Looking at the Westminster ‘landscape’ …

 

For your Friday delectation I’ve collected a few reports culled from our dearly beloved MSM. They show the now well-known habits prevailing in Westminster: when things go wrong, the mandarins and serpents are nowhere to be seen while the minister gets the blame.

First the obligatory collection of the print MSM front pages, aimed at making the punter rush and buy them: “Newspaper headlines: ‘Vindictive’ rail unions and ‘talk show king’ dies” (link). Note well that only the Red Tops call the Rail strikers ‘vindictive’. 

Aren’t deep-red lefties always vindictive or am I mis-remembering all those history lessons when we had to be alert because there might have been ‘reds’, i.e. Soviets, under our beds? Funny how the nurses’ strikes aren’t deemed to be ‘vindictive’ … 

Speaking of nurses and the NHS, it’s quite interesting how certain papers and the Beeb are crying about ‘NHS doctors’ stuck in Sudan. Scroll down a bit in yon front page compilation and you’ll find that ‘iNews’ is leading with this story.

However, in their subtitle even the brave ‘iNews’ editors have to admit that those stranded doctors, NHS or not, aren’t actually British citizens. Oh. well, Auntie Beeb has a wonderful sob story, with photo, of one such complainant (all emphases are mine):

An NHS doctor trapped in Sudan after visiting family for Eid has urged the government to fly him back to the UK, saying he feels “betrayed” after being turned away from evacuation flights. […] Despite having a UK work permit, he cannot board an evacuation flight as they only accept UK passport holders. Dr Babiker, who has worked at the Manchester hospital for more than four years, told Newsnight: “To be honest I feel totally betrayed… I worked throughout Covid and I’m so disappointed.” (link)

Oh how sad!  I’ve selected this sob story because there  are two remarks dropped into this piece which point to a coming attack on Tory ministers:

The Foreign Office says it is prioritising British nationals, saying people in Dr. Babikar’s situation are allowed to enter the UK, but must make their own way there. […] after 16 hours queuing at the site north of Khartoum, Dr Babikar was told he could not board. “They said ‘we are really sorry, this is the guidance from the Home Office’. […]” he said.” (link)

‘Home Office’ – that’s Ms Braverman. ‘Foreign Office’ – that’s Mr Cleverly. Clearly, we’re led to believe that they’re at fault. There’s not one remark about the serpents and mandarins not doing their duty. They never are at fault. 

The whole report is a beautiful example for also shoehorning NHS ‘concerns’ – aimed at Mr Barclay – into a report about UK citizenships. There was another kerfuffle involving aeroplanes in Sudan. The Times reports:

“According to three well placed German sources, the C130-J Hercules made a “very dangerous” unannounced landing. Two German officials with knowledge of the situation said the apparent failure to co-ordinate the mission with local air traffic control led the British aircraft to almost crash into another aeroplane on the runway. Another source could not confirm this claim but said the German government had been “very unhappy” about Britain’s alleged refusal to discuss the mission beforehand, which had demonstrated a “lack of solidarity”.” (link, paywalled)

The MoD however said this was wrong, and that: “[…] those managing the runway […] had been alerted to the arrival of the RAF plane well in advance of the landing. One source said it was flat-out wrong to describe the landing as “dangerous”.” (link, paywalled). 

Yeah but … ‘Brexit’, innit, so Remain Central knows that we’re wrong and the Krauts are right, ok yah? Note that yet another Tory ministry is now in the crosshairs of the Westminster MSM: the MoD.

As for Brexit, the DT has actually used the word ‘betrayal’ in their headline regarding the scrapping of EU laws: “Tories to leave thousands of EU laws intact in latest Brexit betrayal” (paywalled link)! Gasp! Tories are betraying Brexit? Obviously, another Tory minister must be bashed even though she’s only the messenger:

“In a briefing to senior Tory Eurosceptic MPs on Monday, Kemi Badenoch, the Trade Secretary, […] reportedly told the MPs that civil servants had told her that it was impossible to remove the 4,000 EU laws, the vast bulk of which sit in the environment department. […] Conservative MPs told The Telegraph they were furious at the apparent hollowing out of the legislation which they see as a surrender to civil servants who they see as being unwilling to strip away EU red tape.” (paywalled link)

Oh – these MPs have only noticed this now? Blimey. And then, just like that, further down in their report the DT inadvertently shows that Tory MPs are utterly out of touch with the reality that is Whitehell and that they still haven’t understood how the Remain civil service has stymied their Brexit efforts. One of them: 

“pinned the blame on Mrs Badenoch personally, saying: “You need a tough minister but she is a lame minister who is having rings run around her by ‘Remainer’ officials. We needed a tough minister. Kemi is proving to be a huge disappointment.” (paywalled link)

Have they still not learned that ‘a tough minister’ will have their wings clipped or be ousted, one way or another? Does Mr Raab’s fate not ring a bell? Ms Patel, Ms Braverman, now Mr Barclay: shouldn’t this list not make them sit up? And what about Miz Truss, the dahlink of her mandarins? Shouldn’t she have prepared this list, but hasn’t? 

These examples are like fuses being laid for Tory ministers – fuses which can be lit when necessary, i.e. when a minister ‘gets tough’. Needless to say: this is a distraction welcomed by mandarins who vanish like snow in the sun, hiding behind their ministers when their own work ought to be criticised.

That’s all I have for today. Remember: a ‘tough minister’ is a bully and will be made to go by their serpents and mandarins. I dunno why Tory MPs still haven’t noticed that. Have a good day.