You seem to be utterly obsessed by SKS for reasons that I cannot at all fathom.
The Labour Party has decided to stop navel gazing and wishes to get back into power, yet you would prefer Bozo and co to be in charge rather than someone whose views are more left wing than any labour leader even similarly close to getting power.
It is extremely weird, even creepy, just how obsessed Owls is with Keir.
Goodness me - stop playing the man with snide remarks - try engaging with the evidence. The local rsults last night were pretty crap for Labour. End of.
I will make a comment on the results – they don't look great.
Yet my point is a general one. Pretty much every post from Owls is about Starmer. He is completely obsessed for reasons known only to himself. The only similar obsessive is Isam, who now appears to have left PB.
So what if he's obsessed with SKS - he is the leader of the Labour party - you otoh seem solely to wish to portray him as 'creepy' because of it. Not cool.
One of the partners in my firm declared the other day that the cost of living situation is starting to bite and even he is having to scrutinise his direct debits more closely.
My “tone deaf”-dar was screaming.
I get that it must be a bit irritating but I see a lot of people who on the face of it earn huge salaries as lawyers, partners of law firms, bankers etc who are actually a month’s salary from trouble.
A lot of these high earners end up in a “lifestyle cycle of doom” where they earn huge amounts but then commit to spending huge amounts either through their own preferences or “keeping up with the Jones’s” on big mortgages, expensive car repayments, multiple holidays, school fees.
For example a couple I know, both high earners had to have “the” house, the kids at private school then some friends bought a new house with a pool and so they had a pool put in. They were basically in debt to their eyeballs and one of them started skimming from the company they worked for which ultimately cost their job.
So whilst the above is an extreme example your Partner has probably got lots of commitments commensurate with a certain lifestyle but it doesn’t mean he necessarily has huge amounts of spare cash - if they have school fees, holidays, big mortgage etc then they don’t have a lot of spare cash left at the end of it so inflation will bite regardless.
A lot of people spend what they have and skirt very close to the edge to have that bigger house, bigger holidays etc and not many, when they start earning big, continue to live as before. It’s a weird spending escalator. So whilst I don’t get out the world’s smallest violin for them it’s potentially very uncomfortable for those without stashes of assets etc.
Yes - nearly everyone lives on their income now - TSE style of having *years* of income in the bank is ancient history.
My mother came from a working class background - the Rent Man figured large in the memories. Happiness was having the mortgage paid off, the pension payments maxed out and a couple of years of income as savings in the building society. If you reached that, then you could relax a bit....
I don't think it's true that nearly everyone lives on their income. It is true that savers don't make good news stories - but many millions still do live well within their means.
The ratios are quite startling though. Hence the personal debt levels in the UK.
A friend worked in private wealth management. The number of people who live the lifestyle, but are maxed out on a tax of credit cards...
"Mr Strörmann has even linked to a video tutorial for making a 'cardboard egg-grenade launcher' on the page 'for the advanced egg throwers'."
The irony there is that the yacht was built on the river beyond the bridge so it has always been the case that the bridge needed to be dismantled for the yacht to be delivered to Bezos.
Something quite fairy-tale amusing, and parable-like, about this story. The hubris of the rich man and his giant toy, and the pride of the villagefolk and their little bridge.
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Yesterdays results are extraordinary given the news every day of how terrible the current Government is. It can't all be issues with mad local labour partys.
They are not 'extraordinary' and, yes, they can all be 'local'
I always vote for local issues in local elections, especially if they are by-elections. People tend to want to focus in local elections on, erm, local issues.
Maybe on some local by-elections -certainly not on local elections per se.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now), and perhaps an underlying discontent with the absolute (unrepresentative) stranglehold Labour councillors have on Manchester, with attendant complacency and sloppiness.
I wouldn't draw any conclusions at all about the national picture from this.
Whilst the national ratings for the LDs have only nudged upwards a little bit, there does seem to be a receptiveness to vote LibDem where they can offer a decent campaign, which is reminiscent of the old days. We’ve seen this in by-elections from national to local, and hopefully it augurs well for May.
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Tamworth is one of those lower-middle class towns in the Midlands which has been swinging away from Labour in a big way over the last 15 years. I know it pretty well because my grandparents used to live there. (They were members of the local Labour Party for about 50 years). Cannock Chase is a similar seat although more working-class.
It's mad, drug dealers in SF have apparently taken to lacing party drugs like MDMA and coke with fentanyl to get the middle classes addicted and turned into repeat customers. America is a completely fucked up place, and this also speaks to why decriminalisation without legalisation being a completely terrible idea. People end up buying their still illegal drugs from criminals who give no fucks about the health or safety of their customers.
My god. What brilliantly visceral journalism. Harrowing
Abysmal web-page design, though. I gave up after about the eighth instance of a tiny amount of text displayed in a massive font size on a small part of a huge black background, interspersed with children-friendly diagrams and huge pictures, some of them (even worse!) videos or gifs.
You what?
What the F are you reading it on? An old Amstrad?
I read it on an iPad pro and it works superbly, images, videos and text inter-weaving seamlessly and to great effect. Almost a new form of writing
Due to poor design it simply tries to super-scale on large monitors. An excessive use of effects actually hides the content.
I have been off colour for the lsst 36 hours with a double migraine so just lurked a wee bit but re the Greater Manchester clean air zone, SKY reporting HMG has given permission for its introduction to be delayed
You seem to be utterly obsessed by SKS for reasons that I cannot at all fathom.
The Labour Party has decided to stop navel gazing and wishes to get back into power, yet you would prefer Bozo and co to be in charge rather than someone whose views are more left wing than any labour leader even similarly close to getting power.
It is extremely weird, even creepy, just how obsessed Owls is with Keir.
I guess he would like the anti_Semite Mr Thicky to still be in charge. It is far better to be pure than be in power.
I find it very strange the site owners, allow Posters on a regular basis to call Jezza an Anti Semite, which i am pretty sure would be proved to be liable if tested.
The BBC always correct such comments and say the BBC does not believe that JC is Antisemitic.
I believe Tim ex of this Parish has either been contacted by lawyers today or will be early next week re such comments
I think I might follow Mr Eds lead from today at least for a while.
I will of course return at GE 2024 when SKS is defeated heavily
A shame - I disagree profoundly with your politics but like even less the way the current 'herd' pile in on you because no criticism of SKS is allowed by them.
I agree, not a word can be said against our lord SKS.
Not really, it's fine to say he's crap about XYZ or even that he screwed things up at the CPS but that isn't BJO's attack points. It's never anything valid it's very much from the Militant Tendency playbook of if it's not my preferred form of left wing politics so it's utterly wrong.
I just find it weird how a large number of more left wing people would prefer a Right wing (even seriously right wing) Tory Government to a moderately left wing Labour Government.
Vodafone has quietly brought back two EU data roaming contracts, I suspect because O2 are stealing all their customers who like to travel and roaming for Vodafone is mostly free within Europe.
It's interesting that despite no law requiring roaming to be included with contracts two of the four providers now offer it. I wouldn't be surprised if Three follow suit and quietly add a few no extra charge EU roaming contracts in the next few months.
There has been more cracking down on people taking the piss recently. A friend moved to the US and kept using her Three sim on roaming. Took them two years to chuck her off for breaking the fair use clauses. The agent told her they were tightening procedures.
I'm sure, it's just interesting that there was so much media focus on when they removed free roaming but now that it's being added back there's complete silence.
Bias by omission...don't fit the narrative not interested. Or it fits the narrative don't bother checking i.e. Mr moany cheese man who pops up every couple of months to claim if only we didn't Brexit he had a deal on the table for millions of quid of cheese to Bulgaria, despite never having flogged millions of quid of cheese abroad prior to Brexit.
It's mad, drug dealers in SF have apparently taken to lacing party drugs like MDMA and coke with fentanyl to get the middle classes addicted and turned into repeat customers. America is a completely fucked up place, and this also speaks to why decriminalisation without legalisation being a completely terrible idea. People end up buying their still illegal drugs from criminals who give no fucks about the health or safety of their customers.
My god. What brilliantly visceral journalism. Harrowing
Abysmal web-page design, though. I gave up after about the eighth instance of a tiny amount of text displayed in a massive font size on a small part of a huge black background, interspersed with children-friendly diagrams and huge pictures, some of them (even worse!) videos or gifs.
You what?
What the F are you reading it on? An old Amstrad?
I read it on an iPad pro and it works superbly, images, videos and text inter-weaving seamlessly and to great effect. Almost a new form of writing
Due to poor design it simply tries to super-scale on large monitors. An excessive use of effects actually hides the content.
Yes, it looked pretty rubbish on my monitor, the words were interesting though and the actual real life experiences addicts in SF were compelling. A shame about the layout.
"Mr Strörmann has even linked to a video tutorial for making a 'cardboard egg-grenade launcher' on the page 'for the advanced egg throwers'."
The irony there is that the yacht was built on the river beyond the bridge so it has always been the case that the bridge needed to be dismantled for the yacht to be delivered to Bezos.
Someone with a brain and a functioning media consultant would have realised that. And changed the plan for the ship accordingly. Modular build had Beardmore craning on the island superstructure(s) for HMS Argus after launch*... in 1917
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Yesterdays results are extraordinary given the news every day of how terrible the current Government is. It can't all be issues with mad local labour partys.
They are not 'extraordinary' and, yes, they can all be 'local'
I always vote for local issues in local elections, especially if they are by-elections. People tend to want to focus in local elections on, erm, local issues.
Seriously??? Could the situation be any worse for the tories right now? Hours and hours of news is about how terrible the Government is. The PM is under a police investigation. And yet Labours vote goes down in all 5 of the contests they competed in, in some massively down. How is that not extraordinary? Labour's vote should be going up not down
You seem to be utterly obsessed by SKS for reasons that I cannot at all fathom.
The Labour Party has decided to stop navel gazing and wishes to get back into power, yet you would prefer Bozo and co to be in charge rather than someone whose views are more left wing than any labour leader even similarly close to getting power.
It is extremely weird, even creepy, just how obsessed Owls is with Keir.
Goodness me - stop playing the man with snide remarks - try engaging with the evidence. The local rsults last night were pretty crap for Labour. End of.
Nah Anabob is right. BJO has embarked on a decades long sulk which would challenge Heath for its pointlessness.
Vodafone has quietly brought back two EU data roaming contracts, I suspect because O2 are stealing all their customers who like to travel and roaming for Vodafone is mostly free within Europe.
It's interesting that despite no law requiring roaming to be included with contracts two of the four providers now offer it. I wouldn't be surprised if Three follow suit and quietly add a few no extra charge EU roaming contracts in the next few months.
Given how much free roaming was available outside the EU, it never made sense that there wouldn't be contracts available with free roaming in the EU.
You seem to be utterly obsessed by SKS for reasons that I cannot at all fathom.
The Labour Party has decided to stop navel gazing and wishes to get back into power, yet you would prefer Bozo and co to be in charge rather than someone whose views are more left wing than any labour leader even similarly close to getting power.
It is extremely weird, even creepy, just how obsessed Owls is with Keir.
I guess he would like the anti_Semite Mr Thicky to still be in charge. It is far better to be pure than be in power.
I find it very strange the site owners, allow Posters on a regular basis to call Jezza an Anti Semite, which i am pretty sure would be proved to be liable if tested.
The BBC always correct such comments and say the BBC does not believe that JC is Antisemitic.
I believe Tim ex of this Parish has either been contacted by lawyers today or will be early next week re such comments
I think I might follow Mr Eds lead from today at least for a while.
I will of course return at GE 2024 when SKS is defeated heavily
A shame - I disagree profoundly with your politics but like even less the way the current 'herd' pile in on you because no criticism of SKS is allowed by them.
I agree, not a word can be said against our lord SKS.
a large number of more left wing people would prefer a Right wing (even seriously right wing) Tory Government to a moderately left wing Labour Government.
Indisputably true and it is quite odd. There is no doubt that some on the hard Left hate people like Keir Starmer (and certainly Tony Blair) even more than the tories.
Look at the vitriol following the Christian Wakeford defection or the bizarre adulation of Jeremy Corbyn who is a really rather unpleasant person.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
It's mad, drug dealers in SF have apparently taken to lacing party drugs like MDMA and coke with fentanyl to get the middle classes addicted and turned into repeat customers. America is a completely fucked up place, and this also speaks to why decriminalisation without legalisation being a completely terrible idea. People end up buying their still illegal drugs from criminals who give no fucks about the health or safety of their customers.
My god. What brilliantly visceral journalism. Harrowing
Abysmal web-page design, though. I gave up after about the eighth instance of a tiny amount of text displayed in a massive font size on a small part of a huge black background, interspersed with children-friendly diagrams and huge pictures, some of them (even worse!) videos or gifs.
You what?
What the F are you reading it on? An old Amstrad?
I read it on an iPad pro and it works superbly, images, videos and text inter-weaving seamlessly and to great effect. Almost a new form of writing
Due to poor design it simply tries to super-scale on large monitors. An excessive use of effects actually hides the content.
Must be aimed at tablets, then. Works like a dream on a big new iPad
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Yesterdays results are extraordinary given the news every day of how terrible the current Government is. It can't all be issues with mad local labour partys.
They are not 'extraordinary' and, yes, they can all be 'local'
I always vote for local issues in local elections, especially if they are by-elections. People tend to want to focus in local elections on, erm, local issues.
How is that not extraordinary?
Seriously, taking a handful of local by-elections as if they mean anything national, when you don't live in those wards or know the circumstances, is going down a nerdish rabbit hole.
I appreciate things are very very tough for you tories right now but swivel-eyed lunacy isn't the answer.
Clue: Rishi Sunak's calm and measured approach yesterday was really impressive (to me and others).
Vodafone has quietly brought back two EU data roaming contracts, I suspect because O2 are stealing all their customers who like to travel and roaming for Vodafone is mostly free within Europe.
It's interesting that despite no law requiring roaming to be included with contracts two of the four providers now offer it. I wouldn't be surprised if Three follow suit and quietly add a few no extra charge EU roaming contracts in the next few months.
Given how much free roaming was available outside the EU, it never made sense that there wouldn't be contracts available with free roaming in the EU.
Of course, but at the time the media were very much trying to push the idea that it was gone and would never come back despite O2 not actually getting rid of it and it being unlikely to be removed in its entirety from the others. What's changed is that lower cost contracts won't have it, and I think that's a fair compromise as roaming does incur a cost.
It's mad, drug dealers in SF have apparently taken to lacing party drugs like MDMA and coke with fentanyl to get the middle classes addicted and turned into repeat customers. America is a completely fucked up place, and this also speaks to why decriminalisation without legalisation being a completely terrible idea. People end up buying their still illegal drugs from criminals who give no fucks about the health or safety of their customers.
My god. What brilliantly visceral journalism. Harrowing
Abysmal web-page design, though. I gave up after about the eighth instance of a tiny amount of text displayed in a massive font size on a small part of a huge black background, interspersed with children-friendly diagrams and huge pictures, some of them (even worse!) videos or gifs.
You what?
What the F are you reading it on? An old Amstrad?
I read it on an iPad pro and it works superbly, images, videos and text inter-weaving seamlessly and to great effect. Almost a new form of writing
Due to poor design it simply tries to super-scale on large monitors. An excessive use of effects actually hides the content.
Must be aimed at tablets, then. Works like a dream on a big new iPad
Yes - the use of the effect to "pull:" images and video into full screen, rather than popups is a classic sign of that.
Not having a properly adaptive layout is a fail - when properly done, the webpage senses the resolution it is being displayed in and changes paradigm at set resolutions.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Yesterdays results are extraordinary given the news every day of how terrible the current Government is. It can't all be issues with mad local labour partys.
They are not 'extraordinary' and, yes, they can all be 'local'
I always vote for local issues in local elections, especially if they are by-elections. People tend to want to focus in local elections on, erm, local issues.
How is that not extraordinary?
Seriously, taking a handful of local by-elections as if they mean anything national, when you don't live in those wards or know the circumstances, is going down a nerdish rabbit hole.
I appreciate things are very very tough for you tories right now but swivel-eyed lunacy isn't the answer.
Swivel-eyed lunacy may well be the answer.
Two of the most vociferous advocates for Johnson's de-frocking are Bridgen and Chope. Now I can't think of anyone more swivel-eyed than that pair... however if they can take another 52 likeminded assorted fruit and nut cases with them we are over the line.
It's mad, drug dealers in SF have apparently taken to lacing party drugs like MDMA and coke with fentanyl to get the middle classes addicted and turned into repeat customers. America is a completely fucked up place, and this also speaks to why decriminalisation without legalisation being a completely terrible idea. People end up buying their still illegal drugs from criminals who give no fucks about the health or safety of their customers.
My god. What brilliantly visceral journalism. Harrowing
Abysmal web-page design, though. I gave up after about the eighth instance of a tiny amount of text displayed in a massive font size on a small part of a huge black background, interspersed with children-friendly diagrams and huge pictures, some of them (even worse!) videos or gifs.
You what?
What the F are you reading it on? An old Amstrad?
I read it on an iPad pro and it works superbly, images, videos and text inter-weaving seamlessly and to great effect. Almost a new form of writing
Due to poor design it simply tries to super-scale on large monitors. An excessive use of effects actually hides the content.
Yes, I'm using a large monitor. As you say, not only is the scaling bonkers, but it the stupid special effects are horrendous.
It's one of my absolute bugbears. I buy a large monitor because I want to be able to see more text, not the same tiny bit of text in inch-high letters.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
Whatever party eventually proposes this in the UK will sweep local council elections. People want this. It is wildly popular in Germany
See a big chunk of Warsaw, as well.
Quite a few cities in Poland were reconstructed, in the centre at least, in the postwar years - and it’s amazing to see. But walk round a corner and suddenly what was all ‘medieval’ buildings is suddenly all Soviet style apartment and office buildings, which is a bit weird. The more recent German examples have done better at blending old and new.
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
You seem to be utterly obsessed by SKS for reasons that I cannot at all fathom.
The Labour Party has decided to stop navel gazing and wishes to get back into power, yet you would prefer Bozo and co to be in charge rather than someone whose views are more left wing than any labour leader even similarly close to getting power.
It is extremely weird, even creepy, just how obsessed Owls is with Keir.
I guess he would like the anti_Semite Mr Thicky to still be in charge. It is far better to be pure than be in power.
I find it very strange the site owners, allow Posters on a regular basis to call Jezza an Anti Semite, which i am pretty sure would be proved to be liable if tested.
The BBC always correct such comments and say the BBC does not believe that JC is Antisemitic.
I believe Tim ex of this Parish has either been contacted by lawyers today or will be early next week re such comments
I think I might follow Mr Eds lead from today at least for a while.
I will of course return at GE 2024 when SKS is defeated heavily
A shame - I disagree profoundly with your politics but like even less the way the current 'herd' pile in on you because no criticism of SKS is allowed by them.
I agree, not a word can be said against our lord SKS.
Not really, it's fine to say he's crap about XYZ or even that he screwed things up at the CPS but that isn't BJO's attack points. It's never anything valid it's very much from the Militant Tendency playbook of if it's not my preferred form of left wing politics so it's utterly wrong.
I just find it weird how a large number of more left wing people would prefer a Right wing (even seriously right wing) Tory Government to a moderately left wing Labour Government.
When you're that far left, everything from the centre left rightwards all looks the same.
You seem to be utterly obsessed by SKS for reasons that I cannot at all fathom.
The Labour Party has decided to stop navel gazing and wishes to get back into power, yet you would prefer Bozo and co to be in charge rather than someone whose views are more left wing than any labour leader even similarly close to getting power.
It is extremely weird, even creepy, just how obsessed Owls is with Keir.
I guess he would like the anti_Semite Mr Thicky to still be in charge. It is far better to be pure than be in power.
I find it very strange the site owners, allow Posters on a regular basis to call Jezza an Anti Semite, which i am pretty sure would be proved to be liable if tested.
The BBC always correct such comments and say the BBC does not believe that JC is Antisemitic.
I believe Tim ex of this Parish has either been contacted by lawyers today or will be early next week re such comments
I think I might follow Mr Eds lead from today at least for a while.
I will of course return at GE 2024 when SKS is defeated heavily
A shame - I disagree profoundly with your politics but like even less the way the current 'herd' pile in on you because no criticism of SKS is allowed by them.
I agree, not a word can be said against our lord SKS.
Not really, it's fine to say he's crap about XYZ or even that he screwed things up at the CPS but that isn't BJO's attack points. It's never anything valid it's very much from the Militant Tendency playbook of if it's not my preferred form of left wing politics so it's utterly wrong.
I just find it weird how a large number of more left wing people would prefer a Right wing (even seriously right wing) Tory Government to a moderately left wing Labour Government.
Allegedly because a more hardline rightwing Tory government is more likely to bring about a Marxist revolution if you cannot have a leftwing Labour government. In reality it just means longer for the Tories in power if Labour are far from the centre too
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
With no Sheerman or Harman that only puts three others ahead of Corbyn to be longest continuously serving MP, were he to stand and win (difficult though that would be at present).
Jeremy Corbyn, Father of the House?
Sheerman is notable as the only one of the first 18 MPs by seniority not to be Rt Hon or Sir/Dame (the next one is Fabricant). Were it not for the unexpectedness of his Leadership win he'd have Corbyn for company at least.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
Whatever party eventually proposes this in the UK will sweep local council elections. People want this. It is wildly popular in Germany
See a big chunk of Warsaw, as well.
The main problem in Britain is the architects. A bunch of moaning lefty narcissists who whine about "pastiche" if you suggest something like this
In Frankfurt there was a big political battle over the Rebuild - and it really was and is a left/right battle. The left wanted new exciting crap architecture, the right fought back, and won. And now New Old Frankfurt wins architectural prizes
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
Whatever party eventually proposes this in the UK will sweep local council elections. People want this. It is wildly popular in Germany
See a big chunk of Warsaw, as well.
Quite a few cities in Poland were reconstructed, in the centre at least, in the postwar years - and it’s amazing to see. But walk round a corner and suddenly what was all ‘medieval’ buildings is suddenly all Soviet style apartment and office buildings, which is a bit weird. The more recent German examples have done better at blending old and new.
I think the point is that if Stalinist era Kommisars were able to understand the attractions of old town centres....
It's a bit like the religious fervour with which people try and claim that Brutalist Architecture is really loveable. The clue is in the name, dudes.
And then they get angry because the people (the bar stewards) want to live in semi-detached houses with gardens.
Because what do people actually know about how to live their own lives?
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Yesterdays results are extraordinary given the news every day of how terrible the current Government is. It can't all be issues with mad local labour partys.
They are not 'extraordinary' and, yes, they can all be 'local'
I always vote for local issues in local elections, especially if they are by-elections. People tend to want to focus in local elections on, erm, local issues.
Seriously??? Could the situation be any worse for the tories right now? Hours and hours of news is about how terrible the Government is. The PM is under a police investigation. And yet Labours vote goes down in all 5 of the contests they competed in, in some massively down. How is that not extraordinary? Labour's vote should be going up not down
Yes, absolutely. The only moral to draw from current events is absolutely how hopeless Labour is.
Considering how obvious that is, I'm very surprised that everyone is being so silly, and talking about how useless the Tories are.
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
With no Sheerman or Harman that only puts three others ahead of Corbyn to be longest continuously serving MP, were he to stand and win (difficult though that would be at present).
Jeremy Corbyn, Father of the House?
So you have Islington North pencilled in as an Independent gain...sorry hold?
You seem to be utterly obsessed by SKS for reasons that I cannot at all fathom.
The Labour Party has decided to stop navel gazing and wishes to get back into power, yet you would prefer Bozo and co to be in charge rather than someone whose views are more left wing than any labour leader even similarly close to getting power.
It is extremely weird, even creepy, just how obsessed Owls is with Keir.
Goodness me - stop playing the man with snide remarks - try engaging with the evidence. The local rsults last night were pretty crap for Labour. End of.
Nah Anabob is right. BJO has embarked on a decades long sulk which would challenge Heath for its pointlessness.
Then let him sulk - don't call him 'creepy' - ignor him. What is wrong with people on here? He's now said he'll stop posting.
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
He is/was pretty good.
Whilst pondering the betting markets the other day it struck me that Chris Bryant has, so far as I recall, never been talked about as a future Labour leader. SKS isn't likely to depart any time soon in my view, so it's a moot issue, but I do rather puzzle over it. Is there a reason?
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
That will be a hard seat for Labour to hold without his personal vote.
According to Wiki John Prescott held that seat for quite a while in the 13 hundreds. Didn't realise he was that old.
I think that is just a sign of Leaver paranoia. If the Tories had voted for a Norway option along with Labour in the meaningful vote then I have absolutely no doubt that that is what we would have got. It would have had an unassailable parliamentary majority. The problem was the Tories' insistence that freedom of movement had to end, which meant they couldn't endorse anything that retained the single market. The big picture is simple. At every point since the referendum the process has been controlled by the Tory party and Leavers (or those who wholeheartedly embraced Leave after the referendum). To blame where we are on anyone else is a laughable attempt to rewrite history. And the fact that - having achieved their desired objective - they feel the need to blame anyone, just tells you what a pack of lies the whole Leave campaign was from the start.
Come off it, in the crucial period between the 2017 and 2019 GEs the Conservatives didn't have a majority. The reason we had gridlock and now have the catastrophe of a Brexit which is not only the hardest possible but incompetently implemented is because Labour, the LibDems and the SNP joined forces with the ERG to wreck every attempt at compromise. That wasn't the only cause, of course - there were others, such as the bewildering choice of voters in 2017 to deny Theresa May a majority and the even more bewildering choice of the Labour Party to choose Corbyn as leader, thus making the party unelectable - but you are the one rewriting history in your denial of the role of the opposition parties in the 2017-2019 period.
Nice try Richard! I’ve seen the SNP blamed for all kinds of unlikely things, but blaming us for the Brexit bùrach must deserve some kind of prize.
Oh, I don't blame them particularly. What they did was entirely logical, from their point of view, unlike the Labour and LibDem positions. The SNP want as much chaos, dysfunction, and misgovernment in Westminster as possible, and they especially want Brexit to be such an unmitigated disaster that Scots are conned into repeating a similar mistake at the Scottish-English border. They even use the same type of lie as the Brexiteers, such as the latest hilarious one, worthy of Nigel Farage, that the rest of the UK would be liable for paying Scottish state pensions. (Rather oddly, they don't follow their own logic by arguing that Scottish taxpayers would also have to contribute to English pensions, I can't imagine why...).
It's baffling and not particularly a comment on Starmer. How does a party in utter and total collapse like the Conservatives right now manage to garner half the votes in some constituencies? What are those voters voting for?
He’s showing why he’s lost every leadership election he’s stood in.
Don’t local governments essentially have to legally introduce these to meet the government clean air and emission targets? That’s the justification Newcastle City Council seem to give - that they’d rather not but have to…
I think there were are few cities, five or something like that, told by central government that they had to introduce them. Leeds was one, but IIRC it doesn't have to now because air quality's improved enough for it not to be needed. Whether they included Newcastle and Manchester in those I can't remember, but I wouldn't be surprised. I can't see any area introducing them without compulsion. The political pain isn't worth it, currently, I don't think.
Still a lot of resistance to this green stuff. I wonder if it'll become more accepted over time. The younger generations seem keener, the oldies generally don't care.
The slight problem with traffic = pollution, is when electric cars start to dominate.
The "particulates from tires" thing is an tempt to address that. But falls down on a funny point.
Effective electric cars need substantial cooling system to operate - the batteries and the motors are liquid cooled, which in turn uses a classic air cooling system, to cool the liquid. Since you don't want the works full of dirt, there are filters on the air intakes...
Yes, quite a few electric cars clean the air as they drive...
George Eustice was claiming the other day that EVs might be more polluting than people think due to, among other things, their greater weight resulting in increased brake wear and dust. He is apparently unaware that almost all EVs use regenerative braking and hence experience far less brake wear than ICE vehicles.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
Whatever party eventually proposes this in the UK will sweep local council elections. People want this. It is wildly popular in Germany
See a big chunk of Warsaw, as well.
Quite a few cities in Poland were reconstructed, in the centre at least, in the postwar years - and it’s amazing to see. But walk round a corner and suddenly what was all ‘medieval’ buildings is suddenly all Soviet style apartment and office buildings, which is a bit weird. The more recent German examples have done better at blending old and new.
Budapest is the same. You see all these magnificent 19th century stone buildings and where something has flaked away you realise it is breeze block with a nice facade on it. Not surprising since the Russians flattened the city during the 1945 siege.
One of the partners in my firm declared the other day that the cost of living situation is starting to bite and even he is having to scrutinise his direct debits more closely.
My “tone deaf”-dar was screaming.
I get that it must be a bit irritating but I see a lot of people who on the face of it earn huge salaries as lawyers, partners of law firms, bankers etc who are actually a month’s salary from trouble.
A lot of these high earners end up in a “lifestyle cycle of doom” where they earn huge amounts but then commit to spending huge amounts either through their own preferences or “keeping up with the Jones’s” on big mortgages, expensive car repayments, multiple holidays, school fees.
For example a couple I know, both high earners had to have “the” house, the kids at private school then some friends bought a new house with a pool and so they had a pool put in. They were basically in debt to their eyeballs and one of them started skimming from the company they worked for which ultimately cost their job.
So whilst the above is an extreme example your Partner has probably got lots of commitments commensurate with a certain lifestyle but it doesn’t mean he necessarily has huge amounts of spare cash - if they have school fees, holidays, big mortgage etc then they don’t have a lot of spare cash left at the end of it so inflation will bite regardless.
A lot of people spend what they have and skirt very close to the edge to have that bigger house, bigger holidays etc and not many, when they start earning big, continue to live as before. It’s a weird spending escalator. So whilst I don’t get out the world’s smallest violin for them it’s potentially very uncomfortable for those without stashes of assets etc.
Yes - nearly everyone lives on their income now - TSE style of having *years* of income in the bank is ancient history.
My mother came from a working class background - the Rent Man figured large in the memories. Happiness was having the mortgage paid off, the pension payments maxed out and a couple of years of income as savings in the building society. If you reached that, then you could relax a bit....
I don't think it's true that nearly everyone lives on their income. It is true that savers don't make good news stories - but many millions still do live well within their means.
The ratios are quite startling though. Hence the personal debt levels in the UK.
A friend worked in private wealth management. The number of people who live the lifestyle, but are maxed out on a tax of credit cards...
Years ago, my then wife worked for a Barristers' Chambers. One of them earned well over £1m p.a. yet was desperate for every single fee cheque to be paid into his account immediately, because he was permanently broke....
If I'd earned £1m even once I'd have retired there and then.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
He is/was pretty good.
Whilst pondering the betting markets the other day it struck me that Chris Bryant has, so far as I recall, never been talked about as a future Labour leader. SKS isn't likely to depart any time soon in my view, so it's a moot issue, but I do rather puzzle over it. Is there a reason?
I think the only possible repsonse this time is to say he's pants!
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Yesterdays results are extraordinary given the news every day of how terrible the current Government is. It can't all be issues with mad local labour partys.
They are not 'extraordinary' and, yes, they can all be 'local'
I always vote for local issues in local elections, especially if they are by-elections. People tend to want to focus in local elections on, erm, local issues.
How is that not extraordinary?
Seriously, taking a handful of local by-elections as if they mean anything national, when you don't live in those wards or know the circumstances, is going down a nerdish rabbit hole.
I appreciate things are very very tough for you tories right now but swivel-eyed lunacy isn't the answer.
Clue: Rishi Sunak's calm and measured approach yesterday was really impressive (to me and others).
Why am I a Tory for just for pointing out out Labours poor performance in all 5 of the by-elections that they took part in yesterday? It may well be all down to local issues, but normally the major opposition party that has been in opposition for 12 years does not lose votes like this even in calm times, yet only the crazy times we are in now.
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
That will be a hard seat for Labour to hold without his personal vote.
If Labour don't hold Exeter (10,000 majority in 2019!) Boris Johnson and/or his successor are in even bigger landslide territory... unless you are having a punt on the LDs doing a N. Shropshire.
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
That will be a hard seat for Labour to hold without his personal vote.
IDK, the City Council is firmly Lab, the seat was comfortably Lab in 2019 despite being close in 2010, so even without him I'd rate their chances as pretty high.
It may well be the only reliable Labour seat in the South West outside Bristol, of which I think there is only one other in any case.
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Yesterdays results are extraordinary given the news every day of how terrible the current Government is. It can't all be issues with mad local labour partys.
They are not 'extraordinary' and, yes, they can all be 'local'
I always vote for local issues in local elections, especially if they are by-elections. People tend to want to focus in local elections on, erm, local issues.
How is that not extraordinary?
Seriously, taking a handful of local by-elections as if they mean anything national, when you don't live in those wards or know the circumstances, is going down a nerdish rabbit hole.
I appreciate things are very very tough for you tories right now but swivel-eyed lunacy isn't the answer.
Clue: Rishi Sunak's calm and measured approach yesterday was really impressive (to me and others).
Why am I a Tory for just for pointing out out Labours poor performance in all 5 of the by-elections that they took part in yesterday? It may well be all down to local issues, but normally the major opposition party that has been in opposition for 12 years does not lose votes like this even in calm times, yet only the crazy times we are in now.
So come May, do you think Labour will lose votes in totality in the locals?
He’s showing why he’s lost every leadership election he’s stood in.
Don’t local governments essentially have to legally introduce these to meet the government clean air and emission targets? That’s the justification Newcastle City Council seem to give - that they’d rather not but have to…
I think there were are few cities, five or something like that, told by central government that they had to introduce them. Leeds was one, but IIRC it doesn't have to now because air quality's improved enough for it not to be needed. Whether they included Newcastle and Manchester in those I can't remember, but I wouldn't be surprised. I can't see any area introducing them without compulsion. The political pain isn't worth it, currently, I don't think.
Still a lot of resistance to this green stuff. I wonder if it'll become more accepted over time. The younger generations seem keener, the oldies generally don't care.
The slight problem with traffic = pollution, is when electric cars start to dominate.
The "particulates from tires" thing is an tempt to address that. But falls down on a funny point.
Effective electric cars need substantial cooling system to operate - the batteries and the motors are liquid cooled, which in turn uses a classic air cooling system, to cool the liquid. Since you don't want the works full of dirt, there are filters on the air intakes...
Yes, quite a few electric cars clean the air as they drive...
George Eustice was claiming the other day that EVs might be more polluting than people think due to, among other things, their greater weight resulting in increased brake wear and dust. He is, apparently, unaware that almost all EVs use regenerative braking and hence experience far less brake wear than ICE vehicles.
Indeed. Though that depends on your driving style.
In fact a relative who has a Tesla was told by the service guys that a practise emergency stop every now and then was good idea - otherwise dirt could build up on the brake pads, from lack of use.
I always felt rather sorry for Jeremy Corbyn when he was Leader. He isn't, wasn't, and never has been, Leader material. The function of someone like him is to be a bit of an oddity; reminding members of the existence of similar oddities who are generally on-side but mainly can be tactfully listened to and ignored, but conversely every so often come up with a flash of brilliance. He is, I think, a classic example of the Peter Principle. Whoever persuaded him to stand, and those who signed his nomination papers, did him, and the Party, no favours whatsoever.
He got himself into a dreadful mess with his views on Palestine and Israel, and tried, so far as I could see, to ride both tigers at once. Sitting on the back benches he could express views contrary to the official ones, and there's be the odd spat and no more. As Leader, he was held to account.
Yes, I felt, and still feel, sorry for Jeremy Corbyn. I'm not a Labour member; I often, but not invariably vote for them.
He’s showing why he’s lost every leadership election he’s stood in.
Don’t local governments essentially have to legally introduce these to meet the government clean air and emission targets? That’s the justification Newcastle City Council seem to give - that they’d rather not but have to…
I think there were are few cities, five or something like that, told by central government that they had to introduce them. Leeds was one, but IIRC it doesn't have to now because air quality's improved enough for it not to be needed. Whether they included Newcastle and Manchester in those I can't remember, but I wouldn't be surprised. I can't see any area introducing them without compulsion. The political pain isn't worth it, currently, I don't think.
Still a lot of resistance to this green stuff. I wonder if it'll become more accepted over time. The younger generations seem keener, the oldies generally don't care.
The slight problem with traffic = pollution, is when electric cars start to dominate.
The "particulates from tires" thing is an tempt to address that. But falls down on a funny point.
Effective electric cars need substantial cooling system to operate - the batteries and the motors are liquid cooled, which in turn uses a classic air cooling system, to cool the liquid. Since you don't want the works full of dirt, there are filters on the air intakes...
Yes, quite a few electric cars clean the air as they drive...
George Eustice was claiming the other day that EVs might be more polluting than people think due to, among other things, their greater weight resulting in increased brake wear and dust. He is, apparently, unaware that almost all EVs use regenerative braking and hence experience far less brake wear than ICE vehicles.
Indeed. Though that depends on your driving style.
In fact a relative who has a Tesla was told by the service guys that a practise emergency stop every now and then was good idea - otherwise dirt could build up on the brake pads, from lack of use.
It's baffling and not particularly a comment on Starmer. How does a party in utter and total collapse like the Conservatives right now manage to garner half the votes in some constituencies? What are those voters voting for?
It's baffling and not particularly a comment on Starmer. How does a party in utter and total collapse like the Conservatives right now manage to garner half the votes in some constituencies? What are those voters voting for?
One of the partners in my firm declared the other day that the cost of living situation is starting to bite and even he is having to scrutinise his direct debits more closely.
My “tone deaf”-dar was screaming.
I get that it must be a bit irritating but I see a lot of people who on the face of it earn huge salaries as lawyers, partners of law firms, bankers etc who are actually a month’s salary from trouble.
A lot of these high earners end up in a “lifestyle cycle of doom” where they earn huge amounts but then commit to spending huge amounts either through their own preferences or “keeping up with the Jones’s” on big mortgages, expensive car repayments, multiple holidays, school fees.
For example a couple I know, both high earners had to have “the” house, the kids at private school then some friends bought a new house with a pool and so they had a pool put in. They were basically in debt to their eyeballs and one of them started skimming from the company they worked for which ultimately cost their job.
So whilst the above is an extreme example your Partner has probably got lots of commitments commensurate with a certain lifestyle but it doesn’t mean he necessarily has huge amounts of spare cash - if they have school fees, holidays, big mortgage etc then they don’t have a lot of spare cash left at the end of it so inflation will bite regardless.
A lot of people spend what they have and skirt very close to the edge to have that bigger house, bigger holidays etc and not many, when they start earning big, continue to live as before. It’s a weird spending escalator. So whilst I don’t get out the world’s smallest violin for them it’s potentially very uncomfortable for those without stashes of assets etc.
Yes - nearly everyone lives on their income now - TSE style of having *years* of income in the bank is ancient history.
My mother came from a working class background - the Rent Man figured large in the memories. Happiness was having the mortgage paid off, the pension payments maxed out and a couple of years of income as savings in the building society. If you reached that, then you could relax a bit....
I don't think it's true that nearly everyone lives on their income. It is true that savers don't make good news stories - but many millions still do live well within their means.
The ratios are quite startling though. Hence the personal debt levels in the UK.
A friend worked in private wealth management. The number of people who live the lifestyle, but are maxed out on a tax of credit cards...
Years ago, my then wife worked for a Barristers' Chambers. One of them earned well over £1m p.a. yet was desperate for every single fee cheque to be paid into his account immediately, because he was permanently broke....
If I'd earned £1m even once I'd have retired there and then.
By the third month, you'd be spending 99% of income, more likely :-)
I was told by a senior manger in a bank, once, that one of the duties of a team lead was to encourage his team to blow their bonuses. So they would be hungry for more.....
It's baffling and not particularly a comment on Starmer. How does a party in utter and total collapse like the Conservatives right now manage to garner half the votes in some constituencies? What are those voters voting for?
In the case of local council by elections, I suppose it's not necessarily a vote for the government. The electorate for a by-election, especially local council ones, must be very different from that for a GE, too. But I do think these results show that some of the move to Labour in the polls may be more anger and disgust at BJ than true voting intention. I don't think Labour is even close to sealing the deal at this point, but they are getting a hearing.
For Completeness here is the 6th and final result from last night. Good night for Tories overall holding their seats and getting a swing from Lab in 4 of the 5 where both stood. Very odd given National Polling
Yesterdays results are extraordinary given the news every day of how terrible the current Government is. It can't all be issues with mad local labour partys.
They are not 'extraordinary' and, yes, they can all be 'local'
I always vote for local issues in local elections, especially if they are by-elections. People tend to want to focus in local elections on, erm, local issues.
Seriously??? Could the situation be any worse for the tories right now? Hours and hours of news is about how terrible the Government is. The PM is under a police investigation. And yet Labours vote goes down in all 5 of the contests they competed in, in some massively down. How is that not extraordinary? Labour's vote should be going up not down
Yes, absolutely. The only moral to draw from current events is absolutely how hopeless Labour is.
Considering how obvious that is, I'm very surprised that everyone is being so silly, and talking about how useless the Tories are.
I always felt rather sorry for Jeremy Corbyn when he was Leader. He isn't, wasn't, and never has been, Leader material. The function of someone like him is to be a bit of an oddity; reminding members of the existence of similar oddities who are generally on-side but mainly can be tactfully listened to and ignored, but conversely every so often come up with a flash of brilliance. He is, I think, a classic example of the Peter Principle. Whoever persuaded him to stand, and those who signed his nomination papers, did him, and the Party, no favours whatsoever.
He got himself into a dreadful mess with his views on Palestine and Israel, and tried, so far as I could see, to ride both tigers at once. Sitting on the back benches he could express views contrary to the official ones, and there's be the odd spat and no more. As Leader, he was held to account.
Yes, I felt, and still feel, sorry for Jeremy Corbyn. I'm not a Labour member; I often, but not invariably vote for them.
The longer he remained in post despite being so unsuitable and it seeming to make him unhappy, the less sympathy I had. It was his choice to keep going, and he did seem to enjoy being heard, even though he was mostly saying the same things he had always said.
He is probably much happier now, even though he would rather still have the Labour whip.
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
At this point we have to accept they are an actively hostile power. Withdraw from any co-operation, and meanwhile encourage Putin to invade them, while maintaining Splendid Isolation
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
With no Sheerman or Harman that only puts three others ahead of Corbyn to be longest continuously serving MP, were he to stand and win (difficult though that would be at present).
Jeremy Corbyn, Father of the House?
So you have Islington North pencilled in as an Independent gain...sorry hold?
That would count as Ind Gain. But no, I don't think he'll stand if he cannot be the Labour candidate.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
Whatever party eventually proposes this in the UK will sweep local council elections. People want this. It is wildly popular in Germany
See a big chunk of Warsaw, as well.
The main problem in Britain is the architects. A bunch of moaning lefty narcissists who whine about "pastiche" if you suggest something like this
In Frankfurt there was a big political battle over the Rebuild - and it really was and is a left/right battle. The left wanted new exciting crap architecture, the right fought back, and won. And now New Old Frankfurt wins architectural prizes
I now regret 'liking' your original comment about Frankfurt, seeing what a great job they'd done on the video you linked to.
You then spoil it with a preposterous assertion about 'moaning left narcissists'. Does your culture war never end? Most of us lefties want beautiful town centres - and we're more willing to pay for them than the tax-cutting, low council tax, cut public spending righties. And us leftie greenies want town centres not given over to the motor car, which many Tories think should be given precedence over people.
I always felt rather sorry for Jeremy Corbyn when he was Leader. He isn't, wasn't, and never has been, Leader material. The function of someone like him is to be a bit of an oddity; reminding members of the existence of similar oddities who are generally on-side but mainly can be tactfully listened to and ignored, but conversely every so often come up with a flash of brilliance. He is, I think, a classic example of the Peter Principle. Whoever persuaded him to stand, and those who signed his nomination papers, did him, and the Party, no favours whatsoever.
He got himself into a dreadful mess with his views on Palestine and Israel, and tried, so far as I could see, to ride both tigers at once. Sitting on the back benches he could express views contrary to the official ones, and there's be the odd spat and no more. As Leader, he was held to account.
Yes, I felt, and still feel, sorry for Jeremy Corbyn. I'm not a Labour member; I often, but not invariably vote for them.
I didn't. His conduct with the IRA and then sundry other terrorists who seem to have enticed him into anti-Semetism was, in my view, driven by a deep dislike of and shame for his own country. If he had a wretched time of it that is more than he deserved.
George Eustice was claiming the other day that EVs might be more polluting than people think due to, among other things, their greater weight resulting in increased brake wear and dust. He is apparently unaware that almost all EVs use regenerative braking and hence experience far less brake wear than ICE vehicles.
It's not just brake pads, though. I'm not an expert, but ISTR it's the tyre wear which is the main source of non-exhaust particulates from cars. Is that not right?
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
That will be a hard seat for Labour to hold without his personal vote.
If Labour don't hold Exeter (10,000 majority in 2019!) Boris Johnson and/or his successor are in even bigger landslide territory... unless you are having a punt on the LDs doing a N. Shropshire.
Bradshaw really does have a HUGE personal vote. My Lib Demmy neighbours used to travel 25 miles to go and canvass for him. Without Bradshaw, it could have been quite close in 2019.
There's also a lot of new housebuilding going on around Exeter. It is certainly changing.
I always felt rather sorry for Jeremy Corbyn when he was Leader. He isn't, wasn't, and never has been, Leader material. The function of someone like him is to be a bit of an oddity; reminding members of the existence of similar oddities who are generally on-side but mainly can be tactfully listened to and ignored, but conversely every so often come up with a flash of brilliance. He is, I think, a classic example of the Peter Principle. Whoever persuaded him to stand, and those who signed his nomination papers, did him, and the Party, no favours whatsoever.
He got himself into a dreadful mess with his views on Palestine and Israel, and tried, so far as I could see, to ride both tigers at once. Sitting on the back benches he could express views contrary to the official ones, and there's be the odd spat and no more. As Leader, he was held to account.
Yes, I felt, and still feel, sorry for Jeremy Corbyn. I'm not a Labour member; I often, but not invariably vote for them.
I didn't. His conduct with the IRA and then sundry other terrorists who seem to have enticed him into anti-Semetism was, in my view, driven by a deep dislike of and shame for his own country. If he had a wretched time of it that is more than he deserved.
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
With no Sheerman or Harman that only puts three others ahead of Corbyn to be longest continuously serving MP, were he to stand and win (difficult though that would be at present).
Jeremy Corbyn, Father of the House?
So you have Islington North pencilled in as an Independent gain...sorry hold?
That would count as Ind Gain. But no, I don't think he'll stand if he cannot be the Labour candidate.
George Eustice was claiming the other day that EVs might be more polluting than people think due to, among other things, their greater weight resulting in increased brake wear and dust. He is apparently unaware that almost all EVs use regenerative braking and hence experience far less brake wear than ICE vehicles.
It's not just brake pads, though. I'm not an expert, but ISTR it's the tyre wear which is the main source of non-exhaust particulates from cars. Is that not right?
Except the air cooling system in the car behind hoovers the tire particulates up at a remarkable rate....
Now Sajid Javid follows Sunak in distancing himself from PM over Savile:
"Keir Starmer deserves respect for taking on such a big public job and doing well [as DPP]... The Prime Minister has already clarified his remarks... I think that was important."
Maybe he's one of the briefers. With the Mail saying "the government is bracing for the potential resignation of some ministers", I wonder if he'd be one of the first most likely, that they're already working to factor in. Sacked by Boris early on and then reinstated in a more junior position, he's hardly likely to have much loyalty.
Less briefing. More action.
They're pathetic.
Yes, it's all dragging somewhat. Every other day there's predictions that "this is crunch day".
I think it will carry on for about three weeks minimum
Well, if it does I hope we never again hear about how ruthless the Tories are at getting rid of their leaders.
They're about as ruthless as a child trying - and failing - to take the skin off a rice pudding.
I suspect there are quite a lot of MPs at the moment who would not VONC him if it were tomorrow. Another few weeks and a few more revelations then they will have had enough. I may be over complicating this, but I guess MPs know how the mood is and how it is shifting. I would far prefer we have to wait a few weeks than have a failed VONC attempt
The risk is the public let him back into their good books. By 'public' I mean a large proportion of the people who were thinking "Boris" and "Brexit" rather than "Tory" when they put their cross in the Con box at GE19. They were where his landslide and big mandate came from and it was a bit of a personal one.
If he stays in place until the local elections, and they turn out not terrible, and the polls improve, in particular in those crucial seats in the North and the Midlands, then he could yet fight another general election as Tory leader. I make it about a 33% chance that this happens. Down from 50% a week ago but still more than the betting gives him.
At this point we have to accept they are an actively hostile power. Withdraw from any co-operation, and meanwhile encourage Putin to invade them, while maintaining Splendid Isolation
A bit of a losing battle for them though, the commission granted an indefinite waver on clearing.
At this point we have to accept they are an actively hostile power. Withdraw from any co-operation, and meanwhile encourage Putin to invade them, while maintaining Splendid Isolation
Your stupidity index just soared to an all time high.
At this point we have to accept they are an actively hostile power. Withdraw from any co-operation, and meanwhile encourage Putin to invade them, while maintaining Splendid Isolation
At this point? They have never, ever, stopped being a hostile power. The hundred years war never ended. Sure we fought in France in 1914-18, but that was for the Belgians. We did the same in 1939-45, but that was for the Belgians and the Dutch. And the French are not grateful to us for liberating them. Oh no. It was the worst thing we could do.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now), and perhaps an underlying discontent with the absolute (unrepresentative) stranglehold Labour councillors have on Manchester, with attendant complacency and sloppiness.
I wouldn't draw any conclusions at all about the national picture from this.
I'd say Great Ancoats Street is looking splendid. A real success story. Granted the works were a right kerfuffle. But which works aren't?
It's not my idea of splendour, though I'd have accepted merely practical.
Well ok, it's not the Champs Elysees, yet. But it's almost unrecognisable from what it was 15 years ago. Importantly, it's lined with active frontages of businesses you might like to frequent. And the interruption of the canal and the space next to it is rather nicely done. I'd say a step up from 'practical' - Trinity Way is 'practical'. Manchester does get some things wrong, but it gets far more right than it does wrong, and it does such a lot, that the frequency of success is gratifyingly high. And I'd put Great Ancoats Street firmly in the 'success' category.
Re Ancoats & Beswick. I know the area fairly well (I work just over the other side of Gt Ancoats Street) and while the New Islington bit is becoming a bit yuppified, most of Beswick, Miles Platting and Bradford is still very solidly working class.
As I understand it, a lot of the vote here has gone against Labour because of a bullying issue forcing out the previous councillor. There's also the background issue of how badly the refurbishment of Great Ancoats Street has gone (city centre LDs have focused on transport in their campaigning for a while now)
I'll grant you that it's "European-style" in the sense of Ceaucescu's Bucharest, yes.
It's a right mess - and actually makes a difference to pedestrians who have to wait ages to to cross the bloody thing (not to mention squeezing past cars; the wider pavements now being used as parking spaces with seeming impunity). It's somehow worse all round for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and is ugly to boot.
For anyone regularly walking into town from Ancoats it's a routine low-level nuisance.
Drives me fucking nuts. The British used to build beautiful cities. Some of the most beautiful in the world, from Edinburgh to Cambridge, central London to Bath, Winchester, Oxford, Victorian Glasgow, chunks of Liverpool, Georgian Newcastle, why the fucking fuck can't we do it now?
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
Whatever party eventually proposes this in the UK will sweep local council elections. People want this. It is wildly popular in Germany
See a big chunk of Warsaw, as well.
The main problem in Britain is the architects. A bunch of moaning lefty narcissists who whine about "pastiche" if you suggest something like this
In Frankfurt there was a big political battle over the Rebuild - and it really was and is a left/right battle. The left wanted new exciting crap architecture, the right fought back, and won. And now New Old Frankfurt wins architectural prizes
I now regret 'liking' your original comment about Frankfurt, seeing what a great job they'd done on the video you linked to.
You then spoil it with a preposterous assertion about 'moaning left narcissists'. Does your culture war never end? Most of us lefties want beautiful town centres - and we're more willing to pay for them than the tax-cutting, low council tax, cut public spending righties.
But I'm correct. As ever.
The left sees the Rebuilding of Frankfurt as... er.... white supremacism. Try reading before commenting
"Is far-right ideology twisting the concept of 'heritage' in German architecture? Two restoration projects are raising fears that the idea of ‘tradition’ is being hijacked"
"Krier himself may not be fascist. Nor are most of the people involved in reconstructing the Garrison church or the new Old Town. But the defence of the political neutrality of architecture is wearing thin. Why exactly, of all the treasures lost in the war, is it so important to rebuild this particular church? Why does it so happen that Wolfschlag’s favourite buildings are imperial or Nazi? Why is Speer so fascinating?"
I see Ben Bradshaw, Labour, Exeter, is standing down. He’s No.8.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
He is/was pretty good.
Whilst pondering the betting markets the other day it struck me that Chris Bryant has, so far as I recall, never been talked about as a future Labour leader. SKS isn't likely to depart any time soon in my view, so it's a moot issue, but I do rather puzzle over it. Is there a reason?
Yes. I don't think Bryant is remotely interested in being Leader. He's a backbencher par excellence, and doesn't want to change. A bit like a great teacher who never wants to be promoted out of the classroom.
Comments
https://twitter.com/aaronbell4nul/status/1489617282968002570?s=21
A friend worked in private wealth management. The number of people who live the lifestyle, but are maxed out on a tax of credit cards...
@AaronBell4NUL
I have submitted a letter to Sir Graham Brady.
Please see the statement attached explaining my reasons.
I will not be commenting further at this time.
Not sure if that was expected
I just find it weird how a large number of more left wing people would prefer a Right wing (even seriously right wing) Tory Government to a moderately left wing Labour Government.
*Though removed quite rapidly after trials.
Jonathan Portes
@jdportes
As @sjwrenlewis & pointed out a few years back, MMT proponents, to be consistent, should now be calling for large tax hikes
(quote below from @RichardJMurphy).
Would be interested to hear how much they think taxes need to go up to solve the "cost of living crisis"?
https://twitter.com/jdportes/status/1489508107902459907
Could the situation be any worse for the tories right now?
Hours and hours of news is about how terrible the Government is.
The PM is under a police investigation.
And yet Labours vote goes down in all 5 of the contests they competed in, in some massively down.
How is that not extraordinary?
Labour's vote should be going up not down
Look at the vitriol following the Christian Wakeford defection or the bizarre adulation of Jeremy Corbyn who is a really rather unpleasant person.
And if we can't do it now, just admit it, and rebuild all our cities exactly as they were before the bombs and the developers, as they are doing across central and eastern Europe, to great effect
LOOK WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IN FRANKFURT
"Our #DailyDrone shows you the reconstructed old town of #Frankfurt, which was destroyed in World War II by bombing raids. In the Dom-Römer-Projekt, the oldest core of the city was rebuilt."
https://twitter.com/dw_culture/status/1463130209394302978?s=20&t=8KPrTLjYKLJGCWBnaKCUoQ
Whatever party eventually proposes this in the UK will sweep local council elections. People want this. It is wildly popular in Germany
I appreciate things are very very tough for you tories right now but swivel-eyed lunacy isn't the answer.
Clue: Rishi Sunak's calm and measured approach yesterday was really impressive (to me and others).
Not having a properly adaptive layout is a fail - when properly done, the webpage senses the resolution it is being displayed in and changes paradigm at set resolutions.
Two of the most vociferous advocates for Johnson's de-frocking are Bridgen and Chope. Now I can't think of anyone more swivel-eyed than that pair... however if they can take another 52 likeminded assorted fruit and nut cases with them we are over the line.
It's one of my absolute bugbears. I buy a large monitor because I want to be able to see more text, not the same tiny bit of text in inch-high letters.
MPs not seeking re-election:
Ben Bradshaw, Lab, Exeter
Alex Cunningham, Lab, Stockton North
Harriet Harman, Lab, Camberwell and Peckham
Margaret Hodge, Lab, Barking
Barry Sheerman, Lab, Huddersfield
Charles Walker, Con, Broxbourne
Alan Whitehead, Con, Southampton Test
Douglas Ross, SCon, Moray
https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1489602651436326917
He's officially famous.
NO surprise really given his comments over the last few days. Surely we must be getting close.
Jeremy Corbyn, Father of the House?
Sheerman is notable as the only one of the first 18 MPs by seniority not to be Rt Hon or Sir/Dame (the next one is Fabricant). Were it not for the unexpectedness of his Leadership win he'd have Corbyn for company at least.
In Frankfurt there was a big political battle over the Rebuild - and it really was and is a left/right battle. The left wanted new exciting crap architecture, the right fought back, and won. And now New Old Frankfurt wins architectural prizes
It's a bit like the religious fervour with which people try and claim that Brutalist Architecture is really loveable. The clue is in the name, dudes.
And then they get angry because the people (the bar stewards) want to live in semi-detached houses with gardens.
Because what do people actually know about how to live their own lives?
https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1489597865412513792?t=IdEr_lkwRQ3MVRD4GS7XEg&s=19
Considering how obvious that is, I'm very surprised that everyone is being so silly, and talking about how useless the Tories are.
Whilst pondering the betting markets the other day it struck me that Chris Bryant has, so far as I recall, never been talked about as a future Labour leader. SKS isn't likely to depart any time soon in my view, so it's a moot issue, but I do rather puzzle over it. Is there a reason?
According to Wiki John Prescott held that seat for quite a while in the 13 hundreds. Didn't realise he was that old.
If I'd earned £1m even once I'd have retired there and then.
The skyline from a distance is messy, yet still quite impressive
What did you think?
It may well be the only reliable Labour seat in the South West outside Bristol, of which I think there is only one other in any case.
In fact a relative who has a Tesla was told by the service guys that a practise emergency stop every now and then was good idea - otherwise dirt could build up on the brake pads, from lack of use.
He is, I think, a classic example of the Peter Principle. Whoever persuaded him to stand, and those who signed his nomination papers, did him, and the Party, no favours whatsoever.
He got himself into a dreadful mess with his views on Palestine and Israel, and tried, so far as I could see, to ride both tigers at once. Sitting on the back benches he could express views contrary to the official ones, and there's be the odd spat and no more. As Leader, he was held to account.
Yes, I felt, and still feel, sorry for Jeremy Corbyn. I'm not a Labour member; I often, but not invariably vote for them.
My estimate is 25-30 letters.
I was told by a senior manger in a bank, once, that one of the duties of a team lead was to encourage his team to blow their bonuses. So they would be hungry for more.....
He is probably much happier now, even though he would rather still have the Labour whip.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-04/france-calls-on-eu-to-block-city-of-london-clearing-after-2025?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&cmpid==socialflow-twitter-bloomberguk&utm_medium=social&utm_content=bloomberguk
At this point we have to accept they are an actively hostile power. Withdraw from any co-operation, and meanwhile encourage Putin to invade them, while maintaining Splendid Isolation
You then spoil it with a preposterous assertion about 'moaning left narcissists'. Does your culture war never end? Most of us lefties want beautiful town centres - and we're more willing to pay for them than the tax-cutting, low council tax, cut public spending righties. And us leftie greenies want town centres not given over to the motor car, which many Tories think should be given precedence over people.
Katie Price looking better than ever, after her latest plastic surgery.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10477005/Bandaged-bruised-Katie-Price-continues-results-latest-surgery.html
There's also a lot of new housebuilding going on around Exeter. It is certainly changing.
Classic case of Negative Nationalism
The left are up to something - they're too quiet.
If he stays in place until the local elections, and they turn out not terrible, and the polls improve, in particular in those crucial seats in the North and the Midlands, then he could yet fight another general election as Tory leader. I make it about a 33% chance that this happens. Down from 50% a week ago but still more than the betting gives him.
Manchester does get some things wrong, but it gets far more right than it does wrong, and it does such a lot, that the frequency of success is gratifyingly high. And I'd put Great Ancoats Street firmly in the 'success' category.
The left sees the Rebuilding of Frankfurt as... er.... white supremacism. Try reading before commenting
"Is far-right ideology twisting the concept of 'heritage' in German architecture?
Two restoration projects are raising fears that the idea of ‘tradition’ is being hijacked"
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/oct/06/a-dubious-history-in-the-remaking-germany
"Krier himself may not be fascist. Nor are most of the people involved in reconstructing the Garrison church or the new Old Town. But the defence of the political neutrality of architecture is wearing thin. Why exactly, of all the treasures lost in the war, is it so important to rebuild this particular church? Why does it so happen that Wolfschlag’s favourite buildings are imperial or Nazi? Why is Speer so fascinating?"