Liz Truss' chief of staff investigated by FBI for involvement in bribery of Puerto Rico Governor and corruption of political process. Fullbrook was working for Lynton Crosby's consultancy and channelled money (£300k) from a Tory donor with financial interests in Puerto Rico to bribe the Governor to sack the country's chief financial regulator, who was investigating the Tory donor. Mark Fullbrook hast turned stoolie and has been granted partial immunity, meaning he will not be prosecuted for anything he discloses, but if further info comes to light he could face procecution. Liz Truss "had been informed of this before his appointment". What the everloving **** is wrong with these ****s? Corrupt to their very souls. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...b?shareToken=e67ab3cccaecac4dad0adfc0c0d1ebd1
Puerto Rico is a US Protectorate. Biden has been very active in stopping foreign activity in US politics. And now Biden has cancelled meeting with Truss. Whether this is related is not known.
Times is firewalled but reporter has tweeted: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1571183835609534466.html
Oh, and here's a kicker: Fullbrook was appointed manager of Johnson’s successful leadership campaign in 2019, on loan from CT. His wife, 63, who quit parliament in 2015, was given a peerage by Johnson shortly afterwards.
Rees-Mogg "We need a brexit win chaps. Let's do a survey to see whether people want imperial measurements back. What should the questions be?" Civil Servant at BEIS: "how about "would you like things in shops to be marked: A) Imperial measurements B) Imperial and metric C) Metric?" RM: "Oh, I don't think we need C. If they are not patriotic enough, they can just write to us." https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/18/metric-system-imperial-measures-consultation-brexit
Seriously, why would anyone want to return to imperial measurements? They are illogical and are unfamiliar to anyone under about 60 years of age. Business certainly don't want the expense that comes with changing systems, packaging etc. There is absolutely no reason to do it beyond some nostalgic nonsense.
Looking forward to the mayhem when JRM abolishes the current decimal currency and reintroduces £-s-d, whilst insisting all government business is expressed in guineas. Oh, what nostalgia.
Why stop there? Why not return to cubits and spans for lengths of measurement? Although we would have to have some guidance for what cubit to use.
Divide it by itself 3 times? I can just about handle furlongs, but start struggling with bushels and pecks.
Why stop there? Let's return to the barter system and reinstate Feudalism. Life was simpler back then, and they didn't have Climate Change.
Truss’s Chief of Staff is paid via his lobbying company. Get your head around that. The PMs most important hire is a self-employed lobbyist who can’t even be disciplined as an employee. The usual ‘one rule’ for them. https://twitter.com/gabriel_pogrund/status/1573720354555678720?s=46&t=Got_mt54wPQCihFnqyVsmA
This is a government that likes to do deals: Liz Truss ‘promised chief of staff next Tory election campaign in exchange for No 10 job’ Exclusive: Senior Conservatives warn ‘quid pro quo’ arrangement with Mark Fullbrook spells ‘electoral doom’
I am of the opinion that it should be illegal for elected officials to engage in promises of positions/titles in exchange for support. Support shouldn't be something that can be bought at the expense of the country. It's how incompetent nobodies manage to get into positions well beyond their competence: through what amounts to nothing more transparent bribery. Support should be granted on the basis of the individual having confidence in the candidate, with no expectation of future reward. Yeah, I know I'm naive.
M'Lord Moylan suddenly pointing out to everyone (except himself) that he's a bit thick: https://twitter.com/secrettory12/status/1574508597215567872
The Tory Conference promises some entertainment. Of course the choreography will still be there, the rapturous applause for her simply saying ‘deliver! deliver! deliver!’ and those against Truss will stay away. But how will they explain this last week and what will they promise? Expect attacks on almost everyone else, the BoE, the Unions, them Wokey Wokes, Hoomin Rights Lawyers etc and threats of slash and burn across services aka ‘efficiency’. Sunak has decided not to go. The reason? I want Liz to own the moment.
Yes, it will be interesting but, as you say, knowing the Tories, it will be well managed and any dissent will be kept behind closed doors. I think the main thrust of their message will be the same as austerity and Brexit. Hardship today will bring jam tomorrow. And yes they will paint the experts as the enemy and that the Tories know best and they will steer the UK through these difficult times to sunnier uplands. Hopefully the last week has fatally damaged the economic competence that the UK public always seem to assign to the Conservatives and this "jam tomorrow" message will no longer cut through. We shall see.
I don’t think they can help but mess up at the moment. It will be car crash TV. There is no one left but the Brexit loons and their denials and blame shifting are not going to work.
It will certainly test the "more sensible" Conservative commentators. It'll be easy enough to go on stage and get the faithful in the audience excited. It's a whole different challenge to justify the nonsense on TV/radio, especially if there are experts in the studios to challenge them.
This thread needs a new title. I-I-I-I-Fwah-Fwah-Fwah is a Johnson trademark. Truss is much more: "Well-I-[long silence]-the-things-we-are-doing-[another long silence]..." The thing about the jam tomorrow idea is that the British public have largely been waiting for jam since the 2008 financial crisis. Austerity was going to bring loads of jam and make Britain leaner and more competitive. Brexit was going to make Britain the front runner, peeling off from the pack and winning the race alone. While the electorate may well have short memories the basic fact is that their ideology doesn't work and when it comes to Christmas and the food is expensive, there's not as much money because it's all being spent on energy, there's worries about expiring mortgage deals (for those lucky enough not to be renting and therefore paying someone else's mortgage) people might start to see that this is not normal. Nothing in this country works. Some train companies won't run timetables. The NHS 111 phone line is now groaning under the strain. Roads are clogged and broken. Shops and businesses are closing. Town centres are falling apart. 30-year-olds with good jobs can't afford to move out of Mum and Dad's. Unfortunately, the great lie that this is all global and everywhere else is the same still cuts through. Fear that things can always be worse is all the Tories have left now.
It’s quite mad how broken things are. NHS dentistry for example. Almost impossible now for new patients to get treatment, including hundreds of thousands whose surgeries have relinquished their unworkable NHS contracts and now gone wholly private. The personal discomfort, the poor self-image, the damage to children, the effect on general health is immense. And for what? To increase the wealth of a small proportion. To follow an anti-state ideology and bring the NHS to privatisation? A national tragedy and scandal.
I've moved within the last few months and have phoned every dentist in the town I now live in (about fifteen dental surgeries). None of them take new NHS patients or have any timescale/waiting list for when they will. As you say, a lot of the practices are purely private now, or are private for adults but will take your child as an NHS patient if you're prepared to pay for your own dental care.
I’m sure this is repeated throughout the Country and I don’t think anyone could claim the Country has been consulted on this change.
What the frack? Trussbot malfunction. https://twitter.com/dinosofos/status/1575389891453648901?s=46&t=DrtKQVBtiK3PA4H0u5vvaA
