Cont: General UK politics [2]

[Andy_Ross]

This from The Daily Llama.
Q. How come the govt is in recess when we are supposed to be on the brink of a war with Russia?
A. Keep the people frightened. Launch a Bogeyman then piss off to Chequers for ten days of wallop, hi jinks and nookie.

 

[GlennB]

This from The Daily Llama.
Q. How come the govt is in recess when we are supposed to be on the brink of a war with Russia?
A. Keep the people frightened. Launch a Bogeyman then piss off to Chequers for ten days of wallop, hi jinks and nookie.

Yes, and with an invasion looming the UK's defence secretary has to cut short his holiday. How jolly inconvenient for him.

 

[Darat]

Yes, and with an invasion looming the UK's defence secretary has to cut short his holiday. How jolly inconvenient for him.

What is remarkable about his comments is that he thinks it is somehow remarkable that he cancelled the family break.

 

[Mojo]

This from The Daily Llama.
Q. How come the govt is in recess when we are supposed to be on the brink of a war with Russia?
A. Keep the people frightened. Launch a Bogeyman then piss off to Chequers for ten days of wallop, hi jinks and nookie.

Would that even work now? Generally, a crisis of external origin such as a war or an epidemic is good for an incumbent’s popularity. All they need to do is to perform competently and show something that looks at least a bit like leadership and the population in general will get behind them. Think Thatcher in 1982, for example. It’s an indication of Boris’s general level of competence that he’s managed to become much less popular during a crisis.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Would that even work now? Generally, a crisis of external origin such as a war or an epidemic is good for an incumbent’s popularity. All they need to do is to perform competently and show something that looks at least a bit like leadership and the population in general will get behind them. Think Thatcher in 1982, for example. It’s an indication of Boris’s general level of competence that he’s managed to become much less popular during a crisis.

There's your problem!

 

[zooterkin]

There's your problem!

Exactly. I may have disagreed, severely in some cases, with the policies of previous governments, but they generally had ministers who were at least competent and at least a facade of doing things in the public interest rather than their own.

 

[jimbob]

Exactly. I may have disagreed, severely in some cases, with the policies of previous governments, but they generally had ministers who were at least competent and at least a facade of doing things in the public interest rather than their own.

We are at the stage where even Liz Truss, one of the frontrunners to replace him, would be an improvement.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

So what happens now? He has to voluntarily resign in shame, right? Suppose he has none?

 

[jimbob]

So what happens now? He has to voluntarily resign in shame, right? Suppose he has none?

There is a *possibility* that 54 of his MPs will put in letters of no-confidence to the 1922 Committee which would trigger a leadership challenge.

Those are internal Conservative Party rules.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Last May, in a blatant breach of the ministerial code, Priti Patel lobbied Gove to award a £20m PPE contract to PDL healthcare who were represented by her friend Samir Jassal. We've heard nothing since

 

[Andy_Ross]

Levelling Up Latest!

Tory peer suggests Yorkshire is full of 'whingers begging for handouts'

A Tory peer sparked outrage after suggesting Yorkshire is a "county of leftist whingers begging for handouts" from the government in a bizarre Twitter rant.

Lord Moylan, an ex-merchant banker, former diplomat and one-time advisor to Boris Johnson, tweeted the insulting outburst on Saturday night after the Yorkshire Post reported the government's "levelling up" plans "fail to deliver" in the county.

Posting the front page of the paper's weekend edition, the former deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council said: "I’m going to Yorkshire for a short break next week.
"Everything I’ve read recently in @yorkshirepost makes me fear I’m going to find it transformed into a county of leftist whingers begging for handouts.
"Let’s hope that’s not the case."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tory-peer-lord-moylan-suggests-26218515

 

[Andy_Ross]

Lord Frost is among a group of senior Tory MPs and peers urging Boris Johnson to reverse the Government’s ban on fracking as the UK faces an energy crisis.

In a joint letter to the Prime Minister, the former Cabinet minister and around 29 other Conservatives said it is “time to reverse this moratorium”.
The shale gas mining ban which came into effect in 2019 comes after the energy company Cuadrilla was ordered to seal up two of England’s only viable shale gas wells.

Lord Frost said reversing the fracking ban would herald a “British energy renaissance”.
He told the Telegraph: “If our economy is to boom after Brexit, British industry needs a competitive and reliable source of energy which we hold in our own hands and brings investment into this country. Shale gas production achieves all this and more.
“If we don’t produce it here, as we have seen, all we do is import gas from elsewhere, and push up overall carbon emissions too.
“So let’s reverse the moratorium on shale gas and let a British energy renaissance begin.”

https://www.gbnews.uk/news/lord-frost-leads-tory-revolt-against-governments-fracking-ban/225099

 

[Andy_Ross]

Why do we need fracking when the UK has doubled its gas exports?
What’s to say that won’t be flogged off to the highest bidder, too?

 

[BillC]

What is remarkable about his comments is that he thinks it is somehow remarkable that he cancelled the family break.

This might be a dig at Dominic Raab's refusal to return from his holiday in Crete when the Kabul crisis erupted.

 

[The Don]

Lord Frost is among a group of senior Tory MPs and peers urging Boris Johnson to reverse the Government’s ban on fracking as the UK faces an energy crisis.

In a joint letter to the Prime Minister, the former Cabinet minister and around 29 other Conservatives said it is “time to reverse this moratorium”.
The shale gas mining ban which came into effect in 2019 comes after the energy company Cuadrilla was ordered to seal up two of England’s only viable shale gas wells.

Lord Frost said reversing the fracking ban would herald a “British energy renaissance”.
He told the Telegraph: “If our economy is to boom after Brexit, British industry needs a competitive and reliable source of energy which we hold in our own hands and brings investment into this country. Shale gas production achieves all this and more.
“If we don’t produce it here, as we have seen, all we do is import gas from elsewhere, and push up overall carbon emissions too.
“So let’s reverse the moratorium on shale gas and let a British energy renaissance begin.”

https://www.gbnews.uk/news/lord-frost-leads-tory-revolt-against-governments-fracking-ban/225099

Of course this is utter rubbish. Fracking won't produce anywhere near enough oil and/or gas to make the UK energy independent. It will make a few people very wealthy, prevent the UK achieving carbon net-zero and will pollute the environment - but that's kinda the point.

 

[Darat]

This might be a dig at Dominic Raab's refusal to return from his holiday in Crete when the Kabul crisis erupted.

I think that because of Raab's actions they have created another "things that the public Daily Mail/Telegraph/GBNews expect" checkbox.

 

[The Don]

Looks like Boris Johnson is firing up the mob.

Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed he received death threats after Boris Johnson falsely claimed that he failed to prosecute paedophile Jimmy Savile.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60373912

Boris Johnson, following the Trump playbooks is denying any responsibility and refuses to withdraw his lies.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Have I Got News For You tweeted

@haveigotnews
Amid reports PM will argue lockdown parties were ‘part of the working day’, nurses that spent 12 months working in a bin bag admit they couldn’t move for all the crisps and prosecco.

 

[Garrison]

So it appears the Met has decided to respond to the resignation of Cressida Dick in the expected manner:

Sadiq Khan: Met Police Federation has 'no faith' in London mayor

Do they really think that their lack of support is a negative for Sadiq Khan?

 

[jimbob]

So it appears the Met has decided to respond to the resignation of Cressida Dick in the expected manner:

Sadiq Khan: Met Police Federation has 'no faith' in London mayor

Do they really think that their lack of support is a negative for Sadiq Khan?

Yes, I liked this bit from the Sky News story on it: https://news.sky.com/story/cressida...-no-faith-in-london-mayor-sadiq-khan-12541947

The Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents more than 31,000 officers in the capital, has declared it has "no faith" in London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Ken Marsh, chairman of the federation, said the atmosphere among officers was at "rock bottom" following the resignation of Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.

Which presumably meant that the following was beneficial to morale:

The failure to punish Cressida Dick's Aide when he was found guilty of gross misconduct for sexual harassment - and the other failures to punish officers found guilty of gross misconduct. Or indeed the failure to act on the racist and violent sexual WhatsApp chat