2020 No. 10 Christmas Party!

[Little waster]

Sticking with the stupid, Fabricunt has unfortunately seized control of his twitter feed off the thing that lives on his head:-

Michael Fabricant Flag of United Kingdom
@Mike_Fabricant
· 13h
If I reported every time I had been threatened by a Whip or if a Whip reported every time I had threatened them, the police wouldn’t have any time to conduct any other police work! What nonsense from WW.

Also Michael Fabricant:-

Michael Fabricant Flag of United Kingdom
@Mike_Fabricant
·
10h
I believe it was wholly improper of William Wragg to misuse his position as Chairman of a Select Committee to make unsubstantiated claims against the Whips as part of his long standing and well known vendetta against #Boris. 1/2

Michael Fabricant Flag of United Kingdom
@Mike_Fabricant
·
10h
2/2 And if WW was being "blackmailed" as he claims, what is there about his private life that he doesn't want made public???

He actually quoted the first tweet in the second just to make the C&Ping easier for everyone

With friends like Mike, I imagine Johnson is already sitting in a darkened room looking glumly at a glass of whiskey and a revolver, wondering if the public would be mollified if he just shot Dilyn.

[Gfamily]

There's also Mad Nad* (Dorries) who is claiming that Wragg is "attention seeking" - says the woman who neglected her constituency duties to f.ck off to eat ostrich anuses** in "I'm a Celebrity".

* She claims it's sexist to describe her thusly - I don't see why.

** I gather this is what happens in the programme.

[TopBadger]

Sticking with the stupid, Fabricunt has unfortunately seized control of his twitter feed off the thing that lives on his head:-

Michael Fabricant Flag of United Kingdom
@Mike_Fabricant
· 13h
If I reported every time I had been threatened by a Whip or if a Whip reported every time I had threatened them, the police wouldn’t have any time to conduct any other police work! What nonsense from WW.

So, basically, unless what he's taking about is 100% about dropping or losing the whip, what the replicant is saying, is there is a longstanding culture of bullying in politics.

I don't think that "oh, this bad thing happens pretty much all the time" is much of a defense.

[jimbob]

Sticking with the stupid, Fabricunt has unfortunately seized control of his twitter feed off the thing that lives on his head:-

Michael Fabricant Flag of United Kingdom
@Mike_Fabricant
· 13h
If I reported every time I had been threatened by a Whip or if a Whip reported every time I had threatened them, the police wouldn’t have any time to conduct any other police work! What nonsense from WW.

So, basically, unless what he's taking about is 100% about dropping or losing the whip, what the replicant is saying, is there is a longstanding culture of bullying in politics.

I don't think that "oh, this bad thing happens pretty much all the time" is much of a defense.

Meanwhile Sue Gray has found an email sent to Johnson warning about the party, and the sender has said that he thinks he probably also warned him in person.

And some of the rebels are threatening to leak the texts they claim were blackmailing them.

So apart from that, it's a big nothingburger

[El Pollo Diablo]

This thread has a lot more legs than I expected when I started it. Didn't think it'd become the comedy show of 2022.

[TopBadger]

Meanwhile Sue Gray has found an email sent to Johnson warning about the party, and the sender has said that he thinks he probably also warned him in person.

Where is this being reported? If this actually makes it into Gray's report then he's a goner, right? Right?

It'll will be super weird if he gets chucked out for a lie about a drinks party, rather than say "£300M extra a week for the NHS" (pick any monster lie from the pile of Brexit nonsense).

Maybe that will be his next defense... "You can't chuck me out for this, that was a tiny lie compared to Brexit"

[jimbob]

Meanwhile Sue Gray has found an email sent to Johnson warning about the party, and the sender has said that he thinks he probably also warned him in person.

Where is this being reported? If this actually makes it into Gray's report then he's a goner, right? Right?

It'll will be super weird if he gets chucked out for a lie about a drinks party, rather than say "£300M extra a week for the NHS" (pick any monster lie from the pile of Brexit nonsense).

Maybe that will be his next defense... "You can't chuck me out for this, that was a tiny lie compared to Brexit"

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-20/sue ... n-may-2020

The warning email - sent by a senior official - told Mr Johnson's principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, the party "should be cancelled because it broke the rules", according to Peston.

The official has told Peston he also "probably" personally warned the PM against the party "but I honestly can’t remember".

[bagpuss]

Meanwhile Sue Gray has found an email sent to Johnson warning about the party, and the sender has said that he thinks he probably also warned him in person.

Where is this being reported? If this actually makes it into Gray's report then he's a goner, right? Right?

Nah, he'll just say he didn't read it. He'll probably say he's far too busy to keep up with all of his emails so someone else does that and only shows him the important ones. Like invitations to work events.

[TimW]

So, basically, unless what he's taking about is 100% about dropping or losing the whip, what the replicant is saying, is there is a longstanding culture of bullying in politics.

Maybe only in the Conservative party, based on his experience.

[TimW]

Nah, he'll just say he didn't read it.

Nobody told him what it said.

[TopBadger]

Still - that he made the rules and should have known better renders this report rather moot, doesn't it? What level of lies are we at now? Level 5?

I've another theory - the report is a delay tactic whilst they're waiting for Russia to invade Ukraine - then the news cycle moves to that instead and party-gate gets quietly dropped. Just think - right now Boris Johnson is probably wishing for Putin to get on with it... c.nt.

But then maybe Putin is waiting for the Grey report to plunge UK governance into leadership chaos before he rolls his tanks...

[TimW]

I've another theory - the report is a delay tactic whilst they're waiting for Russia to invade Ukraine

Aha, that fits in!

Don't panic, we've decided to send Ukraine some weapons. I can't imagine Putin using that as a pretext.

[Rich Scopie]

Nah, he'll just say he didn't read it.

Nobody told him what it said.

More likely he'll just admit he can't read. That would solve a lot of his problems.

[Little waster]

Prime Ministers have always used public spending in order to gain party political advantage. One prominent example was in 1966 when the Labour government announced during a by-election campaign for the Kingston upon Hull North constituency that they were going to build what became the Humber suspension bridge (which at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world).

In unrelated news, Government today announced £100m investment in new battery gigafactory in Blyth*.





*OK just over the border in Wansbeck but near enough. Rumours that the site was a former pig-farm and cooperage have yet to be confirmed.

[jimbob]

As an aside - do any of you do the the yougov chats?

Today's was on corruption.

My answers tended to be the most popular ones.

They wouldn't make happy reading for the government.

[Stranger Mouse]

Apparently Sue Gray is investigating Boris’s flat activities https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/will ... -7wlssszbj

Although by favourite part of that article is :

She’s had to have conversations over the years with ministers about where they have put bits of their anatomy,” said one senior Tory. “She can be pretty blunt.”

In other news Gavin Williamson is a bully although that must be like being bullied by Frank Spenser

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mp-p ... -dfg5kqwzf

[Stranger Mouse]

And some islamophobia https://twitter.com/samfr/status/148496 ... 44268?s=21

[jimbob]

And some islamophobia https://twitter.com/samfr/status/148496 ... 44268?s=21

No it's OK, the person she didn't name has denied that he said those words, and said that her accusations are defamatory.

To ensure other Whips are not drawn into this matter, I am identifying myself as the person Nusrat Ghani MP has made claims about this evening. ‘These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory. I have never used those words attributed to me.

This is the version that Mark Spencer deleted before realizing that the media had already picked it up, so reinstated

[Bird on a Fire]

It's so weird. "That's me she's talking about, only I never done it, so she's lying." Dafuq.

It's interesting to see how it's mostly younger politicians - millennial snowflakes, if you will - complaining about the abuse and shadiness of subordinates. Once again there does seem to be something of a generational disconnect in values - I bet older voters are much more likely to think that bullying and blackmail are fine and this is all a political ruse.

[Stranger Mouse]

Boris Johnson’s birthday party.

He’ll have to say he hadn’t been told the birthday cake wasn’t a filing cabinet or summat.

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-24/bor ... nderstands

[tenchboy]

And Sue Gray has spoken to the police who were on duty as was suggested up thread.

[Gfamily]

Boris Johnson’s birthday party.

He’ll have to say he hadn’t been told the birthday cake wasn’t a filing cabinet or summat.

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-24/bor ... nderstands

And here's a tweet of his from March 2020

Birthday Bashed.jpg (24.79 KiB) Viewed 1321 times

ETA - linky https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status ... 9546217475

[monkey]

Boris Johnson’s birthday party.

He’ll have to say he hadn’t been told the birthday cake wasn’t a filing cabinet or summat.

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-24/bor ... nderstands

This story made me think this: clicky

Is this one he can plausibly get away with not knowing about beforehand, 'cos it was a surprise party?

[Stranger Mouse]

Boris Johnson’s birthday party.

He’ll have to say he hadn’t been told the birthday cake wasn’t a filing cabinet or summat.

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-24/bor ... nderstands

This story made me think this: clicky

Is this one he can plausibly get away with not knowing about beforehand, 'cos it was a surprise party?

Not really. Especially when he’s been saying guidelines have been followed for the last month

[dyqik]

Boris Johnson’s birthday party.

He’ll have to say he hadn’t been told the birthday cake wasn’t a filing cabinet or summat.

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-24/bor ... nderstands

So, what are the chances that someone in charge of the treasury, which is heavily criticized by Lord Agnew here, leaked the party news to distract from this, because they are angling to replace Johnson?