Westminstenders: Long live liberalism

[RedToothBrush]

Talk of its demise are premature.

(Sorry up to eyeballs this weekend)

www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/ian-payne/caller-lives-spain-cannot-speak-after-27-years/

Ian Payne was left with is head in his hands when his caller admitted after living in Spain for 27 years, he still couldn't speak the language.

{Oh...and just in case you're not aware Jess Phillips' son being involved in a quiet, small demonstration on school funding is child abuse}

Not necessarily incorrect. The people behind the door of No 10 are on course to mess up the lives of the children on the step, and probably even their children too.

I have to admit that my daughter, when a toddler, locked herself in the bathroom and was rescued by the fire brigade.

Just to revert to the Brecon by-election, my DM lives on the constituency and was meaning about how the Lib Dem’s bombarded her with stuff during the Euro elections, so I think they’ll have a very efficient machine going for 1st August.

after living in Spain for 27 years, he still couldn't speak the language.

Anyone who knows British "expats" in Europe will find this completely unsurprising. I hardly know any expats who speak fluent French.

If you're going to learn the language you do this in your first five years. If it doesn't happen then it never will.

David Yelland @ Davidyelland
People I trust, competent, well placed friends, suspect Kim Darroch is victim of a dark conspiracy and that Farage gets his job under Johnson. Can this actually be true? @BBCJonSopel said as much on the 10.

Jon Sopel @ bbcjohnsopel
What I heard - and why I went on. The Ten O Clock news to say it - is strikingly similar

Just in case you are in any doubt about what these two tweets are saying I'll make it clear.

The rumour is that when Johnson becomes PM he's giving the job of British Ambassador to the US to Farage. There has been a smearing of Kim Darroch in the last few days and this is why.

This stinks to high heaven and does not bode well.

Totally agree RTB. I really hope that there is a criminal prosecution for this. There must have been a breach of the official secrets act.

Yep, I suspect dirty tricks by a Cabinet Brexiter - or SPAD - who wants the ambassador replaced with a Trump supporter,
maybe even angling for that post themself, to escape British politics for a while,

Or maybe a way to get Farage out of UK politics for a couple of years - well, they may think that, but it would just give him a bigger platform to use

Tom Newton Dunn@tnewtondunn

Fwiw:
in my experience of Whitehall, civil servants are seldom either brave or craved enough to leak such a big tranche of restricted material.

Then add in Darroch’s very limited distribution list, plus motive, and it has all the hallmarks of a senior politician.
....
Tom Tugendhat@TomTugendhat (Tory MP, Chair @commonsforeign)

Sadly this rings true. And that makes the betrayal all the more serious.

How can officials give honest advice to politicians if it is stored and leaked for petty pointscoring?

This is deeply damaging to the integrity of the UK and must be investigated by the police immediately.
.......
Tom Newton Dunn@tnewtondunn

Who leaked Kim Darroch’s ‘diptels’?

Speculation centring on a pro-US senior Tory minister who fancies the job for themselves... 🤔

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9456848/brit-ambassador-donald-trump-inept-keep-job/

One senior Tory MP told The Sun:
“Who would have gone to the trouble of saving up two years of diptels? I’m guessing an ambitious minister or their spad [special adviser]”.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill is rumoured to be lined up to succeed Sir Kim,
but the embarrassing leak could jeopardise that as Mr Trump may now prefer to deal with a visibly pro-US politician.
< shouldn't be Trump's choice ! >

crosspost with red !

Absolutely a BJ/Farage ambassadorial plot. They said F-face would be on the Today prog after 7 so I listened to Roxy Music all the way to work instead.

Leak of UK ambassador’s US telegrams plays into wider power struggle

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/07/leak-of-uk-ambassadors-us-telegrams-plays-into-wider-power-struggle?

Sometimes leaks from within the government are striking not just for their content, but also for the motive behind them.
...
The US administration – which sees ambassadorships as rewards for political friends and donors – may be suspicious of Sedwill,
and would prefer a true Brexiter to guide the special relationship as Britain detaches itself from Europe, and seeks a free trade deal with the US.

Sedwill, a widely admired career civil servant with good links to the US intelligence services, may not fit that bill,
but Nigel Farage – who pretty openly campaigned for the job before Darroch’s appointmentnt^ in 2016 – does.*

Farage will certainly benefit from the leak
and what is notable is that he is one of the voices in the Mail piece calling for Darroch’s immediate resignation.

The journalist responsible for the scoop, Isabel Oakeshott, is close to Nigel Farage’s Brexit party.

She has even been previously accused of withholding newsworthy informationn^ that might have damaged her best Brexit contacts, a charge she denies.

Her cooperation with former Conservative chairman Michael Ashcroft,
indicates she operates in the twilight world between journalism and political activism.

We can only hope that this story will head off the possibility of it becoming reality because it creates enough of a stink. But if it is the plan, they are prepared to face that stink.

However Tory MPs like Tungenhat being appalled do make it difficult for Johnson (and up the chances of a GE. Though I caution that a GE now is looking pretty good for a Brexit Party / Tory coalition which really would fuck us and put Farage in power somewhere).

Well, that also served dual purpose, cause it was Hunt who had to go on tv and “explain” it....so no matter what, he’s now associated with the ambassador that describes trump as incompetent etc whilst Boris has been patted on the back multiple time by fellow CanaryHead...

An Autumn GE, in which the Faragists win a substantial number of seats or even just votes,
could mean the Tories offer Farage this kind of job he'd love, for the pomp and perks

A near certainty if he holds the balance of power in a hung Parliament and demands this bung

If you thought Arlene was a pain in that situation .....

A PM without shame can squash any enquiry

I keep hoping BJ loses a VoNc and never becomes PM
However, JC might cynically not even call for one, or really push for it

Wouldn't sending Farage to Washington mean that the Brexit Party would almost certainly collapse? So, if the rumours are true, Johnson would be wise to send him sooner rather than wait for a GE.

I think we have reached new levels of

"we are so fucked"

This morning.

The threat of Farage as UK ambassador could be a way of keeping Tory MPs in line and preventing a GE too...

Though I caution that a GE now is looking pretty good for a Brexit Party / Tory coalition which really would fuck us and put Farage in power somewhere).

RTB do you still see this outcome if Labour ditches Corby and becomes a Remain party? I feel at the moment as though the whole outcome of this sorry mess lies in the hands of one person and that all JC has to do is bow out gracefully and everything will turn out ok.

RTB do you still see this outcome if Labour ditches Corby and becomes a Remain party?

They just need to ditch Corbyn. Remain / Leave fairly irrelevant.

It's Corbyn who is personally toxic.

Really quite scary stuff this morning.

I heard Farage on the today program (hadn’t had time to brace myself or anything).

He’s clearly worried about the Remain parties finally getting their shit together. He’s angling to work with the Tories as he blames the Tory / Brex party vote spilt for letting in Labour in Peterborough.
Really quite scary. We need Crobyn to wake up and quit the Labour Party.

Really? I don’t care about Corbyn either way, but I won’t vote Labour while they support Brexit. I’m sure I’m not the only one!

Really? I don’t care about Corbyn either way, but I won’t vote Labour while they support Brexit. I’m sure I’m not the only one

I think one of the problems with Corbyn, is that he’s a Brexiteer and has been for decades. Even if he says he’ll back a second referendum all the way many Remainers don’t trust him.

Also he’s used by Tory voters to justify their vote. They feel they have to vote Tory or we’ll get a Corbyn government.