Alan John Phillips
28.9K posts
@cardman81
Was married to Christine for 63yrs, lost her in June '22 A dedicated Pompey supporter since 1947, Original share holder in PST. Collector of Emsworth postcards.
Exclusive interview with Kemi Badenoch * Nigel Farage is more Viktor Orban than Margaret Thatcher: 'Nigel Farage wants more government: talking about nationalising oil and gas [Reform has proposed taxpayer equity stakes in oil and gas ventures]. He wants to nationalise steel. That’s not what a centre right government does. It’s just big state populism. It’s more [Viktor] Orban than Thatcher' * On feeling sorry for Keir Starmer: 'I feel very sorry for the guy because clearly he’s in over his head. I do honestly feel sorry for him because I’ve got a job to do holding him to account. 'I watch him make mistakes and I just think, ‘Oh my God.’ There are times at PMQs where my team were all thinking we can’t believe he walked into that. He walks into traps because he doesn’t know what he stands for, what he believes' * On Starmer's character: 'What we have at the moment is vibes in a suit. The reason why Keir Starmer is prime minister is because he could comb his hair and wear a suit and tie so he looked better than Jeremy Corbyn and Rebecca Long-Bailey and all those people. It’s all vibes and dull, serious vibes, but the substance is just not there. He doesn’t know what he believes.” * On the local elections, which could see Tories lose 1,000 seats: 'There were seats that we probably should never have won, which we won in the first place, but even in normal times we’d be losing them. We just have to recognise that. I think this is the final election where we’re burning out the historic highs.' * On Michael Gove: 'I don’t call him for advice. That’s also partly because quite a lot of the things he did are things I’m having to reverse now. The renters rights stuff is causing a disaster for landlords. I argued with him about it at the time. I want people to know this is a new Conservative party under new leadership' * On taking advice from David Cameron and Iain Duncan Smith: 'We’re all a family and we like each other, we talk to each other, and I think that’s important. I think I would be doing the country and the party a disservice if I was just relying on what was in my head.' * On PMQs: 'A former chancellor once said to me that it’s kill or be killed,” she says. “I think that’s probably a bit strong, but I know I have to stand my ground. To be a leader of this country you have to be strong. You cannot show weakness because other countries see it, other countries smell it. That’s what worries me about Keir Starmer. He thinks that being nice means that other people will be nice to you.' * On enjoying the job: 'I was telling someone the other day how much I’m enjoying the job. Everyone told me this is the worst job in politics, it’s going to be absolutely terrible, and I’m loving it. Because we’re doing it in the right order it’s all coming together and that makes me happy, it makes my backbenchers happy.” * On Samantha Niblett's Summer of Sex campaign': 'Last week, we had a very silly woman who wants a summer of sex. It’s just not serious, showing people how to masturbate and dildos. This is not what legislators are there for.' thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
Be proud - fly the flag 🏴
Our AUKUS partnership is securing £2.4 billion and creating 21,000 jobs for the UK. 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇺🇸 In Adelaide, Australia, I saw where Brits will help to build a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy that will keep both of our nations safe for decades to come.
