Political round up.............

by Samo Tue 11 May 2021, 6:52 pm

First topic message reminder :

The best thing about our system is that every single person in the country gets an equal vote under equal circumstances. Unless a National ID card scheme is introduced this will just alienate poorer voters. Just another way to rig the system.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 21 Apr 2022, 5:28 pm

Johnson was in serious trouble as soon as news about the partied emerged last year, but lying about them was only ever going to make things worse. If he'd had more competent advisers, they would have told him to come clean and try and ride it out - and he may have succeeded.

What's been particularly distasteful is how many (and how often) MPs and ministers took to the airwaves to repeat and defend his lies, even as they changed with the emergence of new evidence. I'm not sure how the party washes its hands of all this when Johnson eventually goes. They backed him to the hilt. The issue of trust will surely cost them at the next general election.

by Samo Fri 22 Apr 2022, 5:42 am

The only plus side is if Johnson is toast then the Tories wont want any of his sycophants to replace him because they’re almost as unpopular as he is. I can see whoever replaces him will have a pretty sizable reshuffle in the cabinet. If I were a Rishi Sunak or a Nadine Dorries I’d be pretty worried right about know.

Although I dont think Dorries possesses the capacity to be that forward thinking.

by Luckless Pedestrian Fri 22 Apr 2022, 10:00 am

I do think opposition parties need to park partygate for a while now. The public really have made up their minds on Johnson's trustworthiness. The focus next week should be on the cost of living.

There's pretty much nothing but shaky ground for the government at the moment.

by Duty281 Fri 22 Apr 2022, 10:14 pm

Macron shouldn't be facing his Waterloo on Sunday, he got a tidy rebound after the first round and has an average lead of around 10%, the closest poll giving him a 6% lead. Le Pen's last chance was the TV debate, but she made little impact on the President.

by Samo Tue 26 Apr 2022, 10:33 am

Huge defeat for Le Pen which you love to see. Macron with a tough job now of uniting France.

Slightly concerning that nearly 42% of a country in Western Europe voted for a fascist but thats the world we live in these days.

by Duty281 Tue 26 Apr 2022, 11:14 am

Le Pen isn't remotely a fascist. Populist, yes; nationalist, probably; but certainly not a fascist.

Any celebrations of Le Pen's defeat are deeply misguided in the long-term as her party has been getting closer and closer to power. 34% in 2017, 41.5% in 2022. Probably favourites for the next election as Macron is unlikely to go to a third term, and if his second term is as poor as his first then there will be further disillusionment with politics.

by Samo Tue 26 Apr 2022, 11:59 am

Duty281 wrote:Le Pen isn't remotely a fascist. Populist, yes; nationalist, probably; but certainly not a fascist.

Of course she’s not.

by **JuliusHMarx** Tue 26 Apr 2022, 12:02 pm

Duty281 wrote:Any celebrations of Le Pen's defeat are deeply misguided....

But not as misguided as voting for her.

by Duty281 Tue 26 Apr 2022, 12:16 pm

JuliusHMarx wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Any celebrations of Le Pen's defeat are deeply misguided....

But not as misguided as voting for her.

Meh. France is another broken democracy with a litter of failed politicians. Their voting system is a joke.

I don't agree with people who voted for Le Pen, but I can see why they've gone there. Inevitable that her party wins at some point with France's system, they've got a lot closer in the last twenty years, and five more years of Macron will probably be just the final push.

by **superflyweight** Tue 26 Apr 2022, 1:25 pm

A distant second in a two horse race.

If you look at the first round results, her fascist Dad won about 15% of the vote in 1988. We're now 34 years on from that and the "not a fascist" racist, xenophobic, nationalist, Putin apologist daughter won 23%. An improvement in vote share, but not the sort of improvement that makes future success inevitable.

by Duty281 Tue 03 May 2022, 11:51 am

Duty281 wrote:For this lot of local elections most of the seats up for grabs were last contested in 2018, which was a year Labour did well, so Tory losses in 2022 shouldn't be too heavy. If they keep the loss of councillors to around 300, that'll be OK. If it's heavier than that then things do start to be concerning.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/conservatives-on-track-for-the-worst-local-elections-since-the-1990s-321340/

Concerning poll for the Tories. They're forecast to lose 548 seats, with Labour gaining 800, and a handful of councils will be lost, according to one poll. If it comes to fruition it will be terrible news for Johnson, and joyous news for Starmer. A complete reversal from last year.

According to Ipsos Mori, voters have a sensible list of priorities ahead of this local election - with asylum seekers and war in Ukraine high up the list, and the cost of living topping the bill. We all look forward to our local councillors tackling these issues.

by **superflyweight** Tue 03 May 2022, 2:48 pm

Duty281 wrote:
Duty281 wrote:For this lot of local elections most of the seats up for grabs were last contested in 2018, which was a year Labour did well, so Tory losses in 2022 shouldn't be too heavy. If they keep the loss of councillors to around 300, that'll be OK. If it's heavier than that then things do start to be concerning.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/conservatives-on-track-for-the-worst-local-elections-since-the-1990s-321340/

Concerning poll for the Tories. They're forecast to lose 548 seats, with Labour gaining 800, and a handful of councils will be lost, according to one poll. If it comes to fruition it will be terrible news for Johnson, and joyous news for Starmer. A complete reversal from last year.

According to Ipsos Mori, voters have a sensible list of priorities ahead of this local election - with asylum seekers and war in Ukraine high up the list, and the cost of living topping the bill. We all look forward to our local councillors tackling these issues.

It's a bloody mystery. It's almost like someone, somewhere over-inflated the negative impact of free movement and put immigration and asylum seekers at the heart of public discourse and encouraged xenophobia for their own personal gain.

by Samo Tue 03 May 2022, 6:31 pm

superflyweight wrote:
Duty281 wrote:
Duty281 wrote:For this lot of local elections most of the seats up for grabs were last contested in 2018, which was a year Labour did well, so Tory losses in 2022 shouldn't be too heavy. If they keep the loss of councillors to around 300, that'll be OK. If it's heavier than that then things do start to be concerning.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/conservatives-on-track-for-the-worst-local-elections-since-the-1990s-321340/

Concerning poll for the Tories. They're forecast to lose 548 seats, with Labour gaining 800, and a handful of councils will be lost, according to one poll. If it comes to fruition it will be terrible news for Johnson, and joyous news for Starmer. A complete reversal from last year.

According to Ipsos Mori, voters have a sensible list of priorities ahead of this local election - with asylum seekers and war in Ukraine high up the list, and the cost of living topping the bill. We all look forward to our local councillors tackling these issues.

It's a bloody mystery. It's almost like someone, somewhere over-inflated the negative impact of free movement and put immigration and asylum seekers at the heart of public discourse and encouraged xenophobia for their own personal gain.

Tories due to get a drubbing, "QUICK we need a distraction - send Farage out dinghy hunting again!" Dogwhistling for the bigots.

by **Pr4wn** Wed 04 May 2022, 7:23 am

I just watched the Johnson interview from GMB. I'm not sure what else he could have done to come across as more of a bell end than he did in that 20 minutes.

How anybody can respect him, I have no idea.

Who's Lorraine? Laugh

by Duty281 Wed 04 May 2022, 9:19 am

Interview embarrassing from both sides. Clueless interviewer, who was full of pointless emotion, versus clueless politician.

Who's Lorraine? The only thing I agreed with the PM on.

Embarrassing, also, that the interviewer gets paid 6-7 times more than the PM for their respective roles.

by **JuliusHMarx** Wed 04 May 2022, 10:15 am

Here comes Lorraine again,
Falling on my head like a memory...

by Samo Wed 04 May 2022, 10:42 am

Duty281 wrote:Interview embarrassing from both sides. Clueless interviewer, who was full of pointless emotion, versus clueless politician.

Who's Lorraine? The only thing I agreed with the PM on.

Embarrassing, also, that the interviewer gets paid 6-7 times more than the PM for their respective roles.

Its called empathy. Try it some time.

by Duty281 Wed 04 May 2022, 10:43 am

Spoiler:

by Duty281 Wed 04 May 2022, 10:47 am

Samo wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Interview embarrassing from both sides. Clueless interviewer, who was full of pointless emotion, versus clueless politician.

Who's Lorraine? The only thing I agreed with the PM on.

Embarrassing, also, that the interviewer gets paid 6-7 times more than the PM for their respective roles.

Its called empathy. Try it some time.

When talking about objective policy situations, you don't need subjective emotions obstructing the way, otherwise you'll never get anywhere.

by Samo Wed 04 May 2022, 11:10 am

I guess some people have a hard time not getting emotional when talking about the toll the Tory engineered cost of living crisis is causing, or the fact theres 4m children in the UK living in poverty.

by **Pr4wn** Wed 04 May 2022, 9:18 pm

Duty281 wrote:Interview embarrassing from both sides. Clueless interviewer, who was full of pointless emotion, versus clueless politician.

Who's Lorraine? The only thing I agreed with the PM on.

Embarrassing, also, that the interviewer gets paid 6-7 times more than the PM for their respective roles.

Imagine watching that interview and coming away from it thinking that Susanna Reid was half the problem. Jesus wept.

by Duty281 Wed 04 May 2022, 9:29 pm

Pr4wn wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Interview embarrassing from both sides. Clueless interviewer, who was full of pointless emotion, versus clueless politician.

Who's Lorraine? The only thing I agreed with the PM on.

Embarrassing, also, that the interviewer gets paid 6-7 times more than the PM for their respective roles.

Imagine watching that interview and coming away from it thinking that Susanna Reid was half the problem. Jesus wept.

Your standard overreaction to a differing opinion. thumbsup

I probably just have a higher expectation of journalistic standards than you, no harm in that.

by Duty281 Wed 04 May 2022, 10:38 pm

Duty281 wrote:
Duty281 wrote:For this lot of local elections most of the seats up for grabs were last contested in 2018, which was a year Labour did well, so Tory losses in 2022 shouldn't be too heavy. If they keep the loss of councillors to around 300, that'll be OK. If it's heavier than that then things do start to be concerning.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/conservatives-on-track-for-the-worst-local-elections-since-the-1990s-321340/

Concerning poll for the Tories. They're forecast to lose 548 seats, with Labour gaining 800, and a handful of councils will be lost, according to one poll. If it comes to fruition it will be terrible news for Johnson, and joyous news for Starmer. A complete reversal from last year.

According to Ipsos Mori, voters have a sensible list of priorities ahead of this local election - with asylum seekers and war in Ukraine high up the list, and the cost of living topping the bill. We all look forward to our local councillors tackling these issues.

https://sotn.newstatesman.com/2022/05/our-local-election-forecast-for-2022/

Much more cheerful forecast for the Tories from Britain Elects/New Statesman, with predicted losses ranging from 87-342, and Labour's gains much more modest at 47-242. That would be manageable for Johnson.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 05 May 2022, 11:21 am

I'm preparing myself for the Tories doing better than expected in England. I've been disappointed too many times in the past.

by Duty281 Thu 05 May 2022, 11:44 pm

Very early indications from Basildon and Sunderland are it'll be an OK night for the Tories. Not too painful.

Labour having a very poor start to the night. Maybe it'll improve?

by Duty281 Fri 06 May 2022, 8:45 am

A fairly average night for the Tories then. They'll lose around 300 councillors, which is normal enough for a governing party at a set of local elections. They'll be disappointed about London, naturally enough.

Middling night for Labour. They've done well in London, and should make tidy gains in Scotland and Wales, but gains have been much more sporadic in the rest of England, allowing the third and fourth parties to profit. Lib Dems have done superbly, seemingly exceeding the highest expectations, and they're becoming the main challengers to the Tories in a number of seats as the political map continues to evolve, though FPTP will continue to hinder them at GEs.

Overall theme of these elections seems to be - we don't like the Tories much, but we're not buying into the Labour alternative just yet. As such the Tories are still on course for another GE win.

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 06 May 2022, 9:18 am

Sad state of affairs when the government is one we don't like very much but they still get voted in. Symptomatic of the seemingly unstoppable downward slope that UK democracy and the UK in general is on.

by Duty281 Fri 06 May 2022, 11:03 am

Par for the course in most western democracies, it seems. Biden got in because he was disliked slightly less than Trump, Macron retained his Presidency because he was disliked less than Le Pen, the Tories keep winning in this country at GE time because they're consistently disliked less than Labour.

Most democracies are broken, because the system holds up the established entities, and only wide-sweeping democratic reform can save it.

Good to see that in Bristol they've voted to abolish the mayoral position.

by TRUSSMAN66 Fri 06 May 2022, 11:54 am

Labour vote share down outside London...Sadly that's where most of the marginals are..

Corbyn dud better outside the Capital in 2018..without a standard of living crisis.

by Samo Fri 06 May 2022, 1:11 pm

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Labour vote share down outside London...Sadly that's where most of the marginals are..

Corbyn dud better outside the Capital in 2018..without a standard of living crisis.

Might have something to do with the Mail relentlessly pushing the "Beergate" non story all week - which they predictably dropped the day after the election.

by Soul Requiem Fri 06 May 2022, 1:36 pm

Samo wrote:
TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Labour vote share down outside London...Sadly that's where most of the marginals are..

Corbyn dud better outside the Capital in 2018..without a standard of living crisis.

Might have something to do with the Mail relentlessly pushing the "Beergate" non story all week - which they predictably dropped the day after the election.

Non story....

by Duty281 Fri 06 May 2022, 1:48 pm

Duty281 wrote:PMQs was just the usual undignified spectacle - this time featuring a man, who had an illegal drinks gathering during lockdown but said it was 'work', calling on another man, who also had an illegal drinks gathering (or two, or three) during lockdown but said it was 'work', to resign because of aforementioned gathering(s).

What a farce.

Now the first man will be re-investigated.

If Starmer is found guilty, he genuinely doesn't have a foot to stand on after his numerous calls for Johnson to resign. It would be hypocrisy of a high order, even for a politician.

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 06 May 2022, 3:34 pm

Duty281 wrote:
Duty281 wrote:PMQs was just the usual undignified spectacle - this time featuring a man, who had an illegal drinks gathering during lockdown but said it was 'work', calling on another man, who also had an illegal drinks gathering (or two, or three) during lockdown but said it was 'work', to resign because of aforementioned gathering(s).

What a farce.

Now the first man will be re-investigated.

If Starmer is found guilty, he genuinely doesn't have a foot to stand on after his numerous calls for Johnson to resign. It would be hypocrisy of a high order, even for a politician.

If he broke that law, the Tories would be unable to call for his resignation as it would be hypocrisy of a high order, even for politicians.

by Duty281 Fri 06 May 2022, 4:08 pm

JuliusHMarx wrote:
Duty281 wrote:
Duty281 wrote:PMQs was just the usual undignified spectacle - this time featuring a man, who had an illegal drinks gathering during lockdown but said it was 'work', calling on another man, who also had an illegal drinks gathering (or two, or three) during lockdown but said it was 'work', to resign because of aforementioned gathering(s).

What a farce.

Now the first man will be re-investigated.

If Starmer is found guilty, he genuinely doesn't have a foot to stand on after his numerous calls for Johnson to resign. It would be hypocrisy of a high order, even for a politician.

If he broke that law, the Tories would be unable to call for his resignation as it would be hypocrisy of a high order, even for politicians.

That is also true.

Maybe Starmer and Johnson will both resign, and we'll all live happily ever after?

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 06 May 2022, 5:03 pm

Duty281 wrote:
JuliusHMarx wrote:
Duty281 wrote:
Duty281 wrote:PMQs was just the usual undignified spectacle - this time featuring a man, who had an illegal drinks gathering during lockdown but said it was 'work', calling on another man, who also had an illegal drinks gathering (or two, or three) during lockdown but said it was 'work', to resign because of aforementioned gathering(s).

What a farce.

Now the first man will be re-investigated.

If Starmer is found guilty, he genuinely doesn't have a foot to stand on after his numerous calls for Johnson to resign. It would be hypocrisy of a high order, even for a politician.

If he broke that law, the Tories would be unable to call for his resignation as it would be hypocrisy of a high order, even for politicians.

That is also true.

Maybe Starmer and Johnson will both resign, and we'll all live happily ever after?

All except super_insecure. Nothing will ever make him happy.

by Duty281 Fri 06 May 2022, 11:02 pm

Final Tory losses are ~~around 400-450~~ 487 as they finish with a whimper. That puts them closer to the forecast by Electoral Calculus and represents a disappointing and damaging state of affairs for them.

But Labour gains are only ~~250-300~~ 108, no where near the Electoral Calculus on that score who forecast gains of 800, and closer to Britain Elects' model on that front.

Lib Dems ending up with 200-250 gains, with the Greens having a tidy night also with nearly 100 gains. But the Greens are unlikely to convert these gains into more parliamentary seats, whereas the Lib Dems are becoming the main opposition to the Tories in a number of parliamentary constituencies.

Overall, the local election picture is similar to 2013. In 2013, two years out from a GE, Labour had a small and consistent lead in the polls against an unpopular Tory government. But the public's reception of Miliband was lukewarm at best, and they made some moderate gains that year (291) but were eclipsed in the headlines, if not the numbers, by the third party in that year's vote. Two years later, at the actual GE, the Tories won a narrow majority. Very similar here.

It's mostly bad news for Johnson today. On the one hand very disappointed at the electoral returns for his party, on the other recognising that Labour are not making sufficient ground in English constituencies outside of London. News is unlikely to improve on the electoral front for Johnson as two by-elections are coming up - the one in Wakefield is likely a lost cause and Labour will reclaim it; the one in Tiverton the Tories will probably face a titanic challenge from the Lib Dems and it will be tough to hold on , and it'll be a horrific loss if it goes yellow. 60% for the Tories and 15% for the Lib Dems last time means it's definitely not a banker for the blues. Losing Tiverton would nudge Johnson ever closer to the exit door. But he knows that he's up against a weak opposition, and his party still look on to win the next GE, despite everything that's happened.

Starmer's more chipper with the electoral returns. Slow progress, yes, but a significant improvement from last year's horror show. Decent in Scotland and Wales too. More good news to come in Wakefield in the coming months. But the news from Durham's Old Bill probably takes the shine off anything. If an investigation finds him guilty and he is fined, he will have to resign or he will have zero integrity. Labour have made political capital out of 'Partygate', but it will backfire in spades with the electorate if Starmer is fined for the same offence. He spent hours and days and weeks and months telling Johnson to resign, there's no rowing back from that. Even if he's found not guilty, just the fact he's being investigated is damaging for his party.

Lib Dems have done well, but they'll be shafted by FPTP, as usual, when it comes to the GE. Guessing their end goal is coalition government with Labour, where they can try to drive through a few of their policy initiatives (but I doubt Labour would ever agree to PR) and get Davey his old job back in the energy department.

by GSC Mon 09 May 2022, 9:10 am

Honestly even if Starmer is fined and resigns, it's still a bodyblow for the Tories.

by Luckless Pedestrian Mon 09 May 2022, 12:13 pm

GSC wrote:Honestly even if Starmer is fined and resigns, it's still a bodyblow for the Tories.

I don't understand the Labour front bench's reluctance to say that he'll resign if he's fined. Even (or especially) if they think he won't be fined, just state for the record what he'll do.

This 'beergate' thing is still potentially a whole load of nothing, but Labour haven't handled it well at all.

by Duty281 Mon 09 May 2022, 1:02 pm

Should Keir Starmer resign if fined by police for #Beergate?

General public: 46% yes / 32% no; Labour voters: 48% yes / 32% no; Conservative voters: 40% yes / 43% no

% who think Keir Starmer should resign if fined by police / Boris Johnson should resign for being fined by police

General public: 46% Starmer / 57% Johnson; Labour voters: 48% Starmer / 83% Johnson; Conservative voters: 40% Starmer / 29% Johnson

Cute polling by YouGov, with Labour voters more likely to say Starmer should resign if fined than Tory ones. On the whole, it seems the public's view is Sir Kier should resign if fined, though they don't view the potential offence as egregiously as the one Johnson was found guilty of (presumably because of Johnson's office).

I think if Starmer is fined and doesn't resign it'll tank Labour's poll numbers, undo the work he's done to clean up Labour's image, and make him indivisible from Johnson in the integrity takes.

Apparently, Starmer has cancelled all his meetings today and is considering his future, but the investigation could take weeks.

Burnham is the favourite with Bet365 to be the next Labour leader, but I'm presuming he can't run as he isn't an MP, and the next favourites are Rayner/Streeting/Reeves/Nandy/Cooper/Phillipson.

by Samo Mon 09 May 2022, 2:15 pm

I seriously doubt anything will come from this, its a desperate ploy by the Tories to turn a molehill into a mountain, but backed heavily by the right wing media - particularly the Mail - and it seems to be working. Which tells you all you need to know about the state of politics in this country right now.

If Starmer comes out and says he'll resign if he's fined thats a pretty sure indication that he WONT be getting fined and it's another stick to beat Johnson with.

by king_carlos Mon 09 May 2022, 3:35 pm

Never mind the cost of living crisis. I can't wait for the next PMQs to be used up by Johnson bringing up beergate, Starmer stating he promised to resign if fined to reclaim the all important moral high ground from a philandering liar with history of overtly racist remarks, followed by Johnson accusing him of playing politics to avoid real issues.

It's a wonder so many struggle to feel anything but antipathy for this circus isn't it.

by Duty281 Mon 09 May 2022, 4:24 pm

Starmer says he'll resign if fined.

A big gamble that one. On the one hand it puts huge pressure on Durham police and perhaps makes a fine less likely, on the other Starmer loses his prestigious position and shot at being PM if it fails. Could also put Labour in a state of miasma for the next couple of months, and perhaps overshadow the by-election in Wakefield (whenever that is).

by king_carlos Mon 09 May 2022, 4:38 pm

Rayner as well. Doubling down. I like it. Fearlessly staring law and order in the face and daring it to blink first. A bit more of this and they won't even need a manifesto before the next GE.

Like a political version of Love Actually when Billy Mack promises to perform his single naked live on air if it makes number one. Maybe Burnham should vow to stand in front of Churchills statue and bellow out God Save the Queen wearing nothing but a Union Jack man sausage sock if he's the next leader of the opposition.

I wonder how BJ will respond? He could go on Jeremy Kyle and promise to resign if a paternity test on one of his mistresses children comes back showing him to be the father.

by Luckless Pedestrian Mon 09 May 2022, 5:07 pm

I'm not sure it counts as a gamble. He'd have no choice but to resign if fined, because otherwise he'd rightly be pilloried for being a hypocrite. This just states his position, and prevents it from being the cloud it would otherwise be while the investigation is ongoing. Johnson could have chosen to take the same position when the Met announced its investigation. It's another point of difference.

I've seen people asking why the Mail et al didn't think this far ahead when they went all in on 'beergate', but I think it just highlights how little else they've got to go on. They'd rather have a few weeks of mudslinging than nothing at all.

by Samo Mon 09 May 2022, 5:19 pm

He’s playing the odds. As a former DPP head he’s a monster at small details. He’ll have went over everything with a fine toothed comb and must be certain he’ll be in the clear. Massive pressure on Johnson now. If the LOTO and his deputy resign for a lesser breach of the rules what else can he do? Apart from stubbornly hold on until the next GE but his back benches wont let that happen.

Interesting re: the Mail. I dont think its too oit there to think this is a ploy to kill two birds with one stone. Take out Starmer in a way that pretty much forces Johnson out the door aswell.

by Samo Mon 09 May 2022, 5:24 pm

Another point: its also a very good move by Starmer because it lays waste to the other narrative silently being spun by the right wing press that they’ll all as bad as each other, which will help Labour in the long run.

by **Pr4wn** Tue 10 May 2022, 4:18 am

Duty281 wrote:
Cute polling by YouGov, with Labour voters more likely to say Starmer should resign if fined than Tory ones. On the whole, it seems the public's view is Sir Kier should resign if fined, though they don't view the potential offence as egregiously as the one Johnson was found guilty of (presumably because of Johnson's office).

I think it's more to do with the fact that 10 Downing Street is the single address that has attracted the most covid lockdown breach fines in the entire UK, that the parties appear to be deliberate, organised and repeated, and that Johnson has repeatedly and blatantly lied about what happened.

by **Pal Joey** Tue 10 May 2022, 10:40 am

Politics of a different kind.

I went to a Skills/Trade Fair in (Homebush Bay - Olympic Park, Sydney) this morning. When I arrived, there was a sea of cameras and microphones.
Hang on....!?! I didn't tell anybody I'd be there! (actually it was the media pack 11 days out from our GE on Saturday 21 May.)

Turns out our PM was on the campaign trail there at the same time. Couldn't get close initially but then I had the smart idea of walking a few booths up from where he was heading... and then ambushing him.

The plan worked. I was standing about 2 arms lengths away from him. Some young ladies were hosting some stall "Apprenticeship Careers - for Women" or something. Listen to the girl's voice! Good on her! He seemed to be good a listening (apparently) and he sure can talk out of his arse. Laugh

The other bloke near the end is the Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business (a bit of a mouthful, eh?) Stuart Roberts. Not such a popular politician.

So it was a totally unexpected coincidence. The good thing I suppose is that we live in a pretty free society - not too many places you can go right up to your 'leader' and give him a nod and a smirk! What do you think of my camera work?

Spoiler:

by TRUSSMAN66 Tue 10 May 2022, 7:20 pm

Evictions are approaching record levels...Inflation hitting 10%...Depression and Suicide stats rocketing..

While politicians argue over who has more integrity on Beergate and Partygate..

People deserve better

by Luckless Pedestrian Fri 13 May 2022, 12:54 pm

Pal Joey wrote:Politics of a different kind.

I went to a Skills/Trade Fair in (Homebush Bay - Olympic Park, Sydney) this morning. When I arrived, there was a sea of cameras and microphones.
Hang on....!?! I didn't tell anybody I'd be there! (actually it was the media pack 11 days out from our GE on Saturday 21 May.)

Turns out our PM was on the campaign trail there at the same time. Couldn't get close initially but then I had the smart idea of walking a few booths up from where he was heading... and then ambushing him.

The plan worked. I was standing about 2 arms lengths away from him. Some young ladies were hosting some stall "Apprenticeship Careers - for Women" or something. Listen to the girl's voice! Good on her! He seemed to be good a listening (apparently) and he sure can talk out of his arse.

The other bloke near the end is the Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business (a bit of a mouthful, eh?) Stuart Roberts. Not such a popular politician.

So it was a totally unexpected coincidence. The good thing I suppose is that we live in a pretty free society - not too many places you can go right up to your 'leader' and give him a nod and a smirk! What do you think of my camera work?

Spoiler:

Might be time for a career change, PJ! clap

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