I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
I think SKS survives and carries on without FPN, but if not then the party will not be going back to Corbynism, but building on what Starmer has done.
If Starmer is hoping to force Johnson out of office, I don't think it will work. Total waste of time.
I doubt he thinks that. He's in a situation where there is at least the possibility he will face the same punishment as the PM, he has little option but to set out his stall on how he is different. It won't force Boris's hand, but the least he can do is be clear on his own position.
If Starmer is hoping to force Johnson out of office, I don't think it will work. Total waste of time.
He doesn't have to. If he goes and Johnson stays, it really will finish off the tories at the GE, especially under a new Labour leader.
That's why it's a smart move, albeit one forced on him by the Daily Mail who have spectacularly managed to shoot Boris.
I'm reminded of the prominent Tory MP and former army officer who allegedly set up his platoon in ambush position on a jungle path, deployed not as the approved L, but an U.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding. There is scope for a compromise candidates from the centre but who is willing to let Corbyn back in. Now I don't care about that from a Labour point of view, they can self destruct all they like if they want, but I fear it'll shore up Boris if it happens. We just need someone sensible in charge of both main parties and it feels like we're so damn close.
Hmmm an election now would probably fix everything.
Charles should be appointed Regent if she is no longer capable. Only breaking her coronation vow in a very specific and limited way.
Or just scrap the monarchy.
I think she's been amazing and I have great respect for her, despite some mistakes, but the institution is past its sell by date.
Have you seen the mess that can be made when our divided political class and public seek to grapple with matters of major constitutional change? Muddling along with the monarchy as an institution is a small price to pay to avoid the aggravation of deciding upon a replacement system.
The risk of someone instantly making himself president for life and emperor, like Nap III.
If Starmer is hoping to force Johnson out of office, I don't think it will work. Total waste of time.
That’s not why he’s done this . It’s to make the comparison between himself and Johnson in the eyes of voters and at the same time protecting the Labour Party if he has to resign .
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
If Starmer resigns and Johnson does not, then the Great British public will assume that Starmer's offence was the more serious.
Yes, I suggested the same. People not paying a huge amount of notice would conclude that a greater punishment followed a greater crime.
For people not paying a lot of attention - and God knows I'm not, any more; the whole thing is laughably tedious - one man had a beer and a curry, the other had a birthday cake. As covid recedes into the distance and we, surprisingly quickly (just as @Leon suggested we would) forget about it, the whole thing looks petty and silly - but if the uninterested and disinterested observer were to take a view, he would probably conclude that the beer and the curry is the bigger sin. I'd quite like them both to go. Not because the offences merit it, but Boris, because he was responsible for the rules, SKS because he lost no opportunity to call for tougher rules. Boris bears more responsibility because he was responsible for the rules, but SKS deserves it more for the masochistic glee with which he demanded more lockdowns. At least Boris appeared to find lockdowns at least a little regrettable.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
I think its more likely after today. If Starmer gets a FPN, Boris won't be able to survive (especially if he gets some penalty points on his licence).
By what mechanism does Boris fall if Starmer does the right thing? Shame? Honour? Boris?
Johnson survives until his MPs or the electorate decide he's not going to survive. Johnson is never going under his own steam. My view is that it is the electorate that will eventually decide it.
Yes, a bit painful for my portfolio today. Not quite a buying opportunity yet though!
There’s a long way down still to go for the stock markets, and a long way up still to go for interest rates.
Bounceback fairly quickly IMO. Both the Ukraine War and China Omnicron will be over by the autumn. My portfolio is for the long term.
And the First World War was going to be over by Christmas...
The war may be back to being cold by the autumn I suppose, if a 'ceasefire' is agreed. Outright victory for either side appears out of sight, not least since I bet most allies wouldn't help Ukraine counterattack too much - Putin might reach for the big bombs then.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
I think its more likely after today. If Starmer gets a FPN, Boris won't be able to survive (especially if he gets some penalty points on his licence).
By what mechanism does Boris fall if Starmer does the right thing? Shame? Honour? Boris?
Johnson survives until his MPs or the electorate decide he's not going to survive. Johnson is never going under his own steam. My view is that it is the electorate that will eventually decide it.
Agreed.
And this is why you should all be betting on next PM from the current Labour pool. Huge value to be had.
Politico.com - Conservative media outlets are reporting, citing "rumors around D.C.," that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his family had to seek shelter at an undisclosed location following POLITICO's publishing of a draft opinion on abortion rights that he wrote. We caught up with the source of those reports, whose information is suspect at best.
The reports seem to be fueled by comments from conservative lawyer and author Ilya Shapiro, who said on a Saturday Fox News program that he “heard that Justice Alito has been taken to an undisclosed location with his family.”
Shapiro told POLITICO Monday that he was unsure whether that was, in fact, true. “I don’t have any non-public sources,” he said. “I forget whether I saw the rumor on Twitter or somebody told me. I don’t know.”
Conservatives seized on the report regardless. . . . .
If Starmer resigns and Johnson does not, then the Great British public will assume that Starmer's offence was the more serious.
But you don’t think that do you. I don’t think that. I don’t think any poster to this blog would think that.
Oh Robert. Your post is very close to taking the Great British public for fools 🫢
Bad Bob. Baaaaaaaad.
There’s a massive difference between the Great British Public, and the posters to this blog.
Robert’s right on the main point, most people pay no attention to politics outside the general election cycle.
I'm not sure that's quite true. They may not formulate opinions about issues or political parties between elections, but I think many follow it as a kind of soap opera for ugly people.
That's why personal stuff like Partygate/Beergate can have such cutthrough, while much more important stuff about the economy, public services or the environment barely registers.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
You know that your post is sexist, right?
Not really. I'm afraid Labour absolutely MUST and WILL chose a female leader. It's Labour's huge Achilles heel.
And I don't think getting a lecture from any man on why this is unfair is gonna wash.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
I never swear on here, but fuck him, fuck his mother, and fuck the horse on which he rode in.
If Germany wants to lead the EU, they need to put on their big boys’ pants and take out the enemy.
How do you believe the war should end?
With no Russian troops in Ukraine, on the pre-2014 boundaries, and with the $250bn of Russian funds sanctioned spent on rebuilding my wife’s fine home country.
Yes, a bit painful for my portfolio today. Not quite a buying opportunity yet though!
There’s a long way down still to go for the stock markets, and a long way up still to go for interest rates.
Bounceback fairly quickly IMO. Both the Ukraine War and China Omnicron will be over by the autumn. My portfolio is for the long term.
And the First World War was going to be over by Christmas...
Russia cannot sustain the war at the current consumption rate of men and material. A battle of attrition goes Ukraines way, albeit at great cost. Stalemate by Autumn is the best he can hope for, but the defeat in Kharkiv oblast this week threatens their Donbas offensive, and I think then Ukraine liberates Kherson oblast.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
Well here's a starter, not that you appear the sort who will be persuaded especially by someone who at the last time of reckoning still reckoned I was a Muscovite troll.
She has been the figurehead of the institution for 70 yrs. During that time some significant events have happened. The true facts behind some of those events have been quashed to this day. A lot of that is out of respect for her.
When she goes all hell will break loose. There are far too many wild horses inside the paddock. And there are journalists itching to tell more.
If Starmer is hoping to force Johnson out of office, I don't think it will work. Total waste of time.
He doesn't have to. If he goes and Johnson stays, it really will finish off the tories at the GE, especially under a new Labour leader.
That's why it's a smart move, albeit one forced on him by the Daily Mail who have spectacularly managed to shoot Boris.
I'm not convinced it will work. The fact Labour supporters think it will doesn't prove anything.
What do you think happens to what’s left of Boris ratings, if Starmer falls on his sword the moment he gets a FPN for beergate, and Boris clings on? What happens to the Tory polling figures for letting him carry on? Boris fate is now 100% tied to Starmer getting a FPN for Beergate, the impact of a principled resignation from Starmer and Boris clinging on will have on polling forces either Boris hand or the hand of his Party assassins.
If Starmer is exonerated by a police investigation, the Tories still have two problems, what to do with Boris if he gets further FPNs for further “now that’s what I call a proper party” and Gray publishes photos - the media love photos -,plus the fact beergate, currygate was more fun (though polling apparently says utterly ineffective) when it was nudge nudge, here’s the menu, here’s the calling notice is that red ang through the window? but does being cleared leave Starmer in a stronger position, and beergate dead?
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
You know that your post is sexist, right?
Not really. I'm afraid Labour absolutely MUST and WILL chose a female leader. It's Labour's huge Achilles heel.
And I don't think getting a lecture from any man on why this is unfair is gonna wash.
I didn't say it was unfair, I said it was sexist. If you're happy to embrace discrimination for the greater good (the greater good) then be open about it. Some people would agree. But your post was about your perceptions of their qualities. And it seems that Streeting doesn't quite measure up because he's male. I can't see another way to read your post.
If Starmer is hoping to force Johnson out of office, I don't think it will work. Total waste of time.
He doesn't have to. If he goes and Johnson stays, it really will finish off the tories at the GE, especially under a new Labour leader.
That's why it's a smart move, albeit one forced on him by the Daily Mail who have spectacularly managed to shoot Boris.
I'm reminded of the prominent Tory MP and former army officer who allegedly set up his platoon in ambush position on a jungle path, deployed not as the approved L, but an U.
Politico.com - Conservative media outlets are reporting, citing "rumors around D.C.," that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his family had to seek shelter at an undisclosed location following POLITICO's publishing of a draft opinion on abortion rights that he wrote. We caught up with the source of those reports, whose information is suspect at best.
The reports seem to be fueled by comments from conservative lawyer and author Ilya Shapiro, who said on a Saturday Fox News program that he “heard that Justice Alito has been taken to an undisclosed location with his family.”
Shapiro told POLITICO Monday that he was unsure whether that was, in fact, true. “I don’t have any non-public sources,” he said. “I forget whether I saw the rumor on Twitter or somebody told me. I don’t know.”
Conservatives seized on the report regardless. . . . .
Yes, a bit painful for my portfolio today. Not quite a buying opportunity yet though!
There’s a long way down still to go for the stock markets, and a long way up still to go for interest rates.
Bounceback fairly quickly IMO. Both the Ukraine War and China Omnicron will be over by the autumn. My portfolio is for the long term.
And the First World War was going to be over by Christmas...
Russia cannot sustain the war at the current consumption rate of men and material. A battle of attrition goes Ukraines way, albeit at great cost. Stalemate by Autumn is the best he can hope for, but the defeat in Kharkiv oblast this week threatens their Donbas offensive, and I think then Ukraine liberates Kherson oblast.
But the war itself isn’t really a problem for markets, is it? The sanctions won’t be going away anytime soon.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
You know that your post is sexist, right?
Not really. I'm afraid Labour absolutely MUST and WILL chose a female leader. It's Labour's huge Achilles heel.
And I don't think getting a lecture from any man on why this is unfair is gonna wash.
I didn't say it was unfair, I said it was sexist. If you're happy to embrace discrimination for the greater good (the greater good) then be open about it. Some people would agree. But your post was about your perceptions of their qualities. And it seems that Streeting doesn't quite measure up because he's male. I can't see another way to read your post.
I never countered about being unfair.
I said it has to be a woman. I don't give a flying fig if you don't like that or think it's sexist or mean or lacking in fairness.
The next Labour leader cannot be a man. We have to have a woman.
And there we shall leave it. There's no point going round in circles. You don't like positive discrimination. I get it. But on this occasion it's tough shit.
Yes, a bit painful for my portfolio today. Not quite a buying opportunity yet though!
There’s a long way down still to go for the stock markets, and a long way up still to go for interest rates.
Bounceback fairly quickly IMO. Both the Ukraine War and China Omnicron will be over by the autumn. My portfolio is for the long term.
And the First World War was going to be over by Christmas...
Russia cannot sustain the war at the current consumption rate of men and material. A battle of attrition goes Ukraines way, albeit at great cost. Stalemate by Autumn is the best he can hope for, but the defeat in Kharkiv oblast this week threatens their Donbas offensive, and I think then Ukraine liberates Kherson oblast.
But the war itself isn’t really a problem for markets, is it? The sanctions won’t be going away anytime soon.
That remains to be seen. Has the West learned its lesson about keeping up the pressure this time?
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
You know that your post is sexist, right?
Not really. I'm afraid Labour absolutely MUST and WILL chose a female leader. It's Labour's huge Achilles heel.
And I don't think getting a lecture from any man on why this is unfair is gonna wash.
I didn't say it was unfair, I said it was sexist. If you're happy to embrace discrimination for the greater good (the greater good) then be open about it. Some people would agree. But your post was about your perceptions of their qualities. And it seems that Streeting doesn't quite measure up because he's male. I can't see another way to read your post.
I never countered about being unfair.
I said it has to be a woman. I don't give a flying fig if you don't like that or think it's sexist or mean or lacking in fairness.
The next Labour leader cannot be a man. We have to have a woman.
And there we shall leave it. There's no point going round in circles. You don't like positive discrimination. I get it. But on this occasion it's tough shit.
Nato is not going to be putting boots on the ground in Siberia or nuking Moscow. So of course the war is going to end with an agreement acceptable to Russia, at which point the question becomes whether several years of war will improve the tenor of that agreement.
I never swear on here, but fuck him, fuck his mother, and fuck the horse on which he rode in.
If Germany wants to lead the EU, they need to put on their big boys’ pants and take out the enemy.
I note their isn’t much liquidity in the Betfair market on last place in Eurovision (I guess because we don’t know who will be in it yet), but Germany are quite a short price.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
I am hoping that Chas n baldy hate Andrew as much as he deserves and will kick him into oblivion by calling in his debts to HMQ within minutes of the death cert being signed. Otherwise, no change.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
Well here's a starter, not that you appear the sort who will be persuaded especially by someone who at the last time of reckoning still reckoned I was a Muscovite troll.
She has been the figurehead of the institution for 70 yrs. During that time some significant events have happened. The true facts behind some of those events have been quashed to this day. A lot of that is out of respect for her.
When she goes all hell will break loose. There are far too many wild horses inside the paddock. And there are journalists itching to tell more.
Belarusian actually, it was Minsk.
I wonder if anything will emerge about the rift with Harold and the rest of the family.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
I am hoping that Chas n baldy hate Andrew as much as he deserves and will kick him into oblivion by calling in his debts to HMQ within minutes of the death cert being signed. Otherwise, no change.
Depends who the executors actually are. It'd however be impossible to wind up the estate, and [edit] even obtain probate in theory, without some resolution of that issue. For one thing, it affects the probate valuation and the IHT.
Nato is not going to be putting boots on the ground in Siberia or nuking Moscow. So of course the war is going to end with an agreement acceptable to Russia, at which point the question becomes whether several years of war will improve the tenor of that agreement.
Seems clear the answer is yes, if the Ukrainians are willing to pay the price to get there. 2 months of war have already shifted what Russia might have demanded (eg removal of the fascist regime in Kiev) to something less, if still unacceptable. If nations are losing they will accept an awful lot they would once regard as impossible.
Nato is not going to be putting boots on the ground in Siberia or nuking Moscow. So of course the war is going to end with an agreement acceptable to Russia, at which point the question becomes whether several years of war will improve the tenor of that agreement.
or it end with Putin's Death/overthrow
or a hell of of a lot of other scenarios that are hard to imagine till they happen.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
I am hoping that Chas n baldy hate Andrew as much as he deserves and will kick him into oblivion by calling in his debts to HMQ within minutes of the death cert being signed. Otherwise, no change.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
You know that your post is sexist, right?
Not really. I'm afraid Labour absolutely MUST and WILL chose a female leader. It's Labour's huge Achilles heel.
And I don't think getting a lecture from any man on why this is unfair is gonna wash.
I didn't say it was unfair, I said it was sexist. If you're happy to embrace discrimination for the greater good (the greater good) then be open about it. Some people would agree. But your post was about your perceptions of their qualities. And it seems that Streeting doesn't quite measure up because he's male. I can't see another way to read your post.
I never countered about being unfair.
I said it has to be a woman. I don't give a flying fig if you don't like that or think it's sexist or mean or lacking in fairness.
The next Labour leader cannot be a man. We have to have a woman.
And there we shall leave it. There's no point going round in circles. You don't like positive discrimination. I get it. But on this occasion it's tough shit.
How do they define “woman”?
Someone who can be "positively discriminated" in favour of, apparently.
Nato is not going to be putting boots on the ground in Siberia or nuking Moscow. So of course the war is going to end with an agreement acceptable to Russia, at which point the question becomes whether several years of war will improve the tenor of that agreement.
Acceptable to Russia, not necessarily Putin. If they don't get rid of him in the near term then Europe will have found other energy sources, more countries will have joined NATO and the sanctions will still be in place. If Russia wants to avoid becoming more of an economic basket case and international pariah, if it wants to avoid becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of China it should get rid of Putin.
Nato is not going to be putting boots on the ground in Siberia or nuking Moscow. So of course the war is going to end with an agreement acceptable to Russia, at which point the question becomes whether several years of war will improve the tenor of that agreement.
Think you mean, agreement that Russia is forced to accept. Whether they find it "acceptable"or not.
Unless I'm missing something, Biden administration appears committed to restoration of full Ukrainian sovereignty over whats Ukraine de jure?
Ukraine could end up settling on slightly less. But NOT because of US pressure.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
Well here's a starter, not that you appear the sort who will be persuaded especially by someone who at the last time of reckoning still reckoned I was a Muscovite troll.
She has been the figurehead of the institution for 70 yrs. During that time some significant events have happened. The true facts behind some of those events have been quashed to this day. A lot of that is out of respect for her.
When she goes all hell will break loose. There are far too many wild horses inside the paddock. And there are journalists itching to tell more.
Belarusian actually, it was Minsk.
I wonder if anything will emerge about the rift with Harold and the rest of the family.
Uncle Louis was in line to replace Harold as titular Prime Minister wasn't he?
If she needs to use a wheelchair, then wheel her in. No shame in that. I remember wheeling my grandad across the road for lunch at the pub near his nursing home to celebrate his 97th birthday. I thought we would end up having many years of stories about her declining health, but perhaps they kept things quiet for a long time.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
Indeed, Charles is effectively Prince Regent and in reality Head of State now in all but name, certainly in terms of performing most of the day to day functions of the Monarch
Yes, a bit painful for my portfolio today. Not quite a buying opportunity yet though!
There’s a long way down still to go for the stock markets, and a long way up still to go for interest rates.
Bounceback fairly quickly IMO. Both the Ukraine War and China Omnicron will be over by the autumn. My portfolio is for the long term.
And the First World War was going to be over by Christmas...
Russia cannot sustain the war at the current consumption rate of men and material. A battle of attrition goes Ukraines way, albeit at great cost. Stalemate by Autumn is the best he can hope for, but the defeat in Kharkiv oblast this week threatens their Donbas offensive, and I think then Ukraine liberates Kherson oblast.
But the war itself isn’t really a problem for markets, is it? The sanctions won’t be going away anytime soon.
That remains to be seen. Has the West learned its lesson about keeping up the pressure this time?
Well, even if it hasn't, what companies are going to get back into bed with Russia?
Amazing detail in that FT article on the CEO of VW
“Volkswagen’s Diess, who had previously warned that a drawn-out war would do more damage to Germany and Europe than the Covid-19 pandemic, has sparked criticism for previous comments.
“In 2019, he apologised after using the phrase “Ebit macht frei”, or “Profits will set you free” — an apparent play on the phrase “Arbeit macht frei”, or “Work will set you free”, which was forged into the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Later that year, he said he was “unaware” of China’s mass detention of Muslims in Xinjiang province.”
Nato is not going to be putting boots on the ground in Siberia or nuking Moscow. So of course the war is going to end with an agreement acceptable to Russia, at which point the question becomes whether several years of war will improve the tenor of that agreement.
Think you mean, agreement that Russia is forced to accept. Whether they find it "acceptable"or not.
Unless I'm missing something, Biden administration appears committed to restoration of full Ukrainian sovereignty over whats Ukraine de jure?
Ukraine could end up settling on slightly less. But NOT because of US pressure.
Just one fool's opinion - mine!
I am a fool too but I still think yours is a more sensible line of thought than hoping for an actuarial or shenanigan-based reshuffle in Moscow that delivers a deus ex machina Western-style liberal boss. Of course we think the war is wrong, but people in power in Russia don't. Plus our own leaders could get replaced Trump or Le Pen-style.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
Indeed, Charles is effectively Prince Regent and in reality Head of State now in all but name, certainly in terms of performing most of the day to day functions of the Monarch
I'll bet someone out there is saying the key moment was when Her Majesty made clear Camilla would become Queen (something some people get weirdly upset about), that it must have shown Charles was not running the operation.
I can see the point, but I would hope the police didn’t behave differently due to this.
I have no doubt Durham police will be scrupulously fair here.
You what? Bent as a bottle of chips, the Durham filth, everybody knows that. All comes down to which party is offering the super the larger drink.
That probably isn't true, but equally what is your endorsement actually worth? Apols if you've been a defence barrister at Durham crown court for the past 30 years.
No I haven’t. I’m in Engjneering. Durham Police have been ranked outstanding for several years now. They’re pretty good and pretty community focussed.
I live in Durham, they’re my local force. I think they are pretty well regarded although they did handle a fine on a young lad who organised a mass balloon release in honour of a troubled teen, who took his own life, pretty poorly. That aside they had a good COVID and certainly were not trigger happy issuing fines for breaches.
I also suspect with the eyes of the country on them, especially after having been pressured to investigate Cummings and the result of that investigation. He was found to have likely breached regs but not fined.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
I will be "pleased" when she fails to become PM
It is genuinely disturbing how many supposed left-wingers want the Tories to win elections in perpetuity.
Harry Cole is now having a meltdown and accusing Starmer and Beth Rigby of some stitch up because she got the first question!
Poor thing it must be awful to realize that his Beergate campaign has blown up in his face .
maybe they didn’t think police would investigate? It’s already been investigated. It’s very hard to prove everybody socialised and nobody achieved any actual work output that evening, on the more lenient restrictions at the time it’s a far higher bar of evidence needed than cakegate, where is that level of evidence? The police are loathed to reopen these retrospective FPN or it could go crazy using up so much resource, trying to be seen to be evenhanded.
Without an investigation clearing labour, and killing the hypocrite attack line, it was a great bit of mud to sling, and go on slinging.
So why did the police change their mind and let Harry Cole and the mail down? 🤔
I think we will find out lots about the immense contribution made by Queen Elizabeth II in the future.
Like: she was almost singlehandedly responsible for the successful transition from the Empire to the Commonwealth and personally for preserving well over a dozen Commonwealth Realms into the 21st Century. She also gave a huge boost to the projection of British soft power on the European, US and global stage through the respect and admiration she commanded.
Never let it be said that monarchs are 'just' figureheads.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
Indeed, Charles is effectively Prince Regent and in reality Head of State now in all but name, certainly in terms of performing most of the day to day functions of the Monarch
I'll bet someone out there is saying the key moment was when Her Majesty made clear Camilla would become Queen (something some people get weirdly upset about), that it must have shown Charles was not running the operation.
But by definition it won't be her decision. She only wanted it to happen. Can't order it.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
You know that your post is sexist, right?
Not really. I'm afraid Labour absolutely MUST and WILL chose a female leader. It's Labour's huge Achilles heel.
And I don't think getting a lecture from any man on why this is unfair is gonna wash.
You can make the point that labour would best served by a female leader without doing it in a sexist way. You delight in calling out old white men on pb, yet cannot see your own excesses.
I think we will find out lots about the immense contribution made by Queen Elizabeth II in the future.
Like: she was almost singlehandedly responsible for the successful transition from the Empire to the Commonwealth and personally for preserving well over a dozen Commonwealth Realms into the 21st Century. She also gave a huge boost to the projection of British soft power on the European, US and global stage through the respect and admiration she commanded.
Never let it be said that monarchs are 'just' figureheads.
Given the number of places that clearly want to be Republics yet are holding off (apparently not presently willing to follow Barbados in this) there must be some personal element involved.
Many things, people or actions are symbolic - but symbols have power.
I don't suppose there's any hope of getting rid of both Boris and Starmer, is there?
There is hope. Personally I don't want Starmer to go in his current state of being innocent. He's done a really good job of dragging Labour back to somewhere sensible. If I knew he'd be replaced with someone of the same instincts and at least as capable, I wouldn't mind. But I fear for our country if it goes back to 2019.
I'm as near 100% certain as I can be that Labour won't go back. The opposite. Forward with fresh propulsion.
We've tasted bitter defeat. And by contrast we've smelled the sweet scent of victory drifting across the tulip fields.
That addresses the instincts side, but not the capability side. That is very much up in the air.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
I will be "pleased" when she fails to become PM
It is genuinely disturbing how many supposed left-wingers want the Tories to win elections in perpetuity.
I find it amusing. Just about everything BJO posts makes me laugh out loud. 🤭
Starmer safe as houses if the bad law project thinks this, get your money on the opposite.
Third, although I need to know more about the facts, I really wouldn't want to be placing a bet that Starmer hasn't broken the law. I think this is a serious matter for him and for Labour.
Remind me of the origins of the volkswagen name and marque?
Next: Rheinmettal Krupps demands that Kyiv sits down to negotiate, and I G Farben calls for “free exports of gas”
Germany is so basket case that nutter Mutti Merkels mob are popular again after like 3 months of opposition
Germany is having an Astonishingly Bad War. Any sense of moral leadership that they had under Merkel - which was increasingly threadbare - has been cast to the winds. Terrible, tone-deaf weirdness day after day
I think their guilt complex about WW2, esp with regard to Russia, goes so deep they cannot see straight. Russia is in a sense the mirror image, also obsessed with WW2 but from the opposite perspective
And we think we are peculiarly nostalgic in Britain, when we hum the Dambusters tune at football matches….
I think we will find out lots about the immense contribution made by Queen Elizabeth II in the future.
Like: she was almost singlehandedly responsible for the successful transition from the Empire to the Commonwealth and personally for preserving well over a dozen Commonwealth Realms into the 21st Century. She also gave a huge boost to the projection of British soft power on the European, US and global stage through the respect and admiration she commanded.
Never let it be said that monarchs are 'just' figureheads.
In which case you have singlehandedly destroyed the glorious UK (mostly English) constitution. They have no right to be otherwise; they are absolute menaces if they are not figureheads.
I don't like discussing HMQ's death. It feels inappropriate.
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
If Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the rest of it is what's at the surface while she's alive, just what muck could be hidden?
Moot point. The thing keeping any putative muck from surfacing is not Betty or even her behalf. It's the institution. That doesn't go away after she breathes her last, and so this idea that the floodgates will suddenly open requires a little more explanation to be plausible. I'm not buying it personally.
Indeed, Charles is effectively Prince Regent and in reality Head of State now in all but name, certainly in terms of performing most of the day to day functions of the Monarch
I'll bet someone out there is saying the key moment was when Her Majesty made clear Camilla would become Queen (something some people get weirdly upset about), that it must have shown Charles was not running the operation.
But by definition it won't be her decision. She only wanted it to happen. Can't order it.
Sure, but it's something we already knew Charles wanted, and he got his mum to release a statement saying she agreed to boost the idea, and she's barely been seen out and about since - conspiracy theory territory.
I think we will find out lots about the immense contribution made by Queen Elizabeth II in the future.
Like: she was almost singlehandedly responsible for the successful transition from the Empire to the Commonwealth and personally for preserving well over a dozen Commonwealth Realms into the 21st Century. She also gave a huge boost to the projection of British soft power on the European, US and global stage through the respect and admiration she commanded.
Never let it be said that monarchs are 'just' figureheads.
The Queen is living history, a colossus in a time of pygmies.
Comments
That's why it's a smart move, albeit one forced on him by the Daily Mail who have spectacularly managed to shoot Boris.
I’m about to sell property and hold the cash, even with inflation.
Not that I agree with you about the no backsliding. There is scope for a compromise candidates from the centre but who is willing to let Corbyn back in. Now I don't care about that from a Labour point of view, they can self destruct all they like if they want, but I fear it'll shore up Boris if it happens. We just need someone sensible in charge of both main parties and it feels like we're so damn close.
Hmmm an election now would probably fix everything.
https://www.ft.com/content/f8c2482d-c7af-4d7e-87e7-87562194250b
However, I suspect that after she does die an awful lot of muck is going to come to the surface.
I'd quite like them both to go. Not because the offences merit it, but Boris, because he was responsible for the rules, SKS because he lost no opportunity to call for tougher rules. Boris bears more responsibility because he was responsible for the rules, but SKS deserves it more for the masochistic glee with which he demanded more lockdowns. At least Boris appeared to find lockdowns at least a little regrettable.
Lisa Nandy not so sure: doesn't particularly inspire tbh. Yvette Cooper is good but yesterday's person really. I guess Wes Streeting is okay but suffers from being a man.
Rachel's the one for the top spot imho.
And this is why you should all be betting on next PM from the current Labour pool. Huge value to be had.
The reports seem to be fueled by comments from conservative lawyer and author Ilya Shapiro, who said on a Saturday Fox News program that he “heard that Justice Alito has been taken to an undisclosed location with his family.”
Shapiro told POLITICO Monday that he was unsure whether that was, in fact, true. “I don’t have any non-public sources,” he said. “I forget whether I saw the rumor on Twitter or somebody told me. I don’t know.”
Conservatives seized on the report regardless. . . . .
https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/05-9-2022/scotus-security/
That's why personal stuff like Partygate/Beergate can have such cutthrough, while much more important stuff about the economy, public services or the environment barely registers.
Poor thing it must be awful to realize that his Beergate campaign has blown up in his face .
If Germany wants to lead the EU, they need to put on their big boys’ pants and take out the enemy.
I mean, I actually quite like her but she would be an utter disaster as leader. She really would be turning back in the wrong direction.
And I don't think getting a lecture from any man on why this is unfair is gonna wash.
How do you believe it should?
She has been the figurehead of the institution for 70 yrs. During that time some significant events have happened. The true facts behind some of those events have been quashed to this day. A lot of that is out of respect for her.
When she goes all hell will break loose. There are far too many wild horses inside the paddock. And there are journalists itching to tell more.
If Starmer is exonerated by a police investigation, the Tories still have two problems, what to do with Boris if he gets further FPNs for further “now that’s what I call a proper party” and Gray publishes photos - the media love photos -,plus the fact beergate, currygate was more fun (though polling apparently says utterly ineffective) when it was nudge nudge, here’s the menu, here’s the calling notice is that red ang through the window? but does being cleared leave Starmer in a stronger position, and beergate dead?
If you're happy to embrace discrimination for the greater good (the greater good) then be open about it. Some people would agree.
But your post was about your perceptions of their qualities. And it seems that Streeting doesn't quite measure up because he's male. I can't see another way to read your post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpbv4oCv100
Marred only by De Niro's inability to pronounce "Hereford" properly
I said it has to be a woman. I don't give a flying fig if you don't like that or think it's sexist or mean or lacking in fairness.
The next Labour leader cannot be a man. We have to have a woman.
And there we shall leave it. There's no point going round in circles. You don't like positive discrimination. I get it. But on this occasion it's tough shit.
Have a good evening all.
x
I wonder if anything will emerge about the rift with Harold and the rest of the family.
or a hell of of a lot of other scenarios that are hard to imagine till they happen.
As if discrimination can ever be positive.
Unless I'm missing something, Biden administration appears committed to restoration of full Ukrainian sovereignty over whats Ukraine de jure?
Ukraine could end up settling on slightly less. But NOT because of US pressure.
Just one fool's opinion - mine!
If she needs to use a wheelchair, then wheel her in. No shame in that. I remember wheeling my grandad across the road for lunch at the pub near his nursing home to celebrate his 97th birthday. I thought we would end up having many years of stories about her declining health, but perhaps they kept things quiet for a long time.
“Volkswagen’s Diess, who had previously warned that a drawn-out war would do more damage to Germany and Europe than the Covid-19 pandemic, has sparked criticism for previous comments.
“In 2019, he apologised after using the phrase “Ebit macht frei”, or “Profits will set you free” — an apparent play on the phrase “Arbeit macht frei”, or “Work will set you free”, which was forged into the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Later that year, he said he was “unaware” of China’s mass detention of Muslims in Xinjiang province.”
WTAF???
I live in Durham, they’re my local force. I think they are pretty well regarded although they did handle a fine on a young lad who organised a mass balloon release in honour of a troubled teen, who took his own life, pretty poorly. That aside they had a good COVID and certainly were not trigger happy issuing fines for breaches.
I also suspect with the eyes of the country on them, especially after having been pressured to investigate Cummings and the result of that investigation. He was found to have likely breached regs but not fined.
Without an investigation clearing labour, and killing the hypocrite attack line, it was a great bit of mud to sling, and go on slinging.
So why did the police change their mind and let Harry Cole and the mail down? 🤔
Like: she was almost singlehandedly responsible for the successful transition from the Empire to the Commonwealth and personally for preserving well over a dozen Commonwealth Realms into the 21st Century. She also gave a huge boost to the projection of British soft power on the European, US and global stage through the respect and admiration she commanded.
Never let it be said that monarchs are 'just' figureheads.
Many things, people or actions are symbolic - but symbols have power.
Third, although I need to know more about the facts, I really wouldn't want to be placing a bet that Starmer hasn't broken the law. I think this is a serious matter for him and for Labour.
https://twitter.com/JolyonMaugham/status/1523228302101876737?s=20&t=80E_egVfLBnduVGe_SomPQ
I think their guilt complex about WW2, esp with regard to Russia, goes so deep they cannot see straight. Russia is in a sense the mirror image, also obsessed with WW2 but from the opposite perspective
And we think we are peculiarly nostalgic in Britain, when we hum the Dambusters tune at football matches….
We would finally need a written constitution. Are you really going to leave that in the hands of someone like Boris?