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.
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.
Lawyer working for normal fees on Christmas Day?
Hmmmm.
I'm sure lawyers have 678 inoffensive sounding words for "overtime".
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 a very Brexit-dominated list, at first glance. The top three are Liz Truss who has rolled over a number of trade agreements, Lord Frost who is trying to change the Brexit agreement negotiated by, erm, himself, and Anne-Marie Trevelyan who has replaced Liz Truss as chief deal-roller-over. I'm not sure if that means party activists think Brexit is still the most important issue or that they are hoping it will all go away.
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.
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
Facing up to the reality of an independence-lite SNP, an SNP of poor delivery and progressive posturing, means facing up to the real Nicola Sturgeon. She is not the warrior woman with the common touch that has been spun by her PR people and lapped up by SNP true believers. She is a triangulating politician with a skill for strategy and absolutely no clue how to use the levers of government to bring about change. A talker like no other but not much of a doer.
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.
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 agree, Labour crashed their own car in the leadership election. He did a slightly substandard job, but oppositions don't win elections
And god I dream of that coalition of chaos we could have had in 2015
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.
Think of the embarrassment of being confused about prison development in France in 1370! That said, I know some politicians who struggle to remember what they said last week.
I like Cooper, but I think that many people are forgetting that shadowing a minister is very different to chairing a select committee. Cooper currently gets the opportunity to ask a number of in-depth questions to both Patel and Johnson each month, and can follow-up on their answers. In the Commons she will be responding to Patel and the questions that she asks can be batted away much more easily. The shadow job is much more about getting in front of TV cameras and radio mikes, and answering questions from journalists. Cooper will be able to do that, but she does lose the ability to do the forensic stuff. Priti Patel and Boris Johnson will both feel slightly relieved today.
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.
Lawyer working for normal fees on Christmas Day?
Hmmmm.
I'm sure lawyers have 678 inoffensive sounding words for "overtime".
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.
The army of ex-Labour MPs for Scotland not only did not stand up for Scotland, they actively worked against Scottish interests. However inactive Welsh Labour MPs are, I don’t think they’ve flipped over to being hostile to Welsh interests?
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.
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.
Ed Miliband has a hugely important role to play. The Greens are currently getting up to 10% in national polling. Labour needs to halve that, at least, by the time the GE comes around. That's Ed's unstated brief. He is probably the Labour politician best-placed to do it.
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.
Good to see Lammy in the Shad Cab. I rate him. Those who don't haven't been paying attention.
Lab has inched forward a smidge in being a party to vote for.
Interested to see what development from here. I will never vote for them while they continue to advocate longer, harder, stronger Covid restrictions, that said. So that might be them waiting for me vote for ever.
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.
Think of the embarrassment of being confused about prison development in France in 1370! That said, I know some politicians who struggle to remember what they said last week.
Good morning Nick.
Or not knowing that Versailles was 18C.
Perhaps it's like getting the Tower of London mixed up with Buck House, except that the Bastille is a (the?) key symbol of how France sees itself. Imagine the explosion from Macron if BJ did that
I think the Marie Antoinette - Marie Curie mix up was more revealing of what was going on.
As was the thing about the 'racist smoke'.
It's like Govt Ministers who turn out not to know the price of milk or petrol, or not being able to identify a seagull, but rather than admitting it take a flyer and get it badly wrong.
As I say, I hope he doesn't do any similar - but it is knowing when to keep quiet.
Suspect he needs a competent handler given the authority to speak to him clearly, and definitely as a buffer from twitter. The sort of aide who would have saved BJ from so many policy pratfalls (as opposed to presentation pratfalls, which BJ can wing successfully).
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?
Wow. I can see why Starmer likes her - a forensic demolition.
I'm sure Starmer has always rated her. These appointments weren't' "flyable" when he took charge, but they now are due to the way he has inched his party in the direction he wants it to go, i.e. the electable direction.
He's doing a great job. Reminiscent of what Blair, Brown and Mandelson did before they gained power. Starmer's no Blair, but making Labour competent-looking again may be enough.
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.
So, the evidence that Miliband is not a fool is:
(i) he wiped the floor with Johnson and (ii) Theresa May stole his clothes.
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.
Think of the embarrassment of being confused about prison development in France in 1370! That said, I know some politicians who struggle to remember what they said last week.
OK, but it is surely counterintuitive to think that Henry VIII was succeeded by Henry VII.
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.
But that is what happens when the government weaponise the issue. I did say that their continued attempt to criminalise the RNLI would have an impact on the ghouls and here we are.
Some people now want migrants to drown. And the Tories are working very hard to secure their votes.
Re: YC's HIPS (hope the moderators will let me get away with that, with apologies to Ms C) yours truly recalls that Winston Churchill once said, "Every dog deserves one bite".
In the same way, is it true that every minister who proves worthy of their salt, will have at least one pile of dog you-know-what to answer for blotting their official copybook?
Speaking of WSC, he is THE poster child for this theory,
Which absolves a LOT of foulness that's floated down the Thames for centuries. What you might call a byproduct!
EDIT - have no major feeling for Cooper one way or the other, though hope for the best from her & her fellow frontbenchers on that side of the House.
Just think it's possible to learn from mistakes, indeed one of the great learning tools of all time.
Certainly that way for yours truly.
If nothing else, at least people know who she is. Not something you can say about whomever it was that she's replacing.
By declaring war on Starmer, the Corbyn-obsessed left set him free. They’re really not very smart.
He also needs to be very careful that he doesn't shoot himself in the foot in reverse, though, by sidelining figures such as Rayner or Miliband. I'm not fully convinced that he understands this as yet.
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.
Re: YC's HIPS (hope the moderators will let me get away with that, with apologies to Ms C) yours truly recalls that Winston Churchill once said, "Every dog deserves one bite".
In the same way, is it true that every minister who proves worthy of their salt, will have at least one pile of dog you-know-what to answer for blotting their official copybook?
Speaking of WSC, he is THE poster child for this theory,
Which absolves a LOT of foulness that's floated down the Thames for centuries. What you might call a byproduct!
EDIT - have no major feeling for Cooper one way or the other, though hope for the best from her & her fellow frontbenchers on that side of the House.
Just think it's possible to learn from mistakes, indeed one of the great learning tools of all time.
Certainly that way for yours truly.
If nothing else, at least people know who she is. Not something you can say about whomever it was that she's replacing.
I think that's a lot of the battle here - few people would care enough about the Labour Shadow Home secretary saying something to get them on the radio, YC is famous enough that she will get more air time.
And more air time for YC means more media attention on the Home Secretary and her issues - in fact Priti is now going to be attacked on 2 sides with YC on one side and ReformUK on the other.
Good to see Lammy in the Shad Cab. I rate him. Those who don't haven't been paying attention.
Lab has inched forward a smidge in being a party to vote for.
Interested to see what development from here. I will never vote for them while they continue to advocate longer, harder, stronger Covid restrictions, that said. So that might be them waiting for me vote for ever.
I think Lammy is an excellent backbench MP standing up for his constituents, Im unsure he has the brain quickness to be an effective shadow minister.
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.
So, the evidence that Miliband is not a fool is:
(i) he wiped the floor with Johnson and (ii) Theresa May stole his clothes.
I see.
As Johnson has in turn also stolen those clothes from May, I would say helping to set the direction of British politics, as well as defeating the Prime Minister in a Commons performance, is pretty respectable evidence.
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.
Good to see Lammy in the Shad Cab. I rate him. Those who don't haven't been paying attention.
Lab has inched forward a smidge in being a party to vote for.
Interested to see what development from here. I will never vote for them while they continue to advocate longer, harder, stronger Covid restrictions, that said. So that might be them waiting for me vote for ever.
I think Lammy is an excellent backbench MP standing up for his constituents, Im unsure he has the brain quickness to be an effective shadow minister.
I might question the FM appointment, but I'm not sure where I would put him either.
I don't think the Angela Rayner tactic will work in that position.
But it will be interesting to see some pressure on Liz Truss if he can do it. I don't think I have heard anything from her in the media for a time. What is our FM doing at present?
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.
But that is what happens when the government weaponise the issue. I did say that their continued attempt to criminalise the RNLI would have an impact on the ghouls and here we are.
Some people now want migrants to drown. And the Tories are working very hard to secure their votes.
I don't see that that kind of hysterical overstatement advances your case. The right wing position (which I am stating, not agreeing with) is that they want fewer migrants. It is impractical to think we can drown enough of them to make a meaningful dent in the numbers. Therefore we should discourage them from setting out in the first place. You can absolutely bet that part of the sales pitch for the channel crossing is: Short crossing, powerful engine, done it loadsa times without a problem, and if there is one we'll call up the RNLI on this vhf radio I have here. There is therefore a respectable argument that the RNLI's availability is part of the problem as much as being part of the solution.
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.
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?"
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.
I don't know. So long as you can still tell your arse from your elbow, you'd be one up on a few of the present cabinet.
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
Costs little, but I'm still not a fan. When/where do you draw the line? Should the Italians apologise for the Roman empire? How about the Egyptians enslaving the people of Israel? If you personally have done something wrong, then apologising is the right thing. When our ancestors did something to their ancestors, I'm not so sure.
By declaring war on Starmer, the Corbyn-obsessed left set him free. They’re really not very smart.
He also needs to be very careful that he doesn't shoot himself in the foot in reverse, though, by sidelining figures such as Rayner or Miliband. I'm not fully convinced that he understands this as yet.
I agree, but I don't think that's what's happening. Yesterday's reshuffle was as much about effectiveness as ideology. He dispensed with Thomas-Symonds because he'd had so little impact. He dispensed with Kate Green (Education) for the same reason, even though she'd only taken over from RLB 16 months ago. And Miliband, I think, still has an important role on climate change/attracting Green waverers, as Southam argued earlier.
Starmer is showing himself now to be quite ruthless in building an election-winning machine. I think it's the determination to have the most capable SC in place, rather than ideological differences, that lie behind yesterday's changes. If the left is under-represented, it's partly because, as I've argued before, there are no towering figures at the moment on the left of the party. Which is a pity.
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.
this image is... interesting. As is the section where it discuss the sale of prison labour in Libya. As an auction. In a market....
Who funded this? Is this the Italian funded first one, or the EuCo follow on?
Read the article - it is a matrix of funding. All carefully indirect.
Interesting that the EU has created the "Offshore Gulags" for immigrants that some people here are getting bent out of shape about in the UK context.
Also in the article, the Libyan "Coast Guard" which is being funded by this - *shooting* at immigrants in boats....
Or to put it another way, people who touch themselves inappropriately at the thought of the UK taking such actions but get bent out of shape about it in the EU context.
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
Costs little, but I'm still not a fan. When/where do you draw the line? Should the Italians apologise for the Roman empire? How about the Egyptians enslaving the people of Israel? If you personally have done something wrong, then apologising is the right thing. When our ancestors did something to their ancestors, I'm not so sure.
If you follow that argument to its logical conclusion, you also don't revel in the glories of a country unless you partook at least in some small way.
I'm ok with that, but not with those who celebrate their country's greatness without also feeling shame for her squalor.
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
Costs little, but I'm still not a fan. When/where do you draw the line? Should the Italians apologise for the Roman empire? How about the Egyptians enslaving the people of Israel? If you personally have done something wrong, then apologising is the right thing. When our ancestors did something to their ancestors, I'm not so sure.
If you follow that argument to its logical conclusion, you also don't revel in the glories of a country unless you partook at least in some small way.
I'm ok with that, but not with those who celebrate their country's greatness without also feeling shame for her squalor.
Thankfully we haven't constructed an honours system based around the British Empire under which much of the horrors of transantlantic slavery took place.
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.
Her biggest task will be to come up with a coherent and popular Labour policy on migration, refugees etc.
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.
Bless. The idea that women and girls are not trafficked, beaten, abused, raped etc in brothels because they are not on the streets would be sweetly naive were the reality of this trade - for women anyway - not so revolting and dangerous.
And yes I have done an investigation into senior City persons who were involved in this business - as suppliers not just punters. It is a grim business.
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.
Her biggest task will be to come up with a coherent and popular Labour policy on migration, refugees etc.
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.
Bless. The idea that women and girls are not trafficked, beaten, abused, raped etc in brothels because they are not on the streets would be sweetly naive were the reality of this trade - for women anyway - not so revolting and dangerous.
And yes I have done an investigation into senior City persons who were involved in this business - as suppliers not just punters. It is a grim business.
I'm sure there are problems in legal and licensed brothels were they exist, as there are problems in all walks of life.
But having it legal and with the possibility of inspections etc is going to be far better for the women and girls involved than having it 'licensed' by pimps on the streets.
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?
I think it's "thou dost"; 'doth' is the third person singular (like 'the lady doth').
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.
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.
May be you can tell us why she is so highly rated?
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.
But that is what happens when the government weaponise the issue. I did say that their continued attempt to criminalise the RNLI would have an impact on the ghouls and here we are.
Some people now want migrants to drown. And the Tories are working very hard to secure their votes.
I don't see that that kind of hysterical overstatement advances your case. The right wing position (which I am stating, not agreeing with) is that they want fewer migrants. It is impractical to think we can drown enough of them to make a meaningful dent in the numbers. Therefore we should discourage them from setting out in the first place. You can absolutely bet that part of the sales pitch for the channel crossing is: Short crossing, powerful engine, done it loadsa times without a problem, and if there is one we'll call up the RNLI on this vhf radio I have here. There is therefore a respectable argument that the RNLI's availability is part of the problem as much as being part of the solution.
My "hysterical overstatement" is simply what people are saying - drown the buggers. You may find it as appalling as I do, but that is what happens when the government reduce people to a plague.
Rescuing drowning children is not "part of the problem" - perhaps I was wrong about you finding it appalling
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.
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.
May be you can tell us why she is so highly rated?
Her husband was on strictly. Swing voters love strictly.
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
Costs little, but I'm still not a fan. When/where do you draw the line? Should the Italians apologise for the Roman empire? How about the Egyptians enslaving the people of Israel? If you personally have done something wrong, then apologising is the right thing. When our ancestors did something to their ancestors, I'm not so sure.
As private individuals sure. As leader of a hereditary monarchy that has been in place for hundreds of years and expects to be in place for hundreds of years more? Absolutely correct to apologise for what the institution has done before your lifetime.
The only reason his words have more meaning than mine is because they represent an idea and power that spans many lifetimes.
Comments
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
I’m a believer in the maxim about governments losing elections, not oppositions winning them.
Hmmmm.
I'm sure lawyers have 678 inoffensive sounding words for "overtime".
and similar.
https://stephendaisley.substack.com/p/nicola-sturgeon-will-never-deliver
And god I dream of that coalition of chaos we could have had in 2015
"Proper" winter starts tomorrow.
Lab has inched forward a smidge in being a party to vote for.
Interested to see what development from here. I will never vote for them while they continue to advocate longer, harder, stronger Covid restrictions, that said. So that might be them waiting for me vote for ever.
Or not knowing that Versailles was 18C.
Perhaps it's like getting the Tower of London mixed up with Buck House, except that the Bastille is a (the?) key symbol of how France sees itself. Imagine the explosion from Macron if BJ did that
I think the Marie Antoinette - Marie Curie mix up was more revealing of what was going on.
As was the thing about the 'racist smoke'.
It's like Govt Ministers who turn out not to know the price of milk or petrol, or not being able to identify a seagull, but rather than admitting it take a flyer and get it badly wrong.
As I say, I hope he doesn't do any similar - but it is knowing when to keep quiet.
Suspect he needs a competent handler given the authority to speak to him clearly, and definitely as a buffer from twitter. The sort of aide who would have saved BJ from so many policy pratfalls (as opposed to presentation pratfalls, which BJ can wing successfully).
He's doing a great job. Reminiscent of what Blair, Brown and Mandelson did before they gained power. Starmer's no Blair, but making Labour competent-looking again may be enough.
Government-in-waiting type stuff.
(i) he wiped the floor with Johnson and (ii) Theresa May stole his clothes.
I see.
Some people now want migrants to drown. And the Tories are working very hard to secure their votes.
And more air time for YC means more media attention on the Home Secretary and her issues - in fact Priti is now going to be attacked on 2 sides with YC on one side and ReformUK on the other.
Interesting that the EU has created the "Offshore Gulags" for immigrants that some people here are getting bent out of shape about in the UK context.
Also in the article, the Libyan "Coast Guard" which is being funded by this - *shooting* at immigrants in boats....
I don't think the Angela Rayner tactic will work in that position.
But it will be interesting to see some pressure on Liz Truss if he can do it. I don't think I have heard anything from her in the media for a time. What is our FM doing at present?
Lack of attention to detail may be an issue imo.
So long as you can still tell your arse from your elbow, you'd be one up on a few of the present cabinet.
If you personally have done something wrong, then apologising is the right thing. When our ancestors did something to their ancestors, I'm not so sure.
Starmer is showing himself now to be quite ruthless in building an election-winning machine. I think it's the determination to have the most capable SC in place, rather than ideological differences, that lie behind yesterday's changes. If the left is under-represented, it's partly because, as I've argued before, there are no towering figures at the moment on the left of the party. Which is a pity.
I'm ok with that, but not with those who celebrate their country's greatness without also feeling shame for her squalor.
We haven't, right?
Can she? Bless. The idea that women and girls are not trafficked, beaten, abused, raped etc in brothels because they are not on the streets would be sweetly naive were the reality of this trade - for women anyway - not so revolting and dangerous.
And yes I have done an investigation into senior City persons who were involved in this business - as suppliers not just punters. It is a grim business.
But having it legal and with the possibility of inspections etc is going to be far better for the women and girls involved than having it 'licensed' by pimps on the streets.
NEW THREAD
Rescuing drowning children is not "part of the problem" - perhaps I was wrong about you finding it appalling
The only reason his words have more meaning than mine is because they represent an idea and power that spans many lifetimes.