Politics Thread 5

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KK
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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by KK » Fri Jun 08, 2018 12:01 am

Theresa May will use the G7 summit in Canada to propose a new international “rapid response unit” to deal with Russian cyberattacks and assassinations, foreign secretary Boris Johnson divulged to a select group of Conservative activists at a private dinner on Wednesday night.

BuzzFeed News has obtained an audio recording of a closed-door gathering at the Institute of Directors in London, where Johnson treated about 20 Tories to an extraordinarily unguarded and wide-ranging assessment of the UK’s foreign policy strategy – and his private thoughts about Brexit, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

In a conversation that lasted for more than an hour, Johnson revealed to members of Conservative Way Forward – a Thatcherite campaign group – that he’d spoken earlier that day to Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, about the situation in North Korea. The Americans want Britain to “use our nuclear expertise to dismantle Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear missile,” Johnson divulged. “That’s what he asked me to do today.”

Johnson praised Donald Trump, warned that China will “try and stiff us”, and said Putin was embarrassed that Russia’s economy is now smaller than that of Australia.

Speaking about Brexit, Johnson gave a remarkably candid rundown of the arguments that have bitterly divided May’s cabinet.

At the time the dinner took place, the rest of Westminster was gripped by speculation about the future of another disgruntled Brexiteer, David Davis, but Johnson revealed to the activists that he, too, is gravely worried about the direction of the talks.

Johnson insisted he won’t compromise on the final terms of Britain’s future economic relationship, but said the Brexiteers were at risk of getting a deal far worse than they’d hoped for. The government is so terrified of short-term economic disruption that it’s at risk of throwing away the opportunities presented by Brexit. He ridiculed the concerns about disruption at the borders as “pure millennium bug stuff” and said it’s “beyond belief” that the Northern Ireland border has become an obstacle in the negotiations.

Johnson was the keynote speaker at Conservative Way Forward's summer reception at the Institute of Directors on Wednesday night. Other Conservative MPs in attendance included Conor Burns and Priti Patel, the former international development secretary.

At about 8.30pm, a select group of around 20 people went to a private room for a dinner. Over more than an hour, the Foreign Secretary took questions from the activists and gave a characteristically ebullient and loose-lipped assessment of the most pressing policy and political matters facing the UK government. Burns was also at the private dinner.

Asked about Donald Trump, Johnson was positive about the US President and even joked that he wouldn’t mind having him lead the Brexit negotiations.

“I am increasingly admiring of Donald Trump,” Johnson said. “I have become more and more convinced that there is method in his madness.”

“Imagine Trump doing Brexit,” Johnson said. “He’d go in bloody hard… There’d be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he’d gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very, very good thought.”

Running through the threats and opportunities for Britain’s foreign policy, Johnson said he wanted a “much more energetic” approach to the UK’s diplomacy.

Asked about Russia, he said the UK was taking the lead on trying to combat Kremlin-directed hostility against other countries.

[Vladimir] Putin feels a deep sense of shame that he’s leader of a country that has been so greatly reduced in its global importance,” Johnson said.

“When I was a kid, Russia really mattered. It’s now got an economy about the size of Australia. Yeah, they’ve they’ve got a lot of nuclear weapons, but it’s real importance in the world is greatly [diminished]. Putin’s a revanchist. He wants to cause trouble. He wants to upset people like us.”

The rest of the world has to be “very firm” in response, Johnson said.

He told the activists May would put forward a new plan at the G7 in Canada to deal with the Kremlin’s aggression.

Johnson warned that Chinese technology companies would take over from the Silicon Valley giants as the world’s most powerful. “The Americans have run the tech world for decades. Microsoft, Google, Apple, blah, blah, blah — we’re used to them winning. No, no, no. The Chinese are about to win. They’ve got 5G. They’ve found out a way. Everybody’s going to be getting stuff on their gizmos through the Chinese system and not the American system. So watch out for that one.”

The rest: https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/bor ... .shB4QLZ0Q

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by BID0 » Fri Jun 08, 2018 7:33 am

That being “leaked” really helps him get the PM spot in the future

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Moggy » Fri Jun 08, 2018 8:21 am

Boris Johnson has referred to the Treasury as the "heart of Remain" and called for "guts" in Brexit talks in comments made at a private dinner.

The foreign secretary also warned there may be a Brexit "meltdown", according to a recording obtained by Buzzfeed.

Speaking to campaign group Conservative Way Forward, he said fear of initial disruption meant the Treasury was sacrificing long-term gains.

Friends of Mr Johnson said they were disappointed he had been recorded.

The foreign secretary was apparently speaking to around 20 people in a private room after an Institute of Directors reception on Wednesday night.

According to Buzzfeed, he said that the prime minister was "going to go into a phase where we are much more combative with Brussels".

He added: "You've got to face the fact there may now be a meltdown. OK? I don't want anybody to panic during the meltdown. No panic. Pro bono publico, no bloody panic. It's going to be all right in the end."

Brexit will be "irreversible" and will happen, Mr Johnson said, but the "risk is that it will not be the one we want".

He added: "Unless you make the change, unless you have the guts to go for the independent policy, you're never going to get the economic benefits of Brexit. You'll never get the political benefits of Brexit."

He was said to have described concerns over the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic as "pure millennium bug stuff" and suggested Chancellor Philip Hammond's department was "basically the heart of Remain".

Mr Johnson said fears about the Irish border were out of proportion, saying: "It's so small and there are so few firms that actually use that border regularly, it's just beyond belief that we're allowing the tail to wag the dog in this way."

Speaking about the Treasury, he added: "They don't want any disruption of the economy. So they're sacrificing all the medium and long-term gains out of fear of short-term disruption."

The comments emerged after a day which saw the prime minister involved in a cabinet row over the government's "backstop" plan on customs.

Mr Johnson was the keynote speaker at Conservative Way Forward's summer reception and took questions for more than an hour - with other Conservative MPs, including Priti Patel and Conor Burns, present - according to Buzzfeed.

Asked about Donald Trump, he said he was "increasingly admiring" of the US President, who is preparing for an historic summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.

Mr Johnson was reported to have said: "I have become more and more convinced that there is method in his madness."

"Imagine Trump doing Brexit," he added.

"He'd go in bloody hard... There'd be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he'd gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere.

"It's a very, very good thought."

Mr Johnson's other comments included:

◾Russia's importance had greatly diminished and its economy was now the size of Australia

◾Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to cause trouble and "upset people like us"

◾The UK needed to engage with China, who he predicted would eventually take over as the world's technology giant

◾He would love to visit North Korea but has no immediate plans to do so

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44407771


Where do you even start with all that guff? :lol: :fp:

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Garth » Fri Jun 08, 2018 8:46 am

He was said to have described concerns over the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic as "pure millennium bug stuff" and suggested Chancellor Philip Hammond's department was "basically the heart of Remain".

Mr Johnson said fears about the Irish border were out of proportion, saying: "It's so small and there are so few firms that actually use that border regularly, it's just beyond belief that we're allowing the tail to wag the dog in this way."

Ignorant banana split.

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Benzin » Fri Jun 08, 2018 8:47 am

How very dare the Treasury not want the economy to go tits up!

The viewpoint on the Irish border shows how idiotic everyone is regarding it...

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Lex-Man » Fri Jun 08, 2018 8:47 am

Isn't the Irish boarder one of the most used in the world?

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Moggy » Fri Jun 08, 2018 8:49 am

lex-man wrote:Isn't the Irish boarder one of the most used in the world?


Yep.

But it’s just “pure millennium bug stuff”, which is good because it didn’t cost lots of money to fix the millennium bug did it…. :fp:

Edit:

Whatever the result, the cost of fixing the Y2K bug has been frightening, even for an industry with a global turnover of about $1 trillion a year. Assessments of the cost range from about $200bn (Koskinen's ballpark figure) through $600bn (GartnerGroup's prediction) to a high of $858bn (Cap Gemini America). IDC's Project Magellan has made a good case for $320bn, spent over seven years, with 1999 spending of $101bn.

But Bruce McConnell at the IY2KCC says: "I don't think anybody knows - or will ever know." At least $100bn of the remediation costs have been spent in the US, which is the world's most computerised nation. According to the US department of commerce, that's $365 for every man, woman and child. It sounds a lot compared with, say, the costs of Hurricane Floyd ($134m) or the $8bn it would cost to repair the damage from the Turkish earthquake. On the other hand, it is not much more than the $85bn annual turnover of the biggest computer company, IBM.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... alysispage


The millennium bug is not the best example to use Boris. :lol:

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Lagamorph » Fri Jun 08, 2018 12:05 pm

twitter.com/SamCoatesTimes/status/1005034263580954624


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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Squinty » Fri Jun 08, 2018 12:29 pm

Probably to do with Tuesday.

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Moggy » Fri Jun 08, 2018 1:16 pm

“Thank you all for gathering today. I just wanted to say how wonderful Boris is.”

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by KK » Fri Jun 08, 2018 10:53 pm

In a blow to Labour, the Conservatives have taken a 7 point lead over Labour according to the latest YouGov polling, the largest since the General Election.

The most recent poll, conducted between June 4-5, has the Tories on 44% and Labour on 37%.

And when it comes to who would make the Best Prime Minister, Jeremy Corbyn is back at third in a two horse race.

At times in June and October of 2017, Jeremy Corbyn was level pegging with Theresa May. However, his numbers have subsequently fallen and he is now lagging behind both the Conservative leader and “Don’t Know”; the latest numbers have Theresa May on 37%, Jeremy Corbyn on 24%, and 37% on “Don’t Know”.

Oh, Jerem...

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Preezy » Fri Jun 08, 2018 11:42 pm

I like the sound of this Don’t Know chap, can’t be any worse than a robot and a communist.

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Hypes » Sat Jun 09, 2018 12:45 am

Nah, he's a split. You'd get on well though ;)

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Errkal » Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:02 am

Yeah but Corbyn is the saviour! Labour is so screwed until that arse munch goes. Hopefully getting strawberry floated in the next election will wake the idiots who idolise him up a bit.

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Vermilion » Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:46 am

Errkal wrote:Yeah but Corbyn is the saviour! Labour is so screwed until that arse munch goes. Hopefully getting strawberry floated in the next election will wake the idiots who idolise him up a bit.


Unfortunately, Corbyn's supporters are so fanatical, not even another election drubbing would make a difference.

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by KK » Sat Jun 09, 2018 8:08 am

Another retailer has gone under: Fabb Sofas, owned by the founder of DFS (and not Lady Penelope). Not sure how many shops it had.

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Lex-Man » Sat Jun 09, 2018 1:07 pm

With the way Brexit is going I actually think he might still get in. But in any normal election he is doomed.

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Moggy » Sat Jun 09, 2018 1:10 pm

lex-man wrote:With the way Brexit is going I actually think he might still get in. But in any normal election he is doomed.


I don’t see Brexit helping him, he isn’t offering much opposition to it.

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Lex-Man » Sat Jun 09, 2018 1:43 pm

Moggy wrote:
lex-man wrote:With the way Brexit is going I actually think he might still get in. But in any normal election he is doomed.


I don’t see Brexit helping him, he isn’t offering much opposition to it.


Yeah, but if things go bad people will want to punish the Tories and that'll mean voting Labour. Also if things do get really bad (no food, medicine etc) a lot of people will blame the Tories and not necessarily Brexit. You'll probably end up with a load of comments along the lines of, "We wanted Brexit but not like this."

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PostRe: Politics Thread 5
by Lagamorph » Sat Jun 09, 2018 1:50 pm

lex-man wrote:
Moggy wrote:
lex-man wrote:With the way Brexit is going I actually think he might still get in. But in any normal election he is doomed.


I don’t see Brexit helping him, he isn’t offering much opposition to it.


Yeah, but if things go bad people will want to punish the Tories and that'll mean voting Labour. Also if things do get really bad (no food, medicine etc) a lot of people will blame the Tories and not necessarily Brexit. You'll probably end up with a load of comments along the lines of, "We wanted Brexit but not like this."

But it's exactly the Brexit Corbyn did want though.

Last edited by Lagamorph on Sat Jun 09, 2018 1:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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