[Bones McCoy]

Funny how Patel escaped blame for the border, isn't it?

Take a look at teh Cummings transcript.
It neatly cleaves the tories into 2 camps.

Leaver - good guys.
Remainers - wanks.

This is about Brexit retribution, not Covid.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Interesting (and sensible) piece at the Huffington Post:

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ ... mg00000004

In what felt like a Whitehall version of the Assassin’s Creed video game, Cummings spent a lot of his time trying to eviscerate Matt Hancock’s reputation. The allegations were hugely serious, from lying about PPE stocks and testing in care homes to his decision to announce a 100,000 daily test target while the PM was “on his deathbed”. Yet the relentless nature of the onslaught (who cares how many times Cummings called for him to be sacked?) tipped from public interest to private vendetta.

What also furthered the impression that this was about personalities was his huge praise for Rishi Sunak and Dominic Raab (who both happened to be Brexiteers, while Hancock was a Remainer). Cummings’ curious memory loss about discussions of the EatOutToHelpOut scheme, plus his failure to criticise any decisions by old boss Michael Gove, suggested chairman Greg Clark was right when he asked if this was about ‘settling scores’.

[Boiler]

Johnson wasn't even remotely on his deathbed. He was only in ICU as a precaution, given his position.

If anything, this unfocused screeching from Cummings akin to a dumped lover has actually made me feel sorry for Hancock.

[Youngian]

If anything, this unfocused screeching from Cummings akin to a dumped lover has actually made me feel sorry for Hancock.

Hancock’s an over-promoted wally in a crucial job he shouldn’t be in but has my sympathy for having this shit poured on him. Whereas Dom’s a malignant bitter self-serving cunt.

[Youngian]

You can rely on Nick Timothy to make the most banal observations imaginable

[Bones McCoy]

You can rely on Nick Timothy to make the most banal observations imaginable

Snappy: 0 / 10
Funny: 0 / 10
Original: 0 / 10

Congratulations Nick - You have been selecetd as next year's Eurovision flop.

[mattomac]

Did he also do a Venn diagram of the Tories who came out last year around this time and said we should stop persecuting Cummings who are now slagging him off.

Anyhow Nick Timothy of “worst election campaign” ever fame.

Some of this is true of what Cummings says because we know from other people, as said before nothing changes.

It’s very reminiscent of what’s happening across the pond. Question is? How to get that vote out who came out for Biden.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'm not sure the Tories played this very cleverly today.

Hancock won't be able to dodge questions like that next week.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ouch.

[Tubby Isaacs]

[The Weeping Angel]

If anything, this unfocused screeching from Cummings akin to a dumped lover has actually made me feel sorry for Hancock.

Hancock’s an over-promoted wally in a crucial job he shouldn’t be in but has my sympathy for having this shit poured on him. Whereas Dom’s a malignant bitter self-serving cunt.

On another forum someone's been bashing Keir saying he should be calling for Hancock's sacking because of this.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Like Labour isn't going after Hancock.

[Boiler]

From a poster on another forum:

Do you think that the general public is bothered about the rubbish that Cummings is spouting, the majority of which is just unsubstantiated, what they are doing is looking forward and to the bright side, forecasts for economic growth likely to beat the EU hands down, production booming etc etc.

The words "Pollyanna" and "delusional" come to mind here.

[kreuzberger]

I caught only some of World at One today but it seemed like they were spending an inordinate amount of time - for them - demolishing Hancock and standing up many of the more explosive allegations made by Cummings.

Well, yes. Of course they would. Mediocre Matty, a man who went in to battle with an alarm clock and came off second best, is being set up as the fall guy while Gove, Sunak, and Johnson get to saunter off in to a life of enduring blamelessness under the tutelage of Jerry Hall's latest husband.

[Boiler]

HIGNFY: Hislop on Cummings.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09jxwqv

[davidjay]

I caught only some of World at One today but it seemed like they were spending an inordinate amount of time - for them - demolishing Hancock and standing up many of the more explosive allegations made by Cummings.

Well, yes. Of course they would. Mediocre Matty, a man who went in to battle with an alarm clock and came off second best, is being set up as the fall guy while Gove, Sunak, and Johnson get to saunter off in to a life of enduring blamelessness under the tutelage of Jerry Hall's latest husband.

I wonder if this isn't all part of some plot - Hancock takes the blame, Johnson is the hero of the hour and then, after an appropriate time (around three weeks knowing the public mood), Cummings is put in charge of some department charged with dismantling the civil service.

[Crabcakes]

I wonder if this isn't all part of some plot - Hancock takes the blame, Johnson is the hero of the hour and then, after an appropriate time (around three weeks knowing the public mood), Cummings is put in charge of some department charged with dismantling the civil service.

Possibly, though I'd extend it to Boris being ejected too. Cummings has always really been Gove's man, and in turn Gove is Murdoch's. They may have realised that Gove is never going to get into No. 10 himself because he's so extraordinarily unpopular with even other Tories who don't trust him remotely. But if they can get Sunak in, he'll owe them a favour. Sunak as PM, Chancellor/deputy PM for Gove, Hancock and Johnson as fall guys, "lessons learned" etc.

[Andy McDandy]

To paraphrase the executive from the Coca Cola corporation, when probed on "New Coke"*, I don't think they're either that clever or that stupid.

Sunak's media friendly, westernised enough to be acceptable to Sid and Doris Bonkers, and is associated with splashing the cash. But I suspect that like Patel, he's required to "prove to the Tories' satisfaction" his loyalty every day. Not that he and Patel don't enjoy it.

It's becoming clear that what this lot want is a combination of Singapore and Moscow - carte blanche if you have the money and/or connections, low tax for corporations, Starbucked identikit shopping for the masses, as much as possible outsourced from the 3rd world, reducing reliance on local production/extraction, freeing up land for high density housing for the masses, more room for the rich, police as glorified corporate security, bread, circuses.

I can see Gove as the manipulator, and yes, either Raab or Sunak out front as the grinning "face" (although given Johnson's love of the trappings of power and the "head salesman" role he personified as Mayor of London I'd not be surprised if he stays around for longer). But I think Cummings is genuinely out. He's just become too toxic.

*When Coca Cola launched New Coke, it was a massive flop. When they later reverted to their original flavour, sales boomed. Some suggested that this was what they had planned all along, prompting the quote above.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Jeez look at this. "I'm an expert in market research and the judge isn't". And people wonder why Labour have been cautious about staking too much on the word of this guy.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

The ego is staggering. Almost at Assange levels.