POLITICS CORNER

[Tripps]

That seems to be the main requisite for membership of our present gang of politicians!

That made me think about MP's in general. I struggle to find any that could be described as 'strategic thinkers' or altruistic, and could be accused of looking beyond the immediate future, the next election, and the safety net of their salary and perks. Frank Field, Kate Hoey and the late Paul Flynn perhaps?

I note also that the late Robert Maxwell whose pedigree abounds with crooks made a beeline for the House of Commons in the 1960's. The urge to perform 'public service' is strong in such people. (sarcasm). I'm reading Crick's biography of Jeffrey Archer at the moment. He also had a strong urge 'to serve'. That'll open your eyes as Fred Kite would say.


Born to be mild. . .
Preferred pronouns - Thou, Thee, Thy, Thine
Top

[Whyperion]

Boris's flat refurb rumbles on BBC Reports
"Replying to Lord Geidt, Mr Johnson offered a "humble and sincere apology","
Why do I doubt all of Johnson's utterances. Apparently the text exchange was on Johnson's Burner Phone. ( odd, I thought the PM had an official phone for PMs work, when I got a new phone the samdung app carried over all the contacts and texts as they were tied to the line number, I was impressed !)


looks like " sorry the office of the advisor has been put in this position' (maybe there are other words elsewhere but Johnson does have form on the form of words his 'apologies' create. Very Etonesque - I am sorry to tell you the dog at my homework )

[Whyperion]

I met Jeffrey Archer at an Auction to raise Tory Funds in a London Essex Constituency once. Think I paid £5 over the book price for an Autographed Novel of His ( actually they are neither written better or worse than most run of the mill authors ). Bit of a waste of time as the constituency was a pretty strong (ex Churchill I think) Tory voting one anyway, bumped into the adjoining constituency Tory MP (he became a Transport Minister) filling up at a Tesco Petrol Station off the North Circular Road, always smiled though when the next constituency flipped to Labour in the Blair years and I think it has been retained ever since. (Never cost me anything to listen to Tony Benn).

It is not often I agree with Jacob Rees-Mogg but I am half in agreement with

" I have a great quibble about using this word ‘investment’ for government expenditure, because actually government is spending taxpayers’ money. It shouldn’t be talking about investing; it should recognise that it is using other people’s money and therefore has a great fiduciary duty to spend it wisely."
Mostly with the wise spend element. I disagree as from an economic/accounting point of view - Investment can be a wise spend (and it is normally from borrowing rather than taxation itself), it does imply either a future positive financial rate of return OR an increase in general wellbeing that could not be brought about by other means.

[Stanley]

George Eustice is a British politician and former public relations executive serving as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since 2020. He has been speaking at the Virtual Oxford Farming Conference. One of the things he has said is that taking land out of food production for environmental purposes will not affect the amount of food produced.
Really?

[plaques]

The flat refurbishment of our serial liar Prime Minister rolls on. Christopher Edward Wollaston MacKenzie Geidt, Baron Geidt, who was appointed as the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests. doesn't see anything wrong with our PM not remembering who funded thousands of £s towards his refurbishment and even when prompted that a text had been sent on a phone that the PM shouldn't have been using making it clear he was asking for more money didn't see this as a problem. So the man chosen to investigate the ethics of this sordid insider dealing has chosen to block the investigation moving forward to the Commons Standards Committee who will take a much more detailed interest in what was happening. Robert Peston is doing his best to keep this blatant sleaze in the headlines but other right-wing papers are keeping their heads down and not rocking the gravy boat.

[Tizer]

We're getting well on the way to becoming a clone of the US political mess. Farage is on the move again. Right-wing extremists are thriving. Social media is lubricating the wheels of anger, belligerence, misogyny. The public have no confidence in the government, especially the Buffoon. I can't see us getting out of this emergency state for a long time yet...

[Stanley]

Ken and Peter both make valid points. I remember a time when misleading the House was a resigning matter, that was what did for Profumo long ago.... Today, lying and misleading the public is regarded as 'spin' and is accepted as part of political life. The actions and attitudes of the press are all guided by cash no matter what 'wing' of politics they support. All media organisations are cash strapped and have slashed their journalists, they rely on citizen reporters now. Why do you thing the BBC has so many phone-in programmes? It's free air time.
I too see no end to this or any improvement. I hope I am wrong.

[Tripps]

I struggle to find any that could be described as 'strategic thinkers'

Further to that remark - is it perhaps time to have a fresh strategic look at all taxation. We only have the ridiculous, labour intensive, multi stage 'Value Added' tax, because its adoption was a condition of entry to the EU. Since we're not members now we could change the whole system. There would be plenty of scope in a new system for reform and perhaps even a touch of 'leveling up'.
Unlikeley though - since it would take until beyond the next election, which is too far away for MP's to worry about.

[Stanley]

We got closer to a progressive tax system in the 70s and 80s after 100 years of pressure from the working class to make things fairer, but even that was nowhere near fair. Over the last 40 years we have slipped backwards and today we probably have the most regressive tax structure of modern times. The evidence for this statement is the speed at which wealth is migrating upwards. Relative income distribution has always been the best indicator of fairness in the system, at the moment it's a sick joke. Piketty realised this and how important it is. 'Capital' describes what it is and how it happened and remember that his conclusion is that the only answer he can see is a wealth tax and he is not optimistic. He also said that the most likely outcome of the perpetuation of such injustice would be the breakdown of society, unrest and in the end conflict.
There's a new year's thought for you as Lord Marmaduke leads us into another year.....
Later...
I'm listening to Useless Eustice telling farmers they have to be realistic about prices and starting every sentence with 'Well Look'. The man has no interest in promoting home production of food. He refuses to accept that the big buyers are bankrupting agriculture by using their market control to force prices lower and lower. One big vegetable producer reports that negotiations for this years prices have started with the supermarkets imposing a cut of 4.5% in the starting price... Useless says the growers have to become tougher negotiators.....

[Stanley]

I'm not the only one doubting the government's policy towards agriculture. See THIS report from the Public Accounts Committee which is absolutely devastating in its criticism of DEFRA and its plans. Apart from a general lack of clarity and evidence of sound forecasting and planning the committee accuses DEFRA of blind optimism and noting that in a ten page explanatory letter to the committee there was hardly any mention of food production. Here's a quote....
Defra has also “not explained how the Scheme’s changes in land use will not simply result in more food being imported, with the environmental impacts of food production being ‘exported’ to countries with lower environmental standards.”  The Committee says Defra has not established the metrics or objectives to enable it to demonstrate that the £2.4 billion a year it plans to spend on agricultural schemes is providing value for money, or contributing to government’s wider environmental goals including the statutory commitment to reach net-zero carbon economy by 2050. 
This is how we are being governed. No wonder the farmers are worried.
This demonstrates how far the Westminster Village is divorced from real life and in particular all things rural.

[plaques]

Our Buffoon has acknowledged that the increased cost of living will have a serious affect on poor people. Side stepping the cause of inflation as being World pressures as it recovers from the pandemic there is no mention that the drop UK GDP is down 4% due to Brexit and a further 2% due to covid. Although fuel is a special case its all the Worlds fault and nothing to do with not having a domestic plan to cope with a problem that has been known for over 10 years. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that plan B is to get all those people who are currently in isolation to huddle together to keep warm while minimising the risk of spreading it to others.

Meanwhile Partygate rumbles on. The police have been notified of the e-mail inviting staff to a Buffoon bash (bring your own booze) the police has contacted the Cabinet Office asking what they should do?

[Tripps]

So a group of office workers who had an over inflated opinion of their privilege and self importance, had been working together quite legally, and doubtless correctly socially distanced, decided to move to another location of the office premises, and have a few drinks and nibbles after work.

For this the Prime Minister must of course resign.


PS.
A similar defence has just been promoted by Michael Fabricant MP. He says the group of workers 'spilled out' to a different part of the premises. Does he know how ridculous his wig looks? His fate will probably be decided by one Sue Gray - described by the late Paul Flynn as 'Deputy God'. I guess she has yet to be made a Baroness, and a favourable result will surely emerge.

I don't know why they bother. They could 'tip him the black spot' tomorrow if they chose.

[Whyperion]

The PM has made some stupid errors, he could have fessed up, but now seems to be asking Susan Gray to tell him where he was, and why he was there, and was what he was doing was legal or not. Seems strange for at least two of those questions he could not answer himself, and the third he could have maintained that the drafting of the guidence and legislation gave appropriate scope for the meetings not to be covered by the regulations. The problem with the occurances is to me is less that they happened, but the PMs attitude to them and to parliament about them

[plaques]

His fate will probably be decided by one Sue Gray - described by the late Paul Flynn as 'Deputy God'. I guess she has yet to be made a Baroness, and a favourable result will surely emerge.

If this was the Irish protocol we would be asking for an arbitrary committee not unlike our feelings towards the European Court of Justice that may lean to the EU's side. Following this logic Susan Grey the Buffoons choice of investigator should be bypassed an go straight to The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards as an independent officer of the House of Commons. The current Commissioner is Kathryn Stone OBE. Of course this won't happen, I wonder why??

[Stanley]

Good question Ken. Johnson's preferred option each time is keep any enquiries under Downing Street control.
We are being governed by a bunch of shysters who, in any other sphere of life would be sanctioned.
The only parallel I can think of is the class of Lords of the Universe who run the financial world. They seem similarly immune to any sanctions.

[plaques]

In spite of all the huffing and puffing about Susan Grey (Mrs God) leading the inquiry this is the team roll out for the coming friendly game.

Ms Gray’s inquiry is expected to focus on establishing the facts, leaving it to the prime minister to determine any consequences for his own position and political staff, while Mr Case is in charge of the fallout for the civil service, The Independent and Politico understand.

Reminds me of the TV series 'Dragnet' " "Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names (facts) have been changed to protect the innocent."

[Tizer]

We've now listened to all the episodes of Radio 4's programme `The Coming Storm' about the history behind QAnon, it's relationship to Donald Trump and where it's all leading to. Coupled with news I read about far-right Republicans changing voting regulations and bringing in many of their own candidates it's all quite disturbing. Even worse perhaps, they are forcing the schools to teach what they want by getting parents to demand it. It all sounds incredible but it's happening because ordinary folk are scared and feel powerless so they'll back anyone who seems to give them power to change their world. And it's all become so much easier through social media. A historian compared it to the 1500s when the printing presses first appeared and made it much easier to disseminate (mis)information - this was when people started circulating stories about witches and it resulted in so many innocent women being tortured and killed.

[Stanley]

I've listened to the programme as well and it seemed to me to be accurate and good reporting· That being the case it's frightening.
Ken, I'm not sure how much we can trust about how the PM's case will be handled. What is happening now, as with so much policy since 2010 (Including Brexit) depends on an internal struggle inside the Tory Party. And in the end will devolve to a vote in the 1922 committee. I've read THIS BBC report issued an hour ago and it's all opinion and speculation. Raab has come out in open defence of the PM so that should be OK.....
My advice is wait and see.
Meanwhile, the real problem with all this is that a country with so many real and immediate problems is not being governed effectively. This is the real measure of Johnson's failure.

[Stanley]

I've had to switch the radio off. The procession of Tory MPs defending the indefensible and most of all hearing Jacob Rees Mogg describe the affair as 'brief', the questions being asked as 'quibbling' and describing the Leader of the Scottish Conservatives as being 'lightweight'. The man is an ignorant snob who inhabits another planet and should not be allowed to be in office. His arrogance is off the scale.

[Whyperion]

Tuesdays apology did not really sound like an apology in detail reading of it.

Remind me which event this related to, and what day it happened on.

I dont think Starmer is quite asking the correct questions in PMQs

[Whyperion]

One to add to the quotes thread , if you wish.

Mum said to me (wrt to The present PM and the Conservatives), = "The're all wrong and not to be trusted if they broke the rules they should be persecuted"

[Whyperion]

Just had a check
The date of one of the office partys at number 10 20 May 2020 was a Wednesday. IF parliament were sitting that day , is it not PMQs, if so, the first question asks what the PM has done and will be doing, if he were booked to go to a party / gathering that evening and did not say so, is that misleading parliament ? https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2 ... ngagements

[Big Kev]

The government have apologised to the queen for two parties on the eve of Phil's funeral. Surely they've now got to apologise, to the rest of the populace, for having parties in breach of 'lockdown' legislation. If Covid-19 'hits the fan' again I don't believe it'll just be the great unwashed who tell them where to put their restrictions. All people will have to do is apologise, after the fact, and everything will be fine and dandy.

[plaques]

There are a lot of Tory voters who are devoted to royalty and especially the Queen. The sight of the Queen sat by herself at Phillip's funeral will stick in their memories for a very long time. A belated apology as a get out of gaol card is too little too late. Clearly a direct snub to the Queen but also a total disregard for thousands of ordinary people who lost their loved ones. We've got a narcissistic psychopath running the country.

[Tripps]

We've got a narcissistic psychopath running the country.

Wouldn't argue, but if anyone thinks someone who has Churchill as a role model, has a sense of history, and wrote his biography, will resign over something as trivial as a garden party I'd suggest you're on the wrong track.

They even show their contempt for us by leaking how they will go about his defence. Operation Big Dog

As Judge Judy has been known to say "they pee on your leg and tell you it's raining".

PS Every Tory MP with a pulse has spent all day saying 'wait for Sue Gray's report'. Looks like Boris is the only one who is acting and not waiting.

Don't you just love this bit -

"Mr Johnson is understood to be drawing up a list of officials who can offer their resignation after the publication of Sue Gray’s findings on the various gatherings at No10."