Boris for UK PMⁿ

Written By: - Date published: 12:52 am, July 24th, 2019 - 99 comments
Categories: crosby textor, Europe, uk politics - Tags:

67% of the 160,000 UK Conservative Party members have voted for Boris Johnson as their leader. An attempt to block him as PM has been circumvented by the Speaker. The Queen had to delay her trip to Balmoral to receive him as Prime Minister. I’d have more faith in the Ukraine’s comedian. At least he can command a majority in Parliament.

Disbelief has been suspended in the UK as the Brexit saga has droned on becoming even more surreal. I can’t see that lasting and the autumn here looks likely to see the mood turn more to anger. We may even see an election before we return to New Zealand in November. It could be interesting.

As a friend of mine was often wont to say about political developments, “watch this space.”

99 comments on “Boris for UK PMⁿ ”

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  1. Nick 1
    24 July 2019 at 6:44 am

    Er, um okay, another clown for the circus.

    • soddenleaf 1.1
      24 July 2019 at 10:23 am

      Obviously Mr Johnston was a candidate before the referendum, after, his advisors said get out in front but let someone take the storm. Once their backers knew how to make money out of brexit, push their guy to the front. Obviously he could get in on mps ballot, so they switch to party vote.He's is anyone's for the right backing. Clown, yeah for sure, but not a sad one.

      • Dukeofurl 1.1.1
        24 July 2019 at 10:53 am

        They didnt switch to party members vote, thats all ways been there.

        May had a number of competing contenders and was heading for a vote of party members, but jobs were promised to contenders and they withdrew.

        Technically there was NO MPS VOTE for May , she was unopposed at the final run.

    • simbit 1.2
      24 July 2019 at 4:28 pm

      Not quite. This is what end-of-empire looks look. Get used to it…

    • fustercluck 1.3
      24 July 2019 at 5:51 pm

      A principled discussion on policy is a separate topic from the pejoratives flying around right now. It seems that lots of people of all ideological stripes have failed to apprehend the difference between policy decisions and public persona. Both Trump and Boris have cultivated memorable and unusual external public images but it is a mistake to confuse these images for what these men are doing or intend to do.

  2. Ad 2
    24 July 2019 at 7:08 am

    Jo Swinson for PM.

    • Treaty O’Rome 2.1
      24 July 2019 at 10:09 pm

      Here's new #LibDem leader, #JoSwinson's voting record:

      ✴️ Voted to cut disability allowance.

      ✴️ Voted for harsher asylum laws.

      ✴️ Voted for military intervention in the Middle East.

      ✴️ Voted to sell off the UK's forests.

      ✴️ Voted to raise tuition fees to £9k.

  3. reason 3
    24 July 2019 at 7:36 am

    I'm picking there is going to be some blow-back against the hard right Dirty Politics …. being used and abused against Jeremy Corbyn …

    Apart from being a blatant nasty Con ,,,,, which could offend Brits who see through the trick aimed at them… apart from that, I do not think the racist, war-mongering extreme right sector of the population …. is a majority of voters in Britain.

    A Tory team up with Klan Amerika and AZSI ( Apartheid Zionist State of Israel ), would make Britain part of a racist, war-mongering extreme right three-some …..War bums against Iran.

    yeah,,,,,,, Nah

  4. Incognito 4
    24 July 2019 at 7:53 am

    It seems we’re moving from post-post-modernism into neo-surrealism. On either side of the Atlantic textbooks are being torn and burnt; weirdness and predictable unpredictability and chaos are the order of the day. The QoE having to delay her trip to Balmoral is a shocker 😉

    • greywarshark 4.1
      24 July 2019 at 10:10 am

      The QoE having a schedule for her life personal and royal, is one of the features that would present stability in the UQ. The Brits accept the value of historic past systems which is why it is still called the UK.

      Unfortunately while monarchy presents stability in the framework of the country, the citizens within play at running it with a veneer of being practical and intelligent. They are concentrating on horse guards, guilded coaches and red uniforms while their country is being demolished brick by brick behind their backs by incredibly cunning robbers.

      When are the UK people going to turn, rubbing their eyes and exclaiming about the quality of the most recent spectacle, and see the damage wrought by the new war against their country, more subtle than that of the Nazis.

      • Dukeofurl 4.1.1
        24 July 2019 at 11:02 am

        Plenty of times Monarch schedule has been delayed to suit Parliament .

        After the last election, the speech from the throne by the Queen was long delayed as getting the DUP on board was a struggle ( as allways)

        Some here seem to forget that Britain has a signed deal for leaving with the EU.

        The holdup is Parliament , both fanatical remain and leave camps have been using parliament to block the existing deal.

        If I was Johnson I would prorogue parliament and just complete the Brexit with out them .

        The Australian Federal parliament is prorogued at the end of every session, thats so the Senate -which the current government doesnt control – cant get up to 'mischief' while the House is in its long break.

        Canada prorogued its parliament under the minority Conservatives when it looked like they wouldnt get their budget passed.

        • greywarshark 4.1.1.1
          24 July 2019 at 11:15 am

          Just because Boris can, because there are laws which are agreements which are not always smart or right, does not mean that true, thinking Brit citizens should lie down and get walked over. The Queen, as you say, may make changes – it's not the end of the world – the Monarchy won't go down. Not straight away. But looking for precedents to feel comfortable is not a suitable approach. Unless the period before WW2 and the time of appeasement, while the country frenziedly readied itself seems a suitable parallel. This is like a declaration of war done on the quiet. The UK has become 'incontinent', and disgraced itself publicly.
          Edited:

          And if proroguing can be the rogue’s ruse, then how about trying another sort of ruse. Get the Lords to hold the matter up while they bring a different perspective to it, which they can. But I think that their attendance has to be requested a reasonable time in advance – so would have to be done fairly soon enabling them to return and gather for the time of consideration and discussion. Take that you far-too-common Commoners!

          • Dukeofurl 4.1.1.1.1
            24 July 2019 at 11:34 am

            Prorouge shuts down both Houses including the Lords but in a way the Summer long break is coming up anyway, normally late July ( this week) till early September, whats the bet they dont come back early September.

            They will never satisfy the hard remainers and the hard Brexiteers.

            Parliament has had all the debate it needs, nothing new to say.

            Remember World War 2 was declared without a vote in Parliament,

            • greywarshark 4.1.1.1.1.1
              24 July 2019 at 11:41 am

              My heart sinks Dukeofurl. I get what you say, but I keep hoping that someone will produce a rabbit out of the hat. But I saw the family pet the other day hopping round fast then diving into holes it has dug for itself. Seems prophetic.

              • greywarshark …
                24 July 2019 at 1:29 pm

                Here is some UK comment from Rees Mogg and Nick Ferrari. Rees Mogg in upper class tones and says things like Brits deal fairly with citizens not treating them badly. So that gives a lead on how well-founded and rational he is. Then they are talking about proroguing Parliament and remoaners etc etc. It fills the void until Boris gets going with his verbosities.

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQxp0FIuIpM

                (Jonathan Pie did a little comment on Johnson last week saying that he has been quieter than usual, so everyone can praise him for being statesmanlike for not having said anything racist for a week or so. Also Hunt was being statesmanlike also, which was really to cover for the fact that Johnson was a done deal in Jonathan Ps opinion. (I didn't get link as it's old hat now.)

    • Macro 4.2
      24 July 2019 at 2:15 pm

      Heh! She is now packing her bags and moving to Canada!

      LONDON (The Borowitz Report)—Queen Elizabeth II is moving to Canada “immediately” and should take up full-time residence there by the end of the week, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Tuesday.

      The Queen offered no reason for the move, but the palace indicated that she had been packing her bags for the past several weeks.

      In a sign that the Queen’s decision is irrevocable, the palace revealed that her beloved corgis had already been flown to Toronto.

      In a brief farewell statement to the British people, the Queen explained why she had chosen Canada as her new home. “We speak the language, and our picture’s on the money there,” she said.

      She said that she had “no regrets” about abdicating the throne to her son, Charles. “At this point, there’s nothing he can do to make the U.K. more messed up than it already is,” she said.

      https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/queen-elizabeth-moving-to-canada

    • OnceWasTim 4.3
      24 July 2019 at 6:29 pm

      “It seems we’re moving from post-post-modernism into neo-surrealism”
      🙂
      We’re running out of labels eh.
      Maybe THIS is the end of History, but I suspect there’s a few more rounds to go yet.

      • Incognito 4.3.1
        24 July 2019 at 6:33 pm

        Sounds like you are almost channelling Francis Fukuyama 😉

        Yeah, we really ought to invent some new labels. How about covfefeism?

        • OnceWasTim 4.3.1.1
          24 July 2019 at 7:25 pm

          🙂

          Fuk Francis with a feather duster! But I was thinking of covfefeism just the other day, but then thought we'd already had too much of it.

  5. Gosman 5
    24 July 2019 at 8:08 am

    An election would be interesting. If Johnson goes full tilt for a hard Brexit then he could well collapse the Brexit party vote in to the Conservative camp. In that case unless Corbyn starts pushing a more overtly pro-Remain message then it is likely the Lib Dems will suck up the Remain vote and we will have a situation where no major party will be able to command a majority.

    • swordfish 5.1
      24 July 2019 at 10:10 pm

      Yep … the concern for UK Labour is that Boris is very popular not only with No Deal Brexit Conservatives but also, more importantly, with the hefty number of Tory deserters to Farage's Brexit Party. (deserters in terms of current Opinion Poll support vis-a-vis 2017 Election support).

      If he delivers on Brexit then I can easily see the Conservatives winning back a significant slice of its defectors at any upcoming Snap Election (putting aside the possibility of an Electoral pact between Boris & Farage). UK Labour's current slight advantage in the Polls (excepting YouGov) could very quickly be obliterated.

  6. lprent 6
    24 July 2019 at 8:22 am

    I can't see that Boris's crowning for the next few years by the a teeny set of conservative party voters is going to play well in either Ireland or Scotland. In the case of Northern Ireland, the pressure DUP's reaction directly controls the ability of Boris to hold his post.

    Sounds like a good time to not enter the state of chaos that is rapidly becoming the disunited kingdom.

    • Gosman 6.1
      24 July 2019 at 8:28 am

      The DUP will probably be one of Johnson's firmest supporters if he does what he claimed he was going to do.

      • Psycho Milt 6.1.1
        24 July 2019 at 8:37 am

        Do you mean the claim that he'll re-negotiate Brexit, or the claim a no-deal Brexit won't involve a hard border within Ireland or at the Irish Sea? He'd have been better off promising the UK a unicorn-powered space elevator.

        • Gosman 6.1.1.1
          24 July 2019 at 8:46 am

          Completely agreed he hasn't got much of a show of getting his proposal (if you can call it that) adopted. But if he did the DUP would love him.

      • lprent 6.1.2
        24 July 2019 at 8:58 am

        There are three things that will cause him problems. The Independent alludes to them

        https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dup-boris-tories-money-confidence-supply-agreement-billion-a9017681.html

        • Sure the DUP will support – at a significiant political price. Moreover, one that doesn't appear to have had the required commons oversight. basically that looks like a slush fund that in normal times is ripe for a putrid political crisis.
        • He will probably be pressured to deny political representation to the other side at Stormount. And there is a certainty that Boris is as useless a hardball politician as it is possible to get. He'll get walked over. Bearing in mind that agreement with the Irish nationalists that siminished the troubles was based on having local devolution, closer ties with Eire, and no significant border – how long do you think it will be before the troubles start and troops start getting shipped in again? Much the same issues in Scotland albeit at a less explosive level.
        • His majority even with the DUP is now two. And it is unlikely that he won't abruptly lose a few conservative MPs. Especially if either of Scotland or Ireland nationalists feel that they're going to be totally screwed over by the English conservatives with their upcoming brexit strategy.

        It isn't the DUP per say that are a problem. It is that to even get close to what Boris is inarticulately proposing and what the DUP is going to be a recipe for division.

        And Boris appears to be a useless and lazy politician when it comes to the details of actually working politics.

        • Gosman 6.1.2.1
          24 July 2019 at 9:06 am

          The DUP won't bring down Johnson if he pushes a pro-hard Brexit position. They won't demand a pound of flesh for him doing that.

          • woodart 6.1.2.1.1
            24 July 2019 at 10:40 am

            they will demand way more than a pound of flesh. you dont know what you are talking about.

            • Gosman 6.1.2.1.1.1
              24 July 2019 at 12:07 pm

              No. It is clear that it is you who don't understand the motivations behind the DUP. They don't want anything to threaten the Union, This means Johnson has the ability to get them to agree to any plan so long as the Union is preserved.

              • Bearded Git …
                24 July 2019 at 2:34 pm

                Still a bit weird Gos…the DUP refused to vote for May's deal even though it kept the whole of the UK united in the custom's union by means of the backstop.

                This also meant (I think?) there was effectively no hard border between NI and Eire which is what everybody wants.

                • Gosman …
                  24 July 2019 at 3:24 pm

                  The DUP supports a Brexit which does not tie the UK in to an indefinite Customs Union with the EU. Potentially May's deal did that. Hence their decision not to support it.

                  • Bearded Git …
                    27 July 2019 at 4:50 pm

                    So the DUP supports a hard border in Ireland even though NI voted remain.

                    It makes no sense.

          • lprent 6.1.2.1.2
            24 July 2019 at 12:12 pm

            why?

            Assertions just count as an idiot hoping…

        • Gosman 6.1.2.2
          24 July 2019 at 9:08 am

          His only hope of getting a significant change to the existing deal on the table is if he convinces the Irish to back off from the back stop. He needs the Irish government on board. He won't achieve that by giving anything away to the DUP. He can rely on the DUP staying quiet if he gets his changes to the backstop.

          • lprent 6.1.2.2.1
            24 July 2019 at 9:51 am

            Perhaps you should read that article.

            The Democratic Unionist Party will demand more cash in “the coming weeks” to continue propping up the Conservatives in power, in an early warning to Boris Johnson.

            Arlene Foster revealed she spoke with the incoming prime minister soon after his victory was declared – and that she immediately put him on notice.

            The DUP leader noted that the £1bn-plus confidence and supply agreement – signed with Theresa May, to deliver her a Commons majority two years ago – “remains”.

            But she added: “That agreement included a review between each parliamentary session.

            “This will take place over the coming weeks and will explore the policy priorities of both parties for the next parliamentary session.”

            The DUP is widely expected to demand an even higher price to renew the agreement, as well as action to thwart prosecutions of soldiers investigated for alleged wrongdoing during the Troubles.

            You're assuming a viewpoint that fits with ideology, not actual politics. Too simple. You need to look at what is driving the people in the party positions of power.

            The DUP have internal issues that are driving them, not the least of which is that they have falling support for working with the conservatives both inside the party and in the electorate that they draw votes from – which doesn't as a whole support brexit or withdrawing from the EU. They have been steadily moving towards a much more hardline stance in return for their support. Effectively to try to retain support.

            At the same time they have been actively trying to sideline the nationalists. I've been watching this for a number of years now, and the DUP is steadily moving towards money to obviate their ideological objections.

            They’d make a deal with Theresa May because she was effective politician at the detail level. Having a lazy political fool to negotiate with isn’t going to impress the DUP leaders or members. I suspect that they may be looking for a reason to get out of the deal or to substantially increase its value to them, because as it stands they will be blamed inside Northern Ireland for whatever happens with it. They’ll need a lot of political value to survive that.

            Just waiting for the inevitable explosion.

            • Gosman 6.1.2.2.1.1
              24 July 2019 at 12:09 pm

              The DUP constituency is not the people who vote Remain in NI. These people hold no interest for the DUP. They are largely sheltered from that sort of pressure.

          • Bearded Git 6.1.2.2.2
            24 July 2019 at 9:54 am

            The Irish government will support nothing that causes a hard border. Nobody in Northern Ireland wants a hard border-they voted remain.

            No-deal Brexit will result in a hard border.

            Boris has no idea how to solve this.

            • greywarshark 6.1.2.2.2.1
              24 July 2019 at 10:15 am

              While informed political scientists and commenters probably consider it unsolvable. How far is Boris from madness along with all the other tatty money-mads on the Conservative side. Look out for troubles on his domestic front, a lot of raised voices and red wine, or something, will be spilt down his impeccable white shirts.

            • Dukeofurl 6.1.2.2.2.2
              24 July 2019 at 10:48 am

              No .

              Do you know most containers arriving at Ports in NZ arent inspected, only a tiny number are.

              Same will happen with Northern Ireland so hard border wont exist

              Most of Irelands trade is with Britain itself not 'the lost province'.

              • McFlock …
                24 July 2019 at 2:51 pm

                Yeah, that'll change when the container contents are bypassing EU or UK trade protections.

                • Dukeofurl …
                  24 July 2019 at 4:23 pm

                  In what way ? UK is largely happy with EU trade protections but may loosen the rules.

                  Why would a French company ship its containers to Ireland first , then by road to Belfast and then ship to say England.

                  To be made in France follows EU rules anyway and if they exceed future UK requirements whats the problem. You may as well ship direct to Dover or Southhampton.

                  The ports in Ireland would have registers of containers that are only in transit through Ireland, there is relatively few compared to what goes directly to Britain like I said. remember Ireland like Britain is outside the Schengen borderless zone so they do keep track.

                  The rural farmers along the border will be of no interest to Britain

                  • Psycho Milt …
                    24 July 2019 at 4:43 pm

                    In what way ? UK is largely happy with EU trade protections but may loosen the rules.

                    You answered your own question. The EU is concerned about what might enter the EU via a nonexistent border with the UK, once the UK adopts looser rules than the EU (which it will do, that being the whole point from the Brexiteers' perspective).

                  • McFlock …
                    24 July 2019 at 4:43 pm

                    The container register and tracking is the hail mary of the soft border option (a situation that will only last until it gets exploited).

                    Currently everyone is on the same rules.

                    Brexit happens, either the EU or the UK will have trade deals with third parties that are more favourable to one or the other, or as you say they might want to dodge eu/uk tarriffs or whatevs. E.G. excise on tobacco or alcohol.

                    So sooner or later it will be less profitable to ship direct than it will be to have a warehouse in Dublin ship goods, either in the original container or not, through to Belfast or vice versa. And when that level of traffic becomes large enough, either EU or UK will implement a hard border option. And when that happens, the semtex gets dug up and used by whichever side is most pissed at where the hard border is drawn.

                    • Dukeofurl …
                      24 July 2019 at 6:12 pm

                      Thats talking about the EU -UK border . ( The Channel) No one is saying that will not be a hard border there.

                      The only soft border is within 'Greater Ireland', there still is a Schengen border between Ireland and the rest of EU mainly France.

                      Goods arriving from say China directly to Dublin will still have to meet EU rules, unless they say they are ' in transit' for Belfast. Which means they would have an alert for Britain

                    • McFlock …
                      24 July 2019 at 9:16 pm

                      Which means they would have an alert for Britain

                      Only if they're officially in transit for Belfast.

                      If they're in transit to Michael in Dublin, who sells them by the truckload to chaps in Belfast, who then happen to supply chains in England, that might be more difficult to alert specific loads.

                      And if post-Brexit UK join the trade war on the side of the US, it might still be cheaper to slip them across the border in the distributed supply chain after paying EU duties, rather than paying UK duties.

                      It's like an oil embargo against Iran: it takes a lot of math and resources to demonstrate that the crude in a particular tanker actually came from Iran in smaller ships that then filled the empty tanker in a deserted part of the ocean, and then there's a political shitstorm if you try to do anything about it.

        • Dukeofurl 6.1.2.3
          24 July 2019 at 11:50 am

          "He will probably be pressured to deny political representation to the other side at Stormount."

          The DUP were the only group who opposed the Original Good Friday Agreement but that wasnt required as Northern Ireland had a huge majority in favour at the referendum(71%)

          Any changes in the arrangements would have from legislation and agreement with Ireland and would be beyond the wit and ability of someone like Johnson.

          The cabinet or Executive at Stormont membership is decided by D'Hondt method under a mandatory coalition rather than as we know here a voluntary coalition ( it is of course broken by the DUP withdrawal at present but there were some problems earlier with the SLDP being in Cabinet)

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement

    • Macro 6.2
      25 July 2019 at 11:27 am

      It's now all up to Larry. 😺

      Nation prays Larry the cat has a taste for large blonde rodents

      Britain’s hopes of avoiding a monumental clusterf*ck now rest with 10 Downing Street’s resident vermin exterminator Larry the cat, with the nation praying that Larry is partial to large blonde rodents.

      “Cometh the hour, cometh the cat” is being whispered the length and breadth of the country, with Larry expected to live up to his job description and deal with the incoming blonde vermin problem.

      “If Larry the cat doesn’t bite Johnson’s head off, or at the very least playfully catch and torture him till he scurries away, he might as well not be there” said an MP who wishes to remain anonymous. “But knowing our luck, Larry is just as likely to think Boris is his ‘spirit human’ given their shared love for doing nothing for 20 hours a day, and spending the other 4 hours eating food and having indiscriminate sex.”

      Current Downing Street occupant Teresa May says she respects the Tory leadership election process. “Boris won fair and square, I admit that. I also admit that neither Philip nor I have fed Larry for 3 weeks and he is looking rather hungry.”

      The Lib Dems and SNP strongly support Larry getting rid of Johnson, with the kinder gentler Lib Dems preferring a humane relocation, while the SNP prefers Larry “bites the bastarts heid aff – slowly.”

      Despite Labour Party membership being overwhelmingly in favour of Larry the cat getting rid of Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn refused to be drawn on a position saying “Larry could eat Johnson, or he could let him remain, we are the party of both eaters and non-eaters”.

      http://eveningharold.com/2019/07/23/nation-prays-larry-the-cat-has-a-taste-for-large-blonde-rodents/

  7. Stuart Munro. 7
    24 July 2019 at 8:24 am

    This if anything should give Simon hope. If a blatantly unfit buffoon is the natural leader of Britain's right, a bush lawyer who, like the Six Million Dollar man's assailants, gets beaten up in slow motion every question time ought to be a shoe-in, right? The logic of wishful thinking.

  8. Observer Tokoroa 8
    24 July 2019 at 8:28 am

    The everlasting pranskter posh boy – Boris

    I have a feeling that the molestations carried out by assorted masters and coaches at posh privileged schools, have probably brought about a new invigorated Kingdom Wide molestation phase, on the hapless Britons. Scots and Irish acting as Collateral damage.

    I am totally certain The British themselves have one single unifying Trait. Their prime and most precious aim in Life, is to become Eccentric.

    Eccentricity is the Pommy God. They are terribly good at it. Alexander Boris is perfect!

    The countless underpaid workers, poor, homeless and unhealthy will be completely compliant. As they always have. They Stink.

    • Marcus Morris 8.1
      24 July 2019 at 11:41 am

      You are correct. My paternal grandfather was a tenant farmer who lived most of his life on the poverty line. Always voted conservative. My father was "politically educated" by his uncle who served in WWI – they both loathed the accursed class system, which is still so alive and well.

  9. Pete 9
    24 July 2019 at 9:05 am

    If Boris is the answer the question is too difficult to answer. It's one of those answers you chuck out, the most ridiculous thing you can think of, to highlight the futility of even making a guess which is rational.

    • Gosman 9.1
      24 July 2019 at 9:13 am

      Johnson is incredibly popular with the core supporter base of the Conservatives hence why he was victorious. His attraction to them is he represents in their mind a return to old school Conservative values coupled with British eccentricity. He has had form running large governmental organisations before with a modicum of success so it isn't beyond his ability to be PM.

  10. xanthe 10
    24 July 2019 at 9:22 am

    hey we need to keep up with our allies

    MIKE HOSKING for PM

    • mac1 10.1
      24 July 2019 at 9:41 am

      English is a great language for similes, but with subtlety.

      We have 'clowns' and then we have 'buffoons'. One knows what he is doing, the other doesn't. One requires timing and acting skills. One requires self awareness. One presents a persona with a purpose.

      Mike and Boris. Which is which?

    • Pete 10.2
      24 July 2019 at 10:17 am

      You know Hosking wouldn't be up for any role in Government:

      1 Too much hard work.

      2 Not enough money.

      3 Our systems of governance are a socialist construct, anathema to him.

      4 Having to be part of a team and all that entails.

      5 Too much on-going hard work.

      6 Being open to overt challenge and accountability.

      7 The fear of rejection.

      • Macro 10.2.1
        25 July 2019 at 11:35 am

        You do know you have just listed all the qualities required for a "successful" leader of a country. Boris will fit the role perfectly.

        /sarc

  11. Pat 11
    24 July 2019 at 9:44 am

    Polarisation.

    The divide is not political but rather the tolerance for risk. Institutions that have been historically administered by the risk averse (pessimists) have since since the neoliberal revolution become increasingly under the control of the risk promoters (optimists). As the problems have become evident the perverse solution appears to be considered the further rise of the eternal optimist…..and the increasingly incompetent.

    Aint going to end well

    • greywarshark 11.1
      24 July 2019 at 10:23 am

      In a way the risk promoters are the pessimists if looked at from another angle. They are anxious that if they don't constantly press forward, looking neither to the left or right, they will miss out on some opportunity or someone will get the biggest bit of cake, or even all of it. So they push so they can get into the fracas and act in fear that there is not enough to go round. And try and corner the market, compete others out of it etc.

      So in a way they are not optimists at all. If they are importers they are looking at the vagaries of the exchange rate every day – as it was explained to me a small change in it can mean a big loss of return, or the reverse. But the floating rate is so uncertain, and creates fear. But the returns for risk can be high. But they can't afford to be optimistic and relax.

      • Pat 11.1.1
        24 July 2019 at 10:42 am

        there is room for both but I would suggest the natural home for the eternal optimist is business (where it should be noted the failure rate is high). ….there the consequences of misjudgement are limited and unless monopoly can be mitigated by the actions of others…the natural home for the pessimists is in governance and systemically critical institutions (e.g banks) where the the consequences of misjudgement are far more important.

        In recent times the winners (optimists) have taken all

  12. michelle 12
    24 July 2019 at 9:48 am

    the poms are in the shit they need a trade deal asap no wonder the queen was greasing up the dons bum its was sickening but brexit is taking its toll and now they have problems with iran

    • greywarshark 12.1
      24 July 2019 at 10:29 am

      Michelle

      We all sometimes have to grease those who have power and the ability to cut us off at the knees so we don't even have them to go down on. As Bob Dylan said – 'You're going to have to serve somebody.'

    • reason 12.2
      24 July 2019 at 10:46 am

      The problem with Iran stems from tr he british acting like pirates and stealing a Iran oil tanker …………….. which Iran repaid in kind.

      Jacinda should tell them both to give each others boats back ….. and get along…

      While the yanks should be told to leave the Persian gulf… and go back to the corrupt racist shit-hole … where they can act exceptional in their own country.

      The Poms are not as indoctrinated to hate the Iran people … unlike the usa.

      The yanks behave towards Iran citizens as if they had thrown babys out of incubators to die …. when all they did was over-run the Shah supporting usa embassy …

      Iran hostage crisis …. Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage …

      . the only deaths, were from a us helicopter crash … in a 'bay of pigs standard', mistake ridden rescue operation…. 7 or 8 dead.

      And for that ….Around 50% of yanks would happily nuke Iran ….

      https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/10/world/7-years-after-embassy-seizure-iran-still-prints-us-secrets.html

    • Sam 12.3
      24 July 2019 at 12:31 pm

      Britian has a lot of issues. For one the Royal Navy has a third fewer ships than needed for its foreign policy ambitions to secure its shipping through Hormuz. So even if Boris orders an extra 12 type 26 they won't achieve a full operating capability for another 20 years. You'd need a war to shorten that time frame up. Either way a generation of britians are completely fucked. Sad but true the once mighty Great Britian is, no more.

  13. Bearded Git 13
    24 July 2019 at 9:50 am

    It was actually 66% for Boris not 67%.

    While 66% is reasonable, it is not the ringing endorsement the media seems to be making it out to be. To their credit more than 1/3 of the Conservatives could not stomach Boris.

    • greywarshark 13.1
      24 July 2019 at 10:36 am

      Interesting that 66% seems to be a reasonable endorsement of the irrational, yet when it came to a nation cutting its ties to its home ports and sailing free with no fixed plans or charts, a simple majority is enough to countenance it. 51%?* for Brexit based on now-known lies makes a laughing-stock of the UK's ability to handle democracy, and they hand it to Boris whose hands have been in places unknown! 'Bring in the clowns, where are the clowns, don't worry they're here.' And they aren't funny; Mummy I want to go home!

      *A referendum – a vote in which everyone (or nearly everyone) of voting age can take part – was held on Thursday 23 June, 2016, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union. Leave won by 51.9% to 48.1%. The referendum turnout was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting.
      Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU – BBC News
      https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887

    • Dukeofurl 13.2
      24 July 2019 at 10:50 am

      ", it is not the ringing endorsement"

      What are you thinking ? Its 2 to 1 , thats a landslide in political terms , always has been

      • Phil 13.2.1
        24 July 2019 at 1:00 pm

        Its 2 to 1 , thats a landslide in political terms , always has been

        When the other candidate is Jeremy Hunt? It's less a ringing endorsement or landslide than it is a statement of "well, if I have to chose between a couple of total twats, i'll take the one that might be good for an ironic laugh"

        • Dukeofurl 13.2.1.1
          24 July 2019 at 1:46 pm

          What does that even mean ?

          Look at all the Ministers 'resigning rather than being sacked'

          Thats nonsense as technically all Ministers jobs end upon a new PM coming into office.

          The outgoing PM ( May) resigns her entire government when she goes to the Queen.

      • Macro 13.2.2
        25 July 2019 at 11:37 am

        You mean the 95,000 certifiable members of the Tory party who elected him?

  14. Agora 14
    24 July 2019 at 12:21 pm

    What few commentators seem to have considered are the implications of a Boris Brexit on Aotearoa.

    His modus operandi of situational chaos could disrupt strategic alliances and trading patterns leading to uncertainty and unfavourable outcomes for us.

    Does Britannia still have a Praetorian Guard ?

    • Wayne 14.1
      24 July 2019 at 2:53 pm

      Agora,

      Much more likely it will be a favourable outcome with Boris as PM. Assuming he is in office more than a few months, it is likely we will get a very good free trade deal with the UK.

      Johnson has stated this on several occasions. The UK is not self sufficient in food. New Zealand will be able to get the advantages we had prior to the UK joining the EEC (as it then was) in 1973. While it is obvious we will never export as much to the UK as we used to do so, we will have a much better deal than we will now get. That will mean good prices for lamb and beef, and also for dairy.

      This whole thing (the UK joining the EEC and its impact on NZ) was the subject of my LLB(Hons) dissertation, done ages ago. I also lectured the international trade paper at University and took a close interest in it while in parliament. So I am pretty confident about the likely outcome.

      • You_Fool 14.1.1
        25 July 2019 at 8:44 am

        Wayne, how likely is it that changing attitudes to climate change and carbon footprints will have on these effects on NZ, compared to 1973? I feel that the general consumer in the UK will still seek out food with less carbon/ecological footprints, and with increasing concerns on climate change, international shipping might become more expensive, effectively reducing our trade advantage over the EU post-brexit

        Not that simple "food miles" is a good indicator of ecological footprints of products, including food, but it is a simple idea that consumers might latch on to.

  16. Poission 16
    24 July 2019 at 1:58 pm

    Johnston US born ,great grandson of interior minister of the ottoman fiefdom and circassian slave is now PM.

    https://twitter.com/holland_tom/status/1153669065451417600

    • veutoviper 16.1
      24 July 2019 at 2:27 pm

      Funnily enough earlier today I read the Wikipedia entry for Boris Johnson's father, Stanley Johnson, and was surprised by his family history – not only his ties to the Ottoman Empire but also to Germany.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Johnson_(writer)

      • Dukeofurl 16.1.1
        24 July 2019 at 4:30 pm

        Ties ?

        Remote grandparents arent exactly ties for Bo Jo

        1 Great Grandfather was a Turkish Bey who assasinated in 1922.

        1 Great Grandmother and Great grandfather were vaguely aristocratic Germans

        Everyone below that was born in and bought up in Britain.

        The Queen is MORE German than that.

  17. Dv 17
    24 July 2019 at 3:33 pm

    Re brexit

    what is Scotland going to do?

    • Gosman 17.1
      24 July 2019 at 4:14 pm

      Nothing at this stage. There is not yet enough support for another Independence referendum.

    • Dukeofurl 17.2
      24 July 2019 at 4:14 pm

      Nothing. They want contradictory things , keep the Queen, The pound and remain in the EU.

      Independence has been rejected by the voters, the last election UK saw the SNP lose a big chunk of seats to Conservatives.

      Think of the mess if Scotland tried to negotiate an end to 'the Union'. They seem to think the EU would keep them afloat economically and new migrants would be poets and filmmakers. Its so twee!

    • mac1 18.1
      24 July 2019 at 7:14 pm

      During the general debate in Parliament today, Grant Robertson, in a well-crafted speech based on leadership and success and especially the appropriate qualities of a leader instanced Bridges' comments about Boris. Not the sort of thing a prospective leader of a country says about the leader of another friendly country!

      Funnily enough I wrote about the difference between clowns and buffoons above at 10.1. Don't tell me that Simon Bridges reads The Standard for his quip of the day?

      • Incognito 18.1.1
        24 July 2019 at 9:05 pm

        Maybe somebody should leak Simon the URL to TS and tell him that he’s more popular here than in the polls. Before we know it, he’ll be commenting here and working up to a Guest Post and who knows in two or three terms he might even become a fully fetched TS Author. I can see a bright(er) future for him ahead, at the end of the day.

        • mac1 18.1.1.1
          25 July 2019 at 10:17 am

          Simon has taken in the House at Question Time while asking the same opening question "Does the PM stand by her statements etc" to finish with a ….. pause…..

          Someone somewhere has told him to be more meaningful so he has gone back to his notes on how to make a good speech during law moots and found "the meaningful pause" as a way of attracting…….. attention…… and spreading terror and panic on the opposing benches. "OMG. Is he going ask about (gasp!) my actions?"

  19. CHCoff 19
    24 July 2019 at 7:56 pm

    Hopefully they can get the technological solution of the dongledoogle Irish backstop thing sorted, but good grief, i did read they were going to throw an awful lot of gold at it.

    • mac1 19.1
      25 July 2019 at 10:32 am

      The English are having a lot of trouble with Ireland at the moment. Irish dongledoogle backstop, wicketkeeper Wilson, took three catches in England's 85 all out!

      "The whole world's in a state of chassis!"

  20. Stuart Munro. 20
    24 July 2019 at 9:44 pm

    FDOTM on Boris:

  21. mac1 21
    25 July 2019 at 8:40 am

    The question posed above at 10.1 is answered. Clown or buffoon?

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/114488067/boris-johnson-plays-a-clown-but-hes-really-a-powerhungry-nihilist

    "So who is the Boris behind the clown? Not Boris at all, for one. The new prime minister's actual name is Alexander, or "Al" to friends and family. Boris, his middle name, is effectively the stage name.

    What's Al like? What's his real personality? What are his politics?

    We simply don't know. He is a political mirror: He reflects the views of whichever group he needs to win to advance his career."

    The centre seems to be no place to be in the politics of troubled times. Yeats had it a hundred years ago in his poem "The Second Coming".

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Coming_(poem)

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