Best Of

There was also an extremely nasty incident in Edinburgh last night, involving someone allegedly mowing down delivery cyclists and running about with a big knife.

Baffled as to why it’s not got into the news yet (other than our local press). I suspect there would be a different reaction if the ethnicities were reversed, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on how the Crown Office approach it.

Just checked the EEN website, bloody hell, I used to live on Duke Street. Even though that part of Leith was less than gentrified then, it was super safe at any time of the day or night.

There’s lots of conjecture and rumour that I won’t trouble PB with, but just to point out that there were a number of incidents across the city, apparently linked according to the police, not just in Leith.

Though tbh while I’ve been living in Edinburgh there have a been a fair few murders and serious assaults at the Foot of the Walk - Spey Lounge etc etc. It’s rapidly gentrifying but the 80s/90s vibe lingers.

There was also an extremely nasty incident in Edinburgh last night, involving someone allegedly mowing down delivery cyclists and running about with a big knife.

Baffled as to why it’s not got into the news yet (other than our local press). I suspect there would be a different reaction if the ethnicities were reversed, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on how the Crown Office approach it.

Just checked the EEN website, bloody hell, I used to live on Duke Street. Even though that part of Leith was less than gentrified then, it was super safe at any time of the day or night.

The Edinburgh attacks were on the news. I thought about linking to it here but there was a lot on already, what with trains and football and crocodiles. Same with the airport bomb scare, now you mention it.

There was also an extremely nasty incident in Edinburgh last night, involving someone allegedly mowing down delivery cyclists and running about with a big knife.

Baffled as to why it’s not got into the news yet (other than our local press). I suspect there would be a different reaction if the ethnicities were reversed, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on how the Crown Office approach it.

Just checked the EEN website, bloody hell, I used to live on Duke Street. Even though that part of Leith was less than gentrified then, it was super safe at any time of the day or night.

The Edinburgh attacks were on the news. I thought about linking to it here but there was a lot on already, what with trains and football and crocodiles. Same with the airport bomb scare, now you mention it.

We should report more good news!

Taking back control...

Jacinda Ardern: ‘New Zealand will become a republic in my lifetime’

https://www.thetimes.com/world/australasia/article/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-interview-kkppf03f9

So she says but she never pushed it as PM for a reason nor are the current NZ PM or LOTO

Plenty of New Zealand polls for keeping a constitutional monarch over a politician head of state too

https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/10/22/nz-citizens-keen-to-stay-wedded-to-the-monarchy/

Why anyone would want a professional politician with all the grubbiness and politics that causes (look at burnham and his bothering of an electorate to gain personal power) over a constitutional monarch is beyond me

Yeah, absolutely nothing grubby about the Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha currently degrading the country with their loathsome presence.

Reflecting on the Makerfield byelection result, I think (as I said) that Burnham was the favourite going in, and never really looked troubled.

Reform would always have struggled, but I think could have performed better if they had developed an effective counternarrative against Burnham, beyond their charge that he was using Makerfield as a stepping stone. That was clearly believed by a lot of people, but it couldn't really go anywhere. I felt where Burnham was weakest was at the point of WASPI - it was an embarrassing f U-turn in real time. But for whatever reason it didn't seem that this was capitalised on.

They also had a problem with the plumber, who I don't think was a terrible candidate, but was undoubtedly damaged, particularly by the Vorderman letter to the women of Makerfield. The letter was an utterly cynical piece of confected outrage, and I think in response I would have issued an utterly cynical confected apology, and gone the 'bad boy forgiven' route. I also might have been tempted to put Kenyon up for an interrogation with someone like Kuensberg so the public could see him sweat it out. High risk, but I think many women might have seen it and ended up with some sneaking sympathy. His line would have been - 'sorry, regret my comments, however do we want a society where the only people who are allowed to hold office are people who have never said anything regrettable on social media?'.

Even with all that, I think Reform's best result would have been to be 'robbed' by Restore. That would have fit their narrative nicely. Sadly they just missed out.

The plumber was a truly terrible candidate. Does anyone think for a moment as an MP he would have had the slightest comprehension of his responsibilities as a law maker? That he would be able to absorb vast quantities of complex data and research in order to be able to contribute usefully to the top table of national debate? That there are others as useless is little excuse.

And your thought about 'confected outrage' is totally male centric. Just because people fantasise about women (men and women being men and women) doesn't allow people to display this to the entire planet about named individuals such as Vorderman, or the daughters of your friends.

The fact there has been virtually no change in Makerfield between 2024 and now suggests that it isn’t Labour that’s the problem, it’s Keir Starmer.

The underlying problem is the country wants changes that are 1) too expensive for our budget and/or 2) implausible. So any candidate representing the status quo is going to lose to a change candidate for the next decade at least. Policies, values etc are not that important, if we had a Conservative or Reform govt they would be extremely unpopular too.

Burnham has gone too early - he should have taken over in 2027 and portrayed himself as a change candidate in 2028. It will be very difficult to portray himself as a change candidate when he has been there for a couple of years.

Burnham seems to have a very popular idea that speaks to cost of living concerns when it comes to public “control” of utilities. He’s so far communicated this very well as a direct link to all voters across his coalition. Smart politics.

He and Streeting are very smart politicians and excellent communicators.

Starmer, and others like sunak will always come from the angle of what they can't do
..

The Burham and Streeting political and communication style is to outline what they want to do, plan to do, will do if they can do... Even if ultimately they can't do it, in the eyes of the public it's a far more interesting and enthusiastic message

Starmer has delivered the biggest defence increase in a generation but is being hammered for it not being enough

It will never be enough for some, but what he has done has been lost in God awful Comms

Guarantee Burham Streeting would have done it much better.

Taking back control...

Jacinda Ardern: ‘New Zealand will become a republic in my lifetime’

https://www.thetimes.com/world/australasia/article/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-interview-kkppf03f9

Yes, probably they will. More surprising is places like Jamaica which seem to have had political unanimity on the question for decades but still haven't gotten round to it.

It doesn't take long to do even where referendums are required so not sure what the hold up is.

Canada will be last, due to generally being unconcerned.

I don't think the monarchist bootlickers will be too arsed about Jamaica (too not white) or New Zealand (too unimportant). It's Australia and/or Canada that will sting.

I care about all of them.

The monarch is a unifying figure for a family of nations that have shared values in common that's needed in today's world now more than ever.

In the case of Canada, that's arguably been politically decisive.

One Reform MP sums up the Makerfield result, ‘we were either too racist or not racist enough’

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/19/reform-uk-weaknesses-makerfield-nigel-farage-labour

Or the question being asked was not about racism but about who should be PM.

Yes. I cannot really see that Reform have done especially badly, given that their entire schtick in recent months has been 'Get Starmer Out', but every voter in the by-election knew that the quickest way to do that was to elect Burnham.

That's the Richard Tice and Chris Mason line.
But it rather begs the question, then - why did Reform go into the by-election with such high hopes of victory?