7 ms·

I’m not sure how much cut through this has had outside of the UK, but the government are currently in serious trouble because of constant leaks about parties in

by mcintyre1994 5y ago

I’m not sure how much cut through this has had outside of the UK, but the government are currently in serious trouble because of constant leaks about parties in Number 10 Downing Street during the pandemic - including a particularly poorly timed one the day before the Queen was photographed at her husband’s funeral alone. The leaks are ongoing, so we know that this particular plan is part of “Operation Red Meat”, which might be familiar if you’ve heard “red meat for the base”. That’s what this is. It’s going to cause serious problems for the BBC while this government remains in power, but this isn’t a serious proposal for the future of that organisation. It’s an effort to get furious Conservative supporters back on side and secure Boris Johnson’s position. Other aspects of Operation Red Meat are reported to be military involvement at the Channel Crossing, and a ban on alcohol in Number 10. There’s another set of plans called Operation Save Big Dog too, which mostly seem to involve firing a bunch of other senior figures. Some more info: https://www.politics.co.uk/news-in-brief/pm-working-on-series-of-policy-announcements-dubbed-operation-red-meat-to-win-back-voters/ https://www.politics.co.uk/news-in-brief/pm-working-on-serie...

HWR_14 5y ago
Only to answer your question about the party scandals - it totally made its way across the Atlantic. The severity of the scandal has been stated but is not obvious (Boris May lose his prime ministership over this?) However, it was drowned out by the ouster of Phillip.
- onphonenow 5y ago
  What I don't get is why the conservatives were so draconian over covid. Your partner is dying, you can't see them. Folks couldn't walk around outside. Some guy driving to walk around outside was like national news. I mean, if you go to this extreme, and then are throwing parties. (Rules for thee, not for me) it would make me furious as well. Let me go sit on the beach with sunshine and fresh air instead of having to cram into a grocery store or whatever. In the US DeSantis or whatever right wing politico could easily go to a public event, not because its a good idea, but because they haven't banned others from going to activities.
  - brigandish 5y ago
    They went draconian because the media pushed for it and the public seemed to support it.
    - phatfish 5y ago
      Righto, it was "the medias" fault, not the government running the country for 10+ years. It is in Tory DNA to be authoritarian, the pandemic was simply an opportunity to act on those impulses. While laughing about it from No. 10 (see Cummings, the parties, et al). The UK is barely-democratic. All key decisions are controlled by Westminster and number 10. The rights under devolution for Scotland and Wales (such as they are) are "lent" and can be taken back. Real democracies have regional federated governments with real powers to set taxes etc. The UK is a bureaucratic monolith with almost 70 million people controlled by one office in Westminster. I think only France has a similar centralization of power.
      - brigandish 5y ago
        Cycl0ps 5y ago
        brigandish 5y ago
      - philistine 5y ago
        A strong centralized democracy with very little in terms of local government is not an outlier; it's the norm. Europe and Africa mostly run on central authority, as does Ireland. I think your view is skewed because you're an American (I think?)
        5y ago
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
Freskis 5y ago
Your comment does't make any sense. You are saying that the Conservative party are making this huge change to distract from their current problems. Are you saying they created the entire plan in a few weeks? Do you have any evidence for your extraordinary claims?
- Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
  Have you not encountered the UK Conservative Party before? This is absolutely their modus operandi.
- peregren 5y ago
  You are giving this Conservative government far to much credit. Their entire track record in government is full of poorly thought out sweeping changes. (See the entire Brexit process)
  - t6667877789789 5y ago
    You need to distinguish between the Conservative government (= Boris Johnson' Lying Circus) and the Conservative Party. The latter are not well pleased with the former.
- johnday 5y ago
  This is not the first occurrence of a scandal from this government; and it's not the first time that they have thrown out as many back-burner ideas as possible in the rush to replace the headlines with something more palatable. In a notable previous instance, the prime minister's wife announced her pregnancy in the hours following a scandal breaking. Months later, they announced the birth of the child shortly after another scandal broke out. Hence this fairly amusing parody tweet: https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson_MP/status/1480833995021692930 https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson_MP/status/14808339950216929...
- pydry 5y ago
  This change is more likely a threat to the BBC at a time when they furiously engaged in damage control. It can be rolled back if they "behave". Theyve been making variations of this threat for decades.
thinkingemote 5y ago
originally from the Sunday Times, pasted here because paywall https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/s54g7c/boris_johnson_prepares_mass_clearout_to_save_own/hsv7ocn/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/s54g7c/boris_jo... The other changes are: •Announce a No 10 workplace “booze ban” in an effort to end the drinking culture in “Club Downing Street”. •Freeze the BBC licence fee for two years to help the cost of living. •Hand to the military control of the battle to stop illegal immigrants in the Channel. •Unveil new plans to tackle the backlog of operations in the NHS. •Unveil extra money for skills and job training for the 1.5 million people who are out of work and on universal credit. •Lift the remaining coronavirus restrictions on January 26. •Publish Michael Gove’s levelling-up white paper the following week. It aims to improve lives in neglected towns in the north.
- iso1210 5y ago
  > •Freeze the BBC licence fee for two years to help the cost of living. Hilarious. Even a 10% License Fee increase would cost about £8 per adult per year Meanwhile the tax rise they're implementing next month will cost an average £300 per adult per year, and increase costs on employers by the same amount.
  - mavhc 5y ago
    Old people, who pay less tax usually, also watch a lot of TV, and vote in their droves for Conservatives
tobbob 5y ago
Yes, the current government is in complete shambles, but the arguments against funding the BBC with a TV License have been made for many years. It's not just hot air from Number 10 trying to prevent bad headlines. Netflix has proven that the subscription model is perfectly viable, meaning there's little justification to make someone a criminal for watching late night shopping channels without first having paid the BBC.

HWR_14 5y ago

Only to answer your question about the party scandals - it totally made its way across the Atlantic. The severity of the scandal has been stated but is not obvious (Boris May lose his prime ministership over this?) However, it was drowned out by the ouster of Phillip.

onphonenow 5y ago
What I don't get is why the conservatives were so draconian over covid. Your partner is dying, you can't see them. Folks couldn't walk around outside. Some guy driving to walk around outside was like national news. I mean, if you go to this extreme, and then are throwing parties. (Rules for thee, not for me) it would make me furious as well. Let me go sit on the beach with sunshine and fresh air instead of having to cram into a grocery store or whatever. In the US DeSantis or whatever right wing politico could easily go to a public event, not because its a good idea, but because they haven't banned others from going to activities.
- brigandish 5y ago
  They went draconian because the media pushed for it and the public seemed to support it.
  - phatfish 5y ago
    Righto, it was "the medias" fault, not the government running the country for 10+ years. It is in Tory DNA to be authoritarian, the pandemic was simply an opportunity to act on those impulses. While laughing about it from No. 10 (see Cummings, the parties, et al). The UK is barely-democratic. All key decisions are controlled by Westminster and number 10. The rights under devolution for Scotland and Wales (such as they are) are "lent" and can be taken back. Real democracies have regional federated governments with real powers to set taxes etc. The UK is a bureaucratic monolith with almost 70 million people controlled by one office in Westminster. I think only France has a similar centralization of power.
    - brigandish 5y ago
      - Cycl0ps 5y ago
        brigandish 5y ago
    - philistine 5y ago
      A strong centralized democracy with very little in terms of local government is not an outlier; it's the norm. Europe and Africa mostly run on central authority, as does Ireland. I think your view is skewed because you're an American (I think?)
      - 5y ago
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

Freskis 5y ago

Your comment does't make any sense. You are saying that the Conservative party are making this huge change to distract from their current problems. Are you saying they created the entire plan in a few weeks? Do you have any evidence for your extraordinary claims?

Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
Have you not encountered the UK Conservative Party before? This is absolutely their modus operandi.
peregren 5y ago
You are giving this Conservative government far to much credit. Their entire track record in government is full of poorly thought out sweeping changes. (See the entire Brexit process)
- t6667877789789 5y ago
  You need to distinguish between the Conservative government (= Boris Johnson' Lying Circus) and the Conservative Party. The latter are not well pleased with the former.
johnday 5y ago
This is not the first occurrence of a scandal from this government; and it's not the first time that they have thrown out as many back-burner ideas as possible in the rush to replace the headlines with something more palatable. In a notable previous instance, the prime minister's wife announced her pregnancy in the hours following a scandal breaking. Months later, they announced the birth of the child shortly after another scandal broke out. Hence this fairly amusing parody tweet: https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson_MP/status/1480833995021692930 https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson_MP/status/14808339950216929...
pydry 5y ago
This change is more likely a threat to the BBC at a time when they furiously engaged in damage control. It can be rolled back if they "behave". Theyve been making variations of this threat for decades.

thinkingemote 5y ago

originally from the Sunday Times, pasted here because paywall https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/s54g7c/boris_johnson_prepares_mass_clearout_to_save_own/hsv7ocn/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/s54g7c/boris_jo... The other changes are: •Announce a No 10 workplace “booze ban” in an effort to end the drinking culture in “Club Downing Street”. •Freeze the BBC licence fee for two years to help the cost of living. •Hand to the military control of the battle to stop illegal immigrants in the Channel. •Unveil new plans to tackle the backlog of operations in the NHS. •Unveil extra money for skills and job training for the 1.5 million people who are out of work and on universal credit. •Lift the remaining coronavirus restrictions on January 26. •Publish Michael Gove’s levelling-up white paper the following week. It aims to improve lives in neglected towns in the north.

iso1210 5y ago
> •Freeze the BBC licence fee for two years to help the cost of living. Hilarious. Even a 10% License Fee increase would cost about £8 per adult per year Meanwhile the tax rise they're implementing next month will cost an average £300 per adult per year, and increase costs on employers by the same amount.
- mavhc 5y ago
  Old people, who pay less tax usually, also watch a lot of TV, and vote in their droves for Conservatives

tobbob 5y ago

Yes, the current government is in complete shambles, but the arguments against funding the BBC with a TV License have been made for many years. It's not just hot air from Number 10 trying to prevent bad headlines. Netflix has proven that the subscription model is perfectly viable, meaning there's little justification to make someone a criminal for watching late night shopping channels without first having paid the BBC.