UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[brucejoel99]

"Truss didn't speak to you once in 49 days. I spoke to you in just enough time for the Ten O'Clock News of my first. We are not the same."

https://twitter.com/rishisunak/status/1585011876710084608

[Torrain]

Why is Braverman back as Home Sec? Sunak offered her the job this weekend in exchange for her endorsement — key moment in his path to No10 — sources confirm  But Shapps was also led to believe he’d be kept on… and had to settle for Beis

Sunak literally did a House of Cards to Shapps, one of his better unofficial whips, who spent most of the past month undermining the last PM.

What was Truss’ original sin in Shapps’ eyes? Passing him over for a cabinet post.

[brucejoel99]

Sunak literally did a House of Cards to Shapps

Oh god, that means PM Shapps by the end of '23.

[Torrain]

Sunak literally did a House of Cards to Shapps

Oh god, that means PM Shapps by the end of '23.

You might say that - I couldn’t possibly comment.

[RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm]

"Truss didn't speak to you once in 49 days. I spoke to you in just enough time for the Ten O'Clock News of my first. We are not the same."

https://twitter.com/rishisunak/status/1585011876710084608

The Welsh title for the Welsh First Minister has given me a new username idea lol.

[Torrain]

"Truss didn't speak to you once in 49 days. I spoke to you in just enough time for the Ten O'Clock News of my first. We are not the same."

https://twitter.com/rishisunak/status/1585011876710084608

The Welsh title for the Welsh First Minister has given me a new username idea lol.

“You ain’t nothing but a (Prif) Weinidog, Cymru all the time”

… I’m sorry.

[Coldstream]

Not sure how long Braverman lasts. While this storm will (probably) pass, I still struggle to see her lasting the full parliament. Patel could be inflammatory, but she also had an off-button. Braverman has been a fire-starter for so long (literally building her political brand around it). I think she's going to make Sunak the third PM in a row to live to regret appointing her (see her announcing a leadership campaign from within Johnson's cabinet, and crippling Truss' authority at the end of an already damaging day).

If you come into office, and even the Lib Dems have decent material pre-written (“Glad to see the Home Office now believes in the rehabilitation of offenders”), things aren't exactly off to a great start.

Fourth I’d argue, since she resigned from May’s government too at the same time as Raab.

Braverman follows in a long tradition of people promoted for their ability to attract publicity rather than to get things done.

I think this reshuffle shows a surprising lack of strength from Sunak, restoring Braverman & retaining Cleverly despite their uselessness is a big move - I’d have bet on Simon Clarke staying ahead of those two for the symbolism of a Red Wall MP in the cabinet. He also only promoted a handful of loyalists: Harper, Stride being the only two without recent cabinet experience - and the others like Shapps, Jenrick, Dowden & Williamson all got lower offices than they’d have felt entitled to.

I suspect he’s aiming for it to be like Starmer’s original shadow cabinet, just about ensuring short term stability and he’ll reshuffle out Braverman, Cleverly, Coffey & perhaps demote Hunt in the new year - but it’s a surprising line up to me.

[TheTide]

Labour will be hoping that Williamson gets regularly wheeled out to the airwaves. Possibly the worst media performer to have ever held a cabinet position.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Labour will be hoping that Williamson gets regularly wheeled out to the airwaves. Possibly the worst media performer to have ever held a cabinet position.

Keith Joseph erasure.

[Pericles]

It was right to keep Hunt on now because there has been so much turnover in that position already and the markets might freak, but also because he should be saved as a ritual sacrifice to appease public anger about the upcoming cuts.

[NewYorkExpress]

This is interesting. Apparently Sunak's wife is more wealthy than King Charles.

They’re both enormously wealthy, but King Charles III is going to be appointing as prime minister someone wealthier than him in Rishi Sunak.

Sunak is a former Goldman Sachs GS, +1.13% analyst and hedge-fund manager, but his wealth overwhelmingly comes from his wife, Akshata Murthy, who is the daughter of the Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy. Her 0.93% stake in Infosys 500209, +0.55% INFY, +0.98%, at Friday’s closing price, was worth $710 million.

Together, they own four properties — including one in Santa Monica, Calif. She also owns Catamaran Ventures, a venture-capital firm whose net book value at the end of last year was £3.5 million ($4 million).

The king’s assets are less easily marked to market. Forbes puts his personal assets at around $500 million, and other reports say his personal worth is more like $600 million. The queen consort, Camilla, is worth a few million, as well, and has her own country house.

[TheTide]

Labour will be hoping that Williamson gets regularly wheeled out to the airwaves. Possibly the worst media performer to have ever held a cabinet position.

Keith Joseph erasure.

Ah yeah, the failed magician.

[Coldstream]

I think one way Sunak has stored up trouble for himself is leaving it ambiguous about who is actually second in command, Raab has the title but it’s obviously empty - but Dowden, Gove & Williamson all have roles that will require them to work/coordinate across government - and will likely cause them to clash with one another/each others remits. A recipe for dysfunction.

[Lumine]

Forget leaking, that Cabinet is going to be daily oil spills one after another.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Forget leaking, that Cabinet is going to be daily oil spills one after another.

"The ship of state is the only one to leak from the top" - Yes, Minister

[Torrain]

Labour will be hoping that Williamson gets regularly wheeled out to the airwaves. Possibly the worst media performer to have ever held a cabinet position.

Keith Joseph erasure.

Ah yeah, the failed magician.

It’s a crying shame Foot is largely remembered (outside of political circles) for just 1983 and the SDP split, given his sheer talent as a Commons performer.

[Torrain]

Oct 31st fiscal event delayed for two weeks - sounds like they’ve dropped the pretence, and are just delivering a full budget.
https://mobile.twitter.com/hmtreasury/status/1585211057114472453

[CumbrianLefty]

Sunak did well enough at his first PMQs, then again so did his predecessor.

[Torrain]

I thought Sunak did fine - not quite Cameron-level but better than the average Truss or May PMQs. Felt Starmer did well - but then again, with the Braverman re-appointment it was all open-goals for him this week. All subjective though.

Does feel like Labour are going to try and needle Sunak on appointing Braverman - see her prominence in both PMQs, and the Urgent Question right afterwards.

This afternoon, Downing Street is refusing to confirm whether Sunak was advised against reappointing Braverman on security grounds, by the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case. The Times reports he was 'furious' about the apointment - and Yvette Cooper has written to Case pushing for an investigation.

Feels like this will run for at least a little longer - even if it ends up petering out.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I thought Sunak did fine - not quite Cameron-level but better than the average Truss or May PMQs. Felt Starmer did well - but then again, with the Braverman re-appointment it was all open-goals for him this week. All subjective though.

"The only time he ran in a competitive election, he got trounced by the former Prime Minister, who herself got beaten by a lettuce" was such a killer line too.

[Torrain]

I thought Sunak did fine - not quite Cameron-level but better than the average Truss or May PMQs. Felt Starmer did well - but then again, with the Braverman re-appointment it was all open-goals for him this week. All subjective though.

"The only time he ran in a competitive election, he got trounced by the former Prime Minister, who herself got beaten by a lettuce" was such a killer line too.

It was good craic - and nice to see Starmer get a little better at pop-culture references too.
We've come a way from him awkwardly inserting Love Island into PMQs...

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Rishi didn't do terrible, although I guess that's only compared to Truss.

[YL]

Liz Truss is one of the few Prime Ministers that I genuinely believe was an empty-headed person lacking in brain cells. She wasn't robotic like Theresa May because of a mere social awkwardness but because there simply wasn't any extra level of thought beyond the pathetic soundbites.

Absolutely. It's been known for decades but she kept inexplicably being elevated.

The country is reeling from dubious Cameron era selection processes.

Even from America you could tell during the summer leadership campaign that she didn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed. It's unusual that she got this far because normally women in politics are held to a much higher standard than men and women who seem incompetent can't get anywhere. I don't understand how she kept moving up, but anyway the new Home Secretary is probably evidence that whatever Conservative Party processes led to Prime Minister Liz Truss have not been changed.

She somehow graduated from Oxford with a degree in PPE.

Curiously, though, the classification of that degree is not easy to find out.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Academic qualification don't seem to correlate much with intelligence of Politician's, Richard Burgon has a degree from Cambridge. Thérèse Coffey who famously admitted to giving leftover antibiotics to friends has a PHD in chemistry.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Academic qualification don't seem to correlate much with intelligence of Politician's, Richard Burgon has a degree from Cambridge. Thérèse Coffey who famously admitted to giving leftover antibiotics to friends has a PHD in chemistry.

It's almost like being good at writing papers, taking tests, and running experiments is a wholly different skill set and personality trait than sagacity or common sense!