• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

When Will It All Go Wrong For The Tories/ Johnson?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

The Ham

Established Member
Joined
6 Jul 2012
Messages
10,282
A Tory Council writing to a Tory Government warning that it is on a road to Bankruptcy:


A LACK of funding means Hampshire County Council is on a ‘journey to bankruptcy’, councillors have warned.


The Conservative-led authority has written to MPs across Hampshire, urging them to back a call for more sustainable funding. Some 26 other authorities have joined the county council in asking for better funding.


It comes as the council prepares to cut £80m from its budget by April 2023, slashing spending for transport, children’s services and more.
At today’s cabinet meeting in Winchester, Conservatives will discuss the situation and how best to progress.

But Liberal Democrat opposition spokesman for economy, transport and environment, Cllr Martin Tod, fears the situation is only going to get worse.
He said: ‘The current financial model simply isn’t sustainable – we’re basically on a journey to bankruptcy.
‘The situation is dire, and everyone is cutting back to the bare bones of what the council is responsible for.

‘In the past, councils had their own money to do their own thing; now everything is done through bidding to central government, which doesn’t guarantee anything.



‘What that means is the people who know the area best can’t make the decisions.’


Cllr Tod added he agrees with the Conservatives in wanting a long-term financial agreement with the government as council tax ‘isn’t the answer’.


The government has delayed the Fair Funding Review, which has raised concerns among politicians.


The councils that have jointly written to the government have proposed a short-term spending ‘floor’ which would at least give authorities an indication of the minimum amount of funding they would receive each year.


Hampshire council leader Keith Mans, said: ‘For a long time, shire councils like Hampshire have received the short straw when it comes to funding from central government, and with another delay to government’s Fair Funding Review, we face a further three-year funding drought for those authorities at the bottom end of the funding table.

Certainly not something that you would see in "normal times", I suspect that the sharks are circling.

As a bit of background for those not aware Hampshire is True Blue country with lots of fairly safe Tory seats.

If the local parties were still supportive of Johnson something would have been said, but likely not by the Tory Councillors and almost certainly they wouldn't have been on the record with their quotes.
 

daodao

Established Member
Joined
6 Feb 2016
Messages
2,907
Location
Dunham/Bowdon
They are all at it, the only difference is Labour stab their leaders in the back, the Tories do it in the front.
The way that Sturmer undermined the Labour party position on Brexit pre GE2019 was a clear example of front-stabbing; he clearly wanted to ensure that Corbyn-led Labour lost badly. Since then, the way he has treated people like Corbyn, Long-Bailey and Ken Loach is disgraceful.

I really don't understand the fuss about the private jollies at 10 Downing Street pre-Xmas 2020. Opposition to the current Tory government should focus on its policies and actions.
 

oldman

Member
Joined
26 Nov 2013
Messages
1,014
I really don't understand the fuss about the private jollies at 10 Downing Street pre-Xmas 2020. Opposition to the current Tory government should focus on its policies and actions.
When you have a populist politician whose career has been built on personality (good old Boris, what a laugh, bit of a rogue but you can't help loving him), it's natural that people will focus on his personality to attack him (shambolic, incompetent, lying, cheating, rules are for the little people Johnson).
 

AM9

Veteran Member
Joined
13 May 2014
Messages
14,191
Location
St Albans
I really don't understand the fuss about the private jollies at 10 Downing Street pre-Xmas 2020. Opposition to the current Tory government should focus on its policies and actions.
Which is exactly what all the fuss is about. The frequent hypocrisy of politicians is acknowledged by most of the electorate, but the Johnson administration's behaviouir of late is a direct abuse of power. To call the current anger a 'fuss' implies that virtually nothing should ever be questioned.
 

edwin_m

Veteran Member
Joined
21 Apr 2013
Messages
24,793
Location
Nottingham
The way that Sturmer undermined the Labour party position on Brexit pre GE2019 was a clear example of front-stabbing; he clearly wanted to ensure that Corbyn-led Labour lost badly. Since then, the way he has treated people like Corbyn, Long-Bailey and Ken Loach is disgraceful.

I really don't understand the fuss about the private jollies at 10 Downing Street pre-Xmas 2020. Opposition to the current Tory government should focus on its policies and actions.
Corbyn was one of the main reasons Johnson is in power in the first place. If Labour had had a half-decent leader and a credible set of policies, we would never have had the disaster of Brexit and the greater disaster of Johnson.
 

dosxuk

Established Member
Joined
2 Jan 2011
Messages
1,742
I really don't understand the fuss about the private jollies at 10 Downing Street pre-Xmas 2020. Opposition to the current Tory government should focus on its policies and actions.
The fuss is that the current Government have lost the moral right to set rules, and that is pretty much fatal to any leadership (outside of a dictatorship). By being seen to completely ignore the rules, cover up the rule breaking and flat out lie about the possibility of any rule taking haven taken place, there's no way those very same people can go on TV at 6pm and ask the public to follow a new set of rules.

While the Patterson case was about a similar one-rule-for-us thing, it didn't have the cut through that this story about parties does. the number of (factual) accounts of people missing their last chances to be with loved ones by following the rules last Christmas while Downing Street through a series of parties has completely blown the Boris as man of the people facade out of the water.

My prediction is that after Christmas, Boris will announce that as he wants to spend more time with his young family, he'll regretfully have to give up the prime minister role. I don't expect him to stand down as MP (until the following general election), removing the potential embarrassment of being voted out of office / losing the tories an MP. The after dinner speech round approaches.
 

Typhoon

Established Member
Joined
2 Nov 2017
Messages
3,486
Location
Kent
I really don't understand the fuss about the private jollies at 10 Downing Street pre-Xmas 2020. Opposition to the current Tory government should focus on its policies and actions.
Last Wednesday Labour moved an amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill to include an offence of human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Labour also tabled a motion regretting that the government were not planning to implement the promised Northern Powerhouse Rail in full as part of the discussion on the Rail Investment and Integrated Rail Plan.
A Labour MP tabled a petition calling for higher sentences for causing death by dangerous driving.
Another raised the matter of the merger of councils without consulting residents.

I don't remember any of the above being reported in the media - I had to look them up.

In the last two weeks of November, Starmer concentrated on the selling off of a home when a resident enters a care home and (in the infamous 'Sit Down, Prime Minister' PMQs) the plans for rail investment in the north.

The media finds the constant drip, drip of social gatherings newsworthy and, presumably, sells papers / attracts viewers and listeners. Of course, Labour has taken advantage of this and why not? The media takes no notice when they flag up what I feel are more important issues. While writing this, I heard an Ian Hislop interview on Radio 4 in which he said
Everyone's looking for a laugh.
and the constant variants on Partygate (there wasn't a party; if there was a party they were socially distanced; there was a cheese and wine, not a party) are quite amusing.
 

edwin_m

Veteran Member
Joined
21 Apr 2013
Messages
24,793
Location
Nottingham
I don't expect him to stand down as MP (until the following general election), removing the potential embarrassment of being voted out of office / losing the tories an MP. The after dinner speech round approaches.
With Johnson having been investigated more by the standards commissioner than any other MP, it's quite possible he will be recommended at some point for suspension of 30 or more days like Paterson. That opens the door for constituents to trigger a recall election. Given that they probably include quite a number with attitudes similar to those of Chesham and Amersham, as well as students at Brunel, it's quite likely this will succeed in deposing him.
 

DynamicSpirit

Established Member
Joined
12 Apr 2012
Messages
8,025
Location
SE London
On the subject of all the Tories' woes, which seem to be getting worse by the day, today is 2 years to the day since the 2019 general election, and their massive victory.

Definitely quite a turnaround in their fortunes!
 

AM9

Veteran Member
Joined
13 May 2014
Messages
14,191
Location
St Albans
On the subject of all the Tories' woes, which seem to be getting worse by the day, today is 2 years to the day since the 2019 general election, and their massive victory.

Definitely quite a turnaround in their fortunes!
Isn't that sometimes a characteristic of populist administrations?
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
28,013
Location
UK
On the subject of all the Tories' woes, which seem to be getting worse by the day, today is 2 years to the day since the 2019 general election, and their massive victory.

Definitely quite a turnaround in their fortunes!

Only a massive victory because Boris had his oven ready Brexit deal and managed to get Labour voters to give up everything they've ever stood and voted for to get rid of those pesky immigrants. How ironic that it didn't manage that at all (how could it?).

Boris is the useful idiot to keep for at least a few more months, but at some point he's going to be forced out if he doesn't resign to spend time with his family. Can't see Carrie sticking around for long either.

Isn't that sometimes a characteristic of populist administrations?

This.

A lot of the far right populist politicians (and media) are just in on a massive grift. They can see how poorly educated racists and xenophobes are the perfect marks, and they take advantage to become pretty rich (getting away with it because their supporters turn a blind eye as long as they hear the right things), but eventually it all comes tumbliing down.

The Tories can only survive if they return to where they were around 5-10 years ago. As soon as they lurched to the right, the clock was always ticking.

Parties always lose elections, and I think the next election is going to be very interesting.. not least because we still don't have a viable opposition, plus so many opposing parties that the majority of voters end up not voting Tory but still gain nothing.
 

Gloster

Established Member
Joined
4 Sep 2020
Messages
8,289
Location
Up the creek
It would not surprise me if Johnson tries to hang on August, because that (if my calculations are correct) will be the point when he will have been in Number Ten longer than Theresa May. Leaving power before he passes that mile/millstone might be too much for even his massive ego to bear.
 

Typhoon

Established Member
Joined
2 Nov 2017
Messages
3,486
Location
Kent
Boris is the useful idiot to keep for at least a few more months, but at some point he's going to be forced out if he doesn't resign to spend time with his family. Can't see Carrie sticking around for long either.
Any potential challenger with want to wait until after the NI hike, gas and electricity increases, food price rises, pensioners find their pension rise isn't covering costs, council taxes go up by the max (bound to - especially the police precept which isn't capped. I believe), other problems I have forgotten about.

It would not surprise me if Johnson tries to hang on August, because that (if my calculations are correct) will be the point when he will have been in Number Ten longer than Theresa May. Leaving power before he passes that mile/millstone might be too much for even his massive ego to bear.
Good shout. Also summer means that he is hoping we are likely to be feeling happier, we've been able to go on holiday, Covid infection rates are down, masks are binned. Maybe he hopes we won't feel so bad about him.
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
28,013
Location
UK
Any potential challenger with want to wait until after the NI hike, gas and electricity increases, food price rises, pensioners find their pension rise isn't covering costs, council taxes go up by the max (bound to - especially the police precept which isn't capped. I believe), other problems I have forgotten about.

In that case Boris will be safe for years!
 

Typhoon

Established Member
Joined
2 Nov 2017
Messages
3,486
Location
Kent
In that case Boris will be safe for years!
Not so certain - I've heard gas and electricity are levelling off - probably likewise with containers for goods, Pension triple lock is supposed to be one year, the second year NI rise they can blame Johnson, round my way at least we have a big hike in the police precept the year after the election, then smaller in following years. Provided Truss isn't the new PM whoever is in charge can blame Johnson's disastrous trade deals for high food prices. Either the impact of Covid will have diminished or we will we be more used to periodic interruptions of normal life.

EDIT:
This story will not help the Tories on Thursday:
An apology has been made to the family of a great grandfather who had to wait around 10 hours for an ambulance in "excruciating pain" after falling and breaking his hip.

Don Mansell, who has since died, had fallen onto the concrete floor in the kitchen of his home in Shrewsbury on November 28.

His daughter Sue Beesty had been visiting her 91-year-old father at the time and immediately called for an ambulance.

But she says the great grandfather-of-five, who had worked as a carpenter all his life, had to endure a long wait before paramedics arrived.

After being taken to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, his condition deteriorated and he died days later.

Ms Beesty is now calling for action to stop ambulance delays in the county, blaming a lack of funding for the emergency services.

My understanding is the Shrewsbury constituency is next door.
(From https://www.shropshirestar.com/news...y-oap-waited-10-hours-in-agony-for-ambulance/
 
Last edited:

AgentGemini

Member
Joined
8 Jun 2019
Messages
119
You have to hit people in the hearts - where it hurts.

Quite often, bills and lkegislation often won't directly affect people, so they shrug it off and ignore it. They've got more immediate priorities like going to work, paying the bills, feeding the kids. How does a pension triple lock or an anti-protestors bill affect that? they think.

But Partygate hits home and hard. Gran died in hospital alone. Neighbour was ill. Friend nearly died from covid. Last Christmas got canned at the last moment. Look back and see how the wealthier half of London evacuated en masse from the capital - trains packed, motorways jammed before the stroke of midnight when the new regulations came into force. So to then realise that simultaneously, that Johnson and Co were partying and making light of affairs hurts people and the hurt is boiling over.

You always find support for your causes by making them relatable to people where they live, I guess.
 

MattRat

On Moderation
Joined
26 May 2021
Messages
2,081
Location
Liverpool
I really don't understand the fuss about the private jollies at 10 Downing Street pre-Xmas 2020. Opposition to the current Tory government should focus on its policies and actions.
Focusing on policy would be even more disastrous for Labour. Love or hate progressive polices, it's not what the voting public is most concerned about. Granted, they could create a better working class policy, but I doubt they'd ever do that.
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
28,013
Location
UK
I know it won't happen, but Labour and LibDems need to work together to stand a chance. We also need to try and discourage every man and his dog running against the Tories, such that the votes get divided up as they did in 2019.
 

daodao

Established Member
Joined
6 Feb 2016
Messages
2,907
Location
Dunham/Bowdon
Labour and LibDems need to work together
Pull the other one. That would be a pantomime horse. Other than under Charles Kennedy's leadership, the LDs have been a pro-free market party and resolutely opposed to socialism. Their current leader was a cabinet minister in the recent Cameron-led coalition government.
 

brad465

Established Member
Joined
11 Aug 2010
Messages
6,968
Location
Taunton or Kent
When will it go wrong for the Tories, when we stop getting examples like this from someone interviewed in the FT in North Shropshire:


“Farmers are always better off under Labour,” he said before adding: “But I will vote Conservative because that’s the way I have been brought up.”
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
28,013
Location
UK
Pull the other one. That would be a pantomime horse. Other than under Charles Kennedy's leadership, the LDs have been a pro-free market party and resolutely opposed to socialism. Their current leader was a cabinet minister in the recent Cameron-led coalition government.

With all due respect, you're so supportive of the Tories that I think it's clear you're not exactly trying to help anyone form a viable opposition.
 

MattRat

On Moderation
Joined
26 May 2021
Messages
2,081
Location
Liverpool
With all due respect, you're so supportive of the Tories that I think it's clear you're not exactly trying to help anyone form a viable opposition.
Actually you could still have a Conservative based opposition if the back benchers rallied together and broke off as their own party. They'd become the third biggest party probably and if they threw their weight around the other parties would be forced to listen to them.
 

daodao

Established Member
Joined
6 Feb 2016
Messages
2,907
Location
Dunham/Bowdon
With all due respect, you're so supportive of the Tories that I think it's clear you're not exactly trying to help anyone form a viable opposition.
What have I written that indicates that I support the Tories? I didn't vote for Johnson and have little respect for him, but he did get Brexit done. I have to accept that the Tories won the last GE with a significant majority and have thus earned the right to rule the UK for the next 3 years. I am not deluded enough to believe that collaborating with the LDs is the way forward for those with left-of-centre political views.
 

MattRat

On Moderation
Joined
26 May 2021
Messages
2,081
Location
Liverpool
What have I written that indicates that I support the Tories? I didn't vote for Johnson and have little respect for him, but he did get Brexit done. I have to accept that the Tories won the last GE with a significant majority and have thus earned the right to rule the UK for the next 3 years. I am not deluded enough to believe that collaborating with the LDs is the way forward for those with left-of-centre political views.
We have the problems we do becuase of political dogma. Changing the dogma won't change anything. What would actually be needed is a party or parties running on the basis of running a country, not chasing ideology.
 

jon0844

Veteran Member
Joined
1 Feb 2009
Messages
28,013
Location
UK
Actually you could still have a Conservative based opposition if the back benchers rallied together and broke off as their own party. They'd become the third biggest party probably and if they threw their weight around the other parties would be forced to listen to them.

I'd fully support that.
 

birchesgreen

Established Member
Joined
16 Jun 2020
Messages
5,042
Location
Birmingham
Never happen though unless they have a system in place to replace the party organisation, if they ever want a chance to win re-election.
 

bspahh

Established Member
Joined
5 Jan 2017
Messages
1,727
Actually you could still have a Conservative based opposition if the back benchers rallied together and broke off as their own party. They'd become the third biggest party probably and if they threw their weight around the other parties would be forced to listen to them.
Do you think anyone will listen to them if they are the third biggest party with first past the post elections?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top