To think Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor is good

[MrsRobinsonsHandprints]

I mean how bad has it got that Jeremy appears rational, decent and competent. I never imagined in all my years that I'd be pleased he had been given an important job, but now he seems acceptable.
How has the situation in politics become so dire that JH seems like a good choice?

Good god . But then we all thought that about Trump and Johnson

Although, during the "mini-budget" he was sitting next to Truss and when KamiKwasi announced the top rate tax cut you could read his lips as he said to her "well done". So I'm not sure his values are far from hers, or that he has good judgement.

His chairing of the Health Select Committee was good and very thorough. But perhaps this will be another case of someone being promoted to the level about their capability.

That said, within the Conservative Party now, nobody has any capability! All of the competent and moderate people were driven out over Brexit. So from the dregs that are left, this is on balance not a terrible appointment.

Thinking of the bigger picture though perhaps people should reconsider the insulting of "experts" in recent years and try to entice people with more skills and intelligence into politics.

*above

I love her too

t baffles me when people complain about this. Leaving aside political beliefs for a moment (i.e whether the politician is a socialist or a free market libertarian or whatever), the fact that so many of our leaders have been to Oxford is something to celebrate. We live in a country whose leaders are educated at one of the greatest universities in the world. The university Shelley, Oscar Wilde, Richard Dawkins, Aldous Huxley, W. H Auden, T. S Eliot and countless other brilliant people attended. Thank god!! What would you prefer? Some ignorant egomaniac businessman like Trump, who has never read a book?

Sure, Oxford is a great university. How many of your illustrious list did PPE though? It sounds like a good combo but is it maybe a bit too Jack of all trades (albeit the P&P maybe not exactly 'trades...)
The question I was responding to - somewhat flippantly- was specifically re economics. Is a course for which a level maths is recommended but not required particularly rigorous, as compared with straight economics degrees?

He went to a ridiculous school as well. No idea about the real world

Having all of your government come from a middle-upper class right wing echo chamber where money very much buys you a degree is nothing to celebrate.

There’s just no one competent left, is there? It’s getting to the stage where my dog could do a better job. She likes everyone and would make sure they all had biscuits and a warm place to sleep. It might a be a low bar for a first world country, but it’s higher than the fucking Tories are aiming.

I thinks there's another 352 Tory MPs to choose from so we could have a new Chancellor every day for the next year. Then they do could do this twice and get us to the 2nd election. Sorted!

What would you prefer?

That places in our most pretigious universities and careers were filled based on intelligence.

This is not the case as the statistics re. private schooling vs state schooling prove, despite recent efforts to improve this. We are nowhere close to a meritocracy for education and careers which is what we need if we want the most able people performing vital roles.

The issue is not the institutions themselves, it is how they select the people who attend them.

snort well it would be funny if it wasn't actually ruining our country.

People cut to two subjects in the second year and there is a lot of crossover anyway even if you were studying just one. E.g. modules in my degree included students from the physics department, biology department and philosophy department. Universities are places for sharing knowledge, and a bachelor's degree is only basic knowledge in any field, anyway. That is not the issue in my opinion, the issue is who is admitted to these institutions to study in the first place. Getting rid of grammar schools was a huge mistake to the detriment of very intelligent children without family wealth and private education.

I really think we need Liz Crust to go she is making the party a liability

Making?

That ship sailed in 2016.

I think we’ve gone way beyond doomed.

I've just watched an interview with him, he does seem totally different to Liz Truss & nearly all of the cabinet, he is quietly spoken & isn't doing the I'm a Tory & I can talk down to you using buzz words bit. I'm a Labour Party member, wouldn't support the Tories if my life depended on it but he seems more like an old Tory than one of her buddies.

I saw Larry, the Number 10 cat, say he’d been approached for the role of Chancellor, but told Liz Truss to clean up her own mess!

Sunak refused to serve in her Government when she first took office. He knew it would be the trussterfuck it is.

Did he, though, or did she not ask him? Then trotted out that as the reason. Not that it wasn't wise on his part.

The obvious thing to do - given that Brexit quadrupled it!! - would be to rejoin the single market as soon as possible and focus our economic plans on increasing exports and removing trade barriers with our biggest and most immediate trading partners...

That doesn't take into account the pandemic though.

Looking at the ONS stats, net borrowing went from £64 billion in FY2020 to £312 billion in FY2021. It fell to £123 billion in FY2022 and is forecast at £58 billion in FY2023. That's lower than at any time during 2009 to 2016.

It was of course essential during the pandemic to give billions of pounds to our mates to supply PPE that wasnt protective.

hmm
i was impressed with him as above, the health select committee, but who knows,
he also was culture secretary overseeing the london olympics 2012,
which was a triumph

Boris Johnson was Mayor of London duing the 2012 Olympics as well, which just goes to show what a fabulous Prime Minister he would become.

excellent!

It hasn’t really started yet. Wait till Starmer and Sturgeon have a go. You will see what ruination really looks like!

A degree in PPE