Mailwatch(ed) Forum

A question I saw posed elsewhere
Sunak is the most intriguing PM of my time. Why did he go into politics given that he's little sense of public service; no ideology to push; is uncomfortable in the public eye; and is no good at it? Class - for once - is not the answer, but I don't know what is.

Watchman wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2024 1:15 pm A question I saw posed elsewhere
Sunak is the most intriguing PM of my time. Why did he go into politics given that he's little sense of public service; no ideology to push; is uncomfortable in the public eye; and is no good at it? Class - for once - is not the answer, but I don't know what is.

A government has influence over the spending of vast quantities of money.
If a leader can divert a fraction of that to the family business, the profits are immense.
I'll leave it there.

Ha ha. We're at this stage.

Is he just flailing about, or is there a new libertarian core vote strategy emerging?

Bones McCoy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2024 1:42 pm

Watchman wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2024 1:15 pm A question I saw posed elsewhere
Sunak is the most intriguing PM of my time. Why did he go into politics given that he's little sense of public service; no ideology to push; is uncomfortable in the public eye; and is no good at it? Class - for once - is not the answer, but I don't know what is.

A government has influence over the spending of vast quantities of money.
If a leader can divert a fraction of that to the family business, the profits are immense.
I'll leave it there.

Also, entitlement. At Eton they’re all told they are being trained to be future leaders, and many of their predecessors have been, so they just assume they should be. No rising on merit required.

He's Winchester, but anyway.

Just as in years past, the younger sons of the lord of the manor would go into the forces or the church, these days the idea is to get married to someone in serious big business or landed estates, and act as the in-laws' personal lobbyist.

Watchman wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2024 1:15 pm A question I saw posed elsewhere
Sunak is the most intriguing PM of my time. Why did he go into politics given that he's little sense of public service; no ideology to push; is uncomfortable in the public eye; and is no good at it? Class - for once - is not the answer, but I don't know what is.

Money.
In the 18th century it was normal for MPs to enrich themselves through parliament. The modern Tories have brought that back.

Obviously, he's making an arse of himself with this "Sky TV" business but he would have been relatively humble for a Winchester pupil- I expect most of his contemporaries could have comfortably afforded the fees with only one parent working, which wouldn't have been true of his family. So he doesn't really fit the "born to rule" Cameron and Bozo profile.

I met a few Etonians and Wykehamists at university and were not that different to the rest of us (which mostly meant home counties grammar schools and minor public schools). So massively advantaged over the majority of the population, but not obviously in a different ball game. They didn't think they had to run everything or anything like that, and as far as I know, they had unremarkable times at their school.

The difference with Sunak seems to be that he was head boy. My school had a head boy and prefects, but it didn't mean all that much, mostly something to stick on the CV. I guess that being head boy at Winchester was a massive thing, and started the process of Sunak thinking he'd "be rather good at being Prime Minister". We're all paying the cost for this.

I guess that being head boy at Winchester was a massive thing, and started the process of Sunak thinking he'd "be rather good at being Prime Minister". We're all paying the cost for this.

This. Sunak didn’t need to enter politics to amass a fortune like a Georgian era gentleman amateur MP who’s fallen on hard times. Was it Walpole who didn’t miss an opportunity in office to attain the riches of Solomon?

It's a matter of scale...

Andy McDandy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2024 1:58 pm He's Winchester, but anyway.

Just as in years past, the younger sons of the lord of the manor would go into the forces or the church, these days the idea is to get married to someone in serious big business or landed estates, and act as the in-laws' personal lobbyist.

Oh yeah, of course he is. I forgot Johnson’s snide dig, as if his educational record was anything to be proud of!

I suspect the same ‘values’ are instilled in them though.

I have known a few Old Wykehamists and they haven't been especially unpleasant. Quite the opposite, albeit rather robotic.

My step-son went to Ampleforth and his cohort (as do Etonians) refer to Wykehamists and "povs". He went in there as a cunt and came out equally bereft of anything approaching human decency.

I suspect I am tarring a lot of people with the same brush public school wise. I suspect a lot it is actually more the same message is interpreted in different ways depending on the rest of the child’s upbringing as well as their personal traits. One child could be inspired to work hard to become a leader. Boris Johnson simply took it as confirmation he was special and should be served wealth, privilege and power on a platter by default.

Crabcakes wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2024 4:37 pm I suspect I am tarring a lot of people with the same brush public school wise. I suspect a lot it is actually more the same message is interpreted in different ways depending on the rest of the child’s upbringing as well as their personal traits. One child could be inspired to work hard to become a leader. Boris Johnson simply took it as confirmation he was special and should be served wealth, privilege and power on a platter by default.

An underplayed aspect of the boarding school system.
The kids are herded into a closed community from a young age.
After that, various innocent sounding mechanics serve to shut them off from contact with normality.

You'll rarely interact with the local community, there's an on-site tuck shop, a chaplain, meals, matron (for minor illness), and all sport is on-site.
Same with choirs, orchestras and all the other hobby clubs.
If you're a day student, you'll be isolated from your peers by Saturday classes, mandatory sporting attendance and odd holiday dates.
You'll also likely be playing Rugby so your mates at the local football club won't be seeing any more of you.

The school provides everything you need.
The school often takes a dim view if you seek anything elsewhere.
And it goes on for seven years.

Recently got back in touch with an Old Etonian I used to know. Bit of a character doesn’t cover it. Was an anarcho punk hunt sabber when I first knew him and went off the rails on the bottle for many years. Became a private detective and is now a CoE vicar who does stand up. Changed his surname to Holy and his first name’s Ravi. Opens his act with “I was originally going to be a Pentecostal minister but didn’t want to be known as Pastor Ravi Holy.”

The whole "didn't have Sky growing up" is noise anyway, as during the 90's satellite TV was mainly bought/subscribed by Sun readers that often took up cheap equipment offers through said newspaper, hence the jokes about satellite dishes and council houses. 'twas often said that most of the middle classes wouldn't have been seen dead with a dish attached to their house, so they either had cable (if available) or were just happy with the main 4-5 terrestrial channels. It was only in the late 90's when Sky Digital launched, and the average satellite dish was reduced in size and shape to an unassuming black oval patch (thus easier to hide or camouflage) that such class divides started disappearing. So, nah. Sunak grew up with 5 channels like most of the country did anyway.

Rishi Sunak's Sky TV Fund

Fundraising for The Trussell Trust

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rishi-sky-tv


Poor old Rishi has jumped the shark.

Poor old Rishi gets it in the neck, what if Johnson had made this Sky TV remark? He’s such a card with his Bertie Woosterish remarks that annoy the lefties, ha ha.

Yeah, there was lots of "they make you stick that ugly thing on your house", and also a sense that charging for television wasn't quite on.