Has the Conservative Party lost all sense of competence

Do you think May will make Wollaston the new health secretary?

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-hunt-accused-of-fleeing-the-scene-amid-nhs-winter-crisis_uk_5a4c9630e4b0b0e5a7a99401?utm_hp_ref=uk-politics

Accused of 'doing a Grayling'.

No one wants to go back to British Rail. It’s Brexiteers that want to go back in time. We should have a new Transport for Britain which actually runs the railways for the benefit of the passengers not for the benefit of wealthy foreign investors and subsidising the ( much better) public owned European rail networks.

Why would Hunt be doing that, Wally? His wife is one of the immigrants.
Maybe he's busy planning his escape and getting himself a Chinese passport.

Don't you think you ought to move into this century, Wally?
1948 was just after the war. The whole country was flat broke, not just the railways.

How about just reading about the East Coast mainline, which was making a profit after the government took it back into public ownership. 91% passenger satisfaction when it was run by the government.

Do you think that Brexit should go ahead because 52% of voters wanted it to?
76% of the public want the railways to be brought back into public ownership.

weownit.org.uk/public-ownership/railways

Believe this or believe it not, but I don't have a racist bone in my body but if you want to know where Hunt is he's probably trying to workout how to manage an extra four and a half million people that have come into the UK.

Hunt isn't giving interviews today apparently. The Cons are concerned that it may overshadow what May wants to say about housing.

I read what you wanted me to read. What on earth has that got to do with me not supporting the present Labour party. When a government has to insist that all universities allow freedom of speech it's really coming to something and what is your opinion of Corbyn on Iran. He's unprincipled and will bend anyway that he thinks will gain him power. The railways were nationalised I think in 1948 because they were flat broke and under British Rail they lost millions and millions through inefficiency and just bad management is that what you want to go back to.

Apparently Grayling is in Qatar keeping out of the way while the New Year fare increases are causing a furore in the news.

I don’t know if Grayling, our so called transport minister has been fully discussed in this thread, Grayling the person who has failed totally in all the posts he has held. The obscene rise in rail fairs must be reversed. The bosses of the private companies need to reduce their salaries and bonuses to zero. Privatisation has led to the rail fares in The UK being the highest in Europe, with taxpayers’ money lining the pockets of wealthy shareholders and foreign owned companies. Many people will vote with their feet and take to the overcrowded roads or even find they can’t afford to travel to work. This issue should sink the government (along with everything else).

Anyone know where Hunt's got to. The media have been asking for interviews since hospitals were told to cancel operations and outpatients clinics for the rest of the month.
He can't be found.

Sorry, Jalima. Wasn't criticising; just saying.
Just on the news tonight about the increase in the number of grammar school pupils since 2010.

Not just Toby Young cronyism, either.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/02/toby-young-office-students-cronyism-tories

Yes Jalima i agree. Michael Young was a respected sociologist and political thinker. I think I've still got some of his books on my shelves.
His "meritocracy" theory is still alive and kicking in the Conservative party. Despite his work contributing to the abolition of the eleven plus exam our society is still a Meritocracy with limited social mobility.

Just making the point about Michael Young, it was just a comment and not criticising.

The You was a general You - perhaps it would have been clearer if I had said 'Whatever one thinks'.

I think mostlyharmless will question my post herself if she thinks I meant that.

I don't think mostlyharmless said that, Jalima, about Michael Young. She didn't say just.

Whatever you think of Young Jnr, it wouldn't be fair to dismiss his father just as 'the inventor of meritocracy'. He did invent the term but as a farcical notion, I thought.
And his achievements were so much greater than that.

The son seems to be a different kettle of fish entirely.

Toby Young failed all his O-levels except for a grade C in English. Later got A-levels at grades B and C. He managed to get accepted into Oxford with the help of his father (the sociologist Michael Young) who ironically invented the concept of the "Meritocracy".
Meritocracy for everyone except his under achieving son!
Horrible arrogant man Toby Young. An outspoken misogynist who argued for screening and aborting of embryos from those with low intelligence. While his Free school in Hammersmith was started to give an advantage to the children of middle class parents who felt local schools were nor good enough for their kids. Twitter has lots of examples of his sexist tweets.
The Government really shouldn't be appointing someone like him to represent HE students.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/02/benefits-system-racket-cheating-poor-disabled-woman

Come on, Tory sympathisers, what are you going to do about this?

www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jan/02/doubts-cast-on-dfe-claims-of-toby-youngs-qualifications-for-watchdog-post

Jura, neither has any other Tory or brexiteer.
Anybody would think that they hadn't told us who they were already.

This is interesting.
Who would you have given the job to?

Just decided Toby Young is stuck in adolescence, rebelling against his father, sending offensive sexual tweets, just a sign that he hasn't grown up. He really shouldn't be appointed (still he'll probably muck it up)

Tragically, it seems lemongrove has no intention to help Mrs May with her re-shuffle. Ah well...

Incompetence with the economy?
Or do they do it on purpose?

Careto answer the question, please Wally?

Or do we all have to conclude that you do, indeed, support a man that tweets such vile, disgusting stuff.