Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
Johnson knows his audience it seems
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Politics, politics, politics (so long and thanks for all the fish)
- Thread starter SpurMeUp
- Start date
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
Ruth Davidson has quit as leader of the Scottish Conservatives after eight years in the job.
In a statement she said it had been the "privilege of my life" to have led the party.
But she added "much had changed" both politically and personally, which had led her to tender her resignation.
Ms Davidson had a baby son last year, and has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Boris Johnson - particularly over his approach to Brexit.
The politician, who will continue as the MSP for Edinburgh Central, tweeted her resignation statement shortly before addressing the media at an event in Edinburgh on Thursday morning.
Conservative sources insisted that her decision to leave the post had been building for several months, and was not a direct result of Mr Johnson announcing that he would suspend parliament for several weeks ahead of the Brexit deadline on 31 October.
Ms Davidson has been widely credited with turning around the fortunes of the Tories in Scotland, but backed opponents of Mr Johnson in the Conservative leadership race and has said she could not support a no-deal Brexit.
She said she had tendered her resignation with a "heavy heart", and pledged to continue to support the party and the prime minister "from the backbenches and beyond".
Ms Davidson, who backed Remain ahead of the EU referendum, said she had never sought to hide the "conflict" she felt over Brexit, but had attempted to "chart a course for our party which recognises and respects the referendum result, while seeking to maximise opportunities and mitigate risks for key Scottish businesses and sectors".
But she said the biggest change she had faced was starting a family last year with her partner Jen Wilson.
Ms Davidson added: "As I look to the future, I see the Scottish election due in 2021 and a credible threat from our opponents to force a general election before then.
"Having led our party through seven national elections and two referenda, I know the efforts, hours and travel required to fight such campaigns successfully.
"I have to be honest that where the idea of getting on the road to fight two elections in 20 months would once have fired me up, the threat of spending hundreds of hours away from my home and family now fills me with dread. That is no way to lead."
She also said she feared her focus on politics in recent years had made her a "poor daughter, sister, partner and friend", and that the arrival of her son Finn last October "means I now make a different choice".
Under Ms Davidson, the Scottish Conservatives more than doubled their number of seats at Holyrood in the 2016 election - making the party the second biggest behind the SNP. The following year it increased its MPs from one to 13 in the general election.
That relative success had seen her tipped as a future UK Tory leader, but she insisted she had no interest in the job - and that she was focused only on replacing Nicola Sturgeon as first minister of Scotland at the next Holyrood election in 2021.
She also said in her resignation statement that her party's electoral successes had paled in significance compared to the role it had played in the campaign to keep Scotland in the UK during the independence referendum campaign.
She added: "It was - without doubt - the most important contribution of my working life and, I believe, will remain so."
When she returned to the Scottish Parliament from maternity leave in May, she told BBC Scotland that it would be "tough to tear myself away from the wee man" but that "having a child and coming back to work is a part that lots of women play".
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "I know well the toll political leadership can take on family life, and no one will grudge her more time with her young son.
"There will be opportunity later to discuss the politics of her decision - but for now, I'll simply send my best wishes."
Scottish Labour Leader Richard Leonard said the loss of Ms Davidson would be a "real blow to her party" and would demonstrate that Mr Johnson was already losing support and credibility within his own ranks.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said Ms Davidson was due some credit for "ending the pretence and resigning", while Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said Ms Davidson had "run out of reasons to stand by this dangerous and power hungry prime minister".
In a statement she said it had been the "privilege of my life" to have led the party.
But she added "much had changed" both politically and personally, which had led her to tender her resignation.
Ms Davidson had a baby son last year, and has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Boris Johnson - particularly over his approach to Brexit.
The politician, who will continue as the MSP for Edinburgh Central, tweeted her resignation statement shortly before addressing the media at an event in Edinburgh on Thursday morning.
Conservative sources insisted that her decision to leave the post had been building for several months, and was not a direct result of Mr Johnson announcing that he would suspend parliament for several weeks ahead of the Brexit deadline on 31 October.
Ms Davidson has been widely credited with turning around the fortunes of the Tories in Scotland, but backed opponents of Mr Johnson in the Conservative leadership race and has said she could not support a no-deal Brexit.
She said she had tendered her resignation with a "heavy heart", and pledged to continue to support the party and the prime minister "from the backbenches and beyond".
Ms Davidson, who backed Remain ahead of the EU referendum, said she had never sought to hide the "conflict" she felt over Brexit, but had attempted to "chart a course for our party which recognises and respects the referendum result, while seeking to maximise opportunities and mitigate risks for key Scottish businesses and sectors".
But she said the biggest change she had faced was starting a family last year with her partner Jen Wilson.
Ms Davidson added: "As I look to the future, I see the Scottish election due in 2021 and a credible threat from our opponents to force a general election before then.
"Having led our party through seven national elections and two referenda, I know the efforts, hours and travel required to fight such campaigns successfully.
"I have to be honest that where the idea of getting on the road to fight two elections in 20 months would once have fired me up, the threat of spending hundreds of hours away from my home and family now fills me with dread. That is no way to lead."
She also said she feared her focus on politics in recent years had made her a "poor daughter, sister, partner and friend", and that the arrival of her son Finn last October "means I now make a different choice".
Under Ms Davidson, the Scottish Conservatives more than doubled their number of seats at Holyrood in the 2016 election - making the party the second biggest behind the SNP. The following year it increased its MPs from one to 13 in the general election.
That relative success had seen her tipped as a future UK Tory leader, but she insisted she had no interest in the job - and that she was focused only on replacing Nicola Sturgeon as first minister of Scotland at the next Holyrood election in 2021.
She also said in her resignation statement that her party's electoral successes had paled in significance compared to the role it had played in the campaign to keep Scotland in the UK during the independence referendum campaign.
She added: "It was - without doubt - the most important contribution of my working life and, I believe, will remain so."
When she returned to the Scottish Parliament from maternity leave in May, she told BBC Scotland that it would be "tough to tear myself away from the wee man" but that "having a child and coming back to work is a part that lots of women play".
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "I know well the toll political leadership can take on family life, and no one will grudge her more time with her young son.
"There will be opportunity later to discuss the politics of her decision - but for now, I'll simply send my best wishes."
Scottish Labour Leader Richard Leonard said the loss of Ms Davidson would be a "real blow to her party" and would demonstrate that Mr Johnson was already losing support and credibility within his own ranks.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said Ms Davidson was due some credit for "ending the pretence and resigning", while Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said Ms Davidson had "run out of reasons to stand by this dangerous and power hungry prime minister".
Her going all out for Remain is probably the only blemish on a fairly solid political career.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
Its a shame she has stepped down, I like her.
So do I.
I had once hoped she'd run the shower of brick down here that calls itself a Conservative Party, but apparently she wasn't willing to step down as an MSP
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
She would have done a fine job, but I certainly cant blame her for not wanting to take it on.
Seems, to me at least, she has been checking her priorities and that leadership just isnt among them right now. Which is entirely fair.
Seems, to me at least, she has been checking her priorities and that leadership just isnt among them right now. Which is entirely fair.
Robspur12
Nick Barmby
Dear me, a low tax, low regulation economy. Regulations like the ones that control additives in food or tells us which chemicals are in household products or determine the safety of pesticides.
Better still let's make ourselves a tax haven where taxes are not paid so we cannot support decent public services like the police, NHS, schools.
The great, Tory right wing vision of the UK when really all most people wanted was control over our borders. Sad really.
Better still let's make ourselves a tax haven where taxes are not paid so we cannot support decent public services like the police, NHS, schools.
The great, Tory right wing vision of the UK when really all most people wanted was control over our borders. Sad really.
Parklaner81
Steve Hodge
I quite agree. If only that message had been received and acted upon a bit earlier, I doubt any of this would've happened.
Shows where ignoring an issue gets you, I guess.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
If only we had gone to the saintly EU to express these concerns and look for solutions with them, to allow all to proceed in unison...
SpurMeUp
Les Howe
Although written with sarcasm, it is not a bad idea. Other EU nations have similar concerns. Baveria in Germany wants to put up its own border posts. Hungry are not cool with free movement etc. A combination of working with other EU nations to evolve FoM, plus excercising our own controls that are allowed under EU law but we are not using at the moment e.g. the ability to register and send back migrants from the EU who are not working after 4 weeks.
Simple effective things could have been done. But Brexit is all about the conservative party. The referendum was to placate half of it. The decisions May and Boris make are driven by stopping it splitting in half. We are the victims.
StephenH
David Ginola
It is a great shame that there is no form of legal regress for the country against BoJo, Lord Snooty & Co.
David Cameron asked for concessions, the EU told him to fudge off.
Of course there is - there always has been. It's a vote of no confidence in parliament, possibly followed by a general election.
There's just not much chance of either passing when Comrade Corbyn is the alternative.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
At the moment, if polls are accurate, Corbyn could force a GE and lose more convincingly than last time and end up considerably strengthening Boris' position.
StephenH
David Ginola
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politic...rogation-move-has-hallmarks-dominic-cummings/
The Government's strategy draws intriguingly on behavioural theory
There is a famous clip of the 1970s footballing genius Johan Cruyff baffling an opponent with an audacious new manoeuvre.
He shields the ball on the wing with his back to the opposition full back, then leans his upper body infield, as if he is about to start dribbling it across the pitch. As his opponent shadows the move, taking a pace infield, Cruyff suddenly drags the ball back down the wing behind his standing leg and bolts, leaving a befuddled opponent wrong-footed in his slipstream.
What Westminster witnessed yesterday with the Government announcing the proroguing of Parliament was the political equivalent of the Cruyff turn. It is ostensibly to prepare a Queen’s Speech but with the helpful effect of drastically compressing the time available to Brexit-blocking MPs.
And there is little doubt who masterminded it. Take a bow Dominic Cummings, chief strategist to Boris Johnson. From the outset it has been his planning and ruthless focus that has enabled a government with no Commons majority to be the master of its destiny - the instigator of the political narrative rather than the victim of it.
What a contrast with the plodding administration of Theresa May, whose every meek move could be foreseen by opponents and who perished in the most excruciatingly predictable way.
As Ken Clarke confessed this morning when asked how anti-Brexit MPs should respond, he wasn’t really sure because he’d been on holiday and thus not fully keeping up with events. This was the same line deployed, in less avuncular fashion, by Commons Speaker John Bercow as he raged about the “constitutional outrage” that had apparently occurred. Of course, Bercow has repeatedly broken constitutional precedent to assist opponents of Brexit in the Commons.
Followers of the political blog that Cummings wrote between the EU referendum victory and Boris Johnson taking office will know he is a keen student of behavioural theory, notably the “OODA loop” process – Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act. This was devised by US military strategist Colonel John Boyd which emphasises agility in the face of powerful but lumbering opponents.
Most MPs are opposed to Brexit. But they are divided across several parties, riven by factions even within those parties and advocating many different approaches to thwarting our departure from the EU. As the tortuous lead-up to this week’s bland Church House Declaration about doing “whatever is necessary” to stop no deal Brexit showed, even getting together in a single room is a challenge for them.
When Cummings uses the same “whatever is necessary” phrase, who can doubt that a meticulously thought-out and constantly evolving plan is in play?
Such was Johan Cruyff’s reputation for innovation that opposing teams often found themselves paralysed by indecision brought on by the worry that any particular defensive gambit they might embark upon would merely be playing into his hands. To use the jargon of Colonel Boyd and of General Cummings too, he was “operating inside their OODA loop”.
After three years of seeing the political class draw the gallant HMS Brexit ever deeper into the treacherous waters of arcane parliamentary procedure, with a view to breaking her up completely, Leave supporters can at last be thankful that an expert sailor now has his hands on the tiller and look forward to cheering on his next audacious manoeuvre.
The Government's strategy draws intriguingly on behavioural theory
There is a famous clip of the 1970s footballing genius Johan Cruyff baffling an opponent with an audacious new manoeuvre.
He shields the ball on the wing with his back to the opposition full back, then leans his upper body infield, as if he is about to start dribbling it across the pitch. As his opponent shadows the move, taking a pace infield, Cruyff suddenly drags the ball back down the wing behind his standing leg and bolts, leaving a befuddled opponent wrong-footed in his slipstream.
What Westminster witnessed yesterday with the Government announcing the proroguing of Parliament was the political equivalent of the Cruyff turn. It is ostensibly to prepare a Queen’s Speech but with the helpful effect of drastically compressing the time available to Brexit-blocking MPs.
And there is little doubt who masterminded it. Take a bow Dominic Cummings, chief strategist to Boris Johnson. From the outset it has been his planning and ruthless focus that has enabled a government with no Commons majority to be the master of its destiny - the instigator of the political narrative rather than the victim of it.
What a contrast with the plodding administration of Theresa May, whose every meek move could be foreseen by opponents and who perished in the most excruciatingly predictable way.
As Ken Clarke confessed this morning when asked how anti-Brexit MPs should respond, he wasn’t really sure because he’d been on holiday and thus not fully keeping up with events. This was the same line deployed, in less avuncular fashion, by Commons Speaker John Bercow as he raged about the “constitutional outrage” that had apparently occurred. Of course, Bercow has repeatedly broken constitutional precedent to assist opponents of Brexit in the Commons.
Followers of the political blog that Cummings wrote between the EU referendum victory and Boris Johnson taking office will know he is a keen student of behavioural theory, notably the “OODA loop” process – Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act. This was devised by US military strategist Colonel John Boyd which emphasises agility in the face of powerful but lumbering opponents.
Most MPs are opposed to Brexit. But they are divided across several parties, riven by factions even within those parties and advocating many different approaches to thwarting our departure from the EU. As the tortuous lead-up to this week’s bland Church House Declaration about doing “whatever is necessary” to stop no deal Brexit showed, even getting together in a single room is a challenge for them.
When Cummings uses the same “whatever is necessary” phrase, who can doubt that a meticulously thought-out and constantly evolving plan is in play?
Such was Johan Cruyff’s reputation for innovation that opposing teams often found themselves paralysed by indecision brought on by the worry that any particular defensive gambit they might embark upon would merely be playing into his hands. To use the jargon of Colonel Boyd and of General Cummings too, he was “operating inside their OODA loop”.
After three years of seeing the political class draw the gallant HMS Brexit ever deeper into the treacherous waters of arcane parliamentary procedure, with a view to breaking her up completely, Leave supporters can at last be thankful that an expert sailor now has his hands on the tiller and look forward to cheering on his next audacious manoeuvre.
SpurMeUp
Les Howe
So great to see you!
Brisket-whatever. It's like a soap-opera now. But a soap opera that could actually affect us. To be honest, I'm more interested in the goon game. There will be twists and turn to Brexit and then it will be culled finally. I could be wrong of course.
StephenH
David Ginola
good to be back
I would like to see those who are or think they are financially bulletproof have some form of accountability/vulnerability connected to their self-centred actions.
NLD - sadly I can see things going well, purely based on current for, sorry!
SpurMeUp
Les Howe
I hear you. We're not in a stable place yet. Ndombele who could help us in midfield looks crocked, and Eriksen hangs over us. But...Poch teams do well when fighting back. Whenever we feel entitled (champions league finalists) we don't perform. This side needs to fight. Needs to have to push back against something. Lets hope that is the the scum.
I wouldn't blame anyone for voting for Brexit. Those public figures who either lied or were stuipid, but acted smart, advising folks this would all be easy - they are the people who need to be held accountable. Them and the media titans who own newspapers and used them as a vehicle for their own agenda. Murdock, Barclay brothers, Desmond.