Westminster Politics

UnrelatedPsuedo

I pity the poor fool who stinks like I do!
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Indeed.
Do you know what. I have written to my MP four times in the last few weeks asking him to respond on a specific issue.
Four times.
And has he had the decency to respond.
NO.
Not even an acknowledgement of my requests.

That is what you get when you elect a Tory MP.
Until of course they want your vote.
Thankfully I have a Labour MP. Will see what he comes back with.
 

SteveJ

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That chosen style of dress; a very old trick:

'The philosopher Diogenes was at the Athenian theatre one day. A group of youths from the wealthy city of Sybaris entered; all decked out in the finest clothes, jewellery and make up, striding through with the confidence that they were as natural as water or air. Diogenes, a confirmed critic of all excess, stood up and shouted at them “Affectation, affectation!”
A little later another group walk in; this time, the residents of Croton, known for their ascetic style of dress and life, who also walk with the confidence of supposed authenticity. Once again Diogenes shouted “More affectation!”'
 

Mr Pigeon

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:lol: I'm genuinely excited to find out what he does and says. This is what the lockdown has driven us to since there's no football.
 

Rams

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The fact that Dominic Cummings son’s father is an autistic bastard with the emotional IQ of an amoeba is neither here nor there.
 

SteveJ

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Cummings latest: "That money was just resting in my account."
 

sammsky1

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It's either going to be a carefully orchestrated press Q&A session or he's that desperate because Boris and co have been so utterly useless at defending him. At this point unless he reveals it was all a cover up and he was actually on his own working for MI6 taking down an evil terrorist organisation with the help of the IMF, and Tom Cruise himself provides video evidence of them both hanging off of a nuclear missile trying to stop it from detonating, this story isn't going to go away.
How else could Boris and co defend him beyond what they have done (45 Tory MPs including many cabinet members tweeted in his support)?

The mistake was Boris's statements yesterday. He should have admitted that Cummings had made a mistake, was very sorry for that mistake, and understands how his decision looks in the current climate. But that he also empathised with Cummings situation and understood why he made the mistake under huge emotional duress. And then pleaded with public to understand his situation and ask them to empathise.

It still ends with Cummings being guilty but within totally different narrative (and a chance to fight) from the one now where Cummings is the most hated man in the country and whose position becomes untenable because of lack of credibility and integrity.

Im personally delighted, because I detest Cummings more than Boris. But it seems that the initial overt Tory support will end up being Cummings undoing.
 
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Pexbo

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There is two ways this can go:

Orchestrated with right wing press which will be ridiculed and create even more controversy and public apathy.

Adhoc and he has the arrogance to believe he can handle it and he inevitably slips up because there’s no excuse for that he did.

Either way it’s going to be a shit show and more damaging.

I reckon there is more revelations and evidence to come too so it’s likely he’s going to be caught lying a few times.
 

BobbyManc

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I wonder if the conference is in part to preempt the police inquiry. Cummings will know whether or not he did breach it a second time by going to Barnard Castle and if the police will prove this, so getting ahead of it would make sense to me. How he goes about doing that remains to be seen - or maybe he gets his denial in early and is going to play the ‘fake news’ route.
 

TheGame

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He will offer a half arsed orchestrated explanation which will be accepted by some of the people/press and they will start defending him after. I have no hope for the people of this country, he and Boris will just get away with it like all of the stuff they have got away with.
 

BobbyManc

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Fact that he is being allowed to use Downing Street as his stage tells us that Boris is still 100% behind him, and this will be an attempt to ride it out.
At this point it is manifestly clear that it is pointless seeing as Johnson as ‘behind’ Cummings or not. They are inseparable. Johnson turning against Cummings is akin to turning against himself. Whatever it is that binds them, it is insoluble.
 

Smores

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Do we think he'll use the official lectern? Or dare stand in front of one with the health message?
 

SteveJ

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The return of 'unprecedented' ~

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen:

'Many have judged Dominic Cummings without hearing his side of the story. That will change this afternoon and will be unprecedented.

It’s possible that people will be surprised.'
 

arnie_ni

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If the parents came and lifted the child, stayed a night because 520 mile round trip at their age would be tough, then took the child back to durham while the infected parents isolated at home, would this be as bad?
 

DavelinaJolie

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I've had a suspicion, since this press conference was announced, that they've been holding something back and this is some kind of gotcha that knocks the press on its heels.

Here's hoping I'm wrong.
 

SteveJ

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I've had a suspicion, since this press conference was announced, that they've been holding something back and this is some kind of gotcha that knocks the press on its heels.
Perhaps an announcement that they're done with patronising the public and, to celebrate this, there's free jelly and ice cream for everyone.
 

DVG7

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I hope he announces that he's pregnant, will be more believable than almost anything else he can come up with about this whole fiasco.
 

RedChip

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I've had a suspicion, since this press conference was announced, that they've been holding something back and this is some kind of gotcha that knocks the press on its heels.

Here's hoping I'm wrong.
It wasn't him all along; it was medieval man.
 

Pogue Mahone

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If the parents came and lifted the child, stayed a night because 520 mile round trip at their age would be tough, then took the child back to durham while the infected parents isolated at home, would this be as bad?
Yes.

The whole idea that having covid means you can’t care for your child is fecking stupid anyway. I’ve had three doctors friends all catch covid and all three of them just kept on parenting as usual, while self-isolating. They didn’t have any choice. For one of them both parents and three out of four kids were all sick at the same time!

If/when Cummings or his wife ended up in hospital (which neither of them did) they could have looked at other options for the kid. Which was exactly the same dilemma faced by thousands and thousands of people all over the country.
 

Mr Pigeon

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The return of 'unprecedented' ~

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen:

'Many have judged Dominic Cummings without hearing his side of the story. That will change this afternoon and will be unprecedented.

It’s possible that people will be surprised.'
"And if you don't accept his reasons we'll make sure that we assume you do whenever we talk about it again."
 

SteveJ

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This is going to be from the 'She turned me into a next!'/I got better...' school of excuses.
 

Mr Pigeon

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We're going to get the autism story, aren't we? I feel it in my bones. Then he'll say "I wish that I hadn't had to come out and say such a personal thing" and the party line will be to shift the blame on to bullying journalists.
 

Rams

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The instructions (or guidelines as the government is now trying to spin it..) is to isolate at your first address of residence unless of a life threatening necessity not to do so. No if’s or but’s.
 

SteveJ

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We're going to get the autism story, aren't we? I feel it in my bones. Then he'll say "I wish that I hadn't had to come out and say such a personal thing" and the party line will be to shift the blame on to bullying journalists.
As believable as my excuse to my mum about having something called Timber Wolf Fever to avoid school the next day (I'd read about it in a book).
 

groovyalbert

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I've had a suspicion, since this press conference was announced, that they've been holding something back and this is some kind of gotcha that knocks the press on its heels.

Here's hoping I'm wrong.
Yeah, this all seems too well timed.

I think the government are hating the amount of influence the press have right now over the mood of the public. Without us being our and about, and able to avoid the nonesense of Westminster, people are far more clued in and judgemental.

I think there is a real nuanced effort to undermine the press's credibility and away. Right now, the government are incapable of influencing its own population it seems.
 

DavelinaJolie

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#scummedia trending on twitter. They've fired up the bots ahead of this to pre-empt what is going to be said.
 

TheGame

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We're going to get the autism story, aren't we? I feel it in my bones. Then he'll say "I wish that I hadn't had to come out and say such a personal thing" and the party line will be to shift the blame on to bullying journalists.
Yep and no doubt half of the thick public will buy it.You can see the headlines now, ‘.Cummings feels his disabled son is being bullied’.
 

SteveJ

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Not so keen on folk being labelled 'enemies of the people' now, are they?
 

Kentonio

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Maybe he’ll be honest, and just tell the press and public he simply doesn’t give a single feck what any of them think.