Spoken out against the Government? Stay away from Whitehall
Spoken out against the Government? Stay away from Whitehall
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bitchstewie

Original Poster:

64,316 posts

233 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
An email circulated across Whitehall warned that invitations should not be issued to individuals who have “spoken against key government policies”.

‘Woke’ speakers critical of Boris Johnson banned from Whitehall

Thought this lot were against cancel culture.

Leon R

3,695 posts

119 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
Hardly surprising given the events of the last 18 months.

Jasandjules

71,979 posts

252 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
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Who does that leave? Just a few Yes Men?

BabySharkDooDooDooDooDooDoo

15,078 posts

192 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
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No different from the past 18 months is it?

Gecko1978

12,302 posts

180 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
No difference to any government or group I think the SNP have that sort of thing in there membership rules. Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism. So question handling of covid made a pariah, question global warming you are climate denying loon and ridiculed, question teans women are women and your a transphobe. Social media had meant screaming with the loudest voice is only thing that is acceptable

vonuber

17,868 posts

188 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?

monthou

5,196 posts

73 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
vonuber said:
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?
Compared to a lot on here he is.

donkmeister

11,707 posts

123 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
bhstewie said:
An email circulated across Whitehall warned that invitations should not be issued to individuals who have “spoken against key government policies”.
Politicians in "not wanting to look like an incompetent prat" shocker hehe

Personally I prefer the idea of a government that is open to criticism, but that also relies on criticisms being reasonable. Unfortunately, on both sides of the house (as well as among the minor parties) there are people who will say any old rubbish to score political points, even when it is illogical or doesn't stand scrutiny. Always have been.

It's dog-whistling for supporters of those parties, I've got friends who support Lab and Con who lap it up and seem medically unable to see any stupidity from representatives of their party of choice.

GroundZero

2,085 posts

77 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
bhstewie said:
Thought this lot were against cancel culture.
Are you personally against cancel culture?
Presuming you are given this thread, and yes this government has come out with numerous "do what I say" rather than "do what I do" type hypocrisy.

Randy Winkman

20,868 posts

212 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
bhstewie said:
An email circulated across Whitehall warned that invitations should not be issued to individuals who have “spoken against key government policies”.

‘Woke’ speakers critical of Boris Johnson banned from Whitehall

Thought this lot were against cancel culture.
It does look like exactly the same cancel culture that's ridiculed in the right wing press like ...... The Telegraph.

(Though being honest ...... I cant actually read the article.)

Gecko1978

12,302 posts

180 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
vonuber said:
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?
No like many on the left I.e. he acts like them not one of them

dudleybloke

20,553 posts

209 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all

Electro1980

8,922 posts

162 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
Gecko1978 said:
vonuber said:
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?
No like many on the left I.e. he acts like them not one of them
That is some serious reaching there. Blaming the left when the major right wing party (that has been moving slowly more right) shuts down criticism.

Welshbeef

49,633 posts

221 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
vonuber said:
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?
He is centre - we need a proper right offering / further right from the centre

Obvs not BNP levels of right

GroundZero

2,085 posts

77 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
Welshbeef said:
vonuber said:
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?
He is centre - we need a proper right offering / further right from the centre

Obvs not BNP levels of right
Many are saying that he has actually gone too far over on to the left (albeit still centre-left), given his attitudes to social justice issues and his religious beliefs surrounding "saving the planet" and the immense hit that it will have on the economy and the UK's energy security.
Then of course there is the complete lack of action to stop the migrant crossings, reducing it all to political to and fro with Macron, when the vast majority of people on the right are calling for 'illegal' arrivals to stop.

This is why there are rumblings of a leadership challenge within the Torys from the fear that there is a huge vacuum on the centre-right in the UK right now. With such a huge vacuum a new party can quickly establish itself to sweep up large amounts of votes. Populist politics and parties are now something that have proved very effective in recent years.

Boris was seemingly the man for the single issue of Brexit, but as a leader to run the country post-brexit and to exercise the UK's full sovereign powers, he seems to be lacking.

ATG

23,016 posts

295 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
GroundZero said:
Welshbeef said:
vonuber said:
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?
He is centre - we need a proper right offering / further right from the centre

Obvs not BNP levels of right
Many are saying that he has actually gone too far over on to the left (albeit still centre-left), given his attitudes to social justice issues and his religious beliefs surrounding "saving the planet" and the immense hit that it will have on the economy and the UK's energy security.
Then of course there is the complete lack of action to stop the migrant crossings, reducing it all to political to and fro with Macron, when the vast majority of people on the right are calling for 'illegal' arrivals to stop.

This is why there are rumblings of a leadership challenge within the Torys from the fear that there is a huge vacuum on the centre-right in the UK right now. With such a huge vacuum a new party can quickly establish itself to sweep up large amounts of votes. Populist politics and parties are now something that have proved very effective in recent years.

Boris was seemingly the man for the single issue of Brexit, but as a leader to run the country post-brexit and to exercise the UK's full sovereign powers, he seems to be lacking.
He doesn't seem to be lacking. He's blatantly obviously lacking.

I think it is a real stretch to say there's a centre-right gap for some other party to fill. The Conservatives and its electorate are still very much spread from centre-right to right-centre-right. The problem is the incompetence and the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the current leadership. They aren't centre-lefty or indeed at any other identifiable point on the political spectrum; they're all over the place. Beyond self-preservation, they have no agenda, no policy ambition, no bloody clue. They are rudderless and entirely at the mercy of the wind and tides. They react to events, lurch onto some unsustainably silly course which gets them nowhere and, having accumulated a load of political damage, they are forced into yet another humiliating U-turn and they head off in some equally unconsidered direction.

Far from now being united, the party is still split by Europe insofar as a bunch of chancers with no track record of senior office or even leadership positions in the party have been projected into the cabinet, and the former occupants of their positions have been chucked onto the back benches. Bojo himself has no track record in national politics. His ministerial clique are entirely beholden to him for their offices. This kind of "you're either for me or against me" nonsense just illustrates how weak they are. The position is very fragile. It's wide open to Bojo being deposed, a bunch of ministers sacked and a new leader returning some of the currently spurned old-guard to senior roles alongside the less hopeless incumbents. There is space for a Cameron II style of leader. Someone who doesn't dominate the cabinet, is happy to delegate authority to senior ministers, is happy to build a cabinet that represents opinion from across the party. All they have to do is look competent.

oyster

13,484 posts

271 months

Sunday 28th November 2021
quotequote all
monthou said:
vonuber said:
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?
Compared to a lot on here he is.
Which in itself is fair enough.
What is peculiar, however, is when people from those extremes claim to represent some sort of silent majority.

The vast majority of the electorate are centrist. Hence why the moderates from each side (Blair/Boris) win comfortably.

Ntv

5,177 posts

146 months

Monday 29th November 2021
quotequote all
bhstewie said:
An email circulated across Whitehall warned that invitations should not be issued to individuals who have “spoken against key government policies”.

‘Woke’ speakers critical of Boris Johnson banned from Whitehall

Thought this lot were against cancel culture.
Consistent with HMG / the "narrative" / governments around the world and their response to COVID.

We get what we deserve.

Ntv

5,177 posts

146 months

Monday 29th November 2021
quotequote all
oyster said:
monthou said:
vonuber said:
Gecko1978 said:
Boris like many on the left can't cope with criticism.
Boris is left now is he?
Compared to a lot on here he is.
Which in itself is fair enough.
What is peculiar, however, is when people from those extremes claim to represent some sort of silent majority.

The vast majority of the electorate are centrist. Hence why the moderates from each side (Blair/Boris) win comfortably.
Not sure I'd describe Boris Johnson as a moderate. He isn't particularly right wing, but it is a guy who was desperate to shut down Parliament and routinely lies.

Nothing moderate about much of his behaviour.

768

19,090 posts

119 months

Monday 29th November 2021
quotequote all
But cancel culture doesn't exist, they're not cancelled, just not welcome there, etc.