The Tory line seems to be that Anderson would have been fine if he apologised. Yet Labour's Rochdale candidate, who said something less inflammatory than Anderson did, offered a full apology and was still thrown out. The double standards around Antisemitism and Islamophobia - or perhaps Labour's greater seriousness in dealing with its problems - are quite glaring.
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
There are quite a few other countries / states that I would consider imperialist - including those mentioned by others (although some of them are just colonial projects, such as Canada and Australia, rather than imperial states of their own). The distinction I would make about Britain is that we are, in many ways, the heart of (modern) imperial political thought, with the British model of imperialism being the dominant mode of doing empire (dominant here doesn't just mean the biggest, although it was for a time, but also meaning in a pseudo-evolutionary sense the fittest form that survived). The US Empire, for example, is very similar in form to aspects of the British Empire - not actually directly controlling the land or people's in question, but functionally controlling or making sure that the political class are sympathetic to US policy.
There is also a lot to be said about whether Britain has confronted their role in Empire as much as some other countries - which I would suggest we haven't in mass culture given that most British people still consider the British Empire as a net positive to the world. I had, at one point, considered Germany a good example of a people who looked at their history squarely - but given some rhetoric and state acts since October 7th it seems that the extent of the lessons of the holocaust in Germany (and much of the western world, alas) is that such horrors will never again happen to Jewish people again, but for anyone else it is fine...
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
There are quite a few other countries / states that I would consider imperialist - including those mentioned by others (although some of them are just colonial projects, such as Canada and Australia, rather than imperial states of their own). The distinction I would make about Britain is that we are, in many ways, the heart of (modern) imperial political thought, with the British model of imperialism being the dominant mode of doing empire (dominant here doesn't just mean the biggest, although it was for a time, but also meaning in a pseudo-evolutionary sense the fittest form that survived). The US Empire, for example, is very similar in form to aspects of the British Empire - not actually directly controlling the land or people's in question, but functionally controlling or making sure that the political class are sympathetic to US policy.
There is also a lot to be said about whether Britain has confronted their role in Empire as much as some other countries - which I would suggest we haven't in mass culture given that most British people still consider the British Empire as a net positive to the world. I had, at one point, considered Germany a good example of a people who looked at their history squarely - but given some rhetoric and state acts since October 7th it seems that the extent of the lessons of the holocaust in Germany (and much of the western world, alas) is that such horrors will never again happen to Jewish people again, but for anyone else it is fine...
There is a funny clip of a comedian doing the rounds where he relates how in Australia a lefty (ie all white) coalition is calling for "an end to the occupation".
To be a bit serious, while Sunak doesn't do himself many favours on the likeability front, racism among the white electorate is sure to be playing some part in his unpopularity, and as someone from an Indian Hindu family, he will also be starting with a handicap as far as a significant fraction of the non-white electorate is concerned.
I would think in the honeycomb of reasons voters might not want to vote for Sunak ethnicity would be very low down on the list. That he is obsessed with stopping immigrants coming to the UK when he himself has benefitted from doing just that tells you a lot about his character and that might have an effect. It does with me.
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
There are quite a few other countries / states that I would consider imperialist - including those mentioned by others (although some of them are just colonial projects, such as Canada and Australia, rather than imperial states of their own). The distinction I would make about Britain is that we are, in many ways, the heart of (modern) imperial political thought, with the British model of imperialism being the dominant mode of doing empire (dominant here doesn't just mean the biggest, although it was for a time, but also meaning in a pseudo-evolutionary sense the fittest form that survived). The US Empire, for example, is very similar in form to aspects of the British Empire - not actually directly controlling the land or people's in question, but functionally controlling or making sure that the political class are sympathetic to US policy.
There is also a lot to be said about whether Britain has confronted their role in Empire as much as some other countries - which I would suggest we haven't in mass culture given that most British people still consider the British Empire as a net positive to the world. I had, at one point, considered Germany a good example of a people who looked at their history squarely - but given some rhetoric and state acts since October 7th it seems that the extent of the lessons of the holocaust in Germany (and much of the western world, alas) is that such horrors will never again happen to Jewish people again, but for anyone else it is fine...
You are saying that there is an ongoing holocaust in Gaza. Have I got that right.
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
Does it? This time next week I’m off to Guadeloupe (again) and that’s just a part of France albeit overseas.
As my wife commented watching death in paradise last night that’s not my Honoré / Deshaies there’s an empty parking space (because compared to other parts of the Caribbean everyone has a car and finding a parking space is a nightmare).
Legally, it's just a part of France overseas, but that's not how the French act towards the Guadeloupians!
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
Same question to many of the 2019 lifelong Cons. Not very many other places to go.
The Tory line seems to be that Anderson would have been fine if he apologised. Yet Labour's Rochdale candidate, who said something less inflammatory than Anderson did, offered a full apology and was still thrown out. The double standards around Antisemitism and Islamophobia - or perhaps Labour's greater seriousness in dealing with its problems - are quite glaring.
- Says Lee Anderson's choice of words were "wrong" and "unacceptable" particularly as "tensions are running high"
- denies that the Tory party are islamphobic
- Says he wanted "to take the heat out of this situation"
Richi is just hoping if they stop talking about it people will forget
This is a familiar problem. They want to say he's bad enough that they kicked him out, but not that he's so bad it taints the party (and looks poor when they re-admit him in a few months).
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
I don't suppose losing 700k votes is too traumatic for Lab across all constituencies (there will of course be concentrations perhaps someone can do the math to see where).
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
There are quite a few other countries / states that I would consider imperialist - including those mentioned by others (although some of them are just colonial projects, such as Canada and Australia, rather than imperial states of their own). The distinction I would make about Britain is that we are, in many ways, the heart of (modern) imperial political thought, with the British model of imperialism being the dominant mode of doing empire (dominant here doesn't just mean the biggest, although it was for a time, but also meaning in a pseudo-evolutionary sense the fittest form that survived). The US Empire, for example, is very similar in form to aspects of the British Empire - not actually directly controlling the land or people's in question, but functionally controlling or making sure that the political class are sympathetic to US policy.
There is also a lot to be said about whether Britain has confronted their role in Empire as much as some other countries - which I would suggest we haven't in mass culture given that most British people still consider the British Empire as a net positive to the world. I had, at one point, considered Germany a good example of a people who looked at their history squarely - but given some rhetoric and state acts since October 7th it seems that the extent of the lessons of the holocaust in Germany (and much of the western world, alas) is that such horrors will never again happen to Jewish people again, but for anyone else it is fine...
https://yougov.co.uk/international/articles/28355-how-unique-are-british-attitudes-empire has polling. It does not suggest "that most British people still consider the British Empire as a net positive to the world", although they ask a slightly different question. The Dutch are way ahead of us in their love for Empire. (I am one quarter descended from Dutch colonial rulers.)
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
Does it? This time next week I’m off to Guadeloupe (again) and that’s just a part of France albeit overseas.
As my wife commented watching death in paradise last night that’s not my Honoré / Deshaies there’s an empty parking space (because compared to other parts of the Caribbean everyone has a car and finding a parking space is a nightmare).
Legally, it's just a part of France overseas, but that's not how the French act towards the Guadeloupians!
Um that’s France, they act the same way to people living in the wrong part of Paris
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
You just don't believe in freedom of speech.
I'm trying to save him from himself. Just like those calling out "Bliar" it is political naivety which doesn't really belong on PB. Searing political insight it is not.
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
Russia, China, Java all say say hold my beer...
Hold on, if France, Britain, Russia, China and Indonesia are imperialist powers, then why not the US? Or Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Mexico, I mean you could make a long list of big countries...
Russia and China specifically
1) hold onto a variety of sub countries/cultures by force. 2) suppress those cultures with extreme violence. 3) treat the members of those cultures as third class citizens. 4) are deliberately extinguishing their culture differences
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
I don't suppose losing 700k votes is too traumatic for Lab across all constituencies (there will of course be concentrations perhaps someone can do the math to see where).
Thing is that you need a seat to have lots of Muslim voters and be at least a bit marginal for it to matter. There are a few seats like that (Peterborough is one) but not many.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
In the dystopian nightmare in which we currently reside "Richi" gives us hard of thinking non-Tories a chuckle every now and again. Harmless fun, harmless fun.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
I may be diehard Remoaner, but yes, that gets my vote.
'Richi' is a rather puerile insult when there is so much about the man to genuinely criticise. See also Bad Enoch.
That's quite funny. My mother whatsapped me yesterday saying she thought she was losing her mind. At 93 she is forgetting stuff and not keeping track of detail (remembers the dress she wore 60 years ago to a party but not what she had for breakfast, etc..).
I said to her don't worry. If you really were losing your mind you wouldn't think you were losing your mind.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
I may be diehard Remoaner, but yes, that gets my vote.
'Richi' is a rather puerile insult when there is so much about the man to genuinely criticise. See also Bad Enoch.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
You just don't believe in freedom of speech.
I'm trying to save him from himself. Just like those calling out "Bliar" it is political naivety which doesn't really belong on PB. Searing political insight it is not.
I miss the days of Brittas and Keith Stormer. Even Prime Ministers joined in, Sir Crasheroonie snoozefest and Sir Softie were works of genius.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
In the dystopian nightmare in which we currently reside "Richi" gives us hard of thinking non-Tories a chuckle every now and again. Harmless fun, harmless fun.
Do you, personally, live in a dystopian nightmare or are you talking on behalf of your fellow Brits.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
I may be diehard Remoaner, but yes, that gets my vote.
'Richi' is a rather puerile insult when there is so much about the man to genuinely criticise. See also Bad Enoch.
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
I don't suppose losing 700k votes is too traumatic for Lab across all constituencies (there will of course be concentrations perhaps someone can do the math to see where).
Also, it doesn't appear that they are losing the votes to the Tories - the LAB/Con split is still 8:1.
If there were an election tomorrow, our participants responded: 40% – Will not vote 21% – Independent 17% – Green Party 10% – Liberal Democrat 4.9% – SNP 4.8% – Labour 0.6% – Conservative 3.5% – Other
PS: And no way do I believe there was an 88% turnout amongst that group in 2019 - false memory at work there.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
I may be diehard Remoaner, but yes, that gets my vote.
'Richi' is a rather puerile insult when there is so much about the man to genuinely criticise. See also Bad Enoch.
Cruella. Or is that merely a factual observation?
Actually, you've swayed me with that one. Free speech rocks!
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
Russia, China, Java all say say hold my beer...
Hold on, if France, Britain, Russia, China and Indonesia are imperialist powers, then why not the US? Or Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Mexico, I mean you could make a long list of big countries...
Russia and China specifically
1) hold onto a variety of sub countries/cultures by force. 2) suppress those cultures with extreme violence. 3) treat the members of those cultures as third class citizens. 4) are deliberately extinguishing their culture differences
Sure, but I don't think *France* and *Britain* are really doing all 4 of those very much these days. Certainly less than India, for example.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
In the dystopian nightmare in which we currently reside "Richi" gives us hard of thinking non-Tories a chuckle every now and again. Harmless fun, harmless fun.
Do you, personally, live in a dystopian nightmare or are you talking on behalf of your fellow Brits.
Crumbling schools, a failing NHS, children unable to access dental care, ex-servicemen living in Halfords tents, a housing crisis and a rise in mortgage defaults. Move along, nothing to see.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
In the dystopian nightmare in which we currently reside "Richi" gives us hard of thinking non-Tories a chuckle every now and again. Harmless fun, harmless fun.
Do you, personally, live in a dystopian nightmare or are you talking on behalf of your fellow Brits.
Crumbling schools, a failing NHS, children unable to access dental care, ex-servicemen living in Halfords tents, a housing crisis and a rise in mortgage defaults. Move along, nothing to see.
My own dystopian nightmare is my business.
So someone else's dystopian nightmare, of which you have no experience. Reminds me of this from, presumably, the other end of the political spectrum.
I approve of this plan. My kids are all grown up, I don't want to spend time trying to not fall off my mountain bike surrounded by other peoples kids. Give them July.
Air Force man sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington DC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68398479 A member of the US Air Force is in a critical condition after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington. Officers from the US Secret Service extinguished the flames before the man was taken to hospital on Sunday afternoon with serious injuries. The US Air Force confirmed an active-duty serviceman was involved but he has not been identified. The police, the Secret Service and other authorities are investigating. In a video that was live streamed on Twitch, the man identified himself and said he was a serving member of the Air Force. Before setting himself on fire, he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide" and he was heard shouting "Free Palestine" as he burned..
I think a 1992 style result is actually less of a chance than a complete Tory collapse - it feels to me there is still significant risk that they could leach further votes to Reform.
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
In the dystopian nightmare in which we currently reside "Richi" gives us hard of thinking non-Tories a chuckle every now and again. Harmless fun, harmless fun.
Do you, personally, live in a dystopian nightmare or are you talking on behalf of your fellow Brits.
Crumbling schools, a failing NHS, children unable to access dental care, ex-servicemen living in Halfords tents, a housing crisis and a rise in mortgage defaults. Move along, nothing to see.
My own dystopian nightmare is my business.
So someone else's dystopian nightmare, of which you have no experience. Reminds me of this from, presumably, the other end of the political spectrum.
People will however vote based on how they feel. Since public services are in such fine fettle, the economy booming, and everybody's finances looking rosy, the Tories will no doubt be returned with an increased majority.
One has to wonder at the generosity of Sunak: delaying the election to give Labour time to claw back a bit of support.
I think a 1992 style result is actually less of a chance than a complete Tory collapse - it feels to me there is still significant risk that they could leach further votes to Reform.
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
Yep, that's my view.
Such major political upheavals are extremely rare with our FPTP system, only occurring about once every 100 years or so. The last time was... oh, about 100 years ago.
Air Force man sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington DC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68398479 A member of the US Air Force is in a critical condition after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington. Officers from the US Secret Service extinguished the flames before the man was taken to hospital on Sunday afternoon with serious injuries. The US Air Force confirmed an active-duty serviceman was involved but he has not been identified. The police, the Secret Service and other authorities are investigating. In a video that was live streamed on Twitch, the man identified himself and said he was a serving member of the Air Force. Before setting himself on fire, he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide" and he was heard shouting "Free Palestine" as he burned..
The video - apparently made my himself and others - is utterly horrendous. NSFW
Regarding the possibility of a May election. At the weekend I received a leaflet from my local Conservative councillor, the first since he was elected in 2022. The weekend prior, I received a leaflet from a "list" Conservative MSP, the first since he was elected in 2021.
I think a 1992 style result is actually less of a chance than a complete Tory collapse - it feels to me there is still significant risk that they could leach further votes to Reform.
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
Yep, that's my view.
Such major political upheavals are extremely rare with our FPTP system, only occurring about once every 100 years or so. The last time was... oh, about 100 years ago.
I think the Tories feel that they can't lose that badly. But their latest idea that actually the polls are completely wrong does not suggest to me that they think they need to do anything to make a come back.
I think a 1992 style result is actually less of a chance than a complete Tory collapse - it feels to me there is still significant risk that they could leach further votes to Reform.
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
The fact everyone is skirting round 30p Lee to pretend he can return to the Tory party and doesn’t need to join reform instantly tells you a lot
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
I think a 1992 style result is actually less of a chance than a complete Tory collapse - it feels to me there is still significant risk that they could leach further votes to Reform.
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
Yep, that's my view.
Such major political upheavals are extremely rare with our FPTP system, only occurring about once every 100 years or so. The last time was... oh, about 100 years ago.
I think the Tories feel that they can't lose that badly. But their latest idea that actually the polls are completely wrong does not suggest to me that they think they need to do anything to make a come back.
Indeed, and I think they can lose that badly.
They are seen as being incompetent, pretty much across every area of government. At what point do voters on the right actually say, I want right wing policies but the Tories are too incompetent to deliver them. Where do those voters go? A number on the centre right have already gone to Labour. The others must surely be looking to Reform now.
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
I don't suppose losing 700k votes is too traumatic for Lab across all constituencies (there will of course be concentrations perhaps someone can do the math to see where).
Thing is that you need a seat to have lots of Muslim voters and be at least a bit marginal for it to matter. There are a few seats like that (Peterborough is one) but not many.
While this, the subject of the Muslim vote, is interesting and non trivial, the truly pragmatic issue is different. All elections are won from the centre, because to win an election Tories need the votes of social democrats who often vote Labour, and Labour need the votes of one nation liberal democrats who often vote Tory.
The great majority of seats are not swung either way by the votes of the Muslim voters. That's pure arithmetic + demography.
So the reality is that the important question is this: What is the current centrist/swing voter position in relation to Palestine, Hamas, Israel, Israel's government, antisemitism and islamophobia, and violence/threats within the UK related to any and all of these.
IMHO this has shifted a bit. To about this:
Hamas and Israel's government: against (a big shift) Ordinary people in Israel and Palestine: support (a big shift) antisemitism: against islamophobia: against. But centrist opinion is much less trusting of Islamic voices in the UK than Jewish ones. Political/religious violence in UK: absolutely against; with Islam/Islamism seen as a real threat, and Judaism a zero threat.
Assess all politics by approximately this template, but DYOR.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
In the dystopian nightmare in which we currently reside "Richi" gives us hard of thinking non-Tories a chuckle every now and again. Harmless fun, harmless fun.
Do you, personally, live in a dystopian nightmare or are you talking on behalf of your fellow Brits.
Crumbling schools, a failing NHS, children unable to access dental care, ex-servicemen living in Halfords tents, a housing crisis and a rise in mortgage defaults. Move along, nothing to see.
My own dystopian nightmare is my business.
You forgot delays at the passport office and empty stalls on Castleford market.
Plus a myriad of other things which may or may not exist and don't affect you but which you might have read something about in the last ten years.
Mark Harper's plans to spend oodles of HS2 money on local transport, starting in 2025, is yet another addition to the long list of things that the Tories intend to do when they are no longer in power.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
In the dystopian nightmare in which we currently reside "Richi" gives us hard of thinking non-Tories a chuckle every now and again. Harmless fun, harmless fun.
Do you, personally, live in a dystopian nightmare or are you talking on behalf of your fellow Brits.
Crumbling schools, a failing NHS, children unable to access dental care, ex-servicemen living in Halfords tents, a housing crisis and a rise in mortgage defaults. Move along, nothing to see.
My own dystopian nightmare is my business.
You forgot delays at the passport office and empty stalls on Castleford market.
Plus a myriad of other things which may or may not exist and don't affect you but which you might have read something about in the last ten years.
The passport office is only a problem if you have lost your old passport - as I reported back in December Mrs Eek had her new passport on Thursday morning having filled the form on Sunday and posted the old one off Monday afternoon
Hard to see past Galloway in this one. His supporters are keen, nobody else is. Even the 1.55 on Betfair looks value.
What impact his return will have is hard to judge. It makes a good media story and reminds people of Labour's problem there. But I'm not sure it has much traction - he is too egocentric to bother to set up a national movement and nobody else well-knpwn seems interested.
Regarding the possibility of a May election. At the weekend I received a leaflet from my local Conservative councillor, the first since he was elected in 2022. The weekend prior, I received a leaflet from a "list" Conservative MSP, the first since he was elected in 2021.
Ah. Did they use the c- word anywhere? Can't claim to be the Ruth Davidson says No party any more.
Regarding the possibility of a May election. At the weekend I received a leaflet from my local Conservative councillor, the first since he was elected in 2022. The weekend prior, I received a leaflet from a "list" Conservative MSP, the first since he was elected in 2021.
No chance of May.
No chance of Reform out-polling the Tories.
The Budget is going to be a tax-cutting proppa Tory budget the likes of which we haven't seen this Parliament. Reform has nothing to offer. Nothing.
Second half of 2024 will see Labour and the Tories both polling in the 30's.
I think a 1992 style result is actually less of a chance than a complete Tory collapse - it feels to me there is still significant risk that they could leach further votes to Reform.
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
A crossover is very unlikely this side of an election. Institutional and voter inertia is a powerful thing.
However, the chance of a major realignment after the election is quite realistic; that realignment could take a number of different forms, with Reform directly replacing the Tories being one of the less likely.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
You just don't believe in freedom of speech.
I'm trying to save him from himself. Just like those calling out "Bliar" it is political naivety which doesn't really belong on PB. Searing political insight it is not.
Is it any worse than the, oh so comical, Bad Enoch or GBeebies.
It’s infantile and puerile.
It is a pity, unlike twitter,you cannot block posts with certain words.
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
I think a 1992 style result is actually less of a chance than a complete Tory collapse - it feels to me there is still significant risk that they could leach further votes to Reform.
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
A crossover is very unlikely this side of an election. Institutional and voter inertia is a powerful thing.
However, the chance of a major realignment after the election is quite realistic; that realignment could take a number of different forms, with Reform directly replacing the Tories being one of the less likely.
I would normally agree re the inertia. But I am not entirely convinced, if the Tories have a bad campaign and more people become aware of Reform, that they would be able to stem the flow in that situation.
It’s a change election. That benefits Labour, but it also potentially benefits others filling the right wing space.
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
F*ck Britain I am no part of the made up confection , say what you mean England the last Imperialist power.
France retains a larger empire than Britain. Why aren’t they the last imperialist power?
Regarding the possibility of a May election. At the weekend I received a leaflet from my local Conservative councillor, the first since he was elected in 2022. The weekend prior, I received a leaflet from a "list" Conservative MSP, the first since he was elected in 2021.
No chance of May.
No chance of Reform out-polling the Tories.
The Budget is going to be a tax-cutting proppa Tory budget the likes of which we haven't seen this Parliament. Reform has nothing to offer. Nothing.
Second half of 2024 will see Labour and the Tories both polling in the 30's.
How, all reports show that Hunt has about £8-12bn max to play with and a lot of that will be spent ensuring petrol and diesel duty isn’t increased
Regarding the possibility of a May election. At the weekend I received a leaflet from my local Conservative councillor, the first since he was elected in 2022. The weekend prior, I received a leaflet from a "list" Conservative MSP, the first since he was elected in 2021.
Ah. Did they use the c- word anywhere? Can't claim to be the Ruth Davidson says No party any more.
I binned the one from the MSP. The local one says who it is from.
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
I don't suppose losing 700k votes is too traumatic for Lab across all constituencies (there will of course be concentrations perhaps someone can do the math to see where).
Thing is that you need a seat to have lots of Muslim voters and be at least a bit marginal for it to matter. There are a few seats like that (Peterborough is one) but not many.
While this, the subject of the Muslim vote, is interesting and non trivial, the truly pragmatic issue is different. All elections are won from the centre, because to win an election Tories need the votes of social democrats who often vote Labour, and Labour need the votes of one nation liberal democrats who often vote Tory.
The great majority of seats are not swung either way by the votes of the Muslim voters. That's pure arithmetic + demography.
So the reality is that the important question is this: What is the current centrist/swing voter position in relation to Palestine, Hamas, Israel, Israel's government, antisemitism and islamophobia, and violence/threats within the UK related to any and all of these.
IMHO this has shifted a bit. To about this:
Hamas and Israel's government: against (a big shift) Ordinary people in Israel and Palestine: support (a big shift) antisemitism: against islamophobia: against. But centrist opinion is much less trusting of Islamic voices in the UK than Jewish ones. Political/religious violence in UK: absolutely against; with Islam/Islamism seen as a real threat, and Judaism a zero threat.
Assess all politics by approximately this template, but DYOR.
I agree with all of that, although I'd expand the last point on political/religious violence to note that people are also aware of far right political violence.
I’d write ‘Good Morning’ but it’s grey and overcast, and India have just beaten England. that result was of course to be expected! I quite like the suggestion for longer half terms. They have them at the school where my grandson teaches and it seems to be good for him, and his family.
But not longer half terms mid winter surely?
And families need a decent summer break to be able to get away all together.
I have always thought the South African system where provinces stagger their school holidays a good method. It makes their resorts less crowded and is better for both vacationers and for their domestic tourist industry.
Is there any need for Devon and Leics to have the same time off?
We would have loved a 2 week half term; we went up to Howarth for the week, and it would've been great to be able to do that over the "middle weekend" with a few days at home either side.
However, I also understand that longer half terms can be a nightmare for working (especially single) parents, so I'm happy with the status quo.
Hard to see past Galloway in this one. His supporters are keen, nobody else is. Even the 1.55 on Betfair looks value.
What impact his return will have is hard to judge. It makes a good media story and reminds people of Labour's problem there. But I'm not sure it has much traction - he is too egocentric to bother to set up a national movement and nobody else well-knpwn seems interested.
I agree a low turnout is better for Galloway, but I still don't believe it. I already have a bet on this election (that implies a Labour win). Labour is value at 3. Bettors are too dazzled by Galloway's past.
Eventually PB will be a series of bots shouting at each other. Occasionally one particularly outrageous bot will pretend to flout or get banned but then come back with a new name and the exact same posting style
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
Can we institute a petition to stop @Scott_xP doing his "Richi" thing which is fucking irritating and provokes the same response in thinking people as it does towards those using "Bliar", "Liebour" et al.
As long as we can carry on saying Rishi Rich then that's fine.
Eventually PB will be a series of bots shouting at each other. Occasionally one particularly outrageous bot will pretend to flout or get banned but then come back with a new name and the exact same posting style
Truly dystopian
Just for you Clarkson, the presenter of Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime, said that the complaint fell apart when activists used what3words, the geocode location app, to pinpoint where the alleged wrongdoing took place.
Sawyer said that she used what3words because the police were “obsessed” with the app, but that its accuracy “can be a bit off” with a poor phone signal.
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
I don't suppose losing 700k votes is too traumatic for Lab across all constituencies (there will of course be concentrations perhaps someone can do the math to see where).
Thing is that you need a seat to have lots of Muslim voters and be at least a bit marginal for it to matter. There are a few seats like that (Peterborough is one) but not many.
Keighley. The Muslim voters in Keighley counterbalance the Poshos in Ilkley.
The last line of the thread header seems as out of hope as an England cricket team.
Oops, knackered from yesterday watching Liverpool's under 12s beat Chelsea first team.
Proudest I've ever been about a Liverpool.
(Snip)
This is something I don't understand with sport. How can you feel pride for a sporting team you support? You are not a member of the team; you do not coach or work for the club. You have contributed nothing to the victory. So how can you feel pride?
The supporters are part of the club. In fact, supporters are the only unchanging part of the club as managers come and go and players are transferred in and out; even stadia are ephemeral now.
They're not really part of the club though, are they? I mean, I love Williams F1 team, and I love it when they win (which has not been for many, many years, sadly). I'm even friends with someone who, until a few years back, worked for them. I feel good when they do well. But pride? No.
You feel pride for things you contribute directly to, *your* achievements. Feeling pride for the achievements of others just makes it look as though you've got f-all to be proud of in reality.
Could you say the same about patriotism? Is it wrong to be proud of Britain?
Chelsea’s average age was lower than Liverpool’s even with all the young kids on at the end.
@Leon I'm fascinated by the finances of stuff I know nothing about. Do you get paid a shed load for each article or are there dozens more that you don't link to here? I think I get the novel writing. I didn't get the finances of travel writing until I asked you here and you provided the details - Thanks. But I don't get the article writing. I understand how a celebrity like Boris gets a lot for say a one weekly article because he is paid for his name and there are other less well known people knocking out columns daily, but can you make a living doing occasional stuff or do you have to combine it with other stuff. Typically what is your weekly output and are you doing this in parallel with writing another novel?
I think a 1992 style result is actually less of a chance than a complete Tory collapse - it feels to me there is still significant risk that they could leach further votes to Reform.
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
Yep, that's my view.
Such major political upheavals are extremely rare with our FPTP system, only occurring about once every 100 years or so. The last time was... oh, about 100 years ago.
I think the Tories feel that they can't lose that badly. But their latest idea that actually the polls are completely wrong does not suggest to me that they think they need to do anything to make a come back.
It feels more like John Major's assertions that the polls were wrong in the run-up to 1997.
Immediately after the election he said something along the lines of "Well, we knew they weren't wrong, but there was nothing else we could do, was there?"
Eventually PB will be a series of bots shouting at each other. Occasionally one particularly outrageous bot will pretend to flout or get banned but then come back with a new name and the exact same posting style
Truly dystopian
Just for you Clarkson, the presenter of Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime, said that the complaint fell apart when activists used what3words, the geocode location app, to pinpoint where the alleged wrongdoing took place.
Sawyer said that she used what3words because the police were “obsessed” with the app, but that its accuracy “can be a bit off” with a poor phone signal.
I was at a railway station the other week and they used what3words on a poster to show you where the rail-replacement bus service was running from. I felt proud and informed because I knew what it was (from here).
Eventually PB will be a series of bots shouting at each other. Occasionally one particularly outrageous bot will pretend to flout or get banned but then come back with a new name and the exact same posting style
Regarding the possibility of a May election. At the weekend I received a leaflet from my local Conservative councillor, the first since he was elected in 2022. The weekend prior, I received a leaflet from a "list" Conservative MSP, the first since he was elected in 2021.
No chance of May.
No chance of Reform out-polling the Tories.
The Budget is going to be a tax-cutting proppa Tory budget the likes of which we haven't seen this Parliament. Reform has nothing to offer. Nothing.
Second half of 2024 will see Labour and the Tories both polling in the 30's.
How, all reports show that Hunt has about £8-12bn max to play with and a lot of that will be spent ensuring petrol and diesel duty isn’t increased
Would rather the money went to rebuilding schools and employing staff in the NHS to be honest.
On the Rochdale byelection, it isn't just turnout as a percentage, it is *who* turns out. Galloway's team claim they will have gone to every door 3 times. Which is impressive! But I can only imagine what kind of reaction they would get in the white areas of the town with their "For Gaza, For Rochdale" message.
I have read some brilliant reportage, with people bemoaning that they live in "a shithole" and what does Gaza have to do with them. I can image a large turnout by various young British Asians, a smaller turnout from their community elders voting for Ali, and perhaps some of the townships voting for Danczuk.
Anyone can win! Except the Tory who went on holiday to somewhere nicer, or the LibDems who started too late and too far behind.
@Leon I'm fascinated by the finances of stuff I know nothing about. Do you get paid a shed load for each article or are there dozens more that you don't link to here? I think I get the novel writing. I didn't get the finances of travel writing until I asked you here and you provided the details - Thanks. But I don't get the article writing. I understand how a celebrity like Boris gets a lot for say a one weekly article because he is paid for his name and there are other less well known people knocking out columns daily, but can you make a living doing occasional stuff or do you have to combine it with other stuff. Typically what is your weekly output and are you doing this in parallel with writing another novel?
You’d have to ask the actual author
Tho given that his articles nearly always enter the top 5 “most read” - like that one - and often reach the top, I presume his editors are happy, hence they keep taking his ideas (often shamelessly stolen from here, let it be said)
Hard to see past Galloway in this one. His supporters are keen, nobody else is. Even the 1.55 on Betfair looks value.
What impact his return will have is hard to judge. It makes a good media story and reminds people of Labour's problem there. But I'm not sure it has much traction - he is too egocentric to bother to set up a national movement and nobody else well-knpwn seems interested.
I think Lab at 3 on BFx is value.
There are a lot of low information voters out there, and while the Lab candidate is person non-grata, he is still Lab on the ballot, and being anti-semitic may not count that much against him.
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
That’s a massive drop for Labour . They might get a little back now they’ve moved their position and the Anderson story does help them to re-inforce their support for the Muslim community .
I don't suppose losing 700k votes is too traumatic for Lab across all constituencies (there will of course be concentrations perhaps someone can do the math to see where).
Thing is that you need a seat to have lots of Muslim voters and be at least a bit marginal for it to matter. There are a few seats like that (Peterborough is one) but not many.
Keighley. The Muslim voters in Keighley counterbalance the Poshos in Ilkley.
We were staying up in Howarth last week and got a Tory leaflet while we were there.
1. It didn't mention the conservatives or prominently feature any logo 2. It did mention Rishi Sunak which was a surprise 3. It had some Labour-attack copy. It was so badly put together that a quick glance suggested that Starmer was going to give everyone £2,000 unless you read the details.
On the Rochdale byelection, it isn't just turnout as a percentage, it is *who* turns out. Galloway's team claim they will have gone to every door 3 times. Which is impressive! But I can only imagine what kind of reaction they would get in the white areas of the town with their "For Gaza, For Rochdale" message.
I have read some brilliant reportage, with people bemoaning that they live in "a shithole" and what does Gaza have to do with them. I can image a large turnout by various young British Asians, a smaller turnout from their community elders voting for Ali, and perhaps some of the townships voting for Danczuk.
Anyone can win! Except the Tory who went on holiday to somewhere nicer, or the LibDems who started too late and too far behind.
Haven't thousands of postal ballots been returned before Labour dropped Mr Ali?
@Leon I'm fascinated by the finances of stuff I know nothing about. Do you get paid a shed load for each article or are there dozens more that you don't link to here? I think I get the novel writing. I didn't get the finances of travel writing until I asked you here and you provided the details - Thanks. But I don't get the article writing. I understand how a celebrity like Boris gets a lot for say a one weekly article because he is paid for his name and there are other less well known people knocking out columns daily, but can you make a living doing occasional stuff or do you have to combine it with other stuff. Typically what is your weekly output and are you doing this in parallel with writing another novel?
You’d have to ask the actual author
Tho given that his articles nearly always enter the top 5 “most read” - like that one - and often reach the top, I presume his editors are happy, hence they keep taking his ideas (often shamelessly stolen from here, let it be said)
I don't know the author to ask him but I believe you bump into him a lot so have probably exchanged thoughts.
Is this his bread and butter stuff while doing longer term projects or is this his main job? How does he split work between this and travel writing and other stuff? Is he writing another novel currently or even doing some other long term project? Does his travel writing (or anything else) appear elsewhere eg in promotional stuff?
Comments
Try it. Sometimes even I think Channel4 and The Guardian has a point.
70% vs 9% in what are presumably "normal" times. Edit: 70% Muslim labour voters vs 9% Cons
https://muslimcensus.co.uk/labour-losing-muslim-vote/
No idea of sample sizes, methodology, etc.
It makes Lab's stance on Gaza seem even more "brave". I mean we can rule out them actually holding a sincere position on the matter, can't we.
There is also a lot to be said about whether Britain has confronted their role in Empire as much as some other countries - which I would suggest we haven't in mass culture given that most British people still consider the British Empire as a net positive to the world. I had, at one point, considered Germany a good example of a people who looked at their history squarely - but given some rhetoric and state acts since October 7th it seems that the extent of the lessons of the holocaust in Germany (and much of the western world, alas) is that such horrors will never again happen to Jewish people again, but for anyone else it is fine...
I don't suppose losing 700k votes is too traumatic for Lab across all constituencies (there will of course be concentrations perhaps someone can do the math to see where).
The next general election would also be an unprecedented 5th consecutive Tory win whereas 1992 was only a 4th consecutive Tory win
1) hold onto a variety of sub countries/cultures by force.
2) suppress those cultures with extreme violence.
3) treat the members of those cultures as third class citizens.
4) are deliberately extinguishing their culture differences
Trump on himself: "There's no cognitive problem. If there was, I'd know about it."
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1761485064972496948
'Richi' is a rather puerile insult when there is so much about the man to genuinely criticise. See also Bad Enoch.
I said to her don't worry. If you really were losing your mind you wouldn't think you were losing your mind.
Free speech rocks!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-68400238?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=65dc4ec557c60b5283ad3b83&Government dragged its heels on tackling this form of racism - Baroness Warsi&2024-02-26T08:58:21.823Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:2a773035-86a6-4d81-b800-43e530820913&pinned_post_asset_id=65dc4ec557c60b5283ad3b83&pinned_post_type=share
If there were an election tomorrow, our participants responded:
40% – Will not vote
21% – Independent
17% – Green Party
10% – Liberal Democrat
4.9% – SNP
4.8% – Labour
0.6% – Conservative
3.5% – Other
PS: And no way do I believe there was an 88% turnout amongst that group in 2019 - false memory at work there.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1761476214512820422
He sounds more than slightly gaga.
Didn't seem to wake up the crowd.
My own dystopian nightmare is my business.
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/man-claims-hius-life-being-ruined-by-immigration-but-cant-explain-how-20170227122932
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68398479
A member of the US Air Force is in a critical condition after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington.
Officers from the US Secret Service extinguished the flames before the man was taken to hospital on Sunday afternoon with serious injuries.
The US Air Force confirmed an active-duty serviceman was involved but he has not been identified.
The police, the Secret Service and other authorities are investigating.
In a video that was live streamed on Twitch, the man identified himself and said he was a serving member of the Air Force.
Before setting himself on fire, he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide" and he was heard shouting "Free Palestine" as he burned..
Indeed there is still a chance there could be a Tory-Reform crossover, in my view.
One has to wonder at the generosity of Sunak: delaying the election to give Labour time to claw back a bit of support.
Suggests a very low turnout is in the offing!
Such major political upheavals are extremely rare with our FPTP system, only occurring about once every 100 years or so. The last time was... oh, about 100 years ago.
At the weekend I received a leaflet from my local Conservative councillor, the first since he was elected in 2022.
The weekend prior, I received a leaflet from a "list" Conservative MSP, the first since he was elected in 2021.
They are seen as being incompetent, pretty much across every area of government. At what point do voters on the right actually say, I want right wing policies but the Tories are too incompetent to deliver them. Where do those voters go? A number on the centre right have already gone to Labour. The others must surely be looking to Reform now.
The great majority of seats are not swung either way by the votes of the Muslim voters. That's pure arithmetic + demography.
So the reality is that the important question is this: What is the current centrist/swing voter position in relation to Palestine, Hamas, Israel, Israel's government, antisemitism and islamophobia, and violence/threats within the UK related to any and all of these.
IMHO this has shifted a bit. To about this:
Hamas and Israel's government: against (a big shift)
Ordinary people in Israel and Palestine: support (a big shift)
antisemitism: against
islamophobia: against. But centrist opinion is much less trusting of Islamic voices in the UK than Jewish ones.
Political/religious violence in UK: absolutely against; with Islam/Islamism seen as a real threat, and Judaism a zero threat.
Assess all politics by approximately this template, but DYOR.
Plus a myriad of other things which may or may not exist and don't affect you but which you might have read something about in the last ten years.
What impact his return will have is hard to judge. It makes a good media story and reminds people of Labour's problem there. But I'm not sure it has much traction - he is too egocentric to bother to set up a national movement and nobody else well-knpwn seems interested.
No chance of Reform out-polling the Tories.
The Budget is going to be a tax-cutting proppa Tory budget the likes of which we haven't seen this Parliament. Reform has nothing to offer. Nothing.
Second half of 2024 will see Labour and the Tories both polling in the 30's.
However, the chance of a major realignment after the election is quite realistic; that realignment could take a number of different forms, with Reform directly replacing the Tories being one of the less likely.
It’s infantile and puerile.
It is a pity, unlike twitter,you cannot block posts with certain words.
It’s a change election. That benefits Labour, but it also potentially benefits others filling the right wing space.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68398359
Conservatives, strong on defence since 2025.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/ai-just-exploded-again/
“Bang on about Brexit”
“Say Richi instead of Rishi”
“Occasionally mention sports or general politics.
But in a slightly boring way”
Sorted
However, I also understand that longer half terms can be a nightmare for working (especially single) parents, so I'm happy with the status quo.
Truly dystopian
Clarkson, the presenter of Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime, said that the complaint fell apart when activists used what3words, the geocode location app, to pinpoint where the alleged wrongdoing took place.
Sawyer said that she used what3words because the police were “obsessed” with the app, but that its accuracy “can be a bit off” with a poor phone signal.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jeremy-clarkson-hunt-saboteurs-farm-badger-sett-claims-cjdkjb0lf
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/ai-is-the-end-of-writing/
The comments below are nearly all skeptical. Often extremely so, and full of chortling. Here we are, one year later…
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/feb/22/james-hawes-select-committee-tv-soaps-made-using-ai
Narrative rules ok
Immediately after the election he said something along the lines of "Well, we knew they weren't wrong, but there was nothing else we could do, was there?"
I have read some brilliant reportage, with people bemoaning that they live in "a shithole" and what does Gaza have to do with them. I can image a large turnout by various young British Asians, a smaller turnout from their community elders voting for Ali, and perhaps some of the townships voting for Danczuk.
Anyone can win! Except the Tory who went on holiday to somewhere nicer, or the LibDems who started too late and too far behind.
Tho given that his articles nearly always enter the top 5 “most read” - like that one - and often reach the top, I presume his editors are happy, hence they keep taking his ideas (often shamelessly stolen from here, let it be said)
There are a lot of low information voters out there, and while the Lab candidate is person non-grata, he is still Lab on the ballot, and being anti-semitic may not count that much against him.
1. It didn't mention the conservatives or prominently feature any logo
2. It did mention Rishi Sunak which was a surprise
3. It had some Labour-attack copy. It was so badly put together that a quick glance suggested that Starmer was going to give everyone £2,000 unless you read the details.
Is this his bread and butter stuff while doing longer term projects or is this his main job? How does he split work between this and travel writing and other stuff? Is he writing another novel currently or even doing some other long term project? Does his travel writing (or anything else) appear elsewhere eg in promotional stuff?
Kevin Schofield
@KevinASchofield
·
2h
Rishi Sunak definitely not enjoying this great interrogation by Scott Dalton on Radio Lincolnshire.