Complaining or exclaiming about major impact of religion upon the United States is a fool's errand.
Seeing as how religion has ALWAYS been a major factor in American history and thus politics. As it used to be in Europe, including UK.
Big difference here was that, unlike you, we did NOT fight bloody wars - civil, uncivil, international - over religion. Conflict, yes. Riots, occasionally. But NOTHING like the English Civil War or Thirty Years War.
Interesting part of our religious heritage - indeed its hallmark - is our diversity of faiths and esp. creeds. Which soon led - as in UK - to opposition to an established church. Difference was that establishment was too weak to survive here for very long, just a few decades after independence in a few states. And was of course banned federally.
We still argue what "separation of church and state" means. But few Americans think it's a bad thing per se - even the nutters!
Maybe you should try it sometime?
I’m sorry @SeaShantyIrish2 but this is nonsense. America is intensely religious in a way that it’s entirely alien to UK/Oz/Canada, and also most Europeans
So you may de jure have separation of church and state but de facto you do not. The Civil War was infused with religious debate and that killed 750,000 Americans - including fully 20% of all Southern men of fighting age
Europeans USED to be intensely religious. Now you are intensely irreligious. Having totally lost your faith due to WAY too much wars of religion, auto de fes and "Gott Mit Uns"
Whereas Americans have NOT lost their faith, for the most part. And only a minority is theologically obsessed - just that it compares with about zilch in Europe PLUS the rest of the county have religious buttons that can definitely be pushed. For good (anti-Slavery), mixed (Prohibition) or ill (anti-Semitism).
I say Prohibition was mixed, because motivation (ending abuse of alcohol) was good but unexpected consequences (Al Capone) were bad. Same with "War on Drugs".
In a sense there is something admirable about America’s debate on abortion
It is akin to the slavery debate, in its power, yet much more nuanced (both sides have good arguments: they obviously did not on slavery). This is a profound and serious moral issue and Americans REALLY care. Perhaps they care too much, and they might end up shooting each other, but arguably that is better than the shrug of the cynical European
Tricky. I’m glad the UK is not embittered by this debate yet I am also glad a serious western society is exercised by it
The UK performed the same service for the rest of the EU when we had Brexit
It's interesting how most conservatives in the UK (and Europe) aren't particularly bothered about the abortion debate.
It is not very interesting imo. There are two related questions that might be interesting.
One in the United States is the extent to which abortion determines a person's vote, in the sense that they would vote for the other party on other issues. Will pro-choice Republicans now vote Democrat? Will pro-life Democrats who were previously voting Republican in order to restrict abortion, now vote Democrat?
And here, might abortion be a Brexit-type issue? One where most people are vaguely content with the status quo, and do not give it a moment's thought from one year to the next, but where that might change if ever they are forced to vote on it because some idiot prime minister calls a referendum in order to buy off a vocal minority on one side or the other.
Europe was an issue that tore the country's politics apart for generations, it wasn't just because a PM chose to call a referendum about it.
If you don't think that Europe was already a massive issue in this country pre-2016 (and had been since the 1980s if not earlier) then you weren't paying much attention.
Opinion polls repeatedly showed that most people did not give any priority to Europe as an issue.
The vastly higher turnout in the EU referendum compared with the AV referendum shows that it was considered a much more important issue.
Complaining or exclaiming about major impact of religion upon the United States is a fool's errand.
Seeing as how religion has ALWAYS been a major factor in American history and thus politics. As it used to be in Europe, including UK.
Big difference here was that, unlike you, we did NOT fight bloody wars - civil, uncivil, international - over religion. Conflict, yes. Riots, occasionally. But NOTHING like the English Civil War or Thirty Years War.
Interesting part of our religious heritage - indeed its hallmark - is our diversity of faiths and esp. creeds. Which soon led - as in UK - to opposition to an established church. Difference was that establishment was too weak to survive here for very long, just a few decades after independence in a few states. And was of course banned federally.
We still argue what "separation of church and state" means. But few Americans think it's a bad thing per se - even the nutters!
Maybe you should try it sometime?
I’m sorry @SeaShantyIrish2 but this is nonsense. America is intensely religious in a way that it’s entirely alien to UK/Oz/Canada, and also most Europeans
So you may de jure have separation of church and state but de facto you do not. The Civil War was infused with religious debate and that killed 750,000 Americans - including fully 20% of all Southern men of fighting age
Europeans USED to be intensely religious. Now you are intensely irreligious. Having totally lost your faith due to WAY too much wars of religion, auto de fes and "Gott Mit Uns"
Whereas Americans have NOT lost their faith, for the most part. And only a minority is theologically obsessed - just that it compares with about zilch in Europe PLUS the rest of the county have religious buttons that can definitely be pushed. For good (anti-Slavery), mixed (Prohibition) or ill (anti-Semitism).
I say Prohibition was mixed, because motivation (ending abuse of alcohol) was good but unexpected consequences (Al Capone) were bad. Same with "War on Drugs".
In a sense there is something admirable about America’s debate on abortion
It is akin to the slavery debate, in its power, yet much more nuanced (both sides have good arguments: they obviously did not on slavery). This is a profound and serious moral issue and Americans REALLY care. Perhaps they care too much, and they might end up shooting each other, but arguably that is better than the shrug of the cynical European
Tricky. I’m glad the UK is not embittered by this debate yet I am also glad a serious western society is exercised by it
The UK performed the same service for the rest of the EU when we had Brexit
It's interesting how most conservatives in the UK (and Europe) aren't particularly bothered about the abortion debate.
It is not very interesting imo. There are two related questions that might be interesting.
One in the United States is the extent to which abortion determines a person's vote, in the sense that they would vote for the other party on other issues. Will pro-choice Republicans now vote Democrat? Will pro-life Democrats who were previously voting Republican in order to restrict abortion, now vote Democrat?
And here, might abortion be a Brexit-type issue? One where most people are vaguely content with the status quo, and do not give it a moment's thought from one year to the next, but where that might change if ever they are forced to vote on it because some idiot prime minister calls a referendum in order to buy off a vocal minority on one side or the other.
Europe was an issue that tore the country's politics apart for generations, it wasn't just because a PM chose to call a referendum about it.
If you don't think that Europe was already a massive issue in this country pre-2016 (and had been since the 1980s if not earlier) then you weren't paying much attention.
Opinion polls repeatedly showed that most people did not give any priority to Europe as an issue.
The vastly higher turnout in the EU referendum compared with the AV referendum shows that it was considered a much more important issue.
Yes but only after a referendum was called. That is the point.
I clerked at the Supreme Court. Last night, I assumed a liberal clerk leaked the draft opinion overturning Roe. Now I think MUCH more likely it was leaked by a conservative fanatically committed to every word of Alito’s monstrous opinion. **🧵**
Complaining or exclaiming about major impact of religion upon the United States is a fool's errand.
Seeing as how religion has ALWAYS been a major factor in American history and thus politics. As it used to be in Europe, including UK.
Big difference here was that, unlike you, we did NOT fight bloody wars - civil, uncivil, international - over religion. Conflict, yes. Riots, occasionally. But NOTHING like the English Civil War or Thirty Years War.
Interesting part of our religious heritage - indeed its hallmark - is our diversity of faiths and esp. creeds. Which soon led - as in UK - to opposition to an established church. Difference was that establishment was too weak to survive here for very long, just a few decades after independence in a few states. And was of course banned federally.
We still argue what "separation of church and state" means. But few Americans think it's a bad thing per se - even the nutters!
Maybe you should try it sometime?
I’m sorry @SeaShantyIrish2 but this is nonsense. America is intensely religious in a way that it’s entirely alien to UK/Oz/Canada, and also most Europeans
So you may de jure have separation of church and state but de facto you do not. The Civil War was infused with religious debate and that killed 750,000 Americans - including fully 20% of all Southern men of fighting age
Europeans USED to be intensely religious. Now you are intensely irreligious. Having totally lost your faith due to WAY too much wars of religion, auto de fes and "Gott Mit Uns"
Whereas Americans have NOT lost their faith, for the most part. And only a minority is theologically obsessed - just that it compares with about zilch in Europe PLUS the rest of the county have religious buttons that can definitely be pushed. For good (anti-Slavery), mixed (Prohibition) or ill (anti-Semitism).
I say Prohibition was mixed, because motivation (ending abuse of alcohol) was good but unexpected consequences (Al Capone) were bad. Same with "War on Drugs".
In a sense there is something admirable about America’s debate on abortion
It is akin to the slavery debate, in its power, yet much more nuanced (both sides have good arguments: they obviously did not on slavery). This is a profound and serious moral issue and Americans REALLY care. Perhaps they care too much, and they might end up shooting each other, but arguably that is better than the shrug of the cynical European
Tricky. I’m glad the UK is not embittered by this debate yet I am also glad a serious western society is exercised by it
The UK performed the same service for the rest of the EU when we had Brexit
It's interesting how most conservatives in the UK (and Europe) aren't particularly bothered about the abortion debate.
It is not very interesting imo. There are two related questions that might be interesting.
One in the United States is the extent to which abortion determines a person's vote, in the sense that they would vote for the other party on other issues. Will pro-choice Republicans now vote Democrat? Will pro-life Democrats who were previously voting Republican in order to restrict abortion, now vote Democrat?
And here, might abortion be a Brexit-type issue? One where most people are vaguely content with the status quo, and do not give it a moment's thought from one year to the next, but where that might change if ever they are forced to vote on it because some idiot prime minister calls a referendum in order to buy off a vocal minority on one side or the other.
Europe was an issue that tore the country's politics apart for generations, it wasn't just because a PM chose to call a referendum about it.
If you don't think that Europe was already a massive issue in this country pre-2016 (and had been since the 1980s if not earlier) then you weren't paying much attention.
Opinion polls repeatedly showed that most people did not give any priority to Europe as an issue.
The vastly higher turnout in the EU referendum compared with the AV referendum shows that it was considered a much more important issue.
The perceived closeness of the result also likely spurred turnout.
14% reported J.D. Vance 30,975 25.4% Matt Dolan 28,834 23.7% Josh Mandel 26,926 22.1% Mike Gibbons 18,404 15.1% Jane Timken 12,651 10.4% Mark Pukita 2,312 1.9% Neil Patel 1,654 1.4%
A company called “Cityfibre” are digging up my road (in the midlands) to install fttp. A bit of googling indicates the network is theoretically upgradable to 100Gbps in the future. That’s properly world leading.
Finally. It’s taken way too long for the govt/internet infrastructure providers to get their ass into gear, but we’re nearly there. I don’t know if Boris can credibly claim credit for this piece of “levelling up” but it’s great news, anyway.
Still not going to vote for the lying sack of shit, obviously.
Ohio GOP US Senate race pretty tight right now, with Vance and Mandel splitting rural counties, Dolan winning Cleveland area and Columbus, and Vance doing well in suburban turf elsewhere.
EDIT - so far zero votes reported out of Hamilton (Cincinnati)
2nd EDIT - no doubt some PBers awaiting with baited breath returns from Licking Co
Ohio GOP US Senate race pretty tight right now, with Vance and Mandel splitting rural counties, Dolan winning Cleveland area and Columbus, and Vance doing well in suburban turf elsewhere.
EDIT - so far zero votes reported out of Hamilton (Cincinnati)
Is it a "winner takes all" contest? Sorry for all the questions. I tried looking it up just now and couldn't find the answer.
In Ohio 7th Congressional District, in ballots counted so far (all vote-by-mail) incumbent US Rep. Shontel Brown, a moderate, is leading primary challenger, progressive Nina Turner, in this heavily Democratic, majority Black district.
This is rematch of 2021 special congressional election won by Brown. This time, progressive leaders & funders who backed Turner heavily, mostly (except for Bernie Sanders and AOC sorta) did not.
My fearless prediction is that Congresswoman Brown is renominated tonight AND re-elected this Fall.
Ohio GOP US Senate race pretty tight right now, with Vance and Mandel splitting rural counties, Dolan winning Cleveland area and Columbus, and Vance doing well in suburban turf elsewhere.
EDIT - so far zero votes reported out of Hamilton (Cincinnati)
Is it a "winner takes all" contest? Sorry for all the questions. I tried looking it up just now and couldn't find the answer.
Yes, for Republican nomination. FPTP, no primary runoffs in Ohio or Indiana.
Gov Mike DeWine of Ohio, a reasonably sane Republican, renominated easily versus two main GOP who split anti-establishment vote. Should win re-election without too much trouble.
A company called “Cityfibre” are digging up my road (in the midlands) to install fttp. A bit of googling indicates the network is theoretically upgradable to 100Gbps in the future. That’s properly world leading.
Finally. It’s taken way too long for the govt/internet infrastructure providers to get their ass into gear, but we’re nearly there. I don’t know if Boris can credibly claim credit for this piece of “levelling up” but it’s great news, anyway.
Still not going to vote for the lying sack of shit, obviously.
We voters are ungrateful sods.
Upgrading internet infrastructure was in the Conservative programme so well done Boris, whether or not this particular instance has in any way connected with HMG. And "theoretically upgradable" does sound promising.
Vance has a five point lead with a third of votes counted: it looks like he's the fairly comfortable winner. (Unless the bulk of remaining votes are from the big cities, but that seems unlikely.)
The Dems look to have avoided any really silly primary picks: moderates have beaten "progressives" across the board today. And Tim Ryan looks to be a good opponent to Vance.
Updated just now 34% REPORTED Candidate Vote J.D. Vance 92,638 30.1% Josh Mandel 74,669 24.3% Matt Dolan 66,786 21.7% Mike Gibbons 39,315 12.8% Jane Timken 24,145 7.8% Mark Pukita 6,737 2.2% Neil Patel 3,464 1.1% Total reported 307,754
Vance is picking up steam as votes cast today get counted, he's now 6% points ahead of Mandel who in turn is 3% points ahead of Dolan with 48% of statewide vote reported
Edit - based on where outstanding vote are coming from, expect Dolan to improve, but he's too far back to catch up methinks.
Vance has a five point lead with a third of votes counted: it looks like he's the fairly comfortable winner. (Unless the bulk of remaining votes are from the big cities, but that seems unlikely.)
NYT mapping shows where votes left to count are, there are mostly in larger counties HOWEVER also big pool of them in SW Ohio where Vance has been leading.
Here's a stray thought. Suppose Vance wins the Republican primary, and then goes on to win the general election.
And then gets a serious case of ingratitude toward Trump. The author of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly_Elegy has a diagnosis of the problems of the rural working class that is unlike Trumpism, to say the least:
Alongside his personal history, Vance raises questions such as the responsibility of his family and people for their own misfortune. Vance blames hillbilly culture and its supposed encouragement of social rot. Comparatively, he feels that economic insecurity plays a much lesser role. To lend credence to his argument, Vance regularly relies on personal experience. As a grocery store checkout cashier, he watched welfare recipients talk on cell phones although the working Vance could not afford one.
Now, to say the least, blaming voters for their problems is unusual. But Vance might get away with it, and he would have six years to make his case to the voters, no matter what Trump does. (He'll turn 38 in August, so it seems nearly certain that he would want a second term, and perhaps a higher office.)
AP calls Ohio US Senate Republican Primary for Vance
Updated just now 71% REPORTED Candidate Votes J.D. Vance 218,053 31.3% Josh Mandel 169,416 24.3% Matt Dolan 152,198 21.9% Mike Gibbons 83,383 12.0% Jane Timken 45,740 6.6% Mark Pukita 18,031 2.6% Neil Patel 9,565 1.4% Total reported 696,386
The opinion is certainly a big change from previous leave it to each state to legislate conservative jurisprudence.
Note sure that would be a good platform for the GOP to run on, save for most gungho religious conservatives. Most voters are concerned about abortion - one way or another - in their own state.
Majority of anti-abortion voters will have what they want via state bans in their states. Going for federal ban would stir up hornets nest in pro-choice states. And some of in the anti camp would fear potential for provoking more backlash that they could handle - including back in their bailiwicks.
The opinion is certainly a big change from previous leave it to each state to legislate conservative jurisprudence.
Note sure that would be a good platform for the GOP to run on, save for most gungho religious conservatives. Most voters are concerned about abortion - one way or another - in their own state.
Majority of anti-abortion voters will have what they want via state bans in their states. Going for federal ban would stir up hornets nest in pro-choice states. And some of in the anti camp would fear potential for provoking more backlash that they could handle - including back in their bailiwicks.
It would certainly be a very high risk (aka daft) strategy, but it's not impossible, as the internal logic of the conservative line on abortion pushes them in that direction.
And the most committed tend to have the biggest voice in the primaries.
The point being that this opinion, should it stand as the judgment if the najority, opens the door at least to the possibility of that being the battle in the 2024 election.
On the plus side, Boris is absorbing a lot of that hatred and resentment, and it will pass with him, like a bad bank, or a decommissioned nuclear site, or in a strange way, Jesus.
Boris is like Jesus for taking on our sins is the oddest hot take I've ever seen on this site. 😲
Politics doesn't just pass like that. If the Tories lose the next election, they'll probably be out of power for at least a decade.
Boris as scapegoat (which was the role Jesus was playing) is a common sentiment though
On the plus side, Boris is absorbing a lot of that hatred and resentment, and it will pass with him, like a bad bank, or a decommissioned nuclear site, or in a strange way, Jesus.
Boris is like Jesus for taking on our sins is the oddest hot take I've ever seen on this site. 😲
Politics doesn't just pass like that. If the Tories lose the next election, they'll probably be out of power for at least a decade.
Boris as scapegoat (which was the role Jesus was playing) is a common sentiment though
On the plus side, Boris is absorbing a lot of that hatred and resentment, and it will pass with him, like a bad bank, or a decommissioned nuclear site, or in a strange way, Jesus.
Boris is like Jesus for taking on our sins is the oddest hot take I've ever seen on this site. 😲
Politics doesn't just pass like that. If the Tories lose the next election, they'll probably be out of power for at least a decade.
Boris as scapegoat (which was the role Jesus was playing) is a common sentiment though
How about Boris as Judas? And even as Pilate?
No, PIlate is his Ministers of Justice. "What is truth?" and washing their hands clean of the law.
On the plus side, Boris is absorbing a lot of that hatred and resentment, and it will pass with him, like a bad bank, or a decommissioned nuclear site, or in a strange way, Jesus.
Boris is like Jesus for taking on our sins is the oddest hot take I've ever seen on this site. 😲
Politics doesn't just pass like that. If the Tories lose the next election, they'll probably be out of power for at least a decade.
Boris as scapegoat (which was the role Jesus was playing) is a common sentiment though
How about Boris as Judas? And even as Pilate?
Or Moses, leading us towards a promised land (though with a multi-decade delay on arrival, milk and honey.)
That ability to embody all sorts of archetypes might be behind his love/hate status.
Tending towards hate as people realise that all of it is an act.
Looks like UK is probably already in recession. BoE should cut interest rates.
Danny Blanchflower, a walking advert for the stupidity and lack of sense of academic economists.
Unless that's a parody, with him it's hard to tell the difference.
Most of them - the politicians included - seem caught up in this micro-level death spiral. Economy is bad, so how can we afford stuff, which makes the economy bad. Rinse and repeat.
There is both a long list of stuff this country needs to spend money on and a population in need of jobs. Radical idea - why not invest in clean energy and fibre broadband and transport infrastructure and new schools and affordable childcare and create jobs doing it that generates taxes and economic output?
You cannot cut your way to growth. Especially when our infrastructure provision even on strategic things like power generation is embarrassingly poor. We need to start spending £dollah and quickly, so with our new post-Brexit freedoms we really could be doing the "British jobs for British workers" thing. Or we could, if it wasn't for the reality that the Boris Brexiteers vision of Brexit was to exploit poorly educated chattel in low cost jobs for quick profits.
Good FT article on Irish Unity post-Sinn Fein victory this week
For those that know how to get around the paywall, try this:
“Would a Sinn Féin victory open the door to a united Ireland? “
TL;DR: A Sinn Fein victory in NI will be a minor earthquake, and they could also win in Dublin, but we are many many miles from a United Ireland, and Ulsterpeople show no appetite for a poll
Which is quite understandable, as right now Ulsterpeople have the best deal in Europe - EU Freedom of Movement as Irish citizens yet also UK free trade/NHS as Brits, and as part of Britain. They would be mad to give up this uniquely benign situation
Why is being the EU a marvelous boon for the Six Counties but a nightmarish obscenity for the rest of the UK?
Also, things will develop not necessarily to Tory and Unionist advantage. It is HMG policy to erase dual nationality as far as they can in their own operations. For instance, in marriage rights. And we have not yet had HMG unilaterally abrogate the NIP which they themselves proclaimed as the best and most wonderful solution to that particular Brexit issue.
On the plus side, Boris is absorbing a lot of that hatred and resentment, and it will pass with him, like a bad bank, or a decommissioned nuclear site, or in a strange way, Jesus.
Boris is like Jesus for taking on our sins is the oddest hot take I've ever seen on this site. 😲
Politics doesn't just pass like that. If the Tories lose the next election, they'll probably be out of power for at least a decade.
Boris as scapegoat (which was the role Jesus was playing) is a common sentiment though
How about Boris as Judas? And even as Pilate?
Or Moses, leading us towards a promised land (though with a multi-decade delay on arrival, milk and honey.)
That ability to embody all sorts of archetypes might be behind his love/hate status.
Tending towards hate as people realise that all of it is an act.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Oh, so you are happy for the Scots to suffer the Labour Party, but not the rUK?
You can't have the Tories without Mr Johnson. It's too late now.
Nope. If you are running as a Conservative you represent lies. Criminality. Malfeasance. Incompetence. You put that party ID next to your name, you say "these are my values".
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Morning Big_G. I agree that the cost of living crisis is going to swamp them. And for a very specific reason - they simply don't care. Boris does boosterism, so even "I can't afford to heat my home so I ride the bus" got processed and responded to with "I gave you that bus pass" as if the cold pensioner should be appreciative.
Boosterism is a refusal to accept there is a problem. Hence the repeated "Dear Prime Minister please stop lying, luv the ONS" letters in response to "FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE G7". Hence the "can't people spend their savings to pay their energy bills, we must protect BP and Shell" responses.
This government are going to deny there is a problem. Tell people if they are struggling it is their fault because its always booming in Boris's Britain. And then offer them a shiny sixpence off their £5,000 personal finance black hole and expect gratitude.
Any other Tory government would do better because they would at least apply a veneer of being concerned.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Oh, so you are happy for the Scots to suffer the Labour Party, but not the rUK?
You can't have the Tories without Mr Johnson. It's too late now.
The Scots would suffer less under the labour party than the failing SNP and a new conservative leader would start a process of recovering competence
I prefer a conservative government not least because here in Wales we are living under a labour government which is failing the NHS and education and poverty prevails in many parts of Wales
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
Looks like UK is probably already in recession. BoE should cut interest rates.
Danny Blanchflower, a walking advert for the stupidity and lack of sense of academic economists.
Unless that's a parody, with him it's hard to tell the difference.
Most of them - the politicians included - seem caught up in this micro-level death spiral. Economy is bad, so how can we afford stuff, which makes the economy bad. Rinse and repeat.
There is both a long list of stuff this country needs to spend money on and a population in need of jobs. Radical idea - why not invest in clean energy and fibre broadband and transport infrastructure and new schools and affordable childcare and create jobs doing it that generates taxes and economic output?
You cannot cut your way to growth. Especially when our infrastructure provision even on strategic things like power generation is embarrassingly poor. We need to start spending £dollah and quickly, so with our new post-Brexit freedoms we really could be doing the "British jobs for British workers" thing. Or we could, if it wasn't for the reality that the Boris Brexiteers vision of Brexit was to exploit poorly educated chattel in low cost jobs for quick profits.
Spending on domestic power generation (tidal, for instance) would be a net good. But there's no quick fix for the energy price shock until the war in Ukraine is over.
Complaining or exclaiming about major impact of religion upon the United States is a fool's errand.
Seeing as how religion has ALWAYS been a major factor in American history and thus politics. As it used to be in Europe, including UK.
Big difference here was that, unlike you, we did NOT fight bloody wars - civil, uncivil, international - over religion. Conflict, yes. Riots, occasionally. But NOTHING like the English Civil War or Thirty Years War.
Interesting part of our religious heritage - indeed its hallmark - is our diversity of faiths and esp. creeds. Which soon led - as in UK - to opposition to an established church. Difference was that establishment was too weak to survive here for very long, just a few decades after independence in a few states. And was of course banned federally.
We still argue what "separation of church and state" means. But few Americans think it's a bad thing per se - even the nutters!
Maybe you should try it sometime?
I’m sorry @SeaShantyIrish2 but this is nonsense. America is intensely religious in a way that it’s entirely alien to UK/Oz/Canada, and also most Europeans
So you may de jure have separation of church and state but de facto you do not. The Civil War was infused with religious debate and that killed 750,000 Americans - including fully 20% of all Southern men of fighting age
Europeans USED to be intensely religious. Now you are intensely irreligious. Having totally lost your faith due to WAY too much wars of religion, auto de fes and "Gott Mit Uns"
Whereas Americans have NOT lost their faith, for the most part. And only a minority is theologically obsessed - just that it compares with about zilch in Europe PLUS the rest of the county have religious buttons that can definitely be pushed. For good (anti-Slavery), mixed (Prohibition) or ill (anti-Semitism).
I say Prohibition was mixed, because motivation (ending abuse of alcohol) was good but unexpected consequences (Al Capone) were bad. Same with "War on Drugs".
In a sense there is something admirable about America’s debate on abortion
It is akin to the slavery debate, in its power, yet much more nuanced (both sides have good arguments: they obviously did not on slavery). This is a profound and serious moral issue and Americans REALLY care. Perhaps they care too much, and they might end up shooting each other, but arguably that is better than the shrug of the cynical European
Tricky. I’m glad the UK is not embittered by this debate yet I am also glad a serious western society is exercised by it
The UK performed the same service for the rest of the EU when we had Brexit
It's interesting how most conservatives in the UK (and Europe) aren't particularly bothered about the abortion debate.
It is not very interesting imo. There are two related questions that might be interesting.
One in the United States is the extent to which abortion determines a person's vote, in the sense that they would vote for the other party on other issues. Will pro-choice Republicans now vote Democrat? Will pro-life Democrats who were previously voting Republican in order to restrict abortion, now vote Democrat?
And here, might abortion be a Brexit-type issue? One where most people are vaguely content with the status quo, and do not give it a moment's thought from one year to the next, but where that might change if ever they are forced to vote on it because some idiot prime minister calls a referendum in order to buy off a vocal minority on one side or the other.
Europe was an issue that tore the country's politics apart for generations, it wasn't just because a PM chose to call a referendum about it.
If you don't think that Europe was already a massive issue in this country pre-2016 (and had been since the 1980s if not earlier) then you weren't paying much attention.
I think you mean tore the Conservative party apart, no-one else gave a toss. It never topped that What are your most salient concerns poll.
The Mail unintentionally raised an interesting question today.
If Starmer and his team did no work *after* beer and curry then at what point did work end and social begin?
I’m not sure there’s a good answer to that (which is why the rules were a bit silly)
Today's latest "revelations" really make a tit of the Mail stories. £200 of curry divided by dozens plural of activists = not much curry. Yet the Mail was clear that Starmer was illegally ladeling a curry feast into Rayner's illegal growler whilst swilling down a lake of lager.
Methinks there's also a lack of understanding of how things work in a campaign centre deep into a campaign. If you have the time you practically live there - I've eaten all three meals of the day there before now. Eating whilst talking about what is happening the day after is hardly unusual.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
Good morning.
Did different people write those two paragraphs? I'm confused.
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Good morning, Big_G. Fair or not, the message 'not us, gov' isn't going to wash from a party that's been in power for over a decade.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Morning Big_G. I agree that the cost of living crisis is going to swamp them. And for a very specific reason - they simply don't care. Boris does boosterism, so even "I can't afford to heat my home so I ride the bus" got processed and responded to with "I gave you that bus pass" as if the cold pensioner should be appreciative.
Boosterism is a refusal to accept there is a problem. Hence the repeated "Dear Prime Minister please stop lying, luv the ONS" letters in response to "FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE G7". Hence the "can't people spend their savings to pay their energy bills, we must protect BP and Shell" responses.
This government are going to deny there is a problem. Tell people if they are struggling it is their fault because its always booming in Boris's Britain. And then offer them a shiny sixpence off their £5,000 personal finance black hole and expect gratitude.
Any other Tory government would do better because they would at least apply a veneer of being concerned.
I largely agree and despair at the inability of HMG and especially Boris and Rishi to show they really care and I cannot recall a conservative government so aloof and out of touch
It is fair to say only so much can be achieved by any government overwhelmed by this economy crisis but at least you can show you care
Looks like UK is probably already in recession. BoE should cut interest rates.
Danny Blanchflower, a walking advert for the stupidity and lack of sense of academic economists.
Unless that's a parody, with him it's hard to tell the difference.
Most of them - the politicians included - seem caught up in this micro-level death spiral. Economy is bad, so how can we afford stuff, which makes the economy bad. Rinse and repeat.
There is both a long list of stuff this country needs to spend money on and a population in need of jobs. Radical idea - why not invest in clean energy and fibre broadband and transport infrastructure and new schools and affordable childcare and create jobs doing it that generates taxes and economic output?
You cannot cut your way to growth. Especially when our infrastructure provision even on strategic things like power generation is embarrassingly poor. We need to start spending £dollah and quickly, so with our new post-Brexit freedoms we really could be doing the "British jobs for British workers" thing. Or we could, if it wasn't for the reality that the Boris Brexiteers vision of Brexit was to exploit poorly educated chattel in low cost jobs for quick profits.
Spending on domestic power generation (tidal, for instance) would be a net good. But there's no quick fix for the energy price shock until the war in Ukraine is over.
No there isn't. But successive governments have failed to think long term and do what is needed beyond the life of the next election. We need to be as self-sufficient as we can be regardless of Ukraine - I was banging on here about the need to invest in and then export clean energy technology long before Vlad went mad.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
Supposedly he deviated massively from the published "here is what he will say" notes. So yes, it does suggest that just like the infamous Peppa Pig World speech to the CBI he is incapable of reading a speech and decided to wing it. That can work, but only for people who are naturally eloquent and coherent.
On the plus side, Boris is absorbing a lot of that hatred and resentment, and it will pass with him, like a bad bank, or a decommissioned nuclear site, or in a strange way, Jesus.
Boris is like Jesus for taking on our sins is the oddest hot take I've ever seen on this site. 😲
Politics doesn't just pass like that. If the Tories lose the next election, they'll probably be out of power for at least a decade.
Boris as scapegoat (which was the role Jesus was playing) is a common sentiment though
Whilst some of the current crisis is unquestionably international, equally a lot of it is not. Boris Johnson has brought about much of this. His careless lack of attention to detail and propensity to spaff out on the nation's credit card mirrors his own personal financial chaos.
AP calls Ohio US Senate Republican Primary for Vance
Updated just now 71% REPORTED Candidate Votes J.D. Vance 218,053 31.3% Josh Mandel 169,416 24.3% Matt Dolan 152,198 21.9% Mike Gibbons 83,383 12.0% Jane Timken 45,740 6.6% Mark Pukita 18,031 2.6% Neil Patel 9,565 1.4% Total reported 696,386
Seems a pretty clear win and therefore good news for Trump, right? His coat-tails evidently very effective for a GOP primary. Also, perhaps, good news for the Democrats in Ohio - is there polling on how they'll do vs Vance?
Looks like UK is probably already in recession. BoE should cut interest rates.
Danny Blanchflower, a walking advert for the stupidity and lack of sense of academic economists.
Unless that's a parody, with him it's hard to tell the difference.
Most of them - the politicians included - seem caught up in this micro-level death spiral. Economy is bad, so how can we afford stuff, which makes the economy bad. Rinse and repeat.
There is both a long list of stuff this country needs to spend money on and a population in need of jobs. Radical idea - why not invest in clean energy and fibre broadband and transport infrastructure and new schools and affordable childcare and create jobs doing it that generates taxes and economic output?
You cannot cut your way to growth. Especially when our infrastructure provision even on strategic things like power generation is embarrassingly poor. We need to start spending £dollah and quickly, so with our new post-Brexit freedoms we really could be doing the "British jobs for British workers" thing. Or we could, if it wasn't for the reality that the Boris Brexiteers vision of Brexit was to exploit poorly educated chattel in low cost jobs for quick profits.
Spending on domestic power generation (tidal, for instance) would be a net good. But there's no quick fix for the energy price shock until the war in Ukraine is over.
No there isn't. But successive governments have failed to think long term and do what is needed beyond the life of the next election. We need to be as self-sufficient as we can be regardless of Ukraine - I was banging on here about the need to invest in and then export clean energy technology long before Vlad went mad.
Though to be fair, that's in part because we the voters have made it clear we want tax cuts and high current spending. Not investments that will benefit the future.
In the long run, it is true that countries get the politicians they deserve.
"If Mr. Vance prevails in the fall, the 37-year-old graduate of Yale Law School and investor would become the second-youngest member of the Senate, the chamber’s youngest Republican and a rare freshman who would arrive in Washington with a national profile."
NY Times blog
Mark my words, this is a future POTUS candidate. As they say that rare national profile.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
Good morning.
Did different people write those two paragraphs? I'm confused.
It's not complicated - most heard only the sound bites, if they heard it at all. And the Ukraine Parliament heard it in translation.
Appreciation for the government's actions on Ukraine is what counts. (And while I share that, it isn't going to stop my voting for someone else.)
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
I will not criticise him for his speech to the Ukraine Parliament which was very well received with standing ovations from a county suffering unspeakable war crimes and clearly count Boris and the UK as their strongest ally
Notwithstanding, it will not move many votes as his utter inability to apply himself to relieving the cost of living crisis
Complaining or exclaiming about major impact of religion upon the United States is a fool's errand.
Seeing as how religion has ALWAYS been a major factor in American history and thus politics. As it used to be in Europe, including UK.
Big difference here was that, unlike you, we did NOT fight bloody wars - civil, uncivil, international - over religion. Conflict, yes. Riots, occasionally. But NOTHING like the English Civil War or Thirty Years War.
Interesting part of our religious heritage - indeed its hallmark - is our diversity of faiths and esp. creeds. Which soon led - as in UK - to opposition to an established church. Difference was that establishment was too weak to survive here for very long, just a few decades after independence in a few states. And was of course banned federally.
We still argue what "separation of church and state" means. But few Americans think it's a bad thing per se - even the nutters!
Maybe you should try it sometime?
I’m sorry @SeaShantyIrish2 but this is nonsense. America is intensely religious in a way that it’s entirely alien to UK/Oz/Canada, and also most Europeans
So you may de jure have separation of church and state but de facto you do not. The Civil War was infused with religious debate and that killed 750,000 Americans - including fully 20% of all Southern men of fighting age
Europeans USED to be intensely religious. Now you are intensely irreligious. Having totally lost your faith due to WAY too much wars of religion, auto de fes and "Gott Mit Uns"
Whereas Americans have NOT lost their faith, for the most part. And only a minority is theologically obsessed - just that it compares with about zilch in Europe PLUS the rest of the county have religious buttons that can definitely be pushed. For good (anti-Slavery), mixed (Prohibition) or ill (anti-Semitism).
I say Prohibition was mixed, because motivation (ending abuse of alcohol) was good but unexpected consequences (Al Capone) were bad. Same with "War on Drugs".
In a sense there is something admirable about America’s debate on abortion
It is akin to the slavery debate, in its power, yet much more nuanced (both sides have good arguments: they obviously did not on slavery). This is a profound and serious moral issue and Americans REALLY care. Perhaps they care too much, and they might end up shooting each other, but arguably that is better than the shrug of the cynical European
Tricky. I’m glad the UK is not embittered by this debate yet I am also glad a serious western society is exercised by it
The UK performed the same service for the rest of the EU when we had Brexit
It's interesting how most conservatives in the UK (and Europe) aren't particularly bothered about the abortion debate.
It is not very interesting imo. There are two related questions that might be interesting.
One in the United States is the extent to which abortion determines a person's vote, in the sense that they would vote for the other party on other issues. Will pro-choice Republicans now vote Democrat? Will pro-life Democrats who were previously voting Republican in order to restrict abortion, now vote Democrat?
And here, might abortion be a Brexit-type issue? One where most people are vaguely content with the status quo, and do not give it a moment's thought from one year to the next, but where that might change if ever they are forced to vote on it because some idiot prime minister calls a referendum in order to buy off a vocal minority on one side or the other.
Europe was an issue that tore the country's politics apart for generations, it wasn't just because a PM chose to call a referendum about it.
If you don't think that Europe was already a massive issue in this country pre-2016 (and had been since the 1980s if not earlier) then you weren't paying much attention.
I think you mean tore the Conservative party apart, no-one else gave a toss. It never topped that What are your most salient concerns poll.
You're right Ishmael but I think you're wasting your breath. They're like JW's and they won't listen if you tell them that most of the country was bimbling along with the EU: happy to travel freely and enjoying the odd joke at Brussels' expense.
Brexit was never for Britain. It was for the tory party.
AP calls Ohio US Senate Republican Primary for Vance
Updated just now 71% REPORTED Candidate Votes J.D. Vance 218,053 31.3% Josh Mandel 169,416 24.3% Matt Dolan 152,198 21.9% Mike Gibbons 83,383 12.0% Jane Timken 45,740 6.6% Mark Pukita 18,031 2.6% Neil Patel 9,565 1.4% Total reported 696,386
Seems a pretty clear win and therefore good news for Trump, right? His coat-tails evidently very effective for a GOP primary. Also, perhaps, good news for the Democrats in Ohio - is there polling on how they'll do vs Vance?
Certainly not the result I was hoping for as someone who thinks Trump winning in 2024 will be a catastrophic disaster for US and Nato and the West.
There are some more primaries though later this month - maybe Trump will not gain traction in those?
Looks like UK is probably already in recession. BoE should cut interest rates.
Danny Blanchflower, a walking advert for the stupidity and lack of sense of academic economists.
Unless that's a parody, with him it's hard to tell the difference.
Most of them - the politicians included - seem caught up in this micro-level death spiral. Economy is bad, so how can we afford stuff, which makes the economy bad. Rinse and repeat.
There is both a long list of stuff this country needs to spend money on and a population in need of jobs. Radical idea - why not invest in clean energy and fibre broadband and transport infrastructure and new schools and affordable childcare and create jobs doing it that generates taxes and economic output?
You cannot cut your way to growth. Especially when our infrastructure provision even on strategic things like power generation is embarrassingly poor. We need to start spending £dollah and quickly, so with our new post-Brexit freedoms we really could be doing the "British jobs for British workers" thing. Or we could, if it wasn't for the reality that the Boris Brexiteers vision of Brexit was to exploit poorly educated chattel in low cost jobs for quick profits.
Spending on domestic power generation (tidal, for instance) would be a net good. But there's no quick fix for the energy price shock until the war in Ukraine is over.
No there isn't. But successive governments have failed to think long term and do what is needed beyond the life of the next election. We need to be as self-sufficient as we can be regardless of Ukraine - I was banging on here about the need to invest in and then export clean energy technology long before Vlad went mad.
Many of us have - including several Conservatives here, to be fair.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
I will not criticise him for his speech to the Ukraine Parliament which was very well received with standing ovations from a county suffering unspeakable war crimes and clearly count Boris and the UK as their strongest ally
Notwithstanding, it will not move many votes as his utter inability to apply himself to relieving the cost of living crisis
I will. I have the most serious concerns about any leader who goes off the cuff on such a sensitive occasion for foreign policy. That you won't criticise him is strange. The locals weren't going to be rude, any more than the CBI were going to start throwing bread rolls when Mr Johnson went on about Peppa Pig.
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Good morning, Big_G. Fair or not, the message 'not us, gov' isn't going to wash from a party that's been in power for over a decade.
Worth noting that Vance had the good sense to spot what Trump was way back in 2016 and even warned he could be America's "Hitler".
Completely changed his tune in order to win office.
The question will be how much of an enabler of Trump and his cult authoritarianism Vance will be if he wins a Senate seat. At least we know at one point he could see what was happening.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Morning Big_G. I agree that the cost of living crisis is going to swamp them. And for a very specific reason - they simply don't care. Boris does boosterism, so even "I can't afford to heat my home so I ride the bus" got processed and responded to with "I gave you that bus pass" as if the cold pensioner should be appreciative.
Boosterism is a refusal to accept there is a problem. Hence the repeated "Dear Prime Minister please stop lying, luv the ONS" letters in response to "FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE G7". Hence the "can't people spend their savings to pay their energy bills, we must protect BP and Shell" responses.
This government are going to deny there is a problem. Tell people if they are struggling it is their fault because its always booming in Boris's Britain. And then offer them a shiny sixpence off their £5,000 personal finance black hole and expect gratitude.
Any other Tory government would do better because they would at least apply a veneer of being concerned.
The Pensioners Bus Pass is part of the reason that rural bus services are not viable. The amount that the bus company gets per journey is too low.
A classic example of gimmicky policy that is self defeating. What is the point of a bus pass when you no longer have a service?
22% of bus routes have gone in the last decade, particularly in the pandemic, but pandemic funding has now expired and the emergency funding goes in October. Most affected are the NW, East and East Midlands.
Nope. If you are running as a Conservative you represent lies. Criminality. Malfeasance. Incompetence. You put that party ID next to your name, you say "these are my values".
If the genotype theory of political attitudes were true ("we will outbreed the pro-choicers!"), many aspects of society would look very different across the world, so I don't think it is the most important factor.
The theory that there was a higher prevalence of homosexuality in Southern States (because there was a genetic predisposition and gays were culturally incentivised to marry and breed) always amused me.
I have no idea whether it’s true or not (I suspect not) but it would be darkly ironic…
Worth noting that Vance had the good sense to spot what Trump was way back in 2016 and even warned he could be America's "Hitler".
Completely changed his tune in order to win office.
The question will be how much of an enabler of Trump and his cult authoritarianism Vance will be if he wins a Senate seat. At least we know at one point he could see what was happening.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
I will not criticise him for his speech to the Ukraine Parliament which was very well received with standing ovations from a county suffering unspeakable war crimes and clearly count Boris and the UK as their strongest ally
Notwithstanding, it will not move many votes as his utter inability to apply himself to relieving the cost of living crisis
I will. I have the most serious concerns about any leader who goes off the cuff on such a sensitive occasion for foreign policy. That you won't criticise him is strange. The locals weren't going to be rude, any more than the CBI were going to start throwing bread rolls when Mr Johnson went on about Peppa Pig.
I am not going to criticise him over Ukraine - all that does is help Putin
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
Morning Big_G. I agree that the cost of living crisis is going to swamp them. And for a very specific reason - they simply don't care. Boris does boosterism, so even "I can't afford to heat my home so I ride the bus" got processed and responded to with "I gave you that bus pass" as if the cold pensioner should be appreciative.
Boosterism is a refusal to accept there is a problem. Hence the repeated "Dear Prime Minister please stop lying, luv the ONS" letters in response to "FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE G7". Hence the "can't people spend their savings to pay their energy bills, we must protect BP and Shell" responses.
This government are going to deny there is a problem. Tell people if they are struggling it is their fault because its always booming in Boris's Britain. And then offer them a shiny sixpence off their £5,000 personal finance black hole and expect gratitude.
Any other Tory government would do better because they would at least apply a veneer of being concerned.
I largely agree and despair at the inability of HMG and especially Boris and Rishi to show they really care and I cannot recall a conservative government so aloof and out of touch
It is fair to say only so much can be achieved by any government overwhelmed by this economy crisis but at least you can show you care
We mustn't forget Johnson appalling comment yesterday that he couldn't raise benefit levels despite the financial catastrophe facing many on social security because it would mean interest rates had to go up.
Economic codswallop which I suspect he just literally made up as he spoke.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
I will not criticise him for his speech to the Ukraine Parliament which was very well received with standing ovations from a county suffering unspeakable war crimes and clearly count Boris and the UK as their strongest ally
Notwithstanding, it will not move many votes as his utter inability to apply himself to relieving the cost of living crisis
I will. I have the most serious concerns about any leader who goes off the cuff on such a sensitive occasion for foreign policy. That you won't criticise him is strange. The locals weren't going to be rude, any more than the CBI were going to start throwing bread rolls when Mr Johnson went on about Peppa Pig.
I am not going to criticise him over Ukraine - all that does is help Putin
Can't ytou see the difference between doing something and doing something competently?
The Mail unintentionally raised an interesting question today.
If Starmer and his team did no work *after* beer and curry then at what point did work end and social begin?
I’m not sure there’s a good answer to that (which is why the rules were a bit silly)
Today's latest "revelations" really make a tit of the Mail stories. £200 of curry divided by dozens plural of activists = not much curry. Yet the Mail was clear that Starmer was illegally ladeling a curry feast into Rayner's illegal growler whilst swilling down a lake of lager.
Methinks there's also a lack of understanding of how things work in a campaign centre deep into a campaign. If you have the time you practically live there - I've eaten all three meals of the day there before now. Eating whilst talking about what is happening the day after is hardly unusual.
Indeed, and quite obviously Starmer and Rayner didnt each travel hundreds of miles for a social event, no matter how nice Hartlepool curries are.
Worth noting that Vance had the good sense to spot what Trump was way back in 2016 and even warned he could be America's "Hitler".
Completely changed his tune in order to win office.
The question will be how much of an enabler of Trump and his cult authoritarianism Vance will be if he wins a Senate seat. At least we know at one point he could see what was happening.
You could say that of lots of Republicans. Even Lindsey Graham. These Republicans have not been an effective brake on Trump at all. They've made the calculation that they absolutely require to be in with the Trump crowd to retain support among the Republican base.
Complaining or exclaiming about major impact of religion upon the United States is a fool's errand.
Seeing as how religion has ALWAYS been a major factor in American history and thus politics. As it used to be in Europe, including UK.
Big difference here was that, unlike you, we did NOT fight bloody wars - civil, uncivil, international - over religion. Conflict, yes. Riots, occasionally. But NOTHING like the English Civil War or Thirty Years War.
Interesting part of our religious heritage - indeed its hallmark - is our diversity of faiths and esp. creeds. Which soon led - as in UK - to opposition to an established church. Difference was that establishment was too weak to survive here for very long, just a few decades after independence in a few states. And was of course banned federally.
We still argue what "separation of church and state" means. But few Americans think it's a bad thing per se - even the nutters!
Maybe you should try it sometime?
I’m sorry @SeaShantyIrish2 but this is nonsense. America is intensely religious in a way that it’s entirely alien to UK/Oz/Canada, and also most Europeans
So you may de jure have separation of church and state but de facto you do not. The Civil War was infused with religious debate and that killed 750,000 Americans - including fully 20% of all Southern men of fighting age
Europeans USED to be intensely religious. Now you are intensely irreligious. Having totally lost your faith due to WAY too much wars of religion, auto de fes and "Gott Mit Uns"
Whereas Americans have NOT lost their faith, for the most part. And only a minority is theologically obsessed - just that it compares with about zilch in Europe PLUS the rest of the county have religious buttons that can definitely be pushed. For good (anti-Slavery), mixed (Prohibition) or ill (anti-Semitism).
I say Prohibition was mixed, because motivation (ending abuse of alcohol) was good but unexpected consequences (Al Capone) were bad. Same with "War on Drugs".
In a sense there is something admirable about America’s debate on abortion
It is akin to the slavery debate, in its power, yet much more nuanced (both sides have good arguments: they obviously did not on slavery). This is a profound and serious moral issue and Americans REALLY care. Perhaps they care too much, and they might end up shooting each other, but arguably that is better than the shrug of the cynical European
Tricky. I’m glad the UK is not embittered by this debate yet I am also glad a serious western society is exercised by it
The UK performed the same service for the rest of the EU when we had Brexit
It's interesting how most conservatives in the UK (and Europe) aren't particularly bothered about the abortion debate.
It is not very interesting imo. There are two related questions that might be interesting.
One in the United States is the extent to which abortion determines a person's vote, in the sense that they would vote for the other party on other issues. Will pro-choice Republicans now vote Democrat? Will pro-life Democrats who were previously voting Republican in order to restrict abortion, now vote Democrat?
And here, might abortion be a Brexit-type issue? One where most people are vaguely content with the status quo, and do not give it a moment's thought from one year to the next, but where that might change if ever they are forced to vote on it because some idiot prime minister calls a referendum in order to buy off a vocal minority on one side or the other.
Europe was an issue that tore the country's politics apart for generations, it wasn't just because a PM chose to call a referendum about it.
If you don't think that Europe was already a massive issue in this country pre-2016 (and had been since the 1980s if not earlier) then you weren't paying much attention.
I think you mean tore the Conservative party apart, no-one else gave a toss. It never topped that What are your most salient concerns poll.
Just because its not the most salient concern doesn't mean its not a concern.
It certainly tore the Conservative Party apart, but it tore our politics apart nationally even ignoring the Conservatives (which is a silly thing to do, considering they're one of the two main parties).
For the Lib Dems the issue was so concerning that the Lib Dems put an in/out referendum into their 2010 manifesto. So you can't blame Cameron for the "stupidity" of having an in/out referendum if you're a Lib Dem who were the first main party to put it in their own manifesto. That was literally Cameron taking a policy from him Coalition allies and making it his own, not the only time that happened its worth saying.
For Labour the issue was so concerning that Blair went into 2005 pledging a Referendum on the EU Constitution (later renamed to the Lisbon Treaty). Blair then reneged on that pledge because he knew he'd lose the Referendum. Brown then refused to join the photo op for the signing of the Treaty as it was so contentious and slunk off and did it away from everyone else. Blair also wanted to take Britain into the Euro and refused to hold a referendum, under the cover of the farcical five tests, because he knew he'd lose it.
If it was only a Conservative issue, why did Labour pledge a referendum earlier and then not hold it? If it was only a Conservative issue, why did the Lib Dems pledge an in/out referendum?
By their own actions, all parties knew it was a serious issue for the country.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
Good morning.
Did different people write those two paragraphs? I'm confused.
I was setting up the media edit before offering my own analysis. As you have previously asserted I must be a Boris Johnson staffer, so the second paragraph came as a surprise, did it not?
Worth noting that Vance had the good sense to spot what Trump was way back in 2016 and even warned he could be America's "Hitler".
Completely changed his tune in order to win office.
The question will be how much of an enabler of Trump and his cult authoritarianism Vance will be if he wins a Senate seat. At least we know at one point he could see what was happening.
You could say that of lots of Republicans. Even Lindsey Graham. These Republicans have not been an effective brake on Trump at all. They've made the calculation that they absolutely require to be in with the Trump crowd to retain support among the Republican base.
Sadly true. And the ones who have bravely called out Trump's attempt at a coup are facing primary defeat e.g. Chenney in Montana.
Looks like we face a world with Trump back in WH unless somehow Dems can find a new star.
Utterly bleak prospect. They wont get him out again while he is still alive if he wins or takes power via some GOP rigging of the result.
As Fiona Hill said in the Andrew Neil interview I posted yesterday, we now have a GOP that increasingly does not believe in the democratic process.
The Mail unintentionally raised an interesting question today.
If Starmer and his team did no work *after* beer and curry then at what point did work end and social begin?
I’m not sure there’s a good answer to that (which is why the rules were a bit silly)
Today's latest "revelations" really make a tit of the Mail stories. £200 of curry divided by dozens plural of activists = not much curry. Yet the Mail was clear that Starmer was illegally ladeling a curry feast into Rayner's illegal growler whilst swilling down a lake of lager.
Methinks there's also a lack of understanding of how things work in a campaign centre deep into a campaign. If you have the time you practically live there - I've eaten all three meals of the day there before now. Eating whilst talking about what is happening the day after is hardly unusual.
Indeed, and quite obviously Starmer and Rayner didnt each travel hundreds of miles for a social event, no matter how nice Hartlepool curries are.
The curry was actually in Durham, the office of the local MP, Mary Foy.
Worth noting that Vance had the good sense to spot what Trump was way back in 2016 and even warned he could be America's "Hitler".
Completely changed his tune in order to win office.
The question will be how much of an enabler of Trump and his cult authoritarianism Vance will be if he wins a Senate seat. At least we know at one point he could see what was happening.
Trump won't be around that long, so the battle is on to succeed him. Think longer term, and Vance could be a candidate himself in 2028.
I quite liked Hillbilly Elegy (the book, not the film) but Vance seems to take the line that because he has made it out, anyone can.
Incidentally for a former US Marine this is telling of the Trumpite view:
Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance in February: “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.” #ohsen #ohleg
AP calls Ohio US Senate Republican Primary for Vance
Updated just now 71% REPORTED Candidate Votes J.D. Vance 218,053 31.3% Josh Mandel 169,416 24.3% Matt Dolan 152,198 21.9% Mike Gibbons 83,383 12.0% Jane Timken 45,740 6.6% Mark Pukita 18,031 2.6% Neil Patel 9,565 1.4% Total reported 696,386
Seems a pretty clear win and therefore good news for Trump, right? His coat-tails evidently very effective for a GOP primary. Also, perhaps, good news for the Democrats in Ohio - is there polling on how they'll do vs Vance?
It looks to me like the more moderate Republicans made the same mistake as the French Left, and failed to agree to coalesce around a single candidate.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
But then Johnson was lauded by, well everyone, for his speech to the Ukrainian Parliament. The Churchill channelled soundbites were superb. Well done Boris!
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
I will not criticise him for his speech to the Ukraine Parliament which was very well received with standing ovations from a county suffering unspeakable war crimes and clearly count Boris and the UK as their strongest ally
Notwithstanding, it will not move many votes as his utter inability to apply himself to relieving the cost of living crisis
The sentiment drawn from within the garbled message was one we all agree with. The presentation however was shockingly poor for such a historic moment.
Worth noting that Vance had the good sense to spot what Trump was way back in 2016 and even warned he could be America's "Hitler".
Completely changed his tune in order to win office.
The question will be how much of an enabler of Trump and his cult authoritarianism Vance will be if he wins a Senate seat. At least we know at one point he could see what was happening.
You could say that of lots of Republicans. Even Lindsey Graham. These Republicans have not been an effective brake on Trump at all. They've made the calculation that they absolutely require to be in with the Trump crowd to retain support among the Republican base.
Sadly true. And the ones who have bravely called out Trump's attempt at a coup are facing primary defeat e.g. Chenney in Montana.
Looks like we face a world with Trump back in WH unless somehow Dems can find a new star.
Utterly bleak prospect. They wont get him out again while he is still alive if he wins or takes power via some GOP rigging of the result.
As Fiona Hill said in the Andrew Neil interview I posted yesterday, we now have a GOP that increasingly does not believe in the democratic process.
Comments
Vance: Butler (Middletown), Warren (ditto), Stark (Canton), Greene (Springfield), Delaware & Fairfield (Columbus burbs), Clermont (Cincinnati burbs)
Dolan: Franklin (Columbus), Cuyahoga (Cleveland), Lake & Lorrain (Cleveland burbs),
I clerked at the Supreme Court. Last night, I assumed a liberal clerk leaked the draft opinion overturning Roe. Now I think MUCH more likely it was leaked by a conservative fanatically committed to every word of Alito’s monstrous opinion. **🧵**
https://twitter.com/akapczynski/status/1521494553877962754
J.D. Vance
30,975 25.4%
Matt Dolan
28,834 23.7%
Josh Mandel
26,926 22.1%
Mike Gibbons
18,404 15.1%
Jane Timken
12,651 10.4%
Mark Pukita
2,312 1.9%
Neil Patel
1,654 1.4%
A company called “Cityfibre” are digging up my road (in the midlands) to install fttp. A bit of googling indicates the network is theoretically upgradable to 100Gbps in the future. That’s properly world leading.
Finally. It’s taken way too long for the govt/internet infrastructure providers to get their ass into gear, but we’re nearly there. I don’t know if Boris can credibly claim credit for this piece of “levelling up” but it’s great news, anyway.
Still not going to vote for the lying sack of shit, obviously.
We voters are ungrateful sods.
EDIT - so far zero votes reported out of Hamilton (Cincinnati)
2nd EDIT - no doubt some PBers awaiting with baited breath returns from Licking Co
"The brother of former Vice President Mike Pence won re-election to Congress in Indiana."
This is rematch of 2021 special congressional election won by Brown. This time, progressive leaders & funders who backed Turner heavily, mostly (except for Bernie Sanders and AOC sorta) did not.
My fearless prediction is that Congresswoman Brown is renominated tonight AND re-elected this Fall.
Me-o my-o
I'm So-hi-o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil_of_Ohio
I've seen enough: J.D. Vance (R) wins the Republican nomination for #OHSEN and will face Tim Ryan (D) in the fall.
https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/1521651670270283778
34% REPORTED
Candidate Vote
J.D. Vance
92,638 30.1%
Josh Mandel
74,669 24.3%
Matt Dolan
66,786 21.7%
Mike Gibbons
39,315 12.8%
Jane Timken
24,145 7.8%
Mark Pukita
6,737 2.2%
Neil Patel
3,464 1.1%
Total reported
307,754
Edit - based on where outstanding vote are coming from, expect Dolan to improve, but he's too far back to catch up methinks.
And then gets a serious case of ingratitude toward Trump. The author of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly_Elegy has a diagnosis of the problems of the rural working class that is unlike Trumpism, to say the least: Now, to say the least, blaming voters for their problems is unusual. But Vance might get away with it, and he would have six years to make his case to the voters, no matter what Trump does. (He'll turn 38 in August, so it seems nearly certain that he would want a second term, and perhaps a higher office.)
https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=328475
Updated just now
71% REPORTED
Candidate Votes
J.D. Vance
218,053 31.3%
Josh Mandel
169,416 24.3%
Matt Dolan
152,198 21.9%
Mike Gibbons
83,383 12.0%
Jane Timken
45,740 6.6%
Mark Pukita
18,031 2.6%
Neil Patel
9,565 1.4%
Total reported
696,386
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/05/alito-roe-draft-leak-abortion-congress-federal-ban.html
The opinion is certainly a big change from previous leave it to each state to legislate conservative jurisprudence.
Majority of anti-abortion voters will have what they want via state bans in their states. Going for federal ban would stir up hornets nest in pro-choice states. And some of in the anti camp would fear potential for provoking more backlash that they could handle - including back in their bailiwicks.
And the most committed tend to have the biggest voice in the primaries.
The point being that this opinion, should it stand as the judgment if the najority, opens the door at least to the possibility of that being the battle in the 2024 election.
By Jessie Yeung, CNN"
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/03/china/shanghai-morgue-care-home-resident-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61219371
https://www.ft.com/content/53358427-a244-4a1c-9ab6-3706f7ebda6c
I missed this, from last week (linked to in^ article);
“Deutsche Bank Sees 5%-6% Fed Target Rate and Deep U.S. Recession.
A significant recession by next year seems likely, it says
U.S. unemployment may rise several points, economists project”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-26/deutsche-bank-sees-5-6-fed-target-rate-and-deep-u-s-recession
Wordle 319 1/6
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Wordle 319 2/6
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Pft
🟨🟨🟨🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Looks like UK is probably already in recession. BoE should cut interest rates.
Stagflation is here and not just here, but all over.
@rianru
В штабе украинских военных нашли признаки занятия черной магией
ria.ru/20220504/magiy…
Signs of black magic found at the headquarters of the Ukrainian military
ria.ru/20220504/magiy…
https://twitter.com/rianru/status/1521679788053827584
Unless that's a parody, with him it's hard to tell the difference.
That ability to embody all sorts of archetypes might be behind his love/hate status.
Tending towards hate as people realise that all of it is an act.
There is both a long list of stuff this country needs to spend money on and a population in need of jobs. Radical idea - why not invest in clean energy and fibre broadband and transport infrastructure and new schools and affordable childcare and create jobs doing it that generates taxes and economic output?
You cannot cut your way to growth. Especially when our infrastructure provision even on strategic things like power generation is embarrassingly poor. We need to start spending £dollah and quickly, so with our new post-Brexit freedoms we really could be doing the "British jobs for British workers" thing. Or we could, if it wasn't for the reality that the Boris Brexiteers vision of Brexit was to exploit poorly educated chattel in low cost jobs for quick profits.
Depressing headlines today on cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine
I have listened to Boris's interview yesterday and he demonstrated an utter lack of empathy and frankly sounds like an empty vessel
Boris and Rishi together have taken the conservative party to the brink of disastrous local elections and longer term a real likelihood of a dreadful defeat in 24
I cannot understand just how conservative mps have allowed this situation to develop and just hope that post the locals they take action to remove Boris and start the process of recovering competence, honesty and integrity
I note that the SNP are falling in the polls as labour rises and I hope labour cut through in Scotland as they deserve better than Sturgeon and her government
As far as the cost of living crisis, I believe it will overwhelm most governments as it is impossible for any government to mitigate the adverse effects other than on the margins
You can't have the Tories without Mr Johnson. It's too late now.
Nope. If you are running as a Conservative you represent lies. Criminality. Malfeasance. Incompetence. You put that party ID next to your name, you say "these are my values".
Boosterism is a refusal to accept there is a problem. Hence the repeated "Dear Prime Minister please stop lying, luv the ONS" letters in response to "FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE G7". Hence the "can't people spend their savings to pay their energy bills, we must protect BP and Shell" responses.
This government are going to deny there is a problem. Tell people if they are struggling it is their fault because its always booming in Boris's Britain. And then offer them a shiny sixpence off their £5,000 personal finance black hole and expect gratitude.
Any other Tory government would do better because they would at least apply a veneer of being concerned.
If Starmer and his team did no work *after* beer and curry then at what point did work end and social begin?
I’m not sure there’s a good answer to that (which is why the rules were a bit silly)
I prefer a conservative government not least because here in Wales we are living under a labour government which is failing the NHS and education and poverty prevails in many parts of Wales
Croatia's President wants to veto Sweden and Finland joining NATO - but it's not clear he has the power:
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/croat-president-vows-to-veto-sweden-finland-nato-accession-if-he-can/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20799&pnespid=vLc.DiZJJKwAxf7AvDWmT5mNvA2yCIN2Lffsyu82ow9mRoCrxJm0LNqE32.c9kAz_Khnw5ajSg
Melanchon has won over the communists and appears close to getting the socialists into a left-wing alliancve for the Parliamentary elections:
https://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/melenchons-alliance-expands-with-communists-few-steps-away-with-socialists/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20799&pnespid=reY3GT9dKbob0KXDqC_2FpXVuQKzTZpnM7bmxbJqqgRmtFvvfDBjUiCrVLMwjvYKoWmv9TGlDA
Austria says Ukranian EU membership will take 5-10 years, and they should maybe try some other form of association:
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/austria-tells-ukraine-eu-fast-track-procedure-not-possible/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20799&pnespid=7KRiDCkdJf8W16KRqCy_SpmB5UL0S8Npc.O3mO9i8AVmO6vYSu5vzNMI2ou3r.wElz5QZCcoDw
I took the time to listen to the speech in its entirety. Well, it was about 50% of the way to being a Peppa Pig car crash. Lucky that was all lost in translation. He looked poorly prepared for such a big event. Did he lose his notes again?
Methinks there's also a lack of understanding of how things work in a campaign centre deep into a campaign. If you have the time you practically live there - I've eaten all three meals of the day there before now. Eating whilst talking about what is happening the day after is hardly unusual.
Did different people write those two paragraphs? I'm confused.
Next.
Fair or not, the message 'not us, gov' isn't going to wash from a party that's been in power for over a decade.
It is fair to say only so much can be achieved by any government overwhelmed by this economy crisis but at least you can show you care
In the long run, it is true that countries get the politicians they deserve.
NY Times blog
Mark my words, this is a future POTUS candidate. As they say that rare national profile.
Appreciation for the government's actions on Ukraine is what counts. (And while I share that, it isn't going to stop my voting for someone else.)
Notwithstanding, it will not move many votes as his utter inability to apply himself to relieving the cost of living crisis
Brexit was never for Britain. It was for the tory party.
There are some more primaries though later this month - maybe Trump will not gain traction in those?
Completely changed his tune in order to win office.
The question will be how much of an enabler of Trump and his cult authoritarianism Vance will be if he wins a Senate seat. At least we know at one point he could see what was happening.
A classic example of gimmicky policy that is self defeating. What is the point of a bus pass when you no longer have a service?
22% of bus routes have gone in the last decade, particularly in the pandemic, but pandemic funding has now expired and the emergency funding goes in October. Most affected are the NW, East and East Midlands.
https://governmentbusiness.co.uk/news/04042022/quarter-bus-routes-axed-england-last-decade
https://twitter.com/IainCroker/status/1521596766159843331?t=PNedDmDeCLVfB-WEM3D3-g&s=19
I have no idea whether it’s true or not (I suspect not) but it would be darkly ironic…
Economic codswallop which I suspect he just literally made up as he spoke.
It certainly tore the Conservative Party apart, but it tore our politics apart nationally even ignoring the Conservatives (which is a silly thing to do, considering they're one of the two main parties).
For the Lib Dems the issue was so concerning that the Lib Dems put an in/out referendum into their 2010 manifesto. So you can't blame Cameron for the "stupidity" of having an in/out referendum if you're a Lib Dem who were the first main party to put it in their own manifesto. That was literally Cameron taking a policy from him Coalition allies and making it his own, not the only time that happened its worth saying.
For Labour the issue was so concerning that Blair went into 2005 pledging a Referendum on the EU Constitution (later renamed to the Lisbon Treaty). Blair then reneged on that pledge because he knew he'd lose the Referendum. Brown then refused to join the photo op for the signing of the Treaty as it was so contentious and slunk off and did it away from everyone else. Blair also wanted to take Britain into the Euro and refused to hold a referendum, under the cover of the farcical five tests, because he knew he'd lose it.
If it was only a Conservative issue, why did Labour pledge a referendum earlier and then not hold it?
If it was only a Conservative issue, why did the Lib Dems pledge an in/out referendum?
By their own actions, all parties knew it was a serious issue for the country.
Looks like we face a world with Trump back in WH unless somehow Dems can find a new star.
Utterly bleak prospect. They wont get him out again while he is still alive if he wins or takes power via some GOP rigging of the result.
As Fiona Hill said in the Andrew Neil interview I posted yesterday, we now have a GOP that increasingly does not believe in the democratic process.
Durham have some decent curry houses.
Amaani at the Pumphouse is especially good.
I quite liked Hillbilly Elegy (the book, not the film) but Vance seems to take the line that because he has made it out, anyone can.
Incidentally for a former US Marine this is telling of the Trumpite view:
Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance in February: “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.” #ohsen #ohleg
https://t.co/SpdqQKjKmJ