Dominic Raab has dismissed a whistleblower’s revelations about the chaotic Afghan evacuation as coming from a “junior desk officer” and insisted it was a success. The former foreign secretary hit back at the devastating evidence from Raphael Marshall – but did not deny that only 5 per cent of people at risk from the Taliban takeover received help. Mr Raab called the evacuation a “heroic and herculean effort” which got out 15,000 people and argued any delays were because of the situation in Kabul, not blunders at home. “We did everything we could,” he insisted, describing the UK effort as “a record that those involved, particularly those working on the ground, should be proud of”. He denied he was demoted to justice secretary because of his dismal handling of the crisis in August, or that his job was at risk again because of the whistleblower’s revelations. Recommended Where did Dominic Raab go on holiday? Raab insists he won’t quit … [Read more...] about Dominic Raab rejects claims of chaotic Afghan evacuation from ‘junior desk officer’ and insists it was success
What voters actually want levelling up to achieve is pretty simple
Just what is “levelling up”? The question of how to reduce the profound differences between the affluent southeast and more deprived areas of the north of England and West Midlands has been the biggest policy challenge – Covid-19 notwithstanding – since the 2019 election. After nearly two years of dithering, Boris Johnson used the last cabinet reshuffle to finally focus his government on the problem. It now falls to Michael Gove , he of the famously wide-ranging education reforms, and Neil O’Brian – surely the best ministerial team Johnson has at his disposal – to come up with something tangible before the " red wall " gets to decide whether double down on its 2019 electoral gamble – or to flip back to Labour at the next election. Although another delay in publishing the White Paper on levelling up until January 2022 is not encouraging. Surely answering the “what” question before the “how” would be sensible for Gove et al. Best to ask what would success for … [Read more...] about What voters actually want levelling up to achieve is pretty simple
Conservatism has wrecked this country – just as it was designed to
It isn’t often that life presents us with second chances. Whether it’s not breaking up with that girl who in hindsight you could have married, not flunking that crucial exam, or not crippling your country’s economy and health services with your mismanagement of a pandemic, there are lots of things we would do differently, given the chance. Well, Stacy married Craig, and you didn’t get into Oxford, but for one man, Boris Johnson , that second chance may have just presented itself. The omicron variant is here , but unlike its older cousin it hasn’t taken us by surprise. We haven’t been caught on the back foot this time; no, the omicron variant has announced its presence with all the fireworks and spectacle of an American gender reveal party. The conditions for this new variant to wreak havoc on the UK are close to perfect: it’s winter, right before Christmas, most places are open, and the anti-mask crowd have really stepped up their game in the past few months. But … [Read more...] about Conservatism has wrecked this country – just as it was designed to
Video of Lauren Boebert leading crowd in “Let’s Go Brandon” chant goes viral
Video has emerged of Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert wearing her "Let's Go Brandon" dress while urging a crowd to join in with the popular right-wing chant. The footage, believed to have been filmed in early November, shows the GOP representative on stage at wearing the red dress she first revealed on Thanksgiving while meeting with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. After getting the crowd to sing "Let's Go Brandon"—a Republican catchphrase and direct replacement for the "f**k Joe Biden " chant which was heard at major public events for several weeks—Boebert adds: "That is more than a phrase, that is absolutely a movement and we are taking our country back." The clip was shared by the Patriot Takes Twitter account on Sunday, where it has since been viewed more than 107,000 times. The dress with "Let's Go Brandon" emblazoned on it is a riff on New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasia Cortez's "Tax the Rich" white dress that she wore at the Met … [Read more...] about Video of Lauren Boebert leading crowd in “Let’s Go Brandon” chant goes viral
Tucker Carlson says Joe Biden might want war with Russia to improve poll numbers
Fox News host Tucker Carlson said it was "totally possible" Joe Biden would go to war with Russia as a "desperate" measure to improve his polling in the U.S. Polling data from Reuters on December 6 highlighted "less than half of Americans approve of President Joe Biden." The national poll was conducted on December 1 and December 2 and found that 46 percent of U.S. adults approved of Biden's performance so far in office. 49 percent of people in the poll disapproved of his performance while the remainder were not sure. During his show on December 6, Tucker Carlson Tonight , Carlson claimed a war with Russia could be the next step for Biden in order to combat this. He added that on the next night of his show he would go into greater detail of this possibility. Carlson also posted a clip of this moment to his Twitter page. In the video he said: "So let's say you are the President of the United States, you wake up one morning and look at your poll numbers and you find … [Read more...] about Tucker Carlson says Joe Biden might want war with Russia to improve poll numbers