Are we taking bets on tomorrow’s photo op being Boris in a fighter jet then? Priti Patel with a rocket launcher? The Saj in a helicopter gunship?

Yeah Tory voters love all that, although Sunak got a head start a few years ago.

Why, is Sunak known to have issues about his height? He seems reasonably tall to me for someone with South Asian heritage.

Didn’t he hire a photographer to make him look taller?

Didn’t he hire a photographer to make him look taller?

I don’t know. I can’t say I have ever heard any talk about his height.

Edit : Your photo does indeed emphasis how short South Asian people can be when compared to white British, so perhaps he is self-conscious about his height as you suggest.

Are we taking bets on tomorrow’s photo op being Boris in a fighter jet then?

Cant see fatboy fitting into a fighter cockpit

No I can’t either but more importantly I can’t see a leadership challenge at the present time, especially after a rather satisfactory result in the by-election yesterday and the latest two opinion polls giving the Tories a lead.

So I suspect that posing on military hardware will have to be deferred to another day.

Are we taking bets on tomorrow’s photo op being Boris in a fighter jet then? Priti Patel with a rocket launcher? The Saj in a helicopter gunship?

Are we totally sure Boris wasn’t trying out an F35 recently for a photo op?

He has history with fly by wire systems after all.

It reminds me of peak Ruth Davidson, before the westminster party decided to destroy her. But she did it well, Truss looks like the victim of a prank. “It’ll be great Liz, we’ll put you in a tank, everyone’ll love it”

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2016-04/23/6/enhanced/webdr04/longform-original-31398-1461407978-3.png?downsize=1040%3A%2A&output-quality=auto&output-format=auto

Yeah Tory voters love all that.

I give you Ruth “tank commander*” Davidson although she at lest did join the territorials so had some excuse but she didn’t half enjoy a photo op with the military and more than pushed her luck with when and where she could get into uniform!

*A reference to a Scottish TV character – I just realised many of you will not get it

rather satisfactory result

Ernie is much better at this political fluffing than Allegra Stratton was ever going to be. There has to be an opening for him in Johnson’s team.

I am beginning to think Ernie is no lefty at all with his obvious admiration for and strong defense of the tories.  Weird

Not all Tories, just the “new” ones running the country right now… (leopards/spots).

There has to be an opening for him in Johnson’s team.

Not losing a safe Tory seat in a by-election, as the Tories did a few months ago, is clearly a satisfactory result for Johnson, losing it might have put his position more in doubt.

Although I do accept Kelvin that in your self-appointed role of policing political threads to ensure that only completely negative comments are ever made about Tories you would much rather yesterday’s by-election was described as a total disaster for the Tories. Despite the fact that it clearly wasn’t.

You are only interested in pitchfork politics, anything that deviates from that is completely unacceptable to you.

So consequenctly you have to repeatedly make puerile suggestions that I am a Tory in the vague hope that I will only post things which cast Tories in one hundred percent negative light.

My comment about Sunak undoubtedly pissed you off because I should be attacking rather than providing a logical explanation as to why he attended the Gurkhas passing out parade.

You are only interested in pitchfork politics

I’m interested in lots of things. Including why you always jump in to defend Johnson, and talk him up so much. It’s a fascinating trend.

Actually Johnson already in Shropshire campaigning at a chemist today

Owen Patersons seat obviously much more of a worry for the Tories

Boris Johnson in Oswestry, Shropshire just now. He's in a chemist's shop. Parts of the town are closed for an evening event, so there's understandably a bit of chaos. Fairground stuff happening – maybe a circus too, given the clown has arrived. pic.twitter.com/exV4KYjl5s

— Tony 😳 (@LongsightedOwl) December 3, 2021

Cheers for the info @ernielynch
I did have a bit of cynicism due to the Lizz Truss picture and the timing of this one but as there is more to it, fair enough.

why you always jump in to defend Johnson, and talk him up so much. It’s a fascinating trend.

I genuinely don’t intend to be rude, but I can’t think of any other way of saying this….. it’s like having a discussion with a child.

I suggest that yesterday’s by-election result was satisfactory for Johnson and you instantly interpret that as ‘defending’ Johnson, and ‘talking him up’.

This is what the Friday Briefing in today’s Guardian said, quote :

“The result will help calm jitters within the party about Boris Johnson’s leadership.”

So are going to also accuse the Guardian of being Tory because they didn’t describe it as a disaster?

Frankly I couldn’t give a toss if you think I’m a Tory, but ffs grow up.

I genuinely don’t intend to be rude

It would be unusual if you didn’t come across that way. It it’s not intentional… well, happy to give you the benefit of the doubt there. Have a good weekend.

It would be unusual if you didn’t come across that way.

Well if you are going to constantly stalk someone through the political threads and engage in personal attacks then don’t be entirely surprised if their response doesn’t always come across as one hundred percent polite.

If you disagree with my suggestion that yesterday’s by-election result was satisfactory for Johnson then just say so and explain why you disagree.

There’s no need for the personal attacks and childish bollocks such “There has to be an opening for him in Johnson’s team.”

I understand that when you can’t provide a counterargument you resort to insults, I’ve seen you do with other people, but why **** up a thread with silly personal attacks?

I am beginning to think Ernie is no lefty at all with his obvious admiration for and strong defense of the tories. Weird

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/22/leftwingers-far-right-conspiracy-theories-anti-vaxxers-power

Well I am treble jabbed but if you want to see me as an anti-vax right-winger because I happen share the Guardian’s Friday Briefing claim that yesterday’s election result ‘will help calm jitters within the party about Boris Johnson’s leadership’ then that is your prerogative. It makes no odds to me and my arguments remain the same.

Edit : It is laughably stupid that me claiming yesterday’s by-election result was “satisfactory” for Johnson should lead to the accusation that I am a Tory and that, quote : “There has to be an opening for him in Johnson’s team”

Because of course that is exactly the language that Tories use, or any other political party for that matter, when they win an election……. satisfactory!

I’m with Ernie on this one. His posts seem pretty reasonable to me.

*A reference to a Scottish TV character – I just realised many of you will not get it

JOhnson has been reported to the police for parties last christmas at no 10 in breach of covid rules

I will bet right now that its marked ” not in the public interest” to prosecute

however this will damage him

The met have already said that they won’t investigate retrospective breeches of Covid rules, so he’s got away with his usual ‘the rules don’t apply to me’ lifestyle yet again

But if the QT audience was anything to go by the other night, people across the political spectrum are all rightly very very pissed off, having cancelled their own Christmas gatherings. It seems to have really cut through where other issues like the crony Covid contracts haven’t

Any update on Barry Gardiner‘s official complaint? Dick went on Radio4 saying there would be no investigation as there had been no complaints… so he lodged a complaint.

Labour MP for Brent North Barry Gardiner has now written to Met Commissioner Cressida Dick asking her officers to investigate parties at Number 10 in breach of Covid lockdown rules at the end of last year. pic.twitter.com/LRNHTGw3bp

— Theo Usherwood (@theousherwood) December 3, 2021

I am beginning to think Ernie is no lefty at all with his obvious admiration for and strong defense of the tories.

If you turn left enough times you end up going right

Is it just me or are the Starmer and Johnson threads almost identical? Almost like this place is imitating real life.

PS according to Binners the by-election result is a massive win for the tories. That’s all that matters right?

Is it just me or are the Starmer and Johnson threads almost identical?

Tbh I think this thread is becoming more and more like the Brexit thread.

This “if you can’t think of something bad to say about the Tories then don’t say anything at all” attitude is designed to stifle debate.

Even neutral comments concerning the Tories are now deemed as unacceptable and will quite likely result in you being labelled a Tory.

So you end up in the ludicrous situation whereby suggesting that Thursday’s by-election was satisfactory enough, for now at least, not to trigger a Tory leadership challenge, and you are denounced as a Tory and told to work for Johnson.

Newspapers such as the Guardian and the FT can make exactly the same point but God help anyone who makes it on this thread.

There are nearly 6,000 replies on this thread about Boris Johnson but it is extremely unlikely, if not possible, to find a single poster who is a Tory or supports Johnson, apart from me obviously. And that is despite the fact that over a third of voters in the UK support the Tories.

And judging by the Brexit thread no one in UK supports Brexit.

So much for liberal attitudes and tolerance of other people’s opinions.

deemed as unacceptable

No they aren’t. Write what you want. Others can also make comments. You can choose to then be rude and condescending if you want. Carry on.

This all smacks of a “cancel culture” rant to me. No one is stopping you from saying what you want. No one is saying what you are posting is “unacceptable”. I find it interesting how much you post in support of Johnson in this thread, and elswhere, and can express that in a jokey way if I wish. And, no, I don’t think you are a “Tory” at all, far from it, which is why I find your posts about Johnson (throughout this thread, not just recent comments in isolation) worthy of note. I find that pattern genuinely interesting.

So much for liberal attitudes and tolerance of other people’s opinions.

I **** hate intolerant people. String the **** up.

The Brexit thread is lacking in brexiteers simply because the benefits of brexit are pretty much nonexistent.
Defending brexit is impossible arm

The Johnson thread is mostly lefties slagging off Johnson

The Starmer thread is mostly lefties slagging off Starmer (& each other)

Do here we are

I find it interesting how much you post in support of Johnson in this thread, and elswhere,

Can you give some examples of this? Since pointing out that this result wasnt a bad one is a fair statement shared by pretty much all political commentators. Yes their vote collapsed but then again so did Labours and the tories can sit there and hope the sleaze will be somewhat forgotten come the next election whilst anticipating that Starmer will still be utterly forgetable.
There doesnt look to be any obvious reason for a leadership battle right now. Perhaps if the sleaze and incompetence remains hanging around like a bad smell but currently the “all the same” line seems to be working for the tories with regards to that.

Hillsborough? Cash for questions? Jimmy Savile, Jonathan King, Rolf Harris, Gary Glitter. Pretty much every paedophile, ever? Libor rate fixing. Brinks Mat. The Great Train Robbery. Fairly sure Slipper of the Yard didn’t give up on Ronnie Biggs just because it was a while ago. https://t.co/H4Ke9ybK73

— fleetstreetfox (@fleetstreetfox) December 5, 2021

Yes quite right…… how are you supposed to even investigate crime RETROSPECTIVELY? I mean, if you can’t convict somebody of a crime before they have done it, what’s even the point?!?

It is part of proactive policing, arrest or at very least harass people before they have done any crime. Clearly pick on black people first as they are more likely to be offenders.

Great, we now live in the sort of country where a Justice Secretary has to make nonsense claims about policing as a way of lying about law-breaking at the heart of the government he’s part of.

Well it is one rule for us and no rules for them.

Interesting side effect of Brexit, I’m sure there will be many more unintended consequences of giving numpties total control.

Interesting side effect of Brexit

You’re not kidding it’s interesting, the EU has a policy on social gatherings during the covid pandemic? I’m surprised that response to covid has varied so dramatically throughout the EU then.

Also interesting is how the Independent saw Raab’s interview on Andrew Marr as ‘piling on the pressure’ on Johnson rather than defending him :

Raab piles pressure on Johnson to come clean over No 10 Christmas party

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/dominic-raab-boris-johnson-deputy-prime-minister-covid-downing-street-b1970071.html

For me Raab’s the ‘retrospective’ comment was with regards to police only investigating ongoing breeches of social gatherings rather than retrospective breeches. I understand that is adopted in all cases irrespective of whether it involves politicians or not.

Of course my interpretation could be based on the fact that I’m a Tory, apparently.

Of course my interpretation could be based on the fact that I’m a Tory, apparently.

It’s the only possible explanation. Have you recently been kicked in the head by a horse?

retrospective breeches