Best Of

Some Ange fans were complaining about the nasty Tories saying she shouldn't get her ministerial severance pay

Well..


@alexburghart

On 6th February last year whilst in Opposition Angela Rayner tabled and voted for a motion which sought to prevent outgoing ministers from receiving severance pay if they breach the ministerial code

She surely cannot accept that severance pay now

https://x.com/alexburghart/status/1964025267115995535

It's the problem with constantly being in attack mode going two footed. It's why Kemi is stupid, if something blows up near her she is going to be in a bind. It is why you use people who will never be near the levers of power to do this role.

Kemi was very brave today.

She used potentially litigious language outside the safety zone of Parliamentary Privilege. In fact some words she used were distinctly "unparliamentary" and would have earned a slap from the Speaker.

Senile old man says what?

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3ly4jbv3lgw2m

What happened in North Korea ? It's not too clear in the thread, there.

@ReichlinMelnick

This story is WILD. Trump sent Seal Team 6 into North Korea to plant a listening device. The operation went sideways within minutes, when a fishing boat was unexpectedly at the landing site. Seal Team 6 killed everyone on board, sunk the bodies, and fled. Congress was never told.

https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1963944912119906657

What do you think Obama or H. Clinton would have done differently if the same proposal was made to them?

Pleasingly from a next election watching point of view im likely to be moving soon away from boring old Clive Lewis' Norwich South to North Norfolk where a delicious Lib Con rematch is on the cards

Lib v Reform you mean

No, i don't.

I note the Daily Mail is seeking a coming together of Reform and the Conservatives

I don’t see it but I didn't see Rayner resigning this time last week

Nah.
If the polls tighten and Reform drop into the mid 20s then an electoral pact is fairly likely even if informally but theres way too much bad blood at the moment

The Tory defectors to Reform are pretty much despised by those remaining. With some reason, I might add. Nadine Dorries just about sums it up.

Michael Palin's Iraq is currently on Channel 5, which, not that widely known, is some of his best ever work.

I enjoyed his recent-ish series travelling North Korea too. Quite sensitively done.

Yes. He's getting better and more mature, but ironically not signed up by the BBC any more as a standard-bearer, which sums up the current fear of subtlety and complexity.

Candidate for greatest living Englishman, top ten for definite.

There's a very slow and genteel cage-fight between him, Melvyn Bragg and Ian McKellen. Throw Brian Blessed and Tom Baker in there and it'd be a wild, if rather charming, evening.

Also occurs to me, now that I write them out - the North is very well represented in the national treasure list.

I appreciate Bragg's talent, but he's greasy.

I don't think the UK could embrace a national treasure which didn't have a flaw. The delight in playing old vinyl is the crackle.

Michael Palin's Iraq is currently on Channel 5, which, not that widely known, is some of his best ever work.

I enjoyed his recent-ish series travelling North Korea too. Quite sensitively done.

Yes. He's getting better and more mature, but ironically not signed up by the BBC any more as a standard-bearer, which sums up the current fear of subtlety and complexity.

Candidate for greatest living Englishman, top ten for definite.

There's a very slow and genteel cage-fight between him, Melvyn Bragg and Ian McKellen. Throw Brian Blessed and Tom Baker in there and it'd be a wild, if rather charming, evening.

Also occurs to me, now that I write them out - the North is very well represented in the national treasure list.

I appreciate Bragg's talent, but he's greasy.

More oleaginous. If you rubbed him up and down on a long sheet of blue plastic, you could slalom down it without difficulty.