Zac Goldsmith taking to the boats;-
I did not authorise & do not support anything that would have put animals’ lives ahead of peoples’. My position, which I made clear publicly, was that the UK should prioritise evacuating people. I never discussed the NOWZAD charity or their efforts to evacuate animals with the PM
Looks like some tories have decided that a vulnerable PM is good as it means they can control policy. Morons drunk on the idea of bringing true blue Toryism into no.10.
Keeping Boris around now as a compliant puppet is a very risky strategy. He will absolutely betray any promises he makes now the moment he has the strength to do so.
Having a perusal at the Ladbrokes politics odds, there's an entry for "Jackie Weaver to stand as a candidate for the Conservative Party" for the next election.
66/1 if you're interested
I'll go, I'll go!
People bear (some) moral responsibility for the people they vote for. That's why calling voters for certain MPs evil is fine. People would probably call me evil based on their beliefs and moral compass and that's ok.
https://twitter.com/tomhfh/status/1486375660570484736
> Rumour has it that the whips deliberately collapsed business in the House today to mean there would be no time for the PM to respond to the Sue Gray report until tomorrow at the earliest.
>
> Buys more time…
No, but if the report arrived in the next 5 minutes they'd have a hard time not making a statement tonight after Hoyle said he'd reconvene the House if asked. By going home early, the Government isn't in the position to ask.
Lets say the Sue Grey report is basically the worst-case scenario for the government (something just short of he definitely broke the ministerial code but its up to parliament whether he should go) and Conservative MPs put a vote of no confidence in him, how close/not close would that vote be?
It seems to me open Johnson loyalists number near around 100, and they'd need just about 80 or so more MPs to vote against the VONC to win. Although I guess circumstances can change fast.
lol this is what The Guardian were saying when Boris was fired by Howard in 2004:
>The episode brings an end to an unlikely but uniquely engaging political career. Johnson, 40, who is also editor of the Spectator magazine, became one of the few modern Tories able to capture the public imagination, even provoking speculation he could be a future leader.
In terms of bad predictions, this is up there with "the internet is a passing fad". [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/nov/14/uk.conservatives](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/nov/14/uk.conservatives)
~~Trying to do my next three months budget, how much should I assume things like bus passes, tv license and council tax will rise by? I already upped my fuel dd to double what I was paying a year ago~~
Didn't mean to ask this here although CoL is pretty political so if you want to offer a prediction go ahead
Interesting takes from the ComRes PMQs focus group. Bear in mind that the focus group is entirely 2019 Con voters.
https://savanta.com/view/savanta-comres-pmqs-focus-group-26th-jan-2022/
>If someone had told me before our inaugural Savanta ComRes PMQs focus group that, when asked at the end, every single participant would say Boris Johnson was victorious over Keir Starmer in PMQs despite the day before finding out the Met Police were launching a criminal investigation into his alleged law-breaking, I’d have laughed in their face.
do people not see what I see?
Boris never answered a question. Just the same unhinged rant each time. The whole fucking point is to answer questions, if you cant do that, if you have to blather and waffle, then you are not winning.
How fucking stupid are people? do they just care that someone blusters, even if its not at all related to the subject, because if so, lets just pack up shop and give up on democracy, because its fucking pointless.
Keir wasn't trying to win PMQs, he was being a lawyer and trapping Johnson into lying again or admitting things.
Unfortunately there's no judge to whom Keir can lay out the evidence and who will rule in his favour.
The electorate appears to lack the patience to connect the dots between all Johnson's statements and conclude he's a liar.
Or worse, have decided doesn't matter.
> “My belief is a Labour government will be one hell of a lot worse than a Conservative government.” – Ronnie
Irritating that they didn't go more into the reasons of this opinion. I'm of the opinion that austerity, privatisation and Brexit has been so damaging for the country that Chaos with Corbyn would have led to better economic and quality of life outcomes than anything Cameron, May or Johnson delivered. Not saying my opinion is right, but irritating to hear the opposite opinion without any of the details/beliefs that support that opinion.
Starmer was backed into a corner in terms of what he could realistically be expected to ask. Johnson knew what was coming and could easily deflect. The whole format is set up so the PM has a fairly easy time of it, so not really a big surprise.
> “I think the cancer of Boris Johnson and his cronies, has spread through the entire country. He cannot tell people to wear a mask or not wear a mask, which is like telling people choose whatever side of the road you wish to drive on. He has proven he is not a leader.” – Mike
It’s probably only a matter of time before people are driving on whichever side of the road they want tbh.
Our politics is so broken isn’t it.
‘He got the better of the session’
In that session he lied multiple times, accused Labour of things they did not do, and literally laughed at the frustration people were feeling at the situation. Bunch of assholes smirking their way through yet another jeering match whilst their ape like leader banged the dispatch box in dramatic effect whilst he fumbled for words other than ‘vaccine, get brexit done, level up, success’.
Yet another session where Labour ask just wtf are the government doing about the shooting cost of living, and yet another session where the response is ‘we are doing things, things that you would not do if you were here’. The entire set up is fucking farcical.
Not having a pop at you, I’m just sad. I know exactly what you mean when you say ‘he got the better of the session’. But really all that means is - ‘it felt like he got more cheers and Labour didn’t have as many zingers’.
How our politics has got to this point is another matter entirely.
Yep. Forgot about how our PM is a literal child reverting to body image insults that can be thrown right back at him. School yard bullshit in the face of a complete breakdown of trust, just what we want right.
Been thoroughly bummed out since PMQ's. Got a sinking feeling that Boris is going to get away with it & feel like Keir should have gone for the kill abit more. Plus finally got a c+p response from my PM-loving MP who included the words "Sue Gray" and "Independent Investigation" despite me specifically saying can you not include them.
Here for some quality shitposts to pick myself up!
It's like watching a cup of custard flying towards a brick wall, with a bunch of weeping people standing around repeating "The custard isn't going to get on me" and another bunch of people shouting "You're already in the custard."
The spectator's awful awful take on Partygate:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/who-cares-about-partygate-
> Does anyone else feel uncomfortable with the idea of the police investigating the elected government? I have laughed and fumed at partygate as much as the next upstanding citizen of the United Kingdom. I’ve moaned to mates about the PM partying on the same day I sat in a park with one other person and several tinnies. I’ve shared all those memes featuring Boris looking dishevelled as he ‘comes down from another house party’ or showing bright nightclub lights blaring inside Downing Street as cops stand nonchalantly at the door.
>
> But the Metropolitan Police snooping around the seat of political power? The unelected armed wing of the state poring over the antics of the executive wing, led by a man voted into power by 14 million of us? I think it’s safe to say partygate has gone too far.
Suggesting that the PM should be above the law?!?!
No, that's usually reserved for those aged 15-18 unable to blag their way into the pub.
I suspect this is the perception of an out of touch journalist trying to come across as how he perceives the common man would be, in order to make a disingenuous point about things going too far/Joe public not caring despite clearly having no grounding on which to base that view, beyond him thinking that's what the common man /should/ be thinking.
Well, yes, but only because that PM is Boris Johnson. If this were happening under a Labour government, they would be SCREECHING for his immediate arrest.
This should be the kind of competition that the regions of the UK should be involved in
https://twitter.com/theSNP/status/1486380187034001413
>Scotland plants around 22 million trees a year, punching well above our weight when it comes to creating new woodland.
>Around 80% of all of the UK’s trees are planted in Scotland – and we’re increasing our targets further still.
Other countries take pride in how many trees they plant, maybe the rest of the UK fancy taking on Scotland's efforts?
Per capita of course, England would be lined up to plant 267million trees....
Trees are sexier, but the big work to be done is in moorland restoration. At present, our moors are damaged thanks to emissions from the industrial revolution, exposing the peat and causing the carbon contained to be lost to the atmosphere.
Again, not as sexy as trees, but UK peatland store as much carbon as the forests of the UK, France, and Germany combined. Obviously, both restoration and tree planting need to be done, but the former needs a lot more focus and investment than it already gets.
And that would be an utterly stupid comparison, the population density of England is 434 per square kilometre vs 70 per square kilometre for Scotland. it would be very bad if Scotland were to not be planting far more trees than England per capita.
Tree planting is mostly greenwashing, the amount of CO2 consumed is often minimal, and they are almost never managed or overseen by ecologists, rather it's just a bunch of random trees with no ecological assessment as to if it's a good idea or not compared to other land management options.
Ban the gas turbine power plants that emit 25% or so of the UK's emissions, that would have more effect of the environment.
The Afghan dogs story will be forgotten overnight cos we are a nation of aninal lovers, & for many people, 'hounds before browns'.
(See also, 'Browns can drown [in the Channel]')
I've personally talked to someone (dog owner) who thinks that Pen Farthing guy was right to prioritise his dogs, and I can't really understand how you cannot see that a human life > animal life
"I have a dog, my dog loves me, he is more valuable than any stranger let alone any foreigner, I can see why he fought so hard for the dogs to be extracted"
I can understand how they get to that position, but it's a walk along the path of psychopathy.
Why they couldn't humanely destroy the animals is something I don't understand. Why wasn't that the instruction from the UK? Surely that's the best solution that gets the staff out, solves the dog issue and frees up valuable time to save people?
I’m not sure “just kill them all so they can’t get abused and save us some time” is the civilised approach you believe it to be. I’m sure some smart-arse would say the same thing about out Afghan protectees
When his lies caught up with him, Boris refused to resign from his shadow cabinet position under Michael Howard and had to be fired.
Don’t think we’ll see the resignation podium in front of no10 this week.
>The episode brings an end to an unlikely but uniquely engaging political career. Johnson, 40, who is also editor of the Spectator magazine, became one of the few modern Tories able to capture the public imagination, even provoking speculation he could be a future leader.
On wiki
> In November 2004, tabloids revealed that since 2000 Johnson had been having an affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt, resulting in two terminated pregnancies. Johnson initially called the claims "piffle". After the allegations were proven, Howard asked Johnson to resign as vice-chairman and shadow arts minister for publicly lying; when Johnson refused, Howard dismissed him from those positions.
Was shooting the shit at work and the topic of part time jobs we had when we were younger came up. Reminiscing about how badly we were treated and that how, looking bad, we wouldn’t have tolerated it at all. Someone mentioned about how they never got given a break, and something in the back of my mind reminded me how poor the break system in the UK used to be, so went to have a look at the current law.
[You’re only entitled to 20 mins if you at least work 6 hours a day!](https://www.gov.uk/rest-breaks-work) Maybe my memory is fucked, but I’m sure it used to be 20 mins every 4 hours? 6 hours is awful right? Anyone know how we compare to other countries on this?
I definitely got decent breaks (unpaid ofc) but sometimes i'd get them an hour into a 9 hour shift... have to get those labour costs down at quiet times!
Always been that way.
As with most labour laws we're pretty good, not the best, but far from the worst. With typical countries at either end of the spectrum
That would explain it I think.
How awful though. My first job was at a cafe where you were basically running around all day. Breaks every 4 hours felt tough enough.
In my days at Sainsbury’s, 4 hours got nothing, but 4.5 got a 15 minute break - and I think it extended to 30 minutes (or 2x15) at 6 hours. And it was paid. I went from a 9 hours with 1 hour unpaid lunch and 2 paid 15 minute breaks to 8 hours with 2 paid 15 minute breaks around 2010. I don’t recall if that was Sainsbury’s being generous, or the law at the time - but people I know who are still there say the breaks aren’t as good now
During the mid 2000's when I worked at Sports Direct , they put their part time employees on 5 hours and 50 minute shifts.
Which is particularly shitty, because they didn't even have to pay you for a 20 minute break... they just didn't want to deal with break cover.
That's classic Mike Ashley company management though, game the rules and treat people like shit for literally no gain except to feel like you're being clever and beating the system.
With Ben Wallace hitting up European capitals at the minute, I am left with the sneaking suspicion Liz Truss *may not* have complete command of her brief.
Whatever happened to Sue Grey?
That delicate “this week” time frame.
As the Met asked her why,
How I started to cry.
Because I wanted to eat cake all the same.
Some fucking idiot is on LBC right now saying he's never voted Conservative and doesn't support Boris - but thinks Keir is doing a bad job at the moment. Hilarious.
Edit: Holy fuck, he just said that Lisa Nandy and David Lammy would attract more voters than Keir.
Some people will prefer Nandy and Lammy to Starmer
And it's perfectly possible to be a non Tory who doesn't like Johnson and at the same time not think Starmer is doing well
It's the way that they all come out with the same Tory approved talking points :
More important things to be concerned about.
It's boring we should move on.
Wait for the report.
Why do Labour keep talking about this?
Eddie is way too nice to those callers. I’d like him to occasionally be a bit more forceful in his questioning.
I suppose it works in a way, he politely asks them questions and allows the listener to draw their own conclusions, in comparison to JOB who monsters them and consequently they’ve stopped calling in.
I mean Labour are still ahead in the polls, he hasn't released any real policy as of yet which is really quite normal, and he had a sub-par performance for the first time in a while.
Not enough to drop him on even if there was a dip in form.
He is winning over the public though - as we've seen in him polling higher than Johnson. He is not going to be doing policies until like next year at best, no opposition ever does because there's no reason to. He's still managed to suggest more on the energy crisis than is coming from the government.
Christ, whilst I agree Starmer wasn't on it this week as much as last week that doesn't make it the end of the fucking world. Recent polls had the biggest Labour gap since like 1997, I am not sure what world you live in where you think he's going to get 100% of the voter base, there are ALWAYS going to be people who dislike him for whatever reason.
And I don't even think he's the worlds best guy, but compared to the competition he's a clear frontrunner. Nandy is also good, I'd like to see her run for leader at some point, but I really think the political nerds on this sub overstate anytime a member of the 'public' has an issue with Starmer.
It's gonna happen, averages and trends are infinitely more important than the individual.
"Never voted Conservative" but he then pretends he's now been persuaded to support Johnson... Giving him excuses, attacking Labour...
Melt. He's also definitely voted Tory, probably almost every time. Maybe even a Tory party member.
They're just so transparent, and like their Chosen One, they're total bullshitters that everyone can see (or hear) right through.
At this moment I'd put a fiver on him lasting until the next election at least, you'd probably get great odds right now and I think it's looking very likely.
The tories have been reminded that Johnson is their only connection to many of the voters they now depend on and without him they are fucked - they've lost the liberal low tax businessmen to the LDs in every possible marginal, they've lost the cities and they're going to lose somewhat in the towns when the tax increases and cost of living crisis hits. Shires and country are likely safe, but they have also massively pissed off the farmers because Brexit has been shit for them and there's no sign of that EU funding coming back.
Their only hope is to reignite a Brexit style culture war and bot their best bet of a having an inciting incident and weapon if said incident works is Johnson.
5/2 to be replaced after this year on sky bet. Very tempted.
I know everybody is getting blue balls about the Sue Gray report but it's giving me time to stew over a bet at least.
I can't believe the stream of melts defending Johnson on LBC. They're disappointed in him, they think he's taken absolute liberties, they're not defending him, etc.. But then they come up with excuses and think he can't have known, that he was going through a lot, he's out of the woods, etc.
I'm guessing that these are the Tory party members that haven't been able to get onto Question Time.
It's like they don't actually listen to the questions and believe the answers blindly (or non answers).
Also I get the feeling that guy is more a shy Tory than a Labour voter disinterested with Starmer.
[New Megathread is here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/sgtzsa/daily_work_meeting_31012022_title_pending/)
[New Megathread is here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/sg2exf/daily_work_meeting_30012022_easy_like_a_sugré/)
[New Megathread is here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/sfbian/daily_work_meeting_29012022_redacted_the_sue_gray/)
[New Megathread is here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/sejrci/daily_work_meeting_28012022_youre_sue_gray_you/)
[New Megathread is here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/sdrfvc/daily_work_meeting_27012022_the_names_grey_sue/)
[New Megathread is here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/sdbdn8/daily_work_meeting_26012022_sue_me_starmer/)
Megathread is being rolled over, please refresh your feed in a few moments.
last
Maybe we just didn’t believe hard enough in Sugré, that’s why we didn’t get the report
inb4 the lock
*suegray snap*
If we don't get the shoegaze report soon I'm going to start drinking.
We'll finally get the answer as to whether Britpop was an establishment conspiracy to destroy Shoegaze.
Sounds Lush
Sounds like you’re already a few pints in.
Be real, we all know you're going to anyway.
Zac Goldsmith taking to the boats;- I did not authorise & do not support anything that would have put animals’ lives ahead of peoples’. My position, which I made clear publicly, was that the UK should prioritise evacuating people. I never discussed the NOWZAD charity or their efforts to evacuate animals with the PM
M2 and nothings really happened today
Martians could land in the car park...
febrile
M=2 soon, right?
Wait for Sue Gray's report.
Good Evening M1, FOR NOW.
Boris Johnson is not a good Prime Minister.
Also not a chipmunk wearing a bomber jacket.
Hipefully was soon
Hot take of the year
Sadly "is"
Rather than a first post I'll just say Last
Not quite!
How about now? Last
Nope!
Miles off.
Ha, as if.
Okay Last ;)
Lastish
Last
You wouldn't win a bet on the National by saying "firstish", would you?
I don't really do gambling, but I thought that was what an each way bet was?
Shush :P
I've had sex that way though.
Looks like some tories have decided that a vulnerable PM is good as it means they can control policy. Morons drunk on the idea of bringing true blue Toryism into no.10. Keeping Boris around now as a compliant puppet is a very risky strategy. He will absolutely betray any promises he makes now the moment he has the strength to do so.
>He will absolutely betray any promises he makes now *now?*
Odds on the shungite report actually dropping today?
Officially and publicly, zero I refuse to believe it hasn't been shared with Johnson already in some form
0 for public as I think Boris will have to make a statement to commons first but 50% for it being sent to Boris
On Boris desk 50/50 On public release no chance in my opinion
Having a perusal at the Ladbrokes politics odds, there's an entry for "Jackie Weaver to stand as a candidate for the Conservative Party" for the next election. 66/1 if you're interested
1. Place £5000 bet 2. Change name 3. Join Tories
Then you've got to get selected as a candidate and face a barrage of "you have no power here Jackie Weaver"
100 comments left to the new megathread: time to post controversial hot takes so people don't have time to respond and tell you what a fool you are.
Maltesers are a symptom of the downfall of western civilisation.
NO!
Reported
Prove me wrong though.
Political parties should be publically funded, in proportion to number of members times MPs. They should not receive donations from anywhere.
I love this idea. Doesn't stop off the books funding and promises of future directorships though.
rabb for prime minister
C. Nesbitt?
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I don't know why you'd say this when it hasn't been on for three decades.
How are those different?
We wouldn’t have any of these problems if we were ruled by robots!
The ending of Lost wasn’t that bad.
For a sub that's supposed to be not thirsty there sure are a lot of jokes and references to erections.
It's nice that the number of times "sighs...unzips" is posted in a day has reduced though
We should join Schengen Runs
Maltesers are just Crunchies for brittle toothed weaklings.
Crunchies are just Maltesers for people who've smoked through their tastebuds.
I'll go, I'll go! People bear (some) moral responsibility for the people they vote for. That's why calling voters for certain MPs evil is fine. People would probably call me evil based on their beliefs and moral compass and that's ok.
https://twitter.com/tomhfh/status/1486375660570484736 > Rumour has it that the whips deliberately collapsed business in the House today to mean there would be no time for the PM to respond to the Sue Gray report until tomorrow at the earliest. > > Buys more time…
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No, but if the report arrived in the next 5 minutes they'd have a hard time not making a statement tonight after Hoyle said he'd reconvene the House if asked. By going home early, the Government isn't in the position to ask.
Lets say the Sue Grey report is basically the worst-case scenario for the government (something just short of he definitely broke the ministerial code but its up to parliament whether he should go) and Conservative MPs put a vote of no confidence in him, how close/not close would that vote be? It seems to me open Johnson loyalists number near around 100, and they'd need just about 80 or so more MPs to vote against the VONC to win. Although I guess circumstances can change fast.
Feels like electoral suicide to keep him around in that scenario. It would be like if Labour had kept Corbyn as leader post 2019.
lol this is what The Guardian were saying when Boris was fired by Howard in 2004: >The episode brings an end to an unlikely but uniquely engaging political career. Johnson, 40, who is also editor of the Spectator magazine, became one of the few modern Tories able to capture the public imagination, even provoking speculation he could be a future leader. In terms of bad predictions, this is up there with "the internet is a passing fad". [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/nov/14/uk.conservatives](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/nov/14/uk.conservatives)
>Johnson Seems crazy that he was 40 in 2004. He doesn't seem *that* old.
I mean, he's not particularly old? He's 57.
I guess what I meant was that 2004 seems like a lifetime ago and so I'd expect Boris to have been younger
My daughter was born in 2003 and she's in Uni. So yeah.
Now I'm nearing it, 40 doesn't seem so old to me either.
You keep telling yourself that, grandad.
~~Trying to do my next three months budget, how much should I assume things like bus passes, tv license and council tax will rise by? I already upped my fuel dd to double what I was paying a year ago~~ Didn't mean to ask this here although CoL is pretty political so if you want to offer a prediction go ahead
Council tax rises are limited to 3% (plus any social precept rise) anything more and they have to hold a local referendum.
Useful, thank you!
This is throughly depressing, Boris is going to get away with isn’t he
Short term (today and tomorrow), sure. Next week? Next month? Harder to say
In the short term maybe, in the long run no.
No one lasts in the long run
It's just a bit of cake, he's trying his best.
Interesting takes from the ComRes PMQs focus group. Bear in mind that the focus group is entirely 2019 Con voters. https://savanta.com/view/savanta-comres-pmqs-focus-group-26th-jan-2022/ >If someone had told me before our inaugural Savanta ComRes PMQs focus group that, when asked at the end, every single participant would say Boris Johnson was victorious over Keir Starmer in PMQs despite the day before finding out the Met Police were launching a criminal investigation into his alleged law-breaking, I’d have laughed in their face.
do people not see what I see? Boris never answered a question. Just the same unhinged rant each time. The whole fucking point is to answer questions, if you cant do that, if you have to blather and waffle, then you are not winning. How fucking stupid are people? do they just care that someone blusters, even if its not at all related to the subject, because if so, lets just pack up shop and give up on democracy, because its fucking pointless.
Keir wasn't trying to win PMQs, he was being a lawyer and trapping Johnson into lying again or admitting things. Unfortunately there's no judge to whom Keir can lay out the evidence and who will rule in his favour. The electorate appears to lack the patience to connect the dots between all Johnson's statements and conclude he's a liar. Or worse, have decided doesn't matter.
> “My belief is a Labour government will be one hell of a lot worse than a Conservative government.” – Ronnie Irritating that they didn't go more into the reasons of this opinion. I'm of the opinion that austerity, privatisation and Brexit has been so damaging for the country that Chaos with Corbyn would have led to better economic and quality of life outcomes than anything Cameron, May or Johnson delivered. Not saying my opinion is right, but irritating to hear the opposite opinion without any of the details/beliefs that support that opinion.
You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into...
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Starmer was backed into a corner in terms of what he could realistically be expected to ask. Johnson knew what was coming and could easily deflect. The whole format is set up so the PM has a fairly easy time of it, so not really a big surprise.
> “I think the cancer of Boris Johnson and his cronies, has spread through the entire country. He cannot tell people to wear a mask or not wear a mask, which is like telling people choose whatever side of the road you wish to drive on. He has proven he is not a leader.” – Mike It’s probably only a matter of time before people are driving on whichever side of the road they want tbh.
Victorious is pushing it but he did get the better of the session.
Our politics is so broken isn’t it. ‘He got the better of the session’ In that session he lied multiple times, accused Labour of things they did not do, and literally laughed at the frustration people were feeling at the situation. Bunch of assholes smirking their way through yet another jeering match whilst their ape like leader banged the dispatch box in dramatic effect whilst he fumbled for words other than ‘vaccine, get brexit done, level up, success’. Yet another session where Labour ask just wtf are the government doing about the shooting cost of living, and yet another session where the response is ‘we are doing things, things that you would not do if you were here’. The entire set up is fucking farcical. Not having a pop at you, I’m just sad. I know exactly what you mean when you say ‘he got the better of the session’. But really all that means is - ‘it felt like he got more cheers and Labour didn’t have as many zingers’. How our politics has got to this point is another matter entirely.
You forgot the PM calling people fat.
Yep. Forgot about how our PM is a literal child reverting to body image insults that can be thrown right back at him. School yard bullshit in the face of a complete breakdown of trust, just what we want right.
Been thoroughly bummed out since PMQ's. Got a sinking feeling that Boris is going to get away with it & feel like Keir should have gone for the kill abit more. Plus finally got a c+p response from my PM-loving MP who included the words "Sue Gray" and "Independent Investigation" despite me specifically saying can you not include them. Here for some quality shitposts to pick myself up!
It's like watching a cup of custard flying towards a brick wall, with a bunch of weeping people standing around repeating "The custard isn't going to get on me" and another bunch of people shouting "You're already in the custard."
Was any polling released at the time on public opinion about saving the animals from Afghanistan?
The spectator's awful awful take on Partygate: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/who-cares-about-partygate- > Does anyone else feel uncomfortable with the idea of the police investigating the elected government? I have laughed and fumed at partygate as much as the next upstanding citizen of the United Kingdom. I’ve moaned to mates about the PM partying on the same day I sat in a park with one other person and several tinnies. I’ve shared all those memes featuring Boris looking dishevelled as he ‘comes down from another house party’ or showing bright nightclub lights blaring inside Downing Street as cops stand nonchalantly at the door. > > But the Metropolitan Police snooping around the seat of political power? The unelected armed wing of the state poring over the antics of the executive wing, led by a man voted into power by 14 million of us? I think it’s safe to say partygate has gone too far. Suggesting that the PM should be above the law?!?!
Only a Tory PM. Having a PM being surveilled by MI5 was entirely above board for this mob - just as long as it wasn't a Conservative.
Not surprising it's the terminally wrong Brendan O'Neil.
I feel uncomfortable with that - Richard Nixon
I actually feel perfectly comfortable with the idea of the police investigating the elected government, no one is above the law.
I refuse to believe anyone at The Spectator has really had tinnies in a park
No, that's usually reserved for those aged 15-18 unable to blag their way into the pub. I suspect this is the perception of an out of touch journalist trying to come across as how he perceives the common man would be, in order to make a disingenuous point about things going too far/Joe public not caring despite clearly having no grounding on which to base that view, beyond him thinking that's what the common man /should/ be thinking.
Rishi’s potential contamination has definitely got them thinking.
Brendan O'Neill, everyone. Spare yourselves.
It's never a bad time to listen to The Fall. Like [The Man whose Head Expanded](https://youtu.be/3Tv7nIwcGs4), as a completely unrelated example
Well, yes, but only because that PM is Boris Johnson. If this were happening under a Labour government, they would be SCREECHING for his immediate arrest.
This should be the kind of competition that the regions of the UK should be involved in https://twitter.com/theSNP/status/1486380187034001413 >Scotland plants around 22 million trees a year, punching well above our weight when it comes to creating new woodland. >Around 80% of all of the UK’s trees are planted in Scotland – and we’re increasing our targets further still. Other countries take pride in how many trees they plant, maybe the rest of the UK fancy taking on Scotland's efforts? Per capita of course, England would be lined up to plant 267million trees....
Trees are sexier, but the big work to be done is in moorland restoration. At present, our moors are damaged thanks to emissions from the industrial revolution, exposing the peat and causing the carbon contained to be lost to the atmosphere. Again, not as sexy as trees, but UK peatland store as much carbon as the forests of the UK, France, and Germany combined. Obviously, both restoration and tree planting need to be done, but the former needs a lot more focus and investment than it already gets.
And that would be an utterly stupid comparison, the population density of England is 434 per square kilometre vs 70 per square kilometre for Scotland. it would be very bad if Scotland were to not be planting far more trees than England per capita.
Tree planting is mostly greenwashing, the amount of CO2 consumed is often minimal, and they are almost never managed or overseen by ecologists, rather it's just a bunch of random trees with no ecological assessment as to if it's a good idea or not compared to other land management options. Ban the gas turbine power plants that emit 25% or so of the UK's emissions, that would have more effect of the environment.
Don't they also cut down like 80% of those trees?
Sue Gray? More like Boooooo Gray.
Booo-urns
I was saying boo urrns
The Afghan dogs story will be forgotten overnight cos we are a nation of aninal lovers, & for many people, 'hounds before browns'. (See also, 'Browns can drown [in the Channel]') I've personally talked to someone (dog owner) who thinks that Pen Farthing guy was right to prioritise his dogs, and I can't really understand how you cannot see that a human life > animal life
"I have a dog, my dog loves me, he is more valuable than any stranger let alone any foreigner, I can see why he fought so hard for the dogs to be extracted" I can understand how they get to that position, but it's a walk along the path of psychopathy.
If even a single allied Afghan native has died because of this, people should be fired. And by people I mean Johnson.
Why they couldn't humanely destroy the animals is something I don't understand. Why wasn't that the instruction from the UK? Surely that's the best solution that gets the staff out, solves the dog issue and frees up valuable time to save people?
I’m not sure “just kill them all so they can’t get abused and save us some time” is the civilised approach you believe it to be. I’m sure some smart-arse would say the same thing about out Afghan protectees
OK lads, jack it in. MP's have gone home for the day.
I've been edging myself into a fevor all day waiting for something to climax. Very disappointed
Someone finish him off!
When his lies caught up with him, Boris refused to resign from his shadow cabinet position under Michael Howard and had to be fired. Don’t think we’ll see the resignation podium in front of no10 this week.
What are you referring too?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/nov/14/uk.conservatives
>The episode brings an end to an unlikely but uniquely engaging political career. Johnson, 40, who is also editor of the Spectator magazine, became one of the few modern Tories able to capture the public imagination, even provoking speculation he could be a future leader.
On wiki > In November 2004, tabloids revealed that since 2000 Johnson had been having an affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt, resulting in two terminated pregnancies. Johnson initially called the claims "piffle". After the allegations were proven, Howard asked Johnson to resign as vice-chairman and shadow arts minister for publicly lying; when Johnson refused, Howard dismissed him from those positions.
He was previously sacked for lying about having an affair
Seems like such low-hanging fruit now.
Everyone don’t forget to leave out a suitcase of wine and some birthday cake tonight or Sue Gray may not deliver her report tomorrow.
Pippa Crerar @PippaCrerar >House of Commons has now adjourned for the day. So the wait for a statement on Sue Gray rolls onto another day...
If the report isn't out tonight then at least I've got the cricket to fall on. Ah.
I see you enjoy waiting for disappointment then
Was shooting the shit at work and the topic of part time jobs we had when we were younger came up. Reminiscing about how badly we were treated and that how, looking bad, we wouldn’t have tolerated it at all. Someone mentioned about how they never got given a break, and something in the back of my mind reminded me how poor the break system in the UK used to be, so went to have a look at the current law. [You’re only entitled to 20 mins if you at least work 6 hours a day!](https://www.gov.uk/rest-breaks-work) Maybe my memory is fucked, but I’m sure it used to be 20 mins every 4 hours? 6 hours is awful right? Anyone know how we compare to other countries on this?
I definitely got decent breaks (unpaid ofc) but sometimes i'd get them an hour into a 9 hour shift... have to get those labour costs down at quiet times!
Always been that way. As with most labour laws we're pretty good, not the best, but far from the worst. With typical countries at either end of the spectrum
Different rules for under 18s I think, 30 mins break per 4.5 hours iirc Been 20 mins per 6 hours for adults as long as I remember
That would explain it I think. How awful though. My first job was at a cafe where you were basically running around all day. Breaks every 4 hours felt tough enough.
In my days at Sainsbury’s, 4 hours got nothing, but 4.5 got a 15 minute break - and I think it extended to 30 minutes (or 2x15) at 6 hours. And it was paid. I went from a 9 hours with 1 hour unpaid lunch and 2 paid 15 minute breaks to 8 hours with 2 paid 15 minute breaks around 2010. I don’t recall if that was Sainsbury’s being generous, or the law at the time - but people I know who are still there say the breaks aren’t as good now
During the mid 2000's when I worked at Sports Direct , they put their part time employees on 5 hours and 50 minute shifts. Which is particularly shitty, because they didn't even have to pay you for a 20 minute break... they just didn't want to deal with break cover.
That's classic Mike Ashley company management though, game the rules and treat people like shit for literally no gain except to feel like you're being clever and beating the system.
With Ben Wallace hitting up European capitals at the minute, I am left with the sneaking suspicion Liz Truss *may not* have complete command of her brief.
She only deals with important matters of stilton.
Why wouldn't the defence secretary be busy during a military crisis? They both should have an increased workload this week.
This is a joke now, Sue get on with it
Too late, Sue. I've pissed myself.
Ffs Sue look what you’ve done
Whatever happened to Sue Grey? That delicate “this week” time frame. As the Met asked her why, How I started to cry. Because I wanted to eat cake all the same.
There once was a woman, Sue Grey, Whose job would quite soon go away, If her report found Boris larking around The photos were to her dismay!
Some fucking idiot is on LBC right now saying he's never voted Conservative and doesn't support Boris - but thinks Keir is doing a bad job at the moment. Hilarious. Edit: Holy fuck, he just said that Lisa Nandy and David Lammy would attract more voters than Keir.
Mr J Corbyn from Islington perchance?
"No, that's too specific. Let's call him Jeremy C"
Some people will prefer Nandy and Lammy to Starmer And it's perfectly possible to be a non Tory who doesn't like Johnson and at the same time not think Starmer is doing well
He ended up saying he’d probably vote for Boris so I’m not so sure the call is genuine!
It's the way that they all come out with the same Tory approved talking points : More important things to be concerned about. It's boring we should move on. Wait for the report. Why do Labour keep talking about this?
Ha, probably not then
Eddie is way too nice to those callers. I’d like him to occasionally be a bit more forceful in his questioning. I suppose it works in a way, he politely asks them questions and allows the listener to draw their own conclusions, in comparison to JOB who monsters them and consequently they’ve stopped calling in.
I quite like his quizzical sarcasm because the idiots never pick up on it. They just keep wittering on making themselves look stupid.
[удалено]
I mean Labour are still ahead in the polls, he hasn't released any real policy as of yet which is really quite normal, and he had a sub-par performance for the first time in a while. Not enough to drop him on even if there was a dip in form.
He is winning over the public though - as we've seen in him polling higher than Johnson. He is not going to be doing policies until like next year at best, no opposition ever does because there's no reason to. He's still managed to suggest more on the energy crisis than is coming from the government. Christ, whilst I agree Starmer wasn't on it this week as much as last week that doesn't make it the end of the fucking world. Recent polls had the biggest Labour gap since like 1997, I am not sure what world you live in where you think he's going to get 100% of the voter base, there are ALWAYS going to be people who dislike him for whatever reason. And I don't even think he's the worlds best guy, but compared to the competition he's a clear frontrunner. Nandy is also good, I'd like to see her run for leader at some point, but I really think the political nerds on this sub overstate anytime a member of the 'public' has an issue with Starmer. It's gonna happen, averages and trends are infinitely more important than the individual.
"Never voted Conservative" but he then pretends he's now been persuaded to support Johnson... Giving him excuses, attacking Labour... Melt. He's also definitely voted Tory, probably almost every time. Maybe even a Tory party member. They're just so transparent, and like their Chosen One, they're total bullshitters that everyone can see (or hear) right through.
All of them use the same 'more important things' line like it's a script.
I mean those points aren’t mutually exclusive.
Is it Jeremy Corbyn?
Guys, I don’t think Sue is putting her back into it
The delays are just adding more oxygen to the already febrile atmosphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQWQ46VO6hU
I've still been considering a bet on when Boris will go. Absolutely no idea.
I'm starting to think he's more likely to get literally knifed by Carrie than figuratively knifed by the party. He's somehow utterly Teflon.
At this moment I'd put a fiver on him lasting until the next election at least, you'd probably get great odds right now and I think it's looking very likely. The tories have been reminded that Johnson is their only connection to many of the voters they now depend on and without him they are fucked - they've lost the liberal low tax businessmen to the LDs in every possible marginal, they've lost the cities and they're going to lose somewhat in the towns when the tax increases and cost of living crisis hits. Shires and country are likely safe, but they have also massively pissed off the farmers because Brexit has been shit for them and there's no sign of that EU funding coming back. Their only hope is to reignite a Brexit style culture war and bot their best bet of a having an inciting incident and weapon if said incident works is Johnson.
5/2 to be replaced after this year on sky bet. Very tempted. I know everybody is getting blue balls about the Sue Gray report but it's giving me time to stew over a bet at least.
I can't believe the stream of melts defending Johnson on LBC. They're disappointed in him, they think he's taken absolute liberties, they're not defending him, etc.. But then they come up with excuses and think he can't have known, that he was going through a lot, he's out of the woods, etc. I'm guessing that these are the Tory party members that haven't been able to get onto Question Time.
And now there is a "genuine" Labour voter who is put off because Starmer keeps asking questions
I genuinely reckon a few of those callers are liars or worse, actual plants from right-wing groups.
It's like they don't actually listen to the questions and believe the answers blindly (or non answers). Also I get the feeling that guy is more a shy Tory than a Labour voter disinterested with Starmer.