Badenoch's (Lack Of) Vision Quest

[briantrumpet]

Oops.

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...mi-badenochs-claim-of-us-medical-school-offer

Jon Reider, the Stanford admissions officer at the time of Badenoch’s application who was responsible for international students and the allocation of bursaries, said he would have been responsible for offering Badenoch a place and had not done so. Badenoch moved to the UK from Nigeria aged 16.

“Although 30 years have passed, I would definitely remember if we had admitted a Nigerian student with any financial aid. The answer is that we did not do so,” he said.

Reider said he had admitted a few students based in Africa during that period but not from Nigeria. “I assure you that we would not have admitted a student based on test scores alone, nor would we have mailed an invitation to apply to any overseas students based on test scores,” he said.

 

[Pross]

Well she can say goodbye to any youth voters. They have the biggest stake in the environment,

Following Trump “drill baby drill” just shows a lack of leadership and planning.

My guess is that she is really saying this for the attention because she is getting left behind.

You would think Farage is leader of the opposition the way things are at present. Labour and the Tories are putting everything into fighting the threat from him and neither are putting together policies of their own that aren’t knee jerk reactions

 

[Psamathe]

Oh dear

Doubts cast on Kemi Badenoch’s claim of US medical school offer
Doubts have surfaced over Kemi Badenoch’s claim to have been offered a place at a prestigious US medical school at 16, with admissions staff unable to recall the proposal and the university not providing the course.

The Conservative leader has said in interviews that she was offered a place and a partial scholarship to study medicine – sometimes describing it as pre-medicine – at Stanford University in California, one of the most competitive in the US.

However, medicine is only offered to graduates at Stanford and there is no pre-med degree.

(My bold) so she's claiming she was offered a place and (partial) scholarship on a course that does not exist ...

Edit: Duplicate issue raised above by Brian that I missed. My ooops.

 

[briantrumpet]

This is a long but very good nuanced piece from Peter Kellner about a possibly way ahead for the Tories.

https://kellnerp.substack.com/p/how-the-tories-can-avoid-the-abyss

tl;dr - it rejects the chasing the Reform vote as a way of saving the party.

For Reform to fail, its opponents must break the link between the politics of nationalism and the challenges of everyday life. Part of this should be achievable. Brexit has failed. By a big and sustained margin, voters now think we were wrong to leave the EU. Like almost all serious economists they think we are worse off as a result. Majorities back lowering the barriers to trade, working closely with the EU countries on science and defence, and welcoming European doctors and nurses to British hospitals and students to British universities.

For the time being, rejoining the EU is off the agenda, so it should be possible to have an adult debate about how to work pragmatically with Brussels. That is not the kind of debate that Farage wants. No wonder he has pretty well stopped talking about Brexit. By moderating their stance on the EU, the Conservatives could link their pragmatism to more day-to-day issues and start to revive their lost reputation for the competent management of Britain’s economic and social prospects.

The Conservatives’ best hope is for Labour’s policies on boats, hotels and immigration generally to be seen to work. This would do more than anything else to burst the Reform bubble. It would also allow the Tories to reject the ugly simplicity of scapegoating immigrants as a whole, and to set out a strategy for positively welcoming the newcomers we need, while keeping out those we don’t want.

Among other things, this would help the Conservatives to restore their reputation for sound economic management. As the IMF, OECD and even the Bank of England say, countries such as ours need more workers, not just to keep hospitals, restaurants, bars and much of industry functioning, but to grow our economy and generate the tax revenues we shall need to sustain a civilised society.

 

[briantrumpet]

Oh dear

(My bold) so she's claiming she was offered a place and (partial) scholarship on a course that does not exist ...

As per my sharing of the Graun article.

It's bizarre why she should make such claims that can be refuted, not least as it again draws attention to the mismatch between her academic achievement and her own opinion of her ability.

 

[Psamathe]

This is a long but very good nuanced piece from Peter Kellner about a possibly way ahead for the Tories.

https://kellnerp.substack.com/p/how-the-tories-can-avoid-the-abyss

tl;dr - it rejects the chasing the Reform vote as a way of saving the party.

Plus, if as Kellner suggests Labour do succeed on boats and immigration it not only takes the issue away from Reform/Farage but also allows the economy and taxation to take a much higher profile. Even by the next election my guess we'll still be at record or close to record (eg highest for <x> years) levels on taxation so Conservatives could use their reputation as a party of low taxation ... (not that I want the Conservatives to be elected but I guess "none of the above" becomes who is the least worst option and at the moment hard to see which that would be).

nb @briantrumpet - sorry I missed your Ms Badenoch's "medical studies offer" posting.

 

[bobzmyunkle]

Conservatives could use their reputation as a party of low taxation

They could, and it would be the job of the media to question that. Might happen, but probably not.
https://ifs.org.uk/publications/governments-record-tax-2010-24

 

[BoldonLad]

As per my sharing of the Graun article.

It's bizarre why she should make such claims that can be refuted, not least as it again draws attention to the mismatch between her academic achievement and her own opinion of her ability.

Assuming (yes, dangerous I know) that you are seeking of her ability as a Politician / Leader, is there necessarily a link between academic achievement and ability?

 

[Psamathe]

Assuming (yes, dangerous I know) that you are seeking of her ability as a Politician / Leader, is there necessarily a link between academic achievement and ability?

Maybe the link that if somebody is going to concoct a fiction to lie about their academic situation they should have the common sense to make sure their story is valid eg claiming to have been offered a scholarship at a prestigious establishment on a specific course maybe sensible to check that university actually offered the claimed course - which in this case they didn't.

So basing claims on untrue twaddle not a good indicator for solid leadership, concocting lies to mis-represent oneself not a good indication of reliable leadership, etc.

 

[briantrumpet]

Assuming (yes, dangerous I know) that you are seeking of her ability as a Politician / Leader, is there necessarily a link between academic achievement and ability?

I'd rather people leading us were honest about their own intellectual ability. Johnson was another: his use of cod Latin and bumbling using a few fancy words was supposed to hoodwink us into thinking he was some sort of genius. If people are going to brag about their academic prowess, they need to be prepared to be able to back that up or be called out on it.

John Major left school before he was 16, and has never felt the need to tell us what a genius he is. Happy to admit that I failed A-level maths, in case you ask.

 

[briantrumpet]

Plus, if as Kellner suggests Labour do succeed on boats and immigration it not only takes the issue away from Reform/Farage but also allows the economy and taxation to take a much higher profile. Even by the next election my guess we'll still be at record or close to record (eg highest for <x> years) levels on taxation so Conservatives could use their reputation as a party of low taxation ... (not that I want the Conservatives to be elected but I guess "none of the above" becomes who is the least worst option and at the moment hard to see which that would be).

nb @briantrumpet - sorry I missed your Ms Badenoch's "medical studies offer" posting.

Quite so. Not that I expect the Tories to follow Kellner's advice, given how far down the rabbit hole they've gone, but I think if they don't they'll be obliterated. I can't see them changing tack with Badenoch at the helm, given her lack of humility.

No worries about the Badenoch repetition.

 

[briantrumpet]

These are useful comments re Badenoch's claim & doubling down...

 

[Rusty Nails]

Maybe the link that if somebody is going to concoct a fiction to lie about their academic situation they should have the common sense to make sure their story is valid eg claiming to have been offered a scholarship at a prestigious establishment on a specific course maybe sensible to check that university actually offered the claimed course - which in this case they didn't.

So basing claims on untrue twaddle not a good indicator for solid leadership, concocting lies to mis-represent oneself not a good indication of reliable leadership, etc.

Tbf to Badenoch, and that is not easy for me, is her exaggerating her academic qualifications any worse than Reeves exaggerating her working roles?

I suspect that if we dug deeply into the history/CV of many people in public lives a lot of exaggeration would be found.


Not in my case I must emphasise as I was always scrupulously honest in my CVs and never gilded the lily nor polished a turd about my experience when applying for jobs

 

[BoldonLad]

Maybe the link that if somebody is going to concoct a fiction to lie about their academic situation they should have the common sense to make sure their story is valid eg claiming to have been offered a scholarship at a prestigious establishment on a specific course maybe sensible to check that university actually offered the claimed course - which in this case they didn't.

So basing claims on untrue twaddle not a good indicator for solid leadership, concocting lies to mis-represent oneself not a good indication of reliable leadership, etc.

I would agree, but, I wasn't commenting on Badenoch, I commenting on a perceived connection with Academic achievement and Political and/or leadership skills, in the post I commented on?

 

[BoldonLad]

I'd rather people leading us were honest about their own intellectual ability. Johnson was another: his use of cod Latin and bumbling using a few fancy words was supposed to hoodwink us into thinking he was some sort of genius. If people are going to brag about their academic prowess, they need to be prepared to be able to back that up or be called out on it.

John Major left school before he was 16, and has never felt the need to tell us what a genius he is. Happy to admit that I failed A-level maths, in case you ask.

Me too, to the bolded bit, but, that was not what I commented upon, in your original post.