I have lots of friends and acquaintances who are business people and who are traditionally Tory voters because they have always believed the Tories are the party of the small business person, the shopkeepers and tenant farmers and small factory owners who are the backbone of the mixed economy which has been how our nation has existed since the Second World War.
The sad fact is that the Tory Party no longer represents them. The party is now funded by billionaire disaster capitalists and Russian oligarchs, and it no longer serves the interests of anyone in this country. Anyone who even considers voting Conservative in this election is a deluded idiot.
To give Andrew Neil his due, he's an attack dog, and if he smells blood he’ll tear anyone apart. He’s obviously a Tory, but I doubt that means Boris will get an easy ride; Neil enjoys savaging interviewees, regardless of who they are.
That’s why Boris is ducking him.
I have to say that the Labour campaign has been quite shambolic. With FPTP it's essential that the Remain majority isn't fractured. If you add the percentages in all these polls Remain parties ( assuming Labour is) account for 53-55% of the vote. The LD's have done deals with Greens and PC but Labour insist on going it alone and have never succeeded in gaining more than 34%, in many polls much less. We are in the last chance saloon now, unless we have cooperation between Lab and LD we are going to get Pfeffel for five years barring miracles such as an assassination or, more likely looking at him these days, a coronary.
Summary of the leaked 451-page US-UK trade talks documents, including the rather sinister bullet point
"A promise by both sides to keep talks secret from the public."
No wonder the document was redacted
• The US pushing lower food standards on Britain post Brexit, including allowing imports of chlorine-washed chickens, less nutritional labelling on foods, and less protection for regional food like stilton cheese. The US offered to help the UK government ‘sell’ chlorine chicken to a sceptical British public and stated that parliamentary scrutiny of food standards is ‘unhelpful’. (2nd working group, pp42-43)
• The US banning any mention of climate change in a US-UK trade deal. (2nd working group, p17)
• US officials threatening UK civil servants that they would undermine US trade talks if they supported certain EU positions in international forums. (5th working group, p35)
• The US suggesting a ‘corporate court system’ in a US-UK deal, which would allow big business to sue the British government, in secret and without appeal, for anything they regard as ‘unfair’. Recent similar cases have included suing governments for trying to phase out use of coal. (4th working group, pp92-98, 5th working group, p35)
• US officials pushing a far reaching proposals on the digital economy, giving big tech companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon sweeping freedoms to move and use our online data, which would make taxation and regulation of these companies more difficult and prohibit Labour proposals for a public broadband service.(4th working group, pp99-100)
• Threats to public services like the NHS, via sweeping services liberalisation. The British government would need to exclude everything not subject to liberalisation in order to protect public services, while bringing formerly public services like the mail, or rail companies back into public ownership would be much harder. (3rd working group, pp41-42)
• US officials making a further threat to NHS in terms of medicine pricing policy, with special concern about Brits paying more for cancer medicines which the US feels Britain doesn’t pay enough for (4th working group, pp121-132). Trade negotiators have received special lobbying from pharmaceutical corporations as part of the trade talks. (5th working group, pp43-44)
• US officials demanding US experts and multinational corporations are able to participate in standard-setting in Britain post Brexit. (4th working group, p58-59)
• A promise by both sides to keep talks secret from the public. (2nd working group, p5 & 8)
Can’t “like” that!
“Oh I’ll still vote Tory because I don’t trust that Jeremy Corbyn” FFS indeed. I don’t like Corbyn, I’ll make no bones about it. A Labour Party led by Kinnock, Callaghan, Blair, Brown .... would have wiped the floor with this sorry lot of liars and cheats years ago ..... but the current Labour Party with left wing led unions pulling the strings and an inept leader have gifted the Tories this country on a plate ...... to paraphrase Vin - what a ****ing triumph
Looking at the posts on here it is very evident that a lot of you do not like Johnson me included. It's even been suggest an assassination might help (ok tongue in cheek accepted) The truth is its Johnsons backers who we should be after IMO. Unfortunately I really don't think that will make that much difference as from the people I've been talking to they are of the opinion most just want Brexit done and dusted. They seem to have the opinion (rightly or wrongly) that Boris is the only one with a chance of securing this. They say the delay and mucking about is worse probably than actually coming out and be done with it. Although they add that a deal is better for the country. (This from a private meeting of business men I was invited to yesterday) I truly do not know how any of them voted in a referendum but it did open my eyes a bit. Is this why the tories are in the lead in the polls??
As a businessman you know very well that the phrase “Get Brexit Done” is about as misleading as you can get. Brexit will only start once we officially leave at the end of the transition period next December, because there is zero chance of having a Free Trade Agreement with the EU by then, or with any of the other countries in the world. These things take years, and at what price? Access to NHS markets for the USA drug companies? Free access to UK waters from EU fishing fleets?Looking at the posts on here it is very evident that a lot of you do not like Johnson me included. It's even been suggest an assassination might help (ok tongue in cheek accepted) The truth is its Johnsons backers who we should be after IMO. Unfortunately I really don't think that will make that much difference as from the people I've been talking to they are of the opinion most just want Brexit done and dusted. They seem to have the opinion (rightly or wrongly) that Boris is the only one with a chance of securing this. They say the delay and mucking about is worse probably than actually coming out and be done with it. Although they add that a deal is better for the country. (This from a private meeting of business men I was invited to yesterday) I truly do not know how any of them voted in a referendum but it did open my eyes a bit. Is this why the tories are in the lead in the polls??
You don't do irony do you? I bet you love Mrs Browns Boys though.An assassination that's a miracle in your sad little world is it?
There are loads of dopey posts on this thread but you get its prize!
Anyone will struggle with the massed ranks of the press, the media and even the BBC ranked against you, let alone lifelong Tory Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.You don't do irony do you? I bet you love Mrs Browns Boys though.
On Labour's woes it's pretty obvious really. I personally like a left wing agenda but I recognise the problems with selling it to the wider electorate and the opportunities that it gives for attack by other parties. Momentum have been naive in the extreme and the payoff appears to be a 1983 type result. The only point of debate will be which one is the longer suicide note.
Anyone will struggle with the massed ranks of the press, the media and even the BBC ranked against you, let alone lifelong Tory Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
The problem for Corbyn has always been that he is an administrator, not a celebrity. The cult of the personality is at the heart of our political system, and it doesn’t seem to matter what you say as long as you have a bit of charisma, the masses lap it up.