New Tory Leader

[Well b back 3,208]

Talk tonight that Sunak is so p***** off with people in his party trying to bring him down, if they can’t agree to stop tonight, he will call a May election tomorrow in retaliation.

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

18 hours ago, Herman said:

PMQs will be fun. 

Maybe not. 😩

I initially thought that the Speaker had let us down by not allowing Abbott to speak at PMQ'S. 

I'm now wondering if he was doing Starmer a favour by avoiding the embarrassment of her messing up again 🙄

[Yellow Fever 3,792]

8 hours ago, Well b back said:

Talk tonight that Sunak is so p***** off with people in his party trying to bring him down, if they can’t agree to stop tonight, he will call a May election tomorrow in retaliation.

Truth is the country desperately needs the election to clear the air and get a fresh start. It would even be good for the Tories.

This government is spent - its a walking, talking disaster area - punch drunk.

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

21 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

Truth is the country desperately needs the election to clear the air and get a fresh start. It would even be good for the Tories.

This government is spent - its a walking, talking disaster area - punch drunk.

To quote a local Conservative Councillor 

'Leave it till September and pray for the economy to improve and hope for a lovely long hot summer' 

There must be some truth in that. 6 months of rain has left a lot of people feeling a bit miserable. 

Edited March 14 by dylanisabaddog

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-68562321

Liz Truss invited to a meeting of the world's great minds at a cost of £20k. That's a hell of a lot to pay someone to do the cleaning 

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

Michael Gove has just outlined the new definition of extremism in Parliament.

The new definition described extremism as "the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance" that aims to "negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others" or "undermine, overturn or replace the UK's system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights".

 

After he said that and for some strange reason the members on the Conservative side all got up and went home........ 

[Herman 9,777]

22 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Michael Gove has just outlined the new definition of extremism in Parliament.

The new definition described extremism as "the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance" that aims to "negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others" or "undermine, overturn or replace the UK's system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights".

 

After he said that and for some strange reason the members on the Conservative side all got up and went home........ 

Is there a for-sale sign outside the Daily Mail HQ too....

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

20 minutes ago, Herman said:

Is there a for-sale sign outside the Daily Mail HQ too....

Problem is not many people go to Monaco ...... 

no

Edited March 14 by dylanisabaddog

[Daz Sparks 1,154]

13 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

I initially thought that the Speaker had let us down by not allowing Abbott to speak at PMQ'S. 

I'm now wondering if he was doing Starmer a favour by avoiding the embarrassment of her messing up again 🙄

It would have been good to hear what she had to say, but you may be right, Starmer could have dodged a bullet there.

[A Load of Squit 5,170]

It's time to MYGA!

 

[sonyc 5,526]

20 hours ago, Well b back said:

Talk tonight that Sunak is so p***** off with people in his party trying to bring him down, if they can’t agree to stop tonight, he will call a May election tomorrow in retaliation.

You might be on to something here. More Tories standing down now...perhaps a few words are being whispered. Saving the embarrassment of losing too. If he calls one then the £10m of Hester money might be forgotten? I've read it represents 20% of the money they are putting aside for the election campaign.

We really are in the death throes of this lot. The latest move being a definition of extremism. 

 

[Herman 9,777]

 

[Well b back 3,208]

Wow, anyone watching Question Time ? The end is near That Tory Donor and Gove’s speech today combined have finished anything they have left.

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

6 hours ago, Well b back said:

Wow, anyone watching Question Time ? The end is near That Tory Donor and Gove’s speech today combined have finished anything they have left.

My desire to be informed is currently outweighed by my desire to remain sane. 

[sonyc 5,526]

Public accounts committee report shows hardly any of 71 projects due to be completed this month are on track

 

Josh Halliday North of England correspondent

15 Mar 2024 05.00 GMT

Rishi Sunak’s levelling up agenda is beset by an “absolutely astonishing” level of delay, and the government cannot give “any compelling examples” of what it has delivered, parliament’s spending watchdog has found.

The public accounts committee (PAC) said barely any of the 71 “shovel-ready” projects due to be completed this month were on track.

Dame Meg Hillier, the chair of the committee, said: “The levels of delay that our report finds in one of government’s flagship policy platforms is absolutely astonishing.

“The vast majority of levelling up projects that were successful in early rounds of funding are now being delivered late, with further delays likely baked in.”

The report found that only a 10th of the £10.5bn of promised funds had been spent by councils. Just over a third, £3.7bn, had been handed out by Michael Gove’s levelling up department by December.

Hillier said Gove’s department appeared to have been “blinded by optimism” in funding projects that were “clearly anything but ‘shovel-ready’, at the expense of projects that could have made a real difference”.

She said MPs were concerned “and surprised given the generational ambition of this agenda” that there appeared to be no plan to evaluate success in the long term.

Boris Johnson made levelling up the guiding principle of his premiership after winning the 2019 general election on a promise to improve the lives of voters in left-behind parts of the UK.

But the project has floundered under his two No 10 successors and been further derailed by surging inflation and a crisis in local authority funding.

 

 

 

[Fen Canary 828]

8 minutes ago, sonyc said:

Public accounts committee report shows hardly any of 71 projects due to be completed this month are on track

 

 

Josh Halliday North of England correspondent

15 Mar 2024 05.00 GMT

Rishi Sunak’s levelling up agenda is beset by an “absolutely astonishing” level of delay, and the government cannot give “any compelling examples” of what it has delivered, parliament’s spending watchdog has found.

The public accounts committee (PAC) said barely any of the 71 “shovel-ready” projects due to be completed this month were on track.

Dame Meg Hillier, the chair of the committee, said: “The levels of delay that our report finds in one of government’s flagship policy platforms is absolutely astonishing.

“The vast majority of levelling up projects that were successful in early rounds of funding are now being delivered late, with further delays likely baked in.”

The report found that only a 10th of the £10.5bn of promised funds had been spent by councils. Just over a third, £3.7bn, had been handed out by Michael Gove’s levelling up department by December.

Hillier said Gove’s department appeared to have been “blinded by optimism” in funding projects that were “clearly anything but ‘shovel-ready’, at the expense of projects that could have made a real difference”.

She said MPs were concerned “and surprised given the generational ambition of this agenda” that there appeared to be no plan to evaluate success in the long term.

Boris Johnson made levelling up the guiding principle of his premiership after winning the 2019 general election on a promise to improve the lives of voters in left-behind parts of the UK.

But the project has floundered under his two No 10 successors and been further derailed by surging inflation and a crisis in local authority funding.

 

 

 

I hate defending the Tories, but I’m not really going to hold them responsible for the few projects they have actually got started not finishing on time. I’ve been working on commercial sites for 30 years and I don’t remember any being completed to the original deadline, especially if lots of groundwork’s are involved.

Whats the reason for the levelling up fund not being spent? Was there a lack of planning as to what to spend it on, lack of coordination with councils in identifying projects, too high a barrier to access funding? Most councils usually can’t wait to blow government money it seems strange that loads of it hasn’t been taken 

[sonyc 5,526]

8 minutes ago, Fen Canary said:

I hate defending the Tories, but I’m not really going to hold them responsible for the few projects they have actually got started not finishing on time. I’ve been working on commercial sites for 30 years and I don’t remember any being completed to the original deadline, especially if lots of groundwork’s are involved.

Whats the reason for the levelling up fund not being spent? Was there a lack of planning as to what to spend it on, lack of coordination with councils in identifying projects, too high a barrier to access funding? Most councils usually can’t wait to blow government money it seems strange that loads of it hasn’t been taken 

Quite. 

Some of the reasons are in this article today, from which I quoted. It seems the process has been chaotic and there is no long term plan to even evaluate.

The PAC is an all.party committee.so I believe it has to be taken seriously.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/15/no-compelling-examples-of-what-levelling-up-has-delivered-watchdog-finds?

[Fen Canary 828]

16 minutes ago, sonyc said:

Quite. 

Some of the reasons are in this article today, from which I quoted. It seems the process has been chaotic and there is no long term plan to even evaluate.

The PAC is an all.party committee.so I believe it has to be taken seriously.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/15/no-compelling-examples-of-what-levelling-up-has-delivered-watchdog-finds?

Just general incompetence then. In itself I think the levelling up was a good policy, it just needed people who knew what they were doing to actually put it into practice

[Yellow Fever 3,792]

10 hours ago, Well b back said:

Wow, anyone watching Question Time ? The end is near That Tory Donor and Gove’s speech today combined have finished anything they have left.

I watched most of it late on i-player following your comment & concur. Finished, washed up, gone.

The audience seem to have seen straight through the Tory's politicization of 'extremism' and were holding up a very hot and bright mirror to them vs Heston (could add Lee to that as well plus others). Not one audience member when asked put their hand up in support. None. Never seen that before!

Now that's not to say that we shouldn't be tackling extremism - but surely that's an all party (and beyond) discussion outside politicking if you want any legitimacy.

[sonyc 5,526]

58 minutes ago, Fen Canary said:

Just general incompetence then. In itself I think the levelling up was a good policy, it just needed people who knew what they were doing to actually put it into practice

In theory yes. In practice, it was a cynical Johnson ploy.

You can't just throw money at stuff and think it will magically improve. That's the damning thing reading that article, that there is no follow up or ideas on evaluating - and these are relatively large amounts of money.

The process for applying looks convoluted and even a waste of time. There are numerous hoops to get £20m.

It provided Johnson with his 'boosterism' needs. He could always use the slogan. There was little interest apart from self interest most probably. Any levelling up needs a proper longitudinal approach. The Germans spent 2 trillion post Berlin wall in the  reunification process over 14 years. They knew it needed that kind of effort and resource and time. 

The levelling up budget here is 4.8bn in total. West Germany spent 71bn a year for 14 years. The city programme was aimed to be a 20 year plan. The lessons learnt were to close the productivity gap and it needed cross party support (independent), not at the whim of any party. People then would learn, train and stay in their towns and cities. Very Keynesian really.

 

Edited March 15 by sonyc

[Fen Canary 828]

4 minutes ago, sonyc said:

In theory yes. In practice, it was a cynical Johnson ploy.

You can't just throw money at stuff and think it will magically improve. That's the damning thing reading that article, that there is no follow up or ideas on evaluating - and these are relatively large amounts of money.

The process for applying looks convoluted and even a waste of time. There are numerous hoops to get £20m.

It provided Johnson with his 'boosterism' needs. He could always use the slogan. There was little interest apart from self interest most probably. Any levelling up needs a proper longitudinal approach. The Germans spent 2 trillion post Berlin wall in the  reunification process over 14 years. They knew it needed that kind of effort and resource and time. 

The levelling up budget here is 4.8bn in total. West Germany spent 71bn a year for 14 years. The city programme was aimed to be a 20 year plan. The lessons learnt were to close the productivity gap and it needed cross party support (independent), not at the whim of any party. People then would learn, train and stay in their towns and cities. Very Keynesian really.

 

Yeah good luck getting either party to commit to spending anything of that nature, although a lot of the parties gaining influence on the continent (lazily derided as populist) have policies that are much closer to the Labour of old (more protectionism, less globalisation, more state input etc) so hopefully something similar can gain a foothold here. Bit harder with our electoral system though admittedly 

[Well b back 3,208]

9 hours ago, Yellow Fever said:

I watched most of it late on i-player following your comment & concur. Finished, washed up, gone.

The audience seem to have seen straight through the Tory's politicization of 'extremism' and were holding up a very hot and bright mirror to them vs Heston (could add Lee to that as well plus others). Not one audience member when asked put their hand up in support. None. Never seen that before!

Now that's not to say that we shouldn't be tackling extremism - but surely that's an all party (and beyond) discussion outside politicking if you want any legitimacy.

Indeed, that’s what took me aback. As the biggest party there would have been plenty of Tory voters there following QT rules, but not one person, yes nobody was prepared to speak up for them. The Tory MP was just being destroyed, and finished up waffling as he just did not have an answer for anything as he was shocked to be laughed at and shouted down.

As you say, I have never seen that before.

[Well b back 3,208]

On 13/03/2024 at 23:40, Well b back said:

Talk tonight that Sunak is so p***** off with people in his party trying to bring him down, if they can’t agree to stop tonight, he will call a May election tomorrow in retaliation.

Seems he was to scared and if tomorrow’s papers are to be believed because he thought he could trust them, he is now the latest to become toast, with Penny Mourdant backed by her supporters, poised to become prime minister.

[Well b back 3,208]

1 hour ago, Well b back said:

Seems he was to scared and if tomorrow’s papers are to be believed because he thought he could trust them, he is now the latest to become toast, with Penny Mourdant backed by her supporters, poised to become prime minister.

3 papers reporting the right wing are to unite around the one candidate Penny Mourdant, to ensure she can be crowned as PM unopposed. The deal means the right wing will have control of her actions, in return for her standing.

[BroadstairsR 2,173]

There is clearly a problem with both parties such as has never been seen before. So many potential voters claim that they are unable to side with either the Conservatives or Labour, whilst the Lib-Dems seem virtually non-existent since losing their third party status in Parliament to the Scottish Nationalists. I suppose their "Starp Brexit" stance might still appeal to some over and above their traditional fringe areas of support.

Red wall, blue wall, Waitrose woman or M & S movers or whatever car driven, there seems to be confusion all-round. Long covid rules, but mental rather than medical. Many will inevitably turn to blunt speaking populist orators like both Farage and Galloway. They seem to have a knack of saying the right thing at the right time. Galloway especially who makes 'Orator' Hunt seem like Mr. Bean, and I'm not referring to Taxer' Jeremy here. Whilst Farage 'aint so bad in that respect, a modern day Svengali who could readily persuade even the most reluctant Ebenezer to buy a round.

Perhaps the Tories should resort to Mourdaunt, a safe pair of hands best known for strong arms though who I would class as 'unity' rather than anything other than moderately right wing, even though she might be overrun by Badenoch's communication skills. It might deflect from a Labour landslide which would be disastrous and could lead to a resurrection of the influence of either the barmy left and the Islington luvvies or the god-awful Angela Raynor being Chancellor of the Exchequer and throwing bundles of fifty pound notes from the back of a van in deprived areas. These never go away, and always linger Abbot, where are you?

Weaker than water Sunak, with all the backbone and side winding of a rattlesnake, is more out of touch with the needs of the populace than even Johnson, imo, that latter having some form of common touch however unsuited he was to the role in so many ways. 

Sir Keir Rodney Starmer, KCB, KC who knows? He seems to sway with every breeze, which is ominous. I still maintain that the Labour Party missed a trick by not going for Lisa Nandy, the brightest of buttons with that common touch who would have instantly appealed to the Northern voter. Hard-working and committed and surely no less experienced in the art of politics than Starmer himself and certainly more sincere.

The next election, whenever it is to happen, will be the most fascinating and unpredictable than ever before and extremists like Galloway and whatever name he has given to his party and Farage and Reform could surprise whilst the country longs for the middle ground for every issue ranging from taxation to immigration.

Edited March 16 by BroadstairsR

[Herman 9,777]

1 hour ago, BroadstairsR said:

There is clearly a problem with both parties such as has never been seen before. So many potential voters claim that they are unable to side with either the Conservatives or Labour, whilst the Lib-Dems seem virtually non-existent since losing their third party status in Parliament to the Scottish Nationalists. I suppose their "Starp Brexit" stance might still appeal to some over and above their traditional fringe areas of support.

Red wall, blue wall, Waitrose woman or M & S movers or whatever car driven, there seems to be confusion all-round. Long covid rules, but mental rather than medical. Many will inevitably turn to blunt speaking populist orators like both Farage and Galloway. They seem to have a knack of saying the right thing at the right time. Galloway especially who makes 'Orator' Hunt seem like Mr. Bean, and I'm not referring to Taxer' Jeremy here. Whilst Farage 'aint so bad in that respect, a modern day Svengali who could readily persuade even the most reluctant Ebenezer to buy a round.

Perhaps the Tories should resort to Mourdaunt, a safe pair of hands best known for strong arms though who I would class as 'unity' rather than anything other than moderately right wing, even though she might be overrun by Badenoch's communication skills. It might deflect from a Labour landslide which would be disastrous and could lead to a resurrection of the influence of either the barmy left and the Islington luvvies or the god-awful Angela Raynor being Chancellor of the Exchequer and throwing bundles of fifty pound notes from the back of a van in deprived areas. These never go away, and always linger Abbot, where are you?

Weaker than water Sunak, with all the backbone and side winding of a rattlesnake, is more out of touch with the needs of the populace than even Johnson, imo, that latter having some form of common touch however unsuited he was to the role in so many ways. 

Sir Keir Rodney Starmer, KCB, KC who knows? He seems to sway with every breeze, which is ominous. I still maintain that the Labour Party missed a trick by not going for Lisa Nandy, the brightest of buttons with that common touch who would have instantly appealed to the Northern voter. Hard-working and committed and surely no less experienced in the art of politics than Starmer himself and certainly more committed.

The next election, whenever it is to happen, will be the most fascinating and unpredictable than ever before and extremists like Galloway and whatever name he has given to his party and Farage and Reform could surprise whilst the country longs for the middle ground for every issue ranging from taxation to immigration.

There isn't is there really. The governing party is an absolute disaster zone that, over a decade of very poor governance, has conspired to make the country the weakest it has ever been, aided and abetted by a support base that is stuck in the past and mostly selfish and unwilling to admit that they have voted for the state we are in.

The Labour party, although not perfect, are showing that they should be capable enough to take over the reins. They were a complete disaster zone not that long ago and have managed to bring themselves back up to a decent level of competence. They are up against it thanks to a very poor economic situation, which includes the thing that dare not be talked about, brexit, and a very biased and belligerent press (also highly reponsible for the state of the country.)

This mantra that they are both as bad as each other is a nonsense and is easy to see if you are willing to look.

[BroadstairsR 2,173]

20 minutes ago, Herman said:

There isn't is there really. The governing party is an absolute disaster zone that, over a decade of very poor governance, has conspired to make the country the weakest it has ever been, aided and abetted by a support base that is stuck in the past and mostly selfish and unwilling to admit that they have voted for the state we are in.

The Labour party, although not perfect, are showing that they should be capable enough to take over the reins. They were a complete disaster zone not that long ago and have managed to bring themselves back up to a decent level of competence.(1) They are up against it thanks to a very poor economic situation, which includes the thing that dare not be talked about, brexit, (2) and a very biased and belligerent press (also highly reponsible for the state of the country.)

This mantra that they are both as bad as each other is a nonsense and is easy to see if you are willing to look.

(1) The electorate did that by dishing Corbyn in spades.

(2)  The electorate did that by voting for Johnson in spades.

The rest of that little agenda riddle tirade is only mildly disagreeable as it distorts the facts. Nothing new there.

Besides, nobody said that they were both 'as bad as each other' more that there was a problem with both when choosing to vote. I consider myself middle ground these days after ageing from the left. I will be lost the next time I find myself in a polling booth.

Edited March 16 by BroadstairsR

[Herman 9,777]

7 hours ago, Well b back said:

3 papers reporting the right wing are to unite around the one candidate Penny Mourdant, to ensure she can be crowned as PM unopposed. The deal means the right wing will have control of her actions, in return for her standing.

It could be a good move for the tories but if she wants any longevity she would need to quickly purge the party of the lunatic right or they will still be in a poor state. 

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

STAND UP AND FIGHT! 

She's apparently quite good at carrying a sword as well! 

Thatcher without the IQ

 

[BroadstairsR 2,173]

7 hours ago, Well b back said:

3 papers reporting the right wing are to unite around the one candidate Penny Mourdant, to ensure she can be crowned as PM unopposed. The deal means the right wing will have control of her actions, in return for her standing.

Nice typo. She's an 'aunt' not an 'ant.' and if that aunt has balls she might make a decent Tory leader for once.😃

We are all ants, I suppose.

Edited March 16 by BroadstairsR