Best Of

It seems a bit weird to argue about whether the bias on PB.com is more to the left or the right, when obviously the site is way more biased towards being male, educated and numerate.

PB.com is by far the most right-wing environment I have ever spent time in, save for those limited periods when I obstructed National Front or EDL marches, but that is because I'm pretty left-wing and generally move in pretty left-wing social circles.

It's not surprising that our right-wing posters experience PB.com as biased to the left, for similar reasons.

I've worked for engineering companies. Now there's a right-wing environment.

All my workplaces have always been resolutely apolitical. When I worked for the public sector this was actually enforced by our Union (Prospect) who didn't want any whiff of politics.

Does that mean you were banned from talking politics in the workplace?

What about the pub after work?

Pretty much, yes. It kinda bled over. People would be cagey about saying anything.

I had much more political conversations with the parents of my daughter's schoolfriends.

It seems a bit weird to argue about whether the bias on PB.com is more to the left or the right, when obviously the site is way more biased towards being male, educated and numerate.

PB.com is by far the most right-wing environment I have ever spent time in, save for those limited periods when I obstructed National Front or EDL marches, but that is because I'm pretty left-wing and generally move in pretty left-wing social circles.

It's not surprising that our right-wing posters experience PB.com as biased to the left, for similar reasons.

Male, educated and numerate pretty much sums PB up (with important honourable exceptions like @Cyclefree, @fitalass and probably a few more that I am not sure of ( @kimbalu)). Whilst I would be delighted to have more female perspectives educated and numerate is a definite improvement on most public debate I have found anywhere else.

I am numerate, David. Can confirm.

Can we all agree that having business people running our Councils are a good thing?

Not in Leicestershire, it seems.

They are just closing down a schools meals service, serving 20k pupils in 117 schools, which has been profitable to the tune of £100k in 2025/6. Cost to the Council to close it down: £360k. There are 800 staff, so that may be a little light.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr47r0xe9qro

This is the Reform council that has budgeted £1.2m of taxpayers' money for "cost cutting consultants", I can tell them how they could have saved £360k.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24w7e9knjo

Not the first time I've read one of your comments, clicked on the link, and found you've given a rather carefully edited take.

That's why the link is there. I'll see if I can adjust the way I summarise.

I don't find the sort-of-justification given - we are closing it because they are leaving - very convincing; I'd think of it the other way around - more "they are leaving it because we are closing the service". Nor the stuff about "unsustainable profits". My assessment is more that they decided what they were going to do based on a snapshot, and did not consider the possibility that the financial situation could continue to recover after Covid.

That's my concern for Reform in places they control; they are making far too many damaging decisions without appropriate experience or thought. I'd make the same point about the closure of Adult Education Centres in Derbyshire. It is quite DOGE-y.

It's one for the people of Leicestershire to decide, whenever their next election happens.

Can we all agree that having business people running our Councils are a good thing?

Not in Leicestershire, it seems.

They are just closing down a schools meals service, serving 20k pupils in 117 schools, which has been profitable to the tune of £100k in 2025/6. Cost to the Council to close it down: £360k. There are 800 staff, so that may be a little light.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr47r0xe9qro

This is the Reform council that has budgeted £1.2m of taxpayers' money for "cost cutting consultants", I can tell them how they could have saved £360k.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24w7e9knjo

Not the first time I've read one of your comments, clicked on the link, and found you've given a rather carefully edited take.

.

Andy Burnham promises to keep the state pension triple lock if he becomes PM

https://x.com/politlcsuk/status/2066132953785118852?s=46&t=Gsn9rlDEZH5vXP97Cgifnw

Question. Is there any major politician committed to removing the state pension triple lock?

From what I'm hearing on this thread, doing so would be absolute political gold dust. I'm amazed all our politicians are failing to appreciate the magic.

you mistake PB for public opinion, not all out there have the mullah that posters here have.

Regular pb.com posters are overwhelmingly males over the age of 60 who either don't work, don't need to work, or officially work but barely bother.

Opinions tend to be conventional liberal centre-left, with a few exceptions.

Except I could right now off the top of my head list out 50 regular posters who are not at all conventional liberal centre-left.

I'm not going to, all will be relieved to hear, but I definitely could.

Go on then. Name the 50.

Too torrid. But you'd be there obviously. And just from this page of this thread, so a tiny sample, Malcolm, Lucky, Blanche, Alga, RCS, Bart, TSE, Jim, Malmesbury, Contrarian, Williamglenn ... that's a dozen already.

Can't move for all you not-centre-lefters.

That's eleven, and the posting frequency is far less.

Against that there's Chris, NigelB, Bondegezou, Kinabulu, Foxy, MexicanPete, Roger, "Peter", Dura, OnlyLivingBoy, OldKingCole, Murali_S, Tres, Eabhal, FF43, Brixian59, Jonathan, RochdalePioneers, Nico67, SandyRentool, DecrepiterJohnL, DougSeal etc. which is double your count for a start, and the posting rate is far higher.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm personally fond of many of those posters. But you can't argue that's what dominates the site.

Can't blame us for that.
The solution lies in your hands.

In any event, I have relatively little in common with (say) Roger or Brixian.