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the lack of leadership has been an issue with labour since the early Blair years. The use of "focus groups" meant that the leadership follows the mood of the country ( and often does not get that right) rather than lead the mood of the country
I thought blackford was devastating today. Genuinely contemptuous of Johnson and quoting his racist comments back at him. It was great to see
The HoC was a bit rowdier today but it was mainly gobby Tory MPs talking unchecked over starmer
More knives being sharpened...
BBC News - Conservative MP Steve Baker urges party to back players taking the knee
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57828402
He's just got no-one to answer to. Saying that I have spoken about it before. Not apologised for it many times & given an opportunity to say I am sorry for those terms.
Editted because he should be called Johnson
This deserves emphasis.
Never, ever refer to that **** as 'Boris'.
That is half the problem, the faux familiarity with an electorate he actually despises, but loves mugging off.
He is 'Johnson' and it needs spitting out with as much venom as you can manage.
"Labour front benchers are happy to follow the lead of footballers… rather than lead themselves"
I think Labour were right to stay out of the culture wars and wait for it to blow up in the government's face, as someone earlier mentioned, the Tories set a trap for Labour but Labour didn't bite, the Tories got complacent and fell into a trap of their own making.
Whatever 'Culture' is, it is constantly changing. If you start a culture war upon which your idea of culture is fixed, you will inevitably be taken over by events. The government's culture war policy had a use by date and it looks like it has just expired and is starting to go mouldy on the shelf.
I so hope you’re right.
Another fine PMQs from our celebrated entertainer of a PM today …
Will his shtick ever wear thin with the public?
Sorry, fake news… that must be an old photo… Hancock is on the front bench. Remember him?
I hope I am right...
In my lifetime attitudes towards race have been shaped more by culture (sport, music, art) than politics. As alarming as the last few years have been I've never given up hope that things can improve but I've never put my faith in politicians to deliver that change.
It comes as no surprise to me that this particular culture war died on a football field and that the debate then coalesces around a piece of street art.
It's hard fighting a culture war with Vera Lynne, a painting of a Lancaster bomber and a few old statues as your ammunition when the other side's got Stormzy and Banksy.
Just listening to Boris much trailed 'levelling Up' agenda speech
Far from saying anything about 'levelling Up', it seems to be mainly designed to reassure wealthy voters in the South East that they will continue to enjoy the wholly disproportionate amount of spending to which they've become accustomed, and it won't be diverted to the 'There Be Dragons' areas that just inexplicably voted Tory.
That last byelection loss to the Lib Dems has obviously really put the frighteners on him
He’s the ketchup of catchup that we need. Blobby blobby!
He just clutches @ straws and runs with whatever's flavour of the moment.
So he doesn't really have a plan for this build up better, bigger, brasher er bacon thing then.
I think we can say with some degree of certainty that there is no plan, no.
His ‘speech’ such as it was, was his usual word-soup
He’s like an over-promoted middle manager at a regional conference. Chuck in as many buzz-words as you can and just waffle, while actually saying absolutely nothing
Who wouldn’t want Blobby Blobby Johnson’s secret sauce in them after he’s made their dough rise?
'levelling up' is just Mark from Peep Shows 'Project Zeus'
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This is more apt, due to his dishevelled look
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I read the speech*, and TBH there's little in it that any sensible person would disagree with. I think the issue is going to be that. 1. it's not a workable policy, set of ideas, roadmap, or anything, it's literally a wish list. 2. It'll cost quite a lot and 3. Fiscally parsimonious conservatives will hate it.
* I've found if I don't have to hear him, I can bear it...
mainly designed to reassure wealthy voters in the South East that they will continue to enjoy the wholly disproportionate amount of spending to which they’ve become accustomed..........That last byelection loss to the Lib Dems has obviously really put the frighteners on him
Yes it must be a worry for him that the LibDems will become the party which defends the privileges of wealthy southeastern voters, I can certainly see that happening.
Btw London has the highest poverty rates in the UK. It's worth remembering that London is in the South East.
https://www.onlondon.co.uk/new-report-confirms-that-london-has-uks-highest-poverty-rates/
It’s worth remembering that London is in the South East.
It's not really though is it? Not for political purposes, at least. It votes labour so this lot couldn't give a toss about the majority of it, really.
It's only in the South East in the same way as Alderley Edge and Wilmslow are technically, geographically still in the north.
I think we all know what we're talking about when we refer to 'The South East'?
Well, we know what you mean when you say Johnson’s words were… “ designed to reassure wealthy voters in the South East ” … you didn’t mean those in poverty in London and mostly voting Labour.
Will his shtick ever wear thin with the public?
If it does, a bit of 'Labour will let lots of forriners in and give your money to benefits claimants and asylum seekers' and the Tory faithful (Old & Gammony as well as New, Northern and Nasty) will rally to the flag.
Stick a soundtrack of Land of Hope and glory over it for one mob on Facebook and 'Vindaloo-la-la' for the others and it is job done.
🇬🇧🍆💦🇬🇧
London is an island or an enclave - it is so atypical of anywhere else in the UK.
I think we all know what we’re talking about when we refer to ‘The South East’?
Well I thought I did. It turns out that whilst I technically live in the South East I am for all intents and purposes a Northern.
Sounds good to me. Should I buy pies and a flat cap now?
Btw is the correct protocol to take the ferrets out of your pants before you go clog dancing?
So much to learn!
Btw is the correct protocol to take the ferrets out of your pants before you go clog dancing?
No no no, it's the ferret down your pants that makes it look like you're dancing in your clogs...Honestly
I imagine that Johnsons advisors (and Rishis) are looking at the North and working out how much they need to spend to keep the redwall onside.
Any half decent economist understands the investment and the time scales involved to actually improve income and quality of life in the redwalls is beyond the finances or life span of this government.
It would take a least one probably two generations of massive investment in education, infrastructure and private business investment to make a change.
I have listened to arguments that the North of England with the exception of the big City's simple be written off as unfixable.
Its been over 40 years since the traditional industries have been dismantled and to be honest nothing of any significance has been done since.
Like climate change we (in the North) passed the point of no return sometime ago.
Regardless of what that fat **** says it will just gradually rot away.
I have listened to arguments that the North of England with the exception of the big City’s simple be written off as unfixable.
But that argument is equally applicable down south. I used to live just east of the Cotswolds, and on the surface it looks to be in rude health, but step outside of the bubbles of Whitney and perhaps Banbury, there's gigantic farms that employ maybe 10 people each...and that's it. The rural poverty hidden away in lush country-side is astounding, no public transport, no healthcare, nothing to do...left to rot. But it looks nice, so that's OK
The rural poverty hidden away in lush country-side is astounding, no public transport, no healthcare, nothing to do…left to rot. But it looks nice, so that’s OK
and yet they'd vote for a pig with a blue rosette.
how much they need to spend to keep the redwall onside
Zero.
Keep cutting the budgets of local authorities and decimating services, but let some of that money go to Metro Mayors to spend on planning some visible projects for local Conservative MPs to champion in their re-election campaigns.
how much they need to say they will spend to keep the redwall onside
FTFY
From our Local MP on Facebook -
Current figures show more than 3,500 people are claiming unemployment benefits in St Austell and Newquay - 1,300 higher than March 2020.
Yet almost every business I speak with says they are struggling to recruit the staff they need - not just in tourism and hospitality but across the board.
We need our local economy to recover from the impact of the pandemic. We will only achieve this if businesses can operate at full capacity. So after getting vaccinated the best thing anyone can do to help our local communities to recover as restrictions are lifted is to play their part and go out to work if you are able to do so. Plenty of jobs are available.
Get to work you lazy shits.
Should I buy pies and a flat cap now?
Only if you can afford it.
and yet they’d vote for a pig with a blue rosette.
No - its their neighbours will vote for that pig with a blue rosette
Get to work you lazy shits.
People always get lazy when there is a Tory government.
Most famously after Thatcher first got elected and within a few months a couple of million more people decided they didn't fancy getting up in the mornings.
People seem keener to work when there's a Labour government.
and yet they’d vote for a pig with a blue rosette.
Yeah they do...But it's changing. Witney's council is now Labour controlled, driven by votes of folk who can't afford to live in Oxford, and commute. As is the Chair in Banbury council...A lot of it is as hereditary as the Red Wall used to be though, there's a huge amount of "that's how my parents voted..." Plus, massive farms and farm-workers who are very much "don't bite the hand that feeds"
Thanks FB ATB... you are correct
It’s hard fighting a culture war with Vera Lynne, a painting of a Lancaster bomber and a few old statues as your ammunition when the other side’s got Stormzy and Banksy.
problem is, old uns do tend to vote more than young uns
the best thing anyone can do to help our local communities to recover as restrictions are lifted is to play their part and go out to work if you are able to do so
Come on plebs, serve us… we’re looking forward to eating out without hearing foreign accents.
I have listened to arguments that the North of England with the exception of the big City’s simple be written off as unfixable.
What Fatcha referred to as ‘managed decline’
Though there didn’t feel like there was any management going on at the time, just decline.
Sounds a bit better than ‘abandoned to their fate’ I suppose
the best thing anyone can do to help our local communities to recover as restrictions are lifted is to play their part and go out to work if you are able to do so
Marcus and Sebastian are visiting their holiday homes from London this weekend and I can’t find us a table at anywhere with an even half respectable wine list
I imagine that for an awful lot of people childcare costs are so prohibitively expensive that it's simply not worth their while to work. So much of Tory policy is designed like this. On the face of it giving people choice is a great idea but for a lot of the working poor they'd be so much better off if childcare and education was universally of good quality and freely available rather than throwing them a few scraps of benefit and directing them to their nearest foodbank. If you're trying to invest in a country's future what literally embodies that better than investing in children?
Yeah, the fact that closing down all the Surestart centres was literally the first thing Dave and Gideon did after being elected tells you everything you need to know about the Tory’s priorities on that score
They don’t believe in investing in people. They’re happy to spaff countless billions on white elephant vanity projects like HS2, but commit resources to actually making the lives of normal people a bit easier or more rewarding, with training, education, childcare etc? not a chance
There's an interview with Gordon Brown from ages back where he's quite upset about pollig in red wall constituencies, showing a drift away from Labour. (that rot set in a while ago)
He was complaining because they've 'poured billions into them' - sure start was v expensive, but one of the only things in the last few years shown to help actually improve life chances-
Yet all the polling were worried about was immigration, even when they had v low immigrant numbers.
Sadly weve got regions stuck in a cycle of poor education & poverty & the Tories know exactly how to exploit that
Which is why Johnson & co will keep fighting the culture war, because without it they've got nothing
Yeah, the fact that closing down all the Surestart centres was literally the first thing Dave and Gideon did after being elected tells you everything you need to know about the Tory’s priorities on that score
The night of the last general election, MrsMC was preparing a court report at 3am to get some poor kid taken into care, and she worked it back to a point where, had Surestart been in place, the family would have been spotted and supported years before it got serious enough to justify a care order. And the bastards got voted back in with a thumping majority.
The long term costs to social services, the education system, the Police, the NHS, the court system up to that point - and going forwards probably future costs to the benefits system, maybe the prison system, before it all gets repeated for the next generation. All for the cost of upfront family support.
But benefits to society in 20 years time don't win elections, because the politicians don't care about the long term future of the country, only their own 5 year cycle of personal gain
Tories know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
I imagine that for an awful lot of people childcare costs are so prohibitively expensive that it’s simply not worth their while to work.
In the real world people do in that situation is not pay expensive childcare but work opposite shifts and / or get family and friends to help.
This is what most of my ex colleagues did One works weekdays, their othe rhalf weekends or nights and days.
paid for childcare is simply too expensive for most but the don't sit on on their arses and have no money - they find workarounds.
Not all jobs are that flexible, me and the wife met at uni so we have no family close by. If we wanted to keep our jobs / careers then childcare was a must. At one point it was more a month than our mortgage.
Yeah, the fact that closing down all the Surestart centres was literally the first thing Dave and Gideon did after being elected tells you everything you need to know about the Tory’s priorities on that score
Surely the LibDems also bear some responsibility? Quite a lot in fact. Danny Alexander was one of the chief architects of austerity, and Sarah Teather was children's minister. Both of them are Liberal Democrats.
Why is it that LibDems always seem to get away with behaving like Tories but Tories never do?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12301690
"Children's minister Sarah Teather said there was enough money available to maintain existing children's centres.
She added that the new Early Intervention Grant gave local authorities the freedom to make the best decisions for the families in their areas.
But the level of this grant is 11% lower than the equivalent funding for the previous year."
Not all jobs are that flexible, me and the wife met at uni so we have no family close by. If we wanted to keep our jobs / careers then childcare was a must. At one point it was more a month than our mortgage.
woosh whats that flying over your head?
- many people do not have that choice 'cos they don't earn enough so they have not make their job flexible but find a job with opposite shits
to afford full time childcare for two children yo have to be amongst the richest in our country and that is a position of privilege not available to most. so they work around it instead.
Actually scrap what I wrote, childcare is expensive but you don't have to be among the richest for two kids, above average perhaps but not richest.
While I don't know everyone, I also don't know anyone who has changed weekend or evening shifts to avoid child care, in fact I know very few people who even have jobs where that's an option. I'm sure some people do and I'm sure on STW we all like to talk in massive sweeping generalisations but I think you're only talking about some.
If you're trying to make a point, try throwing in less random words.
Lots of people don't have close friends/family, or available flexible work that pays enough. Surprisingly Tory attitude TJ!
Surely the LibDems also bear some responsibility? Quite a lot in fact
And their fortunes since have reflected that (until a couple of weeks ago)
Looking at their time in coalition you can only draw one of two conclusions
1) dizzy on proximity to power they were happy to go along with pretty much anything in return for a ministerial limo
2) they were so utterly naive, useless and easily played that they were brushed aside by Dave and co and totally failed to rein in any of their excesses. Just hapless stooges
Neither of which makes you want to vote for them really, does it?
And then there was Jo Swinson
another woosh
the point is that for the vast majority of the country full time childcare is as affordable as a shot in Bransons rocket.
But IME unlike what Del claimed they do not sit on their arses bemoaning the fact - they get on with life and find workarounds
to be in a position to be able to afford full time childcare automatically means you are amongst the richest in the country.
It just really annoys me people complaining when they are in a position of incredible privilege. too much of it on here.
I have worked with loads of people who have to do this
sure some jobs are not that flexible - so you cannot do them. So you have to find one that is
Not all of us are office drones working 9-5, earnings in the top 10% of the country and able to afford childcare
I know professional people that never have a day off with their spouses because one is working while the other does cildcare but both work full or near full time
sorry I didn't spell check and it is rather incomprehensible
Its this quote that got up my nose
"I imagine that for an awful lot of people childcare costs are so prohibitively expensive that it’s simply not worth their while to work. "
Its a ridiculous lack of understanding how the majority live.
Why is it that LibDems always seem to get away with behaving like Tories but Tories never do?
That’s your memory of the legacy of the coalition? Really?
Its a ridiculous lack of understanding how the majority live.
No, he’s describing the position many people find themselves in. Many other people work insane hours either to work around their partner’s or other family member’s job, or to try and pay for the childcare… or both. But the people Binners Del describes exist as well. Of course they are not the “majority” though.
That’s your memory of the legacy of the coalition? Really?
Why do you have a predisposition to dream stuff up Kelvin?
I said, quote, "Why is it that LibDems always seem to get away with behaving like Tories but Tories never do?"
No mention anywhere about "legacy". I am actually talking about the here and now. The Tories get regularly castigated on here for the the way they behaved in 2020-15 but the LibDems never seem to.
According to binners the LibDems behaved as they did because "they were so utterly naive, useless and easily played that they were brushed aside by Dave and co and totally failed to rein in any of their excesses. Just hapless stooges"
Which I think is a bit unfair on them. Vince Cable, a highly important contributor to the coalition's economic policies is clearly no fool, among his very many appointments he has been a senior civil servant for the Kenyan government, first sec to the UK Foreign Office, worked for the CBI, special adviser to the UK trade sec, adviser to the Commonwealth, and chief economist to Shell.
Danny Alexander the austerity man doesn't have quite have such an impressive CV but he is now vice president to a Beijing based bank.
These are not people who can be easily described as "utterly naive and useless". And it's difficult to see them as intellectually inferior to Cameron.
They knew exactly what they were doing.
Edit : Just to be clear.... binners comment "totally failed to rein in any of their excesses" gives the impression that the LibDems weren't really enthusiastic supporters of austerity, they were very much so. Vince Cable and Danny Alexander were both extremely supportive of the policy of austerity, they in fact championed it.
Tories know the cost of everything and the value of nothing
Unless it's the military or something they're happy to push.
but the LibDems never seem to
Stop “dreaming stuff up”.
What does happen in the “here and now” is that policies enacted by the government since the LibDems became just a tiny force in the UK parliament are often blamed on the party actually in government. Well, apart from when you swing in to defend Blobby Blobby Johnson that is… and then suddenly nothing happening under his watch is his fault. It’s the fault of the LibDems, or the wrong kind of Labour, or something.
Well, apart from when you swing in to defend Blobby Blobby Johnson
Seriously Kelvin how old are you?
It is hard to imagine more puerile school yard language.
You have obviously got the hump because I have criticized the LibDems, but ffs try to maintain a minimum decorum.
Newsnight is getting a bit feisty.
It’s just been pointed out the bleeding obvious: ‘Levelling Up’ is presently nothing more than a 2-word slogan
They’re good at those
As the Labour MP pointed out, it’s a phrase used to mean ‘whatever you want it to mean’
As on so many occasions before it’s a case of the Vote Leave mob being extremely good at campaigning and absolutely terrible at everything after that
‘Levelling up’ is just vacuous PR drivel. It’s meaningless. An empty vessel. It’s lighter than air because there is zero substance to any of it. It’s a slogan and nothing more.
It's worse than that, isn't it essentially using the massive amounts of money they've taken away from local council budgets to offer bribes to the areas that are strategically useful to them? Then trying to dress that up as a positive thing.
The level of debate here is fantastic, so thanks for that, no-one will engage with me on politics on FB.
Doesn't it make you so angry but yet sad that you can't do anything about it?!
It’s actually worse than that. It’s essentially saying that if you vote in a Tory MP then we’ll give you back some of the money that we’ve slashed from your local councils budgets
However, if you don’t vote in a Tory MP then we carry on cutting.
These ****s are just utterly shameless
It’s the very definition of pork barrel politics
but the LibDems never seem to.
I do and get called out for doing so
But IME unlike what Del claimed they do not sit on their arses bemoaning the fact – they get on with life and find workarounds
I claimed no such thing. My point was not at all that people are sitting in their arses bemoaning the fact. It's that people don't have choice. Not everyone has a support network around them or are even in a relationship that allows them to work opposite shifts with anyone. No support from the state means they're trapped and have no career progression and further stall pension contributions. Also means the kids don't benefit from early learning which is supremely valuable. Parents get no respite either. Society needs children and a healthy progressing society needs healthy educated children to become productive. I have no idea why this is so hard to understand.
Re: leveling up, I agree with the GMB gen sec when he says "promises of ‘jam tomorrow’ don’t hold much hope when it’s Boris Johnson who is making them."
I wouldn't trust Johnson further than I throw him, he is an accomplished liar for whom lying is deeply embedded in his personality.
However. Having heard some what he had to say today I am not quite as sceptical as I might have been.
I don't now think that the whole levelling up thing is simply an exercise to keep Tory former Labour seats sweet. He in fact makes the point that it's not merely because it is the "morally right" thing to do.
A clear recognition of the contradictions of capitalism appears to be the primary motivation. Millions of people with poor purchasing power are not a good source of profit. Millions of inactive people sitting at home producing nothing are not a good source of profit. Ultimately the Tories primary concern is profit.
Johnson makes those points in his speech today, he talks about "squandering vast reserves of human capital". And "greater regional prosperity means more customers and business for our national metropolises".
Although he remains light on detail I believe Tory/capitalist self-interest might well deliver unexpected benefits.
Johnson really isn't a politician in the true sense of the word, he is just an attention-seeking showman who uses politics as his vehicle. The advantage of that is that he is not driven by conviction and will embrace anything if he feels it will serve his interests and that of his class. I think he feels a logical attraction to Keynesian economics for obvious reasons, it provides a more stable model.
It is hard to imagine more puerile school yard language.
Blobby blobby blobby.
isn’t it essentially using the massive amounts of money they’ve taken away from local council budgets to offer bribes to the areas
Yup. As I said on a previous page, this doesn’t cost them a thing. Just keep forcing councils to cut services by cutting their budgets, and then use the money to fund the planning of headline projects for MPs to champion at the next election. The projects never have to come to fruition, and the cuts are someone else’s problem.
Having heard some what he had to say today I am not quite as sceptical as I might have been.
Hold my aching sides.
Johnson really isn’t a politician in the true sense of the word, he is just an attention-seeking showman…
Blobby!
Levelling up’ is just vacuous PR drivel. It’s meaningless. An empty vessel. It’s lighter than air because there is zero substance to any of it. It’s a slogan and nothing more.
...which has served it purpose.
Doesn't matter how vaccuous their slogans are, they are successful at it.
Can you remember a Labour one post Corbyn? Neither can I
For the many, not the few.
People may fall for levelling up but in 10 years time when their lives are no better, or even worse, they will turn. It will take that long though unfortunately.
When they “turn”, I fear it will be to back a new Conservative PM promising a whole new load of nonsense and lies. People voted for Johnson’s lot off the back of not being happy with the results delivered by previous Conservative PMs after all.
However. Having heard some what he had to say today I am not quite as sceptical as I might have been.
As with so many things, don't listen to what they say, look at what they do. Has this government actually DONE anything to 'level up' yet? Announced anything concrete? Anything more than slogans and soundbites?
Even if Johnson had any intention of 'levelling up' - and I don't believe for a single second that he does - theres no way on earth he'll get the support of the Tory party in doing so. They have zero interest in it in the first place, and they've made it abundantly clear that they will stand for no change to privilege enjoyed by certain areas of the country when it comes to spending. Ask Robert Jenrick where the last big load of 'Towns Fund' money went?
With them busy gerrymandering political boundries to further advantage themselves the status quo will become even further engrained. A two tier country with entirely different funding formulas and priorities.
Economic policy will continue to be set to exclusively benefit the South East, with the rest of the country little more than an afterthought. Other areas will be thrown the odd crumb from the table.
And as for regional devolution? The only thing that the Tories ever devolved way blame*.
If you think thats about to change then you're hopelessly naive. And remember that any increase in spending will first have to cover the shortfall that Brexit has delivered in cutting infrastructure spending in more deprived areas that came directly from the EU.
Anyone seriously think that Johnsons supposed new largesse will even begin to cover that?
* It's worked too. Voters in the former 'red wall' seats blame their former labour MPs and councillors for austerity and the huge cuts in funding, not the Tory's at Westminster. Go figure....
Brazen mother ****er…
“ A former Bullingdon Club member and university friend of Boris Johnson has been appointed to Whitehall’s independent sleaze watchdog”
And yeah, he’s in that photo. You know the black and white one, that makes you wish for time travel.
If you think thats about to change then you’re hopelessly naive.
Well I said that I remain sceptical but just not quite as sceptical having heard him publicly identifying real problems and their negative affect on both the economy and Tory interests.
If that's naivety then it's a naivety which is shared with the FT :
https://www.ft.com/content/ad5061b8-6a16-42de-b5a9-824cf15b84b6
"A kind interpretation of this volte-face would say Covid-19 has brought all but the most fanatical free marketeers to their senses. It has exposed the destructive impact on the public realm of the decade of austerity after the global financial crash. To the extent that the economy emerges in reasonable shape from the pandemic it will be because the Treasury abandoned its fiscal fundamentalism."
Yes he was thin on detail yesterday but he was supposedly setting out the skeleton and the flesh will come in the autumn. I agree with the GMB gen sec that jam tomorrow from Johnson rings hollow. Although much investment has been already laid out in 'building back better', I guess the detail will be in how the regions will benefit, which in turn will of course benefit both the economy and the Tories.
And yes I fully agree that Johnson has a massive battle on his hands dealing with a Tory Party welded to Thatcherism for over 40 years, as indeed he will have with southern Tory voters who risk defecting the LibDems, a party still committed to Thatcherism. From the FT article :
"Affluent conservatism has not given up its preference for small government and lower taxes. Tory voters in the south will not be inclined to open their wallets to pay for regeneration of the north. The extraordinary rise in public borrowing during Covid-19 at some point will demand a reckoning."
Time will tell. Politics is always full of surprises, who could have predicted that the LibDems would go into coalition with the Tories in Westminster?
C'mon do you really think that Johnson gives 2 hoots about leveling up?
Winning votes, he's down with that.
Hes been promising to flesh out the detail of social care reforms he first announced in 2019, the only changes we've seen are 1000s of deaths in social care
And his infrastructure promises are classic Johnson legacy projects, all about him.
No mention of ending the benefit cap or uc uplift removal, or sure start, because to end the cycle of poverty you need to stop people growing up in poverty
If that’s naivety then it’s a naivety which is shared with the FT
I know that surely everyone sane would like to see a shift away from the failed policies of austerity and Thatcherism and onto actual investment.
But the people in the present cabinet aren't sane. They're hard right ultra-free-marketeers. They're Ayn Rands adherents. Disciples of Milton Friedman Chicago School economics. They believe in tax cuts, deregulation and privatisation. The polar opposite of what Johnson is advocating.
I don't know about getting funding past home counties backbenchers, his biggest opposition will be from number 11. Rishi is itching to put a stop to the essential Covid-related government subsidies. I don't see any appetite for opening the cash taps for anything deemed 'non-essential', and 'The North' is most certainly deemed that by this lot.
If Boris wants to do this then he'll have a huge fight on his hands with his own party. And Boris isn't a fighter. He'll take the path of least resistance every single time.
He won't follow through on any of this. And nobody knows that more than the present cabinet. Thats why they're happy to let him carry on waffling on about it, knowing full well that not a thing will come of it
The details are always coming some time in the future. See absolutely any policy announcement by Johnson ever. Hospitals, bridges, social care, Ireland, fish… whatever. And that’s before we get to implementing those details… you’ll grow very old waiting for any of that.
C’mon do you really think that Johnson gives 2 hoots about leveling up?
In the way that Mike Ashley cares whether his customers are unemployed or not, yes.
Skint customers are of no use to Sports Direct.
Johnson made the point yesterday about the regions providing customers for the metropolises.
If Johnson made a point, you can be damn sure he’s now in a room telling someone else the exact opposite.