Is he going to sue me if I’m not careful?
I don’t agree Billy - the point is that these stories are symptomatic of many others - including half a dozen others I could have quoted just today.
The importance of the Olympics story - if you read the article - is precisely that it has always happened before, and London promised to have learnt from this and to make sure it didn’t happen there - but actually it has turned out even worse in many ways. The problem is endemic.
And I’m very familiar with the structure of the NHS and the change that occurred during the Brown years and moreso under Cameron - I was actually the advisor to a dozen or so NHS transformations to social enterprise, including the largest (City Healthcare Partnership Hull - over a thousand staff - for which I designed the legal structure) - I’ve actually been in those negotiations directly with the NHS pensions scheme etc, and been told off the record at the most senior level possible that although all the public literature promised a contract form like the GP contracts - which keeps the staff in the NHS pension scheme, and in a number of other ways not really ‘private’ - much like the French system in fact - such contracts were not really available because ‘the objective is to get people out of the NHS pension scheme’. So I know exactly where and when that particular piece of rot set in. We all knew the much-vaunted Circle would ultimately fail because it was poorly structured… etc… etc…
The exclusive focus on Westminster shenanigans is wrong. They are terrible, of course - but I maintain, and can I think evidence that the malaise in the UK ‘establishment’ goes much deeper than that.
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It was just a phrase
Yes indeed, one that although not meant like that could be taken as a veiled threat, which is why it’s good to be a little careful with our words, as you pointed out. It suggests there will be some consequences if I’m not careful. A phrase that we’ve seen weaponised over and over, particularly in recent years, to stop people speaking out “you’d better be careful about speaking out about…”
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As I said I agree that these issues are indicative of the effect Tory (and not infrequently Labour) policy has.
But the “current malaise” is deeper than that - London could as easily have failed to learn the lessons from Athens under Major’s government as under Cameron’s.
Though you do have a point that the failure of policy in Westminster is not just a “bubble” phenomenon - it pervades the whole country and what MPs get away with, other politicians will think they can do as well.
A fish rots from the head, as they say.
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I wasn’t referring specifically to you or anybody, and I wasn’t making any sort of threat I will edit my post seeing as is caused such upset
I’m a bit baffled as to why anyone would interpret you’re original post as threatening. I certainly didn’t see it that way.
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Neither did I, and I thought I said so in the comment, obviously not clearly enough though. I thought the
made it clear I knew it wasn’t intended as such, but those words often are. I thought I was incredibly clear there, obviously not.
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Yes I got that mental image too, pass the brain bleach 
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When was this broadcast Graham?
IIRC, yesterday 30th June) - click on the YT link to confirm its date.
How much stuff about this clown needs to surface before he’s gone?
well, de Pfeffle hopes it will all blow over but drip, drip, drip…
If the Privileges Committee have their way, it could be as soon as the Autumn if they suspend him for lying to Parliament and a recall petition is submitted - he will likely lose his seat. Harriet Harman is to chair the committee for this purpose as Chris Bryant stood down.
Given what has already been revealed I’m honestly not sure that a big enough scandal exists which would cause him to step down.
The current theory is that Durham Constabulary has been “nobbled” and will issue a fine, Starmer and Rayner will be duty bound to step down and Johnson will call a snap GE to take advantage of Labour’s discomfiture.
Goven that there is no depth to which he will not stoop the above is alarmingly plausible.
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The VONC was done too early IMO, they should have waited until after the by-elections which showed how much hatred there was for Johnson.
I’ve always thought the Privileges Committee enquiry was the best hope of seeing him being forced out but they won’t report for months so he’s safe until then.