On an off topic but betting note: thanks to years of lurking on here, I finally took the plunge with an actual political book this year, and I've made a guaranteed minimum profit of £65.25, maximum of £80 over the grand total of £50 I allowed myself to stake over the year. (Last of the big punters, me.)
Thanks everyone for tips, advice (and warnings not to bet with the heart!)
There will be screams of "libel!!!" off the back of it. And then no action taken. I always said that I don't care what Cummings thinks but care about what he can prove. Will be interesting to see what fun facts he will produce.
There will be screams of "libel!!!" off the back of it. And then no action taken. I always said that I don't care what Cummings thinks but care about what he can prove. Will be interesting to see what fun facts he will produce.
Has anyone bet on him mentioning the effects of vaccines on pilots?
Russia has close the Straits of Kerch - Awaiting official confirmation.
Oh great, WWIII on top of everything else. The world is definitely conspiring against the Christmas Parties….
The first person to make money shorting the markets as a result of World War 3 kicking off in the Straits of Kerch must surely write a column simply titled
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
I know there have been plenty of approved drugs that have later proved to have very unfortunate side effects, but has that actually been the case with any vaccines?
I remember the whole MMR causing autism rubbish, but I can't think of any real vaccine scandals. I don't want to google it because I know I'll find mostly antivax bullshit.
I don't understand the whole antivax movement at all.
Vaccination, along with the discovery of penicillin, is probably the greatest advance in medical history. I'm sure a lot of anti vaxxers are mentally ill.
They're also indulged too much. If we do end up back in lockdown or something like it this Winter, it won't so much be the fault of the new variant as it will the reservoir of individuals who put the healthcare system in continuous jeopardy by their stubborn refusal to have a scratch on the arm every few months. If the hospitals scream that they're completely unable to cope with more Covid patients then you can be almost certain that most of them will be unvaccinated.
It's time to treat this pandemic how it should be treated: as a war in which the socio-economic survival of the nation is at stake. Vaccination should be thought of as analogous to conscription: mandatory and unavoidable, unless there is a sound medical reason why an individual should be excused it. Sound medical reasons do not include needle phobia, veganism, not trusting the Tories, or having read something scary that's been promulgated by some charlatan on WhatsApp.
Those who draft dodge should not continue to be tolerated and ought, if necessary, to have their lives made unbearable to force them to give in. If vaccination for pretty much everyone, save a handful of medical exemptions, is all that is going to get us out of an endless cycle of restrictions then that is what must happen, and it must happen as quickly as possible.
I know there have been plenty of approved drugs that have later proved to have very unfortunate side effects, but has that actually been the case with any vaccines?
I remember the whole MMR causing autism rubbish, but I can't think of any real vaccine scandals. I don't want to google it because I know I'll find mostly antivax bullshit.
I don't understand the whole antivax movement at all.
Vaccination, along with the discovery of penicillin, is probably the greatest advance in medical history. I'm sure a lot of anti vaxxers are mentally ill.
I could have a reasoned debate back in the spring with the type who worry that the Covid vaccines have been “rushed to market.” I think it’s a misguided view, particularly in light of official sanction and the seriousness of the pandemic, but I at least get the concerns.
The types who bang on about microchips and Bill Gates and hard resets are completely cuckoo, though….
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
Because clearly those like Harper who will vote against vaxports will also vote to bring down the government.
I'm starting to think I was harsh on that Russian troll earlier.
On an off topic but betting note: thanks to years of lurking on here, I finally took the plunge with an actual political book this year, and I've made a guaranteed minimum profit of £65.25, maximum of £80 over the grand total of £50 I allowed myself to stake over the year. (Last of the big punters, me.)
Thanks everyone for tips, advice (and warnings not to bet with the heart!)
Good on you. Thanks to this place we have both lost our virginity.
I just fear some people find betting without use of a heart suspiciously easy…
Why are they furious? It doesn't really do anything significant.
Erm, they have principles about freedom?
Nah. Tory backbenchers? The ones who just drove through another reading of Priti's Bill? Principles about freedom my Covid-ridden arse.
Well there's good freedom and bad freedom isn't there?
Good freedom is freedom to do stuff Christopher Chope and Philip Davies want to do, and bad freedom is the freedom to do stuff they don't want you to do therefore they should be free to stop your freedom to do it.
Big discussion at work today about the Christmas lunch - not "do" or "party" just a lunch. Oddly enough, the older members who have had the three vaccinations were much more positive about going than the younger double jabbed who felt very insecure.
I can only go by what my colleagues tell me but the perception (yes, the "p" word again) created by the media is those who have had only two vaccinations are much more at risk from Omicron than those with three. Everyone in the room had two vaccinations and six of us had had the booster.
We fought off a move to cancel the whole thing but a table for 14 will now be a table for 6 - for a couple of the team this will be their main social outing before Christmas. I was reminded of the classic lyric from Eleanor Rigby:
"All the Lonely People, Where do They all Belong?"
It's not just about the partying, the drinking, the "carousing" (as @Leon would say) but for a worryingly large number of people, it's about the minimum of social contact.
I’d normally be doing a boozy night in town with mates before Xmas. But not this year. Seeking to preserve Xmas day for the kids at whatever personal cost is needed. Can’t have two in a row fucked by this.
Yes, I have a friend who isn't too bothered if she gets the bug - triple vaccinated, mwahaha - but is scared of being pinged and spoiling a reunion next week.
Again, the pinging isolation isn’t happening any more - it’s being replaced by daily tests
Big discussion at work today about the Christmas lunch - not "do" or "party" just a lunch. Oddly enough, the older members who have had the three vaccinations were much more positive about going than the younger double jabbed who felt very insecure.
I can only go by what my colleagues tell me but the perception (yes, the "p" word again) created by the media is those who have had only two vaccinations are much more at risk from Omicron than those with three. Everyone in the room had two vaccinations and six of us had had the booster.
We fought off a move to cancel the whole thing but a table for 14 will now be a table for 6 - for a couple of the team this will be their main social outing before Christmas. I was reminded of the classic lyric from Eleanor Rigby:
"All the Lonely People, Where do They all Belong?"
It's not just about the partying, the drinking, the "carousing" (as @Leon would say) but for a worryingly large number of people, it's about the minimum of social contact.
I’d normally be doing a boozy night in town with mates before Xmas. But not this year. Seeking to preserve Xmas day for the kids at whatever personal cost is needed. Can’t have two in a row fucked by this.
Yes, I have a friend who isn't too bothered if she gets the bug - triple vaccinated, mwahaha - but is scared of being pinged and spoiling a reunion next week.
Er... she could just do what most other people have and turn the app off.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
Given polls show voters overwhelmingly back Vaxports he would be an idiot to do so. He would be seen as playing politics with Covid and protection of public health. Plus the rebel Tory MPs would back the government on a confidence vote anyway
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
That would be fun. And would stop Plan B too presumably?
Bollocks. I'm teaching. So I can't ask any of the following:
1) Why do you lie about your past to make yourself seem more intelligent and important than you are?
2) Why has everything you've ever done been a catastrophe?
3) Did you really think we were dumb enough to swallow those lies of yours about Durham and Barnard Castle?
4) How the fuck did somebody as thick as you ever get a first - even at Oxford?
Disappointed. You can be far ruder than that with us.
Politics Betting Post. Like when I placed my first ever political bet on Libdems for Shropshire North. Are you still convinced it’s a loser?
Not nearly as convinced as I was
But I still think the Tories will win.
And I certainly stand by my prediction that if they don't Johnson is finished.
I’m coming to meet you half way y doethur. 🙂 I have a bullseye on at 3-1, and I am confident it’s a winner. But I think I dismissed your prediction it would be such a big deal to finished Johnson, I now think it will be the moment of no return for him.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
I remain unconvinced by vaccine passports. Tricky one for Starmer though. Opposing would play into the (lame) “playing politics” jibe at PMQs this week and allow the government to regroup.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
That's just silly really. Token defeat of government (against public opinion) followed by a loss of the VONC by 80 votes.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
But he previously backed vaccine passport++ approach, where we all had to do tests and have our vaccine passport every time we wanted to go out.
And why would Starmer want to get rid of Boris at the moment, he is doing a great job for Labour's ratings. And lots of the public seem to be very happy for vaccine passports etc, especially from the left of centre. Its the Tory backbench / Talk Radio / GB News lot that are in the minority opinion.
Big discussion at work today about the Christmas lunch - not "do" or "party" just a lunch. Oddly enough, the older members who have had the three vaccinations were much more positive about going than the younger double jabbed who felt very insecure.
I can only go by what my colleagues tell me but the perception (yes, the "p" word again) created by the media is those who have had only two vaccinations are much more at risk from Omicron than those with three. Everyone in the room had two vaccinations and six of us had had the booster.
We fought off a move to cancel the whole thing but a table for 14 will now be a table for 6 - for a couple of the team this will be their main social outing before Christmas. I was reminded of the classic lyric from Eleanor Rigby:
"All the Lonely People, Where do They all Belong?"
It's not just about the partying, the drinking, the "carousing" (as @Leon would say) but for a worryingly large number of people, it's about the minimum of social contact.
I’d normally be doing a boozy night in town with mates before Xmas. But not this year. Seeking to preserve Xmas day for the kids at whatever personal cost is needed. Can’t have two in a row fucked by this.
Yes, I have a friend who isn't too bothered if she gets the bug - triple vaccinated, mwahaha - but is scared of being pinged and spoiling a reunion next week.
Er... she could just do what most other people have and turn the app off.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
On the one hand, this is correct - they are the Opposition and they should Oppose. On the other hand, Starmer's assumed strategy of treating this as a war situation makes sense: the country may not take kindly to Labour taking political advantage of the situation, and in any case Labour have generally been in favour of more restrictions than the Government, not fewer. On the other hand, the Prime Minster is clearly weakened, and struggling to control his own party - what is the point of being in Parliament if not to take advantage of exactly this situation? Why on earth would they help Johnson out right now? On the other hand, getting rid of Johnson now means instant PM Sunak, who will be a much more difficult target for Starmer to aim at over the next few years - do they really want to end things now, rather than allow the Conservatives another few months of destroying their own credibility? On the other hand, I am a starfish.
I know there have been plenty of approved drugs that have later proved to have very unfortunate side effects, but has that actually been the case with any vaccines?
I remember the whole MMR causing autism rubbish, but I can't think of any real vaccine scandals. I don't want to google it because I know I'll find mostly antivax bullshit.
I don't understand the whole antivax movement at all.
Vaccination, along with the discovery of penicillin, is probably the greatest advance in medical history. I'm sure a lot of anti vaxxers are mentally ill.
They're also indulged too much. If we do end up back in lockdown or something like it this Winter, it won't so much be the fault of the new variant as it will the reservoir of individuals who put the healthcare system in continuous jeopardy by their stubborn refusal to have a scratch on the arm every few months. If the hospitals scream that they're completely unable to cope with more Covid patients then you can be almost certain that most of them will be unvaccinated.
It's time to treat this pandemic how it should be treated: as a war in which the socio-economic survival of the nation is at stake. Vaccination should be thought of as analogous to conscription: mandatory and unavoidable, unless there is a sound medical reason why an individual should be excused it. Sound medical reasons do not include needle phobia, veganism, not trusting the Tories, or having read something scary that's been promulgated by some charlatan on WhatsApp.
Those who draft dodge should not continue to be tolerated and ought, if necessary, to have their lives made unbearable to force them to give in. If vaccination for pretty much everyone, save a handful of medical exemptions, is all that is going to get us out of an endless cycle of restrictions then that is what must happen, and it must happen as quickly as possible.
Of course, right now most people in hospital aren't unvaccinated.
They are disproportionately represented in hospital, and are very silly, but we really must let facts get in the way of a desire to pretend if a tiny minority just did what they were told this would be radically different.
There is no credible threat of delta overwhelming anything in this country given the current vaccination rates, and if Omicron is as bad as all that, it won't just be anti-vaxxers in hospital next month, so either way they are not the missing golden ticket.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
That would be fun. And would stop Plan B too presumably?
Probably won’t happen.
What would Harold Wilson do?
Sounds stupid. But I think it is a really good question. He was a wily old fox as opposition leader.
There will be screams of "libel!!!" off the back of it. And then no action taken. I always said that I don't care what Cummings thinks but care about what he can prove. Will be interesting to see what fun facts he will produce.
Has anyone bet on him mentioning the effects of vaccines on pilots?
A pity he was so rapidly banned - was hoping he could tell me what version of evil zillionaire nanobots I have.
Apparently some people are infected with Bill Gates as they are loving Windows and buying a Zune. Today I had delivered 100 new jewel cases so I can continue to print album labels for my growing MiniDisc collection. Presumably I have retro Sony nanobots.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
Because clearly those like Harper who will vote against vaxports will also vote to bring down the government.
I'm starting to think I was harsh on that Russian troll earlier.
The point of a no confidence vote is not that it might win (hardly ever) but that things have come to a pretty pass that there is even such a vote.
Big discussion at work today about the Christmas lunch - not "do" or "party" just a lunch. Oddly enough, the older members who have had the three vaccinations were much more positive about going than the younger double jabbed who felt very insecure.
I can only go by what my colleagues tell me but the perception (yes, the "p" word again) created by the media is those who have had only two vaccinations are much more at risk from Omicron than those with three. Everyone in the room had two vaccinations and six of us had had the booster.
We fought off a move to cancel the whole thing but a table for 14 will now be a table for 6 - for a couple of the team this will be their main social outing before Christmas. I was reminded of the classic lyric from Eleanor Rigby:
"All the Lonely People, Where do They all Belong?"
It's not just about the partying, the drinking, the "carousing" (as @Leon would say) but for a worryingly large number of people, it's about the minimum of social contact.
I’d normally be doing a boozy night in town with mates before Xmas. But not this year. Seeking to preserve Xmas day for the kids at whatever personal cost is needed. Can’t have two in a row fucked by this.
Yes, I have a friend who isn't too bothered if she gets the bug - triple vaccinated, mwahaha - but is scared of being pinged and spoiling a reunion next week.
Er... she could just do what most other people have and turn the app off.
I think you'll find what most people did was never install it in the first place.
Who are these people who are cancelling all their social events? I was out Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in both cases every pub I visited was packed.
What is materially different now compared to a fortnight ago? Other than the fact that ping isolation has been replaced by daily tests - which *reduces* the risk of socialising.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
Because clearly those like Harper who will vote against vaxports will also vote to bring down the government.
I'm starting to think I was harsh on that Russian troll earlier.
The point of a no confidence vote is not that it might win (hardly ever) but that things have come to a pretty pass that there is even such a vote.
I v much doubt that Starmer is such a player.
I’d also point out that the only VONC debates I’ve seen have generally tended to rebound on the opposition. The 1990 debate which gave Maggie her swansong and the more recent one where Gove savaged Corbyn.
Big discussion at work today about the Christmas lunch - not "do" or "party" just a lunch. Oddly enough, the older members who have had the three vaccinations were much more positive about going than the younger double jabbed who felt very insecure.
I can only go by what my colleagues tell me but the perception (yes, the "p" word again) created by the media is those who have had only two vaccinations are much more at risk from Omicron than those with three. Everyone in the room had two vaccinations and six of us had had the booster.
We fought off a move to cancel the whole thing but a table for 14 will now be a table for 6 - for a couple of the team this will be their main social outing before Christmas. I was reminded of the classic lyric from Eleanor Rigby:
"All the Lonely People, Where do They all Belong?"
It's not just about the partying, the drinking, the "carousing" (as @Leon would say) but for a worryingly large number of people, it's about the minimum of social contact.
I’d normally be doing a boozy night in town with mates before Xmas. But not this year. Seeking to preserve Xmas day for the kids at whatever personal cost is needed. Can’t have two in a row fucked by this.
Yes, I have a friend who isn't too bothered if she gets the bug - triple vaccinated, mwahaha - but is scared of being pinged and spoiling a reunion next week.
Er... she could just do what most other people have and turn the app off.
Deleted that shit months ago
I’m absolutely astounded that anyone still has it. Everyone I know deleted it, and lots of workplaces asked their staff to delete it too.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
Because clearly those like Harper who will vote against vaxports will also vote to bring down the government.
I'm starting to think I was harsh on that Russian troll earlier.
The point of a no confidence vote is not that it might win (hardly ever) but that things have come to a pretty pass that there is even such a vote.
I v much doubt that Starmer is such a player.
He has long cheered on Drakeford including the use of vaxports and to vote against would be dishonesty from him when we all are seeking integrity in our politics
Who are these people who are cancelling all their social events? I was out Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in both cases every pub I visited was packed.
What is materially different now compared to a fortnight ago? Other than the fact that ping isolation has been replaced by daily tests - which *reduces* the risk of socialising.
Me and the good lady have spent an hour this evening debating whether to go ahead with a planned get together for pre-xmas for a few old friends.
Can Boris actually be enjoying his job? My impression has for some time been that he’s clinging on for dear life for covid to pass so he can steer us all into the sunlit uplands and go back to jaunty buffoonery whilst everyone laughs and calls him a card.
I struggle to see what motivates him now (beyond the pursuit of personal popularity which is well known). Brown and May had torrid times in office, but they were kept going at least in part by a sense of duty.
That very lack of a strong moral compass has lead him to the precipice now. He has for some time been known to take a hands off approach to management, allowing underlings to do what they will. Fine if you’re surrounded by competent, managerial types. Less so when you’re surrounded by opportunists and chancers.
Being Boris he probably wants to leave office on a high note, but is there any chance of that now?
TSE claimed last week that Boris basically has dates he wishes to pass for various reasons (August 2022 to pass May, sometime in 2026 to pass Cameron).
It's the bit I don't get, you've done Brexit, we've gone through Covid surely Boris would want to leave on high (any level of high) and earn real money.
Ego.
He's had a rivalry with Dave going back decades.
Dave got a first, Boris did not.
(It'd be August/September 2025 to overtake Dave.)
Ultimately, his entire life has been about becoming PM, he doesn't want it to be fleeting. One person who knows him well says the reason he won't give Scotland indyref2 on his watch? If Scotland votes Yes, then that, not Brexit will be the first line of Boris Johnson's obituary, and his ego won't allow him to sit out indyref2, in the way Dave let the Scots get on with it in indyref2.
So, England’s stuck with an incompetent buffoon as PM cos Johnson’s worried about his obituary?
i doubt a change of leader will make a difference. The whole party look as sleazy as the leader. They've been queuing up to laud him so they've all tarred with the same brush. The only one with the tiniest it of integrity still standing is Jeremy Hunt.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
But he previously backed vaccine passport++ approach, where we all had to do tests and have our vaccine passport every time we wanted to go out.
And why would Starmer want to get rid of Boris at the moment, he is doing a great job for Labour's ratings. And lots of the public seem to be very happy for vaccine passports etc, especially from the left of centre. Its the Tory backbench / Talk Radio / GB News lot that are in the minority opinion.
Plan B going though because of Opposition votes would make the Tory rebels even more mutinous. It would weaken Johnson and make him Starmer's plaything. Its a No Brainer.
Lord Geidt considering his position after Boris Johnson allegedly misled him
This must be very serious now for his premiership
Gone in the morning....he will be gone in the morning...gone in the morrrrrrrninnnggggg....
No he is not.
No one in Red Wall gives a feck.
On its own, nobody gives two f##ks about who paid for the curtains or where he went on holiday, as long as it wasn't us paying, but on top of the everything else....big problemo.
Who are these people who are cancelling all their social events? I was out Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in both cases every pub I visited was packed.
What is materially different now compared to a fortnight ago? Other than the fact that ping isolation has been replaced by daily tests - which *reduces* the risk of socialising.
HMG has put the Fear of God in people, as has the news from SA, to be fair
Corporate parties are all getting binned, out of an "abundance of caution", and now private parties are being slimmed down or abandoned. Tragic
Big discussion at work today about the Christmas lunch - not "do" or "party" just a lunch. Oddly enough, the older members who have had the three vaccinations were much more positive about going than the younger double jabbed who felt very insecure.
I can only go by what my colleagues tell me but the perception (yes, the "p" word again) created by the media is those who have had only two vaccinations are much more at risk from Omicron than those with three. Everyone in the room had two vaccinations and six of us had had the booster.
We fought off a move to cancel the whole thing but a table for 14 will now be a table for 6 - for a couple of the team this will be their main social outing before Christmas. I was reminded of the classic lyric from Eleanor Rigby:
"All the Lonely People, Where do They all Belong?"
It's not just about the partying, the drinking, the "carousing" (as @Leon would say) but for a worryingly large number of people, it's about the minimum of social contact.
I’d normally be doing a boozy night in town with mates before Xmas. But not this year. Seeking to preserve Xmas day for the kids at whatever personal cost is needed. Can’t have two in a row fucked by this.
Yes, I have a friend who isn't too bothered if she gets the bug - triple vaccinated, mwahaha - but is scared of being pinged and spoiling a reunion next week.
Er... she could just do what most other people have and turn the app off.
I think you'll find what most people did was never install it in the first place.
I bought a new phone just so that I could install it! (Well that's what I told Mrs. P anyway.)
Big discussion at work today about the Christmas lunch - not "do" or "party" just a lunch. Oddly enough, the older members who have had the three vaccinations were much more positive about going than the younger double jabbed who felt very insecure.
I can only go by what my colleagues tell me but the perception (yes, the "p" word again) created by the media is those who have had only two vaccinations are much more at risk from Omicron than those with three. Everyone in the room had two vaccinations and six of us had had the booster.
We fought off a move to cancel the whole thing but a table for 14 will now be a table for 6 - for a couple of the team this will be their main social outing before Christmas. I was reminded of the classic lyric from Eleanor Rigby:
"All the Lonely People, Where do They all Belong?"
It's not just about the partying, the drinking, the "carousing" (as @Leon would say) but for a worryingly large number of people, it's about the minimum of social contact.
I’d normally be doing a boozy night in town with mates before Xmas. But not this year. Seeking to preserve Xmas day for the kids at whatever personal cost is needed. Can’t have two in a row fucked by this.
Yes, I have a friend who isn't too bothered if she gets the bug - triple vaccinated, mwahaha - but is scared of being pinged and spoiling a reunion next week.
Again, the pinging isolation isn’t happening any more - it’s being replaced by daily tests
I'd missed that, and so evidently has she. I'll tell her. That said, it's not the ping per se that worries her, as the possibility of carrying the bug to her friends, who are more vulnerable than she is.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
Because clearly those like Harper who will vote against vaxports will also vote to bring down the government.
I'm starting to think I was harsh on that Russian troll earlier.
The point of a no confidence vote is not that it might win (hardly ever) but that things have come to a pretty pass that there is even such a vote.
I v much doubt that Starmer is such a player.
He has long cheered on Drakeford including the use of vaxports and to vote against would be dishonesty from him when we all are seeking integrity in our politics
See my post. The government has not made the case for these NPIs.
Is the new euphemism for : "there was a party every friggin night at No 10 during lockdown as soon as the sun set"
That we have a PM who needs a full official inquiry to find out whether a party took place in his own house is a sorry state of affairs to begin with.
Rubbish.
I have it on good authority from a tory party donor that the ceilings and floors are so solid at No 10 that you could not wake the dead with a rendition of 'Dancing Queen' at 3am on 18th last december.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
Because clearly those like Harper who will vote against vaxports will also vote to bring down the government.
I'm starting to think I was harsh on that Russian troll earlier.
The point of a no confidence vote is not that it might win (hardly ever) but that things have come to a pretty pass that there is even such a vote.
I v much doubt that Starmer is such a player.
I’d also point out that the only VONC debates I’ve seen have generally tended to rebound on the opposition. The 1990 debate which gave Maggie her swansong and the more recent one where Gove savaged Corbyn.
Am I right in thinking there can only be a VONC in the government, not in the PM?
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
That would be fun. And would stop Plan B too presumably?
Probably won’t happen.
What would Harold Wilson do?
Sounds stupid. But I think it is a really good question. He was a wily old fox as opposition leader.
Find a point of principle on which to oppose it.
Say, if you are going to mandate WFH and vax ports we would require substantial support for the admin burden and loss of earnings it would confer on businesses.
“He's on his way to the fires of Mount Doom if things don't improve dramatically.” Tory MP ahead of a torrid seven days for @BorisJohnsonhttps://on.ft.com/31DSKE2
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
That would be fun. And would stop Plan B too presumably?
Probably won’t happen.
What would Harold Wilson do?
Sounds stupid. But I think it is a really good question. He was a wily old fox as opposition leader.
Find a point of principle on which to oppose it.
Say, if you are going to mandate WFH and vax ports we would require substantial support for the admin burden and loss of earnings it would confer on businesses.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
But he previously backed vaccine passport++ approach, where we all had to do tests and have our vaccine passport every time we wanted to go out.
And why would Starmer want to get rid of Boris at the moment, he is doing a great job for Labour's ratings. And lots of the public seem to be very happy for vaccine passports etc, especially from the left of centre. Its the Tory backbench / Talk Radio / GB News lot that are in the minority opinion.
Plan B going though because of Opposition votes would make the Tory rebels even more mutinous. It would weaken Johnson and make him Starmer's plaything. Its a No Brainer.
BUT THAT WAS MY POINT...The quote was from a Labour person to vote down the Plan B.
Voting it through is a) inline with Starmer wanting to seem "tough" on COVID and consist that he called for vaccine passports++ before and b) as you say piss of the Tory backbenchers.
I know there have been plenty of approved drugs that have later proved to have very unfortunate side effects, but has that actually been the case with any vaccines?
I remember the whole MMR causing autism rubbish, but I can't think of any real vaccine scandals. I don't want to google it because I know I'll find mostly antivax bullshit.
I don't understand the whole antivax movement at all.
Vaccination, along with the discovery of penicillin, is probably the greatest advance in medical history. I'm sure a lot of anti vaxxers are mentally ill.
I could have a reasoned debate back in the spring with the type who worry that the Covid vaccines have been “rushed to market.” I think it’s a misguided view, particularly in light of official sanction and the seriousness of the pandemic, but I at least get the concerns.
The types who bang on about microchips and Bill Gates and hard resets are completely cuckoo, though….
For me one of the saddest moments of the pandemic was when a relative of a pharmacist who died after a bloodclot directly linked to the astra zeneca vaccine felt the need to go on to TV and tell people to get the vaccine anyway.
To me, it just goes to demonstrate how much of this is driven by faith in science.
I know there have been plenty of approved drugs that have later proved to have very unfortunate side effects, but has that actually been the case with any vaccines?
I remember the whole MMR causing autism rubbish, but I can't think of any real vaccine scandals. I don't want to google it because I know I'll find mostly antivax bullshit.
I don't understand the whole antivax movement at all.
Vaccination, along with the discovery of penicillin, is probably the greatest advance in medical history. I'm sure a lot of anti vaxxers are mentally ill.
They're also indulged too much. If we do end up back in lockdown or something like it this Winter, it won't so much be the fault of the new variant as it will the reservoir of individuals who put the healthcare system in continuous jeopardy by their stubborn refusal to have a scratch on the arm every few months. If the hospitals scream that they're completely unable to cope with more Covid patients then you can be almost certain that most of them will be unvaccinated.
It's time to treat this pandemic how it should be treated: as a war in which the socio-economic survival of the nation is at stake. Vaccination should be thought of as analogous to conscription: mandatory and unavoidable, unless there is a sound medical reason why an individual should be excused it. Sound medical reasons do not include needle phobia, veganism, not trusting the Tories, or having read something scary that's been promulgated by some charlatan on WhatsApp.
Those who draft dodge should not continue to be tolerated and ought, if necessary, to have their lives made unbearable to force them to give in. If vaccination for pretty much everyone, save a handful of medical exemptions, is all that is going to get us out of an endless cycle of restrictions then that is what must happen, and it must happen as quickly as possible.
Of course, right now most people in hospital aren't unvaccinated.
They are disproportionately represented in hospital, and are very silly, but we really must let facts get in the way of a desire to pretend if a tiny minority just did what they were told this would be radically different.
There is no credible threat of delta overwhelming anything in this country given the current vaccination rates, and if Omicron is as bad as all that, it won't just be anti-vaxxers in hospital next month, so either way they are not the missing golden ticket.
It's not a tiny minority, it's something like five or six million people. And those people are vastly over-represented on the Covid wards. And it's the excess of Covid patients that's pushing an already decrepit, creaking system to the edge of collapse: people with all sorts of other illnesses are already being denied treatment because so much intensive care capacity is being hogged by unjabbed Covid victims.
Even a further quite modest increase in said persons risks the hospital bosses running screaming to Javid that they can't cope anymore. At that juncture, unless a ruthless decision is made to put unvaccinated Covid patients into tents in hospital car parks and basically let them die to free up capacity - and there is no sign at all of that happening - then the Government will begin to pull all the lockdown levers to slow the rate at which the buggers present in hospital. And we shall all suffer grievously for it. And the very real risk is that, unless the virus evolves pretty quickly into a much less lethal form, this will keep happening, over and over again, every Winter and with every new variant, so long as a substantial fraction of the population remains defenceless.
We know that Covid-19 is vastly, vastly more manageable in a vaccinated population, and the more complete the vaccine coverage the more likely it is that we can all go back to how things were before the collapse back into Covid measures started a couple of weeks ago, i.e. a more-or-less normal life. So, let the vaccine coverage be complete.
Who are these people who are cancelling all their social events? I was out Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in both cases every pub I visited was packed.
What is materially different now compared to a fortnight ago? Other than the fact that ping isolation has been replaced by daily tests - which *reduces* the risk of socialising.
Me and the good lady have spent an hour this evening debating whether to go ahead with a planned get together for pre-xmas for a few old friends.
I am so sick of this shit.
What’s stopping you? What has changed since you planned the event?
(I’m not being aggressive, it’s a genuine question)
Who are these people who are cancelling all their social events? I was out Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in both cases every pub I visited was packed.
What is materially different now compared to a fortnight ago? Other than the fact that ping isolation has been replaced by daily tests - which *reduces* the risk of socialising.
In Scotland it's still 10 days self-isolation if a contact of a suspected Omnicron case.
Lord Geidt considering his position after Boris Johnson allegedly misled him
This must be very serious now for his premiership
Gone in the morning....he will be gone in the morning...gone in the morrrrrrrninnnggggg....
No he is not.
No one in Red Wall gives a feck.
On its own, nobody gives two f##ks about who paid for the curtains or where he went on holiday, as long as it wasn't us paying, but on top of the everything else....big problemo.
Indeed. Sounds like someone’s never played jenga
I fear any minute the men in striped suits will say, that’s it, we have the numbers. No actually one short. Really? Well pass me that piece of paper.
For the sake of my bet, I wish this deforrestrenstrationsing process would just slow down for a week or two
I know there have been plenty of approved drugs that have later proved to have very unfortunate side effects, but has that actually been the case with any vaccines?
I remember the whole MMR causing autism rubbish, but I can't think of any real vaccine scandals. I don't want to google it because I know I'll find mostly antivax bullshit.
FWIW I had a slightly surprising conversation with someone earlier this year. He has spent his career in the vaccine industry.
Said he wouldn’t let his kids have an MRNA vaccine because he is worried that there could be a tsunami of autoimmune diseases in 10-20 years. He was fine having it himself on the grounds that the probability of him (given age) of developing an autoimmune disease was very low.
“He's on his way to the fires of Mount Doom if things don't improve dramatically.” Tory MP ahead of a torrid seven days for @BorisJohnsonhttps://on.ft.com/31DSKE2
ministers admitted the mood was “seriously toxic”, with fears rising about Johnson’s grip and judgment.
“We’ve managed to whip up every possible combination of MPs against us,” said one minister.
Who are these people who are cancelling all their social events? I was out Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in both cases every pub I visited was packed.
What is materially different now compared to a fortnight ago? Other than the fact that ping isolation has been replaced by daily tests - which *reduces* the risk of socialising.
HMG has put the Fear of God in people, as has the news from SA, to be fair
Corporate parties are all getting binned, out of an "abundance of caution", and now private parties are being slimmed down or abandoned. Tragic
Yes, it certainly is tragic to hear of them, and I’m sorry you’ve been affected directly by it. I absolutely know what you mean about this being the only good bit of the winter, and it being ruined.
But it rather supports my point that we have become deeply irrational about covid - as the risks aren’t materially different to a fortnight ago when everyone was looking forward to these events.
There will be screams of "libel!!!" off the back of it. And then no action taken. I always said that I don't care what Cummings thinks but care about what he can prove. Will be interesting to see what fun facts he will produce.
Has anyone bet on him mentioning the effects of vaccines on pilots?
A pity he was so rapidly banned - was hoping he could tell me what version of evil zillionaire nanobots I have.
Apparently some people are infected with Bill Gates as they are loving Windows and buying a Zune. Today I had delivered 100 new jewel cases so I can continue to print album labels for my growing MiniDisc collection. Presumably I have retro Sony nanobots.
How can Bill Gates expect to achieve world domination when he can't even stop Excel crashing every five minutes?
Big discussion at work today about the Christmas lunch - not "do" or "party" just a lunch. Oddly enough, the older members who have had the three vaccinations were much more positive about going than the younger double jabbed who felt very insecure.
I can only go by what my colleagues tell me but the perception (yes, the "p" word again) created by the media is those who have had only two vaccinations are much more at risk from Omicron than those with three. Everyone in the room had two vaccinations and six of us had had the booster.
We fought off a move to cancel the whole thing but a table for 14 will now be a table for 6 - for a couple of the team this will be their main social outing before Christmas. I was reminded of the classic lyric from Eleanor Rigby:
"All the Lonely People, Where do They all Belong?"
It's not just about the partying, the drinking, the "carousing" (as @Leon would say) but for a worryingly large number of people, it's about the minimum of social contact.
I’d normally be doing a boozy night in town with mates before Xmas. But not this year. Seeking to preserve Xmas day for the kids at whatever personal cost is needed. Can’t have two in a row fucked by this.
Yes, I have a friend who isn't too bothered if she gets the bug - triple vaccinated, mwahaha - but is scared of being pinged and spoiling a reunion next week.
Again, the pinging isolation isn’t happening any more - it’s being replaced by daily tests
I'd missed that, and so evidently has she. I'll tell her. That said, it's not the ping per se that worries her, as the possibility of carrying the bug to her friends, who are more vulnerable than she is.
But on that point she is at materially no greater risk than when she was looking forward to her party a fortnight ago. So it makes no sense on any rational reading of her decision.
'No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief.' BY GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS
No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief, More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring. Comforter, where, where is your comforting? Mary, mother of us, where is your relief? My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief Woe, wórld-sorrow; on an áge-old anvil wince and sing — Then lull, then leave off. Fury had shrieked 'No ling- ering! Let me be fell: force I must be brief."'
O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap May who ne'er hung there. Nor does long our small Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep, Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.
Not so comforting.
Could I offer Lear
I eat my peas with honey I've done it all my life It makes the peas taste funny But it keeps them on the knife
Shakespeare was a versatile fellow.
Or a woman?
This is Shakespeare. Lucy Shakespeare I used to go camping with.
There was a lady called Alice Who used dynamite stick for a phallus, They found her vagina In North Carolina And her arsehole in Buckingham Palace.
I’m here all week (unless banned)
Another Alice one...cos I'm bored...
There was a young lady called Alice Who peed in the Catholic chalice. She said "I do this Out of great need to piss, And not from sectarian malice."
There was a young man from Khartoum Who took a lesbian up to his room But they argued all night As to who had the right To do what, and with which, and to whom
Wonder what the chances are, that on this side of the Atlantic (and Pacific) PBS will air a wonderful British import - "Christmas at No. 10 Downing Street"?
Featuring the PM and his Missus filling the historic, atmospheric space with all the fun & jollity of the holiday season!
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Carrie and the Christmas Muppet?
IF we are talking Muppets here, then surely the casting choice for Mrs Johnson is obvious? Except that Boris is no Kermit, and visa versa.
So my suggestion would be to get Animal's bloated Brit cousin to play the PM, as advised by Gonzo and other crazed, deluded muppets. With Kermit as a American exchange frog who ends up (naturally) as a Green Party activist. Kermie/Froggy & Carrie/Piggy meet - and sparks fly!
Keir's peak is DPP. He doesn't understand the politics if he thinks CON members want to get rid of Boris.
Another public school Islington lawyer is NOT what Labour need if they are to win again
It's clever politics, IMHO. He wants Johnson to stay in place, since he's poisoning the Tory well. So he urges Tory MPs to get rid of him, which simultaneously reminds voters that Johnson should go, and makes it harder for Tory MPs to oust him.
Tomorrow's front page i is very interesting and not going to be pleasant viewing at No.10. It says that the contenders to replace Johnson are starting to circle. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss in particular.
It bemuses me when loyalists try to defend the indefensible. Johnson's position is rapidly becoming untenable. His serial lying, dishonesty and chaotic living is catching up with him.
John Major was nowhere near as bad a prime minister as Johnson, and the chaos nowhere near as acute, but all of this reminds me of the 1992-7 government.
The longer Johnson continues like this the more a repeat 1997 General Election result is likely.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
Because clearly those like Harper who will vote against vaxports will also vote to bring down the government.
I'm starting to think I was harsh on that Russian troll earlier.
The point of a no confidence vote is not that it might win (hardly ever) but that things have come to a pretty pass that there is even such a vote.
I v much doubt that Starmer is such a player.
He has long cheered on Drakeford including the use of vaxports and to vote against would be dishonesty from him when we all are seeking integrity in our politics
Not necessarily. Don’t you like anaboblizas post? Link support to compensation to those affected. So even if it goes through Labour claim the big victory of squeezing the compensation out government who offered nothing. As well as the bonus, you would never have got it through without our help, you’ve lost your ability to lead.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 3h Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
That would be fun. And would stop Plan B too presumably?
Probably won’t happen.
What would Harold Wilson do?
Sounds stupid. But I think it is a really good question. He was a wily old fox as opposition leader.
Find a point of principle on which to oppose it.
Say, if you are going to mandate WFH and vax ports we would require substantial support for the admin burden and loss of earnings it would confer on businesses.
Make the price so high the pips squeak.
Sunak says 'hi"
Well exactly, Sunak won’t support it and right there is Labour’s out.
"Conservative party history is littered with ruthlessness on these occasions, but I am confident Boris will get a grip," Birmingham Tory MP Andrew Mitchell tells #bbcnews. "Ruthlessness" is a reference to Tory MPs deposing their leader, ie he's suggesting Boris could go https://twitter.com/jonwalker121/status/1469066772263362571
Who are these people who are cancelling all their social events? I was out Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in both cases every pub I visited was packed.
What is materially different now compared to a fortnight ago? Other than the fact that ping isolation has been replaced by daily tests - which *reduces* the risk of socialising.
HMG has put the Fear of God in people, as has the news from SA, to be fair
Corporate parties are all getting binned, out of an "abundance of caution", and now private parties are being slimmed down or abandoned. Tragic
… says the drama queen who was on her deathbed last week, foretelling the Fall of Man.
Tomorrow's front page i is very interesting and not going to be pleasant viewing at No.10. It says that the contenders to replace Johnson are starting to circle. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss in particular.
It bemuses me when loyalists try to defend the indefensible. Johnson's position is rapidly becoming untenable. His serial lying, dishonesty and chaotic living is catching up with him.
John Major was nowhere near as bad a prime minister as Johnson, and the chaos nowhere near as acute, but all of this reminds me of the 1992-7 government.
The longer Johnson continues like this the more a repeat 1997 General Election result is likely.
What rubbish, Starmer can only get a 6% poll lead tonight. Even Ed Miliband and Kinnock managed 10%+ leads, Blair had 20%+ leads.
Plus unless polling comes out showing Sunak or Truss well ahead of Starmer, Boris will be going nowhere
I know there have been plenty of approved drugs that have later proved to have very unfortunate side effects, but has that actually been the case with any vaccines?
I remember the whole MMR causing autism rubbish, but I can't think of any real vaccine scandals. I don't want to google it because I know I'll find mostly antivax bullshit.
I don't understand the whole antivax movement at all.
Vaccination, along with the discovery of penicillin, is probably the greatest advance in medical history. I'm sure a lot of anti vaxxers are mentally ill.
They're also indulged too much. If we do end up back in lockdown or something like it this Winter, it won't so much be the fault of the new variant as it will the reservoir of individuals who put the healthcare system in continuous jeopardy by their stubborn refusal to have a scratch on the arm every few months. If the hospitals scream that they're completely unable to cope with more Covid patients then you can be almost certain that most of them will be unvaccinated.
It's time to treat this pandemic how it should be treated: as a war in which the socio-economic survival of the nation is at stake. Vaccination should be thought of as analogous to conscription: mandatory and unavoidable, unless there is a sound medical reason why an individual should be excused it. Sound medical reasons do not include needle phobia, veganism, not trusting the Tories, or having read something scary that's been promulgated by some charlatan on WhatsApp.
Those who draft dodge should not continue to be tolerated and ought, if necessary, to have their lives made unbearable to force them to give in. If vaccination for pretty much everyone, save a handful of medical exemptions, is all that is going to get us out of an endless cycle of restrictions then that is what must happen, and it must happen as quickly as possible.
Comments
Thanks everyone for tips, advice (and warnings not to bet with the heart!)
Ker-ching!!!
Thanks, I'm here all night, try the bivalves
Kate Ferguson
@kateferguson4
·
3h
Pressure on Keir Starmer to tear up his usual caution and order his MPs to unite with Tory rebels and vote against vaccine passports to try to topple No10.
Labour MP tells me: "We've a duty to oppose No10 - we should try to defeat the PM and then call a no confidence vote"
It's time to treat this pandemic how it should be treated: as a war in which the socio-economic survival of the nation is at stake. Vaccination should be thought of as analogous to conscription: mandatory and unavoidable, unless there is a sound medical reason why an individual should be excused it. Sound medical reasons do not include needle phobia, veganism, not trusting the Tories, or having read something scary that's been promulgated by some charlatan on WhatsApp.
Those who draft dodge should not continue to be tolerated and ought, if necessary, to have their lives made unbearable to force them to give in. If vaccination for pretty much everyone, save a handful of medical exemptions, is all that is going to get us out of an endless cycle of restrictions then that is what must happen, and it must happen as quickly as possible.
The types who bang on about microchips and Bill Gates and hard resets are completely cuckoo, though….
I'm starting to think I was harsh on that Russian troll earlier.
I just fear some people find betting without use of a heart suspiciously easy…
It’s up to them if they want to go out on a bloody Friday night FFS.
I see the hair-shirts and moralising are back on PB.
Good freedom is freedom to do stuff Christopher Chope and Philip Davies want to do, and bad freedom is the freedom to do stuff they don't want you to do therefore they should be free to stop your freedom to do it.
Is the new euphemism for : "there was a party every friggin night at No 10 during lockdown as soon as the sun set"
Probably won’t happen.
That's just silly really. Token defeat of government (against public opinion) followed by a loss of the VONC by 80 votes.
And why would Starmer want to get rid of Boris at the moment, he is doing a great job for Labour's ratings. And lots of the public seem to be very happy for vaccine passports etc, especially from the left of centre. Its the Tory backbench / Talk Radio / GB News lot that are in the minority opinion.
On the other hand, Starmer's assumed strategy of treating this as a war situation makes sense: the country may not take kindly to Labour taking political advantage of the situation, and in any case Labour have generally been in favour of more restrictions than the Government, not fewer.
On the other hand, the Prime Minster is clearly weakened, and struggling to control his own party - what is the point of being in Parliament if not to take advantage of exactly this situation? Why on earth would they help Johnson out right now?
On the other hand, getting rid of Johnson now means instant PM Sunak, who will be a much more difficult target for Starmer to aim at over the next few years - do they really want to end things now, rather than allow the Conservatives another few months of destroying their own credibility?
On the other hand, I am a starfish.
They are disproportionately represented in hospital, and are very silly, but we really must let facts get in the way of a desire to pretend if a tiny minority just did what they were told this would be radically different.
There is no credible threat of delta overwhelming anything in this country given the current vaccination rates, and if Omicron is as bad as all that, it won't just be anti-vaxxers in hospital next month, so either way they are not the missing golden ticket.
Sounds stupid. But I think it is a really good question. He was a wily old fox as opposition leader.
Apparently some people are infected with Bill Gates as they are loving Windows and buying a Zune. Today I had delivered 100 new jewel cases so I can continue to print album labels for my growing MiniDisc collection. Presumably I have retro Sony nanobots.
I v much doubt that Starmer is such a player.
What is materially different now compared to a fortnight ago? Other than the fact that ping isolation has been replaced by daily tests - which *reduces* the risk of socialising.
This must be very serious now for his premiership
@RochdalePioneers may have been on the ball earlier
No one in Red Wall gives a feck.
Even the stooges are stumbling.
I am so sick of this shit.
(As opposed to anti-NPIs on principle, which is motivating some Tory votes).
Corporate parties are all getting binned, out of an "abundance of caution", and now private parties are being slimmed down or abandoned. Tragic
He told @Telegraph today the PM was “unfit for office” and urged Conservatives to act.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/09/oust-boris-johnson-now-sir-keir-starmer-urges-tory-mps/
I have it on good authority from a tory party donor that the ceilings and floors are so solid at No 10 that you could not wake the dead with a rendition of 'Dancing Queen' at 3am on 18th last december.
Am I right in thinking there can only be a VONC in the government, not in the PM?
Say, if you are going to mandate WFH and vax ports we would require substantial support for the admin burden and loss of earnings it would confer on businesses.
Make the price so high the pips squeak.
Bad timing, because I didn't planet.
Voting it through is a) inline with Starmer wanting to seem "tough" on COVID and consist that he called for vaccine passports++ before and b) as you say piss of the Tory backbenchers.
To me, it just goes to demonstrate how much of this is driven by faith in science.
Might be interesting
Even a further quite modest increase in said persons risks the hospital bosses running screaming to Javid that they can't cope anymore. At that juncture, unless a ruthless decision is made to put unvaccinated Covid patients into tents in hospital car parks and basically let them die to free up capacity - and there is no sign at all of that happening - then the Government will begin to pull all the lockdown levers to slow the rate at which the buggers present in hospital. And we shall all suffer grievously for it. And the very real risk is that, unless the virus evolves pretty quickly into a much less lethal form, this will keep happening, over and over again, every Winter and with every new variant, so long as a substantial fraction of the population remains defenceless.
We know that Covid-19 is vastly, vastly more manageable in a vaccinated population, and the more complete the vaccine coverage the more likely it is that we can all go back to how things were before the collapse back into Covid measures started a couple of weeks ago, i.e. a more-or-less normal life. So, let the vaccine coverage be complete.
(I’m not being aggressive, it’s a genuine question)
That article you posted -
https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything-except-the-outgroup/ - is outstanding.
It is an absolute must read.
I fear any minute the men in striped suits will say, that’s it, we have the numbers.
No actually one short.
Really? Well pass me that piece of paper.
For the sake of my bet, I wish this deforrestrenstrationsing process would just slow down for a week or two
Another public school Islington lawyer is NOT what Labour need if they are to win again
I am not sure what reputation he is supposed to be preserving here.
Said he wouldn’t let his kids have an MRNA vaccine because he is worried that there could be a tsunami of autoimmune diseases in 10-20 years. He was fine having it himself on the grounds that the probability of him (given age) of developing an autoimmune disease was very low.
“We’ve managed to whip up every possible combination of MPs against us,” said one minister.
But it rather supports my point that we have become deeply irrational about covid - as the risks aren’t materially different to a fortnight ago when everyone was looking forward to these events.
Who took a lesbian up to his room
But they argued all night
As to who had the right
To do what, and with which, and to whom
https://twitter.com/AllieHBNews/status/1469066373934559235?s=20
Says Dishy Rishi is canvassing support.
Paging Anabobazina - Officials drawing up Plan C for after Christmas.
So my suggestion would be to get Animal's bloated Brit cousin to play the PM, as advised by Gonzo and other crazed, deluded muppets. With Kermit as a American exchange frog who ends up (naturally) as a Green Party activist. Kermie/Froggy & Carrie/Piggy meet - and sparks fly!
https://www.tomorrowspapers.co.uk/i-front-page-2021-12-10/
It bemuses me when loyalists try to defend the indefensible. Johnson's position is rapidly becoming untenable. His serial lying, dishonesty and chaotic living is catching up with him.
John Major was nowhere near as bad a prime minister as Johnson, and the chaos nowhere near as acute, but all of this reminds me of the 1992-7 government.
The longer Johnson continues like this the more a repeat 1997 General Election result is likely.
https://twitter.com/jonwalker121/status/1469066772263362571
Plus unless polling comes out showing Sunak or Truss well ahead of Starmer, Boris will be going nowhere