He's too boring to think about.
― Father Ted in Forkhandles (Tom D.), Monday, 13 August 2018 09:09 (five years ago) link
the lol geek spreadsheet Phil image the party tries to cultivate, seems quite incongruous with the glimpses of real Hammond when he goes off topic and reveals himself to be an absolute grade a twat (female train drivers etc). He's basically a weak as piss non-entity who'd be long gone by now if May even had a teeny sprinkling of party authority. I'd forgotten that May started her '17 election with a hilariously dull, twin grey press conference with Hammond, and never tried that one again!
― calzino, Monday, 13 August 2018 09:20 (five years ago) link
I'd forgotten that May started her '17 election with a hilariously dull, twin grey press conference with Hammond, and never tried that one again!
http://78.media.tumblr.com/90c8f20ed30b54fc8e4d4aa5adb76c84/tumblr_mi52chcpCD1s2gg27o1_250.gif
― Father Ted in Forkhandles (Tom D.), Monday, 13 August 2018 09:23 (five years ago) link
It genuinely shocks me the visceral hatred I have or these "people", and the joy I can imagine myself gleaning from their being pummelled with baseball bats. I shall dance the most fearsome jig for each of them I outlive.
― Arthur Funzonerelli (stevie), Monday, 13 August 2018 09:30 (five years ago) link
She does better with Arthur Askey next to her.
― Mark G, Monday, 13 August 2018 09:33 (five years ago) link
she already seems to know enough about the rudiments of pantomime.
― calzino, Monday, 13 August 2018 09:38 (five years ago) link
Oh no she doesn't!
(soz)
― Mark G, Monday, 13 August 2018 10:22 (five years ago) link
Just thinking about the 80s, this conversation wouldn't have had legs back then: pretty much all the hatred was directed at Thatcher. How much this was down to the force of her own character and how much to her being a (gendered?) lightning rod for all anti-Tory antipathy I'm not sure. Who got angry at Douglas Hurd and Geoffrey Howe?? I can't really think of anyone else who was a hate figure except Tebbit. Maybe there was some niche antipathy towards Keith Joseph.
― Alba, Monday, 13 August 2018 10:48 (five years ago) link
there was Heseltine and the small matter of the destruction of the mining industry, though admittedly Thatcher was instrumental in that too
― Neil S, Monday, 13 August 2018 10:51 (five years ago) link
Lawson? Brittan? Heseltine maybe?
― Matt DC, Monday, 13 August 2018 10:53 (five years ago) link
Thatcher’s model was presidential. She was keen to make it clear the cabinet was subservient to her. Any praise or hatred directed towards anyone else would be wasted.
― Wag1 Shree Rajneesh (ShariVari), Monday, 13 August 2018 10:58 (five years ago) link
Tebbit, to some extent. Maybe Lawson, not convinced though. With Thatcher around there wasn't much hate left over.
― Father Ted in Forkhandles (Tom D.), Monday, 13 August 2018 10:58 (five years ago) link
(xp) Yes, that's it. Presidential or dictatorial (image if not reality), take your pick.
― Father Ted in Forkhandles (Tom D.), Monday, 13 August 2018 10:59 (five years ago) link
It's a mistake to not include JRM, who, right now, wields more power and could do a lot more damage, even without a ministerial post, than Gove, for example.
Also, where's Jeremy Hunt?
― Britain's Sexiest Cow (jed_), Monday, 13 August 2018 11:06 (five years ago) link
there were deep-cut outliers for nerds: https://theneedleblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/sir-keith-joseph-and-rhodes-boyson.jpg
― mark s, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:08 (five years ago) link
words have meaning, jeremy hunt is not a big beast
I hated them all and I still do.
Cecil Parkinson, Francis Pym, St. John Stevas, Jim Prior, Kenneth Baker, Norman Fowler. Avuncular old Willie Whitelaw. All of them. I suppose I'm at an age where this lot seemed like actual monsters, where (eg) Major's 1992 cabinet seemed vile and venal.
― Tim, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:12 (five years ago) link
If Gove is then Hunt is.
― Britain's Sexiest Cow (jed_), Monday, 13 August 2018 11:13 (five years ago) link
I believe Thatch was a lightning rod for all those (good list, tim) that wanted to impose their will and could convince herself that it was all her idea. They weren't bothered about taking the credit for a successful implementation, just so long as it actually happened. (and with things like the Poll tax, they could point to the 'fall guy' and say it wasn't me it was her..
Whereas Brexit has so many wearing the "It was me wot wun it" badges..
― Mark G, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:16 (five years ago) link
gove is not and never will be a big beast this is canon
― mark s, Sunday, August 12, 2018 12:49 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― mark s, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:18 (five years ago) link
Being the son of a teacher; Kenneth Baker is high up is the beastiary. Some of my earliest (possibly misremembered) memories are being taken on baker day marches.
― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Monday, 13 August 2018 11:18 (five years ago) link
*galaxy brain* Rather do one for the Labour Party - need to direct my hate at the people that will try and sabotage the road to socialism.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:19 (five years ago) link
I haven't thought about Councillor Rhodes Boyson (Lab) in a long time. What a weird character.
― Tim, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:22 (five years ago) link
Do it! But bear in mind there are very, very few 'big beasts' in Labour right now
― imago, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:23 (five years ago) link
there was only ever one: https://conradbrunstrom.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/healey.jpg
― mark s, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:26 (five years ago) link
what about The Beast of Bolsover?
― Britain's Sexiest Cow (jed_), Monday, 13 August 2018 11:29 (five years ago) link
I don't think doing a Labour one is going to be very interesting really, just another opportunity to give people the opportunity to say the same things they always say. At least when you're polling the Tories you're polling people who have actually done things.
― Matt DC, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:31 (five years ago) link
I mean unless you're polling Blair, Prescott, Brown etc and no one needs to go over that again.
― Matt DC, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:32 (five years ago) link
Just imagine the vitriol we could pour on Yvette Cooper though
― imago, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:34 (five years ago) link
Yeah I wouldn't do it. We have covered much of that and there'll be lots of opportunity. xp
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:35 (five years ago) link
One if those polls where whoever wins will be the right answer.
Dithering between Bojo, Cameron and Gideon however special mention for May who makes me embarrassed to be a Brit with the Trump hand holding, Grenfell evasiveness and kowtowing to the Royals in the most servile manner possible. That’s before we even get to her dismal handling of the Brexit negotiations.
― Dan Worsley, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:36 (five years ago) link
♬ all small beasts should have bows in their tails ♬
https://i.pinimg.com/236x/b1/0b/10/b10b105e6651bf8cedc96747a0d9baae--moomin-books-moomin-valley.jpg
― mark s, Monday, 13 August 2018 11:38 (five years ago) link
Wondrous discovery of the day is that the no-doubt bestselling book 'British Politics For Dummies' actually has a section on Big Beasts!
― Matt DC, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:16 (five years ago) link
how did you find this out?
― mark s, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:18 (five years ago) link
Here you go
― Matt DC, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:19 (five years ago) link
So it turns out no one is a big beast.
― Alba, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:22 (five years ago) link
Gove would also fail the BPfD big beasts test so we should consider the matter settled.
― Matt DC, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:23 (five years ago) link
as a tru 80s kid i definitely had plenty of hate left in reserve for individual cabinet members
― the Joao looked at Jonny (Noodle Vague), Monday, 13 August 2018 12:29 (five years ago) link
tho tbf i wd've probably used the phrase "Dickensian grotesques" rather than monsters
― the Joao looked at Jonny (Noodle Vague), Monday, 13 August 2018 12:31 (five years ago) link
That would surely have been more accurate but to me at the time they seemed more terrifying and unbeatable than that - particularly in the context of nukes obv.
― Tim, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:49 (five years ago) link
what is the etymology of 'big beasts' used in this particular context? most of the earliest references I can find are to Michael Heseltine and are riffing on the 'tarzan' nickname, but does it go further back?
― soref, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:53 (five years ago) link
I don't know but when I first became aware of the phrase (ISTR in relation to Heseltine but that's not a reliable memory) it always seemed to be prefixed with the word "lumbering".
― Tim, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:56 (five years ago) link
Rhodes-Boyson and Tebbit always reminded me of baddies out of Oliver Twist, these fuckers had their own phenotype
― the Joao looked at Jonny (Noodle Vague), Monday, 13 August 2018 12:56 (five years ago) link
as a tru 80s kid i (...) wd've probably used the phrase "Dickensian grotesques" rather than monsters
https://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/nevermind_nathan_fillion.gif
― mark s, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:56 (five years ago) link
precocious 15 year-old literature boy? absolutely
― the Joao looked at Jonny (Noodle Vague), Monday, 13 August 2018 12:57 (five years ago) link
'the political jungle' is obv a metaphor that goes a long way back, but I feel like 'big beasts' is a more recent thing
the UK political jungle circa 1985:
https://i.imgur.com/RyApXH2.png
― soref, Monday, 13 August 2018 12:58 (five years ago) link
also wrote lists of bad puns of their names on the cover of my school rough book
― the Joao looked at Jonny (Noodle Vague), Monday, 13 August 2018 12:59 (five years ago) link
i remember looking this up the first time this discussion was had (discussion = "gove is NOT a big beast how can we nail this down", this = when "big beast" first used in this sense)
sadly i can't remember what i googled or what the conclusion was, and am having no luck now
― mark s, Monday, 13 August 2018 13:04 (five years ago) link
i'm p sure it was used in the 80s tho
― mark s, Monday, 13 August 2018 13:06 (five years ago) link
Partridge's dictionary of slang has the phrase first noted in the year 2000 but that seems to recent to me also.
― Tim, Monday, 13 August 2018 13:12 (five years ago) link
he writes a lot of really shit, myopically smug, London-centric opinion pieces, i don't see why he'd be any better on neurodiversity
― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 19 August 2018 13:01 (five years ago) link
he's fine.
― Britain's Sexiest Cow (jed_), Sunday, 19 August 2018 13:08 (five years ago) link
(when he's slipped on a dog shit and broke both of his ankles) he's fine with me as well!
― calzino, Sunday, 19 August 2018 13:14 (five years ago) link
would anyone care to change their vote
― PPL+AI=NS (imago), Thursday, 21 March 2019 14:40 (five years ago) link
she's next-levelled this
― Helel Cool J (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 21 March 2019 15:27 (five years ago) link
Proud member of the OG8 here, not changing now of course.I have zero respect for Boris, but not sure how he could possibly have done a worse job. Not sure how any living organism on the planet could have done a worse job.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 21 March 2019 15:38 (five years ago) link
Then again, if MPs shit themselves into passing her deal at the 11th hour, she'll be the new Robert the Bruce spider for centuries to come
― Alba, Thursday, 21 March 2019 16:36 (five years ago) link
NB I don't think this is very likely
― Alba, Thursday, 21 March 2019 16:37 (five years ago) link