I've found the stupidest political take

[andrewducker]

One of the many Conservative subgroups has decided that it's wrong that Carrie Symonds (Johnson's fiance) has any input into his political decisions, because she's not elected.

Now, she may be giving him advice they disagree with. She may even be giving him terrible advice. But the idea that he shouldn't be talking to his fiance about the decisions he's making because she's not elected is just ludicrous.

Is he not allowed to get ideas from books which aren't written by sitting MPs? Is he not allowed to talk to external experts who aren't elected? Not allowed to talk to members of the public in case he listens to them before they're voted on?

He's an MP. He gets to vote on laws. And he gets to listen to, and learn from, whoever he deems appropriate. If someone doesn't like the opinions he takes on, and the decisions he makes, that's fine. We can totally judge him for that. If someone thinks that he associates with awful people and judges him for that, then that's also fair enough. But the idea that he shouldn't listen to anyone unless they've been elected is beyond laughable.

Comments

[mountainkiss]

My understanding of the PM’s specific bad character is the inability to distinguish fantasy from reality (a topic on which I should be very careful in taking the moral high ground), a terror of being disliked that makes him promise people what they ask regardless of its good sense, realisability or any other conflicting promises he might have made, and a complete lack of understanding that truth has any meaning as a concept. But all this might be (1) unfair and / or (2) changeable with the right team around him.

[danieldwilliam]

I don't think it's unfair and I think it's so fundamental that if it were changable with the right team around him, then what, after all, is the point of him?

[mountainkiss]

He wins elections.

[danieldwilliam]

He has won elections. I'm not sure that's the same as winning elections.

I think the chances are about 1 in 4 that he dooms the Conservative Party to a generational defeat in 2024.

[mountainkiss]

If I were the Conservative Party I’d probably take that deal.

[danieldwilliam]

Which I think illustrates their unfitness to govern a modern country.

[dewline]

And their unwillingness to tolerate the UK being a modern country. The concept itself offends many of their higher-ranking people (and their supporters).

[danieldwilliam]

I think I'm a bit more cynical about them than that to be honest.

[dewline]

You think my scenario isn't cynical enough?

I was thinking along pessimism/horror lines, myself.

[danieldwilliam]

Depends what you mean by a "modern" country.

But I reckon quite a few of this current government don't mind if the country has aspects of modernity so long as one of the following applies
a) they can appropriate a bunch of money from the public purse
b) they are guaranteed to be running the place, no questions asked
c) the modern country is for white people