To think Labour are hypocrites

[Labscollie]

Beergate. Turns out the event was planned. To think of all the slating Starmer gave Johnson. 🤔 This site's favourite newspaper, the Dailymail, has released a leaked memo, which might mark Starmer's downfall. If Johnson could survive, can Starmer?

Prescott would be pleased to make your pantheon of PMs.

I don't think many people could think of a politician more dedicated to public service and less personally money grabbing than Gordon Brown.

If the posters on this thread are examples of the 'grown ups' no wonder Boris is PM and Conservatives have been in power as long as they have.

Roll on the young generation coming in and taking over.

And this will be a real concern for party officers because once people get a taste for voting a different way they often do it again.

The realignment continues, and the Tories are looking very shaky in lots of very blue areas.

I thought what happened in Somerset, Cumberland and Westmorland was hilarious - those gerrymandered and unwanted new councils were supposed to go blue .

BJ is the PM. Totally different situation. BJ was making the rules. He has been fined and should have resigned. If KS is fined he should resign too. But BJ also lied to parliament. Totally different situations.

I agree. I honestly think a huge turning point in British Politics is when Gordon Brown called a bigot a bigot.

I find it fascinating the story keeps changing. First AR was not there, now we know she was. Also the Durham police commissioner was there too. First told takeaway was only food available as hotel not serving food. Now hotel say that's not true they were serving food in bar and room service too. First it was spontaneous now leaked email shows it was planned well in advance. First told it was in middle of work, so a short break. Now email shows it lasted 2 hours and no work was scheduled afterwards. Also drink of beer was far earlier than takeaway meal which seems to have rounded off evening. I just hope police take leaked emails as part of evidence and speak to.hotel staff about if food was on offer at hotel. As Durham police commissioner in there and joining in I expect a whitewash.

TBH I don't think it is 'fascinating' that the story has got more detailed over time, I think that is how all political stories go.

It is common to try to brush things off. The police asked questions and they thought there was no case to answer.

The fact there was no further item on the day's schedule does not mean no further work was done. Interestingly Labour Party have now said they have evidence the team worked past 1am. This would not be uncommon IME.

I can't understand how they briefed that Raynor was not there, that is a really stupid error. But that would not have been a deliberate lie, surely, because it would have been such a stupid lie to tell.

I admire that, caring.

I really do.

You've given it loads there.

It's looking very likely that 'Save Big Dog' spinners have walked themselves into a big old trap, and that Starmer has proof it was indeed work-related, so your getting right out there and hitting the 'This can't be the truth! - it's a whitewash' button.

I applaud you.

Bravo.

As Durham police commissioner in there and joining in I expect a whitewash.

Or Durham might have a new police commissioner soon.

Yeah I was wondering how long it’d take to blame police corruption in the event there’s no fine.

Pathetically flimsy and predictable.

I was just LMAO at reading on twitter that Andrew Bridgen, an actual MP who makes the laws we all have to follow, thinks the Met should be investigating these events that took place in Durham because the Met are investigating the events that took place in London
What a wally twitter.com/ABridgen/status/1523692404406382592

You know, I kind of hope you get paid for that.

I suspect you don't.

But - damn - you deserve to get paid for your willingness to perform such a noble act of public stupidity in the service of that shambling bag of wind and deceit, Johnson.

There is not a single MP out of the 650 MPs that got into politics to help the voters, they all got into politics first and foremost for themselves, for the career opportunities, for the opportunities that it would give their family and friends.

If you can disprove that, do so, it should be very easy if I am as wrong and thick.

Not a current MP, but I give you Glenda Jackson. She could have carried on to yet more fame and glory in the future, but gave it all up to go into politics.

It is common to try to brush things off. The police asked questions and they thought there was no case to answer.

It is very common for MPs and Politicians to cover up and preserve their careers instead of tell the truth to begin with.
Johnson, Hancock, Starmer.. anyone else?

Cat do you think Starmer should go if he gets a fine?

You think Prescott was Prime Minister?

Johnson's activities were referred to the police essentially as a means of putting off publishing the full Gray report and because he hoped that (a) they could be leant on via Dick to let everything drop and/or (b) that he could bury it under Ukraine etc. Starmer was referred to the police for very similar reasons, i.e. Johnson and his supporters hoped it would take the heat off Johnson. Because Johnson is just not a bright man, both strategies have backfired.

@MarshaBradyo - I may not be cat, but you ask a stupid question there. Yes, of course he should resign, as he said it was a resigning matter. As for Johnson, he should have resigned a long time ago, because he has done more than enough to bring the office of Prime Minister, and politicians in general, into disrepute, regardless of what Keir Starmer has said. It’s not all about Partygate. Boris Johnson is corrupt and a liar. I’m fed up with the cynicism and propaganda that define the modern Tory party. They have diminished every single institution in this country, resulting in the loss of public respect for the police, our legal system, Parliament, and laws in general. Why should anyone bother to respect or follow any of the crappy, silly laws in this country if the people setting the rules don’t give a flying fuck about them?

Marsha - He's said he will. It's not up to me.

The calls for Johnson's resignation rested on his misleading Parliament.

This whole episode was dreamt up as a way of 'saving Big Dog.'

It's going to backfire, terribly.

I'm not happy about any of it - it helps obscure the issues at stake: a PM misleading Parliament, abusing his role, bringing our institutions into disrepute, breaking his own rules.

This all serves to obscure the seriousness of what Johnson did by introducing a false parity. There is no parity. It's not commensurate.

I worry that by offering to resign, Starmer helps obscure the seriousness of what Johnson did. But I can see why Starmer has felt he needs to state plainly he would resign if given a FPN.

I get it. Starmer has a sense of responsibility. He knows what he owes to the people of the U.K. He knows people have the right to demand integrity.

So. We are where we are.

Someone around Johnson thought this would help Big Dog.

It won't.

It's going completely wrong for Big Dog.

It's going to get worse.

And it was already bad.

If I were one of the 2019 intake of Conservative MPs, I would be absolutely furious now.

I don't think I said, he was a deputy I believe.

Er thanks for jumping in to say it was a stupid question

no obligation to answer if so

I don’t think he should and wondered if pp thought he should or shouldn’t

I'm really serious about the false parity thing. And about it serving to obscure the issues at stake with what Johnson did.

I'm not making excuses for Starmer. I don't need to. It's pretty clear he's going to be exonerated.

But the really important thing is this:

We have now somehow normalised - once again - what our Prime Minister actually did.

We're all looking at the drama of ^what Starmer has been accused of, rather than what our Prime Minister actually did.

And - like magic - something unthinkable 20 years ago becomes our new normal.

And our standards of public life have sunk a bit lower.

I'm sick of it.

I'm sick of being dragged down by such an unworthy creature.

I'm sick of what is being done to us.

So in an attempt to describe a procession of Prime Ministers, you suddenly decided to go to a deputy and ignore an actual Prime Minister.

We believe you, thousands wouldn't.