pixelburp wrote: » Maybe the question to ask is, are there any Tories who might have the knives at the ready here? We know this hearing won't tilt the press or public so what else can be wrought? Wouldn't trust Cummings to tell me his name so I can't help but wonder if there might be _something_ in the works, a Pretender looking to hang Johnson out to dry. Or maybe I'm inserting court drama where there is none
Boggerman12 wrote: » Whatever Cummings says it doesn’t make a bit of difference to English public who think the sun shines out of boris’s arse
awec wrote: » Very awkward afternoon for Laura Keunssberg I'd say...
Larbre34 wrote: » The said the same about Churchill until the election of July 1945. It would be a mistake to think that the aftermath of this pandemic combined with the crystallisation of Brexit won't have the gravity similar to a postwar situation for Britain. This testimony is great craic all the same. You can question Cummings' motivations and his politics, but there is little doubt that he is a massively intelligent and resilient fella.
ancapailldorcha wrote: » I don't know. With the comments about letting the bodies pile up, the Barnard Castle thing, the constant displays of corruption via handouts to friends of the Tory party it's hard to see anything denting him at the moment. I'm sure there'll be something at some point but it won't be now.
Larbre34 wrote: » It doesn't have to be now, under the fixed term parliament, it only has be before May 2024. The question between now and then is how much the Tories will see him as an increasing liability?
HalloweenJack wrote: » I always sensed that Cummings had something up his sleeve about BJ and was just biding his time to put it out there. He strikes me very much as a 'watch the world burn' type. I doubt he cares one way or another what people think of him, at least those who aren't his backers, and he's only loyal to himself, a bit of a Trump in that way, though a lot smarter. Therefore, he's capable of causing a lot more damage. I'm conflicted as I don't like what he represents and what he's done but it is exhilirating to see him lay into the Tories. There'll be some amount of explaining to do over the next few days and it'll be very hard to dismiss him as he was very visibly involved with the Tory top brass.
Rjd2 wrote: » I think he would describe himself a technocrat. He obviously buried Hancock and Boris but he went out of his way to praise Sunak , Raab and offered no criticism of Gove when probed. He clearly has the ear of those in the cabinet who want Boris gone.
Itssoeasy wrote: » Yeah I’d say it might have been. I don’t think the issue is that she has sources in the government because she’s the political correspondent so it’s kind of par for the course, it’s that she took the Downing Street line and didn’t seem to check with others is the issue. I mean the bbc on tv and radio are not allowed to promote brands, so why should it’s political correspondents be allowed to be used as PR people for the government ?
dogbert27 wrote: » There's the holiday he took with Carrie during the pandemic paid for by some Tory donors. And there's wallpaper gate. I wonder will Tory donors fund his wedding next year.
Joe_ Public wrote: » Cummings' testimony was compelling in ways, but i remain suspicious of the motive and absolute veracity of it. Fair enough, Hancock and Johnson surely deserve all the vitriol he directed at them, but why only them and not his old boss or Sunak. Cummings was at pains to stress his disdain for the anti lockdown lobby, yet it was reportedly Sunak who was pushing Johnson not to impose restrictions last summer and had the ear of Heneghan, Gupta and all those other herd immunity cheerleader charlatans. Only the highest praise for Rishi, though! And shining accolades for Raab too, who as i recall it spent his time as interim leader looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights. I still dont buy his Durham expedition story either, but not sure that matters much at this stage anyway.
breezy1985 wrote: » Parasites need a host and after moving from Farage to Boris is now needing to reinvent himself again to find a new face/host to live off
rock22 wrote: » The BBC list seven important claims made by Cummings. The Guardian reflects on similar points.Of these, three (The government 'failed', PM 'not fit for office', Hancock 'should have been fired' ) could be considered no more than opinion. Ans ultimately the public will form their own and make their judgement. Another three (First lockdown delay, second lockdown advice, herd immunity) could be seen as little more than the wisdom of hindsight. And they are mistakes that were made by almost all government , not wanting to take strong action early on. New Zealand, Taiwan and Australia are a few of the exceptions. His description of the chaos with number 10 ( dealing with HS2 while Us wanted UK to join in another war in Iraq, Johnsons girlfriend wanted a story about her dog to be denied and the cabinet trying to decide on the first lockdown ) should really surprise no one who has been following Johnson for any length of time. There is no real smoking gun and nothing to really damage Johnson in the long term .
breezy1985 wrote: » Massive over simplification there. The UKs Covid response was shocking and lead the UK to have some of the highest death rates in Europe and for a time were posting some of the highest cases in the world. You leave out all the details of why he is considered unfit for office like wanting to inject himself with covid or being will to let the bodies pile up. I agree it probably wont affect him given that the expenses scandal, the "piles of bodies" stuff and the dodgy way he handled the India variant havnt touched him
rock22 wrote: » The BBC list seven important claims made by Cummings. The Guardian reflects on similar points. Of these, three (The government 'failed', PM 'not fit for office', Hancock 'should have been fired' ) could be considered no more than opinion. Ans ultimately the public will form their own and make their judgement. Another three (First lockdown delay, second lockdown advice, herd immunity) could be seen as little more than the wisdom of hindsight. And they are mistakes that were made by almost all government , not wanting to take strong action early on. New Zealand, Taiwan and Australia are a few of the exceptions. His description of the chaos with number 10 ( dealing with HS2 while Us wanted UK to join in another war in Iraq, Johnsons girlfriend wanted a story about her dog to be denied and the cabinet trying to decide on the first lockdown ) should really surprise no one who has been following Johnson for any length of time. There is no real smoking gun and nothing to really damage Johnson in the long term .
