Theresa May's Critics 'self-Absorbed' - Sir John Major

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41541208

You know when the Tories are getting desperate, when they wheel people like Major out. For those that might be too young to remember Major, he was a Tory Leader that led the Party to its worst ever defeat at the ballot box....much forgotten now of course !

[Sqad]

Good morning mikey.
He was also the man who led the Tories to a 19992 ( I think) election, with deepening unemployment, recession getting worse and Labour ahead in the polls. It was there for the taking for Labour....then came Kinnock's rally in Sheffield...yeah!....yeah !.......yeah!....do you remember that?
Who won? The Tories under Major.

[wolf63]

sqad - is this some date in the future? 19992

Major didn't seem to have a personality - he seemed pathetic.

The current PM reminds me of Cruella de Vil

[Sqad]

wolf.......LOL....good morning and well spotted.

[mikey4444]

Morning Sqad !

Yes, well remembered. In was in April 1992. Major lost 40 seats and Kinnock gained 42. The previous Election in 1987 left Labour with too much to do in one Election.

But the 5 years after 1992 were a complete disaster for Major, which resulted in him losing an unprecedented 178 seats, from the '92 level of 343 to just 165.

This was an even bigger defeat for the Tories than in 1945.

But perhaps both Kinnock and Major were not the best chaps for the job, as both lost their positions.

I just think its ironic that some people will remember Majors win of 1992, but ignore his huge defeat in 1997, a defeat that made the Tories undetectable for another 13 years.

If I were Mrs May, I wouldn't be too keen to take too much notice of a failed previous Tory Leader, whom many people will have forgotten about about...a yesterdays man if ever there was one.

I would be even less keen to take seriously, any words of encouragement from someone like Boris.

[mikey4444]

Wolfie....nearly right about Mrs May....she reminds me of Cruella de Vil's maiden Aunt....a bit scary from a distance but not up close.

[wolf63]

Morning gents

I don't follow politics - each party has its good points and its bad points. No politician agrees 100% with the aims of their party.

Unless everybody is willing to pay much more in tax we will never be able to afford to pay for all the services that they want.

I worked for DWP (DHSS/DSS/BA) for 24 years. The govt would bring in changes to the benefit system that seemed to have been thought up by drunken toddlers high on sugar.

[mikey4444]

Interesting Wolfie !

PIP and Universal Benefit seems to have been a disaster for a lot of people. During the course of my work, I met a young this week, who literally had nothing in her purse.
I ended up giving her £20, which resulted in making her cry, which was embarrassing for me.

[Kromovaracun]

I actually have plenty of time for Major - I think he was one of the more effective PMs we've had in living memory. He ran his cabinet in a less authoritarian manner than Thatcher, and was able to quietly get a lot done (including Edwina Curry...) while everyone else saw him as this lame grey man.

I also think the rare interviews he has given after retiring have been marked by comparative nuance and candour which are sorely lacking in politics.

[mikey4444]

Kromo....I don't dislike the man either.

Major would have been a wonderful Scout Leader. He would have been a wonderful Cricket coach and you could have left your kids under his care every weekend, knowing how well they would have been looked after. The boys would probably have adored him, like a favourite Uncle.

He would also have been a lovely next-door neighbour, as he would have all those Black and Decker achievements that you didn't have, and would lent them to you without being asked.

He even went up in my estimation, after the affair with Edwina came out....can't really blame him, as she was a very attractive lady !

But as PM he was promoted far above his pay scale, and he lacked the inner steel to deal with all those Bar Stewards, that he complained of.

[gulliver1]

Can always tell when the Tories are in the deep deep mire,
1, attack the opposition ,
2 wheel out the old comrades Heseltine Major Hague etc.
3 Cabinet reshuffle.
4 keep praising your leader , but keep up the treason and plot against behind her back.

[mikey4444]

I remember many occasions in the past, when the Tories were so desperate, that they resorted to wheeling out the Mad Granny from the attic......and every time they did, things just got worse.

I have no doubt that Major was leaned upon, to make a rare appearance, by the Grey Men in Grey Suits.

Lets see how much good it does them.

[TWR]

Do you not think they are in it for themselves Mikey and sod the country? that's the way it looks to me.

[naomi24]

This is like watching grown men acting like big girl’s blouses. The more spite they can sling the better they like it. Pathetic.

[gulliver1]

Pot and Kettle, eh

[dannyk13]

//I have no doubt that Major was leaned upon, to make a rare appearance, by the Grey Men in Grey Suits.//
And you have proof off this or is it your usual wild speculation.

[naomi24]

Mikey often appears to be privy to information the rest of us are denied, Danny. ;o)

[scooping]

Kinnock's words were not 'yeah, yeah' at the disastrous Sheffield rally in '92. He said 'we're all right, well all right' three times.

[mikey4444]

TWR....much as I hate the Tories, I am not sure I can agree with you there. They recognise that the country needs a firm government, in this, the most trying times for Britain since WW2.

But they need a Leader that is resolute and will be willing and able to kick ass when she has to. That is not Teresa. We are no farther forward in our Brexit negotiations, than we were the day after the Referendum last year.

Every week, she sees off David Davies at London City airport, on his awayday to Brussels and he comes back, every time, empty-handed. She still hasn't had any agreement to her Florence plea for an extra couple of years.

She needs to stand aside and let someone else do the job that she is clearly not qualified for.

[gulliver1]

Bet George Gideon , of the Evening Standard,is PHSL.

[naomi24]

Mikey, //We are no farther forward in our Brexit negotiations//

The word 'negotiation' indicates that there is more than one side involved - but you fail to recognise that one may be more reluctant to reach agreement than the other, but don't let that stop you putting the boot in.