Tag: Matt Hancock

And, so it continues

barnard
Thanks to Brenda for sending this.

Well, pathetic excuses are the name of the game for this bunch of cowboys.

Another day of interviews and tv/radio appearances, each one direr than the last.

Gove was asked about self-assessing eye health and specifically, had he ever driven 60 miles to check that his eyesight was good enough to drive 250 miles. He started to say he had and then realised halfway through how utterly ridiculous that was and tried various and sundry other tacks till the interviewer put him out of his misery. But he was hauled over the coals several times over it.

I’m wondering what Cummings has on all of them that is strong enough, that they are scared enough about that they are prepared to make utter fools of themselves over it.

Another minister (Hancock) said that it was possible that those people who were fined for being out and about on childcare matters during the lockdown in England might have to have their fines returned to them because, presumably, it wasn’t illegal to be out and about for childcare purposes… But then Downing Street rejected Hancock’s suggestion! There’s an article here, but fair warning, it’s in the Daily Mail.

I wonder who it was that did the vetoing!!!

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In Scotland, Douglas Ross resigned from the non-job of Under Secretary of State on the basis that he could not support Cummings, given that so many of his constituents had had similar kinds of problems and not broken the law. When Downing Street was asked for a comment on the ministerial resignation, a “source” said in that diplomatic way that we have come to expect of the British government,  that Ross was “a nobody”.

I wonder who that source was!!!

One of the interesting things I thought of today was… who will replace Mr Ross? Suggestions on a postcard to Munguin.

Here's everything you need to know about Douglas Ross and why he ...

How long will this go on?  What will the government find that can distract the press, even the friendly press from this? They can’t have a royal wedding. It would mean people coming from all over. They can’t have a royal birth…even royals take time to manage that. A war is probably out of the question and we don’t have earthquakes of any size in the UK.

I guess they could ask Phil to make the ultimate sacrifice, but why should he? He’s half Greek and half Danish.

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For today’s spirit lifter, Brenda sent me this. It seems that Dom’s Castle has been getting a lot of attention on Trip Advisor.

brenda

And I liked this one too:
gove joke

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I NOTICED THIS…

…ON TWITTER

Given that we are told that we are supposed to keep at least a meter between us, why on earth is the English health secretary standing so close to this woman. He’s clearly making her feel uncomfortable because she moves away from him and then puts her bag between them.

And don’t even look at his trousers.

What an utter creep!

Still, it inspired me to find some good music.

MORE PANTO FROM THE TORIES, STARRING MATT HANCOCK AS THE FAIRY GODMOTHER (9 BILLION MORE POLICE) AND DITCHY AS GOLDIELOCKS THE PORRIDGE STEALER

What does Boris mean by this?

Of the four NHS services in the UK, the Scottish one performs best. So what is he saying?

Is he suggesting that the SNHS, devolved by referendum in the 1990s should be taken back into UK hands and run by the Scotland Office and the largely English House of Commons?

Well, it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility. After all, we recently pointed out several other responsibilities that have been repatriated quietly by London despite a referendum which was (to Blair’s credit) very clear about what was devolved and what was not.

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Many of these items may be important in the trade talks to come, at least some with bigger and more powerful economies such as India, Japan and the USA.

So too will be the supply of drugs from US Pharmaceuticals (at vastly inflated costs compared with current pricing), about which US officials have been having a series of meetings with UK authorities recently, despite no one bothering to tell the Secretary of State for the English Health Service…well, that’s what he says anyway. Well, when I say “he says”, I really mean “he splutters incoherently which trotting out trite sound bites”

From all that I read, the health service in England is in a parlous state. They are short of ten thousand doctors and over forty thousand nurses. A friend of mine waited three months for a GP appointment in London. There is almost no mental health care and hospital beds are blocked, sometimes for a year or more, by elderly people too ill to go home alone, but too well to be in hospital.

Years of leaving things in the hands of Jeremy Hunt has not been kind to the service, and of course many nurses and doctors (not to mention radiologists, physios and care workers from elsewhere in Europe have left for pastures new, thanks to their madcap Brexit. (Hunt said at the Tory Party Conference in 2016 that as soon as he had trained up suitable staff he would be able to get rid of foreign doctors and nurses… and clearly, some of these foreign staff thought they should pre-empt that sacking for not being English, and do the repatriation at their own speed!)

So I suspect that forcing the English Health Service on us will go down like a stone. Add to that the increased cost of the drugs and it becomes even more unappealing.

The only alternative interpretation I can take from the statement that Ditchy made there, is that he hopes that under the tender care of Jackass Carlot, the Tories in Scotland will become the government and  take the SNHS under their wings, so they can make the same sort of job of it as Hunt and Hancock have done in England.

Heaven help us.

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Just for a laugh, I see they have sent Hancock, who isn’t perhaps their stupidest minister, but not far from it, out to the studios today and here he is answering questions about police in England (also in a parlous situation thanks to the Tories’ cuts).

I know that their ministers are by and large 4th rate, but there just has to be someone a bit more competent than this berk, surely???

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WHAT A DAY!

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And so it kicked off with some archaic language. That’s the British way.

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Then we were reminded of this:-

So, I suspect that we expect Mr Hancock’s resignation as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in England. I wonder who will replace him.

Oh and these ones too!

Not to mention Rudd.

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The Scottish Conservatives were unable to find their leader who is usually so available to the press.

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Shy and retiring, Ruth hates publicity.

Her Office said that she would not be doing interviews today.

I suppose that they thought that her usual “SNP Bad” speel was a bit feeble, so they put up the absent-minded professor. I say absent-minded because, when he was a law professor he railed against the use of the royal prerogative as an abusive form of arbitrary power. Using it to shut down parliament is surely the most abusive thing you can do with it. He seems to have forgotten all that.

Still, he’s a Tory…what did you expect?

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UPDATE

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While I was writing this, Ruth Davidson appears to be on the verge of resigning as branch leader, citing pressures of motherhood and being at odds with Johnson.

Respect where it is due. Although, maybe there’s a lesson in THIS somewhere…

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Nicola had that to say. It’s no exaggeration nor is it hyperbole.

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ORDERS APPROVED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL HELD BY THE
QUEEN AT BALMORAL ON 28TH AUGUST 2019

COUNSELLORS PRESENT

The Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg (Lord President)
The Rt Hon Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Rt Hon Mark Spencer

Privy Counsellors

Two Orders appointing The Lord Ashton of Hyde and James
Cleverly TD MP Members of Her Majesty’s Most ?Honourable?
Privy Council.

Prorogation Order proroguing Parliament no earlier than Monday 9th
September and no later than Thursday 12th September 2019 to
Monday 14th October 2019, and directing the Lord High
Chancellor of Great Britain to prepare a Commission accordingly.

Question. Why is James Cleverly being made a Privy Councilor? Only last week he was involved in an accident while using his mobile phone! That’s a criminal offence, isn’t it? Honourable? …Not a lot!

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Suggestions are that this may make the queen rather unpopular, which is unjust as she really had no option but to agree to what her government and the privy councillors advised.

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So, is it time that Harry and Miss Marple had another kid for us to support.

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I’m sure more interesting stuff will emerge as the day continues… Feel free to update in the replies!

 

JUST FOR A LAUGH

Le Temps, Switzerland, June 6, 2019.

De Volkskrant, The Netherlands, May 31, 2019.

Politicalcartoons.com, Croatia, June 3, 2019.

The Charlotte Observer, U.S., June 4, 2019.

The Buffalo News, U.S., June 5, 2019.

The Boston Globe, U.S., June 5, 2019.

Columbia Missourian, U.S., June 5, 2019.

Thanks to BJSAlba for these.

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Of course, the real jokes of this week are undoubtedly the contenders, possible and impossible, for the Tory Party leadership. As they work hard to outbid each other on the  “I did drugs. What can I say? I’m actually human, just like you ordinary run-of-the-mill lower and lesser folk”, something interesting has come to light.

The process for a visa for visiting the USA includes questions about drug use. Wee Govey’s recent admission with regard to the use of cocaine, could put him in breach of rules, which require applicants to state if they have ever violated laws related to possessing, using or distributing illegal drugs.

We may reasonably assume that on previous applications for USA visas, he will have lied about his drug use. And so he could conceivably be refused a visa to enter the USA.

Of course, if he were elected prime minister, that wouldn’t happen, which would also be an embarrassment in its own way because it would prove that there is one rule for those and such as those and one rule for… well, us.

But given that Gove is not the only one to admit to drug use, the UK could well end up with a prime minister who wouldn’t be able to visit their greatest ally. Donny!

Of course, the admission from the house elf is all the more embarrassing because, as English Education Secretary, Gove brought in legislation that allowed for the disqualification (and sacking) of teachers who were convicted of possessing class A drugs…all the while knowing that his wee nose was no stranger to these substances.

To be fair, school teachers are not prime ministers and vice versa! But still, maybe he needs to rethink his career plans.

As Michael Gove brought in a code of conduct in 2014 disqualifying teachers convicted of possessing class A drugs (yep, cocaine is in there), I think it only fair if he disqualifies himself from any public position. I mean we wouldn’t want him to be hypocritical now, would we?
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So, in view of the opium smoking and cocaine use, not to mention the loathsome smoking of pot, it appears that all we are left with is this joke, I mean bloke…

or this bloke and his little lap dog…

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…the dream team?

Maybe the others, given the age and disposition of the average voter in this contest, should have been a bit more careful about what they admitted to.

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After all, whatever happened to the good old fashioned, if slightly dull, practice of admitting to running through a cornfield.

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Oh yes, of course…she did that!