What has he done that is exactly the same as Matt Hancock?
Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng ask for £10,000 a day to work for non-existent company
In a sting operation set up by campaign group Led By Donkeys, Mr Hancock and Mr Kwarteng both set out five-figure sums for what they would expect to be paid to advise a non-existent firm in South Korea.
One has the whip withdrawn, one not.
We already know that doing a reality TV show is frowned upon by the party, bankrupting the economy?... not so much
One has the whip withdrawn, one not.
Yes but Hancock didnt have it withdrawn for the "consulting" gig.
He had already lost the whip due to appearing on "i am a celebrity" on the grounds he wouldnt be able to represent his constituents (yes this does beg the question about Johnson and all his holidays...).
One has the whip withdrawn, one not.
So you think that Kwasi Kwarteng should have the Tory whip withdrawn for a completely different reason to why Matt Hancock had the Tory whip withdrawn. I don't see how that can be described as exactly the same.
My Apologies Ernesto. I had foolishly assumed that Hancock had the whip withdrawn for being caught red-handed offering to break the law with regard to paid lobbying, so therefore the same should apply to Kamikwasi
How silly of me. I should have known thats all par for the course in the modern Tory party, whereas eating a kangaroos bollocks will really get you in trouble
whereas eating a kangaroos bollocks will really get you in trouble
Yes, if they are still attached, bigly trouble.
I had foolishly assumed that Hancock had the whip withdrawn for being caught red-handed offering to break the law with regard to paid lobbying,
Hancock didnt offer to break the law. He just offered his "consulting" skills.
Unlike this latest muppet Hancock and Kwazi know how to play the game.
Well you should have known that Matt Hancock had the whip withdrawn because he appeared on I'm A Celebrity, I'm surprised that you didn't.
I am also surprised that you apparently don't know that paid lobbying isn't breaking the law, unless it is a minister, even if they are "caught red-handed".
Rishi Sunak can withdraw the whip from a Tory MP for appearing on I'm A Celebrity but if he wants to do it to MPs who accept a second job he will have to do it to over 90 Tory MPs.
The two situations are clearly not exactly the same.
I don't actually pay much attention to reality TV shows, or their fallout Ernesto
Other than Married at First Sight - Australia, that is, which is bizarrely compelling. It not so much a car crash as a rolling three lane pile up, involving a chemical waste tanker and an illegal shipment of nuclear weapons
Give it a watch
I am also surprised that you apparently don’t know that paid lobbying isn’t breaking the law, unless it is a minister, even if they are “caught red-handed”.
Probably because this isnt true. The rules are, probably, deliberately confusing but they apply to all MPs.
There is the "Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014." which amongst other things requires anyone being paid to lobby ministers to register as a lobbyist.
Which, unfortunately, for MPs would break the code of conduct for MPs.
Hence why the latest muppet is in trouble since rather than being suitably vague about his consulting help he directly said he would lobby on their behalf.
I don’t actually pay much attention to reality TV shows, or their fallout Ernesto
I don't watch I'm A Celebrity either but I do have a vague interest in Tory Party shenanigans.
I thought it was reasonably well-known by anyone with a vague interest that Matt Hancock didn't have the whip withdrawn because of the Led By Donkeys sting.
The offer to leak an unpublished White Paper directly to the gambling industry is the most obvious breach of Parliamentary standards. Not far from falling foul of insider trading legislation, had he actually done it rather than just make the offer. Not sure if there is a conspiracy offence for this, it's definitely market sensitive information.
Not sure if there is a conspiracy offence for this, it’s definitely market sensitive information.
Yeah he definitely saw the line and backed away from it before sprinting back and aiming for the world record long jump.
I wonder if it counts as insider trading though if its used to sell consulting services to the gambling firms vs actually trading shares?
The depressing thing is only 2-4k a month. Why do they sell everything so cheap. Ability to directly annoy ministers and place questions has got to be worth more than that.
Looks like Craig Whittaker got lucky.
Had agreed to meet the times team but hadnt done so by the time the ledbydonkeys story came out.
Makes you wonder how crooked they all are if a fairly nobody MP reckons he can waltz in and get some fairly hush hush information off presumably someone in the cabinet, or fairly high up.
Surprised, to be honest, that he hasn't gone for the 'I knew it was a sting all along and was just stringing them along to, erm, proove a point' excuse.
A great example of how things don't simply just fit into one thread. Wouldn't want you guys over here to not see this example.
I think the target is Sunak?
https://twitter.com/UKLabour/status/1643973886311297028?t=5ksjx00SgndeUq_fkd604Q&s=19
Imagine the focus group that helped with that....
I think the target is Sunak?
Of course it is. He’s been blaming failures in this area on “political correctness”, to divert from what his government has been doing to the police and legal system.
Not sure what to make of dirty return fire like this. Perhaps I prefer a clean loser.
Of course it is. He’s been blaming failures in this area on “political correctness”, to divert from what his government has been doing to the police and legal system.
Meaning it fits into the Sunak thread Kelvin.
It's totally debased BTW.
"Tweet implies that the PM, Rishi Sunak, doesn't support prison sentences for sexual assaults against children.
The current sentencing guidelines for this crime has a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment."
Of course it fits in this thread.
The numbers seem dodgy as well, I’d like to know how many of those avoiding a custodial sentence where close in age, for a start.
Taking aim at Sunak on policy areas of his own choosing seems far game to me. But this isn’t the kind of ad I want to see. I’m more of a “when they go low, we go high” kind of a person.
Agreed.
Not sure what to make of dirty return fire like this.
I have no problem at all. That sort of tactic is totally deplorable if it comes from the Tories or UKIP, it is even more deplorable when it comes from a political party funded by trade unions.
Completely devoid of ideas as he is, I see we're back to this again. We're all 'anti-maths' now apparently...
https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1647829406491062272?s=20
Still no word on where he's going to magic these maths teachers up from to teach all these students who'd rather be studying a subject they actually like and is more applicable to their career plans 🙄
Voters being unaware of simple mathematics is probably the only hope he has.
Much as I support STEM learning, I don't think lack of maths among the general population is holding the country back. You run the risk of effectively wasting everyone's time that could be used for more utilitarian things.
Much as I support STEM learning, I don’t think lack of maths among the general population is holding the country back.
I doubt it helps but the solution of making it compulsory to 18 isnt the answer.
If people havent learned maths to an okay level by 16 either a)they are never going to or b)there is something wrong with the teaching.
Extending it another 2 years isnt going to help much in either case. Arguably in the latter it will make things worse since the teachers will be more stretched.
“We’ve got to change this anti-maths mindset. We’ve got to start prizing numeracy for what it is – a key skill every bit as essential as reading,”
Well no-one would suggest that basic numeracy is not an essential skill.
Sunak is expected to point to statistics showing the UK is below average for numeracy among industrialised countries, with more than 8 million adults having maths skills below those expected in schools for a child of nine.
So if the education system can't teach those skills in 11 years, how will 2 more years help those pupils that are obviously struggling, which could be any number of reasons?
This again is absolutely nonsense. "Anti maths". FFS.
Hats off to the photographer who spotted his potential 'Thick of It' moment.
Yeah... if you could just move a bit to the right for me?
https://twitter.com/kimjwhitehead/status/1647667510223708160?s=20
Given that I'm old enough to remember this Conservative government launching successive maths teaching initiatives over the past 12 years or so, a more pertinent question might be why none of these have had any impact on the woke anti-maths population, and why Sunak thinks his latest one will do any better.
And you might ask why these initiatives have not increased the supply of maths teachers. Decades ago a DH in London said to me, 'if you're a reasonable maths graduate teacher and you're not being paid a scale 4 (then a HoF salary) then there's something wrong with you.' I don't think the situation has improved since then.
if you’re a reasonable maths graduate teacher
But if the problem is 8 million adults with skills expected of a 9 year old, then you don't need maths graduates to solve that.
You need skilled and well trained teachers to teach basic maths in Primary school. No need for a degree to teach fractions, percentages, etc.
The whole thing is just another load of shit dumped on the media so they can carry on with the tear up of the Country.
Its making me twitch that he is constantly mixing up maths and arithmetic / numeracy.
He talks about both in the bit I saw. "nurse needs maths to calculate dosages" - no thats arithmentic "Media types need vectors and matrices" Thats maths!
You need skilled and well trained teachers to teach basic maths in Primary school. No need for a degree to teach fractions, percentages, etc.
thats arithmetic!
I'm twitching away here 🙂
Media types need vectors and matrices
Matrix calculus completely did my head in at A level age, but then became essential for writing for 3D image generators. But those kinds of skills have nothing to do with trying to catch people up at further education level. We need better education provision at primary and secondary education as the priority. So teachers. Teachers. At A level age what doesn't help is the huge cut in funding per a pupil in the state sector... which is what we have had under this Conservative government. Sunak could start by reversing those cuts.
@tjagain - you had best avoid Scottish education system which uses the terms maths and numeracy... 😆
We don't have an anti-maths problem, we have an anti-intellectualism problem which is far more serious. It's not cool to be academic in general, which causes problems across the board in education. Which then has far reaching consequences for society.
You need skilled and well trained teachers to teach
basic mathsin Primary school.
In my wife's experience this is a much bigger issue.
@tjagain – you had best avoid Scottish education system which uses the terms maths and numeracy…
thats OK - I'm happy with numeracy and arithmetic being synonyms but numeracy and maths are not the same thing *twitches*
I did O Grade maths and O grade arithmetic back in the day
I'm struggling a bit with the whole premise of this....
We joke about not being able to do maths, but we’d never make a joke about not being able to read.
I can't recall ever hearing anyone joke about not being able to do maths? Can you?
https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1647888688427286528?s=20
He literally* lives in a parallel universe.
[ * sorry, not sorry ]
Would love to see a checkbox saying "properly fund maths teaching at all levels of education".
I can’t recall ever hearing anyone joke about not being able to do maths? Can you?
I think I have, but I couldn't work it out.
...and besides when half the kids these days are leaving school with a lower than average understanding of maths, something needs to be done.
I think I have, but I couldn’t work it out.
😂
On a more serious note though, it's not dissimilar to the people who joke about not being IT literate. Almost with pride as they struggle to open an email or print to PDF.
😳
…and besides when half the kids these days are leaving school with a lower than average understanding of maths, something needs to be done.
If they've not picked it up by 16 then maybe we're teaching it wrong?
Almost with pride as they struggle to open an email or print to PDF.
Often, it's not really pride, it's an attempt to save face. Humour is often a way to deflect embarrassment.
If they’ve not picked it up by 16 then maybe we’re teaching it wrong?
How would you teach it so that more than half have a better than average understanding?
…and besides when half the kids these days are leaving school with a lower than average understanding of maths, something needs to be done.
I saw what you did there... 🙂
EDIT: And there.
Adults who cannot understand basic maths ought to be embarrassed, Rishi Sunak will say
Let's hope that Sunak isn't embarrassed by not understanding the basic rules concerning ministerial interests eh?
Well actually I am hoping that he will be embarrassed.
Anyway he's now up for his childcare scheme that funny enough benefits his wife
Adults who cannot understand basic maths ought to be embarrassed, Rishi Sunak will say
Do you reckon he'll be embarrassed when he realises that due to Tory cuts to education over the last decade, there aren't enough maths teachers to implement or deliver his plans?
Surely he should have done some sort of basic counting like "how many maths teachers do we need?" vs "how many maths teachers do we actually have?" sum...?
AFAIK Infosys are still operating in Russia too
Let’s hope that Sunak isn’t embarrassed by not understanding the basic rules concerning ministerial interests eh?
My understanding of this (now a few weeks out of date) is that he can't really go wrong with rules on "ministerial interests" because the PM ultimately judges and enforces them. But rules concerning MPs more generally can't be so easily side stepped. He (not him of course, unnamed people speaking for him) tried to claim that he was reporting his interests as a minister instead of as an MP, so that was the end of it... looks like that nonsense isn't working... which is reassuring... systems really need to be shown to work, given the mess of recent of years, to rebuild and regain some public trust.
It isn't improving maths skills that will get this country out of the hole it is in (though I am not anti-maths, just s at it).
The two most recent times this country got itself out of a hole was due to the nations creative skills, do the math:
The thing that got us out of the black and into the red after the post WW2 slump was the Beatles and other creative industries. The balance of payments tipped from defect to profit as the world started to consume British cultural product by paying for it. The Nations reputation didn't do too badly out of it either.
Similarly during the Thatcher era. Britain's international reputation recovered due to our cultural output once again. When MTV arrived British bands and videomakers absolutely dominated it's output. Another big cultural win bit a lot of kerching as well, as the world once again dug into its pockets to buy the kind of products it expected the UK to be good at .
These factors are so underestimated, taken for granted even but in terms of revenue the numbers are huge.
Britain's fortunes will turn around once again when (or if) we start to project creative cultural power once again. Not by being a bit less s at maths.
This gov't has already educationally devalued arts and humanities subjects, now it wants to punish young minds further by forcing them to do maths? I can only imagine the nations youth will see this as a form of detention.
and besides when half the kids these days are leaving school with a lower than average understanding of maths, something needs to be done.
Not sure whether this was meant as a joke or not but it could be construed one of two ways:
1) kids leave school with a lower than average maths understanding of all school leavers (which is impossible as others have pointed out.) or…
2) kids leave school with a lower than average maths understanding of the whole population (which is how I understood it) which is entirely possible.
Is it possible that the latest business could be the end for Sunak?
If so, could the government survive or would they have to call a GE?
Is it possible that the latest business could be the end for Sunak?If so, could the government survive or would they have to call a GE?
Nah, they'll just change PM again. It's about time we had a new one.
Is it possible that the latest business could be the end for Sunak?
If so, could the government survive or would they have to call a GE?
I would say
1)no, on the Johnsonian scale of political scandal this barely registers (If it rumbles on through the local elections and the Tories get spanked then, it really could be the end for Sunak)
2)theyd be under no obligation to do so whatsoever & with current polls theyd be mad to do so
Nah, they’ll just change PM again. It’s about time we had a new one.
Don't even think it! You know who we'll end up with, don't you?
Is it possible that the latest business could be the end for Sunak?
Not at all. Its not really a significant breach in any way IMO although it would be nice if it did. However its a lovely bit of ammo for the labour party
If so, could the government survive or would they have to call a GE?
NO need at all. It doesn't change the tory majority
Anyway he’s now up for his childcare scheme that funny enough benefits his wife
Thew only interesting part of this is WHEN did she buy the shares. Obviously the plan to implement this policy would have been a shortish time in the making, so it would be very telling if she bought the shares at about the same time.
I'll wager thats the case. Corruption at the highest levels of government, but this time it would be too coincidental to deny and claim it just to be down to luck.
Not at all. Its not really a significant breach in any way IMO although it would be nice if it did. However its a lovely bit of ammo for the labour party
Well let's see if Labour's diminishing lead recovers ... Because Sunak is as expected gaining ground.
https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1647993437726072836?t=cslcWiJ3AsbiY-wnD6B8vQ&s=19
that is hilarious
Anyway… that slide… job title includes “data analyst”… a cool job you didn’t know you needed maths for… really?!! Didn’t know that a data analyst might need maths?!?
At least they are admitting that education leads to growth. Now… how about restoring further education funding back to the levels they were before we foolishly let the Tories run things…!!!
TBF I did tons of data analtyics in my last job, but I have only a fairly basic level of maths- failed higher maths twice, I just don't have the right shaped brain for it but I do have the right sort of brain for intuitive maths and stats wrangling, and basically seeing the sense and the patterns. I could be wrong but I don't think I ever used any maths that I was taught after primary school for it.
Maths genuinely is something that a lot of people will never be good at, there are parts of it that are just far harder for some people to grasp than others. But mostly it's disinterest, once you get past everyday useful maths it's pretty hard to sell kids on it. And then, further down the line they want to do a degree or a career that requires it but they'd long since given up because they just couldn't see what it was for.
(my uni's maths department offered a maths course which they taught in local colleges, specifically because there were loads of kids who couldn't articulate into our courses. This sort of thing is how you actually fix the problem- and not one of ht epeople involved ever accused those kids of being stupid or lazy or thought they should be ashamed.
The other half of it is being realistic about what a useful level of maths actually is for most people. And yep, the tory scheme is absolutely farcical for that. "Our approach is to force kids to continue to do maths at school long after the point where they've stopped learning" Hardly a word about understanding what it's for, about bridging the gap between basics and advanced, and so much of their chat is about basic numeracy. It's not a policy.
More people studying maths at further education is good with me, to be honest… but how that equates with defunding further education in the state sector is the square peg in a round hole question. And the way to get more people to study maths up to 18… is to improve the teaching up to 16… again… fund teaching maths at primary school and secondary school! No extra little teams outside of schools helping out a few schools with the reach and pushiness to get linked up, and advising most other schools what they’re getting wrong (hint, it’ll be trying to do much with too little)… just better fund teaching maths in schools. Fund teachers. Teachers.
Problem is, a lot of year one primary kids in deprived areas come to school with out being properly toilet trained or able to speak properly, never mind knowing the alphabet or being able to count to 100.
Parents can't just rely on schooling to bring them up. It's a wide social problem.
A reminder that teaching in some areas is much harder than elsewhere. And that schools in those areas also need extra non-teaching staff, and access to services (supposedly) provided by council. Cuts, cuts, cuts… falling most heavily in the areas Sunak bragged to Conservatives in his failed attempt to be elected leader that he would draw more funds away from, towards less deprived areas where less help is needed, but those Conservatives lived and represented.
https://twitter.com/thetimes/status/1648068824879464455?t=apdhHz5y-mFSebNgA0hIOg&s=19
I know it got posted just up there ^^ but 12hrs between announcing the policy (again) and then it being quietly shelved is quite something!
Also, if you've got some time, the quote tweets are worth a read! 😂
It seems to have been overlooked that Mr Sunak has redefined the word irony whilst talking about teacher strikes. When asked about the latest vote to continue strike action until Christmas he said it was “voted for by a minority of members”. This overlooked him being voted in by a tiny minority of the electorate, the Tories being voted in by a minority of the electorate and Brexit being voted for by a minority of the electorate.
I wonder if Sunak could do a weekly shop on a fixed budget and, in his head, adjust what he put in the basket due to yet another week of price rises…
The price of staple foods such as cheddar cheese, white bread and pork sausages has soared by up to 80% in some shops over the past year, in further evidence of how inflation is hitting those on the tightest budgets the hardest.
and there was I thinking taxes were for the little people
For a supposedly educated and intelligent man, he's certainly slow on the uptake when he's walking into a dangerous situation...
https://twitter.com/PoliticsJOE_UK/status/1647976365470412800
For a supposedly educated and intelligent man, he’s certainly slow on the uptake when he’s walking into a dangerous situation…
Not sure he's "thick" as such*, I think that, like many MPs, he just considers the rules to be for other people.
*Unlike Truss who genuinely is denser than a black hole and with a similar level of personality.
This is a game for many of them. How much can you earn on the side, how much influence can you buy, how many donors are knocking on your door promising favours in return for cash?
His tax avoidance is fair and above board and legitimate. Yours means you're a thieving little shit, denying the country it's fair share.
Rules are just something to be swerved for them.
I think its just poor political instincts allied to entitlement. I don't think its deliberate with Sunak - it just shows how out of touch he is and what a poor politician he is.
Cameron for example would not have walked into that I don't think
Piggy Cameron was hardly squeaky clean with with his snout in the troughs of Greensill and Illumina.
Oh no - he sure was not - but he did have decent political insticts and would have seen that trap with TRAP stamped onit and dodged it.
corrupt as anything for sure but not politically naive
Hes just hiding behind the fact that no register of interests has been published, becaus etheres been such a high turnover of ministers
The reason for that being the serial corruption & incompetence of the previous 2 Tory PMs, is something he doesnt mention
The man who came second in a two horse race.
When you watch that video clip up there just observe his demeanour, he's not trying to weasel out of it like Cameron or Johnson would. He is instead completely incredulous, not dissimilar to how Prince Andrew reacted when asked awkward questions by Emily Maitlis.
The personification of entitlement.
Only just watched the Joe video... double bonuses if you are pushed through to select companies... and that's justified because that route has greater inefficiencies/costs... so... poor value and back handers for Conservative VIPs... again... typical Sunak MO.
The man who came second in a two horse race.
... to a woman who then went on to come second to a lettuce
This is something which I have long believed to be true, Sunak - the right-winger who appears to be a liberal Tory, in contrast to Truss the liberal Tory who appears to be right-wing.
There has been a tendency to see Sunak’s focus on issues such as trans rights, grooming gangs and small boats as politically expedient ways for the formerly California-dwelling technocrat to win over his party.
Those close to him say that is demonstrably untrue. Far from being convenient red meat to the Tory members in the leadership election, his views on social issues such as gender, drugs, crime and migration are deeply conservative.