[Andy McDandy]

Besides, repeat the lies enough and they get lodged in people's heads. If floating voters start thinking of KS and AR as "lockdown curry man" and "fanny flashing slapper" respectively, job done.

[davidjay]

It's all part of the narrative that they're all the same but at least our lot are honest.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah, it's the "at least we're not hypocrites" argument. Except it doesn't work here because they were telling the public not to do what they did.

[Boiler]

Besides, repeat the lies enough and they get lodged in people's heads. If floating voters start thinking of KS and AR as "lockdown curry man" and "fanny flashing slapper" respectively, job done.

And it seems to be working.

[Youngian]

And it seems to be working

‘Seems’ doing a lot of lifting there. No evidence this nonsense has effected Starmer’s approval rating.

[Andy McDandy]

In terms of scale, a curry is one thing (if it broke any rules at all). A suitcase full of booze is another. We're into duck house territory here.

[Crabcakes]

Besides, repeat the lies enough and they get lodged in people's heads. If floating voters start thinking of KS and AR as "lockdown curry man" and "fanny flashing slapper" respectively, job done.

And it seems to be working.

If by “seems to be working” you mean “having the exact opposite effect to the intended one”, then yes!

[Crabcakes]

Obviously Johnson’s numbers going up slightly is a shame, but to have Starmer’s also go up and overall to have so little change and still the vast majority think Starmer is honest and Johnson a liar shows the Mail’s furious burning through 7 days of horse shit has failed to deliver.

[Boiler]

Besides, repeat the lies enough and they get lodged in people's heads. If floating voters start thinking of KS and AR as "lockdown curry man" and "fanny flashing slapper" respectively, job done.

And it seems to be working.

If by “seems to be working” you mean “having the exact opposite effect to the intended one”, then yes!

It's working in BTL comments, that's for sure.

[Nigredo]

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/l ... r-beergate

The New Statesman think Starmer's on a sticky wicket

[Andy McDandy]

BTL comments, like newspaper polls, are self-selecting not just on political bias, but on general levels of sanity and intellect.

[Boiler]

And Twitter isn't?

[Crabcakes]

It's working in BTL comments, that's for sure.

Anyone who posts BTL on a smear article about Starmer or Rayner to tell you it’s changed their mind actually made their mind up before they’d read a single word of the article. Or indeed any other article.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ha ha ha ha.

[mattomac]

And Twitter isn't?

That’s a Yougov poll isn’t it?

Starmer wasn’t that good on a number of questions even the windfall tax in which Susanna Reid had suggested to Johnson yesterday. End of the day Sue Gray is probably going torpedo any Curry into next week.

Problem is he has been rattled by two stories, one of which was a hatchet job on Rayner and the other something he should have been clearer about but I’m not sure there is anything much in it. Durham police statement is the same one they issued last week.

Starmer will know where he stands on this but he has always been a bit hesitant, I think his answer on the NI was poor but I understand why he said it, if the last Labour government was short of cash this lot have probably a massive black hole in finances. The NI hike for social health care is a good thing, the problem is the Times were reporting it would be used to cover the black hole on covid and it came at the wrong time, even a postponement of 12 months would have helped Sunak.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Agree about Sue Gray.. This actually might be a relatively benign point for Johnson on Partygate. The fine of Johnson and Sunak, if the facts are as reported, does seem like the sort of thing that could have been excused. I suspect other things might be more flagrant.

[davidjay]

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/l ... r-beergate

The New Statesman think Starmer's on a sticky wicket

That would be looking uncomfortable as he gave a straight answer to a direct question?

[Boiler]

Whoops of joy from Tories and Corbynites alike.

Sir Keir Starmer investigated over alleged lockdown breach

"Testing his eyesight by reading a takeaway menu" should do with Durham Plod.

[Crabcakes]

So the situation will now be if he’s exonerated (which will be on page 45 of all the Tory press) the demand will be to also let Johnson off/that it’s a stitch up, and if he isn’t (which will be on page 1 for the rest of time) I’m sure he’ll probably resign as a man of honour - but Johnson still won’t. And then we’ll get clamours for fucking Jeremy to step back in etc.

Either way, it’s a fucking shitshow. The only silver lining is that the Tories can’t say to drop Partygate now as they’re perpetuating it.

[Crabcakes]

Also: I think this has *considerably* raised the odds of Johnson going for a snap election as soon as possible. Because he knows the investigation into Starmer will be happening throughout the campaign OR be suspended but everyone will be told at every opportunity that it’s coming, and there will have to be a huge decision made by Starmer/Labour as to whether Durham police will really find no evidence of law breaking and as such what he should do. Because literally anything - even if it’s someone else, with the tiniest transgression - will be used to hammer him and let Johnson off under false equivalence, and he’ll also probably feel he has to resign. Or, he could go beforehand so as not to be a distraction but that means a GE with a temporary leader or a GE *and* a leadership contest. And changing leader in the midst of or before a GE is electoral suicide.

All Johnson has to do is hide in a fridge again for a few weeks, let his client media do his dirty work, and he gets back in with probably a new intake of even dumber, more compliant MPs. All his challengers have gone, his spin about dreadful Tory losses means the actual lousy results don’t look as bad, and he’s shafted the opposition.

So yeah, I’m now fairly certain we’ll have Johnson until potentially 2026. Got to hand it to him - it’s as absolutely dirty and cheap and nasty as it gets, but it will undoubtably work.