Is our PM, infallible and free of any blame?

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John Crace
@JohnJCrace
Better and better. Julian Lewis chucked out of Tory party for out manoeuvreing Chris Grayling. Something that most people do on a daily basis

??????

“On this day, we add to Chris Grayling's list of achievements: 'losing a rigged election'.

He really does have quite the midas touch.“

????

Whitewavemark2

If I was Lewis I would ensure the Russia report is published asap.

It's a bit odd. Lewis is an arch-Brexiter and member of the ERG. He would have nothing to gain from publication, if the Russia Report showed there was interference in the referendum. It seems like there's something else.

Anyone notice the reply Johnson gave to the question about what he would say to the Covid bereaved ? - he tried to attack Starmer and made a “joke“ about underpants.....

growstuff

Whitewavemark2

If I was Lewis I would ensure the Russia report is published asap.

It's a bit odd. Lewis is an arch-Brexiter and member of the ERG. He would have nothing to gain from publication, if the Russia Report showed there was interference in the referendum. It seems like there's something else.

Yes I was reading that about Lewis.

Perhaps it is as simple as the fact that Failing is so bloody useless that Lewis couldn’t tolerate him as Chairman.

I doubt it though. See what transpires.

Apparently Lewis is a very strong critique of Russia.

Grayling has said that he never thought the chairmanship is in the bag - ?

It is thought that Lewis will support the publication of the Russia report and whilst it is thought to be pretty underwhelming there is sufficient evidence to be damaging to the Tories.

Dominic Grieves talking about the issue - blimey an ex-Tory grown up. You forget that such people exist. Said that the intelligence committee is never interfered its by the government if the day.

Cummings is attempting to become King of all he surveys. I thought we’d stopped that a few hundred years ago?

It is extraordinarily depressing that whilst Cummings is becoming King we have a toddler playing at King in no 10 and behaving like some of the worse examples.

The thin-skinned, unprepared opportunist who cannot tolerate a word of scrutiny or criticism. It’s like dealing with a toddler. If you’re not 100% behind him, saying how marvellous he is, then you are totally against him..Boris is barely out of nappies.”

Vegansrock, I watched Keir Starmers face as Boris replied to his question on a response to covid bereaved families, and like him I was appalled, and disgusted at the response, I too shook my head in disbelief.

Sir Kier Starmer was slow in the uptake at first - it only dawned on him from his answers that Boris hadn’t read the report.

Yes, it’s unbelievable that this is our PM and he CBA’d to read something as important as this. No lives matter to this lazy moron.

I think Starmer is trying to respect the position of Prime Minister in his questioning, and making the assumption that the PM is on top of his brief.

I suspect that Starmer knows he isn’t as does the rest of the country, but how on earth can you treat Johnson as the idiot he is without making a mockery of the position?

and making the assumption that the PM is on top of his brief.

I'm sure that Starmer doesn't make any such assumption. He knows that Johnson isn't on top of anything and his questions are intended to illustrate that point, week after week.

"When they go low, we go high."

Michelle Obama

A former Conservative head of the intelligence committee has blamed Boris Johnson’s “incompetence” for the farce that saw Chris Grayling – his hand-picked choice – defeated in his bid to lead it. “I think the prime minister is the author of his own misfortune,” Malcolm Rifkind said – as Downing Street licked its wounds over the humiliation on Wednesday evening.

Sir Malcom, who chaired the powerful intelligence and security committee for five years until 2015, said it was “ridiculous” for the government to protest at the choice of Dr Lewis. It was set down in an Act of Parliament that the chair was chosen by the nine nominated members, with No 10 having “no role”.

“The idea of using the whips to try and force Conservative members to vote for a particular candidate goes totally against the way in which the committee has – under statute – operated since it began,” Sir Malcolm said. "The prime minister or his advisers, whoever was dealing with it, has handled this in an extremely incompetent way.”

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-intelligence-committee-chris-grayling-defeat-news-a9621836.html

I was absolutely appalled when I heard him say that basically he believed that it was the fault of the care home staff's fault that so many in care homes have died.
We have 2 care homes in the vicinity and at the beginning of the lockdown, it was impossible for them to even be able to get antibacterial wipes, handwash let alone PPE as it had all been diverted to the NHS.
Both of them being small ( 12 residents in one, 16 in another) and not being able to use bulk buy shopping, even had trouble being able to buy enough food for their residents. They both use local businesses and shops and once the limits for basic food were put in place, being allowed only 2 loaves of bread and 8 pints of milk a day put them in an impossible position. Thankfully a local bakery now supplies them with fresh bread each day and one of the pubs, that decided to stay open providing takeaway and meal deliveries to vulnerable people has kept them supplied with milk and other local businesses have kept them supplied with fresh meat and fruit and veg. So where was his government when they needed that help?
The care homes rely on very experienced and qualified staff, usually on minimum wage, for often long hours in very difficult circumstances. His statement must have felt like a slap in the face.

I have to admit I am feeling a bit more cheered this morning after seeing a few grown ups stepping up yesterday. Oh, how I miss the sensible, articulate and informed people like Dominic Grieves, and this morning Malcolm Rifkind was ripping into Johnson. Maybe all that time of sneering at and belittling the backbenchers ( who are elected by us) is finally backfiring on Cummings. As for yesterday's performance by Johnson at PMQs, it was pathetic

I wonder if the issue isn't the Russia Report. Dominic Grieve has seen it and has previously said there isn't that much in it. Certainly anything really incriminating would have been redacted anyway.

I wonder if it's to do with the changes that Cummings wants to make to the armed forces and secret services. It's known that he's visited MI5 and MI6, Porton Down and SAS. Tory MP, Tobias Ellwood, has questioned whether he had appropriate security clearance for the visits. Another Tory MP, Tom Tugendhat has said that the Russia Report should be published as soon as possible.

Having a compliant twit as chair of the intelligence and security committee would have made changes easier. I knew little about Julian Lewis until yesterday, but people I do respect seem to think he knows his stuff on security and is on the ball over Russia.

I disagree profoundly with the politics of people such as Grieve, Ellwood and Tugendhat, but I do believe they have some moral compass.

Johnson has already been called before the 1922 committee (the "suits") because they're upset that he's bypassing parliament and his own backbenchers and relying on unelected people like Cummings and Mirza.

The Conservatives must be really worried. Now they're trying to claim that Russia interfered with the last election to support Corbyn. Raab has just released a statement, although he doesn't have any proof of anything.

How very strange that this should all be released now!

It will be drip drip smear, so that the Russia Report seems unimportant.

growstuff

I wonder if the issue isn't the Russia Report. Dominic Grieve has seen it and has previously said there isn't that much in it. Certainly anything really incriminating would have been redacted anyway.

I wonder if it's to do with the changes that Cummings wants to make to the armed forces and secret services. It's known that he's visited MI5 and MI6, Porton Down and SAS. Tory MP, Tobias Ellwood, has questioned whether he had appropriate security clearance for the visits. Another Tory MP, Tom Tugendhat has said that the Russia Report should be published as soon as possible.

Having a compliant twit as chair of the intelligence and security committee would have made changes easier. I knew little about Julian Lewis until yesterday, but people I do respect seem to think he knows his stuff on security and is on the ball over Russia.

I disagree profoundly with the politics of people such as Grieve, Ellwood and Tugendhat, but I do believe they have some moral compass.

Johnson has already been called before the 1922 committee (the "suits") because they're upset that he's bypassing parliament and his own backbenchers and relying on unelected people like Cummings and Mirza.

Can’t disagree with any of that

Gove's pulling the strings somewhere too.

Lewis hits back

This in FT.

The FT is also reporting that the report on Patel’s bullying is being held back by Cummings because of embarrassment to the government.

This

Statement from Intelligence Committee:

"The Committee has unanimously agreed this morning that it will publish the Report on Russia prepared by its predecessor before the house rises for the summer recess.

There will be no further comment."

Good!

I really am sorry that this thread has gone totally off track.

This just gets worse ...

For those people claiming that Sunak has "gone socialist", it now seems that about a third of the money being promised for new projects isn't new money, but recycled from old projects.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jul/16/sunaks-covid-19-package-recycled-up-to-10bn-spending-ifs

He hasn't "gone socialist" anyway because money has not been distributed fairly. Renters and people in insecure employment have done very badly - and the worst isn't even over yet.

Approximately a third of people are actually better off financially and some people have made a fortune. It's estimated that there has been billions of pounds in fraud.

The next year or so will be the Chancellor's real test.