Remove the really weird rule, presumably dating from the 11th century or somesuch, that no Lord is allowed to speak on the floor of the Commons.
Allow Lords to speak and take questions from the Commons. And while you’re at it you could allow members of the Commons to take questions in the Lords.
No real reason I can see why that isn’t allowed, other than archaic tradition.
It certainly is not a very difficult problem to solve.
Of course, they could always pass a law preventing Lords from being Cabinet Ministers if it is that big an issue.
ESTHER McVey has made a shock return to the Cabinet as Rishi Sunak's "common sense tsar" tasked with tackling the scourge of wokery, The Sun understands
The word "tsar" is overused. Could she not be given the title "Wokefinder General"?
EDIT: I see the joke has been made. Apologies for lack of originality.
Why is is "tsar" anyway? Why not, for example, "kaiser"?
Nice to see Operation Orbital mentioned as a Cameron foreign policy achievement. I'm sure I was banning the drum on my own. Have we had a bigger foreign policy success in recent years than our training of the Ukrainian military since 2015?
My brain keeps trying to do limerick scanning in clerihews.
Suella Suella went bezerky Voted like a Christmas turkey A braver man missed Kipling and Dickens But Rishi's down to Christmas chickens
Suella may take on the chin Being politically chucked in the bin It's too soon to rejoice For her new lifestyle choice: To be outside the tent pissing in
In other #reshuffle news a @UKLabour source tells me up to 17 frontbenchers expect to be sacked on Weds for backing @SNP on the #Gaza ceasefire vote. They say unless @Keir_Starmer uses the words “immediate ceasefire” they can’t vote with Labour and expect to be fired.
Errrr..... what?
Is Sunak about to have a bit of good luck? A divided Labour Party with a whiff of the ghost of Corbyn?
Why isn't this massive news? Sounds like 3/4 of the Labour shadow cabinet is about to quit?
Leaving aside the other reasons already given, it hasn't actually happened yet. Will it actually be that many, and will Starmer actually follow through, or find a middle way to avoid it all?
ESTHER McVey has made a shock return to the Cabinet as Rishi Sunak's "common sense tsar" tasked with tackling the scourge of wokery, The Sun understands
The word "tsar" is overused. Could she not be given the title "Wokefinder General"?
EDIT: I see the joke has been made. Apologies for lack of originality.
Why is is "tsar" anyway? Why not, for example, "kaiser"?
Or “Fuhrer.”
I like “Panjandrum”. Esther McVey is The Woke Panjandrum. Sounds like a new Marvel success.
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
Probably the shrewdest move by Sunak yet is to bring back Cameron. He's catnip to the Tory shires and will stop the bleeding of votes to the LD's. And all those millions Cameron made..time has moved on, and Johnson lowered the bar of probity that Cameron's ventures look tame in comparison.
ESTHER McVey has made a shock return to the Cabinet as Rishi Sunak's "common sense tsar" tasked with tackling the scourge of wokery, The Sun understands
The word "tsar" is overused. Could she not be given the title "Wokefinder General"?
EDIT: I see the joke has been made. Apologies for lack of originality.
Why is is "tsar" anyway? Why not, for example, "kaiser"?
Enough is enough, I have submitted my vote of no confidence letter to the Chairman of the 1922. It is time for Rishi Sunak to go and replace him with a 'real' Conservative party leader.
Andrea Jenkyns is basically our version of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
In other #reshuffle news a @UKLabour source tells me up to 17 frontbenchers expect to be sacked on Weds for backing @SNP on the #Gaza ceasefire vote. They say unless @Keir_Starmer uses the words “immediate ceasefire” they can’t vote with Labour and expect to be fired.
Errrr..... what?
Is Sunak about to have a bit of good luck? A divided Labour Party with a whiff of the ghost of Corbyn?
Why isn't this massive news? Sounds like 3/4 of the Labour shadow cabinet is about to quit?
Front bench != cabinet.
RCS One Hundred Blundered Actually as far as I can recall that's not been true at any time But he has a handle that's terrbily difficult to find something to rhyme With.
Got it! RCS One Hundred Blundered When sidelining Moonrabbit from the fray; For she never really went away.
My brain keeps trying to do limerick scanning in clerihews.
Suella Suella went bezerky Voted like a Christmas turkey A braver man missed Kipling and Dickens But Rishi's down to Christmas chickens
Suella may take on the chin Being politically chucked in the bin It's too soon to rejoice For her new lifestyle choice: To be outside the tent pissing in
In other #reshuffle news a @UKLabour source tells me up to 17 frontbenchers expect to be sacked on Weds for backing @SNP on the #Gaza ceasefire vote. They say unless @Keir_Starmer uses the words “immediate ceasefire” they can’t vote with Labour and expect to be fired.
Errrr..... what?
Is Sunak about to have a bit of good luck? A divided Labour Party with a whiff of the ghost of Corbyn?
Why isn't this massive news? Sounds like 3/4 of the Labour shadow cabinet is about to quit?
Front bench != cabinet.
RCS One Hundred Blundered Actually as far as I can recall that's not been true at any time But he has a handle that's terrbily difficult to find something to rhyme With.
RCS1000 Is not one who bows and Scrapes to those who cut his name by 90 percent Unless of course they've got his prior written consent
Remove the really weird rule, presumably dating from the 11th century or somesuch, that no Lord is allowed to speak on the floor of the Commons.
Allow Lords to speak and take questions from the Commons. And while you’re at it you could allow members of the Commons to take questions in the Lords.
No real reason I can see why that isn’t allowed, other than archaic tradition.
Just read Andrea Jenkyns' letter. It's incredibly badly written. She doesn't even appear to know where to put full stops. It's like a rambling whatsapp penned while drunk.
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
Probably the shrewdest move by Sunak yet is to bring back Cameron. He's catnip to the Tory shires and will stop the bleeding of votes to the LD's. And all those millions Cameron made..time has moved on, and Johnson lowered the bar of probity that Cameron's ventures look tame in comparison.
I just cannot see it myself - sure, Cameron may remind some people in the Shires of the good old days, but the fundamentals haven't changed and it's the Braverman contingent which are most angry and likely to remain so. Absent a change in economic circumstances will Cameron fans returning really outweigh angry Reform leaning types staying home?
But it has to be congratulated as one of the more surpising moves that's been made in a long time, which is not easy, and very against type for the government.
ESTHER McVey has made a shock return to the Cabinet as Rishi Sunak's "common sense tsar" tasked with tackling the scourge of wokery, The Sun understands
The word "tsar" is overused. Could she not be given the title "Wokefinder General"?
EDIT: I see the joke has been made. Apologies for lack of originality.
Why is is "tsar" anyway? Why not, for example, "kaiser"?
Or “Fuhrer.”
I like “Panjandrum”. Esther McVey is The Woke Panjandrum. Sounds like a new Marvel success.
That implies she's woke herself though. Surely the only acceptable title is "wokefinder general".
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
The most stunning news is that Bad Enoch, the most invisible and ineffectual Secretary of State since the English Civil War, appears to have survived this reshuffle.
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
Probably the shrewdest move by Sunak yet is to bring back Cameron. He's catnip to the Tory shires and will stop the bleeding of votes to the LD's. And all those millions Cameron made..time has moved on, and Johnson lowered the bar of probity that Cameron's ventures look tame in comparison.
I just cannot see it myself - sure, Cameron may remind some people in the Shires of the good old days, but the fundamentals haven't changed and it's the Braverman contingent which are most angry and likely to remain so. Absent a change in economic circumstances will Cameron fans returning really outweigh angry Reform leaning types staying home?
But it has to be congratulated as one of the more surpising moves that's been made in a long time, which is not easy, and very against type for the government.
Cameron is a creature of The South, I doubt he'll travel well north of Birmingham
This is very good from Sunak. He's cleared away the baggage from the weird drama of the last few years (May, Boris, and Truss all get sideswiped - a little unfair on May)
Back to sensible mainstream Tory politics. (Doubt it'll stick, but it's a very impressive attempt)
Utterly shocked to hear Cameron is back in Politics. I remember a few years back there was talk of him looking to get back into Politics but never thought it would happen.
Overall a fan of his tenure as PM even as someone who voted remain (I was never a die hard remainder, but thought it would be better to stay in than leave).
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
Probably the shrewdest move by Sunak yet is to bring back Cameron. He's catnip to the Tory shires and will stop the bleeding of votes to the LD's. And all those millions Cameron made..time has moved on, and Johnson lowered the bar of probity that Cameron's ventures look tame in comparison.
UKIP received 12.9% of the vote (in GB) at the 2015 GE. Maybe this is a masterstroke from Sunak, but I can see how it could go terribly wrong too. 13% for Faragists to the Tories right could leave Sunak with just 20% of the vote.
So the majority of the public back Braverman's sacking, Sunak will hope having done that and brought Cameron back he will get a small poll boost as well as stabilise his government.
However 20% of voters saying he was wrong to sack her gives a significant pool for ReformUK to fish in to attract rightwing Tory voters disillusioned with the direction of the Sunak government now
If you had any sense you would let the fascist supporters head off to RefUK and start cleaning the extremists out of your own party and make them back into a serious political party again.
The problem is unless centrist swing voters come back from Starmer Labour and the LDs after today's shift back to Cameronism from Sunak, without voters on the right voting Tory but voting RefUK instead that just means even more Tory seats will be lost
If you want centrist voters back then get rid of your madder right-wing. The Tory Party has been pandering to these idiots for years and they have helped to push you into the mess you currently find yourself in.
Unfortunately most of Rishi's clowns are still there. Grant Shapps wants all those with placards reading 'From the River to the Sea' or carrying the Socialist Worker where it's on it's cover arrested.
I bet they've got lawyers hanging off the lamposts offering to represent anyone brought to trial. It could make the defendants as famous as the editors of OZ
Enough is enough, I have submitted my vote of no confidence letter to the Chairman of the 1922. It is time for Rishi Sunak to go and replace him with a 'real' Conservative party leader.
Andrea Jenkyns is basically our version of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
Just read Andrea Jenkyns' letter. It's incredibly badly written. She doesn't even appear to know where to put full stops. It's like a rambling whatsapp penned while drunk.
Utterly shocked to hear Cameron is back in Politics. I remember a few years back there was talk of him looking to get back into Politics but never thought it would happen.
Overall a fan of his tenure as PM even as someone who voted remain (I was never a die hard remainder, but thought it would be better to stay in than leave).
Can you be Tory Leader from the Lords?
No. There shall be a Leader of the Party (referred to in this Constitution as “the Leader”) drawn from those elected to the House of Commons, who shall be elected by the Party Members and Scottish Party Members in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 2.
Remove the really weird rule, presumably dating from the 11th century or somesuch, that no Lord is allowed to speak on the floor of the Commons.
Allow Lords to speak and take questions from the Commons. And while you’re at it you could allow members of the Commons to take questions in the Lords.
No real reason I can see why that isn’t allowed, other than archaic tradition.
It certainly is not a very difficult problem to solve.
Of course, they could always pass a law preventing Lords from being Cabinet Ministers if it is that big an issue.
To be honest, I dont really see why we shouldn’t be able to have some members of the government appointed rather than elected. Plenty of other governments around the world permit it, and there seems to be no issue. It also does allow for the appointment of people who are administrators and CEOs by trade, who have a bit more experience in running things than the PPE graduate and SPAD who got themselves a safe seat yet is suddenly tasked with being responsible for the operation of the National Health Service.
The Rest is Politics had over 100,000 viewers. Political Currency... dunno but they also had one.
Poor Rory will be pissing himself that he didnt get the call
Rory's theory is that Rishi wanted William Hague, who turned it down and then helped recruit Cameron. Rory was not very complimentary about Cameron's grasp of foreign policy.
Hague has already been Foreign Secretary anyway, when Cameron was PM
Rory is so far out of the loop he's left the gravitational orbit of the solar system.
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
Probably the shrewdest move by Sunak yet is to bring back Cameron. He's catnip to the Tory shires and will stop the bleeding of votes to the LD's. And all those millions Cameron made..time has moved on, and Johnson lowered the bar of probity that Cameron's ventures look tame in comparison.
UKIP received 12.9% of the vote (in GB) at the 2015 GE. Maybe this is a masterstroke from Sunak, but I can see how it could go terribly wrong too. 13% for Faragists to the Tories right could leave Sunak with just 20% of the vote.
In 2015 they didn't have to work as hard to get the votes from the opposite end of the UKIP side. Given 9 more years and even if Reform do not pack as much of a punch, they would not need to.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Remove the really weird rule, presumably dating from the 11th century or somesuch, that no Lord is allowed to speak on the floor of the Commons.
Allow Lords to speak and take questions from the Commons. And while you’re at it you could allow members of the Commons to take questions in the Lords.
No real reason I can see why that isn’t allowed, other than archaic tradition.
It certainly is not a very difficult problem to solve.
Of course, they could always pass a law preventing Lords from being Cabinet Ministers if it is that big an issue.
To be honest, I dont really see why we shouldn’t be able to have some members of the government appointed rather than elected. Plenty of other governments around the world permit it, and there seems to be no issue. It also does allow for the appointment of people who are administrators and CEOs by trade, who have a bit more experience in running things than the PPE graduate and SPAD who got themselves a safe seat yet is suddenly tasked with being responsible for the operation of the National Health Service.
Starmer can always ditch Lammy and appoint Sir Tony Blair as shadow FS
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
ESTHER McVey has made a shock return to the Cabinet as Rishi Sunak's "common sense tsar" tasked with tackling the scourge of wokery, The Sun understands
The word "tsar" is overused. Could she not be given the title "Wokefinder General"?
EDIT: I see the joke has been made. Apologies for lack of originality.
Why is is "tsar" anyway? Why not, for example, "kaiser"?
Same word. All variants of Caesar.
Though doubt that in 1917-18, Bernard Baruch would have wanted to be dubbed "Industrial Kaiser" of USA!
Of course the real Czar/Tsar of Russia was deposed in 1918.
However, thanks to former US Speaker "Czar" Canon, term was already current in US media as synonym for quasi-autocratic leader.
Just read Andrea Jenkyns' letter. It's incredibly badly written. She doesn't even appear to know where to put full stops. It's like a rambling whatsapp penned while drunk.
So the majority of the public back Braverman's sacking, Sunak will hope having done that and brought Cameron back he will get a small poll boost as well as stabilise his government.
However 20% of voters saying he was wrong to sack her gives a significant pool for ReformUK to fish in to attract rightwing Tory voters disillusioned with the direction of the Sunak government now
If you had any sense you would let the fascist supporters head off to RefUK and start cleaning the extremists out of your own party and make them back into a serious political party again.
The problem is unless centrist swing voters come back from Starmer Labour and the LDs after today's shift back to Cameronism from Sunak, without voters on the right voting Tory but voting RefUK instead that just means even more Tory seats will be lost
If you want centrist voters back then get rid of your madder right-wing. The Tory Party has been pandering to these idiots for years and they have helped to push you into the mess you currently find yourself in.
Without the party's right wing, given there is no sign of centrist swing voters coming back to the Tories from centrist Starmer this side of a general election, the party would face near wipe out.
If Labour get in and inflation rises further and the economy is poor then swing voters might give the Tories a hearing again, until then it is about minimising the loss and that includes keeping most of the right on board.
Labour of course effectively abandoned centrist voters for the left for 10 years from 2010 to 2020 so can't really criticise. Indeed Sunak, Cameron and Hunt are about as centrist a Tory party as you are likely to get for the next decade
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
We must preserve what inherent silliness still remains. For example, I don't want to live in a country where MPs can just resign, rather than be appointed as Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds.
The most stunning news is that Bad Enoch, the most invisible and ineffectual Secretary of State since the English Civil War, appears to have survived this reshuffle.
Today has been a bad day for Suella and a good day for Badenoch. Before today I had Suella as my favourite for next leader. Now I think Badenoch and Mordaunt are both more likely.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
Enough is enough, I have submitted my vote of no confidence letter to the Chairman of the 1922. It is time for Rishi Sunak to go and replace him with a 'real' Conservative party leader.
Andrea Jenkyns is basically our version of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Any chance of a good Suella blasting Sunak in the Commons?
Not sure on what grounds she'd do so though, it's not like his policies are that different from what she wants to do, except maybe on the ECHR. He's certainly on board with all the migrant issues.
I wonder what those Labour MPs would do, if Sir Keir were to call for an immediate Hamas surrender. (It's not going to happen soon, if at all, but it's a good idea. Especially if you care about Gazan civilians.)
Utterly shocked to hear Cameron is back in Politics. I remember a few years back there was talk of him looking to get back into Politics but never thought it would happen.
Overall a fan of his tenure as PM even as someone who voted remain (I was never a die hard remainder, but thought it would be better to stay in than leave).
Can you be Tory Leader from the Lords?
It worked for Lord Salisbury over 125 years ago, although Baldwin argued in 1923 that it couldn't possibly work for his rival Lord Curzon.
Just read Andrea Jenkyns' letter. It's incredibly badly written. She doesn't even appear to know where to put full stops. It's like a rambling whatsapp penned while drunk.
I still find it a remarkable quirk of history that this third-rate quarterwit replaced Ed Balls, one of the sharpest intellects in the Commons. Politics is a funny old game.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
The most stunning news is that Bad Enoch, the most invisible and ineffectual Secretary of State since the English Civil War, appears to have survived this reshuffle.
In current No Nation Tory HMG, limit on how many wingnuts may be sacked in single shuffle?
"Fire Up the Government" - as someone might have once said. I'm also tempted by the Guardian's view that if David Cameron is seen as the answer, no one has understood the question.
The role of Foreign Secretary has been progressively diluted over the years first as a result of the emphasis moving to the EU and second the more Presidential nature of politics. As an example of this, the Prime Minister-elect in New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, had wanted his first significant act to be seen shaking President Biden's hand at the APEC summit. It hasn't happended and it's being viewed as a setback
The second question therefore is what is the deal? Will we see foreign policy move back from the Cabinet Office and No.10 to the FCO? It was Conservative anger with the FCO that did much to undermine Carington in 1982. It will be interesting to see the extent to which Sunak will sub-contract for example the current crisis in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war to Cameron.
The problem is foreign policy butters no parsnips as another former Conservative leader and PM might have said. Apart from @TSE, I doubt many votes have been changed today though as @HYUFD has also opined, the departure of Braverman will infuriate some in the party and might push some Conservatives into the warm embrace of Mr Tice.
Whether this is Sunak's last throw of the dice I don't know but he is now a prisoner of his own taking. His Chancellor , Foreign and Home Secretaries are not for moving - the polls haven't moved at all in 2023. The Conservative poll rating in tonight's R&W poll is the same as it was in January. HIs former Home Secretary sits brooding on the back benches.
Short term, a fillip for the Conservatives - longer term, it may make little or no difference at all.
The most stunning news is that Bad Enoch, the most invisible and ineffectual Secretary of State since the English Civil War, appears to have survived this reshuffle.
Today has been a bad day for Suella and a good day for Badenoch. Before today I had Suella as my favourite for next leader. Now I think Badenoch and Mordaunt are both more likely.
More likely? Perhaps. It wouldn’t be difficult. Suella is done. Likely? No. Penny is too woke for the membership and Bad Enoch is a waste of space.
Am confused. We've just had a Party Conference and King's Speech which veered to the Right in the wake of Uxbridge. No effect. Now it seems the balance in Cabinet is moving in the other direction. Who's the trolley here?
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
Probably the shrewdest move by Sunak yet is to bring back Cameron. He's catnip to the Tory shires and will stop the bleeding of votes to the LD's. And all those millions Cameron made..time has moved on, and Johnson lowered the bar of probity that Cameron's ventures look tame in comparison.
I just cannot see it myself - sure, Cameron may remind some people in the Shires of the good old days, but the fundamentals haven't changed and it's the Braverman contingent which are most angry and likely to remain so. Absent a change in economic circumstances will Cameron fans returning really outweigh angry Reform leaning types staying home?
But it has to be congratulated as one of the more surpising moves that's been made in a long time, which is not easy, and very against type for the government.
Cameron is a creature of The South, I doubt he'll travel well north of Birmingham
But he does travel to Birmingham to see his beloved Aston Ham United.
I quite like Cameron. He shows up his colleagues for the minnows they are. Starmer and Sunak too I'm afraid. If he could get Steve Hilton back on board it would be game on.
Probably the shrewdest move by Sunak yet is to bring back Cameron. He's catnip to the Tory shires and will stop the bleeding of votes to the LD's. And all those millions Cameron made..time has moved on, and Johnson lowered the bar of probity that Cameron's ventures look tame in comparison.
I just cannot see it myself - sure, Cameron may remind some people in the Shires of the good old days, but the fundamentals haven't changed and it's the Braverman contingent which are most angry and likely to remain so. Absent a change in economic circumstances will Cameron fans returning really outweigh angry Reform leaning types staying home?
But it has to be congratulated as one of the more surpising moves that's been made in a long time, which is not easy, and very against type for the government.
Cameron is a creature of The South, I doubt he'll travel well north of Birmingham
But he does travel to Birmingham to see his beloved Aston Ham United.
Any chance of a good Suella blasting Sunak in the Commons?
Not sure on what grounds she'd do so though, it's not like his policies are that different from what she wants to do, except maybe on the ECHR. He's certainly on board with all the migrant issues.
Suella now has a choice.
She either goes full right wing Trumpian whackjob, attacks the government at every turn, ends up saying something even more egregiously offensive than she’s managed thus far, gets the whip removed and probably in the long term ends up doing the early evening slot on GB News….
Or she keeps her power dry for a little while and then comes back after an election defeat with an “I was right, we weren’t right wing enough” gambit and tries for the leadership.
However, by now being tied to the events of the weekend, I suspect she has damaged her ability to attract support from MPs.
Just read Andrea Jenkyns' letter. It's incredibly badly written. She doesn't even appear to know where to put full stops. It's like a rambling whatsapp penned while drunk.
Politico.com - George Santos sent thank you notes to members who voted against expelling him earlier this week. [Nov. 3]
I’m grimly fascinated by the mock-football transfer tweets from the @Conservatives Twitter account. They are ridiculously cringey but I guess that’s the intention.
The most stunning news is that Bad Enoch, the most invisible and ineffectual Secretary of State since the English Civil War, appears to have survived this reshuffle.
Today has been a bad day for Suella and a good day for Badenoch. Before today I had Suella as my favourite for next leader. Now I think Badenoch and Mordaunt are both more likely.
More likely, perhaps. It wouldn’t be difficult. Suella is done. Likely? No. Penny is too woke for the membership and Bad Enoch is a waste of space.
I think Suella is done and dusted too.
You really can't incite riots as a Home Secretary, and that's precisely what she did. If you carelessly do so then you're going to need to have massive support from your colleagues, and particularly the senior colleagues that you've been working with, and she doesn't have that.
Any chance of a good Suella blasting Sunak in the Commons?
Not sure on what grounds she'd do so though, it's not like his policies are that different from what she wants to do, except maybe on the ECHR. He's certainly on board with all the migrant issues.
Does she get a speech when she’s been sacked rather than resigned? (No exchange of letters so no fiction). Not something I’ve seen before.
Just read Andrea Jenkyns' letter. It's incredibly badly written. She doesn't even appear to know where to put full stops. It's like a rambling whatsapp penned while drunk.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
We must preserve what inherent silliness still remains. For example, I don't want to live in a country where MPs can just resign, rather than be appointed as Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds.
Or vote by smelling each others' eructations in a crowded queue.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
The most stunning news is that Bad Enoch, the most invisible and ineffectual Secretary of State since the English Civil War, appears to have survived this reshuffle.
Today has been a bad day for Suella and a good day for Badenoch. Before today I had Suella as my favourite for next leader. Now I think Badenoch and Mordaunt are both more likely.
More likely, perhaps. It wouldn’t be difficult. Suella is done. Likely? No. Penny is too woke for the membership and Bad Enoch is a waste of space.
I think Suella is done and dusted too.
You really can't incite riots as a Home Secretary, and that's precisely what she did. If you carelessly do so then you're going to need to have massive support from your colleagues, and particularly the senior colleagues that you've been working with, and she doesn't have that.
PS. I wonder if she'll get deselected. If I lived in Far-away-ham, I'd be oiling the (metaphorical) ropes.
Utterly shocked to hear Cameron is back in Politics. I remember a few years back there was talk of him looking to get back into Politics but never thought it would happen.
Overall a fan of his tenure as PM even as someone who voted remain (I was never a die hard remainder, but thought it would be better to stay in than leave).
The most stunning news is that Bad Enoch, the most invisible and ineffectual Secretary of State since the English Civil War, appears to have survived this reshuffle.
Today has been a bad day for Suella and a good day for Badenoch. Before today I had Suella as my favourite for next leader. Now I think Badenoch and Mordaunt are both more likely.
More likely? Perhaps. It wouldn’t be difficult. Suella is done. Likely? No. Penny is too woke for the membership and Bad Enoch is a waste of space.
Mordaunt is consistently popular with the membership (see ConservativeHome polls), despite the accusations of wokery, and nearly made the second round in the post-Boris contest.
Badenoch hasn’t been a spectacular cabinet member (to put it very mildly), but she speaks the language of the right of the Party, and she will now likely inherit a lot of Braverman’s support as the culture-war-y, anti-wokey favourite.
There are good reasons why it looks like being one of those two. Sadly, competence as a cabinet minister has never been a bar to further success.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
Entirely unfairly I think that has the name Gove written all over it.
An eruption of the scale of Laki is unlikely. This is probably going to be a fissure eruption but no indication at the moment that it will be plinian or SO2 rich.
Will be fun to watch though. I wonder what kind of disaster insurance the blue lagoon has.
Just read Andrea Jenkyns' letter. It's incredibly badly written. She doesn't even appear to know where to put full stops. It's like a rambling whatsapp penned while drunk.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
For some political leaders I can see plenty of takers for the position. Tell me Trump couldn't get someone to do it.
It is a matter of some debate as to whether the duties involved cleaning the king's anus, but the groom is known to have been responsible for supplying a bowl, water and towels and also for monitoring the king's diet and bowel movements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groom_of_the_Stool
The vote on Wednesday re the ceasefire may still not happen . It’s upto the Speaker to decide on amendments and it’s not certain he’ll chose the SNP one .
And there’s of course still time for Labour to put forward their own amendment . As for the 17 front benchers expecting to be sacked. Maybe Starmer in light of a lot going on in the media will allow a free vote , Wednesday is also the SC ruling so attention might be away from Labours dramas .
Am confused. We've just had a Party Conference and King's Speech which veered to the Right in the wake of Uxbridge. No effect. Now it seems the balance in Cabinet is moving in the other direction. Who's the trolley here?
I don’t know, but the Tories have been riding all of us for years.
Now that I’ve had a chance to consider it, Rishi has missed another opportunity here. He should simply have fired Braverman and replaced him temporarily with her number two (Tom Tugendhat).
He could then have done a full re-shuffle after the Autumn Statement, since it is widely rumoured that Hunt will retire at the next election.
Cameron adds gravitas, but not much else, and he seems to provoke the backbenches.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
Shall we commission some privateers to sort the balance of trade as well?
"Fire Up the Government" - as someone might have once said. I'm also tempted by the Guardian's view that if David Cameron is seen as the answer, no one has understood the question.
The role of Foreign Secretary has been progressively diluted over the years first as a result of the emphasis moving to the EU and second the more Presidential nature of politics. As an example of this, the Prime Minister-elect in New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, had wanted his first significant act to be seen shaking President Biden's hand at the APEC summit. It hasn't happended and it's being viewed as a setback
The second question therefore is what is the deal? Will we see foreign policy move back from the Cabinet Office and No.10 to the FCO? It was Conservative anger with the FCO that did much to undermine Carington in 1982. It will be interesting to see the extent to which Sunak will sub-contract for example the current crisis in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war to Cameron.
The problem is foreign policy butters no parsnips as another former Conservative leader and PM might have said. Apart from @TSE, I doubt many votes have been changed today though as @HYUFD has also opined, the departure of Braverman will infuriate some in the party and might push some Conservatives into the warm embrace of Mr Tice.
Whether this is Sunak's last throw of the dice I don't know but he is now a prisoner of his own taking. His Chancellor , Foreign and Home Secretaries are not for moving - the polls haven't moved at all in 2023. The Conservative poll rating in tonight's R&W poll is the same as it was in January. HIs former Home Secretary sits brooding on the back benches.
Short term, a fillip for the Conservatives - longer term, it may make little or no difference at all.
The possible difference is simply this: Sunak, barring further black swans, can't win, but today may make a difference to the manner in which he loses.
Does he want to lose as a rancorous Braverman style rabble of Reform/Lozza/Goodwin lookalikes; or does he want to lose as a decent looking bunch of Tories who could have within them the seeds of winning within 10 years.
He knows in his heart that the polls are not showing a massive Labour win because the Tories aren't sufficiently populist right wing.
This is very good from Sunak. He's cleared away the baggage from the weird drama of the last few years (May, Boris, and Truss all get sideswiped - a little unfair on May)
Back to sensible mainstream Tory politics. (Doubt it'll stick, but it's a very impressive attempt)
It's definitely a return to the mainstream and a notable coup de theatre at the same time.
Rishi never really convinced as a culture wars warrior or as an overturner of the established order. And has evidently given up on that to become a much more conventional Conservative PM. I think he'll be happy with that. Authenticity is no bad thing.
This reshuffle does more than that though. Crucially, by sacking Braverman, and springing the Cameron surprise, he's shown he still has some agency of his own, and effectively rebutted the charge of being "weak" which Labour have been desperate to pin on him, as they did Major in the run-up to 97. This is a big win if it sticks.
Overall, none of this will make much difference polling-wise in the short-term but if there ever is a recovery between now and the election, this will be seen as the turning-point. That's a big if.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
Shall we commission some privateers to sort the balance of trade as well?
Excellent, and why not ? Make our new FS earn his grog.
Am confused. We've just had a Party Conference and King's Speech which veered to the Right in the wake of Uxbridge. No effect. Now it seems the balance in Cabinet is moving in the other direction. Who's the trolley here?
I don’t know, but the Tories have been riding all of us for years.
Now that I’ve had a chance to consider it, Rishi has missed another opportunity here. He should simply have fired Braverman and replaced him temporarily with her number two (Tom Tugendhat).
He could then have done a full re-shuffle after the Autumn Statement, since it is widely rumoured that Hunt will retire at the next election.
Cameron adds gravitas, but not much else, and he seems to provoke the backbenches.
He has one more trick up his sleeve…
If Hunt does go shortly before the election, there is another former PM waiting in the wings to take on the daunting role of chancellor. Whose wealth of cabinet experience and economic nous will change the narrative.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
Add it to the duties of the Clerk of the Closet - which does exist.
Am confused. We've just had a Party Conference and King's Speech which veered to the Right in the wake of Uxbridge. No effect. Now it seems the balance in Cabinet is moving in the other direction. Who's the trolley here?
I don’t know, but the Tories have been riding all of us for years.
Now that I’ve had a chance to consider it, Rishi has missed another opportunity here. He should simply have fired Braverman and replaced him temporarily with her number two (Tom Tugendhat).
He could then have done a full re-shuffle after the Autumn Statement, since it is widely rumoured that Hunt will retire at the next election.
Cameron adds gravitas, but not much else, and he seems to provoke the backbenches.
Also just barely possible, that David Cameron might (emphasis on conditional) be able to have some positive influence on resolving current wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
CHANGING THE SUBJECT, what is your (very early) view of the new government of New Zealand?
This is very good from Sunak. He's cleared away the baggage from the weird drama of the last few years (May, Boris, and Truss all get sideswiped - a little unfair on May)
Back to sensible mainstream Tory politics. (Doubt it'll stick, but it's a very impressive attempt)
It's definitely a return to the mainstream and a notable coup de theatre at the same time.
Rishi never really convinced as a culture wars warrior or as an overturner of the established order. And has evidently given up on that to become a much more conventional Conservative PM. I think he'll be happy with that. Authenticity is no bad thing.
This reshuffle does more than that though. Crucially, by sacking Braverman, and springing the Cameron surprise, he's shown he still has some agency of his own, and effectively rebutted the charge of being "weak" which Labour have been desperate to pin on him, as they did Major in the run-up to 97. This is a big win if it sticks.
Overall, none of this will make much difference polling-wise in the short-term but if there ever is a recovery between now and the election, this will be seen as the turning-point. That's a big if.
Turning to someone who isn't even in Parliament is a sign of strength - it's very easy to say Cameron is now Foreign Secretary because Rishi couldn't find anyone else to do the job..
"Fire Up the Government" - as someone might have once said. I'm also tempted by the Guardian's view that if David Cameron is seen as the answer, no one has understood the question.
The role of Foreign Secretary has been progressively diluted over the years first as a result of the emphasis moving to the EU and second the more Presidential nature of politics. As an example of this, the Prime Minister-elect in New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, had wanted his first significant act to be seen shaking President Biden's hand at the APEC summit. It hasn't happended and it's being viewed as a setback
The second question therefore is what is the deal? Will we see foreign policy move back from the Cabinet Office and No.10 to the FCO? It was Conservative anger with the FCO that did much to undermine Carington in 1982. It will be interesting to see the extent to which Sunak will sub-contract for example the current crisis in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war to Cameron.
The problem is foreign policy butters no parsnips as another former Conservative leader and PM might have said. Apart from @TSE, I doubt many votes have been changed today though as @HYUFD has also opined, the departure of Braverman will infuriate some in the party and might push some Conservatives into the warm embrace of Mr Tice.
Whether this is Sunak's last throw of the dice I don't know but he is now a prisoner of his own taking. His Chancellor , Foreign and Home Secretaries are not for moving - the polls haven't moved at all in 2023. The Conservative poll rating in tonight's R&W poll is the same as it was in January. HIs former Home Secretary sits brooding on the back benches.
Short term, a fillip for the Conservatives - longer term, it may make little or no difference at all.
My guess is it will slightly help him. People misread reshuffles. They assume it is all about getting an immediate poll boost. When nothing changes everyone thinks what was the point? The reality is that Sunak has removed a loose cannon and unpopular figure in Braverman. That may mean fewer problems for him down the road. However he should continue to press the issue of policing and consistency as well as looking at the people behind these demos. Cleverly's statement seemed like an attempt to reassure the Jewish community.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
Shall we commission some privateers to sort the balance of trade as well?
"Fire Up the Government" - as someone might have once said. I'm also tempted by the Guardian's view that if David Cameron is seen as the answer, no one has understood the question.
The role of Foreign Secretary has been progressively diluted over the years first as a result of the emphasis moving to the EU and second the more Presidential nature of politics. As an example of this, the Prime Minister-elect in New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, had wanted his first significant act to be seen shaking President Biden's hand at the APEC summit. It hasn't happended and it's being viewed as a setback
The second question therefore is what is the deal? Will we see foreign policy move back from the Cabinet Office and No.10 to the FCO? It was Conservative anger with the FCO that did much to undermine Carington in 1982. It will be interesting to see the extent to which Sunak will sub-contract for example the current crisis in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war to Cameron.
The problem is foreign policy butters no parsnips as another former Conservative leader and PM might have said. Apart from @TSE, I doubt many votes have been changed today though as @HYUFD has also opined, the departure of Braverman will infuriate some in the party and might push some Conservatives into the warm embrace of Mr Tice.
Whether this is Sunak's last throw of the dice I don't know but he is now a prisoner of his own taking. His Chancellor , Foreign and Home Secretaries are not for moving - the polls haven't moved at all in 2023. The Conservative poll rating in tonight's R&W poll is the same as it was in January. HIs former Home Secretary sits brooding on the back benches.
Short term, a fillip for the Conservatives - longer term, it may make little or no difference at all.
My guess is it will slightly help him. People misread reshuffles. They assume it is all about getting an immediate poll boost. When nothing changes everyone thinks what was the point? The reality is that Sunak has removed a loose cannon and unpopular figure in Braverman. That may mean fewer problems for him down the road. However he should continue to press the issue of policing and consistency as well as looking at the people behind these demos. Cleverly's statement seemed like an attempt to reassure the Jewish community.
The HS job is a bag of poo. You cant intervene in police decisions or stop boats but you get the blame anyway.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
I seem to remember that Hezza revived the use of the title "President of the Board of Trade". Romantic Welshman and all that. His successor, Ian Lang I think, dropped it and went back to being the boring old SoS for Trade and Industry. Shame.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
Shall we commission some privateers to sort the balance of trade as well?
Excellent, and why not ? Make our new FS earn his grog.
Need to reinstall the gallows at Execution Dock, though.
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
Yes, exactly, more drama and theatre is needed
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
We need more of these titles to really address our problems - the problem is not the issues, it's the titles. They aren't inspiring. "Deputy Minister for Work and Pensions". YAWN. How about
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
We used to be good at it. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Paymaster General.
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
President of the Board of Trade had a decent ring to it. Any idea what happened to that? Business Secretary is a bit shit, has echoes of taking the minutes in 1980s sales meetings.
I think the incumbent still has to be President of the Lord of Trade (like the Justice Sec still has to be Lord Chancellor) but they don’t use the titles.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Bring back also the Groom of the King's Close Stool, why not?
For some political leaders I can see plenty of takers for the position. Tell me Trump couldn't get someone to do it.
It is a matter of some debate as to whether the duties involved cleaning the king's anus, but the groom is known to have been responsible for supplying a bowl, water and towels and also for monitoring the king's diet and bowel movements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groom_of_the_Stool
"Looks like same old shit to me, Commander-in-Chief."
Comments
Lol.
Of course, they could always pass a law preventing Lords from being Cabinet Ministers if it is that big an issue.
Being politically chucked in the bin
It's too soon to rejoice
For her new lifestyle choice:
To be outside the tent pissing in
Probably the shrewdest move by Sunak yet is to bring back Cameron. He's catnip to the Tory shires and will stop the bleeding of votes to the LD's. And all those millions Cameron made..time has moved on, and Johnson lowered the bar of probity that Cameron's ventures look tame in comparison.
RCS One Hundred
Blundered
When sidelining Moonrabbit from the fray;
For she never really went away.
(With apologies to both rcs100 and Moonrabbit!)
Is not one who bows and
Scrapes to those who cut his name by 90 percent
Unless of course they've got his prior written consent
But it has to be congratulated as one of the more surpising moves that's been made in a long time, which is not easy, and very against type for the government.
Bless
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/21/how-steve-hilton-turned-on-his-friend-and-ex-boss-david-cameron
Back to sensible mainstream Tory politics. (Doubt it'll stick, but it's a very impressive attempt)
Your next book should be The Tales of Gaylord Poncy Boots
I bet they've got lawyers hanging off the lamposts offering to represent anyone brought to trial. It could make the defendants as famous as the editors of OZ
> As Conservative MP, served in high-profile political/governmental roles before becoming Tory Leader and Prime Minister.
> As Leaders and PMs, enjoyed some electoral success but left office due to notable electoral failure.
> After leaving No. 10, reemerged in later government(s) as Foreign Secretary.
> Ennobled by appointment to House of Lords; JAB as hereditary (after he was FS) DC as life peer (presumably anyway).
> Involved in major way (!!!) with Middle Eastern diplomacy & etc.
The River Pollution Reichskommisar
The Wheelie Bin Obersturmfuhrer
The Great Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde of Litter Collection
There shall be a Leader of the Party (referred to in this Constitution as “the Leader”) drawn from those elected to the House of Commons, who shall be elected by the Party Members and Scottish Party Members in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 2.
The Leader shall determine the political direction of the Party having regard to the views of Party Members and the Conservative Policy Forum
https://public.conservatives.com/organisation-department/202101/Conservative Party Constitution as amended January 2021.pdf
It all went down hill when we started having “departments” rather than ministries and we lost the bottle to have a Ministry of War.
"Addressing the House, Andrea Leadsom, recently appointed Intergalactic Warlord of Heat Pump Installation"
Of course the real Czar/Tsar of Russia was deposed in 1918.
However, thanks to former US Speaker "Czar" Canon, term was already current in US media as synonym for quasi-autocratic leader.
If Labour get in and inflation rises further and the economy is poor then swing voters might give the Tories a hearing again, until then it is about minimising the loss and that includes keeping most of the right on board.
Labour of course effectively abandoned centrist voters for the left for 10 years from 2010 to 2020 so can't really criticise. Indeed Sunak, Cameron and Hunt are about as centrist a Tory party as you are likely to get for the next decade
OR is ND the UK MTG?
Not sure on what grounds she'd do so though, it's not like his policies are that different from what she wants to do, except maybe on the ECHR. He's certainly on board with all the migrant issues.
it has to be the Llama Lama
https://ai.meta.com/llama/
Oh God please do it. "Laura Trott, the Llama Lama, said today....."
OK @kjh has a point, I need fresh air
"Fire Up the Government" - as someone might have once said. I'm also tempted by the Guardian's view that if David Cameron is seen as the answer, no one has understood the question.
The role of Foreign Secretary has been progressively diluted over the years first as a result of the emphasis moving to the EU and second the more Presidential nature of politics. As an example of this, the Prime Minister-elect in New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, had wanted his first significant act to be seen shaking President Biden's hand at the APEC summit. It hasn't happended and it's being viewed as a setback
The second question therefore is what is the deal? Will we see foreign policy move back from the Cabinet Office and No.10 to the FCO? It was Conservative anger with the FCO that did much to undermine Carington in 1982. It will be interesting to see the extent to which Sunak will sub-contract for example the current crisis in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war to Cameron.
The problem is foreign policy butters no parsnips as another former Conservative leader and PM might have said. Apart from @TSE, I doubt many votes have been changed today though as @HYUFD has also opined, the departure of Braverman will infuriate some in the party and might push some Conservatives into the warm embrace of Mr Tice.
Whether this is Sunak's last throw of the dice I don't know but he is now a prisoner of his own taking. His Chancellor , Foreign and Home Secretaries are not for moving - the polls haven't moved at all in 2023. The Conservative poll rating in tonight's R&W poll is the same as it was in January. HIs former Home Secretary sits brooding on the back benches.
Short term, a fillip for the Conservatives - longer term, it may make little or no difference at all.
We've just had a Party Conference and King's Speech which veered to the Right in the wake of Uxbridge.
No effect.
Now it seems the balance in Cabinet is moving in the other direction.
Who's the trolley here?
https://twitter.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1724106414115950756 "
As I said here quite recently, we need to be prepared for global cooling, as well as global warming.
This precedent should worry all of us: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki
She either goes full right wing Trumpian whackjob, attacks the government at every turn, ends up saying something even more egregiously offensive than she’s managed thus far, gets the whip removed and probably in the long term ends up doing the early evening slot on GB News….
Or she keeps her power dry for a little while and then comes back after an election defeat with an “I was right, we weren’t right wing enough” gambit and tries for the leadership.
However, by now being tied to the events of the weekend, I suspect she has damaged her ability to attract support from MPs.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2023/11/03/congress/santos-says-thanks-00125253
Read [Rep. Jamie] Raskin's hand-written reply.
https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000018b-9653-da71-a98f-b7f7e89d0000
https://twitter.com/conservatives
You really can't incite riots as a Home Secretary, and that's precisely what she did. If you carelessly do so then you're going to need to have massive support from your colleagues, and particularly the senior colleagues that you've been working with, and she doesn't have that.
Badenoch hasn’t been a spectacular cabinet member (to put it very mildly), but she speaks the language of the right of the Party, and she will now likely inherit a lot of Braverman’s support as the culture-war-y, anti-wokey favourite.
There are good reasons why it looks like being one of those two. Sadly, competence as a cabinet minister has never been a bar to further success.
The wildcard now is Cleverly, IMHO.
The campaign to bring them back starts here. Are you reading Sir Keir?
Will be fun to watch though. I wonder what kind of disaster insurance the blue lagoon has.
It is a matter of some debate as to whether the duties involved cleaning the king's anus, but the groom is known to have been responsible for supplying a bowl, water and towels and also for monitoring the king's diet and bowel movements
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groom_of_the_Stool
Who saw in street tents a favela
When she opened her gob
And incited the mob
Her career soon became not so stellar
And there’s of course still time for Labour to put forward their own amendment . As for the 17 front benchers expecting to be sacked. Maybe Starmer in light of a lot going on in the media will allow a free vote , Wednesday is also the SC ruling so attention might be away from Labours dramas .
Now that I’ve had a chance to consider it, Rishi has missed another opportunity here. He should simply have fired Braverman and replaced him temporarily with her number two (Tom Tugendhat).
He could then have done a full re-shuffle after the Autumn Statement, since it is widely rumoured that Hunt will retire at the next election.
Cameron adds gravitas, but not much else, and he seems to provoke the backbenches.
Does he want to lose as a rancorous Braverman style rabble of Reform/Lozza/Goodwin lookalikes; or does he want to lose as a decent looking bunch of Tories who could have within them the seeds of winning within 10 years.
He knows in his heart that the polls are not showing a massive Labour win because the Tories aren't sufficiently populist right wing.
Rishi never really convinced as a culture wars warrior or as an overturner of the established order. And has evidently given up on that to become a much more conventional Conservative PM. I think he'll be happy with that. Authenticity is no bad thing.
This reshuffle does more than that though. Crucially, by sacking Braverman, and springing the Cameron surprise, he's shown he still has some agency of his own, and effectively rebutted the charge of being "weak" which Labour have been desperate to pin on him, as they did Major in the run-up to 97. This is a big win if it sticks.
Overall, none of this will make much difference polling-wise in the short-term but if there ever is a recovery between now and the election, this will be seen as the turning-point. That's a big if.
If Hunt does go shortly before the election, there is another former PM waiting in the wings to take on the daunting role of chancellor. Whose wealth of cabinet experience and economic nous will change the narrative.
Liz Truss, thy hour is at hand.
CHANGING THE SUBJECT, what is your (very early) view of the new government of New Zealand?
He was drunk as a skunk
And his lady was sunk
History will be very grateful for it too.