The downfall of the Tory party.

[Chippy_Tea]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has left as business secretary, as Rishi Sunak reshuffles his team of cabinet ministers.

Chief whip Wendy Morton and Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith, close allies of outgoing PM Liz Truss, are also out.
Simon Clarke, another Truss ally, has left his job as levelling up secretary.
He joins Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis, Welsh Secretary Robert Buckland and Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena in leaving the cabinet.
Kit Malthouse is also out as education secretary, whilst Jake Berry has also confirmed he is no longer Conservative Party chairman.
In other departures so far, Vicky Ford has been sacked as a development minister at the Foreign Office.
Alok Sharma has lost his job as a Cabinet Office minister, although he will remain in charge of UK preparations for the COP27 UN climate summit.


BBC News

 

[Bernie]

well, hard to accuse UK of being misogynist and racist , 3 female prime ministers, and our first 'non white pm' -

It would be correct to say that it's hard to accuse the Conservatives of being misogynist and racist.

 

[The Baron]

It would be correct to say that it's hard to accuse the Conservatives of being misogynist and racist.

Some people will believe different no matter what the facts say because they are Tories and not Labour

 

[Chippy_Tea]

It would be correct to say that it's hard to accuse the Conservatives of being misogynist and racist.

Posted several pages ago -

 

[Hoagie]

Sunak, although not my cup of tea was clearly more qualified for the job than Truss.

There must be something the membership didn’t quite like about him… can’t quite put my finger on it.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Sunak, although not my cup of tea was clearly more qualified for the job than Truss.

When it comes to Truss I think the lettuce would have got in had we had the option to vote for it.

 

[Bosch]

Sunak, although not my cup of tea was clearly more qualified for the job than Truss.

There must be something the membership didn’t quite like about him… can’t quite put my finger on it.

Probably his big ears.

 

[DocAnna]

I am not really supposed to be partial in my job .. but Mogg being out on the back benches would only be bettered by him losing his seat altogether.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

 

[Chippy_Tea]

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Pound hits highest level since before mini-budget​

The pound has hit its highest level since mid-September, as investors welcomed the appointment of Rishi Sunak as prime minister and the dollar fell.

Sterling surged by 1.9% to $1.149 on Tuesday - the highest it has been since before Liz Truss's mini-budget.
Government borrowing costs also fell back to where they were last month, in a boost for Mr Sunak who took over on Tuesday.
Financial markets have been rattled by fears over the economy in recent weeks.
In a speech today Mr Sunak warned the country faced a "profound economic crisis" with "difficult decisions" ahead.
Experts said the pound's strength was partly a "relief rally" after Mr Sunak was appointed, but also due to the dollar's weakness.
The American currency dropped on Tuesday after data showed slowing US house price growth and a decline in consumer confidence.

"The dollar is losing ground across the board today," Jeremy Stretch, head of FX Strategy at investment bank CIBC, told the BBC.
"But there's no doubt there's a relief rally here in terms of apparent stability in the macro-economic picture after Sunak came in."
Last month, sterling plunged to a record low against the dollar and government borrowing costs rose sharply in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini-budget.
Investors were spooked after then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng promised major tax cuts without saying how they would be paid for - something Mr Sunak warned about during this summer's Tory leadership contest.
Mr Sunak, a former hedge fund manager, is seen as a safer pair of hands by investors and has pledged to fix "mistakes" made under Liz Truss's leadership.
New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt - who reversed almost all of Ms Truss's tax cuts last week - will keep his job and is scheduled to set out his economic plan for tax and spending on 31 October.
However, on Monday Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, cautioned that the country "cannot afford to see any more flip-flopping on policies".
Ms Haviland said: "The political and economic uncertainty of the past few months has been hugely damaging to British business confidence and must now come to an end.

Borrowing costs fall​

On Tuesday government borrowing costs fell back to levels seen just before the mini-budget, with the interest rate - or yield - on bonds due to be repaid in 30 years' time dropping to 3.6%.
Meanwhile, the yield on bonds due to be repaid in five years' time, which underpins the cost of new five-year fixed rate mortgages, fell to 3.7%.
This is still some way above rates seen this summer, but will come as a relief to the government whose September borrowing figures were the second highest on record.
It may also bode well for the mortgage market, where rates hit 14-year highs following the recent turmoil.
On Monday, the deputy governor for markets and banking at the Bank of England, Sir Dave Ramsden, said the recent improvement in bond yields had shown that "credibility is returning to British economic policy".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63389368

 

[Agentgonzo]

I am not really supposed to be partial in my job ...

I've never understood this. Why should public servants be impartial? It makes no sense. But it does seem to have been a massive coup for the Tory party to effectively make it taboo for over a mililon people to criticise government policies that destroy their careers, life and level of service.

 

[Bernie]

I've never understood this. Why should public servants be impartial? It makes no sense. But it does seem to have been a massive coup for the Tory party to effectively make it taboo for over a mililon people to criticise government policies that destroy their careers, life and level of service.

Should an employee publicly criticise his employer?

 

[Agentgonzo]

Should an employee publicly criticise his employer?

Why not? Is censorship a good thing now? Were we talking exclusively about public criticism here?

 

[Bernie]

Why not? Is censorship a good thing now? Were we talking exclusively about public criticism here?

How would "The Tory Party" know if the criticism weren't public?

 

[Agentgonzo]

How would "The Tory Party" know if the criticism weren't public?

You're right. If it's not in public, they can ignore it and pretend everything is hunky dory!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I've never understood this. Why should public servants be impartial?

Well - it doesn't go quite that far. I think the BBC guidelines are pretty typical - most staff can be a non-active member of a political party as long as they declare it but if you're directly involved in certain areas eg political coverage then even a "passive" membership might be seen to be compromising the impartiality of the organisation as a whole. You could translate that into it matters more for a senior civil servant implementing policy directly, compared to say a cleaner in the office.

With medical people the argument is a bit different. Imagine JRM and Corbyn involved in a car crash and they both end up in A&E where JRM dies despite the doctor doing their best and treating them equally to the best of their ability.

If the A&E doctor has previously been heard ranting about how terrible JRM is, then not only would there be a suspicion that the two patients were not treated equally on merit (which is a fundamental breach of medical ethics in its own right) but it would also open up the doctor and (more importantly the hospital) to a very expensive lawsuit for manslaughter and medical malpractice.

 

[lancon]

Well - it doesn't go quite that far. I think the BBC guidelines are pretty typical - most staff can be a non-active member of a political party as long as they declare it but if you're directly involved in certain areas eg political coverage then even a "passive" membership might be seen to be compromising the impartiality of the organisation as a whole. You could translate that into it matters more for a senior civil servant implementing policy directly, compared to say a cleaner in the office.

With medical people the argument is a bit different. Imagine JRM and Corbyn involved in a car crash and they both end up in A&E where JRM dies despite the doctor doing their best and treating them equally to the best of their ability.

If the A&E doctor has previously been heard ranting about how terrible JRM is, then not only would there be a suspicion that the two patients were not treated equally on merit (which is a fundamental breach of medical ethics in its own right) but it would also open up the doctor and (more importantly the hospital) to a very expensive lawsuit for manslaughter and medical malpractice.

I think that comparing media and medical is not right.
Media are informing people, and so could put a slant on the message.
Medical people are mending people, they are not influencing.

And one could take this a step further by saying private doctors, by not treating all, are showing their message, therefore should that be allowed?

and don't forget there are quite a few of the medical (some still practising) profession in the HoC

 

[DocAnna]

I've never understood this. Why should public servants be impartial? It makes no sense. But it does seem to have been a massive coup for the Tory party to effectively make it taboo for over a mililon people to criticise government policies that destroy their careers, life and level of service.

So there's a bit more to what the medical profession should and shouldn't say politically. @Northern_Brewer illustrates one of the reasons healthcare staff need to be a bit careful about what is said in public media. There are a set of rules that govern how doctors practice and for a large part live our lives https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guid...tors/good-medical-practice/duties-of-a-doctor.

Act with honesty and integrity​

65 You must make sure that your conduct justifies your patients’ trust in you and the public’s trust in the profession.

These aren't laws as such but they are the standards by which we are judged should there be a dispute or serious complaint. In the case of the A&E doctor described above, I doubt there'd be any concern, we are all scrupulously careful to treat all people on the basis of need and leave our own personal feelings out of it, even when that is difficult. There are exceptions, and some doctors choose, and are permitted to do so, not to be involved with termination of pregnancy cases. In my previous practice I personally, and with colleagues in healthcare in custody, have treated and provided care for all manner of people that have done things that are far worse than any political actions. Regarding Mr Rees-Mogg, despite my personal distaste for him as a politician, it wouldn't even occur to me to bring those views to a consulting room. If I were in a position of providing care to him, that is a totally different role and it would never be the case that I'd differentiate care based on a personal view.

There are totally separate rules that cover what I and others can say leading up to an election - a period of 'Purdah' during which you will find me completely avoiding commenting in any way possible on politics. This is a period when I not only have to be impartial, I have to be seen to be impartial.

My comment above about not being partial in my role is that I do have an extended role in the health service which means unlike some of my colleagues, I take extra care making comments about individuals - generally will avoid criticising any named individual in any circumstances, in part because I cannot risk the impression that any doctor might bring personal views about individuals to the care they give.

 

[Bjorn Toulouse]

@JockyBrewer - PR sometimes no workie like that, I give you the Scottish parliament. OK this time round the country is being held to hostage with a couple of green SMPs but in the past they have held a majority...for years!