Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
I don't disagree with any of this. But I'd also add that while stop the boats is a priority for voters, the Conservatives evidently aren't stopping the boats. They've ramped up the importance of one issue that they either have no intention of doing anything about or are terrible at doing so. People who want the boats stopped are increasingly bemused about why the Conservatives aren't doing so.
Yeah I agree with all that
I think some form of Rwanda is worth trying - and remember, WE HAVEN’T ACTUALLY TRIED IT YET - because deterrence might work. I see all the flaws with Rwanda but no one has any better idea. Which is why other countries are reaching a similar conclusion - Rwanda
However the government are so inept they have managed to get all the bad vibes of packing poor asylum seekers off to Kigali while all the time they’ve sent not one person to Kigali - thus infuriating both sides while doing nothing
It’s another example of Cookie’s Law. This government makes right wing noises but actually behaves more like an incompetent left wing government, ensuring the contempt of all
Off thread, but I'm currently on hold to Esure trying to get a bit of minor administration done to tidy up an incident from 14 months ago. Just ticked over the hour mark listening to weirdly distorted gloomy piano music. It can only be specifically designed to make you give up and go away. "We're unusually busy today" - no you're not, I've never got through to this department in under an hour and usually give up after two and a half. Reckon I've spent about 48 hours on hold waiting for Esure to answer the phone over the past 14 months.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
No, a road four lanes wide but without a physical central reservation, has a national speed limit of 60mph.
Off thread, but I'm currently on hold to Esure trying to get a bit of minor administration done to tidy up an incident from 14 months ago. Just ticked over the hour mark listening to weirdly distorted gloomy piano music. It can only be specifically designed to make you give up and go away. "We're unusually busy today" - no you're not, I've never got through to this department in under an hour and usually give up after two and a half. Reckon I've spent about 48 hours on hold waiting for Esure to answer the phone over the past 14 months.
Yeah any business that leaves the "unusually busy" msg on indefinitely (Doctors too) should probably be taken out and shot.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
No, a road four lanes wide but without a physical central reservation, has a national speed limit of 60mph.
That's not a dual carriageway though. Known in the business as an S4. (Single carriageway, 4 lanes).
Even if you were right (and you are not) the glaring flaw in this cunning plan is that completely destroying the rule of law in this Country will not now, or ever, STOP THE BOATS
The goal is destroying the rule of law and replacing it with the rule of money. Stopping the boats is just the wedge issue the Tories are using to achieve this goal.
The other day I mentioned how Roger Waters was being branded an anti semite in Germany because he wore a Nazi style outfit during a performance, which had been part of the story of The Wall since 1979 (during a nervous breakdown, the protagonist has delusions of becoming a fascist dictator )
Just found out last night that Sir Keir, as well as Michael Gove, wrote a letter trying to get Roger Waters concerts cancelled for it in Manchester!
Waters’ recent interview with Joe Rogan gave the game away. He might as well have said “I’m not an anti-Semite, I just don’t think the Jews should have their own country”.
The other day I mentioned how Roger Waters was being branded an anti semite in Germany because he wore a Nazi style outfit during a performance, which had been part of the story of The Wall since 1979 (during a nervous breakdown, the protagonist has delusions of becoming a fascist dictator )
Just found out last night that Sir Keir, as well as Michael Gove, wrote a letter trying to get Roger Waters concerts cancelled for it in Manchester!
That's troubling. Rog is famous and controversy seeking enough for politicians to call him out as a dick. That's fair enough. But cancelling his concerts? Who decides this and what is their criteria?
Off thread, but I'm currently on hold to Esure trying to get a bit of minor administration done to tidy up an incident from 14 months ago. Just ticked over the hour mark listening to weirdly distorted gloomy piano music. It can only be specifically designed to make you give up and go away. "We're unusually busy today" - no you're not, I've never got through to this department in under an hour and usually give up after two and a half. Reckon I've spent about 48 hours on hold waiting for Esure to answer the phone over the past 14 months.
Yeah any business that leaves the "unusually busy" msg on indefinitely (Doctors too) should probably be taken out and shot.
Not that I disagree, but it tends to make the wait time even longer.
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
No, a road four lanes wide but without a physical central reservation, has a national speed limit of 60mph.
That's not a dual carriageway though. Known in the business as an S4. (Single carriageway, 4 lanes).
How many 'real' roads are like that though? Most of them must be busy city roads, which stands to reason.
Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
I don't disagree with any of this. But I'd also add that while stop the boats is a priority for voters, the Conservatives evidently aren't stopping the boats. They've ramped up the importance of one issue that they either have no intention of doing anything about or are terrible at doing so. People who want the boats stopped are increasingly bemused about why the Conservatives aren't doing so.
Yes, they’re upsetting everyone. They can’t actually stop the boats, yet agreements with France and Albania have actually helped a lot. They’re putting everything on Rwanda, despite the fact that it’s going to be legally almost impossible before the election.
The other day I mentioned how Roger Waters was being branded an anti semite in Germany because he wore a Nazi style outfit during a performance, which had been part of the story of The Wall since 1979 (during a nervous breakdown, the protagonist has delusions of becoming a fascist dictator )
Just found out last night that Sir Keir, as well as Michael Gove, wrote a letter trying to get Roger Waters concerts cancelled for it in Manchester!
Waters’ recent interview with Joe Rogan gave the game away. He might as well have said “I’m not an anti-Semite, I just don’t think the Jews should have their own country”.
Amazing the excuses people find to say and do antisemitic things. Waters is a prize pillock.
When YouGov had the Tories 21% in a poll under Truss, Labour were on 54%. It was the first poll to put the polling deficit over 30pp. If any single opinion poll could be said to have shattered a Prime Minister it was that one.
This time Labour are on 44%. It's quite the contrast.
YouGov 28-29 Sep 2022 14-15 Nov 2023 Change Con 21 21 0 Lab 54 44 -10 Lib Dem 7 10 +3 Green 6 8 +2 RefUK 4 10 +6 SNP 5 4 -1
Give Starmer enough rope and he'll hang himself. If you follow in someone's slipstream as long as Starmer has done you're asking for trouble. All you need is for Sunak and the EU to change tack and do something sensible like suggest a ceasefire in Gaza and Starmer will fall over himself.
Nice to see Suella Braverman's strategy being called out for the fascist and unConservative bollocks it is.
Damian Green. lol
Is he wrong?
Your inner fascist is poking out
Parliament must be sovereign, in the end. If you consider that fascism then fuck knows how you’d cope with actual, you know, fascism
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
If you don't realise that politicians demanding that they be allowed to do what the hell they like regardless of the law, without any restraints on their power, without any ability of the citizen to hold them to account is precisely the road to tyranny, it is you being petulant and ignorant. Braverman's second demand in that Telegraph article is the most dangerous, unconservative and frankly astonishing thing for a lawyer and former A-G to say.
It is the frustrated wail of a toddler screaming "I want, I must get".
Sovereigns must be subject to the rule of law, in the end. That is what the Civil War was about. It is what much of British politics has been about since then. If the Tory party fails to understand this in order to placate the frustrations and ego of a second-rate lawyer turned third-rate politician with no competence, ability or achievements to her name then it deserves to be - and I hope will be - obliterated.
Oh give over. I'm not a toddler, I do understand the Separation of Powers. Executive, Judiciary. Legislature. I've read my Montesquieu (or at least the relevant bits in English)
However, the ability to protect a nation's borders and stop unwanted people coming in is fundamental to a government, it is the job of the elected Executive to decide this, the elected Legislature to enact this, and the apppointed Judiciary to police but not obstruct. Stopping the government protecting the borders via legal constraints is like the Supreme Court deciding an elected government and parliament does not have the power to declare war because the ECHR doesn't like it. Would you approve of that?
It seems to me we have a judiciary which is overly political, overly pro-active, and overly obeisant to endless international laws some of which it seems to conjure out of thin air
When YouGov had the Tories 21% in a poll under Truss, Labour were on 54%. It was the first poll to put the polling deficit over 30pp. If any single opinion poll could be said to have shattered a Prime Minister it was that one.
This time Labour are on 44%. It's quite the contrast.
YouGov 28-29 Sep 2022 14-15 Nov 2023 Change Con 21 21 0 Lab 54 44 -10 Lib Dem 7 10 +3 Green 6 8 +2 RefUK 4 10 +6 SNP 5 4 -1
Give Starmer enough rope and he'll hang himself. If you follow in someone's slipstream as long as Starmer has done you're asking for trouble. All you need is for Sunak and the EU to change tack and do something sensible like suggest a ceasefire in Gaza and Starmer will fall over himself.
Way off topic, but still interesting. Here is a Reddit thread about the Swedish union dispute with Elon. Perhaps unusually it's not submitted as an hit piece on the world's richest transph[Don't go there - Ed] raci[Not there either] anti-sem[No!!] fat geek [OK, that's fine], but as an example of a modern-day country with functioning and widespread trade unions
Whatever your view of British trade unions, their destruction removed a feedback loop from the people to the political classes that we have not fully compensated for, resulting in the disconnect we all criticise but do nothing to fix. I know that @MoonRabbit, once of this parish (can she be let out of Purgatory now?) has an ahistorical view of trades unions and the important part they played in British history. Perhaps this will act as a counter.
Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
I don't disagree with any of this. But I'd also add that while stop the boats is a priority for voters, the Conservatives evidently aren't stopping the boats. They've ramped up the importance of one issue that they either have no intention of doing anything about or are terrible at doing so. People who want the boats stopped are increasingly bemused about why the Conservatives aren't doing so.
Yeah I agree with all that
I think some form of Rwanda is worth trying - and remember, WE HAVEN’T ACTUALLY TRIED IT YET - because deterrence might work. I see all the flaws with Rwanda but no one has any better idea. Which is why other countries are reaching a similar conclusion - Rwanda
However the government are so inept they have managed to get all the bad vibes of packing poor asylum seekers off to Kigali while all the time they’ve sent not one person to Kigali - thus infuriating both sides while doing nothing
It’s another example of Cookie’s Law. This government makes right wing noises but actually behaves more like an incompetent left wing government, ensuring the contempt of all
The deterrence argument was very shaky at best, but given the government has been talking about it for well over a year now and achieved nothing means that no potential migrants will believe it now anyway.
There’ll be plenty of utterances like this from Labour in government once they get there. With any luck they won’t major on it, but sometimes they can’t help themselves.
Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
I don't disagree with any of this. But I'd also add that while stop the boats is a priority for voters, the Conservatives evidently aren't stopping the boats. They've ramped up the importance of one issue that they either have no intention of doing anything about or are terrible at doing so. People who want the boats stopped are increasingly bemused about why the Conservatives aren't doing so.
Yeah I agree with all that
I think some form of Rwanda is worth trying - and remember, WE HAVEN’T ACTUALLY TRIED IT YET - because deterrence might work. I see all the flaws with Rwanda but no one has any better idea. Which is why other countries are reaching a similar conclusion - Rwanda
However the government are so inept they have managed to get all the bad vibes of packing poor asylum seekers off to Kigali while all the time they’ve sent not one person to Kigali - thus infuriating both sides while doing nothing
It’s another example of Cookie’s Law. This government makes right wing noises but actually behaves more like an incompetent left wing government, ensuring the contempt of all
Cookie's Law is very real. My itchy conspiracy believing side is constantly telling me that it's intentional - Rishi and Hunt intend both to lose the election and marginalise the right for a generation. Of course I also realise that the two of them being utterly incompetent is as likely a reason.
Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
I don't disagree with any of this. But I'd also add that while stop the boats is a priority for voters, the Conservatives evidently aren't stopping the boats. They've ramped up the importance of one issue that they either have no intention of doing anything about or are terrible at doing so. People who want the boats stopped are increasingly bemused about why the Conservatives aren't doing so.
Yeah I agree with all that
I think some form of Rwanda is worth trying - and remember, WE HAVEN’T ACTUALLY TRIED IT YET - because deterrence might work. I see all the flaws with Rwanda but no one has any better idea. Which is why other countries are reaching a similar conclusion - Rwanda
However the government are so inept they have managed to get all the bad vibes of packing poor asylum seekers off to Kigali while all the time they’ve sent not one person to Kigali - thus infuriating both sides while doing nothing
It’s another example of Cookie’s Law. This government makes right wing noises but actually behaves more like an incompetent left wing government, ensuring the contempt of all
The deterrence argument was very shaky at best, but given the government has been talking about it for well over a year now and achieved nothing means that no potential migrants will believe it now anyway.
Yes, quite possibly
Like I said, I’m not voting for this shower of incompetents in 2024
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
It taught me quite a lot. I bored everyone to death afterwards...Do you know what the speed limit is on a dual carriageway without a central reservation......
Isn't this a trick question? A dual carriageway is surely defined by the presence of the division between the carriageways? The national speed limit for a dual carriageway is 70mph.
No, a road four lanes wide but without a physical central reservation, has a national speed limit of 60mph.
That's not a dual carriageway though. Known in the business as an S4. (Single carriageway, 4 lanes).
How many 'real' roads are like that though? Most of them must be busy city roads, which stands to reason.
Not many, but they do exist. Off the top of my head, the A556 between the M6 and Northwich has a particularly exciting stretch. People think 'ooh, a dual carriageway, great' and go whizzing past each other in the respective outside lanes at a relative speed of 120mph or more.
Why has Forces News just dropped three vids on the Ajax? Why are they calling it an Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) when it's specifically for reconnaissance, combat reconnaissance at a push?
Just about the only thing that prevents a Labour majority at this point, is the party going hard on social issues in the run-up to the election - especially temping someone like JKR into supporting opponents.
Just about the only thing that prevents a Labour majority at this point, is the party going hard on social issues in the run-up to the election - especially temping someone like JKR into supporting opponents.
It’s one reason they could be a one term government. Their Wokeness is going to be off-the-dial and could split them on multiple issues - Gaza is just a taster
That's incredible. She's lost it. Wasn't Rwanda her idea?
It wasn’t her idea, think it was Priti’s. I think Suella is just frustrated that if she had been in a position to judge the legality before it was pushed through, maybe Attorney General, or had her hands on the policy with the power and resources to push it through as Home Secretary then there wouldn’t be this mess.
Unfortunately the last few PM’s have ignored her skills and ability by limiting her to being Attorney General and Home Secretary so she was unable to do anything about it.
As far as I can see, she's responding to direct criticism from Rowling, without really attacking her:
Asked about Rowling’s remarks and whether women voters can trust her party at the next election, Ms Nandy told journalists: “Yes, they can. It breaks my heart, actually. We’re re-reading Harry Potter at the moment in my house, with an eight-year-old who is absolutely Harry Potter obsessed.
“And I don’t think we should end up in an oppositional relationship where we’re talking about some of the most marginalised, discriminated against women and girls on the planet and we can’t have that debate.
“Because there’s a genuine conversation to be had about the rights of transgender people and the protection of safe spaces and hard-fought rights for women.”
I'm also not particularly anti-Rowling on this, although I think she's got herself backed into a more hardline corner due to some of the unfair criticism (there has also been fair criticism) she's received.
It appears that the police street camera feeds are available to the public, presumably thanks to some legislation that allowed them to be everywhere in the city in the first place. Well, there’s a load of Youtube channels currently showing the Las Vegas street cameras, and guess what they’re showing?
Nice to see Suella Braverman's strategy being called out for the fascist and unConservative bollocks it is.
Damian Green. lol
Is he wrong?
Your inner fascist is poking out
Parliament must be sovereign, in the end. If you consider that fascism then fuck knows how you’d cope with actual, you know, fascism
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
If you don't realise that politicians demanding that they be allowed to do what the hell they like regardless of the law, without any restraints on their power, without any ability of the citizen to hold them to account is precisely the road to tyranny, it is you being petulant and ignorant. Braverman's second demand in that Telegraph article is the most dangerous, unconservative and frankly astonishing thing for a lawyer and former A-G to say.
It is the frustrated wail of a toddler screaming "I want, I must get".
Sovereigns must be subject to the rule of law, in the end. That is what the Civil War was about. It is what much of British politics has been about since then. If the Tory party fails to understand this in order to placate the frustrations and ego of a second-rate lawyer turned third-rate politician with no competence, ability or achievements to her name then it deserves to be - and I hope will be - obliterated.
Oh give over. I'm not a toddler, I do understand the Separation of Powers. Executive, Judiciary. Legislature. I've read my Montesquieu (or at least the relevant bits in English)
However, the ability to protect a nation's borders and stop unwanted people coming in is fundamental to a government, it is the job of the elected Executive to decide this, the elected Legislature to enact this, and the apppointed Judiciary to police but not obstruct. Stopping the government protecting the borders via legal constraints is like the Supreme Court deciding an elected government and parliament does not have the power to declare war because the ECHR doesn't like it. Would you approve of that?
It seems to me we have a judiciary which is overly political, overly pro-active, and overly obeisant to endless international laws some of which it seems to conjure out of thin air
Braverman is right. Overrule the judges
She wants to overrule all domestic law too.
I don't agree with Braverman's approach. But, I do have strong sympathy with what @Leon is saying.
On the topic of the day, the only reasons I can see to prefer a pool over the sea are if the sea is a) forbiddingly cold, b) full of bitey or stingy things, or c) discouragingly unclean. None of those look to apply.
Cutting inheritance tax for rich families but nothing else in the middle of a cost of living crisis is about the most tin-eared thing anyone could do, so of course Sunak will do it.
He really is quite impressively bad at politics.
He is appalling. So is Hunt. I mean - appointing Cameron? Really??
On the topic of the day, the only reasons I can see to prefer a pool over the sea are if the sea is a) forbiddingly cold, b) full of bitey or stingy things, or c) discouragingly unclean. None of those look to apply.
Piranha. Electric eels. That fish which goes up the urethra and erects its spines so it can't be got out.
There's an odd rumour going about that Carlos Sainz has a 10-place grid penalty,. This is because he needs a new part of his engine after hitting the manhole cover.
That's incredible. She's lost it. Wasn't Rwanda her idea?
It wasn’t her idea, think it was Priti’s. I think Suella is just frustrated that if she had been in a position to judge the legality before it was pushed through, maybe Attorney General, or had her hands on the policy with the power and resources to push it through as Home Secretary then there wouldn’t be this mess.
Unfortunately the last few PM’s have ignored her skills and ability by limiting her to being Attorney General and Home Secretary so she was unable to do anything about it.
I'm asssuming that's tongue-in-cheek? Not always as obvious on here as you'd think!
There's an odd rumour going about that Carlos Sainz has a 10-place grid penalty,. This is because he needs a new part of his engine after hitting the manhole cover.
Nice to see Suella Braverman's strategy being called out for the fascist and unConservative bollocks it is.
Damian Green. lol
Is he wrong?
Your inner fascist is poking out
Parliament must be sovereign, in the end. If you consider that fascism then fuck knows how you’d cope with actual, you know, fascism
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
If you don't realise that politicians demanding that they be allowed to do what the hell they like regardless of the law, without any restraints on their power, without any ability of the citizen to hold them to account is precisely the road to tyranny, it is you being petulant and ignorant. Braverman's second demand in that Telegraph article is the most dangerous, unconservative and frankly astonishing thing for a lawyer and former A-G to say.
It is the frustrated wail of a toddler screaming "I want, I must get".
Sovereigns must be subject to the rule of law, in the end. That is what the Civil War was about. It is what much of British politics has been about since then. If the Tory party fails to understand this in order to placate the frustrations and ego of a second-rate lawyer turned third-rate politician with no competence, ability or achievements to her name then it deserves to be - and I hope will be - obliterated.
Oh give over. I'm not a toddler, I do understand the Separation of Powers. Executive, Judiciary. Legislature. I've read my Montesquieu (or at least the relevant bits in English)
However, the ability to protect a nation's borders and stop unwanted people coming in is fundamental to a government, it is the job of the elected Executive to decide this, the elected Legislature to enact this, and the apppointed Judiciary to police but not obstruct. Stopping the government protecting the borders via legal constraints is like the Supreme Court deciding an elected government and parliament does not have the power to declare war because the ECHR doesn't like it. Would you approve of that?
It seems to me we have a judiciary which is overly political, overly pro-active, and overly obeisant to endless international laws some of which it seems to conjure out of thin air
Braverman is right. Overrule the judges
She wants to overrule all domestic law too.
I don't agree with Braverman's approach. But, I do have strong sympathy with what @Leon is saying.
That's fine. So long as you're happy when Sir Keir as PM tramples all over 'Judicial Review [and] all common law challenges' to facilitate one of Labour's hobby horses.
On the topic of the day, the only reasons I can see to prefer a pool over the sea are if the sea is a) forbiddingly cold, b) full of bitey or stingy things, or c) discouragingly unclean. None of those look to apply.
Why doesn’t everyone just live on perfect white sand beaches in the tropics next to quaint wooden thatched cocktail bars serving excellent mojitos?
It would solve so many problems. Like Gaza
“Shall we have have a massive all out war and shoot each other in fetid tunnels full of killer dogs or shall we have another caipirnha maybe with nice bar snacks and watch the sunset?”
“Hmm, I dunno. I hate you”
“Yeah but they’ve got these really cool triangular green lanterns”
Cutting inheritance tax for rich families but nothing else in the middle of a cost of living crisis is about the most tin-eared thing anyone could do, so of course Sunak will do it.
He really is quite impressively bad at politics.
He is appalling. So is Hunt. I mean - appointing Cameron? Really??
Is it just me or does anyone else think Rachel Reeves wears shit clothes? Fringey haircut doesn't help either.
She needs a stylist.
Ooh, get Gok Wan!
Sort of agree, her style could kindly be described as stolid, and when combined with that wasp trapped in a bottle voice.. Yousaf’s dress sense is also a bit rubbish lest anyone thinks I’m a mcp. As for the Starmer flirtation with Stone Island..
I don't agree with Braverman's approach. But, I do have strong sympathy with what @Leon is saying.
That's fine. So long as you're happy when Sir Keir as PM tramples all over 'Judicial Review [and] all common law challenges' to facilitate one of Labour's hobby horses.
An old communist slogan which made me uneasy even in my teens is "The will of the people is the law of the land". I was in favour of revolutionary change, but, well, law-abiding revolutionary change (hey, teenagers don't have to be logical). If laws can be overridden at will, then literally nothing is safe from the government. It's an odd thing for conservatives to espouse.
"Moment courageous Iranian football fans tell pro-Palestine supporters to ‘take that flag and shove it up your a***’ during attempt by regime backers to rally for Hamas at a football match"
Interesting.
Before the Berlin Wall fell FC Union Berlin was the second team in East Berlin (the first being a stitch up by the Stasi). Fans often used to chant and sing songs against the DDR regime during matches. Being part of a mass crowd in a stadium was about the only place where the authorities could not control what was going on, or find out who the ringleaders were.
That's incredible. She's lost it. Wasn't Rwanda her idea?
It wasn’t her idea, think it was Priti’s. I think Suella is just frustrated that if she had been in a position to judge the legality before it was pushed through, maybe Attorney General, or had her hands on the policy with the power and resources to push it through as Home Secretary then there wouldn’t be this mess.
Unfortunately the last few PM’s have ignored her skills and ability by limiting her to being Attorney General and Home Secretary so she was unable to do anything about it.
I'm asssuming that's tongue-in-cheek? Not always as obvious on here as you'd think!
Definitely tongue in cheek. It’s like Putin writing a column in Pravda criticising the failure of the invasion of Ukraine and how badly it’s been managed and planned and if only he had been in charge then he would have foreseen these problems and he would be enjoying lunch in Kiev today.
Now people need to finally start listening to him about his own plan to make it work because the idiots who put it into action don’t know what they are doing.
Is it just me or does anyone else think Rachel Reeves wears shit clothes? Fringey haircut doesn't help either.
She needs a stylist.
Whilst true (if somewhat ungallant), I think she's just gone from everyday clothing to the kind of clothes you'd wear from an interview. And although the helmet hair look works for nobody other than Velma in Scooby-Doo, it is at least functional and low-maintenance. It's not the best, but it's perfectly acceptable for work.
Interior of Euston Station as it uses to be. Off my FB feed, but year unknown.
Yes, it was apparently quite a spectacular place. But also allegedly rather unsuited for modern operations. IIRC that spot is now about a third of a way along the platforms. Sadly, it had to go.
(Though the fact the Euston arch was not rebuilt was a crime...)
Interior of Euston Station as it uses to be. Off my FB feed, but year unknown.
Nice photo - but it looks gloomily austere. In my head, the old Euston was some sort of vaguely Greco-Roman paradise; a prelapsarian arcadia, with trains. Slightly disappointing to see that not all old architecture was magnificent.
Is it just me or does anyone else think Rachel Reeves wears shit clothes? Fringey haircut doesn't help either.
She needs a stylist.
Ooh, get Gok Wan!
Sort of agree, her style could kindly be described as stolid, and when combined with that wasp trapped in a bottle voice.. Yousaf’s dress sense is also a bit rubbish lest anyone thinks I’m a mcp. As for the Starmer flirtation with Stone Island..
I’ve always thought she sounded like a female Harry H Corbett - can see her berating Chris Pincher with “You duhty olt man”
Why doesn’t everyone just live on perfect white sand beaches in the tropics next to quaint wooden thatched cocktail bars serving excellent mojitos?
It would solve so many problems. Like Gaza
“Shall we have have a massive all out war and shoot each other in fetid tunnels full of killer dogs or shall we have another caipirnha maybe with nice bar snacks and watch the sunset?”
“Hmm, I dunno. I hate you”
“Yeah but they’ve got these really cool triangular green lanterns”
“Ah ok then. I’ll have a pina colada”
Careful, some will start accusing you of being an anti-semite.
Nice to see Suella Braverman's strategy being called out for the fascist and unConservative bollocks it is.
Damian Green. lol
Is he wrong?
Your inner fascist is poking out
Parliament must be sovereign, in the end. If you consider that fascism then fuck knows how you’d cope with actual, you know, fascism
You’re just petulantly upset that Sunak’s stupid reshuffle turned out to be a disaster - as predicted by some on here, at the time
If you don't realise that politicians demanding that they be allowed to do what the hell they like regardless of the law, without any restraints on their power, without any ability of the citizen to hold them to account is precisely the road to tyranny, it is you being petulant and ignorant. Braverman's second demand in that Telegraph article is the most dangerous, unconservative and frankly astonishing thing for a lawyer and former A-G to say.
It is the frustrated wail of a toddler screaming "I want, I must get".
Sovereigns must be subject to the rule of law, in the end. That is what the Civil War was about. It is what much of British politics has been about since then. If the Tory party fails to understand this in order to placate the frustrations and ego of a second-rate lawyer turned third-rate politician with no competence, ability or achievements to her name then it deserves to be - and I hope will be - obliterated.
Oh give over. I'm not a toddler, I do understand the Separation of Powers. Executive, Judiciary. Legislature. I've read my Montesquieu (or at least the relevant bits in English)
However, the ability to protect a nation's borders and stop unwanted people coming in is fundamental to a government, it is the job of the elected Executive to decide this, the elected Legislature to enact this, and the apppointed Judiciary to police but not obstruct. Stopping the government protecting the borders via legal constraints is like the Supreme Court deciding an elected government and parliament does not have the power to declare war because the ECHR doesn't like it. Would you approve of that?
It seems to me we have a judiciary which is overly political, overly pro-active, and overly obeisant to endless international laws some of which it seems to conjure out of thin air
Braverman is right. Overrule the judges
It was Braverman I was thinking of when I wrote my "toddler" remark.
I don't agree with Braverman's approach. But, I do have strong sympathy with what @Leon is saying.
That's fine. So long as you're happy when Sir Keir as PM tramples all over 'Judicial Review [and] all common law challenges' to facilitate one of Labour's hobby horses.
An old communist slogan which made me uneasy even in my teens is "The will of the people is the law of the land". I was in favour of revolutionary change, but, well, law-abiding revolutionary change (hey, teenagers don't have to be logical). If laws can be overridden at will, then literally nothing is safe from the government. It's an odd thing for conservatives to espouse.
As I regularly point out the Tories are vying with the Greens for the least conservative party nowadays.
Just about the only thing that prevents a Labour majority at this point, is the party going hard on social issues in the run-up to the election - especially temping someone like JKR into supporting opponents.
Much as I would enjoy Rowling using her bully pulpit to support the Tories I think she’s a bit too canny to besmirch her right-on apart from the trannies and Scotch independence reputation. More likely to try to whip Starmer into shape which is just the sort of triangulating he’d be up for.
Okay, here's my STOP THE BOATS theory. The majority of voters think this is a real priority, regardless of whether they support the Rwanda scheme or not. So far so good, However, it's now damaging the Tories in the polls. And the reason for this is that voters think there are lots of other priorities as well, but all they hear about from Sunak and others is 'stop the boats' - the PM even holds a special press conference about it. It's become an obsession, as if nothing else matters, at the expense of other priorities.
In conclusion: single issue parties aren't popular with the voters. The Tories need to broaden their repertoire, because folk are getting a bit fed up with the government wittering on about boats and nothing much else (apart from the occasional pothole interjection).
I don't disagree with any of this. But I'd also add that while stop the boats is a priority for voters, the Conservatives evidently aren't stopping the boats. They've ramped up the importance of one issue that they either have no intention of doing anything about or are terrible at doing so. People who want the boats stopped are increasingly bemused about why the Conservatives aren't doing so.
Yeah I agree with all that
I think some form of Rwanda is worth trying - and remember, WE HAVEN’T ACTUALLY TRIED IT YET - because deterrence might work. I see all the flaws with Rwanda but no one has any better idea. Which is why other countries are reaching a similar conclusion - Rwanda
However the government are so inept they have managed to get all the bad vibes of packing poor asylum seekers off to Kigali while all the time they’ve sent not one person to Kigali - thus infuriating both sides while doing nothing
It’s another example of Cookie’s Law. This government makes right wing noises but actually behaves more like an incompetent left wing government, ensuring the contempt of all
The deterrence argument was very shaky at best, but given the government has been talking about it for well over a year now and achieved nothing means that no potential migrants will believe it now anyway.
They've taken the deterrence argument quite seriously in Ireland, or at least seriously enough for the government here to use it as an excuse for why asylum seeker numbers went up in Ireland, surprising them and forcing the government to impose the lifestyle choice of tented accommodation onto new arrivals.
I guess blaming the English is always a handy go-to for the Irish political class, but interesting that arrival numbers in Ireland went up at the same time as boat numbers across the channel went down.
On the topic of the day, the only reasons I can see to prefer a pool over the sea are if the sea is a) forbiddingly cold, b) full of bitey or stingy things, or c) discouragingly unclean. None of those look to apply.
Piranha. Electric eels. That fish which goes up the urethra and erects its spines so it can't be got out.
Or has he left the jungle?
Does that fish really exist? I've heard of it, but it was so horrific an image I wondered whether it was an urban myth. You would have thought it a very limited evolutionary niche to occupy. And also a horrible existence.
Off thread, but I'm currently on hold to Esure trying to get a bit of minor administration done to tidy up an incident from 14 months ago. Just ticked over the hour mark listening to weirdly distorted gloomy piano music. It can only be specifically designed to make you give up and go away. "We're unusually busy today" - no you're not, I've never got through to this department in under an hour and usually give up after two and a half. Reckon I've spent about 48 hours on hold waiting for Esure to answer the phone over the past 14 months.
Yeah any business that leaves the "unusually busy" msg on indefinitely (Doctors too) should probably be taken out and shot.
People support the abolition of inheritance tax even if they are never going to pay it themselves. Its about fairness. Taxing the dead is absolutely unfair when you have paid taxes all your life. It will be difficult for Labour to overturn it. Its a sort if 45p tax trap like McDoom set.
Interior of Euston Station as it uses to be. Off my FB feed, but year unknown.
Nice photo - but it looks gloomily austere. In my head, the old Euston was some sort of vaguely Greco-Roman paradise; a prelapsarian arcadia, with trains. Slightly disappointing to see that not all old architecture was magnificent.
But still. Compare it to the interior of today’s Euston
Today I’m due to attend a speed awareness course for incurring the wrath of 20mph Khan.
And it reminds me about that little Braverman story I’d forgotten until now: that she tried to get civil servants to sort her a private speed awareness appointment.
Woman of the people that she is.
I do one of them every three years, Tim.
I enjoy them so much, as soon as the three years is up I go out and speed past the nearest camera and get myself on the next course.
To be fair, they are very informative. My recollection is that quite a few people there were very ‘moody’ though. I enjoyed mine a lot more than I expected to.
And Good Morning to one and all. Very pleasant this morning here after a very November-ish day yesterday.
Having been done for 27 mph in a 20 (that was new, and sandwiched between 60, 40, 30, and another 30 in less than 1 mile) I was very grumpy. In some ways the Drake's all encompassing 20 in urban zones is the way ahead (but more slowly...)
There are new cameras coming out that can do motorists in both directions without painting the roads. It can also do you for no seat belt and using your mobile phone.
People support the abolition of inheritance tax even if they are never going to pay it themselves. Its about fairness. Taxing the dead is absolutely unfair when you have paid taxes all your life. It will be difficult for Labour to overturn it. Its a sort if 45p tax trap like McDoom set.
Think of it as taxing those who get the inheritance, not those who left it. Obviously the dead person can't be taxed. They're dead.
On the topic of the day, the only reasons I can see to prefer a pool over the sea are if the sea is a) forbiddingly cold, b) full of bitey or stingy things, or c) discouragingly unclean. None of those look to apply.
Piranha. Electric eels. That fish which goes up the urethra and erects its spines so it can't be got out.
Or has he left the jungle?
Does that fish really exist? I've heard of it, but it was so horrific an image I wondered whether it was an urban myth. You would have thought it a very limited evolutionary niche to occupy. And also a horrible existence.
Interior of Euston Station as it uses to be. Off my FB feed, but year unknown.
Yes, it was apparently quite a spectacular place. But also allegedly rather unsuited for modern operations. IIRC that spot is now about a third of a way along the platforms. Sadly, it had to go.
(Though the fact the Euston arch was not rebuilt was a crime...)
I think that was the nicest bit of Euston. The rest was a bunch of sheds
But still probably worth preserving. Especially the arch, of course
America’s loss of great 1850-1950 architecture dwarfs ours. And ours was bad enough. They destroyed townscape after townscape in favour of the car. Whole websites are dedicated to this horrendous barbarism
Off thread, but I'm currently on hold to Esure trying to get a bit of minor administration done to tidy up an incident from 14 months ago. Just ticked over the hour mark listening to weirdly distorted gloomy piano music. It can only be specifically designed to make you give up and go away. "We're unusually busy today" - no you're not, I've never got through to this department in under an hour and usually give up after two and a half. Reckon I've spent about 48 hours on hold waiting for Esure to answer the phone over the past 14 months.
Yeah any business that leaves the "unusually busy" msg on indefinitely (Doctors too) should probably be taken out and shot.
Just ticked over the 2 hour mark now. *Sigh*
E-Sure Manchester office - The Meridian, 25 Quay Street, Manchester, M3 4AL.
People support the abolition of inheritance tax even if they are never going to pay it themselves. Its about fairness. Taxing the dead is absolutely unfair when you have paid taxes all your life. It will be difficult for Labour to overturn it. Its a sort if 45p tax trap like McDoom set.
Think of it as taxing those who get the inheritance, not those who left it. Obviously the dead person can't be taxed. They're dead.
The Dead are taxed. The tax is deducted from the estate of the deceased before assets are distributed. Its iniquitous.
Is it just me or does anyone else think Rachel Reeves wears shit clothes? Fringey haircut doesn't help either.
She needs a stylist.
Ooh, get Gok Wan!
Sort of agree, her style could kindly be described as stolid, and when combined with that wasp trapped in a bottle voice.. Yousaf’s dress sense is also a bit rubbish lest anyone thinks I’m a mcp. As for the Starmer flirtation with Stone Island..
German sleeve for Morrissey’s “First of the Gang to Die”
Interior of Euston Station as it uses to be. Off my FB feed, but year unknown.
Nice photo - but it looks gloomily austere. In my head, the old Euston was some sort of vaguely Greco-Roman paradise; a prelapsarian arcadia, with trains. Slightly disappointing to see that not all old architecture was magnificent.
But still. Compare it to the interior of today’s Euston
Penn Station in NYC was the greatest loss of all
Look at it. And they knocked it down
To be fair, it is slightly larger than Rhode Island. You put some mighty skyscrapers on that footprint.
EDIT: I see that Madison Square Gardens was built where it stood.
People support the abolition of inheritance tax even if they are never going to pay it themselves. Its about fairness. Taxing the dead is absolutely unfair when you have paid taxes all your life. It will be difficult for Labour to overturn it. Its a sort if 45p tax trap like McDoom set.
Periodic reminder that inheritance tax taxes the living on unearned income. The dead, being dead, do not pay. The living, in most cases, already do not pay due to the exemptions and the loopholes for those inclined to find them.
As it stands,* I'll land a substantial inheritance one day due to my good judgement in having parents with a house in the south east (I haven't looked into it, but I suspect we'll actually not be charged due to the exemptions) but I really don't see why I should be handed a few £100k tax free that I have done nothing to deserve, while I get taxed etc on the money I work for.
*my parents are, unfortunately, loathe to spend money, despite having pretty comfortable pensions - getting them to even shell out for useful modifications to their home as they're getting old or paying for more than the cheapest care services is hard. It may all go on care home costs, of course, which is also fine with me (I just hope they use the money to have the best possible final years).
Off thread, but I'm currently on hold to Esure trying to get a bit of minor administration done to tidy up an incident from 14 months ago. Just ticked over the hour mark listening to weirdly distorted gloomy piano music. It can only be specifically designed to make you give up and go away. "We're unusually busy today" - no you're not, I've never got through to this department in under an hour and usually give up after two and a half. Reckon I've spent about 48 hours on hold waiting for Esure to answer the phone over the past 14 months.
Yeah any business that leaves the "unusually busy" msg on indefinitely (Doctors too) should probably be taken out and shot.
Just ticked over the 2 hour mark now. *Sigh*
When you get through tell them you are going to charge for your time as part of your claim.
Comments
I think some form of Rwanda is worth trying - and remember, WE HAVEN’T ACTUALLY TRIED IT YET - because deterrence might work. I see all the flaws with Rwanda but no one has any better idea. Which is why other countries are reaching a similar conclusion - Rwanda
However the government are so inept they have managed to get all the bad vibes of packing poor asylum seekers off to Kigali while all the time they’ve sent not one person to Kigali - thus infuriating both sides while doing nothing
It’s another example of Cookie’s Law. This government makes right wing noises but actually behaves more like an incompetent left wing government, ensuring the contempt of all
It’s 28C. Barely any humidity. Soft music floats over the sugar palms, I hear languid laughter of suntanned people on the white sand beach
Would the Tories just cut IHT , give pensioners a huge increase and attack welfare benefits and think the voters will just return to them .
Great article @Alanbrooke. Your writing is just seleucid.
Whatever your view of British trade unions, their destruction removed a feedback loop from the people to the political classes that we have not fully compensated for, resulting in the disconnect we all criticise but do nothing to fix. I know that @MoonRabbit, once of this parish (can she be let out of Purgatory now?) has an ahistorical view of trades unions and the important part they played in British history. Perhaps this will act as a counter.
https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/17wnk4d/comment/k9ievee/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/sweden-tesla-strike-cleaners
Like I said, I’m not voting for this shower of incompetents in 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d4CaCfyqio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYAnHo4KsIg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d8PKF6TetI
I may actually complain
From the River to the Sea.
Leon will be Free.
Hmmm !!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/it-actually-feels-like-my-place-scotland-s-rent-cap-helps-tenants-but-loopholes-remain/ar-AA1k2sa7?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=7e664a243dbe45d5a973013bad1fd2c0&ei=17
Unfortunately the last few PM’s have ignored her skills and ability by limiting her to being Attorney General and Home Secretary so she was unable to do anything about it.
As far as I can see, she's responding to direct criticism from Rowling, without really attacking her:
Asked about Rowling’s remarks and whether women voters can trust her party at the next election, Ms Nandy told journalists: “Yes, they can. It breaks my heart, actually. We’re re-reading Harry Potter at the moment in my house, with an eight-year-old who is absolutely Harry Potter obsessed.
“And I don’t think we should end up in an oppositional relationship where we’re talking about some of the most marginalised, discriminated against women and girls on the planet and we can’t have that debate.
“Because there’s a genuine conversation to be had about the rights of transgender people and the protection of safe spaces and hard-fought rights for women.”
I'm also not particularly anti-Rowling on this, although I think she's got herself backed into a more hardline corner due to some of the unfair criticism (there has also been fair criticism) she's received.
It appears that the police street camera feeds are available to the public, presumably thanks to some legislation that allowed them to be everywhere in the city in the first place. Well, there’s a load of Youtube channels currently showing the Las Vegas street cameras, and guess what they’re showing?
Leon's holidays are free.
Or has he left the jungle?
If so, WTF F1!
https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Decision - Car 55 - Replacement Components.pdf
Apparently they spent three hours trying to find a way not to give Sainz a penalty.
The thinking now is that all the teams agree that the penalty can be waived, but that’s for discussion tomorrow.
It would solve so many problems. Like Gaza
“Shall we have have a massive all out war and shoot each other in fetid tunnels full of killer dogs or shall we have another caipirnha maybe with nice bar snacks and watch the sunset?”
“Hmm, I dunno. I hate you”
“Yeah but they’ve got these really cool triangular green lanterns”
“Ah ok then. I’ll have a pina colada”
Sort of agree, her style could kindly be described as stolid, and when combined with that wasp trapped in a bottle voice..
Yousaf’s dress sense is also a bit rubbish lest anyone thinks I’m a mcp. As for the Starmer flirtation with Stone Island..
Interesting.
Before the Berlin Wall fell FC Union Berlin was the second team in East Berlin (the first being a stitch up by the Stasi). Fans often used to chant and sing songs against the DDR regime during matches. Being part of a mass crowd in a stadium was about the only place where the authorities could not control what was going on, or find out who the ringleaders were.
Now people need to finally start listening to him about his own plan to make it work because the idiots who put it into action don’t know what they are doing.
This is a little better, but they have no support races to lay down rubber because they can only have the track for a few hours.
(Though the fact the Euston arch was not rebuilt was a crime...)
But if the cap fits ....
https://x.com/RishiSunak/status/1725462416475975695?s=20
I guess blaming the English is always a handy go-to for the Irish political class, but interesting that arrival numbers in Ireland went up at the same time as boat numbers across the channel went down.
Penn Station in NYC was the greatest loss of all
Look at it. And they knocked it down
On a clear day you can see all the way round the Jurassic coast to Portland.
https://www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk/things-to-do/start-point-lighthouse-p204233
You can stay there too. Although getting someone else to pay....
’The Conservative Party has been in power for fourteen years and in that time they have achieved many great things.
It’s been a phenomenal few years for Britain.
And there’s one political party that deserves our utmost thanks and praise.
Thank you, Tories.’
https://youtu.be/Ok1suEMJFTI?si=J0Oqb1sbtE8XYAnw
But still probably worth preserving. Especially the arch, of course
America’s loss of great 1850-1950 architecture dwarfs ours. And ours was bad enough. They destroyed townscape after townscape in favour of the car. Whole websites are dedicated to this horrendous barbarism
And the result? It made them all fat
If I am on your jury, I will find you not guilty.
"Potholes! People hate potholes! I can fill them in! They'll love me then, won't they Briefcase? Please say yes! Pleeze..."
(the briefcase sits silently, uncomprehending)
EDIT: I see that Madison Square Gardens was built where it stood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipping_facilities_of_the_London,_Midland_and_Scottish_Railway#List_of_ships_of_the_London,_Midland_and_Scottish_Railway
I think the statue of George Stephenson is the one at the National Rail Museum?
As it stands,* I'll land a substantial inheritance one day due to my good judgement in having parents with a house in the south east (I haven't looked into it, but I suspect we'll actually not be charged due to the exemptions) but I really don't see why I should be handed a few £100k tax free that I have done nothing to deserve, while I get taxed etc on the money I work for.
*my parents are, unfortunately, loathe to spend money, despite having pretty comfortable pensions - getting them to even shell out for useful modifications to their home as they're getting old or paying for more than the cheapest care services is hard. It may all go on care home costs, of course, which is also fine with me (I just hope they use the money to have the best possible final years).