Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party.

[AlistairCowell]

Do people today watch these shows? Do they not consider them biased or whatever?

Get ITV to make a drama series about the water industry, and maybe then about gas and electric, or telecommunications.

Then Rishi (and the nation as a whole) may take notice.

And also add the XL Bully crisis and call the show “The Tories”.

 

[Lost property]

Did you ever stop to think they might be working from home, have kids they needed to look after or even got all thier work done. Of I'm waiting for developers to do something and I've got everything else complete. I finish for the day. Just leave teams on and go do something else. No point sitting at a desk with I dobt need to.

Well unless their home had a large airfield attached, it would be impossible to work from home. That, and they were inherently lazy plus the "management" was equally indifferent. They just took the money, and, the proverbial..in equal measure.

Back on topic, and the demise of Sunak. He'll be gone anyway of the next GE, but a premature departure would be entertaining to watch.

Dougie Smith: a mysterious backroom Tory fixer feared by MPs

The man who reportedly once organised sex parties for the wealthy is alleged to be involved in a plot to replace Rishi Sunak

www.theguardian.com

 

[AlistairCowell]

My dad said the Tories would be out by the end of year, but don’t take as a fact yet.

 

[najaB]

My dad said the Tories would be out by the end of year, but don’t take as a fact yet.

Given the consistency of the polling, and the fact that they don't have enough parliamentary time left to enact any meaningful legislation, it would take a miracle for them to pull off a successful election campaign.

At this point they probably need to focus on avoiding complete annihilation.

 

[Lost property]

Given the consistency of the polling, and the fact that they don't have enough parliamentary time left to enact any meaningful legislation, it would take a miracle for them to pull off a successful election campaign.

At this point they probably need to focus on avoiding complete annihilation.

On the contrary, they should focus on achieving it. There's still a few months left yet to successfully manage this commendable objective.

 

[najaB]

On the contrary, they should focus on achieving it. There's still a few months left yet to successfully manage this commendable objective.

To be fair, I was speaking to their best interests rather than the country's.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Given the consistency of the polling, and the fact that they don't have enough parliamentary time left to enact any meaningful legislation, it would take a miracle for them to pull off a successful election campaign.

At this point they probably need to focus on avoiding complete annihilation.

They can still have a budget then an autumn statement to give away plenty of cash that will really back Labour into a corner unless Reeves finds a backbone and makes it clear that Labour will have to reverse any cuts to find the money to make a start on sorting out NHS etc.

 

[najaB]

They can still have a budget then an autumn statement to give away plenty of cash that will really back Labour into a corner unless Reeves finds a backbone and makes it clear that Labour will have to reverse any cuts to find the money to make a start on sorting out NHS etc.

The thing is, even if that worked it would be pyrrhic victory - they would also have to reverse the cuts since there isn't any money to pay for them.

 

[317 forever]

Labour needs to have a compelling reason to vote for it, just not being the Conservative party will get it into power at the next election but it's not enough. Adopting Conservative policies and being frightened of being different isn't the right thing to do, I don't think, and watering down its policies in case too many people get frightened off is bad. I'll still vote Labour in the next election because I'm actually voting against the Conservatives, but that won't sustain my vote to the following election.

Indeed. If Labour get in with either a small majority, or a significant majority but on a low turnout, they are less likely to get re-elected even if they perform comparatively well in government.

 

[nw1]

On the contrary, they should focus on achieving it. There's still a few months left yet to successfully manage this commendable objective.

Yes, they should try and beat Canada 1993.

Cut to one seat only, presumably Sunak's.

Indeed. If Labour get in with either a small majority, or a significant majority but on a low turnout, they are less likely to get re-elected even if they perform comparatively well in government.

Perhaps, but if they do indeed do well (jury's out on this as it will be very much a "clear up the mess" government with perhaps less opportunity for progressive change) then people will start voting positively for them rather than merely against the Conservatives, and they end up with a bigger majority next time.

 

[edwin_m]

The thing is, even if that worked it would be pyrrhic victory - they would also have to reverse the cuts since there isn't any money to pay for them.

The Tories have written off the next election and are "salting the earth" by making "commitments" to spending afterwards which Labour will either have to honour (when they might not be the best use of public funds) or cancel. They're trying to ensure that Labour loses popularity quickly enough that the Tories have a chance of getting back in the following election.

 

[Typhoon]

The thing is, even if that worked it would be pyrrhic victory - they would also have to reverse the cuts since there isn't any money to pay for them.

Although they could take different measures to reduce expenditure - freeze benefits for a start (with no intention to thaw for 4 years), more austerity measures, cut back on overseas aid, rejig the Barnett formula (they have few seats likely to be affected). I am sure they can be more imaginative than me.

If Labour didn't win, they may well implode, Momentum would come out of their shell 'We weren't radical enough, let's get back to Corbynism' with a guaranteed loss next time round. Conservatives may still be in trouble, although we tend to have short memories. However, the beneficiaries may end up being Regenerate (or whatever the latest Farage incarnation is).

 

[Lost property]

Yes, they should try and beat Canada 1993.

Cut to one seat only, presumably Sunak's.

I don't think So.Cal is a UK constituency. However, his little "des res" home would make a great AirBnB attraction.

That said, the population of Richmond (N.Yorks) would vote for what horses, their second love, deposit if the substance came with a blue rosette already attached.

 

[SteveM70]

That said, the population of Richmond (N.Yorks) would vote for what horses, their second love, deposit if the substance came with a blue rosette already attached.

Unfortunately so. In the last local government elections there were only two candidates in our ward - conservative and green

 

[Busaholic]

And we're going to see a nice hike in our council tax bill (and part of that being an increase in the policing bill) but due to a limit on the increase, the councils will likely still need to find ways to make large cuts in services.

There is a limit on the increase unless a larger increase has been approved by a referendum. No council (yet) has had the guts to say we need all this extra dosh to protect x,y and z specific services and put it to a vote. They might be surprised to find sufficient taxpayers were prepared to find 7%, say, to fund these. Switzerland, parts of the USA and, notably, Paris hold regular referenda without making a huge faff of it, why can;t we? Oh, I know, the COST of it! Always the stock response in this country when democracy and accountability are called for.

 

[Gloster]

There is a limit on the increase unless a larger increase has been approved by a referendum. No council (yet) has had the guts to say we need all this extra dosh to protect x,y and z specific services and put it to a vote. They might be surprised to find sufficient taxpayers were prepared to find 7%, say, to fund these. Switzerland, parts of the USA and, notably, Paris hold regular referenda without making a huge faff of it, why can;t we? Oh, I know, the COST of it! Always the stock response in this country when democracy and accountability are called for.

You must never ask the people what they want: you might get the wrong answer.

 

[takno]

There is a limit on the increase unless a larger increase has been approved by a referendum. No council (yet) has had the guts to say we need all this extra dosh to protect x,y and z specific services and put it to a vote. They might be surprised to find sufficient taxpayers were prepared to find 7%, say, to fund these. Switzerland, parts of the USA and, notably, Paris hold regular referenda without making a huge faff of it, why can;t we? Oh, I know, the COST of it! Always the stock response in this country when democracy and accountability are called for.

There's been at least one, and it didn't pass

 

[jfollows]

There's been at least one, and it didn't pass

Bedfordshire PCC, for +15.8% in 2015/16, held 7/5/15, 30.5% in favour but 69.5% against, estimated cost £600,000, https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05682/SN05682.pdf

I can't see people voting for greater tax increases unless they think they will personally suffer without them, and for many people their council manages not to repair potholes in the road, cut back on bin collections, and provide services to other people. The principle of paying for local services is probably accepted, even for people who hardly benefit from them, but paying more for them than they already do isn't going to get a lot of approval. And most of the money goes into care for old people, which most people don't want to think about until it's too late.

 

[najaB]

For a long time I thought that Boris was the worst-suited person to hold the office of PM. Then along came Liz. And I thought it couldn't get any worse.

Then Rishi entered stage left and said "Hold my beer":

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been criticised by opposition parties for a bet over his Rwanda policy.

Asked by TalkTV's Piers Morgan if he would bet £1,000 for a refugee charity that deportation flights would take off before the next election, the PM shook hands with him.

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68209330

 

[jfollows]

For a long time I thought that Boris was the worst-suited person to hold the office of PM. Then along came Liz. And I thought it couldn't get any worse.

Then Rishi entered stage left and said "Hold my beer":

Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68209330

I still think Boris Johnson is an order of magnitude worse than the other two - he's a liar and he only cares about Boris Johnson.
In comparison I think Liz Truss is mentally unwell, a bit bonkers, and Rishi Sunak is just out of his depth but not fundamentally a liar in the way that Boris Johnson is.
And Kwasi Kwarteng, Liz Truss's former friend, acolyte and patsy, is leaving the sinking ship, he's not going to stand at the next election.

 

[edwin_m]

I still think Boris Johnson is an order of magnitude worse than the other two - he's a liar and he only cares about Boris Johnson.
In comparison I think Liz Truss is mentally unwell, a bit bonkers, and Rishi Sunak is just out of his depth but not fundamentally a liar in the way that Boris Johnson is.
And Kwasi Kwarteng, Liz Truss's former friend, acolyte and patsy, is leaving the sinking ship, he's not going to stand at the next election.

As far as I'm concerned Johnson is worse because if it wasn't for his personal ambition leading him to support Brexit and become PM when totally unsuitable for the job, then none of the three would have got anywhere near the levers of power.

 

[nw1]

I still think Boris Johnson is an order of magnitude worse than the other two - he's a liar and he only cares about Boris Johnson.
In comparison I think Liz Truss is mentally unwell, a bit bonkers, and Rishi Sunak is just out of his depth but not fundamentally a liar in the way that Boris Johnson is.
And Kwasi Kwarteng, Liz Truss's former friend, acolyte and patsy, is leaving the sinking ship, he's not going to stand at the next election.

Surprised in some ways about Kwarteng because he's MP for the sort of seat that would never vote anything other than Conservative.

But perhaps there is not enough room for Trussnomics in the current Conservative Party, though there is of course plenty of room for other forms of strident right-wing politics. (Will we see Liz go next?)

 

[birchesgreen]

Will we see Liz go next?

She is launching a new movement called Popular Conservatives. Insert joke here.

 

[najaB]

She is launching a new movement called Popular Conservatives. Insert joke here.

Good for her. Though, I thought that part of London was more Labour-leaning? And, much like the rest of the country it doesn't have any room for 'u'.

 

[D6130]

Good for her. Though, I thought that part of London was more Labour-leaning?

She won't be able to see the wood for the trees!

 

[brad465]

I still think Boris Johnson is an order of magnitude worse than the other two - he's a liar and he only cares about Boris Johnson.
In comparison I think Liz Truss is mentally unwell, a bit bonkers, and Rishi Sunak is just out of his depth but not fundamentally a liar in the way that Boris Johnson is.
And Kwasi Kwarteng, Liz Truss's former friend, acolyte and patsy, is leaving the sinking ship, he's not going to stand at the next election.

Surprised in some ways about Kwarteng because he's MP for the sort of seat that would never vote anything other than Conservative.

But perhaps there is not enough room for Trussnomics in the current Conservative Party, though there is of course plenty of room for other forms of strident right-wing politics. (Will we see Liz go next?)

We've seen a fair few Tory MPs standing down who one wouldn't have expected (i.e. they're not veteran MPs retiring), which is a sign even they believe they've lost the next election and are either expecting to lost their seat if they stood again, or are not prepared to be in opposition. I don't think Truss will stand down however, she seems to think she can rise again and pretend that 49 day period didn't happen.

 

[SteveM70]

Surprised in some ways about Kwarteng because he's MP for the sort of seat that would never vote anything other than Conservative.

But perhaps there is not enough room for Trussnomics in the current Conservative Party, though there is of course plenty of room for other forms of strident right-wing politics. (Will we see Liz go next?)

Nice payoff for standing down, and then off to make some *real* money. Being an MP is a means to an end for these lot

 

[JamesT]

She is launching a new movement called Popular Conservatives. Insert joke here.

Even Guido Fawkes is poking fun at the name: https://order-order.com/2024/02/05/most-un-popular-conservative-launching-popular-conservatism/

Cruelly the polling shows that 65% of voters have an unfavourable view of Truss. Even among 2019 Tory voters she sits at -53%. That gives Liz a net favourability rating of -54, compared to Sunak on -27 and Starmer on -8.

 

[Typhoon]

And Kwasi Kwarteng, Liz Truss's former friend, acolyte and patsy, is leaving the sinking ship, he's not going to stand at the next election.

.. booting the boot in on the way out!

He has also lashed out as his former boss and ally – saying Ms Truss was “not wired” to be PM and would have “blown up” something if they had escaped the autumn statement debacle.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...1&cvid=a1ea0d479b11439f94f5132aef0a49a7&ei=12

At least he has had the decency to keep quiet up to now.

 

[dgl]

She is launching a new movement called Popular Conservatives. Insert joke here.

Ah, like countries with the word "democratic" in their name