[Malcolm Armsteen]

Wedge.

Anyone seen Lynton Crosby lately?

[mattomac]

Sunak’s election guru is one of Crosby’s lackeys I believe.

Threatening a GE is not a strong hand he thinks it is.

[Abernathy]

Sunak’s election guru is one of Crosby’s lackeys I believe.

One Isaac Levido, I believe.

[mattomac]

That is the one.

Apparently was the brains behind various slogans such as “Get Brexit done” in the 2019 election. Though the success seems to have escaped his notable failures such as the Zac Goldsmith election campaign which was effectively, “if you knew Khan like I do you wouldn’t trust him to clean your gutters”.

Also had a hand in the recent Australian elections which also didn’t go well.

Everything Sunak says though seems to perfectly align with his previous stuff. His comment a year ago having an Avenue to victory if they didn’t fuck up probably should be focused on more.

It’s probably the most true thing he has spoken.

[Crabcakes]

I think Sunak is counting on it to fail, and is going to use it to call a GE (which he hasn’t denied). It’s the only wedge issue he has, he can brexit it up with ECHR withdrawal, and when he loses he fucks over and can blame everyone who wants the policy because the evidence is then clear it isn’t ’what the public want’ and he can claim to have been ill advised.

I think early spring election is on. Nearly there, everyone.

[Abernathy]

You may have it right there, Crabbers. Jeebus knows the fucking Rwanda scheme is and always was quite obscene - I sense that most voters, most decent human beings, find the idea of sending desperate asylum seekers off to an East African dictatorship repugnant. Speaking as a decent human being, I certainly want to “Stop the Boats” as I do not want to see any more people placed in a position of such desperation that they are prepared to risk their lives crossing the English channel in unsafe boats. I want us to reinstate a proper, decent, humane, and efficient system of assessing and dealing with asylum cases in this country. Asylum seeking is only going to increase as we go further forward into the 21st century, with climate change and more wars producing more and more refugees. It is imperative that we equip ourselves with the system to deal with this properly and decently. The Tories have no desire to do this.

[davidjay]

To counter that, Labour have to come up with an effective plan. Open enough processing centres in France and anyone still coming over on a boat gets sent back to them. It's cheaper, safer, more humane and so logical you can only think there's a deeper reason why it hasn't been started already.

[Crabcakes]

The plan is as simple as this: (a) stop talking about it, (b) fund things so claims are processed, and ideally (c) change the rules so asylum seekers can work while their claims are being processed.

The first is to simply make people forget about something that the Tories have blown out of all proportion to deliberately whip up their most rabid supporters. The second is simply what should be done and what Braverman has been trying to stop in its entirety - the humane, efficient processing of asylum claims. It also helps alleviate strain on local resources in coastal areas, because you don’t have (or at least have a greatly reduced) a lingering, non-working population to accommodate. This then also helps deal with any hangovers from the first issue and makes local ne’er do wells who just want an excuse to be racist to some of the least well off people in the world have a much harder time winding up mobs. The third at a stroke eliminates the narrative around asylum seekers being leeches by letting them work, pay tax and integrate.

All of which have of course always been possible. But if your plan is to dehumanise and punish people while doing nothing to help them to deliberately show you are cruel and also present spiralling costs as acceptable because they are being spent on hellish conditions rather than administration that would solve the problem, then I’m sure you’d consider it money well spent. Just like most people would consider you a ghoul for that line of thought.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Well, indeed.

[mattomac]

U-Turning on IHT is the best move he has made.

Not sure how he was going defend Labour’s attack line that it benefited him.

[Abernathy]

Wonder how the Grid of Shit is shaping up ?

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Argentina has run off presidential election next weekend, including the candidacy of a right wing nutter.

Just a thought.

On the one hand it is said that you shouldn't judge a book by looking at the cover.

On the other hand...

[satnav]

I wonder if our new Foreign Secretary is planning a trip to Argentina anytime soon?

[kreuzberger]

Given the celebratory "mood", that would appear to be more suited to Gove...

[Tubby Isaacs]

What a guy. Shouldn't this stuff have to go through Parliament?

[Tubby Isaacs]

The OP there says the Tories are really fundraising hard now and, contrary to the impression you get from the "capital has chosen Starmer" people, they;re outraising Labour.

Well, they'll need it. Two dire polls today. Lowest ever for Sunak with Redfield and Wilton (only 24%).

[Tubby Isaacs]

This would be a brave strategy. "Don't vote for them, they might do what we've already done".

Sunak gets hammered in the comments, but luckily Mr MMT shows up to say it's all bollocks anyway. Did this guy advise Liz Truss?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Who says they're out of ideas?

[satnav]

They are not out of ideas they are just out of catchy three word slogans.

[mattomac]

The OP there says the Tories are really fundraising hard now and, contrary to the impression you get from the "capital has chosen Starmer" people, they;re outraising Labour.

Well, they'll need it. Two dire polls today. Lowest ever for Sunak with Redfield and Wilton (only 24%).

Last time I saw donation figures Labour had outperformed them and that was before the big shifts.