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Gone but not forgotten – politicalbetting.com
Gone but not forgotten – politicalbetting.com
Today is the second anniversary of the end of the premiership of Liz Truss. I am very fond of Liz Truss and her tenure as Prime Minister because her resignation allowed me to win £500.
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Starmer says, "hold my coat" ...
(The only King of Scots with a shorter reign was Duncan II in 1094, who lasted seven months.)
Radiohead have several records worse than Liz Truss
Can PB mods ban each other?
“The Brics countries are now a larger part of the global economy than the G7 countries. According to EY, Brics makes up around 36.7% of the global economy on a purchasing power parity basis while the G7 makes up only 27.5%.”
https://unherd.com/newsroom/brics-pay-threatens-the-western-financial-system/
It was noticeable yesterday mainstream labour figures like Harriet Harman, Ayesha Hazarika and Paul Mason all came out in favour of reparative justice for our past. Caroline Flint said this morning on GMB they wouldn't get all the money they were demanding as it was 6 times our GDP but didn't rule anything else out.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/24/uk-open-to-discussing-non-cash-forms-of-reparatory-justice-for-former-colonies
It was also interesting to see here that your sparring partner, Kinabalu, and that cash obsessive Anabobs, were claiming this was a debate driven by angry right wingers. The running in this debate and in the media is from the left and those supporting reparatory justice. Those opposing it are just responding to the shakedown.
I forget the precise figure but did back (and tip) her to go that year at about 41. It was right after the Budget.
Though if you weren't already at gunpoint before you went to either of those cities, you may well be at least once before you leave ...
From that point she was the ‘local candidate’ whilst the other candidate was a carpet bagging failed candidate elsewhere (she herself had recently stood in another by election).
Every leaflet had a picture of a very dodgy bar chart implying that only lib dems could beat the tories, they even put a map of how far away she lived from the ward and how far away the con lived. They both lived more of less the same distance away but they used a large head figure for both candidates and placed one appearing it was in the ward by offsetting the proximity from where they actually lived, and exaggerated the distance for the other candidate by doing the opposite.
Remember, both candidate didn’t live in the ward and both lived more or less the same distance from the ward.
Repeated canvassing responses was “I’m voting for the local candidate this time”.
They will put out more leaflets, knock on more doors, and will say and do anything they think will give them an extra vote.
Whist cons might just put out a single main leaflet, a letter to voters and a minimal get out the vote on the day.
John F. Kennedy & More Now Live!
I feel a bit sorry for Sunak. If the Conservative party membership had chosen him instead I think his Premiership would have been different but it was constantly overshadowed by the Truss fiasco. And now the members are being given another second or even third rate choice. The future existence of the Tories as a major player in UK politics is by no means assured.
The bit they can't replicate is the LD activists: they are remarkably resilient at pedantically and relentlessly pounding the streets for their pointless party, and they never give up - despite never going anywhere or achieving anything. Ever.
It takes a certain sort of obsessive and dedicated person, and it's hard for the grey rinse brigade to replicate that. And I could never be arsed.
Lord Blunkett warns that plans to add national insurance to employers’ pension contributions are ‘very worrying’ in a letter to The Times
Rachel Reeves has been warned by the Labour grandee Lord Blunkett that imposing national insurance on employers’ pension contributions risks damaging people’s standard of living in their retirement.
The chancellor is expected to use her budget on October 30 to announce plans to impose national insurance on employers’ pension contributions as she seeks to balance the books. The measure is expected to raise about £15 billion.
Blunkett, a former work and pensions secretary, said the move was “very worrying” because it could lead to employers reducing pension contributions. He said that he would “advise strongly against this”.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/reevess-pensions-tax-raid-will-erode-living-standards-pzct7k7td
Unless we man up and recognise we're in a new age of hard power politics of iron and fire we'll be eaten alive and end up a vassal stage with less freedom and less prosperity.
He's such a fucking dickhead. Sir Sheer Wanker.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YbcoC6hjxMY
ETA it probably also shows why Trump is winning (or why Kamala is: tbc after bonfire night).
Liz Truss being forgotten at the races (Glorious Goodwood, beginning of August)
https://x.com/i/status/1819321750846394841
(45-second video)
You: Knocks on Sir Keir’s office door “Sir Keir, got a moment? I wanted to talk about my pay…”
Sir Keir: “Ah, yes, yes, I was expecting this. But I’ll be honest, times are tough, and we’ve really got to manage our finances—”
You: “Look, I think a 25% raise would really help cover everything going up, you know?”
Sir Keir: “Twenty...twenty-five? Right, well, look—now, that's a substantial figure. You understand, these things require careful deliberation, balancing budgets, weighing priorities…”
You: Nods earnestly “Of course, I get it. But with inflation and everything, that 25% is really just to keep up.”
Sir Keir: Sighs, shifting uncomfortably “Alright, look, perhaps we could consider… perhaps... a modest increase, say… let’s talk about… 18%?”
You: “Twenty-four.”
Sir Keir: Pauses, blinking “Twenty-four? Really, I—ah, well, when you put it like that… there are arguments, certainly… but—”
You: Smiling “Great. And honestly, 25% was where we started the conversation, right?”
Sir Keir: “Yes, quite, though… it’s… just. Alright, 25%, yes, if it really is essential. But really—”
You: “Oh, don’t worry, it absolutely is. I appreciate your flexibility, Sir Keir. And could we also consider upgrading my office?”
Sir Keir: “Upgrading... now, look, I don’t want to set a precedent for endless—”
You: “It’s just a small upgrade.”
Sir Keir: Long pause “…Yes. Alright, just… just a few upgrades.”
You: “And—”
Sir Keir: Already exhausted “Yes, yes, whatever it is, fine. Just let me… I don’t suppose this will ever come up in a budget meeting?”
But they're not really a thing, given the deep rivalry between China - which has the financial clout to underwrite an alternate currency block - and India.
In the case above the Tory candidate managed to put together half a dozen activists and did actually match the liberals leaflet for leaflet and comfortably won. But if they hadn’t the local cons would have woke up on Friday morning wondering why they lost a seat that had always voted for them in droves with minimum of effort.
WSJ reveals that Russia has been providing targeting data to the Houthis for their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Data was passed through members of Iran's IRGC who are embedded with the Houthis.
https://x.com/KareemRifai/status/1849535436017848643
They are doing everything possible to encourage a rapid revival.
@BlueATLGeorgia
Breaking: Elon Musk has reportedly been having secret conversations with Vladimir Putin.
https://x.com/BlueATLGeorgia/status/1849643207904133407
@michaelsobolik
Good grief.
Putin asked Musk to deny Starlink services to Taiwan as a favor to Xi Jinping.
@elonmusk’s parroting of CCP propaganda about Taiwan takes on an even darker dimension…
https://x.com/michaelsobolik/status/1849625929288487239
Vlad and Don go back years.
But it is pretty. Hida furakawa in the Japanese alps
The Chinese are going to be in a strong position in the trade war with Trumpistan too.
I hadn't really considered the Venn diagram of Bond villains raised in Apartheid South Africa and KGB hardman fanbois.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/starmer-will-come-around-to-apology-and-cash-for-former-colonies/ar-AA1sNPR5?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=7aeb9819f3a04682a0f92c23e4e817ac&ei=10
A pessimist knows that it can.
So basically Elon Musk is a traitor working with America's enemies, he's also the main funder and proponent of Donald Trump's campaign, and he controls a bunch of our communications and national security infrastructure. And is the richest guy on earth, to boot. Seems bad
Pres:
Trump (R): 50%
Harris (D): 43%
Senate:
Brown (D): 47%
Moreno (R): 45%
Bowling Green U. / Oct 21, 2024 / n=1000
https://x.com/USA_Polling/status/1849619234168738298
https://youtu.be/f_vbAtFSEc0?feature=shared
Who thought that 267 might be close to a good score from England.
Far too many lefties see everything that is wrong in the world as being our fault. It's a self-hatred that acknowledges all our sins, but ignores or diminishes any good we have done.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c238kv8ddeyo
We're approaching this all wrong, as usual given the current dire government.
If you're defending, you're losing.
We need to go on the attack, explain how much our former colonies benefited from British rule, and show how much they owe us for the benefits we bestowed. Compare Hong Kong to China at independence, for example.
A generation or two ago, this wouldn't even be debatable. It's only the change in intellectual fashion that have even brought this question up.
I am quite willing to accept the positives of British Imperialism, but simply not willing to ignore the massive crimes of empire too.
If we should be proud of what our ancestors did, should we also not be a bit of ashamed on their behalf too?
Not very trendy to see 1st Jan 1973 as a calamitous strategic mistake from a foreign policy perspective. But it deserves reappraisal in light of the recent bifurcation of the world, with commonwealth heavy hitters siding with the bad guys.
Too many people on the left see nationalism and imperialism as bad. When it is us, at least. They seem perfectly happy with Indian nationalism or Russian imperialism. I wouldn't necessarily put you in that camp, but it certainly explains many left and Labour figures. Corbyn, for one.
And the death of the Commonwealth will not leave a vacuum; it will be filled with other groupings such as BRICS. Which, whilst it is the country's choice, is not a good thing.
Morning, PB.
The BRICS are dominating global social media, partly through actual events, and partly through bots.
I don't think I've seen this extent of non-Western alliance since the Cold War.
The West has some thinking to do.
When the world is full of wolves and lions, we should not pretend they are sheep.
It isn’t David’s fault that he is a Tory supporter with political antennae and you don’t have them.
Is Russia a better place because they’re playing “according to big boys’ rules”? Is Israel? Is China?
But if you want some humour, I'll try to Russell up some puns.
Isn’t this a security risk ?
And how much more power will Musk yield if Trump wins?
And yet some clueless Tory politicians continue to allegedly support Ukraine whilst at the same time want Trump to win .
It’s a failure of statecraft by the West, led by Biden, that’s allowed this grouping to emerge in the first place.
To see China, India, Brazil, Russia, and a bunch of OPEC states, in the same place, plotting primarily to undermine the US$ as the global reserve currency, could be the biggest story of the next decade. These countries either have huge populations or oil wealth, and see themselves as the dominant economies of the 21st Century.
From the UK perspective, certainly more effort should have been put in to keeping India on side.