Next Prime Minister

[Nefertiti2]

I’m definitely a Helen Lewis fan. Not read much of her writing but met her a few times and she’s super nice.

You disappoint me, Lucy.

[Nefertiti2]

I don’t follow this. There won’t be a straight fight because they are standing in different constituencies. And not backing Corbyn is not the same as backing Johnson. Would Caroline Lucas be backing Johnson if she stood against a Labour candidate? Of course not.

I Don't think they will support Corbyn's Labour against Johnson's Conservatives.

[Lucy Waterman]

I dunno. I’ve met nice people of all sorts of political persuasions. Paul Foot thought Enoch Powell was nice.

[Lucy Waterman]

I Don't think they will support Corbyn's Labour against Johnson's Conservatives.

Oh right. When you said they’d back Johnson, I thought that’s what you meant. You mean they wont urge a vote for Corbyn. No, I doubt they will, any more than Caroline Lucas will.

[Nefertiti2]

She comes across as so unpleasant, and such a bad faith actor in print and online. But maybe that's a performance .

[Lucy Waterman]

Does bad faith mean anything more than “disagrees with what I hold to be objectively true and must therefore be lying”?

[Lucy Waterman]

That’s a more general muse, really.

[DCI Harry Batt]

I dunno. I’ve met nice people of all sorts of political persuasions. Paul Foot thought Enoch Powell was nice.

Posh people, they don't get it, even ones as good as Foot.

(I think you're being quite significantly unfair to Foot, as it goes)

[Ray de Galles]

a) Hugo Rifkind, Helen Lewis and Rafael Behr are going to back Boris Johnson in a general election?

I suspect they will or they will certainly not advocate backing Corbyn/Labour whent here is a straight fight between the two.

b) they will do this to keep Corbyn out of government?

Yes. They really don't want Corbyn in government. Haven't you been following the last three years?

c) because Johnson's a fellow journalist?

Amongst other reasons, yes .
My thesis is that Johnson is treated differently by journalists because he's a journalist .
See for example the many years where he was referred to by the BBC as "Boris"

OK, so not "Yup, pretty much" at all then.

With regard to each individual point :

a) not advocating Corbyn ≠ backing Johnson

b) not wanting Corbyn in government ≠ wanting Johnson in and hasn't done for the last three years.

c) there's certainly merit in that, though I don't think it particularly applies to the people you list (the wider point about preferential treatment that is, the narrower one about calling him "Boris" probably does and I agree it's an infuriating trait).

[Ray de Galles]

Oh right. When you said they’d back Johnson, I thought that’s what you meant

Haven't you been following the last three years?

[Lucy Waterman]

Has it only been three years?

[Lucy Waterman]

OK, so not "Yup, pretty much" at all then.

With regard to each individual point :

a) not advocating Corbyn ≠ backing Johnson

b) not wanting Corbyn in government ≠ wanting Johnson in and hasn't done for the last three years.

c) there's certainly merit in that, though I don't think it particularly applies to the people you list.

All that.

[Lucy Waterman]

Posh people, they don't get it, even ones as good as Foot.

(I think you're being quite significantly unfair to Foot, as it goes)

I certainly didn’t mean to be. He apparently went to the Eye office after interviewing Powell and sat with his head in his hands, saying “I liked him”. That’s all I based the comment on.

[Nefertiti2]

OK, so not "Yup, pretty much" at all then.

With regard to each individual point :

a) not advocating Corbyn ≠ backing Johnson

When Johnson is leader of the Conservative party it will.

b) not wanting Corbyn in government ≠ wanting Johnson in and hasn't done for the last three years.

.

When Johnson is leader of the Conservative party it will.

c) there's certainly merit in that, though I don't think it particularly applies to the people you list (the wider point about preferential treatment that is, the narrower one about calling him "Boris" probably does and I agree it's an infuriating trait).

Thanks.

[Lucy Waterman]

Who did you give your backing to in 2005, Nef? Michael Howard or Tony Blair? If you didn’t vote for Blair you must have been backing Howard, by your own logic.

[MsD]

I'd have preferred Robin Cook as leader, over Tony Blair.

[MsD]

I dunno. I’ve met nice people of all sorts of political persuasions. Paul Foot thought Enoch Powell was nice.

Narcissists (as in the clinical definition, not just "people who seem a bit up themselves") always present as charming people. Not saying that any of the people mentioned are necessarily that, but you can't tell a person's character on meeting them superficially, especially if they're in professions where charming people is part of the game.

A former poster here told me he'd had dealings with Ian Brady, yes that Ian Brady, and that "he seemed nice".

What they do when no-one's watching, over a period of time, is the only way to tell if someone is "nice".

[Snake Plissken]

I saw Bernard Manning do 20 minutes of the funniest, most technically accomplished standup comedy that I've ever seen.

Then, on minute 21, he started on the racist stuff.

[Lucy Waterman]

Was it genuinely that good, SP? I’ve never bought the “technically gifted” stuff myself (based on what small amount I’ve seen) but I’m prepared to be corrected.

[Nefertiti2]

Who did you give your backing to in 2005, Nef? Michael Howard or Tony Blair? If you didn’t vote for Blair you must have been backing Howard, by your own logic.

I voted for Jeremy Corbyn as it happens.;-)


but for the last three years the centre has been saying the predominant issue was Brexit. Now Johnson is about to be crowned on an avowedly no deal platform. Obviously excusing those in areas where the Lib Dem’s or others offer the greatest chance of defeating Johnson For anyone to vote for any party that make Johnson’s re-election as Prime Minister is unforgivable IMO.

ive already read more than one person describe Johnson as “ the lesser of two evils”.

[Mr Cogito]

most technically accomplished standup comedy

Well, that bit made me laugh.

[Lucy Waterman]

I voted for Jeremy Corbyn as it happens.;-)


but for the last three years the centre has been saying the predominant issue was Brexit. Now Johnson is about to be crowned on an avowedly no deal platform. Obviously excusing those in areas where the Lib Dem’s or others offer the greatest chance of defeating Johnson For anyone to vote for any party that make Johnson’s re-election as Prime Minister is unforgivable IMO.

ive already read more than one person describe Johnson as “ the lesser of two evils”.

Ok I understand where you are coming from. I think it is defensible to despise both and urge support for a third party.

[Nefertiti2]

Knowing that this would help re-elect Johnson?

[Snake Plissken]

Well, that bit made me laugh.

I wrote a blog somewhere years ago when Manning died. Basically, back when I was gigging, we decided to go to the Embassy to see him in a sort of "know your enemy" type arrangement. After all, his reputation at that point was purely by word of mouth and he was nowhere near the TV, so while we could presume he was shit, we didn't know. After all, he was popular back in the day, so he had to have had something.

Like I say, he was, in terms of stagecraft, timing and crowd control, one of the absolute masters. The problem was that all that was in service of his material when when it wasn't hateful, was seriously low quality. But he could polish a turd like few others.

[Nefertiti2]

Which brings us back to
Johnson