Defence Secretary Resigns
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On the positive side he might look at the costs of the flat tops and their non existent aircraft and say..
**** this!
And a Remoaner to boot!!
Love it when a plan comes together. Yes I'm thinking the long long game here ..
**** this!
And a Remoaner to boot!!
Love it when a plan comes together. Yes I'm thinking the long long game here ..
My expectation is that, the new Minister for Defence has been chosen to "crack the whip". I suspect that Theresa May has not put one of her valuable hard-hitters in that post to merely preside over a simple job of implementing minor reductions or increases in Defence spending! No Sir! He is there to force through big changes! 
OAP
OAP
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Surely that would be little changes, as we only now have a little military.
My expectation is that, the new Minister for Defence has been chosen to "crack the whip". I suspect that Theresa May has not put one of her valuable hard-hitters in that post to merely preside over a simple job of implementing minor reductions or increases in Defence spending! No Sir! He is there to force through big changes!
OAP
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Well the Chief Whip does traditionally advise on the suitability of candidates for Cabinet posts which does raise interesting questions given his lack of Ministerial experience.
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"And greater Whips have lesser Whips, upon their backs to bite them"
The now ex-Defence Secretary may well have factored in that having accusations against him after only just having had a serious chat (allegedly) with the First Sea Lord over the disgraceful behavior by crew members of HMS Vigilant - both in transit to the USA and ashore - might be seen as a bit off.
The latter catalogue of shenanigans has been all over the specialist military press and in local papers here in the USA recently since the latest run in with local law enforcement (theft and giving false information to law enforcement - incorrect name / incorrect boat). The whole back story is there for all to see on the internet now and serious damage has been done to the reputation of the RN abroad - particularly regarding the overall reliability of this particular SSBN crew.
The latter catalogue of shenanigans has been all over the specialist military press and in local papers here in the USA recently since the latest run in with local law enforcement (theft and giving false information to law enforcement - incorrect name / incorrect boat). The whole back story is there for all to see on the internet now and serious damage has been done to the reputation of the RN abroad - particularly regarding the overall reliability of this particular SSBN crew.
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The Tory 'whip' list has been floating around the internet for many months.
It's genuine.
The Whip will pass his PV scrutiny for the post of Sec'y Def.
It's genuine.
The Whip will pass his PV scrutiny for the post of Sec'y Def.
Last edited by Cazalet33; 2nd Nov 2017 at 20:41.
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I couldn't help guffawing at the description by a subordinate paramour of Soames that having sex with him was like having a wardrobe fall on top of one, with the key still in the lock.
Hands up those who really believes he resigned because he is alleged (even) to touching a females' knee - 15 years ago?
C'mon guys - he's been rumbled and someone's told him to resign pronto, or else......
C'mon guys - he's been rumbled and someone's told him to resign pronto, or else......
My expectation is that, the new Minister for Defence has been chosen to "crack the whip".
The Tory 'whip' list has been floating around the internet for many months.
I don't know if I should be pleased or disappointed that my MP (Tory) doesn't appear on that list.
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The list purports to have been drawn up by an ex Tory hack at the behest of the Lord of Darkness who engineered Tony Bliar's rise to power after John Major's "Back to basics" plan. Seems like he's up to his old tricks.
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Dead Pan, no, the wardrobe tale is definitely of Soames.
Here's one version:
I recall an amusing anedote, told by Soames when he was a Minister at the MoD, of his boyhood at Chartwell. He ventured into his grandfather's study while the great man was studying important papers of State during his final spell as PM.
"Is it true that you're the greatest statesman who ever lived?" enquired the young Soames.
"Yes", growled the Great Man. "Now bagger orf!".
Here's one version:
The rotund Mr Soames, affectionately known as Bunter, Nickers, Fatty, Creepy Crawley and Crawley Food Mountain (after his former constituency, Crawley in Sussex), denied being drunk. He had pitched up at the Money Resolution in the Regional Development Agencies Bill after a "very small, abstemious lunch in the tea-room of the House", he insisted, adding: "My lunches consist of bananas, still water, preserved apricots and bats' droppings."
His performance was vintage stuff. "I remember a morning not long ago: a cold, damp, spring morning, after the House had been sitting all night. Regrettably, Madam Speaker, you were not in the Chair," he mused, before lamenting the absence of Dawn Primarolo: "It is a matter of regret to me that the Financial Secretary - a woman who, for whatever reason, commands the universal admiration of Conservative Members - is not in her place."
Betty Boothroyd gently guided him back to the "very limited" motion. "He is romanticising and taking me along with him, but I must attend to the business of the House," she said. Her mild ticking off, which was tempered by her closing remarks: "The Hon Gentleman is never a bore: he always has something interesting to say", was something of a replay. Only last November, she had to reprimand him for "crossing the floor" to chat to a female MoD official during Question Time. "Mr Soames! They may be pretty girls, but we don't do those things," she exclaimed.
His performance was vintage stuff. "I remember a morning not long ago: a cold, damp, spring morning, after the House had been sitting all night. Regrettably, Madam Speaker, you were not in the Chair," he mused, before lamenting the absence of Dawn Primarolo: "It is a matter of regret to me that the Financial Secretary - a woman who, for whatever reason, commands the universal admiration of Conservative Members - is not in her place."
Betty Boothroyd gently guided him back to the "very limited" motion. "He is romanticising and taking me along with him, but I must attend to the business of the House," she said. Her mild ticking off, which was tempered by her closing remarks: "The Hon Gentleman is never a bore: he always has something interesting to say", was something of a replay. Only last November, she had to reprimand him for "crossing the floor" to chat to a female MoD official during Question Time. "Mr Soames! They may be pretty girls, but we don't do those things," she exclaimed.
"Is it true that you're the greatest statesman who ever lived?" enquired the young Soames.
"Yes", growled the Great Man. "Now bagger orf!".
