love* in the time of plague (and by love* i mean brexit* and other dreary matters of uk politics)

👀

@bbclaurak Could you ask Boris why Dominic Cummings was in Durham today?

— Simon Young (@iamsimonyoung) May 10, 2020

Ha, that is pretty fucking funny. There has to be a photo out there.

domcum’s dad, go on trashfuture

What the fuck is that Bridget Jones thing about?

she's choosing between boris and sir kier

Even weirder considering the long-standing rumours that Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones is based on Sir Forensic.

I'm not actually paranoid enough to think this is the point, but I do wonder whether the story on the rightmost two columns of that front page would be bigger without this story.

that story on the right has been loudly/quietly/rapidly and tragically unfolding for weeks now, some folks just like to clap and cheer - it's the human condition i'm afraid.

I'm not going to get too carried away with how much collateral damage these fucks will take from blundering Dom. Nothing seems to matter anymore!

Shapps / government line seems to be no comment on whether Cummings went to Barnard Castle but that anyone claiming he went back to Durham after the first trip is wrong.

I think this is a fantastic opportunity for the Tories.

If they can make us put up with this, it'll crush the spirit of a lot of people. A lot of people will just give up.

All they have to do is hold tight for a couple of weeks until our shoulders start to slouch. https://t.co/gwyAlGAXwv

— Limmy (@DaftLimmy) May 23, 2020

Through her mother, she is descended from Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale, the Governor of Kenya during the Mau Mau Uprising, and Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, a Governor General of Canada, and through the latter, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, of the House of Grey and a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

his partner is from such a great family, her granddad was running a racial concentration camp and torture regime 15 years after the Nazis were defeated!

Remember Brexit? You love to see it.

Incredible admission by leadingTory Brexiteer Steve Baker. They were told to vote for WA without reading it “on the basis Michael Gove articulated: we could change it later”.
So they voted for it. And now discover there will be an border in the Irish Sea. pic.twitter.com/RoqfWGgvLM

— Jennifer Rankin (@JenniferMerode) May 24, 2020

(xp) He's done well for himself, this working class lad from a council estate in Shields, er.

I'm not actually paranoid enough to think this is the point, but I do wonder whether the story on the rightmost two columns of that front page would be bigger without this story.

― Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 24 May 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Given that covid will run on till the rest of the year, at least, I don't see how that could be the case.

murdoch wants gove as pm and recognises a weakness

yeah the bookshelf is what finally convinced Murds

anybody rooting for Domfall and the subsequent resignation of Johnson shd be thinking hard about a Gove presidency tbh

I only just noticed last night that villainous cunt Norman Stone was an early mentor/supporter of Cummings, quelle surprise. There is someone whose relatively recent gravestone will already have a piss-bleached stripe down it, such was the love he brought to this world.

Despite everything the Boris brand is still pretty strong and the idea that Gove could command the same level of support from across the country feels borderline delusional.

don't need the support of the country when you're locked in for 5 years, and when has the support of the country ever influenced an internal Tory rumble?

Someone was recounting to me a recent FB discussion they foolishly participated in with a bunch of late middle-aged Gentle Brexiters. Apparently 'Boris' is doing a fantastic job, and oh can you imagine how it would have been with That Bloody Corbyn in charge? Let good old Boris get on with it, etc etc. I'd imagine people like this neither know nor care about Dominic Cummings, probably haven't heard of him. And this is the electorate, as Cummings et al well know, so beyond the Westminster/Twitter bubbles there's probably enough support for Johnson to keep him in the ascendancy for years. Gove, less so. Happy to be proved wrong on this though.

oh i think they'll tough this out, but it's fun to remember that things could potentially be even worse

Regardless of the rules though, Prime Ministers without an election victory under their belts struggle to establish legitimacy in the eyes of the public. I think this is academic given that they aren't going to be ousting Johnson any time soon, but while Gove could in theory just sit there for five years he could spend that time getting more and more reviled as the country goes through a series of awful crises. At the very least, Boris is a proven election winner whereas there's no evidence that anyone other than sycophantic Times columnists is particularly impressed by Gove.

Cummings has flatly denied going back to Durham in April so he’s either lying and getting ministers to repeat that lie or the Observer and Mirror have opened a massive hole for him to wriggle through.

doing some ah yes Barnard Castle isn't Durham bullshit is semantics stuff is exactly the sort of thing his opponents tried and failed to do to him over Brexit. You love to see it

Less damaging to be in Durham and go to Barnard Castle, before going to London than being in Durham, going to Barnard Castle, going back to London and then going back to Durham, which is what the Observer and Mirror seem to be accusing him of.

I'm losing track of the timeline, but the defence yesterday was that he obeyed the rules by staying at home, in Durham. The trip to Barney blows that one up. If he provably returned on April 19th as is now being suggested then it's basic he's-lying time.

Yep, absolutely.

If only he knew some data scientists who could prove his argument beyond reasonable doubt.

Cummings has flatly denied going back to Durham in April so he’s either lying and getting ministers to repeat that lie or the Observer and Mirror have opened a massive hole for him to wriggle through.

tbh I was thinking last night that they better have more evidence than some geezer saying he thought he saw someone who look a bit like Dominic Cummings or else this is going to blow in their (and our) faces.

It's a helpful thing that No 10 called the one gang with access to Durham ANPR and CCTV liars

I think this is a job for Sir Forensic.

Doesn’t the old guy have his number plate too on the day in question?

That story set off a few alarm bells tbh. He thought he saw Dominic Cummings, so he took a note of part of his car registration, then somehow googled Cummings' actual car registration and that's how he knows it was Cummings?

Yeah, can see how a forensic lawyer would drive a coach and horses through that.

Cummings into No10

— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) May 24, 2020

hes president for life now

That story set off a few alarm bells tbh. He thought he saw Dominic Cummings, so he took a note of /part/ of his car registration, then somehow googled Cummings' actual car registration and that's how he knows it was Cummings?

Despite everything the Boris brand is still pretty strong and the idea that Gove could command the same level of support from across the country feels borderline delusional.

Boris's brand isn't going to take much of a hit from this. Cummings is pretty much a safety valve, don't know if they'll ditch him or not, it can be useful to have someone to take the hits.

They also have a big majority, can't see any of this being relevant whatsoever any time soon - there'll very likely be a leadership challenge and they'll dump him but not this year or next

They've got no-one who could beat Johnson in a popularity contest. More likely Johnson is eventually forced to resign himself but he's also their greasiest pig.

also he's been dead for a month

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-05-24/dominic-cummings-departure-only-matter-of-time-robert-peston/

Not sure Bobby P would be sticking his neck out with this one if there wasn't a significant chance of him going.

And there is a second ticking time bomb, say ministers. They fear a member of the public may file a complaint to Durham police alleging Cummings broke the Health Protection Regulations - which the police would be obliged to investigate.

lol!

today’s had it all but my highlight has been dominic cummings leaving his house with a finding nemo ball, a film all about a stupid cunt who endangers his family, friends and neighbours by breaking simple rules and travelling long distances not once but twice pic.twitter.com/dAmXr4ur6e

— harry moore (@Harry_Moore_) May 23, 2020

What is the procedure for filing a complaint to the police? Asking for a friend.

I would be amazed if they hadn't had hundreds of complaints already.

The idea of shopping somebody to the police is of course repualsive but these are the cunts who set the police loose on people sitting mind their own business on park benches etc.

They've got no-one who could beat Johnson in a popularity contest

Not right now, makes no sense to shift him. 2023 may be a different story but its fantasy to think anyone is going to make any kind of move this year

grant shapps is developing quite the lockdown bouffant