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

[Conservatopia]

In the 1990s, Labour was in a much better position though to capitalise on all this.

The strongest way to capitalise now is to keep saying ‘11 years in government… instead of fixing x they’re protecting their rich mates’.

I don't know what you've found but I've found the "11 years in government" thing isn't really seen that way - maybe partly because of the changes in PM and policy that have happened during that period.  Not to mention that 5 of those years were in coalition.  It's an interesting phenomenon because somehow people don't seem to have become as fatigued of the Tories as they frankly should have by now.

[Geoffrey Howe]

In the 1990s, Labour was in a much better position though to capitalise on all this.

The strongest way to capitalise now is to keep saying ‘11 years in government… instead of fixing x they’re protecting their rich mates’.

I agree about the first part, but the second...when has Labour not been saying that?

[beesley]

In the 1990s, Labour was in a much better position though to capitalise on all this.

The strongest way to capitalise now is to keep saying ‘11 years in government… instead of fixing x they’re protecting their rich mates’.

I don't know what you've found but I've found the "11 years in government" thing isn't really seen that way - maybe partly because of the changes in PM and policy that have happened during that period.  Not to mention that 5 of those years were in coalition.  It's an interesting phenomenon because somehow people don't seem to have become as fatigued of the Tories as they frankly should have by now.

Thing is it's not been 11 years since the last 'vote for change', which although isn't really a conscious thing in voters minds, could go some way to explain it.

[CumbrianLefty]

We all understand the the present Tory incarnation in particular have had some success in presenting themselves as a somehow entirely "new" government - however, its also fair to say the passivity of both media and opposition in the face of this hasn't been terribly helpful.

Labour pointing out they have been in government for 11 years now is both good tactics, and totally factually correct. Which never does any harm

[LAB-LIB]

Time for another Back to Basics campaign! What could possibly go wrong?

[Conservatopia]

Politicians right now are all feining shock at this government's corruption - and they're not wrong because it is a real problem.  But as someone who works with local government every day and in an industry adjacent to *construction* no less - the UK is not the nation of upstanding hard workers we like to think it is.  It's corrupt from the bottom to the top and frankly the rot is what helps the wheels go round.  Not fun for those of us in the industry however that try not to be corrupt.

[Silent Hunter]

Politicians right now are all feining shock at this government's corruption - and they're not wrong because it is a real problem.  But as someone who works with local government every day and in an industry adjacent to *construction* no less - the UK is not the nation of upstanding hard workers we like to think it is.  It's corrupt from the bottom to the top and frankly the rot is what helps the wheels go round.  Not fun for those of us in the industry however that try not to be corrupt.

To be honest, none of us are as good as we like to think we are. The difference is that the politicians have more power to play with.

[Blair]

Funny to see that Cox is front page news for his outside earning as a barrister overseas, as this has been known for a number of years!

He defended the former speaker of the Cayman Assembly in 2014.

The real issue in my view isn’t that Cox is getting paid (he’s a talented QC) but rather how many other MPs are getting consulting jobs that they clearly wouldn’t get without the magic letters behind their name.

[Property Representative of the Harold Holt Swimming Centre]

Williamson is now the numbers man for Jeremy Hunt, according to the Mirror. Probably tabloid gossip to some extent, but just about the only thing Williamson is good at is Tory parliamentary arithmetic - he was a pretty good Chief Whip and ran the campaigns of both May and Johnson.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Williamson is now the numbers man for Jeremy Hunt, according to the Mirror. Probably tabloid gossip to some extent, but just about the only thing Williamson is good at is Tory parliamentary arithmetic - he was a pretty good Chief Whip and ran the campaigns of both May and Johnson.

Who the heck is going to prefer Jeremy Hunt (a man most known for an unfortunate rhyme with his name) over Boris ?

[YL]

Funny to see that Cox is front page news for his outside earning as a barrister overseas, as this has been known for a number of years!

He defended the former speaker of the Cayman Assembly in 2014.

The real issue in my view isn’t that Cox is getting paid (he’s a talented QC) but rather how many other MPs are getting consulting jobs that they clearly wouldn’t get without the magic letters behind their name.

One attack line here is the usual "part time MP" one, but the other thing is the tax haven aspect.

[CumbrianLefty]

Williamson is now the numbers man for Jeremy Hunt, according to the Mirror. Probably tabloid gossip to some extent, but just about the only thing Williamson is good at is Tory parliamentary arithmetic - he was a pretty good Chief Whip and ran the campaigns of both May and Johnson.

Who the heck is going to prefer Jeremy Hunt (a man most known for an unfortunate rhyme with his name) over Boris ?

Well as a starting point, over a third of Tory members did so even in 2019.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Williamson is now the numbers man for Jeremy Hunt, according to the Mirror. Probably tabloid gossip to some extent, but just about the only thing Williamson is good at is Tory parliamentary arithmetic - he was a pretty good Chief Whip and ran the campaigns of both May and Johnson.

Who the heck is going to prefer Jeremy Hunt (a man most known for an unfortunate rhyme with his name) over Boris ?

Hunt ran a pretty competent leadership campaign with an attractive pitch on social care and (as BoJo once could) can present himself as an outsider while remaining prominent because of his Health & Social Care committee chairmanship.

He’s probably too much of a wet to win (and a challenge looks really unlikely in the short-to-medium term), but he has gone with the party’s flow on Brexit and should not be dismissed out of hand.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Williamson is now the numbers man for Jeremy Hunt, according to the Mirror. Probably tabloid gossip to some extent, but just about the only thing Williamson is good at is Tory parliamentary arithmetic - he was a pretty good Chief Whip and ran the campaigns of both May and Johnson.

Who the heck is going to prefer Jeremy Hunt (a man most known for an unfortunate rhyme with his name) over Boris ?

Hunt ran a pretty competent leadership campaign with an attractive pitch on social care and (as BoJo once could) can present himself as an outsider while remaining prominent because of his Health & Social Care committee chairmanship.

He’s probably too much of a wet to win (and a challenge looks really unlikely in the short-to-medium term), but he has gone with the party’s flow on Brexit and should not be dismissed out of hand.

Wasn't he pretty aggressive about NHS cost-cutting ? will that really play well with the electorate around now?

[Zinneke]

Politicians right now are all feining shock at this government's corruption - and they're not wrong because it is a real problem.  But as someone who works with local government every day and in an industry adjacent to *construction* no less - the UK is not the nation of upstanding hard workers we like to think it is.  It's corrupt from the bottom to the top and frankly the rot is what helps the wheels go round.  Not fun for those of us in the industry however that try not to be corrupt.

The evangelical says that but the evangelical will still put a cross next to his godless, hooker-hiring, shyster Tory MP because its better to "own the left" and "be a winner" than it is to have a satanic Labour government.

Its why the evangelical will burn in hell.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Williamson is now the numbers man for Jeremy Hunt, according to the Mirror. Probably tabloid gossip to some extent, but just about the only thing Williamson is good at is Tory parliamentary arithmetic - he was a pretty good Chief Whip and ran the campaigns of both May and Johnson.

Who the heck is going to prefer Jeremy Hunt (a man most known for an unfortunate rhyme with his name) over Boris ?

Hunt ran a pretty competent leadership campaign with an attractive pitch on social care and (as BoJo once could) can present himself as an outsider while remaining prominent because of his Health & Social Care committee chairmanship.

He’s probably too much of a wet to win (and a challenge looks really unlikely in the short-to-medium term), but he has gone with the party’s flow on Brexit and should not be dismissed out of hand.

Wasn't he pretty aggressive about NHS cost-cutting ? will that really play well with the electorate around now?

He got a bad rap over the “reorganisation” of the NHS, but that’s not going to be nearly as much of a problem in a leadership election as it will be for him in a general election.

The passage of a decade may shield him, to an extent, from effective criticism, but I think it will be a problem for him should he ever become leader.

[Conservatopia]

Politicians right now are all feining shock at this government's corruption - and they're not wrong because it is a real problem.  But as someone who works with local government every day and in an industry adjacent to *construction* no less - the UK is not the nation of upstanding hard workers we like to think it is.  It's corrupt from the bottom to the top and frankly the rot is what helps the wheels go round.  Not fun for those of us in the industry however that try not to be corrupt.

The evangelical says that but the evangelical will still put a cross next to his godless, hooker-hiring, shyster Tory MP because its better to "own the left" and "be a winner" than it is to have a satanic Labour government.

Its why the evangelical will burn in hell.

Excuse me?

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Can I ask why UK parties find it hard to recruit canidates local to the areas they're contesting, all 3 major parties seem to commonly pick random activists often from very far counstieunces are located to contest them.

Is there any particular reason for this ?

[CumbrianLefty]

I would say that is actually less true now than it used to be.

[YL]

Can I ask why UK parties find it hard to recruit canidates local to the areas they're contesting, all 3 major parties seem to commonly pick random activists often from very far counstieunces are located to contest them.

Is there any particular reason for this ?

To the extent that it is true, the answer will be that voters in general don't care enough for them not to, and ambitious politicians will want a safe seat, which may not be so easy to find locally.

[YL]

Politicians right now are all feining shock at this government's corruption - and they're not wrong because it is a real problem.  But as someone who works with local government every day and in an industry adjacent to *construction* no less - the UK is not the nation of upstanding hard workers we like to think it is.  It's corrupt from the bottom to the top and frankly the rot is what helps the wheels go round.  Not fun for those of us in the industry however that try not to be corrupt.

The evangelical says that but the evangelical will still put a cross next to his godless, hooker-hiring, shyster Tory MP because its better to "own the left" and "be a winner" than it is to have a satanic Labour government.

Its why the evangelical will burn in hell.

This seems a bit personal.

FWIW American style political Evangelicalism isn't really a thing in the UK.  I think the two Evangelicals I know best both voted Lib Dem in the last election.  (One told me he did, and the other very much hinted at it.  And they don't know each other and live in different constituencies, in neither of which were the Lib Dems competitive.)

[gerritcole]

Can I ask why UK parties find it hard to recruit canidates local to the areas they're contesting, all 3 major parties seem to commonly pick random activists often from very far counstieunces are located to contest them.

Is there any particular reason for this ?

All labour is from London so they have to parachute in to other places  😉

[NewYorkExpress]

Apparently a trio of MP's were caught getting drunk on a visit to troops in Gibraltar and have been called out by Ben Wallace.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will write to Labour and the SNP to express disappointment over the alleged poor behaviour of some of their MPs on a visit to troops in Gibraltar.

A witness told the BBC two SNP MPs drank very heavily on the journey and were inebriated on arrival.

The account was rejected by the SNP, who called the accusations "false".

A Labour MP has also been accused of drinking with the two SNP MPs. The party hasn't yet commented.

Mr Wallace said the alleged conduct "risks undermining respect for Parliament".

.....

The witness said the three MPs in question drank in the airport lounge before departure then drank heavily on the flight.

[NewYorkExpress]

Cambridge University blacklists an art historian after he offends students with a Hitler parody.

Cambridge Union president Keir Bradwell announced a new blacklist after Andrew Graham-Dixon spoke at the event.

Mr Graham-Dixon said he was trying to "underline the utterly evil nature of Hitler" but apologised for offending.

Mr Bradwell, who joked about the speech directly afterwards, has since apologised to members.

While presiding over the debate, he said he was "quite drunk".

Afterwards he said he had had two glasses of wine with dinner beforehand but was "not impeded in my ability to chair the debate".

However, he said it was "inexcusable" that he had not halted the parody.

The society, which aims to promote free speech through discussion, had been holding a debate on the concept of good taste on November 4.

In a letter, published on Facebook, Mr Bradwell said Mr Graham-Dixon offended members when he used Hitler's "deplorable" words about Jewish and black people in his speech.

In a statement, Mr Graham-Dixon said: "In my speech I caricatured him (Hitler), briefly, paraphrasing HIS crass and insensitive statements about art and race.

[morgieb]

Politicians right now are all feining shock at this government's corruption - and they're not wrong because it is a real problem.  But as someone who works with local government every day and in an industry adjacent to *construction* no less - the UK is not the nation of upstanding hard workers we like to think it is.  It's corrupt from the bottom to the top and frankly the rot is what helps the wheels go round.  Not fun for those of us in the industry however that try not to be corrupt.

The evangelical says that but the evangelical will still put a cross next to his godless, hooker-hiring, shyster Tory MP because its better to "own the left" and "be a winner" than it is to have a satanic Labour government.

Its why the evangelical will burn in hell.

This seems a bit personal.

FWIW American style political Evangelicalism isn't really a thing in the UK.  I think the two Evangelicals I know best both voted Lib Dem in the last election.  (One told me he did, and the other very much hinted at it.  And they don't know each other and live in different constituencies, in neither of which were the Lib Dems competitive.)

Is it at all a thing outside of the US?