# Rishi Sunak tries to lead the UK **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 24, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706 "2022-10-24T13:07:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/242 "2022-11-10T13:13:40Z")
Blair was advised by Clinton to get close to Bush and when US which was reeling from the 9/11 he offered wholehearted support as an ally. Following the US into Afghanistan and Iraq. This was a political decision Blair made as PM of the UK and it fitted in with his international policy of intervention. However….he had to persuade the rest of the country and Parliament that this was the best course of action. Blair used all of his considerable skills to manipulate the Parliamentary system. He knew he could not be blamed if he acted on the best advice of his intelligence services that there was a clear and present danger to UK interests and the advice of the government lawyers that the action was in their opinion legal. So Blair made sure the record showed he got that advice. We had the ‘dodgy dossier’, a report compiled by the intelligence services based on the reports of a handful of spies they had in Iraq. This was enhanced and ‘sexed up’ to suggest Saddam had his finger on the trigger of missiles, weapons of mass destruction deployable in 45mins aimed at UK bases in Cyprus. It was subsequently revealed after the invasion of Iraq that no such threat existed. It was fantasy. He took a similar approach to the legality of the war and managed to change the legal opinion on the matter given the governments official legal advisor. Blair later claimed he was surprised and astonished that the intelligence was quite wrong. The US and the UK knew perfectly well who was responsible for 9/11 and Saddam had nothing to do with it. But the neo-cons in the US were looking for a major military campaign as an excuse to raid the US cookie jar and they had Bush in their pocket. Blair was unfortunate. He was doing very well until 9/11 forced him down a very difficult path during which he pretty much sacrificed his principles for a political objective of maintaining the close alliance with the US. If he had made a stand (as the French did) he would have had to suffer the strategic political consequences. The UK was ,and is still us, dependent, on the US for nuclear submarine missile systems. The alliance with the US in facing off continental threats dates from WW2 was crucial to victory. That alliance continued during the Cold War in the uneasy balance of power with the Soviets. I can see why Blair did what he did. It was Realpolitik. Sometimes it throws a wild card and all your carefully laid out plans for improving your country are up in the air by sudden events happening overseas. You have to come up with a plan very quickly and stick to it. Sometimes that leads to very difficult decisions. Blair is judged very harshly, especially by the left wing of his party. Blair was one of the most successful PMs. He and Brown can be credited with a lot of achievements. Unlike the subsequent Conservative governments who seem to have done little but squabble amongst themselves and lead the country over an economic cliff edge. The UK and France pay top dollar to maintain a fleet of nuclear power stations and thereby the expertise to also handle nuclear defence. Nukes are a trump card, an insurance policy. Ukraine gave them up and look what happened…They are, however, hideously expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/243 "2022-11-10T18:34:40Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This is one of my favorite Malcolm Tucker moments: > > [https://youtu.be/\_iHF3TH0WNc](https://youtu.be/_iHF3TH0WNc) Love it! Worst. Movie plot description. _Ever_. > [@filmstar-en](#): > > …The UK and France pay top dollar to maintain a fleet of nuclear power stations and thereby the expertise to also handle nuclear defence… Submarines, not stations. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/244 "2022-11-10T18:44:56Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Love it! Worst. Movie plot description. _Ever_. Ya mean, the _best_! I’d go see that movie much more eagerly than I will go to see the next official Star Wars movie. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/245 "2022-11-10T19:45:24Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Did someone already post this? Malcolm Tucker versus Liz Truss Yeah, but…video of Liz Truss. Too soon. Still too soon. j ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/246 "2022-11-10T19:57:10Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Submarines, not stations. Actually I meant stations, but maybe the collective noun should have been chain. The UK and France have a nuclear power industries that defy rational economics. They do not go for factory made, smaller, efficient PWR reactors. Instead they have their own designs (such as the Uk AGR) that require huge subsidy. The UK has also gone into nuclear waste processing business. The huge costs associated with these power stations and the skills to design them are tolerated in order to maintain a domestic expertise in nuclear engineering that can be applied to defence projects. The current UK energy policy is to invest in nuclear power and wind farms. The nuclear option is hugely expensive for unique designs that look as though they are going to break the bank. There is an element of cross subsidy with defence going on here. Easier to disguise the big bill for maintaining a nuclear weapons capability. Electricity consumers in the UK and France are picking up the tab. Eventually it will become too expensive for either countries economy to bear. But the consequences of not having a nuclear defence capability have never been clearer. The world is still a dangerous place and the threat to Europe from and expansionist Russia is the stuff of nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/247 "2022-11-10T20:01:53Z")
> [@filmstar-en](#): > > the threat to Europe from and expansionist Russia is the stuff of nightmares. As others have said, Putin is the best recruiter for NATO imaginable. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/248 "2022-11-20T17:04:25Z")
This is as good a place as any to post this - it’s from a week or so ago, but was alluded to on this week’s QI. > **[Social workers told not to ask dementia patients who PM is due to turnaround](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/social-workers-told-not-ask-28471033)** > > Social workers were warned during training sessions to refrain from asking dementia patients who the current Prime Minister is due to the high turnaround of leaders amid Tory turmoil > Social workers may stop asking dementia patients who the Prime Minister is in memory tests due to the high turnaround at Number 10. > > After three leaders in four months, it was felt the question was unfair as those without the disease may also struggle to name the current leader amid the Tory turmoil. > > Warnings were given in a training session for social workers about dementia patients in Derbyshire last week. As background, The Mirror is a left leaning popular newspaper, but doesn’t have a reputation for fabricating stories. I’m inclined to think it’s true, but perhaps not general policy (yet). j ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/249 "2022-11-20T18:19:23Z")
Assuming it’s true (and it certainly sounds plausible), that seems a sound medical policy decision based on messy current events beyond their influence, much less control. Which raises the question of “What’s a decent replacement question?” If the goal is to test for some basic awareness of high-level current events and also that the person is aware of the difference between present and past, what universally recognizable personality or factoid fills the bill? 1. Who is the current Monarch? 2. Who is the current Prime Minister? 3. Is the UK a member of the EU? All questions no longer as useful as they once were. A challenge to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/250 "2022-11-20T19:10:47Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > All questions no longer as useful as they once were. A challenge to be sure. Has “Who is the current Monarch” been useful in this role for a while? I mean, Elizabeth reigned for 70 years, you could have been born, lived your whole life, developed dementia, and died - all during her reign. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/251 "2022-11-20T20:54:46Z")
Actually, I’ve been saying for some time that I live in dread of being tested for dementia. Prime Minister? Errr… To make matters worse, I’m retired. Day of the week? Ummm… j ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/252 "2022-11-20T21:56:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > 1. Who is the current Monarch? > 2. Who is the current Prime Minister? > 3. Is the UK a member of the EU? > > All questions no longer as useful as they once were. A challenge to be sure. Could be replaced with “Which political party is formed entirely of gormless idjits?” ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/253 "2022-11-20T22:12:20Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Could be replaced with “Which political party is formed entirely of gormless idjits?” And any answer is correct! (Also useful for multiple countries outside the UK.) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2022, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/254 "2022-11-21T12:17:47Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Actually, I’ve been saying for some time that I live in dread of being tested for dementia. Prime Minister? Errr… I can easily imagine Liz Truss falling into the (?apocryphal) trap of the politician doing a photo-opp call on a care home, and asking one resident “Now, you know who I am, I’m sure?” and getting the reply “I’m afraid not, but Matron will be along in a minute and she’ll tell you”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/255 "2022-11-21T21:04:17Z")
Heh. In the early 1950s, when Italian politics were notorious for their upheavals and instability, this joke made the rounds: Two Italian MPs are sitting on the back benches, very bored, as a parliamentary debate drones on around them. One says, “I think I’ll take a little nap, Paolo.” The other nods. “Of course, Giorgio.” Awhile later, Giorgio wakes up, looks at the clock and is surprised to see that nearly an hour has passed. He stretches and yawns. “Did I miss anything, Paolo?” he asks his seatmate. “Not much,” the other man says. “But you were Prime Minister twice.” ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/256 "2022-11-23T18:33:15Z")
Braverman is causing me physical pain in the embarrassment. I’m going to need an operation. Send help. > **[What safe and legal routes are there to the UK?](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-politics-63734011)** > > Home Secretary Suella Braverman is quizzed in a committee appearance on UK immigration policy. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/257 "2022-11-29T18:14:01Z")
Look, if foreigners wanted to live here, they should have arrived the safe and legal way: via a British woman’s vagina. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/258 "2022-12-29T03:10:27Z")
Shocking News! > **[No 10 ‘concerned’ MPs engaged in ‘sex and heavy drinking’ on trips abroad](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/28/no-10-concerned-mps-engaged-in-sex-and-heavy-drinking-on-trips-abroad)** > > Downing Street says reports of raucous behaviour of all-party trips are a matter for parliament ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/259 "2022-12-29T03:18:15Z")
Really… I mean, it’s to the point that this strikes me as the most unsurprising kind of shenanigans that would arise in such circumstances. Be it UK MPs or US Congress Members. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2023, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/260 "2023-01-03T10:47:59Z")
Video evidence just released: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/H-aibUV-Ltg/maxresdefault.jpg "Getting Drunk at The Official Meeting | Yes Minister | BBC Comedy Greats") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-aibUV-Ltg) ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706/261 "2023-01-10T16:03:09Z")
Boris Johnson has been erased from history. > > > Christina McSorley @ChristinaMcS [![](https://www.historynet.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Image-1.jpeg) ](https://www.historynet.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Image-1.jpeg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rishi-sunak-tries-to-lead-the-uk/973706.md?page=14)