I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Member's poll is so bad for Sunak that I wonder if some MPs might switch away from him now. He's got 52 declared support but if you want to stop Truss then you need to switch to Mordaunt...
Absolutely.
If any MP currently supporting Sunak prefers Mordaunt to Truss then they absolutely have to switch to Mordaunt.
Yup, this is why quasi-AV is such a brilliant voting syste,.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
Wait, I thought we were against tribal politicians in the "never kissed a Tory" mould?
Indeed. I'm fine if they disdain the other side but not despise.
While her response to saying something good about Starmer was funny, our politicians should not be afraid to say something genuinely positive from time to time.
Member's poll is so bad for Sunak that I wonder if some MPs might switch away from him now. He's got 52 declared support but if you want to stop Truss then you need to switch to Mordaunt...
I'm wondering whether he might actually come second in this first vote. And if he does he could suddenly start losing support to other candidates who were only supporting him because he was the frontrunner.
I’m imagining the glorious cluster**** that would be a result like 70 Sunak/70 Truss/70 Mordaunt/50 Badenoch/40 Tugendhat. Would set the cat among the pigeons.
It wouldn't be the first time MPs started switching away from a frontrunner who turned out to be less of a cert than had been first thought. ISTR this is what happened to David Davis in 2005.
I made the comment a couple of weeks ago that there was no reason why someone couldn't peak too soon twice.
I like her, but that's a crap clip (and a rubbish answer for someone who goes out of her way in her own campaign video to make clear that she's not a tribal type).
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
If you're a Tory MP right now, would you vote for Sunak?
He is likely to lose. Everyone wants to vote for the winner. And maybe announce it, to curry favour
You'd have to believe he REALLY is the man for the job, way above all the others. I see no clear evidence of that
Suppose you subscribe to the view that the PM has to have had experience of a great office of state. The remaining choices for you now are Sunak, Truss, Hunt and, technically, Zahawi.
Hunt has even less chance of winning with the members than Sunak. So if you want someone with big job experience it's only Sunak or Truss.
The case for a fresh start could hardly be made better.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Maybe, but she's also extremely woke and thinks blokes in dresses should be able to waltz into the ladies. So maybe not.
Member's poll is so bad for Sunak that I wonder if some MPs might switch away from him now. He's got 52 declared support but if you want to stop Truss then you need to switch to Mordaunt...
Absolutely.
If any MP currently supporting Sunak prefers Mordaunt to Truss then they absolutely have to switch to Mordaunt.
Member's poll is so bad for Sunak that I wonder if some MPs might switch away from him now. He's got 52 declared support but if you want to stop Truss then you need to switch to Mordaunt...
Absolutely.
If any MP currently supporting Sunak prefers Mordaunt to Truss then they absolutely have to switch to Mordaunt.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Just to remind you old chap, the "patriotic Brexiteer" can be viewed by some of us as an oxymoron (Putin's preference and all that). If you separate it out, that means oxy for Patriotic and...well you know the rest.
I don't think despising Labour is really a strength. It's very difficult to win over the other side's voters if you are busy despising the party they vote for.
it's an absolute strength. She's not despising Labour voters, she is despising the Labour PARTY
If you don't loathe your enemy then you lack motivation. And, my God, there is plenty to loathe in Labour
I like her, but that's a crap clip (and a rubbish answer for someone who goes out of her way in her own campaign video to make clear that she's not a tribal type).
Surprised you picked it out.
If you read the twitter thread, it was apparently a quick-fire question round, and she gives a slightly longer answer a few seconds later.
I don't think despising Labour is really a strength. It's very difficult to win over the other side's voters if you are busy despising the party they vote for.
Corbyn despised the Tories and super served his followers. Not a hugely winning approach.
I don't think despising Labour is really a strength. It's very difficult to win over the other side's voters if you are busy despising the party they vote for.
Corbyn despised the Tories and super served his followers. Not a hugely winning approach.
Blair despised the Tories. He won three elections easily
I don't think despising Labour is really a strength. It's very difficult to win over the other side's voters if you are busy despising the party they vote for.
Corbyn despised the Tories and super served his followers. Not a hugely winning approach.
Blair despised the Tories. He won three elections easily
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
The other time you know you are getting old is when some youngster says I love such and such new song, its a cover of some old song by x....and you have to tell them that was itself a cover of....
So true. That does work on us too though, I spent two decades thinking Always On My Mind was by the Pet Shop Boys.
A year or so ago I heard a 1990 cover of Strawberry Fields that gave me flashbacks to being a snotty teenager and absolutely insisting to my parents that it was *so very much better* than the boring old original, urgh!, eye-roll, eye-roll.
I remember that cover. Candyflip. It's excellent. Takes the already druggy original and makes it even dreamier and trippier, but with a better beat. Nothing wrong with that
Not to my taste, it sounds too close to the original for me.
I like covers that take a song and change its vibe.
There was a show on a few years ago, Stalker, that did this to good effect taking mostly upbeat 80s songs and using really creepy covers of them. Its amusing how many 80s pop songs you can do that to, take away the distinctive poppy 80s musical style, emphasise the words instead and you end up still with a good song but skin-crawling good instead of upbeat. Here's an example, a cover of Love is a Battlefield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEG8dJVbuP8&list=PL3Wavy4uSV2g4LqE4Y4y2S5trDi_fBzlI&index=11
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
Cool. What an interesting rocket. Looks like it did what it was supposed to.
Why are they talking in gibberish?
They're French?
Is it? Or is it Swahili? Sounds like someone gargling. They should stop it. Talk fucking English like a normal person. Talking a babbled foreign dialect in a serious moment or in some professional capacity is a ridiculous affectation, like me doing my driving test in mime
You seem to be in a particularly good mood today! A particularly fine wine and sunset combination?
The US job market continues to be surprisingly strong: "Nonfarm payrolls in June increased by 372,000, topping the 250,000 estimate. The unemployment rate remained at 3.6%. Average hourly earnings rose 5.1% from a year ago, a touch faster than estimates. Education and health services led job creation, followed by professional and business services and leisure and hospitality." source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/08/jobs-report-june-2022-.html
(There are currently about two job openings for every job seeker in the US, wo it could stay high for some time.)
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Maybe, but she's also extremely woke and thinks blokes in dresses should be able to waltz into the ladies. So maybe not.
I am aware of the Woke issues. She also met the Muslim Council of Britain, when it was against govt policy. Hmmmmmmmmm
However none of the candidates are ideal (is anyone ever?)
Sunak, Christ no, the billionaire stuff, terrible
Truss seems genuinely a bit cracked, awful speaker
Badenoch is highly promising but far too inexperienced: one for next time
Tugendhat, lol
Which leaves Mordaunt.
Most important: she is the one Labour fear, she is the one that could actually beat Labour in 2024
Cool. What an interesting rocket. Looks like it did what it was supposed to.
Why are they talking in gibberish?
They're French?
Is it? Or is it Swahili? Sounds like someone gargling. They should stop it. Talk fucking English like a normal person. Talking a babbled foreign dialect in a serious moment or in some professional capacity is a ridiculous affectation, like me doing my driving test in mime
You seem to be in a particularly good mood today! A particularly fine wine and sunset combination?
Yes, the sunshire glares out today. See, wonderfully optimistic to think that ESA engineers could speak High Literary Anglic and launch a giant rocket at the same time. And that it would still carry over when some Youtube broadcaster translates it all into Italian.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
I don't think despising Labour is really a strength. It's very difficult to win over the other side's voters if you are busy despising the party they vote for.
Corbyn despised the Tories and super served his followers. Not a hugely winning approach.
Blair despised the Tories. He won three elections easily
I despise parts of the Labour Party, but I also despise Johnson, Rees-Mogg, Dorries, Francois et al.
By the way. I have just remembered....Boris Johnson has resigned Yess!!!!
I like her, but that's a crap clip (and a rubbish answer for someone who goes out of her way in her own campaign video to make clear that she's not a tribal type).
Surprised you picked it out.
If you read the twitter thread, it was apparently a quick-fire question round, and she gives a slightly longer answer a few seconds later.
Quite possibly so, my reply was aimed at Leon for picking out the clip. She's already on record as being against tribalism for the sake of it – in her own campaign video!
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Just to remind you old chap, the "patriotic Brexiteer" can be viewed by some of us as an oxymoron (Putin's preference and all that). If you separate it out, that means oxy for Patriotic and...well you know the rest.
Just to remind you, old chap, the "patriotic Remainers" spent 40 years trying to tie us inextricably into a new foreign country - the EU.
Cool. What an interesting rocket. Looks like it did what it was supposed to.
Why are they talking in gibberish?
They're French?
Is it? Or is it Swahili? Sounds like someone gargling. They should stop it. Talk fucking English like a normal person. Talking a babbled foreign dialect in a serious moment or in some professional capacity is a ridiculous affectation, like me doing my driving test in mime
You seem to be in a particularly good mood today! A particularly fine wine and sunset combination?
I'm stone cold sober and it's only 3pm. However I do think six days of living right by the sea - it's literally 2 metres away from my bed and my living room - has energised me. All that ozone!
I sun and swim every day, that's it. Most pleasant. I have to return to Blighty this week but I a minded to come back to Montenegro v soon
Utterly OT, but I'm re-reading Tales of the Ketty Jay and the first book, Retribution Falls, is just as engaging as I recall. Steampunk isn't my usual genre, but this is very well-written.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
The US job market continues to be surprisingly strong: "Nonfarm payrolls in June increased by 372,000, topping the 250,000 estimate. The unemployment rate remained at 3.6%. Average hourly earnings rose 5.1% from a year ago, a touch faster than estimates. Education and health services led job creation, followed by professional and business services and leisure and hospitality." source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/08/jobs-report-june-2022-.html
(There are currently about two job openings for every job seeker in the US, wo it could stay high for some time.)
The US economy is strong enough for the Fed to be able to keep hiking rates. Arguably the Bank of England has some headroom too.
The other time you know you are getting old is when some youngster says I love such and such new song, its a cover of some old song by x....and you have to tell them that was itself a cover of....
So true. That does work on us too though, I spent two decades thinking Always On My Mind was by the Pet Shop Boys.
A year or so ago I heard a 1990 cover of Strawberry Fields that gave me flashbacks to being a snotty teenager and absolutely insisting to my parents that it was *so very much better* than the boring old original, urgh!, eye-roll, eye-roll.
I remember that cover. Candyflip. It's excellent. Takes the already druggy original and makes it even dreamier and trippier, but with a better beat. Nothing wrong with that
Not to my taste, it sounds too close to the original for me.
I like covers that take a song and change its vibe.
There was a show on a few years ago, Stalker, that did this to good effect taking mostly upbeat 80s songs and using really creepy covers of them. Its amusing how many 80s pop songs you can do that to, take away the distinctive poppy 80s musical style, emphasise the words instead and you end up still with a good song but skin-crawling good instead of upbeat. Here's an example, a cover of Love is a Battlefield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEG8dJVbuP8&list=PL3Wavy4uSV2g4LqE4Y4y2S5trDi_fBzlI&index=11
I am rather a fan of Nouvelle Vague, who specialise in Jazz style cover versions of punk and new wave hits. This is them doing Depeche Mode:
Nadhim Zahawi is using NZ4PM as his leadership election tag. If you click on http://NZ4PM.com you are redirected to Penny Mordaunt’s leadership home page. Comedy gold. You gotta love this contest
Feels to me like a Sunak dirty tricks campaign to stop Zahawi and Bravermann switchers going to Penny. I'd be very interested to see who registered the domains.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Maybe, but she's also extremely woke and thinks blokes in dresses should be able to waltz into the ladies. So maybe not.
If the Tories can think of nothing more effective to take them into the next GE than trying to fight this particular culture war, I suspect they’ll lose heavily.
At any other time, sure: stirring up a good five minutes hate can be a great campaign strategy. But going into the worst cost of living crisis in a generation? Are ordinary people worrying about where their next meal is going to come from really going to be impressed by this kind of “Look, a squirrel!” campaigning?
Maybe I‘m wrong & going full throttle on this stuff will turn out to be a great distraction from the electorate’s concerns about whether Granny is going to be able to afford to heat her home in the coming winter.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
Imagine a question where you think Suella Braverman is the answer.
If you're a Thatcherite and want someone as close as possible to her.
Ah, so she's the candidate who has snapped up the Thatcher badge for this one? Difficult with multiple female candidates, only one gets to role play as Maggie.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Maybe, but she's also extremely woke and thinks blokes in dresses should be able to waltz into the ladies. So maybe not.
I am aware of the Woke issues. She also met the Muslim Council of Britain, when it was against govt policy. Hmmmmmmmmm
However none of the candidates are ideal (is anyone ever?)
Sunak, Christ no, the billionaire stuff, terrible
Truss seems genuinely a bit cracked, awful speaker
Badenoch is highly promising but far too inexperienced: one for next time
Tugendhat, lol
Which leaves Mordaunt.
Most important: she is the one Labour fear, she is the one that could actually beat Labour in 2024
I don't think despising Labour is really a strength. It's very difficult to win over the other side's voters if you are busy despising the party they vote for.
JESUS. I just solved basically every problem in the West
Childless people should be taxed. Heavily
That solves the demographic issue - bingo. It also brings in a ton of money for HMG. Bringing down debt and deficit
SORTED
The French do something similar, in effect. You get tax breaks for having children. It's unusual in the west in the high birth rates among middle class people.
Yes but we need to get punitive. This is a demographic crisis. Your duty is to have kids. End of
I SUPPOSE we can make exceptions for people without wombs etc, but other than that: slam them with harsh taxes, maybe even deny them normal human rights. Stop them joining choirs. Let them into larger cities only between 3-5pm. Why do they need to move around anyway if they don’t have kids?
I'll admit that on a pretty meagre income I can live a 'decent' life in large part because I don't have a family to support. You have to be careful though. Some people are frankly not suited to being parents. The major problem as I see it is that if we know that some people won't have children and very few have more than two, then fertility rates are going to be below replacement level.
The extortionate cost of housing for Gen Y/Z is the obvious problem.
As someone recently married, and with the kids question looming, the financials are scary. Currently we're blessed by being very well off - probably ~£50kpa income between us after tax, we've two houses, both half paid off. If we sold one, we'd probably have £100k left after paying the other mortgage off. If we have a couple of kids, my wife will probably give up work at least for a while, we ideally need a bigger house, which probably means selling the remaining house for around £160k and spending £300-£400k (bigger ex-council houses aren't really a thing, and anything that isn't ex-council is a big step up in price).
It's quite possible we'll end up with two kids, a £100k mortgage, and £25kpa post tax income, which is OK, but rather a change from the present situation where we literally can't spend money as fast as we're earning it.
On the housing madness, I had some estate agents out to look at my wife's house in North Somerset on Monday. She bought in 2017 for £202.5k - all three agents thought we should get £250-260k - I.E. it's gained £10k in value a year. If we let it out, we should expect ~£900pcm.
The whole situation seems both mad and unsustainable.
When I had two children under three, on any given day I was going to work I was earning less than I was paying in childcare. It wasn't even a job I particularly enjoyed. I was basically going to work in order that a job would continue to exist for me at some later date when childcare costs lowered.
We got through it though, and free childcare kicks in slightly earlier nowadays. It's scary, and there might be some lifestyle adjustments, but you won't have time to be out spending so much money anyway.
It will however be more worthwhile than I can possibly explain to someone without kids or even to my younger self.
I don’t trust Penny after her bullshit on trans issues and Turkish accession. She’s confident and ballsy, but inexperienced and her idea about giving MPs money to disburse in their electorate is a recipe for Italian-style corruption.
Kemi is by far the most coherent, articulate; and personable. Her statement about breaking up the Treasury is music to my ears. I feel like of all the candidates she is most interested in questioning received orthodoxies. However she seems obsessed with woke issues, and is a convinced state-shrinker.
Both are thankfully distanced from Boris.
I don’t think Sunak has a damn clue about anything except how to present well. He’s done nothing in Treasury except sit on his hands and work on his Instagram account.
Liz Truss is barking, she’s Boris in a dress.
The rest don’t have a hope. Shame about Tugendhat but he doesn’t have the charisma to cut through the din.
I am torn between Mordaunt and Badenoch in terms of best for the country.
I tipped Mordaunt some weeks ago (not uniquely of course, heavily influenced by @MarqueeMark), figuring that both Rishi and Truss had large camps of implacable enemies inside the party.
Jolyon has hired a new Chief of Staff for the Good Law Project: former National Coordinator of Momentum – yes, that Momentum – Laura Parker. The same Laura Parker who stood side by side with Corbyn right up to Labour’s car crash defeat in 2019…
I don't think despising Labour is really a strength. It's very difficult to win over the other side's voters if you are busy despising the party they vote for.
Tell that to "Tory scum" Labour.....
Well quite, and look how effective that's been.
The likes of Angela Rayner and John Prescott might cheer up the party loyalists, but they don't persuade many from the other side to join them. It's not how far left they are that puts people off - it's that if you're not already on their side they clearly despise you.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Just to remind you old chap, the "patriotic Brexiteer" can be viewed by some of us as an oxymoron (Putin's preference and all that). If you separate it out, that means oxy for Patriotic and...well you know the rest.
Just to remind you, old chap, the "patriotic Remainers" spent 40 years trying to tie us inextricably into a new foreign country - the EU.
They were just morons.
I imagine that there are a huge number of "Remainers" who have done a lot more for their country than a two braincell fuckwit keyboard warrior like yourself.
As for morons, not all people who voted Brexit are morons. Those that still believe in it (genuinely, not pretend like a lot of MPs) are the real morons. I guess you fit neatly into the latter category. By the way, Father Christmas is not real.
Cool. What an interesting rocket. Looks like it did what it was supposed to.
Why are they talking in gibberish?
They're French?
Is it? Or is it Swahili? Sounds like someone gargling. They should stop it. Talk fucking English like a normal person. Talking a babbled foreign dialect in a serious moment or in some professional capacity is a ridiculous affectation, like me doing my driving test in mime
You seem to be in a particularly good mood today! A particularly fine wine and sunset combination?
I'm stone cold sober and it's only 3pm. However I do think six days of living right by the sea - it's literally 2 metres away from my bed and my living room - has energised me. All that ozone!
I sun and swim every day, that's it. Most pleasant. I have to return to Blighty this week but I a minded to come back to Montenegro v soon
If you come back on Monday or Tuesday the weather will be the same as Montenegro.
Penny Mordaunt says that Britain has lost its sense of self
She compares it to Paul McCartney's set at Glastonbury - 'he was playing new tunes but what we really wanted was the good old stuff'
Didn't Paul play literally loads of old stuff, or did I watch a different performance
Five years ago I thought politicians obsessing over the future of the BBC was a bit weird. Five months ago it was them obsessing about individual newsreaders at the BBC. Yesterday it was did they like particular sitcoms made 50 years ago and set even further back. Today it is what songs a musician chooses to play!
Come up with a good plan for the economy, jobs, family, education, health and social care, defence, policing please and stay out of the rest of it.
The reason they focus on the rest of it is because they cannot provide a good (or even non crap, would last more than 30 seconds) plan for the economy, jobs, family, education, health and social care, defence, policing and justice systems.
So they try and focus on something else - for a demonstration of the end game see the SNP, the Scottish Government and their use of Independence as the cure for everything.
Indeed, but is it really so impossible to tackle at least a couple of those areas successfully?
Their problem is that they are the problem.
Take Education. They don't trust teachers, and because they think teachers think the Conservatives don't care about state education teachers don't trust them.
Teachers often feel they are seen as a social cost rather than a social benefit. And that their efforts to educate are being attacked as political indoctrination rather than genuine care for the children.
How can they turn that round? I don't think they can.
And so they go for a war on 'woke'. Which makes it worse. Teachers have children in their classes that are growing into their gender and sexuality, with complex and confused feelings. And then the Conservatives are demanding those children are bullied into a straightjacket that disrespects their search for personal identity. Acting against the best interests of those children in support of outdated attitudes. (And the pursuit of a dreadful headlines.)
The Conservatives are the problem. They need to be different to be better.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Just to remind you old chap, the "patriotic Brexiteer" can be viewed by some of us as an oxymoron (Putin's preference and all that). If you separate it out, that means oxy for Patriotic and...well you know the rest.
Just to remind you, old chap, the "patriotic Remainers" spent 40 years trying to tie us inextricably into a new foreign country - the EU.
They were just morons.
I imagine that there are a huge number of "Remainers" who have done a lot more for their country than a two braincell fuckwit keyboard warrior like yourself.
As for morons, not all people who voted Brexit are morons. Those that still believe in it (genuinely, not pretend like a lot of MPs) are the real morons. I guess you fit neatly into the latter category. By the way, Father Christmas is not real.
If the Tories can think of nothing more effective to take them into the next GE than trying to fight this particular culture war, I suspect they’ll lose heavily.
At any other time, sure: stirring up a good five minutes hate can be a great campaign strategy. But going into the worst cost of living crisis in a generation? Are ordinary people worrying about where their next meal is going to come from really going to be impressed by this kind of “Look, a squirrel!” campaigning?
Maybe I‘m wrong & going full throttle on this stuff will turn out to be a great distraction from the electorate’s concerns about whether Granny is going to be able to afford to heat her home in the coming winter.
It's not a culture-war thing, it's a sanity thing. Who wants to vote for someone so out with the fairies that they think, or more likely pretend to think, that men can get pregnant? It infests everything else they say, especially when they try to evade the question.
Also, it is causing enormous practical problems. The NHS is being disrupted because they are terrified of falling foul of the trans lobby.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
I don’t think people (including PB’ers) have fully grasped how utterly ungovernable the tory party is about to become.
It’s gonna be the mid 90’s Major’s bastards on steroids.
I am heavily green on Mordaunt, but as well as being very effective against Starmer, she is probably the only candidate that the whole Tory party can get behind.
I will be voting against her, but she is a return to deep blue Tory values, and a bedrock Conservative. She will be as good a PM as the Party can produce in its present state.
Cool. What an interesting rocket. Looks like it did what it was supposed to.
Why are they talking in gibberish?
They're French?
Is it? Or is it Swahili? Sounds like someone gargling. They should stop it. Talk fucking English like a normal person. Talking a babbled foreign dialect in a serious moment or in some professional capacity is a ridiculous affectation, like me doing my driving test in mime
You seem to be in a particularly good mood today! A particularly fine wine and sunset combination?
I'm stone cold sober and it's only 3pm. However I do think six days of living right by the sea - it's literally 2 metres away from my bed and my living room - has energised me. All that ozone!
I sun and swim every day, that's it. Most pleasant. I have to return to Blighty this week but I a minded to come back to Montenegro v soon
My brother told me this morning he is heading to Tbilisi next month. What is you topper-most tip?
The other time you know you are getting old is when some youngster says I love such and such new song, its a cover of some old song by x....and you have to tell them that was itself a cover of....
So true. That does work on us too though, I spent two decades thinking Always On My Mind was by the Pet Shop Boys.
A year or so ago I heard a 1990 cover of Strawberry Fields that gave me flashbacks to being a snotty teenager and absolutely insisting to my parents that it was *so very much better* than the boring old original, urgh!, eye-roll, eye-roll.
I remember that cover. Candyflip. It's excellent. Takes the already druggy original and makes it even dreamier and trippier, but with a better beat. Nothing wrong with that
Not to my taste, it sounds too close to the original for me.
I like covers that take a song and change its vibe.
There was a show on a few years ago, Stalker, that did this to good effect taking mostly upbeat 80s songs and using really creepy covers of them. Its amusing how many 80s pop songs you can do that to, take away the distinctive poppy 80s musical style, emphasise the words instead and you end up still with a good song but skin-crawling good instead of upbeat. Here's an example, a cover of Love is a Battlefield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEG8dJVbuP8&list=PL3Wavy4uSV2g4LqE4Y4y2S5trDi_fBzlI&index=11
I am rather a fan of Nouvelle Vague, who specialise in Jazz style cover versions of punk and new wave hits. This is them doing Depeche Mode:
They even do a great cover of The Dead Kennedys hit Too Drunk to F***.
That's cool! I hadn't heard them before, its good.
Yeah that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. If you're going to do a cover, change it, don't just be like a karaoke singer redoing the same song again. 👍
I don't think despising Labour is really a strength. It's very difficult to win over the other side's voters if you are busy despising the party they vote for.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
Imagine a question where you think Suella Braverman is the answer.
If you're a Thatcherite and want someone as close as possible to her.
Ah, so she's the candidate who has snapped up the Thatcher badge for this one? Difficult with multiple female candidates, only one gets to role play as Maggie.
Well she's obviously the most right-wing. The badge will move to others when she gets knocked out today.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Just to remind you old chap, the "patriotic Brexiteer" can be viewed by some of us as an oxymoron (Putin's preference and all that). If you separate it out, that means oxy for Patriotic and...well you know the rest.
Just to remind you, old chap, the "patriotic Remainers" spent 40 years trying to tie us inextricably into a new foreign country - the EU.
They were just morons.
I imagine that there are a huge number of "Remainers" who have done a lot more for their country than a two braincell fuckwit keyboard warrior like yourself.
As for morons, not all people who voted Brexit are morons. Those that still believe in it (genuinely, not pretend like a lot of MPs) are the real morons. I guess you fit neatly into the latter category. By the way, Father Christmas is not real.
The problem with normally quite intelligent posters like @MarqueeMark is that to justify what increasing looks like an extremely stupid decision, they have to construct quite bizarre premises to justify it.
At least @DavidL has stopped claiming that working class wages were “soaring”, he now merely predicts they will - which is an improvement of sorts.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Just to remind you old chap, the "patriotic Brexiteer" can be viewed by some of us as an oxymoron (Putin's preference and all that). If you separate it out, that means oxy for Patriotic and...well you know the rest.
Just to remind you, old chap, the "patriotic Remainers" spent 40 years trying to tie us inextricably into a new foreign country - the EU.
They were just morons.
I imagine that there are a huge number of "Remainers" who have done a lot more for their country than a two braincell fuckwit keyboard warrior like yourself.
As for morons, not all people who voted Brexit are morons. Those that still believe in it (genuinely, not pretend like a lot of MPs) are the real morons. I guess you fit neatly into the latter category. By the way, Father Christmas is not real.
PS. The EU isn't a country you ignorant fuckwit.
Its become one though. Its a nascent one, an evolving federation, like 17th/18th century America or early Australia too.
Its fairly rapidly evolving into one, and the Euro means that is only going to ratchet in one direction.
Cool. What an interesting rocket. Looks like it did what it was supposed to.
Why are they talking in gibberish?
They're French?
Is it? Or is it Swahili? Sounds like someone gargling. They should stop it. Talk fucking English like a normal person. Talking a babbled foreign dialect in a serious moment or in some professional capacity is a ridiculous affectation, like me doing my driving test in mime
You seem to be in a particularly good mood today! A particularly fine wine and sunset combination?
I'm stone cold sober and it's only 3pm. However I do think six days of living right by the sea - it's literally 2 metres away from my bed and my living room - has energised me. All that ozone!
I sun and swim every day, that's it. Most pleasant. I have to return to Blighty this week but I a minded to come back to Montenegro v soon
If the Tories can think of nothing more effective to take them into the next GE than trying to fight this particular culture war, I suspect they’ll lose heavily.
At any other time, sure: stirring up a good five minutes hate can be a great campaign strategy. But going into the worst cost of living crisis in a generation? Are ordinary people worrying about where their next meal is going to come from really going to be impressed by this kind of “Look, a squirrel!” campaigning?
Maybe I‘m wrong & going full throttle on this stuff will turn out to be a great distraction from the electorate’s concerns about whether Granny is going to be able to afford to heat her home in the coming winter.
It's not a culture-war thing, it's a sanity thing. Who wants to vote for someone so out with the fairies that they think, or more likely pretend to think, that men can get pregnant? It infests everything else they say, especially when they try to evade the question.
Well, we have had Trans-men give birth at my hospital. It really is no longer a rare event.
No need to change the language for everyone else, but some sensitivity is needed for specific individuals.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Just to remind you old chap, the "patriotic Brexiteer" can be viewed by some of us as an oxymoron (Putin's preference and all that). If you separate it out, that means oxy for Patriotic and...well you know the rest.
Just to remind you, old chap, the "patriotic Remainers" spent 40 years trying to tie us inextricably into a new foreign country - the EU.
They were just morons.
I imagine that there are a huge number of "Remainers" who have done a lot more for their country than a two braincell fuckwit keyboard warrior like yourself.
As for morons, not all people who voted Brexit are morons. Those that still believe in it (genuinely, not pretend like a lot of MPs) are the real morons. I guess you fit neatly into the latter category. By the way, Father Christmas is not real.
The problem with normally quite intelligent posters like @MarqueeMark is that to justify what increasing looks like an extremely stupid decision, they have to construct quite bizarre premises to justify it.
At least @DavidL has stopped claiming that working class wages were “soaring”, he now merely predicts they will - which is an improvement of sorts.
IIRC he was one of Boris Johnson's main apologists. Says all you need to know about his judgement. Boris Johnson=Brexit. Similar levels of stupidity and gullibility required to believe in either
There's a difference between "despising" (which I think is too strong a word) your opponents, and dismissing them as completely without merit. Thatcher and Blair both won as highly partisan leaders because they were able to put themselves into the minds of a substantial section of those who traditionally didn't vote for them. And see the world through their eyes. So did Boris. For a bit. Not getting the idea any of this 8 do.
I like her too. I think she can heal a lot of division in the party. Much better than the rest of the field.
She's obviously got cullions, metaphorically, and she thinks quick. She's a liberal centrist but a patriotic Brexiteer. She might, as you say, unify the right
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Just to remind you old chap, the "patriotic Brexiteer" can be viewed by some of us as an oxymoron (Putin's preference and all that). If you separate it out, that means oxy for Patriotic and...well you know the rest.
Just to remind you, old chap, the "patriotic Remainers" spent 40 years trying to tie us inextricably into a new foreign country - the EU.
They were just morons.
I imagine that there are a huge number of "Remainers" who have done a lot more for their country than a two braincell fuckwit keyboard warrior like yourself.
As for morons, not all people who voted Brexit are morons. Those that still believe in it (genuinely, not pretend like a lot of MPs) are the real morons. I guess you fit neatly into the latter category. By the way, Father Christmas is not real.
PS. The EU isn't a country you ignorant fuckwit.
Its become one though. Its a nascent one, an evolving federation, like 17th/18th century America or early Australia too.
Its fairly rapidly evolving into one, and the Euro means that is only going to ratchet in one direction.
Stop talking bollox you dimwit. Go back and read your Daily Express.
Why did he even delete his first tweet? He obviously wants to just come out and say Tory Members are racists.
Plus he's blocked several commentators from the last incident so should be gentler for him now.
Is he wrong? Older Conservative members may well lean a certain way.
My Grandfather now nearly 90 has some considerably un-twitterable views. Yet a staunch Conservative and from the membership of his local Conservative club not alone.
If I was betting one of my heuristics would be that the white candidates might well benefit from a membership vote.
The other time you know you are getting old is when some youngster says I love such and such new song, its a cover of some old song by x....and you have to tell them that was itself a cover of....
So true. That does work on us too though, I spent two decades thinking Always On My Mind was by the Pet Shop Boys.
A year or so ago I heard a 1990 cover of Strawberry Fields that gave me flashbacks to being a snotty teenager and absolutely insisting to my parents that it was *so very much better* than the boring old original, urgh!, eye-roll, eye-roll.
I remember that cover. Candyflip. It's excellent. Takes the already druggy original and makes it even dreamier and trippier, but with a better beat. Nothing wrong with that
Not to my taste, it sounds too close to the original for me.
I like covers that take a song and change its vibe.
There was a show on a few years ago, Stalker, that did this to good effect taking mostly upbeat 80s songs and using really creepy covers of them. Its amusing how many 80s pop songs you can do that to, take away the distinctive poppy 80s musical style, emphasise the words instead and you end up still with a good song but skin-crawling good instead of upbeat. Here's an example, a cover of Love is a Battlefield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEG8dJVbuP8&list=PL3Wavy4uSV2g4LqE4Y4y2S5trDi_fBzlI&index=11
I am rather a fan of Nouvelle Vague, who specialise in Jazz style cover versions of punk and new wave hits. This is them doing Depeche Mode:
The other time you know you are getting old is when some youngster says I love such and such new song, its a cover of some old song by x....and you have to tell them that was itself a cover of....
So true. That does work on us too though, I spent two decades thinking Always On My Mind was by the Pet Shop Boys.
A year or so ago I heard a 1990 cover of Strawberry Fields that gave me flashbacks to being a snotty teenager and absolutely insisting to my parents that it was *so very much better* than the boring old original, urgh!, eye-roll, eye-roll.
I remember that cover. Candyflip. It's excellent. Takes the already druggy original and makes it even dreamier and trippier, but with a better beat. Nothing wrong with that
Not to my taste, it sounds too close to the original for me.
I like covers that take a song and change its vibe.
There was a show on a few years ago, Stalker, that did this to good effect taking mostly upbeat 80s songs and using really creepy covers of them. Its amusing how many 80s pop songs you can do that to, take away the distinctive poppy 80s musical style, emphasise the words instead and you end up still with a good song but skin-crawling good instead of upbeat. Here's an example, a cover of Love is a Battlefield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEG8dJVbuP8&list=PL3Wavy4uSV2g4LqE4Y4y2S5trDi_fBzlI&index=11
I am rather a fan of Nouvelle Vague, who specialise in Jazz style cover versions of punk and new wave hits. This is them doing Depeche Mode:
They even do a great cover of The Dead Kennedys hit Too Drunk to F***.
That's cool! I hadn't heard them before, its good.
Yeah that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. If you're going to do a cover, change it, don't just be like a karaoke singer redoing the same song again. 👍
They have a couple of albums on Spotify that bear listening to in full. You hear new meaning in old songs.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
"Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch 'gaining momentum' in Conservative leadership campaign
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
Comments
Best of all she is not some billionaire posh bloke. Enough of those, thanks, for now
I also think Starmer would seriously struggle against her. She's sharp
Sky's political correspondent Liz Bates is outside the committee room where votes are being cast on the Conservative leadership contenders. She said she gets the sense that both Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt's campaigns "seem to be falling a bit flat", with their supporters "feeling a bit down in the dumps". On the other hand, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch seem to be "gaining momentum" day by day. Bates said she asked Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who he was voting for and he boomed: "I can't possibly say. I haven't even decided yet. Bernard will tell me." In response, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Bernard Jenkin, mouthed "Suella" with a wink.
https://news.sky.com/story/tory-leadership-race-live-updates-first-leadership-ballot-takes-place-today-amid-row-over-dirty-tricks-12593360
While her response to saying something good about Starmer was funny, our politicians should not be afraid to say something genuinely positive from time to time.
I made the comment a couple of weeks ago that there was no reason why someone couldn't peak too soon twice.
Surprised you picked it out.
If you don't loathe your enemy then you lack motivation. And, my God, there is plenty to loathe in Labour
In which country will Rishi Sunak be domiciled for tax on Jan 1st 2024?
https://twitter.com/paulmotty/status/1547216446354345985
I like covers that take a song and change its vibe.
There was a show on a few years ago, Stalker, that did this to good effect taking mostly upbeat 80s songs and using really creepy covers of them. Its amusing how many 80s pop songs you can do that to, take away the distinctive poppy 80s musical style, emphasise the words instead and you end up still with a good song but skin-crawling good instead of upbeat. Here's an example, a cover of Love is a Battlefield https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEG8dJVbuP8&list=PL3Wavy4uSV2g4LqE4Y4y2S5trDi_fBzlI&index=11
Average hourly earnings rose 5.1% from a year ago, a touch faster than estimates.
Education and health services led job creation, followed by professional and business services and leisure and hospitality."
source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/08/jobs-report-june-2022-.html
(There are currently about two job openings for every job seeker in the US, wo it could stay high for some time.)
However none of the candidates are ideal (is anyone ever?)
Sunak, Christ no, the billionaire stuff, terrible
Truss seems genuinely a bit cracked, awful speaker
Badenoch is highly promising but far too inexperienced: one for next time
Tugendhat, lol
Which leaves Mordaunt.
Most important: she is the one Labour fear, she is the one that could actually beat Labour in 2024
It’s gonna be the mid 90’s Major’s bastards on steroids.
Thatcher believed in the rule of law, Braverman doesn't.
By the way. I have just remembered....Boris Johnson has resigned Yess!!!!
They were just morons.
I sun and swim every day, that's it. Most pleasant. I have to return to Blighty this week but I a minded to come back to Montenegro v soon
@TomTugendhat
https://twitter.com/DominicFarrell/status/1547212488831369219
ECB? BoJ?
Hmmnn.
https://youtu.be/kcljHWUqLVA
They even do a great cover of The Dead Kennedys hit Too Drunk to F***.
At any other time, sure: stirring up a good five minutes hate can be a great campaign strategy. But going into the worst cost of living crisis in a generation? Are ordinary people worrying about where their next meal is going to come from really going to be impressed by this kind of “Look, a squirrel!” campaigning?
Maybe I‘m wrong & going full throttle on this stuff will turn out to be a great distraction from the electorate’s concerns about whether Granny is going to be able to afford to heat her home in the coming winter.
The Spectator has no favoured candidate in this race (yet) but time and time again our writers come out for Kemi Badenoch.
Tomorrow: Rod Liddle.
https://twitter.com/FraserNelson/status/1547216681335984128
Plus he's blocked several commentators from the last incident so should be gentler for him now.
We got through it though, and free childcare kicks in slightly earlier nowadays. It's scary, and there might be some lifestyle adjustments, but you won't have time to be out spending so much money anyway.
It will however be more worthwhile than I can possibly explain to someone without kids or even to my younger self.
Kemi is by far the most coherent, articulate; and personable. Her statement about breaking up the Treasury is music to my ears. I feel like of all the candidates she is most interested in questioning received orthodoxies. However she seems obsessed with woke issues, and is a convinced state-shrinker.
Both are thankfully distanced from Boris.
I don’t think Sunak has a damn clue about anything except how to present well. He’s done nothing in Treasury except sit on his hands and work on his Instagram account.
Liz Truss is barking, she’s Boris in a dress.
The rest don’t have a hope.
Shame about Tugendhat but he doesn’t have the charisma to cut through the din.
I am torn between Mordaunt and Badenoch in terms of best for the country.
I tipped Mordaunt some weeks ago (not uniquely of course, heavily influenced by @MarqueeMark), figuring that both Rishi and Truss had large camps of implacable enemies inside the party.
The likes of Angela Rayner and John Prescott might cheer up the party loyalists, but they don't persuade many from the other side to join them. It's not how far left they are that puts people off - it's that if you're not already on their side they clearly despise you.
As for morons, not all people who voted Brexit are morons. Those that still believe in it (genuinely, not pretend like a lot of MPs) are the real morons. I guess you fit neatly into the latter category. By the way, Father Christmas is not real.
Take Education. They don't trust teachers, and because they think teachers think the Conservatives don't care about state education teachers don't trust them.
Teachers often feel they are seen as a social cost rather than a social benefit. And that their efforts to educate are being attacked as political indoctrination rather than genuine care for the children.
How can they turn that round? I don't think they can.
And so they go for a war on 'woke'. Which makes it worse. Teachers have children in their classes that are growing into their gender and sexuality, with complex and confused feelings. And then the Conservatives are demanding those children are bullied into a straightjacket that disrespects their search for personal identity. Acting against the best interests of those children in support of outdated attitudes. (And the pursuit of a dreadful headlines.)
The Conservatives are the problem. They need to be different to be better.
Also, it is causing enormous practical problems. The NHS is being disrupted because they are terrified of falling foul of the trans lobby.
I will be voting against her, but she is a return to deep blue Tory values, and a bedrock Conservative. She will be as good a PM as the Party can produce in its present state.
Yeah that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. If you're going to do a cover, change it, don't just be like a karaoke singer redoing the same song again. 👍
I do a few jobs and have a little lunch and come back to find Mordaunt has become clear fav.
What happened?
Crazy barman lures veal to make fruitcake? (6, 9)
At least @DavidL has stopped claiming that working class wages were “soaring”, he now merely predicts they will - which is an improvement of sorts.
Also, you're predicting Michael Gove's assassination on Tuesday, after the confidence vote?
Who do you reckon will be behind it? Boris Johnson or Irish Republicans?
Its fairly rapidly evolving into one, and the Euro means that is only going to ratchet in one direction.
No need to change the language for everyone else, but some sensitivity is needed for specific individuals.
4.5 Rishi Sunak 22%
5.3 Liz Truss 18%
34 Kemi Badenoch
44 Tom Tugendhat
90 Jeremy Hunt
110 Dominic Raab
150 Nadhim Zahawi
160 Suella Braverman
Can MPs please get on with it before I mess up my book?
Even if it's wrong it's not likely to be wrong enough that he can beat either of them imo.
Thatcher and Blair both won as highly partisan leaders because they were able to put themselves into the minds of a substantial section of those who traditionally didn't vote for them. And see the world through their eyes.
So did Boris. For a bit.
Not getting the idea any of this 8 do.
It is not striking me as a runaway first ballot for Rishi, unless he has deliberately kept a lot of support undeclared.
My Grandfather now nearly 90 has some considerably un-twitterable views. Yet a staunch Conservative and from the membership of his local Conservative club not alone.
If I was betting one of my heuristics would be that the white candidates might well benefit from a membership vote.
Modesty prevents me from mentioning I am on Mordaunt at various prices between 12 and 18.
A very tasty payment if this poll is true, and of course, MPs don't find a way to not put her in the final two.
Didn't Zahawi set up this the company? Bet he wishes he hadn't bothered now.
Cannot know this for sure as it’s a secret ballot… but have been told that