Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Have you tried Samuel Adams?
I think it’s hard to judge national standards of beer in deregulated markets because they’re all pretty similarly diverse. Unlike wine or malt whisky beer is not really a product of its terroir. So as long as you can source good malt and hops from somewhere, and have decent water, you can make similarly good beer anywhere.
The only things that really shift things nationally are regulation (stifling or encouraging experimentation and diversity, on which most Western countries are now pretty deregulated), and local tastes and tradition, where we’ve all converged somewhat in recent years. Craft beer in France tastes pretty similar to craft beer in the UK or US or Japan. But Belgian beers remain very distinct, as to a lesser extent does British real ale.
Whisky is pretty much the same as beer (because it's made by creating a basic beer, then distilling it and aging the resulting spirit) - regional differences are based on distilling traditions more than actual terroir. Smokiness from peat used in the malting process is common in Islay whiskies, but that's due to it being a plentiful fuel there traditionally. It can be used anywhere.
I did think after posting that yes, you could import peat from Scotland if you wanted to, but it doesn’t generally happen, and you could likewise do so with grapes (and some do) to make wine. But we have appellation contrôlée to deal with that and PDOs likewise for whisky.
Well, sort of. A lot of the barley for Scotch whisky comes from all over (Scotland, RoUK, even overseas) and it is usually malted at large central maltings, one of the biggest being in England. If a peated malt is specified, it can be done there, with the desired degree of 'peatiness'. There are more authentic examples of malting and kilning in or near specific distilleries within the industry, as well as whiskies that specifically use Scottish or region-specific barley, but it's not a legal requirement. A Scotch whisky needs to be aged for a minimum of 3 years in Scotland, in oak casks. That is afaik the only requirement. I think a single malt has also to be bottled here, but not a blend.
Interesting, I stand corrected. In which case just wine (and PDO cider / perry I suppose) that at least on theory is fixed to terroir.
See my edit above also.
Btw the rules are even less defined for Irish Whiskey - that's a complete jungle.
As I have said on many occasions, those who think Sunak can “go late” are not paying attention. It will either be a May-June election with Sunak leading the Tories or a late election with someone else as leader.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Beer has gone downhill over the last 5 years or so, unfortunately. Too much poor quality IPAs that taste like crappy lagers have pushed out more interesting craft beers, and a lot of breweries have been lost.
Definitely. Also too many IPAs with weird flavours. I've stopped ordering my doorstep deliveries from the previous supplier who put all sorts of weird stuff in the box, and gone back to dependable Black Isle who have a decent core selection and a small selection of varying extras.
Too much craft beer tastes like student home brew - the sort of stuff you cook up in your digs once and never again.
The largest fortress in South America. San Felipe de Barajas, Cartagena
The guides taking around the Americans keep emphasising that it was built as a bulwark to try and fend off the British - as we were so overwhelmingly aggressive, successfully conquering much of the world
Is it bad this makes me kinda proud?
Also sad, now we can’t even build a bloody railway to Manchester
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Beer has gone downhill over the last 5 years or so, unfortunately. Too much poor quality IPAs that taste like crappy lagers have pushed out more interesting craft beers, and a lot of breweries have been lost.
Yes, I agree. Weird acid fruit flavours do not an interesting beer make. I am quite keen to try new things but beer should taste of beer.
I’ve missed the comforting basic old flavour of a bog standard best bitter or mild, malty with hardly any hops and a creamy head hailing from somewhere North of the Watford Gap. They’ve become both unfashionable and hard to come by especially in London and the SE. I mean I like a hipster lager on a hot day as much as the next drinker but sometimes it’s nice to drink something pubby tasting.
Pubby as in like the taste of the smell of beer-soaked pub carpets in the 1980s.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Have you tried Samuel Adams?
I think it’s hard to judge national standards of beer in deregulated markets because they’re all pretty similarly diverse. Unlike wine or malt whisky beer is not really a product of its terroir. So as long as you can source good malt and hops from somewhere, and have decent water, you can make similarly good beer anywhere.
The only things that really shift things nationally are regulation (stifling or encouraging experimentation and diversity, on which most Western countries are now pretty deregulated), and local tastes and tradition, where we’ve all converged somewhat in recent years. Craft beer in France tastes pretty similar to craft beer in the UK or US or Japan. But Belgian beers remain very distinct, as to a lesser extent does British real ale.
Whisky is pretty much the same as beer (because it's made by creating a basic beer, then distilling it and aging the resulting spirit) - regional differences are based on distilling traditions more than actual terroir. Smokiness from peat used in the malting process is common in Islay whiskies, but that's due to it being a plentiful fuel there traditionally. It can be used anywhere.
I did think after posting that yes, you could import peat from Scotland if you wanted to, but it doesn’t generally happen, and you could likewise do so with grapes (and some do) to make wine. But we have appellation contrôlée to deal with that and PDOs likewise for whisky.
Well, sort of. A lot of the barley for Scotch whisky comes from all over (Scotlandafter , RoUK, even overseas) and it is usually malted at large central maltings, one of the biggest being in England. If a peated malt is specified, it can be done there, with the desired degree of 'peatiness'. There are more authentic examples of malting and kilning in or near specific distilleries within the industry, as well as whiskies that specifically use Scottish or region-specific barley, but it's not a legal requirement. A Scotch whisky needs to be aged for a minimum of 3 years in Scotland, in oak casks. That is afaik the only requirement. I think a single malt has also to be bottled here, but not a blend.
Am I right in thinking your work is in the whisky industry? I’m not an inveterate whisky drinker but several pals are and I find it quite interesting. On the peaty thing, the peatiness of the water used for the distilling is sometimes mentioned, is that just bs?
Is ‘Whisky’ by James Ross read much nowadays? He was one of my dad’s best pals, and in fact my dad married his widow after Ross died unfortunately young in a car crash.
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
Do you live in Wales? This story has been going on for weeks. I won't comment directly because I have a third party involvement with the organisation in question. I will comment more generally.
Even if everything is above board, the Environment Minister accepting a donation from an Environmental contractor is nonetheless never a good look.
I'm told Sir Graham Brady and Rishi Sunak *did not* discuss resignation letters when they spoke on the fringes of the 1922 executive committee meeting yesterday
It was a routine meeting ahead of a reception on the Terrace that takes place once a term
Resignation letters? Does he mean VONC letters?
No. VONC letters may have been what they did discuss.
Maybe they were discussing the MPs that are not standing at the GE, or those they suspect may not stand.
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Beer has gone downhill over the last 5 years or so, unfortunately. Too much poor quality IPAs that taste like crappy lagers have pushed out more interesting craft beers, and a lot of breweries have been lost.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Beer has gone downhill over the last 5 years or so, unfortunately. Too much poor quality IPAs that taste like crappy lagers have pushed out more interesting craft beers, and a lot of breweries have been lost.
Yes, I agree. Weird acid fruit flavours do not an interesting beer make. I am quite keen to try new things but beer should taste of beer.
The thing that I notice most is that it's as hard to find a non-IPA craft beer on tap now as it used to be to find any craft beer on tap back in the dark days before craft beers grew in popularity.
I will look back on it as one of the best things about the 2010s compared to before and after.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
I stopped being so rah rah Buy British in 1995 when I visited Seattle and tried the microbrewery products around Pioneer Square. I wonder what it's like now?
Do you live in Wales? This story has been going on for weeks. I won't comment directly because I have a third party involvement with the organisation in question.I will comment more generally.
Even if everything is above board, the Environment Minister accepting a donation from an Environmental contractor is nonetheless never a good look.
What question is that
You know I live in Wales, have a Welsh grandfather, have 3 Welsh Children and 5 Welsh Grandchildren and this story has been on going as you say but tonight the BBC have made a story of it
Is corruption by conservatives bad, but alleged corruption by labour must be excusable
The largest fortress in South America. San Felipe de Barajas, Cartagena
The guides taking around the Americans keep emphasising that it was built as a bulwark to try and fend off the British - as we were so overwhelmingly aggressive, successfully conquering much of the world
Is it bad this makes me kinda proud?
Also sad, now we can’t even build a bloody railway to Manchester
I’ve been reading Patrick Leigh-Fermor’s Caribbean book, which introduces this huge Haitian fort I’d never heard of, the largest in the Carribean:
For protection of the revolutionaries against the French, though. Built by 10000 recently freed slaves.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Beer has gone downhill over the last 5 years or so, unfortunately. Too much poor quality IPAs that taste like crappy lagers have pushed out more interesting craft beers, and a lot of breweries have been lost.
Definitely. Also too many IPAs with weird flavours. I've stopped ordering my doorstep deliveries from the previous supplier who put all sorts of weird stuff in the box, and gone back to dependable Black Isle who have a decent core selection and a small selection of varying extras.
I order from Five Kingdoms. You can select your own case, and I can get free delivery when they are doing their Ayrshire pub deliveries. A service that started during Covid and has proved too popular to stop.
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
After falling into a cat of radioactive chemicals, a radioactive cat is now striding thru the streets of Japan. Locals have been warned not to approach the cat, which is bright orange.
BTW Badenoch's comments asking for forgiveness? What? Seriously? The Guy has been profoundly racist, misogynist, incited violence against women in politics....
I wonder if that 10 mill he's given pays for a spot of forgiveness.
Surely, like everything else Tory politicians do these days, this has nothing to do with right, wrong or common sense, and everything to do with jockeying for the succession.
It's quite sickening really to watch the inept PM inexpertly dancing around the subject of blatant racism and rank misogyny from Hester. Probably something to do with the odd £10m methinks. Greens are right that it should be donated to anti racist causes. The somewhat late and half hearted calling out from a no 10 spokesperson doesn't cut it. Hoping for a few extra votes from the racists perhaps... It's pathetic really. Reminds me of Father Ted "I hear you're a racist now father"
Do you live in Wales? This story has been going on for weeks. I won't comment directly because I have a third party involvement with the organisation in question.I will comment more generally.
Even if everything is above board, the Environment Minister accepting a donation from an Environmental contractor is nonetheless never a good look.
What question is that
You know I live in Wales, have a Welsh grandfather, have 3 Welsh Children and 5 Welsh Grandchildren and this story has been on going as you say but tonight the BBC have made a story of it
Is corruption by conservatives bad, but alleged corruption by labour must be excusable
To be fair, corruption involving Welsh Labour is hardly 'news.' It's up there with 'dog bites man.'
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
Maybe someone like Mordaunt could pull off a “nostra maxima culpa” strategy and argue that the Tories might have made a mess of everything, but that’s no reason to elect the Labour Party.
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat
One big beast missing from your list.
Gove.
Does he want it? He certainly used to.
Has he the experience to go into No 10 without looking ridiculous? Under the circumstances, just about. More so than the others you list.
Is this his last chance? Hell, yes.
Is it absurd? Yeah. But who wouldn't be absurd? Besides, the young cardinals would be fine with an old Pope. And as Jim Hacker's Chief Whip used to say, you never know unless you suck it and see.
It may well destroy the Conservative Party, but that might amuse him as well.
Do you live in Wales? This story has been going on for weeks. I won't comment directly because I have a third party involvement with the organisation in question.I will comment more generally.
Even if everything is above board, the Environment Minister accepting a donation from an Environmental contractor is nonetheless never a good look.
What question is that
You know I live in Wales, have a Welsh grandfather, have 3 Welsh Children and 5 Welsh Grandchildren and this story has been on going as you say but tonight the BBC have made a story of it
Is corruption by conservatives bad, but alleged corruption by labour must be excusable
I haven't excused anything. If you read my second paragraph I am unoquivocal. I believe Jeremy Myles should be FM.
The largest fortress in South America. San Felipe de Barajas, Cartagena
The guides taking around the Americans keep emphasising that it was built as a bulwark to try and fend off the British - as we were so overwhelmingly aggressive, successfully conquering much of the world
Is it bad this makes me kinda proud?
Also sad, now we can’t even build a bloody railway to Manchester
I’ve been reading Patrick Leigh-Fermor’s Caribbean book, which introduces this huge Haitian fort I’d never heard of, the largest in the Carribean:
For protection of the revolutionaries against the French, though. Built by 10000 recently freed slaves.
And now Haiti is reduced to literal cannibalism
I’ve been reading a book by some British traveller to Haiti in late Victorian times. Haiti was hellish back then, yet - he says - “the Spanish republics are somehow even more violent”
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
Maybe someone like Mordaunt could pull off a “nostra maxima culpa” strategy and argue that the Tories might have made a mess of everything, but that’s no reason to elect the Labour Party.
She’s definitely in danger of losing her seat in a big defeat too. So might be worth a punt at the top job. Might never get another go.
After falling into a cat of radioactive chemicals, a radioactive cat is now striding thru the streets of Japan. Locals have been warned not to approach the cat, which is bright orange.
The largest fortress in South America. San Felipe de Barajas, Cartagena
The guides taking around the Americans keep emphasising that it was built as a bulwark to try and fend off the British - as we were so overwhelmingly aggressive, successfully conquering much of the world
Is it bad this makes me kinda proud?
Also sad, now we can’t even build a bloody railway to Manchester
I’ve been reading Patrick Leigh-Fermor’s Caribbean book, which introduces this huge Haitian fort I’d never heard of, the largest in the Carribean:
For protection of the revolutionaries against the French, though. Built by 10000 recently freed slaves.
And now Haiti is reduced to literal cannibalism
I’ve been reading a book by some British traveller to Haiti in late Victorian times. Haiti was hellish back then, yet - he says - “the Spanish republics are somehow even more violent”
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
In 1630, English Puritans arrived in Providence Island, under the aegis of the Providence Island Company. The Puritans decided to settle the tropical islands, rather than cold, rocky New England, but the Providence Island colony did not succeed in the same way as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They established slave-worked plantations and engaged in privateering, which led to the Spanish and Portuguese conquering the colony in May, 1641.[10] In 1670, English buccaneers, led by Henry Morgan, took over the islands, which he used as a base to attack Panama. The buccaneers abandoned the islands by 1672. There is no record of anyone inhabiting the islands from then for another century.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Have you tried Samuel Adams?
I think it’s hard to judge national standards of beer in deregulated markets because they’re all pretty similarly diverse. Unlike wine or malt whisky beer is not really a product of its terroir. So as long as you can source good malt and hops from somewhere, and have decent water, you can make similarly good beer anywhere.
The only things that really shift things nationally are regulation (stifling or encouraging experimentation and diversity, on which most Western countries are now pretty deregulated), and local tastes and tradition, where we’ve all converged somewhat in recent years. Craft beer in France tastes pretty similar to craft beer in the UK or US or Japan. But Belgian beers remain very distinct, as to a lesser extent does British real ale.
Whisky is pretty much the same as beer (because it's made by creating a basic beer, then distilling it and aging the resulting spirit) - regional differences are based on distilling traditions more than actual terroir. Smokiness from peat used in the malting process is common in Islay whiskies, but that's due to it being a plentiful fuel there traditionally. It can be used anywhere.
I did think after posting that yes, you could import peat from Scotland if you wanted to, but it doesn’t generally happen, and you could likewise do so with grapes (and some do) to make wine. But we have appellation contrôlée to deal with that and PDOs likewise for whisky.
Well, sort of. A lot of the barley for Scotch whisky comes from all over (Scotlandafter , RoUK, even overseas) and it is usually malted at large central maltings, one of the biggest being in England. If a peated malt is specified, it can be done there, with the desired degree of 'peatiness'. There are more authentic examples of malting and kilning in or near specific distilleries within the industry, as well as whiskies that specifically use Scottish or region-specific barley, but it's not a legal requirement. A Scotch whisky needs to be aged for a minimum of 3 years in Scotland, in oak casks. That is afaik the only requirement. I think a single malt has also to be bottled here, but not a blend.
Am I right in thinking your work is in the whisky industry? I’m not an inveterate whisky drinker but several pals are and I find it quite interesting. On the peaty thing, the peatiness of the water used for the distilling is sometimes mentioned, is that just bs?
Is ‘Whisky’ by James Ross read much nowadays? He was one of my dad’s best pals, and in fact my dad married his widow after Ross died unfortunately young in a car crash.
The peat in the water is imho very much a myth in terms of having an influence on the final taste. There's just far to much else that's going to happen to that water for that to be a thing.
There is magic and mystery to the process, and a sense of the power of the place though, don't get me wrong. Scotland's plentiful, pure water that's ideal for whisky production, the magic to the spirit maturing in the casks in the cold fresh air of bonded warehouseses over years (Indian whisky matures in weeks, where's the mystery in that?). Maritime distilleries somehow developing a saline quality in their whiskies. The shapes of the copper pot stills and the way that influences copper contact and makes the spirit of different distilleries totally different.
The best thing about it is the way that each part of the process imparts something to the final flavour, and you just don't know what's going to come out of the cask at the end.
I couldn't tell you whether that book is widely read by whisky fans as I'm shamefully out of touch with many of my whisky friends, and also a very badly-read person myself (pontificating on PB too much).
I think the key to unlocking an enjoyment of whisky is getting used to the alcohol level, and you can do that pretty quickly by repeatedly nosing the whisky till the nose prickle goes, then swirling the first mouthful all round the mouth whilst breathing out through your nose, which is horrible, but sipping gently after that, it's a lot sweeter and gentler. Do as many comparative tastings as possible, and start them like that. It then becomes like mother's milk very quickly. Then all your distillery visits and tastings, there's more point - it becomes less of an academic appreciation and more of a good time. That's my two pence.
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat
One big beast missing from your list.
Gove.
Does he want it? He certainly used to.
Has he the experience to go into No 10 without looking ridiculous? Under the circumstances, just about. More so than the others you list.
Is this his last chance? Hell, yes.
Is it absurd? Yeah. But who wouldn't be absurd? Besides, the young cardinals would be fine with an old Pope. And as Jim Hacker's Chief Whip used to say, you never know unless you suck it and see.
It may well destroy the Conservative Party, but that might amuse him as well.
Rees Mogg has more chance of being elected next Tory leader than Gove, Tory MPs wouldn't touch him as leader now with a bargepole and Tory members would rather vote for Badenoch
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat
One big beast missing from your list.
Gove.
Does he want it? He certainly used to.
Has he the experience to go into No 10 without looking ridiculous? Under the circumstances, just about. More so than the others you list.
Is this his last chance? Hell, yes.
Is it absurd? Yeah. But who wouldn't be absurd? Besides, the young cardinals would be fine with an old Pope. And as Jim Hacker's Chief Whip used to say, you never know unless you suck it and see.
It may well destroy the Conservative Party, but that might amuse him as well.
Rees Mogg has more chance of being elected next Tory leader than Gove, Tory MPs wouldn't touch him as leader now with a bargepole and Tory members would rather vote for Badenoch
What is Gove Oh Brady don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Oh please. Blaming New Labour and immigration, and not mentioning how Thatcher smashed the society that existed before?
The lesson the Right learned under Thatcher was that they could cast the Left as the enemy within and win elections on that basis. No longer would they try to reach out to build a consensus across society, instead they would find the dividing line that they could use to fracture it further.
It taught the Right to dislike their country and they've been doing it ever since. And they call themselves patriots. Hypocrites.
Do you live in Wales? This story has been going on for weeks. I won't comment directly because I have a third party involvement with the organisation in question.I will comment more generally.
Even if everything is above board, the Environment Minister accepting a donation from an Environmental contractor is nonetheless never a good look.
What question is that
You know I live in Wales, have a Welsh grandfather, have 3 Welsh Children and 5 Welsh Grandchildren and this story has been on going as you say but tonight the BBC have made a story of it
Is corruption by conservatives bad, but alleged corruption by labour must be excusable
To be fair, corruption involving Welsh Labour is hardly 'news.' It's up there with 'dog bites man.'
Are you suggesting Welsh politics is a bit whiffy?
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Have you tried Samuel Adams?
I think it’s hard to judge national standards of beer in deregulated markets because they’re all pretty similarly diverse. Unlike wine or malt whisky beer is not really a product of its terroir. So as long as you can source good malt and hops from somewhere, and have decent water, you can make similarly good beer anywhere.
The only things that really shift things nationally are regulation (stifling or encouraging experimentation and diversity, on which most Western countries are now pretty deregulated), and local tastes and tradition, where we’ve all converged somewhat in recent years. Craft beer in France tastes pretty similar to craft beer in the UK or US or Japan. But Belgian beers remain very distinct, as to a lesser extent does British real ale.
Whisky is pretty much the same as beer (because it's made by creating a basic beer, then distilling it and aging the resulting spirit) - regional differences are based on distilling traditions more than actual terroir. Smokiness from peat used in the malting process is common in Islay whiskies, but that's due to it being a plentiful fuel there traditionally. It can be used anywhere.
I did think after posting that yes, you could import peat from Scotland if you wanted to, but it doesn’t generally happen, and you could likewise do so with grapes (and some do) to make wine. But we have appellation contrôlée to deal with that and PDOs likewise for whisky.
Well, sort of. A lot of the barley for Scotch whisky comes from all over (Scotlandafter , RoUK, even overseas) and it is usually malted at large central maltings, one of the biggest being in England. If a peated malt is specified, it can be done there, with the desired degree of 'peatiness'. There are more authentic examples of malting and kilning in or near specific distilleries within the industry, as well as whiskies that specifically use Scottish or region-specific barley, but it's not a legal requirement. A Scotch whisky needs to be aged for a minimum of 3 years in Scotland, in oak casks. That is afaik the only requirement. I think a single malt has also to be bottled here, but not a blend.
Am I right in thinking your work is in the whisky industry? I’m not an inveterate whisky drinker but several pals are and I find it quite interesting. On the peaty thing, the peatiness of the water used for the distilling is sometimes mentioned, is that just bs?
Is ‘Whisky’ by James Ross read much nowadays? He was one of my dad’s best pals, and in fact my dad married his widow after Ross died unfortunately young in a car crash.
The peat in the water is imho very much a myth in terms of having an influence on the final taste. There's just far to much else that's going to happen to that water for that to be a thing.
There is magic and mystery to the process, and a sense of the power of the place though, don't get me wrong. Scotland's plentiful, pure water that's ideal for whisky production, the magic to the spirit maturing in the casks in the cold fresh air of bonded warehouseses over years (Indian whisky matures in weeks, where's the mystery in that?). Maritime distilleries somehow developing a saline quality in their whiskies. The shapes of the copper pot stills and the way that influences copper contact and makes the spirit of different distilleries totally different.
The best thing about it is the way that each part of the process imparts something to the final flavour, and you just don't know what's going to come out of the cask at the end.
I couldn't tell you whether that book is widely read by whisky fans as I'm shamefully out of touch with many of my whisky friends, and also a very badly-read person myself (pontificating on PB too much).
I think the key to unlocking an enjoyment of whisky is getting used to the alcohol level, and you can do that pretty quickly by repeatedly nosing the whisky till the nose prickle goes, then swirling the first mouthful all round the mouth whilst breathing out through your nose, which is horrible, but sipping gently after that, it's a lot sweeter and gentler. Do as many comparative tastings as possible, and start them like that. It then becomes like mother's milk very quickly. Then all your distillery visits and tastings, there's more point - it becomes less of an academic appreciation and more of a good time. That's my two pence.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Seeing as its predicated on bollocks it is bollocks. How can anyone with a passing grasp of our island's social & political history take this rose coloured wank seriously.
'“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.'
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Sounds like the white nationalism that is also voting for Trump, Meloni, Le Pen, NZ First, Vox, the Sweden Democrats etc.
It is not unique to Britain with our rising Reform vote wanting to turn the clock back and move the immigrants back to their birthplace
And now Portugal with Chega
The point he makes is actually more sophisticated than that. The British are by nature tolerant and moderate - they DON’T vote for extremists. Which is enormously creditable. A Britain that voted fascist or communist would not be Britain
And yet things are getting so bad extreme measures might be the only thing that work - but does that sacrifice Britishness itself?
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
I think that this type of sentiment/perspective is what leads people to vote for Trump and similar options. They see the situation as desperate and this is a way of pulling the emergency cord. The establishment is repeating what they did in 2016, regarding their opponents as racist, xenophobic etc. In many ways we are suffering the farce of 'history repeating itself'
On those British luxury cars going to Russia: From the beginning of Putin's invasion, I have been in favor encouraging Western luxury brands to export to Russia, for two reasons: Those sales take a little money away that the Russians might spend on essentials, including weapons. Second, I would expect the sales to undermine the morale of ordinary Russians, who are being asked to sacrifice, in many ways. (I believe something similar happened in Imperial Germany in the last years of WW I.)
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Sounds like the white nationalism that is also voting for Trump, Meloni, Le Pen, NZ First, Vox, the Sweden Democrats etc.
It is not unique to Britain with our rising Reform vote wanting to turn the clock back and move the immigrants back to their birthplace
And now Portugal with Chega
The point he makes is actually more sophisticated than that. The British are by nature tolerant and moderate - they DON’T vote for extremists. Which is enormously creditable. A Britain that voted fascist or communist would not be Britain
And yet things are getting so bad extreme measures might be the only thing that work - but does that sacrifice Britishness itself?
It sacrifices what we think of Britishness, genuinely liberal, moderate and tolerant.
However white nationalism is on the rise across the western world and we are not immune, indeed many of its followers even prefer Putin and his cultural conservatism to the woke elite of their big cities
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
Maybe someone like Mordaunt could pull off a “nostra maxima culpa” strategy and argue that the Tories might have made a mess of everything, but that’s no reason to elect the Labour Party.
She’s definitely in danger of losing her seat in a big defeat too. So might be worth a punt at the top job. Might never get another go.
What we all tend to miss here and in the custom of the air around most Tory defenestrations being thick with leadership plotting, is that the defenestration and the election are two separate event.
But, it would be quite possible for a stampede of panicking backbenchers to oust Sunak, without any particular desire from the likely runners and riders in a subsequent leadership contest to precipitate such an event.
Then what would they be to do? "I actually wanted to be LOTO, so I'm going to sit this one out?". The risk of blowing your chance Vs the risk of losing your chance.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Sounds like the white nationalism that is also voting for Trump, Meloni, Le Pen, NZ First, Vox, the Sweden Democrats etc.
It is not unique to Britain with our rising Reform vote wanting to turn the clock back and move the immigrants back to their birthplace
What a depressing second paragraph. I hope you are reporting rather than advocating.
Reporting, I also think sadly the fact we have the first non white PM is also driving some of the rise in the Reform vote. It was racist reaction to Obama's presidency too that partly drove the rise of Trump
Recreating the conditions of post-war Britain can’t be that hard. All we have to do is build an empire by conquering the world and then give it up in order to conquer the Germans.
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
Maybe someone like Mordaunt could pull off a “nostra maxima culpa” strategy and argue that the Tories might have made a mess of everything, but that’s no reason to elect the Labour Party.
She’s definitely in danger of losing her seat in a big defeat too. So might be worth a punt at the top job. Might never get another go.
What we all tend to miss here and in the custom of the air around most Tory defenestrations being thick with leadership plotting, is that the defenestration and the election are two separate event.
But, it would be quite possible for a stampede of panicking backbenchers to oust Sunak, without any particular desire from the likely runners and riders in a subsequent leadership contest to precipitate such an event.
Then what would they be to do? "I actually wanted to be LOTO, so I'm going to sit this one out?". The risk of blowing your chance Vs the risk of losing your chance.
Quite. And a new leader might be able to cling on after a GE defeat, if they are seen to have put in an OK performance. Its fairly easy to blame the defeat on Sunak and Truss, and at least manage to get a bit of time as LOTO to prove yourself, potentially.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Beer has gone downhill over the last 5 years or so, unfortunately. Too much poor quality IPAs that taste like crappy lagers have pushed out more interesting craft beers, and a lot of breweries have been lost.
Definitely. Also too many IPAs with weird flavours. I've stopped ordering my doorstep deliveries from the previous supplier who put all sorts of weird stuff in the box, and gone back to dependable Black Isle who have a decent core selection and a small selection of varying extras.
Too much craft beer tastes like student home brew - the sort of stuff you cook up in your digs once and never again.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
"“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy,"
Well, apart from the civil war and various revolts, riots and insurrections.
Hence my dispute with his use of the word “cosy”
He’s describing a Britain of the polite middle classes at a certain time
For my Cornish ancestors down the tinmines aged 11 - with a life expectancy of 27 - Britain did not feel very “cosy”
He sounds like yet another alt-right person who wants to live a nice, upper middle class english life from the 1950s where everyone knew their place and you could leave your doors unlocked and there was only two cars in the whole street and my Dad had one of them.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
"“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy,"
Well, apart from the civil war and various revolts, riots and insurrections.
This is the perennial "I'm a centrist but" mood music to all the reactionary crap. When was this imagined idyll? The 1980s? The 1970s? The 1960s? The 1950s? The 1940s maybe? It was all better when Ronnie and Reggie ran London and the Luftwaffe couldn't stop us and old Samuel Pepys buried his cheese to avoid the fire.
That's an awful lot of words to say "We voted for Brexit cos we hate the forrin but they're still here"
Also, what's "trending" on Twitter is personalised: it depends on what you've been looking at. So that it is "trending" does not mean it is a popular view, it means the person for whom it is "trending" reads lots of similar racist nonsense.
This may-- let me repeat, may -- be a signficant development: "Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said Tuesday that he will not serve out the rest of his term and will vacate his seat in Congress at the end of next week, further narrowing an already razor-thin House Republican majority. . . . Once Buck departs, Republicans will outnumber Democrats 218 to 213 in the House. That means Republicans can afford to lose only two votes to pass legislation along party lines when everyone is attending and voting." source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/12/ken-buck-leaving-congress/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Buck
Especially given the lack of party discipline among House Republicans.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
"“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy,"
Well, apart from the civil war and various revolts, riots and insurrections.
Hence my dispute with his use of the word “cosy”
He’s describing a Britain of the polite middle classes at a certain time
For my Cornish ancestors down the tinmines aged 11 - with a life expectancy of 27 - Britain did not feel very “cosy”
He sounds like yet another alt-right person who wants to live a nice, upper middle class english life from the 1950s where everyone knew their place and you could leave your doors unlocked and there was only two cars in the whole street and my Dad had one of them.
And then, of course, when a young person complains about low pay and high rents, some old codger on the right will pop up and tell them they've never had it so good, and it was much harder for them when they were young, out of the same mouth that they moan about how the country has gone to the dogs.
Recreating the conditions of post-war Britain can’t be that hard. All we have to do is build an empire by conquering the world and then give it up in order to conquer the Germans.
With the help of the Americans and Russians. A version of that (US avec Trump, former SU minus Ukraine) might pan out.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Sounds like the white nationalism that is also voting for Trump, Meloni, Le Pen, NZ First, Vox, the Sweden Democrats etc.
It is not unique to Britain with our rising Reform vote wanting to turn the clock back and move the immigrants back to their birthplace
What a depressing second paragraph. I hope you are reporting rather than advocating.
Reporting, I also think sadly the fact we have the first non white PM is also driving some of the rise in the Reform vote. It was racist reaction to Obama's presidency too that partly drove the rise of Trump
I concur. I remember suggesting this might be a possibility when Sunak was running for and then obtained the leadership. I was condemned for making a Party political point about something the Tory Party ought to be (quite rightly) proud of. Sadly. I fear it is happening. The fact he has proved to be utterly crap as well doesn't help, mind. But it certainly isn't all of it IMV.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
I stopped being so rah rah Buy British in 1995 when I visited Seattle and tried the microbrewery products around Pioneer Square. I wonder what it's like now?
Well, I was in Seattle just before Covid struck in 2019.
Quite aside from it being a rundown shithole that looked like it hadn't had a lick of paint since 1980, and filled with homeless people and addicts, I didn't clock, see or try any interesting beers. The original Starbucks got more interest, but even that was a crushing disappointment - the one at Waterloo is more interesting.
I did see a sign across the road from a downtown restaurant that was sort of ok mocking Trump with an ad for escorts with the strapline, "Make America Horny Again", though.
Recreating the conditions of post-war Britain can’t be that hard. All we have to do is build an empire by conquering the world and then give it up in order to conquer the Germans.
With the help of the Americans and Russians. A version of that (US avec Trump, former SU minus Ukraine) might pan out.
And the Indians*, quite a few Africans, plenty of Canadians and Anzacs. And so on.
*As India was then - including modern Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
"“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy,"
Well, apart from the civil war and various revolts, riots and insurrections.
Hence my dispute with his use of the word “cosy”
He’s describing a Britain of the polite middle classes at a certain time
For my Cornish ancestors down the tinmines aged 11 - with a life expectancy of 27 - Britain did not feel very “cosy”
He sounds like yet another alt-right person who wants to live a nice, upper middle class english life from the 1950s where everyone knew their place and you could leave your doors unlocked and there was only two cars in the whole street and my Dad had one of them.
And that's part of the problem. Much like the nostalgia for the Upstairs life in "Upstairs, Downstairs", it depended on a lot of stuff that we don't really want to bring back. Not for ourselves, anyway.
(The most blatant example of that is the expansion of education- very few people want their children to start work at 14/16/18, vocational training is for other people's children.)
Besides, a lot of nostalgia is driven by the unspoken- a full head of hair, unwrinkly skin, the first fumble behind the bike shed... And the pop-nat project can't bring that stuff back, even if it could otherwise be made to work.
[Yorkshireman accent:] But you tell the oldies of today, and they won't believe you.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
I think that this type of sentiment/perspective is what leads people to vote for Trump and similar options. They see the situation as desperate and this is a way of pulling the emergency cord. The establishment is repeating what they did in 2016, regarding their opponents as racist, xenophobic etc. In many ways we are suffering the farce of 'history repeating itself'
Hang on. There's no organisation more establishment than the Conservative Party. Who's calling who racist?
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Beer has gone downhill over the last 5 years or so, unfortunately. Too much poor quality IPAs that taste like crappy lagers have pushed out more interesting craft beers, and a lot of breweries have been lost.
Alfred's, Andwell, Bowman Flower Pots, Hog's Back, Longdog and Triple fff are all near me within 15-20 miles & all make amazing real ale.
That's an awful lot of words to say "We voted for Brexit cos we hate the forrin but they're still here"
Also, what's "trending" on Twitter is personalised: it depends on what you've been looking at. So that it is "trending" does not mean it is a popular view, it means the person for whom it is "trending" reads lots of similar racist nonsense.
Er no. I discovered it because I follow the thoughtful ex corbynite Aaron Bastani, who has been discussing it. He’s on the left, if this is too confusing for you
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
"“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy,"
Well, apart from the civil war and various revolts, riots and insurrections.
Hence my dispute with his use of the word “cosy”
He’s describing a Britain of the polite middle classes at a certain time
For my Cornish ancestors down the tinmines aged 11 - with a life expectancy of 27 - Britain did not feel very “cosy”
He sounds like yet another alt-right person who wants to live a nice, upper middle class english life from the 1950s where everyone knew their place and you could leave your doors unlocked and there was only two cars in the whole street and my Dad had one of them.
And then, of course, when a young person complains about low pay and high rents, some old codger on the right will pop up and tell them they've never had it so good, and it was much harder for them when they were young, out of the same mouth that they moan about how the country has gone to the dogs.
Just reading an interesting paper on 'Money in Jane Austen' by a chap called Robert Hume (Review of ENglish Studies, n.s., 64, 289-310 on the grim realities behind the likes of Pride and Prejudice. And that was for the genteel folk. Hideous for the working classes.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
The beer is much better there than 30 years ago, no one in their right mind could disagree. But, it’s still largely fizzy and cold craft beer. Cask ales remain rare. Most of the time in the States (and yes, Leon, I travel a lot) I find myself gasping for a proper pint.
@Leon might like hoppy craft IPA. Give me a pint of Landlord, Tribute or Broadside any day of the week.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Sounds like the white nationalism that is also voting for Trump, Meloni, Le Pen, NZ First, Vox, the Sweden Democrats etc.
It is not unique to Britain with our rising Reform vote wanting to turn the clock back and move the immigrants back to their birthplace
What a depressing second paragraph. I hope you are reporting rather than advocating.
Reporting, I also think sadly the fact we have the first non white PM is also driving some of the rise in the Reform vote. It was racist reaction to Obama's presidency too that partly drove the rise of Trump
Well according to Tim Montgomery on Times Radio Sunak is toast.
I quite like Sunak but his incompetence since Christmas has been breathtaking.
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
Recreating the conditions of post-war Britain can’t be that hard. All we have to do is build an empire by conquering the world and then give it up in order to conquer the Germans.
With the help of the Americans and Russians. A version of that (US avec Trump, former SU minus Ukraine) might pan out.
Your ‘well actually’ is actually covered in my conment. We didn’t have to mortgage everything to the US and fight on in 1940.
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
The beer is much better there than 30 years ago, no one in their right mind could disagree. But, it’s still largely fizzy and cold craft beer. Cask ales remain rare. Most of the time in the States (and yes, Leon, I travel a lot) I find myself gasping for a proper pint.
@Leon might like hoppy craft IPA. Give me a pint of Landlord, Tribute or Broadside any day of the week.
Yes, give me cask over craft any day.
Craft is a hipster trying to write a Guardian article with fermented hops.
Power is “seeping away”. Number 10’s slow motion response to the “racism” row will fuel Tory fears that Sunak has lost his grip: new talk among MPs of letters of no confidence, fatalism setting in. With @LOS_Fisher
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
Though this feels more like 1997 than 2010. How long before the Tories were back in the lead after 1997?
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
The beer is much better there than 30 years ago, no one in their right mind could disagree. But, it’s still largely fizzy and cold craft beer. Cask ales remain rare. Most of the time in the States (and yes, Leon, I travel a lot) I find myself gasping for a proper pint.
@Leon might like hoppy craft IPA. Give me a pint of Landlord, Tribute or Broadside any day of the week.
Yes, give me cask over craft any day.
Craft is a hipster trying to write a Guardian article with fermented hops.
Not so much. Craft used to be microbreweries run by hipsters, but now it's just marketing by the big brewers.
It's the same across all counter-culture, just a few years from authenticity to corporate marketing. Bud Light for example.
Amazing quote from a senior Tory source in ace @MrHarryCole story.
“7 months is a long time in politics. Just imagine what would happen if England won the Euros, Team GB had a hat full of gold at the Olympics — the landscape could be very different.”
Absolute bollocks that the USA has better beer than here.
Beer has gone downhill over the last 5 years or so, unfortunately. Too much poor quality IPAs that taste like crappy lagers have pushed out more interesting craft beers, and a lot of breweries have been lost.
Alfred's, Andwell, Bowman Flower Pots, Hog's Back, Longdog and Triple fff are all near me within 15-20 miles & all make amazing real ale.
When I first moved to Edinburgh ~2016, I was delighted to discover Stewart Brewing who did a wide range of beers. But as the years went by they did more and more IPAs, and their more interesting beers didn't find their way into pubs.
There was a period where you could go into any random pub and there was a decent chance it would have an interesting beer. Now the token beer that isn't Heineken/Carlsberg or similar piss is always an IPA that tastes little better.
There are still good breweries out there, of course, and a few pubs that champion them, but IPAs have shut them out of the mainstream again.
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
Though this feels more like 1997 than 2010. How long before the Tories were back in the lead after 1997?
The economy looks more like 2010 or 1974 than 1997
Starting to think the Tories have nothing to lose in dumping Sunak.
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
They ain't going to improve amongst anyone else either until they go into opposition and Labour have to deal with the economy.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
Though this feels more like 1997 than 2010. How long before the Tories were back in the lead after 1997?
A few polls at the peak of the 2000 fuel crisis.
A couple of possible outliers in 2003.
The first consistent leads weren't until 2006.
(And EdM had a big advantage over Sunak's sucessor. He was able to snaffle Lib Dem support from the minute the coalition started.)
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
After falling into a cat of radioactive chemicals, a radioactive cat is now striding thru the streets of Japan. Locals have been warned not to approach the cat, which is bright orange.
Recreating the conditions of post-war Britain can’t be that hard. All we have to do is build an empire by conquering the world and then give it up in order to conquer the Germans.
With the help of the Americans and Russians. A version of that (US avec Trump, former SU minus Ukraine) might pan out.
Your ‘well actually’ is actually covered in my conment. We didn’t have to mortgage everything to the US and fight on in 1940.
Not much left to mortgage now in any case. Permanent transfer of the talents of Boris and Farage stateside?
Comments
BBC News - Vaughan Gething helped donor's waste offence company
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68501256
Btw the rules are even less defined for Irish Whiskey - that's a complete jungle.
As I have said on many occasions, those who think Sunak can “go late” are not paying attention. It will either be a May-June election with Sunak leading the Tories or a late election with someone else as leader.
The guides taking around the Americans keep emphasising that it was built as a bulwark to try and fend off the British - as we were so overwhelmingly aggressive, successfully conquering much of the world
Is it bad this makes me kinda proud?
Also sad, now we can’t even build a bloody railway to Manchester
Pubby as in like the taste of the smell of beer-soaked pub carpets in the 1980s.
Is ‘Whisky’ by James Ross read much nowadays? He was one of my dad’s best pals, and in fact my dad married his widow after Ross died unfortunately young in a car crash.
http://www.peadar.dds.nl/whiskybooks/ross.html
Yes it will look farcical and it could result in an existential crisis/split but there’s a high risk of that already. You never know, they might luck out and save 200 seats.
One things for sure, they ain’t gonna markedly improve under Sunak.
Even if everything is above board, the Environment Minister accepting a donation from an Environmental contractor is nonetheless never a good look.
Nobody else wants the job now anyway, the likes of Badenoch, Patel, Braverman, Cleverly, Jenrick, Barclay, Mordaunt etc are all polishing their CVs for Leader of the Opposition after they let Sunak and Hunt take the blame for likely general election defeat.
It is often forgotten that within 6 months of Brown's 2010 general election defeat Ed Miliband's Labour was ahead of Cameron's government in the polls so things can swing back dramatically once the electorate have let their anger out on a defeated government
I will look back on it as one of the best things about the 2010s compared to before and after.
You know I live in Wales, have a Welsh grandfather, have 3 Welsh Children and 5 Welsh Grandchildren and this story has been on going as you say but tonight the BBC have made a story of it
Is corruption by conservatives bad, but alleged corruption by labour must be excusable
For protection of the revolutionaries against the French, though. Built by 10000 recently freed slaves.
They have interviewed Brig Gen Ivan Lukashevych, of Ukraine’s SBU security service.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/12/how-we-blew-up-russias-kerch-bridge-by-ukraine-general/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68547839
Gove.
Does he want it? He certainly used to.
Has he the experience to go into No 10 without looking ridiculous? Under the circumstances, just about. More so than the others you list.
Is this his last chance? Hell, yes.
Is it absurd? Yeah. But who wouldn't be absurd? Besides, the young cardinals would be fine with an old Pope. And as Jim Hacker's Chief Whip used to say, you never know unless you suck it and see.
It may well destroy the Conservative Party, but that might amuse him as well.
I’ve been reading a book by some British traveller to Haiti in late Victorian times. Haiti was hellish back then, yet - he says - “the Spanish republics are somehow even more violent”
Nothing changes?
An interesting perspective
“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.
All that is gone now, of course. What was a delicate social fabric that had been woven together through hundreds of years of closeness and companionship was utterly destroyed in only a few decades by the ravages of mass immigration, Blair's social contractism, and the attempt to instantiate an artificial liberal order oriented towards universal recognition for all groups.
Now, nobody feels at home, everyone feels that they must be on their guard, and Britain is a colder and more depressing place for it.
This was not what was asked for and nobody knows how to fix this mess. The country is despondent, dilapidated, and decomposing, but there is nothing to be done. The answers are out of reach to our mediocre political class and the public realise that it isn't that voting won't work, but there is nobody worth voting for because nobody presents a genuine alternative that doesn't seem like pure evil.
Even if some kind of fascist group came to power, they would be unable to bring back the gentle, loving country that once existed here because their means would be alien to this land and their harsh methods would feel like an invasion. The nostalgia that the right has for the time that existed within our living memories can't be brought back by any of the means at our disposal.
So what is to be done? Not much, it seems, as the turnout to elections would suggest there is a malaise that lies over the people of this country… Things will get worse because nothing can be done to make them better, so why wouldn't you simply leave and move somewhere else? It is irrational not to do so, but that means giving up on a historical continuity that almost no other country can boast.
I think this is why people in Britain are among the most unhappy in the world, but they just lack the means by which they can articulate the problem.
This was ours, and it was given away by our political class over the last 25 years. This is why people like Lee Anderson say things like "I want my country back." It is gone and they stole it without our consent and have given it away to people we never invited to share it with us. Then, of all things, we are told that it was never ours to begin with and every foreigner on Earth has as much right to it as we did in the first place.
Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I think the British people are feeling at the moment.“
I’m not sure Britain was ever THAT cosy - hence our enormous empire. But some of this chimes with me
https://x.com/sargon_of_akkad/status/1767157302186963007?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
In 1630, English Puritans arrived in Providence Island, under the aegis of the Providence Island Company. The Puritans decided to settle the tropical islands, rather than cold, rocky New England, but the Providence Island colony did not succeed in the same way as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They established slave-worked plantations and engaged in privateering, which led to the Spanish and Portuguese conquering the colony in May, 1641.[10] In 1670, English buccaneers, led by Henry Morgan, took over the islands, which he used as a base to attack Panama. The buccaneers abandoned the islands by 1672. There is no record of anyone inhabiting the islands from then for another century.
The peat in the water is imho very much a myth in terms of having an influence on the final taste. There's just far to much else that's going to happen to that water for that to be a thing.
There is magic and mystery to the process, and a sense of the power of the place though, don't get me wrong. Scotland's plentiful, pure water that's ideal for whisky production, the magic to the spirit maturing in the casks in the cold fresh air of bonded warehouseses over years (Indian whisky matures in weeks, where's the mystery in that?). Maritime distilleries somehow developing a saline quality in their whiskies. The shapes of the copper pot stills and the way that influences copper contact and makes the spirit of different distilleries totally different.
The best thing about it is the way that each part of the process imparts something to the final flavour, and you just don't know what's going to come out of the cask at the end.
I couldn't tell you whether that book is widely read by whisky fans as I'm shamefully out of touch with many of my whisky friends, and also a very badly-read person myself (pontificating on PB too much).
I think the key to unlocking an enjoyment of whisky is getting used to the alcohol level, and you can do that pretty quickly by repeatedly nosing the whisky till the nose prickle goes, then swirling the first mouthful all round the mouth whilst breathing out through your nose, which is horrible, but sipping gently after that, it's a lot sweeter and gentler. Do as many comparative tastings as possible, and start them like that. It then becomes like mother's milk very quickly. Then all your distillery visits and tastings, there's more point - it becomes less of an academic appreciation and more of a good time. That's my two pence.
It is not unique to Britain with our rising Reform vote wanting to turn the clock back and move the immigrants back to their birthplace
Oh Brady don't hurt me
Don't hurt me
No more
The lesson the Right learned under Thatcher was that they could cast the Left as the enemy within and win elections on that basis. No longer would they try to reach out to build a consensus across society, instead they would find the dividing line that they could use to fracture it further.
It taught the Right to dislike their country and they've been doing it ever since. And they call themselves patriots. Hypocrites.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-68410972.amp
'“The appeal of Britain--of England--is that it was a small and settled place, which was homely and cosy, in which a person could feel truly relaxed and at their ease. That people could trust one another, help one another, and believe the people in power were actually doing their best. This made us a polished gem among the nations.'
The point he makes is actually more sophisticated than that. The British are by nature tolerant and moderate - they DON’T vote for extremists. Which is enormously creditable. A Britain that voted fascist or communist would not be Britain
And yet things are getting so bad extreme measures might be the only thing that work - but does that sacrifice Britishness itself?
They see the situation as desperate and this is a way of pulling the emergency cord.
The establishment is repeating what they did in 2016, regarding their opponents as racist, xenophobic etc. In many ways we are suffering the farce of 'history repeating itself'
Well, apart from the civil war and various revolts, riots and insurrections.
However white nationalism is on the rise across the western world and we are not immune, indeed many of its followers even prefer Putin and his cultural conservatism to the woke elite of their big cities
How to stop people getting into boats to come here...@breeallegretti
Exclusive:
Failed asylum seekers will be offered up to £3,000 to encourage them to move to Rwanda under a new voluntary scheme being drawn up by ministers.
But, it would be quite possible for a stampede of panicking backbenchers to oust Sunak, without any particular desire from the likely runners and riders in a subsequent leadership contest to precipitate such an event.
Then what would they be to do? "I actually wanted to be LOTO, so I'm going to sit this one out?". The risk of blowing your chance Vs the risk of losing your chance.
He’s describing a Britain of the polite middle classes at a certain time
For my Cornish ancestors down the tinmines aged 11 - with a life expectancy of 27 - Britain did not feel very “cosy”
Indeed I find it difficult to believe @HYUFD could pen such words
Only joking.
Purge the bloody Vanilla Comments
Can get a whole house for that. Complete with “boy’s quarter” whatever that is. Child servant?
"Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said Tuesday that he will not serve out the rest of his term and will vacate his seat in Congress at the end of next week, further narrowing an already razor-thin House Republican majority.
. . .
Once Buck departs, Republicans will outnumber Democrats 218 to 213 in the House. That means Republicans can afford to lose only two votes to pass legislation along party lines when everyone is attending and voting."
source$: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/12/ken-buck-leaving-congress/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Buck
Especially given the lack of party discipline among House Republicans.
A version of that (US avec Trump, former SU minus Ukraine) might pan out.
I remember suggesting this might be a possibility when Sunak was running for and then obtained the leadership. I was condemned for making a Party political point about something the Tory Party ought to be (quite rightly) proud of.
Sadly. I fear it is happening.
The fact he has proved to be utterly crap as well doesn't help, mind. But it certainly isn't all of it IMV.
Quite aside from it being a rundown shithole that looked like it hadn't had a lick of paint since 1980, and filled with homeless people and addicts, I didn't clock, see or try any interesting beers. The original Starbucks got more interest, but even that was a crushing disappointment - the one at Waterloo is more interesting.
I did see a sign across the road from a downtown restaurant that was sort of ok mocking Trump with an ad for escorts with the strapline, "Make America Horny Again", though.
*As India was then - including modern Pakistan and Bangladesh.
(The most blatant example of that is the expansion of education- very few people want their children to start work at 14/16/18, vocational training is for other people's children.)
Besides, a lot of nostalgia is driven by the unspoken- a full head of hair, unwrinkly skin, the first fumble behind the bike shed... And the pop-nat project can't bring that stuff back, even if it could otherwise be made to work.
[Yorkshireman accent:]
But you tell the oldies of today, and they won't believe you.
Who's calling who racist?
Useful employment and security, but not the best terminology for the modern world.
@Leon might like hoppy craft IPA. Give me a pint of Landlord, Tribute or Broadside any day of the week.
But then it's from a far right nutter, so what do we expect?
I quite like Sunak but his incompetence since Christmas has been breathtaking.
@HYUFD was doing analysis not arguing for it, as should be very obvious.
EXC: Sounds like PM’s meeting with the Men in Grey Suits on Monday was lively
Was warned directly against going in May by senior members of 1922 Exec
BUT “handful” of others suggested sooner rather than later to stem bleed
Sources say it was stark
Craft is a hipster trying to write a Guardian article with fermented hops.
Power is “seeping away”. Number 10’s slow motion response to the “racism” row will fuel Tory fears that Sunak has lost his grip: new talk among MPs of letters of no confidence, fatalism setting in. With
@LOS_Fisher
It's the same across all counter-culture, just a few years from authenticity to corporate marketing. Bud Light for example.
Amazing quote from a senior Tory source in ace @MrHarryCole story.
“7 months is a long time in politics. Just imagine what would happen if England won the Euros, Team GB had a hat full of gold at the Olympics — the landscape could be very different.”
There was a period where you could go into any random pub and there was a decent chance it would have an interesting beer. Now the token beer that isn't Heineken/Carlsberg or similar piss is always an IPA that tastes little better.
There are still good breweries out there, of course, and a few pubs that champion them, but IPAs have shut them out of the mainstream again.
A couple of possible outliers in 2003.
The first consistent leads weren't until 2006.
(And EdM had a big advantage over Sunak's sucessor. He was able to snaffle Lib Dem support from the minute the coalition started.)
You value the screed far above it's merits.