A thread to catalogue the eloquence, dignity, diplomacy and wisdom of Boris Johnson II
- Thread starter TheDecameron
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The Far North
pfm Member
The Times is on his case again. They also have a feature on Baroness Davidson saying his position is untenable, but it's beind their paywall.
s1h1
performing within expectations
s1h1
performing within expectations
Dave H.
Revolutionary relativist
Thanks for the link.
But gah, the fawning! Parts of it are like reading obsequious syrup.
SteveS1
I heard that, pardon?
It's a fawning piece as she joins Times Radio. None of his corruption, incompetence, dishonesty, narcissism and grifting were ever a secret. Too many people preferred not to look.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
She accepted a peerage from him. Maybe he thought she would be hypocritical enough to accept it and he would buy her off? She’s lionised by a faction of the Tory press in England but their readers wouldn’t have seen her hapless performances against Sturgeon in Parliament - all surface, an ear for a sound bite, she presided over a period in opposition which not only failed to land a glove on the SNP but saw a massive rise in voting for the SNP.
Her two successors in Scotland have been utterly incompetent- the Newton Mearns pantomime dame Jackson Carlaw told to step aside by Johnson and his successor Murray Ross who’s bitten Johnson on the arse. They’re facing annihilation at the next GE.
Jim Audiomisc
pfm Member
IANAL However I suspect the critical distinction is between:
1) 'Personal threats' like: "If you do this you'll never been offerred a plumb job with the Party or get to be a Minister."
and
2) Other threats like: "If you don't follow our orders the people in your *constituency* will suffer - because we'll block them getting what *Government* would otherwise give them on a rational basis that treats them on the same as all other constiuents elsewhere".
(1) is a matter of the individual MP's standing in the party.
(2) Is more a matter of blackmail on the basis of *Government* actions out of spite used as a threat. And attempts to subvert the conscience and decisions an MP is meant to take for the sake of his constituents.
I'd regard (1) as routine. But (2) may be a criminal threat or blackmail.
That said, yes, I'd expect "Shut up or we'll tell you family some nasty secret you've kept from them" might well be blackmail/intimidation or similar.
Of course, the whips will deny everything. That's what whips do. 8-]
kensalriser
pfm Member
(2) is corruption. It's King/barons style feudalism - do my bidding and you shall have funds for your serfs.
Nick_G
pfm Member
It's corruption, or to be specific, 'state capture':
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/op...overnment-blackmail-tory-whips-corruption-mps
eisenach
pfm Member
We don't have a thread to catalogue the eloquence, dignity, diplomacy and wisdom ofJacob Rees-Mogg, so I thought I'd put this here. I'm a bit of an Ian Jack fan; it's good to see him back writing occasionaly for the Guardian. This one's an interesting read: things aren't always quite what they seem. 
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/22/jacob-rees-mogg-roots-conservative-mp
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/22/jacob-rees-mogg-roots-conservative-mp
Just read this in a Guardian article about Jacinda Ardern having to cancel her wedding:
Asked about her wedding cancellation, Ardern said: “Such is life. I am no different to, dare I say, thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic. The most gutting of which is the inability to be with a loved one sometimes when they’re gravely ill. That will far, far outstrip any sadness I experience.”
Quite a contrast...
Asked about her wedding cancellation, Ardern said: “Such is life. I am no different to, dare I say, thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic. The most gutting of which is the inability to be with a loved one sometimes when they’re gravely ill. That will far, far outstrip any sadness I experience.”
Quite a contrast...
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
Not exactly Tory corruption, but the government declaring war on people working from home at a time when government has issued advise that people should work from home where possible is a demonstration of this governments hopeless, clueless, confusion.
But perhaps more important than hopeless confusion over our government reaction to Covid is the utter madness of the longer term implications for the environment of forcing people to travel unnecessarily. If we are serious about tackling climate change, working from home where possible has to be one small positive step forward.
NeilR
pfm Member
if only we had adult leaders like her in the UK. We can but dream.
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NeilR
pfm Member
Not exactly Tory corruption, but the government declaring war on people working from home at a time when government has issued advise that people should work from home where possible is a demonstration of this governments hopeless, clueless, confusion.
But perhaps more important than hopeless confusion over our government reaction to Covid is the utter madness of the longer term implications for the environment of forcing people to travel unnecessarily. If we are serious about tackling climate change, working from home where possible has to be one small positive step forward.
it’s just another facet to the war on woke. So depressing.
MVV
pfm Member
Yes well she is a proper leader with integrity not an entitled conman and chancer.
Apologies Neil- crossed in the post.
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
“The Blob” is a term Michael Gove used to declare war on ‘progressive’ forces in teaching.
Gove sees himself as a revolutionary fighting the Blob's "progressive" grip over teacher training, classroom standards and qualifications.
Michael Gove saw Sally Morgan as an ally in this fight - even though she is a Labour peer
He appointed her to chair the schools inspectors organisation Ofsted after admiring her passionate advocacy for the academies created by her old boss Tony Blair.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26008962
Terms such as ‘blob’ show just how regressive the basis of the War on Woke is. Michael Gove saw Sally Morgan as an ally in this fight - even though she is a Labour peer
He appointed her to chair the schools inspectors organisation Ofsted after admiring her passionate advocacy for the academies created by her old boss Tony Blair.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26008962
Difficult to understand the growth in popularity of regressive politics.
I guess it has something to do with the conflict between individualism and social goods?
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