Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Operation Cut and Paste

Not that it matters much, they'll carry on with the anonymous briefings while being all publicly pious.

Nadine's spelling is same as Alexander's.
Miracle cure?

I'll give Andrea Leadsom relative credit for writing her own tweet there.

Apparently, Rayner is quoted as saying that she cannot match Johnson's superior debating skills, so must use her feminine wiles.

Is it nice on planet Tory? I'd love to visit.

Johnson is the worst Parliamentary speaker I've ever seen. Witless, unpleasant, dishonest, unprepared.

According to the BBC, Caroline Nokes has written to the parliamentary authorities about getting Owens banned from the parliamentary estate.

The MoS really have done themselves no favours with this one.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:12 pm Johnson is the worst Parliamentary speaker I've ever seen. Witless, unpleasant, dishonest, unprepared.

And incapable of uttering a single sentence without stuttering, hesitating or repeating himself.

davidjay wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:39 am

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:12 pm Johnson is the worst Parliamentary speaker I've ever seen. Witless, unpleasant, dishonest, unprepared.

And incapable of uttering a single sentence without stuttering, hesitating or repeating himself.

If only Nicholas Parsons was speaker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_a_Minute

davidjay wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:39 am
And incapable of uttering a single sentence without stuttering, hesitating or repeating himself.

This is the worst part - I don’t think this is true at all. I think he is *entirely* capable of talking without the usual bluster but chooses not to as part of the act.

When he is angry he doesn’t do this - that’s the true Alex Johnson.

I’m not so sure; even when in front of a “friendly” audience e.g. party conference he’s not exactly room grabbing, see also the Peppa Pig speech, and Kermit at the UN
Anyone when angry can make themselves clear because it is usually a situation not up for discussion, even I’m capable of a very coherent “well, this is a right fucking mess”, but ask me to discuss Nietzsche with a philosophy professor and I’m done for.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:12 pm Johnson is the worst Parliamentary speaker I've ever seen. Witless, unpleasant, dishonest, unprepared.

I find he's at his most loathsome when he crowbars in some modern pop culture reference, that mention of Doctor Who last week was nails on a chalkboard for me.

Probably the most damning thing to come out of the Sue Gray report will be emails or memos from officials warning Johnson that the parties/gatherings were in breach of the guidance. This would blow a whole through Johnson's defence that 'he didn't knowingly break the law.'

He's hung a lot of staff out to dry, and not all of them are getting gongs or payoffs. I imagine there are a lot of people all too keen to drop him in it now.

On the 'debating' issue I speak with some authority as the captain of our school team which won the Evening Standard Schools Debating Tournament in 1964...

The keys are preparation, organisation of an argument, eloquent presentation with points well expressed, staying on topic, summation and anticipation of and response to the objections and rebuttals of others.

He shows little sign of any of that.

He also shows little talent for rhetoric - although when he reads a well crafted speech he can do a decent job if he doesn't deviate. He doesn't think well on his feet, his ad-libs are rehearsed, as we saw in the 'Savile' jibe against Keir Starmer.

Put him against genuinely skilled debaters (Blair, Brown, Starmer) and rhetoricians (Benn, Cook, Charlie Kennedy) and he'd be overwhelmed.

Churchill was, of course, both, which is why he was effective in the House.

Johnson has said, re: the Angela Rayner situation, that this will be his response if he finds out who did it:

I will do such things,—

What they are, yet I know not: but they shall be

The terrors of the earth.

I therefore would like to put a considerable sum of money on the source of the story being one Boris Johnson.

Well he's the only one who really knows just how off-putting he found gawping at her legs.

His debating style is to shout the opponent down, ignore what's being asked, and whine about it being unfair if anyone questions him.

Crabcakes wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 4:40 pm Johnson has said, re: the Angela Rayner situation, that this will be his response if he finds out who did it:

I will do such things,—

What they are, yet I know not: but they shall be

The terrors of the earth.

I therefore would like to put a considerable sum of money on the source of the story being one Boris Johnson.

That' a pretty good bet.

The snakes were on a plane with him for, all in all, some 20 hours in the preceding week and it is inconceivable that either party abstemiously allowed the drinks-trolley to pass undisturbed.

Loose lips sink (premier)ships, etc etc.

That's very plausible.

The culprit will be hunted down with all the ferocity that they put into finding who leaked about Kim Darroch. Actually, that could have been Team Johnson too.