PM candidates

The last episode of very good Undeclared War left it so another series could follow, normal practice for box sets i understand…
Series left me wondering how realistic it was, i read somehere that the writer took about 3 years to research the background, develop the plot and write it so maybe it had a degree of reality

ya’d better believe it John :wink:
Yes Minister was truly close to actuality as was House of Cards (the original UK version, not the US one).

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Decent evisceration of Truss-onomics by Will Hutton here:

I was truck by his description of the sort of young entrepreneurs I’ve been working with over the last decade or so - very different from the old ‘greed-is-good’ 1980s fantasy:

The Tory edifice is ignorant about this enterprise revolution. In their terms, these can’t be real entrepreneurs: they vote Labour, Lib Dem and Green, abhor Brexit, worry that the UK is being kicked out of the EU’s Horizon programme, prize universities, want action on climate change and, for the main part, can’t bear the Tory party, its press and freakish leading commentators.

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I think there’s an insight from Australia here into how an elected leader can use a crisis such as covid to breach democratic norms and start to accrue authoritarian powers.
I wonder how Truss will react if there is frightening civil conflict in the UK?

Dizzy Lizzy at her best - again! How nice to know the electorate are appreciated…

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Professor Tim Wilson on Truss’ campaign policy costings…

Interesting that Gove has finally plumped for Sunak, who is obviously going to lose.
Why?
Gove is one of the most appalling Tories - but that is in part because he’s actually not stupid.
Is he distancing himself from Truss because he anticipates the mess she’ll make?
Has he realised he’s not going to get a top job anymore so doesn’t care about backing the loser?
Who knows?

In Reuters, it is announces that that he wishes to stand back from front line politics.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/former-uk-minister-gove-backs-rishi-sunak-says-he-is-quitting-frontline-politics-2022-08-19/

Hasn’t most of the UK Govt quit frontline politics?

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but not stab in the back politics? :grinning:

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He prefers to do it face to face Nigel :wink:

He is probably wishing for a different type of line :wink:

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as pure as the driven snow perhaps?

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He’s getting on a bit I suppose, if you’re not in the front line you don’t have to be so bendy to stab those who are, in the back.

somebody going to explain to me what frontline politics is? Or is it just another way of saying us and them?

best described perhaps as being in the forefront of politics… often refers to front bench MPs as opposed to the “also ran’s” (a horse betting term) who lurk in the shadows…

I assume he’ll continue as an MP at least (unless his constituents are sensible enough to ditch him).
He had a bit of a television career before government - regular pundit on the Newsnight arts review programme. Maybe another Portillo?

Rather unfair on Portillo!
I thoroughly enjoy watching Michael Portillo and his train journeys, very informative and educational.
Can’t see Gove in the same light.