[kreuzberger]

Ricky Shortpants is a busted flush. This is all he has left, despite the taxpayers' seemingly limitless largess for advisors and supposedly clever people.

It's painfully transparent, even if 30% of the brain-dead electorate remain oblivious.

[Bones McCoy]

Sunak acknowledged “the timing is frustrating” for parents preparing to send their children back to school for the autumn. But he added: “There are around 22,000 schools in England and the important thing to know is that we expect that 95% of those schools won’t be impacted by this.”

OK Rish!, here's 100 people, right in front of you. All have been fed a slow acting poison, but you only have antidote for 95 of them. Which 5 are unlucky, and how do you tell them - to their faces - that they're fucked? And how many kickings do you expect to receive?

He really is Lord Farquaad.

[mattomac]

He was copying Boris Johnson’s jibes today and they were easily proven wrong.

Emily Mathis said her source suggested the reason his head of comms left was because he likes to surround himself with those who agree with him.

It was also patently obvious his head of comms had left, then again you can’t polish a turd.

[Andy McDandy]

He claimed Starmer had never raised the issue before. Two things: first, it's not an issue for PMQs until it becomes an issue for PMQs; and second, as Starmer pointed out, his colleagues have raised the issue over 100 times. With, y'know,, relevant ministers.

[soulboy]

And of course, considering the length of his tenure and poor attendance record, there haven't been that many opportunities to raise this at PMQs anyway.

[mattomac]

Also claimed it wasn’t mentioned in his Education speech but again it was.

People would back him if people liked him, they don’t.

[davidjay]

Also claimed it wasn’t mentioned in his Education speech but again it was.

People would back him if people liked him, they don’t.

I think that's an under-rated thought. For all his many faults Alex B de P had some sort of charm, which appealed to a certain type of idiot. It's hard to think who might warm to Sunak, apart from anyone who likes the assistant manager of a suburban bank.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Being a bank manageris reassuring for a Conservative politician- see John Major, which helped him win in 1992. Sunak doesn't have that, more like Cameron city high flyer without the charisma.

[Watchman]

Timing absolutely nothing to do with grovelling to Modi

UK decides not to call for release of Briton held in India on terror charges
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... SApp_Other

[satnav]

When he landed in India, Rishi was asked if he would raise India's support of Russia in his talks with Modi and he utter some weasel words about it not being appropriate to lecture India about its relationship with Russia. So basically he is so desperate to land a trade deal that he is happy to ignore the fact by India is propping up Russia by importing huge amounts of Russian oil.

[kreuzberger]

"India's son-in-law". Is there anyone who doesn't understand the implied, insidiously brutal meaning of that? (I still bear the scars from my yoof and dating an Upna.)

[Youngian]

"India's son-in-law". Is there anyone who doesn't understand the implied, insidiously brutal meaning of that? (I still bear the scars from my yoof and dating an Upna.)

Me, I don’t get that one. What’s an Upna?

[Youngian]

For the UK, the key priority is for India to reduce its tariffs, which are seen as among the world's most protectionist. Just 3% of UK exports to India are tariff-free - while by contrast, about 60% of Indian exports to the UK incur no tariffs.

Why didn’t the UK impose reciprocal tariffs before entering negotiations? The UK’s unlikely to move on immigration that India wants so not a lot left apart from the usual performative crap (send out a press release saying ‘the government secured a (look up India’s GDP) billion Pound trade deal with India.’ The chances of a Hindu nationalist government rolling over to its enfeebled former colonial masters in a trade deal is even lower than this BlueKIP government letting more of ‘them’ in.

Both he (Sunak) and Kemi Badenoch, the trade secretary, are thought to believe that a shallow deal - of the kind that could have been achieved by now - would make it harder to come up with a deeper deal in future. https://news.sky.com/story/amp/a-trade- ... y-12956835

[mattomac]

There will be a deal,it won’t be any good

[Tubby Isaacs]

- How are the polls?
- Um, not great.
- I'm not talking about voting intention, that stuff shifts. What matters is the fundamentals- things like my personal ratings.
- Um...

[Crabcakes]

Funny how he seems to have suddenly gone off putting his signature on things.

[mattomac]

They all seemed to follow suit.

But yeah they don’t anymore.

[Bones McCoy]

Chapeau to Starmer today

Inaction Man is a nickname that deserves to stick.

[Youngian]

Sunak’s potential successor waiting in the wings that Labour fears the most is err?
Vaguely remember Labour concerns that voters might mistake Sunak for a competent and reasonable centrist whizz kid in the Blair mould. They don’t even have anyone who could put on a performance, Gove and Hunt are box office poison and the rest are halfwits, hacks and fruitcakes.

[mattomac]

People will say Penny Mordaunt, it’s the problem when you burn through so many leaders. Brown and Blair still left a number of names.

Penny isn’t very good (A bit like how people big up Rory Stewart and especially Tungenhat). Also you have Hunt being the grandee if it all gets a bit desperate.

They need a battle for the soul of the party and that needs to be done away from power, if Labour win and win decently then a path to a second term is far easier.

If Penny lost her seat, I’m really not sure what that side has, opens the door for Badenoch if only to avoid Braverman.