When Will It All Go Wrong For The Tories/ Johnson?

[Strathclyder]

I'm happy to call him "Bozza" as a mark of disrespect.

BoJo works just as well for me in the same capacity. Just as crude and tasteless a nickname as he is as a person.

It's not even his first name... given his full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, I'd be quite happy to see a nationwide campaign to refer to him simply as Pfeffel, which is what he sounds like he's saying most of the time anyway.

That's giving what he comes out with 99% of the time far too much credit!

 

[Bayum]

I'm happy to call him "Bozza" as a mark of disrespect.

It’s BJ as far as I’m concerned.

 

[edwin_m]

BoJo works just as well for me in the same capacity. Just as crude and tasteless a nickname as he is as a person.

I've "mistyped" that as Bozo on more than one occasion.

 

[Howardh]

Johnson;Perhaps we might be closer to the mark if the younger ones referred to him as "dad"?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

From what I heard from the early evening news about the latest tranche of Downing Street FPN, these appear to only be issued to civil servants and Johnson is said not to have attended the events that caused these latest FPN to be issued.

 

[brad465]

The latest move to try and tackle the cost of living seems to be to cut 90,000 jobs from the civil service to bring numbers back to 2016 levels (the lowest since WW2), with funding tax cuts a possible use of projected savings:

Boris Johnson wants to cut up to 91,000 civil service jobs

Boris Johnson's plan to save money aims to see staffing return to 2016 levels within three years.

www.bbc.co.uk

Boris Johnson has demanded his cabinet comes up with a plan to cut about 90,000 civil service jobs to free up cash to tackle the cost of living.
Sources said the PM wants staffing to return to 2016 levels in the coming years, cutting about one in five posts.
Mr Johnson told the Daily Mail: "We have got to cut the cost of government to reduce the cost of living."
A civil service union said the "ill thought-out" plan could affect services such as passport processing.
At an away day in Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday, the prime minister gave ministers a month to produce plans to drastically shrink the civil service, as the government comes under increasing pressure over the rising cost of living.
There were 384,000 civil servants employed in 2016 - the lowest number since World War Two - but as the UK prepared to leave the EU numbers steadily rose until they reached 475,000 at the end of last year.

While large-scale job cuts are likely to take time, a government source said "instant savings" could be achieved by imposing a recruitment freeze in Whitehall and abolishing any vacancies which had not been signed off by a minister.
But the source said there was no set target for redundancies.
The prime minister suggested to the Daily Mail that the savings could be used for tax cuts, saying: "Every pound the government pre-empts from the taxpayer is money they can spend on their own priorities, on their own lives."
But civil service union the FDA said the expansion of Whitehall since 2016 had been necessary to tackle "two unprecedented events", Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

FDA general secretary Dave Penman said the government could decide to cut the civil service back to 2016 levels, but he said it would also have to choose "what the reduced civil service will no longer have the capacity to do" which may affect services such as passports, border control or health.
"Without an accompanying strategy, these cuts appear more like a continuation of the government's civil service culture wars - or even worse, ill-thought out, rushed job slashes that won't lead to a more cost-effective government," he said.
Major job reductions through natural wastage - waiting for people to resign or retire rather than enforcing redundancies - would take many years, Mr Penman warned.
Labour accused the government of "pointless rhetoric and lack of action" instead of implementing an emergency budget to offer more support to people struggling with bills.
But a government spokesperson said when people are facing rising costs, they "rightly expect their government to lead by example and run as efficiently as possible".

 

[DelayRepay]

The latest move to try and tackle the cost of living seems to be to cut 90,000 jobs from the civil service to bring numbers back to 2016 levels (the lowest since WW2), with funding tax cuts a possible use of projected savings:

Boris Johnson wants to cut up to 91,000 civil service jobs

Boris Johnson's plan to save money aims to see staffing return to 2016 levels within three years.

www.bbc.co.uk

The Civil Service Union (who, naturally, have a vested interest in opposing any cuts) seem to be suggesting that some of these extra roles are necessary due to Brexit. It would not surprise me if they cut numbers, then use more outsourcing and consultancy to fill in the gaps... resulting in an on-paper saving that will give a nice headline, but higher costs overall.

 

[Typhoon]

The Civil Service Union (who, naturally, have a vested interest in opposing any cuts) seem to be suggesting that some of these extra roles are necessary due to Brexit. It would not surprise me if they cut numbers, then use more outsourcing and consultancy to fill in the gaps... resulting in an on-paper saving that will give a nice headline, but higher costs overall.

With the problems in the Passport Office, DVLA, DWP, (for instance) this will doubtless be popular, particularly with the right wing press. Half the time the problem is too few staff, the rest of the time is lumping more and more work on them. I reckon you are dead right on consultants and outsourcing.

 

[Yew]

And the problem with that is....? Would it be better if they looked really angry while they were cutting the ribbon? Or if they refused to support the foodbank by attending at all?

How does standing outside and cutting a ribbon "support" the food bank?

 

[birchesgreen]

How does standing outside and cutting a ribbon "support" the food bank?

Stuff like that normalises something which shouldn't. It should be a source of national shame having food banks not something for the mayor to gurn in front of like he has just unveiled a statue.

 

[DelayRepay]

Stuff like that normalises something which shouldn't. It should be a source of national shame having food banks not something for the mayor to gurn in front of like he has just unveiled a statue.

If I ran a food bank, I would not want a 'grand opening', although I guess the publicity helps in making people who need it aware that it exists, and encouraging donations.

If I ran a food bank, I would never allow a Tory MP to be involved at all. It makes me sick when they post photos of themselves 'helping out at the foodbank'. They're not even helping, they just turn up for half an hour to have a photo taken.

Someone told me the UK now has more foodbanks than branches of McDonalds. That is not a statistic to be proud of.

 

[Shrop]

A true sign that I'm getting older, I believed that our legal system was about solving serious crimes and bringing seriously nasty people to justice. So here we are in 2022 where two of the most expensive UK legal cases of the year, are about seeking the truth into whether top MPs were at a party, and how two footballers wives were telling tales about each other. Nice one Boris, for presiding over all this. Oh, and for actually being a deeply entrenched part of it all.

 

[Falcon1200]

Half the time the problem is too few staff,

90,000 more staff (the population of a decent sized town) in the last six years and that's still not enough ?

 

[Yew]

The Civil Service Union (who, naturally, have a vested interest in opposing any cuts) seem to be suggesting that some of these extra roles are necessary due to Brexit. It would not surprise me if they cut numbers, then use more outsourcing and consultancy to fill in the gaps... resulting in an on-paper saving that will give a nice headline, but higher costs overall.

Having worked with aspects of the civil service, my impression was that their payscales and working environment are poor enough to dissuade anyone with any specialist skills from remaining around for long; and therefore a lot of the more specialist jobs are already outsourced.

A true sign that I'm getting older, I believed that our legal system was about solving serious crimes and bringing seriously nasty people to justice. So here we are in 2022 where two of the most expensive UK legal cases of the year, are about seeking the truth into whether top MPs were at a party, and how two footballers wives were telling tales about each other. Nice one Boris, for presiding over all this. Oh, and for actually being a deeply entrenched part of it all.

They couldn't possibly investigate corruption, as they'd find all their old school-mates at the centre of it.

 

[Strathclyder]

I've "mistyped" that as Bozo on more than one occasion.

Both applicable for the subject matter tbh, though I prefer BoJo for the reasons I state above: it fits who he is and how he has conducted himself over the course of his polictical career.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Both applicable for the subject matter tbh, though I prefer BoJo for the reasons I state above: it fits who he is and how he has conducted himself over the course of his polictical career.

"Bojo the clown" seems to fit. I wouldn't normally read it, but I like the Daily Star's representation.

 

[MattRat]

90,000 more staff (the population of a decent sized town) in the last six years and that's still not enough ?

90,000 managers, probably. But cuts won't help. They'll just get rid of the actually important people, and keep all the managers.

 

[ainsworth74]

The Civil Service Union (who, naturally, have a vested interest in opposing any cuts) seem to be suggesting that some of these extra roles are necessary due to Brexit. It would not surprise me if they cut numbers, then use more outsourcing and consultancy to fill in the gaps... resulting in an on-paper saving that will give a nice headline, but higher costs overall.

Sounds about right. The British State already leans to a huge degree on consultants from the main consultancy firms in large part because it no longer has some of the specialist skills and knowledge required to enable it to do the job. This has allowed for the headcount of Civil Servants to shrink and the erosion of terms, conditions and pay (dissuading those who may have the skills from joining or remaining within the Civil Service) which makes for good headlines but the other side of that is being beholden to eyewatering consultants fees. Quite apart from the fact that these consultants often seem to not be worth a fraction of what we pay them to do.

A true sign that I'm getting older, I believed that our legal system was about solving serious crimes and bringing seriously nasty people to justice. So here we are in 2022 where two of the most expensive UK legal cases of the year, are about seeking the truth into whether top MPs were at a party, and how two footballers wives were telling tales about each other. Nice one Boris, for presiding over all this. Oh, and for actually being a deeply entrenched part of it all.

Ah but there's a difference between the civil side of the legal system (often sloshing in money, often being used and abused by people who aren't really very nice at all be they Russian oligarchs or others that have made their fortunes dubiously and would quite like to keep such knowledge secret) and the criminal side. The criminal side has been starved of funding almost at all levels. From the police who have to investigate the crimes, to the Crown Prosecution Service who have to prosecute them, to the courts and judiciary that provide the venues, the judges and the clerks, to the barristers that either help the CPS prosecute or defend the accused, to the legal aid system which should ensure that everyone has access to a proper defence which now has more holes than a piece of swiss cheese meaning that lots of people either have to defend themselves or rack up huge debts paying their defence costs (which they then cannot even fully recover even if acquitted), to the prisons which are falling apart and more violent and drug ridden than ever.

We've had decades of politicians wittering on about how they're "tough on crime" at the same time as they gut it to the point that a crime committed today may very well not be prosecuted until 2024 or later...

 

[DarloRich]

Ah but there's a difference between the civil side of the legal system (often sloshing in money, often being used and abused by people who aren't really very nice at all be they Russian oligarchs or others that have made their fortunes dubiously and would quite like to keep such knowledge secret) and the criminal side. The criminal side has been starved of funding almost at all levels. From the police who have to investigate the crimes, to the Crown Prosecution Service who have to prosecute them, to the courts and judiciary that provide the venues, the judges and the clerks, to the barristers that either help the CPS prosecute or defend the accused, to the legal aid system which should ensure that everyone has access to a proper defence which now has more holes than a piece of swiss cheese meaning that lots of people either have to defend themselves or rack up huge debts paying their defence costs (which they then cannot even fully recover even if acquitted), to the prisons which are falling apart and more violent and drug ridden than ever.

We've had decades of politicians wittering on about how they're "tough on crime" at the same time as they gut it to the point that a crime committed today may very well not be prosecuted until 2024 or later...

Spot on. I would add that prison officers are in short supply, prison education services have been cut, probation officers are limited, the courts are falling apart, court office staff have been slashed, court sitting dates have been slashed and so on and so on. Next on the Tory attack list are parole boards.

I would suggest posters here look at the secret barrister and others who comment on this subject. Posters here, who might think themselves decent chaps and above all this stuff are very close to the criminal justice system. One easily made mistake and you are in trouble. Deep trouble.

 

[Strathclyder]

"Bojo the clown" seems to fit. I wouldn't normally read it, but I like the Daily Star's representation.

Much as I detest rags like the Daily Star, I will concede that is a fitting title for him.

 

[nw1]

It's not even his first name... given his full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, I'd be quite happy to see a nationwide campaign to refer to him simply as Pfeffel, which is what he sounds like he's saying most of the time anyway.

Interesting, what's the best option I wonder? Highlighting his upper-class background (at odds with his claim to be the 'man of the people') by calling him de Pfeffel, or making him out to be completely ordinary by calling him Alex. I would recommend whichever will annoy him the most.

I think I still prefer "Boris" in quotes as it's designed to make a mockery of what is still, IMO, exceptionalism in calling him by his first name.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2022 ==

Much as I detest rags like the Daily Star, I will concede that is a fitting title for him.

I suppose at least the Star is simply a vacuous comic, rather than an organ of far-right nonsense.

 

[Strathclyder]

I suppose at least the Star is simply a vacuous comic, rather than an organ of far-right nonsense.

I suppose that's true (granted, that is one of the reasons I've no time for it whatsoever). Still an apt moniker for the man.

 

[Typhoon]

90,000 more staff (the population of a decent sized town) in the last six years and that's still not enough ?

Maybe the staff they have are not doing the right jobs. Or too many chiefs ..... It just seems that whenever I have dealt with grass roots staff I have a couple of weeks to complete forms or whatever, when I inquire why there seems to be a bottle neck, the member of staff dealing with it has been moved to something else or left and the work hasn't been reallocated. There were all those policy changes during the early days of the pandemic, loans, grants, purchases that just appeared to be nodded through with little scrutiny.

Interesting, what's the best option I wonder? Highlighting his upper-class background (at odds with his claim to be the 'man of the people') by calling him de Pfeffel, or making him out to be completely ordinary by calling him Alex. I would recommend whichever will annoy him the most.

I've read that his siblings call him 'Al' so Alex is unlikely to bother him. Johnson will do for me - I don't call May Theresa, although I did used to refer to 'CallMeDave' sometimes, otherwise Cameron. I'm pretty certain he uses 'Boris' to stand out, so 'Johnson' will do fine, there are four other MPs with that surname.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

On the discussion about Boris Johnson's name... Is this really what politics has now descended to? Trying to figure out he most insulting term you can use to refer to a particular human being whose politics you happen to dislike? Or is this what people's idea of grown up, mature, politics is?

And to think the people engaging in this are - so far as I can see - in many cases, the same people who have often posted to complain about the alleged low standards of the mainstream media! Mirror[*], anyone?

[*] As in the metaphor, not the newspaper of that name

 

[Bletchleyite]

On the discussion about Boris Johnson's name... Is this really what politics has now descended to? Trying to figure out he most insulting term you can use to refer to a particular human being whose politics you happen to dislike?

I do dislike his politics, yes. But more importantly I dislike his attitude - he is incapable of conducting himself in a proper, honest manner.

I strongly disliked Thatcher's politics, but she was at least honest in her approach.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

How does standing outside and cutting a ribbon "support" the food bank?

It publicises the fact that it's there, making it more likely that the foodbank will get more donations and be able to help more people. It also demonstrates to the people who worked to set it up that their efforts have been noticed and are appreciated.

 

[brad465]

On the discussion about Boris Johnson's name... Is this really what politics has now descended to? Trying to figure out he most insulting term you can use to refer to a particular human being whose politics you happen to dislike? Or is this what people's idea of grown up, mature, politics is?

And to think the people engaging in this are - so far as I can see - in many cases, the same people who have often posted to complain about the alleged low standards of the mainstream media! Mirror[*], anyone?

[*] As in the metaphor, not the newspaper of that name

Divide and rule: set the population against each other so that the dividers can get away thing nasty things at the expense of the population while their backs are turned. Motives for division are not always the same, nor are the ones doing the division, but the degradation of society always results. If I was you I'd be campaigning for better education standards with a focus on critical thinking education to try and limit the amount of what you describe happening. People are not born with the intention to insult/fight others, they have to be taught it.

 

[DarloRich]

On the discussion about Boris Johnson's name... Is this really what politics has now descended to? Trying to figure out he most insulting term you can use to refer to a particular human being whose politics you happen to dislike? Or is this what people's idea of grown up, mature, politics is?

And to think the people engaging in this are - so far as I can see - in many cases, the same people who have often posted to complain about the alleged low standards of the mainstream media! Mirror[*], anyone?

[*] As in the metaphor, not the newspaper of that name

I call him Johnson because what I call him in real life isn't allowed on this board. It rhymes with clucking punt to give you an idea. Despicable man.

The latest move to try and tackle the cost of living seems to be to cut 90,000 jobs from the civil service to bring numbers back to 2016 levels

Of course they are. After all, public sector workers are not valued in any way by Tories.

 

[Shrop]

I would suggest posters here look at the secret barrister and others who comment on this subject. Posters here, who might think themselves decent chaps and above all this stuff are very close to the criminal justice system. One easily made mistake and you are in trouble. Deep trouble.

Yes, hurting people's feelings seems to be taken a lot more seriously than muggings and beating people up. Our legal system has become deeply entrenched in twisting language to argue technicalities, such that indeed many of us might be very close to being in big trouble. Meanwhile the use of fists, boots, weapons etc to physically and blatantly hurt others (often completely innocent people who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time) seems all too often classed as "too difficult" to investigate and prosecute.

 

[DarloRich]

Yes, hurting people's feelings seems to be taken a lot more seriously than muggings and beating people up. Our legal system has become deeply entrenched in twisting language to argue technicalities, such that indeed many of us might be very close to being in big trouble. Meanwhile the use of fists, boots, weapons etc to physically and blatantly hurt others (often completely innocent people who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time) seems all too often classed as "too difficult" to investigate and prosecute.

While that may be you view i am not sure you quite understand the issue.