All those blue wall seats will have literature with smiling pics of Sunak and his bezzy Ursula.
And the question "Why does Belfast have a better deal than Buckinghamshire?"
Another downside for Sunak is not just the ease of the rebuttal, but the way the rebuttal plays into a "one rule for them" unfairness narrative which already has a lot of traction wit the public (c.f. those wordclouds).
England are box office right now. The secondary market for Ashes tickets is already over £500 for a day.
2005 was epic - the Aussies coming to the end of their period of dominance, and an England team coming to a peak with aggressive batsmen and a four man pace attack with skill, pace and variety. The match that ended last night was great, but still a level below 2005.
I agree. I was lucky enough to be at one of the tests in 2005. We were still waiting to get in when there was an incredible roar, like a goal being scored. England had won the toss. I have never seen or felt cricket like that. It was electric.
Has Headingley '81 been cancelled? Botham sacked as captain, England following on, 105/5, still 122 runs behind, 500/1 with Ladbrokes?
Age is what happened. You have to be nearly 50 just to have much recollection if it.
I've been to very few cricket matches and don't claim to have been to Headingley in 81, but I did go to the Lords test match that year. Boy did I pick the wrong match. A boring draw and Botham got 0 and 0 I believe and spent more time walking out to the crease each time than being there. My memory could be faulty though, as I recall spending more time drinking than watching the boring cricket.
The real dividend to come out of these talks is not NI, which had some irritations but also a highly favoured position both in the SM and out of it at the same time, Schrodinger's cat style, already. The real benefit is the highly constructive and polite relationship Rishi has built with the EU as a whole. This has already paid dividends with the Horizon program but I have little doubt there will be more to come.
If Rishi can continue down this path then I genuinely believe that Brexit will become a non issue for all except a tiny minority who are obsessed with it and the loss of their EU citizenship. This minority will no doubt be loud, just as the ERG nutters/Farage were loud in the past, but the vast majority will simply not care anymore. We will just have to fill our threads up with something else.
Picture living in a more complicated/interesting world where families and/or partners may live and work in say England and France. Where they have been able to move freely for forty years and now they have to calculate what they're doing almost from day to day. School holidays parents getting ill one partner in England the other in France. Work calling you from one place to the other ......... a lifestyle build over many years and circumstances.
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll be letting a lot of potential supporters down badly
England are box office right now. The secondary market for Ashes tickets is already over £500 for a day.
2005 was epic - the Aussies coming to the end of their period of dominance, and an England team coming to a peak with aggressive batsmen and a four man pace attack with skill, pace and variety. The match that ended last night was great, but still a level below 2005.
I agree. I was lucky enough to be at one of the tests in 2005. We were still waiting to get in when there was an incredible roar, like a goal being scored. England had won the toss. I have never seen or felt cricket like that. It was electric.
Has Headingley '81 been cancelled? Botham sacked as captain, England following on, 105/5, still 122 runs behind, 500/1 with Ladbrokes?
Age is what happened. You have to be nearly 50 just to have much recollection if it.
I've been to very few cricket matches and don't claim to have been to Headingley in 81, but I did go to the Lords test match that year. Boy did I pick the wrong match. A boring draw and Botham got 0 and 0 I believe and spent more time walking out to the crease each time than being there. My memory could be faulty though, as I recall spending more time drinking than watching the boring cricket.
Four balls faced in the two innings, 12 minutes total - so a reasonable recollection!
This doesn't matter as Brexit is not a Thing. What matters to voters is where you go now. And if thats "Rejoin the EU" then the voters are in a very different place.
Where you go next is a general election. That's Sunak's problem.
He’s got 18 months to get the economy moving then, before the people have their say.
The economy was moving in 1997.
Starmer isn't Blair though.
I agree, and I don't think Labour is going to be anywhere near a 60 majority, let alone a 179 seat one.
But my point was simply that "it's the economy stupid" is not the be all and end all. If it was, the Conservatives would have won reelection in 1997, and Labour would have been utterly slaughtered in 2010.
After a prolonged period in Government, parties get tired. Talent departs and is replaced by mediocrity. Message discipline disappears. Scandals that might have been brushed off now loom large. Tactical voting bites you in the ass.
Two years ago, I was in full agreement with isam that a Conservative majority was underpriced. Now, I think that's a pretty unlikely outcome, because the government simply looks tired.
Major lost in 1997 not so much because the Tories were tired -- but because the Tories were disunited. In 1997, the glee with which Blue attacked Blue was memorably impressive, in contrast to the subdued Blue on Red attacks. You got the feeling that a typical Tory hated others in his/her own party more than the Official Opposition.
By late 2022, it looked as though Blue on Blue attacks were back at the intensity of 1997.
This looks a tiny bit hopeful for the Tories in that Blue on Blue attacks over the Deal have been quite muted so far.
Sure, the Tories look tired, bit SKS always looks weary. And nothing he has said so far suggests he has more ideas than the Tories do on how to fix big problems. Most of them are not fixable on terms acceptable to the electorate.
SKS's big success has been internally -- he has managed to unite the Labour party so it is looking outward rather than inward.
Back to Basics wasn't a policy from an administration that was a little tired and running out of ideas? The Cones Hotline?
I would also point out that Major had a big success in Northern Ireland. In 1994 the IRA laid down their arms and entered into a ceasefire. That was a pretty massive achievement after decades of fighting.
But, yes, you are right, infighting played a role.
But it was only one element.
Back to basics was a classic the New Labour spinning operation changing the meaning of something.
The intent was about looking at the fundamentals of government - delivery of actual services. It was spun into a return to Victorian values.
Bit like the Cones Hotline - which was an attempt at getting accountability out of the "faceless" side of government.
Really? The Back to Basics wikipedia page has John Major talking about:-
The old values – neighbourliness, decency, courtesy – they're still alive, they're still the best of Britain. They haven't changed, and yet somehow people feel embarrassed by them. Madam President, we shouldn't be. It is time to return to those old core values, time to get back to basics, to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for others, to accepting a responsibility for yourself and your family and not shuffling off on other people and the state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_Basics_(campaign)
The real dividend to come out of these talks is not NI, which had some irritations but also a highly favoured position both in the SM and out of it at the same time, Schrodinger's cat style, already. The real benefit is the highly constructive and polite relationship Rishi has built with the EU as a whole. This has already paid dividends with the Horizon program but I have little doubt there will be more to come.
If Rishi can continue down this path then I genuinely believe that Brexit will become a non issue for all except a tiny minority who are obsessed with it and the loss of their EU citizenship. This minority will no doubt be loud, just as the ERG nutters/Farage were loud in the past, but the vast majority will simply not care anymore. We will just have to fill our threads up with something else.
Picture living in a more complicated/interesting world where families and/or partners may live and work in say England and France. Where they have been able to move freely for forty years and now they have to calculate what they're doing almost from day to day. School holidays parents getting ill one partner in England the other in France. Work calling you from one place to the other ......... a lifestyle build over many years and circumstances.
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp in your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll have let a lot of people down very badly.
People who can afford to have a second home in the south of France are a tiny minority.
Yesterday was a historic day in many ways as finally Sunak demonstrated what has been missing from the conservative party for some time, a grown up politician who does detail and is able to engage with the EU on a sensible friendly platform and achieve an outcome many thought was impossible
It remains to be seen whether the DUP return to Stormont but the 'Windsor Framework' deal is Sunak's legacy no matter what the future holds electorally
His desire to re-boot relationships with the EU is hugely welcome, as is our rejoining of Horizon and the desire by Macron and the EU to further address the boat issue
In his imminent trips to France and Germany I expect to see a real change in cooperation and a move to improve security and trade with the EU
Ironically Sunak is doing exactly what Starmer has implied he would do, and it is remarkable that we have a PM and leader of the opposition virtually on the same page over Europe
It is for these reasons I do nor expect Europe to feature highly in GE 24, no doubt much to the disappointment of the more extreme remainers
And to top it all, yesterday was Johnson's utter humiliation
This doesn't matter as Brexit is not a Thing. What matters to voters is where you go now. And if thats "Rejoin the EU" then the voters are in a very different place.
Where you go next is a general election. That's Sunak's problem.
He’s got 18 months to get the economy moving then, before the people have their say.
The economy was moving in 1997.
Starmer isn't Blair though.
I agree, and I don't think Labour is going to be anywhere near a 60 majority, let alone a 179 seat one.
But my point was simply that "it's the economy stupid" is not the be all and end all. If it was, the Conservatives would have won reelection in 1997, and Labour would have been utterly slaughtered in 2010.
After a prolonged period in Government, parties get tired. Talent departs and is replaced by mediocrity. Message discipline disappears. Scandals that might have been brushed off now loom large. Tactical voting bites you in the ass.
Two years ago, I was in full agreement with isam that a Conservative majority was underpriced. Now, I think that's a pretty unlikely outcome, because the government simply looks tired.
Major lost in 1997 not so much because the Tories were tired -- but because the Tories were disunited. In 1997, the glee with which Blue attacked Blue was memorably impressive, in contrast to the subdued Blue on Red attacks. You got the feeling that a typical Tory hated others in his/her own party more than the Official Opposition.
By late 2022, it looked as though Blue on Blue attacks were back at the intensity of 1997.
This looks a tiny bit hopeful for the Tories in that Blue on Blue attacks over the Deal have been quite muted so far.
Sure, the Tories look tired, bit SKS always looks weary. And nothing he has said so far suggests he has more ideas than the Tories do on how to fix big problems. Most of them are not fixable on terms acceptable to the electorate.
SKS's big success has been internally -- he has managed to unite the Labour party so it is looking outward rather than inward.
Back to Basics wasn't a policy from an administration that was a little tired and running out of ideas? The Cones Hotline?
I would also point out that Major had a big success in Northern Ireland. In 1994 the IRA laid down their arms and entered into a ceasefire. That was a pretty massive achievement after decades of fighting.
But, yes, you are right, infighting played a role.
But it was only one element.
Back to basics was a classic the New Labour spinning operation changing the meaning of something.
The intent was about looking at the fundamentals of government - delivery of actual services. It was spun into a return to Victorian values.
Bit like the Cones Hotline - which was an attempt at getting accountability out of the "faceless" side of government.
Really? The Back to Basics wikipedia page has John Major talking about:-
The old values – neighbourliness, decency, courtesy – they're still alive, they're still the best of Britain. They haven't changed, and yet somehow people feel embarrassed by them. Madam President, we shouldn't be. It is time to return to those old core values, time to get back to basics, to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for others, to accepting a responsibility for yourself and your family and not shuffling off on other people and the state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_Basics_(campaign)
It was good in theory. The problem being the seemingly never ending line of scandals, that suggested many MPs couldn’t even be trusted by their own wives.
This doesn't matter as Brexit is not a Thing. What matters to voters is where you go now. And if thats "Rejoin the EU" then the voters are in a very different place.
Where you go next is a general election. That's Sunak's problem.
He’s got 18 months to get the economy moving then, before the people have their say.
The economy was moving in 1997.
Starmer isn't Blair though.
I agree, and I don't think Labour is going to be anywhere near a 60 majority, let alone a 179 seat one.
But my point was simply that "it's the economy stupid" is not the be all and end all. If it was, the Conservatives would have won reelection in 1997, and Labour would have been utterly slaughtered in 2010.
After a prolonged period in Government, parties get tired. Talent departs and is replaced by mediocrity. Message discipline disappears. Scandals that might have been brushed off now loom large. Tactical voting bites you in the ass.
Two years ago, I was in full agreement with isam that a Conservative majority was underpriced. Now, I think that's a pretty unlikely outcome, because the government simply looks tired.
Major lost in 1997 not so much because the Tories were tired -- but because the Tories were disunited. In 1997, the glee with which Blue attacked Blue was memorably impressive, in contrast to the subdued Blue on Red attacks. You got the feeling that a typical Tory hated others in his/her own party more than the Official Opposition.
By late 2022, it looked as though Blue on Blue attacks were back at the intensity of 1997.
This looks a tiny bit hopeful for the Tories in that Blue on Blue attacks over the Deal have been quite muted so far.
Sure, the Tories look tired, bit SKS always looks weary. And nothing he has said so far suggests he has more ideas than the Tories do on how to fix big problems. Most of them are not fixable on terms acceptable to the electorate.
SKS's big success has been internally -- he has managed to unite the Labour party so it is looking outward rather than inward.
Back to Basics wasn't a policy from an administration that was a little tired and running out of ideas? The Cones Hotline?
I would also point out that Major had a big success in Northern Ireland. In 1994 the IRA laid down their arms and entered into a ceasefire. That was a pretty massive achievement after decades of fighting.
But, yes, you are right, infighting played a role.
But it was only one element.
Back to basics was a classic the New Labour spinning operation changing the meaning of something.
The intent was about looking at the fundamentals of government - delivery of actual services. It was spun into a return to Victorian values.
Bit like the Cones Hotline - which was an attempt at getting accountability out of the "faceless" side of government.
Really? The Back to Basics wikipedia page has John Major talking about:-
The old values – neighbourliness, decency, courtesy – they're still alive, they're still the best of Britain. They haven't changed, and yet somehow people feel embarrassed by them. Madam President, we shouldn't be. It is time to return to those old core values, time to get back to basics, to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for others, to accepting a responsibility for yourself and your family and not shuffling off on other people and the state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_Basics_(campaign)
Major explicitly stated that the campaign was not "a crusade about personal morality"
England are box office right now. The secondary market for Ashes tickets is already over £500 for a day.
2005 was epic - the Aussies coming to the end of their period of dominance, and an England team coming to a peak with aggressive batsmen and a four man pace attack with skill, pace and variety. The match that ended last night was great, but still a level below 2005.
I agree. I was lucky enough to be at one of the tests in 2005. We were still waiting to get in when there was an incredible roar, like a goal being scored. England had won the toss. I have never seen or felt cricket like that. It was electric.
Has Headingley '81 been cancelled? Botham sacked as captain, England following on, 105/5, still 122 runs behind, 500/1 with Ladbrokes?
Didn’t Botham say he’d met 10 times as many people who had told him they were there on that last day, as could possibly have fitted inside the ground?
Seems unlikely that he's had that conversation with well over 100k people. But not entirely impossible, I guess.
There’s probably some artistic licence there, but there were five days of the match, so maybe two or three times as many as the ground could hold were there at some point. There’s also been c.15,000 days since then, and Botham would have attended plenty of cricket events in those 41 years. And if you shook his hand, wouldn’t you have said that you were there too?
The real dividend to come out of these talks is not NI, which had some irritations but also a highly favoured position both in the SM and out of it at the same time, Schrodinger's cat style, already. The real benefit is the highly constructive and polite relationship Rishi has built with the EU as a whole. This has already paid dividends with the Horizon program but I have little doubt there will be more to come.
If Rishi can continue down this path then I genuinely believe that Brexit will become a non issue for all except a tiny minority who are obsessed with it and the loss of their EU citizenship. This minority will no doubt be loud, just as the ERG nutters/Farage were loud in the past, but the vast majority will simply not care anymore. We will just have to fill our threads up with something else.
Picture living in a more complicated/interesting world where families and/or partners may live and work in say England and France. Where they have been able to move freely for forty years and now they have to calculate what they're doing almost from day to day. School holidays parents getting ill one partner in England the other in France. Work calling you from one place to the other ......... a lifestyle build over many years and circumstances.
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp in your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll have let a lot of people down very badly.
People who can afford to have a second home in the south of France are a tiny minority.
Members of the Senatorial Order (defined by personal wealth in landed property) were counted in smaller "Tribes" for the elections in Ancient Rome.
Their votes were literally worth more. Much much more. Since winning X "tribes" was how votes were won in the Assembly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll be letting a lot of potential supporters down badly
Which is of course exactly what's going to happen as I've been saying for ages... There are all kinds of hell waiting for Starmer and the next Labour government...
Yesterday was a historic day in many ways as finally Sunak demonstrated what has been missing from the conservative party for some time, a grown up politician who does detail and is able to engage with the EU on a sensible friendly platform and achieve an outcome many thought was impossible
It remains to be seen whether the DUP return to Stormont but the 'Windsor Framework' deal is Sunak's legacy no matter what the future holds electorally
His desire to re-boot relationships with the EU is hugely welcome, as is our rejoining of Horizon and the desire by Macron and the EU to further address the boat issue
In his imminent trips to France and Germany I expect to see a real change in cooperation and a move to improve security and trade with the EU
Ironically Sunak is doing exactly what Starmer has implied he would do, and it is remarkable that we have a PM and leader of the opposition virtually on the same page over Europe
It is for these reasons I do nor expect Europe to feature highly in GE 24, no doubt much to the disappointment of the more extreme remainers
And to top it all, yesterday was Johnson's utter humiliation
Just need to remember what democracy meansand fact that they cannot hold Scotland prisoner long term.
Yesterday was a historic day in many ways as finally Sunak demonstrated what has been missing from the conservative party for some time, a grown up politician who does detail and is able to engage with the EU on a sensible friendly platform and achieve an outcome many thought was impossible
It remains to be seen whether the DUP return to Stormont but the 'Windsor Framework' deal is Sunak's legacy no matter what the future holds electorally
His desire to re-boot relationships with the EU is hugely welcome, as is our rejoining of Horizon and the desire by Macron and the EU to further address the boat issue
In his imminent trips to France and Germany I expect to see a real change in cooperation and a move to improve security and trade with the EU
Ironically Sunak is doing exactly what Starmer has implied he would do, and it is remarkable that we have a PM and leader of the opposition virtually on the same page over Europe
It is for these reasons I do nor expect Europe to feature highly in GE 24, no doubt much to the disappointment of the more extreme remainers
And to top it all, yesterday was Johnson's utter humiliation
England are box office right now. The secondary market for Ashes tickets is already over £500 for a day.
2005 was epic - the Aussies coming to the end of their period of dominance, and an England team coming to a peak with aggressive batsmen and a four man pace attack with skill, pace and variety. The match that ended last night was great, but still a level below 2005.
I agree. I was lucky enough to be at one of the tests in 2005. We were still waiting to get in when there was an incredible roar, like a goal being scored. England had won the toss. I have never seen or felt cricket like that. It was electric.
Has Headingley '81 been cancelled? Botham sacked as captain, England following on, 105/5, still 122 runs behind, 500/1 with Ladbrokes?
Didn’t Botham say he’d met 10 times as many people who had told him they were there on that last day, as could possibly have fitted inside the ground?
Seems unlikely that he's had that conversation with well over 100k people. But not entirely impossible, I guess.
There’s probably some artistic licence there, but there were five days of the match, so maybe two or three times as many as the ground could hold were there at some point. There’s also been c.15,000 days since then, and Botham would have attended plenty of cricket events in those 41 years. And if you shook his hand, wouldn’t you have said that you were there too?
No. I was listening to TMS.
I was watching at the Fisherman's Arms in Golant. A nicer crowd than Headingley.
This doesn't matter as Brexit is not a Thing. What matters to voters is where you go now. And if thats "Rejoin the EU" then the voters are in a very different place.
Where you go next is a general election. That's Sunak's problem.
He’s got 18 months to get the economy moving then, before the people have their say.
The economy was moving in 1997.
Starmer isn't Blair though.
I agree, and I don't think Labour is going to be anywhere near a 60 majority, let alone a 179 seat one.
But my point was simply that "it's the economy stupid" is not the be all and end all. If it was, the Conservatives would have won reelection in 1997, and Labour would have been utterly slaughtered in 2010.
After a prolonged period in Government, parties get tired. Talent departs and is replaced by mediocrity. Message discipline disappears. Scandals that might have been brushed off now loom large. Tactical voting bites you in the ass.
Two years ago, I was in full agreement with isam that a Conservative majority was underpriced. Now, I think that's a pretty unlikely outcome, because the government simply looks tired.
Major lost in 1997 not so much because the Tories were tired -- but because the Tories were disunited. In 1997, the glee with which Blue attacked Blue was memorably impressive, in contrast to the subdued Blue on Red attacks. You got the feeling that a typical Tory hated others in his/her own party more than the Official Opposition.
By late 2022, it looked as though Blue on Blue attacks were back at the intensity of 1997.
This looks a tiny bit hopeful for the Tories in that Blue on Blue attacks over the Deal have been quite muted so far.
Sure, the Tories look tired, bit SKS always looks weary. And nothing he has said so far suggests he has more ideas than the Tories do on how to fix big problems. Most of them are not fixable on terms acceptable to the electorate.
SKS's big success has been internally -- he has managed to unite the Labour party so it is looking outward rather than inward.
Back to Basics wasn't a policy from an administration that was a little tired and running out of ideas? The Cones Hotline?
I would also point out that Major had a big success in Northern Ireland. In 1994 the IRA laid down their arms and entered into a ceasefire. That was a pretty massive achievement after decades of fighting.
But, yes, you are right, infighting played a role.
But it was only one element.
Back to basics was a classic the New Labour spinning operation changing the meaning of something.
The intent was about looking at the fundamentals of government - delivery of actual services. It was spun into a return to Victorian values.
Bit like the Cones Hotline - which was an attempt at getting accountability out of the "faceless" side of government.
Really? The Back to Basics wikipedia page has John Major talking about:-
The old values – neighbourliness, decency, courtesy – they're still alive, they're still the best of Britain. They haven't changed, and yet somehow people feel embarrassed by them. Madam President, we shouldn't be. It is time to return to those old core values, time to get back to basics, to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for others, to accepting a responsibility for yourself and your family and not shuffling off on other people and the state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_Basics_(campaign)
England are box office right now. The secondary market for Ashes tickets is already over £500 for a day.
2005 was epic - the Aussies coming to the end of their period of dominance, and an England team coming to a peak with aggressive batsmen and a four man pace attack with skill, pace and variety. The match that ended last night was great, but still a level below 2005.
I agree. I was lucky enough to be at one of the tests in 2005. We were still waiting to get in when there was an incredible roar, like a goal being scored. England had won the toss. I have never seen or felt cricket like that. It was electric.
Has Headingley '81 been cancelled? Botham sacked as captain, England following on, 105/5, still 122 runs behind, 500/1 with Ladbrokes?
Age is what happened. You have to be nearly 50 just to have much recollection if it.
I'm nearly 50 and I have no recollection of it. Apparently my dad was listening to it on the car radio while I played on the beach in Devon. I have, however, over the years, probably spent longer than the actual match watching bits of it. One of the best pieces of sporting theatre ever staged. The image which sticks in my head is the expression on the face of Bob Willis throughout almost all of the fourth innings, including following the final wicket. Most sporting triumphs are accompanied by expressions of joy; Bob just looked very angry and very, very tired. Utterly compelling.
Anyway, all that said, watch the footage of Headingley '81, and the crowd reactions are anachronistically muted. The ground isn't even full. The excitement of 2005, I think, was greater. It felt like the whole country was watching. I remember being in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, in a crowd of about 3,000 watching it on a big screen. I remember a wedding in Hull which coincided with the second test, and, it felt, everyone (except a mildly disgruntled bride) decamped en masse to a telly to watch the last half hour as the speeches finished and see the wicket of Michael Clark (I think) go down at the end. In every office in the country, productive work stopped at 11am, and all email chat was on cricket. And it felt like, if you were in a city where a test was being staged, you could hear the crowd's reaction to a wicket going down across the city. They were good tests, certainly, but not as good as what is being played now. But it was a moment when cricket felt as big as its ever been in my lifetime. The combined impacts of terrestrial telly and a decent side after 15 years of failure, probably.
The match we won by two runs? Kasprowicz was the last wicket (and would have survived if DRS existed!)
The last point I think is key - most of a generation had grown up without ever seeing us beat the Aussies - and to the vast majority of England fans, I would say, The Ashes is the thing that matters most - far more than the World Cup.
Yes, I think Michael Clark was the last wicket to go down on the Saturday night. I think. I was at a Christening the next day where the denouement was just as closely followed. No telly was available but it was the early days of mobile-phone cricket updates and those with access to such tech were happily keeping the rest of us informed.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll be letting a lot of potential supporters down badly
Which is of course exactly what's going to happen as I've been saying for ages... There are all kinds of hell waiting for Starmer and the next Labour government...
But what Sunak is doing now could actually make Starmer's life easier. A year or so of responsible behaviour and good-faith-negotiation with the EU will lay the ground for more in the future, and Starmer may be able to get further, faster than if he was the first to make overtures.
England are box office right now. The secondary market for Ashes tickets is already over £500 for a day.
2005 was epic - the Aussies coming to the end of their period of dominance, and an England team coming to a peak with aggressive batsmen and a four man pace attack with skill, pace and variety. The match that ended last night was great, but still a level below 2005.
I agree. I was lucky enough to be at one of the tests in 2005. We were still waiting to get in when there was an incredible roar, like a goal being scored. England had won the toss. I have never seen or felt cricket like that. It was electric.
Has Headingley '81 been cancelled? Botham sacked as captain, England following on, 105/5, still 122 runs behind, 500/1 with Ladbrokes?
Age is what happened. You have to be nearly 50 just to have much recollection if it.
I've been to very few cricket matches and don't claim to have been to Headingley in 81, but I did go to the Lords test match that year. Boy did I pick the wrong match. A boring draw and Botham got 0 and 0 I believe and spent more time walking out to the crease each time than being there. My memory could be faulty though, as I recall spending more time drinking than watching the boring cricket.
Four balls faced in the two innings, 12 minutes total - so a reasonable recollection!
Grocery price inflation reached a high 17.1 per cent this month, adding to the squeeze on households in the cost of living crisis.
Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, eggs and margarine, data from the market researcher Kantar showed. It said the rise in food costs would add a potential £811 to annual shopping bills.
Yep, launched last night. If the ISS mission had also launched, that would have been two launches on the same day. Impressive cadence. That’s now scheduled for 05:30Z on Thursday.
In an absolutely bizarre interview @lornaslater has essentially suggested that @_KateForbes call the DRS @Circ_Scotland helpline to get better understanding of how it works. 🤦♂️
In an absolutely bizarre interview @lornaslater has essentially suggested that @_KateForbes call the DRS @Circ_Scotland helpline to get better understanding of how it works. 🤦♂️
I am not a fan of the SNP (I know I have kept that quiet over the years) but calling Lorna Slater an SNP minister is definitely defamatory. She is an idiot or Green as they are sometimes called.
Grocery price inflation reached a high 17.1 per cent this month, adding to the squeeze on households in the cost of living crisis.
Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, eggs and margarine, data from the market researcher Kantar showed. It said the rise in food costs would add a potential £811 to annual shopping bills.
This is why we need fuel prices to continue to fall. It also reduces delivery costs. Food prices going up at this level for anything other than a brief period of time is simply not sustainable, particularly for the poor who spend a much larger proportion of their income on food.
On the Ashes, may I be permitted to give the definitive answer?
Headingley 1981 was England's greatest victory, winning after following on. Edgbaston 2005 was the greatest match, the most nail-biting finish ever.
And despite what Botham says, I was present for the last day in 1981. I didn't talk to Botham though, so he's probably forgotten.
Agreed.
I'd say the most nail biting finish was Headingley 2019. Arguably just as great a comeback as 1981 (which I'm sure Al means) too - I've just looked at the scorecard and am startled to recall that England were all out for 67 in the first innings.
In an absolutely bizarre interview @lornaslater has essentially suggested that @_KateForbes call the DRS @Circ_Scotland helpline to get better understanding of how it works. 🤦♂️
I am not a fan of the SNP (I know I have kept that quiet over the years) but calling Lorna Slater an SNP minister is definitely defamatory. She is an idiot or Green as they are sometimes called.
Scottish Green?
German Greens are sometimes quite impressive in government.
The great Brexit fuckdrama is over. Some think it was a rape. Some a meaningless one night stand to be vaguely regretted. For others it was a sublime consummation
But for all of us, it is now over. The post coital heartbeat is audibly slowing. And the normal political pulse resumes. And so we get on with the day
The real dividend to come out of these talks is not NI, which had some irritations but also a highly favoured position both in the SM and out of it at the same time, Schrodinger's cat style, already. The real benefit is the highly constructive and polite relationship Rishi has built with the EU as a whole. This has already paid dividends with the Horizon program but I have little doubt there will be more to come.
If Rishi can continue down this path then I genuinely believe that Brexit will become a non issue for all except a tiny minority who are obsessed with it and the loss of their EU citizenship. This minority will no doubt be loud, just as the ERG nutters/Farage were loud in the past, but the vast majority will simply not care anymore. We will just have to fill our threads up with something else.
Picture living in a more complicated/interesting world where families and/or partners may live and work in say England and France. Where they have been able to move freely for forty years and now they have to calculate what they're doing almost from day to day. School holidays parents getting ill one partner in England the other in France. Work calling you from one place to the other ......... a lifestyle build over many years and circumstances.
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp in your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll have let a lot of people down very badly.
People who can afford to have a second home in the south of France are a tiny minority.
0.13% of the U.K. population, or less than a third of the population of Hartlepool, to use Roger’s favourite metric.
If free movement of Brits to the EU was so popular why did more go to Australia - requiring visas & work permits - than to the entire EU? Yes, it’s affected some badly, but the overwhelming majority, not at all.
On the Ashes, may I be permitted to give the definitive answer?
Headingley 2001 was England's greatest victory, winning after following on. Edgbaston 2005 was the greatest match, the most nail-biting finish ever.
And despite what Botham says, I was present for the last day in 2001. I didn't talk to Botham though, so he's probably forgotten.
Botham was playing in 2001?
Bugger, I meant 1981 - post amended, thanks.
You lucky bugger!
My only sporting claim to fame, was to have been at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. I have friends who were in Sydney in 2003 (England Rugby WC), Instanbul in 2005 (Liverpool European Cup), and Berlin 2009 (Usain Bolt 9.58WR).
Yesterday was a historic day in many ways as finally Sunak demonstrated what has been missing from the conservative party for some time, a grown up politician who does detail and is able to engage with the EU on a sensible friendly platform and achieve an outcome many thought was impossible
It remains to be seen whether the DUP return to Stormont but the 'Windsor Framework' deal is Sunak's legacy no matter what the future holds electorally
His desire to re-boot relationships with the EU is hugely welcome, as is our rejoining of Horizon and the desire by Macron and the EU to further address the boat issue
In his imminent trips to France and Germany I expect to see a real change in cooperation and a move to improve security and trade with the EU
Ironically Sunak is doing exactly what Starmer has implied he would do, and it is remarkable that we have a PM and leader of the opposition virtually on the same page over Europe
It is for these reasons I do nor expect Europe to feature highly in GE 24, no doubt much to the disappointment of the more extreme remainers
And to top it all, yesterday was Johnson's utter humiliation
Just need to remember what democracy meansand fact that they cannot hold Scotland prisoner long term.
Good morning Malc
It is upto the Scots to demonstrate they desire independence and to be fair since Sturgeon has departed the scene it has been an utter shambles
The real dividend to come out of these talks is not NI, which had some irritations but also a highly favoured position both in the SM and out of it at the same time, Schrodinger's cat style, already. The real benefit is the highly constructive and polite relationship Rishi has built with the EU as a whole. This has already paid dividends with the Horizon program but I have little doubt there will be more to come.
If Rishi can continue down this path then I genuinely believe that Brexit will become a non issue for all except a tiny minority who are obsessed with it and the loss of their EU citizenship. This minority will no doubt be loud, just as the ERG nutters/Farage were loud in the past, but the vast majority will simply not care anymore. We will just have to fill our threads up with something else.
Picture living in a more complicated/interesting world where families and/or partners may live and work in say England and France. Where they have been able to move freely for forty years and now they have to calculate what they're doing almost from day to day. School holidays parents getting ill one partner in England the other in France. Work calling you from one place to the other ......... a lifestyle build over many years and circumstances.
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll be letting a lot of potential supporters down badly
Be prepared to be disappointed. Freedom of movement is simply not coming back. Doesn't mean that pragmatism and cooperation cannot take much of the grit out of the machine but that is as far as it goes for a long time.
In an absolutely bizarre interview @lornaslater has essentially suggested that @_KateForbes call the DRS @Circ_Scotland helpline to get better understanding of how it works. 🤦♂️
I am not a fan of the SNP (I know I have kept that quiet over the years) but calling Lorna Slater an SNP minister is definitely defamatory. She is an idiot or Green as they are sometimes called.
The Greens have been responsible for the wackiest policies, but have been keeping their heads down and letting the SNP take the blame. No wonder Forbes and Regan want to dump them,
On the Ashes, may I be permitted to give the definitive answer?
Headingley 1981 was England's greatest victory, winning after following on. Edgbaston 2005 was the greatest match, the most nail-biting finish ever.
And despite what Botham says, I was present for the last day in 1981. I didn't talk to Botham though, so he's probably forgotten.
Agreed.
I'd say the most nail biting finish was Headingley 2019. Arguably just as great a comeback as 1981 (which I'm sure Al means) too - I've just looked at the scorecard and am startled to recall that England were all out for 67 in the first innings.
Fair point - that was brilliant too. My memory, though, is that 2005 just edged it on the nail-bitingness factor - maybe because I was younger and less world-weary then.
The great Brexit fuckdrama is over. Some think it was a rape. Some a meaningless one night stand to be vaguely regretted. For others it was a sublime consummation
But for all of us, it is now over. The post coital heartbeat is audibly slowing. And the normal political pulse resumes. And so we get on with the day
I think that really is the thrust of the thread - Brexit is just another topic in the "politics as usual" broad consensus struggle for differentiation.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll be letting a lot of potential supporters down badly
Which is of course exactly what's going to happen as I've been saying for ages... There are all kinds of hell waiting for Starmer and the next Labour government...
Yes. In this case even more than the usual the questions: How do you win an election when you are 160 seats behind? And: What do you do in the 5-10 years after you have won? bear almost no relation to each other.
My guess is that SKS, being genuinely non-populist (he doesn't offer instant one-line solutions to complex problems) will feel that just to be there after the horrors of UKIP, Jezza, Boris and their populist friends is a decent achievement in itself. As indeed it would be.
He is preparing the ground by: Offering few if any hostages, saying nothing of headline consequence, abandoning the populist left, and occupying the same ground as Sunak on Brexit - it's decided, it's complicated, make it boring, make it work.
By the election in 2024 it won't be Sunak who loses the Tory majority, it will be the entire Tory performance since 2010, politically and morally.
Sunak's outside, slim, chance of avoiding defeat is to spend the next 12 months abandoning the populist wing and fighting SKS on the same ground. The mirror image of what SKS has done with Labour.
On the Ashes, may I be permitted to give the definitive answer?
Headingley 1981 was England's greatest victory, winning after following on. Edgbaston 2005 was the greatest match, the most nail-biting finish ever.
And despite what Botham says, I was present for the last day in 1981. I didn't talk to Botham though, so he's probably forgotten.
Agreed.
I'd say the most nail biting finish was Headingley 2019. Arguably just as great a comeback as 1981 (which I'm sure Al means) too - I've just looked at the scorecard and am startled to recall that England were all out for 67 in the first innings.
Fair point - that was brilliant too. My memory, though, is that 2005 just edged it on the nail-bitingness factor - maybe because I was younger and less world-weary then.
Headingley 2019 was more critical for the series - if the game had been lost then the Ashes were gone too.
This doesn't matter as Brexit is not a Thing. What matters to voters is where you go now. And if thats "Rejoin the EU" then the voters are in a very different place.
Where you go next is a general election. That's Sunak's problem.
He’s got 18 months to get the economy moving then, before the people have their say.
The economy was moving in 1997.
Starmer isn't Blair though.
I agree, and I don't think Labour is going to be anywhere near a 60 majority, let alone a 179 seat one.
But my point was simply that "it's the economy stupid" is not the be all and end all. If it was, the Conservatives would have won reelection in 1997, and Labour would have been utterly slaughtered in 2010.
After a prolonged period in Government, parties get tired. Talent departs and is replaced by mediocrity. Message discipline disappears. Scandals that might have been brushed off now loom large. Tactical voting bites you in the ass.
Two years ago, I was in full agreement with isam that a Conservative majority was underpriced. Now, I think that's a pretty unlikely outcome, because the government simply looks tired.
Major lost in 1997 not so much because the Tories were tired -- but because the Tories were disunited. In 1997, the glee with which Blue attacked Blue was memorably impressive, in contrast to the subdued Blue on Red attacks. You got the feeling that a typical Tory hated others in his/her own party more than the Official Opposition.
By late 2022, it looked as though Blue on Blue attacks were back at the intensity of 1997.
This looks a tiny bit hopeful for the Tories in that Blue on Blue attacks over the Deal have been quite muted so far.
Sure, the Tories look tired, bit SKS always looks weary. And nothing he has said so far suggests he has more ideas than the Tories do on how to fix big problems. Most of them are not fixable on terms acceptable to the electorate.
SKS's big success has been internally -- he has managed to unite the Labour party so it is looking outward rather than inward.
Back to Basics wasn't a policy from an administration that was a little tired and running out of ideas? The Cones Hotline?
I would also point out that Major had a big success in Northern Ireland. In 1994 the IRA laid down their arms and entered into a ceasefire. That was a pretty massive achievement after decades of fighting.
But, yes, you are right, infighting played a role.
But it was only one element.
What the Tories need to recognise is that in terms of the pattern throughout my adult life it is very likely that when they lose in 2024 they face the desert of opposition for the rest of their careers. Some of the smarter ones are already edging towards the door. It will probably be around 2035 there will be another change in government.
Less competition for Tory safe seats and marginal target seats though too if the Tories lose the next general election for loyal and hardworking Conservative activists. Career high flyers will often stand for Parliament if they think there is a chance their party will head for government and they can be in the Cabinet or a Minister, they won't bother if they face a paycut and Opposition.
Hence there was lots of competition for Tory seats and target seats pre 2010, much less so pre 2001. Same as Labour had much more competition for seats pre 1997 and will do now than it did in 2019
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll be letting a lot of potential supporters down badly
Which is of course exactly what's going to happen as I've been saying for ages... There are all kinds of hell waiting for Starmer and the next Labour government...
Yes. In this case even more than the usual the questions: How do you win an election when you are 160 seats behind? And: What do you do in the 5-10 years after you have won? bear almost no relation to each other.
My guess is that SKS, being genuinely non-populist (he doesn't offer instant one-line solutions to complex problems) will feel that just to be there after the horrors of UKIP, Jezza, Boris and their populist friends is a decent achievement in itself. As indeed it would be.
He is preparing the ground by: Offering few if any hostages, saying nothing of headline consequence, abandoning the populist left, and occupying the same ground as Sunak on Brexit - it's decided, it's complicated, make it boring, make it work.
By the election in 2024 it won't be Sunak who loses the Tory majority, it will be the entire Tory performance since 2010, politically and morally.
Sunak's outside, slim, chance of avoiding defeat is to spend the next 12 months abandoning the populist wing and fighting SKS on the same ground. The mirror image of what SKS has done with Labour.
An achievement, but a meaningless one if he doesn't (or can't) do anything with it to improve the country.
The great Brexit fuckdrama is over. Some think it was a rape. Some a meaningless one night stand to be vaguely regretted. For others it was a sublime consummation
But for all of us, it is now over. The post coital heartbeat is audibly slowing. And the normal political pulse resumes. And so we get on with the day
I think Season One is now over. After nearly 7 years (7 years!) of turmoil we've hit another quasi-equilibrium. That will be enough to render it a virtual non-issue at the next election.
But it will be back for more, hopefully no longer called Brexit, because the UK-EU relationship will never stand still. Sometimes it will be fractious, at other times constructive. I expect us to move back closer into the EU orbit in fits and starts and each will be a little mini-drama but nothing as explosive as the original. Switzerland is the closest analogue we have and the EU relationship dominates their foreign policy.
England are box office right now. The secondary market for Ashes tickets is already over £500 for a day.
2005 was epic - the Aussies coming to the end of their period of dominance, and an England team coming to a peak with aggressive batsmen and a four man pace attack with skill, pace and variety. The match that ended last night was great, but still a level below 2005.
I agree. I was lucky enough to be at one of the tests in 2005. We were still waiting to get in when there was an incredible roar, like a goal being scored. England had won the toss. I have never seen or felt cricket like that. It was electric.
Has Headingley '81 been cancelled? Botham sacked as captain, England following on, 105/5, still 122 runs behind, 500/1 with Ladbrokes?
Age is what happened. You have to be nearly 50 just to have much recollection if it.
I've been to very few cricket matches and don't claim to have been to Headingley in 81, but I did go to the Lords test match that year. Boy did I pick the wrong match. A boring draw and Botham got 0 and 0 I believe and spent more time walking out to the crease each time than being there. My memory could be faulty though, as I recall spending more time drinking than watching the boring cricket.
Historic in its way though - a double pair for Botham. Can't have happened too often.
Consider a fresh analogy. Brexit is like having a baby
For the last thee years we have been knee deep in soiled nappies, baby puke, and discussions of burping
For the father, who never even wanted the kid, it has been literally hellish. Even the mother has had doubts. What a pain. Maybe it was a mistake after all? Like the father said?
But now finally the kid is off to nursery school. The father gets some respite. The kid can sort of talk. It’s not all bad tho he’d still rather be free and single and able to do exciting holidays in Nicaragua. But the situation is tolerable and he’s simply bored of arguing with the mother
The mother wipes a tear. The child grows. And laughs. She begins to forget the horrors of the sleeplessness
On the Ashes, may I be permitted to give the definitive answer?
Headingley 1981 was England's greatest victory, winning after following on. Edgbaston 2005 was the greatest match, the most nail-biting finish ever.
And despite what Botham says, I was present for the last day in 1981. I didn't talk to Botham though, so he's probably forgotten.
Agreed.
I'd say the most nail biting finish was Headingley 2019. Arguably just as great a comeback as 1981 (which I'm sure Al means) too - I've just looked at the scorecard and am startled to recall that England were all out for 67 in the first innings.
I agree with everyone here that the Ashes is by far the most important cricketing competition, much more than any world cup. It's the one I always feel most emotionally invested in and least confident about. I still have PTSD from the Ashes series of the 1990s.
The great Brexit fuckdrama is over. Some think it was a rape. Some a meaningless one night stand to be vaguely regretted. For others it was a sublime consummation
But for all of us, it is now over. The post coital heartbeat is audibly slowing. And the normal political pulse resumes. And so we get on with the day
Ah, the old chestnut of which-of-your-past-encounters-most-resembles-Brexit. I know which I'd choose. I remember the incident fondly. Her arrival was most unexpected and she was, I had thought, unobtainable. And my encounter with her motivated my ex-girlfriend to punch me in the face. But ultimately nothing really came of it and life went back to normal.
While this is obviously not investment advice, I think GBPUSD looks pretty attractive here. A regularizing of the EU-UK relationship can only be a positive for Sterling.
Which, of course, is also a positive for inflation.
Utterly shocked to see that the left-wing Gary Lineker has been dodging taxes from his millions he milks from Licence Fee payers for years now. Truly shocked.
Almost as shocked as I was to find out the sun rose in the East this morning.
On the Ashes, may I be permitted to give the definitive answer?
Headingley 2001 was England's greatest victory, winning after following on. Edgbaston 2005 was the greatest match, the most nail-biting finish ever.
And despite what Botham says, I was present for the last day in 2001. I didn't talk to Botham though, so he's probably forgotten.
Botham was playing in 2001?
Bugger, I meant 1981 - post amended, thanks.
You lucky bugger!
My only sporting claim to fame, was to have been at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. I have friends who were in Sydney in 2003 (England Rugby WC), Instanbul in 2005 (Liverpool European Cup), and Berlin 2009 (Usain Bolt 9.58WR).
Boycott's 100th 100 v Aus at Headingley. The biggest and best event ever in Yorkshire. If we'd gone for Yindy the day after we might have done it.
Grocery price inflation reached a high 17.1 per cent this month, adding to the squeeze on households in the cost of living crisis.
Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, eggs and margarine, data from the market researcher Kantar showed. It said the rise in food costs would add a potential £811 to annual shopping bills.
The real dividend to come out of these talks is not NI, which had some irritations but also a highly favoured position both in the SM and out of it at the same time, Schrodinger's cat style, already. The real benefit is the highly constructive and polite relationship Rishi has built with the EU as a whole. This has already paid dividends with the Horizon program but I have little doubt there will be more to come.
If Rishi can continue down this path then I genuinely believe that Brexit will become a non issue for all except a tiny minority who are obsessed with it and the loss of their EU citizenship. This minority will no doubt be loud, just as the ERG nutters/Farage were loud in the past, but the vast majority will simply not care anymore. We will just have to fill our threads up with something else.
Picture living in a more complicated/interesting world where families and/or partners may live and work in say England and France. Where they have been able to move freely for forty years and now they have to calculate what they're doing almost from day to day. School holidays parents getting ill one partner in England the other in France. Work calling you from one place to the other ......... a lifestyle build over many years and circumstances.
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp in your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll have let a lot of people down very badly.
People who can afford to have a second home in the south of France are a tiny minority.
0.13% of the U.K. population, or less than a third of the population of Hartlepool, to use Roger’s favourite metric.
If free movement of Brits to the EU was so popular why did more go to Australia - requiring visas & work permits - than to the entire EU? Yes, it’s affected some badly, but the overwhelming majority, not at all.
(Point of order: it was "entire EU, excluding Ireland".)
Consider a fresh analogy. Brexit is like having a baby
For the last thee years we have been knee deep in soiled nappies, baby puke, and discussions of burping
For the father, who never even wanted the kid, it has been literally hellish. Even the mother has had doubts. What a pain. Maybe it was a mistake after all? Like the father said?
But now finally the kid is off to nursery school. The father gets some respite. The kid can sort of talk. It’s not all bad tho he’d still rather be free and single and able to do exciting holidays in Nicaragua. But the situation is tolerable and he’s simply bored of arguing with the mother
The mother wipes a tear. The child grows. And laughs. She begins to forget the horrors of the sleeplessness
Traditionally, at this time, the parents then mull doing it all again.
The EU doesn’t respond to childish threats . Sunak got a good deal because they felt he could be trusted to honour what he signs and would act in good faith.
There was no trust left with Johnson and the EU would never have given him those concessions.
The EU absolutely does respond to threats, its about the only thing they respond to.
They gave the concessions because they had no alternative, since they were backed into a corner by the NI Protocol Bill. Better to save face by agreeing the measures than see them imposed unilaterally.
The great Brexit fuckdrama is over. Some think it was a rape. Some a meaningless one night stand to be vaguely regretted. For others it was a sublime consummation
But for all of us, it is now over. The post coital heartbeat is audibly slowing. And the normal political pulse resumes. And so we get on with the day
While this is obviously not investment advice, I think GBPUSD looks pretty attractive here. A regularizing of the EU-UK relationship can only be a positive for Sterling.
Which, of course, is also a positive for inflation.
The UK in general suddenly looks more enticing. Scottish Indy is now a vague menace rather than an imminent threat. Brexit is done in the main. From now on it will be tweaks in our UK/EU relationship not massive dramas. Putin has done everyone a favour in that respect
As I said on here about a week ago (to much derision) I sense - earlier than everyone, as normal - a change in the seasons. The UK is near the nadir. A upturn is coming. Springtime for Britain. A secular change for the better
Grocery price inflation reached a high 17.1 per cent this month, adding to the squeeze on households in the cost of living crisis.
Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, eggs and margarine, data from the market researcher Kantar showed. It said the rise in food costs would add a potential £811 to annual shopping bills.
Johnson said there wld be no checks on goods crossing Irish sea under his deal. Untrue. Sunak said y'day checks under Johnson deal were a big problem. Now J said to be pondering opposing Sunak for getting rid of checks his own deal caused. No way Johnson comes out of this well.
While this is obviously not investment advice, I think GBPUSD looks pretty attractive here. A regularizing of the EU-UK relationship can only be a positive for Sterling.
Which, of course, is also a positive for inflation.
Grocery price inflation reached a high 17.1 per cent this month, adding to the squeeze on households in the cost of living crisis.
Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, eggs and margarine, data from the market researcher Kantar showed. It said the rise in food costs would add a potential £811 to annual shopping bills.
Utterly shocked to see that the left-wing Gary Lineker has been dodging taxes from his millions he milks from Licence Fee payers for years now. Truly shocked.
Almost as shocked as I was to find out the sun rose in the East this morning.
Not in the least bit relevant, but that reminds me a bit of the joke in The Lives of Others:
Early in the morning, Honecker arrives at his office and opens his window. He greets the Sun, saying: "Good morning, dear Sun!" – "Good morning, dear Erich!" Honecker works, and then at noon he heads to the window and says: "Good day, dear Sun!" – "Good day, dear Erich!" In the evening, Erich calls it a day, and heads once more to the window, and says: "Good evening, dear Sun!" Hearing nothing, Honecker says again: "Good evening, dear Sun! What's the matter?" The sun retorts: "Kiss my arse. I'm in the West now!"
ETA: Aren't contractor tax arrangements just as much about the (not) employer dodging NI etc? So Beeb and Linekar are being frugal with taxpayers' licence payers' money by dodging tax?
On the Ashes, may I be permitted to give the definitive answer?
Headingley 2001 was England's greatest victory, winning after following on. Edgbaston 2005 was the greatest match, the most nail-biting finish ever.
And despite what Botham says, I was present for the last day in 2001. I didn't talk to Botham though, so he's probably forgotten.
Botham was playing in 2001?
Bugger, I meant 1981 - post amended, thanks.
You lucky bugger!
My only sporting claim to fame, was to have been at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. I have friends who were in Sydney in 2003 (England Rugby WC), Instanbul in 2005 (Liverpool European Cup), and Berlin 2009 (Usain Bolt 9.58WR).
Boycott's 100th 100 v Aus at Headingley. The biggest and best event ever in Yorkshire. If we'd gone for Yindy the day after we might have done it.
That’s a great one! (Three months before I was born though)
In an absolutely bizarre interview @lornaslater has essentially suggested that @_KateForbes call the DRS @Circ_Scotland helpline to get better understanding of how it works. 🤦♂️
I am not a fan of the SNP (I know I have kept that quiet over the years) but calling Lorna Slater an SNP minister is definitely defamatory. She is an idiot or Green as they are sometimes called.
Quite. Just shows how much some people know of Scotland, a far distant land of etc.
Utterly shocked to see that the left-wing Gary Lineker has been dodging taxes from his millions he milks from Licence Fee payers for years now. Truly shocked.
Almost as shocked as I was to find out the sun rose in the East this morning.
Gary is actually right there - the BBC told a whole set of people they were self employed and simply shouldn't have done.
In many cases the BBC have been presented with large tax bills to pay.
Consider a fresh analogy. Brexit is like having a baby
For the last thee years we have been knee deep in soiled nappies, baby puke, and discussions of burping
For the father, who never even wanted the kid, it has been literally hellish. Even the mother has had doubts. What a pain. Maybe it was a mistake after all? Like the father said?
But now finally the kid is off to nursery school. The father gets some respite. The kid can sort of talk. It’s not all bad tho he’d still rather be free and single and able to do exciting holidays in Nicaragua. But the situation is tolerable and he’s simply bored of arguing with the mother
The mother wipes a tear. The child grows. And laughs. She begins to forget the horrors of the sleeplessness
If the baby is can only 'sort of talk' by age 3, then I'd say there's something wrong with Brexit the baby. Also the three years of soiled nappies point that way (although I know it's becoming more common to potty train later nowadays).
Utterly shocked to see that the left-wing Gary Lineker has been dodging taxes from his millions he milks from Licence Fee payers for years now. Truly shocked.
Almost as shocked as I was to find out the sun rose in the East this morning.
Gary is actually right there - the BBC told a whole set of people they were self employed and simply shouldn't have done.
In many cases the BBC have been presented with large tax bills to pay.
And for the large part of that period Gary Lineker was doing more work for BT Sport.
The real dividend to come out of these talks is not NI, which had some irritations but also a highly favoured position both in the SM and out of it at the same time, Schrodinger's cat style, already. The real benefit is the highly constructive and polite relationship Rishi has built with the EU as a whole. This has already paid dividends with the Horizon program but I have little doubt there will be more to come.
If Rishi can continue down this path then I genuinely believe that Brexit will become a non issue for all except a tiny minority who are obsessed with it and the loss of their EU citizenship. This minority will no doubt be loud, just as the ERG nutters/Farage were loud in the past, but the vast majority will simply not care anymore. We will just have to fill our threads up with something else.
Picture living in a more complicated/interesting world where families and/or partners may live and work in say England and France. Where they have been able to move freely for forty years and now they have to calculate what they're doing almost from day to day. School holidays parents getting ill one partner in England the other in France. Work calling you from one place to the other ......... a lifestyle build over many years and circumstances.
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp in your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll have let a lot of people down very badly.
People who can afford to have a second home in the south of France are a tiny minority.
0.13% of the U.K. population, or less than a third of the population of Hartlepool, to use Roger’s favourite metric.
If free movement of Brits to the EU was so popular why did more go to Australia - requiring visas & work permits - than to the entire EU? Yes, it’s affected some badly, but the overwhelming majority, not at all.
(Point of order: it was "entire EU, excluding Ireland".)
Since we’ve had freedom of movement with Ireland for several hundred years before there was an EU - and still do - it hasn’t been affected by BREXIT, since we’re discussing Brexit effects.
Grocery price inflation reached a high 17.1 per cent this month, adding to the squeeze on households in the cost of living crisis.
Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, eggs and margarine, data from the market researcher Kantar showed. It said the rise in food costs would add a potential £811 to annual shopping bills.
The "Turnip King" was forced to shut his business down as Brexit shagged it. So we don't have enough turnips either.
As I noted on the last thread, Which now have food inflation at 21.6% for the cheap end stuff in supermarkets. Does depend on the supermarket, but as I recall the Ocado end showed much less inflation thanb the cheap supermarkets the last time they did a survey.
The real dividend to come out of these talks is not NI, which had some irritations but also a highly favoured position both in the SM and out of it at the same time, Schrodinger's cat style, already. The real benefit is the highly constructive and polite relationship Rishi has built with the EU as a whole. This has already paid dividends with the Horizon program but I have little doubt there will be more to come.
If Rishi can continue down this path then I genuinely believe that Brexit will become a non issue for all except a tiny minority who are obsessed with it and the loss of their EU citizenship. This minority will no doubt be loud, just as the ERG nutters/Farage were loud in the past, but the vast majority will simply not care anymore. We will just have to fill our threads up with something else.
Picture living in a more complicated/interesting world where families and/or partners may live and work in say England and France. Where they have been able to move freely for forty years and now they have to calculate what they're doing almost from day to day. School holidays parents getting ill one partner in England the other in France. Work calling you from one place to the other ......... a lifestyle build over many years and circumstances.
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp in your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll have let a lot of people down very badly.
People who can afford to have a second home in the south of France are a tiny minority.
0.13% of the U.K. population, or less than a third of the population of Hartlepool, to use Roger’s favourite metric.
If free movement of Brits to the EU was so popular why did more go to Australia - requiring visas & work permits - than to the entire EU? Yes, it’s affected some badly, but the overwhelming majority, not at all.
(Point of order: it was "entire EU, excluding Ireland".)
Since we’ve had freedom of movement with Ireland for several hundred years before there was an EU - and still do - it hasn’t been affected by BREXIT, since we’re discussing Brexit effects.
We only achieved free movement in Ireland due to war and invasion, at the least EU freedom of movement is benign.
The EU doesn’t respond to childish threats . Sunak got a good deal because they felt he could be trusted to honour what he signs and would act in good faith.
There was no trust left with Johnson and the EU would never have given him those concessions.
The EU absolutely does respond to threats, its about the only thing they respond to.
They gave the concessions because they had no alternative, since they were backed into a corner by the NI Protocol Bill. Better to save face by agreeing the measures than see them imposed unilaterally.
It depends on whether you regard threats to murder by Loyalist "Community Leaders" as childish.
Personally, given the history of blood and horror, I can't think of much that is less childish.
But this is the Peace Process. One firebombing is worth a million votes etc. Ho hum.
The great Brexit fuckdrama is over. Some think it was a rape. Some a meaningless one night stand to be vaguely regretted. For others it was a sublime consummation
But for all of us, it is now over. The post coital heartbeat is audibly slowing. And the normal political pulse resumes. And so we get on with the day
I think Season One is now over. After nearly 7 years (7 years!) of turmoil we've hit another quasi-equilibrium. That will be enough to render it a virtual non-issue at the next election.
But it will be back for more, hopefully no longer called Brexit, because the UK-EU relationship will never stand still. Sometimes it will be fractious, at other times constructive. I expect us to move back closer into the EU orbit in fits and starts and each will be a little mini-drama but nothing as explosive as the original. Switzerland is the closest analogue we have and the EU relationship dominates their foreign policy.
Wonder what Churchill would say - the UK aspiring to be like Switzerland.
The great Brexit fuckdrama is over. Some think it was a rape. Some a meaningless one night stand to be vaguely regretted. For others it was a sublime consummation
But for all of us, it is now over. The post coital heartbeat is audibly slowing. And the normal political pulse resumes. And so we get on with the day
Ah, the old chestnut of which-of-your-past-encounters-most-resembles-Brexit. I know which I'd choose. I remember the incident fondly. Her arrival was most unexpected and she was, I had thought, unobtainable. And my encounter with her motivated my ex-girlfriend to punch me in the face. But ultimately nothing really came of it and life went back to normal.
Were there seven wasted years in there somewhere ? If not, doesn't count.
Meanwhile, hyperbole of the week. Being in single market and UK makes Northern Ireland ‘world’s most exciting economic zone’, says Sunak
The EU doesn’t respond to childish threats . Sunak got a good deal because they felt he could be trusted to honour what he signs and would act in good faith.
There was no trust left with Johnson and the EU would never have given him those concessions.
The EU absolutely does respond to threats, its about the only thing they respond to.
They gave the concessions because they had no alternative, since they were backed into a corner by the NI Protocol Bill. Better to save face by agreeing the measures than see them imposed unilaterally.
Yes quite. The EU does seem to get a move on with a big Stanley knife somewhere near its carotid artery
Tho in this instance I reckon the knife is weilded by Putin as much as “Lord Frost”
I was watching an interview with the Estonian PM on Al Jazeera English last night. She kept emphasising how grateful they were - are - for NATO membership. “We have our big friends - the USA, the UK, France, they help to defend us - otherwise we would be Ukraine”
Putin has focused minds everywhere. As has China. The west must unite. Brexit is trivial compared to life death and war. Compromise on the small shit so we can handle the big stuff. That applies to all sides, of course
Utterly shocked to see that the left-wing Gary Lineker has been dodging taxes from his millions he milks from Licence Fee payers for years now. Truly shocked.
Almost as shocked as I was to find out the sun rose in the East this morning.
Gary is actually right there - the BBC told a whole set of people they were self employed and simply shouldn't have done.
In many cases the BBC have been presented with large tax bills to pay.
The BBC, in most cases, insisted on contractor status for ‘talent’ for the past decade or so. In many cases, the ‘talent’ themselves, not the BBC, have been found to be inside IR35 and told to cough up the missing NI.
It’s a BBC screwup, but the liability is with the contractor. That liability was reversed a couple of years ago, it’s now on the employer.
As I noted on the last thread, Which now have food inflation at 21.6% for the cheap end stuff in supermarkets. Does depend on the supermarket, but as I recall the Ocado end showed much less inflation thanb the cheap supermarkets the last time they did a survey.
Losses at Ocado Group have more than doubled after a return to more normal shopping habits after the pandemic hammered its retail joint venture with Marks & Spencer.
The £500.8 million pre-tax loss for the year to November 27 increased by £323.9 million compared with the year before and was about £100 million larger than analysts expected. Underlying losses, on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, were £74.1 million, compared with a profit of £61 million the year before.
Comments
Imagine if it was Scotland and England and you needed to stamp your passport every time you wanted to go from one to the other and your time in each was highly regulated after years of free movement and integration?
From here in the South of France your post sounds incredibly parochial and doesn't correspond to most people's experiences at all. This isn't a 'tiny obsession' of a minority. It's affecting many many peoples lives and some quite profoundly.
I'm with Foxy on this. If Starmer doesn't reinstate our right to move freely as we could until two years ago he'll be letting a lot of potential supporters down badly
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-tour-of-england-1981-61357/england-vs-australia-2nd-test-63290/full-scorecard
Unlike your good self, of course. You don't know those people. But you are really, really concerned about Voices In The Community (TM).
The old values – neighbourliness, decency, courtesy – they're still alive, they're still the best of Britain. They haven't changed, and yet somehow people feel embarrassed by them. Madam President, we shouldn't be. It is time to return to those old core values, time to get back to basics, to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for others, to accepting a responsibility for yourself and your family and not shuffling off on other people and the state.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_Basics_(campaign)
Yesterday was a historic day in many ways as finally Sunak demonstrated what has been missing from the conservative party for some time, a grown up politician who does detail and is able to engage with the EU on a sensible friendly platform and achieve an outcome many thought was impossible
It remains to be seen whether the DUP return to Stormont but the 'Windsor Framework' deal is Sunak's legacy no matter what the future holds electorally
His desire to re-boot relationships with the EU is hugely welcome, as is our rejoining of Horizon and the desire by Macron and the EU to further address the boat issue
In his imminent trips to France and Germany I expect to see a real change in cooperation and a move to improve security and trade with the EU
Ironically Sunak is doing exactly what Starmer has implied he would do, and it is remarkable that we have a PM and leader of the opposition virtually on the same page over Europe
It is for these reasons I do nor expect Europe to feature highly in GE 24, no doubt much to the disappointment of the more extreme remainers
And to top it all, yesterday was Johnson's utter humiliation
I was listening to TMS.
Their votes were literally worth more. Much much more. Since winning X "tribes" was how votes were won in the Assembly.
I was at a Christening the next day where the denouement was just as closely followed. No telly was available but it was the early days of mobile-phone cricket updates and those with access to such tech were happily keeping the rest of us informed.
https://mobile.twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1630394434847227909
Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, eggs and margarine, data from the market researcher Kantar showed. It said the rise in food costs would add a potential £811 to annual shopping bills.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/grocery-price-inflation-hits-record-17-1-2xnd87jm0
In an absolutely bizarre interview @lornaslater has essentially suggested that @_KateForbes call the DRS @Circ_Scotland helpline to get better understanding of how it works. 🤦♂️
https://twitter.com/mrblairbowman/status/1630495011023323137
Headingley 1981 was England's greatest victory, winning after following on.
Edgbaston 2005 was the greatest match, the most nail-biting finish ever.
And despite what Botham says, I was present for the last day in 1981. I didn't talk to Botham though, so he's probably forgotten.
Scottish Labour Westminster candidates and MSPs are praying for a Forbes win
German Greens are sometimes quite impressive in government.
The great Brexit fuckdrama is over. Some think it was a rape. Some a meaningless one night stand to be vaguely regretted. For others it was a sublime consummation
But for all of us, it is now over. The post coital heartbeat is audibly slowing. And the normal political pulse resumes. And so we get on with the day
If free movement of Brits to the EU was so popular why did more go to Australia - requiring visas & work permits - than to the entire EU? Yes, it’s affected some badly, but the overwhelming majority, not at all.
My only sporting claim to fame, was to have been at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. I have friends who were in Sydney in 2003 (England Rugby WC), Instanbul in 2005 (Liverpool European Cup), and Berlin 2009 (Usain Bolt 9.58WR).
It is upto the Scots to demonstrate they desire independence and to be fair since Sturgeon has departed the scene it has been an utter shambles
Hence all the cricket.
My guess is that SKS, being genuinely non-populist (he doesn't offer instant one-line solutions to complex problems) will feel that just to be there after the horrors of UKIP, Jezza, Boris and their populist friends is a decent achievement in itself. As indeed it would be.
He is preparing the ground by: Offering few if any hostages, saying nothing of headline consequence, abandoning the populist left, and occupying the same ground as Sunak on Brexit - it's decided, it's complicated, make it boring, make it work.
By the election in 2024 it won't be Sunak who loses the Tory majority, it will be the entire Tory performance since 2010, politically and morally.
Sunak's outside, slim, chance of avoiding defeat is to spend the next 12 months abandoning the populist wing and fighting SKS on the same ground. The mirror image of what SKS has done with Labour.
Hence there was lots of competition for Tory seats and target seats pre 2010, much less so pre 2001. Same as Labour had much more competition for seats pre 1997 and will do now than it did in 2019
But it will be back for more, hopefully no longer called Brexit, because the UK-EU relationship will never stand still. Sometimes it will be fractious, at other times constructive. I expect us to move back closer into the EU orbit in fits and starts and each will be a little mini-drama but nothing as explosive as the original. Switzerland is the closest analogue we have and the EU relationship dominates their foreign policy.
For the last thee years we have been knee deep in soiled nappies, baby puke, and discussions of burping
For the father, who never even wanted the kid, it has been literally hellish. Even the mother has had doubts. What a pain. Maybe it was a mistake after all? Like the father said?
But now finally the kid is off to nursery school. The father gets some respite. The kid can sort of talk. It’s not all bad tho he’d still rather be free and single and able to do exciting holidays in Nicaragua. But the situation is tolerable and he’s simply bored of arguing with the mother
The mother wipes a tear. The child grows. And laughs. She begins to forget the horrors of the sleeplessness
I know which I'd choose. I remember the incident fondly. Her arrival was most unexpected and she was, I had thought, unobtainable. And my encounter with her motivated my ex-girlfriend to punch me in the face. But ultimately nothing really came of it and life went back to normal.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/constance-marten-mark-gordon-napier-stanmer-villas-b2290848.html
Which, of course, is also a positive for inflation.
Almost as shocked as I was to find out the sun rose in the East this morning.
They gave the concessions because they had no alternative, since they were backed into a corner by the NI Protocol Bill. Better to save face by agreeing the measures than see them imposed unilaterally.
As I said on here about a week ago (to much derision) I sense - earlier than everyone, as normal - a change in the seasons. The UK is near the nadir. A upturn is coming. Springtime for Britain. A secular change for the better
https://twitter.com/tobyhelm/status/1630523370960826368?s=20
In many cases the BBC have been presented with large tax bills to pay.
Shall we remind you of those predictions?
The Leon Singularity.
Leon will eventually be wrong about everything he talks about.
Remember when you were shitting your kecks about the imminent nuclear attack by Russia last autumn?
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/poorest-hit-hardest-by-inflation-as-budget-groceries-soar-in-price-awGN66n1RaHz
Personally, given the history of blood and horror, I can't think of much that is less childish.
But this is the Peace Process. One firebombing is worth a million votes etc. Ho hum.
If not, doesn't count.
Meanwhile, hyperbole of the week.
Being in single market and UK makes Northern Ireland ‘world’s most exciting economic zone’, says Sunak
Tho in this instance I reckon the knife is weilded by Putin as much as “Lord Frost”
I was watching an interview with the Estonian PM on Al Jazeera English last night. She kept emphasising how grateful they were - are - for NATO membership. “We have our big friends - the USA, the UK, France, they help to defend us - otherwise we would be Ukraine”
Putin has focused minds everywhere. As has China. The west must unite. Brexit is trivial compared to life death and war. Compromise on the small shit so we can handle the big stuff. That applies to all sides, of course
It’s a BBC screwup, but the liability is with the contractor. That liability was reversed a couple of years ago, it’s now on the employer.
The £500.8 million pre-tax loss for the year to November 27 increased by £323.9 million compared with the year before and was about £100 million larger than analysts expected. Underlying losses, on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, were £74.1 million, compared with a profit of £61 million the year before.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ocado-losses-balloon-to-500m-rl33vjjfj