Best Of

My guess is one of Trump's acolytes runs, not him, and then wins against a Democrat candidate that still doesn't get it.

Get what exactly?

Why they lost to Trump fair and square in 2024; it wasn't voter intimidation or ballot rigging that did it.

I don't doubt Trump will pull every lever he can to protect himself in office, or even try and find a way to stay in office, but it's much easier to deal with the fact he might be trying to stack the deck in his favour than engage with why they keep losing to him because that might require them to ask some very hard questions of themselves.

Control of social media outside of any spending limits was a serious factor in moving votes. Fair and square? Dunno. Maybe that is the new normal.

Elon Musk’s $44bn intervention definitely can’t be overlooked in the 2024 election result.

It meant that both parties’ activists had an online voice.

An equal voice? I'd dispute that.

Incredible really

Rachel Reeves was celebrating the renting law being expanded in her constituency, at the same time she was breaking that law with her own house👇

Claiming that she wasn’t aware of these laws is about as credible as her CV.

https://x.com/kemibadenoch/status/1983802829971100152?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

Claiming that she deliberately flouted the law is about as credible as Liz Truss.

Ignorance of the law is not a credible defence. She's an MP and should know better. Why is it that Labour MPs seem to think it's ok for them to be ignorant of the law.

Is that what they are saying ?
Or is it that she inadvertently breached the regulation, is taking steps to correct that, and that should (probably) be the end of the matter ?

As I commented on the last thread, assuming that Reeves is not a rogue landlord (which so far seems to be the case), and has in place gas and electric verification, EPC, etc, then it is ridiculous to be calling for her resignation.

The purpose of regulation is to ensure the safety of the property. It is not an end in itself, and to see an inadvertent breach of the rules, quickly rectified, as a resignation matter is effectively to say that regulation is indeed an end in itself.

Does the Tory party really want to take that stance, that regulation is an end in itself, and any technical breach should result in fines or criminal prosecution ?
If so, then the party is in a worse state than I thought.

Reeves and her party have enthusiastically extended the Process State.

My local council fined a lady several hundred pounds for putting out her recycling boxes too early. Which is “Fly Tipping”, apparently.

Until we impose the same on the politicians, they will do nothing about it.

How early is too early? Because an awful lot around here go out at lunchtime the day before. Especially now the nights are darker and wetter.

Sadly it's too simple to make accusations like this. Malmsbury should know better.

My bins go out before it gets dark the evening before. As our bin collectors come by 7am, it's too dark to put things out.

The lady in question was going on holiday. So she put her recycling bins out a bit before 24 hours before the collection. Something like 4 hours.

Only a jobsworth of the most fucking stupid kind would claim that three recycling boxes, provided by the fucking council, filled with the appropriate fucking recycling is fucking fly tipping.

The sane thing would be to put a piece of paper through the letter box saying please don’t.

Note that when I complained to the same council about a “builder”* who left multiple pallets of bricks completely blocking the pavement, for 5 days, I was told that they would do nothing.

So literal tons of bricks - nothing.
Council recycling boxes - massive fine

*obvious illegal operation

You don't need to swear

Yes, I do.

It’s exactly this kind of crap that makes people want to burn the system down.

And then they wonder why Reform is high in the polls.

Incredible really

Rachel Reeves was celebrating the renting law being expanded in her constituency, at the same time she was breaking that law with her own house👇

Claiming that she wasn’t aware of these laws is about as credible as her CV.

https://x.com/kemibadenoch/status/1983802829971100152?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

Claiming that she deliberately flouted the law is about as credible as Liz Truss.

Ignorance of the law is not a credible defence. She's an MP and should know better. Why is it that Labour MPs seem to think it's ok for them to be ignorant of the law.

Is that what they are saying ?
Or is it that she inadvertently breached the regulation, is taking steps to correct that, and that should (probably) be the end of the matter ?

As I commented on the last thread, assuming that Reeves is not a rogue landlord (which so far seems to be the case), and has in place gas and electric verification, EPC, etc, then it is ridiculous to be calling for her resignation.

The purpose of regulation is to ensure the safety of the property. It is not an end in itself, and to see an inadvertent breach of the rules, quickly rectified, as a resignation matter is effectively to say that regulation is indeed an end in itself.

Does the Tory party really want to take that stance, that regulation is an end in itself, and any technical breach should result in fines or criminal prosecution ?
If so, then the party is in a worse state than I thought.

Reeves and her party have enthusiastically extended the Process State.

My local council fined a lady several hundred pounds for putting out her recycling boxes too early. Which is “Fly Tipping”, apparently.

Until we impose the same on the politicians, they will do nothing about it.

How early is too early? Because an awful lot around here go out at lunchtime the day before. Especially now the nights are darker and wetter.

Sadly it's too simple to make accusations like this. Malmsbury should know better.

My bins go out before it gets dark the evening before. As our bin collectors come by 7am, it's too dark to put things out.

The lady in question was going on holiday. So she put her recycling bins out a bit before 24 hours before the collection. Something like 4 hours.

Only a jobsworth of the most fucking stupid kind would claim that three recycling boxes, provided by the fucking council, filled with the appropriate fucking recycling is fucking fly tipping.

The sane thing would be to put a piece of paper through the letter box saying please don’t.

Note that when I complained to the same council about a “builder”* who left multiple pallets of bricks completely blocking the pavement, for 5 days, I was told that they would do nothing.

So literal tons of bricks - nothing.
Council recycling boxes - massive fine

*obvious illegal operation

As I wrote above/below in almost every case like this you’ll find the enforcement has been outsourced to a company that happily goes after the easy cases (the law abiding person who is naive enough to give their name and address when stopped in the street after they've poured 1/4 a cup of coffee down the drain) but knows that chasing a dodgy builder is a hiding to nothing that won’t result in a profitable payout.

They’re not interesting in doing the hard cases that keep the public realm clear of chancers, because those cost money.

That reminds me of that council that recently decided to crack down on dangerous cycling by banning bicycles from the town centre, with the threat of heavy fines. The result was that the nuisance cyclists carried on as before because they were too hard to catch, but the little old ladies slowly and carefully pedalling their way to the shops were stopped and made to pay up.

Incredible really

Rachel Reeves was celebrating the renting law being expanded in her constituency, at the same time she was breaking that law with her own house👇

Claiming that she wasn’t aware of these laws is about as credible as her CV.

https://x.com/kemibadenoch/status/1983802829971100152?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

Claiming that she deliberately flouted the law is about as credible as Liz Truss.

Ignorance of the law is not a credible defence. She's an MP and should know better. Why is it that Labour MPs seem to think it's ok for them to be ignorant of the law.

Is that what they are saying ?
Or is it that she inadvertently breached the regulation, is taking steps to correct that, and that should (probably) be the end of the matter ?

As I commented on the last thread, assuming that Reeves is not a rogue landlord (which so far seems to be the case), and has in place gas and electric verification, EPC, etc, then it is ridiculous to be calling for her resignation.

The purpose of regulation is to ensure the safety of the property. It is not an end in itself, and to see an inadvertent breach of the rules, quickly rectified, as a resignation matter is effectively to say that regulation is indeed an end in itself.

Does the Tory party really want to take that stance, that regulation is an end in itself, and any technical breach should result in fines or criminal prosecution ?
If so, then the party is in a worse state than I thought.

I guess we just have to take her word for that her property was compliant given that she refused to get the licence. We have a recent example of a Labour MP being a slumlord so it's not beyond reasonable doubt that her property wasn't fully compliant.

But once again it's the hypocrisy of her campaigning for this type of landlord licencing in her own constituency then failing to get the licence that she campaigned to bring into place.

One rule for them and another for the rest of us. Two tier Keir all over again.

As I said, depressing that you're interested only in party politics.

Labour campaign for and introduce regulations for landlords including licencing (which I actuay agree with) and then their own chancellor falls foul of them. You can't see that this is a problem for them? Reeves has flouted the rules and should be punished for it.

But who the hell would know???

The right-wing witch hunt begins! Who the HELL would know you need a licence in certain areas?!
The agency is at fault here, as they should have ensured she had the required paperwork and licensing in place!

https://x.com/narindertweets/status/1983640251982868825?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

I have to admit I had never heard of the licence. Perhaps this is an England only rule?

It is done at council level.

Reeves has publicly supported this and voted in favour of the statutory framework under which it is done (IIRC).

Yes, but if a council adopts this but doesn't inform?

She was in favour of this stuff, when it was done to other people.

Shame she forgot it applies to her.

I must go and fire up the scanning electron microscope. So I can find my violin.

Incredible really

Rachel Reeves was celebrating the renting law being expanded in her constituency, at the same time she was breaking that law with her own house👇

Claiming that she wasn’t aware of these laws is about as credible as her CV.

https://x.com/kemibadenoch/status/1983802829971100152?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q

Claiming that she deliberately flouted the law is about as credible as Liz Truss.

Ignorance of the law is not a credible defence. She's an MP and should know better. Why is it that Labour MPs seem to think it's ok for them to be ignorant of the law.

Is that what they are saying ?
Or is it that she inadvertently breached the regulation, is taking steps to correct that, and that should (probably) be the end of the matter ?

As I commented on the last thread, assuming that Reeves is not a rogue landlord (which so far seems to be the case), and has in place gas and electric verification, EPC, etc, then it is ridiculous to be calling for her resignation.

The purpose of regulation is to ensure the safety of the property. It is not an end in itself, and to see an inadvertent breach of the rules, quickly rectified, as a resignation matter is effectively to say that regulation is indeed an end in itself.

Does the Tory party really want to take that stance, that regulation is an end in itself, and any technical breach should result in fines or criminal prosecution ?
If so, then the party is in a worse state than I thought.

Reeves and her party have enthusiastically extended the Process State.

My local council fined a lady several hundred pounds for putting out her recycling boxes too early. Which is “Fly Tipping”, apparently.

Until we impose the same on the politicians, they will do nothing about it.

The prosecuting people for incredibly minor infractions of fly tipping regulations is more a reflection of the pressures on LA budgets than it is the process state.

What’s happened is that, knowing that LA budgets are under incredibly pressure from the demands of old age care & SEND provision, companies run by chancers have seen an opportunity to make money & have gone to said LAs with the following offer: “We will take over all littering & fly tipping enforcement at no cost to you, paid out of fines levied on those who break the rules”. The company knows that there is money to be made prosecuting all the minor trivial infractions that go on ever day at the rate of £100s a time & fully intends to exploit this to extract as many £ as possible from every easy target they can find. Naive (or desperate in some cases) LAs have taken this deal, throwing their own voters to the wolves in the process.

In other words, this another example of the UK state circling the drain as different parts of it engage in rent seeking behaviour, tearing down the public realm in the process.