Do you think it is acceptable or unacceptable for Keir Starmer to have had the portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from her former study in Downing Street?
Yougov have an absolute knack for asking the wrong question. It's not whether it's acceptable or not - he can do what he likes - it's whether doing it and publicising the fact of doing it in his first 6 weeks is the act of a directionless nebbish. Analogously if he published a photo of himself on the can with his trousers round his ankles, Yougov would be asking Is it acceptable that the prime minister defecates? Not actually the point.
Did Starmer publicise it?
Yes. How else would all the press simultaneously know about it? In the silly season?
Do you think it is acceptable or unacceptable for Keir Starmer to have had the portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from her former study in Downing Street?
Yougov have an absolute knack for asking the wrong question. It's not whether it's acceptable or not - he can do what he likes - it's whether doing it and publicising the fact of doing it in his first 6 weeks is the act of a directionless nebbish. Analogously if he published a photo of himself on the can with his trousers round his ankles, Yougov would be asking Is it acceptable that the prime minister defecates? Not actually the point.
Did Starmer publicise it?
Yes. How else would all the press simultaneously know about it? In the silly season?
The report I read came from someone who visited him in no 10. Where did you hear that it came from Starmer himself?
Comes across like a 6th form Tory Boy doing a turn at the debating union, with a slightly stilted and overrehearsed, and not particularly coherent, history listen.
Gone back a step now, in my eyes.
JENRICK
Jenrick passes the two-second test. If you catch a two-second clip of him on the news without any context, he looks the part. Labour should be worried.
Better keep his appearances short. By the third second, you will be thinking WTF ...
On topic, it's interesting that YouGov don't seem to break the data down for ethnicity like they used to. It always showed non-whites evenly split, with White British overwhelmingly but not completely Royalist. I wonder how the increase is spread between ethnic groups.
It certainly seems to indicate the importance of generations of exposure to tradition in forming attitudes.
Am I the only, actual working class person who posts here?
No. I live in a flat, I work in an office, I travel by train, and my teeth are a whole new world of pain. It is nice to see how the other half live, but it is vicarious tourism on my point.
"Nobody wants [Harris] to win more than me, Maybe Melania Trump. That could be the only person I think of. Because she hates [Trump]...
I've met one person that actually hates Trump more than Melania, that's General Milley. He's the only guy I've met so far that actually hates him more than Melania"
Partly for itself, but also for the bits of the system that cease to happen if schools can't be judged RI or Inadequate.
having one word ratings is/was dumb. but it must be simple for parents to choose the best school for their children, and we shouldn't be making law based on one or a few tragic cases that makes for bad law.
Do you think it is acceptable or unacceptable for Keir Starmer to have had the portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from her former study in Downing Street?
No one’s talking about destroying it. We’re not barbarians.
I don't know. Chucking it in a skip and setting fire to it would probably have upped his approval ratings significantly. It isn't some historic work of fine art, it was painted less than 15 years ago.
I think you're looking at the Direktstimmen there. The share of the party vote is the important one.
Also worth noting that the Left have won 2 constituencies so don't need to get over the 5% hurdle (as have the Greens but they look like they just made it over 5% anyway).
Partly for itself, but also for the bits of the system that cease to happen if schools can't be judged RI or Inadequate.
having one word ratings is/was dumb. but it must be simple for parents to choose the best school for their children, and we shouldn't be making law based on one or a few tragic cases that makes for bad law.
My teaching relatives agree, much as they find Ofsted difficult and have sympathy with the poor late headteacher.
It appears that in the present turbulent times the Monarchy is about the only thing that is guaranteed to survive.
Chatting with my son who lives in Berlin. The rise of the so called far right is staggering. The AFD make Reform seem like a centrist party. The BSW would be banned in the UK but are seen as the reasonable right. As with France the biggest shift is the young white men. As with France the Government will try to continue to govern but without real authority. Crack downs such as in the UK will just make martyrs and accelerate the trend. The curtain is truly coming down across Europe.
Why would the BSW be banned in the UK??? Nobody sees the BSW as rightwing, and the majority don't see them as reasonable.
Also worth noting that the AfD only gained 3% in both Saxony and Thüringen compared to last time (in 2019).
No surprise to see @Leon come out in support of a neo-nazi.
In an interview with the German newspaper “Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung”, the German politician Sahra Wagenknecht demands more action against illegal migration in Germany. In the interview, she claims that every second immigrant who comes to Germany does not have a right to protection but can nonetheless stay in the country and receive social benefits.
This was one of her controversial speeches and also factually incorrect. Note she used the word immigrant and not asylum seeker. It could be argued she was race baiting.
In Thuringia 2014 AFD had 10% in 2019 23.4% and now in 2024 they have 33.5%.
The most striking change is amongst the young. Jn the 18-30 age group the AFD got 36%. If we can assume that this was more male than female you can get to close to 50% of fighting age men voting AFD. This makes it hard for the authorities as many in the police are strong supporters of AFD as are the army. See recent issues with KSK.
I have noticed that the so called far right are following the same play book across Europe. They are very focussed on taking control. Meloni is the poster child of the patriotic right and has a popularity rating way above Starmer / Olaf / Macron. The attempts to close down free speech, expand the public sector and manipulate democracy by the parties on the left in my mind are a long term disaster.
Do you think it is acceptable or unacceptable for Keir Starmer to have had the portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from her former study in Downing Street?
No one’s talking about destroying it. We’re not barbarians.
I don't know. Chucking it in a skip and setting fire to it would probably have upped his approval ratings significantly. It isn't some historic work of fine art, it was painted less than 15 years ago.
It’s not his to destroy. It belongs to the country.
Wasn't the issue that schools rated good or outstanding had reduced inspection schedules, so a drop from Outstanding to Inadequate was possible in one jump? Hiring more inspectors and going back to regular inspections would result in smoother, less embarassing downgrades?
Do you think it is acceptable or unacceptable for Keir Starmer to have had the portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from her former study in Downing Street?
No one’s talking about destroying it. We’re not barbarians.
I don't know. Chucking it in a skip and setting fire to it would probably have upped his approval ratings significantly. It isn't some historic work of fine art, it was painted less than 15 years ago.
It’s not his to destroy. It belongs to the country.
Privatise it and sell it abroad. It's what she would have wanted.
Does Jenrick get extra points amongst Tory members because he had the Disney mural painted over at the child refugee centre?
He makes my skin crawl and reminds me of that scene in Schindlers List where the commandment comes over all sweet and nice to the grannie before ........
if he is elected leader tories will be out of power for ten years.....which is exactly why they will elect him.
True , Jenrick really is the worst choice .
Yep. But he will be a disaster with the public and they will throw him out within two or three years.
Whoever leads will be the tenth since the defenestration of MrsT in 1990. In that time Labour have appointed six, one of whom of course unexpectedly died in office.
Unless they can appoint a genuine long term statesman/woman with top political nous and outstanding leadership ability who can unite the centre right, set the direction, be popular but not populist they are in very grave difficulty at a moment where the loss of 25 more seats to the LDs would put then third.
Of the 6: I would give Tugendhat and Stride an outside chance of having the relevant qualities. The others, virtually zero. For those who enjoy the show, Badenoch would be interesting, but character would tell in the end. Patel and Jenrick: no hope disasters, just awful. Cleverly: not much better. From the betting point of view, ignore all the above and DYOR. I don't see any value at the moment.
I'm surprised Patel isn't getting more cut through. I loathe her politics but she's an articulate and polite speaker who gives the impression of having a brain.
Patel has more baggage than Jerry Springer, but yes, of the six Patel seems to have the best handle on the issues facing the Conservative Party.
Am I the only, actual working class person who posts here?
With parents who summer at Sandbanks?
I work 55-60 hours a week 46 weeks a year to get somewhere near average wage
My Dad gives me wine for walking his dog on my days off
My mum aways wants to feed me, I let her do it on Sundays
They do go to Sandbanks, but that doesn't stop me being a fucking-hard-working class postie
Not many working class people on here. Not least because posting on the site is considerably easier for those who work in offices. ISTR @twistedfirestopper3 is a firefighter - perhaps he qualifies, if that is the case?
A postie is a working class job, but from what you've said of your background I don't think your upbringing was typically working class? But who among us is genuinely typical of our class, whatever that is? Feeling a bit of an outsider is the human condition, I think.
On topic, the time we become a Republic is when a truly useless heir to the throne takes over. It's a lottery, and only a matter of time before another Prince Andrew is first born. It isn't 1688 where we import a distant relative from the Netherlands.
A Monarchy kept in power via apathy and doing nothing remotely interesting is inherently an unstable genetic losing bet.
It appears that in the present turbulent times the Monarchy is about the only thing that is guaranteed to survive.
Chatting with my son who lives in Berlin. The rise of the so called far right is staggering. The AFD make Reform seem like a centrist party. The BSW would be banned in the UK but are seen as the reasonable right. As with France the biggest shift is the young white men. As with France the Government will try to continue to govern but without real authority. Crack downs such as in the UK will just make martyrs and accelerate the trend. The curtain is truly coming down across Europe.
Why would the BSW be banned in the UK??? Nobody sees the BSW as rightwing, and the majority don't see them as reasonable.
Also worth noting that the AfD only gained 3% in both Saxony and Thüringen compared to last time (in 2019).
No surprise to see @Leon come out in support of a neo-nazi.
In an interview with the German newspaper “Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung”, the German politician Sahra Wagenknecht demands more action against illegal migration in Germany. In the interview, she claims that every second immigrant who comes to Germany does not have a right to protection but can nonetheless stay in the country and receive social benefits.
This was one of her controversial speeches and also factually incorrect. Note she used the word immigrant and not asylum seeker. It could be argued she was race baiting.
In Thuringia 2014 AFD had 10% in 2019 23.4% and now in 2024 they have 33.5%.
The most striking change is amongst the young. Jn the 18-30 age group the AFD got 36%. If we can assume that this was more male than female you can get to close to 50% of fighting age men voting AFD. This makes it hard for the authorities as many in the police are strong supporters of AFD as are the army. See recent issues with KSK.
I have noticed that the so called far right are following the same play book across Europe. They are very focussed on taking control. Meloni is the poster child of the patriotic right and has a popularity rating way above Starmer / Olaf / Macron. The attempts to close down free speech, expand the public sector and manipulate democracy by the parties on the left in my mind are a long term disaster.
Has anyone in the UK been banned for demanding more action against illegal immigration?
It appears that in the present turbulent times the Monarchy is about the only thing that is guaranteed to survive.
Chatting with my son who lives in Berlin. The rise of the so called far right is staggering. The AFD make Reform seem like a centrist party. The BSW would be banned in the UK but are seen as the reasonable right. As with France the biggest shift is the young white men. As with France the Government will try to continue to govern but without real authority. Crack downs such as in the UK will just make martyrs and accelerate the trend. The curtain is truly coming down across Europe.
Why would the BSW be banned in the UK??? Nobody sees the BSW as rightwing, and the majority don't see them as reasonable.
Also worth noting that the AfD only gained 3% in both Saxony and Thüringen compared to last time (in 2019).
No surprise to see @Leon come out in support of a neo-nazi.
In an interview with the German newspaper “Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung”, the German politician Sahra Wagenknecht demands more action against illegal migration in Germany. In the interview, she claims that every second immigrant who comes to Germany does not have a right to protection but can nonetheless stay in the country and receive social benefits.
This was one of her controversial speeches and also factually incorrect. Note she used the word immigrant and not asylum seeker. It could be argued she was race baiting.
In Thuringia 2014 AFD had 10% in 2019 23.4% and now in 2024 they have 33.5%.
The most striking change is amongst the young. Jn the 18-30 age group the AFD got 36%. If we can assume that this was more male than female you can get to close to 50% of fighting age men voting AFD. This makes it hard for the authorities as many in the police are strong supporters of AFD as are the army. See recent issues with KSK.
I have noticed that the so called far right are following the same play book across Europe. They are very focussed on taking control. Meloni is the poster child of the patriotic right and has a popularity rating way above Starmer / Olaf / Macron. The attempts to close down free speech, expand the public sector and manipulate democracy by the parties on the left in my mind are a long term disaster.
Has anyone in the UK been banned for demanding more action against illegal immigration?
A reminder, it is not illegal immigration if you are seeking asylum, no matter how much some might wish it was.
I think I’d prefer a female jack russell called Molly.
I want Brian Blessed as Head of State.
Not a good idea - look what he did in I Claudius.
(Still the best ever TV historical drama series)
Give 'The Cleopatras' a go. It's not nearly as good - but way, way under-rated in comparison.
(Also, quite a lot of nekkid - so nsfw)
The Cleopatras was on YouTube. I downloaded it all from there and watched it during covid. Amanda Boxers character met a bleak end.
Underlooked series all the same I think. It has an oddly honest focus with the floating sets. Felt more like an actual drama an Alexandrian audience would have appreciated vs. I, Claudius.
Does Jenrick get extra points amongst Tory members because he had the Disney mural painted over at the child refugee centre?
He makes my skin crawl and reminds me of that scene in Schindlers List where the commandment comes over all sweet and nice to the grannie before ........
if he is elected leader tories will be out of power for ten years.....which is exactly why they will elect him.
True , Jenrick really is the worst choice .
Yep. But he will be a disaster with the public and they will throw him out within two or three years.
Whoever leads will be the tenth since the defenestration of MrsT in 1990. In that time Labour have appointed six, one of whom of course unexpectedly died in office.
Unless they can appoint a genuine long term statesman/woman with top political nous and outstanding leadership ability who can unite the centre right, set the direction, be popular but not populist they are in very grave difficulty at a moment where the loss of 25 more seats to the LDs would put then third.
Of the 6: I would give Tugendhat and Stride an outside chance of having the relevant qualities. The others, virtually zero. For those who enjoy the show, Badenoch would be interesting, but character would tell in the end. Patel and Jenrick: no hope disasters, just awful. Cleverly: not much better. From the betting point of view, ignore all the above and DYOR. I don't see any value at the moment.
I'm surprised Patel isn't getting more cut through. I loathe her politics but she's an articulate and polite speaker who gives the impression of having a brain.
As a Cinservative party member I think the most important thing is to restore integrity and an jmpression of competence. Johnson and Truss have damaged that badly, and Sunak failed to do much to restore it. I think that rules out Patel and probably Jenrick. I like Kemi personally, but her politics are too right wing. The party needs someone more centrist to broaden its appeal.
1) Dr Weir was involved in designing the spacecraft… 2) Weyland/Yutani are involved and the crew of the ISS need to start making flamethrowers right now…
On a serious note - the comms problems on Apollo 1 before the fire were probably due to shorts in the electrical system…
Am I the only, actual working class person who posts here?
I was born to poor parents and grandparents. Somewhat ironically, my boss's boss went to the same school as my father. My father won the Maths prize at said school, boss failed it. My father had to leave at 15 to work on the roads putting tarmac down. Bosses boss, ... didn't due to wealthy parents.
Anyway, now I spaff my slightly above-average wages on slightly fancy things to stop me feeling depressed.
I'm not sure if I qualify for even Blair-era middle-class status.
Does Jenrick get extra points amongst Tory members because he had the Disney mural painted over at the child refugee centre?
He makes my skin crawl and reminds me of that scene in Schindlers List where the commandment comes over all sweet and nice to the grannie before ........
if he is elected leader tories will be out of power for ten years.....which is exactly why they will elect him.
True , Jenrick really is the worst choice .
Yep. But he will be a disaster with the public and they will throw him out within two or three years.
Whoever leads will be the tenth since the defenestration of MrsT in 1990. In that time Labour have appointed six, one of whom of course unexpectedly died in office.
Unless they can appoint a genuine long term statesman/woman with top political nous and outstanding leadership ability who can unite the centre right, set the direction, be popular but not populist they are in very grave difficulty at a moment where the loss of 25 more seats to the LDs would put then third.
Of the 6: I would give Tugendhat and Stride an outside chance of having the relevant qualities. The others, virtually zero. For those who enjoy the show, Badenoch would be interesting, but character would tell in the end. Patel and Jenrick: no hope disasters, just awful. Cleverly: not much better. From the betting point of view, ignore all the above and DYOR. I don't see any value at the moment.
I'm surprised Patel isn't getting more cut through. I loathe her politics but she's an articulate and polite speaker who gives the impression of having a brain.
Patel has more baggage than Jerry Springer, but yes, of the six Patel seems to have the best handle on the issues facing the Conservative Party.
Jerry Springer is dead. And HE didn't have ANY "baggage" that I know of, unlike many/most of his "guests".
Kindly explain what you mean OR risk having a ghost solicitor contact you in your dreams!
Does Jenrick get extra points amongst Tory members because he had the Disney mural painted over at the child refugee centre?
He makes my skin crawl and reminds me of that scene in Schindlers List where the commandment comes over all sweet and nice to the grannie before ........
if he is elected leader tories will be out of power for ten years.....which is exactly why they will elect him.
True , Jenrick really is the worst choice .
Yep. But he will be a disaster with the public and they will throw him out within two or three years.
Whoever leads will be the tenth since the defenestration of MrsT in 1990. In that time Labour have appointed six, one of whom of course unexpectedly died in office.
Unless they can appoint a genuine long term statesman/woman with top political nous and outstanding leadership ability who can unite the centre right, set the direction, be popular but not populist they are in very grave difficulty at a moment where the loss of 25 more seats to the LDs would put then third.
Of the 6: I would give Tugendhat and Stride an outside chance of having the relevant qualities. The others, virtually zero. For those who enjoy the show, Badenoch would be interesting, but character would tell in the end. Patel and Jenrick: no hope disasters, just awful. Cleverly: not much better. From the betting point of view, ignore all the above and DYOR. I don't see any value at the moment.
I'm surprised Patel isn't getting more cut through. I loathe her politics but she's an articulate and polite speaker who gives the impression of having a brain.
Patel has more baggage than Jerry Springer, but yes, of the six Patel seems to have the best handle on the issues facing the Conservative Party.
Jerry Springer is dead. And HE didn't have ANY "baggage" that I know of, unlike many/most of his "guests".
Kindly explain what you mean OR risk having a ghost solicitor contact you in your dreams!
On topic, the time we become a Republic is when a truly useless heir to the throne takes over. It's a lottery, and only a matter of time before another Prince Andrew is first born. It isn't 1688 where we import a distant relative from the Netherlands.
A Monarchy kept in power via apathy and doing nothing remotely interesting is inherently an unstable genetic losing bet.
Andrew was never heir anyway. Second borns are often rebels and do their own thing, Harry as much as Andrew. First borns are trained for the job from birth. In any case William and Kate's children and grandchildren will carry the job on and well. If any aberrations the Accession Council of course has to approve a new monarchy anyway.
Once William succeeds Charles the monarchy will be much more interesting and glamorous again, for starters as they are younger, better looking and more glamorous than Charles and Camilla and William is Diana's son. That is what is needed in 21st century British monarchy a British JFK and Jackie while the monarchy no longer does any of the unpopular decision making they had to take a few centuries ago, leaving decisions on tax and spending rates, immigration, going to war, new homes etc to elected party politicians. The head of state should be above party politics and politicians in my view and that is why constitutional monarchy works
Does Jenrick get extra points amongst Tory members because he had the Disney mural painted over at the child refugee centre?
He makes my skin crawl and reminds me of that scene in Schindlers List where the commandment comes over all sweet and nice to the grannie before ........
if he is elected leader tories will be out of power for ten years.....which is exactly why they will elect him.
True , Jenrick really is the worst choice .
Yep. But he will be a disaster with the public and they will throw him out within two or three years.
Whoever leads will be the tenth since the defenestration of MrsT in 1990. In that time Labour have appointed six, one of whom of course unexpectedly died in office.
Unless they can appoint a genuine long term statesman/woman with top political nous and outstanding leadership ability who can unite the centre right, set the direction, be popular but not populist they are in very grave difficulty at a moment where the loss of 25 more seats to the LDs would put then third.
Of the 6: I would give Tugendhat and Stride an outside chance of having the relevant qualities. The others, virtually zero. For those who enjoy the show, Badenoch would be interesting, but character would tell in the end. Patel and Jenrick: no hope disasters, just awful. Cleverly: not much better. From the betting point of view, ignore all the above and DYOR. I don't see any value at the moment.
I'm surprised Patel isn't getting more cut through. I loathe her politics but she's an articulate and polite speaker who gives the impression of having a brain.
Patel has more baggage than Jerry Springer, but yes, of the six Patel seems to have the best handle on the issues facing the Conservative Party.
Jerry Springer is dead. And HE didn't have ANY "baggage" that I know of, unlike many/most of his "guests".
Kindly explain what you mean OR risk having a ghost solicitor contact you in your dreams!
Does Jenrick get extra points amongst Tory members because he had the Disney mural painted over at the child refugee centre?
He makes my skin crawl and reminds me of that scene in Schindlers List where the commandment comes over all sweet and nice to the grannie before ........
if he is elected leader tories will be out of power for ten years.....which is exactly why they will elect him.
True , Jenrick really is the worst choice .
Yep. But he will be a disaster with the public and they will throw him out within two or three years.
Whoever leads will be the tenth since the defenestration of MrsT in 1990. In that time Labour have appointed six, one of whom of course unexpectedly died in office.
Unless they can appoint a genuine long term statesman/woman with top political nous and outstanding leadership ability who can unite the centre right, set the direction, be popular but not populist they are in very grave difficulty at a moment where the loss of 25 more seats to the LDs would put then third.
Of the 6: I would give Tugendhat and Stride an outside chance of having the relevant qualities. The others, virtually zero. For those who enjoy the show, Badenoch would be interesting, but character would tell in the end. Patel and Jenrick: no hope disasters, just awful. Cleverly: not much better. From the betting point of view, ignore all the above and DYOR. I don't see any value at the moment.
I'm surprised Patel isn't getting more cut through. I loathe her politics but she's an articulate and polite speaker who gives the impression of having a brain.
As a Cinservative party member I think the most important thing is to restore integrity and an jmpression of competence. Johnson and Truss have damaged that badly, and Sunak failed to do much to restore it. I think that rules out Patel and probably Jenrick. I like Kemi personally, but her politics are too right wing. The party needs someone more centrist to broaden its appeal.
Except on today's BMG poll Labour is already down to 30% ie Ed Miliband 2015 levels not Blair 43% 1997 levels and the LDs are on 11% also below the 16% they got in 1997. So there aren't that many more centrists in Labour or the LDs left for the Tories to squeeze who might consider voting Tory again.
Reform by contrast are on 19% and most of the leakage at the general election was Tory to the even further right party of Farage not to Labour and the LDs
Does Jenrick get extra points amongst Tory members because he had the Disney mural painted over at the child refugee centre?
He makes my skin crawl and reminds me of that scene in Schindlers List where the commandment comes over all sweet and nice to the grannie before ........
if he is elected leader tories will be out of power for ten years.....which is exactly why they will elect him.
True , Jenrick really is the worst choice .
Yep. But he will be a disaster with the public and they will throw him out within two or three years.
Whoever leads will be the tenth since the defenestration of MrsT in 1990. In that time Labour have appointed six, one of whom of course unexpectedly died in office.
Unless they can appoint a genuine long term statesman/woman with top political nous and outstanding leadership ability who can unite the centre right, set the direction, be popular but not populist they are in very grave difficulty at a moment where the loss of 25 more seats to the LDs would put then third.
Of the 6: I would give Tugendhat and Stride an outside chance of having the relevant qualities. The others, virtually zero. For those who enjoy the show, Badenoch would be interesting, but character would tell in the end. Patel and Jenrick: no hope disasters, just awful. Cleverly: not much better. From the betting point of view, ignore all the above and DYOR. I don't see any value at the moment.
I'm surprised Patel isn't getting more cut through. I loathe her politics but she's an articulate and polite speaker who gives the impression of having a brain.
Patel has more baggage than Jerry Springer, but yes, of the six Patel seems to have the best handle on the issues facing the Conservative Party.
Jerry Springer is dead. And HE didn't have ANY "baggage" that I know of, unlike many/most of his "guests".
Kindly explain what you mean OR risk having a ghost solicitor contact you in your dreams!
Jerry Springer had a game show called Baggage which involved suitcases and trying to get the other contestants to admit embarrassing things while trying to date them. Bit vague on the details...
This is more like it! Mountains (well, hills) at last....
Colorado? Plenty to see there, not just that miniature village with dog for scale.
Yes, Colorado at last.
I ended enjoying driving Nebraska more than Iowa. Both are fairly flat but Iowa is rolling such that you can't often see beyond a farm on either side, and if the crops are high you can't even see the farm. Being rolling, every hump in the road offers the possibility of a state trooper or sheriff the other side, such that pushing the speed needs concentration.
Nebraska is properly flat, and while there is still nothing to look at, you can look out for miles over nothing, with distant vistas rather like driving through northern France. And being flat offers the patrol cars far fewer places to conceal themselves.
Out here on the main roads, hardly anyone sticks to the speed limit and without cameras we drivers have the safety of wildebeest as the troopers try and pick off the odd lame passer by. It's hard to believe that they recover their staff and ancillary costs in a day. Cameras would make them a fortune, but then of course cameras wouldn't enable them to pick only the out of state registered vehicles...
Does Jenrick get extra points amongst Tory members because he had the Disney mural painted over at the child refugee centre?
He makes my skin crawl and reminds me of that scene in Schindlers List where the commandment comes over all sweet and nice to the grannie before ........
if he is elected leader tories will be out of power for ten years.....which is exactly why they will elect him.
True , Jenrick really is the worst choice .
Yep. But he will be a disaster with the public and they will throw him out within two or three years.
This is more like it! Mountains (well, hills) at last....
Colorado? Plenty to see there, not just that miniature village with dog for scale.
Yes, Colorado at last.
I ended enjoying driving Nebraska more than Iowa. Both are fairly flat but Iowa is rolling such that you can't often see beyond a farm on either side, and if the crops are high you can't even see the farm. Being rolling, every hump in the road offers the possibility of a state trooper or sheriff the other side, such that pushing the speed needs concentration.
Nebraska is properly flat, and while there is still nothing to look at, you can look out for miles over nothing, with distant vistas rather like driving through northern France. And being flat offers the patrol cars far fewer places to conceal themselves.
Out here on the main roads, hardly anyone sticks to the speed limit and without cameras we drivers have the safety of wildebeest as the troopers try and pick off the odd lame passer by. It's hard to believe that they recover their staff and ancillary costs in a day. Cameras would make them a fortune, but then of course cameras wouldn't enable them to pick only the out of state registered vehicles...
Go to NORAD and the Cheyenne Mountain Complex (yes I know it's moved to Peterson SFB). Ask to see the Stargate. I'm sure they'll be polite.
@hyufd I was in your part of the world on Friday. On my trip to our Southwold house I popped into a place near Epping that sells replica Cobras and GT40s. Thought I had been to Epping in the dim and distant past, but I had no recollection.
@Dura_Ace will be lived I am looking at them. He has filled a quarry with Panthers to ensure I don't buy one of them. He now has to move onto Cobras. I would love a GT40 but realistically you can't take it to the pub.
Sorry for the delayed response. I had to wait for a new keyboard from Amazon as I smashed mine in a fit of rage.
So, let's get started.
FUCKING WHY?
Cobra replicas are inauthentic, ubiquitous and terrible cars made by depressed men in sheds from eclectic combinations of Jaguar bits and various antique V8s with the 298ci Rover V8 being the absolute nadir. The end result is invariably a shoddy and dangerous abomination that will leave you stranded on the side of the road with the inevitable over-heating (every single one of them runs hot, get proficient at gutting thermostats) or kill you in an uncommanded spin.
It's got the S54 which is one of the best engines ever built. It's fast but won't kill you in a moment of inattention and you can get parts/repairs for it quite easily. This one needs a paint correction, new headlights and the interior's a bit tired but it's a good buy. You'd get it for 11 bags of sand with hard bargaining.
Do you think it is acceptable or unacceptable for Keir Starmer to have had the portrait of Margaret Thatcher removed from her former study in Downing Street?
Partly for itself, but also for the bits of the system that cease to happen if schools can't be judged RI or Inadequate.
A start.
Now to reinstate the mandatory training they’ve not been doing because Spielman’s such a dork, put basic safeguarding protocols in place and to get rid of the cataclysmic curriculum framework and they can start doing a decent job again.
They may need to hive off other roles and have a name change too before anyone will listen to them though.
Wasn't the issue that schools rated good or outstanding had reduced inspection schedules, so a drop from Outstanding to Inadequate was possible in one jump? Hiring more inspectors and going back to regular inspections would result in smoother, less embarassing downgrades?
That was an issue but not the important one. The important one was that any school rated ‘inadequate’ on safeguarding had to, by law, be placed in an academy chain.
So at Caversham some errors in the paperwork - which should not have been there but were not serious and would have taken maybe a day to correct - gave an excuse for the school to be merged into a local academy chain which would have meant the SLT were all sacked. This is something they had been resisting for a while and this was intended to be used an excuse to get past their resistance. (It also happened at a school in Leeds about a year before.)
Interestingly from what I hear, although he shouldn’t be doing inspections for other reasons I can’t discuss Alan Derry does *not* appear to have recommended a 4 at Caversham. He was overruled by the centre.
Ruth Perry’s suicide meant this plan was hurriedly abandoned and the school - having made almost no changes - was reinspected and graded ‘good.’
That tells me all I need to know about what happened and why, and is pretty disgusting, particularly when compounded by the perjury of senior Ofsted figures at the inquest, after which the DfE finally admitted despite earlier denials that it has been controlling and using Ofsted for years.
That may be eliminated with this new system, but the damage done to Ofsted’s reputation is probably irreversible.
Am I the only, actual working class person who posts here?
No, there are a few of us. Not many I think but certainly a few.
I’ll never write have much in life but I’m quite happy.
The obsession with beingʻ working class and comingbfrom a poor background to prove yourself is getting very boring. So many in the media trying to do a poor Yorkshireman to prove their worth.
Wasn't the issue that schools rated good or outstanding had reduced inspection schedules, so a drop from Outstanding to Inadequate was possible in one jump? Hiring more inspectors and going back to regular inspections would result in smoother, less embarassing downgrades?
That was an issue but not the important one. The important one was that any school rated ‘inadequate’ on safeguarding had to, by law, be placed in an academy chain.
So at Caversham some errors in the paperwork - which should not have been there but were not serious and would have taken maybe a day to correct - gave an excuse for the school to be merged into a local academy chain which would have meant the SLT were all sacked. This is something they had been resisting for a while and this was intended to be used an excuse to get past their resistance. (It also happened at a school in Leeds about a year before.)
Interestingly from what I hear, although he shouldn’t be doing inspections for other reasons I can’t discuss Alan Derry does *not* appear to have recommended a 4 at Caversham. He was overruled by the centre.
Ruth Perry’s suicide meant this plan was hurriedly abandoned and the school - having made almost no changes - was reinspected and graded ‘good.’
That tells me all I need to know about what happened and why, and is pretty disgusting, particularly when compounded by the perjury of senior Ofsted figures at the inquest, after which the DfE finally admitted despite earlier denials that it has been controlling and using Ofsted for years.
That may be eliminated with this new system, but the damage done to Ofsted’s reputation is probably irreversible.
If these people have perjured themselves, and I’m not disputing what you say, where are the consequences for such behaviour ?
It turns out PBers boring us with their place in the Oasis queue were in fact commenting on the biggest politics story of the day.
Enjoyed the tales of people being altF4 trolled on twitter. Mugs.
For non-techies, the alt-F4 key combination closes the browser window in which they were queueing. Imo a cruel trick to play on middle-agers nostalgic for Oasis' (not Oasis's) special brand of unoriginal Beatles/Slade mash-ups.
Indeed who are the 26% other than Farage and his right wing dinosaurs
If that 26% represents Reform's ceiling, that's an awful lot of voters that Farage could pick up.
Remember the polling from the election - there were only marginal differences between Conservatives, Lib Dems and Labour voters on issues such as Trump, with Reform voters way out on the fringe.
I don't know what others who may know better think, but one telltale is that UKIP received 12.6% (624 candidates) at the 2015 General Election. That is not that much different from the Reform vote share of 14.2% (609 candidates) in 2024.
We can ddd in that some of the prominent Right of the Tory Party, such as Liz Truss when I last heard, are still advocating for Trump - for reasons that completely escapes me.
Then we can also add that the reality of Trump's behaviour, history, views and psychopathy has been even slower reaching teh public here than in the USA.
And I think that 26% is reachable for the "prefer Trump" number.
As for Reform's ceiling, I think 26% would need quite a bit to break off from the Tories, but that they are also after the working class 'patriotic' vote, whether driven by beliefs, manufactured fear, or faked up narratives.
Wasn't the issue that schools rated good or outstanding had reduced inspection schedules, so a drop from Outstanding to Inadequate was possible in one jump? Hiring more inspectors and going back to regular inspections would result in smoother, less embarassing downgrades?
That was an issue but not the important one. The important one was that any school rated ‘inadequate’ on safeguarding had to, by law, be placed in an academy chain.
So at Caversham some errors in the paperwork - which should not have been there but were not serious and would have taken maybe a day to correct - gave an excuse for the school to be merged into a local academy chain which would have meant the SLT were all sacked. This is something they had been resisting for a while and this was intended to be used an excuse to get past their resistance. (It also happened at a school in Leeds about a year before.)
Interestingly from what I hear, although he shouldn’t be doing inspections for other reasons I can’t discuss Alan Derry does *not* appear to have recommended a 4 at Caversham. He was overruled by the centre.
Ruth Perry’s suicide meant this plan was hurriedly abandoned and the school - having made almost no changes - was reinspected and graded ‘good.’
That tells me all I need to know about what happened and why, and is pretty disgusting, particularly when compounded by the perjury of senior Ofsted figures at the inquest, after which the DfE finally admitted despite earlier denials that it has been controlling and using Ofsted for years.
That may be eliminated with this new system, but the damage done to Ofsted’s reputation is probably irreversible.
If these people have perjured themselves, and I’m not disputing what you say, where are the consequences for such behaviour ?
No consequences for the #Nu10k, except maybe a special conference they can all pocket £800 for attending.
Wasn't the issue that schools rated good or outstanding had reduced inspection schedules, so a drop from Outstanding to Inadequate was possible in one jump? Hiring more inspectors and going back to regular inspections would result in smoother, less embarassing downgrades?
That was an issue but not the important one. The important one was that any school rated ‘inadequate’ on safeguarding had to, by law, be placed in an academy chain.
So at Caversham some errors in the paperwork - which should not have been there but were not serious and would have taken maybe a day to correct - gave an excuse for the school to be merged into a local academy chain which would have meant the SLT were all sacked. This is something they had been resisting for a while and this was intended to be used an excuse to get past their resistance. (It also happened at a school in Leeds about a year before.)
Interestingly from what I hear, although he shouldn’t be doing inspections for other reasons I can’t discuss Alan Derry does *not* appear to have recommended a 4 at Caversham. He was overruled by the centre.
Ruth Perry’s suicide meant this plan was hurriedly abandoned and the school - having made almost no changes - was reinspected and graded ‘good.’
That tells me all I need to know about what happened and why, and is pretty disgusting, particularly when compounded by the perjury of senior Ofsted figures at the inquest, after which the DfE finally admitted despite earlier denials that it has been controlling and using Ofsted for years.
That may be eliminated with this new system, but the damage done to Ofsted’s reputation is probably irreversible.
If these people have perjured themselves, and I’m not disputing what you say, where are the consequences for such behaviour ?
Wasn't the issue that schools rated good or outstanding had reduced inspection schedules, so a drop from Outstanding to Inadequate was possible in one jump? Hiring more inspectors and going back to regular inspections would result in smoother, less embarassing downgrades?
That was an issue but not the important one. The important one was that any school rated ‘inadequate’ on safeguarding had to, by law, be placed in an academy chain.
So at Caversham some errors in the paperwork - which should not have been there but were not serious and would have taken maybe a day to correct - gave an excuse for the school to be merged into a local academy chain which would have meant the SLT were all sacked. This is something they had been resisting for a while and this was intended to be used an excuse to get past their resistance. (It also happened at a school in Leeds about a year before.)
Interestingly from what I hear, although he shouldn’t be doing inspections for other reasons I can’t discuss Alan Derry does *not* appear to have recommended a 4 at Caversham. He was overruled by the centre.
Ruth Perry’s suicide meant this plan was hurriedly abandoned and the school - having made almost no changes - was reinspected and graded ‘good.’
That tells me all I need to know about what happened and why, and is pretty disgusting, particularly when compounded by the perjury of senior Ofsted figures at the inquest, after which the DfE finally admitted despite earlier denials that it has been controlling and using Ofsted for years.
That may be eliminated with this new system, but the damage done to Ofsted’s reputation is probably irreversible.
Something seems to have gone wrong at Caversham so it probably isn't a good example to use, but I find it strange that Ofsted reports seem to come as a surprise. Shouldn't the HT already know they are running a failing school, and be doing something about it?
An acquaintance made the Telegraph this morning, with what is actually a decent story of how supermarkets (M&S here) don't think or consult before doing their interventions to make life greener.
M&S threatened with legal action over eco-fridges Supermarket aims to reduce energy bills by up to a third with new doors that wheelchair user claims are too high for her to reach https://archive.ph/fYdg0
M&S putting doors on food cabinets and low shelves in front that prevent wheelchair users doing their shopping.
From my skeptical view I think the Telegrunt is perhaps interested in trying to feed a "green practices" vs "disabled people" narrative. In reality it's about M&S not consulting properly, and only taking notice once a legal action comes in - just like many organisations still stuck in the stone age.
Others get it right; so can M&S. 30 years after this stuff became a legal requirement, this is not good enough. There's this thing called the Purple Pound they need to hear about.
Here's Flick's twitter thread from early June, and my photo quota.: Disabled by @marksandspencer yet again ‼️ Now I can no longer shop independently because the chiller cabinet doors pull toward you & these ridiculous racks at the base get caught on wheels & prevent you getting close enough to reach handles let alone food inside https://x.com/flickhwilliams/status/1797533326271775015
Am I the only, actual working class person who posts here?
No, there are a few of us. Not many I think but certainly a few.
I’ll never write have much in life but I’m quite happy.
The obsession with beingʻ working class and comingbfrom a poor background to prove yourself is getting very boring. So many in the media trying to do a poor Yorkshireman to prove their worth.
It is quite characteristic of modern times how people present their class origins:
The paralympics triathlon on Channel 4 atm is fun.
Their swim times are about half my swim time, for the same distance, and despite their disabilities, and the fact they need to use their arms for the cycle and run (wheelchair).
There are different races for different categories all morning.
It is interesting to watch the progressive rise in support for an elected head of state since King Charles assumed the throne. While the monarchy currently has a sizable majority, it's important examining how public mood may change over time, particularly as generations move.
Comments
My Dad gives me wine for walking his dog on my days off
My mum aways wants to feed me, I let her do it on Sundays
They do go to Sandbanks, but that doesn't stop me being a fucking-hard-working class postie
It certainly seems to indicate the importance of generations of exposure to tradition in forming attitudes.
Republicans against Trump
@RpsAgainstTrump
Former Trump WH Comms Director @Scaramucci:
"Nobody wants [Harris] to win more than me, Maybe Melania Trump. That could be the only person I think of. Because she hates [Trump]...
I've met one person that actually hates Trump more than Melania, that's General Milley. He's the only guy I've met so far that actually hates him more than Melania"
In an interview with the German newspaper “Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung”, the German politician Sahra Wagenknecht demands more action against illegal migration in Germany. In the interview, she claims that every second immigrant who comes to Germany does not have a right to protection but can nonetheless stay in the country and receive social benefits.
This was one of her controversial speeches and also factually incorrect. Note she used the word immigrant and not asylum seeker. It could be argued she was race baiting.
In Thuringia 2014 AFD had 10% in 2019 23.4% and now in 2024 they have 33.5%.
The most striking change is amongst the young. Jn the 18-30 age group the AFD got 36%. If we can assume that this was more male than female you can get to close to 50% of fighting age men voting AFD. This makes it hard for the authorities as many in the police are strong supporters of AFD as are the army. See recent issues with KSK.
I have noticed that the so called far right are following the same play book across Europe. They are very focussed on taking control. Meloni is the poster child of the patriotic right and has a popularity rating way above Starmer / Olaf / Macron. The attempts to close down free speech, expand the public sector and manipulate democracy by the parties on the left in my mind are a long term disaster.
A postie is a working class job, but from what you've said of your background I don't think your upbringing was typically working class? But who among us is genuinely typical of our class, whatever that is? Feeling a bit of an outsider is the human condition, I think.
A Monarchy kept in power via apathy and doing nothing remotely interesting is inherently an unstable genetic losing bet.
Edit yes AfD up 10% in Thüringen, my mistake.
I think that rules out Patel and probably Jenrick. I like Kemi personally, but her politics are too right wing. The party needs someone more centrist to broaden its appeal.
The Boeing Starliner capsule which is so shit that it is being sent back to Earth empty, is making odd noises
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/09/starliners-speaker-began-emitting-strange-sonar-noises-on-saturday/
The Ars comment community is divided on the issue
1) Dr Weir was involved in designing the spacecraft…
2) Weyland/Yutani are involved and the crew of the ISS need to start making flamethrowers right now…
On a serious note - the comms problems on Apollo 1 before the fire were probably due to shorts in the electrical system…
Anyway, now I spaff my slightly above-average wages on slightly fancy things to stop me feeling depressed.
I'm not sure if I qualify for even Blair-era middle-class status.
Progress!
Kindly explain what you mean OR risk having a ghost solicitor contact you in your dreams!
Outstanding performance 👍
GN all
Once William succeeds Charles the monarchy will be much more interesting and glamorous again, for starters as they are younger, better looking and more glamorous than Charles and Camilla and William is Diana's son. That is what is needed in 21st century British monarchy a British JFK and Jackie while the monarchy no longer does any of the unpopular decision making they had to take a few centuries ago, leaving decisions on tax and spending rates, immigration, going to war, new homes etc to elected party politicians. The head of state should be above party politics and politicians in my view and that is why constitutional monarchy works
Reform by contrast are on 19% and most of the leakage at the general election was Tory to the even further right party of Farage not to Labour and the LDs
I ended enjoying driving Nebraska more than Iowa. Both are fairly flat but Iowa is rolling such that you can't often see beyond a farm on either side, and if the crops are high you can't even see the farm. Being rolling, every hump in the road offers the possibility of a state trooper or sheriff the other side, such that pushing the speed needs concentration.
Nebraska is properly flat, and while there is still nothing to look at, you can look out for miles over nothing, with distant vistas rather like driving through northern France. And being flat offers the patrol cars far fewer places to conceal themselves.
Out here on the main roads, hardly anyone sticks to the speed limit and without cameras we drivers have the safety of wildebeest as the troopers try and pick off the odd lame passer by. It's hard to believe that they recover their staff and ancillary costs in a day. Cameras would make them a fortune, but then of course cameras wouldn't enable them to pick only the out of state registered vehicles...
So, let's get started.
FUCKING WHY?
Cobra replicas are inauthentic, ubiquitous and terrible cars made by depressed men in sheds from eclectic combinations of Jaguar bits and various antique V8s with the 298ci Rover V8 being the absolute nadir. The end result is invariably a shoddy and dangerous abomination that will leave you stranded on the side of the road with the inevitable over-heating (every single one of them runs hot, get proficient at gutting thermostats) or kill you in an uncommanded spin.
They are not even that cheap any more.
If you want open air thrills then get this.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306198690098
It's got the S54 which is one of the best engines ever built. It's fast but won't kill you in a moment of inattention and you can get parts/repairs for it quite easily. This one needs a paint correction, new headlights and the interior's a bit tired but it's a good buy. You'd get it for 11 bags of sand with hard bargaining.
Now to reinstate the mandatory training they’ve not been doing because Spielman’s such a dork, put basic safeguarding protocols in place and to get rid of the cataclysmic curriculum framework and they can start doing a decent job again.
They may need to hive off other roles and have a name change too before anyone will listen to them though.
So at Caversham some errors in the paperwork - which should not have been there but were not serious and would have taken maybe a day to correct - gave an excuse for the school to be merged into a local academy chain which would have meant the SLT were all sacked. This is something they had been resisting for a while and this was intended to be used an excuse to get past their resistance. (It also happened at a school in Leeds about a year before.)
Interestingly from what I hear, although he shouldn’t be doing inspections for other reasons I can’t discuss Alan Derry does *not* appear to have recommended a 4 at Caversham. He was overruled by the centre.
Ruth Perry’s suicide meant this plan was hurriedly abandoned and the school - having made almost no changes - was reinspected and graded ‘good.’
That tells me all I need to know about what happened and why, and is pretty disgusting, particularly when compounded by the perjury of senior Ofsted figures at the inquest, after which the DfE finally admitted despite earlier denials that it has been controlling and using Ofsted for years.
That may be eliminated with this new system, but the damage done to Ofsted’s reputation is probably irreversible.
I’ll never write have much in life but I’m quite happy.
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-08-31/oasis-concert-tickets-2025-general-sale
It turns out PBers boring us with their place in the Oasis queue were in fact commenting on the biggest politics story of the day.
is that UKIP received 12.6% (624 candidates) at the 2015 General Election. That is not that much different from the Reform vote share of 14.2% (609 candidates) in 2024.
We can ddd in that some of the prominent Right of the Tory Party, such as Liz Truss when I last heard, are still advocating for Trump - for reasons that completely escapes me.
Then we can also add that the reality of Trump's behaviour, history, views and psychopathy has been even slower reaching teh public here than in the USA.
And I think that 26% is reachable for the "prefer Trump" number.
As for Reform's ceiling, I think 26% would need quite a bit to break off from the Tories, but that they are also after the working class 'patriotic' vote, whether driven by beliefs, manufactured fear, or faked up narratives.
NEW THREAD
So fuck em.
An acquaintance made the Telegraph this morning, with what is actually a decent story of how supermarkets (M&S here) don't think or consult before doing their interventions to make life greener.
M&S threatened with legal action over eco-fridges
Supermarket aims to reduce energy bills by up to a third with new doors that wheelchair user claims are too high for her to reach
https://archive.ph/fYdg0
M&S putting doors on food cabinets and low shelves in front that prevent wheelchair users doing their shopping.
From my skeptical view I think the Telegrunt is perhaps interested in trying to feed a "green practices" vs "disabled people" narrative. In reality it's about M&S not consulting properly, and only taking notice once a legal action comes in - just like many organisations still stuck in the stone age.
Others get it right; so can M&S. 30 years after this stuff became a legal requirement, this is not good enough. There's this thing called the Purple Pound they need to hear about.
Here's Flick's twitter thread from early June, and my photo quota.:
Disabled by @marksandspencer yet again ‼️ Now I can no longer shop independently because the chiller cabinet doors pull toward you & these ridiculous racks at the base get caught on wheels & prevent you getting close enough to reach handles let alone food inside
https://x.com/flickhwilliams/status/1797533326271775015
https://bsky.app/profile/samfr.bsky.social/post/3l2yrwcummn2q
Their swim times are about half my swim time, for the same distance, and despite their disabilities, and the fact they need to use their arms for the cycle and run (wheelchair).
There are different races for different categories all morning.
F1; got to love Stroll getting 1s behind Ocon, ahead of Gasly, Tsunoda out, the Canadian's much faster, and then he pits. ...
I don't think it does blow-dry, or your dog could come out looking like a pompom.
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/14385922.dog-owners-joy-at-new-dog-washing-machine-in-sandbanks/
It is interesting to watch the progressive rise in support for an elected head of state since King Charles assumed the throne. While the monarchy currently has a sizable majority, it's important examining how public mood may change over time, particularly as generations move.