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I've said it before but Johnson and Trust's posturing and verbiage towards Russia get me nervous. They make the UK more of a target.
Meanwhile; petrol prices skyrocket again, inflation heads ever upwards and the government, which has no plans on doing anything about any of it, has just issued a statement that workers shouldn’t be expecting for pay rises to reflect this.
We should all just suck it up.
I’m just waiting for Boris to resurrect George Osbournes ‘we’re all in it together’ strapline.
I’ll give it a week
Johnson and Trust’s posturing and verbiage towards Russia get me nervous
Agreed. Should have stuck to insisting Putin pulls back from Ukraine, not babble on about “beating” him. Let him leave Ukraine claiming some nonsense about job done… don’t let him paint a picture of Russia under attack.
[ wrong thread ]
johnson is both a coward and a bully with a massively over estimated sense of self worth; an opportunistic sexually incontinent bag of cells in an ill-fitting suit.
Edit - highly skilled in dissembling and totally divorced from reality.
Completely lacking in any positive human values.
Meanwhile; petrol prices skyrocket again, inflation heads ever upwards and the government, which has no plans on doing anything about any of it, has just issued a statement that workers shouldn’t be expecting for pay rises to reflect this.
We should all just suck it up.
It’s worse than that, hiding behind Boris finger waving at Vlad, Sunak has announced there will be no tax based relief until inflation drops. So, we aren’t going to get the tax cuts Boris offered just about a week ago. Obvious plan is obvious, the Tories will cream the tax of the inflated prices then when we need it less, will dangle only a small amount back at us, the timing of which will be oooh let’s see, early 2024?
binners
Full Memberwe all know that the flytipped sofa would have been out of the country like a rat up a drainpipe at the first sign of trouble
That's literally why he's going to ukraine
Johnson obviously upset that EU leaders were in Kyiv yesterday
Meanwhile
https://twitter.com/christopherhope/status/1537832710223405058?t=dlXDDRp4nPPdrhn4kk0eeQ&s=19
What's so funny is that the northern MPs thought he might actually be greatful for them not voting to get rid of him last week
Suckers
https://twitter.com/breeallegretti/status/1537840692562694144?t=Od7noD943OikF-NnynWpAQ&s=19
living in real gangster time.
Geidt seems less than keen on letting sleeping dogs lie...
Sending him on frequent round trips to Kyiv makes me wonder whether someone has read the final chapter of House of Cards and told him, 'We have a plan to save your reputation and get the Party re-elected....', although he would probably have been in more physical danger in a roomful of NRG MPs
government, which has no plans on doing anything about any of it, has just issued a statement that workers shouldn’t be expecting for pay rises to reflect this.
When MP's & ministers don't have a pay rise, that's the time I won't ask for one and not until. Corrupt halfwits.
Another example of his contempt for rules and lack of respect for common decency...
https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/boris-johnson-wanted-to-give-carrie-symonds-a-100000-downing-street-role/
Another example of his contempt for rules and lack of respect for common decency…
We really are a second rate banana republic.
Rory Stewart seems to have fallen a bit short when he compared the UK under Johnson to Berlesconi’s Italy
As far as we know, I don’t think Silvio tried to appoint any of the ‘guests’ at his bunga bunga parties to government positions, did he?
https://twitter.com/nazirafzal/status/1538240090601824259?s=21&t=XJUfWehIXk4SR9XUdUnl3g
and yet my DailyMail loving aged parents are brainwashed into thinking he's doing a great job. My dad got both barrels last weekend for that comment.
I’ve got a couple of Mail-reading aunties that are the same (much to my Guardian-reading mothers disgust).
There seems to be a good chunk of the population who’d happily have us living in a dictatorship if it meant no more foreigners arriving (they’re not racist though, but…), as long as the dictator looks funny and is a bit of a character.
Given the rate that Johnson is tearing up democratic norms and conventions to avoid any accountability or oversight of his corrupt activities, we might well be there before the years out
and yet my DailyMail loving aged parents are brainwashed into thinking he’s doing a great job. My dad got both barrels last weekend for that comment.
Someone on a community forum that I infrequently wander onto was praising Boris and the Daily Mail (for "telling it like it is").
Very much from a point of view of Britain being a white Christian country and "we" didn't need any of those forriners over here talking all funny and worshipping the wrong God.
Actually quite disturbing that they'd write those views so openly on a community forum but that's what a significant proportion of the population have become under Boris - a nasty myopic inward-looking bunch of racists. 🙁
Actually quite disturbing that they’d write those views so openly on a community forum but that’s what a significant proportion of the population have become under Boris – a nasty myopic inward-looking bunch of racists
They’ve always been there, it’s just that they had to keep it down a bit as it wasn’t generally considered acceptable to be openly racist.
That all changed on June 24th 2016 after it had weaponised by Farage and Johnson and co for their own ends and now you can wear your racism like a badge of honour
So the Carrie Johnson story has been quashed this morning, surely this is in the national interest to know that the PM is abusing his office.
Good to know that it's all over twitter, but if it is subject to a rich person's gagging order the only place it can get raised is in the HoC. Starmer needs to take the gloves off at PMQs this week.
I'm sadly sure he'll play it safe so, come on Blackford!
There seems to be a good chunk of the population who’d happily have us living in a dictatorship if it meant no more foreigners arriving (they’re not racist though, but…), as long as the dictator looks funny and is a bit of a character.
As I read the other day, the road to fascism is lined with people saying you are over reacting!
My Ukrainian/Italian friend Lois posted that exact quote up the other day. And he should know. He ended up in this country after his parents escaped fascism in the Second World War
If they arrived now, they’d find themselves on a plane to Rwanda
I despise what this country has become under these ghouls. As does Lois.
So the Carrie Johnson story has been quashed this morning, surely this is in the national interest to know that the PM is abusing his office.
Unfortunately (as with Trump) this is simply one more case of him abusing his office on top of all the others. It won't mean anything, it'll be yet another "oh here we go again.../sigh. Now, whats for tea?" moment.
He abused the office of London Mayor when he was paying Arcuri taxpayer funds for her to accompany him on "business trips", he's abused pretty much every other position he's been in through blatant lying and ever since setting foot in No. 10, he's abused that too. Endless parties, dodgy donations, affairs, wallpaper, the lies to hide the previous lies... the list goes on and on.
This ins't really that different from the routine one of MPs employing their partners and children and friends to "run their offices" (on salaries double what any normal office manager / PA would get).
The whole rotten lot need clearing out - Johnson has just enabled every bit of bad behaviour while he's been there.
So the Carrie Johnson story has been quashed this morning, surely this is in the national interest to know that the PM is abusing his office.
I just assumed this was yet another superinjunction hastily obtained by our superstar PM. As is customary when he can't keep his dick in his trousers while his wife gets cancer treatment.
Is anyone else looking at his flagging popularity, his buddying up to Zerlensky, and the rhetoric from the new chief of the UK armed forces, and thinking he is about to unilaterally send a British Task Force to Ukraine?
He's going to do it isn't he? He'll claim it is right thing to do, the moral thing to do, and that we are absolutely able to do it as we are no longer in the EU.....
He’s going to do it isn’t he?
No, you forget that Vlad pays his wages.
Johnson would be too scared of a SLCM with his name on it.
I've mentioned a few times how worried I am about the rhetoric coming from Johnson and Truss. On the surface it's comical but they are poking a hornets nest with a stick.
I just assumed this was yet another superinjunction hastily obtained by our superstar PM. As is customary when he can’t keep his dick in his trousers while his wife gets cancer treatment.
I guess the irony of needing lawyers after his cabinet has spent the last week ranting about them is lost on the Prime Minister.
I am too, I'm worried we'll suffer the comeuppance from the political stance. However I see this as small man syndrome, standing in the corner taunting the bully, only to quickly run away when the bully turns his attention toward them. Lets hope Putin continues to see it this way.
But, these are the kind of dickheads we have in charge. If they put boots on the ground on the pretence of their great nationalist ambitions expect to suddenly see a Soviet Bear(?) flying over Luton with its bomb bay doors open*
* not literally but you know what I mean
Chris Grayling stuck an election leaflet through my door this morning. I had the satisfaction of chasing after him and giving it back to him .
Thinking about it, don't think the UK could act in Ukraine unilaterally (not without suspending our NATO membership). I did wonder if Putin would call Johnsons bluff with regard to Finland and Sweden but he's already too over committed for that.
Stolen from elsewhere
How many Boris Johnson fans does it take to change a light bulb?
None, Boris tells then he's successfully changed it already and they all applaud him in the dark.
https://twitter.com/kathy__odonnell/status/1538568184499937281?t=i-STls36NWrf1ycUFgQRLw&s=08
I duno but that seems bad.
A Murdoch paper defends Tory interests? A headline that is not...
Ewan - posted on and commented about up there ^^^
Mail also did the same.
“A flagrant abuse of ethics eh”.
Mmmm 🤔
What that man needs is an ethics adviser.
Is anyone else... thinking he is about to unilaterally send a British Task Force to Ukraine?
He’s going to do it isn’t he?
Sorry, it's not clear to me.
Fighting for which side?
What that man needs is an ethics adviser.
He would need literally any ethics first.
Looks like he’s about to start a war anyway, but not with Russia.
He’s channelling his inner Fatcha again, and it looks like he’s itching for a full on showdown with the unions
Actually, I suppose it could be classed as opening up a second front after that dimwit Braverman doubling down on the ECHR and trying to tie it all in with the EU and Brexit. So that’s 2, maybe 3 direct threats to rip up international law
So as the cost of living crisis starts to properly bite, his only solution is to create yet more division and conflict by creating more perceived ‘enemies’. An approach that will only succeed in making everything infinitely worse for the vast majority, but will help keep the backbench headbangers onside, and that’s all that counts right now
Once again, as so often over the last 6 years, the tail is wagging the dog and the country is held to ransom by far right nutjobs on the Tory backbenches
As usual with Boris, everything is being done with the ultra-short-term in mind. His only focus will be Tiverton/Honiton on Thursday, the next hurdle he is hoping to clear to 'save big dog'. These rail strikes could have been averted, but are more useful as ammunition for his political culture war.
I wonder if someone, somewhere is presently leaning on Durham Police to try to get Starmer and Rayner fined this week?
These rail strikes could have been averted, but are more useful as ammunition for his political culture war.
Useful idiot, Grant Shapps was stoking the culture war a day or so ago when he tweeted that Keir Starmer had refused to condemn the strikes.
There was a deluge of replies and quote tweets pointing out that he was Transport Secretary and it was in his power to avert them, not blame the opposition.
They're not interested in fixing any of the problems. Just in blaming everyone else for them.
These rail strikes could have been averted, but are more useful as ammunition for his political culture war.
The government have refused, point blank, to negotiate with the unions, so it looks like they actively want this strike to go ahead, purely to suit their own ends for the next week or so to 'Save Big Dog'
Everything is now done purely for tomorrows headlines, with not a single thought to the long-term implications of it. This is what happens when you have a third rate journalist running the show.
Picking a fight with the unions and totally refusing to negotiate, with a lot of others presently talking about balloting for strikes, risks massively escalating everything. That way everyone loses. Not that this lot care about that. Big Dog's survival is all that matters here
Government as ****ing soap opera
I wonder if someone, somewhere is presently leaning on Durham Police to try to get Starmer and Rayner fined this week?
I am not sure that would be in Johnsons interests. If anything it would apply more pressure and damage the "they are all the same narrative".
I wonder if someone, somewhere is presently leaning on Durham Police to try to get Starmer and Rayner fined this week?
So that they resign and someone more inapt than Starmer, and who can't maintain Labour's current 6% lead, becomes leader?
More likely Johnson is terrified that Durham police will fine Starmer and he will be forced to stick to his pledge to resign.
I am not sure that would be in Johnsons interests. If anything it would apply more pressure and damage the “they are all the same narrative”.
That's exactly what I mean about the ultra-short-termism though. He would want the newspaper headline on Thursday morning about the fine because the problems it would cause him the following week are irrelevant. He just wants to get through the current news cycle, with no thought to the next one, let alone the one after that. If the Tories hold on to H&T, this preserves him for a few more days.
This is more dated but many of the arguments made a few weeks ago still hold today
I duno but that seems bad.
Someone is trying really hard to make that story vanish.
Was on the Guardian but then went boom and comments seem to be disappearing as well.
Government as ****ing soap opera
That's what you get when you ignore policy and issues, and concentrate instead on personalities and media charicatures. There was a way to prevent this, but unfortunately many people swallowed the silly names, lies and smears. The labour right wing have an awful lot to answer for. I hope they're happy.
Can't work out if he actually believes he could win a GE right now, or whether the threat of one is simply a tool to keep his MPs in line.
I suppose the analysis machine is constantly rumbling away in CCHQ, and looking at it dispassionately, you have to assume that it is telling him that things will be worse in May 2023 and May 2024 than now - we have not one, but probably two winters of discontent on the way.
Johnson may be able to sneak in an election before Labour and the LibDems stop flirting with each other and get on with a proper electoral pact and PR.
With regard to the Guardian apparently spiking the Carrie Johnson story, can't work out if they are trying to tiptoe around a superinjunction, or some other issue with her surfacing shortly that makes articles like this harder to justify.
Johnson is desperate enough to call a GE, but Im not sure he would get away with it?
It would just lead to his deposition sooner
Too many Tory MPs would be at risk of losing their own seats (not least Johnson himself) or they can can satay in power for another 18 months with a 75 seat majority and hope things look better by then.
There was a way to prevent this, but unfortunately many people swallowed the silly names, lies and smears. The labour right wing have an awful lot to answer for. I hope they’re happy.
corbyn failed because the voters didnt trust him, you can definitely argue that the press did an impressive hatchet job on him, but there were so many own goals and skeletons in his past that their job wasnt that hard
their job wasnt that hard
It certainly wasn't when people in his own party were calling him a racist, extremist, terrorist sympathiser etc and doing eveything in their power to prevent a labour victory. And their efforts were massively amplified on by legions of centrists and right wingers who cared less about having a labour government than having the 'right sort' of labour government. It's ironic they're now the people who lecture everyone that they have to vote labour no matter what because removing the tories is the only thing that's important.
NOT ANOTHER ONE !!!
[ with reference to the risk of this becoming yet another Corybn thread, rather than the chance of another General Election being called soon ... apologies to Brenda from Bristol ]
let
it
go!
You cant keep fixating on yesterdays man
And do you really actually think the red wallers switched tory because some Labour centreists they always disliked told them corbyn was bad?
The Sun/ Mail didnt need any help to dig up pictures of him chillin with Hamas or the IRA
Johnsons boosterism was exactly what they wanted and its what they got
You cant keep fixating on yesterdays man
Not fixated, I just feel obliged to remind those who swallowed all the 'magic grandad' nonsense of the results of their choices.
And do you really actually think the red wallers switched tory because some Labour centreists they always disliked told them corbyn was bad?
It's a simple fact that labour right wingers worked against the 2017 campaign which was very narrowly lost. Had they not done that the red wallers wouldn't never have had the opportunity to switch in 2019 and we wouldn't be where we are now. It'd be easier to accept if those same people weren't now telling us to do the very same thing they didn't do back then. They can f*** right off quite frankly.
rather than the chance of another General Election being called soon
It's hardly a surprise is it? Johnson is clearly angling for a rerun of 1974 with a 'who governs britain' election but with a different result. In the face of a horrifically weak opposition he obviously thinks he can win it before tory backbenchers gang up on him again. He's got nothing to lose.
I'd be incredibly surprised if BJ tried to have a snap election
Tie the strikes to labour (which they always are in people’s minds because of the 70s) call an election, people are that ignorant/selfish they’ll vote Tory so that their train shows up, stopping strikes will be another boris promise ‘getting the job done’ mark my words
Create a problem then if you want a solution vote for it
I’d be incredibly surprised if BJ tried to have a snap election
It would be unlikely since either he would need to switch seats (something which I am not sure his opponents would allow to happen) or stand a very real chance of getting the boot even if the tories win overall.
I’d be incredibly surprised if BJ tried to have a snap election
Surely everything about his character points to him not having an election until the very final day that the parliament act allows?
In fact, far from calling one early, what's more likely is that the day before that he'll declare war on France, dissolve parliament, cancel all elections and instigate martial law
Be honest... would anyone put it past him?
Surely everything about his character points to him not having an election until the very final day that the parliament act allows.
So why did he call the last one?
https://twitter.com/hzeffman/status/1538795517169254400?s=20&t=lOjWK-_ghjTQK7sGiiMGcg
Oh, apologies I couldn't work out whether this goes in the Tory/Johnson thread or the Starmer thread.
Snap election - with strikes, inflation, interest rates and other trouble. No way.
But then again.
So why did he call the last one?
Because too many of his sitting MPs were not prepared to vote against the interests of their constituents, their country, and the Union. He pushed them out of the party, and transformed the make up of the Conservative party in Parliament, as well as gaining a working majority. Well worth his time and effort.
I see the years of cocaine abuse are catching up
https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1538846424745533440
So why did he call the last one?
You saw who his opponent was, right?
Oh, apologies I couldn’t work out whether this goes in the Tory/Johnson thread or the Starmer thread.
OH FFS!!! CAN YOU KEEP YOUR ENDLESS *ING STARMER STUFF TO THE ACTUAL *ING STARMER THREAD SO THE REST OF US CAN JUST IGNORE YOU IN YOUR LITTLE ****ING LEFTIE ECHO CHAMBER?
OH FFS!!! CAN YOU KEEP YOUR ENDLESS *ING STARMER STUFF TO THE ACTUAL *ING STARMER THREAD SO THE REST OF US CAN JUST IGNORE YOU?
Maybe Starmer can stop being endlessly Tory?
Don't think I've made many comments on here about Starmer. Chill man.
(And also I happily tolerated your hourly rants about communists so hey ho.)
Well, it's not really in Starmer's gift to reintroduce free movement, given that we've left the EU.
I'm left wondering when the tipping point will be when the penny drops for pivotal voters about the impact of Brexit - at which point 'rejoin' or 'rejoin-lite' policies will start to gain real traction. We're not at that point yet, but over the winter it's going to become bleeding obvious in the constituencies that matter.
Until that point, Starmer/Labour appear to be shackled electorally to Brexit, and have to give half-hearted 'making a success of Brexit' speeches like this. Johnson knows that while Labour and the Tories are fighting over the same, Brexity turf, his sociopathic policies cut through, but that advantage could be gone by the spring.
I like to talk about Johnson on the Starmer thread (where my inadequate use of emojis causes confusion and consternation) so I'm not surprised people come here to talk about him for a bit.
Surely everything about his character points to him not having an election until the very final day that the parliament act allows?
He would have it when he thinks he has the best chance of winning or, possibly, if it looks like he is going to get the boot by the tories to burn the house down behind him.
(And also I happily tolerated your hourly rants about communists so hey ho.)
Binners has learnt the culture war techniques from the right. Its okay for them to say what they want when they want but as soon as anyone dares invade the safe space then its gloves off whining time.
I like to talk about Johnson on the Starmer thread (where my inadequate use of emojis causes confusion and consternation) so I’m not surprised people come here to talk about him for a bit.
Well the thing is - they want an exclusive little chamber where all the bad stuff is aimed at Johnson (fair enough), but there's simply too much cross-over these days. So centrists need to deal with their shift too.
He would have it when he thinks he has the best chance of winning or, possibly, if it looks like he is going to get the boot by the tories to burn the house down behind him.
Yeah, if it’s the only chance to keep his job, of course he’ll go for it. Another Conservative leader taking them to victory isn’t meaningful for him in any way… he’s all about the Boris Johnson show.
Sorry if it's been done but Oborne is always worth a squiz:
https://www.doubledown.news/watch/2022/june/14/boris-johnson-the-billionaires-prime-minister
Seems like a very different scenario to May's snap election in '17 that went pear shaped.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40210957
Yeah, if it’s the only chance to keep his job, of course he’ll go for it
Or to wreck things behind him. He strikes me as someone who would take the approach that if he cant play with the trainset then no one can.
Outside that response to an internal threat I cant see him going for it anytime soon. Way to risky.
Or to wreck things behind him.
Indeed... sort of a win win... either it saves him his job, or he leaves the party to clean up his mess in opposition without him as leader. You can see it being an option he wouldn't rule out. But I happen to think it's currently more about scaring MPs into line, and he won't be really thinking about calling a snap election. If that looks to be failing though... he might then switch to "going for it" to fall back into campaigning not governing... get himself onto more familiar ground where he has proven himself many times before.
Oborne is always worth a squiz
Thanks for the link Bill, is there a written version anywhere?
Not as far as I'm aware. Apparently he's now recovering from an op on his nose. Hmmmm.