There’s talk of a Donaldson party leader/Poots NI First Minister arrangement but it would cause more division i think with a split leadership. I see Poots getting it (the creationist). Another dark horse is MP Gavin Robinson, a young upcoming member but i think he’ might be too ‘modern/liberal’ for the old school evangelist in the party
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I think you have mentioned Poots before,are we in for a rough ride with him moreso than with Foster? Do you see things going backwards with him in charge?
Poots is a pragmatic person, if he does become leader, he’ll do what he needs to but he’ll do it the old way and if they don’t go backwards, they’ll certainly not go too far forward in terms of things like gay equality etc. I think a lot might depend on how things go in Westminster too.
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When you see Johnson like that, you definitely don’t want to run into him alone in the dark (as we say). Frightening!
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I’d say that was “impassioned”. Definitely not frightening or deranged as I’ve seen some media commentators remark. The tweet almost doubles as a Conservative Party broadcast by the end.
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The Cummings angle of “so he was lying about Barnard Castle but not about comments he’s attributing to the Prime Minister, how convenient” is a load of old bollocks. As if people are either always lying or always telling the truth. Sure, Cummings might be deeply untrustworthy but that doesn’t mean everything he says is untrue. Practically everyone involved is an unreliable witness for whom truth might occasionally and almost accidentally make an appearance, when it suits.
I like Starmer. His calm, controlled, composed criticism of verified shortcomings from the government starkly contrasts with Johnson’s bellowing in the above video.
Johnson is afraid of Starmer imo, hence his loss of composure, leading to a very un-PM-like behaviour… Expect that to happen more and more often.
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I normally prefer Starmer’s approach but I’m obviously at odds with some people here. I don’t think Johnson lost composure, he was just impassioned and this is hardly untypical of exchanges at the despatch box regardless of who’s prime minister. As for Starmer, he came across as boring frankly. Listing the Nolan principles in a very monotone disembodied fashion. He came across as an automaton in comparison and I’m not sure that’s really going to help him.
There was a separate exchange about the “let the bodies pile up in their thousands” claim where Johnson flatly denied saying it (Starmer requested a “yes” or “no” answer to whether Johnson had ever said the words being attributed to him or words to their effect and Johnson said “no”). Starmer proceeded to repeat that he had now given a clear response “on the record” and insinuated that if that turned out to be false Johnson would have to resign. But he didn’t follow it with a flourish of producing the evidence to prove Johnson had lied. People are assuming that he’s got it…if so, he’d better produce it pretty damn quickly otherwise all he’s succeeded in doing is allow Johnson to provide a very clear and public denial.
The curious thing about that is that when he came to ask him about who paid for the refurbishment costs, Starmer made a point of asking Johnson who paid the initial invoice to which Johnson constantly replied that he had “covered” the cost of the refurbishment personally. Note how Johnson chose his words carefully there. Starmer wasted the opportunity, imo, by repeatedly asking Johnson who had paid the initial invoice to which Johnson gave that same answer, repeatedly. Starmer should have put the question just as he did with the “bodies” claim. “Did you pay the initial invoice, yes or no?”.
Put Johnson on the spot in the same way given that he gave a yes/no answer before. Force him to do so again or highlight any contrast in the manner of Johnson’s response.
His advocacy is ok but for a former barrister I’d expect it to be quite a lot better. Maybe it was never his forte?
It is also not decisive what Johnson says, but how he says it or, in this case yells. He completely freaks out, totally loses his composure and comes across as aggressive and hostile. But many seem to have become utterly numb and either do not notice the change in his demeanor or do not want to see it. In any case, Starmer can just sit there and smile and watch as Johnson dismantles himself. And since there’s a different scandal almost every week now, Starmer can’t go wrong with that either. All that is necessary is to stick to the facts seriously.
Edit… Tbf, some of this memes are hilarious 
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Religion thread…
never heard of it, sorry i can’t help you
People clearly not used to the adversarial tradition of our political discourse.
One of his best
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https://youtu.be/a9UFyNy-rw4?t=388
They’re supposed to allow you time to calm the fuck down!
https://twitter.com/ITVChannelTV/status/1390209161317728257
Fuck. It worked… 
https://twitter.com/antoguerrera/status/1390282789937876996
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Uh oh. They’re getting balshy…
Gary Neville has viewed the footage and concluded it is a peaceful protest.
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