Waiting for something good to happen doesn't make sense. Make a list of all the "good" things that could happen between now and an election that would actually improve Tory polling, and compare that to a list of all the "bad" things that could happen. Anyone choosing an election date based only on such an exercise would call one immediately.
It wouldn't surprise me if the hyped announcement turned out to be another speech from the lectern in Downing St about defeating authoritarianism by banning tents and rainbows.
Perhaps this time he could promise to ban clouds? Or gas bills, maybe?
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
On the Harold Wilson in 1970 point does anyone remember an online bit of alternative history that Anthony Wells wrote called “If Gordon Banks Had Played”.
It theorised that if he had played England would have won and the resulting euphoria would have seen Harold Wilson re-elected. Heath was deposed and Enoch Powell elected as leader and eventually Prime Minister. Britain then goes down a kind of Putinist route with a full out war in Northern Ireland. It was rather far fetched but it was brilliantly told as a collection of fake bees stories, memoir extracts, government reports etc.
Waiting for something good to happen doesn't make sense. Make a list of all the "good" things that could happen between now and an election that would actually improve Tory polling, and compare that to a list of all the "bad" things that could happen. Anyone choosing an election date based only on such an exercise would call one immediately.
War, death of the King etc thought to encourage people to line up behind existing government
Video emerges of sks torturing kitten
Plus Sunak has delusions of agency and competence so that on average good stuff will happen because he makes it happen and bad stuff will not happen because he will prevent it
It wouldn't surprise me if the hyped announcement turned out to be another speech from the lectern in Downing St about defeating authoritarianism by banning tents and rainbows.
Perhaps this time he could promise to ban clouds? Or gas bills, maybe?
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
How about being made to run a PO/retail shop 80 hours a week, tenuously profitable and with a crap IT system that makes them spend hours each day trying to balance?
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
The Malmesbury Bill for the Adoption of Rockall As A Place of Imprisonment.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
It wouldn't surprise me if the hyped announcement turned out to be another speech from the lectern in Downing St about defeating authoritarianism by banning tents and rainbows.
Perhaps this time he could promise to ban clouds? Or gas bills, maybe?
Bicycles. He's going to ban bicycles.
Might vote for him after all. If he would include dogs it would be a done deal.
It wouldn't surprise me if the hyped announcement turned out to be another speech from the lectern in Downing St about defeating authoritarianism by banning tents and rainbows.
Perhaps this time he could promise to ban clouds? Or gas bills, maybe?
Bicycles. He's going to ban bicycles.
Death penalty *for* cyclists. XL Bullies to guard the White Cliffs. New power station fired by confiscated rainbow lanyards. Etc.
On the Harold Wilson in 1970 point does anyone remember an online bit of alternative history that Anthony Wells wrote called “If Gordon Banks Had Played”.
It theorised that if he had played England would have won and the resulting euphoria would have seen Harold Wilson re-elected. Heath was deposed and Enoch Powell elected as leader and eventually Prime Minister. Britain then goes down a kind of Putinist route with a full out war in Northern Ireland. It was rather far fetched but it was brilliantly told as a collection of fake bees stories, memoir extracts, government reports etc.
Nice story but 1) had Banks played Brazil would have propbaly still won the world cup, 2) had England won the world cup, Heath would have still won the election (does football really influence voting behaviour to any significant event?) 3) Had Heath stood down in as LOTO in late 1971, Powell would not have become Tory leader.
Sure but at least it doesn't have AI-operated UFOs shooting down pro_Palestinian trans demonstrators with their XL Bullies marching through London. So there's that added dollop of authenticity. (I do wonder sometimes what mental picture the aliens on Betelgeuse VII will form of the UK when they read PB posts in about 650 years' time.)
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
The Malmesbury Bill for the Adoption of Rockall As A Place of Imprisonment.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
The Scottish Government would bow to the NIMBIES and quite rightly too. No planning permission.
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
The Malmesbury Bill for the Adoption of Rockall As A Place of Imprisonment.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
The Scottish Government would bow to the NIMBIES and quite rightly too. No planning permission.
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
The Malmesbury Bill for the Adoption of Rockall As A Place of Imprisonment.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
The Scottish Government would bow to the NIMBIES and quite rightly too. No planning permission.
On the Harold Wilson in 1970 point does anyone remember an online bit of alternative history that Anthony Wells wrote called “If Gordon Banks Had Played”.
It theorised that if he had played England would have won and the resulting euphoria would have seen Harold Wilson re-elected. Heath was deposed and Enoch Powell elected as leader and eventually Prime Minister. Britain then goes down a kind of Putinist route with a full out war in Northern Ireland. It was rather far fetched but it was brilliantly told as a collection of fake bees stories, memoir extracts, government reports etc.
Nice story but 1) had Banks played Brazil would have propbaly still won the world cup, 2) had England won the world cup, Heath would have still won the election (does football really influence voting behaviour to any significant event?) 3) Had Heath stood down in as LOTO in late 1971, Powell would not have become Tory leader.
Sure but at least it doesn't have AI-operated UFOs shooting down pro_Palestinian trans demonstrators with their XL Bullies marching through London. So there's that added dollop of authenticity. (I do wonder sometimes what mental picture the aliens on Betelgeuse VII will form of the UK when they read PB posts in about 650 years' time.)
Probably be glad they live in a solar system whose star is about to go supernova, it's better than living in the UK.
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
The Malmesbury Bill for the Adoption of Rockall As A Place of Imprisonment.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
The Scottish Government would bow to the NIMBIES and quite rightly too. No planning permission.
The ultimate Low Traffic Neighbourhood.
All ships limited to 2 knots while in sight of the island.
Accommodation will be an old motor home, lifted on to the rock. I understand there is one going spare. Low mileage.
It wouldn't surprise me if the hyped announcement turned out to be another speech from the lectern in Downing St about defeating authoritarianism by banning tents and rainbows.
Perhaps this time he could promise to ban clouds? Or gas bills, maybe?
Bicycles. He's going to ban bicycles.
Might vote for him after all. If he would include dogs it would be a done deal.
The weird thing about motorists who want to ban bicycles (some, quite literally) is their failure to understand in places like Oxford that this would just mean about 10,000 more car movements a day on the road in front of them. Good luck ever getting anywhere.
Hard to believe that Sunak would call a GE for July - he'd be bonkers.
But the fact that No. 10 has conspicuously failed to send anybody out to squash the rumours, an easy thing to do, suggests that bonkers may have won the day.
If Sunak tries this, I wouldn't be surprised if there is at least an attempt to oust him this afternoon.
You can't oust him that quick. You could I suppose appeal to his sense of decency and say he is morally obliged to leave office as an informal fix with the men in grey suits seeing as that's how he got it. Good luck with that
My reading is Sunak wants to hold on as long as possible for something to turn up. Everyone else wants him out and as long as possible for his successor to turn things round. He is bluffing and saying you back down or I detonate the July hand grenade.
The cabinet might revolt, that would be quick enough.....
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
The Malmesbury Bill for the Adoption of Rockall As A Place of Imprisonment.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
The Scottish Government would bow to the NIMBIES and quite rightly too. No planning permission.
On the Harold Wilson in 1970 point does anyone remember an online bit of alternative history that Anthony Wells wrote called “If Gordon Banks Had Played”.
It theorised that if he had played England would have won and the resulting euphoria would have seen Harold Wilson re-elected. Heath was deposed and Enoch Powell elected as leader and eventually Prime Minister. Britain then goes down a kind of Putinist route with a full out war in Northern Ireland. It was rather far fetched but it was brilliantly told as a collection of fake bees stories, memoir extracts, government reports etc.
Nice story but 1) had Banks played Brazil would have propbaly still won the world cup, 2) had England won the world cup, Heath would have still won the election (does football really influence voting behaviour to any significant event?) 3) Had Heath stood down in as LOTO in late 1971, Powell would not have become Tory leader.
Sure but at least it doesn't have AI-operated UFOs shooting down pro_Palestinian trans demonstrators with their XL Bullies marching through London. So there's that added dollop of authenticity. (I do wonder sometimes what mental picture the aliens on Betelgeuse VII will form of the UK when they read PB posts in about 650 years' time.)
Probably be glad they live in a solar system whose star is about to go supernova, it's better than living in the UK.
A star that goes supernova would devastate life within 50 light years. So other solar systems will be impacted too.
Fortunately the nearest one to us, IK Pegasi, is 150 Light years away and likely to be around 600 light years away when it goes.
Doesn't make sense. Far better to wait til the last moment and pray for a black swan or the boats to stop coming coz Rwanda
As I have said before, turkeys don't vote for Christmas to be brought forward, this seems to be exactly that
I agree with just one tiny caveat.
If any PM could come up with a too clever by half argument for holding an early election they were almost certain to lose by a record-setting margin it would be Sunak.
Hard to believe that Sunak would call a GE for July - he'd be bonkers.
But the fact that No. 10 has conspicuously failed to send anybody out to squash the rumours, an easy thing to do, suggests that bonkers may have won the day.
She's up for three days - hard to see this going on that long?
Taken ill with stress is my bet. Priory (luxury version) paid for by the Post Office.
She's the age Ernest Saunders was when he had a brief and reversible touch of Alzheimer's..
She's actually getting on for ten years older than Saunders was when he was diagnosed with Alzheimers - he was in his 50s in 1991. Still alive at 88.
"He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, but released after 10 months as he was believed to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He subsequently recovered."
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
The Malmesbury Bill for the Adoption of Rockall As A Place of Imprisonment.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
The Scottish Government would bow to the NIMBIES and quite rightly too. No planning permission.
The ultimate Low Traffic Neighbourhood.
All ships limited to 2 knots while in sight of the island.
Accommodation will be an old motor home, lifted on to the rock. I understand there is one going spare. Low mileage.
The RAF will drop Hawaiian pizzas to the grateful masses
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 20m If Rishi Sunak doesn’t call an election today it will be up there with Callaghan in ‘78, Brown ‘07 and Chelsea ‘24 for bottle jobs…
"We cannot be killed 'Shortly there will be an election, in which Labour will increase its majority' By Sion Simon"
Waiting for something good to happen doesn't make sense. Make a list of all the "good" things that could happen between now and an election that would actually improve Tory polling, and compare that to a list of all the "bad" things that could happen. Anyone choosing an election date based only on such an exercise would call one immediately.
It's a simple consequence of chaos theory that the longer ahead you are trying to predict the more uncertain your prediction is. Given the central estimate of the current prediction, Sunak needs as much uncertainty as possible.
That's still true even if your current forecast has the central estimate moving against you over time, so bad is the nowcast.
Edit: And, of course, there's the certainty of being in office for another six months if you wait, against the near-certainty of being out of office for at least four years if you don't.
Hard to believe that Sunak would call a GE for July - he'd be bonkers.
But the fact that No. 10 has conspicuously failed to send anybody out to squash the rumours, an easy thing to do, suggests that bonkers may have won the day.
It's racing in on Betfair - 1.23 now.
Yeah, it's incredibly short now. November around 6 if anyone is feeling bold.
Sir Wyn's not believing Paula Vennell's bullshit is he?
I stopped watching. She may deserve it, but too painful for me to watch!
F*ck her. People lost their homes, livelihoods and lives because of her and her fellow Senior managers.
This may be painful for her. The pain her victims have endured has gone on for many years and STILL no restitution.
It's worse than most people imagine, Taz.
From the outset, the PO and its advisers have resisted every attempt to obtain justice for the SPMs, and it is still doing so. Witness for example yesterday's lamentable witness who palpably lied repeatedly about her role in the scandal. Or Ms Vennell's failure to release crucial documents until the last minute, thus hampering the work of the Inquiry and dragging it out longer than ever should have been necessary.
So they have been more than wilfully obstructive. How on earth can they simply lie and claim what they now claim.
Vennells is clearly culpable but the press and media focus being on her is giving many of the others, if not a free ride, a far easier time of it.
It is outrageous.
The whole gang should be rounded up and prosecuted - rough justice, but no worse than they meted out.
The prosecution seems a bit excessive just give them10 years each and make them liable so that some of the costs can be recovered via their pensions, house….
And then a few tens of thousands of hours of community service, cleaning the homes of their victims every week as home helps
Actually yep - just 50 hours of community service per week for the next 15 years feels suitable punishment
I propose a Bill of Attainder in the Commons.
“That the management of the Post Office between date X and date Y, be a declared a Criminal and Corrupt Organisation. Membership of this organisation shall incur a minimum penalty of life in prison.
Appeals shall be heard by a judicial committee consisting of those post office employees to whom the recent pardons were applied. After a waiting period of a decade.”
My problem with that is that our jails are full and keeping old people in jail costs serious money.
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
The Malmesbury Bill for the Adoption of Rockall As A Place of Imprisonment.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
The Scottish Government would bow to the NIMBIES and quite rightly too. No planning permission.
The ultimate Low Traffic Neighbourhood.
All ships limited to 2 knots while in sight of the island.
Accommodation will be an old motor home, lifted on to the rock. I understand there is one going spare. Low mileage.
The RAF will drop Hawaiian pizzas to the grateful masses
Not on 6 June, they aren't. It's not like the good old days when there were squadrons of Coastal Command Shackletons all over the place to drop Xmas cards and treats to the weather ships out in the Atlantic.
It wouldn't surprise me if the hyped announcement turned out to be another speech from the lectern in Downing St about defeating authoritarianism by banning tents and rainbows.
Perhaps this time he could promise to ban clouds? Or gas bills, maybe?
Big "Mission Accomplished" banner in the background, perhaps?
Hard to believe that Sunak would call a GE for July - he'd be bonkers.
But the fact that No. 10 has conspicuously failed to send anybody out to squash the rumours, an easy thing to do, suggests that bonkers may have won the day.
The thing is supposedly the finances are such that there can be no tax cut in the autumn and it seems that the NI cuts can’t actually be justified.
Hence the need to run now because it’s only going to get worse from here as I pointed out in January
OT a friend yesterday fell for a well-known scam: I'm your daughter, phone is broken so you can't call me, send money urgently.
Fortunately, he is so inept he managed to lock his bank account while trying to transfer £1,800 to his "daughter". When he phoned the bank to unlock the account, they were able to convince him it was a scam. Keep safe.
Paula Vennells was the boss. She was paid handsomely to run the organisation properly and know what it was doing. If she wanted to know about stuff it was her fucking responsibility to make sure her staff knew to do this.
All this "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, I was too trusting, I cannot imagine why no-one told me anything, no I had no idea what 100 investigators were doing and what the phrase "we prosecuted" meant and oh my goodness what is a stamp?" flannel we've been hearing is a load of old bollocks.
Why would he drag Cameron back in order to have a Cabinet and then do a reshuffle?
Or to call a GE? That's personal, not Cabinet.
Usually, a general election is signed off by the cabinet, however notionally. Collective government remains the theory, even if increasingly a fiction in reality.
OT a friend yesterday fell for a well-known scam: I'm your daughter, phone is broken so you can't call me, send money urgently.
Fortunately, he is so inept he managed to lock his bank account while trying to transfer £1,800 to his "daughter". When he phoned the bank to unlock the account, they were able to convince him it was a scam. Keep safe.
1. You can call me on the device you are messaging me from
Hard to believe that Sunak would call a GE for July - he'd be bonkers.
But the fact that No. 10 has conspicuously failed to send anybody out to squash the rumours, an easy thing to do, suggests that bonkers may have won the day.
The thing is supposedly the finances are such that there can be no tax cut in the autumn and it seems that the NI cuts can’t actually be justified.
Hence the need to run now because it’s only going to get worse from here as I pointed out in January
But if you called the election in September - or even October - there'd still not be time for another fiscal event so no possibility of cutting further.
FWIW, I believe the impact of instant cuts on polling is trivially small, and the impact of promised future cuts even lower. It's only the experience of cuts, over time, that makes a difference.
As for the Met, they need their arses kicked into the sun.
Get some proper investigators in right now to start the preparation of cases for the PO and Grenfell and be ready with 3/4 of the work done the day the reports are handed in so you can do the rest within 6 months.
All this waiting around while we scratch our arses, learn to read, decide what kebab we're going to eat then say we don't have enough evidence blah blah and everyone is dead anyway needs to stop.
The only serious thing I can think of if it's not a GE is that the King's been diagnosed with 3 months to live or something along those lines.
You posted that 3 seconds before I made my comment about the King. Yes, I wonder... I sincerely hope I am wrong
It’s not as if there weren’t plenty of rumours about his cancer and PoW’s illness before they were announced so I would guess/hope it’s nothing to do with the Royal family - unless they’ve managed to plug the budget black hole with sales of Meghan’s jam.
The only serious thing I can think of if it's not a GE is that the King's been diagnosed with 3 months to live or something along those lines.
You posted that 3 seconds before I made my comment about the King. Yes, I wonder... I sincerely hope I am wrong
Starmer etc and the rest of the PC will be called in before any announcement if that were the case
It's quite a harrowing photo of KC3. And it's on the BBC website. I don't see why they would have chosen to publish it, unless we are being prepped for bad news
Again: I hope I am wrong, but wow. He looks like his Mum did when she was in the last year. I guess he is on chemo or radio and that will make anyone look terrible, and also he is still walking about, kind of, so that's a source of some consolation. But I do wonder if this is some awful news about the royals. Maybe am abdication if the prognosis is too dire?
And of course this would in turn affect election plans
The only serious thing I can think of if it's not a GE is that the King's been diagnosed with 3 months to live or something along those lines.
It wouldn't need the Foreign Secretary to cut short an overseas visit to attend cabinet, though. Any announcement would come from the palace, with the PM & LoTO being primed to make suitably-sympathetic statements.
And you'd really hope that the SPADs / press secretary / etc wouldn't be smirking quite so much whilst playing their sly "I know something you don't know!" game...
OT a friend yesterday fell for a well-known scam: I'm your daughter, phone is broken so you can't call me, send money urgently.
Fortunately, he is so inept he managed to lock his bank account while trying to transfer £1,800 to his "daughter". When he phoned the bank to unlock the account, they were able to convince him it was a scam. Keep safe.
1. You can call me on the device you are messaging me from
2. If you can't where did you go to school?
Obvious when, like us and the bank, you've heard of this scam before. Harder when you've not, and believe your daughter is in trouble.
If Sunak calls an election on the day after the infected blood report and during Paula Vennell's appearance, it just demonstrates how infantile and unserious UK politics is.
He should be all all over the media detailing the scandal(s) and explaining what the Gov is going to do about it.
If Sunak calls an election on the day after the infected blood report and during Paula Vennell's appearance, it just demonstrates how infantile and unserious UK politics is.
He should be all all over the media detailing the scandal(s) and explaining what the Gov is going to do about it.
He has promised to fix and pay for it all. And promptly left that up to his successor.
As for the Met, they need their arses kicked into the sun.
Get some proper investigators in right now to start the preparation of cases for the PO and Grenfell and be ready with 3/4 of the work done the day the reports are handed in so you can do the rest within 6 months.
All this waiting around while we scratch our arses, learn to read, decide what kebab we're going to eat then say we don't have enough evidence blah blah and everyone is dead anyway needs to stop.
The Met lost many experienced police officers under Cameron & May's cuts, and replacing them with new recruits will not immediately fill the gap.
OT a friend yesterday fell for a well-known scam: I'm your daughter, phone is broken so you can't call me, send money urgently.
Fortunately, he is so inept he managed to lock his bank account while trying to transfer £1,800 to his "daughter". When he phoned the bank to unlock the account, they were able to convince him it was a scam. Keep safe.
1. You can call me on the device you are messaging me from
2. If you can't where did you go to school?
Obvious when, like us and the bank, you've heard of this scam before. Harder when you've not, and believe your daughter is in trouble.
The fix is to always ask a question about an Auntie who doesn’t exist - no one scamming you is going to give you the correct answer
The only serious thing I can think of if it's not a GE is that the King's been diagnosed with 3 months to live or something along those lines.
You posted that 3 seconds before I made my comment about the King. Yes, I wonder... I sincerely hope I am wrong
It’s not as if there weren’t plenty of rumours about his cancer and PoW’s illness before they were announced so I would guess/hope it’s nothing to do with the Royal family - unless they’ve managed to plug the budget black hole with sales of Meghan’s jam.
An abdication would definitely require the government to go into a huddle. And if KC3 feels he can no longer discharge any duties, then an abdication is plausible
But I agree it would be hugely unseemly for Spads to play silly buggers with the news, tho on the other hand it is possible it is all concocted by excitable journalists. I know a few of them. Damn fools, mostly
Comments
Overhead in the Sun Lobby room: "snappy genners"
Perhaps this time he could promise to ban clouds? Or gas bills, maybe?
Hence my proposed solution of 40,000 hours community service at 50 hours a week. Keeps them in the community (say a bedsit or similar) and reduces the cost of imprisoning them
https://web.archive.org/web/20071212170442/http://www.btinternet.com/~chief.gnome/
Tropes and discussion
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/WhatIfGordonBanksHadPlayed
https://forum.sealionpress.co.uk/index.php?threads/what-if-gordon-banks-had-played.736/
Full archived version as zipped download
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/wi-gordon-banks-had-played.309980/#post-8938245
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/wi-gordon-banks-had-played.309980/#post-8938252
Video emerges of sks torturing kitten
Plus Sunak has delusions of agency and competence so that on average good stuff will happen because he makes it happen and bad stuff will not happen because he will prevent it
Plus it's about legacy and length of tenure
So are people now talking about a reshuffle? Why would that need a cabinet meeting?
Twat
So, maybe, following a meeting of the cabinet at 4? Nothing till then?
Sunak might be focussing on the key marginals in the Western Isles and Moray. And the Gregorian calendar is woke.
Or at least, allow the Ukrainians to.
Funded by a reality TV show. Every week inmate voted off the island. Into the sea.
Number 10 is now refusing to say if Jeremy Hunt will be chancellor at the election
Rishi Sunak was unequivocal in January that Hunt would remain in the role
Today No 10 repeatedly refuses to repeat position and says it won't comment on 'reshuffle speculation'
@MrHarryCole
We've escalated from top contact calls ringing out to calls being knifed...
Last time that happened the Queen was dead.
XL Bullies to guard the White Cliffs.
New power station fired by confiscated rainbow lanyards.
Etc.
#smallmercies
U OK hun? etc.
Her appalling testimony will be wiped off the news.
Accommodation will be an old motor home, lifted on to the rock. I understand there is one going spare. Low mileage.
But the fact that No. 10 has conspicuously failed to send anybody out to squash the rumours, an easy thing to do, suggests that bonkers may have won the day.
If people know something they cannot tell you, fine. People who know something and tell you they cannot tell you are just wankers.
Fortunately the nearest one to us, IK Pegasi, is 150 Light years away and likely to be around 600 light years away when it goes.
If any PM could come up with a too clever by half argument for holding an early election they were almost certain to lose by a record-setting margin it would be Sunak.
Aliens!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Saunders
Never heard of anyone else recovering from it.
https://twitter.com/ClaireEllicott1/status/1793253977485681082
'Shortly there will be an election, in which Labour will increase its majority'
By Sion Simon"
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2007/09/labour-majority-increase
That's still true even if your current forecast has the central estimate moving against you over time, so bad is the nowcast.
Edit: And, of course, there's the certainty of being in office for another six months if you wait, against the near-certainty of being out of office for at least four years if you don't.
Hence the need to run now because it’s only going to get worse from here as I pointed out in January
Fortunately, he is so inept he managed to lock his bank account while trying to transfer £1,800 to his "daughter". When he phoned the bank to unlock the account, they were able to convince him it was a scam. Keep safe.
One hates to speculate but wow, that's very sad
https://twitter.com/PennyMordaunt/status/1793257850501804048?t=8PCygIXQ8tXXNwf4PTcUZA&s=19
All this "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, I was too trusting, I cannot imagine why no-one told me anything, no I had no idea what 100 investigators were doing and what the phrase "we prosecuted" meant and oh my goodness what is a stamp?" flannel we've been hearing is a load of old bollocks.
That is all.
2. If you can't where did you go to school?
Amid growing election speculation this is what we know:
* Cabinet is at 4.15pm. Cameron is cutting short trip to Albania so he can be there, Shapps is delaying a trip abroad. That doesn't sound routine
* Number 10 has gone totally submarine
* PM and Dowden said to have spent much of yesterday locked in meetings
* Sunak's laughter when asked about it at PMQs
FWIW, I believe the impact of instant cuts on polling is trivially small, and the impact of promised future cuts even lower. It's only the experience of cuts, over time, that makes a difference.
Get some proper investigators in right now to start the preparation of cases for the PO and Grenfell and be ready with 3/4 of the work done the day the reports are handed in so you can do the rest within 6 months.
All this waiting around while we scratch our arses, learn to read, decide what kebab we're going to eat then say we don't have enough evidence blah blah and everyone is dead anyway needs to stop.
Again: I hope I am wrong, but wow. He looks like his Mum did when she was in the last year. I guess he is on chemo or radio and that will make anyone look terrible, and also he is still walking about, kind of, so that's a source of some consolation. But I do wonder if this is some awful news about the royals. Maybe am abdication if the prognosis is too dire?
And of course this would in turn affect election plans
And you'd really hope that the SPADs / press secretary / etc wouldn't be smirking quite so much whilst playing their sly "I know something you don't know!" game...
Obviously a zeitgeist in the air
He should be all all over the media detailing the scandal(s) and explaining what the Gov is going to do about it.
But I agree it would be hugely unseemly for Spads to play silly buggers with the news, tho on the other hand it is possible it is all concocted by excitable journalists. I know a few of them. Damn fools, mostly