FlyTheNest

Morning all.

Morning all.

Reading the bit in the printed copy of The Guardian about Allegra Stratton, obviously everyone knew about her being married to James Forsyth but how many people knew that Sunak was his best man?

People thought that Cameron's era was a chumocracy - this seems to be worse.

I don't know why but I felt ever so disappointed to see a woman take this job, a role most people were saying no self-respecting political journalist would take because it would be the kiss of death to their career. I have no liking for her but even so, she has made a name for herself, she should have more regard for her own standing not be someone else's patsy. Is that completely crazy?!

I wouldn't describe Stratton as a 'self-respecting political journalist' any more than Peston or Kuenssberg, back in the day when she was on Newsnight I used to turn it off when she came on. I didn't know about her connections but it's no surprise.

I have occasionally mused over who would be the right person for this job since they announced it, had forgotten about her but she's a perfect fit imo.

It's a disgrace.

Ian McMillan
@IMcMillan
I am The North.
I am various
I contain multitudes
Except when I am glimpsed
Through a long telescope
From The Seat of Power.
Then I am one terraced street
Where Batley
Is next door to Egremont
And I talk funny
And the cry comes:
‘Lock ‘em down, boys,
Lock ‘em down!’

Interesting thread by Krugman on the US, came up on my timeline in the context of businesses not preparing for Brexit. Do they still believe something so bad can't/won't happen?

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Paul Krugman
@paulkrugman
Republicans take policy positions so toxic that voters refuse to believe that they're actually espousing them 1/

gilsey wrote:I wouldn't describe Stratton as a 'self-respecting political journalist' any more than Peston or Kuenssberg, back in the day when she was on Newsnight I used to turn it off when she came on. I didn't know about her connections but it's no surprise.

I have occasionally mused over who would be the right person for this job since they announced it, had forgotten about her but she's a perfect fit imo.

It's a disgrace.

But can you see Peston taking this job? That's my point. The idea of a woman being "perfect" bothers me. Why isn't Johnson's current spokesperson, James Slack, taking the on camera role? They're all Tory shits, but taking the flak for a mess mostly created by men has to fall to a woman, it seems. It just irks me.

gilsey wrote:Interesting thread by Krugman on the US, came up on my timeline in the context of businesses not preparing for Brexit. Do they still believe something so bad can't/won't happen?

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Paul Krugman
@paulkrugman
Republicans take policy positions so toxic that voters refuse to believe that they're actually espousing them 1/

Yes, that's really interesting.

It's a slightly different issue, but it's still about the extremes people espouse - I always thought that one of the reasons 'people's assemblies' or citizens' juries or whatever you want to call them would never get anywhere with anything controversial here is that you'd never be able to get to an agreed starting point. Would leave campaigners sit down to discuss the future on the basis of Barnier's 2016 chart, where the issue of what was available to us was entirely dependent on the level of integration we chose? Would they ever sit down to discuss the future on the basis that other countries would not put our needs before their own? Conversely would remain campaigners ever sit down to discuss the future on the basis that we'd voted to leave and were leaving?

gilsey wrote:Interesting thread by Krugman on the US, came up on my timeline in the context of businesses not preparing for Brexit. Do they still believe something so bad can't/won't happen?

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Paul Krugman
@paulkrugman
Republicans take policy positions so toxic that voters refuse to believe that they're actually espousing them 1/

Maybe, though mostly it's because you can't really prepare for your business becoming unviable. If we leave without a deal for a lot of business models it will be a simple case of game over. I suspect a lot of business owners have been preparing but it will have been more in terms of not signing any long term leases, not investing in new equipment and getting their pensions ready for early retirement....

adam wrote:

gilsey wrote:Interesting thread by Krugman on the US, came up on my timeline in the context of businesses not preparing for Brexit. Do they still believe something so bad can't/won't happen?

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Paul Krugman
@paulkrugman
Republicans take policy positions so toxic that voters refuse to believe that they're actually espousing them 1/

Yes, that's really interesting.

It's a slightly different issue, but it's still about the extremes people espouse - I always thought that one of the reasons 'people's assemblies' or citizens' juries or whatever you want to call them would never get anywhere with anything controversial here is that you'd never be able to get to an agreed starting point. Would leave campaigners sit down to discuss the future on the basis of Barnier's 2016 chart, where the issue of what was available to us was entirely dependent on the level of integration we chose? Would they ever sit down to discuss the future on the basis that other countries would not put our needs before their own? Conversely would remain campaigners ever sit down to discuss the future on the basis that we'd voted to leave and were leaving?

I think the idea of a people's assembly has to be based on participants having a willingness to compromise to find a consensus as a basic starting point. The political conversation in this country has been moving (been pushed?) away from consensus policy making, however, in favour of opposing extremes colliding and resolving in a gladiator style "winner takes all" approach which, as you say, creates huge barriers to the people's assembly type of way forward. It's not accidental, is it? Most people want the same things, they just believe different theories of how to achieve them. In 2016 a majority of people would quite likely have accepted remaining in the single market as a reasonable compromise. It's the disproportionate power and influence of the small majority who preferred the extreme of no deal that has caused our difficulties I feel, rather than the ability of most people to compromise and form a consensus.

Willow904 wrote:They're all Tory shits, but taking the flak for a mess mostly created by men has to fall to a woman, it seems. It just irks me.

I see your point, yes.

adam wrote:I always thought that one of the reasons 'people's assemblies' or citizens' juries or whatever you want to call them would never get anywhere with anything controversial here is that you'd never be able to get to an agreed starting point.

There's been a citizens assembly on climate change which reported recently with some sensible conclusions and..... crickets, as they say.

BBC news reported it as if it was some quaint, un-British ritual.

https://www.parliament.uk/business/news ... ly-uk-new/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well that's maybe because to a fair degree, it is?

Good afternoon, everyone.

Re the Stratton discussion, I suppose you will have seen that clip of her "reporting" from Tower Hamlets a few years ago?

Ha ha brilliant.

I had a go at this...

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ ... assessment

And here are my results.

Because of your answers, we could not recommend any job categories. You might want to go through the assessment again to check that your responses were correct.

Even the Government's own assessment is saying I'm unemployable, maybe I should print it out as evidence next time I have to deal with the DWP.

(For anyone curious about how I achieved this result I answered 'it depends' to every question which was necessary as there was no 'what kind of asinine bollocks is this?' option to tick).

It also seems to have a tendency to "recommend" career options that are currently being devastated by Covid.

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Re the Stratton discussion, I suppose you will have seen that clip of her "reporting" from Tower Hamlets a few years ago?

Was that in May 2012?

Well this is all very strange, I caught up on Question Time earlier and the Tory MP Gillian Keegan was telling Andy Burnham that everything was fine with the furlough and Job Support schemes and she didn't know what he was moaning about.

And yet now Sunak's extending furlough for locked down businesses for another 6 months.

Presumably if one were to ask Gillian her views on this now she'd say she was fully behind this welcome extension and her cold hearted dismissal of the plight of pub and restaurant staff across the North of England had been 'taken out of context' when in fact it was apparent she didn't understand the furlough rules and was entirely dismissive of the difficulties businesses face when being shut down at the drop of a hat.

For comedy value Michael Portillo made an appearance where he claimed there had to be a scientific way to allow theatres and trains to be at 100% capacity without any social distancing. This would require everyone to wear a Hazmat suit, and while I would be amused to see an audience in the West End all suited up looking like extras from The Andromeda Strain I'm not sure that's quite what he had in mind.

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:Ha ha brilliant.

I had a go at this...

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ ... assessment

And here are my results.

Because of your answers, we could not recommend any job categories. You might want to go through the assessment again to check that your responses were correct.

Even the Government's own assessment is saying I'm unemployable, maybe I should print it out as evidence next time I have to deal with the DWP.

(For anyone curious about how I achieved this result I answered 'it depends' to every question which was necessary as there was no 'what kind of asinine bollocks is this?' option to tick).

The questions and possible answers don't provide an adequate career assessment tool.

Pretty much what we said about anyone who took this...

Chris Cook
@xtophercook
·
3h
I'm a former colleague of
@HMTAllegra
and my main reflection is: it's all downside for her, all the risk is being lumped onto her, the downside risk is to become ridiculous, and there's no job she can get from this afterwards that she couldn't already.

Shocked etc.

Williamson ally Nick Timothy handed DfE board role without competition

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/williamson-al ... mpetition/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nick Timothy, Theresa May’s former chief of staff, was also made a non-executive director at the Department for Education before officials had received a declaration of his interests.

Copies of correspondence, obtained by Schools Week under the Freedom of Information Act, show how officials rushed through the appointment at the behest of Gavin Williamson.

Well, this is a fun thread...the Home Office making itself look a bit crap.

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And I note that Darren Grimes is being investigated - not arrest, not charged - for that Starkey interview.

The people who you'd most expect to have really bad takes...have really bad takes. And yes, Paul Embery - Blue Labour - is up there with them.

People may have missed it, but this month has seen the return of something not seen since the spring - I refer, of course, to local council byelections. Confined to Scotland at present (some promised in Wales come the spring, of course in England we will have to wait until May for any electoral action) and subject to revision/cancellation, but there have been two contests - both in the island areas - thus far:

Orkney - last week's contest saw an Independent hold in a division which saw three Independents returned in each of the elections (2007, 2012 and 2017) since STV voting was introduced, something even less surprising when one considers nobody but Independents stood in the first place. This was finally disrupted this time by the intervention of (maybe slightly surprisingly) a Labour candidate - the first in these islands at council level since way back in 1986, and who had the somewhat thankless task of standing as the Orkney/Shetland parliamentary candidate last year. In the event they came a respectable second with over 17% of first preferences - but well behind the winning Indy (daughter of the deceased councillor who caused this vacancy) who got nearly 70%. The better placed of the remaining two Independents scored 8%.

Eilean Sear (the Western Isles to you and me) - yesterday saw another Independent hold, something in no doubt at all this time as only three candidates of only that description stood. Unlike the previous week, however, this division has seen significant party interventions in recent years - splitting 2Ind/1Nat in 2017 and 2007, and actually going 1Ind/1Nat/1Lab in 2012 - so no SNP candidate in particular was maybe a slight surprise. In the event however it was an even more decisive result than Orkney, the winning Indy taking nearly 75% of the vote whilst third and last placed got just 3% (it may or may not surprise to learn that they were not "local")

Another contest due next week, and moving onto the mainland as it is in Aberdeenshire - hopefully I will have something to report

Goodnight, everyone.
love,
cJA