They did not know how to attend

They were impossible pupils, and did not know how to attend. He thought they were obstinate. The truth was they lacked the will-power to become attentive. Such boys are wrongly regarded as stupid. They are, on the contrary, wide awake. Their thoughts are concerned with realities, and they seem already to have seen through the absurdity of the subjects they are taught. Many of them became useful citizens when they grew up, and many more would have become so if they had not been compelled by their parents to do violence to their natures and to continue their studies.

August Strindberg – The Son of a Servant (1886 - 1909)


Perhaps political rhetoric is now too boring for the majority to be paying attention to current affairs. Ed Davey is one piece of evidence for this. He manages to be boring even when he’s making a fool of himself with his stunts.

Sir Keir Thingy is another piece of evidence, a political persona obviously designed to be excruciatingly boring. Nothing about him demands attention. He never says anything which attracts attention, never does anything, never is anything. It’s deliberate too, he obviously went to a Taylor Swift binge in order to polish his boredom credentials.

Can’t remember the other chap – Rishi Starmak? Is he still Prime Minister? I think so.

Maybe that’s why the establishment loathes Nigel Farage – he isn't playing the game properly, he isn’t boring.