Brexit.

[Arkady Arkright]

These are the sort of fuckwits who'll be voting to keep Boris in place tonight - God* help us all !
* (or any other deity of your choice - I'm in a bit of a quandary here as I'm an atheist...)

...and Boris won - this is why I don't believe in deities...

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Well who says that some deities couldn't be just major assholes? As far as I know there's no law for gods to be only nice.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

I mean look what happened to Prometheus and Loki.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Evernote link

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Hot-air balloons don't really care all that much about sharp points. The envelope is made of rip-stop nylon and the pressure in the envelope is barely over ambient, so it takes quite a lot of work to make a hole big enough to matter.

I would recommend using "soap bubble" rather than "hot air balloon" in that analogy.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

...and Boris won - this is why I don't believe in deities...

He won, but not by enough of a margin to count as 'confidence', if I understand how a vote of confidence works.

More seems like the vote will cost the Tories in general elections, because as I understand, most Brits think he's a wanker of the lowest order? I could be wrong, but....

 

[Innula Zenovka]

He won, but not by enough of a margin to count as 'confidence', if I understand how a vote of confidence works.

More seems like the vote will cost the Tories in general elections, because as I understand, most Brits think he's a wanker of the lowest order? I could be wrong, but....

The consensus, including Conservative papers like The Times and The Telegraph, is that is a pretty devastating result for the Tories, since it undermines the government's authority in parliament, making it more difficult to drive through contentious or unpopular measures, while preserving in power someone who is now generally disliked by the electorate (including substantial numbers of Conservative supporters and voters).

The Conservatives face two bye-elections later in the month, one of which in a seat they won from Labour in the last election for the first time and which Labour are expected to regain with a substantial majority, and one in a seat which is traditionally a safe Conservative seat but the Liberal Democrats look likely to take for the first time ever. This won't help settle Conservative backbenchers' nerves, and neither will the report of the Commons Privileges Committee, which is looking into the question of whether Johnson knowingly lied to the House of Commons when he said government Covid restrictions were followed at all times in 10 Downing Street when clearly they weren't. Ministers convicted of misleading the Commons and failing to correct the record at the earliest opportunity are normally expected to resign (though Johnson probably won't see it that way).

In theory there can't be another vote of no confidence for another 12 months, but it's always open to the executive of The 1922 Committee (who make the rules for the Parliamentary Conservative Party) to change the rules to allow one, which they threatened to do just be Theresa May resigned, several months after surviving a no confidence motion with a rather larger majority than did Johnson.

It's quite possible he'll be out within a year, but if he manages to hang on, I can't see how the Conservatives can win another election under his leadership.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Essence Lumin]

They still have a link up that says that, but when you click it, the headline says
OECD backs Tory demands for Boris to CUT taxes for now to save the economy as it warns UK plc is set to flatline next year - performing worse than every other G20 country except for sanctions-crippled RUSSIA

 

[Innula Zenovka]

They still have a link up that says that, but when you click it, the headline says
OECD backs Tory demands for Boris to CUT taxes for now to save the economy as it warns UK plc is set to flatline next year - performing worse than every other G20 country except for sanctions-crippled RUSSIA

Here's The Times' report

Britain’s growth to be slowest in developed world, OECD warns

Britain will have the slowest growth in the developed world next year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned as it slashe

www.thetimes.co.uk

Evernote link

I think the important point is they don't want tax cuts matched by cuts in government spending:

Falling real household incomes will be the main driver of a slowdown in the economy, combined with fiscal and monetary policies that are turning “restrictive”, it added, as it called on the government to ease the pace of its planned fiscal consolidation, which includes raising the tax burden and slowing down on spending measures introduced during the pandemic.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

On one hand, the sarcasm is brilliant and makes me laugh, but then I think of how bad this really is and it makes me want to cry.

 

[Lexxi]

I still find it weird that Public School UK is Private School USA ("a school wherein people pay fees to attend = Public School UK/Private School USA (and Private School UK, because, let's make things confusing - "Public schools in the UK are first of all private (independent) schools." hehe). (it's kind of like learning that one country uses Up in the same way another country uses Down).

Kind of ill at the moment, so my momentary look at schools in UK, to confirm what I thought, just caused my head to explode, especially the "Public schools are private schools" comment. heh. ouchie me head.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Lord of the Flies is mostly about how Golding hated teaching public school kids, and how they needed some good Navy discipline.

 

[Free]

Lord of the Flies is mostly about how Golding hated teaching public school kids, and how they needed some good Navy discipline.

Sure fooled me.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Thread


Evernote link to Times article

When I read the article in The Times, I thought it seemed delusional -- there's no need for the EU to compromise, nor any reason why they should, over a deal that Boris Johnson himself negotiated and signed, and his behaviour over the last two years has certainly given them no reason to offer him any assistance at all.

Any compromises by the EU, I would imagine, will have to wait for Johnson's successor, and only then if he or she demonstrates a more serious and constructive attitude in negotiations.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

The British government's astonishing procedural contortions to pretend they have legal cover for reneging on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

 

[Lexxi]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

A follow-up to David Allen Green's post on the British government's shenanigans over its legal advice.