brexit negging when yr mandate is is trash: or further chronicles of a garbage-fire

"the problem with the British, though not them personally of course, is they're lazy and should be more like Indians and the Chinese."

I have been repeatedly hearing these productivity obsessed Tories quite a few times in recent years on R4, without always putting a name to the voice. Surely it doesn't take a genius to work out why workers in a country where anti child labour laws aren't strictly enforced, or a quite ruthless command economy, have much higher productivity rates than the UK.

unwanted foetuses to be sent to work as slaves in our future marmalade megafactories, everybody happy

when they are discussing productivity, the talk is all couched in euphemisms. Obv they don't dare call for a return of Victorian sweatshops, but I doubt they think improved wages and worker protection is a solution.

Exactly. UK productivity is a legit problem but you don't become Germany by slashing protection, you do it by having better management, better wages, losing the culture of 'putting the hours in', giving workers a stake in the company, engaging people with worker councils, etc - ie. the antithesis of UK management consultant groupthink.

tbf (wtf?) virtually every country has higher productivity rates than the UK. Even those lazy socialists in France.

Japan - which is pretty brutal in its work/life balance - has substantially worse productivity than the UK iirc.

jr-m looks like he's torpedoed himself, good riddance to tory rubbish

― plp will eat itself (NickB),

Still second favourite to be next tory leader (7/1).

Doesn't have to win over electorate if he wants to be leader within next 5 years? Just has to win over Tory MPs. Are the base that bothered?

tim farron suggests it won't wash

― ogmor, Wednesday

Farron had a different crowd to win over though

Working harder/longer completely irrelevant to prroductivity or lack of.

I'm kinda gutted JRM is out of the race. They would have been annihilated under his leadership.

Given that Boris couldn't get sufficient support from the Tory benches I'd guess the chance of Rees-Mogg getting to the final two in any putative leadership contest is virtually non-existent, especially as there's going to be more that one Brexit candidate in the mix.

Farron had a different crowd to win over though

― anvil

it's probably true that the collapse of the liberal distinction between private & public beliefs is primarily a consequence of identity politics & impacts the left more than anyone else

context of my virgin encounter with raab = stephen bush saying "v hard for stop raab stop leadsom stop boris and stop mogg to all succeed"

which does make a good point abt the nature of any upcoming tory leadership contest -- timing is awful for any of them, there's a fvckton of ambient angry despair and fribght in the party, no chalice more poisoned etc, but if it's on *someone* is going to win

also relevant: farron was just the most hapless party leader in living memory

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CnPlO7mW8AELMAB.jpg:large

GiS farron milk

killllll meeeeeeeeee

http://i.imgur.com/5bQxXEC.jpg?1

context of my virgin encounter with raab = stephen bush saying "v hard for stop raab stop leadsom stop boris and stop mogg to all succeed"

Except this is what often does happen in Tory leadership contests - the moment anyone is tipped to actually win is the point where coalitions start being built against them, which is why Jo Johnson seems like a decent bet even now. Looking back - May, Cameron, Howard, IDS and Major all won against ostensibly bigger beasts, quite a few of them in some cases.

I wonder about Priti Patel, which would achieve the triple-whammy of allowing the Tories to feel superficially progressive and inciting more lefty handwringing while simultaneously allowing them to elect the most right-wing leader in their recent history.

Patel is incompetent as well as being actively awful and unpleasant so i think she is unlikely to get across the line. I have a suspicion that Johnson J. will be tainted by association with his brother.

On an unrelated note, it's amazing that after Trafigura, Thaksin Shinawatra, Pinochet, the Assads, etc something has finally stuck to Tim Bell / Bell Pottinger.

I was trying to think if she was on The Last Leg a while ago, but it was Baroness Warsi - Anyway, she was fairly pleasant there, notwithstanding everything else about her, obv.

something has finally stuck to Tim Bell / Bell Pottinger.

newsnight interview classics #48.

that was simply jawdropping. one of the most astonishing live interviews i've ever witnessed

it was indeed.
however, you do wonder if the point re his stroke earlier this year meant that actually, his advisors should have held him back from appearing on a live broadcast.

Patel is incompetent as well as being actively awful and unpleasant so i think she is unlikely to get across the line

This used to actually matter but now I'm not sure it does for as long as you have enough people cheerleading to drown out the incompetence/awfulness/unpleasantness.

I'd say Sajid Javid is worth a look, heated stables aside.

I'm mostly just fanficcing, but I wonder if we'll ever see Ruth Davidson's hat in the ring.

ILX in 2017 not suitable for my first response to that

The Tories are probably praying one of their new Scottish MPs falls under a bus, but I think she'll be staying in Scotland for the moment. She'd best be careful though because I think the Tories 'success' in Scotland is a bit of a flash in the pan, she won't always be seen as a winner.

She just said some really unacceptable shit about Travellers, right?

She is taking advantage of her special status to make a lot of "This will be a fvcking disaster FYI" noise, though - she might end up MP for Foyle.

xp - I could only find her claiming an MP who'd said they'd be his first priority if he was Prime Minister was talking about legitimate and local concerns.

re: Brexit, you mean?

Yeah.

always funny when "nationalists" don't know which way up the flag goes.

God, this Country's toxic now. I had this feeling watching God's Own Country last night which is excellent and very much worth seeing. It's about Brexit and gay sex, so, something for everyone.

it won't go down well with the West Riding branch of the Yorkshire Masonic Province. So yay to this movie, basically!

Hopefully seeing that soon.

The biggest thing stopping Patel is the colour of her skin. If she was genuinely popular out there the base might overlook but she isn't. The end. She could end up being chancellor though. I mean Osborne has done it after all.

Raab otoh is a genuine candidate. He had a dry run for leadership last time, and is that hilarious type of creature, namely a working-class Tory - which in these times of hardship it could potentially connect with the poor - the usual messages of working your way/it could be you too. In my darkest hours I just think the lottery bullshit is what most people want to hear. Besides, the Ayn Randist bull crap has never had its time at the very top of British politics and well, why the fuck not, right?

Raab and Crabb will unite the country by first uniting themselves as CRAABB.

Don't know where you've got the idea that Dominic Raab is working class.

Patel just seems a bit thick to me.

aargh, confusing with someone else!!!

Sajid Javed? He's about the only one I can think of.

Yes, must be! All the Ayn Rand stuff as well..

Wrong colour.

Crabb is the proud working classer.

Still, all that Britannia Unchained guff...get the feeling this is the only place the Tories have left to go that is more than just a personality.

xxp very wrong

I know I shouldn't be surprised at this point but really...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/07/theresa-may-european-parliament-brussels-eu

“This is yet another own-goal,” one EU official said of May’s decision.

Elmar Brok MEP, a German member of the European parliament’s Brexit steering committee, said: “The European parliament remains ready to offer flexible solutions. Why make enemies? It’s ridiculous.”

contender for 'most 2017 image'

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/905560500863369216/i8QPFdVA?format=jpg&name=600x314

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/sep/07/how-the-aristocracy-preserved-their-power

If/when Labour draft their manifesto for the next election we can't forget this lot. Lotta revenue here everyone!

whos the guy at the bottom of the right hand panel, soref?

like a young Martin Amis

(xpost) Looks like Delingpole to me

I had somehow missed this story and the comments are an exciting mix of "how dare she judge these people by their appearance" (otm) and "lol she's ugly"

how is the weather on that moral high ground