contemplate the original source (it's been passed on by Western military sources). If it's a Russian leak, it must be designed to shift the blame from the military onto Putin, making a coup more likely. If it's Ukrainian disinformation, then shrug. If it's genuine Western intel of what's actually happenng, it shows striking confidence in the security of the intel to leak it. But in general one of the less-discussed features of the war is how remarkably good Western (electronic?) intelligence has been throughout - perhaps to the point that they no longer feel the need to conceal it.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,398
    edited May 2022

    Visegrád 24
    @visegrad24
    ·
    54m
    The Azov Regiment has written on Telegram that they are "implementing the decision of the Supreme Military Command" in order to save lives.

    Russian sources say 300 have left Azovstal tonight while the remaining 2000 will lay down their weapons tomorrow.

    It was an heroic defence. It clearly infuriated the fuck out of the Russians. Hopefully it really cut back their ambitions.

    Also hopefully it won't show how hard it might be for Ukraine to regain territory.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,837

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    One of the advantages of being a mendaciously shape shifting twat is that you can comfortably mendaciously shape shift I guess.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,398
    edited May 2022

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Even Ghengis Khan had better generals under him to advance his campaigns. And you, Mr Putin, are not Ghengis Khan (in success or, in fairness, probably brutality either).
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,040

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Let's hope it ends the same way.
    With the Russians in Berlin?
    😂

    I think he meant “with the baddies losing”
    I was thinking more of the body of the tyrant been burnt with petrol in the car park of the bunker.
  • TazTaz Posts: 10,704
    Riots in Sri Lanka were mentioned in the last thread. It looks like lack of food, as well as fuel, is a big problems. They moved to organic farming recently and as a consequence yields have tumbled.

    I hope this island comes through this in one piece.

    https://news.sky.com/story/sri-lanka-could-descend-into-anarchy-as-it-risks-running-out-of-food-and-fuel-former-energy-minister-says-12606983
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,040

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Interesting to contemplate the original source (it's been passed on by Western military sources). If it's a Russian leak, it must be designed to shift the blame from the military onto Putin, making a coup more likely. If it's Ukrainian disinformation, then shrug. If it's genuine Western intel of what's actually happenng, it shows striking confidence in the security of the intel to leak it. But in general one of the less-discussed features of the war is how remarkably good Western (electronic?) intelligence has been throughout - perhaps to the point that they no longer feel the need to conceal it.
    Lavrov.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,398

    @guyverhofstadt
    The weekend:

    Russia threw phosphor bombs on Azovstal bc Ukraine won Eurovision…

    The EU meanwhile remains blocked on the next round of sanctions trough veto’s and shipping interests.

    Such an EU is indefensible and intenable 🤯


    https://twitter.com/guyverhofstadt/status/1526174970342166529

    Say what you will about Guy, no one ever doubted his passion. And while many don't share his precise vision for the EU, he has never been shy about criticising it if it does not move toward what he wants.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    Turkey’s President Erdogan said he will not approve [Sweden and Finland’s joint bid to join NATO] and that delegations from the two countries should not bother visiting Turkey to try to convince them.

    He told a news conference that Sweden was a “hatchery” for terrorist organisations - a reference to Turkish claims Sweden and Finland harbour people it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt.

    All 30 current NATO members must agree to let the two countries join.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/turkey-threatens-derail-sweden-finland-nato-plan-russia-putin-invasion-ukraine-b1000372.html
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,398

    Turkey’s President Erdogan said he will not approve [Sweden and Finland’s joint bid to join NATO] and that delegations from the two countries should not bother visiting Turkey to try to convince them.

    He told a news conference that Sweden was a “hatchery” for terrorist organisations - a reference to Turkish claims Sweden and Finland harbour people it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt.

    All 30 current NATO members must agree to let the two countries join.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/turkey-threatens-derail-sweden-finland-nato-plan-russia-putin-invasion-ukraine-b1000372.html

    I wonder if Putin is looking at that and realising how much more useful it would have been to have made friends with the West and been the perennial stone in their shoe instead of being the midden heap the shoe steps in.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,040
    "Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Anna Malyar, said that 53 "seriously injured" people have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel factory to a medical facility in Novoazovsk, a Ukrainian town that has been controlled by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014. She said in a video statement that another 211 people were evacuated via a humanitarian corridor to Olenivka."

    NY Times
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    kle4 said:

    Turkey’s President Erdogan said he will not approve [Sweden and Finland’s joint bid to join NATO] and that delegations from the two countries should not bother visiting Turkey to try to convince them.

    He told a news conference that Sweden was a “hatchery” for terrorist organisations - a reference to Turkish claims Sweden and Finland harbour people it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt.

    All 30 current NATO members must agree to let the two countries join.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/turkey-threatens-derail-sweden-finland-nato-plan-russia-putin-invasion-ukraine-b1000372.html

    I wonder if Putin is looking at that and realising how much more useful it would have been to have made friends with the West and been the perennial stone in their shoe instead of being the midden heap the shoe steps in.
    Sir Humphrey is the guru:

    https://youtu.be/37iHSwA1SwE
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 38,851
    I've always thought it odds on he leads into the GE and I still do. I wouldn't say he's totally safe though. Eg there's Gray and an Inquiry into his lying to parliament - plus all the other scandals involving him that either we don't yet know about or that haven't yet happened but will.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 58,040
    edited May 2022
    Amusing, if not quite accurate:


  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,069
    Taz said:

    Riots in Sri Lanka were mentioned in the last thread. It looks like lack of food, as well as fuel, is a big problems. They moved to organic farming recently and as a consequence yields have tumbled.

    I hope this island comes through this in one piece.

    https://news.sky.com/story/sri-lanka-could-descend-into-anarchy-as-it-risks-running-out-of-food-and-fuel-former-energy-minister-says-12606983

    I had a Lebanese patient in clinic last week who said the situation there for powwr and food is very poor too. I suspect the same goes across a lot of lower middle income countries.

    It was protests over the price of bread that set off the Arab Spring. The touchpaper for a decade of unrest and fighting.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,046
    I'm quite annoyed at the inaccessibility of RT online (for me) in recent weeks. It seems to be censorship unprecedented in my lifetime. I don't read the site for news, but I did take a quick squizz around it a couple of times a week to see what the Russian lines were.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    I'm quite annoyed at the inaccessibility of RT online (for me) in recent weeks. It seems to be censorship unprecedented in my lifetime. I don't read the site for news, but I did take a quick squizz around it a couple of times a week to see what the Russian lines were.

    Are you missing Alex Salmond?
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,336
    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,787

    I'm quite annoyed at the inaccessibility of RT online (for me) in recent weeks. It seems to be censorship unprecedented in my lifetime. I don't read the site for news, but I did take a quick squizz around it a couple of times a week to see what the Russian lines were.

    Are you missing Alex Salmond?
    That just inspired me to check, and George Galloway is still marked on Twitter as “Russia state-affiliated media”.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415
    edited May 2022

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    edited May 2022

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    BoE governor says he is unable to stop inflation hitting 10%

    https://www.ft.com/content/0a8f0465-12ed-412b-94cb-571f9fb6f0d4

    Turkey's inflation hits two-decade high of 70%

    Reuters
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 4,339
    kle4 said:

    @guyverhofstadt
    The weekend:

    Russia threw phosphor bombs on Azovstal bc Ukraine won Eurovision…

    The EU meanwhile remains blocked on the next round of sanctions trough veto’s and shipping interests.

    Such an EU is indefensible and intenable 🤯


    https://twitter.com/guyverhofstadt/status/1526174970342166529

    Say what you will about Guy, no one ever doubted his passion. And while many don't share his precise vision for the EU, he has never been shy about criticising it if it does not move toward what he wants.
    I get the impression that I disagree with him on everything about Brexit, but he’s be a great dinner guest, and both interesting and fun. Wouldn’t say that for most politicians.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    edited May 2022
    Part 1 (Part 2 coming) of the inside story of AUKUS. As the Australians say, “this deal would not have been possible with Jeremy Corbyn”.

    https://amp.smh.com.au/politics/federal/radioactive-inside-the-top-secret-aukus-subs-deal-20220510-p5ak7g.html
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 5,129
    edited May 2022
    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146

    I'm quite annoyed at the inaccessibility of RT online (for me) in recent weeks. It seems to be censorship unprecedented in my lifetime. I don't read the site for news, but I did take a quick squizz around it a couple of times a week to see what the Russian lines were.

    Are you missing Alex Salmond?
    That just inspired me to check, and George Galloway is still marked on Twitter as “Russia state-affiliated media”.
    Not a good look for BetterTogether2’s biggest asset.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 4,339

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    BoE governor says he is unable to stop inflation hitting 10%

    https://www.ft.com/content/0a8f0465-12ed-412b-94cb-571f9fb6f0d4

    Turkey's inflation hits two-decade high of 70%

    Reuters
    70%!!! Christ you’d want to spend/invest all cash the instant it entered your account. Lots of gold under their mattresses, presumably?
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,837

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812

    I'm quite annoyed at the inaccessibility of RT online (for me) in recent weeks. It seems to be censorship unprecedented in my lifetime. I don't read the site for news, but I did take a quick squizz around it a couple of times a week to see what the Russian lines were.

    Are you missing Alex Salmond?
    That just inspired me to check, and George Galloway is still marked on Twitter as “Russia state-affiliated media”.
    Which is daft.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,771

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Interesting to contemplate the original source (it's been passed on by Western military sources). If it's a Russian leak, it must be designed to shift the blame from the military onto Putin, making a coup more likely. If it's Ukrainian disinformation, then shrug. If it's genuine Western intel of what's actually happenng, it shows striking confidence in the security of the intel to leak it. But in general one of the less-discussed features of the war is how remarkably good Western (electronic?) intelligence has been throughout - perhaps to the point that they no longer feel the need to conceal it.
    It's an excellent point.

    Going into the Ukraine conflict, the impression I had was that the Russian were experts in cyberwarfare and espionage, and that we were a bit shit.

    It turns out that we weren't shit. We just preferred not to make it too obvious what we were doing.
  • UnpopularUnpopular Posts: 775
    kle4 said:

    @guyverhofstadt
    The weekend:

    Russia threw phosphor bombs on Azovstal bc Ukraine won Eurovision…

    The EU meanwhile remains blocked on the next round of sanctions trough veto’s and shipping interests.

    Such an EU is indefensible and intenable 🤯


    https://twitter.com/guyverhofstadt/status/1526174970342166529

    Say what you will about Guy, no one ever doubted his passion. And while many don't share his precise vision for the EU, he has never been shy about criticising it if it does not move toward what he wants.
    I consider myself an EU Federalist (a light touch Federalism, mind), and I spent more time, pre-referendum, criticising the EU. Because, in my opinion, it could be better.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 4,339

    I'm quite annoyed at the inaccessibility of RT online (for me) in recent weeks. It seems to be censorship unprecedented in my lifetime. I don't read the site for news, but I did take a quick squizz around it a couple of times a week to see what the Russian lines were.

    Are you missing Alex Salmond?
    That just inspired me to check, and George Galloway is still marked on Twitter as “Russia state-affiliated media”.
    Surely more accurate (and more hurtful) to say “would like to be Russia state-affiliated media”.
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,074
    FPT in response to @Richard_Nabavi

    "Banks and some other financial services companies are required by the regulator to ensure that employees have a minimum of a certain number of consecutive days' holiday annually. It's a bit of an oddity. The reason for it something to do with fraud being easier to cover up if a dishonest employee never takes holiday."

    An employee never taking a holiday or only a v short one or coming in to work at weekends or on public holidays when there is no obvious work reason to do so is a big red flag.

    It's not just about covering up fraud. It means that someone else looks at the trading books and sees if, say, someone is not marking to market etc. But it can also mean someone who is not coping at work, is stressed etc and that can obviously be a problem.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146

    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882

    Stunning. Thank you. That man must now have a life-expectancy measured in days.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 11,184

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
    You're at risk of being so blinded by your hatred of him that you can't see his qualities, or at least the qualities others see in him.
    In 2019 he was clearly all of those things, and while his brand has tarnised badly, I think you would find it hard to convince me that he is uncharismatic or ineloquent. I do not personally find him persuasivem but clearly many still do.
    There are many things wrong with Boris the PM. That doesn't mean he lacks every quality or that everything he does is wrong.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    edited May 2022

    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882

    The wheels are coming off Russia’s special operation, and with it, Putin’s legitimacy.

    Impossible to predict how this ends.

    Putin likely now has to figure out his own plausible fig leaf exit strategy to give, in turn, France/Germany and others an opportunity to soften sanctions and isolate Ukraine.

    We should expect referenda in the currently occupied oblasts, with rigged votes for special autonomous status, and a commitment from Putin to set them up as neutral buffer states.

    Ukraine meanwhile will be hoping for a coup de grace somewhere in the north east.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    biggles said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    BoE governor says he is unable to stop inflation hitting 10%

    https://www.ft.com/content/0a8f0465-12ed-412b-94cb-571f9fb6f0d4

    Turkey's inflation hits two-decade high of 70%

    Reuters
    70%!!! Christ you’d want to spend/invest all cash the instant it entered your account. Lots of gold under their mattresses, presumably?
    When bitcoin and currencies collapse, gold under mattresses will be very useful. Never dismiss wisdom tried and tested over thousands of years.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,069
    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415
    edited May 2022
    dixiedean said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
    Good post. If people already feeling pain and the pinch, would Labour, with their track record on the economy, be trusted rather than the devil you know? I’m sure that played in the 1992 election I read about, and appears to be the substance of the Tory campaign in 1980’s and 90’s. Might be better for labour if bad economic news blows away and they can stand on a build back better election instead?
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,069

    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882

    Stunning. Thank you. That man must now have a life-expectancy measured in days.
    Khodaryonok or Putin?
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    edited May 2022
    Cookie said:

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
    You're at risk of being so blinded by your hatred of him that you can't see his qualities, or at least the qualities others see in him.
    In 2019 he was clearly all of those things, and while his brand has tarnised badly, I think you would find it hard to convince me that he is uncharismatic or ineloquent. I do not personally find him persuasivem but clearly many still do.
    There are many things wrong with Boris the PM. That doesn't mean he lacks every quality or that everything he does is wrong.
    Charismatic yes.

    He is certainly not eloquent or persuasive by any objective standard, unless one is blinded by his charisma.
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 7,461
    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    You've got a copy of the Gray report? Would you like to share it with your friends?
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    You've got a copy of the Gray report? Would you like to share it with your friends?
    Whatever it says it will change nothing. The Tory vote still there has made up its mind about partygate and could not care less.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,280
    edited May 2022
    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party. They weren't as bad as the local elections were for John Major in 1993/94/95 when the Tories got less than 30% IIRC.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    edited May 2022
    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    The Tory NEV in the local elections this year was higher than 2019, the same as 2016 and higher than 2014 and 2013 let alone the dire period at the end of the Major years in the mid 1990s
  • CookieCookie Posts: 11,184
    edited May 2022

    dixiedean said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
    Good post. If people already feeling pain and the pinch, would Labour, with their track record on the economy, be trusted rather than the devil you know? I’m sure that played in the 1992 election I read about, and appears to be the substance of the Tory campaign in 1980’s and 90’s. Might be better for labour if bad economic news blows away and they can stand on a build back better election instead?
    In my political lifetime, people have largely voted Labour when they felt there was enough money to spend, and voted Conservative when they felt it was time for belt-tightening. Except perhaps in 1987.

    Whether that is still how the electorate views the parties or how the parties view themselves I'm not sure.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    The issue has never really been Boris Johnson's willingness to carry on. It's that the people with the power to remove him, the Conservative MPs, are gaslighting themselves over and over again about what the future holds. Paterson, partygate, the locals elections. It's bad bad bad, but they keep thinking it'll get better.
    How long before they wake up?
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
    He does have swagger, he is an eloquent speaker, he is charismatic and persuasive, think back to 2019, he had the electorate eating out of his hand did he not?

    Like you I can’t stand him. I think his platform is broadbrush twaddle dying a death in any granularity, and his cabinet is of the most useless and most slapable the Tory back benches can provide - yet it works. Right wing populist twaddle is just so in tune with the post Brexit English electorate.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,069
    Andy_JS said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party. They weren't as bad as the local elections were for John Major in 1993/94/95 when the Tories got less than 30% IIRC.
    And the Blair landslide followed.

    Starmer is not Blair, but denying that the Locals were a disaster is not doing the Tories any favours.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    Andy_JS said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party. They weren't as bad as the local elections were for John Major in 1993/94/95 when the Tories got less than 30% IIRC.
    - “They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party.“

    The SNP have been in office for 15 years, yet our mid-term test wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was our best-ever result in local elections, and our eleventh election victory in a row.

    Tories are doing themselves a disservice by pretending that failure is inevitable.
  • ExiledInScotlandExiledInScotland Posts: 1,501

    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882

    Stunning. Thank you. That man must now have a life-expectancy measured in days.
    Hope he lives on the ground floor.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,280
    Taz said:

    Riots in Sri Lanka were mentioned in the last thread. It looks like lack of food, as well as fuel, is a big problems. They moved to organic farming recently and as a consequence yields have tumbled.

    I hope this island comes through this in one piece.

    https://news.sky.com/story/sri-lanka-could-descend-into-anarchy-as-it-risks-running-out-of-food-and-fuel-former-energy-minister-says-12606983

    There was a good article by Dominic Lawson in the Sunday Times about this. Apparently the experts told the Sri Lankan government that moving to 100% organic farming would lead to a disaster.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709
    Cookie said:

    dixiedean said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
    Good post. If people already feeling pain and the pinch, would Labour, with their track record on the economy, be trusted rather than the devil you know? I’m sure that played in the 1992 election I read about, and appears to be the substance of the Tory campaign in 1980’s and 90’s. Might be better for labour if bad economic news blows away and they can stand on a build back better election instead?
    In my political lifetime, people have largely voted Labour when they felt there was enough money to spend, and voted Conservative when they felt it was time for belt-tightening. Except perhaps in 1987.

    Whether that is still how the electorate views the parties or how the parties view themselves I'm not sure.
    Not true though in 1945 or February 1974
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    Farooq said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    The issue has never really been Boris Johnson's willingness to carry on. It's that the people with the power to remove him, the Conservative MPs, are gaslighting themselves over and over again about what the future holds. Paterson, partygate, the locals elections. It's bad bad bad, but they keep thinking it'll get better.
    How long before they wake up?
    About 30 minutes after the polling stations close.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709

    Andy_JS said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party. They weren't as bad as the local elections were for John Major in 1993/94/95 when the Tories got less than 30% IIRC.
    - “They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party.“

    The SNP have been in office for 15 years, yet our mid-term test wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was our best-ever result in local elections, and our eleventh election victory in a row.

    Tories are doing themselves a disservice by pretending that failure is inevitable.
    They managed 18 years from 1979 to 1997, the SNP have still yet to beat that
  • RandallFlaggRandallFlagg Posts: 1,151

    Turkey’s President Erdogan said he will not approve [Sweden and Finland’s joint bid to join NATO] and that delegations from the two countries should not bother visiting Turkey to try to convince them.

    He told a news conference that Sweden was a “hatchery” for terrorist organisations - a reference to Turkish claims Sweden and Finland harbour people it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt.

    All 30 current NATO members must agree to let the two countries join.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/turkey-threatens-derail-sweden-finland-nato-plan-russia-putin-invasion-ukraine-b1000372.html

    I wonder if it's some $$$$ Erdogan is after.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
    He does have swagger, he is an eloquent speaker, he is charismatic and persuasive, think back to 2019, he had the electorate eating out of his hand did he not?

    Like you I can’t stand him. I think his platform is broadbrush twaddle dying a death in any granularity, and his cabinet is of the most useless and most slapable the Tory back benches can provide - yet it works. Right wing populist twaddle is just so in tune with the post Brexit English electorate.
    In fairness, the English electorate were mugs for right wing populist twaddle long before the word Brexit was invented.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146

    Turkey’s President Erdogan said he will not approve [Sweden and Finland’s joint bid to join NATO] and that delegations from the two countries should not bother visiting Turkey to try to convince them.

    He told a news conference that Sweden was a “hatchery” for terrorist organisations - a reference to Turkish claims Sweden and Finland harbour people it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt.

    All 30 current NATO members must agree to let the two countries join.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/turkey-threatens-derail-sweden-finland-nato-plan-russia-putin-invasion-ukraine-b1000372.html

    I wonder if it's some $$$$ Erdogan is after.
    You are not the first person to suggest that. We have no evidence, but it does have all the characteristics of a negotiation gambit. But what does he really want? Money? I suspect not. What he really wants is life for exiled Kurds to be made a nightmare. I just can’t see Sweden conceding that.
  • No_Offence_AlanNo_Offence_Alan Posts: 3,702

    dixiedean said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
    Good post. If people already feeling pain and the pinch, would Labour, with their track record on the economy, be trusted rather than the devil you know? I’m sure that played in the 1992 election I read about, and appears to be the substance of the Tory campaign in 1980’s and 90’s. Might be better for labour if bad economic news blows away and they can stand on a build back better election instead?
    The economy was not so bad (or at least felt not so bad to someone my age) in 2010 as in 1979. So I don't think people would be as reluctant to vote Labour now as back then in 1992.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
    He does have swagger, he is an eloquent speaker, he is charismatic and persuasive, think back to 2019, he had the electorate eating out of his hand did he not?

    Like you I can’t stand him. I think his platform is broadbrush twaddle dying a death in any granularity, and his cabinet is of the most useless and most slapable the Tory back benches can provide - yet it works. Right wing populist twaddle is just so in tune with the post Brexit English electorate.
    In fairness, the English electorate were mugs for right wing populist twaddle long before the word Brexit was invented.
    That’s more like it Stuart. And whilst there’s a UK, what proportion of the MPs does the English electorate send to London?

    Right wing populist twaddle in that it’s makes great headlines, adds great bullshit to speeches, and looks eye catching on the side of a bus - the problem being, it’s not true, just simplistic broadbrush reactionary slogans without detailed achievable plans under writing it.

    So how to beat it? How to stop it winning again and again. How to persuade and convince the English electorate away from it?
  • CookieCookie Posts: 11,184
    HYUFD said:

    Cookie said:

    dixiedean said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
    Good post. If people already feeling pain and the pinch, would Labour, with their track record on the economy, be trusted rather than the devil you know? I’m sure that played in the 1992 election I read about, and appears to be the substance of the Tory campaign in 1980’s and 90’s. Might be better for labour if bad economic news blows away and they can stand on a build back better election instead?
    In my political lifetime, people have largely voted Labour when they felt there was enough money to spend, and voted Conservative when they felt it was time for belt-tightening. Except perhaps in 1987.

    Whether that is still how the electorate views the parties or how the parties view themselves I'm not sure.
    Not true though in 1945 or February 1974
    Yes, that's true. Nor really in 1959, or even 1955.
    Still, over the last 45 years I'm surprised the pattern stands up as well as it does.
    No reason though to suppose it will contune to do so.
  • MrEdMrEd Posts: 5,578

    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882

    The wheels are coming off Russia’s special operation, and with it, Putin’s legitimacy.

    Impossible to predict how this ends.

    Putin likely now has to figure out his own plausible fig leaf exit strategy to give, in turn, France/Germany and others an opportunity to soften sanctions and isolate Ukraine.

    We should expect referenda in the currently occupied oblasts, with rigged votes for special autonomous status, and a commitment from Putin to set them up as neutral buffer states.

    Ukraine meanwhile will be hoping for a coup de grace somewhere in the north east.
    Here goes with some famous last words.

    I think we are approaching the end game with the war. The language and tone from the Russians has shifted markedly in the past week or so - whether from Lavrov on regime change or Putin on Sweden / Finland joining NATO. Also today it was reported that the CTSO would hold exercises in October - a bit odd if you expect to be stuck in a war in Ukraine.

    Russia knows it has fucked up badly and it needs to get out.

    When you think about it logically, the Russians need to exit ASAP. The Ukrainians are talking about a million mobilised and one thing maybe forgotten is that they are nowhere near the peak of their fighting force in the field yet as recruits are still being trained (another important point - Ukraine is not throwing untrained troops into battle) with Lend-Lease plus effectively unlimited supplies to come.

    And what have the Russians got? Effectively a demoralised force that has lost many of its best men and which can’t replace it’s lost equipment which is it losing rapidly. They have few too effective troops to call up. They can’t establish air superiority. They are screwed.

    The one thing helping them, ironically, is that which was said in the beginning to help Ukraine, namely the mud. Plus maybe more favourable to defend from which to defend. However, in 3 months time, with Ukraine fully mobilised, Russia would be thrown out not only of what it has taken in this war but also the last.

    Hence, Russia has a short time to exit the war. That maybe with or without Putin (I suspect the latter)
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party. They weren't as bad as the local elections were for John Major in 1993/94/95 when the Tories got less than 30% IIRC.
    - “They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party.“

    The SNP have been in office for 15 years, yet our mid-term test wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was our best-ever result in local elections, and our eleventh election victory in a row.

    Tories are doing themselves a disservice by pretending that failure is inevitable.
    They managed 18 years from 1979 to 1997, the SNP have still yet to beat that
    But Boris is doing his best to deliver.

    https://www.thenational.scot/news/20139776.boris-johnson-pushing-scottish-labour-voters-support-second-independence-referendum/
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
    He does have swagger, he is an eloquent speaker, he is charismatic and persuasive, think back to 2019, he had the electorate eating out of his hand did he not?

    Like you I can’t stand him. I think his platform is broadbrush twaddle dying a death in any granularity, and his cabinet is of the most useless and most slapable the Tory back benches can provide - yet it works. Right wing populist twaddle is just so in tune with the post Brexit English electorate.
    In fairness, the English electorate were mugs for right wing populist twaddle long before the word Brexit was invented.
    As opposed to Scottish nationalist populist twaddle of course
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party. They weren't as bad as the local elections were for John Major in 1993/94/95 when the Tories got less than 30% IIRC.
    - “They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party.“

    The SNP have been in office for 15 years, yet our mid-term test wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was our best-ever result in local elections, and our eleventh election victory in a row.

    Tories are doing themselves a disservice by pretending that failure is inevitable.
    They managed 18 years from 1979 to 1997, the SNP have still yet to beat that
    When's the next Holyrood election?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,398

    Turkey’s President Erdogan said he will not approve [Sweden and Finland’s joint bid to join NATO] and that delegations from the two countries should not bother visiting Turkey to try to convince them.

    He told a news conference that Sweden was a “hatchery” for terrorist organisations - a reference to Turkish claims Sweden and Finland harbour people it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt.

    All 30 current NATO members must agree to let the two countries join.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/turkey-threatens-derail-sweden-finland-nato-plan-russia-putin-invasion-ukraine-b1000372.html

    I wonder if it's some $$$$ Erdogan is after.
    You are not the first person to suggest that. We have no evidence, but it does have all the characteristics of a negotiation gambit. But what does he really want? Money? I suspect not. What he really wants is life for exiled Kurds to be made a nightmare. I just can’t see Sweden conceding that.
    Indeed. That doesn't preclude the possibility he would accept a figleaf and massive amounts of dosh as a way of dropping his demands, but it does suggest the price will be high because he knows he won't get what he truly wants.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415
    Cookie said:

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
    You're at risk of being so blinded by your hatred of him that you can't see his qualities, or at least the qualities others see in him.
    In 2019 he was clearly all of those things, and while his brand has tarnised badly, I think you would find it hard to convince me that he is uncharismatic or ineloquent. I do not personally find him persuasivem but clearly many still do.
    There are many things wrong with Boris the PM. That doesn't mean he lacks every quality or that everything he does is wrong.
    That’s a great post Cookie. And it seems to be working. The usual suspects seem to be be taking a cool objective look at things in this thread. Even Gardenwalker conceded Boris may have the charisma of an evil cheating cad.

    I hope the truth doesn’t depress them. 😐
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    You undermine your analysis with the proposition that Boris is “charismatic, eloquent and persuasive”.
    He does have swagger, he is an eloquent speaker, he is charismatic and persuasive, think back to 2019, he had the electorate eating out of his hand did he not?

    Like you I can’t stand him. I think his platform is broadbrush twaddle dying a death in any granularity, and his cabinet is of the most useless and most slapable the Tory back benches can provide - yet it works. Right wing populist twaddle is just so in tune with the post Brexit English electorate.
    In fairness, the English electorate were mugs for right wing populist twaddle long before the word Brexit was invented.
    That’s more like it Stuart. And whilst there’s a UK, what proportion of the MPs does the English electorate send to London?

    Right wing populist twaddle in that it’s makes great headlines, adds great bullshit to speeches, and looks eye catching on the side of a bus - the problem being, it’s not true, just simplistic broadbrush reactionary slogans without detailed achievable plans under writing it.

    So how to beat it? How to stop it winning again and again. How to persuade and convince the English electorate away from it?
    Tony Blair II

    Yeugh!
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    Labour doesn’t need to convince the whole electorate it has better answers to the economic crisis.

    It needs to convince the swing voter.

    Who is the Worcester woman or Mondeo man de nos jours?

  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,263
    rcs1000 said:

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Interesting to contemplate the original source (it's been passed on by Western military sources). If it's a Russian leak, it must be designed to shift the blame from the military onto Putin, making a coup more likely. If it's Ukrainian disinformation, then shrug. If it's genuine Western intel of what's actually happenng, it shows striking confidence in the security of the intel to leak it. But in general one of the less-discussed features of the war is how remarkably good Western (electronic?) intelligence has been throughout - perhaps to the point that they no longer feel the need to conceal it.
    It's an excellent point.

    Going into the Ukraine conflict, the impression I had was that the Russian were experts in cyberwarfare and espionage, and that we were a bit shit.

    It turns out that we weren't shit. We just preferred not to make it too obvious what we were doing.
    That looks right. But I don't quite get why we've now decided to go public. In order to make Zelensky like us even more? I'd have thought he'd be fine with us keeping quiet and continuing to pass the data along. There has to be a small risk that the Russians will work out where the leaks are coming from if we keep offering hints. Coleen Rooney wasn't the first to think of the sting technique to spot a leaker.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    My goodness!

    You are right that he survives while all those around him fall. You are not seeing what those of us on the other side of the fence appears blindingly obvious.

    Johnson the Churchillian war leader can be spun until the cows come home, but that doesn't make it true. Back in the real world, Johnson is on the verge of doing something monumentally stupid to curry favour with the extreme wing of his party and the DUP.

    Grown into the role? You're having a laugh.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,398

    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882

    That is pretty remarkable, talking about the morale and professionalism of the Ukraine forces - shitting on the interjector's attempt to suggest being conscripted prevents professionalism, and their attempt to imply being willing to die for Ukraine in its defence is a negative - the potential impact of new weapons and aid, and that sabre rattling over NATO just looks amusing.

    'The main thing in our (military) business, it's always to maintain a sense of military-political realism. If you go beyond it, thensooner or later the reality of history will hit you so hard that you'll regret it.'
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146
    MrEd said:

    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882

    The wheels are coming off Russia’s special operation, and with it, Putin’s legitimacy.

    Impossible to predict how this ends.

    Putin likely now has to figure out his own plausible fig leaf exit strategy to give, in turn, France/Germany and others an opportunity to soften sanctions and isolate Ukraine.

    We should expect referenda in the currently occupied oblasts, with rigged votes for special autonomous status, and a commitment from Putin to set them up as neutral buffer states.

    Ukraine meanwhile will be hoping for a coup de grace somewhere in the north east.
    Here goes with some famous last words.

    I think we are approaching the end game with the war. The language and tone from the Russians has shifted markedly in the past week or so - whether from Lavrov on regime change or Putin on Sweden / Finland joining NATO. Also today it was reported that the CTSO would hold exercises in October - a bit odd if you expect to be stuck in a war in Ukraine.

    Russia knows it has fucked up badly and it needs to get out.

    When you think about it logically, the Russians need to exit ASAP. The Ukrainians are talking about a million mobilised and one thing maybe forgotten is that they are nowhere near the peak of their fighting force in the field yet as recruits are still being trained (another important point - Ukraine is not throwing untrained troops into battle) with Lend-Lease plus effectively unlimited supplies to come.

    And what have the Russians got? Effectively a demoralised force that has lost many of its best men and which can’t replace it’s lost equipment which is it losing rapidly. They have few too effective troops to call up. They can’t establish air superiority. They are screwed.

    The one thing helping them, ironically, is that which was said in the beginning to help Ukraine, namely the mud. Plus maybe more favourable to defend from which to defend. However, in 3 months time, with Ukraine fully mobilised, Russia would be thrown out not only of what it has taken in this war but also the last.

    Hence, Russia has a short time to exit the war. That maybe with or without Putin (I suspect the latter)
    You’re wrong about the mud. That is a seasonal problem. The Russians were mad to invade during mud season, but mud season is now over.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415

    dixiedean said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
    Good post. If people already feeling pain and the pinch, would Labour, with their track record on the economy, be trusted rather than the devil you know? I’m sure that played in the 1992 election I read about, and appears to be the substance of the Tory campaign in 1980’s and 90’s. Might be better for labour if bad economic news blows away and they can stand on a build back better election instead?
    The economy was not so bad (or at least felt not so bad to someone my age) in 2010 as in 1979. So I don't think people would be as reluctant to vote Labour now as back then in 1992.
    2010? The outgoing Labour Treasury number 2 left a note on his desk saying, ha ha! There’s no money left.

    Labour have not won a General election since.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812

    rcs1000 said:

    LOL. BBC reporting that Putin is now getting involved in individual tactical decisions at the battlefield level.

    That should cheer the Ukrainians no end.

    Those Downfall parodies are starting to look like a documentary.....
    Interesting to contemplate the original source (it's been passed on by Western military sources). If it's a Russian leak, it must be designed to shift the blame from the military onto Putin, making a coup more likely. If it's Ukrainian disinformation, then shrug. If it's genuine Western intel of what's actually happenng, it shows striking confidence in the security of the intel to leak it. But in general one of the less-discussed features of the war is how remarkably good Western (electronic?) intelligence has been throughout - perhaps to the point that they no longer feel the need to conceal it.
    It's an excellent point.

    Going into the Ukraine conflict, the impression I had was that the Russian were experts in cyberwarfare and espionage, and that we were a bit shit.

    It turns out that we weren't shit. We just preferred not to make it too obvious what we were doing.
    That looks right. But I don't quite get why we've now decided to go public. In order to make Zelensky like us even more? I'd have thought he'd be fine with us keeping quiet and continuing to pass the data along. There has to be a small risk that the Russians will work out where the leaks are coming from if we keep offering hints. Coleen Rooney wasn't the first to think of the sting technique to spot a leaker.
    It piles ever more pressure on Putin, that’s why.

    I concur with Mr Ed’s post upthread.
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775

    dixiedean said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
    Good post. If people already feeling pain and the pinch, would Labour, with their track record on the economy, be trusted rather than the devil you know? I’m sure that played in the 1992 election I read about, and appears to be the substance of the Tory campaign in 1980’s and 90’s. Might be better for labour if bad economic news blows away and they can stand on a build back better election instead?
    The economy was not so bad (or at least felt not so bad to someone my age) in 2010 as in 1979. So I don't think people would be as reluctant to vote Labour now as back then in 1992.
    2010? The outgoing Labour Treasury number 2 left a note on his desk saying, ha ha! There’s no money left.

    Labour have not won a General election since.
    That note is no substitute for real economic data. It was a joke that was utilised by the Conservatives for political reasons.
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146

    Labour doesn’t need to convince the whole electorate it has better answers to the economic crisis.

    It needs to convince the swing voter.

    Who is the Worcester woman or Mondeo man de nos jours?

    Bake Off Bores
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 20,812
    Farooq said:

    dixiedean said:

    Pippa Crear on Sky saying tomorrows inflation rate could be up to 9%.

    It's all going to shit.
    Would Labour be any better?
    Could they be worse?
    Good post. If people already feeling pain and the pinch, would Labour, with their track record on the economy, be trusted rather than the devil you know? I’m sure that played in the 1992 election I read about, and appears to be the substance of the Tory campaign in 1980’s and 90’s. Might be better for labour if bad economic news blows away and they can stand on a build back better election instead?
    The economy was not so bad (or at least felt not so bad to someone my age) in 2010 as in 1979. So I don't think people would be as reluctant to vote Labour now as back then in 1992.
    2010? The outgoing Labour Treasury number 2 left a note on his desk saying, ha ha! There’s no money left.

    Labour have not won a General election since.
    That note is no substitute for real economic data. It was a joke that was utilised by the Conservatives for political reasons.
    It resonated, though.

    Brown was certainly innocent of causing the global financial crisis (and may even have saved the world from further calamity), but he had his fingers all over the institutional architecture that made the UK more vulnerable, and he was seen as having over-geared public finances.

    Indeed this was why the OBR was set up; to bring more transparency and independence to how public finances were projected and reported.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,263

    I'm quite annoyed at the inaccessibility of RT online (for me) in recent weeks. It seems to be censorship unprecedented in my lifetime. I don't read the site for news, but I did take a quick squizz around it a couple of times a week to see what the Russian lines were.

    Yes, and odd - it's not as though RT was making great strides in persuading the public, or even getting them to watch. What exactly are we afraid of? I like getting diverse input - I subscribe to a conservative Republican newsletter, for example, even though it makes me roll my eyes - so I think it's a pity that we so easily give up on the principle that we're entitled to know what other people think.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709

    Labour doesn’t need to convince the whole electorate it has better answers to the economic crisis.

    It needs to convince the swing voter.

    Who is the Worcester woman or Mondeo man de nos jours?

    Worthing man would certainly put Starmer in No 10
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709

    HYUFD said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Johnson will survive. The local elections were and the polls are not bad enough for the Tories for him to lose a VONC even if he faced one. He will lead the Tories again at the next general election.

    The Gray report changes nothing, everyone has already made up their mind about partygate

    The Locals might have been a bit underwhelming for Labour, but they were very bad for the Tories.

    I think Johnson will hang on until the GE. He has no shame.
    They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party. They weren't as bad as the local elections were for John Major in 1993/94/95 when the Tories got less than 30% IIRC.
    - “They were bad but one would expect mid-terms after 12 years in office to be bad for the incumbent party.“

    The SNP have been in office for 15 years, yet our mid-term test wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was our best-ever result in local elections, and our eleventh election victory in a row.

    Tories are doing themselves a disservice by pretending that failure is inevitable.
    They managed 18 years from 1979 to 1997, the SNP have still yet to beat that
    But Boris is doing his best to deliver.

    https://www.thenational.scot/news/20139776.boris-johnson-pushing-scottish-labour-voters-support-second-independence-referendum/
    Boris will continue to refuse indyref2, so who cares?
  • FarooqFarooq Posts: 10,775
    kle4 said:

    I don't think I've seen anything like this from Russian tv so far..

    @francis_scarr
    In an extremely rare moment of candour on Russian state TV today, defence columnist Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a damning assessment of Russia's war in Ukraine and his country's international isolation. It's fairly long but worth your time so I've added subtitles.
    https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1526293852704890882

    That is pretty remarkable, talking about the morale and professionalism of the Ukraine forces - shitting on the interjector's attempt to suggest being conscripted prevents professionalism, and their attempt to imply being willing to die for Ukraine in its defence is a negative - the potential impact of new weapons and aid, and that sabre rattling over NATO just looks amusing.

    'The main thing in our (military) business, it's always to maintain a sense of military-political realism. If you go beyond it, thensooner or later the reality of history will hit you so hard that you'll regret it.'
    I'm struck by the quality of that man's contribution, with his ability to talk at length in a logical and seemingly balanced way about a subject, to take interruptions, weigh them and address them whilst maintaining the thrust of his argument, which gives not only a view but a sense of calm authority. How many talking heads would you see on British TV that seem as capable as that?
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 12,415
    edited May 2022

    Boris is solid now. He towers above his cabinet and parliamentary party. Getting rid Big Dog this side of the General Election is over now. Up to opposition parties and voters now, to get it right in the long run up to voting day.

    In a way it was chance to be a war leader that brought best out of Boris, he’s toned down bombast and arrogance over the last few months and now just looks so relaxed. Grown into the role, perhaps.

    Can I please borrow your rose tinted Liberal Democrat spectacles.

    War Leader? Titter.
    I’m trying to be realistic about the political situation, not pointlessly biased in every post. If we try to be balanced, separate the man you suspect is a bad un from the hugely charismatic eloquent and persuasive politician - he hasn’t lost anything yet has he? Wallpapergate, partygate, those who gave him a landslide don’t seem to care much about the media trying to get him on these things. If they voted for Brexit, for as long as they love Brexit they may vote Boris for PM again and again. He hasn’t lost his Primeministerial swagger, his Party hasn’t given up on him, it remains to be seen if he can be beaten on General Election night.

    We can be as tribal and rude in posts as is possible, but it won’t change the reality in front of us. He still has charisma and skills of the self-serving cad, he still has heck of a lot of support considering a mid term wobble.
    My goodness!

    You are right that he survives while all those around him fall. You are not seeing what those of us on the other side of the fence appears blindingly obvious.

    Johnson the Churchillian war leader can be spun until the cows come home, but that doesn't make it true. Back in the real world, Johnson is on the verge of doing something monumentally stupid to curry favour with the extreme wing of his party and the DUP.

    Grown into the role? You're having a laugh.
    But that is what Yes Minister and Yes Primeminister was based on, films for training managers the writers did in their day jobs. If you have never been a Minister or Prime Minister before you will obviously grow into the role. With any job there’s learning curves, you denying that?

    As for the war coming along, on my side of the fence it’s obvious if Putin thought twice Boris would have faced a VONC. I know it’s painful for you, but this war saved big dog, from at least battling a VONC.

    Back to the real world, you mean tackle the thorny issue of the EU border in the Irish Sea separating part of UK from the UK market? Stupid to tackle it? Could put opponents in Westminster on the spot and boost his ratings, especially if he wins the struggle - so not stupid from that point of view.

    Now you explain, you explain to prove you are not stupid, it’s going from mainland UK just for use in Northern Ireland economy, why does it have to pass through a EU border? Not worth exploring other options in your opinion?
  • StuartDicksonStuartDickson Posts: 12,146

    I'm quite annoyed at the inaccessibility of RT online (for me) in recent weeks. It seems to be censorship unprecedented in my lifetime. I don't read the site for news, but I did take a quick squizz around it a couple of times a week to see what the Russian lines were.

    Yes, and odd - it's not as though RT was making great strides in persuading the public, or even getting them to watch. What exactly are we afraid of? I like getting diverse input - I subscribe to a conservative Republican newsletter, for example, even though it makes me roll my eyes - so I think it's a pity that we so easily give up on the principle that we're entitled to know what other people think.
    That’s why I visit PB. I want to know how Unionists think. What I’ve mainly found out is that they don’t think, they feel.
This discussion has been closed.