back to article Shocker: Computer science graduate wins a top UK political job

David Davis MP today becomes the highest-achieving computer science graduate in British politics. Strictly speaking, Davis graduate with a BSc in “Molecular Science/Computer Science” in 1971 from the University of Warwick. He is now the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU (or “SSEE-U”), a freshly-minted post. Davis later …

  1. Unep Eurobats

    Let's hope for some logical thinking

    David Davies has a reputation for being on the far right of the Tory party. But admirably his was one of the few voices raised against 90-day detention without charge when attempts were made to introduce it a few years ago.

    1. kmac499

      Re: Let's hope for some logical thinking

      Hope so. I've always thought that PPE is basically General Studies for posh people.

      1. nijam Silver badge

        Re: Let's hope for some logical thinking

        > ... PPE is basically General Studies ...

        Not even that.

        PPE is a posh way of saying "opinions". As in "They all studied opinions at Oxford."

    2. John Smith 19 Gold badge

      "But admirably his was one of the few voices raised against 90-day detention "

      I think you'll find he was against ID cards and the various incarnations of the Snoopers Charter.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "But admirably his was one of the few voices raised against 90-day detention "

        Clearly this man cannot be allowed anywhere near the Home Office where data interception and retention must be pursued with the Blunkettian zeal of the truly ignorant.

      2. Sam Haine

        Re: "But admirably his was one of the few voices raised against 90-day detention "

        He's also offered well-reasoned arguments for more effective oversight of the security services.

    3. M man

      Re: Let's hope for some logical thinking

      David davis is a True Liberal.

      Both in markets...(making him far right)

      and Rights...(which is why he voted againts 90 days)

      So not at all unexpected

  2. Oor Nonny-Muss
    Facepalm

    He doesn't seem to grasp that trade with the EU not possible on a bilateral basis with each member...

    https://twitter.com/DavidDavisMP/status/735770127564607489

    https://twitter.com/DavidDavisMP/status/735770165510430721

    https://twitter.com/DavidDavisMP/status/735770216727121920

    So a perfect candidate for Brexit Minister.

    1. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Two World Wars and One World Cup, Brexit, Brexit

      His statements do fit with leavers' views that this was some sort of war which they have won and a belief that we now get to set the rules everyone will play by.

      Leavers seem to be expecting Merkel and friends to admit they were wrong, Brits are right, the EU project was all a huge mistake, they are ever so sorry about that, and will now do everything Britain asks.

      The Empire may have gone but our arrogance and supremacism never left us.

      1. YARR

        @ Jason Bloomberg

        "His statements do fit with leavers' views that this was some sort of war which they have won and a belief that we now get to set the rules everyone will play by."

        Brexit is part of a struggle for freedom against the globalists who favour ever greater centralisation of power (in their hands). The EU is in constant consultation with corporate lobbyists, while the only people answerable to the electorate (MEPs) have no power to propose or repeal laws.

        Please cite a reference for your claim that "leave" believes it can "set the rules everyone will play by".

        An independent nation decides for itself - if the deal on offer is not good enough for us then we don't accept it. This is something we can't do in the EU.

        Look at China - it has just ignored the Hague's verdict on it's sovereignty over the south China sea.

        "Leavers seem to be expecting Merkel and friends to admit they were wrong, Brits are right, the EU project was all a huge mistake, they are ever so sorry about that, and will now do everything Britain asks."

        Do you cite any evidence for this? Why would Brits blame Merkel rather than the EU?

        Why would "leavers" think "Brits are right" when it was our own politicians that signed us up to the EU?

        The EU isn't a mistake - it's a deliberate deceptive project to create a superstate and disempower the electorate.

        The EU already made it clear pre-Brexit that it was no longer open to concessions with Britain, so all those saying we could "change it from within" were wrong - we've had decades to do that and little has changed.

        "The Empire may have gone but our arrogance and supremacism never left us."

        Speak for yourself - the reality is the opposite of your view: "independence" means rightfully taking power back. The EU now behaves like an empire - ruling over it's subordinate nations and robbing them of their former sovereignty.

    2. TitterYeNot

      "He doesn't seem to grasp that trade with the EU not possible on a bilateral basis with each member..."

      Yes that does seem more than a little puzzling, but then again he was Minister of State for Europe at one point, so I suspect he's more au fait with the behind-the-scenes horse trading that goes on in the EU than most of us.

    3. Triggerfish

      I suspect fit's in with another aspect of a leave campaigner. Says a lot, but when it comes to putting money where the mouth is won't deliver. Still at least he is not putting on his running shoes just yet.

  3. Lxbr

    David Davis vs. David Davies

    It's easy to get mixed up between David Davis MP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Davis_(British_politician) or http://www.daviddavismp.com/

    and David Davies MP

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Davies_(Welsh_politician) or http://www.david-davies.org.uk/

    - the article has the bio correct for Davis (Univ. Warwick, now Secretary of State for Brexit - also ex-21 SAS Territorial interestingly), but you have spelt it Davies, which is wrong.

    As far as his politics goes, he has more in common with the right wing of the Tory party than any other part, and he has been a Eurosceptic for years before Brexit made it fashionable (which puts him on the right for Tories). However he has not gone with the right wing on many topics such as privacy and surveillance, torture and rendition, and at least some aspects of human rights legislation. You might say he is on the "libertarian right" rather than the "authoritarian right" though I'm not sure that is an accurate reflection of his positions.

    1. Sandtitz Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: David Davis vs. David Davies

      "You might say he is on the "libertarian right" rather than the "authoritarian right" though I'm not sure that is an accurate reflection of his positions."

      So is he Chaotic Good or Lawful Evil then?

    2. Havin_it

      Re: David Davis vs. David Davies

      >he has been a Eurosceptic for years before Brexit made it fashionable

      You mean he's a Euroskeptic AND a hipster?

      #WurrDoomed

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sadly he's only been promoted so he can take the blame for Brexit and stop being a thorn in Theresa May's side.

    1. David Pollard

      He may well turn out be a good man for the job. His opposition to increased state surveillance convinced me that he was better than many in Westmister. And you don't have to be right wing to appreciate reasonable privacy.

      1. Mark 85

        His opposition to increased state surveillance convinced me that he was better than many in Westmister

        Maybe that's why he got the job? Promote him out of the "resistance".

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge

      I bet BoJo will get fired first.

      1. Triggerfish

        @Dan 55

        Jeez after hearing his appointment this morning. I am wondering when they are going to put Rolf Harris in charge of minister for children.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @Dan 55

          That would be too obvious even for Westminster.

      2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        "I bet BoJo will get fired first."

        BoJo is there to cause a distraction while May entrenches in her new position and rushes the Snoopers Charter through.

    3. Mike Green

      I see that too. He actually understands a lot of the issues around the internet and surveillance, so obviously voted against any government's land grab there (which would have included Mrs May's grabs). I think this is a way to sabotage his future career.

  5. Pen-y-gors

    What about me?

    I passed second year Comp Sci and made it to Chairman of the parish council!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What about me?

      I did a CompSci+SoftEng degree and made it all the way to Second Deputy Cabinet Assistant for Environmental Services on my local council (I made sure crematoriums functioned and food shops didn't have too many rats) before I was eased out in favour of a trainee lawyer with diploma in "leadership", then a social justice accountant, and a social worker.

  6. Tom 7

    But he has an MBA

    that means he can only us write only memory.

  7. John Robson Silver badge

    Er - why

    is EU hyphenated in the new acronym... As one of the few bits that's actually a common acronym shouldn't it remain?

    1. tfewster

      Re: Er - why

      SSEE-U ="see you"?

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Er - why

      "is EU hyphenated in the new acronym... As one of the few bits that's actually a common acronym shouldn't it remain?"

      No, remain lost the vote.

  8. disgruntled yank

    Meh.

    Economics, I can't say. As for philosophers and politics, the track record was never great, was it? Plato went off to advice a Silician tyrant and ended up in jail. Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great, and then, some said, connived in his poisoning.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Meh.

      And Socrates was executed for attempting to persuade the children of the rich to overthrow democracy (though they hoped he'd sneak away somewhere else and perhaps wreck their government.) Hobbes supported statism, Hegel practically worshipped the State. Hume was pretty good and so widely ignored, Adam Smith was good but, as with Jesus, someone promptly founded an institute to misrepresent his ideas. Let's not talk about Marx because I suspect that they don't at Oxford, or people like Cameron might not be so misinformed about Marxism.

  9. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Highest achiever

    "David Davis MP today becomes the highest-achieving computer science graduate in British politics."

    should read

    "David Davis MP today becomes the highest-achieving politician in a worthwhile subject"

    TFTFY

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Highest achiever

      "David Davis MP today becomes the highest-achieving politician in a worthwhile subject"

      I'm trying to parse this. Do you mean Brexit minister is a higher achievement than PM or that chemistry isn't a worthwhile subject?

    2. Fink-Nottle

      Re: Highest achiever

      or perhaps

      "David Davis MP today achieves depths of depravity unusual even for a computer science graduate."

    3. Daniel von Asmuth
      Boffin

      What about his policitcal views?

      Which party does he support? Microsoft, Google, IBM, Apple or Unix? For which programming language did he voite?

      1. Solmyr ibn Wali Barad

        Re: What about his political views?

        And now the most crucial question - Emacs or vi?

        1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge
          Mushroom

          Re: What about his political views?

          > And now the most crucial question - Emacs or vi?

          That's easy to answer. Vi. Emacs users are barely-literate offspring of a depraved goat who was suprised one night by the Great Cthulu..

  10. jzl

    Ideological Numpty

    David Davis is a paranoid intellectual featherweight who's spent too much time reading Ayn Rand.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: Ideological Numpty

      While I don't agree with him on most issues, I can at least listen to him. Which is more than be said about the rest of the cabinet: Liam Fox, FFS.

      1. albaleo

        Liam Fox, FFS

        See title. Worth repeating.

  11. theModge

    PPE in PPE

    You're all missing the real point: some one has created a twitter account dedicated to graduates of PPE, wearing PPE. This is possibly the most amuse thing I've heard since someone said BoJo was in charge of the foreign office....

    1. foo_bar_baz
      Mushroom

      Re: PPE in PPE

      It was amusing at first, but then it became a repugnant overload of silver spoon theoreticians in working man's clothes. The one with the drill really took the prize.

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: PPE in PPE

        Are you saying the FCO isn't a repugnant overload of silver spoon theoreticians?

    2. Vic

      Re: PPE in PPE

      This is possibly the most amuse thing I've heard since someone said BoJo was in charge of the foreign office....

      It's a temporary situation, caused by a mis-communication.

      What May actually said was "tell Boris to FO".

      Vic.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @Vic "I want to believe"

        Can I come and play in your reality? Mine is getting depressing

  12. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

    Getting a degree in PPE should

    automatically disqualify you from even standing for election as an MP for 25 years after graduation. Perhaps the intervening years might enable the PPE grads to get even a cursory understading of the real world. viz, get a real fucking job like the rest of us plebs.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As usual, when there's s**t to shovel...

    ... it's down to the computer guy.

  14. John Lilburne

    Was it at Warwick that he learnt the art ...

    ... of throwing ones toys out of the pram,

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7450627.stm

    from one of the lecturers?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_Greer

    1. CAPS LOCK

      Germaine Greer you say...

      ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywl0QrK3C68

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Was it at Warwick that he learnt the art ...

      42 days detention for terrorism suspects was defeated and withdrawn by the then Labour government so good on him for helping to bring that about.

      It is now down to 14 days, still a long time compared to other Western countries.

  15. foo_bar_baz
    Trollface

    Looking into my crystal ball ...

    I predict he's going to resign for a suitably respectable reason within the year.

  16. bob, mon!
    Paris Hilton

    "Two post-war Prime Ministers ..."

    Which war are you posting? The Great War, WWII, Vietnam, the Falklands, Iraq 1, Afghanistan, Iraq 2, some other war I've overlooked...?

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: "Two post-war Prime Ministers ..."

      The War on Drugs, The War on Terror...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Two post-war Prime Ministers ..."

      Officially, the last time the UK declared war was WW2*, so I presume that's what they meant.

      * Can't we all just agree that Roman numerals are fucking shit and there's no good reason to use them?

  17. foo_bar_baz
    Thumb Up

    SSEE-U

    Got to love England, exemplary wit and punning, all the way from the top.

    1. Stoke the atom furnaces

      Re: SSEE-U

      I thought the SSEE-U was the 'Sexit'

  18. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    I'd have prefered him in Amber Rudd's job.

    Then he might have asked the assorted data fetishists in her department WTF their problem is.

  19. oxfordmale78

    Somewhat ironic that a computer science graduate will have to sort out the infinite recursion of "Brexit" is "Brexit", hopefully well before it reaches a stack overflow.

  20. Stork Silver badge

    In a way I find it a fair choice - if you are so keen on Brexit, you get to do the deals.

    The shock to me is that BoJo can get any job in politics*). Fired from the Times for making up quotations. Hired by the Telegraph, spends a couple of decades making up stories about EU, in addition to insulting seemingly everybody of importance around the World. Campaigns for Brexit (while continuing fabricating stories) and when he wins, he shows no plan of what to do and no guts to take on the job. What a w@nker!

    After the last UK government, I would be very reluctant to hire Old Etonians for anything.

    *) Politics: From Greek Poli (or Poly), many; and tics, small bloodsucking animals.

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Quite. He must have insulted each and every one he'll now has to negotiate with at least once in the past. The first meetings should be interesting.

  21. energystar
    Holmes

    Nations going the nerdy way.

    Nations going the nerdy way. Lacking nerdy high appointments. Even lacking nerdy assessors.

  22. Stoke the atom furnaces

    James Callaghan

    James Callaghan did pass the Oxford University entrance exam, but coming from working class Portsmouth was too poor to take up his place.

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