Watch as Health Secretary @sajidjavid persuades Sky's chief political correspondent @joncraig to get his booster jab while the pair were preparing for an interview at St Thomas' Hospital vaccination centre.
I have to say that is brilliant. Javid goes up in my estimation there.
It is. Amidst the encroaching dark, that’s a lovely moment. Well done The Saj
We've got our boosters booked for exactly six months after our second jab (the 16th of December). We'd love to bring it forward, but are concerned that we might lose our current slot. Some guidance on this would be brilliant.
That sounds like a regular days walk for you surely?
Yeah, but I'd need to get back.
The sad thing is, you wrote that and I envisaged off- and country-road walking routes to both Bedford and Letchworth. Letchworth is harder, at least directly.
Out to somewhere like Wimpole, across towards Ashwell, to Letchworth
Is that because (vaccine and prior infection protected) adults are unlikely to be hospitalised? Or because it's making children more sick?
Or it could be that the information being proffered by a person on Twitter is - shock, horror - completely bloody wrong. So much of what is reported, assumed, even supposedly accepted as fact in all of this, is wrong. In the case of my own particular hobby horse, we keep getting told by governments and scientists all the time how desperately important it is to wear masks, yet the published evidence for the benefits of the wearing of cloth/paper face coverings in day-to-day public situations is very weak. It consists of a number of studies that, variously, use small sample sizes, are biased, are irrelevant, are inconclusive, or (in most cases) are just statistical analyses of a collection of results from such wonky studies scraped together and run through a computer.
Meanwhile, the fact that we've been conducting a massive real-world experiment to evaluate the benefits of mask wearing in the UK for the last five months goes entirely unreported. England ramped down its NPI response to the virus more completely than Scotland and Wales, and the main difference between the jurisdictions was the willingness of the UK Government to get rid of masks. During that period, the inability of the iSAGE extremists or anybody else to point at the numbers, scream and insist that masks must come back in England because they're doing the rest of the country so much good is very telling. Indeed, has any clever clogs trawled the stats and found any meaningful difference in the performance of the home nations over that period *AT ALL*? Insofar as I can see, England's and Wales's case rates seem to have moved more-or-less in lockstep over the Autumn; Scotland's appear a little better now but were a little worse a couple of months ago. This is not the sort of pattern that we would expect to have seen if masks were useful in suppressing this disease.
Insofar as I can see, all we've really established about this disease and how to control it over the last two years is that vaccines work, extreme social isolation (i.e. not 1m or 1m+ or 2m rules, but keeping people far apart all the time) works, it finds it much harder to spread outdoors, and we have a reasonable degree of confidence that the disease fluctuates seasonally, in higher latitudes at least. The rest is so much supposition and hot air.
A year ago the ScotGov commissioned a report on mask wearing in schools.
Has it been published yet? I haven't seen it but I must admit I haven't looked very hard.
Starmer has made substantial changes and this must largely be his team for the next GE
It does look a better team than previously but Yvette was poor as shadow home secretary and even worse on hips
Time will tell but Corbyn looks to have been vanquished
Oh FFS. Not Hips again.
Wait and see how she is with Patel in the Commons in next few months. Forensic demolition comes to my mind.
HIPS are her marquee achievement from a lifetime in politics…
But wouldn’t picking on someone as inadequate as Patel be bullying?
You cannot honestly be bringing up HIPS again? For crying out loud it’s a policy from a generation ago that nobody even remembers, save a bunch of seemingly completely obsessed PB Tories.
I remember it well as I was advising the DCLG and took 18 trips to London and Yvette just never understood it
It was very frustrating
Sounds like it was a good idea, so what was the problem? Too complicated & complex assembling all the certifications, information, forms & whatnot? And what did YC not get?
The problem was that they were almost totally pointless, because a bank advancing a loan secured against the property wanted their own survey done, by a qualified surveyor. HIPs were the output from Mickey Mouse surveys, done by unqualified people.
Nearly all such requirements end up being a paper exercise generating money for jobsworths and adding to the overall costs of house sales on both sides. The energy certificate I had here in Spain for selling my home was a case in point - utterly meaningless.
Starmer has made substantial changes and this must largely be his team for the next GE
It does look a better team than previously but Yvette was poor as shadow home secretary and even worse on hips
Time will tell but Corbyn looks to have been vanquished
Oh FFS. Not Hips again.
Wait and see how she is with Patel in the Commons in next few months. Forensic demolition comes to my mind.
HIPS are her marquee achievement from a lifetime in politics…
But wouldn’t picking on someone as inadequate as Patel be bullying?
You cannot honestly be bringing up HIPS again? For crying out loud it’s a policy from a generation ago that nobody even remembers, save a bunch of seemingly completely obsessed PB Tories.
Isn’t that sort of the point? If HIPS had been a success then everybody who buys or sells a house would know about it.
I just tried to Google it to remind myself what was involved and what HIPS stood for: I can’t find it. It seems to have sunk without trace (although I expect if I used the full name rather than the acronym it would show up).
Why not remember old policies? It is an abject, misdirected failure from a time they are still claiming was one of success.
I more recall her for the dodginess on MP mortgage expenses and flipping.
I'm sure they wouldn't want us to mention the approx £300 bn PFI debt to be paid off on terms over up to 60 years they left behind, either. It's one of the reasons the Health Budget is under such pressure - remarkably easy to spend money when you borrow it from 20 years hence, and leave the fallout for the next lot. My local hosp. is spending several million a year on servicing PFI.
It says something about the dismal paucity on the Labour benches that the best that Starmer can do is reach for some failed retreads of the past.
In the mid 90s in Opposition the Labour Party had Blair, Brown and Mandelson demolishing the government. In the late 00s in Opposition the Tory Party had Cameron and Osborne demolishing the government.
Where are the bright young things in the Labour Party able to take apart the government? Are failed Brownites being revived back like a boy band reunion tour the best that can be done?
Starmer has made substantial changes and this must largely be his team for the next GE
It does look a better team than previously but Yvette was poor as shadow home secretary and even worse on hips
Time will tell but Corbyn looks to have been vanquished
Oh FFS. Not Hips again.
Wait and see how she is with Patel in the Commons in next few months. Forensic demolition comes to my mind.
HIPS are her marquee achievement from a lifetime in politics…
But wouldn’t picking on someone as inadequate as Patel be bullying?
You cannot honestly be bringing up HIPS again? For crying out loud it’s a policy from a generation ago that nobody even remembers, save a bunch of seemingly completely obsessed PB Tories.
Isn’t that sort of the point? If HIPS had been a success then everybody who buys or sells a house would know about it.
I just tried to Google it to remind myself what was involved and what HIPS stood for: I can’t find it. It seems to have sunk without trace (although I expect if I used the full name rather than the acronym it would show up).
Why not remember old policies? It is an abject, misdirected failure from a time they are still claiming was one of success.
I more recall her for the dodginess on MP mortgage expenses and flipping.
I'm sure they wouldn't want us to mention the approx £300 bn PFI debt to be paid off on terms over up to 60 years they left behind, either. It's one of the reasons the Health Budget is under such pressure - remarkably easy to spend money when you borrow it from 20 years hence, and leave the fallout for the next lot. My local hosp. is spending several million a year on servicing PFI.
As opposed to the Tories Brexit referendum, the campaign which they insisted on running and the results. Large minuses, as opposed to the occasional small plus, every day.
(Sits back, has a swig of morning coffee and waits.....)
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
Indeed. Given the number of people charged, it’s probably going to take a couple of years for the court system to do its thing, with several linked trials and severe reporting restrictions in place.
It’s noteworthy that they are older - in the Epstein case a lot of the procurers were in their early 20s, former ‘girls’ who were finding younger friends or siblings.
The horror story would be if they turn out to be carers, formally looking after the girls on behalf of the State.
King Cole, I very briefly had a Portuguese dentist and she much preferred British weather. My mother's dentist (Ghanaian, I think) also doesn't like hot weather.
Have I really woken up to David Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary?
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
Indeed. Given the number of people charged, it’s probably going to take a couple of years for the court system to do its thing, with several linked trials and severe reporting restrictions in place.
It’s noteworthy that they are older - in the Epstein case a lot of the procurers were in their early 20s, former ‘girls’ who were finding younger friends or siblings.
The horror story would be if they turn out to be carers, formally looking after the girls on behalf of the State.
Historically, in London at least, brothel keepers and procurers tended to be former prostitutes who had become 'less attractive' to the punters. If, of course, they'd survived that long! Women around 40 now would have been 15 or so in the mid-nineties.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
King Cole, I very briefly had a Portuguese dentist and she much preferred British weather. My mother's dentist (Ghanaian, I think) also doesn't like hot weather.
Gives a somewhat new dimension to migration to NW Europe?
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
We don't seem to have a surfeit of politicians with a back-story of good ideas that worked. Certainly can't say that about the Tories.
Watch as Health Secretary @sajidjavid persuades Sky's chief political correspondent @joncraig to get his booster jab while the pair were preparing for an interview at St Thomas' Hospital vaccination centre.
I have to say that is brilliant. Javid goes up in my estimation there.
It is. Amidst the encroaching dark, that’s a lovely moment. Well done The Saj
We've got our boosters booked for exactly six months after our second jab (the 16th of December). We'd love to bring it forward, but are concerned that we might lose our current slot. Some guidance on this would be brilliant.
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
Indeed. Given the number of people charged, it’s probably going to take a couple of years for the court system to do its thing, with several linked trials and severe reporting restrictions in place.
It’s noteworthy that they are older - in the Epstein case a lot of the procurers were in their early 20s, former ‘girls’ who were finding younger friends or siblings.
The horror story would be if they turn out to be carers, formally looking after the girls on behalf of the State.
The offences were between 1995 and 2015, so all the charged would have been up to 26 years younger when the offences occurred.
Re: Javid the Jabster, there are some that say they staged his urging of the journo to get his booster on the spot.
Personally my impression is that it was spontaneous, at least in the sense it wasn't planned. Though would NOT hold it against either the pushful minister or the bashful journalist for quickly grasping the media potential.
Indeed, the opposite in both cases, esp. Javid's.
I don’t think it matters too much if it were staged or not: the message it sends out of “get your booster as soon as you can” is pretty clear.
That said it does work better if people don’t think it was staged, which is why anti-vaxers are going to be claiming it was.
Watch as Health Secretary @sajidjavid persuades Sky's chief political correspondent @joncraig to get his booster jab while the pair were preparing for an interview at St Thomas' Hospital vaccination centre.
I have to say that is brilliant. Javid goes up in my estimation there.
It is. Amidst the encroaching dark, that’s a lovely moment. Well done The Saj
We've got our boosters booked for exactly six months after our second jab (the 16th of December). We'd love to bring it forward, but are concerned that we might lose our current slot. Some guidance on this would be brilliant.
For you that’s surely easy, and just slots into your morning jog?
You see available appointments before you cancel the original ones - however I suspect earlier appointments may not be available unless the site has been updated.
Have I really woken up to David Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary?
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
I'd love to hear that it was a setup, but I don't think it was.
His curse, if he succumbs to it, will be groping for answers from a half-remembered similar phrase. A bit Borisish.
It's the wrong answer, and Lammy might not have known this, but apparently there was a prison at Versailles: the prison Saint-Pierre in Versailles. I remembered this because the last public execution was outside it in 1939, witnessed by a certain Christopher Lee.
Also, AIUI the rules of Mastermind favour giving any answer, rather than passes. Whilst the presenter gives the right answer if you get it wrong (wasting time), if there is a tie then the person with the least number of passes wins. Therefore if you can give a wrong answer quickly, it might be quicker than thinking about an answer and eventually passing.
King Cole, I very briefly had a Portuguese dentist and she much preferred British weather. My mother's dentist (Ghanaian, I think) also doesn't like hot weather.
Our Filipino Nurses like the temperate weather here, and complain of the hear when they go back to visit. Not that many have been in the last 2 years.
Good morning everybody. Significantly warmer, accordingly thermometer app, this morning. What my Thai grandchildren (and their mother) will think, though, when..... or is it getting be if.... they get here may well be different.
Actually, it's interesting, for all sorts of reasons, that daughter-in-law, whose ancestors have lived in SE Asia for 1000 generations, quite likes a cold British winter day.
Impressed you can trace her genealogy back that far…
Have I really woken up to David Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary?
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
I'd love to hear that it was a setup, but I don't think it was.
His curse, if he succumbs to it, will be groping for answers from a half-remembered similar phrase. A bit Borisish.
I regard myself as passing intelligent, and am quite good at pub quizzes, but I suffer from a tendency to say “left” with great confidence when what I actually meant was “right”. On the other hand I would regard that as one reason amongst many why I would make a really bad shadow foreign secretary.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
We don't seem to have a surfeit of politicians with a back-story of good ideas that worked. Certainly can't say that about the Tories.
Be fair
Labour has bad ideas that don’t work.
The Tories have good ideas that don’t work and bad ideas that do…
Have I really woken up to David Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary?
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
I'd love to hear that it was a setup, but I don't think it was.
His curse, if he succumbs to it, will be groping for answers from a half-remembered similar phrase. A bit Borisish.
I regard myself as passing intelligent, and am quite good at pub quizzes, but I suffer from a tendency to say “left” with great confidence when what I actually meant was “right”. On the other hand I would regard that as one reason amongst many why I would make a really bad shadow foreign secretary.
Lammy is an interesting one. He speaks extremely eloquently about the problems facing black boys - in particular the lack of male role models. Yet at other times he appears totally a little too keen to connect everything to race: witness his comments about the black smoke at a papal conclave.
Good morning everybody. Significantly warmer, accordingly thermometer app, this morning. What my Thai grandchildren (and their mother) will think, though, when..... or is it getting be if.... they get here may well be different.
Actually, it's interesting, for all sorts of reasons, that daughter-in-law, whose ancestors have lived in SE Asia for 1000 generations, quite likes a cold British winter day.
Impressed you can trace her genealogy back that far…
An assumption, I'm afraid. But you'll note I've not been particularly specific.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Watch as Health Secretary @sajidjavid persuades Sky's chief political correspondent @joncraig to get his booster jab while the pair were preparing for an interview at St Thomas' Hospital vaccination centre.
I have to say that is brilliant. Javid goes up in my estimation there.
It is. Amidst the encroaching dark, that’s a lovely moment. Well done The Saj
We've got our boosters booked for exactly six months after our second jab (the 16th of December). We'd love to bring it forward, but are concerned that we might lose our current slot. Some guidance on this would be brilliant.
That sounds like a regular days walk for you surely?
Yeah, but I'd need to get back.
The sad thing is, you wrote that and I envisaged off- and country-road walking routes to both Bedford and Letchworth. Letchworth is harder, at least directly.
Out to somewhere like Wimpole, across towards Ashwell, to Letchworth
Yeah. I can get to Wimpole on paths and tracks, and then make my way down/across to Bassingbourn and the Icknield Way. But I'd probably favour Gransden-hatley-Wrestwingworth-Dunton-Hinxworth-Stotfold.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I get the impression.... not entirely sure why ..... that some at least of those at the top of the Government have fairly short fuses when it comes to being challenged. Losing one's temper in the Commons is never a good look. Neither side is impressed.
Have I really woken up to David Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary?
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
I'd love to hear that it was a setup, but I don't think it was.
His curse, if he succumbs to it, will be groping for answers from a half-remembered similar phrase. A bit Borisish.
I regard myself as passing intelligent, and am quite good at pub quizzes, but I suffer from a tendency to say “left” with great confidence when what I actually meant was “right”. On the other hand I would regard that as one reason amongst many why I would make a really bad shadow foreign secretary.
As I say, perhaps he can turn it around if he holds his tongue.
Another one was:
"What was the married name of the scientists Marie and Pierre who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 for their research into radiation?"
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Her immediate job is to oppose Patel, who obviously needs opposing. She then has to set out the Labour vision on security with authority. She is more than up to both tasks.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I get the impression.... not entirely sure why ..... that some at least of those at the top of the Government have fairly short fuses when it comes to being challenged. Losing one's temper in the Commons is never a good look. Neither side is impressed.
They’ve been in too long and believe their own spin. How dare anyone challenge them?
Have I really woken up to David Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary?
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
I'd love to hear that it was a setup, but I don't think it was.
His curse, if he succumbs to it, will be groping for answers from a half-remembered similar phrase. A bit Borisish.
I regard myself as passing intelligent, and am quite good at pub quizzes, but I suffer from a tendency to say “left” with great confidence when what I actually meant was “right”. On the other hand I would regard that as one reason amongst many why I would make a really bad shadow foreign secretary.
As I say, perhaps he can turn it around if he holds his tongue.
Another one was:
"What was the married name of the scientists Marie and Pierre who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 for their research into radiation?"
"Antoinette".
"No, Curie".
I don't like him as a politician but to be fair to him when you're going for quickfire answers if you hear "Marie" then "Antoinette" is far from the worst possible response.
The problem with these style quizzes when people are under a clock pressure is that people can form answers in their head to the first half of the question without thinking it through.
Meanwhile... Cripes, not cripes. Bozza next to bottom of the ConHome ratings.
Big government, small boats, Paterson: he has clearly been marked down for all three, and his chaotic recent speech to the CBI probably hasn’t helped. That’s the second time he’s slipped into the red with the panel since the last election, the first being during the autumn of 2020.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I'm neither riled up nor worried. I'm amused. Hence the phrase "It is amusing".
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
It's time prostitution was legalised and regulated.
If it was, one wouldn't see 12 year olds involved.
Go and read the story again.
Check the ages of the women and then calculate how old they were when the offences took place - they are middle aged now but if the offences relate to the early days they were 16 and under when things first began.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Her immediate job is to oppose Patel, who obviously needs opposing. She then has to set out the Labour vision on security with authority. She is more than up to both tasks.
She had 5 years in the same job and didn't lay a glove on May, why are you so confident?
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Yes, the reason HIPs get bought up is that it was her signature policy, her only policy of note in three years as Housing Secretary, and it failed miserably because she didn’t listen to the industry which would be affected by it.
Have I really woken up to David Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary?
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
I'd love to hear that it was a setup, but I don't think it was.
His curse, if he succumbs to it, will be groping for answers from a half-remembered similar phrase. A bit Borisish.
It's the wrong answer, and Lammy might not have known this, but apparently there was a prison at Versailles: the prison Saint-Pierre in Versailles. I remembered this because the last public execution was outside it in 1939, witnessed by a certain Christopher Lee.
Also, AIUI the rules of Mastermind favour giving any answer, rather than passes. Whilst the presenter gives the right answer if you get it wrong (wasting time), if there is a tie then the person with the least number of passes wins. Therefore if you can give a wrong answer quickly, it might be quicker than thinking about an answer and eventually passing.
I think you're working a bit too hard there. "Pass" means you don't have the correct answer read out, so saves a lot of time.
Lammy has an interesting education - London (which may account for a lot - ILEA was aiui a mess in the 1970s), and then Peterborough Cathedral School on a scholarship. I was wondering whether it was basic gaps in a rounded education (as I have in eg Biology and Bronte type literature), but I am not sure.
It's probably to his advantage that he's from the side of Twitter that uses / misuses edited videoclips as a key element of their campaigns.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I'm neither riled up nor worried. I'm amused. Hence the phrase "It is amusing".
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
Yeah, right. You doth protest too much.
Either way I am sure that you would much rather talk about ancient history than the home secretary’s current handling of migration. Is the government still trying to undermine the RNLI?
Very disappointed to hear that Labour now has absolutely no chance at the next GE because Starmer has appointed a woman who was responsible for the introduction of Home Information Packs many years ago. The electorate will think about nothing else when the next GE comes, particularly in the Red Wall.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Her immediate job is to oppose Patel, who obviously needs opposing. She then has to set out the Labour vision on security with authority. She is more than up to both tasks.
She had 5 years in the same job and didn't lay a glove on May, why are you so confident?
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
Indeed. Given the number of people charged, it’s probably going to take a couple of years for the court system to do its thing, with several linked trials and severe reporting restrictions in place.
It’s noteworthy that they are older - in the Epstein case a lot of the procurers were in their early 20s, former ‘girls’ who were finding younger friends or siblings.
The horror story would be if they turn out to be carers, formally looking after the girls on behalf of the State.
The offences were between 1995 and 2015, so all the charged would have been up to 26 years younger when the offences occurred.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I'm neither riled up nor worried. I'm amused. Hence the phrase "It is amusing".
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
You’re also simply chuffed at having a photo of your kitchen cupboards posted upthread.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I'm neither riled up nor worried. I'm amused. Hence the phrase "It is amusing".
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
Yeah, right. You doth protest too much.
Either way I am sure that you would much rather talk about ancient history than the home secretary’s current handling of migration. Is the government still trying to undermine the RNLI?
Considering I have never defended the Home Secretary's current handling of the migrant crisis, I am not sure what you're driving at? I've said for quite a while what I think the same and humane solution is to stop people crossing in boats, we need an Australian-style offshore processing. Relying upon France to do anything is not going to work.
Doesn't change the fact that Cooper is a failed Brownite retread. She wasn't good a decade ago and I see no reason to think anything has changed. She is the Labour Gavin Williamson.
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
It's time prostitution was legalised and regulated.
I think I would go for legalising of brothels with a small number of sex workers.
Yep, there’s a reason it’s called the world’s oldest profession.
Rather as with drugs policy, criminalisation has been an utter failure, unless you’re making good money as the criminal.
Legalise drugs and sex - because they’re going to happen anyway - it’s better that they happen in a controlled, regulated and taxed environment.
They tried creating managed zones for sex workers in Leeds - that didn't go down well as some locals didn't like it.
Yes, that didn’t work because it was simply a piece of road that became infested with street walkers, kerb-crawlers, and drug taking. Women close to the areas were subject to harrasment.
Better is to have regulated indoor spaces as in Australia, Germany, and Nevada, which are like small hotels with all activity taking place indoors.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Her immediate job is to oppose Patel, who obviously needs opposing. She then has to set out the Labour vision on security with authority. She is more than up to both tasks.
She had 5 years in the same job and didn't lay a glove on May, why are you so confident?
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Her immediate job is to oppose Patel, who obviously needs opposing. She then has to set out the Labour vision on security with authority. She is more than up to both tasks.
She had 5 years in the same job and didn't lay a glove on May, why are you so confident?
Sebastian Payne @SebastianEPayne Whitehall officials say contingency planning is underway in case more curbs are needed, starting with mandatory masks for all indoor settings.
Officials also examining potential WFH order over Christmas, but some govt insisters suggest it’s unlikely.
WFH over Christmas? Bugger that, I'm having a week off.
A friend of mine got an Opinion from Counsel dated 25th December. He regarded it as a cry for help. I am defo having the morning off. Definitely.
Huge moment. ‘An appalling atrocity,' says Prince Charles of transatlantic slavery. No British royal - or Prime Minister - has come as close to apologising for the 250 years of state-sanctioned exploitation and murder. #Barbados https://t.co/gMBibgB3QY
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
It's time prostitution was legalised and regulated.
I think I would go for legalising of brothels with a small number of sex workers.
Yep, there’s a reason it’s called the world’s oldest profession.
Rather as with drugs policy, criminalisation has been an utter failure, unless you’re making good money as the criminal.
Legalise drugs and sex - because they’re going to happen anyway - it’s better that they happen in a controlled, regulated and taxed environment.
They tried creating managed zones for sex workers in Leeds - that didn't go down well as some locals didn't like it.
Yes, that didn’t work because it was simply a piece of road that became infested with street walkers, kerb-crawlers, and drug taking. Women close to the areas were subject to harrasment.
Better is to have regulated indoor spaces as in Australia, Germany, and Nevada, which are like small hotels with all activity taking place indoors.
Edinburgh used to have an enlightened policy of brothels which were called saunas for some reason. It kept the girls safe, the punters safe and things off the street. But then Lothian Police were amalgamated into Police Scotland and those puritans from the west made clear that this was not on. Not really sure this was a step forward.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I'm neither riled up nor worried. I'm amused. Hence the phrase "It is amusing".
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
It’s just deflection, a way to shut down the conversation. If you reply that you aren’t worried, they’ll somehow take that as evidence of you actually being worried.
Phillipson & Streeting are fresh, eye-catching appointments.
Lammy is interesting. I like Lammy as he stands up his people. I always wish the vast army of shabby Labour MPs for Wales did the same thing & stood up for Wales. Maybe if the vast army of ex-Labour MPs for Scotland had stood up for Scotland, they would not be ex. So, I like Lammy.
Yvette Cooper is baffling. She has consistently under-performed whether as Cabinet minister or in the Labour Leadership contests. It is a backwards-looking appointment to the failures of the past. She has talent, but her track record is poor.
Ed Miliband is a fool. He was the one who crashed the Labour car so badly, it has taken a decade to get it back to roadworthy condition. A dreadful appointment -- a man who knows no science in charge of Climate Change and Net Zero.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Her immediate job is to oppose Patel, who obviously needs opposing. She then has to set out the Labour vision on security with authority. She is more than up to both tasks.
She had 5 years in the same job and didn't lay a glove on May, why are you so confident?
Timing is everything.
"This time is different"
Taking on May fresh in office with the goodwill that goes with that is quite different to taking on Patel with 11 years of baggage to defend. I guess that’s why the Tories brought Hague back.
Huge moment. ‘An appalling atrocity,' says Prince Charles of transatlantic slavery. No British royal - or Prime Minister - has come as close to apologising for the 250 years of state-sanctioned exploitation and murder. #Barbados https://t.co/gMBibgB3QY
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I get the impression.... not entirely sure why ..... that some at least of those at the top of the Government have fairly short fuses when it comes to being challenged. Losing one's temper in the Commons is never a good look. Neither side is impressed.
There is an absurd level of dripping arrogance about some of them. Boris thinks he was born to rule, I get that, but the others? Do we have arrogance training at Cabinet Away Days? All sat round in a circle geeing each other up?
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
It's time prostitution was legalised and regulated.
If it was, one wouldn't see 12 year olds involved.
Go and read the story again.
Check the ages of the women and then calculate how old they were when the offences took place - they are middle aged now but if the offences relate to the early days they were 16 and under when things first began.
Have I really woken up to David Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary?
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
I'd love to hear that it was a setup, but I don't think it was.
His curse, if he succumbs to it, will be groping for answers from a half-remembered similar phrase. A bit Borisish.
I still remember that infamous video "we never see a police round here. There are no police here..." with a copper in shot in the background.
Someone (Brexit campaign?) did a fairly good spoof video called "lammyvision" which featured that clip, and also the absurdity of Farage and Johnson being "literally Hitler" as Lammy put it... Still make me chuckle now.
Better is to have regulated indoor spaces as in Australia, Germany, and Nevada, which are like small hotels with all activity taking place indoors.
Yeah... The German ones are nothing like 'small hotels'. They are fucking grim and, despite being putatively legal, are run by Georgian/Russian/Chechen mafia with a thriving associated trade in illegal drugs.
Spanish and Greek ones are good. Budget Kowloon ones are the real test of fortitude. Just get your head down and get the job done.
Mr. Pioneers, if we assume that's accurate, it's worth noting a lot of it may come from the top. The chap in charge sets the tone. It's why leaders like Edward III and Alexander the Great had a large cadre of capable leaders. Either one could send off men like the Black Prince or the Duke of Lancaster, or Craterus or Parmenio, to deal with matters.
There was respect that flowed both ways.
Edward II, on the other hand, dealt with favourites and it did not engender respect. People jealous of their position or afraid of rivals will not promote or accept the capable as lieutenants, which leads to the degradation of general governance (as per when Honorius devoted more effort to killing Stilicho than bolstering the empire).
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I'm neither riled up nor worried. I'm amused. Hence the phrase "It is amusing".
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
Lordy, agreeing with furious Phil in the morning; I need a coffee to recover !
It does look as if @Jonathan is very keen to believe that people are worried.
It's a far stronger shadow cabinet than it was this time yesterday. It's also one that on a like for like basis either matches or exceeds the equivalent post-holder in the actual cabinet. That is good news for Labour and, more importantly, for the country. Holding this joke of a government to account is hugely important.
No, THIS is the issue. Those ghouls I was attacked for mentioning, when I said they had had refugees weaponised by the government? Who were trying to criminalise the RNLI for saving lives?
Here we have a crowd of the bastards trying to stop the Hastings lifeboat going out on a shout.
Better is to have regulated indoor spaces as in Australia, Germany, and Nevada, which are like small hotels with all activity taking place indoors.
Yeah... The German ones are nothing like 'small hotels'. They are fucking grim and, despite being putatively legal, are run by Georgian/Russian/Chechen mafia with a thriving associated trade in illegal drugs.
Spanish and Greek ones are good. Budget Kowloon ones are the real test of fortitude. Just get your head down and get the job done.
Ah, I knew one of PB’s two international brothel experts would pipe up quickly. The other one is probably still asleep, dreaming of Bangkok.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I'm neither riled up nor worried. I'm amused. Hence the phrase "It is amusing".
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
Yeah, right. You doth protest too much.
Either way I am sure that you would much rather talk about ancient history than the home secretary’s current handling of migration. Is the government still trying to undermine the RNLI?
Considering I have never defended the Home Secretary's current handling of the migrant crisis, I am not sure what you're driving at? I've said for quite a while what I think the same and humane solution is to stop people crossing in boats, we need an Australian-style offshore processing. Relying upon France to do anything is not going to work.
Doesn't change the fact that Cooper is a failed Brownite retread. She wasn't good a decade ago and I see no reason to think anything has changed. She is the Labour Gavin Williamson.
That's way too harsh. Williamson was the full Grayling, almost a half Lansley. Cooper is just a bit dull.
Mr. Pioneers, if we assume that's accurate, it's worth noting a lot of it may come from the top. The chap in charge sets the tone. It's why leaders like Edward III and Alexander the Great had a large cadre of capable leaders. Either one could send off men like the Black Prince or the Duke of Lancaster, or Craterus or Parmenio, to deal with matters.
There was respect that flowed both ways.
Edward II, on the other hand, dealt with favourites and it did not engender respect. People jealous of their position or afraid of rivals will not promote or accept the capable as lieutenants, which leads to the degradation of general governance (as per when Honorius devoted more effort to killing Stilicho than bolstering the empire).
Oh I entirely agree - this comes from Peppa. But I'm not sure some members of the cabinet have the emotional intelligence to copy the boss this effectively without some training.
Sebastian Payne @SebastianEPayne Whitehall officials say contingency planning is underway in case more curbs are needed, starting with mandatory masks for all indoor settings.
Officials also examining potential WFH order over Christmas, but some govt insisters suggest it’s unlikely.
WFH over Christmas? Bugger that, I'm having a week off.
A friend of mine got an Opinion from Counsel dated 25th December. He regarded it as a cry for help. I am defo having the morning off. Definitely.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Her immediate job is to oppose Patel, who obviously needs opposing. She then has to set out the Labour vision on security with authority. She is more than up to both tasks.
She had 5 years in the same job and didn't lay a glove on May, why are you so confident?
Timing is everything.
"This time is different"
Taking on May fresh in office with the goodwill that goes with that is quite different to taking on Patel with 11 years of baggage to defend. I guess that’s why the Tories brought Hague back.
Absolutely governments can become tired though this one has two years of baggage to defend.
I don't credit Hague whatsoever for the Tories comeback. I think Cameron and Osborne deserve the credit for that. When the Tories were ready for office they had Cameron and Osborne etc, when Labour were they had Blair, Brown and Mandelson. Where are Labour's bright new stars today?
Better is to have regulated indoor spaces as in Australia, Germany, and Nevada, which are like small hotels with all activity taking place indoors.
Yeah... The German ones are nothing like 'small hotels'. They are fucking grim and, despite being putatively legal, are run by Georgian/Russian/Chechen mafia with a thriving associated trade in illegal drugs.
Spanish and Greek ones are good. Budget Kowloon ones are the real test of fortitude. Just get your head down and get the job done.
Ah, I knew one of PB’s two international brothel experts would pipe up quickly. The other one is probably still asleep, dreaming of Bangkok.
I would be 100% sure we two are not the only international brothel experts. We're just honest about it.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
Sebastian Payne @SebastianEPayne Whitehall officials say contingency planning is underway in case more curbs are needed, starting with mandatory masks for all indoor settings.
Officials also examining potential WFH order over Christmas, but some govt insisters suggest it’s unlikely.
WFH over Christmas? Bugger that, I'm having a week off.
A friend of mine got an Opinion from Counsel dated 25th December. He regarded it as a cry for help. I am defo having the morning off. Definitely.
But think of the overtime.
Not sure that you have mastered the finer points of this self employment thing.
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
It's time prostitution was legalised and regulated.
I think I would go for legalising of brothels with a small number of sex workers.
Yep, there’s a reason it’s called the world’s oldest profession.
Rather as with drugs policy, criminalisation has been an utter failure, unless you’re making good money as the criminal.
Legalise drugs and sex - because they’re going to happen anyway - it’s better that they happen in a controlled, regulated and taxed environment.
Prostitution in itself is not illegal in England. Lots of other related things are but the transaction of paying for sex is not an offence. And if it were it would be unenforceable. It is hard enough proving that sex has been forced in rape trials, unrealistic to trace and prove the payment in consensual cases.
If we legalised drugs (which I support) it would be the same. Lots of regulation would prevent, for example, advertising it on children's television or selling an adulterated version.
BTW human nature being what it is, the radical legalisation supporters, Twitterati and the Guardian would immediately turn their attention to how to blame the government/police for anything about it that caused harm of any sort.
It's a far stronger shadow cabinet than it was this time yesterday. It's also one that on a like for like basis either matches or exceeds the equivalent post-holder in the actual cabinet. That is good news for Labour and, more importantly, for the country. Holding this joke of a government to account is hugely important.
Yes, while there is a clear return to New Labour faces, there are also some fresh ones like Phillipson and Streeting. The ones that have gone were anonymous and missed their chances. It really is beginning to look like a serious alternative government at last.
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
It's time prostitution was legalised and regulated.
I think I would go for legalising of brothels with a small number of sex workers.
Yep, there’s a reason it’s called the world’s oldest profession.
Rather as with drugs policy, criminalisation has been an utter failure, unless you’re making good money as the criminal.
Legalise drugs and sex - because they’re going to happen anyway - it’s better that they happen in a controlled, regulated and taxed environment.
They tried creating managed zones for sex workers in Leeds - that didn't go down well as some locals didn't like it.
Yes, that didn’t work because it was simply a piece of road that became infested with street walkers, kerb-crawlers, and drug taking. Women close to the areas were subject to harrasment.
Better is to have regulated indoor spaces as in Australia, Germany, and Nevada, which are like small hotels with all activity taking place indoors.
Edinburgh used to have an enlightened policy of brothels which were called saunas for some reason. It kept the girls safe, the punters safe and things off the street. But then Lothian Police were amalgamated into Police Scotland and those puritans from the west made clear that this was not on. Not really sure this was a step forward.
It's described as the Caledonian/Thistle merger in some parts of Scotland.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
I'm neither riled up nor worried. I'm amused. Hence the phrase "It is amusing".
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
Lordy, agreeing with furious Phil in the morning; I need a coffee to recover !
It does look as if @Jonathan is very keen to believe that people are worried.
Take a closer look at the names. Two are not like the others, and nor are their charges. Or their genders, come to that.
Three of them, in fact. Middle-aged women, charged with what amounts to finding girls and running a brothel.
Makes you wonder about their back-story.
It's time prostitution was legalised and regulated.
I think I would go for legalising of brothels with a small number of sex workers.
Yep, there’s a reason it’s called the world’s oldest profession.
Rather as with drugs policy, criminalisation has been an utter failure, unless you’re making good money as the criminal.
Legalise drugs and sex - because they’re going to happen anyway - it’s better that they happen in a controlled, regulated and taxed environment.
Prostitution in itself is not illegal in England. Lots of other related things are but the transaction of paying for sex is not an offence. And if it were it would be unenforceable. It is hard enough proving that sex has been forced in rape trials, unrealistic to trace and prove the payment in consensual cases.
If we legalised drugs (which I support) it would be the same. Lots of regulation would prevent, for example, advertising it on children's television or selling an adulterated version.
BTW human nature being what it is, the radical legalisation supporters, Twitterati and the Guardian would immediately turn their attention to how to blame the government/police for anything about it that caused harm of any sort.
Prostitution should be occurring from a legal and taxed brothel, not on the street.
Drugs should be sold from a legal and taxed pharmacist, not on the street.
It is pushing these activities onto the streets that makes them an issue.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
Tbh, good on them. It's exactly the kind of hard headed thinking we need to have.
So we need an armed militia in France? Worth a go, I suppose.
Don't start, @TheScreamingEagles will be conscripting us all into said militia by this afternoon!
Dealing with failed states is always a problem. Giving money to the current gang has certainly not worked.
Lol, my wife described the UK payments to France as racketeering a few weeks ago when we were out with some of her Swiss friends that had come to the UK.
Sebastian Payne @SebastianEPayne Whitehall officials say contingency planning is underway in case more curbs are needed, starting with mandatory masks for all indoor settings.
Officials also examining potential WFH order over Christmas, but some govt insisters suggest it’s unlikely.
WFH over Christmas? Bugger that, I'm having a week off.
A friend of mine got an Opinion from Counsel dated 25th December. He regarded it as a cry for help. I am defo having the morning off. Definitely.
When I lived in Switzerland, a vet who was a bit concerned about our cat's health despite an apparent recovery visited us on Christmas Day to check how she was getting on (he was right that it was a false recovery - sadly she died some days later). He didn't make a fuss about it - just said it was best to be on the safe side if possible. I think of him when I read about people struggling to get their GPs to visit on any day of the year.
Phillipson & Streeting are fresh, eye-catching appointments.
Lammy is interesting. I like Lammy as he stands up his people. I always wish the vast army of shabby Labour MPs for Wales did the same thing & stood up for Wales. Maybe if the vast army of ex-Labour MPs for Scotland had stood up for Scotland, they would not be ex. So, I like Lammy.
Yvette Cooper is baffling. She has consistently under-performed whether as Cabinet minister or in the Labour Leadership contests. It is a backwards-looking appointment to the failures of the past. She has talent, but her track record is poor.
Ed Miliband is a fool. He was the one who crashed the Labour car so badly, it has taken a decade to get it back to roadworthy condition. A dreadful appointment -- a man who knows no science in charge of Climate Change and Net Zero.
As far as Ed Miliband goes, this is one of the most incorrect posts ever on PB. He wiped the floor with Johnson in the Commons last year, and is one of the two or three brightest and most thoughtful in the parliamentary Labour party - as well as one of the most decent.
Theresa May copiously stole his clothes on rebalancing the economy, energy markets, workers on boards and much else, even if she did none of it, and May's legacy there was also the starting point for Johnson's "Red Tory" rhetoric, which has in turn become part of the Brexit offer.
I have just received emails addressed to 2 unused email addresses with the subject line Get Your Free Omicron PCR test - Apply now to avoid restrictions
They contain the following text...
Get Your Free Omicron PCR today to avoid restrictions
NHS scientists have warned that the new Covid variant Omicron spreads rapidly, can be transmitted between fully vaccinated people, and makes jabs less effective.However, as the new covid variant (Omicron)has quickly become apparent, we have had to make new test kits as the new variant appears dormant in the original test kits.
What happen if you decline a COVID-19 Omicron test?
In this situation, we warned that testing is in the best interests of themselves, friends, and family. People who do not consent or cannot agree to a COVID-19 test and refuse to undergo a swab must be isolated.
How to request a Free Omicron PCR test?
You can order your Omicorn pcr test via NHS portal by clicking the link below:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
What happen if you are positive?
If positive, they must isolate for 10 days and should be reported to Public Health England.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
The E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that stops migrants before they reach Europe’s shores. A new investigation goes inside a secretive prison for migrants, controlled by one of Libya’s most powerful militias.
Better is to have regulated indoor spaces as in Australia, Germany, and Nevada, which are like small hotels with all activity taking place indoors.
Yeah... The German ones are nothing like 'small hotels'. They are fucking grim and, despite being putatively legal, are run by Georgian/Russian/Chechen mafia with a thriving associated trade in illegal drugs.
Spanish and Greek ones are good. Budget Kowloon ones are the real test of fortitude. Just get your head down and get the job done.
Ah, I knew one of PB’s two international brothel experts would pipe up quickly. The other one is probably still asleep, dreaming of Bangkok.
German brothels are extremely various. Dura is painting with too broad a brush. At the lower end you have the “tolerated street walker zones” where it’s like having sex in Preston bus station with a high chance you will be clouted by a hooker wielding a bottle of Bailey’s, in the midrange there are vast legal brothels in the middle of ugly cities (eg Koln) which is like having lifeless sex with your 41 year old wife in a Travelodge in Reading, at its best there are some sparkling FKK clubs where it’s as good as the best of Bangkok only the girls are paler and Ukrainian and have hauntingly beautiful cheekbones
It is amusing how many people claim that Cooper is a serious heavyweight with a strong career behind her . . . then react with horror/boredom when HIPS are brought up.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
Well for a start she’s got you all riled up and worried. That’s good, I guess it’s her performance in committee that’s unnerved you. More than a match for Patel.
The impact of politicians on most regulars of the site is largely irrelevant to the public at large - anyone on here often, myself included tends to be failry partisan and unusually politicallly aware. Her hectoring style can be quite effective in the committee setting - in othe venues I'm not sure the public warm to it so much. Time will tell.
Her immediate job is to oppose Patel, who obviously needs opposing. She then has to set out the Labour vision on security with authority. She is more than up to both tasks.
She had 5 years in the same job and didn't lay a glove on May, why are you so confident?
Phillipson & Streeting are fresh, eye-catching appointments.
Lammy is interesting. I like Lammy as he stands up his people. I always wish the vast army of shabby Labour MPs for Wales did the same thing & stood up for Wales. Maybe if the vast army of ex-Labour MPs for Scotland had stood up for Scotland, they would not be ex. So, I like Lammy.
Yvette Cooper is baffling. She has consistently under-performed whether as Cabinet minister or in the Labour Leadership contests. It is a backwards-looking appointment to the failures of the past. She has talent, but her track record is poor.
Ed Miliband is a fool. He was the one who crashed the Labour car so badly, it has taken a decade to get it back to roadworthy condition. A dreadful appointment -- a man who knows no science in charge of Climate Change and Net Zero.
As far as Ed Miliband goes, this is one of the most incorrect posts ever on PB. He wiped the floor with Johnson in the Commons last year, and is one of the two or three brightest in the parliamentary Labour party - as well as being one of the most decent.
I've listened to quite a few of Ed Milliband's podcasts and he does indeed come across as a kind and decent man, as described. He was unlucky in that Cameron turned a Con-LD Coalition Govt into a Con one, while the SNP made hay in Scotland.
Comments
Has it been published yet? I haven't seen it but I must admit I haven't looked very hard.
I more recall her for the dodginess on MP mortgage expenses and flipping.
I'm sure they wouldn't want us to mention the approx £300 bn PFI debt to be paid off on terms over up to 60 years they left behind, either. It's one of the reasons the Health Budget is under such pressure - remarkably easy to spend money when you borrow it from 20 years hence, and leave the fallout for the next lot. My local hosp. is spending several million a year on servicing PFI.
Large minuses, as opposed to the occasional small plus, every day.
(Sits back, has a swig of morning coffee and waits.....)
It’s noteworthy that they are older - in the Epstein case a lot of the procurers were in their early 20s, former ‘girls’ who were finding younger friends or siblings.
The horror story would be if they turn out to be carers, formally looking after the girls on behalf of the State.
King Cole, I very briefly had a Portuguese dentist and she much preferred British weather. My mother's dentist (Ghanaian, I think) also doesn't like hot weather.
That's going to be interesting. Hope he's good at being briefed, and listening.
This is just one q from the famous Mastermind:
John Humphries: "Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend on of the gates of Paris, and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?"
David Lammy: "Versailles".
John Humphries: "Le Bastille".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsR4Nx-ELgc
I'd love to hear that it was a setup, but I don't think it was.
His curse, if he succumbs to it, will be groping for answers from a half-remembered similar phrase. A bit Borisish.
Women around 40 now would have been 15 or so in the mid-nineties.
Perhaps Cooper's fans on this site could say what about her exactly that does attract her to them, given that HIPS are about her only ever "achievement" and that's to be ruled out.
That said it does work better if people don’t think it was staged, which is why anti-vaxers are going to be claiming it was.
the prison Saint-Pierre in Versailles. I remembered this because the last public execution was outside it in 1939, witnessed by a certain Christopher Lee.
Also, AIUI the rules of Mastermind favour giving any answer, rather than passes. Whilst the presenter gives the right answer if you get it wrong (wasting time), if there is a tie then the person with the least number of passes wins. Therefore if you can give a wrong answer quickly, it might be quicker than thinking about an answer and eventually passing.
On the other hand I would regard that as one reason amongst many why I would make a really bad shadow foreign secretary.
https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1460994248157843456?t=kVqQ2k_y6Ke3yVAoNx-4LA&s=19
Labour has bad ideas that don’t work.
The Tories have good ideas that don’t work and bad ideas that do…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21764636
I think I would go for legalising of brothels with a small number of sex workers.
But I'd probably favour Gransden-hatley-Wrestwingworth-Dunton-Hinxworth-Stotfold.
Losing one's temper in the Commons is never a good look. Neither side is impressed.
Another one was:
"What was the married name of the scientists Marie and Pierre who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 for their research into radiation?"
"Antoinette".
"No, Curie".
The problem with these style quizzes when people are under a clock pressure is that people can form answers in their head to the first half of the question without thinking it through.
Big government, small boats, Paterson: he has clearly been marked down for all three, and his chaotic recent speech to the CBI probably hasn’t helped. That’s the second time he’s slipped into the red with the panel since the last election, the first being during the autumn of 2020.
https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2021/11/our-cabinet-league-table-johnson-is-back-in-negative-ratings.html
It is also amusing how whenever one responds to something on this site people on the other side of politics frequently retort with a line like "you're worried". No, no I'm not.
Check the ages of the women and then calculate how old they were when the offences took place - they are middle aged now but if the offences relate to the early days they were 16 and under when things first began.
https://twitter.com/AdamWagner1/status/1465588554499862531
Lammy has an interesting education - London (which may account for a lot - ILEA was aiui a mess in the 1970s), and then Peterborough Cathedral School on a scholarship. I was wondering whether it was basic gaps in a rounded education (as I have in eg Biology and Bronte type literature), but I am not sure.
It's probably to his advantage that he's from the side of Twitter that uses / misuses edited videoclips as a key element of their campaigns.
Rather as with drugs policy, criminalisation has been an utter failure, unless you’re making good money as the criminal.
Legalise drugs and sex - because they’re going to happen anyway - it’s better that they happen in a controlled, regulated and taxed environment.
Either way I am sure that you would much rather talk about ancient history than the home secretary’s current handling of migration. Is the government still trying to undermine the RNLI?
Doesn't change the fact that Cooper is a failed Brownite retread. She wasn't good a decade ago and I see no reason to think anything has changed. She is the Labour Gavin Williamson.
The issue is not HIPS.
Better is to have regulated indoor spaces as in Australia, Germany, and Nevada, which are like small hotels with all activity taking place indoors.
This is Cooper vs Patel fairly recently.
https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1283347431606964226?s=20
https://twitter.com/axrenton/status/1465578624292212739?s=19
Phillipson & Streeting are fresh, eye-catching appointments.
Lammy is interesting. I like Lammy as he stands up his people. I always wish the vast army of shabby Labour MPs for Wales did the same thing & stood up for Wales. Maybe if the vast army of ex-Labour MPs for Scotland had stood up for Scotland, they would not be ex. So, I like Lammy.
Yvette Cooper is baffling. She has consistently under-performed whether as Cabinet minister or in the Labour Leadership contests. It is a backwards-looking appointment to the failures of the past. She has talent, but her track record is poor.
Ed Miliband is a fool. He was the one who crashed the Labour car so badly, it has taken a decade to get it back to roadworthy condition. A dreadful appointment -- a man who knows no science in charge of Climate Change and Net Zero.
Say the shadow minister is shrill! Yes and Ho.
Someone (Brexit campaign?) did a fairly good spoof video called "lammyvision" which featured that clip, and also the absurdity of Farage and Johnson being "literally Hitler" as Lammy put it... Still make me chuckle now.
https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=653947641711468&_rdr
Spanish and Greek ones are good. Budget Kowloon ones are the real test of fortitude. Just get your head down and get the job done.
There was respect that flowed both ways.
Edward II, on the other hand, dealt with favourites and it did not engender respect. People jealous of their position or afraid of rivals will not promote or accept the capable as lieutenants, which leads to the degradation of general governance (as per when Honorius devoted more effort to killing Stilicho than bolstering the empire).
It does look as if @Jonathan is very keen to believe that people are worried.
Here we have a crowd of the bastards trying to stop the Hastings lifeboat going out on a shout.
https://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/people/hastings-rnli-lifeboat-crew-blocked-from-going-out-to-sea-by-people-angry-at-them-rescuing-refugees-3475179
I don't credit Hague whatsoever for the Tories comeback. I think Cameron and Osborne deserve the credit for that. When the Tories were ready for office they had Cameron and Osborne etc, when Labour were they had Blair, Brown and Mandelson. Where are Labour's bright new stars today?
If we legalised drugs (which I support) it would be the same. Lots of regulation would prevent, for example, advertising it on children's television or selling an adulterated version.
BTW human nature being what it is, the radical legalisation supporters, Twitterati and the Guardian would immediately turn their attention to how to blame the government/police for anything about it that caused harm of any sort.
Drugs should be sold from a legal and taxed pharmacist, not on the street.
It is pushing these activities onto the streets that makes them an issue.
There's scope for any number of TV drama series in the whole setup
Theresa May copiously stole his clothes on rebalancing the economy, energy markets, workers on boards and much else, even if she did none of it, and May's legacy there was also the starting point for Johnson's "Red Tory" rhetoric, which has in turn become part of the Brexit offer.
I have just received emails addressed to 2 unused email addresses with the subject line Get Your Free Omicron PCR test - Apply now to avoid restrictions
They contain the following text...
Get Your Free Omicron PCR today to avoid restrictions
NHS scientists have warned that the new Covid variant Omicron spreads rapidly, can be transmitted between fully vaccinated people, and makes jabs less effective.However, as the new covid variant (Omicron)has quickly become apparent, we have had to make new test kits as the new variant appears dormant in the original test kits.
What happen if you decline a COVID-19 Omicron test?
In this situation, we warned that testing is in the best interests of themselves, friends, and family. People who do not consent or cannot agree to a COVID-19 test and refuse to undergo a swab must be isolated.
How to request a Free Omicron PCR test?
You can order your Omicorn pcr test via NHS portal by clicking the link below:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
What happen if you are positive?
If positive, they must isolate for 10 days and should be reported to Public Health England.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/06/the-secretive-libyan-prisons-that-keep-migrants-out-of-europe
this image is... interesting. As is the section where it discuss the sale of prison labour in Libya. As an auction. In a market....
Bunnco-Leon, your correspondent at the count