UK Politics - BoJo Kool-Aid vs Project Fear Cocktail of Terror

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Maybe try to get more powers for the devolved goverment as a backup plan, in case IndyRef2 fails, too.

[mormont]

2 hours ago, Maltaran said:

Would a deal on independence mean simply allowing indyref2, or would they try and get more?

They'd aim for as much as they could get. A promise to respect the outcome of the vote is a start, conditional agreement on some terms in the event of a yes vote as well, maybe.

Anyway, in more gossipy news, it turns out the No 10 press office have not read the sections on either the Streisand Effect or Arkel vs Pressdram.

https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/boris-johnson-to-sue-the-new-european-over-buyers-remorse-article/

 

 

Quote

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is was to sue The New European over our exclusive story that he told a room full of Telegraph journalists he was experiencing “buyer’s remorse” over married life with Carrie Symonds. But has since changed his mind.

A Number 10 Downing Street press officer, who later repeatedly refused to confirm his name but we understand it to be Downing Street Director of Communications Jack Doyle, called The New European editor-in-chief Matt Kelly at 10.30pm on Thursday night announcing that the story was untrue, defamatory, and that the Prime Minister is taking legal action against the newspaper.

“The Prime Minister did not make this remark. The allegation is untrue and defamatory,” the spokesman said via a subsequent text message, once again refusing to confirm his identity.

The New European continues to stand by our story. And our story about the story.

 

 

 

 

[Spockydog]

Lol. Apparently, Bozo told a room full of dinner guests at the Garrick Club that he's got 'buyer's remorse' over his marriage to Carrie Antoinette.

“Clearly he just assumed he was amongst friends, but it was a remarkable thing to say and there were a number of raised eyebrows around the table.”

And now we're hearing that his former lover and recipient of huge amounts of public money, Jennifer Arcuri, is opening up her diary to the Ethics Commission. Will we see a criminal investigation? A lot of people reckon we might.

Could it be that we're finally entering the last days of this cretinous wanker? Let's hope so.

ETA: I see Mormont already posted about Johnson's love woes.

[The Anti-Targ]

Is the likely replacement going to be any better from the perspective of those who oppose the Conservatives? From the perspective of those who oppose specifically Johnson I suppose almost anyone would be better. Boris seems to have the ability to get people to vote for him, I imagine if he is still seen to have that knack then he would be hard to remove, since who would have the same knack? It does appear recent polling is tending to indicate that Boris' shit is starting to stink so the party insiders who don't like him may now feel they are in a position to strike with the growing perception that his net effect on voters is negative.

[polishgenius]

Prime Minister Patel 

[Spockydog]

3 hours ago, polishgenius said:

Prime Minister Patel 

Yeah, that's never happening.

[Heartofice]

4 hours ago, polishgenius said:

Prime Minister Patel 

That would cause a world ending gnashing of teeth and claims of apocalypse that would make the election of Trump look like a side note!

[A wilding]

Patel ticks a lot of boxes, being a corrupt incompetent authoritarian bully and coward. But she does not seem to have much of a support base even in her own party. Sunak is a far more plausible candidate, he of course will act in the best interests of the rich. Though I imagine Sunak does not want to take over yet - he will want to wait until the worst of the pandemic is over and the impact of Brexit has already become clear. Mind you, a careful planning of the correct time to take over did not work for Portillo.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

Far more likely to be Raab or Sunak, but I don’t think Johnson is going anywhere yet.

[Spockydog]

Absolute fucking state of this cretin:

 

 

[Spockydog]

This is more likely to fuck Johnson than any of the other shit he has pulled:

UK minister refuses to rule out people having to sell homes to fund care

Quote

 

A government minister has been unable to guarantee that some people will not have to sell their homes to fund their own social care amid a backbench rebellion over plans to scale back a cap on costs.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) caused alarm on Thursday when it revealed it would calculate the £86,000 cap on lifetime care costs in a way that could leave tens of thousands of England’s poorest pensioners paying the same as wealthier people.

With MPs due to vote on the proposal on Monday evening, some expressed hope that the government would make a last-minute concession in the face of increasingly rebellious backbenchers who fear a backlash from constituents.

Pressed on whether some people would have to sell their homes to pay for care, despite Boris Johnson’s pledge that his policy meant they would not, the business minister Paul Scully told Sky News: “There will be fewer people selling their houses and hopefully none.”

 

 

[Werthead]

Raab is fundamentally unelectable and would be made mincemeat of at PMQs, so I doubt the Tories would vote him in, in a month of Sundays (unless it's deliberately as a disposable caretaker to see out the pandemic ahead of a better candidate coming in a year or so before the election). Gove I think is too compromised from previous backstabbings, but it's known he has Murdoch's support, which might be attractive to some Tories, and he has some public profile.

Patel I think would be seen as popular among the right-wing supporters of the party and could probably drum up a lot of support for her anti-immigration rhetoric and hardline image, but is alienating to the centre of the party and she has a near-Boris habit of announcing things and then walking them back or U-turning on them, which makes her look indecisive. I think there's also a sense she won't be very good for the new northern intake, which has emerged as a strongly influential new bloc within the party.

Sunak might not want it just yet, but he might emerge as a solid compromise candidate with a reasonable chance of winning over the electorate at large, Liz Truss having some support but also being widely seen as incompetent and having all the charisma of a damp loo roll. Hancock will be kicking himself for his lack of judgement, as if he could have spun the pandemic response and vaccine rollout as being a good thing, he could have been in a reasonable position. As it stands, it's too soon for him to make a comeback.

Some indications that Jeremy Hunt is positioning himself as a Michael Howard-style compromise candidate, but hard to see how that will fly. Probably a more solid choice if they lose the next election.

On 11/20/2021 at 9:41 PM, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Maybe try to get more powers for the devolved goverment as a backup plan, in case IndyRef2 fails, too.

It would be interesting if the SNP negotiated a referendum as conditional support for a Labour government (if only for the Queen's Speech and other vital measures), and then lost the referendum, again. Because at that point people might start asking what the point of them voting for the SNP because of their progressive devolved government policies is if they keep wasting time and money on moves for independence, especially if they feel they could get similar progress from Labour (which is a huge if at the moment, of course) as part of a UK-wide progressive movement (again, questionable if a Starmer Labour government could deliver that).

I do sympathise with the SNP position, however, which is starting to border on the frustratingly surreal:

Quote

 

SNP: "So we want an independent Scotland, that's our whole reason for existing. You vote for us, you vote for that."

Electorate: "Indeed. Here, we've voted you into power!"

SNP: "Sweet! So you want an independent Scotland, then?"

Electorate: "Lol, no."

SNP: "..."

 

[broken one]

On 11/18/2021 at 3:54 PM, Heartofice said:

 What skills do they actually have?

As far as I know companies employ them for contacts they have rather than any skills, they can handle stuff with certain people.

[mormont]

On Tory leadership candidates, I'm reminded of this article from a couple of days ago about Johnson:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/21/boris-johnson-has-united-every-tory-faction-in-anger-at-him

The gist is:

Quote

Now I come to the Johnsonites, the loyal band of Tory MPs whom he can expect to sustain him when he trips, cover for him when he makes mistakes and defend him against all enemies. Except I can’t, because there really isn’t such a thing as a Johnsonite.

The same, it seems to me, is true of Gove, Patel, Raab and even Sunak. Some of them can at least make appeals to certain sections of the party, but is there any front bencher who has a personal following with any real degree of attachment to them? Sunak probably comes closest, Gove is the farthest from it. But none of them have any hope unless they can persuade the party that they're a vote-winner. That's why Johnson has lasted this long, at least in part: he's surrounded himself with figures who don't have a real base within the party either because they're incompetent, disloyal, opportunists, or all three.

50 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Because at that point people might start asking what the point of them voting for the SNP because of their progressive devolved government policies is if they keep wasting time and money on moves for independence, especially if they feel they could get similar progress from Labour (which is a huge if at the moment, of course)

It's really not that big of a commitment in time and money, outside of an actual referendum campaign. That's a political talking point the opposition roll out time and again to a big 'meh' from the Scottish electorate.

More to the point, the issue in Scotland is that support for independence is more or less evenly split and has been for literally years. People talk breathlessly in the press sometimes about increases or decreases but they're mostly within the margin of error. There's a small but electorally significant number of people who don't care if the SNP talk about independence as long as they govern reasonably well. These people are viewed by the SNP as persuadable on independence but they seem to be very reluctant to commit. Both Labour and the Tories have been trying for literally years to woo them away from the SNP to absolutely no success. So we're all rather stuck, up here!

[A wilding]

20 minutes ago, mormont said:

That's why Johnson has lasted this long, at least in part: he's surrounded himself with figures who don't have a real base within the party either because they're incompetent, disloyal, opportunists, or all three.

The classic behaviour of a dictator of course.

But for me, the true take home there is how far the Tory party has sunk. How may previous Tory leaders were able to that? Which of them had no "big beasts" who had to be included in the cabinet because of their ability, stature and following?

[Spockydog]

The best thing the Tories could do would be something along the lines of Rory Stewart. But they won't do that, for precisely all the reasons why they should. Instead, they'll just stumble down the same dark and shady path the GOP are on, while sucking on the drippings from Donald Trump's arse.

[Derfel Cadarn]

Johnson makes a shamble of his speech to business leaders.

“But later, before heading back to Downing Street, the PM gave an interview to a reporter, who simply asked: "Is everything OK?"”

Johnson’s “doesnt she look tired?” moment? (A Dr Who reference)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59373237

[Maltaran]

3 hours ago, Spockydog said:

The best thing the Tories could do would be something along the lines of Rory Stewart.

You mean someone who isn't in the party any more because Johnson kicked him out?

[Derfel Cadarn]

 

Johnson’s speech to the CBI, rambling ok about Peppa Pig. Which is owned now by an American company in any case.

[Spockydog]

44 minutes ago, Maltaran said:

You mean someone who isn't in the party any more because Johnson kicked him out?

That's why I said along the lines of...