It is quite hard to consider the Tory party leadership election at all. We always think that today we are ruled by political pygmies - peoples' reputations take a while to settle in and most often not when they are in office. For example. Ed Balls was considered a fairly mid-level politician by now in comparison to the current Opposition front bench he is a colossus.
However, many of the runners and riders in the current Tory party are obviously not good Conservative Prime Minister material. From the Lilb Dem Rory Stewart, to the unhinged Andrea Leadsom (who is a good minister though, being of strong enough will to stop the civil service from doing nothing as per). It is not a very edifying field and the only good thing one can see is that for the Tories it allows them to hog the headlines.
But, there is Boris. I have serious doubts about his ability to be Prime Minister - I think it still says it all that Gove knifed him and ruined his own career, plus let in May, rather than let Boris who he knew so well grab the Crown. At least, by default, he is better than Corbyn.
Also there is his tax cut grab. Very sharp this, reducing taxes on people who earn £80k or less- just like the MP's that vote for him per chance? More seriously, it is a long time since anyone in the UK public arena seriously talked about cutting the high-burden of taxes. And high they are by all historical standards. Faced with Corbyn pledging to tax and spend, this is really the Tory answer that will resonate on the doorstep in an election with a big chunk of swing votes. Add it to the Northern leave vote if he can Brexit through and Boris is home and hosed. Of course, once he has got power, perhaps delivered a compromise Brexit, he will then have literally no idea what to do.
A peaceable couple of years of Government is long-overdue and will be most welcome to many.
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I always see the success of Boris is dependent on the people he has working for him - he just need to build an effective team to do the thinking and doing and he needs to stick to just delivering the message.
So long as he doesn't try to micro manage like May is reported to do, then maybe we can survive this.
Does he support fox hunting too?
Looking for analysis on TMs parting shot to legislate to net zero carbon by 2050? Any energy experts (ND?) have views on how it will play out?
GB - blogpost on that coming shortly
I wouldn't trust Mr Johnson as far as I could throw him.
Having said that, if we're to wait for the perfect man to be our leader, we'll be waiting forever. So we have to make a choice from those who stand before us. If Mr Johnson is a true believer in us Leaving the EU then he has the public brand recognition, which I don't think any of the others have.
However, I'd expect the Conservative party to ensure that under him and any future Conservative government, no one is allowed to flout the rules and constitutional processes that occurred while Dancing Terry was in charge.
I'd also expect the next Prime Minister to get rid of the traitorous Civil Servants who colluded with the EU to create the mess we are in, vet the replacements to confirm they'll do as they are told and launch an investigation into how a recognised communist wormed his way into such an influential position, rooting out other communists in the Civil Service and firing them.
Thanks ND - maybe you could also pencil in some more Oman War stories into your posting agenda?
War and Energy - great subjects to read about!
It's always been Boris for me, not from any real liking but from knowing he is a 'modern' politician who can beat the media savvy commies at their own game, go get them Boris.
£50k a year is by no means rich. Especially for an under 30 who has student debt in order to reach that level and who lives in an expensive city. They will likely be in rented.
In fact I'd say under a 100k a year isn't actually living it up in many parts.
A four times 100k salary mortgage means a modest terraced house in Watford.
@E-K
I think you are right, still think it is bad politics though. Better to raise the threshold which the poor start paying tax and also cut tax credits to make work pay again
Obviously it depends where you live - £50k can be loadsamoney or it can leave you struggling to raise a family in a crappy rented place in Zone J.
It's not a bad move - plenty of freelancers and contractors cap their divis at 50k to avoid the high tax rate. Put it up to 80k and I'll be taking an extra 30 grand a year out of my ltd co and spending it into the economy.
EK
Completely correct, I used to live in oxhey, was there in Jan and saw someone excavating the basement out of a house at the other end of my road.
was told it would cost 6 figures to complete.
Surely the problem is that house prices are too high rather than salaries too low?
This is what concerns me with the current generation of pols.
They do not even know what the problems are:
- House prices
- Social Case
- Continuing education
- Public transport(*)
(*) recent studies show that London performs better than other UK cities because it has a decent public transport system and the rest do not (https://www.citymetric.com/transport/birmingham-isn-t-big-city-peak-times-how-poor-public-transport-explains-uk-s-productivity)
The Tories need to grow a pair of balls and declare what they stand for.
Bad politics or not - let the people decide what is good or bad.
£50k earned outside of London will be very hard earned - so what if they live well on that ? Tories should rejoice in it, not emulate the LibDems and declare it a crime.
In other parts such as London £50k IS poor. Boris is absolutely right and that's without mention of the Laffer effect.
I was offered £60k basic to work in London. I could not justify the drop in living standard I would have to put my family through, never mind that Londoners are a bit stabby-stabby these days.
Houses being unaffordable being the problem.
Not really. Mass immigration to centres of work has caused the problem. Pushed up house prices and - believe it or not - depressed wages in London. Pay is too low !!!
They will bang on about how overpaid tube drivers are (I agree that, relatively, they are) but a newbie will be living in a bedsit or with mum and dad for a long while yet.
"the unhinged Andrea Leadsom"
Evidence? All I know of her is that she was right about May.
Can Boris afford to fail twice? This must be his last opportunity and there are those with a savvy grasp of what favours will be needed to ensure his coronation.
He'll be running up huge bill in terms of personal promises. And any stumble now, he'll be toast. My money in on Hunt - a very dark horse.
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