Brexit mega thread part 5 : new year new PM? Partygate continues...

[Opal8]

Morning

New thread

www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/a-corruption-of-conservatism-how-a-cartel-of-tory-mps-broke-british-politics/

It's eye-opening to see it all set out so clearly, DrB.

@DrBlackbird

So many scandals to choose from and yet the Tory party and Tory voters still love Johnson. It highlights how the whole party stinks of self serving corruption that they don’t really believe he’s done much wrong (other than getting caught)..

Actually, thinking about it. They really have the last laugh on us as it’s much closer to how communist or socialist politburos act than so called free marketeers or libertarians. When you consider the following, there is absolutely nothing free market about any of their actions.

• The £3.6bn “Towns Fund” where, in the first round of funding, in a process that the Public Accounts Committee criticised for its failure of transparency, 39 of the 45 areas to benefit were Conservative-held areas. 12 of these were marginals. Coincidence? Actually no. A statistical analysis by Chris Hanretty at the Royal Holloway University showed otherwise, with the conclusion questioning ministers’ commitment, under the Nolan principle, to take decisions ‘impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias’

• And then there was Rishi Sunak helping the Treasury to classify his rural Richmond constituency as a priority for infrastructure funds ahead of struggling former mining towns.

• And then there is the £4.3 billion in questionable furlough benefits written off. Ooops.

• And then there are the untendered and illegal fast-lane contracts for PPE.

I’m beginning to understand why Dom hates the civil service so much even if I think he’s cut from the same cloth.

Interesting to think how often those sort of corrupt regimes start with adoration of some "charismatic" characters and how often it ends at the end of a rope or with a bullet. Let's hope things calm down before we get to that stage.

Interesting to think how often those sort of corrupt regimes start with adoration of some "charismatic" characters and how often it ends at the end of a rope or with a bullet. Let's hope things calm down before we get to that stage.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50821546

It was on Christmas Day 30 years ago that Romania's tyrannical communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was executed by firing squad after a summary trial.

...

Within my memory.

What that story omits is the execution being restaged for the cameras.

Those queues in Dover:
twitter.com/vanmaneuro/status/1483754075548233729?s=20

McKinney found that since 2006, 175 people have been deprived of their citizenship on national security grounds, and 289 because of fraud Prior to 2006 the power had not been used since 1973.

Dangerous ground.. shouldn’t some MPs be concerned?

It's eye-opening to see it all set out so clearly

You would hope that someone somewhere would be compiling a huge master list including how much Johnson and Co are / have sought to reduce standards oversight such as an old bullingdon club member being hired to the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

Wasn’t someone tracking a David Davis list of Brexit wins and losses? Something like that but without any wins.

[quote AuldAlliance]Those queues in Dover:
twitter.com/vanmaneuro/status/1483754075548233729?s=20[/quote]
Who would want to be a lorry driver coming to the UK these days?

@DGRossetti

Interesting to think how often those sort of corrupt regimes start with adoration of some "charismatic" characters and how often it ends at the end of a rope or with a bullet. Let's hope things calm down before we get to that stage.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50821546

It was on Christmas Day 30 years ago that Romania's tyrannical communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was executed by firing squad after a summary trial.

...

Within my memory.

What that story omits is the execution being restaged for the cameras.

Chilling isn't it. Then there is Saddam Hussein in Iraq (rope) in 2006 and Gaddafi in Libya (bullet) in 2011.

Then there is Saddam Hussein in Iraq (rope) in 2006 and Gaddafi in Libya (bullet)

While true, I think the fact it happened in our own continent - in a country that is now an EU member - serves to dispel the "can't happen here" mentality.

Not quite the same, but going back to 1988 I can remember the two poor soldiers who were dragged from their car in Belfast and murdered by an IRA mob.

[quote AuldAlliance]Those queues in Dover:
twitter.com/vanmaneuro/status/1483754075548233729?s=20[/quote]
Visible from Google Earth too.

Literally a failure that can be seen from space.

@DGRossetti

Then there is Saddam Hussein in Iraq (rope) in 2006 and Gaddafi in Libya (bullet)

While true, I think the fact it happened in our own continent - in a country that is now an EU member - serves to dispel the "can't happen here" mentality.

Not quite the same, but going back to 1988 I can remember the two poor soldiers who were dragged from their car in Belfast and murdered by an IRA mob.

I wasn't saying they were better examples, I just meant it happens more often than people probably think and yes it has happened in europe before.

I think it could happen here, Charles I would agree with me I'm sure. I hope it doesn't, I hope the corruption gets dealt with and we can go back to more civilised times.

How many years would we have to go back to think none of the stuff this govt has done couldn't happen here. I don't think it would be long which makes me feel depressed.

I think it could happen here, Charles I would agree with me I'm sure. I hope it doesn't, I hope the corruption gets dealt with and we can go back to more civilised times.

To be fair, Charles I had a trial. Whether or not you agree it was legal, it was certainly an attempt to follow some sort of due process.

I guess Richard II came close to being offed by a mob. But he did a Boris and the poor old Archbish lost his head (which you can still see in Sudbury church, I believe).

We're probably too comfy in the UK to get to that stage. Of course there are hungry homeless people, but they're easy enough to airbrush our of our lives. As long as it's chips for tea and summat on telly, the English subject isn't really looking for aggro.

Fun fact - the queue to cross the Channel is longer than the Channel itself.

twitter.com/nw_nicholas/status/1484508319557562371?s=20

*Visible from Google Earth too.

Literally a failure that can be seen from space.*

Our very own version of the Great Wall of China.

[quote AuldAlliance]Fun fact - the queue to cross the Channel is longer than the Channel itself.

twitter.com/nw_nicholas/status/1484508319557562371?s=20[/quote]
How would we know ? Apparently the Highways CCTV "is down" ?

Priorities, Schapps is busy 'removing announcements'

twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1484439371369484289?t=WfoXxLNZk64mdE0ZNr_iXQ&s=19
'...put unwanted newspapers in the bin...'
This is one example of the announcements that we're getting rid of, making the passenger experience better and delivering on the Williams-Shapps #PlanForRail.

@DuncinToffee

Priorities, Schapps is busy 'removing announcements'

twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1484439371369484289?t=WfoXxLNZk64mdE0ZNr_iXQ&s=19
'...put unwanted newspapers in the bin...'
This is one example of the announcements that we're getting rid of, making the passenger experience better and delivering on the Williams-Shapps #PlanForRail.

If only the Brexit campaign had told me that they would have achieved both putting a crown on a pint glass and removing announcements about unwanted newspapers on trains then I would have voted for them. They confused me with all the racism and made me think it was because they didn't like foreigners.

Has anyone seen this reported on the news? I haven't and I think that is a bit strange but maybe I missed it.

This is all I could find on the BBC, in the local news section.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-60062376

No mentioning of the current queue situation

@DGRossetti

I think it could happen here, Charles I would agree with me I'm sure. I hope it doesn't, I hope the corruption gets dealt with and we can go back to more civilised times.

To be fair, Charles I had a trial. Whether or not you agree it was legal, it was certainly an attempt to follow some sort of due process.

I guess Richard II came close to being offed by a mob. But he did a Boris and the poor old Archbish lost his head (which you can still see in Sudbury church, I believe).

We're probably too comfy in the UK to get to that stage. Of course there are hungry homeless people, but they're easy enough to airbrush our of our lives. As long as it's chips for tea and summat on telly, the English subject isn't really looking for aggro.

Saddam Hussein also had a trial, I have no idea how legal it was but he was just as dead at the end of it.

I think the most significant political assassination in my lifetime was Kennedy, well probably both Kennedys. Makes you think being a nobody with modest means can be quite a safe option really.

I think the British are capable of violence we've had MPs killed in recent times.

I'm not sure the British are as placid as all that, when people's standard of living starts to fall in April I think there will be trouble, probably not murder (I hope not) but it might focus some minds. Look what the poll tax did and I think what is coming is worse than that.

Empty bellies can make even the mildest people aggressive, hungry children even more so.

Let's hope things start to improve, a new PM might be a start although I think we need a general election.

@DuncinToffee

This is all I could find on the BBC, in the local news section.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-60062376

No mentioning of the current queue situation

Thanks for that, funny it is being kept so quiet. I wonder what else is going on that we don't know about? I suppose it is harder for the elite to keep us in the dark now with the internet.

@DuncinToffee

Priorities, Schapps is busy 'removing announcements'

twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1484439371369484289?t=WfoXxLNZk64mdE0ZNr_iXQ&s=19
'...put unwanted newspapers in the bin...'
This is one example of the announcements that we're getting rid of, making the passenger experience better and delivering on the Williams-Shapps #PlanForRail.

Don't know if I should laugh or cry but maybe he could follow his own advice and calling for a bonfire of the banalities

The Independent slowly catching up on our threads:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-lorry-queues-dover-eu-b1997993.html

I’m listening to R4 atm and amin despair at the Tory voters calling in. Either saying it was wrong of whips to threaten but they’ll still vote Tory or saying that it’s always been done and the problem is that it’s getting air time now and should be kept as an ‘internal discussion’, not that it was done. So again the problem is not that they do it but that they were caught. Blaming Wakefield for not resigning instead of crossing the floor. 🤯😱