RoverAndOut 4,726 Posted August 22, 2023 2 hours ago, Sly Ronnie said: Thing is we've been here before. Remember how we all thought Labour would get a bit more radical by the 2001 election? The only radical thing they did was ilegally invade countries. Blair got back in in May 2001. The Twin Towers were attacked in September 2001. From then on, the world changed. 9/11 was a disaster for Labour and completely and irrevocably changed everything about Blair's premiership. And no, it wasn't inevitable, it was his decision. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sly Ronnie 870 Posted August 22, 2023 56 minutes ago, RoverAndOut said: Blair got back in in May 2001. The Twin Towers were attacked in September 2001. From then on, the world changed. 9/11 was a disaster for Labour and completely and irrevocably changed everything about Blair's premiership. And no, it wasn't inevitable, it was his decision. The interventionalist signs were there though with Serbia in 1999. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,726 Posted August 22, 2023 3 hours ago, Sly Ronnie said: The interventionalist signs were there though with Serbia in 1999. A humanitarian mission with widespread support within NATO, but it was not a priority. Was war with Iraq inevitable when Bush came in, regardless of 9/11? Maybe. But I wonder if, without 9/11, he would have had quite such a hold on Blair. But who knows. Just imagine if they'd bothered to finish counting the votes in Florida... And while you lament the "Tory-lite" Labour government of 1997-2001, a reminder they brought devolution to Scotland and Wales, peace to Northern Ireland, made the Bank of England independent, introduced the minimum wage and brought in Sure Start, among other things, which was considerable progress that's easy to forget 25 years on. Could/should he have been more radical? Yes. Did he make mistakes? Definitely. But the country was still in a much better place in 2010 than it was in 1997. And I'd say it's been largely downhill ever since. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,726 Posted August 23, 2023 5 of these directly caused by the morons running the country!!! What a shit show! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 20,918 Posted August 24, 2023 Grand Old Party bitch slap fest! Actually more nutters than I thought! Go Haley! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MortalCaso 1,618 Posted August 24, 2023 15 minutes ago, YoungWillz said: Grand Old Party bitch slap fest! Actually more nutters than I thought! Go Haley! Yes. Fun times here in the US of A 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,509 Posted August 24, 2023 I have joined the European Movement Time to put my money where my mouth is 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,352 Posted August 24, 2023 36 minutes ago, Bibliogryphon said: I have joined the European Movement Time to put my money where my mouth is Have been a member for a while now. Mike Galsworthy is brilliant. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Summer in Transylvania 2,134 Posted August 26, 2023 Dorries is finally gone. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,352 Posted August 26, 2023 6 minutes ago, Summer in Transylvania said: Dorries is finally gone. WHATTT?! She weren't kidding when she said she'd resign with immediate effect. It only took her 78 days! (around 1.7 Liz Trussterfucks) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gooseberry Crumble 5,328 Posted August 26, 2023 Labour MP Chris Bryant teasing on twitter that Nadine Dorries resignation letter is full of very useful and usable juicy quotes basically writing the Labour partys general election leaflets! 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,352 Posted August 26, 2023 The letter in full: Dear Prime Minister, It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to have served the good people of Mid Bedfordshire as their MP for eighteen yearsᶠⁿ¹ and I count myself blessed to have worked in Westminster for almost a quarter of a centuryᶠⁿ². Despite what some in the media and you yourself have implied, my team of caseworkers and I have continued to work for my constituents faithfully and diligently to this dayᶠⁿ³. When I arrived in Mid Bedfordshire in 2005, I inherited a Conservative majority of 8,000. Over five elections this has increased to almost 25,000, making it one of the safest seats in the countryᶠⁿ⁴. A legacy I am proud of. During my time as a Member of Parliament, I have served as a back bencher, a bill Committee Chair, a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State before becoming Minister of State in the Department of Health and Social Care during the Covid crisis, after which I was appointed as Secretary of Stateᶠⁿ⁵ at the department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sportᶠⁿ⁶. The offer to continue in my Cabinet role was extended to me by your predecessor, Liz Truss, and I am grateful for your personal phone call on the morning you appointed your cabinet in October, even if I declined to take the callᶠⁿ⁷. As politicians, one of the greatest things we can do is to empower people to have opportunities to achieve their aspirations and to help them to change their lives for the betterᶠⁿ⁸. In DHSC I championed meaningful improvements to maternity and neonatal safety. I launched the women's health strategy and pushed forward a national evidence-based trial for Group B Strep testing in pregnant women with the aim to reduce infant deaths. When I resigned as Secretary of State for DCMS I was able to thank the professional, dedicated, and hard-working civil servants for making our department the highest performing in Whitehallᶠⁿ⁹. We worked tirelessly to strengthen the Online Safety Bill to protect young peopleᶠⁿ¹⁰, froze the BBC licence fee, included the sale of Channel 4 into the Media Billᶠⁿ¹¹ to protect its long-term future and led the world in imposing cultural sanctions when Putin invaded Ukraine. I worked with and encouraged the tech sector, to search out untaught talents such as creative and critical thinkingᶠⁿ¹² in deprived communities offering those who faced a life on low unskilled pay or benefits, access to higher paid employment and social mobility. What many of the CEOs I spoke to in the tech sector and business leaders really wanted was meaningful regulatory reform from you as chancellor to enable companies not only to establish in the UK, but to list on the London Stock Exchange rather than New York. You flashed your gleaming smile in your Prada shoes and Savile Row suitᶠⁿ¹³ from behind a camera, but you just weren't listening. All they received in return were platitudes and a speech illustrating how wonderful life was in California. London is now losing its appeal as more UK-based companies seek better listing opportunities in the U.S. That, Prime Minister, is entirely down to youᶠⁿ¹⁴. Long before my resignation announcement, in July 2022, I had advised the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, of my intention to step downᶠⁿ¹⁵. Senior figures in the party, close allies of yours, have continued to this day to implore me to wait until the next general electionᶠⁿ¹² ᵃᵍᵃᶦⁿ rather than inflict yet another damaging by-election on the party at a time when we are consistently twenty points behind in the polls. Having witnessed first-hand, as Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss were taken down, I decided that the British people had a right to know what was happening in their nameᶠⁿ¹² ᵃᵍᵃᶦⁿ. Why is it that we have had five Conservative Prime Ministers since 2010ᶠⁿ¹⁶, with not one of the previous four having left office as the result of losing a general election? That is a democratic deficit which the mother of parliaments should be deeply ashamed of and which, as you and I know, is the result of the machinations of a small group of individuals embedded deep at the centre of the partyᶠⁿ¹⁷ and Downing St. To start with, my investigations focused on the political assassination of Boris Johnsonᶠⁿ¹⁸, but as I spoke to more and more people - and I have spoken to a lot of people, from ex-Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers both ex and current through all levels of government and Westminster and even journalists - a dark story emerged which grew ever more disturbing with each person I spoke to. It became clear to me as I worked that remaining as a back bencher was incompatible with publishing a book which exposes how the democratic process at the heart of our party has been corruptedᶠⁿ¹⁹. As I uncovered this alarming situation I knew, such were the forces ranged against meᶠⁿ²⁰, that I was grateful to retain my parliamentary privilege until today. And, as you also know Prime Minister, those forces are today the most powerful figures in the land. The onslaught against me even included the bizarre spectacle of the Cabinet Secretary claiming (without evidence) to a select committee that he had reported me to the Whips and Speakers office (not only have neither office been able to confirm this was true, but they have no power to act, as he well knows). It is surely as clear a breach of Civil Service impartialityᶠⁿ²¹ as you could wish to see. But worst of all has been the spectacle of a Prime Minister demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy against one of his own MPs. You failed to mention in your public comments that there could be no writ moved for a by-election over summer. And that the earliest any by-election could take place is at the end of September. The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your Government has descended toᶠⁿ²². It is a modus operandi established by your allies which has targeted Boris Johnson, transferred to Liz Truss and now moved on to meᶠⁿ²³. But I have not been a Prime Minister. I do not have security or protection. Attacks from people, led by you, declared open season on myself and the past weeks have resulted in the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person. Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened. What exactly has been done or have you achieved? You hold the office of Prime Minister unelected, without a single vote, not even from your own MPs. You have no mandate from the people and the Government is adriftᶠⁿ²⁴. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what? And what a difference it is now since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an eighty-seat majority and a greater percentage of the vote share than Tony Blair in the Labour landslide victory of '97. We were a mere five points behind on the day he was removed from office. Since you became Prime Minister, his manifesto has been completely abandoned. We cannot simply disregard the democratic choice of the electorate, remove both the Prime Minister and the manifesto commitments they voted for and then expect to return to the people in the hope that they will continue to unquestioningly support us. They have agency, they will use it. Levelling up has been discardedᶠⁿ²⁵ and with it, those deprived communities it sought to serve. Social care, ready to be launched, abandoned along with the hope of all of those who care for the elderly and the vulnerable. The Online Safety Bill has been watered down. BBC funding reform, the clock run down. The Mental Health Act, timed out. Defence spending, reduced. Our commitment to net zero, animal welfare and the green issues so relevant to the planet and voters under 40, squanderedᶠⁿ²⁶. As Lord Goldsmith wrote in his own resignation letter, because you simply do not care about the environment or the natural world. What exactly is it you do stand forᶠⁿ²⁷? You have increased Corporation tax to 25 per cent, taking us to the level of the highest tax take since World War two at 75 per cent of GDP, and you have completely failed in reducing illegal immigration or delivering on the benefits of Brexit. The bonfire of EU legislationᶠⁿ²⁸, swerved. The Windsor framework agreement, a dead duck, brought into existence by shady promises of future preferment with grubby rewards and potential gongs to MPs. Stormont is still not sitting. Disregarding your own chancellor, last week you took credit for reducing inflation, citing your 'plan'. There has been no budget, no new fiscal measures, no debate, there is no plan. Such statements take the British public for fools. The decline in the price of commodities such as oil and gas, the eased pressure on the supply of wheat and the increase in interest rates by the Bank of England are what has taken the heat out of the economy and reduced inflation. For you to personally claim credit for this was disingenuous at the very least. It is a fact that there is no affection for Keir Starmer out on the doorstep. He does not have the winning X factor qualities of a Thatcher, a Blair, or a Boris Johnson, and sadly, Prime Minister, neither do you. Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become Prime Minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economyᶠⁿ²⁹. Bewildered, we look in vain for the grand political vision for the people of this great country to hold on to, that would make all this disruption and subsequent inertia worthwhile, and we find absolutely nothing. I shall take some comfort from explaining to people exactly how you and your allies achieved this undemocratic upheaval in my book. I am a proud working-class Conservative which is why the Levelling Up agenda was so important to me. I know personally how effective a strong and helping hand can be to lift someone out of poverty and how vision, hope and opportunity can change lives. You have abandoned the fundamental principles of Conservatism. History will not judge you kindlyᶠⁿ³⁰. I shall today inform the Chancellor of my intention to take the Chiltern Hundreds, enabling the writ to be moved on September the 4th for the by-election you are so desperately seeking to take placeᶠⁿ³¹. Yours sincerely, Nadine Dorriesᶠⁿ³² ᶠⁿ¹: Dorries has not held a constituency surgery for more than three years. ᶠⁿ²: Dorries has not spoken in Parliament for 13 months. ᶠⁿ³: Which is exactly why Flitwick council had no choice but to attempt to force her out, for having done bollocks all to represent the people who elected her. ᶠⁿ⁴: I look forward to the upcoming by-election to test this theory. ᶠⁿ⁵: God. ᶠⁿ⁶: Where she proved comprehensively she knew all about downstreaming all the latest action from the tennis pitch. Fucking useless. ᶠⁿ⁷: It was a FaceTime call, which she declined due to being mid ugly-cry about her beloved Boris not making the cut. ᶠⁿ⁸: How's that fucking gone? ᶠⁿ⁹: They were moved to the top floor of the building in the hope she'd use the window to good effect. ᶠⁿ¹⁰: Who can forget that rap? There went Nadine with her rhyming stunt. There's no doubt about it, she's a very silly cunt. ᶠⁿ¹¹: Where she demonstrated she hadn't a fucking clue how the funding of Channel 4 worked. ᶠⁿ¹²: Hahahahahahaha. ᶠⁿ¹³: Say what you like about Dorries, she really cared about politicians keeping it real and staying grounded. Like Alexander Pfeffel de Cunt with his multiple loans to subsidise his "chicken feed" salary. ᶠⁿ¹⁴: You sure you can't think of any other reasons why we might have lost international appeal? ᶠⁿ¹⁵: Blimey. We underestimated her again. It doesn't take two and a half months to resign, it takes just over a year! ᶠⁿ¹⁶: A rare moment of clarity of thought there. ᶠⁿ¹⁷: A bit like the Brexiter rot that Johnson led, that grew and twisted this already disgusting party (and then, erm, all facts) beyond all recognition. ᶠⁿ¹⁸: By which she means she whinges about Johnson's downfall on TalkTV for £100k+PA. ᶠⁿ¹⁹: See ᶠⁿ¹⁷ for exactly what she's talking about, but was delighted to be a part of. ᶠⁿ²⁰: Ah. Whip out the violins, everyone. She's talking about the peerage. ᶠⁿ²¹: The brass balls of her to be talking about Civil Service code when she repeatedly breached broadcasting code during the Privileges inquiry she and a handful of others sought to bring down ᶠⁿ²²: That's not the main thing that demonstrates how pitifully low THEY have sunk, but carry on. ᶠⁿ²³: As if she hadn't already kicked her own head in by being thicker than a Boxing Day shite? ᶠⁿ²⁴: Wow. At least there are some truths in this little pissy fit of hers. I see what Chris Bryant means! ᶠⁿ²⁵: Sort of, yeah. Gove's in charge. When he's not off his wee tits on chang. ᶠⁿ²⁶: I thought the Tories were supposed to wait until after their General Election loss to attack the serving Prime Minister for all of the mess we're in. She's gone off prematurely there. Probably another way Johnson has influenced her. ᶠⁿ²⁷: Ah, Goldsmith. Another one who was forced to apologise after his Privileges Committee shenanigans, but threw his toys out the pram instead. ᶠⁿ²⁸: Most of which we were instrumental in forming, and yet she still wants to burn it all. She's been hanging around that mewling pencil Rees-Mogg too much lately, hasn't she? ᶠⁿ²⁹: A rare point of party unity. ᶠⁿ³⁰: True, but unfortunately she thinks history will look back on Johnson as misunderstood and herself as an intellectual powerhouse. ᶠⁿ³¹: Huh? A minute ago they were desperately trying to avoid it for over a year? ᶠⁿ³²: Can't confirm whether or not she managed to spell her name correctly first go. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Charlotte's Controller 195 Posted August 26, 2023 The BBC sub heading “Who is Nadine Dorries” To paraphrase the article, an incompetent follower of Boris Johnson not considered worthy of a peerage despite her contributions to the country. Nads has followed a path that under any company would have had her under review for non performance of duty. Her children have been employed by the state for doing not a lot and yet she will deserve her substantial recompense for resigning. About time we had a body to review MP performance and accountability.there should be proportional representation and an aim to eliminate the gravy train expenses. Too many politicians are taking the piss. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toast 16,063 Posted August 26, 2023 This was the bit that made me pmsl Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods (takes out onion) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Creep 7,069 Posted August 27, 2023 I am a proud “working-class Conservative”™️ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,726 Posted August 27, 2023 Trump's a good golf liar, but he's no Kim Jong-Il. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,352 Posted August 28, 2023 Apparently Labour are sending this email to all their members: 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,352 Posted August 31, 2023 New Defence Sec incoming as a result of Ben Wallace resigning. Tom Tugendhat (Security Minister and former leadership candidate), John Glen (Chief Secretary to the Treasury), James Heappey (Armed Forces Minister), Penny Dreadful (Commons leader and former leadership candidate) and Grant Shapps (off of Sebastian Fox, Michael Green and Corinne Stockheath) have been named as potential candidates, but it’ll likely be a return to office for Liam Werritty-Fox who was a big Sunak ally in both his leadershit campaigns. EDIT: Wrong. Billy Ten-Names took it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCI Frank Burnside 3,870 Posted August 31, 2023 18 minutes ago, TQR said: New Defence Sec incoming as a result of Ben Wallace resigning. Tom Tugendhat (Security Minister and former leadership candidate), John Glen (Chief Secretary to the Treasury), James Heappey (Armed Forces Minister), Penny Dreadful (Commons leader and former leadership candidate) and Grant Shapps (off of Sebastian Fox, Michael Green and Corinne Stockheath) have been named as potential candidates, but it’ll likely be a return to office for Liam Werritty-Fox who was a big Sunak ally in both his leadershit campaigns. Sky reporting it'll be Shapps.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,352 Posted August 31, 2023 25 minutes ago, DCI Frank Burnside said: Sky reporting it'll be Shapps.... I would say Jesus Christ, but Shapps has probably used that as a fucking false name too. BBC has it too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,726 Posted August 31, 2023 1 hour ago, DCI Frank Burnside said: Sky reporting it'll be Shapps.... 5th cabinet role in a year for Grant. Presumably he's used a different alias for each of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 20,918 Posted August 31, 2023 4 hours ago, DCI Frank Burnside said: Sky reporting it'll be Shapps.... 3 hours ago, TQR said: I would say Jesus Christ, but Shapps has probably used that as a fucking false name too. BBC has it too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 20,918 Posted August 31, 2023 If politics was honest: Sunak: "Grant Shapps was the obvious choice for Defence Secretary. If he does a poor job, he will simply change his name to Ben Wallace and be lauded as the best person we've ever had in the post. I am pleased to appoint Claire to Energy. She may only have recently been elected as an MP, but she gets me hard, you know. Like rock hard. I dream of her bouncing up and down on me energetically. So, the obvious choice for Energy." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,726 Posted August 31, 2023 In today's episode of the omnishambles that is the current government of the United Kingdom: 1. A well respected Defence Secretary was replaced by the smoothest snake in politics. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66668941 2. Mad Nad's poison pen novel has been put back 6 weeks due to "the required legal process needed to share her story." (Good luck making it libel-proof!) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66670939 3. 104 schools have been ordered to close buildings containing a certain type of concrete prone to collapse but the government aren't going to tell parents which schools, they have to wait for schools to inform them (because it's not like they've got anything better to be doing 2 days before schools go back). https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66673971 Join us again for tomorrow's instalment! 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites