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Same here, expressly forbidden to drink at work/during work hours.
Can’t be arsed to turn up to a cobra meeting, like the start of the pandemic?
Probably needed to write a few more pages for The Riddle of Genius.
The huge downside to this that as his authority has melted away it’s emboldened the loons. He now can’t implement sensible and proportionate public health measures in the face of a looming and near inevitable disaster. More people will die because of this internal tory feud.
This has been the case for well over a year - since Barnard Castle. The second our leadership are seen as braking the rules they create, public confidence is lost and its a downward spiral. This has been inevitable for months.
Yet so many of the conservative party and with them the brexit voting public couldn't see it. It was because who the perpetrator was, not what they did. If Boris had sacked DC on the spot, it might be a different matter. If he would have come clean about these parties when the story broke he would have regained some trust. Instead he's done what he's always done, disregard and lie about the things he thinks will get him into trouble.
Again we will have more avoidable deaths, again they will be directly because of Boris's leadership. Just looking at the FB comments on every news story about lockdowns, even in the Covid thread on here, there has been a huge public turn from 'protect the NHS' - to 'F it, I'm going to going to do what I want - no lock down will stop me'.
If that cobra meeting was called by the tries to include the devolved governments then he does not turn up that is really weird. Pissed? It will be interesting to hear what Sturgeon has to say.
Front page of the mail today: don't ruin our Christmas again, Boris 🤦
Could go either way.. Ruin it by making people stay at home or making it by allowing people to mix and then a shit-tonne more catching covid and dying?
@monkeyboyjc broadly agreed, the DC thing was a forewarning. There is a difference though - I wrote to my Conservative MP at the time (Simon Clarke) to express my views. I got a letter back and the gist of it was that DC was an upstanding and key member of the government and a caring father, who placed in a difficult situation, did what was needed to protect his family. His only fault was to care too much. The difference we had over the DC stuff was he took quite a utilitarian view of the rules - i.e. the rules matter but the individual must make their own decision what to do within the law. Rather than, just follow the ****ing rules. The fact that covid was a massive problem and drastic measures were needed was never part of the debate*.
The problem now is the government can't even decide what the problem is, let alone the solution to it. It's a total mess rather than an argument at the fringes of implementation and policing of lockdown.
*To be fair to Simon Clarke, I disagree 110% with him on Brexit and most other things, but he has been absolutely consistent on Covid. He takes every opportunity to state how serious it is, supports the measures in place, promotes vaccines at every opportunity (e.g. he publicises all drop in held in his constituency, shouts about his vaccines etc).
I bet plenty of teams in other organisations who were working together at that point in the pandemic stopped, grabbed a coffee and a tin of Quality Street, ordered in pizzas, cheese and wine whatever, and adopted a similar position
Not my workplace. We were too busy trying to stop people dying from COVID. But hey, maybe we are just expecting too much from a guy who’s own teacher said of him “I think he honestly believes that it is churlish of us not to regard him as an exception, one who should be free of the network of obligation which binds everyone else”
That could have been written by an opposition MP today.
See Boris hasn't bothered with the last 3 Cobra meetings, must be in heat or something.
I bet plenty of teams in other organisations who were working together at that point in the pandemic stopped, grabbed a coffee and a tin of Quality Street, ordered in pizzas, cheese and wine whatever, and adopted a similar position
Not in my workplace or in any workplace I know of. We were even wearing masks while on breaks
I bet plenty of teams in other organisations who were working together at that point in the pandemic stopped, grabbed a coffee and a tin of Quality Street, ordered in pizzas, cheese and wine whatever, and adopted a similar position
Not a chance.
They’re even relatively spaced out.
I'm not seeing lines of powder on any table, or do you know something we don't? 🙂
That pic in the garden was just over a month after he’d been discharged from hospital, having spend three nights in intensive care with COVID.
I've said this before somewhere on here and I'll say it again.
There is zero chance he was in intensive care because he needed to be there. The nurse who looked after him at the time (who later quit) said he walked in to ICU, greeted all the staff, and walked out after his stay.
How do I know? I was admitted to ICU in February, except I never actually made it into the unit because I could self-prone. That's rollover in bed. Not get up and walk. It took me 200% effort to get into a chair next to my bed. Forget conversations, I'd be close to passing out having a pee!
I was the only mobile patient across the 3 wards I was on.
It's more spin, lies, mis-truths. Playing the electorate like we deserve.
The cobra meetings were apparently missed because he was sorting out his divorce.
The cobra meetings were apparently missed because he was sorting out his divorce
Already? crikey. He's out-borised himself.
I bet plenty of teams in other organisations who were working together at that point in the pandemic stopped, grabbed a coffee and a tin of Quality Street, ordered in pizzas, cheese and wine whatever, and adopted a similar position
Nope not here, not at Mrs kilos workplace.
Later than the photo in the lockdown I was running a residential training course and we were instructed by the venue that we weren’t allowed food or drinks in the classroom at the end of the day when we did the instructors debrief and planning for the next day. The students had their dinner, alone, and then had to go back to their rooms. But obvs we are just the little people.
I bet plenty of teams in other organisations who were working together at that point in the pandemic stopped, grabbed a coffee and a tin of Quality Street, ordered in pizzas, cheese and wine whatever, and adopted a similar position
We did. A couple of times throughout lockdown.
Oh wait, that was via MS Teams! Also, whatever food and drink we wanted would have been our own... And it had to be after hours, not in work time.
But apart from that, nearly identical. 🙄
I got a letter back and the gist of it was that DC was an upstanding and key member of the government and a caring father, who placed in a difficult situation, did what was needed to protect his family. His only fault was to care too much.
@tomd your MP's response just confirms to me it was about the person not the consequences. Any other civil servant would have been asked to resign the second the story was released. But because it was DC he was let off, along with a substantial proportion of governments credibility around Covid.
BJ has tried to spin the same yarn about the no10 parties, they were working hard, needed a brake, good people etc. When it's not a key brexit figurehead that did the dirty, it doesn't work.
I bet plenty of teams in other organisations who were working together at that point in the pandemic stopped, grabbed a coffee and a tin of Quality Street, ordered in pizzas, cheese and wine whatever, and adopted a similar position.
No, it was strictly forbidden. I reallocated several staff to support front line delivery, you know, to stop people dying.
They have degraded everything with the reverse-Midas touch. Cynicism in the electorate sets in and people lose any confidence in aspirations for change and the result is continuing the status quo of widening inequality and repressive legislation. Johnson has played his part well.
I bet plenty of teams in other organisations who were working together at that point in the pandemic stopped, grabbed a coffee and a tin of Quality Street, ordered in pizzas, cheese and wine whatever, and adopted a similar position.
Really? The thing that is SO striking about that picture is just how completely and utterly detached it is from the reality of the lives everyone else was living last May.
I don't think anybody was doing anything that even remotely resembled that in any way, shape or form. Hence the present anger.
I bet plenty of teams in other organisations who were working together at that point in the pandemic stopped, grabbed a coffee and a tin of Quality Street, ordered in pizzas, cheese and wine whatever, and adopted a similar position. I’m not necessarily seeing a “party”. They’re even relatively spaced out.
Probably, but they're not supposed to be running a country and telling people they'll be fined 10 grand if they get caught having gatherings or as bawbag puts it "cheese and wine"
Hence the present anger.
I first read that as 'peasant anger'.
That image....it's pure Coldwar Steve..I'm looking for Cilla
What're the guys doing in the top right of that picture?
Having one of the little lie downs that are so common in business meetings?
is that guy summoning the dove from above?
Apparently their jobs were 'gruelling' and they needed this:
Definition of gruelling at that point in time:
https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/nurse-reveals-scars-caused-ppe-4039893
I was in school teaching. Full face masks and 2m distancing, desk wipes, hand sanitizer, off set half in half out timetable. Not allowed staff in any social space. Any staff interaction on team. So no no cozy coffee and chinwag.
Years ago I worked on firing ranges with explosives, as well as the canteen being open at lunchtime so was the bar!
Years ago are the key words here, not in 2020, nor I would guess in 2000 either.
Apparently their jobs were ‘gruelling’ and they needed this:
Maybe Carrie Antoinette was leafing through the soft furnishings catalogue or something and getting Johnson to organise some funding, a typical gruelling day at the office for our hard working PM.
I'm feeling very conflated this morning. The revelations of the last few weeks has (as if it was needed) confirmed every suspicsion of the arseholes we have as our current overlords. I don't want Johnson's head on a spike, I want it kicked down the street, the shit. Back in 2010 I directed him to a toilet in an entirely empty building - if I'd had more about me he could currently be residing in the building's foundations. So this is all kind of my fault. Sorry about that.
But.....at a moment when we need to get a jaded nation to do the right thing and reduce social contact once again, all this revelation of rule avoidance and excuse by loophole of the tossers in charge is pretty much the exactly worst thing that could have happened. Why the **** have people been sitting on this shit for so long? I can only assume this is their Judas moment and BJ's back is looking very inviting right now. Which kind of makes them as loathsome as the man himself.
But…..at a moment when we need to get a jaded nation to do the right thing and reduce social contact once again, all this revelation of rule avoidance and excuse by loophole of the tossers in charge is pretty much the exactly worst thing that could have happened. Why the **** have people been sitting on this shit for so long? I can only assume this is their Judas moment and BJ’s back is looking very inviting right now. Which kind of makes them as loathsome as the man himself.
I feel this as well. There's a very fundamental '2 wrongs don't make a right' scenario developing here.
We (government, media, us) are all as culpable as one another if we see that photo above or read about Dominic Cumming's exploits, and then take it as license to just disregard the rules and do what we like. Since the very first Italian lockdown was thwarted by newspapers leaking it ahead of time (cue mass exodus of people to their Southern holiday homes) I've felt like the media has a very mixed responsibility too. Yes we should be holding people in power to account, but is that justified by undermining their central message?
It really is something though when the government provides people with the excuse they need to break the rules, but them's the times we're living in, I think the people who take it as an excuse to flaunt regulations would be flaunting regulations anyway, they'll always find an excuse.
“Work meeting” is clearly nonesense- I’m sure that work was being discussed in a kind of informal, networking kind of way though.
The ease of claiming this though is concerning given the bottles of wine around. No way would most professional companies allows working whilst drinking - so it’s concerning that it appears so normalised here - are strategies being formulated and decisions being made by people under the influence? That would be instant dismissal level misconduct in my company I think, and probably the same for most.
It really is something though when the government provides people with the excuse they need to break the rules, but them’s the times we’re living in, I think the people who take it as an excuse to flaunt regulations would be flaunting regulations anyway, they’ll always find an excuse.
The problem we have had right from the off is that in Brexit Britain the people who have been in the ascendency politically for the last 5 years are the ultra free-market fundamentalist libertarians.
They firmly believe in only 'The Individual' and that everything should be left to 'The Market' in a society free of all restrictions and regulation, and the state has no place interfering in any aspect of behaviour at all, even during in a pandemic.
Johnson courted these people to get him into number 10, via Brexit, and is dependent on them for power. Plus he's a coward who would never face up to anyone anyway when he can hide in a fridge instead
This has got us to where we are. I fear it's only going to get worse.
What Binners said.
Frankly I'd have more respect for the snivelling little shit if he just said "we don't give a flying **** about you little people, just be glad we've not divided the nation up into Tribunes and organised a big food fight."
The lies on top of the lies, the cover up of the lies, the lying about the cover up. FFS.
Adam Wagner had previously tweeted that he didn't think the cheese n wine meeting had breached rules
Apparently Raab has a law degree from Cambridge & Oxford
https://twitter.com/adampayne26/status/1472890299424940038?t=VKTYSX_ThJVsq3rfjRaRdw&s=19
Kuenessburg is off too now.really is rats leaving the sinking ship for bojo isn't it?
at what point does this actually stop? Seriously why cant he be kicked out?
at what point does
this actually stop?he go to prison?
FTFY
Its a peculiar situation, there's a constant drip-feed of rule breaking, against a back-drop of the need for ever increasing COVID curbs to stop a potential spike in January. Even Javid said yesterday that they can't rule anything out before Xmas (repeat of last year anyone?) but what could they do at such short notice, and what percentage of people would follow it?
That photo has been sat on for 18 months, I guess its been taken with a long zoom hence the odd contrast, so why leak it now? It appears that a deliberate mistrust in the Government is being stirred up now to create a catastrophe for the New Year, resulting in BoJo being ousted. And for all those that say no-one would want to inherit BoJo's job, really? Do you not think there's a line of about 5 - 10 power hungry psychopath's wating to get in to the top spot?
maybe if they weren't all drinking wine during work time they'd be in a better position to make more well informed decisions.
Even if the leader changes, the government doesn't, it will be the same collection of entitled narcissists in power, doing what they want, largely with impunity. So I don't think it does stop, certainly not in the immediate future.
I guess its been taken with a long zoom hence the odd contrast
When you look at the layout of Downing Street, the angle and where that patio is it looks like it's been taken from inside no11 downing street itself.
but what could they do at such short notice
I think Boris's handing of Covid throughout was best summarised as 'doing the right thing about two weeks too late'. All his strategies have, by and large, been the right courses of action but because he has had to to be dragged to them, rather than lead they way, much of the benefit of that action is lost.
just when you though it couldn't get worse
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59728325
I understand that there's a big piNOt to any further restrictions
Pieface
Free MemberEven Javid said yesterday that they can’t rule anything out before Xmas (repeat of last year anyone?) but what could they do at such short notice, and what percentage of people would follow it?
It's a tactic they've used before, announce necessary restrictions late and actively undermine them, then when infection rates go up say "well we introduced teh necessary rules, you lot broke them"
just when you though it couldn’t get worse
Does anyone want to buy one of my kids...?
I think the public are being relied upon to act sensibly despite the government as opposed to because of them.
But we all know how that will play out "they are doing it, so why should I abstain?"
is it looks like it’s been taken from inside no11 downing street itself.
I be somewhat suspicious about security camera footage or as you say someone upstairs in the no10/11 complex with a phone camera.
I would be extremely surprised if there was any sightline into that garden for a long lens. Would give the protection officers a continual nervous breakdown.
Deffo taken from inside the building as a few seconds on google maps 3d shows.
tbh I think its amazing that the Tories are still so high
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1472978308132478991
Countdown til person who took/leaked the photo is fired...
worry for tories is that if they dont ditch him soon, many people will start giving up on the party
When a political collapse really happens it happens quickly and irrevocably. too early to tell yet but I am hoping this will make tories unelectable for a generation
tbf hes a ways off corbyns lowest!
Countdown til person who took/leaked the photo is fired…
well... depends on how many other photos they're holding. So far theres only a photo of what was going on in the garden of No10 but of course theres what was going on indoors as well
Could potentially be a photo from a drone, but I imagine security is good enough to spot that - to me, from the angle, it looks like the picture was taken from an overlooking window/terrace.
Micheal Goves office? hahah!
Pretty sure it was taken from a rear window in no 11..... Must have been deliberate, not the sort of picture taken for the view that just happened to have Boris in it.
The vantage-point of the photo can be pinpointed no doubt. It may have been taken with benign intentions. But if taken with ill intent, the photographer would obviously have snuck into a rival's office to take it, so they can be fitted up later if required.
So Sunak, or someone trying to incriminate Sunak?
Potentially!
AFAIK the PM lives in the flat above no 11, and the chancellor above number 10.
But Ed Balls doesn't specify whether he's talking about the flat or the office...
I think the funniest thing here, is not that the picture was taken, it's that it was taken by someone with top access to government shinannigans - this is an inside job for sure.
BoJo is a bit like Gadaffi at the moment, planning his exit and wondering how many of his co-conspiritors have the knives out for him.
It has all the hallmarks of a tinpot dictatorship.
Yup the paranoia must be intense
A nest of vipers
Yup the paranoia must be intense
Yep must be great watching the morning papers for another damaging article as another torpedo hits your ship 🙂
Theresa must must be laughing her socks off.
It’s a funny one thou ripping off the people with ppe contracts to friends and family and the fake Brexit done wasn’t the thing that really sank him, even the farce of wallpapergate.
The perceived failure to stick to his own covid rules did him in, but the pics of him in beast party mode haven’t really surfaced.
I suppose arguing and defending ‘no rules have been broken’ in plain sight they have was the straw to far.
The difference in expectations of behaviour is staggering. Let’s give them the benefit of doubt and suppose it is a “work meeting” but then consider that in comparison to what is demanded of normal people. Where is it acceptable to drink “at work” these days? Not many places I suggest. A train driver friend of mine talks of the random tests for drugs and drink because he has the safety of several hundred people in his hands. Instant dismissal for not taking that responsibility seriously. If those in the photo are responsible for our safety, should they be drinking? I mean they are looking after 3.9 million each!!!
Let’s give them the benefit of doubt and suppose it is a “work meeting” but then consider that in comparison to what is demanded of normal people. Where is it acceptable to drink “at work” these days? Not many places I suggest.
Agreed. And another thing that no one seems to be picking up on is the sharing of food. One of the many additional tasks I have to do now is manage the risk assessments for our buildings, one of the first control measures our Public Health team insisted on when we were bringing staff into the office was that under no circumstances could food be shared. The extended to not being allowed to make each other drinks etc.
I dunno. Spring 2020 wasn't everyone hanging out after work for a few glasses of wine with colleagues, chewing over the events of the day?
(Seems to be the Raaaaab defence)
He's lost the darts fraternity
https://twitter.com/christopherhope/status/1473067440623996932?t=QdqTxgQJ--2BtQNFelb8AA&s=19
I dunno. Spring 2020 wasn’t everyone hanging out after work for a few glasses of wine with colleagues, chewing over the events of the day?
I know, right?
Yep casette boys dropped one and there is a Christmas song about Boris Johnson.
He seems to have really stirred up a hornets nest.
That Leeds crowd....so simple yet so accurate (in several ways!)
Leadership bid and right wing tummy tickling ahoy!
https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/1473287015345098756?s=21
I'm inclined to think the EU are more concerned with the Good Friday Agreement than this government is.