Rishi! Sunak!

If only she’d given her speech in front of a camera, we could check what she said…

Which proves she is right.

She isnt banning lanyards but simply requiring everyone to wear the same design of unicorns dancing on sunlit uplands.

Its not the same thing at all.

This seems to summarise the attitude of most civil servants to this shower of a government. Basically “we’re just hanging on and waiting for some grownups”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/15/civil-service-rishi-sunak-public-support

Esther McVey is exactly the type that meant Spitting Image wasn’t as good this time.  Hard to satirise someone that stupid. She’s like a sober Nadine Dorries.

As reported on CS groups, it was the journalist who mentioned rainbow lanyards,  not McVey. Though I’m getting one anyway.

More concerned that she regards the civil service as part of government. We are specifically separate, which is why we technically answer to the Crown.

This seems to summarise the attitude of most civil servants to this shower of a government. Basically “we’re just hanging on and waiting for some grownups”.

I can neither confirm nor deny….

what are the odds on a january election?

Sunak just gave the first unambiguous statement that there will not be a general election till October at the earliest. He told ITV’s Loose Women “book your holiday”, so it can’t be July or September (given there’ll be circa six week campaign). As I’ve mentioned, Downing St is…

— Robert Peston (@Peston) May 16, 2024

Amazon has you covered on that… Buy some for your friends as well.

it was the journalist who mentioned rainbow lanyards

True. But it’s like saying “everyone must be clean shaven”… and then denying that you said you want to stop people having stubble or beards.

Anything after October risks being an even bigger disaster – NHS winter problems kicking in, first disastrous storms/floods of the year,

I still think that they could time it to run along side the USA elections… to benefit from all the internet noise that will throw up. Expect lots of Tory politicians going big on anti-woke and the danger of the Left. Not the main Conservative Central Office campaign… lots of extra campaigns on the side riding along on the back of pro-Trump nonsense across social media.

I still reckon it’ll be January, they’ve seen the polls, they know they’re toast.  They will be in full salt the earth and contracts for chums mode between now and then.

Get making some “Don’t Vote Tory” Christmas cards then.

Its an insane idea

an election in Jan  when everyone is feeling skint, weather is grim keeping the oldies away, xmas TV polluted with endless election crap and party political broadcasts, MPs, staff & canvassers all resentful of working over Xmas, NHS waiting lists & ambulance queues through the roof as beds are blocked by the annual flu crisis……

you’d have to be completely deluded and insulated from the realities of daily life with no sense of political acumen to think its a good idea…….

you’d have to be completely deluded and insulated from the realities of daily life with no sense of political acumen to think its a good idea…….

As mentioned above though. They know they’re going to get their arses kicked. Why hasten that? A few more expenses to fiddle, a bit of crash and burn to really **** things up for an incoming Labour government to sort, a few more ministerial paychecks to cash and some time to sort out a lucrative career on the dinner speech or consultancy markets.

No rush at all. We’ve got months more culture war to get through yet. 🙁

Political acumen, did you say?

19(?) months ago Sunak was gifted the Tory leadership and Prime Minister role, without even a sham of an ‘election’ within the party membership, because the party knew it couldn’t trust its own members after the Truss debacle. They pretty much gave him carte blanche within the party as they didn’t see a credible alternative.

He inherits a Rwanda policy he thinks is ‘batshit’, a colossal waste of time and money.

Now, 19(?) months down the line, he is in an election year with Rwanda as one of (if not the) flagship policy.

Political acumen is not something Little Rishi is blessed with. He can’t even do politics in his own party, let alone in the real world.

I think he’s just burning as much as possible and letting his MPs go on a free-for-all siphoning off money into their own and their mates pockets for as long as possible.

They pretty much gave him carte blanche within the party as they didn’t see a credible alternative.

Now, 19(?) months down the line, he is in an election year with Rwanda as one of (if not the) flagship policy.

I dont think this is accurate. A significant minority of the tory mps were driven by it as well as a large part of the party membership. If he had abandoned it I suspect it would have been leadership election 999999 and then one of the more nutty MPs installed.

I, respectfully disagree.

Despite the nuttiness of this populist incarnation of the Tories, I think there would still be a majority within the party that is sane enough to realise that 3 unelected PMs in a row is taking the piss too much. Even for this version of the Tories.

I think there would still be a majority within the party that is sane enough to realise that 3 unelected PMs in a row is taking the piss too much.

Agreed – which is why he’ll never stand down and why he wants to drag this whole thing out. He’s selectively writing history at the moment. Going off on party political broadcast speeches which are then selectively redacted to host as text on gov.uk

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1791104781458587650.html?utm_campaign=topunroll

https://x.com/implausibleblog/status/1791123815692431645?s=46&t=GT2enJNaj7otdO_U9K40nw

Tetchy titchy Rishi getting rattled on Loose Women wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card.

BillOddie
Full Member
https://x.com/implausibleblog/status/1791123815692431645?s=46&t=GT2enJNaj7otdO_U9K40nw

Tetchy titchy Rishi getting rattled on Loose Women wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card.

Watching him on that both amused and annoyed me at the same time, how does that work?

Anyway…

He is appalling at thinking on his feet, his instinct is to go straight to rehearsed, scripted answers whenever he is pressed on an issue. Any issue. Even if the actors answer is totally irrelevant to what is being asked.

In the run up to the GE I want to see *more* of him on TV, *every single day*. He is an absolute liability and the more people see of him, the more harm it will do him.

^^^

Gillian ‘Bloody’ Keegan (chippy shouldered, culture war grifter) is equally terrible. She has an obvious tell:

The more rattled she gets by scrutiny the more she stutters “y’know” between every other bloody word.

No, Gillian, we don’t know (and my viewers/listeners certainly don’t) that’s why I’m ****ing asking you the ****ing questions and the reason, y’know, you keep getting tripped up is because you’re making stuff up on the ****ing fly. Because you haven’t got the nous to be up to speed on your brief – and you’re too busy planning your next financial grift.

🤬

Tetchy titchy Rishi getting rattled on Loose Women wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card.

Not the clip shown on BBC News just now

Not the clip shown on BBC News just now

That was a bizarre choice, it was just the presenter ending the interview!

I think there would still be a majority within the party that is sane enough to realise that 3 unelected PMs in a row is taking the piss too much.

Maybe but I am not sure I would risk it.

In the run up to the GE I want to see *more* of him on TV, *every single day*. He is an absolute liability and the more people see of him, the more harm it will do him.

Agree, I can’t see how anyone could like him, just need to make sure everyone sees him so they have the chance to make that decision.

Problem for Starmer is that while he is clearly not as awful as Sunak he is devoid of any charm or likability as well.  The Labour Party should have learnt from Johnson and putting someone people like that as the leader (even if just as a front) is a good move.  But luck is on Starmers side this time so should be okay.

Problem for Starmer is that while he is clearly not as awful as Sunak he is devoid of any charm or likability as well.

At this stage, I’ll go with competent and boring. I want boring.

We’ve had the funny clown and the cool tech bro and they’ve been a total disaster. Please can we have someone boring who’s not desperately trying to nob the secretary/IT teacher/anything in a skirt and who’s not trying to show how cool he is by filling a car up or “chatting” finance in a soup kitchen for the homeless.

you missed out the  raving looney tunes free marketeer   cabbage lettuce 😉

^^^

Presumably he blinked in late summer 2022.

Easy to miss in terms of longevity, not so much in terms of consequences if you have a mortgage.

an election in Jan  when everyone is feeling skint,

Maybe they’re looking at early Jan to get the Christmas ‘buzz’ AKA before the bills come in?

Another day, another suppressed report – Teresa Coffey was ‘in charge’ through this period, no surprise that she didn’t GAS.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/16/ministers-knew-about-carers-allowance-problems-three-years-ago-report-reveals

At this stage, I’ll go with competent and boring. I want boring.

You may well do.  It might not sell so well to other voters who don’t do the details of policies and the like.

There is no competent version of this form of ideology that produces good outcomes.

Imagine an environment where being a competent Conservative is accelerating all the terrible elements of neolibralism because you’re even better at concentrating wealth and the like?

The Sunday Times Rich List is out this weekend but there’s been a few teasers. One is that Rishi and his wife have seen their personal fortune increase by £110m over the last year.

For anyone wondering why he still wants to be PM in spite of being so bad at it.

Must be nice for them to have more money in a year than the average earner will see in their entire lifetime.

And that’s on top of the half billion they’ve already got.

At this stage, I’ll go with competent and boring. I want boring.

Very much this.

I want someone who looks like there’s at least a slim chance that they’re in it for the right reasons. Rather than seeing it as an entitlement or as part of some pissing competition

That’s been completely absent in number ten for a long time. Everyone knows that the present occupant, upon being booted out, will just shrug and move on with his gilded life completely unaffected. Off to California with no consequence for his failure whatsoever, just like his predecessors. Leaving the little people with the mammoth job of clearing up their mess

£122m.

No, not total value, just the year on year increase in wealth. Rishi, a true man of the people.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69027955

Yep he has had a good year, as have so many very rich people.  Money goes to money as they say.

While it doesn’t help his perspective or empathy it doesn’t mean he has to be such a **** though.

For anyone wondering why he still wants to be PM in spite of being so bad at it.

Except that the increase is reportedly due to the value of her shares in the family business and I can’t see a connection to him or being PM?

I think it’s important that we hate him for the right reasons and not just make assumptions.

Infosys has increased its work in the UK public sector, but not nearly enough to account for that jump in value. Probably more to do with increased work for the like of AirBnB etc post pandemic (and our love of everything cloud computing).

Yep he has had a good year, as have so many very rich people

Hardly surprising when you’re reading articles like this in this mornings Guardian. Children in care are the latest victims to be monetised by rapacious venture capitalists and private equity firms

How can a child in care cost £281,000 a year? Ask the wealth funds that have councils over a barrel

“Must be nice for them to have more money in a year than the average earner will see in their entire lifetime.”

More like more money in about 5 days (average salary for 45 years) or 2 days (average lifetime earnings according to Google) than the average earner will see in their lifetime…

“I think it’s important that we hate him for the right reasons and not just make assumptions.”

It doesn’t matter where the money came from for me. It’s the entitlement to continue in a job he doesn’t need, whilst actively pursuing policy that makes most people’s lives worse and refusing to call an election when it is clear so many people want him gone. All based on some misguided idea that he is doing good for people he can’t even imagine the lives of

The UK does not have a single foreign owned export which causes political instability and which in turn causes endless succession of military coups.

True, we still own BAe Systems.