John Healy has resigned as Defence Secretary

Maremia

Meandrogrog, there is interesting 'debate' online about how intelligent is Johnson.
Some say his classical referencing creates a superficial impression of depth.

Exactly -using classical references when you know full well that the majority of people won’t ‘get’ them has several explanations - you’re a supercilious up yourself spoilt entitled git with a massive inferiority complex. or you’re not bright enough to explain an idea clearly . Probably both in fact

🤣 😂

Or.
simply an appreciation and love of the classics.

eazybee

Miliband defies Starmer on spending cuts: the Energy Secretary was (said to be) pushing back against demands to find savings of at least one per cent within his department
A Whitehall source suggested Mr. Miliband would undermine the defence investment effort if he refused to cut net zero. (DT 11/6/26.)

Why are Ministers allowed to thwart the Prime Minister's intentions?

The prime minister should show he is in charge by asking Ed Milliband to make cuts, resign or be sacked.

John Healey struck me as exactly the kind of person we need to keep our country safe.

I am afraid of the present government and wonder what they will bungle next.

eazybee 👍🏻 classics are rather niche, you either enjoy them or you don’t.

Boris Johnson enjoys them.

Tuliptree

Maremia

Meandrogrog, there is interesting 'debate' online about how intelligent is Johnson.
Some say his classical referencing creates a superficial impression of depth.

Exactly -using classical references when you know full well that the majority of people won’t ‘get’ them has several explanations - you’re a supercilious up yourself spoilt entitled git with a massive inferiority complex. or you’re not bright enough to explain an idea clearly . Probably both in fact

Boris should not have to dumb himself down, its up to others to reach his intelligence levels.

meandrogrog Boris Johnson did dumb down occasionally, I remember him speaking about Peppa Pig, but of course he was criticised for that also.

I totally agree with you Tuliptree.
Using any classical or literary term that people may not ‘get’ does indeed carry implications about the speaker.

Only Gransnet could morph a thread on John Healey's resignation into Boris Johnson & Peppa Pig. Love it!

Might be called intellectual snobbery on Johnson's part.
Michael Rosen posted very funny 'translations' of the pontifications.

Maremia

Might be called intellectual snobbery on Johnson's part.
Michael Rosen posted very funny 'translations' of the pontifications.

But on the other hand might be called towering intellect!

Tuliptree

Maremia

Meandrogrog, there is interesting 'debate' online about how intelligent is Johnson.
Some say his classical referencing creates a superficial impression of depth.

Exactly -using classical references when you know full well that the majority of people won’t ‘get’ them has several explanations - you’re a supercilious up yourself spoilt entitled git with a massive inferiority complex. or you’re not bright enough to explain an idea clearly . Probably both in fact

Ooh, nasty.

Maybe because the defence of our country is very important.

Yes, there are numerous names that could be aimed at Johnson.
😃 😀 😄

Maremia

Yes, there are numerous names that could be aimed at Johnson.
😃 😀 😄

Yes I quite agree, Churchillian, best PM by a country mile, especially during Covid, great intellectual, believer in personal freedom. There are some starters!

We get too much information these days: percentages being spent on this and that; what junior ministers think; what No 10 support staff are up to; who's doing what to whom; character analyses and input from political commentators; opinion polls on what should be done. It seems to me we were better off in the old days (pre 1960s maybe) when all we got was broad brush stuff and we made up our minds on that. Politicians seemed bigger then, which was probably a good thing.

RSALLAN2002

We get too much information these days: percentages being spent on this and that; what junior ministers think; what No 10 support staff are up to; who's doing what to whom; character analyses and input from political commentators; opinion polls on what should be done. It seems to me we were better off in the old days (pre 1960s maybe) when all we got was broad brush stuff and we made up our minds on that. Politicians seemed bigger then, which was probably a good thing.

I would not change the current quantity of information for anything.

In the 1960s and before ministers and their civil servants got away with murder because we knew so little of what was going on and could not hold them to account.

Also The Greased Piglet, by Cameron.

The Convict by one of the Guardian journalists.

Bo Jo the Clown. Can't remember who said that about Johnson.

Maremia

Yes, there are numerous names that could be aimed at Johnson.
😃 😀 😄

Towering intellect is not one of them 🤣.

Here is a report on his time at Oxford
archive.thetab.com/uk/2019/07/25/champagne-vandalism-and-a-2-1-what-boris-was-like-at-oxford-115779

Maremia

Bo Jo the Clown. Can't remember who said that about Johnson.

There are quite a few choice names for Starmer too.

I would not say I was the most observant of people but even I have noticed this Government is trying to shut down freedom of speech. Any deviation from the party line is not tolerated.

So different from the Boris Government.

Meandrogrog

Maremia

Yes, there are numerous names that could be aimed at Johnson.
😃 😀 😄

Yes I quite agree, Churchillian, best PM by a country mile, especially during Covid, great intellectual, believer in personal freedom. There are some starters!

Loves to party 😉🥳🥳🥳🥳

Shinamae

Meandrogrog

Maremia

Yes, there are numerous names that could be aimed at Johnson.
😃 😀 😄

Yes I quite agree, Churchillian, best PM by a country mile, especially during Covid, great intellectual, believer in personal freedom. There are some starters!

Loves to party 😉🥳🥳🥳🥳

I believe Starmer was photographed socialising too at the time. I remember seeing the photo.