Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

The Speccie speculates – “Rishi by Christmas?” – politicalbetting.com

145679

Comments

  • StarryStarry Posts: 111

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    You see, this is the tell. There are no fascist villages in the Home Counties. All the former fascists are now voting Lib Dem due to concerns about the 1000 houses earmarked for the village green in the Local Plan. Some of them are even writing letters to the Fringsley Advertiser about "Nazis in the planning department".
    Sorry, do you mean British Lib Dems in English Fringley? You know the way all us UK-anians like to talk.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,406
    "A complaint was made to the Whips' Office last night about an alleged incident which took place at the Hyatt hotel bar in Birmingham, The Telegraph understands".
    At least Truss has the sense to sack him. A contrast with her predecessor.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,840
    edited October 2022
    dixiedean said:

    "A complaint was made to the Whips' Office last night about an alleged incident which took place at the Hyatt hotel bar in Birmingham, The Telegraph understands".
    At least Truss has the sense to sack him. A contrast with her predecessor.

    ...
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,839
    edited October 2022
    Roger said:

    Scott_xP said:

    BREAKING: Conor Burns sacked as a trade minister

    One of Johnson's most egregious sycophants. Truss's first good decision
    Second. The Agreement to join the North Sea energy group at the European talking shop was probably the first. A deal with the EU about the NI protocol promises to be a third. Are we seeing the start of a trend?
  • IcarusIcarus Posts: 993
    dixiedean said:

    "A complaint was made to the Whips' Office last night about an alleged incident which took place at the Hyatt hotel bar in Birmingham, The Telegraph understands".
    At least Truss has the sense to sack him. A contrast with her predecessor.

    She has still has a lot of MPs who she promised jobs to - she can keep another promise now!
  • nico679nico679 Posts: 6,275
    edited October 2022
    Didn’t Burns make some less than flattering remarks about the Truss trade agreements and big up Badenoch as future of the Tory party so perhaps this incident was a good excuse to get rid of him .
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,839
    MaxPB said:

    Scott_xP said:

    1/🧵
    #Brexit trade watch
    Based on the latest German data, here is the current UK trade performance:

    Jan-Aug 2022 vs Jan-Aug 2019

    German exports 🇩🇪 to:
    +16% total
    +19% 🇪🇺 EU
    +26% 🇺🇸 USA
    +14% 🇨🇳 China

    -12% 🇬🇧 UK

    https://twitter.com/DennisNovy/status/1578378730312982532

    I'm not sure that's as big of a deal as you think, it's German car makers suffering from the EU not resolving trade and customs issues. UK exports to Germany are up.
    Plus a reduction in our deficit with Germany is a good thing, especially if there has been domestic substitution.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,558
    Rishi just lost an election. It can't be him, unless he wins another one.
  • DavidL said:

    Roger said:

    Scott_xP said:

    BREAKING: Conor Burns sacked as a trade minister

    One of Johnson's most egregious sycophants. Truss's first good decision
    Second. The Agreement to join the North Sea energy group at the European talking shop was probably the first. A deal with the EU about the NI protocol promises to be a third. Are we seeing the start of a trend?
    Could be. Or maybe not. (How's THAT for cutting-edge analysis in finest PB tradition?)
  • StarryStarry Posts: 111

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Wagner Regis
    Welwyn Garden Reichstag
  • WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,839
    Icarus said:

    Desperate "Best case scenario" in the Guardian:

    "Helped by a milder than expected winter that keeps heating costs down, inflation dips" -Unfortunately for the government a milder winter wont help the inflation figures as prices are now fixed for 2 years (at about double last year). Energy costs will not add to inflation in year 2.

    The claim of the government is that the cap will reduce inflation by 5 percentage points on what it otherwise would be. This claim is of course dependent upon the market price of natural gas which is down to 288p/therm today. I very much hope it is wrong because reducing inflation by that much suggests that the cost of the scheme is going to be eye watering.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,558

    I've been promoted today. Very pleased.

    Congratulations CHB.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,839

    DavidL said:

    Roger said:

    Scott_xP said:

    BREAKING: Conor Burns sacked as a trade minister

    One of Johnson's most egregious sycophants. Truss's first good decision
    Second. The Agreement to join the North Sea energy group at the European talking shop was probably the first. A deal with the EU about the NI protocol promises to be a third. Are we seeing the start of a trend?
    Could be. Or maybe not. (How's THAT for cutting-edge analysis in finest PB tradition?)
    Top knotch.
  • IcarusIcarus Posts: 993
    DavidL said:

    Icarus said:

    Desperate "Best case scenario" in the Guardian:

    "Helped by a milder than expected winter that keeps heating costs down, inflation dips" -Unfortunately for the government a milder winter wont help the inflation figures as prices are now fixed for 2 years (at about double last year). Energy costs will not add to inflation in year 2.

    The claim of the government is that the cap will reduce inflation by 5 percentage points on what it otherwise would be. This claim is of course dependent upon the market price of natural gas which is down to 288p/therm today. I very much hope it is wrong because reducing inflation by that much suggests that the cost of the scheme is going to be eye watering.
    If inflation is 12% saying it would have been 17% if we hadn't acted isn't as good a line as they think.
  • JACK_W said:

    I've been promoted today. Very pleased.

    Conor Burns replacement ?!? .. :wink:
    Is he touchy feely enough?
  • SirNorfolkPassmoreSirNorfolkPassmore Posts: 7,149
    edited October 2022
    DougSeal said:

    Chris Pincher still has the whip. WTF did Conor Burns do to lose it?

    That isn't correct on Pincher, as he did have the whip withdrawn in fact. Initially, they weren't going to do it (and said the resignation as Deputy Chief Whip was sufficient) but backtracked within 24 hours.

    So clearly the new practice is immediate withdrawal of the whip and I think it would be unwise to assume the allegations are worse than those around Pincher (they may or may not be).

    Obviously the Pincher affair could have fizzled out at that point, had Johnson not lied about what he knew of Pincher's record. I still struggle to understand why Johnson did that, and it's hard not to conclude he has a pretty deep psychological problem. He could easily have said "I gave him a second chance. Clearly, I shouldn't have done so and I regret it. There will be no third chance." I mean, it wasn't a good news story for Johnson, but he turned it into a fatal one in such an idiotic way.
  • SeaShantyIrish2SeaShantyIrish2 Posts: 17,559
    edited October 2022
    Carnyx said:

    Nigelb said:

    ydoethur said:

    @MaxPB I'm getting smashed tonight after getting promoted, hope to see you out there matey

    Congratulations on the promotion.
    Congratulations indeed.
    Does that mean he's now CorrectHorseBattery4 ?
    No: CorrectHorseRegiment1.
    Certainly hope that Horse gets an extra apple a day now in his feedbag.

    Addendum - Although would contribute to rising inflation, esp. for already hard-pressed (pun intended) consumers?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,839

    DougSeal said:

    Chris Pincher still has the whip. WTF did Conor Burns do to lose it?

    That isn't correct on Pincher, as he did have the whip withdrawn in fact. Initially, they weren't going to do it (and said the resignation as Deputy Chief Whip was sufficient) but backtracked within 24 hours.

    So clearly the new practice is immediate withdrawal of the whip and I think it would be unwise to assume the allegations are worse than those around Pincher (they may or may not be).

    Obviously the Pincher affair could have fizzled out at that point, had Johnson not lied about what he knew of Pincher's record. I still struggle to understand why Johnson did that, and it's hard not to conclude he has a pretty deep psychological problem. He could easily have said "I gave him a second chance. Clearly, I shouldn't have done so and I regret it. There will be no third chance." I mean, it wasn't a good news story for Johnson, but he turned it into a fatal one in such an idiotic way.
    Yep, the "parties" could have been dealt with in a very similar fashion but again he chose to lie.
  • IcarusIcarus Posts: 993

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
  • Carnyx said:

    Nigelb said:

    ydoethur said:

    @MaxPB I'm getting smashed tonight after getting promoted, hope to see you out there matey

    Congratulations on the promotion.
    Congratulations indeed.
    Does that mean he's now CorrectHorseBattery4 ?
    No: CorrectHorseRegiment1.
    Certainly hope that Horse gets an extra apple a day now in his feedbag.
    A Happy Horse has many apples today!
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,839
    Icarus said:

    DavidL said:

    Icarus said:

    Desperate "Best case scenario" in the Guardian:

    "Helped by a milder than expected winter that keeps heating costs down, inflation dips" -Unfortunately for the government a milder winter wont help the inflation figures as prices are now fixed for 2 years (at about double last year). Energy costs will not add to inflation in year 2.

    The claim of the government is that the cap will reduce inflation by 5 percentage points on what it otherwise would be. This claim is of course dependent upon the market price of natural gas which is down to 288p/therm today. I very much hope it is wrong because reducing inflation by that much suggests that the cost of the scheme is going to be eye watering.
    If inflation is 12% saying it would have been 17% if we hadn't acted isn't as good a line as they think.
    Can I introduce you to the political theory of relativity?
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,383
    edited October 2022
    Conor Burns has history. He is a very naughty boy, and should never have been appointed to a government post after the Standards Committee found him guilty of, essentially, using his status as an MP to intimidate and threaten a constituent in May 2020. To no surprise at all, the Tory party forgave him his egregious behaviour.

    https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/290/committee-on-standards/news/115152/committee-on-standards-publishes-report-on-conor-burns/
  • ThomasNasheThomasNashe Posts: 5,331
    edited October 2022
    Scott_xP said:

    1/🧵
    #Brexit trade watch
    Based on the latest German data, here is the current UK trade performance:

    Jan-Aug 2022 vs Jan-Aug 2019

    German exports 🇩🇪 to:
    +16% total
    +19% 🇪🇺 EU
    +26% 🇺🇸 USA
    +14% 🇨🇳 China

    -12% 🇬🇧 UK

    https://twitter.com/DennisNovy/status/1578378730312982532

    It’s why I would maintain that Cameron did more damage to this country than even Johnson did (who of course he opened the door to), and Truss is likely to do.

    Utterly dreadful PM.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,073
    2 Ukrainian women were deported for exposing sham referendums Russia held at the end of September

    Russian occupiers accused the detainees of “discrediting” the occupiers &“destabilizing the socio-political situation”.

    https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1578413591002173440
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,073
    Has our resident troll noticed that #Pedoputin is trending on Twitter ?
  • Nigelb said:

    Has our resident troll noticed that #Pedoputin is trending on Twitter ?

    Musks takeover happening quickly then?
  • Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 14,324
    edited October 2022
    Nigelb said:

    Has our resident troll noticed that #Pedoputin is trending on Twitter ?

    Can we ask Robert not to ban him? Teasing him is rather fun.

    Or is it wrong to tease puppies?
  • Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 5,288

    Conor Burns has history. He is a very naughty boy, and should never have been appointed to a government post after the Standards Committee found him guilty of, essentially, using his status as an MP to intimidate and threaten a constituent in May 2020. To no surprise at all, the Tory party forgave him his egregious behaviour.

    https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/290/committee-on-standards/news/115152/committee-on-standards-publishes-report-on-conor-burns/

    For the obligatory premature by-election watch, note Bournemouth W falls on a 10.5% swing and Bournemouth as a whole is trending Labour in the longer term.

    A better prospect for Labour than Tamworth / ex-Staffs SE
  • Nigelb said:

    2 Ukrainian women were deported for exposing sham referendums Russia held at the end of September

    Russian occupiers accused the detainees of “discrediting” the occupiers &“destabilizing the socio-political situation”.

    https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1578413591002173440

    “destabilizing the socio-political situation”

    Mad Vlad is ripe-rotten for THAT section of the Putin Penal Code.

    Could name a few others . . .
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,840
    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
  • Conor Burns has history. He is a very naughty boy, and should never have been appointed to a government post after the Standards Committee found him guilty of, essentially, using his status as an MP to intimidate and threaten a constituent in May 2020. To no surprise at all, the Tory party forgave him his egregious behaviour.

    https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/290/committee-on-standards/news/115152/committee-on-standards-publishes-report-on-conor-burns/

    Just glad that (so far) zero mention of hedgehog(s).
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,648

    Scott_xP said:

    1/🧵
    #Brexit trade watch
    Based on the latest German data, here is the current UK trade performance:

    Jan-Aug 2022 vs Jan-Aug 2019

    German exports 🇩🇪 to:
    +16% total
    +19% 🇪🇺 EU
    +26% 🇺🇸 USA
    +14% 🇨🇳 China

    -12% 🇬🇧 UK

    https://twitter.com/DennisNovy/status/1578378730312982532

    It’s why I would maintain that Cameron did more damage to this country than even Johnson did (who of course he opened the door to), and Truss is likely to do.

    Utterly dreadful PM.
    Why is importing less stuff from Germany bad?
  • PMs have been going downhill ever since Blair left. He is the finest and highest achieving of any PM since Thatcher. No question.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,568

    Nigelb said:

    Has our resident troll noticed that #Pedoputin is trending on Twitter ?

    Can we ask Robert not to ban him? Teasing him is rather fun.

    Or is it wrong to tease puppies?
    Only if you cut off their tales....
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,073
    An anniversary worth recalling.

    Killed on Putin's birthday 16 years ago- Anna Politkovskaya - The journalist from Novaya Gazeta, Russia's last independent newspaper. 'Putin doesn't like people. He believes we are a means for him'
    https://twitter.com/inna_mosina/status/1578129251743793153

    Whoever was responsible has never been brought to justice.
    And turned 70 today.
  • paulyork64paulyork64 Posts: 2,507
    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Rommelford (maybe not fascist enough)
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,383
    edited October 2022
    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,175

    PMs have been going downhill ever since Blair left. He is the finest and highest achieving of any PM since Thatcher. No question.

    You're the ghost of Peter Cook and I claim my £5.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,648
    edited October 2022
    It's amazing how much the current situation is Gordon Brown in reverse:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/5216307/Tony-Blair-opposes-new-50-pence-tax-rate-for-high-earners.html

    Tony Blair believes the new 50 per cent top rate of income tax introduced by Gordon Brown is a "terrible mistake", the Daily Telegraph has learned.

    The former Prime Minister has privately expressed his despair at the Labour government's decision to target the wealthy in the Budget.

    One of Mr Blair's closest allies said: "The 50p tax move is a disaster. Blair would have cut taxes, not increased them."

    A senior Labour figure, who helped create New Labour, said the election was already lost but that the party could not replace another leader without calling an immediate general election.

    He said: "There is no way back. People want a man with a plan, and no one would believe Labour if they changed leader now."

    The gloom in the Labour Party was underlined by Alastair Campbell, who was Mr Blair's communications chief, who wrote on his blog: "I confess to being a bit down after the Budget. Not for nothing, I guess, is a grim economic situation described as a depression."

    A former minister said: "You don't have to be a genius to guess what Tony Blair's view on this is. This was his pledge – he knew it was just toxic for Labour to do this. We had to be the party who did not put people's taxes up."

    He said it was "not an unreasonable conclusion to draw" that the 50p tax meant "the death of New Labour". He said he would "not be surprised" if MPs were planning to move against Mr Brown if the elections went badly. "Our chances would still be improved if Gordon were replaced," he said.

    Another one said: "The mood in the party is dire. There's no leadership or strategy. Most of the evidence indicates the 50p tax isn't going to raise much money – it's likely to do slightly more damage than benefit. Brown's been an absolutely dreadful leader."

    The Labour Whips are planning to try to ruthlessly enforce party discipline by contacting some of Mr Brown's staunchest opponents to warn them in the days before the polls against going public with any calls for a change at the top.

    One nuclear option being considered is to threaten to withdraw the party whip and to put pressure on local constituency parties to threaten to deselect anyone who rocks the boat.

    Opponents of Mr Brown hope that if the results are bad a figure with the seniority of Lord Mandelson could persuade him to stand down and a caretaker leader appointed in his place such as Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, or Alan Johnson the Health Secretary.

    But ambitious ministers such as Harriet Harman would almost certainly try to force a leadership contest. The Brown loyalist said: "If the results are bad, the prospect of a leadership contest, and Harriet winning, might stop people trying to force Gordon out."
  • ydoethur said:

    Carnyx said:

    ydoethur said:

    Carnyx said:

    Getting almost as tetchy as CCHQ on here today.

    I'm intrigued. How do you have the insider track on CCHQ?
    Logical inference and a theory of mind, as demonstrated e.g. by sheep, Clun or otherwise.
    OK, Kerry on then.
    You're Cavan a laugh!
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,339

    I've been promoted today. Very pleased.

    Well done

    And quite impressive given that you spend half the working day on here...
  • CookieCookie Posts: 13,803

    PMs have been going downhill ever since Blair left. He is the finest and highest achieving of any PM since Thatcher. No question.

    I'm not sure he actually achieved anything per se.
    What he could do - and this is a big part of the job - is inspire a bit of confidemce.
  • ydoethur said:

    And most Fascist movements are called 'Forward' in some way.

    Avanti West Coast does genuinely sound like some sort of Californian neo-fascist movement.
    The Italian train company Trenitalia have a stake in the franchise.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405
    Leon said:

    I've been promoted today. Very pleased.

    Well done

    And quite impressive given that you spend half the working day on here...
    Depends - that could BE his job. If he’s been promoted, he might be off to another forum, or posting even more on here…
  • It's amazing how much the current situation is Gordon Brown in reverse:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/5216307/Tony-Blair-opposes-new-50-pence-tax-rate-for-high-earners.html

    Tony Blair believes the new 50 per cent top rate of income tax introduced by Gordon Brown is a "terrible mistake", the Daily Telegraph has learned.

    The former Prime Minister has privately expressed his despair at the Labour government's decision to target the wealthy in the Budget.

    One of Mr Blair's closest allies said: "The 50p tax move is a disaster. Blair would have cut taxes, not increased them."

    A senior Labour figure, who helped create New Labour, said the election was already lost but that the party could not replace another leader without calling an immediate general election.

    He said: "There is no way back. People want a man with a plan, and no one would believe Labour if they changed leader now."

    The gloom in the Labour Party was underlined by Alastair Campbell, who was Mr Blair's communications chief, who wrote on his blog: "I confess to being a bit down after the Budget. Not for nothing, I guess, is a grim economic situation described as a depression."

    A former minister said: "You don't have to be a genius to guess what Tony Blair's view on this is. This was his pledge – he knew it was just toxic for Labour to do this. We had to be the party who did not put people's taxes up."

    He said it was "not an unreasonable conclusion to draw" that the 50p tax meant "the death of New Labour". He said he would "not be surprised" if MPs were planning to move against Mr Brown if the elections went badly. "Our chances would still be improved if Gordon were replaced," he said.

    Another one said: "The mood in the party is dire. There's no leadership or strategy. Most of the evidence indicates the 50p tax isn't going to raise much money – it's likely to do slightly more damage than benefit. Brown's been an absolutely dreadful leader."

    The Labour Whips are planning to try to ruthlessly enforce party discipline by contacting some of Mr Brown's staunchest opponents to warn them in the days before the polls against going public with any calls for a change at the top.

    One nuclear option being considered is to threaten to withdraw the party whip and to put pressure on local constituency parties to threaten to deselect anyone who rocks the boat.

    Opponents of Mr Brown hope that if the results are bad a figure with the seniority of Lord Mandelson could persuade him to stand down and a caretaker leader appointed in his place such as Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, or Alan Johnson the Health Secretary.

    But ambitious ministers such as Harriet Harman would almost certainly try to force a leadership contest. The Brown loyalist said: "If the results are bad, the prospect of a leadership contest, and Harriet winning, might stop people trying to force Gordon out."

    He was a pretty mediocre PM at best but it is fascinating how many of the people on here who think he was a terrible PM simultaneously think him responsible for the last 12 years of Tory economic policy.
  • ydoethur said:

    Carnyx said:

    ydoethur said:

    Carnyx said:

    Getting almost as tetchy as CCHQ on here today.

    I'm intrigued. How do you have the insider track on CCHQ?
    Logical inference and a theory of mind, as demonstrated e.g. by sheep, Clun or otherwise.
    OK, Kerry on then.
    You're Cavan a laugh!
    Am Louth to stop you, but Connacht you stop yourselves?
  • TheValiantTheValiant Posts: 1,874
    I'll read the politics story in a minute. Far more excited to await the 19:00 announcement that Liverpool will indeed host Eurovision 2023........... (or maybe not).
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 17,405
    Cookie said:

    PMs have been going downhill ever since Blair left. He is the finest and highest achieving of any PM since Thatcher. No question.

    I'm not sure he actually achieved anything per se.
    What he could do - and this is a big part of the job - is inspire a bit of confidemce.
    I think Blair has quite the legacy. He came to power at the right time, with the economy booming, and left before it crashed. He oversaw a more confident country at ease with itself. Money poured into the nhs, into schools. Some of that was wasted, some of it was PFI, and thus very costly indeed.
    Ultimately he lacked the courage to be truly transformative. But he did show that a centre left party can rule the U.K. for three successive terms.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,843
    edited October 2022

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,883

    ydoethur said:

    Carnyx said:

    ydoethur said:

    Carnyx said:

    Getting almost as tetchy as CCHQ on here today.

    I'm intrigued. How do you have the insider track on CCHQ?
    Logical inference and a theory of mind, as demonstrated e.g. by sheep, Clun or otherwise.
    OK, Kerry on then.
    You're Cavan a laugh!
    Am Louth to stop you, but Connacht you stop yourselves?
    He'll be Dublin down next.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,724
    Surely Truss has set up another massive own goal by refusing to sign off on energy saving campaign.

    All Starmer needs to do is use an Opposition debate to raise the issue or even amend one of the forthcoming Bills and watch her whip against it.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664
    Roger said:

    Scott_xP said:

    BREAKING: Conor Burns sacked as a trade minister

    One of Johnson's most egregious sycophants. Truss's first good decision
    Although... she appointed him.
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 6,813
    edited October 2022
    Cookie said:

    PMs have been going downhill ever since Blair left. He is the finest and highest achieving of any PM since Thatcher. No question.

    I'm not sure he actually achieved anything per se.
    What he could do - and this is a big part of the job - is inspire a bit of confidemce.
    It would be nice to have someone who can actually do the day to day of the job without being mired in scandal or undermined by infighting or drama every 5 minutes.

    We’ve not had that since 2016 and it’s getting a bit wearing now.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,724

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!
    Now we know what Johnson did after being PM.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,662
    edited October 2022

    I'll read the politics story in a minute. Far more excited to await the 19:00 announcement that Liverpool will indeed host Eurovision 2023........... (or maybe not).

    It will be Glasgow, I think. I am hopeful for 13th May, as away the two weeks afterwards.
  • Roger said:

    Scott_xP said:

    BREAKING: Conor Burns sacked as a trade minister

    One of Johnson's most egregious sycophants. Truss's first good decision
    Although... she appointed him.
    She would not have had a chance to sack him otherwise!
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,175
    They're not wrong...

    https://twitter.com/MU_ST/status/1578394346512072706

    @MU_ST
    7/ We find it even worse this seems to be because the Met police - whilst able to handle all sorts of major events, not least a state funeral with heads of state from all over the world at short notice - cannot cope with 3000 people in an away end.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,568

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Was wondering when you might get round to the Bunk (as it is known locally).
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Was it @HYUFD?
  • TheValiantTheValiant Posts: 1,874
    Foxy said:

    I'll read the politics story in a minute. Far more excited to await the 19:00 announcement that Liverpool will indeed host Eurovision 2023........... (or maybe not).

    It will be Glasgow, I think. I am hopeful for 13th May, as away the two weeks afterwards.
    I agree. Liverpool was a bizarre choice to make the final two. It was significantly the weakest bid out there. I can only assume we were left in as some sort of sop to the local area.........

    It does mean that you could safely bet on Glasgow getting it, as the final two were never in real competition......
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,840

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Totally unrealistic. Class 08s were never so clean IRL. But looks great fun.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,662
    @HYUFD is 1 in 10


  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,840

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Was wondering when you might get round to the Bunk (as it is known locally).
    I trusdt you saw the nameplate on the diesel ...
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,664
    Cookie said:

    PMs have been going downhill ever since Blair left. He is the finest and highest achieving of any PM since Thatcher. No question.

    I'm not sure he actually achieved anything per se.
    What he could do - and this is a big part of the job - is inspire a bit of confidemce.
    Good Friday Agreement
  • Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Was wondering when you might get round to the Bunk (as it is known locally).
    Been wanting to do it since before Covid. Not a very frequent service but managed to book a ticket for the Sunday. No timetable info at all when I arrived at Cholsey mainline, but luckily the Class 08 arrived within a few minutes :)
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,397

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Doesn't look much like Captain Mainwaring to me. Looks more like a diesel engine.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,568

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Cholditz, shirley?
  • Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Totally unrealistic. Class 08s were never so clean IRL. But looks great fun.
    There was an ex-Guinness Brewery 08 "Unicorn" at the other end:


  • Roger said:

    Scott_xP said:

    BREAKING: Conor Burns sacked as a trade minister

    One of Johnson's most egregious sycophants. Truss's first good decision
    Although... she appointed him.
    She would not have had a chance to sack him otherwise!
    Or indeed to say Fire Burns.
  • Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    This village DOES have a rather Fascist look to it.

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Was wondering when you might get round to the Bunk (as it is known locally).
    As per the nameplate on front of the engine.

    BUT might this be covert homage to that notorious anti-Semite Henry "History is Bunk" Ford?

    Could THIS wide spot on the tracks be THE "true" Fascist Village?
  • TazTaz Posts: 14,405
    Foxy said:

    @HYUFD is 1 in 10


    A number on a list.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,840
    ydoethur said:

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Doesn't look much like Captain Mainwaring to me. Looks more like a diesel engine.
    Fernando.
  • paulyork64paulyork64 Posts: 2,507
    Pilot creates portrait of the queen on flightradar.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-63176832
  • Pro_Rata said:

    Conor Burns has history. He is a very naughty boy, and should never have been appointed to a government post after the Standards Committee found him guilty of, essentially, using his status as an MP to intimidate and threaten a constituent in May 2020. To no surprise at all, the Tory party forgave him his egregious behaviour.

    https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/290/committee-on-standards/news/115152/committee-on-standards-publishes-report-on-conor-burns/

    For the obligatory premature by-election watch, note Bournemouth W falls on a 10.5% swing and Bournemouth as a whole is trending Labour in the longer term.

    A better prospect for Labour than Tamworth / ex-Staffs SE
    Not sure as they'd potentially get a serious Lib Dem challenge in Bournemouth as they are quite well placed on the local Council (whereas Labour have three councillors - none, I think, in the constituency).

    Labour has a commanding opinion poll position and a reasonably high base from 2019 (this isn't Tiverton & Honiton or Shropshire North where they were second but on about 20% - it's a respectable 30%). So they'd probably be quite well placed with a quick by-election, but it would have potential to be a more three-way fight than we've seen in a while.
  • Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Some people claim that Goosestepport is the largest town in England without a railway station.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 13,803

    Cookie said:

    PMs have been going downhill ever since Blair left. He is the finest and highest achieving of any PM since Thatcher. No question.

    I'm not sure he actually achieved anything per se.
    What he could do - and this is a big part of the job - is inspire a bit of confidemce.
    It would be nice to have someone who can actually do the day to day of the job without being mired in scandal or undermined by infighting or drama every 5 minutes.

    We’ve not had that since 2016 and it’s getting a bit wearing now.
    In defence of TMay in that respect, she put herself in an almost impossible position by losing her majority.

    I'd say we sort of did have that with Boris up until Partygate. Granted that only gave him a whole 6 months of the appearance of competent government, followed by 12 months before the stories started to come out.

    This is the third of three entirely dufferent sorts of shambles. The lesson of the current situation is if you are a take-over-mid-term PM you need to be largely consensual and unctroversial or get your own mandate pretty quickly.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,397

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Totally unrealistic. Class 08s were never so clean IRL. But looks great fun.
    There was an ex-Guinness Brewery 08 "Unicorn" at the other end:


    Did it harp on?
  • Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Cholditz, shirley?
    Cholditz Salad.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,259
    ydoethur said:

    GIN1138 said:

    70% of people aren't voting Tory, goodness me

    In 2005 65% didn't vote labour either. Didn't stop them winning 5 more years in power. We have rarely (and not for a long time) had a system where the ruling party achieved over 50% of the vote.
    Last time a single party won with 50% of the vote was the Conservative landslide in 1900.
    Incorrect, they were in coalition with the Liberal Unionists at the time.

    The previous occasion was in fact the Liberals in 1880.
    Of course the Liberal Unionists owned the Conservative Party until Michael Ancram retired. Took the Tories less than 20 years to f*** all up
  • TimSTimS Posts: 12,995

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Probably one of those Home Counties fascists. But at least he made the trains go in time.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    edited October 2022
    Andy_JS said:

    Rishi just lost an election. It can't be him, unless he wins another one.

    He's no Jeffrey Donaldson.

    But I think you are making the common mistake of having '"Won't" mean the same as "Can't"

    I don't think the public gives a crap how the parties elect their leaders - opponents moaned plenty about the 80-100k or whatever it was of the Tory membership getting to choose. Granted, the members might care, but you can't listen too much to that mob.
  • Pro_RataPro_Rata Posts: 5,288
    edited October 2022

    ydoethur said:

    And most Fascist movements are called 'Forward' in some way.

    Avanti West Coast does genuinely sound like some sort of Californian neo-fascist movement.
    The Italian train company Trenitalia have a stake in the franchise.
    Grand Central have the livery off pat though:
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,259
    148grss said:

    148grss said:

    148grss said:

    148grss said:

    148grss said:

    148grss said:

    Nicola Sturgeon implies JK Rowling is not a 'real feminist' like her and says 'abusive men, not trans women' are real threat to society

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11290591/Nicola-Sturgeon-suggests-JK-Rowling-not-real-feminist.html

    Bit of an issue though when the "trans woman" turns out to actually be an abusive man though.

    It's a shame we can't have sensible discussions in this issue and it has to be all or nothing.
    And your first line was supposed to be an effort at a 'sensible discussion', was it?

    The number of 'trans' men who go about abusing women is miniscule. Every crime is a tragedy and should be investigated, but the number is tiny. In comparison, the amount of abuse against women by non-trans men is shocking. In fact, the general level of violence in our society is shocking, in whatever direction it is directed.

    That's the effing issue. That's what you should be screaming against. But it's easier to look and point at the marginalised people instead and make *them* out to be the problem, because they are 'different'. And then to make *all* of 'them' be the problem because they are 'different'. And then we can sleep safely at night, knowing the screams and bangs we hear through the wall from our neighbour cannot possible be him beating her, because he isn't trans.
    Unfortunately women-only safe spaces are needed because violence against women is not remotely "miniscule".

    And violating that safeguarding that was done for women by allowing men into those spaces, whether those men by genuinely trans women or falsely "trans women" who want to abuse women, violates their safety.

    We need to provide appropriate safeguarding for trans women, but not by throwing the baby out with the bathwater and violating female-only safe spaces.
    "Unfortunately women-only safe spaces are needed because violence against women is not remotely "miniscule"."

    I did not say violence against women is minuscule; quite the opposite.

    And the rest of your post proves my point.
    How does it prove your point?

    Women want women-only safe spaces to be available to them, especially after potentially being abused by an abusive man.

    Sturgeon is against that.

    Why should there not be women-only safe spaces?

    Trans women should have support, absolutely, and be protected and given their own safeguarding too but it should come at the cost of breaking safeguarding for real women.
    I used 'miniscule' in relation to violence by trans people. (To be clear, I wrote: "The number of 'trans' men who go about abusing women is miniscule".) Which it is.

    You then changed that to infer that I was saying that violence towards women by *all* people was miniscule.

    That's a drastic difference, and something I did not say.
    No I did not infer that.

    I said that because violence against women is not miniscule is why we need women only safe spaces. That is an important principle of safeguarding for women.

    Trans people should have their own concerns, of course, but abolishing women-only safe spaces harms women's safety.

    We need to treat trans people with respect, but not throw the baby out with the bathwater by preventing women from having women-only safe spaces.
    Women-only safe spaces would exist with transwomen being allowed in, what with transwomen being women. The issue are abusive people allowed in these spaces, surely? If you had a lesbian couple, where a woman was being abused by their female partner, you wouldn't allow the abusive partner into the space because they are still a woman. So abusive behaviour is already a criteria to allow entrance. If a transwoman is also an abuser, of course they shouldn't be allowed in those spaces, but if a transwoman who is a victim of abuse needs to use a shelter then there is no reason that they shouldn't be in a womans only shelter.
    A pre-op transwoman is sexually male, not female.

    Calling her by a girl's name and using her preferred pronoun is fine, but she is not actually a woman. So we can call her a her, but not let her in women's sport or women's safe spaces.

    Sex matters as much as gender.
    Is a woman who has had a hysterectomy not a woman anymore, if removal of these organs is what dictates ones sex? Woman who have had breast cancer and had mammectomies? This is an obviously absurd position, as is the idea that only post-op transwomen are women in a way pre-op transwomen aren't.

    How should shelters check if a woman is trans or not, or has had the operation? Should every woman who comes into a shelter be forced to undergo an examination, to show documentation, or just the ones who look too manish?

    It doesn't make sense socially, transwomen are treated by society very much like women, subject to misogyny and misogynistic violence, and it doesn't make sense practically - there is no way to police this without also subject ciswomen to the same policing because (no matter what people say) actually you usually can't "just tell"...
    A woman who's had a hysterectomy is still a woman. Someone born male who is trans, is not a real or as you call it "cis" woman.

    Its fine to treat transwomen very much like women, without saying they actually are women.

    If a shelter wants to provide shelter for transwomen, that should be their choice, it shouldn't be forbidden.
    If a shelter wants to provide shelter for women only, that should be their choice, it shouldn't be forbidden.

    If a shelter wants to provide a space for women only, and a separate space mixed between women and transwomen, then that should be their choice, it shouldn't be forbidden.

    Safe spaces for women should be able to exist and as much as we may want to treat trans women like real women much of the time, there are times to acknowledge that they are not real women, and real women should be able to have their own safe spaces if that makes them feel safe.
    Outside of a conversation about what a woman is; what you are describing is, as far as I understand things, the current state of affairs. You just felt the need to conflate transwomen with abusive men right at top of the conversation for no real reason.
    No I did not!

    I said that women need women's only spaces because the risks that they are under.

    Transwomen should be given what support they need, but they are not women, and if women's only spaces exclude them then that should be entirely legal.

    EDIT: As far as I understand the argument here is that Sturgeon wants to change what you say is "the current state of affairs", which would put more barriers up against women-only safe spaces.
    The first thing you said was: "Bit of an issue though when the "trans woman" turns out to actually be an abusive man though. " I think it is clear what you were suggesting there.
    That diminishing safeguarding and opening up safe spaces to trans women allows abusive men to exploit that weakness, and abuse that. That loosening protections and safeguarding allows abusive men to get into those spaces, not just trans women.

    If you can suggest a way to make women's-only safe spaces be open to trans women but not abusive men then I'm all ears. Otherwise what you're doing is abolishing women's-only safe spaces, because abusive men are now able to enter them as easily as trans women can.
    The same way you would stop an abusive woman from entering a shelter - by noting if they have been accused of or acting out abusive behaviour. Same-sex abuse happens as well, so there are already procedures in place for dealing with an abusive woman; an abusive transwoman or an abusive man who tried to identify as a transwoman to enter such a space would go through the same.
    So you're saying there should be no women's-only spaces allowed, even in shelters?

    You see no reason for the existence of, or to allow women's-only spaces anymore?
    No, I did not say that. You asked me how would shelters stop abusive men self IDing as women and entering shelters, and I said they would use the same protocols they would for stopping abusive women from entering shelters.

    You and I seem to disagree that transwomen are women and therefore their presence in a women's only space would be reasonable.
    There is a wider issue though.

    Women in these shelters are scared and vulnerable. A proportion of them will be terrified by the presence of people who are physically male even if they identify as women. Why should their mental health and needs not be considered important?
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,840

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Some people claim that Goosestepport is the largest town in England without a railway station.
    Its ruined railway station certainly follows the aesthetics of Reichsminister Speer and the Fuehrer:

    "To illustrate my ideas, I had a romantic drawing prepared. It showed what the reviewing stand on the Zeppelin field would look like after generations of neglect, over-grown with ivym its columns fallen, the walls crumbling here and there, but the outlines still clearly recognisable. In Hitler’s entourage this drawing was regarded as blasphemous. That I could even conceive of a period of decline for the newly founded Reich destined to last a thousand years seemed outrageous to many of Hitler’s closest followers. But he himself accepted my ideas as logical and illuminating. He gave orders that in the future the important buildings of his Reich were to be erected in keeping with the principle of this “law of ruins."

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosport_railway_station#/media/File:Gosport_railway_station_(1990s).JPG
  • RogerRoger Posts: 19,914
    The similarities between the last days of Major and what's happening now are becoming uncanny. Voters have tuned out of Tory politics believing them to be a spent force.

    The only time anyone will take note is when there's a scandal. And no one cares what the scandal is because no one's interested in the Party or its people anymore

    They'll re-engage when the election is called and will expect them to get hammered.
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 57,161

    Pilot creates portrait of the queen on flightradar.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-63176832

    That lady is a tax partner at PWC, IIRC.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,259
    viewcode said:

    Leon said:


    I really hope that's right, because Alexander Dugin is full fat nutso. And Dugin really wants the Endtimes. And the violent death of his daughter was ALREADY, for him, psychologically part of this ritual of the apocalypse, the chain of events that ushers in the Empire of the End. Nuclear war.

    It's almost as if some clever person had written an article placing Dugin in the chain of events leading to the present moment.

    Pause. Anyhoo, back to the advert...

    Hi, sorry to bother y'all but this is one of my occasional postings. Some of you may recall the first in my Ukraine War series (see [1]). The sequel - yes, "Ukraine War II" - depicted the Russian invasion as if it was in the UK instead of Ukraine, depicting events in recognisable British locations transposed from their UKR equivalents. I can't speak for the quality of the writing but (except for one flourish referring to an incident in "Red Storm Rising") it was my best efforts at getting the areas and events right

    It was written up and sent to OGH and his sons in August and was accepted. Unfortunately the election of Truss and the death of the Monarch put it on the backburner and the recent Ukraine advances make it out of date.

    To prevent it being lost, I am making it available to you via this posting. If you want a copy of the Word document, and its accompanying concordance explaining the references, let me know and I'll PM you a copy.

    I will post this reminder once a day until next Monday, and I will host a Q&A on Tuesday in the unlikely event anybody wants to discuss it.

    Notes
    [1] https://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2022/05/02/why-ukraine-was-particularly-vulnerable/

    Yes please

  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103

    John McDonnell has never attacked Starmer, because he wants a Labour Government. The Labour Left could actually learn something. John is too pragmatic for all of them.

    One thing the loonier crowd, who often didn't use to be in the party, and now Corbyn does not lead it often do not once again, seem to not notice is how people like McDonnell, and indeed Corbyn, stuck it out with Labour for decades, including during the leadership of evil Tory Tony Blair.

    Corbyn seems more tangentially attached to Labour now, though that is in part not his choice, but others are still more discerning about when to attach the leadership.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,568

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    This village DOES have a rather Fascist look to it.

    Carnyx said:

    Carnyx said:

    Icarus said:

    WillG said:

    Leon said:

    Jonathan said:

    Putin is a man who lived in a bubble and bought huge IKEA tables to avoid covid. He doesn’t look like a man with a death wish.

    He would probably survive nuclear war. He'll have a good bunker somewhere

    It's the rest of us that need to worry
    If the argument that runs like this

    * Russian forces have been having logistical difficulties in the past few months, especially in the Kharkov area,
    * therefore their much more powerful strategic nukes probably don't work, and if they did work they probably wouldn't be able to get it together to launch them,
    * so bring escalation on

    is sensible and sane,

    then surely the analogous argument that runs like this

    * Russian commanders have been going home in bodybags because their security is subpar,
    * therefore in strategic nuclear war the much more powerful guy called Putin would get blown to bits whenever the enemy decided

    is also sensible?

    There is a heck of a lot of insanity about, @Leon. I came across one British Tory saying it all came down to Putin climbing over the fence and stealing his neighbour's property, rather as though he's a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere.

    One just has to ask "What is your reason for believing that large majorities of people from Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhe, and Kherson wish their areas to be in Ukraine?" to trigger a wave of "See this big stick, that's why, you scum!"-style hatred.
    "a familiar hate target such as for example a gypsy in a fascist village in the Home Counties somewhere."

    You REALLY need to get out more. As a propagandist you are a busted pair of deuces.
    I am still waiting for the guy to name these fascist villages. I know there are a lot of internet restrictions in Russia, but surely he has had time to look them up by now.
    Göring-by-Sea?
    Himmler Hempstead?
    Hess(le)?
    Hailsham, Steyning, Graffham
    Bormannwood.
    Volkstone.
    And Reichborough.
    Göring-by-Sea, obviously.
    Or the local train out of Reading: Heil-turst, Pang-Aryan-Born, Göring and Streatley, Choltitz, and Didcot Parkway.
    Oh, I completely forgot to mention - did the Cholsey & Wallingford railway last Sunday - all 2.5 miles of it :)

    Was 1940s weekend - the Churchill impersonator looked more like Capt. Mainwaring!


    Was wondering when you might get round to the Bunk (as it is known locally).
    As per the nameplate on front of the engine.

    BUT might this be covert homage to that notorious anti-Semite Henry "History is Bunk" Ford?

    Could THIS wide spot on the tracks be THE "true" Fascist Village?
    Wallingford is far too Lib-Demmy to be considered fascist.

    Although, when two Merlin choppers from RAF Benson roar down the high street at chimney pot height to signify the end of the two-minute Silence on Remembrance Sunday, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise....
  • pingping Posts: 3,805
    rcs1000 said:

    Pilot creates portrait of the queen on flightradar.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-63176832

    That lady is a tax partner at PWC, IIRC.
    I’m no greenpeace nutter, but come on.

    What a pointless waste of CO2
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 8,259

    Westminster Voting Intention:

    LAB: 52% (+2)
    CON: 20% (=)
    LDM: 8% (-1)
    GRN: 7% (-1)
    SNP: 5% (=)
    RFM: 4% (+1)

    Via
    @PeoplePolling
    , 6 Oct.
    Changes w/ 29 Sep.

    Just like after Black Wednesday.

    Far worse than that.

    In 1992, the polls had been drifting blue-to-red all summer, and that drift continued at roughly the same speed. Even at Christmas '92, the score was roughly C33 L48.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_1997_United_Kingdom_general_election

    Black Wednesday is the classic example of "news doesn't shift the polls".

    The last few weeks have been much much worse than Black Wednesday.
    We await @MoonRabbit 's exclusive analysis of the reasons behind the Tories being 32 points clear, were the numbers reversed
    Your and @CorrectHorseBattery3 ’a repeated attacks on @MoonRabbit Re pretty unpleasant.

    She may be wrong, but she’s interesting

    Still pondering wether I give that post a like 🤣
    It’s more important to be interesting than right…
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 71,397
    edited October 2022

    ydoethur said:

    GIN1138 said:

    70% of people aren't voting Tory, goodness me

    In 2005 65% didn't vote labour either. Didn't stop them winning 5 more years in power. We have rarely (and not for a long time) had a system where the ruling party achieved over 50% of the vote.
    Last time a single party won with 50% of the vote was the Conservative landslide in 1900.
    Incorrect, they were in coalition with the Liberal Unionists at the time.

    The previous occasion was in fact the Liberals in 1880.
    Of course the Liberal Unionists owned the Conservative Party until Michael Ancram retired. Took the Tories less than 20 years to f*** all up
    He can't have been a Liberal Unionist. They were dissolved in 1912.

    I think you may be confusing them with the Scottish Unionists, which were a semi-independent part of the Conservatives until 1965.
This discussion has been closed.