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

[morgieb]

Be interesting to see who takes over. Probably Truss has to be the favourite if Sunak has self-imploded. Which I don't think is good news for the Tories as I struggle to see who she appeals to that's not already solidly in the Tory camp.

[ingemann]

Looks like Dishy Rishi is implicated in this one, too. Its not been a great few days for him.

I see Sunaks fate as becoming one of those "prime ministers we never had" as opposed to prime minister.

Seems to be preferable to him becoming PM likely also for his reputation. Honestly even if he would be great, the Conservatives are running on fumes, if Boris Johnson falls his Conservative successor will spend until the election dealing with the mess Johnson has left behind. There will likely still be people willing to take the job, because there's a good chance that the next Conservative government will be closer to 2040 than 2030. 

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Be interesting to see who takes over. Probably Truss has to be the favourite if Sunak has self-imploded. Which I don't think is good news for the Tories as I struggle to see who she appeals to that's not already solidly in the Tory camp.

Win back lib dem defectors ?

[beesley]

Be interesting to see who takes over. Probably Truss has to be the favourite if Sunak has self-imploded. Which I don't think is good news for the Tories as I struggle to see who she appeals to that's not already solidly in the Tory camp.

Win back lib dem defectors ?

I don't see many people who defected from the Tories to the Lib Dems in 2019 necessarily coming back to the Tories (apart from various wealthy people) at this stage without the Tories also being strong enough to win back other voters too, which Liz Truss is not the go-to person for. But that's only my opinion.

[Blair]

I still feel that someone like Javid or Zahawi is very under-priced if you want someone A.) From the Cabinet B.) Not a wet C.) Not electorally toxic D.) Not damaged in the infighting.

[CumbrianLefty]

Looks like Dishy Rishi is implicated in this one, too. Its not been a great few days for him.

I see Sunaks fate as becoming one of those "prime ministers we never had" as opposed to prime minister.

Vastly less interesting than Portillo, Heseltine, Butler, Benn, Bevan, Bevin, Mosley, Powell, Corbyn, Clarke, Healey...

Not to mention Gaitskell, Kinnock, Smith, Miliband.....

[Conservatopia]

Looks like Dishy Rishi is implicated in this one, too. Its not been a great few days for him.

I see Sunaks fate as becoming one of those "prime ministers we never had" as opposed to prime minister.

Vastly less interesting than Portillo, Heseltine, Butler, Benn, Bevan, Bevin, Mosley, Powell, Corbyn, Clarke, Healey...

Not to mention Gaitskell, Kinnock, Smith, Miliband.....

Or Swinson...

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Looks like Dishy Rishi is implicated in this one, too. Its not been a great few days for him.

I see Sunaks fate as becoming one of those "prime ministers we never had" as opposed to prime minister.

Vastly less interesting than Portillo, Heseltine, Butler, Benn, Bevan, Bevin, Mosley, Powell, Corbyn, Clarke, Healey...

Not to mention Gaitskell, Kinnock, Smith, Miliband.....

Or Swinson...

Or Thorpe..

[TheTide]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Ministers-We-Never-Had/dp/1838952411

No, I'm not Steve Richards.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Ministers-We-Never-Had/dp/1838952411

No, I'm not Steve Richards.

Not worth reading tbh. very banal commentary.

[beesley]

A minor detail: we have our first Minister from the 2019 intake. Andrew Griffith is the unpaid Parliamentary Under Secretary for Policy at the Cabinet Office, to support Steve Barclay and free up room for him.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

A minor detail: we have our first Minister from the 2019 intake. Andrew Griffith is the unpaid Parliamentary Under Secretary for Policy at the Cabinet Office, to support Steve Barclay and free up room for him.

Generally what determines if a new MP becomes a minister or becomes Lobby Fodder? What's the actual selection process ?

[MaxQue]

A minor detail: we have our first Minister from the 2019 intake. Andrew Griffith is the unpaid Parliamentary Under Secretary for Policy at the Cabinet Office, to support Steve Barclay and free up room for him.

Generally what determines if a new MP becomes a minister or becomes Lobby Fodder? What's the actual selection process ?

Well, Griffith was a Johnson staffer before being elected and his large house was the Johnson leadership campaign HQ.

[Conservatopia]

A minor detail: we have our first Minister from the 2019 intake. Andrew Griffith is the unpaid Parliamentary Under Secretary for Policy at the Cabinet Office, to support Steve Barclay and free up room for him.

Generally what determines if a new MP becomes a minister or becomes Lobby Fodder? What's the actual selection process ?

Cronies.

[beesley]

A minor detail: we have our first Minister from the 2019 intake. Andrew Griffith is the unpaid Parliamentary Under Secretary for Policy at the Cabinet Office, to support Steve Barclay and free up room for him.

Generally what determines if a new MP becomes a minister or becomes Lobby Fodder? What's the actual selection process ?

If the operative word is process, he was appointed by Boris Johnson and that was Johnson's prerogative to do so (technically the monarch appoints ministers). If that was not the intended question, I concur with what Conservatopia and MaxQue said. Griffith was also the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Boris Johnson personally. Previous holders of that role include Gavin Williamson who was Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Cameron, and got a lot of good and did a lot of bad as a result.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A minor detail: we have our first Minister from the 2019 intake. Andrew Griffith is the unpaid Parliamentary Under Secretary for Policy at the Cabinet Office, to support Steve Barclay and free up room for him.

Generally what determines if a new MP becomes a minister or becomes Lobby Fodder? What's the actual selection process ?

If the operative word is process, he was appointed by Boris Johnson and that was Johnson's prerogative to do so (technically the monarch appoints ministers). If that was not the intended question, I concur with what Conservatopia and MaxQue said. Griffith was also the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Boris Johnson personally. Previous holders of that role include Gavin Williamson who was Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Cameron, and got a lot of good and did a lot of bad as a result.

A huge amount of politics anywhere is about networking. Were you the son or daughter of a politician, did you work for a politician in their office or on their campaigns, etc.
It shouldn't be too surprising that the guy whose house serves as HQ for BoJo's leadership campaign becomes the first minister among his intake, serving BoJo in his cabinet.

[Silent Hunter]

Lord Falconer was Tony Blair's flat mate.

[beesley]

More recently Rebecca Long-Bailey and Angela Rayner were flatmates. Their flat didn't quite turn out to be the Granita, did it?

[Zinneke]

A minor detail: we have our first Minister from the 2019 intake. Andrew Griffith is the unpaid Parliamentary Under Secretary for Policy at the Cabinet Office, to support Steve Barclay and free up room for him.

Generally what determines if a new MP becomes a minister or becomes Lobby Fodder? What's the actual selection process ?

If the operative word is process, he was appointed by Boris Johnson and that was Johnson's prerogative to do so (technically the monarch appoints ministers). If that was not the intended question, I concur with what Conservatopia and MaxQue said. Griffith was also the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Boris Johnson personally. Previous holders of that role include Gavin Williamson who was Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Cameron, and got a lot of good and did a lot of bad as a result.

A huge amount of politics anywhere is about networking. Were you the son or daughter of a politician, did you work for a politician in their office or on their campaigns, etc.
It shouldn't be too surprising that the guy whose house serves as HQ for BoJo's leadership campaign becomes the first minister among his intake, serving BoJo in his cabinet.

It shouldn't be a surprise. But at the same time if I could put down the Western political class's decline to one factor it would be the slow and gradual re-aristocratization of the whole thing.  With University as a (shoddy) veil for "Meritocracy".

[beesley]

Looks like Dishy Rishi is implicated in this one, too. Its not been a great few days for him.

I see Sunaks fate as becoming one of those "prime ministers we never had" as opposed to prime minister.

Vastly less interesting than Portillo, Heseltine, Butler, Benn, Bevan, Bevin, Mosley, Powell, Corbyn, Clarke, Healey...

Not to mention Gaitskell, Kinnock, Smith, Miliband.....

Or Swinson...

Well she actually did become Prime Minister. She's a woman of her word.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A minor detail: we have our first Minister from the 2019 intake. Andrew Griffith is the unpaid Parliamentary Under Secretary for Policy at the Cabinet Office, to support Steve Barclay and free up room for him.

Generally what determines if a new MP becomes a minister or becomes Lobby Fodder? What's the actual selection process ?

If the operative word is process, he was appointed by Boris Johnson and that was Johnson's prerogative to do so (technically the monarch appoints ministers). If that was not the intended question, I concur with what Conservatopia and MaxQue said. Griffith was also the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Boris Johnson personally. Previous holders of that role include Gavin Williamson who was Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Cameron, and got a lot of good and did a lot of bad as a result.

A huge amount of politics anywhere is about networking. Were you the son or daughter of a politician, did you work for a politician in their office or on their campaigns, etc.
It shouldn't be too surprising that the guy whose house serves as HQ for BoJo's leadership campaign becomes the first minister among his intake, serving BoJo in his cabinet.

It shouldn't be a surprise. But at the same time if I could put down the Western political class's decline to one factor it would be the slow and gradual re-aristocratization of the whole thing.  With University as a (shoddy) veil for "Meritocracy".

In the long run, the tumult of the 20th century was always going to subsist someway or another, and once things settle, then the grounds are perfect for the current political class to slowly turn into a new aristocratic class through sheer inertia.
Of course, in Britain, that de-aristocratization of politics probably never really happened in the first place, because Britain's aristocracy was never dislodged from the political arena in the first place.

[Blair]

At risk of going to the Tower am I the only one who thought the recent announcement from the Queen was rather a sign of where they expect things to be going over the next year or two...

It has been widely reported in the past but I can't help but wonder if it was done to avoid the rather unseemly chance of it being done right at the last minute.

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

At risk of going to the Tower am I the only one who thought the recent announcement from the Queen was rather a sign of where they expect things to be going over the next year or two...

It has been widely reported in the past but I can't help but wonder if it was done to avoid the rather unseemly chance of it being done right at the last minute.

Tbh, when you’re her age, just about anything can kill you. Probably better to issue such a proclamation sooner rather than later, but I don’t think it’s really a sign of anything imminent regarding her health.

[Flyersfan232]

At risk of going to the Tower am I the only one who thought the recent announcement from the Queen was rather a sign of where they expect things to be going over the next year or two...

It has been widely reported in the past but I can't help but wonder if it was done to avoid the rather unseemly chance of it being done right at the last minute.

Tbh, when you’re her age, just about anything can kill you. Probably better to issue such a proclamation sooner rather than later, but I don’t think it’s really a sign of anything imminent regarding her health.

I hope she beat Louis XV record before she go would be fitting end to a reigns off topic ish when Charles becomes between the death to coronations that have any effect on the pm approvals ratings at all?

[Flyersfan232]

At risk of going to the Tower am I the only one who thought the recent announcement from the Queen was rather a sign of where they expect things to be going over the next year or two...

It has been widely reported in the past but I can't help but wonder if it was done to avoid the rather unseemly chance of it being done right at the last minute.

It weird cause she look alright in all the videos but you know she be dead with in 5 years most likely still had to happen at some point some to note for the British and commonwealth citizens it’s more likely then not the song god save the queen won’t be official ever again in our lifetimes. Off topic to this in the future Sweden and Belgium will both have queen Elizabeth and Victoria so that something.