[webbo]

Is this not just going to be a shoeing for the Tory candidate as it’s North Yorkshire.

[Fiend]

Don't usually do this stuff, but this is some bantz:

https://twitter.com/GarethWild/status/1463466071512526849?t=deZeQ4u8jU76_DIVpIPXlA&s=19

[teestub]

Is this not just going to be a shoeing for the Tory candidate as it’s North Yorkshire.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Yorkshire_Police,_Fire_and_Crime_Commissioner

Decent majority last time looks like it’s usually a Con Lab race.

[Johnny Brown]

Is this not just going to be a shoeing for the Tory candidate as it’s North Yorkshire.

Shoo-in or shoeing? Opposite meanings, I assume the former?

[edshakey]

It's been a long time since I've woken up and read the news and thought "oh shit, this might actually get him this time" - it's normally a case of "this is pretty fucked, but somehow everyone will have forgotten by tomorrow". A depressing optimism, I suppose. Really struggle to see where Boris's line of reasoning is coming from, with the only method shown so far (denial) being rapidly eliminated each day.

Expected outcomes of PMQs today? There appears to be lots of Tory backbenchers pretty pissed off with this, will be interesting to see how many are willing to voice that publicly with their name attached.

Also Rees Mogg is in a leaked video on twitter, at the party joking about how they're all "socially distanced", and how it won't come back to haunt them in a year's time  hopefully be gets a few questions thrown his way in Parliament too.


All the while, PCSC bill continues to move through the houses. If this party stuff is a dead cat, then this bill must be fucking atrocious.

[mark20]

Also Rees Mogg is in a leaked video on twitter, at the party joking about how they're all "socially distanced", and how it won't come back to haunt them in a year's time  hopefully be gets a few questions thrown his way in Parliament too.

That's not quite right, it's a recent video, from this year, at a christmas party at a think tank, independant link
But still possibly not the greatest joke

[James Malloch]

It's been a long time since I've woken up and read the news and thought "oh shit, this might actually get him this time" - it's normally a case of "this is pretty fucked, but somehow everyone will have forgotten by tomorrow". A depressing optimism, I suppose. Really struggle to see where Boris's line of reasoning is coming from, with the only method shown so far (denial) being rapidly eliminated each day.

Expected outcomes of PMQs today? There appears to be lots of Tory backbenchers pretty pissed off with this, will be interesting to see how many are willing to voice that publicly with their name attached.

Also Rees Mogg is in a leaked video on twitter, at the party joking about how they're all "socially distanced", and how it won't come back to haunt them in a year's time  hopefully be gets a few questions thrown his way in Parliament too.


All the while, PCSC bill continues to move through the houses. If this party stuff is a dead cat, then this bill must be fucking atrocious.

Yep - it’s all fucking outrageous. I hadn’t seen the Rees-Mogg video until you mentioned but it’s awful as well. I don’t know the date of that event (it’s a separate one from the No.10 party) so unsure what the rules are at the time. But he’s happily joking that he things the distancing rules are 2 inches rather than meters whilst encouraging them all to shout and cheers. What a dick.

PMQ’s will make for good watching today. Surely they just need to come clean?

[Fiend]

PMQ’s will make for good watching today. Surely they just need to come clean?

See my twitter link further up, it's prescient!

[ali k]

It's been a long time since I've woken up and read the news and thought "oh shit, this might actually get him this time".
Really struggle to see where Boris's line of reasoning is coming from, with the only method shown so far (denial) being rapidly eliminated each day.

Wish I shared your optimism but I think he’ll survive. Hope I’m proved wrong.

It’s been perfectly planned by whoever’s been sitting on the video though. Leak reports of the party so Johnson is forced to deny it happened. Then once he’s committed to denial and up to his neck in it drop the video.

[teestub]

I’m sure PMQs will just involve the usual bluster, obfuscation, misdirection, waffle and obscure grammar, and there will be no change at all.

[Will Hunt]

I have a feeling we're going to be told (again) that the public aren't interested in hearing about these petty squabbles, they just want politicians to get on with the job.
And did you know the booster programme is going well?

[edshakey]

Also Rees Mogg is in a leaked video on twitter, at the party joking about how they're all "socially distanced", and how it won't come back to haunt them in a year's time  hopefully be gets a few questions thrown his way in Parliament too.

That's not quite right, it's a recent video, from this year, at a christmas party at a think tank, independant link
But still possibly not the greatest joke

Yep sorry that's wrong. Can't edit any more unfortunately, hopefully everyone reads your reply.

I have a feeling we're going to be told (again) that the public aren't interested in hearing about these petty squabbles, they just want politicians to get on with the job.
And did you know the booster programme is going well?

 

[spidermonkey09]

 Not convinced by all the "well done whoever leaked it" chat about the video I've see elsewhere. They didn't have enough of a moral compass to leak it last winter when it actually happened.

[User deactivated.]

It looks like the government are upping their war on drugs, a tactic which has a 50 year track record of failing spectacularly:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/dec/06/middle-class-drug-users-could-lose-uk-passports-under-boris-johnsons-plans

[Wellsy]

To me this feels like a similar situation as to when Rudd lied to parliament i.e leak without evidence so that she could deny all knowledge, leak with evidence so that she was caught in the lie.

Mirror breaks story but without vid, gov denies. Video then released, gov caught in nasty nasty lie. Either the vid was known of by the press who decided to bait the government out, or the vid was deliberately kept back by the leaker who was almost certainly a senior gov figure (civil service or a senior politician) looking to do a hit.

Either way to me this feels very planned out. Just enough rope for them to try and hang themselves. Definitely looks poor. And they know it, hence every minister cancelling media appearances this morning

[seankenny]

To me this feels like a similar situation as to when Rudd lied to parliament i.e leak without evidence so that she could deny all knowledge, leak with evidence so that she was caught in the lie.

Mirror breaks story but without vid, gov denies. Video then released, gov caught in nasty nasty lie. Either the vid was known of by the press who decided to bait the government out, or the vid was deliberately kept back by the leaker who was almost certainly a senior gov figure (civil service or a senior politician) looking to do a hit.

Either way to me this feels very planned out. Just enough rope for them to try and hang themselves. Definitely looks poor. And they know it, hence every minister cancelling media appearances this morning

Third possibility: the original leaker and the video leaker are two different people, acting independently. There were "several dozen" people at the party, it's quite possible for them to have talked to the press seperately and of their own accord. The leaker of the video didn't even have to be at the party - could have been the camera operator who was disgusted, kept a copy but didn't think anyone was interested until now. Or he tried to give it to a reporter but the reporter didn't do anything with it as the existence of the party wasn't confirmed. When the story was confirmed, by another outlet, the reporter ran with the video.

We just don't know. But the world of politics is full of cock ups. 

[Wellsy]

Quite possibly yes. It just feels like the video release was perfectly timed. But yeah could be that.

[SA Chris]

I’m sure PMQs will just involve the usual bluster, obfuscation, misdirection, waffle and obscure grammar, and there will be no change at all.

I think the word is obfuckstickation. Otherwise agree.

[seankenny]

Quite possibly yes. It just feels like the video release was perfectly timed. But yeah could be that.

We don't know how long ITN had the video for - could have been a while and they were trying to get the whole story to stand up. Bear in mind they have to be careful not to libel people, and that requires undertaking various checks on the story.

[Will Hunt]

Pffff. I think some of you need a copy of The Prince slipped into your Christmas stocking.

If you've got dirt you don't throw it out there when your opponent is on their uppers, and if your opponent is a serial fibber then it would be remiss not to expose them as such.

[James Malloch]

I loved that they are only going to investigate the party (out of the three) which they will confirm the PM wasn’t in attendance at. And also that they won’t confirm whether the person investigating it, was in attendance himself.

[edshakey]

So Allegra Stratton goes... PM couldn't even take the chance to show some pretend leadership and dismiss her? Wasn't he 'sickened' by the video? Seems like a missed opportunity to me.

[SA Chris]

Remember the episode of The Thick of It about who was going to resign? It's this.

[edshakey]

It all feels like an episode of the Thick of It nowadays

[seankenny]

Apparently the major difference between actual high-level political life and an episode of In the Thick of It is that in the later they don't go around saying "This is just like an episode of In the Thick of It".