UK General Discussion:The Rt. Hon Alex Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Populist Hero

[GenerationTerrorist]

Away from the Tory clown car, it looks like we're in for a nasty heatwave, with the UK record temperature likely to be broken on Monday or Tuesday with 40C forecast to be recorded for the first time; in fact I wouldn't be surprised if the record (38.7C in Cambridge just three years ago) is broken on Monday and the new record is then beaten on Tuesday.

It is already unbearable. The NHS Trust I work for has mandated that we all wear masks again, because of the increase in Covid cases locally (something like 97% increase in the past 4 weeks) so Monday and Tuesday are going to be absolute murder in my Lab.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

This is a very random and off-topic (would have posted in Economics but no one reads that) question, but why does the UK government insist on reporting unemployment with only the raw numbers? I've noticed that in both the current day and the past, unemployment is always reported first and foremost with a raw number of unemployed and then you have to do a lot of digging to try to find the unemployment rate.

Telling me "unemployment rose to 2.7 million" doesn't really help me understand the true impact because in 1981 that was an unemployment rate of 12% and in 2011 that was just 8%. I need to know the denominator to give proper context, or at least just give me the rate.

/pedantry, sorry

[DINGO Joe]

oh my god she is so unbelievably hot

You don't prefer Morduant?

Truss is very passable tbf, though I do like her better when not doing a cosplay Thatcher act.

I'm pretty sure peenie has a Thatcher fetish

[Filuwaúrdjan]

This is a very random and off-topic (would have posted in Economics but no one reads that) question, but why does the UK government insist on reporting unemployment with only the raw numbers? I've noticed that in both the current day and the past, unemployment is always reported first and foremost with a raw number of unemployed and then you have to do a lot of digging to try to find the unemployment rate.

Tradition. It's like insisting on reporting on the size of an MPs majority at the last election in terms of raw numbers and not percentages. O/c unemployment stats in this country are now a complete joke.

[rc18]

This is a very random and off-topic (would have posted in Economics but no one reads that) question, but why does the UK government insist on reporting unemployment with only the raw numbers? I've noticed that in both the current day and the past, unemployment is always reported first and foremost with a raw number of unemployed and then you have to do a lot of digging to try to find the unemployment rate.

Telling me "unemployment rose to 2.7 million" doesn't really help me understand the true impact because in 1981 that was an unemployment rate of 12% and in 2011 that was just 8%. I need to know the denominator to give proper context, or at least just give me the rate.

/pedantry, sorry

Well, I doubt the government know the real denominator figure...

[Cassius]

oh my god she is so unbelievably hot

Are you sure? She looks like E.T in drag (although now that I think about it, that was in fact a plot point in the film).

[Progressive Pessimist]

That Thatcher cosplaying is the most desperate and embarrassing thing I've seen in awhile. And I just recently watched a Neil Breen movie.

[MABA 2020]

The Thatcher cosplaying is amusing, but honestly who in the Tory leadership election isn't trying to be Maggie.

[Torrain]

For our international viewers who are new to this sideshow, the weirdness of Liz Truss, public speaker, is a whole saga - likely amplified by the excessive speech coaching she appears to have received in recent years. Contrast her low-voice and odd intonation this week, with this speech from 2016:

Here, in one of the more persuasive speeches for the Remain camp, she’s a lot more dynamic, and more comfortable talking in her natural, higher register. It seems odd that she would hamper her own ability as a speaker - but there’s a reason she would go for professional assistance (beyond the fact that Thatcher did the same thing)…

Back in 2014, Truss gave a disastrous memorable speech to the Conservative Party Conference , when she was Secretary for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It’s packed full of surreal moments, so I’ll just leave you with a gif, and a link to the full thing at the end.

The speech resurfaces when Truss is appointed to a new role in the cabinet (even the Daily Mail, who want Truss to be PM have been known to post clips to earn some easy page views), and the whole incident remains a drag on her credibility. Even now, #porkmarkets is still full of jokes at Truss’s expense. Even BBC Radio 4 comedy programmes still paint her as “the cheese woman”. I’m not saying it’s *why* she went so hard into speech training - but it’s hard to imagine it didn’t play a role.

[GoTfan]

For our international viewers who are new to this sideshow, the weirdness of Liz Truss, public speaker, is a whole saga - likely amplified by the excessive speech coaching she appears to have received in recent years. Contrast her low-voice and odd intonation this week, with this speech from 2016:

Here, in one of the more persuasive speeches for the Remain camp, she’s a lot more dynamic, and more comfortable talking in her natural, higher register. It seems odd that she would hamper her own ability as a speaker - but there’s a reason she would go for professional assistance (beyond the fact that Thatcher did the same thing)…

Back in 2014, Truss gave a disastrous memorable speech to the Conservative Party Conference , when she was Secretary for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It’s packed full of surreal moments, so I’ll just leave you with a gif, and a link to the full thing at the end.

The speech resurfaces when Truss is appointed to a new role in the cabinet (even the Daily Mail, who want Truss to be PM have been known to post clips to earn some easy page views), and the whole incident remains a drag on her credibility. Even now, #porkmarkets is still full of jokes at Truss’s expense. Even BBC Radio 4 comedy programmes still paint her as “the cheese woman”. I’m not saying it’s *why* she went so hard into speech training - but it’s hard to imagine it didn’t play a role.

Just make sure she doesn't mention pork around Dave.

[CumbrianLefty]

Liz Truss and "pork" can form a few unfortunate double entendres too.

(especially given some of the rumours about her private life - Morduant has a relatively "interesting" one by usual Tory standards too)

[Antonio the Sixth]

Liz Truss and "pork" can form a few unfortunate double entendres too.

(especially given some of the rumours about her private life - Morduant has a relatively "interesting" one by usual Tory standards too)

Please give us the tea

[CumbrianLefty]

Liz Truss and "pork" can form a few unfortunate double entendres too.

(especially given some of the rumours about her private life - Morduant has a relatively "interesting" one by usual Tory standards too)

Please give us the tea

Well, there are limits to what can be said in a public forum. But the reported comment of one off the record Tory MP - "we don't need another sexually incontinent blonde as leader" - maybe sums it up.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Please give us the tea

Are you familiar with expression 'office bike'?

Of course it's more than a bit unfair that this is the sort of thing that tends to be held more against women than men - there have been leaders of both main parties recently with similar reputations (including o/c Johnson) and it never hurt either - but that's the society that we live in.

[CumbrianLefty]

Johnson is a bit of an extreme outlier even amongst male political leaders in this regard tbh.

(I think you might have to go back to Lloyd George to get a comparable senior figure)

[Torrain]

Please give us the tea

It has also been suggested that when Truss gets down to business, sometimes that includes energy and industrial strategy.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

(I think you might have to go back to Lloyd George to get a comparable senior figure)

Whose... er... exploits... were on a sufficient scale that the bizarre stereotype amongst upper and upper middle class people in England about Welsh men being rampant sexual predators who love nothing more than to have an affair with other people's wives dates to his time in national politics and not a moment earlier.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Please give us the tea

It has also been suggested that when Truss gets down to business, sometimes that includes energy and industrial strategy.

Niche joke, but I got it and laughed.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I see. Honestly the double standard is enough of a problem in itself that I might be inclined to count it as a feminism win if she does get the job despite that (at least assuming there's no particularly bad power dynamic at play).

[brucejoel99]

"coincidence."

https://twitter.com/LouisHenwood/status/1548047108363628548

If it's Liz, a new megathread title should be "UK Gen. Discussion: The Premiership of Britain's #1 Mummy Maggie Cosplayer"

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1549037778188615683

[Joe Republic]

Its actually a mildly interesting trivia question - Sunak would be the shortest PM since when exactly?

Thatcher was 5'5 compared to Sunak's 5'7, but was also a woman, so… Churchill's 5'6 is the next best answer.

[brucejoel99]

The Commons has expressed confidence in HM Government by a vote of 349-238.

[Torrain]

The Commons has expressed confidence in HM Government by a vote of 349-238.

The interesting thing here is probably the disparity in attendance. Only 9 Tories off the map (if they’re the only ones voting Aye), but around 40 opposition MPs AWOL. Guess the whipping teams had different priorities in different parties. Understandable given the heat, and the poor health of a number of our more elderly parliamentarians - although the Tories two oldest MPs pitched up to debate, so it can’t be too bad in the Palace of Westminster.

Also, curious to see what the DUP did - did they carry on the old tradition of voting with the government, as during Confidence and Supply (which would suggest more Tory abstentions)?
Did Johnson’s approach to the NI Protocol piss them off enough that they voted against? Or did they just abstain? Only one of their MPs spoke in the debate, and it was just a plea for civility (which, I know, DUP - it’s ironic).

[YL]

The Commons has expressed confidence in HM Government by a vote of 349-238.

The interesting thing here is probably the disparity in attendance. Only 9 Tories off the map (if they’re the only ones voting Aye), but around 40 opposition MPs AWOL. Guess the whipping teams had different priorities in different parties. Understandable given the heat, and the poor health of a number of our more elderly parliamentarians - although the Tories two oldest MPs pitched up to debate, so it can’t be too bad in the Palace of Westminster.

Also, curious to see what the DUP did - did they carry on the old tradition of voting with the government, as during Confidence and Supply (which would suggest more Tory abstentions)?
Did Johnson’s approach to the NI Protocol piss them off enough that they voted against? Or did they just abstain? Only one of their MPs spoke in the debate, and it was just a plea for civility (which, I know, DUP - it’s ironic).

The DUP voted for confidence (well six of them did, the other two abstaining).