- This topic has 1,287 replies, 34 voices, and was last updated 1 week, 1 day ago by
.
-
Posts
-
My long-standing (and unchanged) thoughts on Rishi Sunak.
– While it’s always great to see multi-cultural politics flourishing in modern Britain, in socio-economic terms the UK’s first Asian PM is hardly a departure from the norm as he was privately educated.
– He’s more right wing than you might think. Yes, he presided over an explosion of public spending in the Pandemic, but it was forced upon him by circumstances and was contrary to all his free market instincts.
– There is less (not more) to him than meets the eye. He’s obviously an intelligent bloke, both academically and professionally, in fact he’s a technocrat, but I detect the same innate vapid, superficial, shallowness that pervades his entire Party and, in the impending battle of Dull and Duller at PMQs, while he will be a more intellectually credible opponent than Boris Johnson or Liz Truss, I could still see the lawyer shading it on points most weeks against the City Slicker, who wouldn’t know a social conscience if it wished him a Happy Diwali.
But Sunak should steady the markets and revive Tory fortunes in the polls. A bit.
Expect tax rises. Expect spending cuts. Expect austerity like you’ve never seen before.
It’s going to be a grim two winters amid rising industrial unrest he might struggle to deal with.
The nation might also ultimately be confronted with a massive moral choice.
Continue to support Ukraine and the standard of living hit that accompanies it, or make the peace (aka cave in to) Putin to get affordable imports back.
And then?
Quite possibly a hung Parliament I now once again am starting to think.
Thoughts?
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Time to grease the wheels of the tumbrils?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highways100% – definitely Johnson’s plan.
Unless Sunak can actually get the Tories back ahead in the polls (massive ask), Johnson will seek to depose him six to 12 months before the January 2025 election deadline.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Money man.
Stanford School of business.
Worked for Goldman Sachs.
Supported Brexit; in fact, he was/is highly sceptical of the EU and is on record at ‘looking’ globally for business.
Believes in business and entrepeneurs.
Believes in controlled spending – Furlough was a necessity
Knows some tough medicine is required to get finances in a better position.
Will cut spending where needed, will raise taxes as well (just like Howe did in Thatcher’s govt).I’m struggling to see why some non-Tory voters and media commentators think he’s more Centrist than Johnson.
As Ian said above (in so many words).Sunak reminds me of George Osborne in many ways, if peeps want to compare recent Chancellors.
Sunak has already revived Tory fortunes in the betting at Betfair Exchange
Most Seats
Labour 1.57
Tories 2.74Much closer than in recent weeks.
Overall Majority
Labour 2.34
No Overall Majority 2.4
Tories 6.2Recent opinion polls indicate a Labour landslide if an Election was tomorrow, but it isn’t tomorrow and the betting market suggests an at least partial Tory revival is already under way.
It will be interesting to see the polls in the weeks to come.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"And even more interesting once the next wave of “efficiency savings” (ie austerity, but they won’t call it that) starts to take effect.
12 years in power and they’ve still allowed that pesky public sector to be inefficient?
There are still “efficiency savings” to be made?
Hmmm.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Ian “pesky public sector to be inefficient?”
Get ’em back in the offices at least 3 days/week would help.
I have a massive MoD office a mile from Chez Wilts, which holds 6500 civil servants – well, it did pre-Covid. It is still only 10% ‘full’ on most days.
Crikey, how much is that costing the public purse?My wife had to call HMRC last week. She answered a load of Qs to the answering bot, then was placed on hold for 5 mins, quickly followed by the call ending from ‘their’ end. Didnt even get to speak to a HMRC rep.
My bro is a Chartered Accountant so i called him to see if he knew if there is a prob with their phones at the mo. “Been going on for months. The calls just cut out. Most of ’em are still WFH”.
Be prepared for the inplosion of the NHS to give Sunak another problem to deal with …the **** is about to hit the fan and you just know he wants to cut here
2019: Boris Johnson elected PM with a large majority from 44% of the vote.
2022 (September): Liz Truss elected PM by 81,000 Conservative party members (some of whom cannot vote in general elections due to being non-UK nationals or under 18, and in one case a tortoise).
2022 (October): Rishi Sunak crowned PM by 357 Conservative MPs.Democracy? To paraphrase Gandhi, I think it would be a good idea.
My wife had to call HMRC last week. She answered a load of Qs to the answering bot, then was placed on hold for 5 mins, quickly followed by the call ending from ‘their’ end. Didnt even get to speak to a HMRC rep.
Do you think this situation will be improved by the previously championed policy of reducing civil service jobs by 91,000?
“Democracy? To paraphrase Gandhi, I think it would be a good idea.”
I think this is a key stick the Opposition will try to beat Sunak with.
Johnson won an Election, Truss won an Election involving the 0.2% of the country who are Tory members, Sunak seems to have got the endorsement of about 200 Tory MPs to win uncontested.
A political walkover.
The British public are notoriously apathetic and many resent having to go out and vote even just once in every five years.
The public actively calling for an election is very rare, in fact it’s the first time I can recall it in my lifetime.
Sunak doesn’t have to call an Election until January 2025, 26 months hence.
It’s going to be a long two years for him and if he and his Party think the public will forgive and forget, they should remember John Major.
He limped on for FIVE YEARS after Black Wednesday but was still punished for that fateful day in 1992 in 1997.
It was Truss, not Sunak, in fact he’s specifically warned against it, but it happened on his Party’s watch and it will take an economic miracle for him to shrug off the memory of what’s happened these last two months.
I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"‘It’s going to be a long two years for him and if he and his Party think the public will forgive and forget, they should remember John Major.’
As I said in the other thread, tens/hundreds of thousands of people each month are going to get a mortgage hike as a direct result of Truss’ disastrous tenure. They won’t forget that in a hurry. On top of that their food, gas and electricity bills are rocketing (who crashed the pound and where does much of our food, energy and petrol come from? That’s right, abroad where it’s priced in Euros and Dollars).
Sunak may well close the gap with Labour but I am very doubtful he can shift it to a winning position.
“Sunak may well close the gap with Labour but I am very doubtful he can shift it to a winning position.”
Perhaps not on his own, but the pro-Tory media will do their best to help him.
What are you talking about Glad?
https://nitter.net/AuthorGerald/status/1582300009433010176#m
“Perhaps not on his own, but the pro-Tory media will do their best to help him.”
Personally, i think the pro-Labour media will outflank the Tory-supporting newspapers.
McCall’s ITV and her journo disciples are firmly behind Starmer – their narrative and bias over a series of their daily progs and news bulletins has been obs for last 2 years.
All roads lead back to Europe (eventually); The Blob will see to it.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.