"We negotiated as much as we could, but there is nothing to talk about with Putin anymore. Ukraine must win. There will be no red lines for France. I’m the President of France and I decide"
He should send USA a backbone
I think it's a message to Scholz. The problem with the Americans is not so much the lack of backbone as outright Putinist support.
Scholz is obviously a Putin lickspittle, prefers wobbling like a jelly behind the sofa.
No, he's a cushion bearing the imprint of whoever sat on him most recently and most firmly.
Macron is also messaging Putin directly, and Eastern Europe. However, Europe needs to get its act together on this. Shells don't build themselves.
Macron, in true Gaullist fashion, has seen an opening for France to play its predestined role as the lynchpin of an independent European defence alliance. America walking away from the scene was the cue he needed.
If it, along with Tusk back in power in Poland, can make a material difference to Europe's posture and ambition on Ukraine then so much the better.
Autumn statement/fiscal event on October 23rd and election on December 5th. The autumn statement retail offer to be implemented for November pay, people get paid November 29th with an extra £100 or so in the bank than they got the month before.
Personally I don't think it's going to make any difference but this is, aiui, the Tory thinking right now.
And on topic the election is going to be November 21st, as I said in January. Even Peston saying something compatible with that has not shaken my confidence. Stopped clocks etc.
But what happens when we get to early October? Either the polls still won't have shifted in the Conservatives' favour, in which case why not give them another month?
Or they will have started to shift, in which case the logic will be "Give it another month and we will be competitive".
We only get an early (before legal expiry) election if the government collapses. Otherwise it’s Thursday 23rd January.
Just because he ruled out May 2nd doesn’t mean it will go to January 23rd.
A January election will be political suicide. The media would hate it. The country would hate it. It more-than-smacks of desperation. Add to that the longest month of the year for most people financially (pay day is before Christmas), the cold, dark, the idea of campaigning during Christmas and New Year … no, it’s absurd.
It’ll be the autumn. Personally I think before the clocks go back but maybe November.
You are right but the advantage of a January election is that it screws the opposition parties more than it hurts the government. There are 314 days to the general election, Thursday, 23 January.
Again, you don’t know when the election will be so give over with the attention-seeking certainty. Also the idea that it “will screw the other parties more” is not fact, it’s your opinion. Why not write it as such?
For what it’s worth, your analysis is based on shaky grounds. A January election makes the government look ridiculous. And there are lots of leftwing teachers on holiday during the campaign.
Haven't we already passed the point of no return on the government looking ridiculous? It now isn't going to be May. If the locals are as bad as they look like being then it can't be June/July, If summer is decent weather then the number of boats crossing will rule out September/October so December/January has to be it. There's going to be very little Tory activity on the streets in this campaign so make it more difficult for the opposition and have the election campaign cross Christmas, Maybe not 23rd January, but 9th or 16th are possibles.
I don't know if the "boats" still has the totemic salience it did last year. Most people are used to it now and don't think the government either want to fix it or can fix it.
The little shit wants to be PM as long as possible and doesn't really care if he leaves the tory party or country in a state of desolation after he's gone. However, he will want to go out at the inevitable GE loss not the indignity of being ousted as party leader in a Night of the Long Letters. With that in mind, he might want to avoid the tory conference which will be a febrile shit show if they are 20+ behind in the polls.
Yes, so October. It's the sweet spot.
Isn't there some reason why it won't be October, to do with royal visits or something? I seem to recall this discussion on here.
My (figurative, in this case) money is on early December.
Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference, 21-25 October in Samoa. The argument is it's all pretty big for the King so PM has to go, and it's a long way in an election campaign (let alone the oddity if the election is basically then).
I've always thought that the argument was utter balls. It's the Commonwealth, Cameron or someone can go, and it's the Commonwealth.
Or the King can go and they can schedule a Teams call with Starmer when he wins the election. Or if the media want to see Starmer in a car going to Buckingham Palace, Prince William or Princess Eugenie can meet him.
If the king is away, there will be a Council of State which carries out his duties. So the most senior member (presumably Wills) would do it.
"We negotiated as much as we could, but there is nothing to talk about with Putin anymore. Ukraine must win. There will be no red lines for France. I’m the President of France and I decide"
He should send USA a backbone
To be fair much of MAGA supports Putin more than they do the us.
Something for everyone, but an astonishing stat that 78% of the traffic on this bit of the M25 is just local people trying to get to the other side of it, rather than using it to bypass that part of London.
"We negotiated as much as we could, but there is nothing to talk about with Putin anymore. Ukraine must win. There will be no red lines for France. I’m the President of France and I decide"
He should send USA a backbone
I think it's a message to Scholz. The problem with the Americans is not so much the lack of backbone as outright Putinist support.
Scholz is obviously a Putin lickspittle, prefers wobbling like a jelly behind the sofa.
No, he's a cushion bearing the imprint of whoever sat on him most recently and most firmly.
Macron is also messaging Putin directly, and Eastern Europe. However, Europe needs to get its act together on this. Shells don't build themselves.
Macron, in true Gaullist fashion, has seen an opening for France to play its predestined role as the lynchpin of an independent European defence alliance. America walking away from the scene was the cue he needed.
If it, along with Tusk back in power in Poland, can make a material difference to Europe's posture and ambition on Ukraine then so much the better.
All parties in Poland agree on massive armament.
If the planned buys/build out is completed, Poland, on it's own, will have a military that will be a match for Russia.
Which in turn has some implications for Europe. Especially since Poland seems to have taken a shine to South Korean equipment.
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Meursault is apparently notoriously a village of nouvs. A winemaker I was speaking to down in the Maconnais was complaining about them while making the "snob" sign with his finger under his nose. Erstwhile peasants who've seen a flood of international money come in for their products and got a bit up themselves. They look down on the likes of Pouilly Fuisse as country bumpkins. At least so he says.
Incidentally what brought you to the Meursault Petit Casino? For 90% of European visitors it's because they're staying at the municipal campsite La Grappe D'Or. The locals will probably claim all the sales of crap are to Dutch caravanners (when they're not complaining the Dutch come to France fully stocked and don't buy anything local).
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
And on topic the election is going to be November 21st, as I said in January. Even Peston saying something compatible with that has not shaken my confidence. Stopped clocks etc.
But what happens when we get to early October? Either the polls still won't have shifted in the Conservatives' favour, in which case why not give them another month?
Or they will have started to shift, in which case the logic will be "Give it another month and we will be competitive".
We only get an early (before legal expiry) election if the government collapses. Otherwise it’s Thursday 23rd January.
Just because he ruled out May 2nd doesn’t mean it will go to January 23rd.
A January election will be political suicide. The media would hate it. The country would hate it. It more-than-smacks of desperation. Add to that the longest month of the year for most people financially (pay day is before Christmas), the cold, dark, the idea of campaigning during Christmas and New Year … no, it’s absurd.
It’ll be the autumn. Personally I think before the clocks go back but maybe November.
You are right but the advantage of a January election is that it screws the opposition parties more than it hurts the government. There are 314 days to the general election, Thursday, 23 January.
Again, you don’t know when the election will be so give over with the attention-seeking certainty. Also the idea that it “will screw the other parties more” is not fact, it’s your opinion. Why not write it as such?
For what it’s worth, your analysis is based on shaky grounds. A January election makes the government look ridiculous. And there are lots of leftwing teachers on holiday during the campaign.
I've given the analysis several times. And if there is no canvassing over the holiday period, it does not matter how many "left-wing teachers on holiday" there are available to do a thing that cannot be done. That is the point. And if you want to attack people for wrong predictions, start with those who said the 2nd of May.
“If you want to attack people for wrong predictions, start with those who said the 2nd of May”
Yeah. Especially those still saying 2nd of May in this very thread.
Who wants some 🥊
😁
You think a politician might be, unintentionally no doubt, misleading the public. Has this ever happened before?
No. It’s called “misspoke” easily cleared up next morning by press office saying “you thought he ruled out an election date? You fools - he was merely replying there is no General Election on the 2nd, just local elections.” 🙂
"We negotiated as much as we could, but there is nothing to talk about with Putin anymore. Ukraine must win. There will be no red lines for France. I’m the President of France and I decide"
He should send USA a backbone
I think it's a message to Scholz. The problem with the Americans is not so much the lack of backbone as outright Putinist support.
Scholz is obviously a Putin lickspittle, prefers wobbling like a jelly behind the sofa.
No, he's a cushion bearing the imprint of whoever sat on him most recently and most firmly.
Macron is also messaging Putin directly, and Eastern Europe. However, Europe needs to get its act together on this. Shells don't build themselves.
Macron, in true Gaullist fashion, has seen an opening for France to play its predestined role as the lynchpin of an independent European defence alliance. America walking away from the scene was the cue he needed.
If it, along with Tusk back in power in Poland, can make a material difference to Europe's posture and ambition on Ukraine then so much the better.
All parties in Poland agree on massive armament.
If the planned buys/build out is completed, Poland, on it's own, will have a military that will be a match for Russia.
Which in turn has some implications for Europe. Especially since Poland seems to have taken a shine to South Korean equipment.
The big difference now from my perspective is that Tusk is known and trusted by his EU allies. It makes consensus much more possible, especially with Germany.
Ali Campbell and Rory the Tory have got an Election 2024 tour booked in October, and from what they're saying, on the odd occasion I listen, they're talking as if the autumn is a foregone conclusion.
I am sure all the centrist dad types like you will queue round the block to see the old soak and the greatest PM we never had.
Something for everyone, but an astonishing stat that 78% of the traffic on this bit of the M25 is just local people trying to get to the other side of it, rather than using it to bypass that part of London.
Build a bridge, seems to be the obvious answer.
That's what I was thinking. But it must be more complicated than that.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Some people will always buy shite.
Note from your own post that Mersault (population 1,390) has a boulangerie and a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises.
Autumn statement/fiscal event on October 23rd and election on December 5th. The autumn statement retail offer to be implemented for November pay, people get paid November 29th with an extra £100 or so in the bank than they got the month before.
Personally I don't think it's going to make any difference but this is, aiui, the Tory thinking right now.
That's moving imaginary armies round a map in a Berlin bunker, isn't it?
I'm not sure the timings really work (week long FE debate, week long washup, dissolution is on November 13, election December 19, so very tight), or that there's any sign that the last two big retail offers have worked.
But more importantly, 30 million taxpayers getting £100 a month on average is £3 billion a month or £36 billion a year. The government doesn't have that kind of cash to splash.
Just saw on Sky News a row of people, sacrificing their dignity, by dressing as chickens holding letters calling out the PM for chickening out on something he never agreed to do.
I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.
“The reason for choosing Thursday, it is said, was as follows. On Fridays the voters were paid their wages and if they went for a drink in a public house they would be subject to pressure from the Conservative brewing interests, while on Sundays they would be subject to influence by Free Church ministers who were generally Liberal in persuasion. Therefore choose the day furthest from influence by either publicans or Free Church clergymen, namely Thursday. Although these influences are much less significant today, the trend towards Thursday becoming a universal polling day has continued, because Urban District Councils and Rural District Councils all polled on a Saturday until they were abolished under the 1972 Local Government Act. Their successor District Councils poll on a Thursday and the Parish Council polling day was changed from Saturday to Thursday at the same time.“
The Tory Conference is already booked for 29th Sept to 2nd Oct in Birmingham. It is already being promoted to businesses.
Sunak will make his big speech on Wednesday 2nd October and announce that the GE will take place six weeks later on 14th November. It will be the launch of the Tory campaign.
That was my assumption for over a year.
The question now is whether the conference will be more of a liability, with activists and MPs falling out, a lack of a clear message for the future, unrealistic promises and a general sense of fatigue and uselessness. Plus guests like Farage and Johnson on the fringe outshining the PM and ministers.
Indeed. That makes no sense as election launch pad. Income tax cutting budget and out with the lecturn next morning makes more sense.
They are not thinking rationally 🙇♀️
I have seen a reference to recent polling (can't remember source) the gist of which was that people are well aware that Labour is going to come in and taxes will be raised for all the obvious reasons that we know about. They don't believe that cuts are affordable, they know that a small cuts is a merely a gesture which will be reversed, maybe not directly but certainly by increases in other forms of taxation, and their votes are not up for grabs in this way. So if the Tories think that "2p off" or whatever will have a major impact - or any impact - on their poll ratings they are whistling in the dark.
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
Part of it AIUI is that exercise increases the general metabolic rate anyway, so it's not a simple matter of calculating the km per fig roll. Or rather the fig rolls per km.
“The reason for choosing Thursday, it is said, was as follows. On Fridays the voters were paid their wages and if they went for a drink in a public house they would be subject to pressure from the Conservative brewing interests, while on Sundays they would be subject to influence by Free Church ministers who were generally Liberal in persuasion. Therefore choose the day furthest from influence by either publicans or Free Church clergymen, namely Thursday. Although these influences are much less significant today, the trend towards Thursday becoming a universal polling day has continued, because Urban District Councils and Rural District Councils all polled on a Saturday until they were abolished under the 1972 Local Government Act. Their successor District Councils poll on a Thursday and the Parish Council polling day was changed from Saturday to Thursday at the same time.“
I don’t really believe that, do you?
I have always wondered why local authorities have to all poll on the same day. Why don't they set their own dates, assuming they are the right distance apart?
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Meursault is apparently notoriously a village of nouvs. A winemaker I was speaking to down in the Maconnais was complaining about them while making the "snob" sign with his finger under his nose. Erstwhile peasants who've seen a flood of international money come in for their products and got a bit up themselves. They look down on the likes of Pouilly Fuisse as country bumpkins. At least so he says.
Incidentally what brought you to the Meursault Petit Casino? For 90% of European visitors it's because they're staying at the municipal campsite La Grappe D'Or. The locals will probably claim all the sales of crap are to Dutch caravanners (when they're not complaining the Dutch come to France fully stocked and don't buy anything local).
There is a certain type of northern European who holidays in France with a fully stocked boot of crap food. Some of these people are in my acquaintance, despite it essentially being illegal to import most of this stuff to France these days.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
Something for everyone, but an astonishing stat that 78% of the traffic on this bit of the M25 is just local people trying to get to the other side of it, rather than using it to bypass that part of London.
Build a bridge, seems to be the obvious answer.
That's what I was thinking. But it must be more complicated than that.
Just saw on Sky News a row of people, sacrificing their dignity, by dressing as chickens holding letters calling out the PM for chickening out on something he never agreed to do.
I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.
Indeed. A giant inflatable bottle would have been a better prop.
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Meursault is apparently notoriously a village of nouvs. A winemaker I was speaking to down in the Maconnais was complaining about them while making the "snob" sign with his finger under his nose. Erstwhile peasants who've seen a flood of international money come in for their products and got a bit up themselves. They look down on the likes of Pouilly Fuisse as country bumpkins. At least so he says.
Incidentally what brought you to the Meursault Petit Casino? For 90% of European visitors it's because they're staying at the municipal campsite La Grappe D'Or. The locals will probably claim all the sales of crap are to Dutch caravanners (when they're not complaining the Dutch come to France fully stocked and don't buy anything local).
I was in the boulangerie across the street, watching numbers of locals pouring in and out. Was staying in a house just round the corner.
All the French wine places go mad when they get "found" - put the prices up three times, buy a huge chateaux, install a tasting room with 5 meter high glass windows....
Just saw on Sky News a row of people, sacrificing their dignity, by dressing as chickens holding letters calling out the PM for chickening out on something he never agreed to do.
I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.
“ I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.”
Or end up Tory communication chiefs in number 10 😉
And on topic the election is going to be November 21st, as I said in January. Even Peston saying something compatible with that has not shaken my confidence. Stopped clocks etc.
But what happens when we get to early October? Either the polls still won't have shifted in the Conservatives' favour, in which case why not give them another month?
Or they will have started to shift, in which case the logic will be "Give it another month and we will be competitive".
We only get an early (before legal expiry) election if the government collapses. Otherwise it’s Thursday 23rd January.
Just because he ruled out May 2nd doesn’t mean it will go to January 23rd.
A January election will be political suicide. The media would hate it. The country would hate it. It more-than-smacks of desperation. Add to that the longest month of the year for most people financially (pay day is before Christmas), the cold, dark, the idea of campaigning during Christmas and New Year … no, it’s absurd.
It’ll be the autumn. Personally I think before the clocks go back but maybe November.
You are right but the advantage of a January election is that it screws the opposition parties more than it hurts the government. There are 314 days to the general election, Thursday, 23 January.
Again, you don’t know when the election will be so give over with the attention-seeking certainty. Also the idea that it “will screw the other parties more” is not fact, it’s your opinion. Why not write it as such?
For what it’s worth, your analysis is based on shaky grounds. A January election makes the government look ridiculous. And there are lots of leftwing teachers on holiday during the campaign.
Haven't we already passed the point of no return on the government looking ridiculous? It now isn't going to be May. If the locals are as bad as they look like being then it can't be June/July, If summer is decent weather then the number of boats crossing will rule out September/October so December/January has to be it. There's going to be very little Tory activity on the streets in this campaign so make it more difficult for the opposition and have the election campaign cross Christmas, Maybe not 23rd January, but 9th or 16th are possibles.
I don't know if the "boats" still has the totemic salience it did last year. Most people are used to it now and don't think the government either want to fix it or can fix it.
The little shit wants to be PM as long as possible and doesn't really care if he leaves the tory party or country in a state of desolation after he's gone. However, he will want to go out at the inevitable GE loss not the indignity of being ousted as party leader in a Night of the Long Letters. With that in mind, he might want to avoid the tory conference which will be a febrile shit show if they are 20+ behind in the polls.
Yes, so October. It's the sweet spot.
Isn't there some reason why it won't be October, to do with royal visits or something? I seem to recall this discussion on here.
My (figurative, in this case) money is on early December.
Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference, 21-25 October in Samoa. The argument is it's all pretty big for the King so PM has to go, and it's a long way in an election campaign (let alone the oddity if the election is basically then).
I've always thought that the argument was utter balls. It's the Commonwealth, Cameron or someone can go, and it's the Commonwealth.
Or the King can go and they can schedule a Teams call with Starmer when he wins the election. Or if the media want to see Starmer in a car going to Buckingham Palace, Prince William or Princess Eugenie can meet him.
If the king is away, there will be a Council of State which carries out his duties. So the most senior member (presumably Wills) would do it.
IIRC, appointing a PM is one of the things that the counsellors of state can't do and is specifically reserved to the sovereign.
Whether the King could appoint remotely is a more interesting question. I suspect probably yes.
"We negotiated as much as we could, but there is nothing to talk about with Putin anymore. Ukraine must win. There will be no red lines for France. I’m the President of France and I decide"
He should send USA a backbone
I think it's a message to Scholz. The problem with the Americans is not so much the lack of backbone as outright Putinist support.
Scholz is obviously a Putin lickspittle, prefers wobbling like a jelly behind the sofa.
No, he's a cushion bearing the imprint of whoever sat on him most recently and most firmly.
Macron is also messaging Putin directly, and Eastern Europe. However, Europe needs to get its act together on this. Shells don't build themselves.
Macron, in true Gaullist fashion, has seen an opening for France to play its predestined role as the lynchpin of an independent European defence alliance. America walking away from the scene was the cue he needed.
If it, along with Tusk back in power in Poland, can make a material difference to Europe's posture and ambition on Ukraine then so much the better.
All parties in Poland agree on massive armament.
If the planned buys/build out is completed, Poland, on it's own, will have a military that will be a match for Russia.
Which in turn has some implications for Europe. Especially since Poland seems to have taken a shine to South Korean equipment.
The big difference now from my perspective is that Tusk is known and trusted by his EU allies. It makes consensus much more possible, especially with Germany.
If America goes in the Trump Maga direction it will no longer be an ally. That completely changes European military thinking and arrangements, I'd have thought.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
I think Carlson basically wants 1980s America back. Always strikes me how optimistic the movies of that period were.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
I think Carlson basically wants 1980s America back. Always strikes me how optimistic the movies of that period were.
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Some people will always buy shite.
Note from your own post that Mersault (population 1,390) has a boulangerie and a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises.
QED.
The locals seemed to be buying the garbage. The furriers (like me) are in the fancy places.
I've seen the UK version of this in Auchterarder where the visitors keep the butchers alive while the locals shop at the SPAR across the road.
“The reason for choosing Thursday, it is said, was as follows. On Fridays the voters were paid their wages and if they went for a drink in a public house they would be subject to pressure from the Conservative brewing interests, while on Sundays they would be subject to influence by Free Church ministers who were generally Liberal in persuasion. Therefore choose the day furthest from influence by either publicans or Free Church clergymen, namely Thursday. Although these influences are much less significant today, the trend towards Thursday becoming a universal polling day has continued, because Urban District Councils and Rural District Councils all polled on a Saturday until they were abolished under the 1972 Local Government Act. Their successor District Councils poll on a Thursday and the Parish Council polling day was changed from Saturday to Thursday at the same time.“
I don’t really believe that, do you?
It does make sense for Scotland in the second half of the 19th century. But if you changed 'Free Kirk' to 'Nonconformist, Presbyterian and Evangelical' it would make better sense in terms of covering the UK.
Nevertheless, this raises an interesting point when the Scottish Unionist or Liberal pol would have to watch out for Communion Seasons when the Thursday was a Day of Humiliation - but the whole five days were sacred anyway.
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Some people will always buy shite.
Note from your own post that Mersault (population 1,390) has a boulangerie and a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises.
QED.
The locals seemed to be buying the garbage. The furriers (like me) are in the fancy places.
I've seen the UK version of this in Auchterarder where the visitors keep the butchers alive while the locals shop at the SPAR across the road.
Oh? Do you self-identify as a furry, then? But then that's what they apparently do thereabouts.
"We negotiated as much as we could, but there is nothing to talk about with Putin anymore. Ukraine must win. There will be no red lines for France. I’m the President of France and I decide"
He should send USA a backbone
I think it's a message to Scholz. The problem with the Americans is not so much the lack of backbone as outright Putinist support.
Scholz is obviously a Putin lickspittle, prefers wobbling like a jelly behind the sofa.
No, he's a cushion bearing the imprint of whoever sat on him most recently and most firmly.
Macron is also messaging Putin directly, and Eastern Europe. However, Europe needs to get its act together on this. Shells don't build themselves.
Macron, in true Gaullist fashion, has seen an opening for France to play its predestined role as the lynchpin of an independent European defence alliance. America walking away from the scene was the cue he needed.
If it, along with Tusk back in power in Poland, can make a material difference to Europe's posture and ambition on Ukraine then so much the better.
All parties in Poland agree on massive armament.
If the planned buys/build out is completed, Poland, on it's own, will have a military that will be a match for Russia.
Which in turn has some implications for Europe. Especially since Poland seems to have taken a shine to South Korean equipment.
The big difference now from my perspective is that Tusk is known and trusted by his EU allies. It makes consensus much more possible, especially with Germany.
If America goes in the Trump Maga direction it will no longer be an ally. That completely changes European military thinking and arrangements, I'd have thought.
Unless of course the likes of farage take over the tory party and win in 2029.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
I think Carlson basically wants 1980s America back. Always strikes me how optimistic the movies of that period were.
The mega corps existed then as well. The difference today is that more of the founders have kept control of the new mega corps, rather than getting booted out by the banks/lawyers.
Since founders are more visible than an anonymous row of suits at Omni Consumer Products.....
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
I think Carlson basically wants 1980s America back. Always strikes me how optimistic the movies of that period were.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
I think Carlson basically wants 1980s America back. Always strikes me how optimistic the movies of that period were.
Basically, I think by the time we get to September it won't be about long or short or waiting for the polls any more, it will be how to fit things around events. the Tory conference (of course @Dura_Ace has a way of putting it, but I have time for the view), the Autumn Statement, the CHOGM red herring, the US election, Christmas.
Also note that a post Christmas election doesn't give you that much extra time to actually call the election since the campaign is then lengthened a full week by Bank Holidays.
I also wistfully note that the FTPA would have dictated a May 2nd election, as later in the year prior election dates were reset to May of the 5th year.
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Some people will always buy shite.
Note from your own post that Mersault (population 1,390) has a boulangerie and a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises.
QED.
The locals seemed to be buying the garbage. The furriers (like me) are in the fancy places.
I've seen the UK version of this in Auchterarder where the visitors keep the butchers alive while the locals shop at the SPAR across the road.
Oh? Do you self-identify as a furry, then? But then that's what they apparently do thereabouts.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
The populists are both led and bankrolled by the wealthy owner class, in the US. It's a high end grift, and Tucker is a grifter.
Basically, I think by the time we get to September it won't be about long or short or waiting for the polls any more, it will be how to fit things around events. the Tory conference (of course @Dura_Ace has a way of putting it, but I have time for the view), the Autumn Statement, the CHOGM red herring, the US election, Christmas.
Also note that a post Christmas election doesn't give you that much extra time to actually call the election since the campaign is then lengthened a full week by Bank Holidays.
I also wistfully note that the FTPA would have dictated a May 2nd election, as later in the year prior election dates were reset to May of the 5th year.
@AverageNinja before his sad banning mentioned the FTPA a few days back.
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
I am very much with you on home cooking but don't really get the hatred for margarine that seems to be a widespread view on PB. The ingredients of Flora are plant oils (rapeseed, sunflower and linseed), water, coconut fat, salt, lecithin, natural flavourings and Vitamin A. Are any of those things so bad for you spread thinly on toast? I am not claiming it is healthier than butter, but I personally prefer the taste and it's easier to spread, and don't see the problem with it.
Ali Campbell and Rory the Tory have got an Election 2024 tour booked in October, and from what they're saying, on the odd occasion I listen, they're talking as if the autumn is a foregone conclusion.
I am sure all the centrist dad types like you will queue round the block to see the old soak and the greatest PM we never had.
I really do try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet, so I won’t indulge myself by typing out what I think of you and the shitty little comments you keep lobbing my way.
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Some people will always buy shite.
Note from your own post that Mersault (population 1,390) has a boulangerie and a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises.
QED.
The locals seemed to be buying the garbage. The furriers (like me) are in the fancy places.
I've seen the UK version of this in Auchterarder where the visitors keep the butchers alive while the locals shop at the SPAR across the road.
Oh? Do you self-identify as a furry, then? But then that's what they apparently do thereabouts.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
I think Carlson basically wants 1980s America back. Always strikes me how optimistic the movies of that period were.
"We negotiated as much as we could, but there is nothing to talk about with Putin anymore. Ukraine must win. There will be no red lines for France. I’m the President of France and I decide"
He should send USA a backbone
I think it's a message to Scholz. The problem with the Americans is not so much the lack of backbone as outright Putinist support.
Scholz is obviously a Putin lickspittle, prefers wobbling like a jelly behind the sofa.
No, he's a cushion bearing the imprint of whoever sat on him most recently and most firmly.
Macron is also messaging Putin directly, and Eastern Europe. However, Europe needs to get its act together on this. Shells don't build themselves.
Macron, in true Gaullist fashion, has seen an opening for France to play its predestined role as the lynchpin of an independent European defence alliance. America walking away from the scene was the cue he needed.
If it, along with Tusk back in power in Poland, can make a material difference to Europe's posture and ambition on Ukraine then so much the better.
All parties in Poland agree on massive armament.
If the planned buys/build out is completed, Poland, on it's own, will have a military that will be a match for Russia.
Which in turn has some implications for Europe. Especially since Poland seems to have taken a shine to South Korean equipment.
The big difference now from my perspective is that Tusk is known and trusted by his EU allies. It makes consensus much more possible, especially with Germany.
If America goes in the Trump Maga direction it will no longer be an ally. That completely changes European military thinking and arrangements, I'd have thought.
Unless of course the likes of farage take over the tory party and win in 2029.
Ali Campbell and Rory the Tory have got an Election 2024 tour booked in October, and from what they're saying, on the odd occasion I listen, they're talking as if the autumn is a foregone conclusion.
I am sure all the centrist dad types like you will queue round the block to see the old soak and the greatest PM we never had.
I really do try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet, so I won’t indulge myself by typing out what I think of you and the shitty little comments you keep lobbing my way.
Same with me but when someone I've never heard of before and not really engaged with before, suddenly lobs shitty comments at me for no reason, as you have done previously, I will respond in kind.
Your view of me is as valuable to me as the contents of a tissue once I've emptied my nostrils into it.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
Just saw on Sky News a row of people, sacrificing their dignity, by dressing as chickens holding letters calling out the PM for chickening out on something he never agreed to do.
I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.
Indeed. A giant inflatable bottle would have been a better prop.
And on topic the election is going to be November 21st, as I said in January. Even Peston saying something compatible with that has not shaken my confidence. Stopped clocks etc.
But what happens when we get to early October? Either the polls still won't have shifted in the Conservatives' favour, in which case why not give them another month?
Or they will have started to shift, in which case the logic will be "Give it another month and we will be competitive".
We only get an early (before legal expiry) election if the government collapses. Otherwise it’s Thursday 23rd January.
Just because he ruled out May 2nd doesn’t mean it will go to January 23rd.
A January election will be political suicide. The media would hate it. The country would hate it. It more-than-smacks of desperation. Add to that the longest month of the year for most people financially (pay day is before Christmas), the cold, dark, the idea of campaigning during Christmas and New Year … no, it’s absurd.
It’ll be the autumn. Personally I think before the clocks go back but maybe November.
You are right but the advantage of a January election is that it screws the opposition parties more than it hurts the government. There are 314 days to the general election, Thursday, 23 January.
Again, you don’t know when the election will be so give over with the attention-seeking certainty. Also the idea that it “will screw the other parties more” is not fact, it’s your opinion. Why not write it as such?
For what it’s worth, your analysis is based on shaky grounds. A January election makes the government look ridiculous. And there are lots of leftwing teachers on holiday during the campaign.
Haven't we already passed the point of no return on the government looking ridiculous? It now isn't going to be May. If the locals are as bad as they look like being then it can't be June/July, If summer is decent weather then the number of boats crossing will rule out September/October so December/January has to be it. There's going to be very little Tory activity on the streets in this campaign so make it more difficult for the opposition and have the election campaign cross Christmas, Maybe not 23rd January, but 9th or 16th are possibles.
I don't know if the "boats" still has the totemic salience it did last year. Most people are used to it now and don't think the government either want to fix it or can fix it.
The little shit wants to be PM as long as possible and doesn't really care if he leaves the tory party or country in a state of desolation after he's gone. However, he will want to go out at the inevitable GE loss not the indignity of being ousted as party leader in a Night of the Long Letters. With that in mind, he might want to avoid the tory conference which will be a febrile shit show if they are 20+ behind in the polls.
Yes, so October. It's the sweet spot.
Isn't there some reason why it won't be October, to do with royal visits or something? I seem to recall this discussion on here.
My (figurative, in this case) money is on early December.
Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference, 21-25 October in Samoa. The argument is it's all pretty big for the King so PM has to go, and it's a long way in an election campaign (let alone the oddity if the election is basically then).
I've always thought that the argument was utter balls. It's the Commonwealth, Cameron or someone can go, and it's the Commonwealth.
Or the King can go and they can schedule a Teams call with Starmer when he wins the election. Or if the media want to see Starmer in a car going to Buckingham Palace, Prince William or Princess Eugenie can meet him.
If the king is away, there will be a Council of State which carries out his duties. So the most senior member (presumably Wills) would do it.
I fear for a regal black swan around that time.
Our simulation is currently set in catastrophe mode.
Just saw on Sky News a row of people, sacrificing their dignity, by dressing as chickens holding letters calling out the PM for chickening out on something he never agreed to do.
I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.
“ I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.”
Or end up Tory communication chiefs in number 10 😉
I guess young staffers of any party can flit around whatever party they want when young.
Something for everyone, but an astonishing stat that 78% of the traffic on this bit of the M25 is just local people trying to get to the other side of it, rather than using it to bypass that part of London.
Build a bridge, seems to be the obvious answer.
That's what I was thinking. But it must be more complicated than that.
Didn't someone on here make the point that in order to get the M25 through planning lots of concessions were made to put junctions in for local areas. The result is 33 junctions at an average gap of 3.5 miles, which is plainly ridiculous for a motorway.
Autumn statement/fiscal event on October 23rd and election on December 5th. The autumn statement retail offer to be implemented for November pay, people get paid November 29th with an extra £100 or so in the bank than they got the month before.
Personally I don't think it's going to make any difference but this is, aiui, the Tory thinking right now.
You aren’t going to be able to make changes on October 23rd and see them in a pay packet on November 6th. October 9th would be pushing it as you really need 4 weeks notice to get the changes implemented (and even then HMRC’s systems wont be in a position to pick up errors).
Also it’s mid year so the only change could be yet another change to employee NI and no one cares about that as shown both in November and last week
I think there is now a real chance the Tories go for the nuclear option of PM #4 of this parliament.
No election in May means an 7-8 month window has opened up. If the drip-drip negative headlines and poor Sunak media management continues, it starts to feel like enough MPs might be desperate enough for a last throw of the dice.
I am beginning to take this possibility more seriously, only because Sunak appears to be so useless politically that another six months of him as PM is more likely to worsen the Tory position than not. He's not the safe pair of hands he was supposed to be when he replaced Truss.
The only stumbling block is: who takes over?
We’re lucky Boris isn’t in parliament, because I think they’re desperate enough to give him another go.
Other than that, I can’t see beyond Mordaunt because there’s nobody else who isn’t either (a) measurably tied too closely to Rishi or Truss, or (b) who would want the poisoned chalice right now.
I tend to agree. My Betfair account would like Sir Jake Berry to have a crack, but he's disappeared into the background. Mordaunt with the blessing of Boris would sort of work. Offer cabinet roles to Hunt and Rishi for continuity's sake, but bring back the right wingers too. Push the election out to Jan and go at it hard as an audition to be the next PM.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
The populists are both led and bankrolled by the wealthy owner class, in the US. It's a high end grift, and Tucker is a grifter.
From their point of view, as long as it works.
After all, Trump got away - and continues to get away - with presenting himself as the voice of the real people while having shovelled money to himself and his super-rich mates while in office.
And on topic the election is going to be November 21st, as I said in January. Even Peston saying something compatible with that has not shaken my confidence. Stopped clocks etc.
But what happens when we get to early October? Either the polls still won't have shifted in the Conservatives' favour, in which case why not give them another month?
Or they will have started to shift, in which case the logic will be "Give it another month and we will be competitive".
We only get an early (before legal expiry) election if the government collapses. Otherwise it’s Thursday 23rd January.
Just because he ruled out May 2nd doesn’t mean it will go to January 23rd.
A January election will be political suicide. The media would hate it. The country would hate it. It more-than-smacks of desperation. Add to that the longest month of the year for most people financially (pay day is before Christmas), the cold, dark, the idea of campaigning during Christmas and New Year … no, it’s absurd.
It’ll be the autumn. Personally I think before the clocks go back but maybe November.
You are right but the advantage of a January election is that it screws the opposition parties more than it hurts the government. There are 314 days to the general election, Thursday, 23 January.
Again, you don’t know when the election will be so give over with the attention-seeking certainty. Also the idea that it “will screw the other parties more” is not fact, it’s your opinion. Why not write it as such?
For what it’s worth, your analysis is based on shaky grounds. A January election makes the government look ridiculous. And there are lots of leftwing teachers on holiday during the campaign.
Haven't we already passed the point of no return on the government looking ridiculous? It now isn't going to be May. If the locals are as bad as they look like being then it can't be June/July, If summer is decent weather then the number of boats crossing will rule out September/October so December/January has to be it. There's going to be very little Tory activity on the streets in this campaign so make it more difficult for the opposition and have the election campaign cross Christmas, Maybe not 23rd January, but 9th or 16th are possibles.
I don't know if the "boats" still has the totemic salience it did last year. Most people are used to it now and don't think the government either want to fix it or can fix it.
The little shit wants to be PM as long as possible and doesn't really care if he leaves the tory party or country in a state of desolation after he's gone. However, he will want to go out at the inevitable GE loss not the indignity of being ousted as party leader in a Night of the Long Letters. With that in mind, he might want to avoid the tory conference which will be a febrile shit show if they are 20+ behind in the polls.
Yes, so October. It's the sweet spot.
Isn't there some reason why it won't be October, to do with royal visits or something? I seem to recall this discussion on here.
My (figurative, in this case) money is on early December.
Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference, 21-25 October in Samoa. The argument is it's all pretty big for the King so PM has to go, and it's a long way in an election campaign (let alone the oddity if the election is basically then).
I've always thought that the argument was utter balls. It's the Commonwealth, Cameron or someone can go, and it's the Commonwealth.
Or the King can go and they can schedule a Teams call with Starmer when he wins the election. Or if the media want to see Starmer in a car going to Buckingham Palace, Prince William or Princess Eugenie can meet him.
If the king is away, there will be a Council of State which carries out his duties. So the most senior member (presumably Wills) would do it.
IIRC, appointing a PM is one of the things that the counsellors of state can't do and is specifically reserved to the sovereign.
Whether the King could appoint remotely is a more interesting question. I suspect probably yes.
The Commons library has this:
“While most Prime Ministers resign or are appointed at Buckingham Palace, others have done so at Windsor. An exception was H. H. Asquith in 1908, who had to take a boat and train to Biarittz in France, where King Edward VII was on holiday. He is the only Prime Minister to have been appointed outside the UK. Liz Truss was appointed Prime Minister at Balmoral, which last occurred when Lord Salisbury became Prime Minister in 1885.”
So, if the King is in Samoa, Starmer can hop on a plane to Samoa, or wait for him to come back, I guess. Or, just maybe, everyone will be happy with a videoconference.
Basically, I think by the time we get to September it won't be about long or short or waiting for the polls any more, it will be how to fit things around events. the Tory conference (of course @Dura_Ace has a way of putting it, but I have time for the view), the Autumn Statement, the CHOGM red herring, the US election, Christmas.
Also note that a post Christmas election doesn't give you that much extra time to actually call the election since the campaign is then lengthened a full week by Bank Holidays.
I also wistfully note that the FTPA would have dictated a May 2nd election, as later in the year prior election dates were reset to May of the 5th year.
@AverageNinja before his sad banning mentioned the FTPA a few days back.
You used the N word - that wasn’t a sad banning it was perfectly valid.
You should be grateful that the mods have not closed your new account on sight - most forums would treat creating a new account whilst ban as justification for a permanent ban
Just saw on Sky News a row of people, sacrificing their dignity, by dressing as chickens holding letters calling out the PM for chickening out on something he never agreed to do.
I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.
Indeed. A giant inflatable bottle would have been a better prop.
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
I think Carlson basically wants 1980s America back. Always strikes me how optimistic the movies of that period were.
Basically, I think by the time we get to September it won't be about long or short or waiting for the polls any more, it will be how to fit things around events. the Tory conference (of course @Dura_Ace has a way of putting it, but I have time for the view), the Autumn Statement, the CHOGM red herring, the US election, Christmas.
Also note that a post Christmas election doesn't give you that much extra time to actually call the election since the campaign is then lengthened a full week by Bank Holidays.
I also wistfully note that the FTPA would have dictated a May 2nd election, as later in the year prior election dates were reset to May of the 5th year.
@AverageNinja before his sad banning mentioned the FTPA a few days back.
You used the N word - that wasn’t a sad banning it was perfectly valid.
You should be grateful that the mods have not closed your new account on sight - most forums would treat creating a new account whilst ban as justification for a permanent ban
I have used no such word. I think you mean somebody else.
The user in question used it in quotation marks and did not use it in any other way with no malice intended. Their only mistake was to not star it out, it was quite clear what point they were making.
Something for everyone, but an astonishing stat that 78% of the traffic on this bit of the M25 is just local people trying to get to the other side of it, rather than using it to bypass that part of London.
Build a bridge, seems to be the obvious answer.
That's what I was thinking. But it must be more complicated than that.
Didn't someone on here make the point that in order to get the M25 through planning lots of concessions were made to put junctions in for local areas. The result is 33 junctions at an average gap of 3.5 miles, which is plainly ridiculous for a motorway.
I don’t see what the problem is - Darlington has 3 motorway junctions for itself within 6 miles (junctions 57-59 of the A1(M)
Ali Campbell and Rory the Tory have got an Election 2024 tour booked in October, and from what they're saying, on the odd occasion I listen, they're talking as if the autumn is a foregone conclusion.
I am sure all the centrist dad types like you will queue round the block to see the old soak and the greatest PM we never had.
I really do try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet, so I won’t indulge myself by typing out what I think of you and the shitty little comments you keep lobbing my way.
Hope you have a cracking weekend! xxxxx
You "try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet"? I fear you may have ended up on the wrong site!
Something for everyone, but an astonishing stat that 78% of the traffic on this bit of the M25 is just local people trying to get to the other side of it, rather than using it to bypass that part of London.
Build a bridge, seems to be the obvious answer.
That's what I was thinking. But it must be more complicated than that.
Didn't someone on here make the point that in order to get the M25 through planning lots of concessions were made to put junctions in for local areas. The result is 33 junctions at an average gap of 3.5 miles, which is plainly ridiculous for a motorway.
I don’t see what the problem is - Darlington has 3 motorway junctions for itself within 6 miles (junctions 57-59 of the A1(M)
Ali Campbell and Rory the Tory have got an Election 2024 tour booked in October, and from what they're saying, on the odd occasion I listen, they're talking as if the autumn is a foregone conclusion.
I am sure all the centrist dad types like you will queue round the block to see the old soak and the greatest PM we never had.
I really do try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet, so I won’t indulge myself by typing out what I think of you and the shitty little comments you keep lobbing my way.
Hope you have a cracking weekend! xxxxx
You "try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet"? I fear you may have ended up on the wrong site!
I wonder if there is any connection between the fondness on here for ready meals, Maccy D's, Gregg's and other processed shite and the inability to keep slim.
Hmm.
People always focus in exercise in these convos (including me) but 90% of it is diet. The amount of running you have to do to net off a packet of digestives is enormous.
Exactly. I don't get biscuits or crisps or any of that crap in and stand on my own two feet (i.e. stand up in my kitchen for a couple of hours) and cook every meal from scratch (often in large batches, creating freezer blocks). I can make 16 servings of delicious casseroles/mouth-watering authentic curries/and luscious ragus etc in one shift, all from fresh ingredients with no artificial additives.
I always implore people to examine the ingredients on a ready meal, or in a Maccy D's, or on a so-called 'healthy' spread like Flora. This shit is BAD for you. No wonder the French, Italians and Spanish think we are fucking barbarians.
The French absolutely fucking love frozen ready meals. You go to Super U or Leclerc and it’s the busiest area. Their frozen meals are atrocious as well which makes it funnier. The idea that every French person is spending hours over the range cooking a boeuf bourguignon or a bouillabaisse whilst supping a glass of wine like a nation of Keith Floyd’s is bs.
And France has more Macdonalds (1485) than the UK (1432).
Indeed.
The peak of this, for me, is the town of Mersault, where the Casino Shop (look it up if you dare) does a roaring trade in shite, across the road from a boulangerie and all of about 1 minutes walk to a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises....
Some people will always buy shite.
Note from your own post that Mersault (population 1,390) has a boulangerie and a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises.
QED.
The locals seemed to be buying the garbage. The furriers (like me) are in the fancy places.
I've seen the UK version of this in Auchterarder where the visitors keep the butchers alive while the locals shop at the SPAR across the road.
Oh? Do you self-identify as a furry, then? But then that's what they apparently do thereabouts.
Curious if anyone here is still doing their New Year Resolutions or if those in 'fat club' are still on their diets etc?
I've just had an NHS checkup this week due to being over 40 and was surprised how supportive the person doing it was of the carnivore diet I'm doing, most NHS materials still seem stuck in completely out of date "five fruit and veg" days so that was good. Even more supportive when I said how much weight I've lost.
Now back at the same weight I was when I got married 11 years ago. Not at goal weight yet, but getting there.
Well done!
Not a New Year resolution in my case, but have been steadily losing weight since last summer by simply cutting down the amount that I eat while still eating largely my normal (vegetarian) diet. I'm down from 91 kg to 85 kg now and still gradually falling. My ideal weight would be around 80 kg, so should hopefully get there in another 6 months or so.
I've tried radical approaches before, which do lead to quick weight loss but are difficult to maintain in the long term, and then it goes back on again. This time seems different - nothing radical, but just enough to tip the balance from gain to loss, and maintainable indefinitely.
Not a NY resolution, but my goal this year has been an hour’s exercise in Zone 2 every day, by any means that feels good. Very slow running, cycling, whatever.
Have pretty much kept to it so far & the fact that I’d not knackered after going for a run has probably contributed to that. I probably look a bit silly pootling along the towpath at a pace barely faster than a fast walk, but I can live with that
Mostly doing it to try and build a decent cardio base for running, but the slow but steady loss of the post-pandemic / getting older weight gain has been an extra bonus. I seem to have lost approx 250g per week which seems eminently sustainable.
I've got a slightly odd body shape - long body, shorter legs - which means that, at 90kg (currently), my BMI is 25.4 - just in the 'overweight' category.
Yet I do loads of activities - and when I go down to (say) 85kg, not only is it difficult. but I find it harder to do activities. I think 90-95kg is my 'natural' weight - even if that's technically overweight, it doesn't stop me doing lots of energetic activity.
If you don't mind me asking, what is your waist-to-height ratio?
Speaking of MAGA then you have Tucker Carlson who is open about preferring Russia now.
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
To be fair, populists do sometimes have a point. The American economy (and political system - hello, Marx), is hugely skewed to the very wealthy owner class.
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
The populists are both led and bankrolled by the wealthy owner class, in the US. It's a high end grift, and Tucker is a grifter.
From their point of view, as long as it works.
After all, Trump got away - and continues to get away - with presenting himself as the voice of the real people while having shovelled money to himself and his super-rich mates while in office.
Ali Campbell and Rory the Tory have got an Election 2024 tour booked in October, and from what they're saying, on the odd occasion I listen, they're talking as if the autumn is a foregone conclusion.
I am sure all the centrist dad types like you will queue round the block to see the old soak and the greatest PM we never had.
I really do try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet, so I won’t indulge myself by typing out what I think of you and the shitty little comments you keep lobbing my way.
Hope you have a cracking weekend! xxxxx
You "try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet"? I fear you may have ended up on the wrong site!
Ali Campbell and Rory the Tory have got an Election 2024 tour booked in October, and from what they're saying, on the odd occasion I listen, they're talking as if the autumn is a foregone conclusion.
I am sure all the centrist dad types like you will queue round the block to see the old soak and the greatest PM we never had.
I really do try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet, so I won’t indulge myself by typing out what I think of you and the shitty little comments you keep lobbing my way.
Hope you have a cracking weekend! xxxxx
You "try and avoid pointless, infantile spats with snarky randoms off the internet"? I fear you may have ended up on the wrong site!
No surpise here. Putin landslide expected in Russian election as protestors are threatened with imprisonment Vladimir Putin is expected to win by a landslide in today’s Russian elections as officials threaten protest voters with imprisonment.
Kremlin officials have set a target for Putin to win 80 per cent of the vote, his largest election victory ever, and believe they are on track to meet their goal, Meduza reported.
This comes amid widespread reports of corruption and voter coercion, with Russia’s independent election watchdog publishing a document showing polling officers have been warned to look out for protest voters.
Why have we not considered the chances of an election in June?
Most of the disadvantages of May, plus the fallout of the local elections. Since this batch were last fought in 2021 (peak vaccine hero Boris), they were set to go badly for the blue team even if things were going well, which they are not.
I think this perfectly illustrates why LLMs as currently constituted are not conscious. My best guess is that these models are a cul de sac in the journey towards AGI, although they will be able increasingly to pass every Turing test we throw at them, able to mimic something that is conscious by aping human communication in increasingly brilliant ways - through words, images and music. I suspect AGI will be achieved via some other route. It certainly is coming. But I don't see any kind of genuine consciousness behind ChatGPT et al, just a dead-eyed computer.
It's why I say the current 'AI's are not really AIs. They don't *understand* things.
An analogy might be the difference between Mastermind and Only Connect. On the surface they are very similar: Mastermind requires you to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of general and specialist knowledge. But that's all.
Only Connect requires an encyclopedic knowledge, but also the ability to try and work out the connections between pieces of encyclopedic knowledge. Mastermind would not be a test of intelligence; Only Connect might be.
(This is not to dismiss Mastermind contestants; they'll be intelligent. It's just that I don't see the quiz as a good test of intelligence, just fact storage and retrieval.)
It’s a good analogy, but to take it further: if a mastermind contestant not only had encyclopaedic knowledge but also sufficient working memory to almost instantaneously test connections between a huge number of pieces of knowledge, that contestant might also win Only Connect through brute force.
Is that possible, and if so is it general intelligence? Not sure on the former, the latter is a philosophical question in which it is not obvious that the answer is no, not least because we don’t really understand human intelligence enough to compare to that. I think the brute force Only Connect winner is what the proponents of LLMs are angling for, though.
Perhaps most interesting is what LLMs tell us about the functioning of our own brains. I think it has surprised many of us that a lot of what we might consider to be reasoning and creativity turns out to be achievable by fundamentally regurgitating what we have previously absorbed. It may be that our own intelligence to closer than comfort to the functioning of an LLM.
But of course this is right, and this is what so many people - even clever people - are too dim or fearful to comprehend
Curious if anyone here is still doing their New Year Resolutions or if those in 'fat club' are still on their diets etc?
I've just had an NHS checkup this week due to being over 40 and was surprised how supportive the person doing it was of the carnivore diet I'm doing, most NHS materials still seem stuck in completely out of date "five fruit and veg" days so that was good. Even more supportive when I said how much weight I've lost.
Now back at the same weight I was when I got married 11 years ago. Not at goal weight yet, but getting there.
Well done!
Not a New Year resolution in my case, but have been steadily losing weight since last summer by simply cutting down the amount that I eat while still eating largely my normal (vegetarian) diet. I'm down from 91 kg to 85 kg now and still gradually falling. My ideal weight would be around 80 kg, so should hopefully get there in another 6 months or so.
I've tried radical approaches before, which do lead to quick weight loss but are difficult to maintain in the long term, and then it goes back on again. This time seems different - nothing radical, but just enough to tip the balance from gain to loss, and maintainable indefinitely.
Not a NY resolution, but my goal this year has been an hour’s exercise in Zone 2 every day, by any means that feels good. Very slow running, cycling, whatever.
Have pretty much kept to it so far & the fact that I’d not knackered after going for a run has probably contributed to that. I probably look a bit silly pootling along the towpath at a pace barely faster than a fast walk, but I can live with that
Mostly doing it to try and build a decent cardio base for running, but the slow but steady loss of the post-pandemic / getting older weight gain has been an extra bonus. I seem to have lost approx 250g per week which seems eminently sustainable.
I've got a slightly odd body shape - long body, shorter legs - which means that, at 90kg (currently), my BMI is 25.4 - just in the 'overweight' category.
Yet I do loads of activities - and when I go down to (say) 85kg, not only is it difficult. but I find it harder to do activities. I think 90-95kg is my 'natural' weight - even if that's technically overweight, it doesn't stop me doing lots of energetic activity.
If you don't mind me asking, what is your waist-to-height ratio?
Something for everyone, but an astonishing stat that 78% of the traffic on this bit of the M25 is just local people trying to get to the other side of it, rather than using it to bypass that part of London.
Build a bridge, seems to be the obvious answer.
That's what I was thinking. But it must be more complicated than that.
Didn't someone on here make the point that in order to get the M25 through planning lots of concessions were made to put junctions in for local areas. The result is 33 junctions at an average gap of 3.5 miles, which is plainly ridiculous for a motorway.
I don’t see what the problem is - Darlington has 3 motorway junctions for itself within 6 miles (junctions 57-59 of the A1(M)
J31, J32, J33, J34 (Pretty much a double junction tbh), J35, J35A, J36 of the M1 all in a ~ 15 mile stretch
Labour is currently going through the Tory 2019 greatest hits. They’ve now got Rishi dressed up as a chicken.
I hope we don't see Keir spoofing anything from Love Actually.
Could the Colin Firth-Lúcia Moniz plot work as a way to persuade the public that close relationships with Europe are a good thing?
Possibly. But I desperately hope we don't get to test that. I'm happy to consign 'saturday night politics at the palladium' to history along with the bloke who brought us it.
You are repeating a lie @TiceRichard . Guido Fawkes might be based offshore to avoid British law, but you’re not. Your added comments are also false and highly offensive, we’ll be in touch.
Comments
If it, along with Tusk back in power in Poland, can make a material difference to Europe's posture and ambition on Ukraine then so much the better.
Personally I don't think it's going to make any difference but this is, aiui, the Tory thinking right now.
If the planned buys/build out is completed, Poland, on it's own, will have a military that will be a match for Russia.
Which in turn has some implications for Europe. Especially since Poland seems to have taken a shine to South Korean equipment.
Incidentally what brought you to the Meursault Petit Casino? For 90% of European visitors it's because they're staying at the municipal campsite La Grappe D'Or. The locals will probably claim all the sales of crap are to Dutch caravanners (when they're not complaining the Dutch come to France fully stocked and don't buy anything local).
Tucker Carlson claims Moscow is freer than the U.S.
"The country I grew up in had a semi-functioning capitalist system with competition, it wasn't all like 4 companies dominating everything. That's not capitalism. That's a monopoly economy.”
https://x.com/KaceeRAllen/status/1767538984060666056?s=20
Let’s see what comes out the 11:30.
Note from your own post that Mersault (population 1,390) has a boulangerie and a place where they are making charcuterie on the premises.
QED.
I'm not sure the timings really work (week long FE debate, week long washup, dissolution is on November 13, election December 19, so very tight), or that there's any sign that the last two big retail offers have worked.
But more importantly, 30 million taxpayers getting £100 a month on average is £3 billion a month or £36 billion a year. The government doesn't have that kind of cash to splash.
I am sure the expectation of being parachuted into a safe seat for the 3rd Starmer government when it comes is what keeps them going.
I don’t really believe that, do you?
But having a point and having the right answer to it are two different things.
All the French wine places go mad when they get "found" - put the prices up three times, buy a huge chateaux, install a tasting room with 5 meter high glass windows....
Or end up Tory communication chiefs in number 10 😉
Whether the King could appoint remotely is a more interesting question. I suspect probably yes.
I've seen the UK version of this in Auchterarder where the visitors keep the butchers alive while the locals shop at the SPAR across the road.
Nevertheless, this raises an interesting point when the Scottish Unionist or Liberal pol would have to watch out for Communion Seasons when the Thursday was a Day of Humiliation - but the whole five days were sacred anyway.
https://www.westminsterconfession.org/resources/worship/the-scottish-communion-season/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/17/juliette-by-camille-jourdy-review-an-exquisite-story-of-love-and-loss-in-rural-france
Since founders are more visible than an anonymous row of suits at Omni Consumer Products.....
Also note that a post Christmas election doesn't give you that much extra time to actually call the election since the campaign is then lengthened a full week by Bank Holidays.
I also wistfully note that the FTPA would have dictated a May 2nd election, as later in the year prior election dates were reset to May of the 5th year.
It's a high end grift, and Tucker is a grifter.
Hope you have a cracking weekend! xxxxx
My personal view: ignore the SoB and remember that these people are unworthy of any respect or attention whatsoever.
Even Murdoch found that out in the end.
There's a good long read on Politico profiling JD Vance, which goes into some detail.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/15/mr-maga-goes-to-washington-00147054
Your view of me is as valuable to me as the contents of a tissue once I've emptied my nostrils into it.
Our simulation is currently set in catastrophe mode.
Also it’s mid year so the only change could be yet another change to employee NI and no one cares about that as shown both in November and last week
After all, Trump got away - and continues to get away - with presenting himself as the voice of the real people while having shovelled money to himself and his super-rich mates while in office.
“While most Prime Ministers resign or are appointed at Buckingham Palace, others have done so at Windsor. An exception was H. H. Asquith in 1908, who had to take a boat and train to Biarittz in France, where King Edward VII was on holiday. He is the only Prime Minister to have been appointed outside the UK. Liz Truss was appointed Prime Minister at Balmoral, which last occurred when Lord Salisbury became Prime Minister in 1885.”
So, if the King is in Samoa, Starmer can hop on a plane to Samoa, or wait for him to come back, I guess. Or, just maybe, everyone will be happy with a videoconference.
You should be grateful that the mods have not closed your new account on sight - most forums would treat creating a new account whilst ban as justification for a permanent ban
Wonder what @RochdalePioneers makes of this on his old stomping ground.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/contractors-for-4bn-teesside-power-scheme-announced-with-local-firm-included/ar-BB1jWknm?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=866ef118718c4057b4a2c086d617418d&ei=13
The user in question used it in quotation marks and did not use it in any other way with no malice intended. Their only mistake was to not star it out, it was quite clear what point they were making.
Either way, I hope they will be allowed back.
(Also for being 13 years old has to be one of the most brilliantly produced earlier YouTube videos I’ve ever seen.)
Mike Lindell says he is 600k pillows away from exposing voter fraud.
https://twitter.com/HughAkston0/status/1768603529302741045
Armed forces minister James Heappey has announced he will leave his government post and stand down at the next election.
https://news.sky.com/story/amp/armed-forces-minister-james-heappey-to-stand-down-at-general-election-13095145
Who wants some 🥊
A good week on PB.
Bottom line: either Willis steps aside, along with her entire office OR Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade withdraws. A decision must be made, per McAfee.
https://twitter.com/KatiePhang/status/1768620846808215951
Putin landslide expected in Russian election as protestors are threatened with imprisonment
Vladimir Putin is expected to win by a landslide in today’s Russian elections as officials threaten protest voters with imprisonment.
Kremlin officials have set a target for Putin to win 80 per cent of the vote, his largest election victory ever, and believe they are on track to meet their goal, Meduza reported.
This comes amid widespread reports of corruption and voter coercion, with Russia’s independent election watchdog publishing a document showing polling officers have been warned to look out for protest voters.
https://x.com/shashj/status/1768539318908227771
‘One such proposal suggests a “Eurobomb,” with the nuclear command-and-control suitcase constantly “roaming” between EU capitals.’
I'll provide a nuclear deterrent - quote you happy.
You are repeating a lie
@TiceRichard
. Guido Fawkes might be based offshore to avoid British law, but you’re not. Your added comments are also false and highly offensive, we’ll be in touch.
Whomp whomp