Rishi has absolutely lost it, hasn't he?

[noblegiraffe]

What with his random shite this week about scrapping a non-existent meat tax and an imaginary 7 bins, actually scrapping his own home insulation workforce that was only set up a few months ago, scrapping any useful bits of HS2 and now scrapping A-levels (which is so far removed from what is actually possible in schools right now that it's not even funny), what the fuck is he on?

He's just flailing around madly scrapping everything in case someone, somewhere might vote Tory over it.

And he was supposed to be the sensible replacement to Liz Truss.

I just think they're completely fucked, and are now at the point where nothing the leadership say or do could possibly rescue that situation. It's one of those situations where the public are done with you. Rishi appears to know that too. But they evidently intend to drag things out further, instead of calling an early GE they know they'll lose heavily. Hence the bullshitting.

In terms of culpability, obviously he's balls deep as he's been in government for about 95% of the time that's passed since the last GE. He spent months enabling Boris to continue lying to the Commons and gaslighting us about it, and is lucky there hasn't been more focus on that. There may yet be. Truss isn't his fault, so there's that I suppose, but in everything else yep he's very much a significant contributor.

I apologise wholeheartedly. Completely got the wrong end of the stick.

No worries.

TL;DR: Nothing to do with me, guv. Honest.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-66945279

Hardly "grilled". Possibly very slightly warmed in a winter sun for a couple of minutes.

That is just lame. If that's the election stance they will pummelled into the ground

We are already seeing their election strategy.

1. Last 13 years are nothing to do with us.
2. Rish! has only had one year to deal with the catalogue of cockups his predecessors weren't responsible for either
3. Where was Keir Starmer when all this was happening ?
4. Look ! A squirrel !!
5. I really don't accept that
6. But Jeremy Corbyn
7. Boris who ?
8. No one really likes the planet that much
9. 10 reasons to vote Conservative.

I don't understand this new oil field

It's going to cost our country £3 billion

We don't get the profits.

We don't get 80% of the oil.

The oil we do get will be sold to British consumers at the world market rate even though it's "ours"

What is our country getting out of this that justifies it?

'Strategy' is quite a flattering description of it!

It’s making Norway rich at our expense. You genuinely couldn’t make it up.

Cuts must be made. Neither the Tories nor Labour have the stomach to raise taxes and so are now desperately trying to find ways to raise money.

I do think Rishi makes more sense than Starmar / Labour / Boris - he knows his stuff. All of Rishi’s policies, decisions seem to be data led.

I think you are being unfair on the Tories, they have raised taxes significantly for the past 13 years, and I am sure are quite happy to continue doing so, as long as it isn't taxes on the rich.

You're asking the wrong question.

What is our country getting out of this that justifies it?

It should be: What is our leader (and his cronies) getting out of this that justifies it?

I really can't think of the last person who I recognised as having entered politics to help their fellow humans. All I have seen is a parade of self serving stooges who have no concept of community, cohesion or society. Much as the landed gentry they have ousted.

It’s not ITC but TCS that has the NHS IT contracts.

Also people like the Sunaks use professional companies for their accounts. It’s very likely that his wife’s stake in Karu Kids is so minimal in her portfolio it’s not considered a big deal. Remember even 1 share needs to be declared.

Yes, let's give them full credit for the new fiscal drag policy platform!

Rishi Sunak breached ministerial code over failure to declare wife’s childcare shares
Parliament’s standards watchdog concluded the prime minister’s breach was inadvertent and came after his ‘confusion’ around the rules on declaration

And you said he know his stuff and his decisions are data led?

Sunak seems to inadvertently breach the ministerial code a lot. Along with the laws on travelling in a car and covid, not to mention happy to pretend a car is his and then fail to grasp the basic principles of paying for petrol.

A man of details? My arse.

What are you on about? The plan to have every kid to learn maths to 18, for example. Even a cursory glance at the data (or indeed the government's own report into the suggestion from a few years ago) says that we haven't got the capacity. Nowhere near enough maths teachers.

The plan to scrap A-levels is similarly batshit.

As for scrapping the HS2 line from Manchester to Birmingham and having it not go to any major London train stations...where's the data to show that will be any use to anyone?

"The boss of the firm building HS2‘s new London station has delivered an excoriating attack on Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Huntamid concerns the project could be abandoned.
Mark Reynolds, chief executive of the Mace Group, said that the government’s plan to end the line at Old Oak Common – in west London – means it would take commuters longer to travel the roughly five further miles to central London than the previous 114 miles from Birmingham.
“It will take longer to get from Old Oak Common to get into London than it would to come from Birmingham,” Mr Reynolds said, emphasising the suggestions of stopping short of Euston, was a big mistake and “came out of nowhere”.

Data led? Really? Pulled out of his arse more like.

Mark Reynolds, chief executive of the Mace Group, said that the government’s plan to end the line at Old Oak Common – in west London – means it would take commuters longer to travel the roughly five further miles to central London than the previous 114 miles from Birmingham.

There are 2 bypasses near me that take longer than going via the route they bypass. Seems to be a thing this millennium.

@ L1ttledrummergirl ...His insincerity comes over in spades. His job has not been to act in this countries best interests, but in the interests of those pulling his strings.

Yup.

Out of the chaos they have deliberately created they award themselves lucrative contracts, top jobs and positions of power - so they won't lose out. . His mission is to wreck everything, bankrupt what he can and prepare a 'scorched earth' policy for the incoming new government.
They are thieving scum!

Old Oak Common is a 10min walk from Willesdon Junction (it’s a similar distance as some DLR stations are from mainline stations). Currently it takes 20mins to travel from there to London Euston.

30 mins is about an average time to cross North London. Most commuters to London are used to it.

That would appear to be missing the point of a high speed rail link.

Old Oak Common is a 10min walk from Willesdon Junction (it’s a similar distance as some DLR stations are from mainline stations). Currently it takes 20mins to travel from there to London Euston.

30 mins is about an average time to cross North London. Most commuters to London are used to it.

When I last commuted, the 22 minute base journey was regularly over an hour (that is 200% wasted productivity) when the schools were in.

The only mystery of the past 3 decades is why anyone who has a brain cell - let alone 2 - is somehow "puzzled" by the UKs piss poor productivity.

HS2 is another broken promise isn’t it?

all that money and all that environmental damage for a “high speed” “London” to Birmingham line that stops somewhere no one has ever heard of. Nowhere near any transport links!

The rich literally have their private nets flown to the nearest airstrip to where they are. Even if it’s only a ten mile flight. And they have a helicopter or chauffeur driven car at their disposal.

We’re supposed to get out in the back of beyond and make our own way to a functioning transport system on foot or taxi.

Talk about a lack of joined up thinking.

Even richer rich people.

It's sad. When we started oil development in the 1960s Tony Benn made the companies pay for the extraction and development.

What a terrible man he was, understanding that they would make plenty of money all the same but that it shouldn't be on the taxpayer.