to supect the timing of the announcement that Carrie Symonds is pregnant?t

[chomalungma]

Lovely news for them.

I am slightly suspicious of the timing of the announcement - on the same day that the Permanent Secretary to the Home Office resigned amid bullying claims by Priti Patel.

Maybe I am just a little cynical. But I do wonder if they were waiting for a time to announce it that could distract from some negative headlines.

I'm sure it's not coincidence, all political parties do it.

Dead cat for sure.

Lovely news for them really!?
Weren't the police called to his house recently?

It's all about trying to bury bad press. Smoke and mirrors and distraction through and through.

It’s absolutely timed to distract from PP

You are not at all cynical, the Director of comms would have been holding out for this or something similar. The good news is it hasn’t successfully buried the Pritti Patel story it still is everywhere. Although I’m sure it has provided some useful damage limitation.

But there's always negative headlines about the government. If the person in power were to wait until the headlines read "Everything Is Cool!", nothing would ever get said.

I would normally agree. Except when the public cannot distinguish which news story is bad and which one is to be buried then it doesn't really work.

While i think having a baby in general was a planned distraction away from the Brexit clusterfuck, i don't think its away from Priti. I think she is in government as the distraction! Let her bumble around upsetting people, grabbing headlines while other things pass under the radar...

Good theory, but didn't alastair campbell leak the news yesterday? So I think they hag to announce today.

If the baby's coming 'early summer' then that's what four or five months away? So presumably they'd have had to announce it soon and lots of people must've known. No doubt they want to bury the PP story.

I absolutely agree op, very cynical move there.

I’m just gobsmacked that he’s fathering yet another child.

I do wonder if they were waiting for a story to break that they wanted to distract from?

There was a Yes Prime Minister episode where they were trying to distract the press. Bernard suggested a Royal Marriage. Or a Royal Birth announcement

First thing I thought, obviously she presumably isn't fabricating pregnancy but how very convenient. Glad that ch4 still led with the Pointless Patel story though. Hope it's front page tomorrow and not flippin Johnson.

There's going to be politics cal events and bigger stories.

You can't keep a pregnancy under wraps indefinitely. There won't be any new news on the Home Office - or indeed anything else - before Monday. So a Saturday announcement is probably the least intrusive time

I’m just gobsmacked that he’s fathering yet another child.

I'm not, after all he screws up so many people.

Hope it's front page tomorrow and not flippin Johnson

Announced in time for the Sunday Papers.

Expect a 10 page supplement in the Mail on Sunday.

Paper review will be interesting on Marr.

Inevitably No 10 had to try and distract the press and population from the shitshow in the Home Office.

I'd bet my left arm that Cummings orchestrated the proposal and that it contained all the romance of a dead badger's arse.

It's not like they're burying bad news - Philip Rutnam finally pissing off was completely expected and thoroughly good news.

I disagree.

Firstly I don't think anyone really cares so it's not like it's going to bury the Patel story.

Secondly, I suspect they felt they had to announce as she will be showing and that's hard if not impossible to hide from the media.

According to one newspaper she is 5 months pregnant - not sure how much longer they were supposed to keep it a secret.

Totally agree.

And it just makes me think he’s a feckless old man / younger woman that old chestnut...

Rather than running the country.

I'd bet my left arm that Cummings orchestrated the proposal and that it contained all the romance of a dead badger's arse.

29th February today!

Baffling that she'd let him impregnate her in the first place when he's shown himself up time and time again as utterly uninterested in being an actual dad.