I think I am in love with Charles Walker

[WannabeMrsWalker]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-63320605

All I know of him is this two minute video, but, By God, what a man. Just loved the way he expressed himself. Kept his voice calm and moderated, and used his words to powerfully convey his meaning and emotion. No angry voice, no raised voice, no aggressive body language, no foot stomping. Bet he never slammed the door on his way out. Just used words to strongly convey meaning (without swearing too).

I think I am in love. I want him to be my children's Father. What excellent modelling of how to handle and express your feelings when you are livid.

I'm genuinely going to use this video to show my boys what they (and I!) should be aiming for in how we convey our angry feelings.

And I agreed with what he said. Which helps.

I'm in love. He's my new crush.

I watched it live and I found it really quite scary. He was livid, the quiet anger came through the screen. I've not seem someone that angry and controlled for a long time.

This made me lol and smile

it is sad that it's rare to find a calm, measured politician.

Charles Walker was one of very few to speak against lockdowns. I had some correspondence with him - he's not my MP - on the subject and he seems a lovely bloke. I was really close to the edge and that correspondence was very helpful. And he was under no obligation to reply to a non constituent so that was kind.

There was an interesting interview with him when he said he is stepping down - this was a few months ago. He was saying that now is that phase of power play rather than the bread and butter admin of govt, and I could really relate to him saying "some people thrive on that sort of thing, you can see how much they enjoy it - but I'm not one of them". It's relatable because it's why I freelance after having thought I could be senior mgmt (did it for six months and hated it).

So yes, I can't say I love him 😂 but I'd be happy to go to the pub with him.

I am very quiet in anger, which is another reason I like him. Red hot, fiery anger annoys me.

I’m laughing that you’ve put this in Relationships rather than AIBU 😂😂😂

very aspirational 😂

Made me lol too

I don't know Walker's age but this is the sort of no nonsense I like and feel like, post Corbyn, we don't hear a lot of it. I resent this "creating new laws instead of using what we have" and it's only ever used for ill.

twitter.com/openDemocracy/status/1582405151033155584

sorry, OP, do carry on imagining what aftershave he uses etc 😂

I wouldn't let a Tory get within 10 feet of my parts thanks very much. I don't care how 'eloquent' he seemed!

The thought of Tory MPs not being able to pay their mortgages in a few months is the best schadenfreude I've had for a while now.

Personally I think we should club together for a specialist chamber orchestra so that they can accompany their evictions with some really tiny violins.

Pretty shocking that people enjoy the idea of other people losing their jobs / homes / the roof over their childrens' heads.

Whether someone is an MP, a plumber, a teacher, a lawyer, a cleaner, a shop assistant - it isn't right to celebrate them losing their job.

No need to get too upset for them, layladomino. MPs losing their seats or stepping down at an election get a substantial "Loss of Office" payment plus up to two months' additional salary, so some walk away with £40,000 in hand.

General election 2019: Losing MPs set to share £2m pot
www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50826472

They can also, of course, get new jobs.

For all Walker's whining that there's nothing as ex as an ex-MP, if he can't display transferrable skills and sell himself to a new employer, or redirect his talent into starting a new enterprise, then he sounds a bit of a dead loss anyway. His new job might be something he considers beneath him, but welcome to the real world, buttercup.

He's on a predictable fixed term contract with unusually generous end-of-contract terms. The Tories have been very keen to tell minimum wage workers with no job security that they should take personal responsibility for managing their finances to be able to cover gaps – including the gap created by the Tories removing benefit cover from the the first 5 weeks of unemployment, IIRC, which was just nasty.

If Walker is worried that he and his colleagues are less financially capable than the average zero hours, minimum wage worker, then I can't help him. Perhaps he could do a course at a food bank on how to manage his money properly?

Perking Walker said earlier this year that he is stepping down at the next election.

tbh I think lockdown finished him. You could see the same HOW THE HELL IS THIS HAPPENING in his eyes as there was in mine.

I think my own MP might cross the floor any minute now, but he was so keen on lockdown I can't support him now. What a mess.

i got no replies from Starmer or any Labour MPs about lockdown.

sorry OP....how about you send this thread to Walker's office? That might cheer everyone up!

the hair looks like a wig, is it just me?

Yes, and he'll get the Loss of Office payment for doing so, according to that link.

Why do you get Loss of Office if you step down? Like getting redundancy money if you resign...oh wait, I've sort of negotiated that myself in the past 😂

does Liz Truss get lifelong security, like PMs do?

I don't know! But if they didn't, there'd be an incentive for no-hopers or those who wanted to leave to hang on and be voted out, rather than standing aside to allow their party to field a more likely candidate.

So yeah, I think you've answered your own Q re negotiating your own redundancy money if you go quiety.

I thought he came over very well and his comment about talentless people ticking boxes could be used in quite a few contexts.

Yes he's a Tory and must have supported Brexit, but even Brexit-voting Tories can be right occasionally.

It was a very fine rant.

I should add
I wasn't trying to cover anything up 😂

I just negotiated a good exit package and it got marked up as redundancy because they wanted to rejig the post

hasn't Walker also said he regrets voting for Brexit? I wish more politicians could say "I was wrong".

I'm still amused that his rant made people fancy him though. He just seems like an unlikely heart-throb!

I've met him.
Flicks hair

😂

What's he like?

Alan Johnson so good there.

Really nice, seemed genuinely interested in what I was saying, replied nicely, just a Gent.
I wrote to him once, good, thorough reply.
I have a real issue with Tory=Bad
Some Conservative MPs are incredible public servants.
His constituency is overwhelmingly white middle class, a lot of older, wealthy constituents too.
His voting record represents them in a lot of cases.

(I can't remember if he smelled amazing sorry. He was handsome though)

I’d agree if it weren’t for the “Tory Thumbs” - as demonstrated by Julian from Ghosts, my favourite Tory MP

Cool. He seems more like a father figure (sorry again OP).

I remember him from the Covid lockdowns. IIRC he was really passionate about the impact of lockdowns on mental health particularly and I was really impressed by him then.

Can't be bothered with the Tory = bad Labour = good thing. I think there's good and bad eggs in both camps, some closer to their best before than others.

I had to laugh at this. Andrew Bridgen is an absolute toad. He would say anything for 50p and a chance to be filmed. Grade A rent a gob wanker

Whenever the phrase 'Tory plotters' crops up the name Andrew Bridgen is sure to follow.

@SteveHarringtonsChestHair Corbyn does Tory thumbs- maybe he was a plant, would make sense😁

"I have a real issue with Tory=Bad"
I agree with this @Meseekslookatme