Westminstenders: Put Your Faith In The Home Office

[pointythings]

Because there doesn't seem to be a new thread yet. I'm no RTB or any of you other experts, but these threads need to keep going.

Give me a couple weeks and I'll be able to post cat placemarks!

Btw, does anyone remember the name of the young farmer who wrote in unherd? I'm wondering what is his take on the Aussie trade deal...

Darren Jones MP
@darrenpjones
"So, the UK-Australia trade deal will add somewhere between 0.01% and 0.02% of GDP over 15 years whilst harming British farmers and increasing our import/export carbon emissions. Great deal, Boris. Great deal. "

Eventually Labour is going to have to come up with an inspirational and politically astute leader

IMHO Lab will not win another GE.

Whatever they do, will a: not be reported b: slated or c: copied.

Compare what Johnson has said in print and speeches to Gordon Brown and "that bigoted woman" Or Abbott and Hammond on their maths skills?

With falling educational standards and possible Scottish independence - its clear the UK is in for many more years of right wing govt.

Without discussing the potential impact of falling educational standards, Scottish independence will not necessarily increase the likelihood of right wing governments in FUKD: the UK almost always gets the colour of government that England votes for

Look at 2015: 56 SNP MPs, one solitary Scottish Conservative MP. Conservative majority.

Or 1997: Blair won with 418 seats. Even without the 56 Scottish Labour MPs, he'd still have had a majority (330 required).

Ironically, one of the few times Scotland has made a difference was in 2017, where the 13 Scottish Conservative MPs made the difference between May being able to form a minority Conservative Government with the support of the DUP. If she'd not had them, she'd not have been able to

It's a commonly held fallacy that Labour "needs" Scotland in order to form a government. It doesn't.

Being slightly more positive on behalf of England, I remember being really despondent after 1992 that Middle England would ever vote Labour again, yet they did manage to reinvent themselves and Blair won a stonking majority in 1997 ( which didn't need the Scottish Labour seats to make up the numbers )

So it is possible even if I hope that Scotland is no longer involved

prettybird, I felt exactly the same in 1992 - and the Tories were absolutely slaughtered five years later. It doesn't look like it now, but something could happen to change things.

I always chuckle at this "rightwing hold over the media" argument. Circulaton of all newspapers is way down and the idea that the BBC is right wing, or even right leaning is ludicrous IMO. So the biggest media org by far certainly isn't right wing, and almost none of it's competitors, ITV, C4 are either.

I think Johnson won the election to be Conservative leader because a) he backed Brexit and Jeremy Hunt (who I'd much have preferred for the record) didnt...and b) He was felt to be "a winner" and someone who was capable of reaching new voters for the Conservatives.

Labour are perfectly capable of winning another GE and the Conservatives are certainly equally capable of losing one.

Well keep chuckling then, but the only news provider which attempts to hold the Government to account is Ch 4. The BBC just spouts the Tory propaganda it has been fed by kuenssberg .

I think the BBC is very anti Brexit and left wing. Certainly anti Boris.

The whole narrative of the mainstream media is right wing, which is why this shit show of a government is not held to account.

It runs through media coverage like script through a stick of rock, just look at the way Labour politicians are held to account, Eg contrast Diane Abbot drinking a Mojito on a train v the coverage of Johnson's countless lies and cockups.

The BBC is funded by the government through the licence fee and apart from the odd documentayy does nothing but toe the government line. Robbie Gibb, former Downing st communications director for Theresa May, has been appointed to the BBC board FGS.

Good news about Robbie Gibb. We may get less of "despite Brexit " and more balance

I had more respect for May - I think she lacked the vision necessary to take the country forward, but I think she tried to be honest. She didn't lie her way out of tight spots like Johnson. She appreciated the difficulties that would be faced in NI - not like Johnson who swore there would be no border in the Irish Sea but then did exactly that.

The trade deal with Australia doesn't quite square with the oft repeated idea that leaving the EU will allow a nimble UK to improve animal welfare:

farming.co.uk/news/rspca-warns-that-australia-trade-deal-could-set-a-dangerous-precedent-on-animal-welfare-

thebeefsite.com/news/57059/dont-sign-the-ukaustralia-trade-deal-says-rspca/

Maybe the RSPCA is just biased, though?

Well, I'm just going to figure out how I'm going to spend the amazing £1.22 a year that I'm going to save on my shopping from the fabulous Australia deal. I mean, such riches!

This potential lowering of food standards saddens and angers me - we eventually worked hard to bring our standards up, after the BSE crisis and the salmonella in eggs. Now Johnson and cronies will throw it away. Any guarantee he gives is worthless.

The people who will suffer are those who rely on institutional catering especially hospitals, where the last thing people need to get better is poor food.

So good for the environment though.

Clearly Johnson isn't worried about climate change. It makes sense to source food locally for that reason alone.

I was a bit that one of the benefits highlighted in the BBC report about this fantastic new trade deal with Australia was the "UK automotive industry" would now have unfettered access to the Australian market

Former trade negotiator Dmitry Grozoubinski celebrates the "virtually unprecedented result" for Australia in the trade deal with the UK, telling James O'Brien "we've not heard" any benefits for Brits.

My understanding is that our volume car makers are either Japanese, German or French. If the Australians need more cars, aren't the Japanese better placed geographically to supply their market?

Are the current crop of Tory politicians totally brain dead?

Johnsons fuck up at the Cenotaph, editing out the audience response at question time....
Tory party and islamophobia....
Johnsons racism.... all ignored.

Johnson , on camera, pissed saying their wont be border checks to NI....

The constant criticism of Abbott

Compare to Brown, Miliband, Corbyn? or Starmer and the lies told about the field he got for his parents, his supposed links to Saville and Warbouys.
Labours Trans policies.

All highlighted by the media.

Circulations might be down but readership not so much, they wield tremendous influence.

BBC ? funded by the government, anyone who thinks they don't play the government of the days tune is stupid.

Ah, I see the bots have been triggered!'

"The BBC is all lefties" etc....

BBC comedy is definitely left wing because right wing comedy is an oxy-moron, but deliberately missing the far more important point; BBC News is appallingly pro government. Laura lovergirl Kuenssberg couldn't be further up de Spaffle's colon if she was a prostate test...

The constant criticism of the way Michael Foot dressed or Corbyn, yet spaffer Johnson deliberately looks a mess. He looked a mess at his latest wedding, a mess at the G7, in stark contrast to the other delegates, and yet, not a peep from the media.

And here we have the Australian media talking about how desperate de Spaffle was for a deal compared to Australia. Basically, Australia has been given unlimited access to our markets, in return for...

Ah, I see the bots have been triggered!'

Puzzling though - they won. They have their trade deal now with Australia, so another piece of collateral damage.

Anyway, where are all those Quitlings who were stating that we would definitely be improving food standards due to Brexshit?

Not seeing those comments right now...