Best Of

So.. the economy is stalled.. Eds running round like a headless chicken saying he's going to stop oil companies profiting from higher prices.. without the faintest idea how to do so. Starmer's in deep deep shit over Mandelson where an apology won't cut it , the Defence sec is useless despite being suggested as an alternative to Starmer. Its all going so well...


Weak weak weak.

Reports that in the 100,000 documents to be released, including whats app messages, some senior labour mps will be embarrasingly compromised

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/12/starmer-may-face-more-resignations-after-release-of-mandelson-whatsapp-messages-say-sources?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Yawn
Yawn
Yawn

Go back to bed then.

In other news, a moment of clarity from my wife the other day, who reflected that politically we're pretty much Tories now. But could never admit it as would be ostracised and despised by friends and neighbours alike...

If someone could explain what being a Conservative (you can't say Tory, @HYUFD gets upset and he'll tell you Tory isn't the same as Conservative which it isn't) is these days, I'm probably about four or five iterations behind.

There are aspects of what Cameron called "liberal conservatism" I was happy to support and Conservatives can be quite sound on environmental matters (or they were because the climate change deniers and the anti-Net Zero types took over).

I was also happy with a lot of what Nick Hurd was proposing in terms of decentralisation but again that's all gone and we're back to the old "Westminster and Whitehall know best" top down centralisation beloved of the Thatcher/Major years.

I tend to believe that the left of the conservatives and the right of labour are not that far apart. Hence Blair was acceptable, as was Cameron, to some of those in the other party. Corbyns version of Labour and the rightward drift of the Tories negates that. I feel that both parties are currently looking in the wrong direction for the 'lost' voters. The racists of reform, and the hard line Gaza/communists of the left are not coming back.

Being a centrist dad the Toryism of Major, Hurd and Heseltine looks totally fine to me. But the modern Tory party is a million miles from that kind of decency and pragmatism.

This evening's Trump whine. He isn't getting enough credit for being in office when it hits 250 years of independence.


Acyn
@Acyn
·
53m
Trump: We have the Olympics, the World Cup, and twenty—you know, the 250. I did all three all of them. I got the Olympics, the World Cup, and then I got 250 but I’ve never been given credit for it. They won’t give me credit for 250 years but I’m here for 250.

https://x.com/Acyn/status/2032197976295432323

1783 to 2026 is only 243 years.

#pedanticbetting

To be fair they had the big 200 year celebrations in 1976 not 1983. No idea why but it was the big anniversary date in the US.

They uses the Declaration of Independence - 1776 - as the start date. In 1783 the Brits were just recognising the facts on the ground

Did Ireland become independent in 1916 or 1921?

OK, nothing much new seems to be happening today, so here are some thoughts about what could happen longer term:

- there's a referendum to rejoin the EU in the late 2030s. Yes wins convincingly but not overwhelmingly and the government makes such a mess of the negotiations that membership quickly becomes unpopular again
- sometime in the second half of the century, our birthrate becomes so disastrous and is so immune to government meddling that the taboo against human cloning breaks down
- the follies and disasters of the Trump years are so obvious even to most Americans that America becomes a fairly reliable partner again after he goes
- Putin is succeeded by someone a bit less aggressive internationally, but just as corrupt internally. Russia stops menacing its neighbours but never reckons properly with its past
- after Xi Jinping dies, the Chinese realise that become a developed country is impossible without economic liberalisation. The Communist Party try to keep the process under control and avoid political liberalisation but fail and are deposed. China becomes a civilised country like a bigger Taiwan or Singapore.
- the AI "revolution" is not nearly all it's cracked up to be, especially in the jobs market. Some jobs are eliminated or simplified, but others become more complicated
- understanding consciousness remains elusive for the next century at least.

Of course these aren't projections, just things that could happen.

I gave that a like, even though I think a few are off target (I am just as likely as you to be wrong, of course).

Alternatively.

- There's a referendum in the late 2020s, and we rejoin the EU around the same time as Ukraine does. It proves a success.
- Birthrate becomes less of a concern thanks to automation and robotics. The smaller population benefits accordingly.
- The follies and disasters of Trump leads to a landslide against the GOP. It takes most of the next decade to fully convince the rest of the world he was just an aberration.
- Putin is succeeded by another autocrat. Russia doesn't change at all; but is contained by its neighbours, and becomes even poorer relative to the RoW.
- Xi dies. The CCC maintains its stranglehold on power. I have no idea what happens next.
- AI, despite remaining 'dumb' for the foreseeable future, completely reorders society.

…

I’m not asking for miracles. I’m asking for grown-up government: competent delivery, honest trade-offs, and outcomes you can measure. If you’re going to wrap yourself in Scottish pride and talk about our resource abundance, then show me the national project that turns that into shared prosperity. Otherwise it’s just branding. And I’m completely out of patience for branding.

Take the Scottish references out of that and you could easily be referring to the UK political scene as a whole. No wonder Reform and Greens are getting a hearing.

Ever since the financial crash things in the UK have, on many measures, stagnated or fallen behind. The leading political parties all have some responsibility for that.

In many respects that is what drove Brexit - and a fat load of good that has done for those that voted for it (excluding the retirees on final salary and triple locked state pensions).

Starmer promised that “grown up” government - and I do feel there is genuine intent - but his execution has been dreadful (and he often ends up simply reversing course). In many respects he is as much a prisoner of his own party and an irrational media as he is from his own shortcomings.

He doesn't seem to know how to navigate policies through the political system. Saying the Blob is stopping everything is an admission of failure.

All complex socio-political structures have multiple vested interests. Navigating policies through them is exactly what politicians are for.

…

I’m not asking for miracles. I’m asking for grown-up government: competent delivery, honest trade-offs, and outcomes you can measure. If you’re going to wrap yourself in Scottish pride and talk about our resource abundance, then show me the national project that turns that into shared prosperity. Otherwise it’s just branding. And I’m completely out of patience for branding.

Take the Scottish references out of that and you could easily be referring to the UK political scene as a whole. No wonder Reform and Greens are getting a hearing.

Ever since the financial crash things in the UK have, on many measures, stagnated or fallen behind. The leading political parties all have some responsibility for that.

In many respects that is what drove Brexit - and a fat load of good that has done for those that voted for it (excluding the retirees on final salary and triple locked state pensions).

Starmer promised that “grown up” government - and I do feel there is genuine intent - but his execution has been dreadful (and he often ends up simply reversing course). In many respects he is as much a prisoner of his own party and an irrational media as he is from his own shortcomings.