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Category: Tories

Johnny Mercer has given so much ammunition to critics of Boris Johnson

Johnny Mercer has given so much ammunition to critics of Boris Johnson

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I suspect Johnny Mercer’s words will be used by Sir Keir Starmer and many other political opponents of the Tory Party, I suspect the quotes from Mercer may rival the out of context quote from Mrs Thatcher about there is no such thing as society which was used to batter a generation of Conservatives, as the Guardian write up says. Former veterans’ minister Johnny Mercer has launched an extraordinary attack on Boris Johnson’s government, describing it as a “cesspit” and…

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Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of Interest

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The concerns (scandal, if you prefer) in the Greensill affair are not primarily about lobbying, convenient as it is for current Ministers, Labour and journalists to describe it thus. Convenient for Ministers because they can stick it to a foolish, greedy ex-PM they don’t much care for and can claim to have it sorted by fiddling about with some more rules on lobbying. Convenient for Labour who can go on about Tory sleaze. Convenient for journalists since it is a…

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Back to British politics for a change and a possible threat to Boris

Back to British politics for a change and a possible threat to Boris

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Making such a call at “peak COVID” appears naive The problem with this attack by Steve Baker is that all the efforts to control the pandemic according to the polling are supported by significant numbers. This to the question “Do you think that the UK Government is currently overreacting, or underreacting, to the Coronavirus?” Opinium found last week just 15% saying the former with 44% saying “underreacting”. By 72% of those in the same poll thought that the government hadn’t…

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A Vaccine against Stupidity

A Vaccine against Stupidity

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The government must hope that Pfizer’s vaccine announcement will overshadow the continued rumblings about Kate Bingham, Chair of the Vaccine Task Force and her expensive (and, judging by results, useless) PR consultants. She is due to leave in January, as originally planned. If you believe Hancock, that is. He’s fast becoming this government’s Marie-Antoinette. According to his latest interview, people paid £670,000 for 6 months’ work in government should be thanked as they have “given up” six months of their…

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Another day and another set of front pages featuring the beleaguered EdSec Gavin Williamson

Another day and another set of front pages featuring the beleaguered EdSec Gavin Williamson

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Will there be a safe return to schools next month? Maybe it is because it is the middle of August and there’s not a lot of other political news about but EdSec Williamson continues to struggle to get off the front pages. My Tweet above has a selection of six of them this morning. He might have the backing of Boris but there’s another big development tomorrow with the latest English exam “results” that aren’t because of the emergency action…

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Safe as houses?

Safe as houses?

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Housing has long had a special place in the Tory party’s heart. A “property owning democracy” in Mrs Thatcher’s vision. It has also proved a nightmare as the rises in interest rates, negative equity and repossessions in the 1990’s showed. Now the problem is different: people desperate to own a home (the young) are shut out by sky high prices (at least in some places), the difficulties of saving for a deposit while renting and the lack of sufficient affordable…

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Thoughts from a Big Beast

Thoughts from a Big Beast

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On Monday evening, Ken Clarke, described by Intelligence² as a Big Beast of British politics, was being interviewed by John Humphreys, though even Humphreys was scarcely able to get a word in, as Ken opined, entertainingly and at length, on Brexit, Boris, elections and a life in politics. The following comments he made are worth noting as relevant, not just to the election, but to politics thereafter:- Communicating with voters The challenge now for politicians was how to talk to voters,…

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The curious incident of the ERG at Christmas 2017

The curious incident of the ERG at Christmas 2017

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Congratulations to PM for her determination in getting today’s deal. We now aim to forge a deep and special partnership with our European friends and allies while remaining true to the referendum result – taking back control of our laws, money and borders for the whole of the UK. — Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 8, 2017 Johnson Tweet from December 2017 The dozy reaction to the Joint Report has misframed Brexit ever since Why does a dog not bark when…

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