WTF is happening in the UK?

[Woody]

It’s a complete PITA, hopefully I’ll be able to book a test for Saturday when I arrive in CPT on Friday

[Pontius Navigator]

Agreed, for a short visit like that it can eat up two hours or more just getting the test done, then the anxiety of will it be ready.

[Boac]

"The UK Press - they don’t report the news, they create it, they have successfully turned fact based news into opinion based gossip"

Discuss?

[TheGreenGoblin]

Going for my preflight PCR test today, discovered yesterday that I need one to leave ZA as well, so I arrive Friday and will have to book a departure test for Saturday or Sunday as I’m flying back Monday evening

Printed off my entry and exit forms for passport control and this is definitely a first, you now need a code provided by the DVLA to hire a car

It has been a requirement for some time and this requirement existed when I met up with you back in 2018, but I will be surprised if the car hire folks at Cape Town even bother to check your code.

[4mastacker]

"The UK Press - they don’t report the news, they create it, they have successfully turned fact based news into opinion based gossip"

Discuss?

True. For a considerable period of time I have called BBC News "Campaign TV" as they weren't reporting "news" but jumping on and promoting every bloody woke bandwagon that they could find. "Impartiality and accuracy" is not a phrase to be used when describing that organisation. We change TV channels when the news programmes come on, preferring to watch wild-life nature documentaries instead.

As for the so-called "newspapers", they're not even fit to be fish & chips wrappers.....or bum wipes.

[OFSO]

Current regs for travelling on PT in France mandate either evidence of two vaccinations or a negative test. In many countries you can't get a third booster shot until six months after your second vacccination so I doubt if every traveller will be required to have the third vaccination.

[Wodrick]

G'day,
Just 17c guess an unattainable 22c.
Crystal however.

Not quite full winter yet as socks to go ....

SM at the Horsepitil again her ears this time.

New A/C coming Mañana

Meanwhile I have the Cleaner and the Gardner to watch over.

[Woody]

It has been a requirement for some time and this requirement existed when I met up with you back in 2018, but I will be surprised if the car hire folks at Cape Town even bother to check your code.

Never had it before, only found out as I could check in online

[Woody]

As MrsWoody will tell you I’m negative and a step nearer ZA, just the delightful staff travel to negotiate next

[izod tester]

Arrived in CPT on Monday. Before we reached the immigration hall we had to queue for checks on PCR test results, health declaration form and have temperature taken. Just one queue with 3 officials doing the checks which took about 90 secs per person. Once past that the immigration hall was virtually empty with a choice of 8 manned desks to check passports. When we reached the luggage reclaim the carousel was full.
Fortunately, we we're near the front of the health check queue, but it must have taken some time to process all the passengers from a full B777.

[TheGreenGoblin]

John Crace has Johnson bang to rights.

If only it were that simple. In BorisWorld, all Boris Johnson has to do is turn up to sprinkle the stardust of mindless optimism and things fall into place. It worked for Brexit and it worked for his 2019 general election campaign. Bertie Booster ruled OK. But climate change is a rather tougher nut to crack. Other countries aren’t quite so susceptible to his charms and the Cop26 summit in Glasgow is in danger of ending in disappointment.

Quite what Johnson expected to achieve by turning up to Cop26 for a few hours on Wednesday afternoon was anyone’s guess. Still, at least he travelled by train this time. Maybe he just couldn’t accept his powerlessness and that his presence was a total waste of time. That talk of banging negotiators’ heads together really wouldn’t cut it after all. Whatever it was, there was none of the Bertie Booster tub-thumping about the 25-minute press conference he gave shortly before he scuttled back to London.

This was about as close as you’ll ever get to Johnson admitting defeat. He did go through the motions of saying “1.5 was still alive” but his body language rather suggested the opposite. His shoulders were stooped and his opening speech was delivered with little enthusiasm.

We were into the hard yards, he said. Stuck in a rolling maul in the final furlong. Our children and grandchildren would not forgive us if we didn’t agree a deal. And right now he would settle for one that he could sell as significant even if it was effectively worthless. Just to save face. What was required was more ambition and implementation. It wasn’t clear who he expected to supply them. “When are leaders going to lead?” he asked. It’s a question some of us have been asking about him for a while now.

There were a few token questions about the conference but most of the media seemed to have already made up their minds that Cop26 wasn’t going to be the gamechanger the government had tried to build it up to be before it started. Rather, they used the time to encourage the prime minister to break his omertà on Tory sleaze. For the last week or so, Bertie Booster has been uncharacteristically quiet.

It soon became clear why. Because Johnson was about to rewrite history to suit himself. Even for such an accomplished liar, this was quite something. A deception on the grandest of scales. A self-deception on the most tawdry of scales. Here was Johnson, a man incapable of honesty and bereft of self-esteem, pulling out all the stops to distance himself from the scene of the crime. This is his special talent. Because he doesn’t just always betray his family, friends and colleagues. He also always betrays himself. The self-loathing must be intense.

Boris began by saying that any MP who had been found to have broken the rules must be punished. Er … yes. Only he appeared to have totally forgotten that Owen Paterson had been found guilty of multiple egregious cases of paid advocacy. And that Johnson had imposed a three-line whip on his own MPs to get his suspension put on hold until the case had been re-examined by a new committee with a majority of well-disposed Tory members, who would now come to the right conclusion. It was about as sleazy as it gets.

Yet here was a Bertie Booster, admittedly on worn-out Duracell batteries, trying to portray himself as a champion of natural justice. Boris Johnson is going to be very angry when he catches up with Boris Johnson who **** up so badly. He could scarcely bring himself to mention Geoffrey Cox. There again, he must be sick with envy at the amount Geoff has raked in since becoming an MP.

From there on in, it was something of a pile-on. Johnson was entirely unrepentant. Three times he was asked to apologise, and three times he said nothing. Not even an insincere expression of regret for impressions that might have been given. The Tory MPs whose second jobs have come under the microscope as a direct result of his own misjudgment might at least be hoping for a “sorry” in private. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he also declared that the UK was about as uncorrupt a country as you could find – £3m for a peerage, anyone? There again, he is a prime minister who once declared the £250k a year for his Telegraph column to be “chicken feed”, so no wonder he can’t see what all the fuss is about.

Still, Boris wasn’t finished. He then said there was nothing wrong with second jobs provided MPs put their constituents first. Something he had failed to do when he had carried on as London mayor despite being elected to Westminster in 2015. And he insisted his own behaviour was beyond reproach. It was just nobody’s business who paid for the redecoration of his Downing Street flat. Or if he accepted a free holiday from someone he put in the House of Lords. Wrongdoing must be punished, he said repeatedly. Perhaps he has a subconscious desire to be found out. One for his therapist.

None of this would have gone down well with Tories hoping to draw a line under the corruption scandal. Far from killing the story, Johnson had taken politics a step further into the sleaze bath by refusing to accept any responsibility. Par for the course for a self-destructive narcissist. He was asked why he didn’t stay up in Glasgow, even if the chances of a meaningful deal were minute. Just to show he cared. But then he doesn’t really. The only thing he really cares about is himself.

Boris Johnson drags Tories ever deeper into sleaze bath

[Boac]

It is a dreadful indictment on those Conservative MPs who still 'support' the clown. It is to be hoped that the electorate will act at the next election to remove them - perhaps to soften the blow they could all go to the West Indies and relax with Geoffrey.

[Boac]

It appears that Jeremy *unt has severe amnesia as he has totally forgotten that he was instrumental in over-seeing the disastrous run-down of the hospitals that is causing the appalling situation we find ourselves in. (6 years as 'Health Secretary' 2012 to 18).

[Boac]

The background to our Circus Clown's visit to Hexham hospital from Alistair Campbell

"Re Johnson visit to Hexham hospital, Trust sources making clear 1. Number 10 told in advance masks to be worn. 2. Johnson and team told same on arrival. 3. Johnson was wearing mask but removed it once meeting over and tour began. 4. Was asked to put it back on."

The rot spreads
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... y-25424729

Now more about poor old hard-up (Sir) Geoffrey https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 55687.html

Is there any hope that our bedazzled Tory supporters here/everywhere will wake up?

[om15]

From the Telegraph today, my thoughts exactly;-

What is wrong with Conservative governments? Why do they always end up disappointing their most ardent supporters? First David Cameron, then Theresa May and now, after such a strong start and so much promise, Boris Johnson: why has it all gone downhill so quickly?

Dispiriting doesn’t even begin to describe the current Government’s performance. It is increasingly defined by a palpable, debilitating sense of drift. It exhibits a shocking inability to control events, a lack of interest in gripping and remodelling the machinery of state, and an unhealthy obsession with polling.

Its policy failures are multiplying, not least its lazy adoption of a centre-Left agenda on tax, spending, economics, the environment and regulation, its striking feebleness on wokery and motorway protests, its lack of bite on crime and illegal Channel crossings, the almost complete lack of interest in monetary policy and now its dire mismanagement of a sleaze row that started with one MP and has exploded into a dispute over the outside interests of all politicians. What an underwhelming administration this is turning out to be.

Its twin pathologies, a No 10 operation that doesn’t have the bandwidth, executive experience or strategic nous to push through change, combined with an all-consuming, short-termist, neo-Blairite political calculus, mean that a once-in-a-generation realignment in British politics – crystallised by Brexit, the smashing of the Red Wall and the rise of the boho-Left – is being squandered. For real Tories, whose disillusionment is now at an advanced stage, this represents a calamitous wasted opportunity to wrest the country away from decline, to permanently alter its direction.

Instead, there is no discipline, no focus, no ability to prioritise, to think several steps ahead, let alone to deliver real reform. The blob is in charge almost everywhere, with mainstream, establishment candidates appointed to run the NHS, regulatory agencies, the Bank of England, quangos and of course cultural institutions. There have been a handful of exceptions, driven by Liz Truss, with the brilliant Baroness Falkner now in situ at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the great Katharine Birbalsingh at the Social Mobility Commission. But why only them? And why are public sector unions being allowed to flex their muscles unchallenged in schools and hospitals? It’s heartbreaking.

Reforming or downsizing the state is apparently too complicated: far easier, it seems, to shower it with cash. The appallingly mismanaged NHS and social care systems are being rewarded with billions more but, staggeringly, aren’t being asked to improve their productivity in return. Given that their current structures aren’t fit for purpose, billions will be wasted and another crisis guaranteed by 2024-5 at the latest. Regardless of what focus groups may say, Tory voters, who care about thrift and value for money, won’t thank the Government for such cowardice.

Cop26, Johnson’s attempt at reconnecting with the Remainer middle classes, could have been a demonstration of how technology can help to deliver a low-carbon future. Instead, it has turned into an obscene love fest for those who despise the consumer society.

If politics is downstream of culture, then the prognosis is grim. The private sector is embracing a woke agenda that is entirely opposed to conservative values, as are our cultural institutions, museums and universities, all of which are obsessed with the tenets of a deeply anti-enlightenment ideology. Cancel culture is rampant. Thanks to Munira Mirza in No 10, there have been some anti-woke victories in the public sector, such as the BBC’s abandonment of the Stonewall diversity scheme, but a genuine reversal of the tide would require the full-hearted support of the Prime Minister and entire Government.

If, by contrast, politics is ultimately determined by living standards then here too the outlook is bleak. Real take-home pay will fall for millions, with the establishment in denial about the ongoing inflationary shock, and the medium-term growth outlook is extraordinarily weak. To add insult to injury, the housing crisis is worsening for younger people, with the proposed planning reforms neutered.

The Government’s great victory remains Brexit, but even here I worry. It is right to tackle the Northern Irish protocol, an unfair Treaty if ever there were one, now that it is clear that the EU has no interest in interpreting it in a pragmatic fashion. Lord Frost has turned out to be one of this Government’ shining lights. But where is his backup? Why haven’t we already taken steps to reduce our dependence on Calais-Dover trade? How will the UK mitigate the negative impact of any further European protectionism? Inanely, our “strategy” is to reduce our competitiveness, to make the UK less attractive for business by increasing taxes on labour and capital and rejecting free-market economics.

A Government that acted bravely and cleverly in 2019-20 during the Brexit negotiations, and which managed to deliver a world-beating vaccines programme, in both cases by thinking outside of the box, has lost its mojo.

Instead of listening to its voters, who turned to Boris because they felt so alienated by the elitist politics of the past 20 years, the Government has reverted to the preachy, know-it-all tone that became the norm in the post-Iraq Blair years. This is why the row over MPs’ outside earnings could become toxic for the Tory party.

The tragedy is that many ministers are committed to changing Britain for the better. Why isn’t Priti Patel better supported by No 10 in her war against crime? Where are Rishi Sunak’s proper freeports? Why does Kwasi Kwarteng have to fight civil servants opposed to the hydrogen revolution?

It isn’t too late for Boris Johnson to turn things around, but for now the outlook is dismal. When I ask Tories what is going on, they shrug, point to the fact that they are still, usually, ahead in the polls, and thank God for the lacklustre Keir Starmer. When I then ask them what they think the purpose of the Government is, they look at me with incomprehension, chant their “levelling up” mantra or assure me that things would be even worse under Labour. The latter is right, of course, but hardly a ringing endorsement.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Of course Johnson is a blob all on his own!

The lacklustre Keir Starmer! Aye tis true! How an insipid nonentity came to be leader of Her Majesty's opposition can only explained by the vacant beard that he replaced...

[Boac]

That article is a very long-winded way of saying they are crap, but in true Telegraph mode, failing to call for them to go.

[FD2]

Thanks om15 - I think the message is very clear in that article. Under Bunter's leadership the Government is totally useless and if it achieves anything it is purely by luck.

[Pontius Navigator]

FD2, and the opposition?

Apart from our politicians being professional politicians the majority have no actual experience of being leaders or in control of departments. When elected, by definition, a new leader has a mere handful from whom to select.

[om15]

Fraser Nelson wrote this today, usually supportive of the Government the Daily Telegraph is now putting the boot into Johnson, I think the Tories are making moves to replace him, as PN observes, there is no opposition to speak of from the other parties.

When Rishi Sunak admitted that the Government had blundered over the Owen Paterson vote, he was making a bit of a gamble. This is the very apology that Boris Johnson has conspicuously refused to offer. Since becoming Chancellor, Sunak has taken care to be seen as uber-loyal to the Prime Minister, doing his best to conceal the many differences between them. But with the party in crisis – and its leader refusing to express regret – ministers are taking matters into their own hands.

As each day passes, Tories have more cause to regret the loyalty showed last week to what they now regard as an incompetent No 10. “The whips are supposed to be the shrewdest among us,” complains one minister. “But Boris has made it a nursery for the thickos.” Backbenchers were not even asked about their opinions on the disastrous “Save Paterson” plan until the day before the vote – by which time everything had been finalised and it was too late to change direction.

Almost all of the 247 Tories who voted to exculpate Paterson did so under duress – but they all assumed No 10 knew what it was doing. Few will make that mistake again. The vote not only failed but has exposed all Tories to this week’s accusations of sleaze. Every politician with outside interests, from legal advice to football refereeing, is now accused of being on the fiddle. They are fending off the attacks while blaming No 10 for starting the fire.

As a point of principle, Johnson doesn’t do apologies – seeing them as part of a pointless media game. When he became Foreign Secretary he said he would not engage in a “full global itinerary of apology” as it would take too long. His parting advice to his successor as Spectator editor was to never admit error, even under pressure. “Old chums will turn up in your office, urging you to capitulate,” he wrote. “Don’t. The Spectator surrenders to no one. The Spectator is always right.” He seems to regard politics the same way: if you apologise, you’re weakened and they win.

But ministers are not waiting for him to change his mind. In offering their own apology, they do not mean that they erred: as everyone now knows, the Paterson plan was very much his idea. They think the Prime Minister was wrong and that his error ought to be acknowledged by others. Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, has said “upon reflection” it was a mistake. Steve Barclay, the Cabinet Secretary, has apologised on behalf of the Government. The one person who was not even in parliament when this was being debated was the Prime Minister himself.

Johnson has been back in Glasgow for the Cop26 summit, where he has been quite the hit among other national leaders. When asked in one private meeting about the detail of his Net Zero policy he shrugged and said: “Detail? Me?” Whether an act or not, his audience loved it. “Everyone laughed,” says one foreign delegate. “He didn’t say a single sentence that wasn’t funny.” But this is all wearing rather thin in Westminster. “If he’d actually read that report before he got us to vote, he’d find Owen Paterson guilty as charged,” says one government member. “For a lot of people, that will be the last time they go with this.”

Andrew Bowie, a Scottish Tory from the 2017 intake, has resigned as a party vice-chairman in dismay at the bungling. The mood in the party is so febrile that one loyal Conservative MP has been suggesting that the Prime Minister has fallen victim to a plot from someone luring him into lunatic positions. But the ideas are all his. A poll for this newspaper shows that his raising taxes to a 71-year high has damaged Tory support even more than the latest sleaze allegations.

It is almost impossible to find a single Tory who believes the plan to increase National Insurance is worth the political pain. The policy was rushed through with just one internal poll question, asking if people would like to pay more tax to fix social care. “If they’d asked further questions like “do you think this extra tax is likely to fix social care” – they’d have found a better answer,” says one Tory strategist. This is the fear now: that voters are angrily aware of the tax hike but doubt it will improve things.

For his part, Sunak is starting to draw a thin blue line between his politics and Johnson’s. His curious Budget speech was divided into the parts done under No 10’s orders (the spending) and then his own priorities (cut taxes). He has come as close as he dares to saying: “thus far, but no further”. His personal promise to MPs – that he’d use any extra money to cut taxes – was a declaration of his semi-independence and a personal manifesto he must now stick to.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, regularly veers from the government line (sometimes deliberately) and was ruling out a tax rise before it was forced through. Perhaps the boldest of all Cabinet members is Liz Truss, who opposed the tax rise outright when it came to Cabinet – and was shot down by Sunak for her troubles. Should the time come, there will be no shortage of people ready to champion her cause.

The anarchy of the Theresa May years almost destroyed the Tory party as it tore itself apart over Brexit. The terror-induced discipline of the Dominic Cummings era was a necessary corrective while a deal with the EU was agreed. Lockdown suspended political life in Westminster (and beyond) and with it the ability of politicians to form groups, compare notes and think how to react. But life is returning to the Commons now, catalysed by last week. Little groups of Tory MPs are wondering how bad things are going to get – and how to stop it.

The Prime Minister’s personal authority – and that of No 10 – will perhaps never recover from the events of the last fortnight. The result will be more independent-minded ministers, a more rebellious party and more people prepared to push back and try to stop Conservatism turning into Johnsonism. For more than two years, his personal power over his party has been almost absolute. That is changing now, and his government will be the better for it.