Surely that can't be?! I thought all of the violent rhetoric came from the Right. Or do different rules apply for the Left? It certainly seems so to me.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
The title is disgusting, but is really Brexit a left/right issue? I could be wrong, but aren't there brexiters and remainers on both the left and the right? I guess some of the most die hard brexiters are on the right, but still ...
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,870MI6 Agent
The title is disgusting, but is really Brexit a left/right issue? I could be wrong, but aren't there brexiters and remainers on both the left and the right? I guess some of the most die hard brexiters are on the right, but still ...
Perhaps I was making a bit of a generalisation there but that is how it appears to me. The Labour Party and the Liberals are both moving to a Remain position in differing degrees. The Labour Party (at their recent party conference) now favours a second referendum with the option of a good Corbyn-negotiated deal or Remain on the ballot paper. A majority of Labour MPs seem to favour the Remain option in any upcoming so-called "People's Vote." The Liberals have moved to a full-on revoking of Article 50 policy at their recent party conference, no questions asked. On the Right the conservatives under Johnson are committed to a policy of leaving the EU by the 31 October deadline "do or die." Also on the Right the Brexit Party under Farage is committed to a no deal Brexit policy.
So, I'll leave it up to others to decide which parties are on for implementing the majority result of the biggest democratic vote in the UK's history and which parties are either sitting on the fence or for stopping Brexit dead in its tracks altogether and rescinding the Article 50 process. Hint: it certainly isn't the parties on the Right or vitally those who will vote for them come the next Brexit-centred general election!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
The James Bond film poster book had been sold when I went back. I knew I should have bought it when I saw it! Some time ago there were also all the James Bond films on video tape. I think these were 50p each.
Disappointing Joshua, I too have learned over the years, that it's always better to buy something
when you see it, as it's nearly always gone when you return.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,929Chief of Staff
The title is disgusting, but is really Brexit a left/right issue? I could be wrong, but aren't there brexiters and remainers on both the left and the right? I guess some of the most die hard brexiters are on the right, but still ...
Perhaps I was making a bit of a generalisation there but that is how it appears to me. The Labour Party and the Liberals are both moving to a Remain position in differing degrees. The Labour Party (at their recent party conference) now favours a second referendum with the option of a good Corbyn-negotiated deal or Remain on the ballot paper. A majority of Labour MPs seem to favour the Remain option in any upcoming so-called "People's Vote." The Liberals have moved to a full-on revoking of Article 50 policy at their recent party conference, no questions asked. On the Right the conservatives under Johnson are committed to a policy of leaving the EU by the 31 October deadline "do or die." Also on the Right the Brexit Party under Farage is committed to a no deal Brexit policy.
So, I'll leave it up to others to decide which parties are on for implementing the majority result of the biggest democratic vote in the UK's history and which parties are either sitting on the fence or for stopping Brexit dead in its tracks altogether and rescinding the Article 50 process. Hint: it certainly isn't the parties on the Right or vitally those who will vote for them come the next Brexit-centred general election!
All rather simplified I’d say…especially as the Tories can’t even agree amongst themselves - what’s left of them anyway )
I am not sure if it has been spoken about elsewhere but if not I would just like to say that George Lazenby is going to star in a new British spy audioplay called 'Passport To Oblivion'. Not as James Bond of course! The play will be released in November.
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,870MI6 Agent
The title is disgusting, but is really Brexit a left/right issue? I could be wrong, but aren't there brexiters and remainers on both the left and the right? I guess some of the most die hard brexiters are on the right, but still ...
Perhaps I was making a bit of a generalisation there but that is how it appears to me. The Labour Party and the Liberals are both moving to a Remain position in differing degrees. The Labour Party (at their recent party conference) now favours a second referendum with the option of a good Corbyn-negotiated deal or Remain on the ballot paper. A majority of Labour MPs seem to favour the Remain option in any upcoming so-called "People's Vote." The Liberals have moved to a full-on revoking of Article 50 policy at their recent party conference, no questions asked. On the Right the conservatives under Johnson are committed to a policy of leaving the EU by the 31 October deadline "do or die." Also on the Right the Brexit Party under Farage is committed to a no deal Brexit policy.
So, I'll leave it up to others to decide which parties are on for implementing the majority result of the biggest democratic vote in the UK's history and which parties are either sitting on the fence or for stopping Brexit dead in its tracks altogether and rescinding the Article 50 process. Hint: it certainly isn't the parties on the Right or vitally those who will vote for them come the next Brexit-centred general election!
All rather simplified I’d say…especially as the Tories can’t even agree amongst themselves - what’s left of them anyway )
I hope you enjoy Farage as PM
And I would say you have merely compounded any perceived simplification with your own remarks, Sir Miles. You forget that Boris Johnson has cut the dead wood out of his party by removing the whip from those 21 rebel MPs. Nigel Farage will probably never even be an MP, never mind prime minister. It's best not to jump the gun so fast. He's stood for Parliament no less than seven times (in five general elections and two by-elections) and never won a seat there yet so I don't fancy his chances now either. Winning seats in the European Parliament and winning seats in Westminster are two very different things. Many Leave voters feel it's fine to vote for the Brexit Party in Europe to send out a strong protest vote within an EU institution but at the same time they don't want Farage or his party represented in Westminster in any meaningful way at all. They're not a party of government, unlike the Conservatives, but more of a pressure group to hold the EU's and the British government's feet to the fire.
It's the same thing with those disgruntled and bitter Leave voters after the referendum result in June 2016 who were complaining about how Farage had lied about the spending pledge on the NHS and on how much the UK was sending to the EU each week. Did they really think that Farage's then party UKIP had any chance of delivering on what he was saying with their one or two MPs out of a total of 650! That's not exactly a majority! I think people ascribe to Farage a lot more power than he actually has in reality! It's fantasy politics at its very worst. I expect most Leave voters will still come behind Boris Johnson's Conservatives at the next general election. In contrast, Farage and the Brexit Party will fall by the wayside as an anachronism and an irrelevance in much the same way as the "mighty" UKIP did before it.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,929Chief of Staff
Perhaps I was making a bit of a generalisation there but that is how it appears to me. The Labour Party and the Liberals are both moving to a Remain position in differing degrees. The Labour Party (at their recent party conference) now favours a second referendum with the option of a good Corbyn-negotiated deal or Remain on the ballot paper. A majority of Labour MPs seem to favour the Remain option in any upcoming so-called "People's Vote." The Liberals have moved to a full-on revoking of Article 50 policy at their recent party conference, no questions asked. On the Right the conservatives under Johnson are committed to a policy of leaving the EU by the 31 October deadline "do or die." Also on the Right the Brexit Party under Farage is committed to a no deal Brexit policy.
So, I'll leave it up to others to decide which parties are on for implementing the majority result of the biggest democratic vote in the UK's history and which parties are either sitting on the fence or for stopping Brexit dead in its tracks altogether and rescinding the Article 50 process. Hint: it certainly isn't the parties on the Right or vitally those who will vote for them come the next Brexit-centred general election!
All rather simplified I’d say…especially as the Tories can’t even agree amongst themselves - what’s left of them anyway )
I hope you enjoy Farage as PM
And I would say you have merely compounded any perceived simplification with your own remarks, Sir Miles. You forget that Boris Johnson has cut the dead wood out of his party by removing the whip from those 21 rebel MPs. Nigel Farage will probably never even be an MP, never mind prime minister. It's best not to jump the gun so fast. He's stood for Parliament no less than seven times (in five general elections and two by-elections) and never won a seat there yet so I don't fancy his chances now either. Winning seats in the European Parliament and winning seats in Westminster are two very different things. Many Leave voters feel it's fine to vote for the Brexit Party in Europe to send out a strong protest vote within an EU institution but at the same time they don't want Farage or his party represented in Westminster in any meaningful way at all. They're not a party of government, unlike the Conservatives, but more of a pressure group to hold the EU's and the British government's feet to the fire.
It's the same thing with those disgruntled and bitter Leave voters after the referendum result in June 2016 who were complaining about how Farage had lied about the spending pledge on the NHS and on how much the UK was sending to the EU each week. Did they really think that Farage's then party UKIP had any chance of delivering on what he was saying with their one or two MPs out of a total of 650! That's not exactly a majority! I think people ascribe to Farage a lot more power than he actually has in reality! It's fantasy politics at its very worst. I expect most Leave voters will still come behind Boris Johnson's Conservatives at the next general election. In contrast, Farage and the Brexit Party will fall by the wayside as an anachronism and an irrelevance in much the same way as the "mighty" UKIP did before it.
Several of those MP’s have left the Tory party already - with more set to follow...the only ‘dead wood’ he hasn’t cut yet is himself )
Boris is a ‘car crash’ of a PM, he rolls from one disaster to another, and now he’s trying to get Hungary to block a further extension to Brexit...who probably won’t comply because they need the EU!
YNWA 97
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,870MI6 Agent
All rather simplified I’d say…especially as the Tories can’t even agree amongst themselves - what’s left of them anyway )
I hope you enjoy Farage as PM
And I would say you have merely compounded any perceived simplification with your own remarks, Sir Miles. You forget that Boris Johnson has cut the dead wood out of his party by removing the whip from those 21 rebel MPs. Nigel Farage will probably never even be an MP, never mind prime minister. It's best not to jump the gun so fast. He's stood for Parliament no less than seven times (in five general elections and two by-elections) and never won a seat there yet so I don't fancy his chances now either. Winning seats in the European Parliament and winning seats in Westminster are two very different things. Many Leave voters feel it's fine to vote for the Brexit Party in Europe to send out a strong protest vote within an EU institution but at the same time they don't want Farage or his party represented in Westminster in any meaningful way at all. They're not a party of government, unlike the Conservatives, but more of a pressure group to hold the EU's and the British government's feet to the fire.
It's the same thing with those disgruntled and bitter Leave voters after the referendum result in June 2016 who were complaining about how Farage had lied about the spending pledge on the NHS and on how much the UK was sending to the EU each week. Did they really think that Farage's then party UKIP had any chance of delivering on what he was saying with their one or two MPs out of a total of 650! That's not exactly a majority! I think people ascribe to Farage a lot more power than he actually has in reality! It's fantasy politics at its very worst. I expect most Leave voters will still come behind Boris Johnson's Conservatives at the next general election. In contrast, Farage and the Brexit Party will fall by the wayside as an anachronism and an irrelevance in much the same way as the "mighty" UKIP did before it.
Several of those MP’s have left the Tory party already - with more set to follow...the only ‘dead wood’ he hasn’t cut yet is himself )
Boris is a ‘car crash’ of a PM, he rolls from one disaster to another, and now he’s trying to get Hungary to block a further extension to Brexit...who probably won’t comply because they need the EU!
In most of their cases I'd argue that they weren't true blue Conservatives anyway so good riddance to them! As some of them have been deselected by their constituency associations they've had top cast about for another political home. One of them has joined the Lib Dems and one of them has recently declared his intention to stand as the Independent candidate for the next London mayoral elections in 2020.
Boris Johnson is still a very healthy tree and your comments about him being "dead wood" remind me of what a former Conservative prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home said about his leadership and short-term criticisms of it. Douglas-Home said some people were obsessed with constantly lifting the plant or tree out of the ground to see how its roots were growing instead of just letting it grow and see the fruit that it bore in the natural way. I feel the same thing is now happening with Johnson's leadership, only even more so with our social media obsessed culture and the over-analysis of rolling 24 hours news. There's even podcasts on Brexit now, in case we haven't heard enough about Brexit through the day. Sometimes we just need to let leaders get on with their job and ultimately judge them by their results, as that will be what they're remembered for.
I don't doubt that Hungary need the EU, indeed that is the problem, namely how dependent these former Soviet bloc countries are on the EU financially and politically. It's easy to see that Hungary and other countries in Eastern Europe need the EU a heck of a lot more than the UK does. It's high time we left the EU.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,929Chief of Staff
Boris Johnson is still a very healthy tree and your comments about him being "dead wood" remind me of what a former Conservative prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home said about his leadership and short-term criticisms of it. Douglas-Home said some people were obsessed with constantly lifting the plant or tree out of the ground to see how its roots were growing instead of just letting it grow and see the fruit that it bore in the natural way. I feel the same thing is now happening with Johnson's leadership, only even more so with our social media obsessed culture and the over-analysis of rolling 24 hours news. There's even podcasts on Brexit now, in case we haven't heard enough about Brexit through the day. Sometimes we just need to let leaders get on with their job and ultimately judge them by their results, as that will be what they're remembered for.
Boris is coming under fire from all angles because everyone knows he’s a sitting duck.
Seems Boris is quite happy to use his hands too...if only he’d stop molesting women and concentrate on his actual job!
Boris has a proven track record of being an out and out liar...he’ll never change...why do you believe he will?
This is one tree that will have very strange fruit.
You may call it „cutting dead wood“ ( not sure how you will feel about that term when you are getting a bit older, SM), I call it recklessly streamlining the party for his radical agenda, which has nothing to do with true conservatism - while getting rid of the moderate oriented members who are afraid of the consequences of his „Hard Brexit by all means“
And if Theresa May would have been similarly cruel, he and many of his pals would have been „old-wooded“ by her because he had nothing else to do to do than throwing stones into the gear during the negotiation process. I am sure that you would have sympathized to the same degree, if Johnson would have gotten thrown out of the party one year ago for only being obstructive?
And as you mention Hungary under Orban „suffering“ from the EU.
We have certain rules how we deal with radical nationalism and religious discrimination and pure xenophobia which all are not acceptable under our standards. If you want to draw similarities between Hungary and the UK and their „dependence“ to the EU - go ahead! I‘d like to hear more
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I think the main problem with Orban's Hungary is the lack of freedom. His friends control much of the media, he tries to get the Supreme Court under (his) political control and he sees Putin as a hero.
Thought this was interesting, some Google engineers have studied the porn interests of their
female users, and apparently there are five types of male characters that they look for.
Vampires, Werewolves, Millionaires, surgeons and Pirates .... so to achieve total satisfaction
You need to be either a Vampire ( or Werewolf ) millionaire surgeon who has a sideline as a
Pirate. ....... Sadly no one is interested in the Fat Middle-aged bloke fantasy
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,870MI6 Agent
You may call it „cutting dead wood“ ( not sure how you will feel about that term when you are getting a bit older, SM), I call it recklessly streamlining the party for his radical agenda, which has nothing to do with true conservatism - while getting rid of the moderate oriented members who are afraid of the consequences of his „Hard Brexit by all means“
And if Theresa May would have been similarly cruel, he and many of his pals would have been „old-wooded“ by her because he had nothing else to do to do than throwing stones into the gear during the negotiation process. I am sure that you would have sympathized to the same degree, if Johnson would have gotten thrown out of the party one year ago for only being obstructive?
And as you mention Hungary under Orban „suffering“ from the EU.
We have certain rules how we deal with radical nationalism and religious discrimination and pure xenophobia which all are not acceptable under our standards. If you want to draw similarities between Hungary and the UK and their „dependence“ to the EU - go ahead! I‘d like to hear more
I'm not sure I understand your point about my use of the term "cutting dead wood" but it seems you have completely misunderstood what I wrote, Higgins. You appear to assume it was shorthand for getting rid of the older MPs and that that was a good thing in my book. If so, nothing could be further from the truth. My comment had nothing whatever to do with ageism but the fact that it is the prerogative of a party leader to remove the party whip from MPs rebelling against the party line, and in a crucial vote for the future of his government. In any case, the 21 rebel MPs varied in age, so even that point doesn't make any sense.
I would concede though that it was (as David Cameron said recently) rather "sharp practice" and given the fact he lost an MP at a by-election and another by defecting to the Lib Dems beforehand, not perhaps the wisest course of action. I'm sure that I would also be complaining if the shoe was on the other foot and Theresa May had done this to her Tory rebels during the votes on her deal. There was talk Johnson might offer an olive branch to the remaining rebel MPs that still sit on the Conservative benches but I'm not sure if that will work. I suspect not.
I suppose that Johnson ultimately wants his general election where he can try to regain a majority and if he can get Brexit done he will be surer of achieving this. That would end any need for the retention of the rebel MPs he removed the whip from. In any event, I would say that a general election is imminent.
You've also of course completely misrepresented what I said about Hungary. I would of course side with the EU imposing its rules on a member state that is flagrantly disregarding its democratic institutions in the manner that Hungary currently is. I wasn't in any way defending Hungary or condoning what Orban is doing there. If you read my post above you'll see you were mistaken in accusing me of that. I also never drew any similarities between Hungary and the UK (I don't see any myself) nor did I say that Hungary is "suffering" from the EU. If anything it's the other way around and the EU is "suffering" from having Hungary as a member state!
So, in conclusion, I don't need you (or anyone else) to put words into my mouth and mispresent me when I can much better tell you myself what I think about these matters. Clearly, there is also the record of my unedited words above, too. Surely you are better than that, Higgins?
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
So, in conclusion, I don't need you (or anyone else) to put words into my mouth and mispresent me when I can much better tell you myself what I think about these matters. Clearly, there is also the record of my unedited words above, too. Surely you are better than that, Higgins?
Thanks for clearing this up.
I did not put words in your mouth, the sentence started with "If".
If you want to draw similarities between Hungary and the UK and their „dependence“ to the EU - go ahead! I‘d like to hear more
As for the "Cutting dead wood", thanks for confirming that it had nothing to do with age.
However, the modus is still as it is.
I repeat, if Theresa May would have "sharp-practiced" her party rivals the same way like Johnson was just doing it, I am sure that you'd been as much appreciative and understanding about the ethics of doing it - age or not
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I don't want to get involved in a never-ending discussion on this subject, or for this thread to function as a surrogate for the UK Politics thread.
Mmm. It seems that politics, like water, has a way of seeping into the cracks.
Only because I am on leave at the moment. I'm at the moment in Berlin, where I'll shortly be meeting a certain person who is no stranger to anyone here, but I've spent most of the last week in Leipzig where Internet service was very patchy, or in transit.
So, obviously I agree with what Sir Miles said above. This isn't a political thread.
Comments
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Never heard that before ... 8-)
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Well done is a waste of meat....
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7512509/My-Little-Book-Brexiteers-Want-Stab-notepad-advertised-Amazon.html
Perfect gift for all those politicians who want to keep their
Discussions civil
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Surely that can't be?! I thought all of the violent rhetoric came from the Right. Or do different rules apply for the Left? It certainly seems so to me.
Perhaps I was making a bit of a generalisation there but that is how it appears to me. The Labour Party and the Liberals are both moving to a Remain position in differing degrees. The Labour Party (at their recent party conference) now favours a second referendum with the option of a good Corbyn-negotiated deal or Remain on the ballot paper. A majority of Labour MPs seem to favour the Remain option in any upcoming so-called "People's Vote." The Liberals have moved to a full-on revoking of Article 50 policy at their recent party conference, no questions asked. On the Right the conservatives under Johnson are committed to a policy of leaving the EU by the 31 October deadline "do or die." Also on the Right the Brexit Party under Farage is committed to a no deal Brexit policy.
So, I'll leave it up to others to decide which parties are on for implementing the majority result of the biggest democratic vote in the UK's history and which parties are either sitting on the fence or for stopping Brexit dead in its tracks altogether and rescinding the Article 50 process. Hint: it certainly isn't the parties on the Right or vitally those who will vote for them come the next Brexit-centred general election!
when you see it, as it's nearly always gone when you return.
All rather simplified I’d say…especially as the Tories can’t even agree amongst themselves - what’s left of them anyway
I hope you enjoy Farage as PM
And I would say you have merely compounded any perceived simplification with your own remarks, Sir Miles. You forget that Boris Johnson has cut the dead wood out of his party by removing the whip from those 21 rebel MPs. Nigel Farage will probably never even be an MP, never mind prime minister. It's best not to jump the gun so fast. He's stood for Parliament no less than seven times (in five general elections and two by-elections) and never won a seat there yet so I don't fancy his chances now either. Winning seats in the European Parliament and winning seats in Westminster are two very different things. Many Leave voters feel it's fine to vote for the Brexit Party in Europe to send out a strong protest vote within an EU institution but at the same time they don't want Farage or his party represented in Westminster in any meaningful way at all. They're not a party of government, unlike the Conservatives, but more of a pressure group to hold the EU's and the British government's feet to the fire.
It's the same thing with those disgruntled and bitter Leave voters after the referendum result in June 2016 who were complaining about how Farage had lied about the spending pledge on the NHS and on how much the UK was sending to the EU each week. Did they really think that Farage's then party UKIP had any chance of delivering on what he was saying with their one or two MPs out of a total of 650! That's not exactly a majority! I think people ascribe to Farage a lot more power than he actually has in reality! It's fantasy politics at its very worst. I expect most Leave voters will still come behind Boris Johnson's Conservatives at the next general election. In contrast, Farage and the Brexit Party will fall by the wayside as an anachronism and an irrelevance in much the same way as the "mighty" UKIP did before it.
Several of those MP’s have left the Tory party already - with more set to follow...the only ‘dead wood’ he hasn’t cut yet is himself
Boris is a ‘car crash’ of a PM, he rolls from one disaster to another, and now he’s trying to get Hungary to block a further extension to Brexit...who probably won’t comply because they need the EU!
In most of their cases I'd argue that they weren't true blue Conservatives anyway so good riddance to them! As some of them have been deselected by their constituency associations they've had top cast about for another political home. One of them has joined the Lib Dems and one of them has recently declared his intention to stand as the Independent candidate for the next London mayoral elections in 2020.
Boris Johnson is still a very healthy tree and your comments about him being "dead wood" remind me of what a former Conservative prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home said about his leadership and short-term criticisms of it. Douglas-Home said some people were obsessed with constantly lifting the plant or tree out of the ground to see how its roots were growing instead of just letting it grow and see the fruit that it bore in the natural way. I feel the same thing is now happening with Johnson's leadership, only even more so with our social media obsessed culture and the over-analysis of rolling 24 hours news. There's even podcasts on Brexit now, in case we haven't heard enough about Brexit through the day. Sometimes we just need to let leaders get on with their job and ultimately judge them by their results, as that will be what they're remembered for.
I don't doubt that Hungary need the EU, indeed that is the problem, namely how dependent these former Soviet bloc countries are on the EU financially and politically. It's easy to see that Hungary and other countries in Eastern Europe need the EU a heck of a lot more than the UK does. It's high time we left the EU.
Boris is coming under fire from all angles because everyone knows he’s a sitting duck.
Seems Boris is quite happy to use his hands too...if only he’d stop molesting women and concentrate on his actual job!
Boris has a proven track record of being an out and out liar...he’ll never change...why do you believe he will?
This is one tree that will have very strange fruit.
And if Theresa May would have been similarly cruel, he and many of his pals would have been „old-wooded“ by her because he had nothing else to do to do than throwing stones into the gear during the negotiation process. I am sure that you would have sympathized to the same degree, if Johnson would have gotten thrown out of the party one year ago for only being obstructive?
And as you mention Hungary under Orban „suffering“ from the EU.
We have certain rules how we deal with radical nationalism and religious discrimination and pure xenophobia which all are not acceptable under our standards. If you want to draw similarities between Hungary and the UK and their „dependence“ to the EU - go ahead! I‘d like to hear more
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
female users, and apparently there are five types of male characters that they look for.
Vampires, Werewolves, Millionaires, surgeons and Pirates .... so to achieve total satisfaction
You need to be either a Vampire ( or Werewolf ) millionaire surgeon who has a sideline as a
Pirate.
I'm not sure I understand your point about my use of the term "cutting dead wood" but it seems you have completely misunderstood what I wrote, Higgins. You appear to assume it was shorthand for getting rid of the older MPs and that that was a good thing in my book. If so, nothing could be further from the truth. My comment had nothing whatever to do with ageism but the fact that it is the prerogative of a party leader to remove the party whip from MPs rebelling against the party line, and in a crucial vote for the future of his government. In any case, the 21 rebel MPs varied in age, so even that point doesn't make any sense.
I would concede though that it was (as David Cameron said recently) rather "sharp practice" and given the fact he lost an MP at a by-election and another by defecting to the Lib Dems beforehand, not perhaps the wisest course of action. I'm sure that I would also be complaining if the shoe was on the other foot and Theresa May had done this to her Tory rebels during the votes on her deal. There was talk Johnson might offer an olive branch to the remaining rebel MPs that still sit on the Conservative benches but I'm not sure if that will work. I suspect not.
It is however interesting that former Foreign Secretary (and his recent Tory leadership rival) Jeremy Hunt did back Johnson's removing of the 21 rebel MPs and he is certainly seen as part of the moderate "safe pair of hands" side of the Conservative Party. Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1181918/Brexit-News-update-latest-Boris-Johnson-Jeremy-Hunt-no-deal-Prorogation-Parliament/amp
I suppose that Johnson ultimately wants his general election where he can try to regain a majority and if he can get Brexit done he will be surer of achieving this. That would end any need for the retention of the rebel MPs he removed the whip from. In any event, I would say that a general election is imminent.
You've also of course completely misrepresented what I said about Hungary. I would of course side with the EU imposing its rules on a member state that is flagrantly disregarding its democratic institutions in the manner that Hungary currently is. I wasn't in any way defending Hungary or condoning what Orban is doing there. If you read my post above you'll see you were mistaken in accusing me of that. I also never drew any similarities between Hungary and the UK (I don't see any myself) nor did I say that Hungary is "suffering" from the EU. If anything it's the other way around and the EU is "suffering" from having Hungary as a member state!
So, in conclusion, I don't need you (or anyone else) to put words into my mouth and mispresent me when I can much better tell you myself what I think about these matters. Clearly, there is also the record of my unedited words above, too. Surely you are better than that, Higgins?
Mmm. It seems that politics, like water, has a way of seeping into the cracks.
Thanks for clearing this up.
I did not put words in your mouth, the sentence started with "If".
As for the "Cutting dead wood", thanks for confirming that it had nothing to do with age.
However, the modus is still as it is.
I repeat, if Theresa May would have "sharp-practiced" her party rivals the same way like Johnson was just doing it, I am sure that you'd been as much appreciative and understanding about the ethics of doing it - age or not
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I agree and it would be fun to see the Daughter of a former Bond girl, become another Leading lady.
Only because I am on leave at the moment. I'm at the moment in Berlin, where I'll shortly be meeting a certain person who is no stranger to anyone here, but I've spent most of the last week in Leipzig where Internet service was very patchy, or in transit.
So, obviously I agree with what Sir Miles said above. This isn't a political thread.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!