BoJo banished - Liz Truss down. Is Rishi next for the toaster? **threadbans in OP**

I don't understand why her background should inform her politics though?

She is politically aligned to conservative values, and there's no rule book that says just because you're from immigrant descent (or that you are a woman) means you cannot have conservative views.

If you take a look at Johnson's former cabinet, we had Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel, Sajid Javid, and Nadhim Zahawi. All from immigrant stock, but who identify as conservatives.

The Labour front bench has never had this kind of diversity, actually.

The Conservatives are the only ones with 2 female Prime Ministers. David Cameron introduced gay marriage. Boris Johnson outlawed gay conversion therapy.

So this idea that conservatism is somehow backwards, not diverse, anti-progressive etc. is not a reflection of the modern day Conservative Party, which is about as diverse as you can find in the House of Commons.

Speaking of women, Penny Mordaunt is the favorite among the youth wing of the Conservative Party, a poll finds. So perhaps the Conservative Party is looking at a third female prime minister.

Even if that interpretation were true, it wouldn't change the fact that gay marriage was introduced by a Conservative government.

The circumstances are irrelevant. What matters is that Cameron acted. From 2010, well before the coalition government formed, Cameron made a speech at the party conference saying that gay marriage should be passed. So your distorted interpretation can be put to bed right there.

I'm struggling to think of that group, of who 64% were privately educated, as being particularly diverse. Only 6% of all children in Britain attend private schools.

For sure.

Here is an extract from David Cameron's 2011 Conservative Party conference speech (2-years before gay marriage passed in the UK). Source: Pink News.

Now unless you're saying that David Cameron was lying in his keynote speech, then you have to accept he supported it publicly at least from 2011.

In fact, Pink News issued David Cameron (not Nick Clegg) an LGBT award for introducing same-sex marriage, where he was honoured for being the "Ally of the Year".

Bit early to be this pissed even for a Friday isn't it

Was out last night with a Russian work colleague who just spent a couple of weeks in Moscow seeing family (via a somewhat circuitous route of course, including Turkey and various ‘Stans’). this is a pro-western individual, here for many years, with an Irish wife and young family. Not some Russia apologist, so I believe what he tells me.

i asked him what the mood was in Moscow among young people. Are sanctions being felt, are people nervous, frustrated with the regime etc

he told me that, yes there are many boarded up shop fronts where foreign stores used to be, but apart from that things are utterly normal. Says that the war has brought people together against the west in a way he has never seen before, including young people. There is a refreshed sense of Russian solidarity. The bars are full, everyone’s enjoying the summer in Gorky Park and the place is buzzing just like normal

people are a little nervous about the winter - shortages, prices etc. But seemingly no more so than here and across the west

I know myself, from my company, that a lot of people being reporting as leaving the country are doing so because their western companies are relocating them. Most of this is to Dubai, which seems like it’s turning into a mini Moscow right now. It’s corporate relocations, not a fleeing of young people from Putins Russia

long story short, there is no material anti Putin sentiment among young people and moscovites. There is broad support for what is happening by people who do have access to non state media.

my own personal experience is that my Russian friends (and I have visited Moscow and other places a few times) have gone very quiet. We used to have regular chats over Facebook and IG. They have definitely drawn back, which probably reflects what I have written above

Labour open up sizeable poll lead over ToriesAccording to average polling, Labour now has its largest poll lead over the Conservatives since January 2022 when the partygate scandal was gaining ground.

With talk of a potential snap election, the Conservatives will have cause for hesitancy if this is how the numbers are looking - with Labour around 8% ahead according to Sky News' rolling average of the 10 latest major polls.