Just to note a shift in climate, with a single instance. On the whole the world, including the USA media, have stopped talking about Abrego Garcia. He is still in prison in El Salvador. Even the very anti-Trump media/blogs/pods pay it little attention.
We are getting used to the new reality. Very sad.
Drip, drip...
Trump just nominated Paul Ingrassia to run the Office of Special Counsel. Ingrassia is a former far-right podcast host and election denier who once shared an article calling for “martial law” to keep Donald Trump in office following his loss in the 2020 election. He's 29. https://x.com/KFILE/status/1928218151243657438
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
"They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers."
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
Thank you for your positive assessment of @Leon 's numeracy skills, but is it me or is he like a coiled spring this fine morning?
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
Thank you for your positive assessment of @Leon 's numeracy skills, but is it me or is he like a coiled spring this fine morning?
Like a big slinky slinking down the PB stairs, firing out assertions and numbers.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
Thank you for your positive assessment of @Leon 's numeracy skills, but is it me or is he like a coiled spring this fine morning?
Bro is very... online... but he's probably not wrong about les bateaux and how they are becoming a totem of failure for this government just as they did for Big Rish.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
I too was concerned whether focusing on Farage simply added fuel to the Reform fire, but as they are simply given a free ride by the media perhaps it is not as stupid a tactic as it looks.
Mind you, the media response so far has been to criticise Starmer for "attacking" Farage ( but not the other way around) and to continue to allow Farage promote his programme (such as it is) without critical analysis anyway.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
He's absolutely wet the bed over a few months of polling. Not fit to be PM and won't last as long as Rishi S
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
Thank you for your positive assessment of @Leon 's numeracy skills, but is it me or is he like a coiled spring this fine morning?
Bro is very... online... but he's probably not wrong about les bateaux and how they are becoming a totem of failure for this government just as they did for Big Rish.
I can't argue with that. It is the only issue triggering both @Leon and the wider electorate.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
He's absolutely wet the bed over a few months of polling. Not fit to be PM and won't last as long as Rishi S
To be fair Sunak and Hunt would be a huge improvement on Starmer and Reeves
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
Thank you for your positive assessment of @Leon 's numeracy skills, but is it me or is he like a coiled spring this fine morning?
Bro is very... online... but he's probably not wrong about les bateaux and how they are becoming a totem of failure for this government just as they did for Big Rish.
I can't argue with that. It is the only issue triggering both @Leon and the wider electorate.
And, TBF, we're all very online these days. If not very... online.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
He's absolutely wet the bed over a few months of polling. Not fit to be PM and won't last as long as Rishi S
To be fair Sunak and Hunt would be a huge improvement on Starmer and Reeves
Well the last poll on preferred govt backed Sunak over Starmer less than a year after the Tories worst defeat so yepppppppppp
The problem with the boats situation is that many of the proposed solutions aren’t viable. There is an expectation from the angry that leaving the EHRC stops the boats - it doesn’t. That we just “send them back” - we can’t. That “stop the benefits” will dissuade them - no benefits paid to be stopped.
Britain is not on its own here. Refugees is a pan-European problem caused by the enshittification of large parts of the world. And we don’t even get vast numbers of them - less than our neighbours.
We need migration. But we need to control it. The Tory points system just opened the door wide and we have the boats coming because the Tories removed legal routes. So a complete rethink is needed not tow backs.
There's a number of issues at work. First, you have the boats, then you have the coverage of the boats which feeds the perception of the boats among the population.
Compared to the number of legal immigrants, the number of illegal immigrants is negligible but the symbolism is what matters. We are an island, we are an island race and it looks like we are being invaded. That's how it is being perceived and played up for political purposes by Reform and others to be fair.
On top of that we have the hotels and the notion money which should be spent on "British" people is being spent on migrants which in turn feeds the perception of the issue and distorts the reality.
We are at the point where any solution, no matter how expensive, ludicrous and potentially illegal, is open for consideration because it's emotional, it's symbolic and reason has itself migrated to somewhere else.
The points about it being a pan-European problem and the numbers going to France, Spain and Italy are all valid but they will all get lost in the emotion of the issue.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
I too was concerned whether focusing on Farage simply added fuel to the Reform fire, but as they are simply given a free ride by the media perhaps it is not as stupid a tactic as it looks.
Mind you, the media response so far has been to criticise Starmer for "attacking" Farage ( but not the other way around) and to continue to allow Farage promote his programme (such as it is) without critical analysis anyway.
If Starmer had not been such a let down and Reeves hadn't utterly failed in her budgets then the story would be very different
And whilst this forum is dominated by English politics it should not be ignored just how Labour are tanking in Scotland and Wales without which they will not win a majority
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Of course not. But beyond a certain point, the bigger the lie the better. The idea that there is that much government waste is an excellent way to wind up potential supporters.
And we all know that it isn't a new concept in political messaging.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
He's absolutely wet the bed over a few months of polling. Not fit to be PM and won't last as long as Rishi S
To be fair Sunak and Hunt would be a huge improvement on Starmer and Reeves
Well the last poll on preferred govt backed Sunak over Starmer less than a year after the Tpries worst defeat so yepppppppppp
Not so fast. We have only had 11 months of Starmer inertia. Sunak and Hunt kept it going twice as long, and despite appalling apparent inaction and communications the current Government did not pull the absurd NI (X2) stunt that soiled Hunt's otherwise not too shabby tenure as CoE.
Just to note a shift in climate, with a single instance. On the whole the world, including the USA media, have stopped talking about Abrego Garcia. He is still in prison in El Salvador. Even the very anti-Trump media/blogs/pods pay it little attention.
We are getting used to the new reality. Very sad.
On a similar note, the IDF appear to have encouraged hungry Gazans to queue up at an aid centre then opened fire on them with drones and tanks (tanks!).
We are getting used to the new reality. Very sad but never fear, there’ll be another ‘event’ tomorrow about which we can feel impotently sad.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
Ncuti's reign was hyper, everything was Sunny Delight and insufficient quiet drama.
He never met the Daleks, the Cybermen, nor the Weeping Angels
The ending was rushed and obviously forced.
The discourse and leaks indicated that they were planning to start filming the next series in Q1 2025 but Disney got cold feet, Ncuti decided to jump ship, and reshoots in February filled in the regeneration. It shows.
Given the urgency, I doubt they auditioned widely and Billie may simply have been the first to hand who was available and willing to work with RTD. I assume if more time was available they'd've cast Russell Tovey (RTD's original chice for Eleven before Moffat cast Matt Smith)
The Ruby/Belinda problem (Millie couldn't take the workload and her role was scaled back despite guarantees to her that it wouldn't happen, requiring Belinda as an emergency companion and frantic rewrites) was obvious in this episode. Millie should have been John Smith's "wife" and Poppy bonding with her instead of Belinda would have made more sense.
Shenanigans again. RTD does not run a tight ship. In his first run in the Noughties Eccleston pissed off and hates RTD, Martha (Freema Agyeman) was fired for no good reason, John Barrowman was rubbing his penis against everybody (yes, that really happened), and now it's happened again in the 2020s. The shenanigans, not the penis. Probably.
I don't like the idea of a surprise regeneration.
The regeneration itself was forced. In normal circs he would have done something sciencey/timey wimey and made Poppy reappear, not a forced suicide.
RTD has gone full fanboy. Susan? Omega? The Rani? Seriously??? No wonder the viewers switched off.
Archie Panjabi must be resurrected somehow. I insist.
Hanging plotlines. Rogue was badly resolved. Susan was unresolved (the original ending had her in the background, leaning into series 16/3)
I’ve stopped watching after the first or second episode this run.
It’s just so unengaging. All of my friends who like the show and are fans have stopped watching before me.
I fully expect Rose/Piper to be some crap to do with tardis energy from the time eccleston regenerated.
I am going to watch the last episode this morning instead of this weeks Z Cars and Cpt Scarlet on Talking Pictures.
I don’t blame Gatwa for bailing. He’s clearly a talented actor and charismatic. Don’t want to get lumbered with a dud.
I love the idea that RTD who succesfully resurrected the series has come back and buried it.
In the words of Gorilla Monsoon, put a fork in it, it’s done.
The problems began in 2015 when Moffatt got bored and he and the BBC for some bizarre reason thought Chris Chibnall should be his replacement (who pretty much every script he'd produced for Who and Torchwood till that point was awful). I really want to know why they thought he was the answer and why nobody tried to stop him once he revealed he was going to do the Timeless Child plot.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
It’ll be someone else’s fault (the media, the SNP, voters) in any case.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
He's absolutely wet the bed over a few months of polling. Not fit to be PM and won't last as long as Rishi S
To be fair Sunak and Hunt would be a huge improvement on Starmer and Reeves
Well the last poll on preferred govt backed Sunak over Starmer less than a year after the Tpries worst defeat so yepppppppppp
Not so fast. We have only had 11 months of Starmer inertia. Sunak and Hunt kept it going twice as long, and despite appalling apparent inaction and communications the current Government did not pull the absurd NI (X2) stunt that soiled Hunt's otherwise not too shabby tenure as CoE.
I'd take Hunt over Reeves any day and just about anyone over Starmer
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
I too was concerned whether focusing on Farage simply added fuel to the Reform fire, but as they are simply given a free ride by the media perhaps it is not as stupid a tactic as it looks.
Mind you, the media response so far has been to criticise Starmer for "attacking" Farage ( but not the other way around) and to continue to allow Farage promote his programme (such as it is) without critical analysis anyway.
If Starmer had not been such a let down and Reeves hadn't utterly failed in her budgets then the story would be very different
And whilst this forum is dominated by English politics it should not be ignored just how Labour are tanking in Scotland and Wales without which they will not win a majority
I'm not sure you have noticed but the net beneficiaries of Labour decline are not the Conservatives.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
Thank you for your positive assessment of @Leon 's numeracy skills, but is it me or is he like a coiled spring this fine morning?
Bro is very... online... but he's probably not wrong about les bateaux and how they are becoming a totem of failure for this government just as they did for Big Rish.
I can't argue with that. It is the only issue triggering both @Leon and the wider electorate.
Yes but it is not really about illegal immigration. Small boats signify something larger – the complete impotence of the British state. We can't do anything. We can't stop the boats. We can't build houses. We can't prevent shoplifting. You get the picture.
We used to think it was Brussels' fault but after Brexit, even without the EU holding us back, we can't build 40 new hospitals. We can't even build a new railway from London to up north somewhere.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
Still ahead of the Tories and that's all that matters.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
It’ll be someone else’s fault (the media, the SNP, voters) in any case.
Oh totally. It's Brown levels of delusion all over again
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
Thank you for your positive assessment of @Leon 's numeracy skills, but is it me or is he like a coiled spring this fine morning?
Bro is very... online... but he's probably not wrong about les bateaux and how they are becoming a totem of failure for this government just as they did for Big Rish.
I can't argue with that. It is the only issue triggering both @Leon and the wider electorate.
Yes but it is not really about illegal immigration. Small boats signify something larger – the complete impotence of the British state. We can't do anything. We can't stop the boats. We can't build houses. We can't prevent shoplifting. You get the picture.
We used to think it was Brussels' fault but after Brexit, even without the EU holding us back, we can't build 40 new hospitals. We can't even build a new railway from London to up north somewhere.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
Still ahead of the Tories and that's all that matters.
If that's all that matters to Labour they have problems
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
He's absolutely wet the bed over a few months of polling. Not fit to be PM and won't last as long as Rishi S
To be fair Sunak and Hunt would be a huge improvement on Starmer and Reeves
We've tried Sunak and Hunt. All they left behind, apparently, was collective amnesia. Yes, Starmer's got Farage DS, but remember Rishi ducked out early from the D-Day commemoration for an equally stupid reason.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
I too was concerned whether focusing on Farage simply added fuel to the Reform fire, but as they are simply given a free ride by the media perhaps it is not as stupid a tactic as it looks.
Mind you, the media response so far has been to criticise Starmer for "attacking" Farage ( but not the other way around) and to continue to allow Farage promote his programme (such as it is) without critical analysis anyway.
If Starmer had not been such a let down and Reeves hadn't utterly failed in her budgets then the story would be very different
And whilst this forum is dominated by English politics it should not be ignored just how Labour are tanking in Scotland and Wales without which they will not win a majority
I'm not sure you have noticed but the net beneficiaries of Labour decline are not the Conservatives.
Of course but as long as Labour are not the next government then so be it
Just to note a shift in climate, with a single instance. On the whole the world, including the USA media, have stopped talking about Abrego Garcia. He is still in prison in El Salvador. Even the very anti-Trump media/blogs/pods pay it little attention.
We are getting used to the new reality. Very sad.
On a similar note, the IDF appear to have encouraged hungry Gazans to queue up at an aid centre then opened fire on them with drones and tanks (tanks!).
We are getting used to the new reality. Very sad but never fear, there’ll be another ‘event’ tomorrow about which we can feel impotently sad.
Seems that the 'transactional' nature of this US administration is just a big sign saying 'we can be bought'. Hence the support for Israel and Russia. No votes in backing Israel or Russia but there is cash.
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
He's absolutely wet the bed over a few months of polling. Not fit to be PM and won't last as long as Rishi S
To be fair Sunak and Hunt would be a huge improvement on Starmer and Reeves
Well the last poll on preferred govt backed Sunak over Starmer less than a year after the Tpries worst defeat so yepppppppppp
Not so fast. We have only had 11 months of Starmer inertia. Sunak and Hunt kept it going twice as long, and despite appalling apparent inaction and communications the current Government did not pull the absurd NI (X2) stunt that soiled Hunt's otherwise not too shabby tenure as CoE.
I'd take Hunt over Reeves any day and just about anyone over Starmer
Without suggesting Mandy Rice Davies applies, and not withstanding my absolute disappointment at Labour inertia, you and several other posters waving the Tory flag forget who broke Britain post 2015.
Some of your number have retained the memory, which is why they are foolishly backing Farage.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
Still ahead of the Tories and that's all that matters.
Seems like you are content for a Reform government then
I broadly think Labour has the right solution in terms of delivery being the only way they will win again. All is not lost yet.
But it is what they are delivering that ultimately matters and whether voters will feel the impacts of it. It is still early to judge that.
Their comms though, are not good.
They appear to be unable to stay the course though - they are u turning away from what was apparently essential to prevent economic armageddon because a spiv is polling well. Building any sort of public confidence on the back of that is nigh on impossible. If NHS strikes torpedo waiting lists again I don't see where any delivery comes from in time to stop terminal rot for them
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
Still ahead of the Tories and that's all that matters.
Seems like you are content for a Reform government then
No, I hope Labour can turn the supertanker around. Little sign yet mind you.
I suspect there is an inevitability about Reform doing well in Wales and Scotland. However what is the point of the Conservatives under Jenrick if their policy offering is mini-me Reform?
The problem with the boats situation is that many of the proposed solutions aren’t viable. There is an expectation from the angry that leaving the EHRC stops the boats - it doesn’t. That we just “send them back” - we can’t. That “stop the benefits” will dissuade them - no benefits paid to be stopped.
Britain is not on its own here. Refugees is a pan-European problem caused by the enshittification of large parts of the world. And we don’t even get vast numbers of them - less than our neighbours.
We need migration. But we need to control it. The Tory points system just opened the door wide and we have the boats coming because the Tories removed legal routes. So a complete rethink is needed not tow backs.
People should really stop blathering on about legal routes they will make no difference.....they use a legal route, they get rejected will they be going fair enough or will they be losing their papers and booking a ride on a boat....I think we all know it will be the latter
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, stop social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
Totally incoherent argument by Yusuf, but then the way to defeat it is not by Starmer absenting himself from a meeting in Europe to hold an emergency press conference entirely concentrating on Farage, as has been noted by the panel on Trevor Phillips this morning
He's absolutely wet the bed over a few months of polling. Not fit to be PM and won't last as long as Rishi S
To be fair Sunak and Hunt would be a huge improvement on Starmer and Reeves
Well the last poll on preferred govt backed Sunak over Starmer less than a year after the Tpries worst defeat so yepppppppppp
Not so fast. We have only had 11 months of Starmer inertia. Sunak and Hunt kept it going twice as long, and despite appalling apparent inaction and communications the current Government did not pull the absurd NI (X2) stunt that soiled Hunt's otherwise not too shabby tenure as CoE.
I'd take Hunt over Reeves any day and just about anyone over Starmer
Without suggesting Mandy Rice Davies applies, and not withstanding my absolute disappointment at Labour inertia, you and several other posters waving the Tory flag forget who broke Britain post 2015.
Some of your number have retained the memory, which is why they are foolishly backing Farage.
I'm not waving the Tory flag, despising Starmer and Labour is not an endorsement of anyone else.
I broadly think Labour has the right solution in terms of delivery being the only way they will win again. All is not lost yet.
But it is what they are delivering that ultimately matters and whether voters will feel the impacts of it. It is still early to judge that.
Their comms though, are not good.
They appear to be unable to stay the course though - they are u turning away from what was apparently essential to prevent economic armageddon because a spiv is polling well. Building any sort of public confidence on the back of that is nigh on impossible. If NHS strikes torpedo waiting lists again I don't see where any delivery comes from in time to stop terminal rot for them
It looks bad now but Farage will come unstuck at some point, there’s a long way to go now.
I do agree - and commented much the same the other day - that they risk undermining everything if they don’t stick to their plans.
I’m really not convinced that u-turning on the two child benefit cap is the right answer.
WFA seems to have been a disaster (even though I still think it was the right idea and support it as is) but again I can’t see the strategy in u-turning now.
They run the risk of just going from post to post without any real explanation of why.
The only concrete idea they’ve stuck to is planning reform.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
Still ahead of the Tories and that's all that matters.
Seems like you are content for a Reform government then
No, I hope Labour can turn the supertanker around. Little sign yet mind you.
I suspect there is an inevitability about Reform doing well in Wales and Scotland. However what is the point of the Conservatives under Jenrick if their policy offering is mini-me Reform?
Badenoch has already defined her opposition to lifting the 2 child cap contrary to Reform and Labour
Also she is actually reflecting public opinion on this
However, if next May the conservatives poll as expected in the Senedd and Holyrood, Badenoch is likely to be replaced by Jenrick
I broadly think Labour has the right solution in terms of delivery being the only way they will win again. All is not lost yet.
But it is what they are delivering that ultimately matters and whether voters will feel the impacts of it. It is still early to judge that.
Their comms though, are not good.
They appear to be unable to stay the course though - they are u turning away from what was apparently essential to prevent economic armageddon because a spiv is polling well. Building any sort of public confidence on the back of that is nigh on impossible. If NHS strikes torpedo waiting lists again I don't see where any delivery comes from in time to stop terminal rot for them
It looks bad now but Farage will come unstuck at some point, there’s a long way to go now.
I do agree - and commented much the same the other day - that they risk undermining everything if they don’t stick to their plans.
I’m really not convinced that u-turning on the two child benefit cap is the right answer.
WFA seems to have been a disaster (even though I still think it was the right idea and support it as is) but again I can’t see the strategy in u-turning now.
They run the risk of just going from post to post without any real explanation of why.
The only concrete idea they’ve stuck to is planning reform.
He will at some point i think too, yes but that's not guaranteed to turn the ship round. Their best bet if they cock up delivery is fir the right leaning vote to split as evenly as possible. They ought to also try accepting at least a level of incumbency unpopularity is inevitable and not look so knock kneed at every setback.
What is absolutely the case is that some people who told us how amazing Johnson was and that SKS would never be PM are now telling us how bad Labour are and how we are set for Reform.
That is not everyone of course but I tend to take those opinions with a mountain of salt.
That’s not to say I don’t think the chances of a Reform government aren’t good. If we had an election now I think they’d win. But we’re not having an election now as I keep saying.
You say not bad but it is roughly national minimum wage for a 40-hour week.
40 hours? That's a fucking laugh. After a normal minium wage job you get to go to the pub or play PS5. After your day's bloody hard graft as an infanteer you get to drink water and iron your uniform to an unbelievably high standard.
That's the point. Recruits can get the same money stacking shelves and go home at night. You don't take the King's shilling for the money, you do it for the lifestyle. Join the army and see the world (more specifically, see that part of the world called Catterick). Join the navy and travel the globe underwater for a year.
The shelf stackers - if not living with mum and dad - will have to drop a grand a month on rent, council tax and bills, and a job that never goes anywhere.
Not so in the Army.
It seems to me that wanting to join the armed forces is very geared to culture. Particular sorts from particular backgrounds want to sign up, across the social spectrum. It forms part of a background in family and who else you know and like.
I wonder if that pool is declining. In particular I think there are cultural reasons why a larger number of parents think that the opportunity of having their child/children killed in combat is not for them.
It's a bit like going to church. Quite a few people think that it's a good thing for other people to do.
We are also much more critical of the idea that in wars one side is absolutely right and the other one absolutely wrong; and much more critical of 'my country right or wrong.'
An armed invasion would alter all that of course.
That's a good point. And to that of @Battlebus there is still a fair bit of that in Sikh and Gurkha communities.
I'm not sure about the last bit. Society goes through phases but the UK was very pacifist in the 1930s, there was that famous Oxford Union motion, and as you say, when the chips are down - things change.
My bigger concern is that people don't identify with or value the UK period, due to the bilge young people are now fed in schools, universities and by professional EDI'ers.
The simple imperial propaganda of older times simply doesn't wash any more. There are far more sources of information now for Joe Bloggs than The Sun.
That 18.9% of Other Ranks are from non-white backgrounds shows that you don't have to be white to want to fight for Britain.
But that 18.9% is pretty rubbish if you consider poverty and demographics.
If the Army was recruiting from deprivation like it used to, a very large proportion of recruits would be of a Pakistani background.
Why do you see it as a measure of success that the more non-white something is the better it must be?
I don't? I'm just pointing out that the recruitment isn't representative of the typical demographic.
Gaza doesn't help, obviously. But if you're fishing in only the WWC then you'll make it harder for yourself.
Wandering around Inverness, you'll see plenty of very fit black Londoners based at Fort George, Kinloss or Lossie.
On driverless cars, I'm recently back from Phoenix and I took six trips in Waymo taxis.
A very pleasing and fascinating novelty indeed.
Great App, every one arrived on time to the minute, no driver to tip, I instantly became very comfortable being driven around in this way and this surprised me. But it's not long before initial interest descends into gloom. It is a soulless experience. A real gut-punch of an insight of dystopia.
What an awful future this presents: no human contact, no interaction with a local of the city you are visiting. Your cash is going to a large corporation rather than a little guy of that locality. And this is before considering what would happen in an accident. I guarantee that in an incident between a Waymo car and a driver the latter would be automatically assumed to be at fault - machines don't make mistakes, right? The corporation will become very skilled in avoiding any suggestion of liability and the small guy will have no chance against this.
It is time to enshrine into law what Joe Public assumes is obviously already there, right?: a car must have a driver.
After all, legally, a car has to be in good enough condition for the road. Add to the existing list of conditions that it must have a driver.
I broadly think Labour has the right solution in terms of delivery being the only way they will win again. All is not lost yet.
But it is what they are delivering that ultimately matters and whether voters will feel the impacts of it. It is still early to judge that.
Their comms though, are not good.
They appear to be unable to stay the course though - they are u turning away from what was apparently essential to prevent economic armageddon because a spiv is polling well. Building any sort of public confidence on the back of that is nigh on impossible. If NHS strikes torpedo waiting lists again I don't see where any delivery comes from in time to stop terminal rot for them
It looks bad now but Farage will come unstuck at some point, there’s a long way to go now.
I do agree - and commented much the same the other day - that they risk undermining everything if they don’t stick to their plans.
I’m really not convinced that u-turning on the two child benefit cap is the right answer.
WFA seems to have been a disaster (even though I still think it was the right idea and support it as is) but again I can’t see the strategy in u-turning now.
They run the risk of just going from post to post without any real explanation of why.
The only concrete idea they’ve stuck to is planning reform.
He will at some point i think too, yes but that's not guaranteed to turn the ship round. Their best bet if they cock up delivery is fir the right leaning vote to split as evenly as possible. They ought to also try accepting at least a level of incumbency unpopularity is inevitable and not look so knock kneed at every setback.
I don’t think it’s guaranteed more so I’m pointing out what I believe to be the “positive” case. I’m one of the view prepared to do that even if I end up with egg on my face.
Labour need to deliver something positive that voters can see and feel. They simply must stop the boats.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
Still ahead of the Tories and that's all that matters.
Seems like you are content for a Reform government then
No, I hope Labour can turn the supertanker around. Little sign yet mind you.
I suspect there is an inevitability about Reform doing well in Wales and Scotland. However what is the point of the Conservatives under Jenrick if their policy offering is mini-me Reform?
Badenoch has already defined her opposition to lifting the 2 child cap contrary to Reform and Labour
Also she is actually reflecting public opinion on this
However, if next May the conservatives poll as expected in the Senedd and Holyrood, Badenoch is likely to be replaced by Jenrick
I suspect Kemi is already a deposed leader walking. Pulling Jenrick's knives out of her back leave little time for policy proposition.
Back on the topic briefly good to see Labour are within touching distance of fourth in seats in Wales and Scotland. I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
Still ahead of the Tories and that's all that matters.
Seems like you are content for a Reform government then
No, I hope Labour can turn the supertanker around. Little sign yet mind you.
I suspect there is an inevitability about Reform doing well in Wales and Scotland. However what is the point of the Conservatives under Jenrick if their policy offering is mini-me Reform?
Badenoch has already defined her opposition to lifting the 2 child cap contrary to Reform and Labour
Also she is actually reflecting public opinion on this
However, if next May the conservatives poll as expected in the Senedd and Holyrood, Badenoch is likely to be replaced by Jenrick
I'd imagine their target is polling as well at Holyrood as GE 24 and holding 2 or 3 constituencies and being closer to PC/Ref/Lab in seats and votes than Green/LD
I broadly think Labour has the right solution in terms of delivery being the only way they will win again. All is not lost yet.
But it is what they are delivering that ultimately matters and whether voters will feel the impacts of it. It is still early to judge that.
Their comms though, are not good.
I tend to agree there, but I think you are perhaps too cautious.
The opposition are a collection of headless chickens, the Conservatives, and a collection of populist-gormless bullshitters, Reform. And the Lib Dems.
The Cons are still tearing themselves apart, and Reform need to present a kaleidoscope of ever-changing rhetoric to distract their followers from the reality, and prevent any detailed examination. The Cons need a perhaps 2 or 3 term sort-out if they are to ever go anywhere, and Reform need to keep the sleight of hand twirling.
For the Govt, imo, they have a decent strategy and are doing many of the correct things, but it's delivery PLUS a more boldness in reform, and decent communications. Much of the PLUS is not here.
I'm not sure that the delivery which is coming into sight in places is big enough and soon enough. And the need to skewer all 3 of the Con leadership, the Right-wing fringe Cons such as Jenrick, Philp, and by the sound of it Katie Lam, and pin Farage down.
Perhaps Sir Keir should have been the son of a juggler.
I don't see a comms or a political strategy to achieve that.
I broadly think Labour has the right solution in terms of delivery being the only way they will win again. All is not lost yet.
But it is what they are delivering that ultimately matters and whether voters will feel the impacts of it. It is still early to judge that.
Their comms though, are not good.
They appear to be unable to stay the course though - they are u turning away from what was apparently essential to prevent economic armageddon because a spiv is polling well. Building any sort of public confidence on the back of that is nigh on impossible. If NHS strikes torpedo waiting lists again I don't see where any delivery comes from in time to stop terminal rot for them
It looks bad now but Farage will come unstuck at some point, there’s a long way to go now.
I do agree - and commented much the same the other day - that they risk undermining everything if they don’t stick to their plans.
I’m really not convinced that u-turning on the two child benefit cap is the right answer.
WFA seems to have been a disaster (even though I still think it was the right idea and support it as is) but again I can’t see the strategy in u-turning now.
They run the risk of just going from post to post without any real explanation of why.
The only concrete idea they’ve stuck to is planning reform.
He will at some point i think too, yes but that's not guaranteed to turn the ship round. Their best bet if they cock up delivery is fir the right leaning vote to split as evenly as possible. They ought to also try accepting at least a level of incumbency unpopularity is inevitable and not look so knock kneed at every setback.
I don’t think it’s guaranteed more so I’m pointing out what I believe to be the “positive” case. I’m one of the view prepared to do that even if I end up with egg on my face.
Labour need to deliver something positive that voters can see and feel. They simply must stop the boats.
They very much need a tangible win that addresses one of the main concerns, yes
The problem with the boats situation is that many of the proposed solutions aren’t viable. There is an expectation from the angry that leaving the EHRC stops the boats - it doesn’t. That we just “send them back” - we can’t. That “stop the benefits” will dissuade them - no benefits paid to be stopped.
Britain is not on its own here. Refugees is a pan-European problem caused by the enshittification of large parts of the world. And we don’t even get vast numbers of them - less than our neighbours.
We need migration. But we need to control it. The Tory points system just opened the door wide and we have the boats coming because the Tories removed legal routes. So a complete rethink is needed not tow backs.
We have never tried towing the boats back, so how is that not 'a rethink'?
Asylum seekers do receive benefits - they very limited but they are not non-existent, so that's nonsense too.
The evidence is not that migration to the West is caused by worsening poverty - on the contrary it is caused by rising prosperity giving would-be migrants the means and motivation to travel and seek a more desirable lifestyle.
Very few people think that leaving the ECHR will send the boats away, but given that most of the egregious judicial interventions against deportation have been on the basis of the ECHR, it is seen by many as a necessary prerequisite.
Why do you do these odd speech posts on here? This isn't a hustings. But if you were practising, I can absolutely assure you that none of this garbage is going to fly, so I wouldn't even attempt it. You've picked the wrong issue and the wrong party.
Starmer will almost certainly give a speech on immigration and tell us he 'gets it'. Interspersed with his fever dreams about Nigel. It's gof to be reshuffle soon too, the old big red reset button
£300 - £400 billion cuts in their first term ????????????
Easily done if they close schools, hospitals, the civil service, local authorities, social payments and sub out defence to the Russian Federation.
They've simply adopted the Trump make shit up approach to numbers.
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works. And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
Catching up with the news programmes, Michael Clarke on Trevor Philips on Sky seems to me to have a superficiality problem. That's a bit of a surprise; he always does broad sweeps with little detail, but I'm not sure about the specifics sometimes.
Strange (to me) commentary on ammunition manufacture capacity here, and the expansion of capacity that has already been facilitated - albeit slowly - by both the current and previous Govts.
I think the position - supportive or antagonistic or in-between - that Kemi Badenoch takes on the Defence Review, will be a revealing lens to view the Cons through.
Comments
Trump just nominated Paul Ingrassia to run the Office of Special Counsel. Ingrassia is a former far-right podcast host and election denier who once shared an article calling for “martial law” to keep Donald Trump in office following his loss in the 2020 election. He's 29.
https://x.com/KFILE/status/1928218151243657438
Given the functional innumeracy of large parts of the electorate, it works.
And their slightly more numerate supporters - Leon for example - don't care anyway.
So much like Rachel Reeves then
Mind you, the media response so far has been to criticise Starmer for "attacking" Farage ( but not the other way around) and to continue to allow Farage promote his programme (such as it is) without critical analysis anyway.
If not very... online.
Compared to the number of legal immigrants, the number of illegal immigrants is negligible but the symbolism is what matters. We are an island, we are an island race and it looks like we are being invaded. That's how it is being perceived and played up for political purposes by Reform and others to be fair.
On top of that we have the hotels and the notion money which should be spent on "British" people is being spent on migrants which in turn feeds the perception of the issue and distorts the reality.
We are at the point where any solution, no matter how expensive, ludicrous and potentially illegal, is open for consideration because it's emotional, it's symbolic and reason has itself migrated to somewhere else.
The points about it being a pan-European problem and the numbers going to France, Spain and Italy are all valid but they will all get lost in the emotion of the issue.
And whilst this forum is dominated by English politics it should not be ignored just how Labour are tanking in Scotland and Wales without which they will not win a majority
And we all know that it isn't a new concept in political messaging.
We are getting used to the new reality. Very sad but never fear, there’ll be another ‘event’ tomorrow about which we can feel impotently sad.
I suspect they'll sneak third in both but fourth in either would see end times madness descend upon them
We used to think it was Brussels' fault but after Brexit, even without the EU holding us back, we can't build 40 new hospitals. We can't even build a new railway from London to up north somewhere.
Hence the appeal of NOTA parties like Reform.
But it is what they are delivering that ultimately matters and whether voters will feel the impacts of it. It is still early to judge that.
Their comms though, are not good.
Some of your number have retained the memory, which is why they are foolishly backing Farage.
Once again, I find myself in a minority of one against all the grumpy old men on here.
I still enjoy Doctor Who as escapist fantasy - ALL the Doctors have been excellent and each has brought their own touch to the role.
I've enjoyed all the Ncuti episodes as I did all the Jodie episodes. I'm not bothered about "woke" or any of that nonsense. It's just entertainment.
As for Billie Piper as the 16th (or 17th) Doctor - why not?
I suspect there is an inevitability about Reform doing well in Wales and Scotland. However what is the point of the Conservatives under Jenrick if their policy offering is mini-me Reform?
I do agree - and commented much the same the other day - that they risk undermining everything if they don’t stick to their plans.
I’m really not convinced that u-turning on the two child benefit cap is the right answer.
WFA seems to have been a disaster (even though I still think it was the right idea and support it as is) but again I can’t see the strategy in u-turning now.
They run the risk of just going from post to post without any real explanation of why.
The only concrete idea they’ve stuck to is planning reform.
Also she is actually reflecting public opinion on this
However, if next May the conservatives poll as expected in the Senedd and Holyrood, Badenoch is likely to be replaced by Jenrick
Their best bet if they cock up delivery is fir the right leaning vote to split as evenly as possible.
They ought to also try accepting at least a level of incumbency unpopularity is inevitable and not look so knock kneed at every setback.
That is not everyone of course but I tend to take those opinions with a mountain of salt.
That’s not to say I don’t think the chances of a Reform government aren’t good. If we had an election now I think they’d win. But we’re not having an election now as I keep saying.
The mood music though, is not good.
Gaza doesn't help, obviously. But if you're fishing in only the WWC then you'll make it harder for yourself.
Wandering around Inverness, you'll see plenty of very fit black Londoners based at Fort George, Kinloss or Lossie.
A very pleasing and fascinating novelty indeed.
Great App, every one arrived on time to the minute, no driver to tip, I instantly became very comfortable being driven around in this way and this surprised me. But it's not long before initial interest descends into gloom. It is a soulless experience. A real gut-punch of an insight of dystopia.
What an awful future this presents: no human contact, no interaction with a local of the city you are visiting. Your cash is going to a large corporation rather than a little guy of that locality. And this is before considering what would happen in an accident. I guarantee that in an incident between a Waymo car and a driver the latter would be automatically assumed to be at fault - machines don't make mistakes, right? The corporation will become very skilled in avoiding any suggestion of liability and the small guy will have no chance against this.
It is time to enshrine into law what Joe Public assumes is obviously already there, right?: a car must have a driver.
After all, legally, a car has to be in good enough condition for the road. Add to the existing list of conditions that it must have a driver.
Labour need to deliver something positive that voters can see and feel. They simply must stop the boats.
Fall short of those and its goodnight young lady
NEW THREAD
On Trevor Phillips this am
Ending net zero
Ending final salary schemes in public sector
Ending the boats and asylum hotels
Ending waste and bureaucracy in the public sector
The opposition are a collection of headless chickens, the Conservatives, and a collection of populist-gormless bullshitters, Reform. And the Lib Dems.
The Cons are still tearing themselves apart, and Reform need to present a kaleidoscope of ever-changing rhetoric to distract their followers from the reality, and prevent any detailed examination. The Cons need a perhaps 2 or 3 term sort-out if they are to ever go anywhere, and Reform need to keep the sleight of hand twirling.
For the Govt, imo, they have a decent strategy and are doing many of the correct things, but it's delivery PLUS a more boldness in reform, and decent communications. Much of the PLUS is not here.
I'm not sure that the delivery which is coming into sight in places is big enough and soon enough. And the need to skewer all 3 of the Con leadership, the Right-wing fringe Cons such as Jenrick, Philp, and by the sound of it Katie Lam, and pin Farage down.
Perhaps Sir Keir should have been the son of a juggler.
I don't see a comms or a political strategy to achieve that.
Asylum seekers do receive benefits - they very limited but they are not non-existent, so that's nonsense too.
The evidence is not that migration to the West is caused by worsening poverty - on the contrary it is caused by rising prosperity giving would-be migrants the means and motivation to travel and seek a more desirable lifestyle.
Very few people think that leaving the ECHR will send the boats away, but given that most of the egregious judicial interventions against deportation have been on the basis of the ECHR, it is seen by many as a necessary prerequisite.
Why do you do these odd speech posts on here? This isn't a hustings. But if you were practising, I can absolutely assure you that none of this garbage is going to fly, so I wouldn't even attempt it. You've picked the wrong issue and the wrong party.
Strange (to me) commentary on ammunition manufacture capacity here, and the expansion of capacity that has already been facilitated - albeit slowly - by both the current and previous Govts.
I think the position - supportive or antagonistic or in-between - that Kemi Badenoch takes on the Defence Review, will be a revealing lens to view the Cons through.