Massive red flags when she was the Attorney General, so obviously out of her depth! Now we get to see the full horror of her stupidity at wasting millions on vanity hate projects. Surely she can’t remain in post for much longer 😫
but the last time we had someone with Bravermans ineptitude & her ability at self-promotion she ended up being Prime Minister for 45 hilarious & damaging days.
Haven't had time to read the article yet but when a headline like this turns up in my notifications I already feel better - never appreciated the uplifting quality of headlines so much till now
"She is a toddler inserting breadsticks into a DVD player."
And there lies the danger! Another good read which provides perspective and context. We have been so let down by members of government and their mates.
Another great piece. But devil's advocate (and she is the devil)...at this risk of moronical/ethical relativism, haven't we always hated Home Secretaries? Help me out here, I'm scrolling through recent history. David Blunkett and Michael Howard spring to mind. I definitely hated them. But Ken Clarke and Jack Straw were good guys, right? Were they liked in that role at the time? God I want to live in the early 2000s again, not least because Twitter hadn't been invented and my hips didn't hurt. Here's a lovely trip to the happy times, when "libertarian" didn't mean alt-right arsehole.
Yes that's something poisonous about the combination of the press, the brief and the department which conspires to turn anyone in the position into their worst possible self. But in ie Straw's case, that's coming from a relatively high base of competence and decency. With Braverman...
I remember that people called him Jackboots Straw.
The realignment of the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor's Department into the remainder of the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, partly on the back of Charles Clarke (I think) calling the HO not fit for purpose, seemed like a good idea at the time, but list of people who've been Justice Secretary isn't a list of people I have positive feelings about, and it seems to have somehow made the Home Office worse.
There definitely seems to be a culture problem that poisons the mind of _anyone_ who becomes Home Secretary, though it doesn't seem like Patel or Braverman needed that much poisoning.
The Home Office needs to go - it would probably need to result in a shuffling of other departments, and I don't fully know what to replace it with, but it needs to be burned to the ground and something better put in its place.
The current electoral system favours clowns & half-wit, yes-men with few if any effective controls on preventing outside interference, from bungs to willing actors to voter manipulation. The only way we can start to address the rise of morons in government is to bring in PR and at the same time address corruption & outside interference. My take, anyway.
Braverman has few merits as a politician, and seemingly fewer still as a human being.
But it does your argument no service to toss around words such as idiot and moron like confetti.
These are not victimless words.
They are the words of abuse that people with learning disabilities have thrown at them every day.
In years past they were terms of judgement used to grade and degrade those with learning disabilities.
As a society we would react in horror if someone were to casually denigrate someone because of their skin colour or religion. Likewise terms that used to be freely used to describe those with physical disabilities are now no longer in common use.
Yet it remains depressingly commonplace to use ableist language about learning disabilities.
And aside from anything else, comparing the likes of the Home Secretary to people with learning disabilities is a gross insult to those who find learning a challenge.
A brilliant article, worth every penny in it’s weight. Had me in stitches all the way through. You have expressed mist people’s thoughts. Have you ever considered compiling all your articles into a book Ian?
I agree entirely and I hope the police officers injured by the fash on Saturday sue the home secretary. That would be interesting to see how Richie Rich gets out of that one.
Brilliant post.
Massive red flags when she was the Attorney General, so obviously out of her depth! Now we get to see the full horror of her stupidity at wasting millions on vanity hate projects. Surely she can’t remain in post for much longer 😫
You are right that she should be sacked
but the last time we had someone with Bravermans ineptitude & her ability at self-promotion she ended up being Prime Minister for 45 hilarious & damaging days.
Good point
Haven't had time to read the article yet but when a headline like this turns up in my notifications I already feel better - never appreciated the uplifting quality of headlines so much till now
"She is a toddler inserting breadsticks into a DVD player."
And there lies the danger! Another good read which provides perspective and context. We have been so let down by members of government and their mates.
Another great piece. But devil's advocate (and she is the devil)...at this risk of moronical/ethical relativism, haven't we always hated Home Secretaries? Help me out here, I'm scrolling through recent history. David Blunkett and Michael Howard spring to mind. I definitely hated them. But Ken Clarke and Jack Straw were good guys, right? Were they liked in that role at the time? God I want to live in the early 2000s again, not least because Twitter hadn't been invented and my hips didn't hurt. Here's a lovely trip to the happy times, when "libertarian" didn't mean alt-right arsehole.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2000/feb/11/highereducation.politicalnews
Yes that's something poisonous about the combination of the press, the brief and the department which conspires to turn anyone in the position into their worst possible self. But in ie Straw's case, that's coming from a relatively high base of competence and decency. With Braverman...
I remember that people called him Jackboots Straw.
The realignment of the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor's Department into the remainder of the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, partly on the back of Charles Clarke (I think) calling the HO not fit for purpose, seemed like a good idea at the time, but list of people who've been Justice Secretary isn't a list of people I have positive feelings about, and it seems to have somehow made the Home Office worse.
There definitely seems to be a culture problem that poisons the mind of _anyone_ who becomes Home Secretary, though it doesn't seem like Patel or Braverman needed that much poisoning.
The Home Office needs to go - it would probably need to result in a shuffling of other departments, and I don't fully know what to replace it with, but it needs to be burned to the ground and something better put in its place.
The current electoral system favours clowns & half-wit, yes-men with few if any effective controls on preventing outside interference, from bungs to willing actors to voter manipulation. The only way we can start to address the rise of morons in government is to bring in PR and at the same time address corruption & outside interference. My take, anyway.
Braverman has few merits as a politician, and seemingly fewer still as a human being.
But it does your argument no service to toss around words such as idiot and moron like confetti.
These are not victimless words.
They are the words of abuse that people with learning disabilities have thrown at them every day.
In years past they were terms of judgement used to grade and degrade those with learning disabilities.
As a society we would react in horror if someone were to casually denigrate someone because of their skin colour or religion. Likewise terms that used to be freely used to describe those with physical disabilities are now no longer in common use.
Yet it remains depressingly commonplace to use ableist language about learning disabilities.
And aside from anything else, comparing the likes of the Home Secretary to people with learning disabilities is a gross insult to those who find learning a challenge.
They are so much more capable than Suella
A brilliant article, worth every penny in it’s weight. Had me in stitches all the way through. You have expressed mist people’s thoughts. Have you ever considered compiling all your articles into a book Ian?
Quality piece Ian, exactly on the money! Chapeau
I agree entirely and I hope the police officers injured by the fash on Saturday sue the home secretary. That would be interesting to see how Richie Rich gets out of that one.