OneGuyFromBarlick

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Why - Guido Fawkes of course.

Simon (brief) Case

Confirmed
"“To ensure the ongoing investigation retains public confidence the Cabinet Secretary has recused himself for the remainder of the process"


I think 'recused' means he's got a note from his mum.

Or perhaps it could be put another way "Simon has added himself to the list of parties gatherings to be investigated".

I was too busy enjoying myself with Susan in Ilkley yesterday to hear any news but what I did hear included the fact that Simon Case had been rumbled. On the quiet I think everyone was having some sort of a celebration!
I see Johnson accepts responsibility for the Shropshire debacle but at the same time has to be defended by IDS. That's right. 'defended by IDS'. That means it's serious!

Tripps wrote: ↑17 Dec 2021, 19:56 Or perhaps it could be put another way "Simon has added himself to the list of parties gatherings to be investigated"

Forgive me if I've mentioned this before but a letter to The Times referring to these `gatherings' points out that in Old English the word means swellings or suppuration.

Lord Frost , Brexit negotiator resigns, citing Boris has the wrong kind of politics for Frosty's liking.

See THIS BBC report of Frost's resignation. Johnson is not having a good run in to Xmas.

We should not rely on the BBC 's stories about Lord Frost's resignation. Although it appears that he resigned because he didn't agree with Johnson's approach to Covid there's more to it when you look beyond the BBC story. Towards the end it states: `On Friday, the UK government indicated the European Court of Justice could have a role in the Northern Ireland Protocol - a deal agreed between the UK and EU in 2019. That could mean the court ruling on issues of EU law, but not having the final say in disputes over the protocol'. Some of the newspapers described how our side had suddenly gone soft and made concessions to the EU. I suspect that someone over-rode Frosty and put him in a huff. His attitude to Johnson's Covid regs is probably true but it provides a good cover story for him really resigning because of being snubbed over the Brexit negotiations. Alternatively, if the softening was Frosty's own decision then the hard Brexiteers may have forced his resignation. There you are, now even I'm into conspiracy theories now - but our present government is like a conspiracy-generating machine!

Later....`Nadine Dorries ousted from Conservative WhatsApp group for praising PM' LINK
Better keep an eye on Steve Baker: Wikipedia says: Some commentators, such as Ian Birrell of The Guardian, regard Baker as being on the right wing of the Conservative Party. The Associated Press has described him as a libertarian. He is a member of the socially conservative Cornerstone Group. He describes his political inspiration as being the Liberal Richard Cobden, founding the Cobden Centre under the motto: 'Peace will come to earth when the people have more to do with each other and governments less'. He identifies as a born again Christian.

I agree with you about Frost Peter and Ken has picked up the same thread.
Did you hear, when they were talking about the ECJ that N Ireland is reporting it is doing surprisingly well out of joint UK/EU membership?
Consider this, if N Ireland is ever forced to choose between the UK and the EU could a cross border poll be the result and a united Ireland. I think it's inevitable in the long run. Johnson played a blinder didn't he when he blagged us out of the EU.

I notice the Daily Express has a front page banner this morning: `In Liz We Truss'. Well, they would wouldn't they!
Last week Matthew Parris had a Times article on who might replace Johnson. It was mostly `Please God, don't let it be Liz Truss'. Parris will be an unhappy man today, knowing that her chances have been boosted by taking on Frosty's anti-EU job.

Liz Truss, Initially a Europhile then saw better career prospects by being a Brexiteer. Completed our only full trade deal with Australia giving a massive boost to our GDP of 0.08% the EU loss being 4%. ie 400 times smaller than what we lost. The danger is that to boost her position with the far right loonies of the Tory Party she may opt for a disastrous hard Brexit. We may get a slightly smarter Buffooness as PM but still no good for the country.

gathering (g?th??r-?ng) noun

A suppurated swelling; a boil or abscess.

Trigger warning - nasty photograph. . . .

Is that what they call a work meeting? Unlike any work I have ever seen.
Truly, Westminster is a different world.

Bottles of Fizz at a business meeting, pull the other one! Piss up for the hangars on more like.

An update on China's military might....
`Why China could win the new global arms race' China

Liz Truss's Australian deal now being trailed as part of the levelling up exercise. The farmers down south get thrown under a bus with cheaper food imports while those up north have the opportunity to make more agricultural machinery to sell to the Australians to make cheaper food to make throwing farmers under the bus easier.
We are also told at every opportunity that trade is recovering and in no time at all we'll be back where we were pre Covid and pre Brexit. Soon with our Global trade we will be well ahead of the European countries and leave them trailing far behind. So much for the fairy stories. Back to reality from the national audit statistics our percentage of GDP trade (the value of trade both in and out of the UK) has dropped quite remarkably when compared to what is happening in the EU countries. But once we have got over the teething troubles I'll tell you another fairy story.
.
.Percentage of GDP of Trade.
.

Peter, I've seen these headlines about the 'arms race'. I didn't know there was one. If what they mean is the difference between what a country wants and what it can afford of course China will eventually have more arms than anyone else, they are going to be by far the biggest economy. America is trying to ignore this fact but it's inevitable.
Ken, once again you hit the nail on the head. We are being conned daily by statements and assessments that are sheer bluster and obfuscation. You are quite right about the Australian trade deal and the catastrophic fall in trade with the EU.
I have said since 2010 that the Tories had a plan and that was to drag the lower classes down and get to the same position the ruling classes held in the late 19th century, complete dominance over the workers and the poor and arrange the economy so hat the balance of wealth moves slowly upwards. They've managed that and Brexit has been an important part of the strategy. 'Sovereignty' meant a return to laisser faire and no controls coming from the EU. They've even managed to turn Covid into a business opportunity for the lads....

Johnson's and Frost's oven ready deal to get Brexit Done by putting the customs border down the middle of the Irish Sea is killing off trade from the UK. Northern Ireland is simply turning south and doing its trade with the EU like it always had done but now in greater volumes.

Manufacturers and distributors in Britain provided 23.2 percent of all of Ireland’s goods imports in 2015, and retained a 16.5 percent share in early 2020 even as Irish authorities braced for a no-deal Brexit. But Britain’s market share plummeted following the introduction of the Irish Sea border to just 7.2 percent.

The writing is on the wall that international trade depends on a free flow of goods from one country to another. We have made a lot of pie in the sky promises that will never happen in our or our children's lifetime. Time to move on and accept Brexit is one BIG mistake and get back the advantages we gave up.

I totally agree Ken.
Meanwhile, backing up what we have been saying about GDP figures, they have revised the last three months downwards to 1.1% Which basically means we aren't keeping up with the normal rends in economic growth.

plaques wrote: ↑21 Dec 2021, 18:39those up north have the opportunity to make more agricultural machinery to sell to the Australians to make cheaper food

JCB the big party doner ?

Not immediately obvious as a political matter but I heard a doctor talking about the reasons why has ethnic minority patients are so dilatory in taking up vaccinations. He said that for various reasons they did not trust politicians. Could this be because they have a clearer sight of them as they are not hampered by generations of brainwashing and blind loyalty to tradition? The doctor thought so and said he believed the message about vaccination had to be given to them by someone other than politicians.

There is no politics over Xmas..... But is that true? Now we have Xmas Day over many politicians will be swinging into full plotting mode. We know that at least 100 of them are pissed off with Johnson. David said in another topic that he sensed a tipping point. Could the germs of it be sown in the next few days?

Stanley wrote: ↑26 Dec 2021, 04:53 David said in another topic that he sensed a tipping point. Could the germs of it be sown in the next few days?

I have a mental picture of Liz Truss `channelling' Margaret Thatcher in her battle tank but it's smahing through the security gates of Downing Street!

Liz Truss seems to me to be a female version of Johnson.
Some quite serious voices are saying that the Tories need someone not in the Cabinet ranks, the Chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady is being openly discussed.

From 'Bobs Bits' and the reference to Plato and Socrates the opening part of the book is devoted to "What makes a 'Just' person" and whether Rulers are 'Just' or doing it for self interest or the good of the people that they rule was a major feature in their discussions. To think that this debate was taking place 400BC and is still relevant today makes one wonder whether our democracy has advanced or regressed over the years. The recent charges of corruption and ignoring the rules are making people question the integrity of those we have elected to govern us. Then comes climate change which can only be solved by a collective effort of world powers. With each country trying to gain advantage by letting others do the heavy lifting the end result will be nothing will be done until its all too late. Having let individuals amass so much wealth that they can dictate to to the "Rulers" its perhaps time for a drastic change.

It has been suggested that Sunak's trip to San Francisco was to drum up private investment opportunities for firms in the NHS and other social services sector work.

Apparently 5percent of Govt expenditure he wants to trim over 3 years ( supposedly a drop of 49k civil servants) . Given a need to hire more border staff for brexit, the promised more police and nursing staff , and IF the civil service has been run efficiency ( as surely it must under a good business conservative govt), one wonders where this slack can be severed from (assuming no cost in the redundancy schemes).

All very true Ken and wasn't it Churchill who said democracy was a lousy way to run anything but it was better than the other systems?
I agree with you and have been saying for some time that we need a change. Money rules everything and wealth is still migrating to the upper 5%. Next year is going to be interesting ....