[Philip Marlow]

‘Have you ever hacked into a rival politician’s website?’
‘We live in a dangerous world.’

This is magnificent.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

A masterclass in waffle. Johnsonian.

[Philip Marlow]

To paraphrase Zapp Brannigan: Here is a list of talking points. Say as many of them as you can as fast as you can. Don’t stop for any reason.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Kemi's been going hard against the renters bill. Of course, the Right have a point that regulation adds to the cost of the letting and that will probably at the margins reduce supply. And I'd expect the Right to make that point. Here's Kemi (or more likely one of her pals) though-

Worse than that, the landlord can only apply to get their own property back on the basis of a limited list of reasons.

What sort of market is it where you can’t decide what to do with your own property? This is a violation of the principle of freedom of contract.

Labour is also bringing in rent control through the back door, as judges will be able to determine a market rent instead of the law of supply and demand.

A market in which you have diferent rules to the ones you want. Any market with rules has limits on freedom of contract, by definition. Judges determining market rent isn't "rent control" either. Putting the phrase "market rent" in there is rather the giveaway.

What Labour is doing is boosting renter rights and trying to boost supply.. That seems to be a better approach than not boosting supply and having shitty rights.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ha ha ha ha ha. Methinks a couple have dropped Cleverly because they think the membership will vote for one of the loons anyway, so they might as well get in with the right side.

Cleverly eliminated in shock result, and Badenoch and Jenrick are in the final ballot for Tory leader
Here are the results.

Kemi Badenoch: 42

Robert Jenrick: 41

James Cleverly: 37

That is a massive surprise.

[Crabcakes]

Good grief. Well, Johnson’s work is finally complete - the Tories as was are fucking doomed.

[Crabcakes]

Also, I hope Starmer declares this gift

[Tubby Isaacs]

Tugendhat did have some loon support (like Nick Timothy) but very hard to foresee that Cleverly couldn't add 3 or 4 out of 20.

[Arrowhead]

Oh what a sweet, glorious moment. Cleverly, profoundly mediocre as he is, was their one chance at reconnecting with the normies at the next GE.

This is already the Tory equivalent of Ed M in 2010. If Badenoch ends up winning, then we're into Corbyn 2015 territory

[Abernathy]

Christ, is Helen Whateley still at large? How did she survive the cull ?

[Arrowhead]

Think I've spent the last ten minutes laughing nonstop. And plenty more laughing still to come!

[Andy McDandy]

Christ, is Helen Whateley still at large? How did she survive the cull ?

Her constituents didn't like any of the other options quite enough.

Stupid Kents.

[Abernathy]

It occurs to me that Tory MPs may well have been loath to offer the membership a “Hobson’s” choice between two brown people. You can never underestimate the degree of latent racism out there in blue-rinsed swivel-eyed land.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Christ, is Helen Whateley still at large? How did she survive the cull ?

Lib Dems were too far back to target her.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Some commentary is suggesting Cleverly's team leant votes to Jenrick because he was easier to beat in the run off. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough votes to lend.

[Arrowhead]

In fairness, George Eaton makes a good point here. This is still pretty much the same country who voted for Brexit in 2016, and gave Boris Johnson a landslide victory in 2019.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Or could have been MPs doing it off their own bat.

[Tubby Isaacs]

In fairness, George Eaton makes a good point here. This is still pretty much the same country who voted for Brexit in 2016, and gave Boris Johnson a landslide victory in 2019.

It isn't the same country, and will be even less so in 2029. And anyway most people who wanted Brexit done don't care about the UK setting a load of its own specs.

Badenoch-Jenrick may well find a way, but it'll have to be a different way.

[Abernathy]

God knows, we’ve spent the last 5 years being shit - scared of even mentioning possible victory (the priceless porcelain vase scenario), so I certainly don’t think anybody in Labour will be declaring the Tory final two any sort of “automatic win” for Labour. It’s up to 5 years to the election, after all. But it has to be bloody good news.

[Abernathy]

I think I’m now unashamedly rooting for Bad Enoch. She really is the Tory Jeremy Corbyn, and will wreck the party’s electoral prospects.

But it’s not just that. I have, I think, a visceral dislike of Jenrick. He is the living embodiment of the very worst kind of smoothie-chopped, nasty, corrupt, entitled and hypocritical little cunt that has given the Tories the reputation of being ”the Nasty Party” that Theresa May was so keen to shake off.
He is utterly loathsome.