[davidjay]

If I was clever enough I'd put up the government Instagram clip from yesterday congratulating themselves on having a Downing Street reception for Northern Ireland and reassuring the Loyalist community. It was accompanied by a tricolour.

[Killer Whale]

This?

[Bones McCoy]

Conservative ideals popular with the younger generation? Well, who doesn't want financial security, low taxes, and great public services? Thing is, the young people have watched for 13 years as the ideal has been replaced by cronyism, corruption, and pulling up the drawbridge behind them.

The only young people they appeal to any more are the school bullies.

I hear the final eleven members were DNA tested.
All showed as Spaffer's "natural children".

[Andy McDandy]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... e-a-speech

John Crace's roundup. There's the PM!

Whatever Sunak says, people don’t believe him. He and the Tories have exhausted the country’s patience. But the government only has one mode. Rather than surrendering gracefully, all that Rish! can do is blunder on. We’ve now reached the point where what he says is effectively obsolete hours before he’s actually said it.

Cameron!

It’s Chipping Norton I mostly feel sorry for. The village has a bad enough rep as the epicentre for twats and now Lord Big Dave has annexed it for his title. Chipping Norton will never recover. The shame.

Johnson!

Boris Johnson. AKA a total halfwit. Someone who would change his mind several times a day. Was unable to understand a simple graph. Who was unfit to be in charge. Weak. Couldn’t make a decision. Thought that old people were better off being left to die in the streets.

Sunak again!

He did care. He would rather people had died. Far better for the economy than letting them rack up costs on an overstretched NHS.

And finally, Hancock!

The fantasist who was unable to tell the truth.

[Samanfur]

Oh dear.

Reasonable for protesters to call Iain Duncan Smith ‘Tory scum’, court rules

Two protesters were “reasonable” in calling Iain Duncan Smith “Tory scum” outside the Conservative party conference, the high court has ruled, in a rejection of an attempt to overturn their acquittal.

Lord Justice Popplewell and Justice Fordham said no fault in law was made by a senior district judge last November in finding Ruth Wood, 52, and Radical Haslam, 30, not guilty of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent.

In response to a request for a judicial review from the director of public prosecutions, the high court found that Judge Goldspring, who is also described as a chief magistrate, had made the important finding that “the use of Tory scum was to highlight the policies” of Duncan Smith, and that this was relevant to the “reasonableness of the conduct” in relation to the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.

There was nothing to undermine Goldspring’s conclusion that criminalising the words “Tory scum” would be a disproportionate interference in the two protesters’ rights, the high court ruled.

Tom Wainwright, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers representing Wood and Haslam, said the judgment represented an important defence of the right to freedom of expression.

He said: “Just the idea that someone can be convicted for saying this is bizarre in the first place. The director of public prosecutions was trying to put the burden on the defendants to show that they hadn’t crossed the line – the crucial question of when free speech crosses the line into something that is criminal.

“What this judgment confirms is that it is not for the defence to show that, but it is for the state to show that there is a good reason to restrict free speech and that a conviction is the only way that could be done.”

[Youngian]

This?

A complete lack of common sense, what’s Esther McVey doing about it?

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Tim 'dim but dim' Montgomerie is on Sophy Ridge. If he hasn't recently had a stroke he is off his tits - too long on the green room? Random head movement, slurred speech, staring vacantly into space...

Also, the man's a cunt.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I've no idea what "presumption against transitioning" means in practice, but this still seems like it'll have Esther McVey turning up in Gillian Keegan's office at 8am. And it seems a lot better than expected.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... sh-schools

Guidance to allow transgender children to socially transition in English schools
Government likely to let children change names, pronouns or uniforms in guidance to be issued this year, reports say

I suppose it's early enough in McVey's new job that she can't really walk out over this.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Future leader standards here. Money is generally considered to relieve poverty.

[Youngian]

Any other ideas to move dial? Perhaps big hitter Lord Dave has a few.

[Tubby Isaacs]

They got a few back with yougov, though admittedly the earlier one looked like an outlier.

[mattomac]

YGs numbers on the budget would suggest as much.

[Watchman]

Another demonstration that they are only in it for themselves, and have no interest in the wellbeing of the population

https://inews.co.uk/news/mp-vaping-tory ... ry-2776212

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... g-industry

[Tubby Isaacs]

Brave line here. At least the economy was doing well when John Major tried it (and failed massively). Don't let Labour spoil this economic stagnation.

Labour have held lots of events with business, but nobody before Kemi seems to have picked up on this mood of fear. I don't know what's worse. That she's lying, or she hasn't picked up on the fact that business lobbyists might tell the government what it wants to hear in search of favours.

Sharp pop culture reference though. Labour being fired early on, by being 17 points up in the polls.

Kemi's job under Major was done by Michael Hestletine.

[davidjay]

13 years and all you can say is "The other lot will be worse". They've given up.

[satnav]

Quite a few Tory MPs have been quick to score cheap political points over the fact that Labour controlled Nottingham City Council has effectively become bankrupt. They have conveniently ignored the fact that Tory run Nottinghamshire County Council and Tory controlled Derbyshire County Council are both in serious financial difficulties.

[Andy McDandy]

Brave line here. At least the economy was doing well when John Major tried it (and failed massively). Don't let Labour spoil this economic stagnation.

Picturing her as Bane from Batman.

"You merely tolerate business! I was born in it!"

[Youngian]

Kemi was a corporate PR account manager and this is what they do for their clients. Organise a free nosh up for the partners to do a bit of networking and photo calls. Followed by a press release with the hand shaking pics; “Top West Midlands IT resellers endorse Excalibur Software.”

[Abernathy]

Frankly, I think Stanley could be onto something here.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 56241.html

Stanley Johnson has urged Rishi Sunak to let Nigel Farage join the Conservative “troops” to transform the party’s general election chances.

Boris Johnson’s father claimed the Tories should “open their arms” to the former Brexit party leader in a desperate bid to transform dire polling fortunes.

[Youngian]

Farage certainly has some passionate fans as does Jeremy Corbyn who enjoyed similar approval ratings. Why don’t the Tories bring back your son as well, Stanley? Silly old sod.