Brilliant as ever Ian. Hope you don’t mind but I’ve quoted extensively from this in a letter to my MP ‘Sir’ Michael Ellis, asking how he can possibly square this utter contempt for the law with his other career as a lawyer (which culminated in him having a very brief turn at Attorney General during Johnson’s last days in the bunker)..or whether it would be much simpler to agree with Cleverly (Home Sec at time of writing) that the entire binfire is “batshit.”
Of course the other tragedy about these ongoing head-banging marathons is very little else is getting any attention as evidenced by the Covid enquiry. Food inflation, NHS waiting lists, rail disruption etc and, inevitably, dinghies will still continue to wend their dangerous way across the channel
And the wasted money... my god... Jon Sopel described it pretty well "the most expensive PR campaign in history".
It's reached evil levels of wasteage. How many schools and hospitals could be improved with the £140million they've blown so far? And that's just what they paid Rwanda, what about the court cases and time and effort?
I think Graeme Cowie followed up his tweet to say he'd made a mistake and actually the bill would have had to have been introduced yesterday (16th November).
I think you’re right. But this also means we’re in for a year of relentless BS about will of the people, anti-judge, anti-democracy (yet painted as democracy), and so on. Will that win enough people over to get a majority in 2024/5? Probably not. But will it do damage along the way? Absolutely. And can we even rule out a government just going rogue and doing whatever the hell it likes, regardless of the consequences? I’m not so sure.
In fact, perhaps the question is this: if the Tories did go full-autocrat (having gradually moved towards that position), how would the country respond?
Is this good news? - I'll take it! But how much of this relies on "convention", "accepted rules" and the "Good Chap (m/f)" model of governance? This lot have previous of not minding to set the building on fire.
Also congrats on the shout-out for How Westminster works ... on the rival TRIP podcast!
This is righteous and delicious - thanks for setting out the electoral maths at the end. I’m still concerned at how much damage these performative morons will do to our international reputation as a safe harbour for asylum seekers in the meantime though....
We are at the point where every single thing they do is performative. Willy waving. Look at us. Utterly disconnected from reality. Nothing that they say or do will actually deliver.
Genuinely the first time i've read something on this issue that *actually explains the _whole_ thing in a way i can understand*. So cheers for that. Greatly appreciated.
Like others have commented, I am frustrated by the sheer waste of this ridiculous performance. They seem to be willing to put so much effort into reforming Rwanda's asylum system when they could just fix ours.... And I know that's not the point, that they have no interest in actually doing anything useful, just performative bollocks to keep their fascist supporters on side.
I’m hoping this means we can just let the Lords take care of it now and that commentators from the fact-based community will refocus back onto other things. Let Braverman shout herself hoarse into the uncaring void that mirrors her soul.
Brilliant as ever Ian. Hope you don’t mind but I’ve quoted extensively from this in a letter to my MP ‘Sir’ Michael Ellis, asking how he can possibly square this utter contempt for the law with his other career as a lawyer (which culminated in him having a very brief turn at Attorney General during Johnson’s last days in the bunker)..or whether it would be much simpler to agree with Cleverly (Home Sec at time of writing) that the entire binfire is “batshit.”
Of course the other tragedy about these ongoing head-banging marathons is very little else is getting any attention as evidenced by the Covid enquiry. Food inflation, NHS waiting lists, rail disruption etc and, inevitably, dinghies will still continue to wend their dangerous way across the channel
And the wasted money... my god... Jon Sopel described it pretty well "the most expensive PR campaign in history".
It's reached evil levels of wasteage. How many schools and hospitals could be improved with the £140million they've blown so far? And that's just what they paid Rwanda, what about the court cases and time and effort?
Welcome to the unendingly awful grind of “debate” for the next 10-13 months.
God they’re fuck-awful incompetents.
I think Graeme Cowie followed up his tweet to say he'd made a mistake and actually the bill would have had to have been introduced yesterday (16th November).
https://x.com/woodstockjag/status/1725117205073862664?s=20
Oh well, I guess they had their chance.
I think you’re right. But this also means we’re in for a year of relentless BS about will of the people, anti-judge, anti-democracy (yet painted as democracy), and so on. Will that win enough people over to get a majority in 2024/5? Probably not. But will it do damage along the way? Absolutely. And can we even rule out a government just going rogue and doing whatever the hell it likes, regardless of the consequences? I’m not so sure.
In fact, perhaps the question is this: if the Tories did go full-autocrat (having gradually moved towards that position), how would the country respond?
Is this good news? - I'll take it! But how much of this relies on "convention", "accepted rules" and the "Good Chap (m/f)" model of governance? This lot have previous of not minding to set the building on fire.
Also congrats on the shout-out for How Westminster works ... on the rival TRIP podcast!
This is righteous and delicious - thanks for setting out the electoral maths at the end. I’m still concerned at how much damage these performative morons will do to our international reputation as a safe harbour for asylum seekers in the meantime though....
We are at the point where every single thing they do is performative. Willy waving. Look at us. Utterly disconnected from reality. Nothing that they say or do will actually deliver.
Until we get rid of them we are all Sunackered.
I hope you're right. I see Cruella's next missive has dropped, and it is truly chilling. This scheme must be stopped, and stopped NOW.
Genuinely the first time i've read something on this issue that *actually explains the _whole_ thing in a way i can understand*. So cheers for that. Greatly appreciated.
Outstanding piece. Is it not possible that enough decent Con MPs might rebel to reject a 'make Rwanda safe' bill in the Commons?
Like others have commented, I am frustrated by the sheer waste of this ridiculous performance. They seem to be willing to put so much effort into reforming Rwanda's asylum system when they could just fix ours.... And I know that's not the point, that they have no interest in actually doing anything useful, just performative bollocks to keep their fascist supporters on side.
I’m hoping this means we can just let the Lords take care of it now and that commentators from the fact-based community will refocus back onto other things. Let Braverman shout herself hoarse into the uncaring void that mirrors her soul.