Best Of

OMG, this site really has become the bitchy centrist left wing dads club! You really cannot admit it, Kemi Badenoch who you had all written off and ditched has grown into the role of a strong Leader of the Opposition and she is currently knocking it out of the park in the House of Commons and enjoying it while she rips Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves a new one every week!

Her own backbenchers were chanting more yesterday at PMQs. A few months ago she quietly reorgnanised her back room team and the results speak for themselves. TSE talks about his Conservative Westminster mole who clearly does not like her and who has continually briefed against her very negatively, but that does not mean they are going to recognise the very clear shift in opinion among both the lobby and the electorate as a result in the last few weeks.

Kemi took on the toughest gig in politics when she became the leader of the Conservative party after the last GE, no one wanted to give the party a hearing never mind a favourable nod over the last year, but here we are with her setting the political agenda and all over the media with Farage and Reform nowhere to be seen for the first time in a nearly a year. No wonder Farage has panicked and is now aiming his guns at Kemi Badenoch and the Conservative party right now instead of the incumbent and failing Labour party, but he and his party has stalled in the polls and are now going backwards. Hence the yeah, but no, but yeah but no briefings about a future pact with the Conservatives but only in a deal that subjugates them into the junior partners.

By the way, where has Farage been in recent weeks, and apart from his week day show on GB news...?

Great thread on AI and writing and being an editor in the 2020s.



"...The whole thing frigid as a robot's bare metal arsecheek."

https://bsky.app/profile/marrrtha.bsky.social/post/3m75qij6j7c26

'I feel pissed off that my years of editorial experience and genuine, lifelong enthusiasm for the work is being channelled into a new role as a professional fluffer for a large-language model.'

I've retired from translation as most of the work is now done by AI, leaving mainly translations that need a poorly-paid once-over. I'm not really complaining, as AI does a decent job of it, as good or better than most human efforts (my only criticism is that it doesn't flag up when it just skips a few words), but it's made me think hard before advising step-grandchildren on university courses - if I was 35 and suddenly 90% of my work disappeared, I'd be dismayed. It may be that trades involving manual work are actually a better career bet financially than borrowing £30K for most academic subjects at university?

New: Former Conservative donor Christopher Harborne has given Reform UK £9 million.

It's the largest ever donation by any individual to any British political party, excluding money left in wills

https://x.com/hzeffman/status/1996496294404309410

Blimey.

Even if one believes that people are free to do what they like with their money, one individual dropping that much cash warps the game on a way that matters because it's not a game.

(Incidentally, got a paid-for mailshot from Reform recently. They're going big on crime and Khan, even though neither of those is really a borough issue.

There was a survey asking what sort of crime I was most concerned about. Sadly "taking bribes from hostile states" wasn't an option.)

FPT -

Live facial recognition cameras planned for every town centre
Labour proposals would allow police to compare photos of crime suspects against images of 45 million Britons in the passport database
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/12/04/live-facial-recognition-cameras-planned-for-every-town-cent/ (£££)

The Telegraph's front page lead. Older PBers will remember the trial rollout in August, which is technically not all that long ago. Still, David Lammy said he wants to speed up trials.

And it's not just the police: Other public bodies, beyond police, and private companies, such as retailers, could be allowed to use facial recognition technology under the new legal framework. But I expect there will be safeguards to stop it being misused to find runaways from domestic or sexual violence.

End of jury trials, digital services act, facial recognition, postponement of elections, “assisted” dying, 40-week abortions…

Is UK turning slowly into China?

Given the new Chinese Spy centre one can only assume the facial recognition technology is being rolled out for them. Classic Keir selling the country out and not even getting any belt & road money in return.

Suicide is the number one cause of death of young men in this country, but there is no safe and humane way of doing it. Driving people to obscene acts like jumping in front of trains, of off bridges, or causing horrific scenes for their loved ones to discover.

Nobody should be left to feel that a train, or similar, is their only way out.

If someone wants to die they should be offered support, eg Samaritans style, but if they have firmly made their mind up there should be a safer and more humane option than stepping in front of trains.

Assisted death should be an option to everyone who desires it, whatever their reasons. Their life, their choice.

The love of my life had terrible depression. One dark night - many years after we'd had to separate - she climbed up to the top of a cliff overlooking a disused quarry and threw herself to her death into the rancid water down below.

I often think how wretched that final walk must have been. In the dark. Bushes scratching. The wind.

So yeah - more mental health support and other options would be kinda good - male or female.

In response to others, and personal, here's why I support AD. My father was very active in his 80s - still tending his garden and allotment, socialising and so forth. But around 90 his body gave way. He had to leave his house, utter misery for him, and move to a care home. He was immobile and incontinent. He was as miserable as fuck. There was no prospect of recovery. But his brain was still absolutely fine. And he wanted to die, because the quality of his life was absolutely zero. He even asked us, his sons, to dispense with him. Of course we said no. So, he spent the last 2.5 years of his life, which had been absolutely splendid until then, in abject misery. For no good reason.

That sounds awful and I am sympathetic.

I am still opposed to the AD bill though. The safeguards against coercion by staff and/or relatives are not robust enough. A lot should be done to improve End of Life and palliative care first. This is a very valid alternative for many, and doesn't leave patients feeling coerced. I also make a distinction between assisted suicide and assisted dying, the latter requiring active medical intervention.

Bart is being a bigger idiot than usual. Suicide rarely occurs by rational decision in clear consciousness. Very often it is an impulsive act by those with treatable mental disorders.