Forum menu
He hears a story about a pensioner forced to spend all day riding the buses just to keep warm and the first thing he says is not “oh that’s terrible” but “oh I introduced the pass that allows her to do this!”
a) he didn’t
b) that is emphatically not the point of that story!
Whats really telling about that interview, apart from the obvious complete absence of even a shred of empathy, is the ease with which he lies. It's his default position. he does it without even thinking
I'm actually starting to think that he's just a Walter Mitty style fantasist. If he believes it's true, then it's true. So in his own head Brexit is a success, this country has the best record on covid deaths, he invented the question mark and blah, blah, blah
I think he lives in an alternative universe where he just tells himself these things and from that moment on, this surreal version of reality then becomes the truth. I suppose this is the result of living your life in an uber-privileged bubble, completely insulated from life as experienced by most people
Anyone else worried about the local elections tomorrow?
This feels like the first time in a while that the Tories might take a kicking. But my worry with this is they'll just go into election mode early & convince everyone to vote for them in their droves in a couple of years time.
Occasionally, he'd accuse chestnuts of being lazy.
The truth does not matter to the Boris Johnson Character Product.
A media appearance is just a chance to claim he did something fantastic, even if he didn't do it, or if it wasn't actually that fantastic, or both.
Anyone else worried about the local elections tomorrow?
Given the electoral results of the last ten years, you'd be mad not to be worried.
My worry is that a lot of people will just not bother and that the winners will be both apathy and the Tories.
I note that Boris and co are no longer trying to articulate anything other than the impression they've nurtured that 'they're all as bad as each other' and tar everyone with the same brush. Thats what the present assault on Starmer by the Daily Heil and co is all about.
I have a horrible feeling it might work. Not that it'll spare them losses - it won't - but that not enough people are motivated to give them the kicking they so richly deserve. They'll simply stay at home
They're already preparing the ground and managing expectations by saying that if they lose less than 1,000 council seats then thats not so bad
Yup, "they're all as bad as each other" is exactly the "defence" that's being deployed.
Anyway... the Mail...
[ Oh, and the following needs repeating again, and again...
Had the Tories not directly taxed businesses and local authorities who wanted to put solar panels on their roofs, or not placated wind farm NIMBYs, or even just decided to directly fund nuclear power stations without trying to get China to foot the bill, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
The Tories have walked us into continued reliance on international carbon fuel prices, and neutered our economy by cutting our SMEs off from their market (all the countries that surround the UK)... they created this crisis facing the UK right now, and they can't be allowed to get away with claiming to be the solution to it (don't MOT your car, less personal care/time for your toddler... how can these not be satirical propositions to help people).
If you have local elections tomorrow, please vote.
If you have local elections tomorrow, please vote.
I just posted this on my Facebook - hope it convinces someone to exercise their vote...
Tomorrow is really important.
Whatever your politics, thoughts, preferences or views, in our flawed system its where we all have our little say.
Please vote, it might just make a difference. Please don't let apathy be the winner again...
I thought Johnson was supposed to be an electoral asset?
https://twitter.com/ClaireHubbert/status/1521583318403371009
There you go... Conservatives are local.... Labour aren't even British.
FFS.
Anyone else worried about the local elections tomorrow?
Nope. they will happen regardless of my concerns, so why worry about it. Just deploy a "Hope for the best, expect the worst" mindset.
The Press hype surrounding these Local elections and the potential for "protest votes" doesn't reflect the reality of the event. The results would really have to be a seismic shift for Borris to actually booted out of No.10.
As I said before there's a chain of events (during which Boris can deploy as many dead cats and shiny objects as he needs to derail things), Tory MP's have to feel unsettled enough by these forecast protest votes to oust BoJo to put a letter in. I just don't think they will; they're a spineless bunch and if they did rustle up the backbone to unseat Bozza, who do they install then?
Raab? Truss? a potted plant? I think you'd have a three way tie if MPs were asked to vote for the most useful of those options. Lil-Richie is out of the running now thanks to his Missus and some naughty tax arrangements...
What you might see is the Lib-Dems doing OK, picking up some council seats as all the blue-rinsers that can't quite bring themselves to vote Labour, put their mark next to the orange 'Dove of Apathy'...
Another one of Johnsons minions showing that he's got his finger on the pulse with the cost of living crisis
https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1521789837749141504?s=20&t=qUfhrN8VbQKUhn2-KX3jZw
He's not known as "Useless Eustace" for nothing Binners
This popped up on my FB.
You can’t join the **** party then moan about it being full of ****s.
You can’t join the * party then moan about it being full of *.
Supposed to be quite a few using "local conservative" as the official party name to try and distinguish themselves.
I must say I do find this notion that money is just an abstract concept and is limitless somewhat puzzling.
When we are a massive net importer of essentials (fuel, food etc) that need space and/or non-plundered natural resources and a massive net exporter of 'nice to haves' (with huge attendant flight risks), I believe two things:
1. Having to buy stuff from overseas means money is real.
2. We should be looking to be as open as possible to trading arrangements with our closest neighbours.
🤷♂️
Useful comment from Monbiot
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/05/vote-tories-britain-better-ham-country
https://twitter.com/PickardJE/status/1522095331659464704?t=v9BBSvOL_3ugDuhz2LYucA&s=19
More stealing out of workers pockets
I must say I do find this notion that money is just an abstract concept and is limitless somewhat puzzling.
That’s because you’ve not got gold paper in your grace and favour flat or received £195k in expenses on top of your pocket money.
TBH once you realise that your living in the matrix then the concept makes more sense 🙂
Also you saw it working with the furlough plan,if they didn’t do it ‘their’ system may have broke and the tories may have had a Ceaușescu moment.
Now the systems back to a bit of normality it’s back to the usual games.
I must say I do find this notion that money is just an abstract concept and is limitless somewhat puzzling
It is and isn't. Pretending that money isn't vastly complex is like saying the earth is flat (and that's before you get in credit and debt). i think the problem is that the comparison to individual balancing their needs and limited/fixed income is an attractive one, but it's not correct. But we do have to have politicians that are able to use the tools we have in better ways than just propping up the financial and asset markets which is largely what Qi has been used for so far.
the nonsense of Johnson saying one day we're going to spend £300 million sending weapons to Ukraine, and the next saying we can't increase spending on welfare as it pushes up inflation should make alarm bells ring for everyone, but our relationship with money is so ingrained that it just doesn't.
Supposed to be quite a few using “local conservative” as the official party name to try and distinguish themselves.
Would these be the same "local conservatives" that get to choose the candidate for MP? The ones in our area chose a no-nothing, lobby fodder, dog whistling populist and they get a bit uncomfortable when reminded of the "local conservatives" choosing the candidate.
Yes we will punish you and then give you a good metaphorical shoeing whilst you're down.
the nonsense of Johnson saying one day we’re going to spend £300 million sending weapons to Ukraine, and the next saying we can’t increase spending on welfare as it pushes up inflation should make alarm bells ring for everyone, but our relationship with money is so ingrained that it just doesn’t.
Yep its a perception issue of what you think money is, your brought up in a certain way to believe how it should behave/work, they use a simple model for er simple people as its easily understandable and works for them and they like the status quo.
Yep its a perception issue of what you think money is, your brought up in a certain way to believe how it should behave/work,
Yeah, the vast majority of people (me included!) don't understand how money works at state level, the only comparison they have is a household budget which has to balance income and expenditure.
Government doesn't work that way but it's in the interests of Government to pitch it at that level and then claim that they can't afford X or that there's not enough tax income or that benefit-scrounging forriners / the EU are taking it all.
They will use quantitative easing in a variety of ways ('lethal aid' etc) except to increase incomes as that could impact on profits. However they're going to have to watch it with raising interest rates and the potential for mortgagees to fall into negative equity and landlords raising rents. That, with inflation, looks a bit like a perfect storm brewing for most of us.
^^^^
Sounds like the textbook definition of stagflation(?)
I'm pretty sure I don't understand international 'money'.
But, humour me to some extent...
If these mega-rich football clubs only transferred players, the money is not 'real'. So if I sell Brazilian superstar Overratedinio to Fulchester United for £100m and then buy Italian star Flopperelli for £50m in return + £50m cash, that cash really doesn't become real until I step outside of the notional value of footballers market and spend it on a new stand. Then I am having to buy real stuff from outside ar real prices.
Is this not similar to saying that we can value our own currency how we want, but at the point where reality hits, we can't escape the true value as perceived by everyone else?
And isn't this a major problem with being dependent on services? The value of a service is always somewhat notional. But if I have to buy something tangible from another country/market, then shit gets real?
Ahh but countries can print money and issue bonds and stuff to drip feed it back.
(or not :-).
Your thinking in small fry sums £100m isn't that big a deal, impresses the voters but in the big picture meh.
I miss Alan B'stard..
Would these be the same “local conservatives
I think in B'stards and 'Local' B'stards still a B'stard regardless of location.
Weirdly, I think Alan B'Stard would be classed as a center right by the current standard of the Tories these days.
Ah, Rik Mayall. A talent lost far too soon.
Weirdly, I think Alan B’Stard would be classed as a center right by the current standard of the Tories these days.
In terms of the 'true believers' (aka thick Brexity loons) I think you may be right.
In terms of those riding the shitshow for personal gain he is pretty much bob on, though.
There aren't any other sub-divisions of Tory MP anymore.
As a MP...
If you still 'believe in Brexit' you are an idiot.
If you are going along with it just to keep your job (as well as potentially massive opportunities to monetise it) you are an exploiter.
That is basically 'it'.
Well, I voted at lunchtime and there was one other person in the Polling station. I'm not holding out hope for a resignation next Monday.
In other news Boris is hiding in Japan having agreed a military defence alliance, what could possibly go wrong.
The "expenses" coverage is almost always very unfair - that £195K example above being a case in point.
Expenses aren't cash in the pocket of MPs - they are generally the costs of office staff, travel to constituencies, local office space and overnight accommodation.
It creates the impression that all MPs are on the take when those with constituencies well outside London (from all parties) have no choice but to travel back and forth and stay over in London regularly.
Likewise the suggestions of MPs all having to stay in a hotel room to save money on rented accommodation - with no recognition that they may have family with them or the sheer boredom of potentially living in a hotel room with none of your personal possessions for 5 / 10 / 15 / 25 years.
https://www.theipsa.org.uk/mp-staffing-business-costs/your-mp/george-eustice/3934
What I want to know is, leader nominations for one party aside, what do council elections have to do with Westminster/Holyrood/Cardiff/(dunno how it works for NI)?
Vote for someone that is going to represent their constituents and make a difference, voting on party lines just returns folk who are (mostly) only there to make up numbers with a performance to match.
the nonsense of Johnson saying one day we’re going to spend £300 million sending weapons to Ukraine, and the next saying we can’t increase spending on welfare as it pushes up inflation should make alarm bells ring for everyone, but our relationship with money is so ingrained that it just doesn’t.
To be fair, those aid to Ukraine was already bought and paid for and on the shelf, so not exactly magically finding 300 million.
Vote for someone that is going to represent their constituents and make a difference, voting on party lines just returns folk who are (mostly) only there to make up numbers with a performance to matc
Yep, I'm not really sure turning this into a protest vote because you dislike the Partygate scandal or possible not voting,the hijacking this for a faux indication of general election voting intentions doesn't sit well with me.
Still we'll see tomorrow what everyone else thought 🙂
So
https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1522357921744666625?t=9vII7JIgA4zqARsGSjupxA&s=19
Rumors he's going to go for an early GE seem overblown, with a big majority, Tory MPs would be mighty upset if Johnson jeopardized that just to save his skin
These are the local conservatives who are in the one nation conservative party. One party, one nation, one brush to tar them all.
Rumors he’s going to go for an early GE seem overblown,
Yeah, he surely can't call a snap GE now can he?!
Some interesting Labour gains in London. Wandsworth and Westminster both gone to them after decades of being solid Tory.
I'm not sure that picture would be replicated nationally but maybe the Tories are, based on their significant efforts (ironically directed from Tory HQ) to rebrand council candidates as "Local Conservatives" - ie we're Tory, but not like those lying cheating Tory scum in Westminster, we're proper Tories who care about local issues, honest...
Feels like a Brexit split / backlash to me, the more metropolitan South disagrees with the more nationalist North.
That's a silly thing to say.
I’m happy to accept that as I’m rubbish at politics, but I’d like to understand why (I appreciate there’s more at play).
the more metropolitan South disagrees with the more nationalist North
As a North dweller in a fairly deprived area, you are talking utter bullshit.
OK. Around here it’s extremely multi cultural, however the minority of extremist nationalists are very vocal and loud and rally round to vote for their possibly miss given (sadly uneducated) beliefs. The rest struggle to be engaged due to our useless FPTP system, sadly this mistake means the minority nationalist view appear MUCH louder than it actually is.
You know the bus full of people all being sensible and one tit is smoking and playing loud music on his phone therefore all public transport is awful, when actually it’s a minority of one amongst hundreds. But they feel they can’t stand up for themselves because of shouty violent types.
@Kryton57 - didn't your Mum tell you that if you have nothing nice to say, just say nothing?
It's not all pomegranate molasses and pouilly-fumé in the SE. So think before posting
More nationalist doesn't mean all nationalist. Kryton isn't trying to denigrate everyone in The North, just pointing out some differences.