POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

I know it's a truism David but you couldn't make this lot up. I am listening to accounts of 'anger in the village' about the Jimmy Saville taunt Johnson threw at Kier Starmer yesterday including a statement by the Speaker.
Not directly connected but we hear more accounts of gross sexism bullying and what is described as 'rampant male behaviour' in a London Police station and the question was asked ; "Is Cressida Dick capable of rooting this culture out?". There was no answer. Yet she is supervising examination of a very similar culture in Downing Street.
Why am I not holding my breath?

[Tripps]

Well spotted. . .

accounts of gross sexism bullying and what is described as 'rampant male behaviour' in a London Police station

Good job they didn't have after work cheese and wine, or birthday cake gatherings, down at West End Central.

[Stanley]

Could there have been a drinking culture?
We got a foretaste of what is to come this morning when Number Ten was asked about reports that Johnson was at a 'Prosecco-fuelled' leaving party. Their response was that they couldn't comment as these matters were under police investigation.

[Tizer]

I am listening to accounts of 'anger in the village' about the Jimmy Saville taunt Johnson threw at Kier Starmer yesterday including a statement by the Speaker.

BBC Reality Check has now done a web page on this...
`No evidence for Boris Johnson's claim about Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile' LINK
I think Johnson's comment is an indication that, like Trump, he has spent too much time on social media. Note the paragraph lower down in the article: Unfounded posts directly accusing Sir Keir of failing to prosecute Savile saw an upsurge on social media after he became Labour leader in April 2020. They have been shared by British followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, among others. A video clip of the prime minister's accusation has been spreading on anti-vaccine channels with thousands of followers on social media chat app Telegram, as "proof" of an alleged cover-up of high-profile child abuse.

[Stanley]

Just one more example of the penalties we pay for having a buffoon as PM.
Sooner or later the Tory backbenchers are going to realise that the greatest threat to their comfortable life in London is their leader. When that penny drops he is toast.....

[plaques]

Without triggering a vote of no confidence the result is that the Right-wing Tories and by implication the rest of the Conservative party support what is going on. Whatever the Red Wall MP's are saying to their constituents to ameliorate what is happening they are still supporting the Buffoon with their votes. The question now appears to be whether the Tories go for broke and smash up all the social programmes, NHS, free schools, the right to protest, while grabbing all the material things giving them complete control. Like William the Conqueror grabbing ownership of all the land it could take centuries to get back to some degree of equality. The alternative is to ease back on this trail of destruction with promises of jam tomorrow under the umbrella of 'there's no alternative'. Boiling frogs comes to mind.
PS, the fuel crisis for the poor looks like being resolved by lending them some money to pay back later. This sounds a bit like higher education where the fees ensure you are in debt for the rest of your lives. The feudal system by another name.

[Tizer]

There was a front page cartoon the other day showing a limousine going up a street among poor people, rubbish piled up etc and the man in the back seat has his arm out of the window waving a bottle and saying "Prosecco?". I wonder who he's meant to be?

[Stanley]

Dead right Ken. I said Sunak would be doing his Iron Chancellor bit and away we go. Inflation higher than any time in 30 years, wages losing out to inflation and the BofE's interest rise and as you say, Sunak offers the poor a loan.... I think the thermostat in the Houses of Parliament should be turned down to 12C immediately. This might remind the politicians that the reductions in heating being suffered now are not just an inconvenience but a matter of life and death for the old and infirm.
The cunning thing of course is that all this hits in April when the weather starts to warm up. This will take the edge off but the real crunch will come in autumn when next winter hits.
I've never seen an economic threat to the mass of the population like this. Ken is right, bad management and the dash for 19th century laisser faire are an attack on democracy and a reversion to feudal rule by the rich. I saw this coming when Osborne and Cameron started their project in 2010 but I didn't see the fuel crisis coming.
By the way, I thought we were the best performing economy in the G7.....

[Stanley]

In the last 12 hours things have moved on a bit. See THIS BBC report of what they are calling the melt-down of Number Ten.
How much longer can this man cling on to power? He is destroying the Tory Party single handed. I don't see anything wrong with that but who have we got in opposition to replace him?
Later.... see THIS BBC report of the result of the Southend by-election which was not contested by Labour, Libdems or Greens out of respect for Sir David Amess. The turnout was very low at 24% and second place was taken by 1084 spoiled ballot papers many of which had anti-Johnson messages.

[Tizer]

By the way, I thought we were the best performing economy in the G7.....

More or Less nailed that one - we can be the best, the worst or mediocre depending on what time period you choose.

I'm glad to see Johnson's Director of communications, Jack Doyle, has gone from Downing Street. He worked was a Daily Mail journalist before his elevation to Faulty Towers and was probably one of the main channels of deliberate leaks and misinformation to the Mail.

`Boris Johnson makes incorrect claim on jobs' LINK
`Boris Johnson has made a claim about the number of people in work that the regulator had told No10 was incorrect. There were "more people in work now than before the pandemic began", he said at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. But on Tuesday, Ed Humpherson, from the Office for Statistics Regulation, had sent one of the prime minister's advisers at Downing Street a letter saying it was "incorrect to state that there were more people in work at the end of this period than the start". Responding to a complaint from the fact-checking organisation Full Fact, Mr Humpherson had told No 10 this claim had been made by the prime minister in Parliament on 24 November, 15 December, 5 January, 12 January and 19 January. And it was "disappointing" the prime minister had "continued to refer to payroll employment as if describing total employment, despite contact from our office and from others".'...

[Tripps]

Ed Humpherson, from the Office for Statistics Regulation,

Wonderful name. Is he as good at 'humphering' as Boris I wonder.

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By the way - I've been aware of Munira Mirza and her closeness to the PM for some time now - mainly because she is from Oldham, An alumna of Breeze Hill comprehensive then Oldham 6th form College, then to Oxford. I looked her up again and find that -

"Mirza is married to Dougie Smith, a former organiser of swinger parties who has worked as senior Conservative party aide for David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson, although according to The Daily Telegraph his precise role is uncertain".

There's scope for a bit of imagination there I'd say. Can't imagine Mrs May got involved - the rest though. . . .

[Stanley]

The mind boggles.... Evidently not seen as a problem in the screening process which makes you wonder what would be a bar to employment in Number Ten.
By the way, did you see the report the other day in which it was let slip that the Cabinet Office had around 8,000 employees?
See THIS BBC report of Rees-Mogg being attacked for suggesting that the 'morning after pill' induced an abortion.The accusation against him is that he has allowed his Catholic beliefs to influence his management of the affairs of the house.

[plaques]

More letters of No Confidence being submitted. To my mind Boris Johnson's lies and failure to follow the NI protocol that he wrote has just trashed the UK's reputation for proprietary of standards and moral high ground. The Russian diplomats are now quite open in saying British diplomacy can't be trusted. Its easy to say "well they would wouldn't they" but with Partygate and NI protocol plus his lies and distorted parliamentary statements its hard to deny what they are saying.

[Tizer]

By the way, did you see the report the other day in which it was let slip that the Cabinet Office had around 8,000 employees?

Yes, it was in this episode `Is the Prime Minister’s Office fit for purpose?' of Radio 4's `The Briefing Room' - excellent and well worth listening to: LINK

[plaques]

Call me Ishmael
----------------------------------------
Noting the similarities between Herman Melville’s novel ‘Moby Dick’ and the current events in the Tory party I’ll offer up a few thoughts.

Ishmael the adventurer who wanted to see more of the world joined the Brexit boat the Pequod (the symbol of doom.) Captained by Ahab (Old Thunder) alias Boris Johnson the psychotic Captain intent on gaining revenge on the albino white sperm whale symbolising the UK Albion and the EU. As events unfolded the whale turned the tables ramming and sinking the boat drowning all the crew. The only exception to this tragic event was Ishmael who escaped in a coffin originally made for his friend Queequeg. The coffin being symbolic of life after death of those moderate Conservatives who didn’t intend to get into this enterprise in the first place.

[Tripps]

By the way, did you see the report the other day in which it was let slip that the Cabinet Office had around 8,000 employees?

They say -

"We employ around 2,050 staff. There are also around 700 people working for the Crown Commercial Service, an executive agency.
Our main offices are in London, but we have staff based around the country. We are supported by a number of advisory non-departmental bodies."

Take your pick.

[PanBiker]

For a bit of light relief, here is the latest offering from the Marsh family. I reckon they do G&S.

[Tripps]

Brilliant. and the little girl is a dead ringer for my grand daughter.

I'm sure they realise that they are satirising whilst a Police Enquiry is still ongoing, and has not yet reported. There's probably a law against that somewhere - or there soon will be.

I heard somewhere this morning that 'Boris will not go willingly and will have to be dragged out by his feet'. The man that thinks he is Churchill's second coming won't quit over a beer at a garden party. There is also the matter of no (even half way) outstanding candidate for his replacement.

I think we may be getting to his John Major moment 'Back me or sack me'. I think it needs 181 Tory MP's to vote against him in a confidnce vote, and I doubt that many will so so. If successful he will then be immune to challenge for a year.

It will then be a matter of 'events dear boy, events'.
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PS Just noticed that Boris is attracting criticism for travelling to Blackpool on Thursday by private jet from Stansted rather than taking the train. Fair enough, to be expected - but no one seems to be questioning at all his need to go and appear in a Hi Vis jacket in the driver's position on a Blackpool tram. Had he nothing better to do?

[PanBiker]

What's needed is HM Queen to get radical and sack him off, I believe that is her prerogative. After all new PM's are all commanded to present and have to ask to form a government on her behalf. She giveth so surely she could also take away.

In the olden days of course the monarch would just have their heads chopped off.

[Stanley]

If I remember rightly, the man who gave the figure of 8,000 for the Cabinet office used to be in charge of it.....
All good posts but this is what we are reduced to, stating the bleeding obvious from the sidelines as the storm clouds gather (Brexit and inflation....).
Did you hear the fragrant Nadine Vanessa Dorries beating the drum for Johnson yesterday morning? Ludicrous responses to questions. Do these people not realise that by defending the indefensible they tar themselves with the same brush? Note that the real threats to him don't poke their heads above the parapet but avoid direct answers to anything concerning the PM, Sunak, Truss and Rees-mogg spring to mind.
As to why he went to Blackpool, any distraction will do. Brenda will be shielding him for a while with her Platinum Jubilee. Any bets what Johnson's next speech will be about?

[PanBiker]

Of course, doffing his cap if he had one to doff. Mind you he could use one of the always undersized hard hats that he gets given with Hi Vis when he is wandering round building sites and civil projects vending sound bites. I'm sure they do it on purpose to make him look a plonker, mind you that's not particularly difficult.

[Tizer]

Yes, I think it was Alex Thomas who had been principal private secretary to Sir Jeremy Heywood, cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, but all four of the speakers had service in the Cabinet Office or 10 Downing Street.

Wikipedia: The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom.[3] It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objectives via other departments. It currently has just under 8,000 staff, most of whom are civil servants, some of whom work in Whitehall. Staff working in the Prime Minister's Office are part of the Cabinet Office. LINK

[Stanley]

I'm listening to people talking at interminable length about inflation and the stupidity of Bailey's advice not to ask for meaningful pay rises, this from a man who gets over £500,000 a year. They all seem to accept that there is no solution as there isn't enough money in the system.
They all seem to have forgotten how we financed two world wars. There is a simple solution, Go back to Keynes and used deficit financed methods to get the economy going, borrow and invest. This is the way the economy can start to produce more profit from greater financial activity and this is what pays the loans off and allows people to survive.
They will say this is a socialist solution, spend spend spend. That may be true, but it's what got us through two world wars. They could start by investing in green industries.... Regard climate change as our current war.

[Tizer]

I've just read about this in yesterday's copy of The Times...
`Billions in Covid deals given to firms linked to Plymouth Brethren sect' LINK
`Dozens of companies with connections to a tiny fundamentalist Christian sect were awarded as much as £2.2 billion in government coronavirus contracts, The Times can reveal. Firms with links to the insular Plymouth Brethren have been handed contracts for PPE, masks, visors, aprons, tests and ventilators without other companies being given the chance to bid for the contracts. It can be revealed that PPE worth millions of pounds supplied by firms linked to the group were cleared for use by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) despite being declared substandard by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). The evangelical group, likened to a “cult” by some former members, has connections with the Conservative Party, and MPs have previously lobbied for it to be given charity status'...

Further information in the paper includes names of people running the companies who have made millions for themselves. When the journalists tried to contact the various people involved they couldn't get a response and nor could they get a response out of the DHSC. It's all very murky. A barrister said that it could be simply coincidence that so many firms were set up by the Bretheren - but it worried him nevertheless. Perhaps we'll hear more in coming days...

[Stanley]

Not if Johnson has anything to do with it Peter. He's doing all he can to delay any enquiry into matters like that.
I see Quasi Kwarteng has appealed to his party to give Boris Johnson the "time and space to deliver" on the government's promises as pressure continues to mount on his leadership. One more in the line of sycophants who owe their jobs to Johnson queuing to give the daily boost to a PM who is holed below the water line.
We start another week, The media are rehashing all that has happened and waiting for another bombshell. I have no sympathy with the PM, he is the author of his own troubles, but the sight of all those vultures perched around him must be disconcerting.