The Westminster Hunger Games Contines. May Day! May Day!

[RedToothBrush]

THE BREXIT FALLOUT CONTINUES - THREAD NINE

The Tories have settled their scores and May is now PM.
Is it May's Day or May Day for the people?

After careful consideration I thought the best way to sum up the Labour Contest was in one simple picture. May Day, might also be appropriate here too.

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Things are moving fast, so hold on tight for the Brexit Ride

Sense of humour compulsory. No experience necessary though

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2683852-The-Westministenders-Hunger-Games-continues-Hunting-for-the-Opposition?pg=1 Previous Thread Eight.

prettybird not that long ago (10-15yrs) the SNP were economically and socially to the right of Labour. I'm not sure how much of the shift has been Labour going right and how much is the SNP going left. Or how much it's driven by the SNP policies being primarily Holyrood focused while Labour policy has to be Westminster driven and the political centres of gravity of the two houses being in different places.

So there's an element of suspicion over what the SNP say v do. Not to mention that the numbers frequently add up to Unicorns For All with a side order of being able to blame any budget deficit on Big Bad Westminster

It is absolute bullshit that it doesn't matter who our Foreign Secretary is.

It is an extremely high-status outward-facing role.

We already look like the world's biggest twats.

Now Boris?

Who recently made racist comments about the US President?

This kind of thing "oh he'll be off on planes all the time and out of the way" is the worst kind of British insularity.

Those planes will be going places.

Places where it matters what peoplr think of us.

I think this appointment shows very poor judgement on May's part.

There is a view that many Greens have joined Momentum too. I don't know really. But I do know some are trying to mop up disillusioned worried labour supporters into the Green party

The Mumsnet bug picked up TM muttering to herself yesterday:

"I have to give Boris the Idiot a job, or he'll piss on me from his Torygraph column.
It must be a job that'll give me a good excuse to sack him quickly, before he does any real damage....
What will he screw up most quickly, spectacularly, with the most media coverage, but without damage to my government .....
Ideally spend a lot of time in horrible places like airports ...
"Hmmm.... Oh.... Oh, that'd be just hysterically funny!"
< slurps a celebratory cuppa from no 10 best china >

It is slightly reassuring

Have we not had enough fucking up of our international standing to sort out internal Tory problems for one year?

To be blunt here, is he a Tory problem now? As in, is he just a Tory problem? His chances of one day having enough support to make it to PM are still high, if he goes to the back benches. He is therefore a danger to the long term future of the country one way or another. In the long term interests of the country, he either needs to be brought up to standard or be forced to crash and burn once and for all. Making him see out the consequences of his actions for once and take responsibility has to be the way forward. I think its more a trying to deal with issues head on rather than let them fester, type of strategy - but she seems to at least done some damage limitation and thought it through to minimise the issue if he does cock it up. Unlike Cameron did.

Oh and now I'm less reassured

(Flaky emoticon)

Doinit - but he has two options - be Boris and he will be sacked within weeks or months. He won't be allowed to see anyone really important in the short term I think. Or STFU - in which case he is neutralised and doesn't gaff.

Frustratingly, Green Party economics also add up to Unicorns For All. But socially inclusive unicorns at least

Bigchoc Yes yes! I think evil genius - very impressed. He is damned if he does damned if he does.

BigChocFrenzy I love your take on Davis, think you may well be spot on, and really hope that you are.

Anybody seen this video of the US State Department spokesman being told live that Johnson is the new Foreign Secretary?

He visibly struggles not to burst out laughing... and then when he composes himself, congratulates "Foreign Secretary Hammond on his new role".

www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2016/jul/14/state-department-spokesman-smiles-at-news-of-boris-johnsons-appointment-video

Luke Akehurst
‏@lukeakehurst
Amused by random Corbyn folk trying to tell @benatipsosmori what his own company's poll says.

tomblenkinsop.com/2016/07/13/tom-blenkinsop-condemns-john-mcdonnells-insult-to-mps-2/
Tom Blenkinsop MP direct response to John McDonnell's insults to MPs.

The two or three Greens I know are also all in Momentum... And think that The Canary does good journalism rather than university journalism. They are in their late 30s I might add.

Yes, he is just a Tory problem.

Just like Tory Euroscepticism was just a Tory problem.

May has just rehabilitated him.

You have to be in dreamland to think this is bad for Boris in any way at all.

He gets to be our representative on the world stage.

Just because English people won't be paying attention doesn't mean the rest of the world won't be.

I think this was a back room deal.

And I certainly don't buy this as a move taken by a principled PM to neutraluse a threat to the nation.

But I guess there is literally nothing Mother Theresa can do wrong this week.

She's the anti-Angela Eagle.

Why Boris (even though he deserves an arse-kicking, not a job):
. Boris still has a lot of support in the Tory party and would still be too dangerous outside the cabinet
. He is surprisingly good at persuading the English public to believe him.
. He is also surprisingly good at charming foreigners - they enjoy laughing at him and end up liking him.

He'll be booted out the minute these no longer hold

I just feel like when my mum knew my brother was lying and that he'd kicked me but she still gave him a bigger pudding.

How is it fair?!?!!

I note the comment that there is a growing sense in parts of Europe at least, that the UK was holding back the rest. Perhaps that will eventually work to our favour.

I think this is very optimistic - yes there is an opportunity there, but they haven't worked out how to use it yet. It'll be easier to reform the EU without the UK, but they still have to agree on what kind of reform they want, and there are deep disagreements between France and Germany

It's maybe telling that the only politician they cite is Emmanuel Macron, who is trying to launch a Presidential bid and is on the Unicorns for Everyone bandwagon.

Mother Theresa

never was a nickname less well-deserved

He won't be allowed to see anyone really important in the short term I think.

There is a meeting of EU foreign ministers next week that he is to attend, I believe.

He is not just Theresa's bitch now - she will look stupid if she has to fire him quickly.

He has been handed an awful lot of influence that can't be simply removed from him with no damage done if he continues to embarrass us around the world.

We have 6 months left of Obama who was very offended by him recently.

Our most import ally at this time we have basically just flipped him the bird with this appointment.

I think it was a risk doin but I am hopeful that she knows what she is doing, because the alternative is just terrifying.

I have read various comments today that he did a good job outside the UK at attracting interest and investment in London, even with his various blunders and repeated foot-in-mouth problems, so, being very generous here, perhaps he has enough goodwill left over from that?

Davis is the leader the blazers wanted and never got because of Cameron. They'd have taken him over Leadsom a hundred times if they had the opportunity. He is possibly the only person who can deliver a Brexit which is decent for the rest of the country whilst also being acceptable to them, because they will not believe that he will screw them.

Mother Theresa is everyone's Mammy. Coming in to sort out the mess and calm everyone down.

I think(!) I agree with doin it -

Who appoints a racist foreign minister?

Either an evil genius or someone desperate?

Fingers crossed.

Foreign Secretary, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Mr Johnson made an “unfortunate statement” when he used Turkey’s accession to the EU negatively in the referendum campaign.

Asked what he would like to say to Mr Johnson (who has Turkish ancestry), he said: “May God help him and reform him and I hope he won't make any more mistakes and tries to make it up with the Turks."

Of course as diplomats everyone else still has to be nice and forgiving about Johnson. At least to begin with. And as long as he eats that humble pie, which I'm sure they will take great pleasure in making sure he does.

Maybe she's given them all a whipping boy whose job description is essential 'suck it up and take it'.

can you tell I'm grasping at possible up sides

I think Boris might be good.
He will just keep dong he did before, but hopefully will fewer comedy moments, and it's selling the UK to the world, because for most forreigners UK is London.
searching for the silver lining

Here is Peter Mullan (Scottish actor) talking about why people aren't voting Labour in Scotland.

“Every Scot’s got a story to tell about how lethargic and corrupt the Labour party got in Scotland, even though we good as created it. They were always the ones saying ‘You’re going to vote for us anyway, so why should we give a flying fuck?’ They got bluer and bluer under Blair and then Brown. Then you were voting for red Tories.

“Sixty-five of them just voted with the Tories to go along in this idiotic and immoral act of dropping bombs in Raqqa. To achieve what?”

He implies some of the pro-bombing Labour MPs were voting for air strikes to attack their leader. “They hate Corbyn more than they hate Isis,” he says. “Bloody hell! How far are you guys willing to go?!”