Sunak looks like he is toast, but too many don’t knows for Labour to get complacent
10 April 2024
On the Tories’ lack of a clear message, and the unlikelihood of me playing bagpipes with Bob Dylan
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Post
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2 October 2011
I have never felt I have that much in common with David Cameron, but today we share a modest traducement by The Sunday Times.
The Prime Minister's comes in the form of a headline saying 'Cameron says sorry to women'. What? All of them? What on earth has he done? It turned out to be the best the paper could do in terms of a news story out of a very long interview, which included a very long explanation as to why he told a Labour MP to 'calm down' and why he suggested a woman Tory MP was 'frustrated'.
But underlying it are two factors which are quite interesting as a backdrop to their conference. The first is the reality shown up by polling that Cameron and the Tories go down a lot worse with women than men. It may well be that the interview was a deliberate attempt to try to do something about that. I doubt it however, because the second factor I note from the blitz of pre-conference with Cameron, George Osborne, William Hague, Liam Fox, Theresa May, Andrew Mitchell and others is the lack of a clear and simple message.
I had read somewhere that 'leadership' was to be the theme. But it seems to be clashing a little with the 'I feel your pain' tone of several of these interviews, including the Prime Minister's. And the ministers seem to be banging on about hobby horses more than giving a sense of clear leadership in tough times.
As for my own modest traducement, it comes on Page 3 which says that I am hoping to play the bagpipes at a Bob Dylan concert. Yes, you read that correctly. Now as it happens I wasn't aware I was hoping to do so until the paper called me and told me.
I am indeed, as the paper says, re-learning some of my lost bagpiping skills for a TV programme, which will end with me performing somewhere. I knew Sky Arts were ambitious, but a Bob Dylan concert! Bloody hell. Anyway, this being a TV programme I am not supposed to know where the 'journey' (telly people love that word) will end. But I will be surprised if it ends up with me on the same stage as Bob Dylan, exciting though Fiona found such a prospect when she read the story this morning.
I've only just got over playing football with Diego Maradona five years ago. Not that I ever mention it.
The very idea of the sham making but delaying an apology till their conference is so sick I hope there will be clever ‘Thank You’s.
I can believe the ‘Calm down dear’ was an off the cuff quip re that comical insurance salesman but it should have been explained as such at the time, not at the many subsequent times outside of HoC.
As for the put-down of Nadine Dorries, I have no respect for her ‘effectiveness’ but the opportunism of his quip was perfect at underlining and nailing his NQ1OU attitude.
As a commentator elsewhere said, someone with less flat vowels would not have been left humiliated in that way, they would have been brought in to the joke, not left with it being at them.
The very idea of apologising tra-la-laaah at this time is just like the Bulliboys’ belief that being able to pay for damage at hostelries excuses causing it.
Perhaps ND will ask him why the fanfare beforehand as if he deserves kudos (or perhaps she should rather thank Sam who might have actually asked her wimp how he would feel if that ridicule had been made of her).
If you do end up on stage with Bob, remind him that it’ll be fifty years in November since he recorded his first album.
Always respected someone that pipes the pipes, sheeps bladder wind filled. Anyway, ace of spades, win some, lose some, it’s all the same to me, the ace of spades… fit arse and titties on this girl here seen. WHAT???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coBORyLNlj0
I can easily vouch for why DC & Co don’t go down well with women like me (OK then, just me, maybe) – that type of fresh-faced, smooth-talking, never looks ruffled, slimey-haired type of person has no physical appeal. Then listening to the repeated ‘we are, we will, we can, we do’ message(s) – seen it, heard it, didn’t believe it the first time, and don’t believe a word now.
My afternoons have many uses other than watching true blue paint dry in Manchester.
QED.
Cameron? Understanding of anyway?
Women are surely, generally, the first and hardest hit by their odious actions.
I dread where he is leading, dragging us all towards.
How many U-turns must this nation endure before these fools find a plan?
How many years can the mountain that is Pickles exist before he leaves communities be?
How many years can our students exist, before they can pay the Lib-Dem fee?
How many times must the prices go up, before Osbourne sees a plan B?
How many ears would Gove need to have, before he learns his “free” still means tied?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.
(I am sorry, dreadfully sorry – just back from cycling – headwind, weary….sorry)
Although I’m no fan of the bagpipes, they’d make an interesting accompaniment to ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, one of my all-time favourite records.
The only problem is that if you do it on Sky Arts, few people will be aware of it.
It must be true though, because a Murdoch newspaper would never invent things.
“Traducement” I don’t mind admitting I had to look that word up!
Caluminiating and misrepresenting is something the newspapers have always been good at. Especially when there’s not much of a real story to print.
At the moment Cameron and Osbourne seem to be doing a pretty good impression of standing idly by and letting the country go to the dogs.
They may whitter on occasionally about inconsequential rubbish of the sort AC mentions in his blog post. But, they appear to be completely devoid of any ideas that may start our country’s economy growing again. Apart from seemingly to allow the country’s best known house builders to build all over our precious green belt land. I suppose the fact that these house builders made significant donations to the Tory party has nothing whatsoever to do with that decision?
The tory conference agenda this week:
Europe
The Human Rights Act
Europe referendum
Health and Safety legislation
Europe
Fox Hunting
Europe referendum
Europe
Employee Rights (or lack of)
Europe.
In other words nothing to do with the genuine fears and worries of the vast majority of ordinary men and women.
Everytime I hear Cameron on radio or TV, I wonder how this moron became our Prime Minister.
We should have a competition for the least liked (erm ….. most Liked) TV word.
‘Journey’ must be one of the most hot (tee hee)
Is that similar green belt land that which two jags allowed so many planning appeals in favour of green belt desecration when he was DPM?
Why have you changed your user name to Iebourg, Richard?
Because his party received more votes than the other moron. Geddit?
How about, ” it is impossible to underestimate how important……….”, which crops up at least once a week.
You have a sense of humour. Fancy that.
Des Currie
Was Fiona laughing so much she got the camera upside down?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5ahlmn-pqs
and just what the heck were you on here?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_woq1WriG0
I don’t know, you could at least have made some attempt to play the same tune…..
I’m glad you’re concerned about the threat to green belts but it is a cross-party issue. There have been a lot of politicians in both Conservative and Labour governments who have shown no sensitivity or appreciation of the value of green belts. I grew up in a Labour-controlled area where jobs and growth were prioritised at the expense of the green belt. We lost a lot of the green belt only to find that the jobs and growth did not survive the first few years of Thatcher. So – not many jobs and not much growth and little left of the green belt – wish you were there!. The current threat to green belts is from the Conservative Party, not John Prescott, so I suggest we deal with the matter in hand.
so more morons voted for him!
WARNING THIS IS NOT A JOKE
ALASTAIR – what’s going on in Israel – are you in touch with Tony?
Are the Israelis really arming the settlers in the anticipation that Palestine will get independence but they will not withdraw – they will go to war? Is that why Tony is stalling and saying they shouldn’t have asked?
WHAT’S GOING ON? No-one is talking about this in the UK. Here’s something from Russia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa-PLgtbp_M
We need to talk about this.
Rebecca, are you someone “important” should we know who you are?
That is a serious question btw.
Only tbh when you first began commenting on AC’s site, I seem to remember you were commenting about education.
Now you are writing about the Palestine/Israel problem. I’m not suggesting you are only “allowed” to be concerned or interested in one issue only.
.
But, I’m beginning to wonder if you possible could be some sort of
agent provokator (I don’t know how to spell that in French!) or perhaps in English, a pain in the ass! of people such as Elizabeth Truss, who I now know is an MP and I’m guessing she is your constituency MP? Who according to one of your previous posts is harassing or pursuing you or some such over the internet!
In your post, the one I’m replying to, you ask AC if he is in touch with “Tony” Are you on first name terms then with Tony Blair? and if so, why is that exactly?
Not quite true Richard.
The other ‘leader’ that Nick’s ID refers to stole the votes he’d received from people supporting him and his party and gave them to another ‘leader’ in preference to ‘marrying’ the other chap that I’d bet 99.9% of those supporters would have chosen if there’d been a vote on the partnership choice.
We can only guess at why **egg made the choice he did; I put it to you that the size of the second salaries his ministerially-elevated fellow LD MPs was the decider and that there was no more-altruistic reasoning.
I know you do not like facts before being spun, but 10.7 million voted Conservative in 2010, 8.6 million voted Labour. SmeggHead could not understand how Cameron became PM. I attempted to tell him in simple terms.
Red Leader inspired you guys last week, and you have recharged your glasses of vitriol. Well done dear.
May I quote a couple of your own words as used elsewhere in this thread back at you Richard?
Here I go …. you just don’t GEDDIT, do you MORON?
You just don’t get that Labour is about levelling UP.
Govt salaries are not negotiated 1:1, whatever Prezza got in his roles is what an.other would in their own time. Would you rather he’d spent his EARNINGS (rather than ‘makings’) on two Beamers or summat?
Understand yet Richardhead?
There is NO comparison available that comes anywhere near what Labour achieved for US during its 13yrs and listening to Shapps’s ‘plan’ today ….. words fail.
Can’t say I’ve heard that one Richard.
What makes you think NObody is talking about this in the UK RH ….. is it because they’ve not done so with you?
Youtube is hardly the source for news or even simply ‘facts’ or even just knowing the provenance of the flipping uploader :-s .
There are lots of people protesting and lots of them are non-Zionist Jews themselves.
Change your key words, it’s dead easy.
http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/news/currentarticle.cfm?id=97
http://jfjfp.com/?tag=idf
Yes. More morons like Dick.
Top debating Janiete, ‘ saw you on the telly at Conference last week
Great stuff Michele – what can I do to get invovled and help? Who is protesting and how do I get in touch with them? I’ve already posted something on the next blog which hasn’t gone live yet without seeing this comment so my apologies that it will doubtless be tactless. Sorry about that.
The YouTubes are from Russia Today – not any old source.
There’s a lot of high quality info on their site.
So what is going on politically?
Gillie I’m a academic version of a netmum. I used to stay completely in maths education – see for example https://www.ncetm.org.uk/community/thread/56000 apart from between 2000-2004 I worked as a volunteer for the British Council to support the development of state schools in Jordan (in particular the introducation of computers into mathematics teaching). This was alongside my ordinary teaching job. That’s where I became well informed about issue in the Middle East.
I stepped out of maths education into wider political blogs when this government came into power and obliterated consulation in education – I just felt I had to speak up but the nature of the way blogs and discussion forums work meant I had to talk about whatever is being talked about. I found I could do that quite well because I was bought up in a very academic and politically aware home.
Over the last year I’ve developed an interest in the way mass online discussion works and have started to write about that – first in maths education here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/55142332/Exploring-Discussion-Forums and I’m now thinking and researching beyond that. So as I post I think a lot about the nature of what’s going on.
The context for my sudden concern about the West Bank is on linkedin.com > TED (group) > The thread on Palestine, and you can find out a lot about my philsophy of life and ethics there but if you want to see it look soon as there is a lot of pressure on the owner to delete it from the AIPAC lobby.
Does that make sense now? I don’t really want to be a public character but I understand that you need to know enough about me to work out where I’m coming from, so if you need to know more just ask. I’m easy to find on linkedin. You could link and we could chat.
Sorry, no offence, my error as it is a tag I use elsewhere. I forgot myself.
Abuse aside, perhaps you could spend a moment and enlighten we morons what the following piece of drivel means:-
“Govt salaries are not negotiated 1:1, whatever Prezza got in his roles is what an.other would in their own time. Would you rather he’d spent his EARNINGS (rather than ‘makings’) on two Beamers or summat?”
A little hung over from last week are we still, dear?
Oh should add – Liz Truss is not my MP.
And it’s one of her constituent’s who’s been pursuing me across the internet posting abusive lies.
I live in West Cumbria.
Thanks for that Rebecca.
The information that is. I think I “get” you now.
Your heart is obviously in the right place.
I shall try and find you on the sites you mention.
Incidentally, I’m sure you must be aware that TB is a zionist.
Something I personally find incongruous and incompatible in a middle-east peace envoy. However, given that this old world is largely ruled by wealthy elite Jewish people, nothing much really surprises me anymore.
I’m not anti-semitic btw, I don’t and never have had a problem with Jewish people.
It’s just a little unfortunate that the wealthy elite are mostly Jewish.
But, they are much more interested in wealth and power, first and foremost. The fact that most of them are Jewish is incidental imho.
I forgot to answer your question about the green belt land. Yes, that would be the same two jags that also gave permission for green belt land to be built on. I’m no Labour sycophant Richard. In fact I believe both main parties are now almost equally shite.
Although to be fair to both main parties they are both under the orders of the wealthy ruling elite, to a greater or lesser extent. True democracy no longer exists in this country. There is no right or left any longer. imo.
More and more people are also coming to this conclusion. “They” cannot hide it any more. It has become all too obvious.