Theresa May today chose to compare herself with Geoffrey Boycott. For once, she was being very accurate, especially when it comes to relationships with her own team. Boycott’s players hated him so much during his captaincy they actually ran him out on purpose during a test match.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/604169.html
That just wasn’t cricket.
Will she be gone sooner than later, and who of those who oppose her will take her place, would you want the job at this time. Its claimed, by the media that creepy Michael Gove, a man with more faces than the Glasgow Royal Infirmary clock, is next in line to be Brexit secretary.
As for the PM, and her latest speech, she was as convincing as a Hindenburg ticket salesman after the crash.
As for Boycott, at least he had some talent, more than can be said of Theresa May.
“With 151 First-Class hundreds, he is joint-fifth with Herbert Sutcliffe on the list of most First-Class centuries in the history of the sport.”
https://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/geoffrey-boycott-17-facts-about-one-of-englands-greatest-players-509422
We can be sure that those who oppose her, or rather those who are pushing for a hard Brexit, will have ‘Taken a Powder’ should she end up going.
As even the most sensible of leavers now admit that no deal would involve at least a decade of austerity whilst readjusting, its difficult to imagine that any of the Brexit parliamentary windbags would be willing to accept the public displeasure that a no deal exit would produce.
Also a man with more faeces than a Glasgow Royal Infirmary colostomy bag.
Tha’s murder.
Casual Observer. The United Kingdom leaving without a deal is now almost inevitable as a result of the fact that Theresa May is in denial. She is determined to push ahead with her Leave In Name Only deal, for which there is no majority in the House, as was made blindingly obvious on Thursday. https://viewsandstories.blogspot.com/2018/11/theresa-may-in-denial-her-brexit-deal.html
Aaaaaaaah, British Values. What’s not to love?
I think Gove is going to leave the government
Boycott was the most boring cricketer I had the misfortune to watch
His innings were interminably long.
He was also a criminal having battered his ex girlfriend and put her in hospital.
One of the many enemies Boycott made in his playing career was of course Mike Denness, the last Scotsman to captain the England test XI.
He absented himself from international cricket in 1974 in part as a protest against Denness’ captaincy.
It has been very illuminating to see what lies behind the edifice in King Charles Street known as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and to be shown the activities of its operatives in the UN and the UK Embassy in Washington.
Like the scum that rises to the top when making stew or stock, the bêtes noire, Messrs McDonald and Rycroft, have secured the top jobs in both establishments.
There was also sight of Karen Pierce wearing lilac coloured satin (absolutely dreadful), Nikki Haley, Amal Clooney and Ivanka Trump. Many of the FCO staff seem to be scruffy looking young women who seem to spend most of their time making seating plans for dinners and meetings using Post It’s. Truly pathetic and all costing a bomb. I forget the number of staff quoted at the start. It was in many thousands.
There was a great deal of bias against Russia and Presidents Putin and Assad displayed for good measure and scenes of Boris (who was the Foreign Secretary at the time) bumbling around.
The female Ambassador in Ukraine seemed pleasant enough.
Next week Salisbury. BBC 2 9pm
S.E,
I think it was 14,000 FCO staff. The programme was clearly edited to serve as yet another opportunity to promote the ongoing bias (which you refer to) against Russia/President Putin, and President Assad, with all the usual baseless accusations reiterated as ‘fact’… e.g. “Russia is entirely responsible for the destruction of Syria” was said at least twice. It was interesting that when the UK Ambassador visited Eastern Ukraine, purportedly to find out first hand what was happening there by talking to ‘locals’, all we were shown was her chatting amiably to a Ukrainian army commander who came out with the (to be expected)account of the Russian forces’ ‘invasion’ there. And there was the sketched map of Ukraine which featured (I think) at some point in discussions involving UK officials showing the Donbass region marked as “occupied territory”. So, in summary, no surprises.
Whenever I hear about “Putin…..” I mentally slot in the word “Jew” to see how it sounds. It is funny how the accusations against “Putin”, “White Men”…..etc sound when you slot in the word “Jew” instead………they have quite an historical cadence
When you reserve your ire for the clothing choices of women, then you know you have become a grumpy old man.
New to this caper chum?
Geoffrey Boycott was always known to be a sh*t when he played cricket, and more recently he has become known as a wife-beater. What a person for someone to compare themselves to!
In the meantime, where is Michael Gove?
And where on earth is Jennifer Gavito, the political affairs official at the US embassy in London?
As for Dominic Raab, I thought he was secretary of state for Brexit. So assuming he did his job, surely he must have seen the draft Brexit agreement before yesterday’s cabinet meeting?
he has become known as a wife-beater.
Really ?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/honours-list/11922112/Geoffrey-Boycott-must-be-knighted-after-new-evidence-points-to-his-innocence-over-domestic-abuse-case.html
There is at least one inaccuracy in your statement…….and you do know French courts start with a completely different premise from English ones
I never believed Boycott was guilty of “wife-beating”. Lyn Barber who interviewed him for the Observer and clearly didn’t like him one bit, admitted that the evidence pointed to a miscarriage of justice in the case. I noticed the PC gibberers on Twitter are also denouncing him as a racist, but I’ve watched and listened to his cricket commentaries quite a bit over the years and I never got that impression at all. For instance in the days when the West Indies were top dogs in cricket he used to sing their praises incessantly. He’s not even particularly jingoistic – much less so than Botham or Michael Vaughan in fact. Botham is not racist in the sense of being anti-black – he’s a great fan of the globalist puppet Mandela – but he’s certainly a British jingoist in that weirdly PC Burchill-esque way of many modern liberal Brits, ie, seeing other European nations as inherently treacherous and natural enemies of Britain.
Apparently that was the first time he saw it. Olly Robbins is effectively our negotiator. Raab has realised that his position was just window dressing, as did David Davis before him
What does it say about our “democracy”?
A minority government on the ropes and propped up and in cahoots with a bunch of sectarians from northern Ireland, with a split cabinet, and all the media are still trying to cheer their champion and downplay the situation as they did with announcing a recession as a 0.6 growth with a fanfare and song and dance!
As any one slightly literate in economy would understand any growth of less than 0.8 percent is a recession! There again with 66 percent of population economy illiterate, it is stealing a candy from a baby for these operatives. We will ignore the GDP figures with are inordinately skewed by the city and the fact cats money play, which effectively means poverty all around for the Joe public.
Meanwhile back at the ranch there is the Brexit fight which apparently is the nostrum for all the ills, and the food price inflation. After all selling chlorinated chicken (unfit for animal consumption stuff bleached in chlorine) legally will beat the pants of the profits of selling horse meat as beef.
Actually it is more like a Prime Minister who deceived her Cabinet and worked behind the back of her key ministers by moving Olly Robbins to Downing Street to engage in secret talks. The Civil Service designed a structure (Art 126) to serve their ends by removing democratic accountability from an EU Membership stripped of Representation of The People such that it became itself Administrator of a Colony on behalf of The Council of Ministers.
It is the usurpation of Parliament to allow Civil Service Rule using Henry VIII of Statutory Instruments to effect EU Law inside the UK without Parliamentary Vote.
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 removes any parliamentary blocks on EU legislation and empowers the Civil Service under The May Plan to run the country outside democratic accountability. It is an Administrative Coup d’erat
Paul G, this is very concerning as I cringe at the thought of this Government acting with no accountability.
Actually it is more like a Prime Minister who deceived her Cabinet and worked behind the back of her key ministers by moving Olly Robbins to Downing Street to engage in secret talks. The Civil Service designed a structure (Art 126) to serve their ends by removing democratic accountability from an EU Membership stripped of Representation of The People such that it became itself Administrator of a Colony on behalf of The Council of Ministers.
It is the usurpation of Parliament to allow Civil Service Rule using Henry VIII of Statutory Instruments to effect EU Law inside the UK without Parliamentary Vote.
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 removes any parliamentary blocks on EU legislation and empowers the Civil Service under The May Plan to run the country outside democratic accountability. It is an Administrative Coup d’Etat
Maybe this what Theresa May had in mind when she told Jeremy Corbyn: “We won’t let you govern”.
Fed up, good question. What democracy would that be then? I do believe our Government cannot be called a democracy more like a fledgling Fascist state. The MSM are the official propaganda machine for the Tory Party and have been for some years now. When investigative journalism is needed most, where is it? Sacrificed to the alter of the extreme right and a group of incompetent rabid fascists calling themselves a Government.
Having become a nation of Sheoples, we are not hitting the street as we should be and as the French would be. People merely absorb everything the MSM say without question because they can’t be bothered to find out for themselves. A conversation at work today a member of staff said she felt sorry for Treason May because she had delivered what she was told to deliver and was suffering for it. So now the MSM are playing the sympathy card, This member of staff also said they had voted Brexit and had only recently found out that the information given to her by the Press was mostly lies and conjecture. I asked the question as to why she hadn’t gone to alternative media outlets to gather better information and referred to the Financial Press who were making clear statements about the folly of a No Deal Brexit. Her reply was she couldn’t be bothered as she believed what had been written in the MSM and she now realised her vote was based on lies. Had a Labour Government presided over this substantial chronic mess they would have been mercilessly crucified by the Press. Not a lot of hope really is there. However, I do think the British public generally are now so thoroughly sick and tired of this bunch of cowboys who call themselves our government they are, only now, beginning to get a little bit angry.
Nice one, Craig. Even though Boycott was a Yorkshireman, and I grew up there, in character there was a lot to be desired – his defects magnified as he aged during his career. What we need perhaps is a Freddie Trueman to skittle all these inept politicians and expose their inadequate defences.
There is a large majority of MPs sitting in Parliament who wish to stay in the EU. If they vote for May’s plan, they are betraying their conscience, if they vote against it and the UK exits Europe without a deal, they are betraying the country. These MPs need to get together and present an ultimatum to May and Corbyn “Both of you go to Europe and negotiate together. You ask for a ten year moratorium on Article 50. admitting that the UK cannot agree on what this country’s relationship with the EU should be, that the UK will continue to play its part in Europe for all the citizens of the EU, but that during this time, the UK will work to make a path for any country to leave the EU following a 60% vote for leaving in their respective electorates, such that countries can leave if a large majority wishes it, but can do so with honour and a workable place to arrive at.” If you don’t do this, we’ll support a vote of no-confidence on the Tory government, have a general election in which this plan will be put to the people, and you can vote Tory or Labour or SNP, know that the government will not be renegotiating anything, and that Parliament can get round to deal with the existential problems that face us, such as global warming, environmental depletion, nuclear weapons, population growth, immigration and refugees, the NHS, inequality and education etc.
The first referendum was a predictable disaster, as I had written many times- even on the night before the vote I was yelling “for God’s sake, cancel it!”. It sought a simple and destructive binary answer to a complicated and subtle question, of enormous constitutional importance. So why would another referendum be any better? The same problem will arise, do you accept May’s proposal and have you read all five hundred pages of it, do you wish to stay in the EU as we are, but work with others eg, DiEM25, to get change in the EU, do you wish to try to renegotiate or do you wish to leave the EU with no agreement at all? What we do know now might be very different from when we voted two years ago, but it’s still complicated and a referendum is not the way to deal with it.
With the country split down the middle, we should allow a properly constituted Parliament with a fresh mandate to make the decision for us. Whilst I support Scottish independence, this would be the wrong time to leave, adding a further constitutional crisis to this one is a recipe for disaster.
At the moment there is no constitutional crisis.
The people are sovereign and they delegate their sovereignty to Parliament. Parliament exercises sovereignty on behalf of the people. Should a situation arise where Parliament feels it is unable or inappropriate to exercise that sovereignty then it may return to the people and ask for their specific instruction.
This was the case in 2016 with regard to the UK’s membership of the EU. By way of a simple majority vote the people determined that they wished to leave the EU and instructed Parliament to enact all such measures as may be necessary to procure the exit of the UK from the EU.
Almost 1 year after the people determined that they wished to leave the EU the UK held a General Election. All candidates and all political parties presented to the people their proposed policies should they be elected. This included proposed policies with regard to the EU. Of the major national political parties only the Liberal Democrats presented a proposal to ignore the results of the EU referendum. Both the Labour and Conservative Parties confirmed to the people that if elected they would withdraw from the EU.
Had the people changed their mind with regard to their vote to leave the EU then they could have voted for the Liberal Democrats. They did not do so in sufficient number for the Liberal Democrats to form a government. Instead they voted, in the majority, for political parties whose manifesto promises were to leave the EU.
Therefore the people have an expectation that the UK will leave the EU. It may well be that those elected to Parliament in 2017 are in aggregate liars and charlatans. This has no constitutional import as the people have the absolute right to vote for liars and charlatans should they wish.
At some point there will be a further General Election. At this point the people will be afforded the opportunity to vote for people who will ensure that the UK leaves the EU – alternatively they can vote for liars and charlatans. If, at the third time of asking, the people reaffirm their commitment to leaving the EU then it is likely that the Conservative Party will be destroyed, and that the Labour Party suffers massive electoral damage. Neither the Conservative Party nor the Labour Party enjoy any special constitutional privileges or protections. So even the complete destruction of one or both of these political parties will not of itself lead to any form of constitutional crisis.
From a constitutional perspective the referendum was a not a disaster and was entirely legitimate. You are entitled to your view, but by necessity your view must be suborned to both the view of the majority and to the reality of constitutional law.
A constitutional crisis could be triggered if those on the losing side refuse to accept the result. Should this come to pass then clearly there is no longer any reason for anyone to ever again accept the result of anything that goes against their personal preferences. This could range from an election result to the result of a soccer match. Manifestly such a scenario quickly escalates beyond a mere constitutional crisis into full blown anarchy.
Good read
If you like fantasy novels.
Indeed, and pompous, completely false statements about general elections and single issues. But he knows that.
Thanks for the reasoned response. I would not agree obviously. The referendum was a total mistake, and a small majority of the British public, on that particular date, thought they might wish to leave the EU, based on poor information and an obnoxiously racist scare campaign. The country is still split down the middle, although there’s now a small majority to remain according to polls, apparently. You insist the referendum was “legitimate”. Well of course it was legitimate, is was a properly run, agreed public referendum, that’s not the point. But it was not “Legally Binding” Parliament is sovereign, as I mention below. See https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/23/eu-referendum-legally-binding-brexit-lisbon-cameron-sovereign-parliament (This was before the referendum took place) See also https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/the-culture-secretary-said-the-eu-referendum-was-binding-it-wasnt
However, David Cameron did promise that Parliament would accept the vote. But David Cameron is no longer around and he never had the authority to say that in the first place.
I think this is a constitutional crisis because the legal and political basis of the referendum, which is the cause of all this nonsense, is so vague. Sovereign power resides with Parliament. Now to go back on the referendum result could cause enormous political upheaval, but that’s not the point. Political upheaval is happening now. . I think Parliament can say to the electorate, we are not abandoning the idea of Brexit, but unless you’re living under a stone, you can see the problems that have arisen for yourselves. Brexit will be deferred until such time as a larger majority in a properly constituted referendum, with a public made more aware of the issues, might be held or if problems within the EU make this an obvious necessity . The alternative of May’s plan, if this isn’t accepted, however hard a rat this is to swallow on either side of the debate, and the UK leaves the EU without any agreement, all bets are off. The first aeroplane that can’t take off or the first truck to be held up in Calais or Dover, or the first patient who dies through lack of medication or empty shelves in supermarkets? Well, if we have a constitutional crisis in March that’s only 12 weeks away, and it’s started now. In fact we started the moment the referendum was mooted, just we didn’t know it at the time.
Has this whole process been a political disaster? Of course it has, just as the public are divided so are our politicians. The crisis arises because Parliament is failing and bringing itself into disrepute. I think any MP of conscience who might have promised one thing a couple of years ago, but now sees the ridiculousness of what’s happening and can’t then change his or her mind, that’s worse that ploughing on with an unworkable exit that pleases nobody and will do real damage to the UK. There is as I said, a big majority in the House of Commons to remain. That’s unarguable. They’ve only got one simple thing to to, and that’s act according to their conscience and belief for what’s best for their constituents and the country as a whole.
Thanks, that’s just my opinion.
it is the case that the EU referendum was framed as advisory in nature. This is a consequence of another feature of the constitution which prohibits any Parliament from taking any action or enacting any measure that would serve to bind successor Parliaments. Clearly it was not possible to guarantee that the UK could exit the EU during the period of the Parliament that oversaw the referendum.
However the then Prime Minister and all other senior political figures were explicitly clear in that the outcome of the referendum would be regarded as binding. This was reinforced by the Manifestos of both major parties competing for election in the subsequent Parliament in 2017.
Given this background then any failure to leave the EU would indeed provoke a constitutional crisis. Most likely a first step to resolve this crisis would be to hold a General Election. At this juncture all political parties would have the opportunity to state why they do or do not intend to leave the EU. If the people wish to remain in the EU then they can vote for parties who will maintain UK membership of the EU. Alternatively they can vote for a party or parties that will leave the EU.
There is evidence that opinion polls are subject to manipulation and so maybe the public mood has changed or maybe it hasn’t. However it is known that 17.4 million people voted to leave the EU. In the last General Election the Conservative Party garnered 13.6 million votes.
If there is an election and if a large number of people continue to wish to exit the EU then their most obvious course of action is to vote for UKIP. It is by this mechanism that UKIP could enter government. UKIP lack a depth of people with political and administrative experience. Almost certainly they contain members with some form of “skeletons in their closets” and others who can readily be characterized as racist or similar. Such a scenario would likely trigger some form of political crisis.
Perhaps it is the case that a withdrawal from the EU will lead to shortages of food and medical supplies. I consider it unlikely, but that is just an opinion and no evidence exists to support the argument either way. However assuming that it is possible then this just speaks to the recklessness of past UK policy. Whilst the UK is able to maintain its membership of the EU it is completely powerless to maintain the existence of the EU. Other countries could leave the EU and there is nothing that the British can do about it. Maybe Italy leaves or maybe France leaves – what would happen then? No-one knows but the consequences would be outside of domestic UK control.
Perhaps people were fed lies and misinformation in the lead up to the referendum. It is still a racing certainty that in aggregate people in the UK know more about the UK than they know about domestic politics in say Poland or Bulgaria or even France. The UK electorate is incapable of calculating for how long the EU may persist and yet they are expected to bear the consequences of any collapse that may be triggered by a country that they know nothing about.
John M thank you for two very considered articles. I agree with you. Just to add a bit of simplicity to your well constructed posts, I do not believe Treason May should have triggered Article 50 without first having Cabinet Agreement on the parameters of the negotiation, without them having a clear knowledge base about the basis of the negotiations (i.e. the Treaty) and without a proper plan as to how they approach the negotiations. Instead, what we got was a hastily triggered Article 50 (which May now wants the EU to extend given the current chronic mess), triggered unilaterally by her, two years of utterly wasted negotiations given that our Team of negotiators, Bojo, Davies et al seemed more intent on insulting the EU, adopting Empire style bully boy tactics accompanied by language that was aggressive, hostile and threatening to the EU if they didn’t cave in to The UK’s demands and at times, talking language more appropriate in a war than in negotiations with friendly, allied countries. May allowed her negotiating teams to adopt this approach without sanction. The EU repeatedly and clearly stated two things over the past two years – the first is that the UK really needed to come up with a plan for what the wanted to negotiate with the EU as time was running out and they needed to do this urgently – the second was that the issue of the Irish border backstop was not negotiable – in fact, if I remember correctly, we signed an Agreement agreeing to that and then renegued on it when May found herself in a minority government and needed the DUP’s support. May has now found herself in a crisis as the UK has negotiated nothing really and she has realised what a disaster it would be for the UK to leave without a Deal. What is happening today is too little too late. They have had two years and spent all that time fighting the EU rather than negotiating with them. If I were the EU on Wednesday (final date) I would walk away form the Table now saying they had tried their level best and the impasse could not now be passed or breached.
Two points:
Firstly, the United Kingdom doesn’t have a constitution and therefore can’t suffer from a constituional crisis. Secondly, it’s called football, not soccer.
This should have been a reply to your previous comment, of course. Soz. Not very conversant with these new fangled computer thingys, I’m afraid.
Loony @ 00:26
You mentioned constitution five times in your post. Could you please put up the link for the encoded version of the document. Y’know, The British Constitution. Thanks
@John – Geoffrey Boycott is a disgrace to the fine county of Yorkshire. He is a convicted woman-beater, a racist, and an all-round piece of excrement.
After being “overlooked” for a knighthood after he got a suspended jail sentence for beating the crap out of his girlfriend, he claimed that the real reason for his not being made “Sir Geoffrey” was that he is not black.
You’ve got to wonder how much his personality problem overlaps with Donald Trump’s.
Sorry N_ (et al) that is complete ad-hominem against an individual not even actively involved in politics or this conversation – why not stick to the ‘players’ in THIS shit show? It is an absurd dog whistle that May used and pointed at Boycs and here goes everyone chasing after him like a dog after a squirrel.
And there is any number of Knights and Lords who have done and been accused of a lot worse then Boycotts ‘crime’ of slapping someone, and i serm to recall there was a whole stream of women who testified for his character too. If he was so evil why did the bbc keep employing him? Why does he get to ring the game bell at Lords, how come he has many friends from across the peoples of the cricket players. He is not a saint – who is?
@Dungroanin – Geoffrey Boycott was convicted and given a suspended prison sentence for badly beating his girlfriend on more than one occasion, and he is a vile racist who said that the only reason he didn’t get a knighthood was that he isn’t black. Have a look at those links I gave. There is no fallacy or irrelevance involved in my mentioning these things. This is the man that the prime minister chose to compare herself to.
The court rejected his defence. He paid for three women witnesses to be flown to France from Britain to say that they had sustained similar injuries to his girlfriend’s, such as black eyes and severe bruising, just from accidentally falling over. I am not joking. That was part of the guy’s so-called “defence”. He also paid for a psychiatrist to deliver an “assessment” of his former girlfriend’s character, which the man had formed having watched her on the television. (He pocketed his fee and – can you guess? – he called the victim a “hysterical psychopath”.) The judge laughed most of Boycott’s ludicrous witness evidence out of court. Boycott’s attitude was that he came from Yorkshire, he was Geoffrey Boycott, and who were these bloody johnnies who were trying to push him around. He is well known to have personality problems. Sure he was a good cricketer but it is his obnoxious personality on the field that he is most known for. He is clearly a narcissist and I don’t think there is any element of him putting on an act in the way that say David Starkey or Jeremy Clarkson do. They may well be obnoxious but they haven’t been criminally convicted for badly assaulting women. Clarkson is a racist as I understand it, but even he has enough presence in reality to apologise for stuff sometimes. Boycott just says he comes from Yorkshire (which isn’t something he achieved) and that everyone who doesn’t give him what he wants is similar to a piece of dirt on his boot. His personality disorder is obviously in the same ballpark as Trump’s.
Your whole post suggests that you don’t consider beating the crap out of a girlfriend to be an especially serious offence.
The way Boycott goes on about Yorkshire is also offensive. I love Yorkshire. it’s a great county. It’s a total insult to the fine people of that county when Boycott is referred to as “the Yorkshireman’s Yorkshireman”.
The other Geoffrey ( Geoffrey Howe ) was allegedly a terrible cricket player but knew the rules backward.
Like Botham, he ran Thatcher out.
There are no Bothams around in the Tory Party currently despite JR Mogg’s ( gentleman player ) aspirations.
Time for tea I think before it gets dark.
“that the UK will continue to play its part in Europe for all the citizens of the EU, but that during this time, the UK will work to make a path for any country to leave the EU following a 60% vote for leaving in their respective electorates, such that countries can leave if a large majority wishes it,”
In the interests of my aching sides, please forgo any further attempts at speculative diplomacy.
What we need perhaps is a Freddie Trueman to skittle all these inept politicians and expose their inadequate defences.
Brian Close, from personal acquaintance, would have made matters patently clear
Thanks for reminding us of Fred Trueman, John. I remember the old story about how he was playing in a charity match back in the days of “Gentlemen” and Players”. One batsman came in – very decidedly a Gentleman, and not too handy with the bat. Fred’s captain came and had a quiet word with him, but all in vain – Fred did not do tact.
“Skipper’s told me to give you an easy one first ball,” he informed the nervous batsman. “Next ball, I’m going to pin thee to sight screen”.
That reminds me of the days of rugby apartheid against rugby league for the ‘crime’ of paying players compensation for lost wages (in the pre floodlight or Sunday sport days when it was a 6 day working week.
However during conscription, rugby league players were allowed to play for the army, navy or airforce team. One game pitted Alex Murphy of St Helens against MJK Smith or england cricket and rugby union fame.
Early on MJK tried to jink past Murphy who absolutely flattened him. His captain came over and said ‘Murphy old chap, MJK’s playing for England at Twickers next week, go easy on him.” To which Murphy replied “If he tries to jink past me like that again, he wont be able to even play tiddly winks at Twickers next week.”
I think it is absolutely ‘not crikit’ for May to have embroiled a still alive old ailing sportsman in her brexit bs.
Whatever Boycs’ shortcomings, unless he had given his consent, it is outrageous to compare herself to an iconic personality.
May is a rotting corpse tied to her horse by her banker bosses like El Cid – which is the cirrect simile she should have used.
This stinks worse then Majors ‘back to basics’ hypocrisy while he was getting adulterous with Curry.
If I had to be stuck in a lift alone with someone all day, I’d prefer it was Theresa May than Geoffrey Boycott.
You are sick! And that is not in the yooftalk way, i have responded to a comment you made above, so will not repeat it here.
Isn’t there a scene in Fawlty Towers about this racehorse Boycott?
@ bj November 16, 2018 at 01:02
‘…Boycott?’
Oh, you must mean BDS! Good on ‘yer!
Boycott the EU, it’s a sinking ship
Poor Brexiter stuff.
Italian bank share prices -35.95% in the past 6 months. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank & Commerzbank hold the indignity of being the worst performers among European peers this year. Poor EU more like it.
Did you hear this gobby Tory motormouth call Jeremy Corbyn ‘an antisemite’ on last night’s QT? She then started to mention Luciana Berger’s need for a police escort at the Labour Party conference which everyone knows was a stunt in the attempt to bring Corbyn down. Dimblebore crossed swords with her a few times. He could not stop her interrupting the others and trying to take the programme over.
https://youtu.be/uaimSzPaxHU
She knows that mud sticks.
She has been a junior minister, failed, and has a chequered personal life which has been all over the tabloids. Her father, Roy Perry, is leader of the Tory controlled Hampshire County Council.
I wondered whether she had had too much to drink. Her behaviour thoughout was outrageous.
Today programme references the run out incident.
Mr ‘Shurup and Go Away’ slipped this through whilst our attention was elsewhere.
‘UK signs multi-billion pound contract to double its F-35 fleet by 2022
15 Nov, 2018
The UK has signed a multi-billion pound contract which will double its F-35 fleet, the country’s defense secretary has announced. The deal will see Britain own 35 stealth jets by the end of 2022.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed that the UK has ordered 17 new F-35B aircraft which will be delivered between 2020 and 2022. Overall, Britain has committed to buying 138 aircraft over the life of the program.
“I am delighted to confirm that we are doubling the size of our F-35 force into a formidable fleet of 35 stealth fighters. This is another massive order in the biggest defense program in history,” Williamson said.
He went on to tout the move as being “good news” for the British economy, as British companies are building approximately 15 percent by value of all F-35s planned for production, which amounts to 255 in total. The F-35 is made by the US company Lockheed Martin, but the UK’s BAE Systems is a contractor on the project.
“It is projected that around £35 billion (US$ 44.8 billion) will be contributed to the UK economy through the F-35 program, with around 25,000 British jobs also being supported,” the statement from the British government reads.
The UK is the largest operator of F-35s outside the United States. The announcement comes as existing British F-35B aircraft are currently traveling to the US on the HMS Queen Elizabeth, where they will take part in flying trials.
Meanwhile, F-35s aren’t the only new additions the British military is looking to acquire, according to the anti-drone campaign group Drone Wars UK, which recently claimed the government has been secretly funding research on autonomous “killer robot” drones. The Ministry of Defence, however, has denied that there are plans to develop any systems that would operate without input from humans.
RT website
What a disaster !! This is the old Yakovlev-141 bought by Lockheed. At least if Trump embargoes Turkey production will be delayed since there are key components made in Turkey and the other production line is in Italy. The aircraft is a wonderful example of public profligacy at a time of “austerity”. Israel has been given $12bn in offsets to buy this Flying Albatross. It is a joke and will be properly useless on a flat-top with Anti-Ship Missiles able to keep flat-tops >600km offshore.
Some hefty kickbacks being parked offshore no doubt
@ Sharp Ears November 16, 2018 at 06:51
Looks like a planned setup to me – get a load of the ‘audience’!
@ Paul Greenwood November 16, 2018 at 07:49
‘…Some hefty kickbacks being parked offshore no doubt.’
Like the Luftwaffe with the Lockheed F104 ‘Starfighter’ (nicknamed the ‘Widowmaker’ because of the many crashes).
But the Luftwaffe carried on buying them, regardless, ‘for some unfathomable reason’ ($$$$$$$).
@PB, the viral media of the day, (nearly a) Hawkwind 33 1/3rd rpm LP vinyl album
suggested that anyone who wished to own their very own Lockheed F104 ‘Starfighter’ had simply to buy a field, any field, somewhere in Germany and wait!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Lockheed_and_the_Starfighters
Brian Eno, Viv Stanshall et al . . .
Paul, the final death toll was 115 Luftwaffe pilots and 292 of the 916 Starfighters.
https://theaviationgeekclub.com/heres-luftwaffe-dubbed-iconic-f-104-starfighter-widow-maker/
Interestingly enough, the variant delivered to Germany was a ton heavier than the original fighter, because it had been modified to handle bombing and ground attack roles. Just like the F-35…
American F-35B Lightning II aircraft flown by British pilots, Royal Navy Commander Nathan Gray and RAF Squadron Leader Andy Edgell, were the first to land on board the carrier.
British jets will land on deck when HMS Queen Elizabeth returns to the UK.
http://www.forces.net/news/f-35b-aircraft-land-hms-queen-elizabeth-first-time
Either RT has made a major error or the UK Forces Website has
The link to the RT piece.
https://www.rt.com/uk/444109-uk-f-35-aircraft-spending/
Within there is another link saying that US had grounded some of the aircraft because of a flaw in the fuel system.
I know about the fuel-pipe but that is simply the tip of the iceberg. Try this one……..
http://fightersweep.com/1010/latest-f-35-problem-hot-fuel/
This is symbolic of Defence-Politico-Corruption and the public is letting it happen !
Question is, can a fully loaded F-35B take of vertically as designed?
The aircraft is severely limited, over engineered and too heavy, which impacts on manouvrebility.
SU-30 flys rings around this slow pretender.
It wasn’t designed to take off vertically. STOVL stands for Short Take Off Vertical Landing. The smaller Harrier was, but in practice it only ever did take off vertically at air shows.
The main point of the F35 is that it has stealth. The F15 and the Typhoon are faster and more manoeuvrable but that counts for little if the F35 sees its opponent before its opponent sees it. The RAF is sticking with the Typhoon in the fighter role. The F35 is a replacement for the Tornado
“The deal will see Britain own 35 stealth jets by the end of 2022”.
What has that to do with F-35s? They may have limited visibility to some types of radar, but they are quite visible on others. And they have a single vast fire-belching engine whose infrared emissions can probably be seen for many miles.
And another thing: what on earth does the UK need “stealth fighters” for? (Although of course the F-35, which began its long and vexed life as a fighter, was later modified to be a bomber and a ground-attack aircraft, thereby being suitable for none of those roles). No one is going to send bombers against us – that went out in the 1950s. If Russia wanted to get rid of us, it would send over half a dozen ICBMs. Or if conventional explosives were required, some of its vast array of powerful missiles. As for the aircraft carriers, long before they get anywhere near the theatre of action, anyone who is seriously hostile will just sink the carrier with missiles or torpedoes.
By the way, how can 35 be twice any number of aircraft?
Agree about carriers. Against any major adversary they would be dead in the water. No change of ever getting them into a position to be used.
Great read, including remarks by Chuck Spinney: Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. Particular relevance here is Boyd’s critique of the do-everything model.
The bit of May’s speech referring to GB that made me and the missus laugh, was when she said; “and he still got the runs”. Lavatorial humour I know, but well, it gave us a chuckle.
May is at it again. She is taking part in a live phone in on the Tabor owned Global Radio LBC station with Nick Ferrari. When will she shut the f. up?
Back to Ireland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott
A film was made in 1947 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Boycott_(film)
The music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmOXp3e2fps
PS The Erne title is still extant. The 7th Earl of Erne is a property tycoon. It was ever thus.
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/puppy-love-earl-of-erne-pops-the-question-to-his-girlfriend-in-castle-grounds-with-a-little-help-from-beloved-pet-36895238.html (total cr*p)
Aha – so the truth is out about US charges against Assange. Secret charges, so he can be extradited.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/nov/16/julian-assange-charged-in-secret-mistake-on-us-court-filing-suggests
Westminister reminds me of the Vichy French government of the early 1940s.
Those that lead it, represent external forces. They do not represent the people in the UK (regardless of whether you are a brexiter or a remainer).
I have never cared for the current regime leader. But it won’t matter who replaces her. It’s somewhat akin to Charles 1 era. The government is at loggerheads with it’s own people. It quite clearly does not represent them.
Brexit to many Europeans is like Cricket, no one has any clue what its about, but it goes on and on, and the English get very excited about it
The UK’s defence minister has a photo of a cricket match as the banner on his Twitter.
Significance?
https://twitter.com/GavinWilliamson
I see the drippy Earl of Wessex (LOL P Edward) was given the job of presenting some awards.
Probably made a change of scene for him from the vast mansion with 120 rooms. Bagshot Park, which he occupies with his wife and two children.
A snip for just £5k pa rental and refurbishments totalling approx. £3m paid for by the Crown Estate (ie that’s us).
See pp 4 & 5
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2005/04/royal_property_leases.pdf
The MoD (ie that’s us) coughed up £1.8m towards the cost for rectifying the dilapidations caused when it was used for the Army Chaplains Dept.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagshot_Park
His lecherous older brother, the arms salesman, P Andrew, lives in another des res, Royal Lodge. Huge sums there for refurbishment and a token rent. £1m for 75 yrs!! We are mugs. We are not allowed to know the number of rooms at his disposal. It’s a state secret.
pp 1 – 4 on the same pdf.
Snippet on Michael Gove, the environment secretary (at least at the time I’m typing this): he has seconded a large number of staff from “Natural England” to work on “preparing for Brexit” – which means on the food supply. (The “F” in “DEFRA” stands for “food”.)
That should scare us. Said quango “Natural England” is riddled with Steinerites.
Clue: don’t give reincarnation “root race” loons who already dispose of a “transition towns” network, who own the “Prince of Wales”, and who have a close relationship with the Rees-Mogg family, responsibilities for ensuring the continuity of food supply during times of severe shortages. They will have a VERY different view of what’s going on from any sane person.
Amusing statement from Liam Fox: “We are not elected to do what we want to do, but to do what is in the national interest”.
Is there any limit to the contempt he has for “the public”? Someone should explain to him the concept of “manifesto” and the difference between an elected politician and a civil servant. (In Fox’s case, they might also ask him which nation he is thinking of.)
At 1.33pm it is touch and go between what will happen first: an announcement by Graham Brady of a vote of no confidence in Theresa May as Tory leader, or an announcement by 10 Downing Street of the appointment of a new Brexit secretary.
People shouldn’t take too seriously the reporting that the ERGers are split and that they’re “having trouble making the numbers”. This is PR – and weak PR – by their opponents. It can’t be taken seriously when it’s printed in media organs that don’t mention that the ERG have SEVEN of their signed-up people in the CABINET (Javid, Gauke, Fox, Gove, Lewis, Grayling, Mordaunt), including at agriculture, transport, the home office and justice – all departments that will have a lot of work to do when the shortages come.
Rees-Mogg has had a lifelong sunshine period in the media (can anyone guess why?) and he has never so far been reported as having put a foot wrong in the Machiavellian game that is politics. It is not at all surprising that when he makes this current big advance, a little bit of polish comes off him. Simple-minded journalists with the attention span of goldfish will comment on oh how pathetic the ERG are now. If the opposition to the ERG were strong, now would be the time to kick its arse to kingdom come. That’s not happening.
Meanwhile, what have the Tories got to say about this report and what are they going to do about it.
UK government cuts ‘causing unnecessary misery to millions’, UN warns
One-fifth of the UK population are now said to be in poverty due to “callous” spending policies that hit the poorest the hardest.
16th November 2018
‘The government has been accused inflicting “unnecessary misery” upon millions of people in the UK as part of a damning assessment of poverty levels in the country by the United Nations.
At the end of a 12-day tour of Britain, Philip Alston – the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights – said “drastic” spending cuts had resulted in a huge chasm between the richest and the poorest, which stands to grow even wider after Brexit.
He warned that should the government fail to “shield those most vulnerable” from the impact leaving the EU will have on inflation, wages and consumer prices, more will join the +++14 million UK citizens already living in poverty+++.
/..
https://news.sky.com/story/uk-government-cuts-causing-unnecessary-misery-to-millions-un-warns-11555711
It seems to me that Michael Gove is reprising the game Michael Howard played in 2003 of “I have great confidence in our leader – stab stab”, in order to ease his way into the prime ministership after Theresa May loses a confidence vote. Which doesn’t mean he will be successful. He belongs to anybody who pays him enough. Somebody might get a file out and it will be goodbye to his chances, as happened with Boris Johnson and, for a Labour example, Chuka Umunna.
If Theresa May were as strong as some goldfish-brained journalists are saying, she would have appointed a Brexit secretary by now – and probably sacked someone too.
The rather silly Simon McCoy who occupies the afternoon slot on the BBC ‘News’ Channel, is doing an o/b from Westminster soliciting opinion on the political situation (who else is going? Nobody apparently) and (who’s going to be the Brexit Secretary? Nobody knows) from all and sundry.
The latest opinions came from Jessica Elgot, late of the JC and now at the Guardian, and Tom Newton Dunn, ‘political editor’ of the Sun. (A contradiction in terms there!)
Nobody is any the wiser or even cares but they all get paid for it.
First she gives them a job.
Then they resign.
Then she gives them a job.
Amber Rudd to be the new W&P Secretary to replace McVey.
They will do anything for the money and a govt limo and driver.
You mean whores ?
Commenters here argue this and that, and arrives at nowhere.
The whole problem is that British voters that put Magggie in power, bloddy well put another Tory government in power. Doing what Maggie did to Britain, would have killed and burnt a party in Proper Europe. But not in the soggy wetlands of Engeland. You apparently like to be flagellated at regular intervals, and marvel at the slow destruction of your social structure and society.
If there was another vote today, the swampdwellers would vote in yet another cleptocratic Tory brother hood of theieves. Why not live your dreams out, has Oswald Mosley got some descendants, they would be mainstrema in British political milieu, they are egalitarian, they not only hate the j e w s, they hate everybody.
Den Lille you are right of course. There can be no doubt that Britain is being dumbed-down by a gutter press that would be a disgrace to any civilised nation but not here. I hope and pray every day that the UK will come to its senses and vote in Corbyn but he has been subjected to the most malicious vicious vitriolic personal attacks by the media which do appear to stick quite a bit even though there is no truth in them. All we can do is hope
We should remember that before Thatcher and since Thatcher there has always been a sizeable minority of the UK population who have never suffered from the effects of Neo Liberal economics. In fact many of these benefited to a certain extent from Thatcher’s policies.
What some commentators in the media and current politicians don’t realise is that since 1979 the likes of China and other BRIC countries have ran up on the rails and are now in a position to challenge the Old World Order.
Effectively they are garnering more and more share of world capital.Hence Donald’s cries of cheating.
The Brexit chaos is a symptom of this non realisation as the future world lies with these nations and the West can either reap the benefit of trading with them or in Trump’s case take them on militarily ( a kind of very aggressive takeover bid) and plunge the world into war.
Some Western capitalists have skin in the trading with the BRIC’s game and some don’t. Some wish to trade with Russia.
This is where the future battles amongst the Powers that be, will be.
Brexit is one of the battles and Donald’s tariff wars are another.
This is why Corbyn is a danger.
He might set a terrible example to other nations that there just might be an alternative to all this Neo Liberal nonsense.
But not this year I fear.
For those of you confused by TreasonMay’s withdrawal agreement you can read it for yourself on the government website – oh, no you can’t as it isn’t posted – so much for the national interest.
For a barnstorming breakdown of what it really means checkout today’s ukcolumn here:
https://www.ukcolumn.org/ukcolumn-news/uk-column-news-16th-november-2018
And refresh your insight with this piece by Veteran’s for Britain:
https://brexitcentral.com/nasty-surprises-smallprint-theresa-mays-brexit-deal/
It’s all perfectly clear what’s going on – sabbotage and betrayla and anti-democracy