POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

What depressing reading, not, I hasten to say, the fault of the writers but the dire straits we are in. They should take all the candidates and put them in ambulances parked in full sun all day to remind them of the state of the country.
See THIS for a taste of what is happening in the real world. Then go and look at the latest economic and business news and ask yourself who has been minding the shop for the last twelve years. Then revisit the wannabe PMs..... Then to make things even worse, have a look at the possible contenders for a new government in Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Got the picture? This system is broken, we need an entirely new management model for UK PLC.

[Stanley]

I've just been listening to Johnson's stand-in as chair of COBRA while the buffoon concentrates on arranging his party at Chequers. Kit Malthouse (for it is he....) floundered dreadfully when asked why we, our services and infrastructure are so badly prepared. (NHS operating theatres that can't achieve a legal operating temperature, schools that don't even have adequate ventilation and new houses and flats that are no better than older property.) He had no response to any of these questions and blustered, talking over the interviewer until she had to abandon the search for the answer. Depressing, even after the defenestration of the Buffoon, it would seem that nothing has been learned about transparency......

[plaques]

I basically refuse to get involved with these contestant debates unfortunately its impossible not to read snippets mainly from the right-wing papers saying that the contestants are rubbish on the grounds they are not strong (extreme) enough. In my own mind I have them marked for sectioning but doubt if there are enough places to contain around 150 of the more serious nutters. Either these would be MPs are playing to some unseen gallery or they don't intend to follow their insane proposals. The big question is 'who is really running the country'? It would look like someone outside parliament is pulling the strings with the puppets tied to their career strings like Muffin the Mule.

[Tripps]

Well I never - what are we to make of this? I'd just carry on without them .

"Sky cancels planned Tory leadership debate after Sunak and Truss say they won't participate

Sky News has just announced it has cancelled the Tory leadership debate planned for tomorrow night after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss said they would not take part. This is from Sky’s Tamara Cohen."

[plaques]

The last UK civil war was 22 August 1642 – 3 September 1651. between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Neville Chamberlain at 11.15am on Sunday 3 September 1939 declared that the UK was at war with Germany. On 5 September 2022 Sir Graham Brady the chairman of the 1922 Committee will announce who the next Conservative Prime Minister will be. This will mark the start of the next civil war when parliament declares war on the rest of the UK. Never mind 'beware the ides of March', September is the month to keep your eye.

[Stanley]

Interesting ideas Ken. I think the Tories have always been full on, you're either with them or you're a sworn enemy. At the moment they are seeing enemies in their own ranks which is not very healthy and the reason why many are nervous about putting the final vote out to the Shires. They could well be 'out of touch' with the centre and anoint the 'wrong' candidate. I remain convinced that somehow they are going to manoeuvre round that and have one candidate back out so the last one can be elected by acclamation. Question is, who is the preferred candidate?
(The cancellation of tonight's Sky Hustings brings the next vote more under the influence of Westminster as the substitute debate will be in the House and private.)

[Tizer]

If the Sky TV hustings had gone ahead would I have been able to watch it although I don't have a Sky subscription? I think such events should always be on free-to-view channels.

Mordaunt has been peddling the same lie about Turkey that I warned about at the time of the EU Referendum...
`Penny Mordaunt's false Brexit claim about Turkey' LINK

[Tripps]

Liz Truss spent some time yesterday dissing Roundhay School in Leeds which she attended. Seems she said that -

“While we were taught about racism and sexism, there was too little time spent making sure everyone could read and write.”

. Some Old Roundhegians are querying this and say it was fine. (She managed to get to Oxford and become Foreign Secretary ! ).

If only we had someone on here who could tell us the truth about an education in the leafy Leeds suburb of Roundhay.

[Tripps]

If the Sky TV hustings had gone ahead would I have been able to watch it although I don't have a Sky subscription?

I'm fairly sure it would have been on the SKY News channel which is free to air - at least on Freesat which I have. It's Ch 202. I have also just stumbled across Sky Arts on Ch 147 - also free. That's where the Manet prgramme was.

I will never pay to watch TV.. Far too kuripot.

[plaques]

I remain convinced that somehow they are going to manoeuvre round that and have one candidate back out so the last one can be elected by acclamation.

They are a rum lot but the rules were changed this year to avoid a 'coronation' situation that happened with Theresa May.

Mr Blackman said it is a “condition of nomination” for candidates to agree that they will contest the ballot of party members if they reach the final two.
This is to avoid a situation as in 2016, when Dame Andrea Leadsom dropped out, handing the leadership unchallenged to Theresa May before party members were given the opportunity to vote.

[Stanley]

Thanks Ken, that seems to have ruled out that cunning wheeze but I still think the Party would rather have the final vote than leave it to the dwindling band of supporters in the Shires. (I wonder if they'll publish the turn out figures?)
I see that Tom can put his Field Marshall's baton back in his back pack. More finesseing and plotting in the Party to sort the final two....

[Tizer]

I will never pay to watch TV.. Far too kuripot.

Practising your Tagalog again, eh? I admit I did have to look up both words!)

[Tripps]

If only we had someone on here who could tell us the truth about an education in the leafy Leeds suburb of Roundhay.

Well that didn't catch the intended target. I like the word Roundhegians.

Mr Cholmondley Warner might even pronounce it 'ruffians'.

Anyway she's back to being favourite again. Betting says Sunak v Truss roughly 50/50.

PS Just noticed that Panbiker's friend is now co Chairman of the Tory Party.

"I’m delighted to have been appointed Chairman, and lead our Party through the process of electing our new leader."

[Wendyf]

Tripps I usually avoid this topic but did try to share a link to an article by Martin Pengelly in the Grauniad but it didn't work. Please Google Martin Pengelly, Liz Truss and see what he has to say! She is completely misrepresenting her education and the green and leafy suburbs of Leeds where she lived as a Red Wall area.....urmmm who remembers Sir Keith Joseph??

[plaques]

Prof Tim Wilson. A bit of an oddball but at times makes sense.

[Wendyf]

I've just been looking at the Wikipedia entry for Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate who was the MP for North Leeds following Sir Keith Joseph...this was the Red wall while Liz was at Rounday.
Oh my word, who did he work for as a parliamentary private secretary?

[Tripps]

I usually avoid this topic

Probably wise.

I got the original info from the article you mention. Guardian Pengelly Truss

Quite why the process needs to linger on until September is a mystery to me. there is the usual Tory skullduggery going on I'm sure.

PS - Ah the great Panjandrum himself ! In the days when he self deprecatingly used to describe himself as the 'Minister for Rubbish'.

[Whyperion]

The BBC Have a habit of re-writing web headlines Was - "Inflation will be brought under control - Zahawi" now " New chancellor Nadhim Zahawi pledges to control rising prices" (are we really getting the Labour Pricewatch pact from the mid 1970s back ?)
no

Inflation will be brought back under control by the government, Nadhim Zahawi said in his first speech as chancellor.

The government will deliver "sound public finances" to help achieve that, Mr Zahawi said.


so now you know

[Whyperion]

Throwing back to the serious in-fighting in Labour - BBC Reporting again "Anti-Semitism used as factional weapon within Labour, says report"

Labour's left and right wings both treated the issue of anti-Semitism as a "factional weapon" when Jeremy Corbyn was leader, a report says.

Martin Forde QC's inquiry finds general "toxicity" existed between Mr Corbyn's office and staff at party HQ.

And he says the opposing groups used the issue of anti-Semitism as a weapon during their arguments, rather than confront the issue.

It (fordes report_ contained private WhatsApp messages and claimed some Labour workers had not wanted Mr Corbyn, on the party's left, to win the 2017 general election and had hindered efforts to tackle anti-Semitism
Hilary Schan, co-chair of the Momentum Group, said "Disgracefully, while tens of thousands of Labour members were pounding the streets to kick the Tories out in favour of a socialist Labour government, these right-wing factional operators were wreaking havoc on the party from within,"

Corbyn sums up what many in the party feel "Are we a democratic socialist party, run by members and affiliated unions, that aims for a fundamental transfer of wealth and power from the few to the many?" he asked. "Or are we something else?"

[Stanley]

Wendy, I remember Keith Joseph, Thatcher's 'Mad Monk'. The theory was that the men in grey suits loved his thinking on economics and wanted him in power but they knew he was too seriously weird to get elected so they looked for a suitable malleable conduit for his ideas and chose M Thatcher.
I remember David Moore showing me the two page letter the college received detailing what he expected during a visit to Nelson and Colne College. Much anal detail about lavatories and precise instructions how to prepare the only thing he would accept to eat, coddled eggs.... Not boiled mind you! They had to be coddled.....
(LINK)
As for current politics, there is none, all we have is a diary of internal Tory Party matters which completely ignores the principles of democratic government.

[plaques]

Our new temporary Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is said to be outlining his plans to control inflation. We shall have to wait and see what he does. He has three options,
1) Control the rate of increase. Which amounts to doing nothing since a point will be reached when people will be unable to afford the increases and stop buying.
2) Reduce the rate of increase. Another do nothing action relying on smoke and mirrors statistics where inflation is measured as year on year rather than a fixed point.
3) Reduce taxes on goods eg: VAT on fuel and energy should work its way to lower prices if they are not absorbed by bigger dividend pay outs. Don't hold your breath this smells too much like socialism.

At the same time....
Nadhim Zahawi has promised to repeal hundreds of pieces of EU finance law on UK statute books, part of government push to deregulate the City of London in a post-Brexit “Big Bang”.

This was the sort of action that led to the banking collapse in 2008/9.

All this sounds as though he is trying to ingratiate himself with the new incoming Prime Minister or more likely to bounce the new PM into giving him the job. ie: The European Research Group (ERG) is a secretive research support group of Eurosceptic Conservative Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom.

[Tripps]

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi

That takes a bit of 'getting used to' - hopefully and mercifully I don't see a long tenure


This worth a look - so many faces that we grew used to - long gone, with all dreams amd pomposity punctured. Such a difference in Parliament between various thens, and now. Spot them.

PS Boris's was outstandingly the worst - lies right up to the end.
"We got through the pandemic
Helped save another country from barbarism.
That's enough to be going on with
Hasta la Vista baby" - I assume he implies also - I'll be back.

Take your time old chap.



PM farewells

[Stanley]

I seem to remember we identified Nadhim Zahawi as a very dodgy person to be in charge of the piggy bank....
David, I watched the farewell speech on TV yesterday and yes, he lied right to the end and worst of all, all the Tory backbenchers loved it and applauded every word, standing ovation at the end. They are still in post and evidently are a bunch of two-faced gits or has someone drugged all of them?
Did I see that the 'smart money' is on Truss getting the imprimatur of the blue-rinses in the Shires?
Whoever gets it, they will have a poisoned chalice and a similar experience to what happened to Theresa May. It will end in tears and once more we, the voters, will have been screwed.
Look at the current position. Decisions need to be taken now about the economy but nothing can happen until November at the earliest as we won't have a PM who is up to speed until then. This is no way to run a railway but everyone will go away for the summer holidays. They should be forced to stay and legislate!
Later.... a new word has emerged. 'The selectorate' is the word being used to describe the blue rinse electorate in nthe Shires.

[Whyperion]

Didnt think Clapping was allowed in the House.

BBC Report " Truss says last 20 years of economic policy haven't delivered"

really.

[plaques]

Didnt think Clapping was allowed in the House.

BBC Report " Truss says last 20 years of economic policy haven't delivered"

really.

Normally clapping is frowned upon. it would appear that Theresa May and the whole of the Labour party observed the rules.

Truss has selected the past 20 years for GDP growth. the Blair / Brown years had an average of 2.5% before the banking crash which was due to the failed model of deregulation. The 12 years of the Tories have one instance of 2,6% and then a gradual slide down to 2% except for the spring back after covid.it was all down hill.

.

Growth GDP.jpg