MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
My money would be on them electing a totally unhinged ERG fruitloop as leader – Braverman or Badenoch – and for them to March off to the far right reaches of borderline fascism
It's wokeness gone bleedin mad. You don't get a look in if you are a white Christian man in today's Tory party.
Brown female Hindu/Buddhist/Muslim? Expect to be fast-tracked to the top of the Tory Party.
It's politically corrected borderline fascism. Probably.
I don’t think that white Christian’s have a monopoly on fascism. The Tory party are very ‘equal opportunities’ in accepting far right nutjobs of all creeds and colours
Anyway… I see that Zahawi is carrying on the Johnsonian tradition of casting himself as the persecuted victim, making no reference to his own dodgy behaviour and blaming everybody else but himself
https://twitter.com/paulbranditv/status/1619637690496086016?s=46&t=oyKrSxH2cNvw73-g8D6DIA
As set out at paragraph 11, I consider that Mr Zahawi should previously have declared the fact of the investigation. The subsequent fact that the investigation concluded with a penalty in relation to the tax affairs of a Minister also requires declaration and discussion. It is a relevant interest which could give rise to a conflict, and particularly so in the case of HM Treasury Ministers and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has responsibility for the UK tax system. As a result of my inquiries, I conclude that Mr Zahawi failed to update his declaration of interest form appropriately after this settlement was agreed in principle in August 2022. It was not until mid-January 2023 (see paragraph 16) that details of the earlier HMRC investigation and its outcome were declared. 14. I also conclude that, in the appointments process for the governments formed in September 2022 and October 2022, Mr Zahawi failed to disclose relevant information - in this case the nature of the investigation and its outcome in a penalty - at the time of his appointment, including to Cabinet Office officials who support that process. Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing Prime Minister. 15. Taken together, I consider that these omissions constitute a serious failure to meet the standards set out in the Ministerial Code. 16. Mr Zahawi informed me that on 16th January 2023 he submitted, to his Permanent Secretary, his declaration of interests form in relation to his current role as Minister without Portfolio, to which he was appointed on 25th October 2022, and that in that form he included detail of the outcome of the HMRC investigation. At the time of my investigation this declaration was under consideration by the Permanent Secretary and had yet to be submitted onward to me for consideration. Given the seriousness of this matter, I would have expected Mr Zahawi to attend to his submission much more rapidly and, as stated in paragraph 14 above, to have notified Cabinet Office officials at the time of his appointment.
Conclusions from the investigator as in the Grauniad
Its really pretty damning
Anyway… I see that Zahawi is carrying on the Johnsonian tradition of casting himself as the persecuted victim, making no reference to his own dodgy behaviour and blaming everybody else but himself
Both the letter from Sunak "firing" him and his letter accepting it are very strange. Very little mention of dodgy dealings, just a load of praise for some other stuff he's done and a nod to his ethnic minority background.
The main issue though is what's gone on in the background with him trying to use libel laws to quash the investigation. Basically he knew what he was doing was 100% wrong but he thought that like Braverman (sacked for breaches of the ministerial code, almost immediately reinstated) and Patel (breached ministerial code, actually promoted by Johnson!), he could get away with it because he was surrounded by his mates and everyone else was doing it and...and...and ..
Long Twitter thread on it here.
https://twitter.com/DanNeidle/status/1616030741225246720?t=nrJi8MHcc8_C9YCFsA1XAA&s=19
The only thing I’m interested in now is the next election
You are not alone. I’m surprised how many Conservative voters I know think that there should be an election ASAP, and for the current government to be replaced… even those who are still minded to vote Conservative in their own seat. Everything between now and an election is just time wasting, in the view of many people, of all sorts of political leanings. We need a general election now.
You don’t get a look in if you are a white Christian man in today’s Tory party.
King of the trolls. Well done.
Both the letter from Sunak “firing” him and his letter accepting it are very strange.
Sorry seems to be the hardest word.
he could get away with it because he was surrounded by his mates and everyone else was doing it
And yet it was precisely this attitude which triggered off the beginning of Boris Johnson's downfall and then finally finished him off 8 or 9 months later.
The irony is that what brought Johnson's downfall was his commitment to his dodgy mates rather than his own dodgy behaviour.
They’re all completely shameless and genuinely seem to believe that they’re above the law and that the rules governing everyone else simply don’t apply to them
Again: the toxic legacy of Boris Johnson, the man who has done so much to debase everything he touches
The irony is that what brought Johnson’s downfall was his commitment to his dodgy mates rather than his own dodgy behaviour
or being very careful with his treatment of the people who know where the bodies are buried, if you’re feeling less benevolent
I’ve always had the feeling Johnson has codependents, not mates. Nothing I’ve seen in recent years changes that for me.
I don’t think that white Christian’s have a monopoly on fascism.
Obviously not. I also don't think that Suella Braverman is a likely contender to be Tory leader, and yet you offer her as one of two possible candidates.
The suggestion is obviously done for effect rather than because it is a likely possibility.
As is the suggestion of "borderline fascism".
When sunak was annointed he waa asked if/when he would release his tax return(s).
Answers were...yes and before Christmas - year not specified.
To date - nothing.
Journalists now beginning to ask questions.
Honesty, integrity, transparency Mr sunak?
You couldn't make it up.
I also don’t think that Suella Braverman is a likely contender to be Tory leader, and yet you offer her as one of two possible candidates
The suggestion is obviously done for effect rather than because it is a likely possibility
I’m prepared to have the now standard STW wager of a 20 quid Greggs voucher that the next Tory Leader will be either Suella Braverman or Kemi Badenoch. The membership of senile daily mail readers who make up the Tory leadership electorate absolutely love them both
You having that Ernie?
The only way I can see that being anybody else I’d if they dethrone Rishi in May, after the disastrous local elections, and reinstall Boris (which the Tory party is now insane and dysfunctional enough to do). But that would simply postpone the inevitable Braverman or Badenoch leadership
I’ve always had the feeling Johnson has codependents, not mates. Nothing I’ve seen in recent years changes that for me.
Its always transactional with folk like him.
A tory wipeout would be interesting, a whole new host of MPs would they go full Tea Party/ Trump or would the more traditional style tories come back?
It probably depends on which ones are left in parliament as that's where the power lies. If whoever is left is mostly of one faction, then there's a high chance that the other faction will split to form a new party. At least that's what labour will be praying for.
I've followed the commentary on here of this gov through PPE orders, through parties, through Truss, now this, it's like a never ending river of ****, it's endless.
They are even giving us literal never ending rivers of shit.
Well, they’ve voted for another 15 years of filling rivers and coasts with shit. Hopefully that can be stopped sooner than that. We need a general election now.
I’m prepared to have the now standard STW wager of a 20 quid Greggs voucher that the next Tory Leader will be either Suella Braverman or Kemi Badenoch
Agree, they'll swing back to culture warrior types of given the chance, but they have been burnt by sunak's inexperience, cleverly or barclay would be in with a shout if they swing hard enough to the populist right
The direction the Tories take after the next general election will be dependent on what they see as the most effective way to regain power.
The Tories are very very good at winning power. And one of the reasons they are so good at winning power is because they are so adaptable.
The unprecedented level of gender, ethnic, and religious diversity, of the Tory leadership and Cabinet is testament to that - who could have imagined it 20 years ago? As is their ability to adapt when circumstances require it - it was a Tory government which took the UK into the EEC, then a Tory government which took the UK into the EU, and then a Tory government which took the UK out of the EU.
Three or four months ago it seemed that the Tories could finally implement the economic policies outlined in Britannia Unchained. When the electoral consequences of these policies became obvious they were unceremoniously abandoned, their Chancellor was sacked, and their Party Leader was replaced faster than any other PM in history (who hadn't died)
I don't know who the next leader of the Tory Party will be nor the direction that they will take. But I am confident that on both counts it will be based on who and what they believe will best help them to regain power. And that they will have learnt the lessons of Truss and suicidal policies.
Are you taking that bet then?
Isn't Sunak in a spot of bother with this latest revelations? I've lost a bit of where things have happened on this but didn't Sunak say in Parliament that he didn't know about Zahawis tax affairs/issues? Is there a hasty 'clarification' required if so?
I tend to agree that they are locked in a circle of ever moving to the right and stoking culture wars. I think they will retreat to that. Maybe not its no sure thing but although the "sensible" [part of the party is still there they have lost all power. The membership has reduced to an extremist rump
breatheeasy - its not easy to keep track for sure
I think Sunak is probably safe for now for a number reasons - there are no real sanctions for misleading parliament / lying, he used weasel words rather than categorical statements and the tories really do not want another leadership election. After a disaster at the locals tho and with Johnson agitating to come back anything could happen
I don’t know which is the greater signifier to the depths to which we’ve sunk - a country where the man in charge of HMRC is fined for tax irregularities or a country where Greggs vouchers is a thing
What a time to be alive!
I note Ernie has shied away from becoming the next member of the forum to have to buy my steak bakes.
All mouth and no pasties, that lad 😉
My missus put things in perspective on Friday, after she'd spent the evening volunteering at what is basically a soup kitchen/food bank.
"Surely it should be impossible for Labour to lose the next election? The Tories are so utterly out of touch. People literally can't afford to eat and the chair of their party was paying a million quid fine, on top of five million in unpaid taxes. While he was chancellor! They have no concept of the effects of their decisions.
She's right it should be impossible for SKS to lose, but the GE is still a long way off, this country is full of morons and SKS isn't utterly inspiring...
As it stand I couldn't in good conscience cast a vote that helps put another Tory in parliament, sadly that includes splitting the difference and voting for one of the other parties that perhaps represent my views a bit more closely, I'd have to say Labour basically has my sewn up vote right now. Please don't let them go off the rails over the next couple of years...
I don’t know which is the greater signifier to the depths to which we’ve sunk
Has it ever been any different? I know it’s difficult to compare the current shitshow of a govt to anything else but we’ve always had corruption, incompetence, venality and arrogance as a feature of our govt whoever is in power. The ‘depths’ are where we’ve always been, but we ignore them now and again if other stuff is going ok.
cookea
the problem is we are fighting an integrated propaganda machine as well and a rigged electoral system
How much of a problem is it TJ?
The fact that Zahawi was forced to pay several million pounds in tax to settle a dispute with HMRC was revealed to the world by a Tory supporting newspaper.
The integrated propaganda machine doesn't seem to be benefiting the Tories much these days. The very latest poll:
https://twitter.com/Omnisis/status/1618992138657857536
And the reason Labour are possibly going to have a huge landslide victory in the coming general election is because of our rigged electoral system.
These issues aren't really quite the problem some people make them out to be. Although they are often used as excuses to justify electoral failure.
To be honest I don’t care anymore, i was very invested in the downfall of Boris and the unbelievable Trusster Cluck but im beyond bored now as I suspect are the majority of the population. The only thing I’m interested in now is the next election, I have no faith that the system, either political or legal, will hold any of them to account.
I'm at the same point, just counting down the days to the point where I can help get them out of power. The rouble is that it's probably exactly what they want right now as they can then carry on destroying everything for their own gains. I have no doubt that they know they'll be annihilated for an electoral cycle or two and are actually just focussing on creating as many traps for Labour as they can, stuff they can leverage to get back in power ASAP. They must be thinking that if they accelerate the damage now then Labour won't be able to undo it all fast enough, they can then come back in and continue. Sort of that they can now take 3 steps forward rather than the usual 2, Labour will get us one step back while they can but the overall move will be a 1 step gain for the Tories. It's a bloody scary thought!
I note Ernie has shied away from becoming the next member of the forum to have to buy my steak bake
s.All mouth and no pasties, that lad 😉
If it took them a while to elect the next one then inflation would mean your £20 gift card would possibly stretch to 1 Steak Bake!
binners - does your devotion to Greggs extend to being a shareholder?
Stock market launch May 1993 58.3p/share; closing price 27 Jan 2023 £28.56/share.
A 45 fold increase in 30 years plus divis - or, even better, re-investment.
As a proud geordie whose mother shopped at greggs since their earliest local NE shops I should have invested - but didn't.
Another ho hum.
Sure Ernie. Labour do not need 10% higher national polling to get an equal number of seats. There are plenty of labour supporting newspapers and the broadcast media are even handed.
At the moment the tory press are supporting factions withing the tory party as a part of the jockeying for position. come the campaign we will see the usual onslaught of anti labour propaganda being pumped out
Why are labour so timid? Fear of the tory press.
Sure Ernie. Labour do not need 10% higher national polling to get an equal number of seats. There are plenty of labour supporting newspapers and the broadcast media are even handed.
If it was that much of a problem we would never have Labour governments. It is massively exaggerated and used as an excuse for failure. Are you suggesting that all recent opinion polls are false?
The press biase in favour of the Tories isn't going to change any time soon. So stop whingeing and making excuses.
Very few voters are billionaires. But do you hear the Tories whingeing "it's not fair, everything is stacked against us"?
And of course vote supression in the form of mandatory ID
I'm not whinging and making excuses. I was pointing out a some of the reasons why the tories win so many elections in England
I was pointing out a some of the reasons why the tories win so many elections in England
I saw it as you putting the dampers on cookea's post by lowering expectations.
I reckon only a miracle could guarantee the Tories winning next year's general election.
Whatever the Tory newspapers say and the concentration of Labour urban votes.
And you missed one obvious reason btw, Labour tend to be shite at winning elections. The Tories on the other hand are masters of exploiting disasters which they themselves are responsible for.
The Tories on the other hand are masters of exploiting disasters which they themselves are responsible for.
And how do you think they do that?
Aside from a friendly press who are willing to report the lies.
A great example is the great PR expert Cameron.
We got endless lines about his genius up until the point where he went against the right wing rags at which point he got slaughtered and it became obvious that his PR job at a crap tv channel which his mummy had organised for him hadnt made him a PR genius.
Voter suppression?
We'll be able to assess the initial effect at the local elections in May.
That comment does not imply I'm undecided about it.
It is, unequivocally, voter suppression; unjustified, without foundation, undemocratic and immoral.
Given the clarity of Laurie Magnus's comments, Starmer should push forcefully for all ministers to formally - and on the record - confirm their adherence to the nolan principles.
Additionally, they should be required to demonstrate that the tests Magnus applied/questions asked would be answered to the satisfaction of an independent reviewer who is completely separate to and independent of the 'independent' ethics advisor; yes, I know, too many independents.
Aside but, just popped onto the bbc site for something else and on the front page Zahawi is now just in the sidebar, with Boris Johnson and Ukraine as the main story and "over 50s at work" being more newsworthy. On the "Uk" tab it's a picture story but off the bottom of the front page...
Of course, they have their man looking after the BBC now. It currently still reports the stories but they do their best to play down their significance and push other stories to bury the bad stuff now. Boris being threatened by Putin is nothing special, he does it to everyone, but it creates a good distraction story.
I think the media barons have now abandoned the tories as largely an irrelevance at the next election, they will now use their outlets to influence labour policy. Same as the oligarchs, I expect labour fundraising to be boosted considerably between now and the next election as the rich switch horses and try to buy influence over policy direction.
Yep, people with money tend to know where to best put it and buying Labour MPs is clearly the better use of money now than buying Tory MPs.
TBH I think we can expect the BBC news to be so out of kilter with reality the more that surfaces.
I can’t believe something hasn’t surfaced about the sunaks finances yet, perhaps they are having a hard time getting the accounts looking safe to publish.
Has Rishi booked a flight?
Check the QR code for booking info....
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I don’t think any Tory politician has ended up in jail for over 20 years. Not since Jonathan Aitken.
Edit: Today’s bad boys are lightweights…… the best they can manage is Fixed Penalty Notices.
How gullible are you?
It's because they've learned how to either not get caught, and ensure that if they are, it's better 'managed'.
Nice little fight seeming to be starting now, poor tax dodger zahawi clearly thinks he has been done over by sunak.
Which round of the tory big fight live are we on now?
How gullible are you?
It’s because they’ve learned how to either not get caught, and ensure that if they are, it’s better ‘managed’.
Not gullible enough to make this statement:
I shall vote Tory at the next election. At least with them there is the entertainment factor of wondering which one is going to be next to wind up in jail.
No Tory MP has gone to jail for over 20 years. The entertainment factor of wondering which one is going to be next to wind up in jail is unlikely to be huge.
HTH
Aitken and Archer both got caught lying in court. Viewed rather more seriously than tax avoidance etc
Mone could end up in jail. Seems the most likely candidate. Not hugely likely tho
Aitken and Archer both got caught lying in court.
Which is why they ended up in prison.
Sunak still hasn't seen The Thick of It has he? He's on the news again thanking nurses for the important work that they do. 😀
It's really quite funny watching him on these Q&A sessions. Never in my life have I seen a prime minister so lacking in gravitas and substance. He comes across as a PR consultant who's landed his first job and is super enthusiastic but knows bugger all.
I think I've made this analogy before... he comes across like a temporary head flown into a struggling school giving his speech to the parents... lots of smiles and enthusiasm... doesn't dare do a Q&A at the end because he hasn't got a clue.
TBF he looks more comfortable talking to the public rather than the media, although he has quite a talent for patronising explanations about stuff. His mansplainy lecture on inflation and wage price spirals was something to behold. His biggest problem though is that most of his answers are about stuff he can't do and he's very good at explaining why he can't do something.
TBF he looks more comfortable talking to the public rather than the media
Well, I belly laughed at that. His contacts with the public have always been disastrous. And I'm not just talking the "Mexican Coke" and holding a payment card against a glass window stuff. People might be polite and not call him out to his face, but you know what they leave an encounter with him thinking. And what impression such encounters have on any observers. Well, except perhaps people who work for hedgefunds (the ones that aren't homeless).
His contacts with the public have always been disastrous.
Don't mistake stage managed photo opportunities for what he's doing now. I don't recall Johnson doing Q&As with nurses and doctors.
Sunak is saying its time to "move on" from Zahawi which means its pretty clear there is more to come out and more questions to be answered especially about what he knew when
Pretty obvious he was reluctant to sack Zahawi as it opens the floodgates for pro-Johnson MPs to have a pop at him. Judging by the reports this morning about MPs being 'furious' at how Zahawi has been treated that's exactly what is happening.
Judging by the reports this morning about MPs being ‘furious’ at how Zahawi has been treated that’s exactly what is happening.
I'm struggling to imagine anywhere else that such an attitude would be tolerated.
Breach of ministerial code (plus the general lying about it, the attempts to hush it up using libel laws to prevent it being reported...)
Sacked (and even then it's a very gentle sacking - he's still a backbench MP, still on his £85k/yr salary)
And now MPs are "furious how he's been treated" ??!!
If anyone at my workplace had done even half of that, their feet wouldn't have touched the ground as they were sacked and anyone expressing sympathy for them would be up in front of HR for a little discussion about workplace ethics.
The Guardian opened up the can of worms nicely with an article about the route they've all gone through to get where they are now - this aura of entitlement the moment they set foot into Eton or Winchester...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/29/elitist-leadership-zahawi-schools-britain
And now MPs are “furious how he’s been treated” ??!!
Are they really though? Or is it more likely that it's Johnson's merry band of travellers using the opportunity to turn the party and the media against Sunak? These are the early stages of a campaign to get rid of him in the summer and replace him with Johnson. I'm pretty sure everything we're seeing in the media is being orchestrated by Johnson's people.
Well I'm assuming that one is satire... after the bath one, I'm not so sure.
I couldn't believe the bath photo.
Mainly because I worked next to Ian Maxwell and could never imagine him putting his name to sonething like that.
I assume he cares **** all about about Andrew but is concerned about his sister
Breaches of the ministerial code over tax affairs is a very serious issue, but I don't understand how it appears to consume people in a way which the Windrush scandal doesn't seem to.
Yes Zahawi is dodgy, and Rishi Sunak's reluctance to do anything until forced to do so is deplorable, but IMO Windrush is a far worse scandal that has actually had a devastating affect on innocent people's lives.
A couple of days ago the main BBC evening news gave the latest update on the scandal, even the Daily Telegraph reported it:
But unless I missed it no one has mentioned it on this thread.
I am appalled but hardly surprised that a wealthy Tory tries to avoid paying taxes. I am appalled and angry over the Windrush Scandal.
It was talked about recently in the Suella Braverman thread. Brought up by you there as well. One of the biggest scandals of the last hundred years. No one is interested in the lies around a recent chancellor instead of longer running “failings” by this government, but as well as. The story of a chancellor trying to avoid paying millions of pounds of tax owed, and using legal threats to try and muzzle those investigating him… that is a big current story and deserves attention in its own right. As is the judgment of a series of PMs who appointed him, and the not recent one defending him (we’re supposed to forget that is exactly what Sunak was doing a matter of days ago).
[ I say failings, but it’s not just carelessness that’s the cause IMHO, but a system designed to fail people. ]
No it wasn't. That above link to the latest update concerning the Windrush Scandal was from Friday. It has not been mentioned recently on the Braverman thread. In fact nothing has been posted on the Braverman thread for over a week.
It is obviously not considered to be that important.
Oh but hold the front page......a Tory politician has been caught lying!
Edit for your edit :
Brought up by you there as well.
Yeah I regularly bring it up, why don't you?
I constantly hear punters on stw banging on about how racist voters apparently are, but when it comes to actual blatant racism which affects people's lives I am astonished at the lack of interest.
It is important. Both issues are. One is currently a bigger story because someone who held the second most important post in government this year had been attempting to withhold tax and then silence people pointing it out. It wasn’t just “some Tory lying”, it was someone for whom the buck ultimately stops as regards tax collection paying a huge penalty for avoiding evading paying tax owed, and then attempting to keep that quiet through vexatious legal threats.
It is obviously not considered to be that important.
You'll notice the Ukraine thread isn't seeing as much action as it was 9 months ago despite people being just as outraged then as they are now. And that one's got tanks and fighter jets in it.
It's not that people don't think it's important, it's just that people tend to discuss 'new' things more than 'old' things.
Anyway, you'll notice that, again, you haven't actually introduced any new information or opinions on the subject of the Windrush Scandal yourself. All you've done is point out that we aren't talking about it enough. If there's something specific you want people to talk about then try making a point about that particular issue rather than just saying no one in interested.
it’s just that people tend to discuss ‘new’ things more than ‘old’ things.
You obviously didn't bother reading the link I posted or my comment that it was covered by BBC evening news about 3 days ago.
My surprise is that no one seems that interested, compared to the multiple posts basically repeating the same thing about Zahawi.
Braverman announced a written ministerial statement concerning the Windrush Scandal a few days ago. It was "news".
If you prefer to read the report in the Guardian here it is :
The Windrush Scandal was a most appalling injustice, so appalling in fact that a Tory government 3 years ago was shamed into agreeing important measures in an attempt to correct this injustice.
Those commitments are now being quietly dropped with the minimal amount of fuss being created. Basically because not that many people seem to be interested in the issue.
I hear a lot of accusations of racism on stw. In fact it is staggering how often the accusation is used. So I find it a bit surprising when a huge and important story concerning blatant government racism gets so little mention.
Treating immigrants like crap is an actual vote winner for a certain demographic & Braverman has been wooing them for some time. You only have to look at Sunak & his 'Stop The Boats' pledge to see that its an issue that doesnt universally appall in the same way that tax evasion does, even though its far far worse!
I suspect he reason that the main recommendations are being ditched is that among other things they call for a migrants commissioner and these are going to be in direct contradiction to one of Sunak's 5 pledges.
Treating immigrants like crap is an actual vote winner for a certain demographic & Braverman has been wooing them for some time.
If that is true so what? I was asking why the apparent lack of interest in the Windrush Scandal on here, at least in comparison to the intense interest in greedy wealthy Tories telling porkies.
And there is no evidence that the Windrush Scandal is a vote winner for the Tories btw. Why do think a Tory government accepted all the recommendations 3 years ago?
The single biggest problem with regards to the Scandal IMO is that it receives so little attention. No normal sane person can be anything other than appalled by it, and if they aren't then it is probably because they don't know the details.
I think a number of factors and its not that folk don't care.
Its not a rapidly developing story with a nice bit of schadenfreude
It doesn't ex[pose schisms in the tory party
No tory is going to be sacked as a result
Many of us have already said our bit.
Its utterly disgraceful that they are doing this. I have condemned it several times
So I find it a bit surprising when a huge and important story concerning blatant government racism gets so little mention.
Thanks for bringing it up. Your contribution to the woke cause is admirable. You’re pushing on an open door, few posting here are happy with Braverman and the rest of this government resisting independent oversight of the Home Office as regards immigration. It fails people again and again, and in my opinion by design because of government policy and intervention design to signal to voters that they are tough on migrants and their families. But it is possible to bring up something this important without having to use it to berate everyone else for talking about one of the other many “failings” of this government under this PM and his predecessors, especially in the immediate aftermath of a sacking from government of the politician at the heart of the story being discussed.
It doesn’t ex[pose schisms in the tory party
Why doesn't it? Braverman is deliberately scrapping agreed Tory government policy. The Windrush Scandal forced the resignation of a Tory Home Secretary.
You obviously didn’t bother reading the link I posted or my comment that it was covered by BBC evening news about 3 days ago.
I didn't. Which particular political thread was it posted on? You try to score points on so many. Did you accompany the link with any insights or were you just ticking boxes so that you could accuse the rest of us of hypocrisy?
What exactly would you like us to say about it? Many have expressed their disgust. It's difficult to offer solutions beyond getting the Tories out. As has been mentioned, it's not a fast developing story so between that and the fact that no one is going to get fired over it there's a limit to what can actually be discussed. That's why even you can't find anything to say about it so you accuse the rest of us of not discussing it enough instead.
Some of us tried pointing out that voting for Brexit turbo-charged and emboldened the Tories to pursue their inherent racist tendencies but you didn't like that being pointed out.
I didn’t. Which particular political thread was it posted on?
This thread this page.
But listen if you aren't interested in the Home Secretary's latest statement concerning the Windrush Scandal then that's fine - I am just surprised how little it seems to concern some people who are otherwise extremely concerned with all aspects of dodgy Tory governments. And also claim to be so concerned about racism.
I cannot think of one better example of UK government racism than Windrush. Can you?
Don't confuse disinterest in your barracking of everyone else with disinterest in the Windrush scandal itself, and the way this government is using both racist and anti-immigrant sentiment to try and shore up support. We're aware of it. We're concerned about it. We're disgusted by it. We're embarrassed by it. We're angry about it. We're sad about it. Perhaps we should signal that more often in the forum.
I am not barracking anyone. I have simply made an observation that the intense interest in a greedy and dishonest Tory contrasts sharply with the apparent complete disinterest in the Home Secretary's statement on Windrush.
I know which of the two winds me up the most. Greedy dishonest Tory? Who knew such a thing existed?
But listen if you aren’t interested in the Home Secretary’s latest statement concerning the Windrush Scandal then that’s fine
I am interested. I'm also interested in what you've got to say about it.
So please, say something about it that doesn't involve telling the rest of us that we aren't saying anything about it.
I know you think it's terrible and racist (something we've all said) but what else have you got to say about it?
‘Tell us which schools could collapse’: Labour will force ministers to reveal data
Classy move by Sunak to try and hide the report into the perilous state of school buildings too - could be the next 'scandal' to the level of Windrush.
God forbid any of the schools on the danger list actually do fail and cause injury.
I am not barracking anyone. I have simply made an observation that the intense interest in a greedy and dishonest Tory contrasts sharply with the apparent complete disinterest in the Home Secretary’s statement on Windrush.
Most people, most of the time, are inherently pretty fair. They like to see fair play. So when they pay their fair share of tax, even though they're on relatively low income, they also expect everyone else to pay a fair share and, when it emerges that they're not, and then they're trying to lie about it, cover it up etc, it becomes quite a sore point.
Especially when said tax-avoider is already a multi-millionaire and has a whopping paycheck that the vast majority of people in this country can only dream of AND they get all their expenses and subsidised food...
There's always an element of schadenfreude in seeing the high and mighty brought down to earth with a bump.
But Windrush, while it was and remains a horrific scandal, directly affects fewer people so it's not as "in the news" nor is it as relevant to the "person on the street" - who in many ways may also be a racist DM reader and not really care about the fate of immigrants...
A fair comment crazy-legs although I don't really understand it - I quite genuinely can't get angry over the Nadhim Zahawi fiasco. I know what he did was bang out of order but to me he is just another greedy and dishonest politician - who finds that truly shocking? And why waste energy getting angry over that?
On the other hand the Windrush Scandal genuinely makes me angry - we are talking about a monstrous injustice, one which saw innocent people deported or refused healthcare, with naked racism at its very heart.
And unlike the Nadhim Zahawi case it is, imo, shocking, even by the standards of the UK's long established racist immigration and nationality laws.
So shocking in fact that a Tory Prime Minister, one who as Home Secretary was responsible for a highly toxic and hostile environment towards immigrants:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Go_Home%22_vans
was forced to apologise and agree to important and crucial reforms. Commitments which are being dropped with the minimal amount of fuss.
In comparison I frankly couldn't give a monkeys about Nadhim Zahawi or what he tried unsuccessfully to do. And tbh I doubt that many people are genuinely angry about the Zahawi story. I reckon it has far more to do with the pleasure derived from making things awkward for Sunak than genuine anger.