The new Watergate film sounds interesting: https://twitter.com/scottygb/status/1514312511935418384?t=XzsRROtuzvrV1uFFgYai6A&s=q
Rwanda!! Surely shome mistake. If the Blonde Buffoon is involved surely it should be discussions involving Uganda[1]. Ref: [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurring_jokes_in_Private_Eye "Ugandan discussions", or a variation thereof (such as "discussing Ugandan affairs"), is often used as a euphemism for sex, usually while carrying out a supposedly official duty. The term originally referred to an incident at a party hosted by journalist Neal Ascherson and his first wife, at which fellow journalist Mary Kenny allegedly had a "meaningful confrontation" with a former cabinet minister in the government of Milton Obote, later claiming that they were "upstairs discussing Uganda". The poet James Fenton apparently coined the term.[1] The saying is sometimes wrongly said to derive from a slanderous lie told by the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin about his female foreign minister, when he claimed that he had fired her on 28 November 1974 for having sex with an unnamed white man in a toilet at a Paris airport,[2] but his lie came over 20 months after the phrase was first used by Private Eye on 9 March 1973.[1] The euphemism has variations: for example, before his marriage a senior member of the Royal family allegedly went on holiday with an aging ex-Page Three girl, whereupon Private Eye reported he had contracted a "Ugandan virus". In 1996, "Getting back to basics" was suggested as a replacement euphemism after the policy of the same name adopted by John Major's government, which some Private Eye contributors regarded as hypocritical. This view was vindicated by Conservative MP Edwina Currie's subsequent confirmation of a four-year affair with John Major in her book Diaries.
Johnson apparently facing second fine in coming days for a leaving do he gave a speech at. Presumably he just wandered in without knowing what it was again and gave a 9 minute speech.
Paywall, so I'm going to C&P this about leading brexiteer thicker than a Boxing Day turd, and apparently from the below piece, proven liar and perjuror Andrew Bridgen. ‘Dishonest’ MP Bridgen ‘lied’ about conduct in family dispute A Conservative MP lied under oath, behaved in an abusive, arrogant and aggressive way, and was so dishonest that his claims about a multimillion-pound family dispute could not be taken at face value, a high court judge has ruled. Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, has spent years taking legal action against his family’s £27 million potato and vegetable business, which he claims forced him out and treated him unfairly. He could face millions of pounds in legal bills and a referral to the parliamentary standards watchdog after he was found to have been an unsatisfactory, evasive and combative witness who tried to cover up his misconduct. Last month Judge Brian Rawlings found that Bridgen, 57, had pressured a police inspector to investigate his brother over false allegations of fraud, prompting a costly inquiry lasting more than a year. He denied it after realising it would look “inappropriate”. Bridgen also made false statements about why he had resigned from the business, AB Produce, almost a decade ago. In court he argued he had been forced out by Paul, 55, his brother, a claim the judge described as a lie. In fact, the judge ruled, he had quit because he thought it might reduce the amount he owed his first wife, Jackie, 57, in divorce proceedings. Bridgen, who was first elected to parliament in 2010, was found to have “tailored evidence to suit his purposes” during cross-examination. He was also “dishonest” about his motives when he reported his brother for fraud to the police, Lloyd’s Bank and the accountancy firm KPMG. The judge, sitting in the High Court, said Bridgen’s assertions had to be confirmed by a witness or documentary evidence to be believed. He dismissed claims brought by the MP, who argued that the family firm had behaved prejudicially towards him as a shareholder. The judge will now decide on any penalties for technical breaches of company law and who is liable for millions of pounds in legal costs. AB Produce is suing Bridgen, claiming that he has failed to pay rent on a £1.5 million property it owns, the Old Vicarage in the village of Coleorton, Leicestershire. The MP lives there with his second wife, Nevena, a Serbian opera singer and the blogger behind the Wives of Westminster website. During the case Peter Ellis, a director of AB Produce, claimed that in January 2017 Bridgen sent texts that were so aggressive they brought him to the brink of a “nervous breakdown”. Bridgen later called a board meeting where he allegedly called the directors, whom he deemed to be on his brother’s side, a “team of *******” and “liars and thieves” and asked to be reinstated on up to £60,000 a year for “half a day to one day’s project work” a month. For five years after being elected Bridgen had been paid £93,000 a year to attend monthly board meetings. Ellis recalled: “Andrew said that he was effectively bankrupt and could not live on an MP’s salary.” The directors rejected his request. The judge accepted that Bridgen had “acted in an aggressive and arrogant manner” and that, even if the MP had legitimately expected to be re-appointed, trust and confidence “was destroyed as a result of [his] behaviour”. In October 2017 Bridgen called Inspector Helena Bhakta, the commander of the neighbourhood policing team for his constituency, whose force he is supposed to scrutinise. He asked her to investigate an alleged seven-figure fraud against him by his brother. Bridgen claimed he had not made the call as “it would not have been proper”. He said he had contacted the fraud squad. However, on October 16, 2017, Bhakta wrote: “As NPT commander I have regular contact with Andrew Bridgen over constituent matters. Today he asked that I call him. On doing so he informed me that he suspects his brother is committing fraud.” The judge ruled: “I do not consider it likely that Andrew forgot that he had had the conversation ... I consider that Andrew realised that it was inappropriate for him to have discussed an alleged fraud of which he was the victim with the police officer covering the area of his constituency and he therefore denied making such a report to her.” He also stated that Bridgen “gave evasive and argumentative answers and tangential speeches that avoided answering the questions”. Parliament’s standards watchdog is investigating the MP over claims of paid lobbying and failing to declare interests properly. In a statement Bridgen said: “The judge has made his judgment and some of it is disappointing reading for me.” He claimed that “in actuality I won the case and my brother will be compelled by the court in due course to repay considerable sums of money back to the businesses”. He said he and his legal team were “exploring all avenues with regard to legal options to obtain a just outcome”, adding “if courts always got everything correct the first time there would be no need for appeal mechanisms”.
You can mention Bridgen without reminding people of his ultimate display of ignorance... https://www.irishpost.com/news/ever...orance-over-ireland-in-radio-interview-160840
Johnson is the first serving PM to be sanctioned for breaking the law. He should no longer be allowed to continue as PM. It really is as straightforward as that.
Fingers crossed come the council elections BoJo will get one almighty kicking. A contemptible excuse for a human being and his cabinet. Shameless, greedy , grasping liars without an ounce of humanity, decency , integrity or honesty and not one iota of intelligence or common sense. Saw this advertising board the other day. Made me feel distinctly uneasy. If this is not what NHS privatization is then tell me otherwise. Advertising your services now ? All well and good if you're well off no doubt. Health care should be 'free' for all. However everyone should pay their fair share of taxes to fund it depending on their combined income from whatever source be you a private individual, corporation or greedy sports person.
Watching Gogglebox on Friday, stay with me I will get to the point , one of the 3 lads from Bristol said that no one who has never experienced any type of money concerns should ever be chancellor as how could they ever understand what it is like to pay the bills ? . I agree with this wholeheartedly. Whilst this is a Tory thread I would also like to add that millionaire Sir Wassisnames should never lead the Labour party and should only support if they feel that way inclined . For the same reasons .
It’s provision of specialist private care by an NHS trust. This has been going on for several decades now. Indeed, in essence ot is part of the compact negotiated by Bevan after the war. I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s not new.
If that is a dig at Starmer, his background is much more humble than Jeremy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keir_Starmer I was listening to The Reunion on Radio 4 about the McLibel case. Because the defendants didn't qualify for legal aid, Starmer worked on the case pro bono. Listen to his full disclosure podcast, he absolutely gets it.
Ambitious young Labour politician defends left wing activist for free in high profile case? He does get "it", but "it" in this case is how to satisy and grease the wheels of political ambition. The idea it was a purely charitable act seems quite peculiar. He doesn't get it when it comes to the plight of the common man. The Conservatives are way ahead of him and Labour on that, as even the majority on the left will concede, even if they don't necessarily believe the tories are genuine. See the Labour thread for reference. In fact, I would say that if he is renowned in politics for any one thing, since becoming leader, it is his awkwardness and lack of conviction when addressing anything to do with the proles. See any reference to football he has ever made.
Fresh claims in the Mirror and Telegraph that Johnson instigated the party for his departing aid. And of course it makes sense that this serial attention seeker is going to be the centre of attention at any party he just so happens to find himself at, he is the PM after all. It also makes sense that staff would run any party by him first, not hold these in a clandestine way for him to just unwittingly happen upon. Six times. Tell me forum members, is there anyone here who actually believes Johnson did not lie to Parliament? https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/new-claims-boris-johnson-led-26730794
It appears that his defence is going to focus on the events being after work gatherings, not parties. Unfortunately this might work as too many people seem to think that such work events were ok. They were not. At the time gatherings of more that two people indoors were illegal unless essential for work. It doesn't matter whether you think that was a daft law or not. The people that made the law repeatedly breached it and then lied about it. They are now claiming that, despite the Met Police ruling that they believe the law was broken, that they didn't break the law because they weren't parties. And too many people will fall for that line. If Johnson can blur the facts about what he did and what the law said, I have no doubt that he will do the same when it comes to the fact he lied to parliament about it. The real threat to Johnson now is a disastrous local election result. If that happens then he's gone. The Tories will put up with a liar, a cheat and a lazy, useless ****. What they won't accept is a leader that loses elections and threaten their jobs.
No looking good for Johnson if the response in today's times poll is anything to go by. 2000 nationally representative people asked what they currently think of Johnson. 72% negative with the most common word in the responses being "liar". These are the words used, sized by frequency, in the responses: https://twitter.com/jamesjohnson252/status/1515936769841242122?t=NW6l-1-6Rgnj2-TUi2H95A&s=19 If this translates into votes at the local elections then he's gone.
Not a dig at anyone in particular. However if you want my "dig" it will be , currently, at Owen Jones et al, who will sabotage Labour at the next G.E. And then we shall have another term of Old Etonian buffoonery. Maybe the boy Jones is a 5th columnist . Probably. And Ash Sarkar.
Ignorance of the law has never been an acceptable defence for breaking the law. Being ignorant of the law that you are responsible for making is even less so! But if we are to accept that they didn't know what they were doing then they have demonstrated that they are not fit for office and should resign anyway. There is no honourable path for the PM and Chancellor now, beyond resigning. But that won't stop them pursuing a dishonourable path if they can get enough useful idiots to continue to support them and keep them in a job. That is the shameful state of UK politics today.
What with Brandon Lewis comparing Johnson's fine to a parking ticket, he might like to see this: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/1453312.boris-dodged-parking-tickets/
You may or may not be a fan of Starmer but his speech in parliament yesterday really got Johnson's number. And the relative silence on the Tory benches indicates that they know it too;
It was a very good speech, apart from when he stumbled and nearly said ‘dying hand’s wife’. Also there was a camera cut to Michael Fabricant smirking like a creepy little boy being forced to sit in an assembly, which just made me feel a bit sick and grubby.
FWIW I found yesterday's Guardian Long Read "A Nursery of Commons" (book extract recounting de Pfeffel et al. time at the Oxford Union) a very illuminating read.
