Oh I dunno, eat out to help out was pretty spectacular too, especially the link to helping a subsequent covid wave.
Current Affairs The next Tory (strong and stable) leader is Boris Johnson
- Thread starter summerisle
- Start date
- Status
That's interesting Pete. Whatever we think of the rights and wrongs of the system, we don't live in a presidential system, The Conservatives (not Johnson) won an election and a very particular part of the electorate will make the choice of who is the next PM, for the time being. Members are different to voters so it's always interesting to get a snapshot of that viewpoint.
It seems that's the direction of travel. FWIW I always wonder with something like tax, if it's so obvious, and people have been saying it so widely, why hasn't it been implemented previously? I listened to Andrew Brigend (who I have to concede speaks well) but he seemed to suggest it was an ideological decision from Johnson. I don't really understand that thinking. In the same way I didn't understand the thinking May got a bad deal on Brexit through being duplicitious. Most people aren't duplicitious, but tend to face pressures that to compel them to behave a certain way. Within such a paradigm, have those pressures gone?
This isn't a Tory contradiction either, Labour do similar around issues, I'm sure most parties do, but there's generally a gap between what you want to do, and what can be done.
Anyway, I'm never against lowering tax on working people, and taxes have gone up a lot under the tories. I think I'd prefer an approach where it was spent better. There looks to be a lot of cronyism to me.
Aside from that, my 2 concerns with lowering tax would be
1) How are we going to afford public sector pay increases? There's no way one can let inflation spiral out of control and not provide at least some respite to people. The doctors, nurses etc really don't deserve a further pay cut, and it will damage the economy to expect them to take one. The government line (or at least it was) seemed to be "bear with us, it's transitory and we will get it back to sub 2% very soon". I'm afraid I just don't have faith in them to do so.
2) On a less ideological basis, tax cuts put more money into supply. At the present time, that feels a reckless move.
Whomever the new leader is will be buoyed by all the great ideas Mogg came up with as minister of Brexit opportunities though. They're bound to overcome any other issues Britain faces.
I think Rees-Mogg and his ilk are a bit of a problem for the Conservatives really. Not only do they come across badly, but he just doesn't speak to the demographic they need to have some connection with (i.e under 60's, socially & economically more liberal etc).
It's funny, I watched QT the other night and the main discussion point seemed to be that any discussion of Brexit/re-entering was entirely off limits. I have to say I found that odd. I'm not saying we should re-enter, but the idea that 6 years after leaving, which will be 8 years at the next election and potentially anywhere from 9-13 if we ever got round to having another vote (if indeed it was decided by referendum) is not enough time to have seen the benefits of a policy seems very odd to me. Normally when such constraints are placed on a discussion, it is from a place of weakness and can't really hold.
With Rees Mogg, once you remove the accent, the often ridiculously misplaced use of Latin and the over inflated sense of ego, what you have to me is a bit of a spiv. He's actually good a good salesman, but he's a salesman.
"She" bargained the rebate, and there's no one that hard to go and battle and win that back. Ever. It was sold on control and financial benefit, going back cap in hand is going to be difficult as opposition will portray it as bending over and inviting a severe boot up the chuffer.
tsubaki
Player Valuation: £90m
This is it, exactly.
Government spending has gone through the roof since 2010 and very little of that increase has gone on public sector pay rises, better pensions, more staff or extra facilities. Its nearly all gone on bringing in, or sustaining, means of procuring goods and services via the private sector that are demonstrably inefficient and demonstrably wasteful. The management and oversight of those deals has been corrupted by encouraging people to flit in and out of public service, allowing easy rewards to be legally given for services rendered.
We as a country know PFI and outsourcing costs more and delivers less than public ownership, yet we've embraced PFI and outsourcing. We know paying people grants to go to university and paying their tuition fees cost the taxpayer less than making them take out loans does; yet we've gone down the loan road. We know that an integrated railway requires less subsidy than a fractured one; we broke the railway up. We know that an effective public health system would keep the country safe against pandemic disease; we chose not to have one.
The maddening thing is we really cannot afford big public sector pay rises, but the government will give in to them long before it ever would start to deal with the real waste.
Yes I agree. Very little has found it's way to where it needs to be, I.E in people who do the front line jobs pockets. That is a failing of the government really. You can't give people 12 years of pay cuts, and then expect them to swallow another 10% pay cut (which is actually much higher) while they get on with trying to fix inflation.
Agent Blue
Player Valuation: £10m
Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, it turns out Johnson could well have committed treason!
Big trouble this, really big trouble.
I hope his guest was a brass, that'd be perfect...
What a disgrace. And Cooper is right. Responsibility must also lie with those that enabled and covered for him. The Tory MPs who knew exactly what Johnson was like but made him leader and continually backed him as he was popular with the electorate despite knowing full well he was a dangerous liability.
This is an extreme low point for the Tory party. In any normal circumstances they’d be completely wiped out.
Private eye did an interesting report on Johnson in their last issue ......
Who ever gets the job will have to try & stick to the last manifesto pledges - I am not bothered in it all - Labour will be the same if they get in as they have pledged to make Brexit work .....
Its anything for power end of - The best job in the world but poorly paid, proves it's about power ......
Snouts in the trough with perks the lot of them - Guy Fawkes let us down badly ......
And here we go.....
- Status