Westministenders: Can you tell your Rs from Elbows?

[RedToothBrush]

This week Mark Sedwill has resigned (or was he pushed?) and David Frost (chief brexit lead) was appointed National Security Adviser in a move that enraged Theresa May. The former prime minister felt that his appointment was unprofessional and that was a political appointment not an independent one and that he lacked experience. Of course in terms of national security we still haven't had that report on Russia and I don't believe The Intelligence and Security Committee has yet been named (not sat since Johnson was appointed as PM).

We have passed the deadline for extending transition and we have now apparently said that negotiations on the end of transition will finish at the end of September.

The bill ending Free movement of people has been signed, amongst much fanfare by the Conservatives saying they have delivered on the Referendum promise. However we might have up to 3million Hong Kongers who we are willing to allow into the country which might not go down too well with those who were unhappy with 'unrestricted EU immigration'.

We also have the demonstration of utter incompetence, outsourcing and lack of coordination and communication from central government and local government in the covid-19 crisis. A national scandal that isn't being properly reported by the press and leave you with the very large question of who is this government serving? If its contract with Deloittes over testing didn't require them to report positive tests to Public Health England, what was the point in the testing? How can this be consistent with 'The Government’s new approach to biosecurity will bring together the UK’s world-leading epidemiological expertise and fuse it with the best analytical capability from across Government in an integrated approach.' and will provide real time analysis and assessment of infection outbreaks at a community level, to enable rapid intervention before outbreaks grow.?

The growing feeling that Brexit is being exploited by this government for personal interests and those of big business at the expense of the general public is one which was feared and grows harder to argue against by the day.

Are the daily briefings the first step before refusing to go on any news show? No more R4 (again) or Andrew Marr or even the always easy ride of the LBC because, you know, they must now come to us.

Regarding the blistering honesty I suppose Cummings, and politicians may be honest with each other? The disingenuous interaction with the electorate doesn't necessarily reflect their interaction with each other privately.

I think Cummings blistering honesty was probably along the lines of highlighting the medium term financial benefit of reduced elderly social care and health funding.

Regarding the briefings, remember when Johnson refused several TV pre election debates and avoided Andrew Neil.it didn't do him any harm at all- wasn't there some study that showed leaders who didn't participate actually gave themselves an electoral advantage? These propaganda style briefings could backfire but I guess debate and briefings are different.

So the blistering honesty is them saying that it's mostly older and poor folks who are likely to die of Covid? And that's good because it solves our care home problem and means we don't have to bother with our housing problem? Yes, that could be what they meant.

Texas Medical Association:
which activities carry the most risk of transmitting COVID-19 infection

Highest risk:
pubs ,places of worship, music concerts, large sports events

Gym is next riskiest after these < gulp ! >

Catching up with thread ....

CCS is like Fusion and self driving cars
always ten years in the future

Anybody thinking that CCS will save us from the horrific effects of Climate change is deluded

I don't think many places of Worship would count in this country - I think in the southern US states you get those big fundamenatlist Churches - think of the Billy Graham style rallies. It's not on the whole, what we do here!

I don't think many places of Worship would count in this country
"congregation of 500+"

tee hee
my Mum's church is lucky to get five on a normal Sunday

I think Gove is mistaking blistering honesty for being a C**t. We all know those type who think they are intellectually superior who are absolute a-holes to anyone who disagrees with them .... because you know they are the font of all knowledge. The way DC is on a pedestal is really really dangerous.

The Boris Johnson quote was from an interview on LBC yesterday - with the awful Nick Ferrari. But on twitter last night someone had a quote from him (video clip)in vote leave times - where he essentially said the same thing

I am currently reading John Bercows autobiography. Two interesting things so far . He never had anti Semitic slurs levelled at him by a member of labour , but happened from members if his own party.
2/ Cameron was a leaver - so it's no wonder the remain campaign was so half arsed.
Also - I think because I am newish right British politics , I never realised how deep seated the hate for the EU was in quite large factions of the Tory party.

CCS is like Fusion and self driving cars

self driving cars are much more of a likelihood as it dawns on administrations that with a little bit of imagination (so not really applicable to England) tweaking the road environment to meet current capabilities half way is something that could actually work. Especially when people have stopped dreaming up scenarios for autonomous cars to deal with that no human driver in the history of time has ever faced ...

Cameron was a leaver

If he was, then he fooled me at 2 metres.

Especially when people have stopped dreaming up scenarios for autonomous cars to deal with that no human driver in the history of time has ever faced ...
Like a plane landing on the road .....

Autonomous cars might become relevant in a few large cities
but will always be irrelevant for most.
Better to focus on reducing collisions and improving roads in non western countries

I read Bercow's autobiography and noted his comments about Labour never levelling antisemitic remarks at him, but Tories did. What the pro Israel lobby has done is manage to conflate criticism of the Israeli Government with being antisemitic. Jonathan Freedland was effectively doing that in last week's Guardian. Quite a few of the letter writers put him right on that score - that it was the Israeli regime's behaviour which they found objectionable - and would find it so with any State which behaved in like fashion.

I suspect that Cameron had no particular opinions on the EU.

I suspect that Cameron had no particular opinions on the EU.

I sat 2 metres from him when he gave a "Cameron Direct" talk at DS school. Obviously he had fuck in interest in listening to anything anyone had to say, but he was passionate about one thing - because he stressed it again and again and again as the answer to everything.

Britain is a trading nation

His argument was that Britains wealth had come from trading not making (in reply to "where are all the factories") and that being in the EU gave Britain access to the biggest single trading market in the world. He repeatedly had to sell the EU because it seemed everyone and their dog wanted to talk about immigration.

When he finally got off immigration and onto the NHS (30 minutes into a 40 minute spot) his first question was from an anaesthetist at the QE2 hospital who was from South Africa. They said "I was going to ask about the NHS, but it seems I'm not welcome here."

that was 2009.

Obviously being a Tory slimeball, I wouldn't trust Cameron with anything. But my impression was he really did believe in project Europe - as a lot of Tories did.

Anyway, it's all history now. And if in 10 years we go something like "Brown, May, Johnson", it will be richly deserved.

Gym is next riskiest after these < gulp ! >

I think that risk ranking is overall quite questionable in a European context - how on earth is it more risky to go for a walk with others or to go to a beach than to get a takeaway or fill up your car? Of course it depends on the context and whether you live in a densely populated urban setting or not.

I do think going to the gym is one of the riskiest things that I do and I will stop the moment there are more than isolated cases in our French département (there have been only one or two confirmed case here since the end of lockdown in early May). But it's only "very risky" if there is community transmission. And in a situation where there are isolated clusters, as in Europe, it's plainly more dangerous to be in a large crowd indoors than at a gym, assuming your gym has sensible distancing measures in place (ours has closed every other machine). Simply because there is a much higher risk of the virus being present among 500 or 5000 people at a concert than among 10-20 people using a gym.

I think against a background of reducing road traffic, the pull of autonomous cars might have changed.

It probably hasn't dawned on the Brexiteers yet, but reduced car sales would mean the UK has less to offer the German car industry. Which - let us not forget - is sustained exclusively by UK car buyers. After all, you never see German cars anywhere else in the world, do you ?

Towards the beginning of Bercows book and into his at the beginning of his speakership he talks about Cameron being a Eurosceptic - so maybe leaver is too strong a description.

And if in 10 years we go something like "Brown, May, Johnson", it will be richly deserved.

???

I said to DH this morning that I hope Johnson destroys the Tories. He said that would never happen, the rich support them and the rich will always find a way to stay on top. So they would re-invent the Tory party.

Covered in teal paint and wondering what I was thinking trying to do this with an 8yo. Late lunch then tackling the bike.

It has been noted locally that not many people are sitting outside pubs. Whether this means they are all inside given the weather or that the public isn't as convinced (here at least, a Labour area, granted) that it is safe. This may well change as the afternoon draws on.

I fond the wording interesting. Dominic approves CCS.
Dom is a SPAD, so technialynshouldnt be approving anything. Unless it is generally accepted dom runs the country now?

Iced I've accepted that and a Leave/Tory friend said it makes no odds to him... Anyone thinking Boris is more than a puppet hasn't been paying attention as far as I'm concerned.

I for one really hope Clav comes back with a privitisation success story. Eventually . Seeing as it is the way we are heading regardless you'd have to hope that at least ONE of them must be working better than the alternative (particularly considering austerity has deteriorated funding in every sector other than banking).

Well.
Just been to my local high Street.
Hairdresser's heaving....custumers in foils sitting outside on main thoroughfare
Pubs heaving....customers sitting/standing outside on main thoroughfare.
Restaurants heaving...customers sitting outside on main thoroughfare.
I don't think mum and I will go down there again in a hurry.

That's the trouble Yoikes, it puts the rest of us into a tighter lockdown as a result. Something very sexist in opening pubs but not beauticians, for example. Suspect we are meant to be staying at home as carers and educators