This Wretched Hive Of Scum And Villainy

[Torrain]

Per Shapps this evening, they’re not even banning them, just instituting a policy discouraging them. Which ironically means that the Scottish Parliament, (which actually did ban rainbow lanyards as part of an culture war subplot a few months back) now has a harder line on pride flags than the Tories. Weird times we live in.

That aside, the truly frustrating thing our “Minister for Common Sense” did today was take a victory lap for reducing the number of international postgrad students coming here. That’s going to squeeze academic research and the entire postgrad sector, which is one of the few unscathed corners of our economy. And it’s not just that she doesn’t care, she’s *revelling* in it.

If ever we needed a Tatton 1997 redux, it’s now. 

[TheTide]

Per Shapps this evening, they’re not even banning them, just instituting a policy discouraging them. Which ironically means that the Scottish Parliament, (which actually did ban rainbow lanyards as part of an culture war subplot a few months back) now has a harder line on pride flags than the Tories. Weird times we live in.

That aside, the truly frustrating thing our “Minister for Common Sense” did today was take a victory lap for reducing the number of international postgrad students coming here. That’s going to squeeze academic research and the entire postgrad sector, which is one of the few unscathed corners of our economy. And it’s not just that she doesn’t care, she’s *revelling* in it.

If ever we needed a Tatton 1997 redux, it’s now. 

Who would be the Martin Bell figure? A broadly respected BBC figure. Nick Robinson is the first to spring to mind - his wet Tory background might play well in this seat.

Tatton is of course one of those constituencies that constantly has high-profile people representing it. Its four MPs have been Neil Hamilton, Martin Bell, George Osborne and Esther McVey.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Can someone translate this to me, because I am completely confused.

[WD]

Per Shapps this evening, they’re not even banning them, just instituting a policy discouraging them. Which ironically means that the Scottish Parliament, (which actually did ban rainbow lanyards as part of an culture war subplot a few months back) now has a harder line on pride flags than the Tories. Weird times we live in.

That aside, the truly frustrating thing our “Minister for Common Sense” did today was take a victory lap for reducing the number of international postgrad students coming here. That’s going to squeeze academic research and the entire postgrad sector, which is one of the few unscathed corners of our economy. And it’s not just that she doesn’t care, she’s *revelling* in it.

If ever we needed a Tatton 1997 redux, it’s now. 

What do Labour’s chances look like in Tatton?

[Torrain]

What do Labour’s chances look like in Tatton?

Basically zero. Tories can win 10k majorities there in years as dire as 2001. Doesn't help that the opposition vote often splits fairly evenly between Lab and Lib Dem. 1997 was a real black-swan event, I was just being a bit of a d*ck about how much McVey annoys me.

Nick Robinson is the first to spring to mind - his wet Tory background might play well in this seat.

This I would pay to see though.

[Torrain]

Can someone translate this to me, because I am completely confused.

Which part?

[TheTide]

On rainbow lanyards - I got funny looks and overheard one or two mutterings such as "oh, he's gay!" when I wore one on my university campus. This was within the past decade and it was in a fairly 'Woke' area.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1791080850831868299

[CumbrianLefty]

Its too late in this parliament for the recall process to end in a byelection - but in the rather unlikely event that Maynard resigns as an MP in the coming days, we might just be able to squeeze another in.

[Oryxslayer]

I... I... I...

Did the head of the Lancashire conservative party offend a genie or something?

The geographical issue is just extraordinary by this point.

This geographic concentration again somehow a thing.

[Torrain]

Chris Heaton-Harris is standing down at the next election. Held a succession of junior ministerial posts, before becoming Johnson’s final Chief Whip in early 2022. Sent to the Northern Ireland Office by Truss, where he’s been ever since. Fair number of missteps in his time, but his low-key (some would say boring, I’m in no place to judge) style seems to have largely shielded him.

His Daventry constituency has been Conservative since its 1974 creation, with a 26k majority in 2019. Even taking current polling and boundary changes into consideration, it’s likely to be a fairly safe bet for the party this year. I assume we’ll see the usual suspects decamp in the next couple of weeks.

[CumbrianLefty]

Recall chatting with him on CompuServe c25 years ago.

[Torrain]

Craig Mackinlay’s composure, and candour, is remarkable.

[TheTide]

Craig Mackinlay’s composure, and candour, is remarkable.

Horrible, horrifying story.