Paul Mason going for the Islington North nomination
I believe the other declared candidate is Praful Nargund, a councillor for Barnsbury ward (which is actually just over the boundary in the Islington South constituency): https://www.prafulnargund.co.uk/
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Like Sir Keir on accepting the referendum result, and the use of the private sector in the NHS, Lammy’s rejection of Nuclear weapons was a matter of principle and conscience
David Lammy voted against Trident in 2016, and now wants to be a pro-nuclear, pro-Nato foreign sec independent.co.uk/voices/labour-…
Tories famously always sticking to their guns on great matters of principle like, say, Brexit.
Defence reversals are an easy one. The world has changed unbelievably since that 2016 vote.
We have no more doubts that effectively we are already at war with Russia. Might be a cold war technically but it is warming quickly.
It wasn’t a matter of conscience and principle then. Or he doesn’t have them anymore
Conscience and principles can change in the face of facts.
Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament is immoral, anyway.
I thought the point of principles was that they don’t change in the face of facts
People with principles that are immune to facts are bad news.
And the rest don’t have principles
Possibly we're at cross purposes on what 'having principles' means. Maybe you could give an example of one?
After the way you acted on our bet I am quite sure you don’t know what ‘having principles’ means
I acted a damn sight better than you.
I don't think so
You slagged me off on here, saying I owed you money, when I owed you nothing, and had no right of reply as I was banned from the site
As soon as I was unbanned I messaged you to say I wanted to void the bet and you said you were fine with that
I didn't reply because I thought/think you were/are/had been a twat about it all, and would rather not engage, then a year or so later you start talking about the bet as if it is still on!
It sums up the slimy toad that you are, and you still have the nerve to say I acted badly when I have agreed to wear it rather than settle halfway! Incredible
It's worth the £300 just to have the moral high ground and know what a sly rat you are
It's really sad to see you two bickering like this.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
I would, but not if it looked like I was in a world that was constantly on fire and dripping in blood
Talking of King Charles the 'postie' rang our door bell today and said she had a special delivery from Buckingham Palace and that we needed to sign for it
It contained a personal message from Charles and Camilla, duly signed in black ink, congratulating us on our diamond wedding anniversary (60 years) for tomorrow
The family are delighted that we received this recognition and our 12 year old granddaughter was so non plussed she just said 'no way' then promptly told everyone in her class
We are having a family weekend here at home and lunch at a leading Llandudno Hotel on Sunday but we are so amazed how 'tempus fugit' and that we arrived at this milestone with lots of caring, humour and the love of our family of 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Additionally we reflect on the last six months of serious health problems I have had, and thank medical science and the consultants, doctors and nurses for my pacemaker to help us achieve our diamond anniversary
I would just say that on politics I just want Sunak to call an election and let the voters decide on our next government, but personally my wife and I are grateful for so many blessings and at our age it really isn't a big deal who arrives in No 10 later this year
I would end by saying that we have always travelled extensively, initially with the children but since 2005 worldwide from the Artic to the Antarctic and all places in between but know with our health and age issues we will not travel beyond our shores again, but we have so many memories, and my advice is always try to do your 'bucket list' as early as you can as you never know what is round the corner
Fantastic. Us amateurs at 38 years look on in awe.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Like Sir Keir on accepting the referendum result, and the use of the private sector in the NHS, Lammy’s rejection of Nuclear weapons was a matter of principle and conscience
David Lammy voted against Trident in 2016, and now wants to be a pro-nuclear, pro-Nato foreign sec independent.co.uk/voices/labour-…
Tories famously always sticking to their guns on great matters of principle like, say, Brexit.
Defence reversals are an easy one. The world has changed unbelievably since that 2016 vote.
We have no more doubts that effectively we are already at war with Russia. Might be a cold war technically but it is warming quickly.
It wasn’t a matter of conscience and principle then. Or he doesn’t have them anymore
Conscience and principles can change in the face of facts.
Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament is immoral, anyway.
I thought the point of principles was that they don’t change in the face of facts
People with principles that are immune to facts are bad news.
And the rest don’t have principles
Possibly we're at cross purposes on what 'having principles' means. Maybe you could give an example of one?
After the way you acted on our bet I am quite sure you don’t know what ‘having principles’ means
I acted a damn sight better than you.
I don't think so
You slagged me off on here, saying I owed you money, when I owed you nothing, and had no right of reply as I was banned from the site
As soon as I was unbanned I messaged you to say I wanted to void the bet and you said you were fine with that
I didn't reply because I thought/think you were/are/had been a twat about it all, and would rather not engage, then a year or so later you start talking about the bet as if it is still on!
It sums up the slimy toad that you are, and you still have the nerve to say I acted badly when I have agreed to wear it rather than settle halfway! Incredible
It's worth the £300 just to have the moral high ground and know what a sly rat you are
It's really sad to see you two bickering like this.
If people play the snide on bets, they're entitled to be thought little of
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
I refer the hon. PBer to the report posted earlier. All about the stutter and nothing else: in other words, Mr Sunak is implying that only presentation matters.
'The same thing happened later. Starmer stuttered. The whole of the Tory side went ballistic. "This proves he's not fit to lead this country", shot a delighted Sunak. Ten seconds later he was, again unsuccessfully, trying to pivot from fratboy bully to solemn statesman.'
I just want to say that @TheScreamingEagles is enormously handsome, profoundly wise, and hung like an Arab stallion on Cialis. And @rcs1000 is like Einstein with the socio-sexual confidence of mid-season Genghis Khan
*glances nervously, and upwards, to the left, speaks with a muffled voice, wincing as his blooded teeth fall out*
"Did I get it right?"
Dunno. Did you write that or is it the product of an ** tool?
I would, but not if it looked like I was in a world that was constantly on fire and dripping in blood
Talking of King Charles the 'postie' rang our door bell today and said she had a special delivery from Buckingham Palace and that we needed to sign for it
It contained a personal message from Charles and Camilla, duly signed in black ink, congratulating us on our diamond wedding anniversary (60 years) for tomorrow
The family are delighted that we received this recognition and our 12 year old granddaughter was so non plussed she just said 'no way' then promptly told everyone in her class
We are having a family weekend here at home and lunch at a leading Llandudno Hotel on Sunday but we are so amazed how 'tempus fugit' and that we arrived at this milestone with lots of caring, humour and the love of our family of 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Additionally we reflect on the last six months of serious health problems I have had, and thank medical science and the consultants, doctors and nurses for my pacemaker to help us achieve our diamond anniversary
I would just say that on politics I just want Sunak to call an election and let the voters decide on our next government, but personally my wife and I are grateful for so many blessings and at our age it really isn't a big deal who arrives in No 10 later this year
I would end by saying that we have always travelled extensively, initially with the children but since 2005 worldwide from the Artic to the Antarctic and all places in between but know with our health and age issues we will not travel beyond our shores again, but we have so many memories, and my advice is always try to do your 'bucket list' as early as you can as you never know what is round the corner
Congratulations; Mrs C still insists on keeping the card we had for our similar celebration almost two years ago. It’s amazing, when one thinks about it, the changes which have taken place in those sixty years. I envy you having been to Antarctica; that’s missing from our bucket list’ but we’ve been round the world twice and seen all measure of sights. You and I, Big G, have seen many things, and Britain is very, very different place today, when compared with our memories. Again, congratulations and welcome to a very special club.
I would, but not if it looked like I was in a world that was constantly on fire and dripping in blood
Talking of King Charles the 'postie' rang our door bell today and said she had a special delivery from Buckingham Palace and that we needed to sign for it
It contained a personal message from Charles and Camilla, duly signed in black ink, congratulating us on our diamond wedding anniversary (60 years) for tomorrow
The family are delighted that we received this recognition and our 12 year old granddaughter was so non plussed she just said 'no way' then promptly told everyone in her class
We are having a family weekend here at home and lunch at a leading Llandudno Hotel on Sunday but we are so amazed how 'tempus fugit' and that we arrived at this milestone with lots of caring, humour and the love of our family of 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Additionally we reflect on the last six months of serious health problems I have had, and thank medical science and the consultants, doctors and nurses for my pacemaker to help us achieve our diamond anniversary
I would just say that on politics I just want Sunak to call an election and let the voters decide on our next government, but personally my wife and I are grateful for so many blessings and at our age it really isn't a big deal who arrives in No 10 later this year
I would end by saying that we have always travelled extensively, initially with the children but since 2005 worldwide from the Artic to the Antarctic and all places in between but know with our health and age issues we will not travel beyond our shores again, but we have so many memories, and my advice is always try to do your 'bucket list' as early as you can as you never know what is round the corner
Congratulations; Mrs C still insists on keeping the card we had for our similar celebration almost two years ago. It’s amazing, when one thinks about it, the changes which have taken place in those sixty years. I envy you having been to Antarctica; that’s missing from our bucket list’ but we’ve been round the world twice and seen all measure of sights. You and I, Big G, have seen many things, and Britain is very, very different place today, when compared with our memories. Again, congratulations and welcome to a very special club.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
Only if he's up against a Tory leader with more charisma than Sunak. *anyone else
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
Off topic. Some tentative good news: (If that’s all right with most of you.)
In Tuesday’s New York Times I found an article, “Sickle Cell Cure Brings Mix of Anxiety and Hope”, which begins as follows:
"WASHINGTON – This month, Kendric Cromer, a 12-year-old boy from a suburb of Washington, became the first person in the world with sickle cell disease to begin a commercially approved gene therapy that may cure the condition."
Apparently the man detained for shooting Fico is 71 years old.
I think we can start to rule out the possibility of professional assassins.
Is there nothing old people can’t do nowadays? President of America, porn-star shagger, political assassin. I used to dread old age but I’m off to fake a US birth certificate, buy some viagra and get down the pistol range to get in shape for my seventies.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
The ribbon like thingy which one wears around the collar* to bear a security pass at work.
Apparently seen as a crucial issue by HMG.
*Edit: neck, really, but in practice outside the collar. They became a thing about 25-30 years ago in big organizations.
Nonesense.
A lanyard is a sigil of the power posed by A Keeper of Access. Much as hi-viz is a sigil of those gifted with The Power of Authouritah.
As such, it has deep and sacred meanings among the Traditional Cult Of The Clipboard.
Lanyards do have the pleasing tactile bonus of being stretchable - you grab the card and pull it to place on the entrance gate, then it zips satisfyingly back into place after you let go. #simplepleasures
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
Being a Latin speaking former privately educated chap buys you so much goodwill from the public I have found in my experience when you can make people laugh.
I just had an invitation to spend a day at a naturist site.
Any experience or experiences?
Just make sure before you set off in the buff it actually does read “naturist” and not “naturalist”.
They tend to be branded "Sun Clubs" these days, and according to the Groan there has been a resurgence during and since Covid.
With some margin of error ! As ever the values of Gen Z are intensely individualist, so they are free range nudists / naturists, and self-exhibiting on social media.
Aug 22: 1.3 million estd Oct 22: 7 million by self-identification
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
16.9% in perfect conditions in one seat, 5.9% capital wide on the list, almost no recognisable names, no local organisation, reliant on loans and donations from Tice. They'll do well to break 5% nationwide at a GE with or without the spiv
With minimal campaigning, they got 3% in the London mayoral vote, a vote in which smaller parties tend to do badly, but under a PR system, they got 7% in the Assembly vote. In the Derbyshire PCC election, they got 15%. In Lincolnshire, 14%. I think they can manage pretty well when they just appear on the ballot paper.
I just had an invitation to spend a day at a naturist site.
Any experience or experiences?
Advice/a plea: if you post pics, as many PBers are wont to do on their travels, just make sure the PB blurry pics issue is still a thing first, will you?
Reform is essentially a vehicle for anti vaxers and those who opposed the lockdown, hardline Leavers who want to send the boats back and disillusioned Boris fans who hate Rishi.
It is unlikely to get to UKIP levels though unless, as the poll suggests, Farage returns to lead it. In which case as the poll suggests it takes as much from Labour amongst working class white voters most likely as from the Tories
16.9% in perfect conditions in one seat, 5.9% capital wide on the list, almost no recognisable names, no local organisation, reliant on loans and donations from Tice. They'll do well to break 5% nationwide at a GE with or without the spiv
With minimal campaigning, they got 3% in the London mayoral vote, a vote in which smaller parties tend to do badly, but under a PR system, they got 7% in the Assembly vote. In the Derbyshire PCC election, they got 15%. In Lincolnshire, 14%. I think they can manage pretty well when they just appear on the ballot paper.
Depends what counts as pretty well.
15 percent doesn't get Reform any seats under FPTP. And without that, what's the point, exactly?
(Hence Nigel remains on the sidelines. If he stands somewhere, he very probably loses.)
But if even five percent is siphoned from the Conservative column, that hurts Team Rishi a lot. And that is part of the real point of Reform.
16.9% in perfect conditions in one seat, 5.9% capital wide on the list, almost no recognisable names, no local organisation, reliant on loans and donations from Tice. They'll do well to break 5% nationwide at a GE with or without the spiv
With minimal campaigning, they got 3% in the London mayoral vote, a vote in which smaller parties tend to do badly, but under a PR system, they got 7% in the Assembly vote. In the Derbyshire PCC election, they got 15%. In Lincolnshire, 14%. I think they can manage pretty well when they just appear on the ballot paper.
Depends what counts as pretty well.
15 percent doesn't get Reform any seats under FPTP. And without that, what's the point, exactly?
(Hence Nigel remains on the sidelines. If he stands somewhere, he very probably loses.)
But if even five percent is siphoned from the Conservative column, that hurts Team Rishi a lot. And that is part of the real point of Reform.
Reform is essentially a vehicle for anti vaxers and those who opposed the lockdown, hardline Leavers who want to send the boats back and disillusioned Boris fans who hate Rishi.
It is unlikely to get to UKIP levels though unless, as the poll suggests, Farage returns to lead it. In which case as the poll suggests it takes as much from Labour amongst working class white voters most likely as from the Tories
The poll numbers quoted are misleading. A Farage-led Reform would scoop up a significant proportion of those saying they Don't Know or Won't Vote. The actual number saying they would vote Labour goes up but as a proportion of the whole falls because of the influx of the former DK voters who would back a Farage-led Reform party.
The numbers voting Conservative are similar but again there's a fall as a percentage of the greater whole.
16.9% in perfect conditions in one seat, 5.9% capital wide on the list, almost no recognisable names, no local organisation, reliant on loans and donations from Tice. They'll do well to break 5% nationwide at a GE with or without the spiv
With minimal campaigning, they got 3% in the London mayoral vote, a vote in which smaller parties tend to do badly, but under a PR system, they got 7% in the Assembly vote. In the Derbyshire PCC election, they got 15%. In Lincolnshire, 14%. I think they can manage pretty well when they just appear on the ballot paper.
Depends what counts as pretty well.
15 percent doesn't get Reform any seats under FPTP. And without that, what's the point, exactly?
(Hence Nigel remains on the sidelines. If he stands somewhere, he very probably loses.)
But if even five percent is siphoned from the Conservative column, that hurts Team Rishi a lot. And that is part of the real point of Reform.
Depends on events doesn’t it? I agree I don’t think it’s very likely that Reform would get any seats in a GE, but there is a perfect storm where they conceivably could. It does require everything to go wrong for Rishi though, and for a number of voters to believe it’s worth their while to decamp to Reform. That probably only occurs if there is sustained crossover in the polls starting fairly soon - again, probably not a tremendously likely situation but then again the Tories just keep sinking in the polls…
At that point squint and turn your head to one side and add Farage into the mix and there’s certain seat profiles (particularly Northern Red Wall) where voters who would otherwise vote Tory OR Labour might be tempted to jump, for the same reasons they jumped to Boris.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
Would be in my book too. I'll forgive a lot from someone who makes me laugh. Problem was, Johnson rarely did. When people play things for laughs, but aren't funny, they have nothing left. That was always Johnson's fundamental problem for me, more than the politics, which chopped and changed anyway.
Remains to be seen whether it holds and how joining the coalition will affect the other parties' fortunes long term. And, indeed, Wilders after a spell in government for his party, unless he can successfully blame the coalition partners for any failings.
The best way to discredit right wing populism is to put them in government if elected. They will do stupid things and often permanent damage to the country, but that is democracy.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
16.9% in perfect conditions in one seat, 5.9% capital wide on the list, almost no recognisable names, no local organisation, reliant on loans and donations from Tice. They'll do well to break 5% nationwide at a GE with or without the spiv
With minimal campaigning, they got 3% in the London mayoral vote, a vote in which smaller parties tend to do badly, but under a PR system, they got 7% in the Assembly vote. In the Derbyshire PCC election, they got 15%. In Lincolnshire, 14%. I think they can manage pretty well when they just appear on the ballot paper.
Depends what counts as pretty well.
15 percent doesn't get Reform any seats under FPTP. And without that, what's the point, exactly?
(Hence Nigel remains on the sidelines. If he stands somewhere, he very probably loses.)
But if even five percent is siphoned from the Conservative column, that hurts Team Rishi a lot. And that is part of the real point of Reform.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
I believe it's an outside area used for hosting LAN parties.
McVey apparently wants all the ones at the government buildings painted one official colour rather than being a veritable rainbow.
Despite all the easy jokes on this issue as being incredibly trivial, in a way I find that works both ways, in that I find it hard to get outraged at the idea even if it is a dumb thing to get worked up about in the first place, as it is also a dumb thing to get worked up about if the rules are changed.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Reform is essentially a vehicle for anti vaxers and those who opposed the lockdown, hardline Leavers who want to send the boats back and disillusioned Boris fans who hate Rishi.
It is unlikely to get to UKIP levels though unless, as the poll suggests, Farage returns to lead it. In which case as the poll suggests it takes as much from Labour amongst working class white voters most likely as from the Tories
The poll numbers quoted are misleading. A Farage-led Reform would scoop up a significant proportion of those saying they Don't Know or Won't Vote. The actual number saying they would vote Labour goes up but as a proportion of the whole falls because of the influx of the former DK voters who would back a Farage-led Reform party.
The numbers voting Conservative are similar but again there's a fall as a percentage of the greater whole.
I'm dubious that in reality we have 6% or nearly 2 million voters waiting for Nigel on the edge of their seats
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
Wages are now rising faster than inflation in Scotland
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
And he threw it all away. Shame, because we could do with the optimism.
Some novel I once read, about a disintegrating marriage had "he used to make me laugh" as a chapter closer.
It's up there with "baby shoes for sale, never worn" in poignancy per word.
I think optimism was part of why Boris succeeded, but it helped that things really did not seem as bad as the doom story the opposition was trying to paint for us. Now, not only is Sunak not good at optimism, but a lot of things just seem kind of low grade crappy, and the response is either that we're wrong to think that, or that the people in charge for 14 years have not managed to prevent it but are somehow the best placed to address it.
It's not very persuasive, and whilst Truss wanted to try for another 'time for a change' message within government, she did it poorly and now we have the government paralysed, unable/unwilling to do bold things, but not managing to do dull competence either.
Reform is essentially a vehicle for anti vaxers and those who opposed the lockdown, hardline Leavers who want to send the boats back and disillusioned Boris fans who hate Rishi.
It is unlikely to get to UKIP levels though unless, as the poll suggests, Farage returns to lead it. In which case as the poll suggests it takes as much from Labour amongst working class white voters most likely as from the Tories
The poll numbers quoted are misleading. A Farage-led Reform would scoop up a significant proportion of those saying they Don't Know or Won't Vote. The actual number saying they would vote Labour goes up but as a proportion of the whole falls because of the influx of the former DK voters who would back a Farage-led Reform party.
The numbers voting Conservative are similar but again there's a fall as a percentage of the greater whole.
I'm dubious that in reality we have 6% or nearly 2 million voters waiting for Nigel on the edge of their seats
Many Tories love him despite him not being one for decades.
The Netherlands seems like exactly the sort of place to test dangerous ideas.
What do we have Wales for if not that exact purpose?
They're still hot under the collar from an English caveman suggesting Taff as a nickname. Excellent testbed I'll grant you, but a cool down period on a geological scale.
Graun feed: Ms McVey tells C4 she never proposed a ban on rainbow lanyards.
'Esther McVey, the Cabinet Office minister, has claimed that she never proposed a “ban'” on civil servants wearing rainbow lanyards, or other ones conveying a political message, in her speech on Monday.'
Mind, it got PB excited ...
Her exact words were:
"I want a very simple but visible change to occur too – the lanyards worn to carry security passes shouldn’t be a random pick and mix, they should be a standard design reflecting that we are all members of the government delivering for the citizens of the UK. Working in the Civil Service is all about leaving your political views at the building entrance. Trying to introduce them by the back door via lanyards should not happen." (https://cps.org.uk/events/post/2024/speech-by-the-rt-hon-esther-mcvey-mp/)
So whilst she didn't specifically mention rainbow lanyards, it's a bit disingenuous of her to claim she wasn't talking about a ban on "ones conveying a political message".
(I think the first specific mention of rainbow lanyards came from the Telegraph's write-up, who presumably will have been briefed about it)
I just discovered a lanyard can also be a thong. Maybe McVey meant civil servants should wear standard design thongs reflecting that they are members of the government delivering for the citizens of the UK.
The best way to discredit right wing populism is to put them in government if elected. They will do stupid things and often permanent damage to the country, but that is democracy.
Sometimes, not always Meloni and Modi are reasonably competent rightwing populists even if you dislike them
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
And now it's Hagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's - a US takeover (though the latter is now owned by Anglo-Dutch Uniliver).
I buy Co-op West Country salted caramel - unbeatable.
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
The best way to discredit right wing populism is to put them in government if elected. They will do stupid things and often permanent damage to the country, but that is democracy.
Populism is not only a right wing thing. On the whole no sort of populism can be implemented because they contain contradictions both self-referentially and with regard to human nature; this is a characteristic of populism because it is defined by proposing simple solutions to complex problems of a complex human race.
Notice how little a 'right wing populist' government in Italy has actually done right wing populist stuff.
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
Wages are now rising faster than inflation in Scotland
Just such a shame about the last 2-3 years, notd to mention the Trussonomic disasters affecting interest rates.
Reform is essentially a vehicle for anti vaxers and those who opposed the lockdown, hardline Leavers who want to send the boats back and disillusioned Boris fans who hate Rishi.
It is unlikely to get to UKIP levels though unless, as the poll suggests, Farage returns to lead it. In which case as the poll suggests it takes as much from Labour amongst working class white voters most likely as from the Tories
The poll numbers quoted are misleading. A Farage-led Reform would scoop up a significant proportion of those saying they Don't Know or Won't Vote. The actual number saying they would vote Labour goes up but as a proportion of the whole falls because of the influx of the former DK voters who would back a Farage-led Reform party.
The numbers voting Conservative are similar but again there's a fall as a percentage of the greater whole.
I'm dubious that in reality we have 6% or nearly 2 million voters waiting for Nigel on the edge of their seats
Many Tories love him despite him not being one for decades.
Yes but the poll suggests the additional 6% is DKs and Not voting respondents from poll one. I just don't believe there is that much personal interest in him from the disillusioned. Its more another 'FU' response to politics in general, Big Nige being the insurgent he is. Would they bother at an actual GE? Nah. Reform under 7% at a GE for me
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
I refer the hon. PBer to the report posted earlier. All about the stutter and nothing else: in other words, Mr Sunak is implying that only presentation matters.
'The same thing happened later. Starmer stuttered. The whole of the Tory side went ballistic. "This proves he's not fit to lead this country", shot a delighted Sunak. Ten seconds later he was, again unsuccessfully, trying to pivot from fratboy bully to solemn statesman.'
Fair enough, stuttering under pressure is a good thing for a politician to have in their armoury during an election campaign
The thing about Farage returning is… it’s not like he’s gone away. He’s still associated with the party, he’s still on TV and active in political discourse. He is far more present in Reform UK than the former leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, LibDems, SNP or DUP are in their parties.
The best way to discredit right wing populism is to put them in government if elected. They will do stupid things and often permanent damage to the country, but that is democracy.
Populism is not only a right wing thing. On the whole no sort of populism can be implemented because they contain contradictions both self-referentially and with regard to human nature; this is a characteristic of populism because it is defined by proposing simple solutions to complex problems of a complex human race.
Notice how little a 'right wing populist' government in Italy has actually done right wing populist stuff.
I agree, but the party under discussion are right wing.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
And now it's Hagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's - a US takeover (though the latter is now owned by Anglo-Dutch Uniliver).
I buy Co-op West Country salted caramel - unbeatable.
Haazgen-Dazs is owned by Froneri, which is British, no?
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
I refer the hon. PBer to the report posted earlier. All about the stutter and nothing else: in other words, Mr Sunak is implying that only presentation matters.
'The same thing happened later. Starmer stuttered. The whole of the Tory side went ballistic. "This proves he's not fit to lead this country", shot a delighted Sunak. Ten seconds later he was, again unsuccessfully, trying to pivot from fratboy bully to solemn statesman.'
Fair enough, stuttering under pressure is a good thing for a politician to have in their armoury during an election campaign
Stumbling over Tech-bro wasn't a stutter, which is quite a distinct speech impediment.
It seems to be a one off, or do you have other examples?
The best way to discredit right wing populism is to put them in government if elected. They will do stupid things and often permanent damage to the country, but that is democracy.
Sometimes, not always Meloni and Modi are reasonably competent rightwing populists even if you dislike them
Meloni could have quite a dominant posiiton in European politics after the next EU elections.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
I believe it's an outside area used for hosting LAN parties.
McVey apparently wants all the ones at the government buildings painted one official colour rather than being a veritable rainbow.
Despite all the easy jokes on this issue as being incredibly trivial, in a way I find that works both ways, in that I find it hard to get outraged at the idea even if it is a dumb thing to get worked up about in the first place, as it is also a dumb thing to get worked up about if the rules are changed.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
You can’t have pickled onions, that’s not a brand.
All of those others are examples of hyper segmented categories where there’s only space for one brand alongside the supermarket own label. Likewise Lee and Perrin Worcester sauce, and until a few years ago Schweppes tonic water.
I find the stable duopolies very interesting. Our political system is one such example. It’s Kelloggs Tories and Labour Weetabix, with occasional creditable third place efforts from Quaker and Scotts porage oats.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
And now it's Hagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's - a US takeover (though the latter is now owned by Anglo-Dutch Uniliver).
I buy Co-op West Country salted caramel - unbeatable.
Haazgen-Dazs is owned by Froneri, which is British, no?
Froneri owns Hangen-Dazs outside the US, while General Mills owns it in the US.
It is ironic that you’re struggling to spell Häagen-Dazs as the name was, of course, entirely made up to sound vaguely Scandinavian and doesn’t obey any actual Scandinavian orthography.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
I don't think a sense of humour in itself is a necessary asset in a politician, and in fact some may do great without one, but if you can harness it it can be powerful. Many politicians have revealed, often post office, that they are pretty engaging and funny people, but they were either too disciplined to attempt to make use of it, or couldn't quite manage it, and would be accused of being insufficiently serious or the like.
We should be more forgiving of top politicians having the occasional gag, showing a bit of personality besides stern, righteous indignation or plodding administrator.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
And now it's Hagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's - a US takeover (though the latter is now owned by Anglo-Dutch Uniliver).
I buy Co-op West Country salted caramel - unbeatable.
I still miss Rossi’s, as someone brought up in Southend.
I can see a scenario where the country turns to Farage but it is predicated on a lot of things going wrong for Labour and Farage mounting a hostile takeover of the Tories.
If Labour fail then I do not see people turning back to the usual suspects in the Tory Party in any great hurry - because they have proven themselves to be useless in government. Particularly Braverman and Badenoch. With Farage at the helm though, promising a reinvented party and a hard line on immigration, etc? Yes, I could see it, as much as I don’t want it.
We are still in the realm of fantasy politics but then this time four years ago we wouldn’t have predicted a defeated Trump winning the GOP nomination for President and mounting a real challenge to the incumbent, so…
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
Comments
https://www.prafulnargund.co.uk/
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Apparently seen as a crucial issue by HMG.
*Edit: neck, really, but in practice outside the collar. They became a thing about 25-30 years ago in big organizations.
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
SKS Fans please translate!
'The same thing happened later. Starmer stuttered. The whole of the Tory side went ballistic. "This proves he's not fit to lead this country", shot a delighted Sunak. Ten seconds later he was, again unsuccessfully, trying to pivot from fratboy bully to solemn statesman.'
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
It’s amazing, when one thinks about it, the changes which have taken place in those sixty years. I envy you having been to Antarctica; that’s missing from our bucket list’ but we’ve been round the world twice and seen all measure of sights.
You and I, Big G, have seen many things, and Britain is very, very different place today, when compared with our memories.
Again, congratulations and welcome to a very special club.
Biden challenges Trump to a televised debate.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
In Tuesday’s New York Times I found an article, “Sickle Cell Cure Brings Mix of Anxiety and Hope”, which begins as follows:
"WASHINGTON – This month, Kendric Cromer, a 12-year-old boy from a suburb of Washington, became the first person in the world with sickle cell disease to begin a commercially approved gene therapy that may cure the condition."
I knew that there had been a few successful experiments, but did not realize that enough progress had been made so that there is now a (very expensive) commercial treatment available. (With enough successes, I would expect the cost to fall.)
source$: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/health/sickle-cell-cure-brings-mix-of-anxiety-and-hope.html
Sickle cell is a horrible disease, affecting about 20,000 in the US, and millions elsewhere. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle_cell_disease
Old?
A lanyard is a sigil of the power posed by A Keeper of Access. Much as hi-viz is a sigil of those gifted with The Power of Authouritah.
As such, it has deep and sacred meanings among the Traditional Cult Of The Clipboard.
I just had an invitation to spend a day at a naturist site.
Any experience or experiences?
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix
Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree
Media: BBC / ITV
Cars: Ford / Vauxhall
Shoes: Clarks / Startrite
Biscuits: McVities / none
Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels
Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK)
Squash: Robinson’s / none
Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp
Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different)
Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies
Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi
Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House
Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres
Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Well it isn't hard.
I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
With some margin of error ! As ever the values of Gen Z are intensely individualist, so they are free range nudists / naturists, and self-exhibiting on social media.
Aug 22: 1.3 million estd
Oct 22: 7 million by self-identification
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/07/bare-with-us-why-naturism-in-britain-is-booming
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/oct/15/nearly-7m-people-uk-identify-naturists-nudists-survey-naturism
The article title, in my print copy is: "Hope for Sickle Cell Gene Therapy". (Maybe I need more practice in posting links to positive articles.)
disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
McVey apparently wants all the ones at the government buildings painted one official colour rather than being a veritable rainbow.
Some novel I once read, about a disintegrating marriage had "he used to make me laugh" as a chapter closer.
It's up there with "baby shoes for sale, never worn" in poignancy per word.
(Won't paste sensibly)
Should be interesting given the patterns of the LEs
It is unlikely to get to UKIP levels though unless, as the poll suggests, Farage returns to lead it. In which case as the poll suggests it takes as much from Labour amongst working class white voters most likely as from the Tories
15 percent doesn't get Reform any seats under FPTP. And without that, what's the point, exactly?
(Hence Nigel remains on the sidelines. If he stands somewhere, he very probably loses.)
But if even five percent is siphoned from the Conservative column, that hurts Team Rishi a lot. And that is part of the real point of Reform.
The numbers voting Conservative are similar but again there's a fall as a percentage of the greater whole.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2qvqwq0gxlo
At that point squint and turn your head to one side and add Farage into the mix and there’s certain seat profiles (particularly Northern Red Wall) where voters who would otherwise vote Tory OR Labour might be tempted to jump, for the same reasons they jumped to Boris.
Remains to be seen whether it holds and how joining the coalition will affect the other parties' fortunes long term. And, indeed, Wilders after a spell in government for his party, unless he can successfully blame the coalition partners for any failings.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
Pickled onions
Angel Delight
Findus crispy pancakes
Birds custard
Ambrosia Rice pudding
It's not very persuasive, and whilst Truss wanted to try for another 'time for a change' message within government, she did it poorly and now we have the government paralysed, unable/unwilling to do bold things, but not managing to do dull competence either.
I buy Co-op West Country salted caramel - unbeatable.
Notice how little a 'right wing populist' government in Italy has actually done right wing populist stuff.
Would they bother at an actual GE? Nah.
Reform under 7% at a GE for me
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Froneri
Edit to add:
Froneri owns Hangen-Dazs outside the US, while General Mills owns it in the US.
It seems to be a one off, or do you have other examples?
Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere
Sunak won't share
All of those others are examples of hyper segmented categories where there’s only space for one brand alongside the supermarket own label. Likewise Lee and Perrin Worcester sauce, and until a few years ago Schweppes tonic water.
I find the stable duopolies very interesting. Our political system is one such example. It’s Kelloggs Tories and Labour Weetabix, with occasional creditable third place efforts from Quaker and Scotts porage oats.
We should be more forgiving of top politicians having the occasional gag, showing a bit of personality besides stern, righteous indignation or plodding administrator.
If Labour fail then I do not see people turning back to the usual suspects in the Tory Party in any great hurry - because they have proven themselves to be useless in government. Particularly Braverman and Badenoch. With Farage at the helm though, promising a reinvented party and a hard line on immigration, etc? Yes, I could see it, as much as I don’t want it.
We are still in the realm of fantasy politics but then this time four years ago we wouldn’t have predicted a defeated Trump winning the GOP nomination for President and mounting a real challenge to the incumbent, so…
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology
The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time
Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light