Westministenders: Conference Cult

[RedToothBrush]

Is it over yet?

The Tory Party Conference is in full swing in the Manchester Rain, and is proving to be its usual fun.

Johnson is caught up in all sorts of allegations of abuses of power - the non-declaration of his "friendship" to a busty blonde whom was getting a large tax payer grant, and then there the Odey question after his sister said he was under the control of the Hedge Funders.

And thats before we talk about the 40 hospitals, his provocative language and how many times he can say the word surrender.

There is lots of distancing from Lyton Crosby. And accusations that Johnson has gone 'rogue' only listening to the wisdom of Cummings and Symonds.

The Queen apparently has asked for advice as to under what circumstance she can dismiss a PM.

AND NO ONE IS EVEN TALKING ABOUT A DEAL.

Wise words @thecatfromjapan

Johnson gets around Benn Act and we crash out
No.
We might crash out, but it won't be through getting around the Benn Act as such. It'll be illegal or via some sort of Civil Contigencies Route.

Johnson gets put in prison
Nope. Not happening

Johnson resigns so doesn't have to extend
Nope. Not a chance

Johnson resigns because of J Arcuri
Haha. Are you having a laugh? No.

The Queen sacks Boris
She'd really rather not.

Ken Clarke leads a GNU
Nope. A GNU is a Really Bad Idea BTW.

I think the EU and Ireland should accept this new proposal that Boris is putting forward - and see what his reaction is ...

He wants a no deal and is expecting/hoping that this final plan will be turned down. I'd love to see what he'd do if they all agreed to go ahead with it.

Sales of Jason Donovan CDs set to rise worldwide after this:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-49904372

(Very ambiguous headline.)

I think that a GNU will lead to a massive backlash and even more of a shift to the right. I want this less than I want to remain. I hope these new plans are the way forward to a deal.

I notice HMRCs recent IR35 push has driven Barclays to make all IT contractors "employees" which has pissed some of them off.

I am not unhappy to see that. As one who used to work in IT before I retired, I got fed up of seeing Contractors - who were really people on fixed term contracts of three years or so - getting paid a good deal more.

twitter.com/i/status/1179389882474668037

Just putting this here smh

Are we heading towards bellini's oft repeated NI only backstop with tweaks?

Guardian thinks it's a possibility: www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/02/boris-johnson-speech-gives-eu-hope-he-will-rethink-irish-plan

It's a beautiful beautiful day in Glasgow derxa - gloriously sunny but much cooler.

Just picked these from my garden

[IR35]

As one who used to work in IT before I retired, I got fed up of seeing Contractors - who were really people on fixed term contracts of three years or so - getting paid a good deal more.

I don't really (yet) have a dog in that fight. But what I know is going to happen is people are going to end up being treated by employees by HMRC, whilst simultaneously being "not employees" for their employer who then ducks out of holiday, sick and maternity pay. It's a robber barons wet dream. Since companies like Uber have already signalled this is their entire business plan (take the cash for fuck all in return) it's hardly a stretch.

But who can blame them ? After all, if you were to put the last 50 years into a sophisticated AI modelling system, predicated upon successive judgements of successive courts in successive jurisdictions, the one thing that would emerge as a learned fact would be that governments can take whatever they like from you with no obligations in return. So why wouldn't anyone setting a company up do the same ?

It'll probably be less than a decade before it's the norm to pay your employer for the privilege to work. Judging by recent interest in the Truck acts.

derxa no, that is DGR (who I am sure will appreciate the flowers anyway).

RTB and others re my "what do you think might happen straw poll" I wasn't actually suggesting those would happen btw, I was just putting those out there as things that have been news, or floated around as ideas. I was kind of hoping people might answer what they would vote for. But in a lighthearted (as far as possible)way coz it seems like so much stuff has been swirling around: rumours, clutching at straws, misdirection etc that I wondered what people thought is still on the table!

that is DGR

Oh, dear. What have I done now ?

Maybe @TheMShip . Still too far off to tell.

Nothing DGR - I confused derxa for a leaver upthread and she confused me with you

I'm bad at remembering people I meet face to face, so it's lucky I remember any of you at all really

Love the Jason Donovan story. Struggling to see how we have moved on since BoZo took over, other than we know the lengths to which he will go for No Deal. Oh and the slip further into the dystopian rabbit hole, of course.

flouncy not at all; I also scrolled to the pictures and was disappointed to have to squint through poor pixelated visuals...
Not sure the firemen liked being upstaged though

Roundup of the lead given by different pollsters:

Britain Electss@britainelects*

Most recent voting intentions by pollster:

YouGov (01 Oct): Con +11
LDem > Lab +2

Opinium (27 Sep): Con +12
Lab > LDem +4

Survation (25 Sep): Con +3
Lab > LDem +2

ComRes (24 Sep): TIE
Lab > LDem +7

returning to less pantacular stories, this is old, but it only floated past my FB today.

We need more of this in politics.

He's Marmite:

Britain Electss@britainelects*

Boris Johnson is...

Capable of uniting the country: 28%
Not capable of uniting the country: 57%

via @YouGov, 26 - 27 Sep

Not great for either party, re their communication skills to the majority who aren't politics wonks
Maybe the frothing has hidden the message