Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Josquius]

That sounds reasonable to me on the surface. With exceptions for those who can't be vaccinated.
Putting it into practice would be a nightmare of course. How the hell is this supposed to be enforced? And anti vaxers are by nature those less likely to obey rules.

[Sheilbh]

That sounds reasonable to me on the surface. With exceptions for those who can't be vaccinated.
Putting it into practice would be a nightmare of course. How the hell is this supposed to be enforced? And anti vaxers are by nature those less likely to obey rules.

Especially given - TAMAS KLAXON - our lack of ID system to actually identify who has and hasn't been vaccinated

Separately Johnson had a bit of a disastrous speech to a business group today - compared himself to Moses, quoted Lenin and talked about Peppa Pig World So we've now got this briefing from inside the house:

Laura Kuenssberg
@bbclaurak
Senior Downing St source says "there is a lot of concern inside the building about the PM....It's just not working. Cabinet needs to wake up and demand serious changes otherwise it'll keep getting worse. If they don't insist, he just won't do anything about it."

And tonight they're voting on the social care bill - the plan is not great. So far there's briefings of at least 20 backbenchers rebelling, plus red wallers saying it's moving the goalpost, the former Chief Whip has said he can't support and the Tory chair of the Commons Treasury Committee has said that MPs have been given "unsatisfactory" information (the government haven't released a distributional impact assessment) and he won't commit to supporting the bill. Interestingly re. leadership chatter Jeremy Hunt has said parts of the plan are "a really big disappointment" and "stingy" but said the package overall should be supported because it's a step in the right direction - but there is expected to be a pretty big rebellion and there's lots of Tory anger I suspect because (on past form) they will vote for something that's unpopular therre will be a reaction against it and they will probably end up being asked to vote for a u-turn after the damage has been done. That's a cycle you can only repeat a few times before you lose a lot of patience from people.

Edit: And at about the same time Stephen Bush of the New Statesman's been reading MacMillan's diaries about possible rebellions in 1963 (one useful reminder of how much more common being a backbench rebel has become), which is pleasingly as if it was written by a teenage girl. I also love that Turton made two categories (apparently he became an MP at the age of 25 which is young because a relative died in the run up to the campaign and the local association didn't want to waste the "Vote for Turton" signs they'd had made - was then an MP for 50 years)


Just looking at that list it strikes me that Johnson's put a lot of people in the first three categories...

[Sheilbh]

It's always difficult to work out what's just a mid-term slump and what's serious. But the fact that a lot of headlines about Johnson sound like his Chief Whip is Francis Urquhart is a not a positive sign - all this from the Owen Paterson fuck up too

Boris Johnson is not unwell and has not lost his grip, says No 10
Downing Street spokesperson responds to questions about PM's health after rambling speech to CBI on Monday
Peter Walker Political correspondent
@peterwalker99
Tue 23 Nov 2021 14.19 GMT

Boris Johnson is physically well and has a full grasp on the prime ministership, Downing Street has said following his rambling speech to business leaders on Monday in which he lost his place for about 20 seconds.

People who watched the speech Johnson gave to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference were impressed with it, his spokesman argued, adding that cabinet ministers could speak freely if they had any concerns.

The speech at the Port of Tyne, which included a vocal impression of a revving car engine and a section on the lessons for capitalism and officialdom presented by the children's cartoon character Peppa Pig, prompted worries from a number of Tory MPs.

Asked if Johnson "has a grip", his spokesman replied: "Of course. I'd point to the CBI themselves, who when asked about the speech said leaders would be heartened to hear the prime minister talk passionately about the role of the private sector working in partnership with government to achieve our shared ambition for a high-skilled, high-investment economy."

It would be wrong to read too much into the section of the speech where Johnson paused for a long period and shuffled the pages of his speech, muttering, "forgive me" three times.

"The prime minister briefly lost his place in the speech," the spokesman said. "He's given hundreds of speeches. I don't think it's unusual for people, on rare occasions, to lose their place in space."

Johnson had appeared to be struggling with a cold last week, but his spokesman insisted he was in good health, saying: "The prime minister is well. He's focused on delivering for the public."

The spokesman declined to comment on a BBC report that an unnamed "senior Downing St source" said there was "a lot of concern inside the building about the PM", and a feeling that ministers should demand changes.

"I've seen a number of anonymous source quotes, and I'm not, as you know, going to respond to anonymous sources," the spokesman said.

However, he rejected the idea that ministers felt unable to tell Johnson if they felt he was on the wrong course: "The prime minister has an entire cabinet to draw on, who provide advice, as you would expect, and the cabinet is used for that purpose.

"Of course the prime minister wants people to be able to speak freely and give their views. That's what cabinet meetings are for. That's part of the function of government, to have open conversations."

Overall it does feel like we're approaching the end - maybe some time next year which would give a successor a year to do their own thing before an election.

Edit: Also lots of journalists pointing out the weird appearances of Peppa Pig in British politics - most amazingly (which I'd forgotten) in the 2010 Labour campaign when Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper were supposed to do a joint press conference with Peppa Pig, but Peppa pulled out leading to the WSJ headline: "Peppa Pig Pulls out of Labour Event; Gruffalo Leaning Toward Clegg"

[celedhring]

So, Downing Street has had to deny that Boris is going gaga. Seems a perfectly fine state of affairs 

[The Larch]

UK visa scheme for prize-winning scientists receives no applications
Exclusive: A fast-track visa route for Nobel prize laureates and other award-winners in science, engineering, the humanities and medicine has failed to attract any applicants


Not a single scientist has applied to a UK government visa scheme for Nobel prize laureates and other award winners since its launch six months ago, New Scientist can reveal. The scheme has come under criticism from scientists and has been described as "a joke".

In May, the government launched a fast-track visa route for award-winners in the fields of science, engineering, the humanities and medicine who want to work in the UK. This prestigious prize route makes it easier for some academics to apply for a Global Talent visa – it requires only one application, with no need to meet conditions such as a grant from the UK Research and Innovation funding body or a job offer at a UK organisation.

The number of prizes that qualify academics for this route currently stands at over 70, and includes the Turing Award, the L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science International Awards, and various gongs awarded by professional or membership bodies both in the UK and elsewhere.

"Winners of these awards have reached the pinnacle of their career and they have so much to offer the UK," said home secretary Priti Patel when the prestigious prize scheme launched in May. "This is exactly what our new point-based immigration system was designed for – attracting the best and brightest based on the skills and talent they have, not where they've come from."

But a freedom of information request by New Scientist has revealed that in the six months since the scheme was launched, no one working in science, engineering, the humanities or medicine has actually applied for a visa through this route.

"Chances that a single Nobel or Turing laureate would move to the UK to work are zero for the next decade or so," says Andre Geim at the University of Manchester, UK. Geim won a Nobel prize in 2010 for his work on graphene. "The scheme itself is a joke – it cannot be discussed seriously," he says. "The government thinks if you pump up UK science with a verbal diarrhea of optimism – it can somehow become a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"Frankly, having precisely zero people apply for this elitist scheme doesn't surprise me at all," says Jessica Wade, a material scientist at Imperial College London and a diversity in science campaigner. "UK scientists' access to European funding is uncertain, we're not very attractive to European students as they have to pay international fees, our pensions are being cut and scientific positions in the UK are both rare and precarious."

"It's clear this is just another gimmick from a government that over-spins and under delivers," says shadow science minister Chi Onwurah. "It is not surprising that the government has failed so comprehensively to attract scientists from abroad, given their lack of consistent support for scientists here."

A Home Office spokesperson told New Scientist that the prestigious prizes route makes it easier for those at the "pinnacle of their career" to come to the UK. "It is just one option under our Global Talent route, through which we have received thousands of applications since its launch in February 2020 and this continues to rise," they said.

Neuropsychologist Dorothy Bishop at the University of Oxford says other visa routes are already quick-moving for top scientists and says it is odd that this scheme was launched in the first place.

Andrew Clark at the Royal Academy of Engineering says his organisation is happy with the number of applications they have seen recently across all immigration routes for foreign scientists. "In many cases applicants would be eligible for multiple routes," he says. "We wouldn't want to focus on the use of any particular route over a six-month period, but rather the overall success."

The idea of prioritising entry to the UK for science award winners is flawed, according to geoscientist Christopher Jackson at the University of Manchester, who in 2020 became the first black scientist to host the Royal Institution's Christmas lectures. Jackson says these awards are inherently biased and an immigration system based on them will only replicate science's lack of diversity.

"How we measure excellence is very nebulous," says Jackson. "These awards favour certain people – those who are white, male, heterosexual, cis-gendered – and reward them based on their privilege."

Of the over 600 Nobel science laureates from 1901, just 23 are women. No award has ever been given to a black laureate in a science subject. "Studies show that most scientific award winners are white men of European descent and often working at American universities," Jackson says.

Similar patterns are seen in those who win some of the other awards eligible for the prestigious prize visa route. Of the five who have won the Institute of Physics' Isaac Newton Medal and Prize since 2015, none have been women. Only one woman has won the Royal Academy of Engineering's Prince Philip Medal since 2014.


Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2298455-uk-visa-scheme-for-prize-winning-scientists-receives-no-applications/#ixzz7D48auAAB

[celedhring]

Also, regarding Peppa Pig, Black Mirror thaught us that the intersection of pigs and British politics usually produces bizarre results 

[The Larch]

Also, regarding Peppa Pig, Black Mirror thaught us that the intersection of pigs and British politics usually produces bizarre results 

Didn't Cameron's antics while in university already told us that? 

[Sheilbh]

Also, regarding Peppa Pig, Black Mirror thaught us that the intersection of pigs and British politics usually produces bizarre results 

Didn't Cameron's antics while in university already told us that? 

Which amazingly didn't inspire Black Mirror (I think the Black Mirror episode came before the biography with the allegation)

[The Larch]

Also, regarding Peppa Pig, Black Mirror thaught us that the intersection of pigs and British politics usually produces bizarre results 

Didn't Cameron's antics while in university already told us that? 

Which amazingly didn't inspire Black Mirror (I think the Black Mirror episode came before the biography with the allegation)

Yeah, the Black Mirror episode predated the story being made public by several years.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah, the Black Mirror episode predated the story being made public by several years.

Which is incredible - although I wouldn't go all in on the story being true as fun as it is. That book was by a very unreliable journalist (who's very, very close to Farage) and was commissioned by Lord Ashcroft. He's a big Tory donor and does lots of interesting useful legit polling. He also commissions and publishes biographies of leading political figures with a clear editorial steer - apparently there's one on Carrie Johnson in the works and the researchers are digging for stories, but they're only interested in positive ones (according to the gossip)

[garbon]

So, Downing Street has had to deny that Boris is going gaga. Seems a perfectly fine state of affairs 

Quite the bizarre headline.

[Sheilbh]

I think it was prompted by the BBC or ITV reporter covering that speech speaking to Johnson. They just ran through bits of it and then asked "is everything okay?" Which has led to this.

I've said it before but my suspicion is Johnson's after-dinner act will work until it doesn't and then the mood will turn very quickly.

[garbon]

Yeah, I saw that and nearly pitied Johnson being asked that and his reply.

Just can't escape though what that official soundbite looks like. So he is unwell and is losing his grip?

[Josquius]

The nobel prize visa thing was just idiotic and arrogant from a rational point of view.
As if a nobel prize winner wouldn't qualify for a visa anyway if they remotely wanted to move to the UK？
But then it was never meant to be a practical policy. It was just girating for the ignorant masses.

[The Brain]

Yeah, the idea that Nobel laureates need special assistance careerwise seems flawed.