The BBC’s Nicholas Watt seems to have been trawling the bars of the Parliamentary Estate looking for dinosaurs. And he struck gold.
One former Tory minister has this take on pairing row: The mistake @JulianSmithUK made was to arrange pairing with a pregnant lady. Ladies have been having babies in this place for donkeys years. They never needed pairing before now
[@joswinson gave birth earlier this month]— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) July 19, 2018
The Tory continued: The problem with pairing with a pregnant lady is where do you draw the line. How long before the birth do you start pairing and then when do you finish?
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) July 19, 2018
And the Tory added: Presumably it continues while they are breast feeding. Why can’t they just breast feed here? There are plenty of rooms
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) July 19, 2018
Oh.My.Days.
I have a list of suspects, although that grows exponentially if we’re including Lords.
I have been saying for a while that we should paint in primary colours, that we should say what we really feel and not be too subtle.
Our Press Office stepped up to that plate tonight. Do not read on if you are easily offended.
What a fucking idiot https://t.co/mnlJDME28h
— Lib Dem Press Office (@LibDemPress) July 19, 2018
There are times when this sort of language is entirely justified and this is one of them.
Back in the 90s when the Tories were embroiled in a toxic civil war on Europe, the Major Government stumbled from disaster to crisis for pretty much 5 years. They seemed to have a new scandal every half hour. It was pretty shocking then, but all that seems trivial and quite gentle compared to what’s going on now.
The Tory government has not only lost competence, it has also lost integrity and a grip of the reality of modern life. Unfortunately, these people are making decisions which will have a huge impact on all of our lives.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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10 Comments
A fairly accurate summation of a large number of Tories. Isn’t it nice to be able to point that out without feeling you have to sugarcoat it and be “nice” to them. Now if only the same truth could be applied to brave Brexiteers or are we still being “nice” to them?
Dinosaurs; as recent as that? Those, like Christopher Chope (he of ‘upskirting’ and ‘women’s conference’ infamy), appear more like the single-celled ‘life forms’ who, thankfully, have left little or no trace in history.
What is far more concerning is the manner in which members of a Conservative Party (which makes great play of ‘Mother of Parliaments’) are prepared’ o mislead and lie when it suits (Rudd, McVey, Smith)…
Quote from ‘Tory’; “Ladies have been having babies in this place for donkeys(sic) years”. Wow, the mind boggles. Do they actually have a maternity unit in the Houses of Parliament, or is that why that toilet has been out of action for so long? Are they in competition with the NHS, perhaps? Some might argue that, judging by the catawalling that often goes for debate in the House a pregnant pause is actually something that they need now and again!
PS I suppose the chances of this getting past the Editor(s) are pretty slim; but, while this is a serious matter, a bit of humour helps sometime, even of the juvenile variety.
@Caron
“The Tory government has not only lost competence, it has also lost integrity ”
That presupposes it ever had any…
Did anybody see that Tory MP on Newsnight last night, whitewashing the whole affair? It must have been an attempt by the Newsnight editors to quieten months of Tory complaints about their Brexit (and Tory infighting) coverage, because it was so awfully one-sided I didn’t see any BBC journalism ethics reflected in this unanswered ultra-partisan sweet-talking of dastardly deeds.
Or have those ethics disappeared after the Cliff Richard disaster? I hope not, but live in fear…
Guess I’ll have to take it back. LDV Editors HAVE got a sense of humour after all! Mind you, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve got things wrong, would it?
On a more serious note, the motto HAS got to be : ‘Never trust a Tory’. I guess that Nick, Danny et al have probably come to take conclusion already (signal for a David Evans comment?).
Only one dinosaur? This one is surely only one example of the misogynistosaurus. Perhaps Jo might like to take him up on the suggestion of breastfeeding in the House of Commons but in the Chamber of course not some tucked away room?
John,
I’d love to think everyone had come to the sensible conclusion “Never trust a Tory”, however I fear that a number who rushed into the coalition are likely to end up in the Tory ranks.
@Frankie
I spent 30 years (1987-2017) as a councillor at every level of local government. I’ve worked with Tory, Labour, UKIP and Independents. All councillors can be reasonable in private – yes, even UKIP – but, when push comes to shove, both Tory and Labour in particular will not give an inch. They have the kind of party discipline that Lib Dems often find it hard to achieve.
Tory councillors have quite often criticised colleagues to me in private but, you try criticising them in public and they just close ranks. It’s all about staying in control. When they approach elections, they already have in mind what they are going to do when they win. Labour in their strong areas often have the same approach. Lib Dems seem to prefer to approach an election as the end game. While winning is important it’s for many more about how they campaign (and how much fun they have). If they win they often appear to have no idea what to do next. At least that’s my experience around here in Lincolnshire.
John,
I take your point. I think they also suffer from wanting to see the best in their opposition. “We are all nice, intelligent, warm hearted people who want the best for our community” unfortunately that isn’t true some people just want power and only want the “best” for them.