A byelection in Hampstead and Highgate would be a near certain win for the LibDems, one would have thought.
From fourth place?
There's barely a cigarette paper between 2nd and 4th, and the LibDems have (historically) had a pretty strong local government presence in the constituency.
With Labour unpopular, the Conservatives moribund, the Greens having no meaningful byelection experience, and this hardly being fertile Reform territory, then yes I'd make the LibDems favorites, with the Greens being second most likely.
"Favourites" is fair; "near certain" is over-egging it.
Parties have won from fourth or lower before, though rarely. It's happened twice since 1945, as far as I can tell:
- Glasgow Govan, 1988, SNP from fourth place (miles behind Labour in first at the preceding GE but only marginally off second); and - Bradford West, 2012, Respect from fifth (very much a Galloway personal vote).
Although for much of the post-1945 period, there weren't four (or more) parties to go around, outside Scotland and Wales.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a party win from third or lower - or a defending party drop to third or lower - in this parliament though.
Guido beating TSE to not very nice puns about a certain Labour politician.
Hold on. Is that the real story we (and Guido) are all missing?
Yesterday, Torsten Bell's twin, Olaf, is appointed to Number 10, reported as a blow to Reeves' authority. Today, Tulip "resigns" and Olaf's twin Torsten is her replacement.
If they're "racist traitors", why were the bases named after them in the first place?
Your ignorance of US history is notable. If your questions were sincere rather than rhetorical, I might occasionally answer them.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
Saw you a-marchin' with Robert E. Lee You held your head a-high, tryin' to win the victory You fought for your folks but you didn't die in vain Even though you lost, they speak highly of your name
The only folk relitigating the civil war are those arguing that it wasn't a traitorous rebellion, in defence of slavery.
Do you think we should tear down the statue of Churchill in Parliament Square because he was a racist who wanted to preserve the empire and keep Britain white?
I read Tulip's wiki entry when the allegations first came out, and she really is an insider.
"As a child, she met Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Mother Teresa, and her family was invited to the White House"
"Her maternal grandfather is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader and first President of Bangladesh.[12] Her mother's elder sister, Sheikh Hasina, was Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 2009 until ousted in 2024."
"She has worked for Amnesty International, the Greater London Authority, at Philip Gould Associates, the political consultancy firm run by New Labour strategist Philip Gould, Save the Children, and Brunswick Group, where she worked on corporate social responsibility initiatives for major British manufacturers, as well as for MPs Oona King, Sadiq Khan and Harry Cohen. "
That may go to explain why there was not enough inquiry into her background.
Truly an appointment that shatters glass ceilings. Or alternatively, one that shows up the hollowness of DEI reporting if social background isn't given sufficient prominence in the stats.
This is funny as well (or would be, aside from the topic):
"In November 2017, whilst campaigning for the release of her constituent, the British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran, she was asked by Alex Thomson of Channel 4 News and ITN about using her family ties to the Bangladeshi government, led by her aunt, in order to liberate British Bangladeshi barrister Ahmad Bin Quasem, who is thought to have been abducted by state security forces in Bangladesh. The programme's editor, Ben de Pear, complained about Siddiq's "threatening behaviour" to a pregnant producer, while Siddiq complained to the police about her interlocutors.[79][80][81] She later apologised in a statement to the producer, Daisy Ayliffe, for the offence caused.[80]"
"We must free this journalist!" "Why don't you ask your aunt to release this barrister?" "Don't be horrid! I'm calling the police!"
If they're "racist traitors", why were the bases named after them in the first place?
Your ignorance of US history is notable. If your questions were sincere rather than rhetorical, I might occasionally answer them.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
Saw you a-marchin' with Robert E. Lee You held your head a-high, tryin' to win the victory You fought for your folks but you didn't die in vain Even though you lost, they speak highly of your name
The only folk relitigating the civil war are those arguing that it wasn't a traitorous rebellion, in defence of slavery.
Do you think we should tear down the statue of Churchill in Parliament Square because he was a racist who wanted to preserve the empire and keep Britain white?
I don't believe he ever fought a war for a secessionist part of the UK against the rest, or maintained the practice of slavery anywhere in the Empire. Also, he won a world war which I don't believe Robert E Lee did.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
I didn't have william embracing Lost Cause propaganda on my January bingo card, but there you go.
I'd save your energy, last William posted some nasty anti-Catholic bigotry towards Joe Biden, then feigned ignorance about the long history of anti-Catholic bigotry in America, particularly towards presidential candidates.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
I didn't have william embracing Lost Cause propaganda on my January bingo card, but there you go.
I'd save your energy, last William posted some nasty anti-Catholic bigotry towards Joe Biden, then feigned ignorance about the long history of anti-Catholic bigotry in America, particularly towards presidential candidates.
It wasn't bigotry to question whether Biden might be influenced by the Pope's views. If not then in what sense is he a Catholic?
I didn't have william embracing Lost Cause propaganda on my January bingo card, but there you go.
I'd save your energy, last William posted some nasty anti-Catholic bigotry towards Joe Biden, then feigned ignorance about the long history of anti-Catholic bigotry in America, particularly towards presidential candidates.
It wasn't bigotry to question whether Biden might be influenced by the Pope's views. If not then in what sense is he a Catholic?
Yes, the pro abortion Joe Biden always follows the Bishop of Rome's lead.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Guido beating TSE to not very nice puns about a certain Labour politician.
Hold on. Is that the real story we (and Guido) are all missing?
Yesterday, Torsten Bell's twin, Olaf, is appointed to Number 10, reported as a blow to Reeves' authority. Today, Tulip "resigns" and Olaf's twin Torsten is her replacement.
Before appointing Tulip Siddiq as Minister for Not Being At All Corrupt didn’t anyone in Labour think to check if she is actually a tiny bit, er, you know?
Ditto Jess Philips and thingy
And Rachel from Accounts who can’t actually do Accounts
They were all too busy taking freebies and to be fair Rachel was a secretary or something in accounts and so likely least worst of the clowns available
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
And I bet a lot of those people would also quite like to go back to the 'status quo' that prevailed in the south at the time...
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
If they're "racist traitors", why were the bases named after them in the first place?
They are racist because they fought for the Confederacy (a country based and built on slavery) and they were traitors because they fought for the armed forces of another country against the properly constituted armed forces, government and constitution of the United States of America.
If you get the chance I recommend watching Rachel Reeves in the Commons today.
She is awful. You can easily imagine her political brand collapsing in a matter of days if a genuine crisis emerges.
The Starmer government is so....flimsy!
She strikes me as way more insubstantial than Truss or Kwarteng.
It's like watching a Potemkin government. This person is in charge of the country's finances? Really?!
Aaron Bastani you say? Even though Reeves is struggling and international economic headwinds are buffeting her all over the place Mandy Rice Davies still applies.
Bastani has become an interesting and astute observer of UK politics. He’s come a long way from the old Novara Media
He’s still on the left, for sure, but you can never be certain of his take - generally a positive sign - and he’s a very good Noticer of Things
Agree. He's quite a Green these days albeit a thinking one who likes tech futures stuff.
On Siddiq - strike another one for Private Eye. I have often thought a gift subscription for the main parties and the civil service could nip a lot of nonsense in the bud.
To be honest I would be surprised if the two investigations in Bangladesh find much out - they seem a bit just going after the old regime and any relations (albeit the latest one does seem to drag her parents into the game).
However, the picture of her with Putin and the various free houses she’s enjoyed over the last few years would be published every time there is a story about it. And quite frankly Labour voters would have found that pretty distasteful.
Did it not occur to her - or anyone else - to wonder or ask where the money came from for the purchase of all these expensive Hampstead properties? And why they were being gifted to her and her sister?
This is basic basic stuff which anyone of sense should be asking. She may not have been corrupt herself but did she really think that she was being given an expensive property just because she had a pretty face?
Not only that, they literally appointed her the “Anti Corruption Minister”
Mind-boggling
If I was a proper journalist, I’d be checking the social media of the Minister For Stopping The Raping Of Newts, to see if he spends a lot of time near ponds
I think you're looking at this the wrong way: she has first hand experience of corruption, unlike so many Brits who simply wouldn't be able to spot it. We should be grateful that she chosen to share her expertise with us.
That really deserves a massive LOL Recent years have seen a PM with a lifestyle underwritten to the tune of several hundred thousand by the "generosity of strangers", questionable Covid PPE contract awards in £bns, Greensill.... what's been lacking is investigation and consequences.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
True, and I'm not denying that the actions of many on the Confederate side were, or could be construed as, brave and noble. As (I think it was) Cyclefree said the other day, between compulsion and illegality lies the state of manners, where we nod and smile to the other side to get thru the day without killing each other. But I don't think bases of the United States Armed Forces should be named after those who took up arms against it. They don't have the AFB Benedict Arnold, and we don't have the naval base HMS[1] William Brittain
I read Tulip's wiki entry when the allegations first came out, and she really is an insider.
"As a child, she met Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Mother Teresa, and her family was invited to the White House"
"Her maternal grandfather is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader and first President of Bangladesh.[12] Her mother's elder sister, Sheikh Hasina, was Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 2009 until ousted in 2024."
"She has worked for Amnesty International, the Greater London Authority, at Philip Gould Associates, the political consultancy firm run by New Labour strategist Philip Gould, Save the Children, and Brunswick Group, where she worked on corporate social responsibility initiatives for major British manufacturers, as well as for MPs Oona King, Sadiq Khan and Harry Cohen. "
That may go to explain why there was not enough inquiry into her background.
Truly an appointment that shatters glass ceilings. Or alternatively, one that shows up the hollowness of DEI reporting if social background isn't given sufficient prominence in the stats.
Highlights all these charities , you wonder who gets the charity.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
well when you claim insurance for lost items that are then found on your person, it is called fraud even if you were just too lazy to bother paying back the insurance company.
If they're "racist traitors", why were the bases named after them in the first place?
Your ignorance of US history is notable. If your questions were sincere rather than rhetorical, I might occasionally answer them.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
Saw you a-marchin' with Robert E. Lee You held your head a-high, tryin' to win the victory You fought for your folks but you didn't die in vain Even though you lost, they speak highly of your name
The only folk relitigating the civil war are those arguing that it wasn't a traitorous rebellion, in defence of slavery.
Do you think we should tear down the statue of Churchill in Parliament Square because he was a racist who wanted to preserve the empire and keep Britain white?
Do you think that question actually adds anything to the debate, or whether it is just whatabouttery?
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
If they're "racist traitors", why were the bases named after them in the first place?
Your ignorance of US history is notable. If your questions were sincere rather than rhetorical, I might occasionally answer them.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb You fought all the way, Johnny Reb
Saw you a-marchin' with Robert E. Lee You held your head a-high, tryin' to win the victory You fought for your folks but you didn't die in vain Even though you lost, they speak highly of your name
The only folk relitigating the civil war are those arguing that it wasn't a traitorous rebellion, in defence of slavery.
Do you think we should tear down the statue of Churchill in Parliament Square because he was a racist who wanted to preserve the empire and keep Britain white?
Do you think that question actually adds anything to the debate, or whether it is just whatabouttery?
The point is that iconoclasm can be taken to the point that you start destroying things you might not want to, so you should be careful if you don’t want to be accused of hypocrisy.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
Read between the lines. Did she know more about this "lost" phone than she admitted.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
And I bet a lot of those people would also quite like to go back to the 'status quo' that prevailed in the south at the time...
But they're so polite down there. Any good Christian will get a mint julep and a bed for the night if their car breaks down.
I read Tulip's wiki entry when the allegations first came out, and she really is an insider.
"As a child, she met Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Mother Teresa, and her family was invited to the White House"
"Her maternal grandfather is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader and first President of Bangladesh.[12] Her mother's elder sister, Sheikh Hasina, was Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 2009 until ousted in 2024."
"She has worked for Amnesty International, the Greater London Authority, at Philip Gould Associates, the political consultancy firm run by New Labour strategist Philip Gould, Save the Children, and Brunswick Group, where she worked on corporate social responsibility initiatives for major British manufacturers, as well as for MPs Oona King, Sadiq Khan and Harry Cohen. "
That may go to explain why there was not enough inquiry into her background.
On Siddiq - strike another one for Private Eye. I have often thought a gift subscription for the main parties and the civil service could nip a lot of nonsense in the bud.
To be honest I would be surprised if the two investigations in Bangladesh find much out - they seem a bit just going after the old regime and any relations (albeit the latest one does seem to drag her parents into the game).
However, the picture of her with Putin and the various free houses she’s enjoyed over the last few years would be published every time there is a story about it. And quite frankly Labour voters would have found that pretty distasteful.
Did it not occur to her - or anyone else - to wonder or ask where the money came from for the purchase of all these expensive Hampstead properties? And why they were being gifted to her and her sister?
This is basic basic stuff which anyone of sense should be asking. She may not have been corrupt herself but did she really think that she was being given an expensive property just because she had a pretty face?
She was/is obviously corrupt and this was definitely knowable in advance. The surprising bit is that the Hasina regime fell so abruptly meaning the Bangladeshi investigation could begin.
A major high street lender has raised mortgage rates amid ongoing bond market chaos.
Virgin Money increased the price of two and five-year deals by up to 0.2 percentage points on Wednesday as a government bond sell-off threatened to keep interest rates higher for longer.
The bank’s 65pc and 75pc loan-to-value (LTV) purchase rates rose by 0.2pc, while its 85pc LTV five-year fixes were raised by 0.1pc.
Inflationary pressures, in part due to Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising Budget, have spooked the bond market in the past week and raised the cost of government borrowing.
Rather, she seems to be left carrying the bag while Trump’s inflationary stance tests global risk appetite for sovereign bonds.
The NYT today reports that “In Global Market Rout, Britain is the ‘Weakest Link’”.
She chose to borrow an additional £150bn over 5 years, no one forced her to do that. She chose to push up the deficit rather than leave it falling as it was before the budget. If the previous government was still in power we wouldn't be seen as the weakest link at all. If anything gilts would be seen as a good bet because we'd be one of a few countries with falling indebtedness and a growing economy.
I think actually she probably did need to borrow.
The massive error here is a failure to spell out a coherent growth plan, having promised everyone it was Labour’s #1 policy.
She's raised spending by something close to £55bn per year on average with only £25bn of it being funded by tax. She didn't need to do that at all, the entire £55bn is going to be wasted anyway without serious reforms and a massive productivity drive. It will all just get eaten up by pay rises and legal reviews on planning.
As I said, I don’t think the issue is this particular level of borrowing.
The issue is no growth plan, or in your terms, “serious reforms and a massive productivity drive”.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
well when you claim insurance for lost items that are then found on your person, it is called fraud even if you were just too lazy to bother paying back the insurance company.
She probably did not even realise there was an insurance claim, if this was just a then-standard way of blagging an upgrade from work.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
Read between the lines. Did she know more about this "lost" phone than she admitted.
I thought she had said phone in her possession/use or did I read newspapers incorrectly.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
Will Tulip stand down as MP? Seems doubtful. The “scandal” is too hard to understand, isn’t it?
Easy to understand, hard to care unless you feel very strongly about Bangladeshi politics. But Tulip might resign, or not stand for reelection, because this will put the kybosh on any future advancement.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
The Reform bloke who kicked his girlfriend. Talk of bringing in a law to stop people like him being allowed to be an MP. Feels dodgy to select on type of crime.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
The Reform bloke who kicked his girlfriend. Talk of bringing in a law to stop people like him being allowed to be an MP. Feels dodgy to select on type of crime.
The trouble is the growing inconsistency in public life. Tell off-colour jokes behind the scenes on Masterchef, bye bye career. Actually kick a woman in the head, become an honourable member.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
The Reform bloke who kicked his girlfriend. Talk of bringing in a law to stop people like him being allowed to be an MP. Feels dodgy to select on type of crime.
The trouble is the growing inconsistency in public life. Tell off-colour jokes behind the scenes on Masterchef, bye bye career. Actually kick a woman in the head, become an honourable member.
You're sounding like a front line soldier in Elon's twitter army.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
I read Tulip's wiki entry when the allegations first came out, and she really is an insider.
"As a child, she met Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Mother Teresa, and her family was invited to the White House"
"Her maternal grandfather is Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader and first President of Bangladesh.[12] Her mother's elder sister, Sheikh Hasina, was Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 2009 until ousted in 2024."
"She has worked for Amnesty International, the Greater London Authority, at Philip Gould Associates, the political consultancy firm run by New Labour strategist Philip Gould, Save the Children, and Brunswick Group, where she worked on corporate social responsibility initiatives for major British manufacturers, as well as for MPs Oona King, Sadiq Khan and Harry Cohen. "
That may go to explain why there was not enough inquiry into her background.
Surprised she was slumming it making a go as an MP and junior minister with those family connections.
What's the opposite of the Iron Lady? The Paper Man?
Starmer is the Paper Man.
Read my earlier post about the amazing coincidence of Starmer appointing both Bell twins in two days, and reconsider if he has not done Reeves up like a kipper. Sadly, there are no prices on Reeves going too.
Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick · 1h The Tulip Siddiq story shows astonishingly poor judgement on Starmer's part - he was alerted to problems with her by C4 News in 2017 & several if his constituents write to him as their MP complain. I'm afraid she will have to quit as an MP as well.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
And I bet a lot of those people would also quite like to go back to the 'status quo' that prevailed in the south at the time...
But they're so polite down there. Any good Christian will get a mint julep and a bed for the night if their car breaks down.
Many decent people fought for the Confederacy, but as for the cause itself…?
When you start a war against your countrymen that costs 700,000 lives, you need a better casus belli than wanting to keep people as chattels.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
Haigh’s friends say she now regrets the guilty plea
I'm no Confederate but it did irk me slightly that every statue of Lee and Jackson came down.
We all know the rebellion was predicated on maintaining an economic system founded on slavery but they are pivotal figures in American history and skilled generals.
We could certainly find worse our side. Cromwell, for a start.
Will Tulip stand down as MP? Seems doubtful. The “scandal” is too hard to understand, isn’t it?
Easy to understand, hard to care unless you feel very strongly about Bangladeshi politics. But Tulip might resign, or not stand for reelection, because this will put the kybosh on any future advancement.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
The Reform bloke who kicked his girlfriend. Talk of bringing in a law to stop people like him being allowed to be an MP. Feels dodgy to select on type of crime.
I think it is a safeguarding issue.
If you were a female constituent or female member of staff at the Commons would you feel safe around him?
There's a reason why we allow people to find out if their partner has a record for domestic abuse.
If they're "racist traitors", why were the bases named after them in the first place?
They are racist because they fought for the Confederacy (a country based and built on slavery) and they were traitors because they fought for the armed forces of another country against the properly constituted armed forces, government and constitution of the United States of America.
Yeah, I don't buy that.
If the rebellion had succeeded they be seen as secessionists or independence fighters, notwithstanding the slavery. Which I doubt would have lasted more than another 20 years anyway.
Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick · 1h The Tulip Siddiq story shows astonishingly poor judgement on Starmer's part - he was alerted to problems with her by C4 News in 2017 & several if his constituents write to him as their MP complain. I'm afraid she will have to quit as an MP as well.
got to say I'm glad I didn't make my competition forecast at the beginning of the month.
I'm no Confederate but it did irk me slightly that every statue of Lee and Jackson came down.
We all know the rebellion was predicated on maintaining an economic system founded on slavery but they are pivotal figures in American history and skilled generals.
We could certainly find worse our side. Cromwell, for a start.
Good old Dixie, they were plucky losers in an unfair fight.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
Haigh’s friends say she now regrets the guilty plea
I'll bet she does.
A lot of people come to regret accepting a police caution in return for no further action because they do not realise it comes with an implicit admission of guilt which can come back to haunt them. What Haigh's thought processes were, who's to say?
I didn't have william embracing Lost Cause propaganda on my January bingo card, but there you go.
I'd save your energy, last William posted some nasty anti-Catholic bigotry towards Joe Biden, then feigned ignorance about the long history of anti-Catholic bigotry in America, particularly towards presidential candidates.
It wasn't bigotry to question whether Biden might be influenced by the Pope's views. If not then in what sense is he a Catholic?
If you get the chance I recommend watching Rachel Reeves in the Commons today.
She is awful. You can easily imagine her political brand collapsing in a matter of days if a genuine crisis emerges.
The Starmer government is so....flimsy!
She strikes me as way more insubstantial than Truss or Kwarteng.
It's like watching a Potemkin government. This person is in charge of the country's finances? Really?!
Aaron Bastani you say? Even though Reeves is struggling and international economic headwinds are buffeting her all over the place Mandy Rice Davies still applies.
always does when it’s something you find challenging. One day you may find a more original retort. Won’t hold my breath.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
And I bet a lot of those people would also quite like to go back to the 'status quo' that prevailed in the south at the time...
But they're so polite down there. Any good Christian will get a mint julep and a bed for the night if their car breaks down.
Many decent people fought for the Confederacy, but as for the cause itself…?
When you start a war against your countrymen that costs 700,000 lives, you need a better casus belli than wanting to keep people as chattels.
And they will respond that it was all about States' rights.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
And I bet a lot of those people would also quite like to go back to the 'status quo' that prevailed in the south at the time...
But they're so polite down there. Any good Christian will get a mint julep and a bed for the night if their car breaks down.
Many decent people fought for the Confederacy, but as for the cause itself…?
When you start a war against your countrymen that costs 700,000 lives, you need a better casus belli than wanting to keep people as chattels.
At the time, attitudes to black people weren't much better in the North either. In fact, many weren't even bothered by slavery.
I'm no Confederate but it did irk me slightly that every statue of Lee and Jackson came down.
We all know the rebellion was predicated on maintaining an economic system founded on slavery but they are pivotal figures in American history and skilled generals.
We could certainly find worse our side. Cromwell, for a start.
Many of the statues were not very historic, but were put up in the early 1900’s, and more in the Fifties and Sixties, to show the black population who was in charge.
The equivalent would have been putting up statues to Cromwell in areas with large Irish Catholic populations.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
Haigh’s friends say she now regrets the guilty plea
I'll bet she does.
A lot of people come to regret accepting a police caution in return for no further action because they do not realise it comes with an implicit admission of guilt which can come back to haunt them. What Haigh's thought processes were, who's to say?
I think a lot of people would think they would hold firm in such a situation where they are innocent - or it is not as clear cut as a police investigation might think - but when push comes to shove and you're sat opposite a copper telling you it can go to trial with X potential punishment, or you can move on with your life, a lot of people would cave.
Heck, in some other situations some people might plead guilty just to avoid spending any time in jail ahead of trial .
I have a nasty suspicion if I found myself in a police state/conquered nation situation I'd be a collaborator the instant I was put under any pressure.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
The Reform bloke who kicked his girlfriend. Talk of bringing in a law to stop people like him being allowed to be an MP. Feels dodgy to select on type of crime.
I think it is a safeguarding issue.
If you were a female constituent or female member of staff at the Commons would you feel safe around him?
There's a reason why we allow people to find out if their partner has a record for domestic abuse.
I'm no Confederate but it did irk me slightly that every statue of Lee and Jackson came down.
We all know the rebellion was predicated on maintaining an economic system founded on slavery but they are pivotal figures in American history and skilled generals.
We could certainly find worse our side. Cromwell, for a start.
Many of the statues were not very historic, but were put up in the early 1900’s, and more in the Fifties and Sixties, to show the black population who was in charge.
The equivalent would have been putting up statues to Cromwell in areas with large Irish Catholic populations.
Then that's trolling, and different.
But pulling down the Robert E. Lee Monument put up in Richmond in 1890 by public subscription feels different.
Get a load of this, even for Trump this is bonkers.
“For far too long, we have relied on taxing our Great People using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Through soft and pathetically weak Trade agreements, the American Economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the World, while taxing ourselves,” Trump wrote.
“It is time for that to change. I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources,” he wrote.
“We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share.”
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
The Reform bloke who kicked his girlfriend. Talk of bringing in a law to stop people like him being allowed to be an MP. Feels dodgy to select on type of crime.
I think it is a safeguarding issue.
If you were a female constituent or female member of staff at the Commons would you feel safe around him?
There's a reason why we allow people to find out if their partner has a record for domestic abuse.
Should he be allowed to work ever again?
The response would probably be should he get to be an MP, which maybe not, but there's a lots of other crimes people would feel the same way about, and so do you just prevent anyone with any offence standing as MP? As a mayor? As a councillor?
Restrictions on Police and Crime Commissioners are, oddly, far more severe than seeking to become an MP.
Going well, isn’t it? Now the adults are in charge again
I just don't want people getting overexcited. You need to keep your wits about you when doing political punditry.
Just admit this is now a total shit show, and far worse than you envisaged, and we’re all good
Tulip is disappointing yes. Other than that, no not really. I'm a deep realist on growth, remember. I keep posting about it.
Anyway you agree about Reeves, don't you. She's safe as houses in her position. If you think otherwise there could be a bet to be had.
This resignation has absolutely no effect on Reeves, who will stand or fall depending on her actions and the market reactions over the coming months and of course her own backbenchers responses to her bringing back austerity
Yes, but the scent of blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.
2 ministers lost in 6 months who's next ?
And actually I wonder about Reeves
The recent photos of her show her looking haggard and deeply stressed. And very out of her depth
I wonder if she might resign on some pretext? I can’t see Starmer dumping her as sacking or losing a COTE is usually terminal, in the end, for a PM
Regardless I’d say the chances of her departing Number 11 have gone from minuscule to small but non trivial
The next one to go will probably be for something unexpected.
SKS has lost one minister on a theft accusation and the next on a link to corruption. Pick your crime.
Who was the theft one? I thought Tulip was the first.
So - without wanting to miss the story - what did Louise Haigh do? The story appears to be "reported a phone stolen - found it wasn't stolen." For which she pleaded guilty to fraud. Is the inference that there is more to this story? The facts as they are reported feel like they are missing some details to make it make sense.
From the stories at the time it appeared her employer realised the lost phones were still in possession with Ms Haigh.
So was it her employer who pressed charges? The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Louise Haigh pleaded guilty to lying that phone was stolen, paper shows
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
So the theft was made up? If that's true, that's a far bigger story than was painted at the time. Slightly surprising she's still an MP, tbh. I suppose you do your time and move on - but are there any other convicted criminals in parliament?
The Reform bloke who kicked his girlfriend. Talk of bringing in a law to stop people like him being allowed to be an MP. Feels dodgy to select on type of crime.
I think it is a safeguarding issue.
If you were a female constituent or female member of staff at the Commons would you feel safe around him?
There's a reason why we allow people to find out if their partner has a record for domestic abuse.
Will Tulip stand down as MP? Seems doubtful. The “scandal” is too hard to understand, isn’t it?
Easy to understand, hard to care unless you feel very strongly about Bangladeshi politics. But Tulip might resign, or not stand for reelection, because this will put the kybosh on any future advancement.
I thought that as well but SKS says the door remains open. A weird thing to say in the circumstances. Her appointment as the anti-corruption Minister when she she has so much unexplained wealth from dubious sources was positively eccentric.
Will Tulip stand down as MP? Seems doubtful. The “scandal” is too hard to understand, isn’t it?
Easy to understand, hard to care unless you feel very strongly about Bangladeshi politics. But Tulip might resign, or not stand for reelection, because this will put the kybosh on any future advancement.
I thought that as well but SKS says the door remains open. A weird thing to say in the circumstances. Her appointment as the anti-corruption Minister when she she has so much unexplained wealth from dubious sources was positively eccentric.
It does feel strange even if everything is above board and she is squeaky clean, to appoint the relative of an authoritarian leader to that particular position. Might well be harsh on her, but there have to be positions it would be slightly less embarrassing to be in when the accusations emerged.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
And I bet a lot of those people would also quite like to go back to the 'status quo' that prevailed in the south at the time...
But they're so polite down there. Any good Christian will get a mint julep and a bed for the night if their car breaks down.
Many decent people fought for the Confederacy, but as for the cause itself…?
When you start a war against your countrymen that costs 700,000 lives, you need a better casus belli than wanting to keep people as chattels.
Makes me proud to be English given what our civil war was about.
If they're "racist traitors", why were the bases named after them in the first place?
They are racist because they fought for the Confederacy (a country based and built on slavery) and they were traitors because they fought for the armed forces of another country against the properly constituted armed forces, government and constitution of the United States of America.
Yeah, I don't buy that.
If the rebellion had succeeded they be seen as secessionists or independence fighters, notwithstanding the slavery. Which I doubt would have lasted more than another 20 years anyway.
History is written by the victors.
The Confederacy banned at er… federal level, banning slavery. No state in the Confederacy could be anything other than a slave state.
Which would have made ending slavery pretty much impossible.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
And I bet a lot of those people would also quite like to go back to the 'status quo' that prevailed in the south at the time...
But they're so polite down there. Any good Christian will get a mint julep and a bed for the night if their car breaks down.
Many decent people fought for the Confederacy, but as for the cause itself…?
When you start a war against your countrymen that costs 700,000 lives, you need a better casus belli than wanting to keep people as chattels.
Makes me proud to be English given what our civil war was about.
The point is that to relitigate the civil war is to destroy the consensus that prevailed until very recently that people who fought for the confederacy were honourable and not traitors.
Hmm. They were traitors. I'm sure some people somewhere thought that they weren't, but traitors they were. Saying this is hardly "relitigation"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
Nevertheless, military bases being named after these people was quite acceptable to all sides of the political spectrum until the very recent past. So I don’t really see that it's particularly shocking and unconscionable for some Americans who liked it that way to want to go back to the previous status quo.
And I bet a lot of those people would also quite like to go back to the 'status quo' that prevailed in the south at the time...
But they're so polite down there. Any good Christian will get a mint julep and a bed for the night if their car breaks down.
Many decent people fought for the Confederacy, but as for the cause itself…?
When you start a war against your countrymen that costs 700,000 lives, you need a better casus belli than wanting to keep people as chattels.
Makes me proud to be English given what our civil war was about.
Democracy.
Except it wasn't really.
It was about the rights of parliament that ended up getting hijacked by religious extremists.
If they're "racist traitors", why were the bases named after them in the first place?
They are racist because they fought for the Confederacy (a country based and built on slavery) and they were traitors because they fought for the armed forces of another country against the properly constituted armed forces, government and constitution of the United States of America.
Yeah, I don't buy that.
If the rebellion had succeeded they be seen as secessionists or independence fighters, notwithstanding the slavery. Which I doubt would have lasted more than another 20 years anyway.
Get a load of this, even for Trump this is bonkers.
“For far too long, we have relied on taxing our Great People using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Through soft and pathetically weak Trade agreements, the American Economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the World, while taxing ourselves,” Trump wrote.
“It is time for that to change. I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources,” he wrote.
“We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share.”
Comments
Parties have won from fourth or lower before, though rarely. It's happened twice since 1945, as far as I can tell:
- Glasgow Govan, 1988, SNP from fourth place (miles behind Labour in first at the preceding GE but only marginally off second); and
- Bradford West, 2012, Respect from fifth (very much a Galloway personal vote).
Although for much of the post-1945 period, there weren't four (or more) parties to go around, outside Scotland and Wales.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a party win from third or lower - or a defending party drop to third or lower - in this parliament though.
Yesterday, Torsten Bell's twin, Olaf, is appointed to Number 10, reported as a blow to Reeves' authority. Today, Tulip "resigns" and Olaf's twin Torsten is her replacement.
Starmer appoints former Treasury official as key aide in blow to Reeves’ authority
Olaf Henricson-Bell is the new head of the No 10 policy unit and has worked closely with Lord Hammond, Sir Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/01/13/starmer-appoints-former-treasury-official-as-key-aide/ (£££)
"In November 2017, whilst campaigning for the release of her constituent, the British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran, she was asked by Alex Thomson of Channel 4 News and ITN about using her family ties to the Bangladeshi government, led by her aunt, in order to liberate British Bangladeshi barrister Ahmad Bin Quasem, who is thought to have been abducted by state security forces in Bangladesh. The programme's editor, Ben de Pear, complained about Siddiq's "threatening behaviour" to a pregnant producer, while Siddiq complained to the police about her interlocutors.[79][80][81] She later apologised in a statement to the producer, Daisy Ayliffe, for the offence caused.[80]"
"We must free this journalist!"
"Why don't you ask your aunt to release this barrister?"
"Don't be horrid! I'm calling the police!"
The New Orleans historian Andrew Rakich, who youtubes as "Atun-Shei", has an entertaining point-counterpoint ten-episode dramatisation on YouTube called "Checkmate, Lincolnites". It's thoroughly enjoyable and goes entertainingly non-linear by the last episode. The playlist is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZDxu0APt9g&list=PLwCiRao53J1y_gqJJOH6Rcgpb-vaW9wF0
Enjoy
Which always works out well.
One to watch PBers.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/robert-e-lee-opposed-confederate-monuments
But he's still Novara.
Recent years have seen a PM with a lifestyle underwritten to the tune of several hundred thousand by the "generosity of strangers", questionable Covid PPE contract awards in £bns, Greensill....
what's been lacking is investigation and consequences.
[1] land-based naval bases are denoted "HMS"
The gap between her explanation - "it was an honest mistake" - and what I think we're supposed to read into this ( she reported a phone as stolen which wasn't? - there was no robbery in the first place? Multiple phones? ) seems very large indeed. And the sentence appears to indicate the legal system regarded it as more than an honest mistake. But maybe that is just how the legal system works.
I remember thinking at the time there was surely more to come out, and then I forgot all about it.
Original KKK blackened their faces (typically) and looked like this
This is a depiction of them murdering a newspaper editor.
Seems doubtful. The “scandal” is too hard to understand, isn’t it?
I suppose the positive is that's she's gone...
The issue is no growth plan, or in your terms, “serious reforms and a massive productivity drive”.
Exclusive: Document sheds new light on episode that led to minister’s exit and guilty plea that friends say she regrets
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jan/10/louise-haigh-pleaded-guilty-to-lying-that-phone-was-stolen-paper-shows
But after that it's pretty meh they kick out the smart poshos and then the formula kicks in and no one (ie me) can be bothered.
Let's not forget that Hampstead was a Cons seat not so very long ago before they got their luvvy in chief.
Starmer is the Paper Man.
HM Treasury
@hmtreasury
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57m
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@TorstenBell has been appointed as Minister for Pensions at HM Treasury and @DWPgovuk
Michael Crick
@MichaelLCrick
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The Tulip Siddiq story shows
astonishingly poor judgement on Starmer's part - he was alerted to problems with her by C4 News in 2017 & several if his constituents write to him as their MP complain. I'm afraid she will have to quit as an MP as well.
When you start a war against your countrymen that costs 700,000 lives, you need a better casus belli than wanting to keep people as chattels.
Haigh’s friends say she now regrets the guilty plea
I'll bet she does.
We all know the rebellion was predicated on maintaining an economic system founded on slavery but they are pivotal figures in American history and skilled generals.
We could certainly find worse our side. Cromwell, for a start.
If you were a female constituent or female member of staff at the Commons would you feel safe around him?
There's a reason why we allow people to find out if their partner has a record for domestic abuse.
If the rebellion had succeeded they be seen as secessionists or independence fighters, notwithstanding the slavery. Which I doubt would have lasted more than another 20 years anyway.
History is written by the victors.
Oh, wait a minute..
However Dan Hodges thought she was ace 👍
The equivalent would have been putting up statues to Cromwell in areas with large Irish Catholic populations.
Heck, in some other situations some people might plead guilty just to avoid spending any time in jail ahead of trial .
I have a nasty suspicion if I found myself in a police state/conquered nation situation I'd be a collaborator the instant I was put under any pressure.
But pulling down the Robert E. Lee Monument put up in Richmond in 1890 by public subscription feels different.
“Through soft and pathetically weak Trade agreements, the American Economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the World, while taxing ourselves,” Trump wrote.
“It is time for that to change. I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources,” he wrote.
“We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/14/trump-external-revenue-service-tariffs-.html
Restrictions on Police and Crime Commissioners are, oddly, far more severe than seeking to become an MP.
Private sector yes.
Democracy.
Which would have made ending slavery pretty much impossible.
It was about the rights of parliament that ended up getting hijacked by religious extremists.