Boris's Brain is missing

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Stevek76
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Joined: 28 Jul 2015, 11:23am

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Stevek76 »

"Even Owen Jones"? Jones is on the left of labour so has precious little love for Starmer, not sure that's really saying much.

Regarding the tweet, it only suggests he should resign right now when taken out of context. The original context of the time was that the Met had basically confirmed there would be fines and the evidence in the public domain was already blatant that Johnson had breached his own regulations not just once but on numerous occasions and flagrantly so.

The public opinion on this is interesting:
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/ar ... n-beergate

Con 2019 voters less likely to think that starmer should resign than lab 2019 voters is not what you normally expect for this sort of thing.
The contents of this post, unless otherwise stated, are opinions of the author and may actually be complete codswallop
Psamathe
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Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Psamathe »

I think calling for somebody to resign because they "are being investigated" was and is daft (back in the early PartyGate days as well as the current BeerGate).

Of course I would have loved it had Johnson quit in response to being investigated but that's my personal dislike of Johnson based on his track record.

Johnson's situation is worse in that evidence in the public domain before he even lied to Parliament had made it very clear laws had been broken in No 10. All the evidence I've seen (and seen referred to) still suggests to me that Starmer's take-away was within the rules. But that is my interpretation of those bits of evidence in the public domain - so not a useful guilty/not-guilty verdict.

I do find it quite staggering that Police are being so slow as investigating very straight forward events. Relatively few witnesses and participants to ask questions. People seem to be talking about 8 weeks for Starmer's beer.

Ian
reohn2
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by reohn2 »

I'd say less about it if it were the only time Johnson had lied and broken any laws,but the man was a pathological liar well before any 'gate' issues.

Starmer was a bit stupid accusing him before any convictions,though with Johnson's track record I suppose he knew more than the rest of us at the time.
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
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Ben@Forest
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Joined: 28 Jan 2013, 5:58pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Ben@Forest »

Psamathe wrote: 10 May 2022, 1:09pm I do find it quite staggering that Police are being so slow as investigating very straight forward events. Relatively few witnesses and participants to ask questions. People seem to be talking about 8 weeks for Starmer's beer.
Durham Police have said they held off announcement of any probe having waited for the local election period of purdah to finish. That was from 28th March, so Starmer has probably been lucky, he could have fought the election with everyone knowing that further investigation was going to take place.
Ben@Forest
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Joined: 28 Jan 2013, 5:58pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Ben@Forest »

reohn2 wrote: 10 May 2022, 1:20pm I'd say less about it if it were the only time Johnson had lied and broken any laws,but the man was a pathological liar well before any 'gate' issues.

Starmer was a bit stupid accusing him before any convictions,though with Johnson's track record I suppose he knew more than the rest of us at the time.
It's not just about a comparison with Johnson though. As Owen Jones said in his article Sunak got fined for a far more minor transgression (and from what l read it was a pretty harsh application of a law that is vague and open to interpretation). So Starmer being investigated and possibly fined has to be compared to all citizens who have been so treated under this law - it's not exclusive to Starmer and Johnson.
reohn2
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by reohn2 »

Ben@Forest wrote: 11 May 2022, 6:36am
reohn2 wrote: 10 May 2022, 1:20pm I'd say less about it if it were the only time Johnson had lied and broken any laws,but the man was a pathological liar well before any 'gate' issues.

Starmer was a bit stupid accusing him before any convictions,though with Johnson's track record I suppose he knew more than the rest of us at the time.
It's not just about a comparison with Johnson though. As Owen Jones said in his article Sunak got fined for a far more minor transgression (and from what l read it was a pretty harsh application of a law that is vague and open to interpretation). So Starmer being investigated and possibly fined has to be compared to all citizens who have been so treated under this law - it's not exclusive to Starmer and Johnson.
I realise it doesn't just apply to just Johnson and Starmer,TBH I hadn't looked into Sunak's case,or any others FTM,as I'm as fed up with the whole sorry saga as the next ordinary Joe and Joess.
I just knew he and many others in No10 broke the law on more than one occasion whislt people were couped up unable to see their loved ones or attend their funerals due the C19 laws imposed upon us,and was incensed at that woman Allegra(?)somebody or other laughing about it when asked for comment by journalists in a press conference.
It's just the latest in a long line of utter corruption from a totally corrupt government not fit for office IMHO.And should anyone say "well as a leftie he would say that wouldn't he" I'd be equally as incenced were it a Labour government or any other stripe in similar circumstances.

Politics as a whole in the UK and respect for politicians was at an all time low before the Johnson government came to power,it is now through the floor!
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Debs
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Joined: 19 May 2017, 7:05pm
Location: Powys

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Debs »

A very interesting looking event coming up this Sunday 15th May...

https://www.stoptherot.uk
Boris Johnson’s supporters say he is a great Prime Minister, that he gets all the ‘big calls’ right, and that he’s a champion of peace, freedom and democracy. But, under his watch, our country has been crumbling under an increasingly rotten political system, characterised by lies, incompetence and corruption. The longer Johnson stays in power, the worse that rot will become. It’s time to #StopTheRot so that we can begin to get our country back on track.
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by thirdcrank »

IMO Partygate etc is just another confirmation that our institutions are inadequate, in this case inadequate to deal with a national emergency.

The covid lockdown regulations were extraordinarily complicated - necessitated by our CJ system. We have no other way of enforcing a code of conduct. They were also strict, in the sense of restrictive of personal freedom. On top of that they changed quite often and at short notice so enforcement was piecemeal to put it mildly, sometimes based on the gist of Downing Street media conferences rather than the detail of legislation. .

When the emergency lockdown measures were introduced for initially three weeks, those elected to protect our liberties sloped off for a month. It's eventually come out that even the people making the rules - who ought to be familiar with them - have sometimes acted as they liked. As only a couple of examples, Dominic Cummings and Allegra Stratton gave us a hint of what those working in Downing Street really thought. The result has been the spinning machine going into overdrive.

As Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer was in a difficult position from the outset, in a situation where some were calling for a national government to deal with the emergency. My criticism - bearing in mind he's a former DPP - is that he could have placed more emphasis on safeguards in the civil liberties restrictions, but given the then prevalent public opinion probably meant he would have been on a hiding to nothing.

As it is now, whatever happens with Beergate, few opinions will change. The spinners have spun.
Psamathe
Posts: 17619
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Psamathe »

In case anybody didn't appreciate "they just don't get it"
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/11/tory-mp-condemned-after-blaming-food-poverty-on-lack-of-cooking-skills wrote:Tory MP condemned after blaming food poverty on lack of cooking skills
The Conservative MP Lee Anderson has been condemned by opposition MPs and campaigners after arguing in the Commons that food banks are largely unnecessary because the main cause of food poverty is a lack of cooking and budgetary skills.
...
Speaking in the Queen’s speech debate on Wednesday, Anderson also said that nutritious meals could be easily cooked for 30p a time.
My nearest supermarket onions cost 15p each, a large potato 17p each so one of each and I've already broken his supposed living on 30p per day (without energy to cook either item).

Can anybody suggest how you can eat on 30p a day? (in Parliament he says 30p a day not as per the report "30p a time" https://www.theguardian.com/society/vid ... y-mp-video)

Ian
reohn2
Posts: 45143
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by reohn2 »

Psamathe wrote: 11 May 2022, 7:44pm In case anybody didn't appreciate "they just don't get it"
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/11/tory-mp-condemned-after-blaming-food-poverty-on-lack-of-cooking-skills wrote:Tory MP condemned after blaming food poverty on lack of cooking skills
The Conservative MP Lee Anderson has been condemned by opposition MPs and campaigners after arguing in the Commons that food banks are largely unnecessary because the main cause of food poverty is a lack of cooking and budgetary skills.
...
Speaking in the Queen’s speech debate on Wednesday, Anderson also said that nutritious meals could be easily cooked for 30p a time.
My nearest supermarket onions cost 15p each, a large potato 17p each so one of each and I've already broken his supposed living on 30p per day (without energy to cook either item).

Can anybody suggest how you can eat on 30p a day?

Ian
I saw the report,it beggars belief,he's completely out of touch just like the rest of the Tory government.
Does he think people who are forced to use food banks pick up ready cooked meals there?
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Psamathe
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Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Psamathe »

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/12/partygate-met-says-over-100-fines-issued-lockdown-breaches-downing-street wrote:...
Even before this latest update, polling carried out by YouGov suggested that 80% of the public believe Johnson has lied about Partygate, while just 8% think he has told the truth.
...
What deoes that say about those who make laws we are expected to obey, about trust in Government, etc.?

Ian
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Jdsk »

"As of Thursday 12 May, Operation Hillman, the investigation into breaches of COVID-19 regulations in Whitehall and Downing Street, has made more than 100 referrals for fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to the ACRO Criminal Records Office."
https://news.met.police.uk/news/op-hill ... ate-447740

Jonathan
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Jdsk »

Jdsk wrote: 4 May 2022, 8:40pm
Psamathe wrote: 4 May 2022, 8:32pm Can a public inquiry judge an action unlawful? I thought they still hadn't yet sorted out the Terms of Reference for the inquiry.
The draft Terms of Reference:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... rence-html
"The chair of the UK Covid-19 public inquiry has urged the prime minister to significantly widen its scope to better examine the pandemic’s unequal impact on ethnic minority people, children and the UK’s mental health."
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -its-scope

The letter:
https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/wp-co ... _FINAL.pdf

Jonathan
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Cowsham
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Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Cowsham »

Boris says working from home doesn't work

Taking a swipe at the out-of-office culture that has taken hold across Whitehall, he adds: 'My experience of working from home is you spend an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and then, you know, getting up, walking very slowly to the fridge, hacking off a small piece of cheese, then walking very slowly back to your laptop and then forgetting what it was you're doing.'

:lol:
I am here. Where are you?
Phileas
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Location: Bristol

Re: Boris's Brain is missing

Post by Phileas »

Cowsham wrote: 14 May 2022, 6:49am Boris says working from home doesn't work

Taking a swipe at the out-of-office culture that has taken hold across Whitehall, he adds: 'My experience of working from home is you spend an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and then, you know, getting up, walking very slowly to the fridge, hacking off a small piece of cheese, then walking very slowly back to your laptop and then forgetting what it was you're doing.’
Typically ill-considered remarks. I can’t imagine he’s ever worked regular office hours so his experience is of limited value.
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