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Have we done this? I've been busy today.


Pippa Crerar

@PippaCrerar

🚨Keir Starmer's No 10 is cancelling the afternoon lobby briefing, when journalists can ask the PM's spox as many questions they like, for as long as they like.

They'll also sometimes cancel morning lobby, replacing it with press conferences with ministers, meaning many orgs will have opportunity for questions restricted.

The lobby may be an imperfect system, but these briefings give journalists from every outlet, regardless of editorial line, the chance to ask whatever they want.

This move is bad for transparency, bad for accountability, and a bad look for a government that already struggles with its communications.

Not sure if this has been discussed yet so apologgies if repeating earlier posts (I did look back to lunchtime and saw no mention)

So the Police will not invetsgate the claims that Farage overspent to get elected at the GE because of statute of limitations.

Two questions that this raises for me.

1. Why is the statute of limitations so short for this potential crime? We are only 18 months after the election so I would have thought anything this serious should still be prosecutable.

2. If the police can't do anything, is there any other body with legal powers that can investigate? They may not be able to prosecute but could they demand a by-election if he is found to have cheated. Does this fall under the remit of the Electoral Commission or the Commons authorities?

As you all know I was and still am very pro-Brexit. I also recognise we would never have got the referendum without Farage's many years of work for it. But that doesn't mean he should be treated any differently to anyone else who has broken electoral law. If elections are not fair and honest then they count for nothing.

Not sure if this has been discussed yet so apologgies if repeating earlier posts (I did look back to lunchtime and saw no mention)

So the Police will not invetsgate the claims that Farage overspent to get elected at the GE because of statute of limitations.

Two questions that this raises for me.

1. Why is the statute of limitations so short for this potential crime? We are only 18 months after the election so I would have thought anything this serious should still be prosecutable.

2. If the police can't do anything, is there any other body with legal powers that can investigate? They may not be able to prosecute but could they demand a by-election if he is found to have cheated. Does this fall under the remit of the Electoral Commission or the Commons authorities?

As you all know I was and still am very pro-Brexit. I also recognise we would never have got the referendum without Farage's many years of work for it. But that doesn't mean he should be treated any differently to anyone else who has broken electoral law. If elections are not fair and honest then they count for nothing.

PB cooking update.

Yesterday I went on a long cycle, and after getting back had a strong desire not to go to the store, and also -given the particularly hilly route I'd rode- for some pasta.

So... I put some spaghetti in a pot to boil (with a little olive oil and lots of salt).

While that was cooking I heated some olive oil in a pan, and put in one clove of thinly sliced garlic, and another 2-3 crushed cloves. Once those were getting a little fragrant, I chucked in a spoonful of capers. I then grabbed a little can of the nicest tuna I could find, and chucked it in with the capers and garlic. I then kept this on a very low heat and broke the fillets up somewhat.

When the pasta was al dente, I drained all but a cup (or maybe a little less) of the water, and put it in with the garlic, olive oil, capers and tuna, and mixed it well.

I then headed off to the fridge again, found some parsley, chopped it, and dumped it in with the pasta.

Very simple, really. The only expensive bit was the tuna. But even that is only $7 on Amazon if bought as part of a pack of 6. (Tonnino yellowfin tuna fillets in olive oil.)

Wife and children declared it deilicious.

Tonight I'm doing a tortellini soup.

Mm! Very reminiscent of our supper last night - fried aubergines and onions and courgettes with hot smoked salmon and an egg broken in, served with pasta and cooked samphire. Normally we have capers but we'd run out!

But yours is still simpler. Definitely worth a try.

You want simple ?

My recipe for omelette in a paper cup.
Microwave a knob of butter for 1min to melt it. Add coarsely chopped watercress and three eggs; stir.
Microwave at the medium setting for 2min 20 sec (may need experimentation for your particular microwave).

Surprisingly good.

Omlettes are not exactly that complicated to make, though. You are basically swapping a tiny bit of washing up for a disgarded paper cup.

For breakfast without a kitchen.

But with a microwave.

Got it.

Very useful, but only in a limited range of scenarios.

Many offices have only a microwave.

Quite a few people live in tiny flats with minimal cooking facilities - there's a whole genre of cook books on how to live out of a rice cooker, for example.

The office one is a good point.

But for people living in tiny apartments, it is worth remembering you can get an induction 'hob' for as little as about forty quid. That pays for itself pretty quickly in massively increasing your ability to cook food - pasta is now a doddle, for example.

I've noticed that at places like Robert Dyas, microwaves with a built in single ring cooker (on the top) are a thing. People are buying them,...

Here's an idea: Norway gives Trump the ultimate, the Greatest EVER by FAR Peace Prize Winner in History (and that includes Jesus), a one-off, never to be repeated award, with platinum medal, embossed in 24 carat diamonds by cartier etc etc...

In exchange for bowing out of office on health grounds and leaving the stage?

Gotta be a deal??

Nope, is demented as Trump is he's still better than Vance.

Not sure that's true.

Vance would be a much more dangerous person if he had the same appeal as Trump, but he doesn't.

The people who are willing to die in a ditch fro Donny are much less likely to do it for him