Westminster Politics

UnrelatedPsuedo

I pity the poor fool who stinks like I do!
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I'm confused by Kuenssberg's tweets. Does she start with the premise that her source isn't Cummings before giving it up in the next sentence, or is she pretending like she has another source who for some reason she's decided to quote even though Cummings has told her he's off himself?
She starts with the premise that 80% of the baying electorate are pitchfork carrying half-brains and ends a message placating the sensible folks.
 

Compton22

Knows that he knows nothing.
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Don't like Nigel, but he's probably right as to the reason for his resignation
 

jeff_goldblum

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Is this Cummings thing not just a continuation of the Tory strategy manufacturing artificial 'end-of-era' moments which allow them to distance themselves from things they did wrong 'before the change' and capitalise on a repeated 'Honeymoon' periods?

e.g - Johnston's Tories being presented as a clean break from the exact same Tories under May, and under Cameron, except now it's post-Cummings Tories as a clean break from Cummings Tories?
 

Ubik

Nothing happens until something moves!
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Is this Cummings thing not just a continuation of the Tory strategy manufacturing artificial 'end-of-era' moments which allow them to distance themselves from things they did wrong 'before the change' and capitalise on a repeated 'Honeymoon' periods?

e.g - Johnston's Tories being presented as a clean break from the exact same Tories under May, and under Cameron, except now it's post-Cummings Tories as a clean break from Cummings Tories?
I think the leadership itself is more important there, but this itself is probably a step in that direction given Stratton is now taking more control.
 

Buster15

Go on Didier
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Is this Cummings thing not just a continuation of the Tory strategy manufacturing artificial 'end-of-era' moments which allow them to distance themselves from things they did wrong 'before the change' and capitalise on a repeated 'Honeymoon' periods?

e.g - Johnston's Tories being presented as a clean break from the exact same Tories under May, and under Cameron, except now it's post-Cummings Tories as a clean break from Cummings Tories?
They were and still are very much The Nasty Party.
And anyone who supports them is welcome to them and their compulsive lying.
 

Drifter

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So Boris is resetting himself and the party to welcome in the Biden Administration.
 

golden_blunder

Site admin. Manchester United fan
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So Boris is resetting himself and the party to welcome in the Biden Administration.
There might be a little bit of truth in that. Biden is an Irish American, proud of his roots and is very much adamant if UK feck Ireland over, there’s no trade deals to be had
 

Classical Mechanic

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So Boris is resetting himself and the party to welcome in the Biden Administration.
Sadly I think this is true. We have to follow the lead of the US whomever is president. In this case it’s for the best ultimately given the crappy trade deal BoJo was under pressure to sign under Trump and the softer Brexit that will likely occur. Hopefully we’ll also see an end to the aggressive and subversive Trumpian tactics they were using too.

I don’t think Cummings wanted to be associated with the new direction but I think it’s actually more in line with who Boris is politically. I think the other factor is how much his party hated Cummings. If Boris had kept him on he‘d have dwindling support for a second term.
 

groovyalbert

it's a mute point
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So Boris is resetting himself and the party to welcome in the Biden Administration.
Fair point. Especially an administration that will perceive any infringement on the Good Friday Agreement negatively.

I do think no Trump = no hard Brexit. We're probably headed to another extension for at least a year.
 

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
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The nepotism at the heart of British Government

Seems an inevitable consequence of a political system where 3/4 of PMs since the 1720s come from the same two Universities and a huge number of the leading figures in politics did exactly the same university course:

MONDAY, 13 April 2015 was a typical day in modern British politics. An Oxford University graduate in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE), Ed Miliband, launched the Labour party’s general election manifesto. It was examined by the BBC’s political editor, Oxford PPE graduate Nick Robinson, by the BBC’s economics editor, Oxford PPE graduate Robert Peston, and by the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Oxford PPE graduate Paul Johnson. It was criticised by the prime minister, Oxford PPE graduate David Cameron. It was defended by the Labour shadow chancellor, Oxford PPE graduate Ed Balls.

Elsewhere in the country, with the election three weeks away, the Liberal Democrat chief secretary to the Treasury, Oxford PPE graduate Danny Alexander, was preparing to visit Kingston and Surbiton, a vulnerable London seat held by a fellow Lib Dem minister, Oxford PPE graduate Ed Davey. In Kent, one of Ukip’s two MPs, Oxford PPE graduate Mark Reckless, was campaigning in his constituency, Rochester and Strood. Comments on the day’s developments were being posted online by Michael Crick, Oxford PPE graduate and political correspondent of Channel 4 News.

On the BBC Radio 4 website, the Financial Times statistics expert and Oxford PPE graduate Tim Harford presented his first election podcast. On BBC1, Oxford PPE graduate and Newsnight presenter Evan Davies conducted the first of a series of interviews with party leaders. In the print media, there was an election special in the Economist magazine, edited by Oxford PPE graduate Zanny Minton-Beddoes; a clutch of election articles in the political magazine Prospect, edited by Oxford PPE graduate Bronwen Maddox; an election column in the Guardian by Oxford PPE graduate Simon Jenkins; and more election coverage in the Times and the Sun, whose proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, studied PPE at Oxford.

Among the many issues with that is the fact that PMs will then be surrounded by people they already know and have any opportunity to appoint more people they already know. The "qualified options" come pre-narrowed to their own extended social circle.
 

Paul the Wolf

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Three things I don't really understand why British people think that :
1) The UK would have got a better or worse trade deal with Biden or Trump, both are only interested in the USA's interests as would any US President - will they get any type of trade deal?
2) That there's a special relationship between the USA and the UK, it's only the UK that think this.
3) Why would there be an extension to the transition period? Trade deal negotiations can continue after the transition period finishes and would have done any way. Only a very basic outline could have been negotiated by the end of it. The fact is that the UK has wasted the last year and in fact the last four and a half years with chest beating . The Uk have left the Customs Union, that's the important part and they're not rejoining.
 

jeff_goldblum

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Is this Cummings thing not just a continuation of the Tory strategy of manufacturing artificial 'end-of-era' moments which allow them to distance themselves from things they did wrong 'before the change' and capitalise on repeated 'Honeymoon' periods?

e.g - Johnston's Tories being presented as a clean break from the exact same Tories under May, and under Cameron, except now it's post-Cummings Tories as a clean break from Cummings Tories?
BBC doing the Tories' PR for them yet again with the headline of their lead story today.

"Cummings exit gives chance to reset government"

They know exactly what they're doing.