British Politics Guide

[chris_notts]

Indeed, the particular emphases of the announcement (like the particular weird obsession with construction workers) very much scream "paups should work to death, well-off get to play golf",seems almost too bald-faced callous Tory to be believable really.

I have to admit I never understood the obsession of the idle class with golf of all things. It's like going for a nice walk, except ruined by the need to obsess over a small white ball and drag a load of clubs around.

Only poors and Reds drag their own clubs.

That's even worse! How are you supposed to enjoy the stroll with a member of the oppressed masses following you around?

[Linguoboy]

That's even worse! How are you supposed to enjoy the stroll with a member of the oppressed masses following you around?

"Accidentally" slice a ball into the rough and watch them go fetch it like a dog.

[zompist]

I have to admit I never understood the obsession of the idle class with golf of all things. It's like going for a nice walk, except ruined by the need to obsess over a small white ball and drag a load of clubs around.

I dunno, I think it's a perfect encapsulation of privilege.

* You go with 1 to 3 partners, so it's great for bonding with peers and excluding the mere workers.
* Yet you play individually; there's no team element.
* It takes hours, preferably during the daytime, so it signals that you control your own time.
* It's a "physical activity" yet requires almost no strength or endurance. Even the walking, as lb points out, is optional.
* Yet it requires enough skill that you can tell the non-golfer right away.
* It offers an opportunity to spend loads on club memberships, gear, attire, training, and travel.
* You're not going to be embarrassed by seeing the lower classes in pick-up games.

If you picture a 19th century aristo, you probably picture him fox-hunting. That was more suited to a time when the rich could grow up riding horses. Golf is way easier for the arriviste, and easier to keep up when you're in your 70s.

[chris_notts]

Apparently Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser, estimated a few days ago that 4% of the UK population has had COVID, which would put the UK mortality rate at the same level as Spain. I wonder why this wasn't headline news, but the crazy, mostly evidence-free claim from Manchester Uni that 25% have already had it was? Could it be the right-wing press have an agenda here?

[chris_notts]

If you picture a 19th century aristo, you probably picture him fox-hunting. That was more suited to a time when the rich could grow up riding horses. Golf is way easier for the arriviste, and easier to keep up when you're in your 70s.

I guess you're right that it's a mixture of networking and conspicuous consumption. Good old Veblen.

One thing I used to be very frustrated about as an (older) child was the large number of local authority owned golf courses in this country. I guess I was a bit of a leftie even back then. The largest tract of public land near the house I grew up in was not a park, but a fee charging golf course. I vividly remember some children from my school running across the course once on a dare and actually being chased by golfers wielding clubs as I watched from the outside. How dare children interfere with the hobnobbing?

I know it's a money earner for the council, but these are large tracts of public land and I can't believe that, if councils do need money, there aren't other uses for the land which would raise more money. What about building a business park on half and opening the other half as a park? It'd even be more environmentally friendly if the park had diverse plantlife instead of just grass cut to within an inch of its life.

It's almost as if there's a statutory duty on councils to provide golfing facilities to the upper classes. This might be fair, I guess, since councils do also provide abundant high quality green space in all the poor neighbourhoods, including the inner cities.... if one counts the odd postage stamp sized plot with a swing on it.

[chris_notts]

I really wish people would read up a bit before talking nonsense. Here's an article in the Guardian that started off arguing the government is too right wing then started talking about the risk of a sovereign debt crisis.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... k-to-dogma

This is not going to happen unless the people in charge are stupid or malicious. In general it's almost impossible for a government borrowing in its own sovereign currency to default, and since the corona crisis the Bank of England has been directly purchasing government bonds - which in any case does not enable spending because government debt is a lagging indicator. And the head of the Bank of England very clearly said a few days ago that the BoE intended to keep on printing money to help the government through the crisis and avoid an unnecessary round of severe austerity.

Here's how it works: the government spends money, it's magically created by computers, then later they tax and borrow it back to make the sums add up. The point of taxes was never to fund government, it was to avoid inflation from too much government money printing. Similarly, government bonds and debt gives the private sector a financial asset to hold / net savings, but the money was created whether it was done via the magic money tree of a private bank or the government itself, so there is no fundamental difference between governments borrowing money from a fiat banking system or just printing it themselves apart from the attitude of the rich if it goes on too long.

From the above, it should be clear that the only risk from a massive increase in borrowinh is that if there are real resource constraints (say, because economies around the world are shut down) then printing too much money may create high inflation. But the government will not hit any constraint on the nominal value of any fiat money it wants to spend unless it wants to be so constrained.

[chris_notts]

Apparently the lockdown rules which apply to everyone else didn't apply to the PM's most senior advisor Beelzebub, a.k.a Dominic Cummings:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... own-claims

I suspect Boris will try to just weather this because Cummings is central to his administration (more so than his chancellor, for example), and it's a long time to the next election. But if it's true that his roadtrip wasn't just to ensure care for his son, but that he also indulged in tourism while supposedly self isolating with corona, and decided to drive the length of the country and back twice, the pressure is going to be intense. Cummings has always believed himself to be special and above the rules, but one day he's going to learn he's not as special as he thinks.

[Frislander]

Apparently the lockdown rules which apply to everyone else didn't apply to the PM's most senior advisor Beelzebub, a.k.a Dominic Cummings:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... own-claims

I suspect Boris will try to just weather this because Cummings is central to his administration (more so than his chancellor, for example), and it's a long time to the next election. But if it's true that his roadtrip wasn't just to ensure care for his son, but that he also indulged in tourism while supposedly self isolating with corona, and decided to drive the length of the country and back twice, the pressure is going to be intense. Cummings has always believed himself to be special and above the rules, but one day he's going to learn he's not as special as he thinks.

The totally wild thing for me was the sighting in Barny, like I could almost understand going to visit your parents (I'd still say it's stupid, but emotionally it's empathisable) but going for a trip out? That's just so flagrantly a "f*ck you got mine" move that I'm frankly disgusted if not surprised.

[chris_notts]

The totally wild thing for me was the sighting in Barny, like I could almost understand going to visit your parents (I'd still say it's stupid, but emotionally it's empathisable) but going for a trip out? That's just so flagrantly a "f*ck you got mine" move that I'm frankly disgusted if not surprised.

As I said, the guy thinks he's special, and Boris Johnson apparently does too. We now have the least accountable de facto deputy PM in history. He was never elected so his voters can't hold him to account. He's in contempt of Parliament already so that won't stop him. And his boss refuses to control him.

[Owain]

I think this is the first time we've seen Keir Starmer angry.
https://www.twitter.com/JoshuaGarfield/ ... 2045789195

[chris_notts]

I think this is the first time we've seen Keir Starmer angry.
https://www.twitter.com/JoshuaGarfield/ ... 2045789195

I'm not a huge fan of Starmer, but it's not hard to look like more of a statesman that Boris Johnson and his very own Rasputin right now.

[Owain]

The Mail is asking what planet Boris is on and saying Cummings must go.

[chris_notts]

The Mail is asking what planet Boris is on and saying Cummings must go.

When you're a Tory PM and you've lost the Daily Fail, you know you've got problems.

[dewrad]

The Mail is asking what planet Boris is on and saying Cummings must go.

Unfortunately Orville is highly unlikely to fire Keith Harris.

[chris_notts]

The Mail is asking what planet Boris is on and saying Cummings must go.

Unfortunately Orville is highly unlikely to fire Keith Harris.

Extracting the fist from his behind would be quite painful I imagine...

[chris_notts]

These are the people that Cummings thinks he's better than:

https://twitter.com/tug/status/1264815080132182016?s=20

[chris_notts]

A topical quiz inspired by Mr Cummings. You're experiencing vision problems and you're not sure if you're safe to drive. Do you:

A not drive
B drive directly to see an optician
C bundle your entire immediate family into a car and drive them 30 miles as a live test

I'm sure it's obvious to everyone what the correct answer is

[chris_notts]

And would it change your answer if it happened to be your wife's 45th birthday and your destination was a local beauty spot?

[mèþru]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-52806086
Dominic Cummings: Minister Douglas Ross quits over senior aide's lockdown actions
Junior minister Douglas Ross has resigned after Dominic Cummings' defence of his trip to County Durham during the coronavirus lockdown.

[alynnidalar]

When you post links, would you mind copying over the headline as well (or offering a bit of summary)? I'm a lot more inclined to click through a link if I know what it's about as opposed to something without context.