mikelincs

It's not only Johnson, but Rees-Mogg and Gove have got stakes in hedgefuds, and a lot of money invested in them as well, If Brexit DOESN'T happen on 31st October they stand to lose a lot of money (on paper). Well Brexit will NOT happen on 31st October, and the look on Rees-Mogg's face when the result of the second vote was announced was brilliant, he almost looked like bursting into tears.

BEVS

Please excuse me. It's been a bit of a morning.

I read that as

" --- have got their stakes in hedgehogs "

BritInParis

John McDonnell pushing an online conspiracy theory that has been widely debunked by anyone with any knowledge of how the financial markets work is not 'evidence'.

BristolUK

Did he have Boris' sister in his pocket?

Novocastrian

Or the former top civil servant in the Treasury, Nick Macpherson? Not to mention Philip Hammond, no doubt another financial illiterate.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...o-deal-backers

dbd33

It's a bit of a leap from "his backers stand to gain" to "he's acting specifically for their benefit". If I bet on Tottenham, Sonny is not going to try harder to score. I don't doubt that there are senior figures in the Conservative Party who are directly seeking to influence policy to the detriment of the country for personal gain, JRM for example, but I don't think there's enough evidence to pin that charge on Johnson.

Novocastrian

That would be why McConnell asked the Cabinet Secretary to consider conducting an enquiry. To see if there is enough (or any) evidence.

DaveLovesDee

I suspect some of the debunking by those who have knowledge of financial markets work are the same sort of people who denied there was anything wrong with banking prior to the 2008 bank failures. Some don't want to accept that there's a problem, especially if those people are profiting from the lack of accountability.

dave_j

I suppose it's a fact of life that some with well defined beliefs tend to be predisposed to believe stories and commentators that support their views.
At the moment it's reached a zenith in the US where anti-Trumps watch CNN and pro-Trumps watch Fox. I watch both and really some days you'd be forgiven if you thought you lived in different universes.
This leave-remain argument finds itself in a similar place. Everyone has an agenda even sisters and, more likely, senior civil servants.

Shard

They say that Britain is no longer politically Right/Left, but Remain/Leave.

dave_j

They say? Who says?
I suspect that 'they' may be right and if 'they' are then the next election will be a de facto second referendum and will likely carry more significance since the winner will likely have control of parliament.
It'll be interesting to see whether the tail will begin to wag the dog and whether the leave/remain trend will begin to dictate party thinking.

BristolUK

There is, though, the rather important difference in knowing only the one view and 'liking' that view and knowing more than one view, together with the reasons behind the views and siding with the reasoning/view having considered them.
I watch neither CNN nor Fox but I accept that people talk about bias in their coverage just as they do for, let's say, the Guardian and the Daily Mail.

But what I do know is that the guardian frequently, if not always, presents both sides of an argument. As I said in a different thread here last week, the newspaper is 'remain' but they posted two opinion pieces last week to support Boris Johnson's bill and leave by the end of the month.

Shard

They is a specifically a journo that I was listening to the other day (or was it a politician)...but I've been hearing this theory quite a bit over the past several months. This time it was underlying the observation that Remainers and Leavers don't actually like/trust each other (much more division than Right / Left) and it's going to be a serious problem for the country once Brexit progresses to the next stage.

dbd33

So now it seems likely there'll be another election. Brexit for Brexit, Conservatives for Brexit, Lib/Dems for Remain, Labour for dithering. Unless, of course, there isn't.

dave_j

At the moment, who knows what'll change as polls influence MPs chances of remaining on the gravy train.
It's a shining example of how MPs refuse to surrender their personal benefit when an opposition refuses an election, where the government has a majority of -40+, because they think they might lose since their stand may be contrary to public opinion.
Understandable, but like Canute holding back the tide they'll end up getting their feet wet.