Johnson: "Every pound we spend in Aid has to be borrowed."
And the billions spent on failed apps, 6k-a-day consultants, unusable PPE, contracts to mates, jobs for mistresses, Brexit, Routemaster, garden bridge, Royal Yacht, a tunnel to Ireland, HS2, Trident?
Where did get them?
SOLELY as London Mayor, he spaffed a billion up the wall on NONSENSE. Almost a quarter of his total budget while in post.
Now, he's suddenly all about fiscal responsibility, cutting a tiny budget that saves babies from malaria. Utter Shyster.
In Upside-Down-World racist tweets are 'freedom of speech' or 'saying it as it is'; getting in trouble for them 'cancel culture'. But call out political hypocrisy on racism, and a white man pops up to tell a black man the world can only work if he accepts 'submission'.
These are, incidentally, all the same people who would rend their garments and rave at any suggestion any part of the Leave vote was driven by underlying racism.
Chris Rock's performance on "Spiral: From The Book of Saw" is the worst thing I have ever seen. And I once came across the rotting corpse of a donkey in a field, being eaten by seagulls.
It's not just that he has one expression - smouldering, he thinks; constipated, I say. It's that his one expression is SO bad, director kept resorting to flashbacks of what happened minutes before, whenever the script needed Chris Rock to consider what happened minutes before.
Because if he had shown Chris Rock thinking about what happened minutes before, the audience would become convinced that what happened minutes before, was a really challenging poo.
The central concept which must be challenged is that of "above board". The purpose of declaring interests is to make it transparent that there are no conflicts. Declaring an interest that clearly creates a conflict, does not magically make any conflict DISAPPEAR. 1/5
People need to stop and think what it means when a politician gleefully responds to allegations of corruption and cronyism with "it was all above board". Declaring interests merely facilitates a discussion of whether they create conflicts. It's not proof that they don't. 2/5
It's been going on for years. I recall Andrew Lansley taking donations from someone connected to a healthcare provider WHILE he was health secretary. That it's 'above board', doesn't mean conflict and just as important the PERCEPTION of it isn't there. 3/5 telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopic…
The most basic mistake of the UK gov't in these negotiations has been a total failure to take the lead in any draft proposals. Look at No Deal contingency arrangements. EU published theirs six days ago. The UK clutched its pearls and claimed unfairness. WHERE IS OUR PROPOSAL? 1/4
Been like this since Day 1, when Davis turned up without so much as notes scribbled on a beer mat, beat his chest that the UK would never accept EU timetable, then signed up to it the next morning, for lack of any alternative proposal. A behaviour replicated at every stage. 2/4
This, of course, is not a coincidence. If the gov't put pen to paper with concrete proposals, it would outline its own vision, opening itself to criticism from all factions of this cobbled Brexit alliance. Much easier to let the EU do the heavy lifting, then bitch about it. 3/4
THREAD. Just finished Friday zoom with my Brussels group. Much to report.
First, a framing point: The summit went all day and all night. All was agreed: budget, environmental goals, Covid19 response. Brexit was discussed for ten minutes. All agreed the mandate is unchanged. 1/
Everyone at the Commission is quite confused. The current offer to the UK is a deal in which IF we align, we get full access. IF, in future, we diverge they limit access or put up (some) tariffs. The UK choosing to go to NO access and FULL tariffs NOW, is incomprehensible. 2/
This has led people to split into two camps: There is one school of thought, that Johnson really is utterly clueless. His behaviour at the UVDL dinner last night (a car crash, apparently), has fed that impression. This makes people not want to do business with this government. 3/
As a treat, I thought we'd order out from @JustEatUK. Two hours later, thirty quid poorer, I have no food and have been on hold to them for 40 mins. The restaurant cannot help as they don't even have a way to contact the driver. But they tell me this happens A LOT. What a racket.
This could very easily turn into a "Falling Down" scenario.
This is tragic, but kinda funny. Just eat are in the last twenty minutes getting round to replying to complaints from the 14th of November!
They "appreciate your patience" and apparently they're "here to help if you still need a hand with your order". From three weeks ago. 🤣