There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.
Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.
Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.
You do know [ maybe you don't] that the Lib Dems AND Conservatives have joined together in the HOL to get the decision reversed ?
The following Tory run councils all formally requested that the national govt allow them to cancel of elections in their area: East Sussex, Harlow, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex.
Unless you can inform me otherwise, none of those councillors have had the Tory whip removed for this affront to democracy. Odd given the gusto that Badenoch showed for removing the whip from her main opponent, apparently on the grounds of “dishonesty, disloyalty and for undermining trust in politics”.
I can only conclude the applications made by those councils were made with the acquiescence of CCHQ.
All those councils are reorganising to organise unitary elections next year, Kemi believes in localism and has left each council to make its own decision even if she personally would hold elections even if at taxpayer cost for 1 year post councillors who are heading for redundancy next year
Are the elections being postponed not for the actual authorities but for the Shadow authorites which will replace them in 2027? Surrey are holding elections for the new East and West Surrey Councils in May which will exist in Shadow form until taking over when the County Council and eleven District/Borough Councils are abolished at the end of March 2027.
The last County Council elections in Surrey, Norfolk, Suffolk and the two Sussexes were in 2021 - that means if a further delay of a year occurs, the County Councillors elected then will still be in post in March 2028 which is absurd.
I do think Government indecision, not helped by the clear out of Ministers at DCLOG following the exit of Angela Rayner, hasn't helped.
No for the actual authorities.
Shadow authority elections are the new unitary council elections with those authorities taking full office the following year when the new Mayor of the authority is elected
I'm not sure that's true - Norfolk, Suffolk, East and West Sussex were on the original Devolution Priority List from early 2025 and as a result the elections scheduled for May 2025 were postponed. Surrey did its consultation last summer and presented two submissions (one for a two Unitary solution and another for a three Unitary solution) last August but, and as I said before, this may well have been connected to the departure of Angela Rayner and the entire Ministerial team from DCLOG, a decision from Government as to which option was to be implemented wasn't forthcoming until November.
For Norfolk, the statutory consultation wasn't launched until 20 November last year - why did it take so long? I can understand postponing the 2026 elections, what I can't understand is why the 2025 elections were postponed if the consultation wasn't due to start for another six months?
My understanding on the Shadow authorities is they become legal entities on 1st April 2027 as they will then take over the financial and legal duties and accountabilities of the County and District/Borough Councils all of which will cease to exist.
Exactly, so in Spring 2027 every district and county councillor elected this May in those new unitary areas is made redundant, unless they have been elected to the new unitary councils next year
Not quite.
Are there Shadow elections taking place this year in Norfolk and Suffolk? I believe not, so these elections would take place in May 2027 meaning the new Unitaries wouldn't take over until April 2028 meaning County Councillors elected in May 2021 would only end their term at the end of March 2028 so nearly seven years instead of four.
The problem has been how slow the consultation process has been and how long it has taken the Government to reach a decision on future structures. I see no reason why the 2025 elections shouldn't have taken place but County Councillors elected this May would still have a tenure of two years (nearly).
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
China hacked the mobile phones of senior officials in Downing Street for several years, The Telegraph can disclose...Spying operation targeted senior government members, including aides to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak
China hacked the mobile phones of senior officials in Downing Street for several years, The Telegraph can disclose...Spying operation targeted senior government members, including aides to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak
It isn't just private secondary schools. I was also talking to an academic at a top UK institution the other day, they were saying basically no UK students on their masters / PhD programmes in a STEM subject. Gone from maybe 50/50 home vs international, to 10/90 EU vs Asian, and particularly on the masters, basically all Chinese students. Not good if you think yourself as a knowledge economy.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
The genuine upper class eg royals, Dukes and Earls are on average worth hundreds of millions and can still send their children there. Plus many of their children work in finance, corporate law, as company executives, as surgeons etc and in the few jobs and professions that can still afford major public school fees
I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.
Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.
Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.
You do know [ maybe you don't] that the Lib Dems AND Conservatives have joined together in the HOL to get the decision reversed ?
The following Tory run councils all formally requested that the national govt allow them to cancel of elections in their area: East Sussex, Harlow, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex.
Unless you can inform me otherwise, none of those councillors have had the Tory whip removed for this affront to democracy. Odd given the gusto that Badenoch showed for removing the whip from her main opponent, apparently on the grounds of “dishonesty, disloyalty and for undermining trust in politics”.
I can only conclude the applications made by those councils were made with the acquiescence of CCHQ.
All those councils are reorganising to organise unitary elections next year, Kemi believes in localism and has left each council to make its own decision even if she personally would hold elections even if at taxpayer cost for 1 year post councillors who are heading for redundancy next year
Are the elections being postponed not for the actual authorities but for the Shadow authorites which will replace them in 2027? Surrey are holding elections for the new East and West Surrey Councils in May which will exist in Shadow form until taking over when the County Council and eleven District/Borough Councils are abolished at the end of March 2027.
The last County Council elections in Surrey, Norfolk, Suffolk and the two Sussexes were in 2021 - that means if a further delay of a year occurs, the County Councillors elected then will still be in post in March 2028 which is absurd.
I do think Government indecision, not helped by the clear out of Ministers at DCLOG following the exit of Angela Rayner, hasn't helped.
No for the actual authorities.
Shadow authority elections are the new unitary council elections with those authorities taking full office the following year when the new Mayor of the authority is elected
I'm not sure that's true - Norfolk, Suffolk, East and West Sussex were on the original Devolution Priority List from early 2025 and as a result the elections scheduled for May 2025 were postponed. Surrey did its consultation last summer and presented two submissions (one for a two Unitary solution and another for a three Unitary solution) last August but, and as I said before, this may well have been connected to the departure of Angela Rayner and the entire Ministerial team from DCLOG, a decision from Government as to which option was to be implemented wasn't forthcoming until November.
For Norfolk, the statutory consultation wasn't launched until 20 November last year - why did it take so long? I can understand postponing the 2026 elections, what I can't understand is why the 2025 elections were postponed if the consultation wasn't due to start for another six months?
My understanding on the Shadow authorities is they become legal entities on 1st April 2027 as they will then take over the financial and legal duties and accountabilities of the County and District/Borough Councils all of which will cease to exist.
Exactly, so in Spring 2027 every district and county councillor elected this May in those new unitary areas is made redundant, unless they have been elected to the new unitary councils next year
Not quite.
Are there Shadow elections taking place this year in Norfolk and Suffolk? I believe not, so these elections would take place in May 2027 meaning the new Unitaries wouldn't take over until April 2028 meaning County Councillors elected in May 2021 would only end their term at the end of March 2028 so nearly seven years instead of four.
The problem has been how slow the consultation process has been and how long it has taken the Government to reach a decision on future structures. I see no reason why the 2025 elections shouldn't have taken place but County Councillors elected this May would still have a tenure of two years (nearly).
Shadow authorities are intended to already start taking over the functions of the unitaries from district and county councils
I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.
Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.
Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.
You do know [ maybe you don't] that the Lib Dems AND Conservatives have joined together in the HOL to get the decision reversed ?
The following Tory run councils all formally requested that the national govt allow them to cancel of elections in their area: East Sussex, Harlow, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex.
Unless you can inform me otherwise, none of those councillors have had the Tory whip removed for this affront to democracy. Odd given the gusto that Badenoch showed for removing the whip from her main opponent, apparently on the grounds of “dishonesty, disloyalty and for undermining trust in politics”.
I can only conclude the applications made by those councils were made with the acquiescence of CCHQ.
All those councils are reorganising to organise unitary elections next year, Kemi believes in localism and has left each council to make its own decision even if she personally would hold elections even if at taxpayer cost for 1 year post councillors who are heading for redundancy next year
Are the elections being postponed not for the actual authorities but for the Shadow authorites which will replace them in 2027? Surrey are holding elections for the new East and West Surrey Councils in May which will exist in Shadow form until taking over when the County Council and eleven District/Borough Councils are abolished at the end of March 2027.
The last County Council elections in Surrey, Norfolk, Suffolk and the two Sussexes were in 2021 - that means if a further delay of a year occurs, the County Councillors elected then will still be in post in March 2028 which is absurd.
I do think Government indecision, not helped by the clear out of Ministers at DCLOG following the exit of Angela Rayner, hasn't helped.
No for the actual authorities.
Shadow authority elections are the new unitary council elections with those authorities taking full office the following year when the new Mayor of the authority is elected
I'm not sure that's true - Norfolk, Suffolk, East and West Sussex were on the original Devolution Priority List from early 2025 and as a result the elections scheduled for May 2025 were postponed. Surrey did its consultation last summer and presented two submissions (one for a two Unitary solution and another for a three Unitary solution) last August but, and as I said before, this may well have been connected to the departure of Angela Rayner and the entire Ministerial team from DCLOG, a decision from Government as to which option was to be implemented wasn't forthcoming until November.
For Norfolk, the statutory consultation wasn't launched until 20 November last year - why did it take so long? I can understand postponing the 2026 elections, what I can't understand is why the 2025 elections were postponed if the consultation wasn't due to start for another six months?
My understanding on the Shadow authorities is they become legal entities on 1st April 2027 as they will then take over the financial and legal duties and accountabilities of the County and District/Borough Councils all of which will cease to exist.
I think it was a surprise (but it really shouldn't have been) how many councils thought they were special snowflakes. Either large counties claiming they could work as unitaries, or small districts wanting to take responsibility for everything. Last time I looked, Kent CC was persuing a One Kent model, and Huntingdonshire (last independent in 1965, population 190k) was also after unitary status for itself.
Given the question asked ("come up with a map, based on cities/large towns and their hinterlands, with populations of about 500k per district"), it really ought to have been pretty easy. Hampshire, for example, gets four districts. Two of those are centred on Portsmouth and Southampton, leaving two for the rest of the county, so you get Winchester and Basingstoke. Cambridgeshire gets two, so Cambridge and Peterborough. And so on. I maintain that, had you locked all the council leaders in a room at 11 am and told them they could have lunch once they had agreed a compliant map, you wouldn't have needed a chafing dish to keep the food warm. There are some tricky marginal bits, but not many, and they are marginal.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
Leavitt: "Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized by illegal alien criminals"
Shocking defection news today - could lead to some major popcorn moments.
Nigella to join Bake Off, who'd a thunk it eh?
A mistake. Prue was like Humphrey Lyttleton- they could get away with filthy jokes because their persona make it sound like they couldn't possibly have known the double entendre.
Gregory Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis tomorrow, per @priscialva, @KristenhCNN and me. His public appearances did not go over well internally this weekend, including when he claimed Pretti intended to “massacre” law enforcement.
Gregory Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis tomorrow, per @priscialva, @KristenhCNN and me. His public appearances did not go over well internally this weekend, including when he claimed Pretti intended to “massacre” law enforcement.
And remind us all of how it went for Liz Truss's cabinet....
That's the weird thing about the Conservative-to-Reform pipeline. Not that there is one, or that right wingers are going down it, but it's all the very worst people. Zahawi and Braverman both had to resign in disgrace, Jenrick really ought to have done so over the Dirty Desmond planning thing. Rosindell never had a ministerial post to resign from but [stop right there, Ed.]
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
What subject do you tutor? The person I talked to does maths. They are turning away work they have so much, they could literally fill morning, noon and night.
President Trump’s niece has suggested her uncle could be suffering from Alzheimer’s based on a “deer-in-the-headlights” expression that reminds her of the president’s father.
Mary Trump, a longtime critic of her uncle, said she saw flashes in him of Fred Trump, her grandfather, who she witnessed struggle with the degenerative disease before his death aged 93 in 1999.
“Sometimes it does not seem like he’s oriented to time and place,” Mary Trump, 60, told New York Magazine of her uncle. “And on occasion, I do see that deer-in-the-headlights look.”
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
President Trump’s niece has suggested her uncle could be suffering from Alzheimer’s based on a “deer-in-the-headlights” expression that reminds her of the president’s father.
Mary Trump, a longtime critic of her uncle, said she saw flashes in him of Fred Trump, her grandfather, who she witnessed struggle with the degenerative disease before his death aged 93 in 1999.
“Sometimes it does not seem like he’s oriented to time and place,” Mary Trump, 60, told New York Magazine of her uncle. “And on occasion, I do see that deer-in-the-headlights look.”
I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.
Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.
Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.
You do know [ maybe you don't] that the Lib Dems AND Conservatives have joined together in the HOL to get the decision reversed ?
The following Tory run councils all formally requested that the national govt allow them to cancel of elections in their area: East Sussex, Harlow, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex.
Unless you can inform me otherwise, none of those councillors have had the Tory whip removed for this affront to democracy. Odd given the gusto that Badenoch showed for removing the whip from her main opponent, apparently on the grounds of “dishonesty, disloyalty and for undermining trust in politics”.
I can only conclude the applications made by those councils were made with the acquiescence of CCHQ.
All those councils are reorganising to organise unitary elections next year, Kemi believes in localism and has left each council to make its own decision even if she personally would hold elections even if at taxpayer cost for 1 year post councillors who are heading for redundancy next year
Are the elections being postponed not for the actual authorities but for the Shadow authorites which will replace them in 2027? Surrey are holding elections for the new East and West Surrey Councils in May which will exist in Shadow form until taking over when the County Council and eleven District/Borough Councils are abolished at the end of March 2027.
The last County Council elections in Surrey, Norfolk, Suffolk and the two Sussexes were in 2021 - that means if a further delay of a year occurs, the County Councillors elected then will still be in post in March 2028 which is absurd.
I do think Government indecision, not helped by the clear out of Ministers at DCLOG following the exit of Angela Rayner, hasn't helped.
No for the actual authorities.
Shadow authority elections are the new unitary council elections with those authorities taking full office the following year when the new Mayor of the authority is elected
I'm not sure that's true - Norfolk, Suffolk, East and West Sussex were on the original Devolution Priority List from early 2025 and as a result the elections scheduled for May 2025 were postponed. Surrey did its consultation last summer and presented two submissions (one for a two Unitary solution and another for a three Unitary solution) last August but, and as I said before, this may well have been connected to the departure of Angela Rayner and the entire Ministerial team from DCLOG, a decision from Government as to which option was to be implemented wasn't forthcoming until November.
For Norfolk, the statutory consultation wasn't launched until 20 November last year - why did it take so long? I can understand postponing the 2026 elections, what I can't understand is why the 2025 elections were postponed if the consultation wasn't due to start for another six months?
My understanding on the Shadow authorities is they become legal entities on 1st April 2027 as they will then take over the financial and legal duties and accountabilities of the County and District/Borough Councils all of which will cease to exist.
Exactly, so in Spring 2027 every district and county councillor elected this May in those new unitary areas is made redundant, unless they have been elected to the new unitary councils next year
Not quite.
Are there Shadow elections taking place this year in Norfolk and Suffolk? I believe not, so these elections would take place in May 2027 meaning the new Unitaries wouldn't take over until April 2028 meaning County Councillors elected in May 2021 would only end their term at the end of March 2028 so nearly seven years instead of four.
The problem has been how slow the consultation process has been and how long it has taken the Government to reach a decision on future structures. I see no reason why the 2025 elections shouldn't have taken place but County Councillors elected this May would still have a tenure of two years (nearly).
Shadow authorities are intended to already start taking over the functions of the unitaries from district and county councils
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
What subject do you tutor? The person I talked to does maths. They are turning away work they have so much, they could literally fill morning, noon and night.
English, for the Far East. Demand for it is dead.
Edit - I’ve been rather fortunate that demand for tutoring in History and Politics among domestic pupils has skyrocketed.
Shocking defection news today - could lead to some major popcorn moments.
Nigella to join Bake Off, who'd a thunk it eh?
A mistake. Prue was like Humphrey Lyttleton- they could get away with filthy jokes because their persona make it sound like they couldn't possibly have known the double entendre.
Nigella obvoiusly totally gets it.
Reform MPs Mum replaced by Conservative MPs daughter
Senator Paul, Chairman of Senate Homeland Security Committee follows House committee. Sends letters to heads of ICE, CBP, USCIS to testify in public hearing.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I've been called a toff many times but the conversation usually goes.
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
Leavitt: "Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized by illegal alien criminals"
Shocking defection news today - could lead to some major popcorn moments.
Nigella to join Bake Off, who'd a thunk it eh?
A mistake. Prue was like Humphrey Lyttleton- they could get away with filthy jokes because their persona make it sound like they couldn't possibly have known the double entendre.
Nigella obvoiusly totally gets it.
Reform MPs Mum replaced by Conservative MPs daughter
Fair enough, though the late Lord Lawson's views on the EU, net zero etc would have put him pretty high on a defection watchlist were he still alive.
ETA: There must be a joke about having your cake and eating it here.
I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.
Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.
Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.
You do know [ maybe you don't] that the Lib Dems AND Conservatives have joined together in the HOL to get the decision reversed ?
The following Tory run councils all formally requested that the national govt allow them to cancel of elections in their area: East Sussex, Harlow, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex.
Unless you can inform me otherwise, none of those councillors have had the Tory whip removed for this affront to democracy. Odd given the gusto that Badenoch showed for removing the whip from her main opponent, apparently on the grounds of “dishonesty, disloyalty and for undermining trust in politics”.
I can only conclude the applications made by those councils were made with the acquiescence of CCHQ.
All those councils are reorganising to organise unitary elections next year, Kemi believes in localism and has left each council to make its own decision even if she personally would hold elections even if at taxpayer cost for 1 year post councillors who are heading for redundancy next year
Are the elections being postponed not for the actual authorities but for the Shadow authorites which will replace them in 2027? Surrey are holding elections for the new East and West Surrey Councils in May which will exist in Shadow form until taking over when the County Council and eleven District/Borough Councils are abolished at the end of March 2027.
The last County Council elections in Surrey, Norfolk, Suffolk and the two Sussexes were in 2021 - that means if a further delay of a year occurs, the County Councillors elected then will still be in post in March 2028 which is absurd.
I do think Government indecision, not helped by the clear out of Ministers at DCLOG following the exit of Angela Rayner, hasn't helped.
No for the actual authorities.
Shadow authority elections are the new unitary council elections with those authorities taking full office the following year when the new Mayor of the authority is elected
I'm not sure that's true - Norfolk, Suffolk, East and West Sussex were on the original Devolution Priority List from early 2025 and as a result the elections scheduled for May 2025 were postponed. Surrey did its consultation last summer and presented two submissions (one for a two Unitary solution and another for a three Unitary solution) last August but, and as I said before, this may well have been connected to the departure of Angela Rayner and the entire Ministerial team from DCLOG, a decision from Government as to which option was to be implemented wasn't forthcoming until November.
For Norfolk, the statutory consultation wasn't launched until 20 November last year - why did it take so long? I can understand postponing the 2026 elections, what I can't understand is why the 2025 elections were postponed if the consultation wasn't due to start for another six months?
My understanding on the Shadow authorities is they become legal entities on 1st April 2027 as they will then take over the financial and legal duties and accountabilities of the County and District/Borough Councils all of which will cease to exist.
I think it was a surprise (but it really shouldn't have been) how many councils thought they were special snowflakes. Either large counties claiming they could work as unitaries, or small districts wanting to take responsibility for everything. Last time I looked, Kent CC was persuing a One Kent model, and Huntingdonshire (last independent in 1965, population 190k) was also after unitary status for itself.
Given the question asked ("come up with a map, based on cities/large towns and their hinterlands, with populations of about 500k per district"), it really ought to have been pretty easy. Hampshire, for example, gets four districts. Two of those are centred on Portsmouth and Southampton, leaving two for the rest of the county, so you get Winchester and Basingstoke. Cambridgeshire gets two, so Cambridge and Peterborough. And so on. I maintain that, had you locked all the council leaders in a room at 11 am and told them they could have lunch once they had agreed a compliant map, you wouldn't have needed a chafing dish to keep the food warm. There are some tricky marginal bits, but not many, and they are marginal.
You and I both know it's much more complex than that.
Some of the Counties have made an overt bid to "take over" all the functions of the Districts and Boroughs based on the Cornwall experience (among others) and I can tell you in Surrey the state of political relations between the Conservative County and the Districts/Boroughs (mostly run by either LDs or coalitions none of which include the Conservatives) made the relations between the USSR and USA in late October 1962 look positively friendly.
With the Government ruling "County" authorities a non-starter for being too large, the various councils have had to work together but it's not been easy and while in Surrey there were really only two options, in other authorities more possibilities existed and of course there has to be a consultation process to see what the public think rather than locking Councillors in a room and depriving them of sustenance.
I regard the whole process as deeply wasteful and unnecessary - there's nothing wrong with two-tier and it works fine in some places.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I've been called a toff many times but the conversation usually goes.
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
By the way, I was astonished this morning. An actual subtle reference to Game of Thrones.
But did you pay the gold price? Must have been expensive at the moment.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
What subject do you tutor? The person I talked to does maths. They are turning away work they have so much, they could literally fill morning, noon and night.
English, for the Far East. Demand for it is dead.
Edit - I’ve been rather fortunate that demand for tutoring in History and Politics among domestic pupils has skyrocketed.
Could that be the rise of AI translation means that people in the Far East don't think that speaking English will open up as many advantages as it used to? English was not widely spoken at all when I was in China outside of hotels, even in places like Shenzhen were lots of Westeners do business, everybody was just ready with their AI translation apps to converse with you.
Also, while in China, I spoke to several who had been educated at least in part in the West. The phrase a couple used was Europe is a mausoleum economy. Love the old buildings, a great experience to spend time some time in exploring, but a view that a stagant market to sell into and not where to live. However, the badge of UK private school and advanced degree from a world ranked UK research uni, still positive tick in the box for jobs in China, but they can get use AI or Hong Kongers if they want English spoken. There was much more excitement about the growing economies of other Asian countries as the opportunties for the future.
"The by-election to replace former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne is likely to take place at the end of February, after the process to hold the poll was begun."
I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.
Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.
Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.
Do you think it's justified to employ the f word when talking about him?
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I've been called a toff many times but the conversation usually goes.
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
By the way, I was astonished this morning. An actual subtle reference to Game of Thrones.
But did you pay the gold price? Must have been expensive at the moment.
All my references are subtle, tomorrow afternoon's thread (events permitting) contains a subtle reference to a 1970s song.
I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.
Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.
Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.
You do know [ maybe you don't] that the Lib Dems AND Conservatives have joined together in the HOL to get the decision reversed ?
The following Tory run councils all formally requested that the national govt allow them to cancel of elections in their area: East Sussex, Harlow, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex.
Unless you can inform me otherwise, none of those councillors have had the Tory whip removed for this affront to democracy. Odd given the gusto that Badenoch showed for removing the whip from her main opponent, apparently on the grounds of “dishonesty, disloyalty and for undermining trust in politics”.
I can only conclude the applications made by those councils were made with the acquiescence of CCHQ.
All those councils are reorganising to organise unitary elections next year, Kemi believes in localism and has left each council to make its own decision even if she personally would hold elections even if at taxpayer cost for 1 year post councillors who are heading for redundancy next year
Are the elections being postponed not for the actual authorities but for the Shadow authorites which will replace them in 2027? Surrey are holding elections for the new East and West Surrey Councils in May which will exist in Shadow form until taking over when the County Council and eleven District/Borough Councils are abolished at the end of March 2027.
The last County Council elections in Surrey, Norfolk, Suffolk and the two Sussexes were in 2021 - that means if a further delay of a year occurs, the County Councillors elected then will still be in post in March 2028 which is absurd.
I do think Government indecision, not helped by the clear out of Ministers at DCLOG following the exit of Angela Rayner, hasn't helped.
No for the actual authorities.
Shadow authority elections are the new unitary council elections with those authorities taking full office the following year when the new Mayor of the authority is elected
I'm not sure that's true - Norfolk, Suffolk, East and West Sussex were on the original Devolution Priority List from early 2025 and as a result the elections scheduled for May 2025 were postponed. Surrey did its consultation last summer and presented two submissions (one for a two Unitary solution and another for a three Unitary solution) last August but, and as I said before, this may well have been connected to the departure of Angela Rayner and the entire Ministerial team from DCLOG, a decision from Government as to which option was to be implemented wasn't forthcoming until November.
For Norfolk, the statutory consultation wasn't launched until 20 November last year - why did it take so long? I can understand postponing the 2026 elections, what I can't understand is why the 2025 elections were postponed if the consultation wasn't due to start for another six months?
My understanding on the Shadow authorities is they become legal entities on 1st April 2027 as they will then take over the financial and legal duties and accountabilities of the County and District/Borough Councils all of which will cease to exist.
I think it was a surprise (but it really shouldn't have been) how many councils thought they were special snowflakes. Either large counties claiming they could work as unitaries, or small districts wanting to take responsibility for everything. Last time I looked, Kent CC was persuing a One Kent model, and Huntingdonshire (last independent in 1965, population 190k) was also after unitary status for itself.
Given the question asked ("come up with a map, based on cities/large towns and their hinterlands, with populations of about 500k per district"), it really ought to have been pretty easy. Hampshire, for example, gets four districts. Two of those are centred on Portsmouth and Southampton, leaving two for the rest of the county, so you get Winchester and Basingstoke. Cambridgeshire gets two, so Cambridge and Peterborough. And so on. I maintain that, had you locked all the council leaders in a room at 11 am and told them they could have lunch once they had agreed a compliant map, you wouldn't have needed a chafing dish to keep the food warm. There are some tricky marginal bits, but not many, and they are marginal.
You and I both know it's much more complex than that.
Some of the Counties have made an overt bid to "take over" all the functions of the Districts and Boroughs based on the Cornwall experience (among others) and I can tell you in Surrey the state of political relations between the Conservative County and the Districts/Boroughs (mostly run by either LDs or coalitions none of which include the Conservatives) made the relations between the USSR and USA in late October 1962 look positively friendly.
With the Government ruling "County" authorities a non-starter for being too large, the various councils have had to work together but it's not been easy and while in Surrey there were really only two options, in other authorities more possibilities existed and of course there has to be a consultation process to see what the public think rather than locking Councillors in a room and depriving them of sustenance.
I regard the whole process as deeply wasteful and unnecessary - there's nothing wrong with two-tier and it works fine in some places.
My theory is that it's mostly about planning. In two tier areas, districts are often small enough that the "my backyard" bit of NIMBY extends to the whole borough and bigger districts have a better chance of doing a bigger picture thing that gets some stuff built somewhere. Plus, there are a decent number of council areas that are pretty much built-out.
On a personal level, I'll be sad when Gosport goes; I've got enough civic regalia from ancestors who will be more dead when the council they used to run no longer exists. But it should have happened fifty years ago.
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - American approval of U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policy fell to its lowest level since his return to the White House in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with a majority of Americans saying his crackdown on immigration has gone too far.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
"Most of her grandfather's family was killed in the Holocaust."
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
Assuming Labour lose, it will be embarrasing, but nothing will actually change. Had Labour lost the consequent Greater Manchester by-election, that would have been vital.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
What subject do you tutor? The person I talked to does maths. They are turning away work they have so much, they could literally fill morning, noon and night.
English, for the Far East. Demand for it is dead.
Edit - I’ve been rather fortunate that demand for tutoring in History and Politics among domestic pupils has skyrocketed.
Could that be the rise of AI translation means that people in the Far East don't think that speaking English will open up as many advantages as it used to? English was not widely spoken at all when I was in China outside of hotels, even in places like Shenzhen were lots of Westeners do business, everybody was just ready with their AI translation apps to converse with you.
Also, while in China, I spoke to several who had been educated at least in part in the West. The phrase a couple used was Europe is a mausoleum economy. Love the old buildings, a great experience to spend time some time in exploring, but a view that a stagant market to sell into and not where to live. However, the badge of UK private school and advanced degree from a world ranked UK research uni, still positive tick in the box for jobs in China, but they can get use AI or Hong Kongers if they want English spoken. There was much more excitement about the growing economies of other Asian countries as the opportunties for the future.
The reason demand for English language tutoring in China has dropped is largely because the government no longer demands English qualifications for various different programmes.
There is also a marked slackening of demand for business and economics to judge by the enquiries my agency and its partner agencies are getting, which appears to be due to the severe economic headwinds China is facing coupled to the demographic crunch it is undergoing.
But that doesn’t explain your friend’s claim about schools in the West being highly sought after from China. That is certainly not true of Britain at least right now (which, again, is one reason why private schools are struggling) and I am wondering if you are confusing demand in the west as a whole with demand for this country.
"The by-election to replace former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne is likely to take place at the end of February, after the process to hold the poll was begun."
I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.
Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.
Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.
Do you think it's justified to employ the f word when talking about him?
It’s going to be bloody difficult to talk about the Fukkers if we can’t say F*r*ge.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
"Most of her grandfather's family was killed in the Holocaust."
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
What subject do you tutor? The person I talked to does maths. They are turning away work they have so much, they could literally fill morning, noon and night.
English, for the Far East. Demand for it is dead.
Edit - I’ve been rather fortunate that demand for tutoring in History and Politics among domestic pupils has skyrocketed.
Could that be the rise of AI translation means that people in the Far East don't think that speaking English will open up as many advantages as it used to? English was not widely spoken at all when I was in China outside of hotels, even in places like Shenzhen were lots of Westeners do business, everybody was just ready with their AI translation apps to converse with you.
Also, while in China, I spoke to several who had been educated at least in part in the West. The phrase a couple used was Europe is a mausoleum economy. Love the old buildings, a great experience to spend time some time in exploring, but a view that a stagant market to sell into and not where to live. However, the badge of UK private school and advanced degree from a world ranked UK research uni, still positive tick in the box for jobs in China, but they can get use AI or Hong Kongers if they want English spoken. There was much more excitement about the growing economies of other Asian countries as the opportunties for the future.
The reason demand for English language tutoring in China has dropped is largely because the government no longer demands English qualifications for various different programmes.
There is also a marked slackening of demand for business and economics to judge by the enquiries my agency and its partner agencies are getting, which appears to be due to the severe economic headwinds China is facing coupled to the demographic crunch it is undergoing.
But that doesn’t explain your friend’s claim about schools in the West being highly sought after from China. That is certainly not true of Britain at least right now (which, again, is one reason why private schools are struggling) and I am wondering if you are confusing demand in the west as a whole with demand for this country.
Good question on the last bit. As far as I know a lot of it is getting them here for at least for A-Levels with support / tutoring ontop of the schooling to ace STEM A-Level subjects, Maths Olymipid and then the likes of Oxbridge entrance exams.
Its a friend of a friend, and I knew they had this tutoring business but when they heard I was going to China for a month was rabbiting on about how China banning in person tutoring had been great for them etc.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I've been called a toff many times but the conversation usually goes.
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
By the way, I was astonished this morning. An actual subtle reference to Game of Thrones.
But did you pay the gold price? Must have been expensive at the moment.
All my references are subtle, tomorrow afternoon's thread (events permitting) contains a subtle reference to a 1970s song.
"D'you wanna be in my gang" by Nigel "Glitter" Farage?
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I've been called a toff many times but the conversation usually goes.
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
By the way, I was astonished this morning. An actual subtle reference to Game of Thrones.
But did you pay the gold price? Must have been expensive at the moment.
All my references are subtle, tomorrow afternoon's thread (events permitting) contains a subtle reference to a 1970s song.
"D'you wanna be in my gang" by Nigel "Glitter" Farage?
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I've been called a toff many times but the conversation usually goes.
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
By the way, I was astonished this morning. An actual subtle reference to Game of Thrones.
But did you pay the gold price? Must have been expensive at the moment.
All my references are subtle, tomorrow afternoon's thread (events permitting) contains a subtle reference to a 1970s song.
"D'you wanna be in my gang" by Nigel "Glitter" Farage?
It's now been moved to Wednesday thanks to your message (have replied.)
"The by-election to replace former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne is likely to take place at the end of February, after the process to hold the poll was begun."
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
Assuming Labour lose, it will be embarrasing, but nothing will actually change. Had Labour lost the consequent Greater Manchester by-election, that would have been vital.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I've been called a toff many times but the conversation usually goes.
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
By the way, I was astonished this morning. An actual subtle reference to Game of Thrones.
But did you pay the gold price? Must have been expensive at the moment.
All my references are subtle, tomorrow afternoon's thread (events permitting) contains a subtle reference to a 1970s song.
"D'you wanna be in my gang" by Nigel "Glitter" Farage?
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
Assuming Labour lose, it will be embarrasing, but nothing will actually change. Had Labour lost the consequent Greater Manchester by-election, that would have been vital.
This isn't John Major, ca. 1996.
I suspect it was highly likely that Labour would lose to Reform (without Burnham) before the ludicrous Burnham drama this weekend. It is almost guaranteed now. As I wrote on Friday, losing the Mayoralty would be catastrophic.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
Assuming Labour lose, it will be embarrasing, but nothing will actually change. Had Labour lost the consequent Greater Manchester by-election, that would have been vital.
This isn't John Major, ca. 1996.
I suspect it was highly likely that Labour would lose to Reform (without Burnham) before the ludicrous Burnham drama this weekend. It is almost guaranteed now. As I wrote on Friday, losing the Mayoralty would be catastrophic.
I suspect it will follow a similar pattern to Caerphilly. Green/Reform. Rest nowhere.
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
Assuming Labour lose, it will be embarrasing, but nothing will actually change. Had Labour lost the consequent Greater Manchester by-election, that would have been vital.
This isn't John Major, ca. 1996.
Worth pointing out again that this is Labour's 37th safest seat. Runcorn, which they lost narrowly last year was 44th but at least that was lost by only 6 votes. Coming third in this type of seat would be existentially disastrous.
By-elections don't always make much difference (it's only 1 seat) but the scale of the result can act as a pointer between a "mid-term blues but will bounce back" scenario and a "never getting re-elected" scenario. If people are talking about Labour in 3rd that is definitely pointing towards the latter.
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
Assuming Labour lose, it will be embarrasing, but nothing will actually change. Had Labour lost the consequent Greater Manchester by-election, that would have been vital.
This isn't John Major, ca. 1996.
Worth pointing out again that this is Labour's 37th safest seat. Runcorn, which they lost narrowly last year was 44th but at least that was lost by only 6 votes. Coming third in this type of seat would be existentially disastrous.
By-elections don't always make much difference (it's only 1 seat) but the scale of the result can act as a pointer between a "mid-term blues but will bounce back" scenario and a "never getting re-elected" scenario. If people are talking about Labour in 3rd that is definitely pointing towards the latter.
It means 90% of Labour MP have 3 years to find a new career.
Tory MP wiped out in 2024 found it very difficult to find a new job. That is going to terrify most of the Labour Party in Westminster. Makes you likely to take desperate measures...
Apple don't miss a trick, pumped the price of mac minis because everybody is buying them to run their Clawdbots. Waiting for Anthropic now to release super mega Max tier at a mere $400/month.
Um, I don't see any prices rises - although we really won't know until Wednesday when they launch the new M5 Max chips.
$599 in US, were $499. UK they were £549, now £599. Amazon they have gone £529 to £549, highest price for 3 months. Despite as you say M5 chip out this week and new M5 mac mini is coming March or June, so you would expect price ticking down to get rid of all the stock.
Not on the official Apple site. I think Scan in the UK had them for £499 a couple of weeks ago, but Apple / Amazon have upped their prices.
Edit:- Scan is now £549.
Amazon is also at $499.
So I don't think there's any evidence yet that Clawdbot is increasing demand for Mac Minis to the extent that its affecting prices. But that could change. (FWIW, the Mac Mini is pretty good with smaller models, so you could probably do a hybrid Clawdbot on there that uses the Mac for 90% of the tokens, and offloaded the harder thinking to Anthropic/whoever.)
Macs are becoming more attractive because it's getting very difficult to build or buy a PC for AI work at a sane price. On top of the RAM and SSD price hikes, NVidia is discontinuing all its 16GB cards below the 5080, and the 5080s are going up in price rapidly. A Mac Mini with 24GB unified RAM costs about £200 less than a 5080 on its own.
Well also for any serious ML these days a single desktop even with 5090 doesn't really cut it. You use the cloud / personal cluster for actually grunt work, it is what you want to develop on. The only big downside of the macs is their lack of metal backend for JAX, which is now really the defacto standard ML framework for LLMs and gaining a lot more widespread adoption. So the GPU grunt of any mac (I believe the M5 is about on par with something like a 4070) isn't relevant as you can't even prototype if JAX is your ML framework. But as a low cost little box to sit there and run Claude Code to plug into other things, super useful. Also if you run it separately like that with limited access, it doesn't really matter if your Claude Code agent does something stupid as I don't let it be doing things to main code base unsupervised.
Are you telling me I need to move on from PyTorch? What's the learning gradient like*?
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
Assuming Labour lose, it will be embarrasing, but nothing will actually change. Had Labour lost the consequent Greater Manchester by-election, that would have been vital.
This isn't John Major, ca. 1996.
I suspect it was highly likely that Labour would lose to Reform (without Burnham) before the ludicrous Burnham drama this weekend. It is almost guaranteed now. As I wrote on Friday, losing the Mayoralty would be catastrophic.
In terms of publicity and internal Labour factionalism it seems to me very bad all round. But the fact that someone else always wants the top job is part of the scenery at the top level. Fair enough. What isn't fair enough if for Burnham, if he is that keen, to take a Labour party job for four years incompatible with being an MP or the PM, asking for a dispensation, knowing that if left Labour in a tight place WRT Manchester, and knowing that there would be a mighty fuss if he was successful and a mighty fuss if he wasn't. This was not well done and is conduct worthy of a Boris.
Synthesia raised a load more money at a value double what is was last year. The London-based AI video startup raised $200M in a Series E round led by Google Ventures valuing them at $4bn (they turned down $3bn from Adobe a couple of moneths ago). Synthesia now sits among Europe’s most valuable AI companies.
And unlike 99.9% of AI start-ups they are profitable. No Russ Hamilton, gotta be pre-pre-revenue in order to raise.
"China hacked Downing Street phones for years Spying operation targeted senior government members, including aides to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak" (£)
The Guardian piece is a magnificent bit of dry humour about a film which makes any normal person want to throw up. It adds a touch of light to a dark place.
I especially liked:
At the time of publication, all seats remained available for the 28 screenings of Melania at the Blackburn, Castleford and Hamilton branches.
The picture was slightly rosier at the Cineworld in Wandsworth, which had sold four tickets, while five backrow seats were also booked at the Cineworld in Broughton.
That use of the word 'backrow', at least to me being of an older generation, feels like a uniquely fine and beautiful and hilarious use of that evocative word.
There are also plans to set up a new National Centre for AI in policing. The idea is to develop new AI tools for police officers to help with things like going through CCTV footage and transcribing and redacting documents.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
What subject do you tutor? The person I talked to does maths. They are turning away work they have so much, they could literally fill morning, noon and night.
I think @ydoethur does classes in advanced punning.
The Guardian piece is a magnificent bit of dry humour about a film which makes any normal person want to throw up. It adds a touch of light to a dark place.
I especially liked:
At the time of publication, all seats remained available for the 28 screenings of Melania at the Blackburn, Castleford and Hamilton branches.
The picture was slightly rosier at the Cineworld in Wandsworth, which had sold four tickets, while five backrow seats were also booked at the Cineworld in Broughton.
That use of the word 'backrow', at least to me being of an older generation, feels like a uniquely fine and beautiful and hilarious use of that evocative word.
I worked at a cinema as a teenager. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the four backrow seats to an otherwise empty cinema were booked for reasons other than appreciating the cinematography.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
What subject do you tutor? The person I talked to does maths. They are turning away work they have so much, they could literally fill morning, noon and night.
I think @ydoethur does classes in advanced punning.
Which just goes to show that 'those who can't, teach' is balls.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I've been called a toff many times but the conversation usually goes.
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
By the way, I was astonished this morning. An actual subtle reference to Game of Thrones.
But did you pay the gold price? Must have been expensive at the moment.
All my references are subtle, tomorrow afternoon's thread (events permitting) contains a subtle reference to a 1970s song.
"D'you wanna be in my gang" by Nigel "Glitter" Farage?
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.
She was hardly Grange Hill.
Indeed, it was a grammar school originally
So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.
Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.
No, it isn't uber posh but then neither are grammar schools or minor public schools really but upper middle class.
Proper upper class posh is Eton, Winchester, Westminster, Harrow educated and maybe a few other major public schools too like Charterhouse, Rugby and Ampleforth and Fettes
Expect it isn't anymore, because the upper class posh can no longer afford to send their children there.
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
I know somebody who makes a fortune out of advising rich Chinese about private schooling in the West. Demand has never been higher apparently. And of course when the Chinese banned all their in person post-school tutoring services, having a Westeners with a polished CV doing Zoom coaching is also very popular.
Hmm. That's definitely not my experience actually working in the sector. Demand from China has dropped off a cliff in the last three years, for schooling and tutoring. When I first started I had 90% Chinese and Far Eastern clients, now I haven't got a single one. Similarly, one reason so many private schools are closing (the latest being Rendcomb in Cirencester) is they are international schools who cannot attract students.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
What subject do you tutor? The person I talked to does maths. They are turning away work they have so much, they could literally fill morning, noon and night.
I think @ydoethur does classes in advanced punning.
Which just goes to show that 'those who can't, teach' is balls.
You don't need a whole new organisation to do that. The solutions already exist.
You'd never get a Minister of Permanent Secretary to agree to an idea like that. You need at least one new department, three new laws, and if possible some incredibly expensive IT system to supposedly transform all tasks that will, naturally, not work.
Excellent idea, it's always better to have them lie and obfuscate in person whilst a bunch of politicians talk past each other whilst they farm for social media clips.
Excellent idea, it's always better to have them lie and obfuscate in person whilst a bunch of politicians talk past each other whilst they farm for social media clips.
There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.
Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.
She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else. Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.
Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest
Mebbes. But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now. And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.
Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election
And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?
I do think this could be terminal
Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.
She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?
She went to a comprehensive.
Poshness is in the eye of the beholder - it is a purely relative concept. I went to comprehensive and I don't think of myself as posh. But I am self aware enough to know that most people would think of me as posh.
I met some americans when I was at university who expressed delight at finally meeting a posh sounding Brit (I guess this was something they had been looking forward to for some reason). I thought I just sounded southern, but it was only Leicester so it's not like the place was overrun with intense northern accents or something.
Comments
It's now Chinese and the international super-rich.
Are there Shadow elections taking place this year in Norfolk and Suffolk? I believe not, so these elections would take place in May 2027 meaning the new Unitaries wouldn't take over until April 2028 meaning County Councillors elected in May 2021 would only end their term at the end of March 2028 so nearly seven years instead of four.
The problem has been how slow the consultation process has been and how long it has taken the Government to reach a decision on future structures. I see no reason why the 2025 elections shouldn't have taken place but County Councillors elected this May would still have a tenure of two years (nearly).
https://x.com/ianbremmer/status/2015875710846746998?s=61
Nigella to join Bake Off, who'd a thunk it eh?
Given the question asked ("come up with a map, based on cities/large towns and their hinterlands, with populations of about 500k per district"), it really ought to have been pretty easy. Hampshire, for example, gets four districts. Two of those are centred on Portsmouth and Southampton, leaving two for the rest of the county, so you get Winchester and Basingstoke. Cambridgeshire gets two, so Cambridge and Peterborough. And so on. I maintain that, had you locked all the council leaders in a room at 11 am and told them they could have lunch once they had agreed a compliant map, you wouldn't have needed a chafing dish to keep the food warm. There are some tricky marginal bits, but not many, and they are marginal.
On that subject, 105 private schools have closed or merged since last January when VAT came in. That's significantly above the long term (10 year) average of around 77 a year closing or merging.
While it would be silly to say it must be VAT - NI costs and fuel prices both seem to be playing a big part too - it's certainly one variable that could have had an impact.
And what's annoying, to come back to the main thrust of the reply, is that this used to be one of our biggest and best invisible exports. Not only did it earn us loads of cash, but it left a huge number of bright and influential people all around the world with a real affection for and connection to Britain which helped in a myriad of other ways too.
Nigella obvoiusly totally gets it.
Gregory Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis tomorrow, per @priscialva, @KristenhCNN and me. His public appearances did not go over well internally this weekend, including when he claimed Pretti intended to “massacre” law enforcement.
https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/2015885330092634427?s=20
https://x.com/theobertram/status/2015763774897037731?s=20
Whether this is simply ignorance, or she genuinely believes in the equivalence, is an interesting question.
Co-Founder of Anthropic: “My deep loyalty is to the principles of classical liberal democracy.”
If this is what they say publicly, this is how their AI model is programmed.
Woke and deeply leftist ideology is what they want you to rely upon.
https://x.com/KatieMiller/status/2015780976320798888
And remind us all of how it went for Liz Truss's cabinet....
Mary Trump, a longtime critic of her uncle, said she saw flashes in him of Fred Trump, her grandfather, who she witnessed struggle with the degenerative disease before his death aged 93 in 1999.
“Sometimes it does not seem like he’s oriented to time and place,” Mary Trump, 60, told New York Magazine of her uncle. “And on occasion, I do see that deer-in-the-headlights look.”
https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/trump-alzheimers-aspirin-hand-health-wzfmwlxdw
Kim Johnson said local members in Gorton and Denton would be upset at not having the chance to choose him as the candidate.
While Richard Burgon quoted a poll that he said showed only 8% of people in the seat agreed with blocking Burnham.
Loyalist MPs are confident that shows the backlash has been contained and Starmer made the right choice.
https://x.com/breeallegretti/status/2015877509653332197
Not a cost-free choice, but propbably the correct one- if only in the "everything else would have been worse" sense.
Edit - I’ve been rather fortunate that demand for tutoring in History and Politics among domestic pupils has skyrocketed.
https://bsky.app/profile/rgoodlaw.bsky.social/post/3mde3c4b2x22x
Random discussion and I say something.
Friend: You really are a toff.
Me: How? I am the grandson of humble immigrants to this country.
Friend: Okay, you're a Tory twat, oh and the humility gene was wiped out in two generations.
ETA: There must be a joke about having your cake and eating it here.
Some of the Counties have made an overt bid to "take over" all the functions of the Districts and Boroughs based on the Cornwall experience (among others) and I can tell you in Surrey the state of political relations between the Conservative County and the Districts/Boroughs (mostly run by either LDs or coalitions none of which include the Conservatives) made the relations between the USSR and USA in late October 1962 look positively friendly.
With the Government ruling "County" authorities a non-starter for being too large, the various councils have had to work together but it's not been easy and while in Surrey there were really only two options, in other authorities more possibilities existed and of course there has to be a consultation process to see what the public think rather than locking Councillors in a room and depriving them of sustenance.
I regard the whole process as deeply wasteful and unnecessary - there's nothing wrong with two-tier and it works fine in some places.
But did you pay the gold price? Must have been expensive at the moment.
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mde5hoiow22l
Also, while in China, I spoke to several who had been educated at least in part in the West. The phrase a couple used was Europe is a mausoleum economy. Love the old buildings, a great experience to spend time some time in exploring, but a view that a stagant market to sell into and not where to live. However, the badge of UK private school and advanced degree from a world ranked UK research uni, still positive tick in the box for jobs in China, but they can get use AI or Hong Kongers if they want English spoken. There was much more excitement about the growing economies of other Asian countries as the opportunties for the future.
"The by-election to replace former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne is likely to take place at the end of February, after the process to hold the poll was begun."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg1e0dmrjno
On a personal level, I'll be sad when Gosport goes; I've got enough civic regalia from ancestors who will be more dead when the council they used to run no longer exists. But it should have happened fifty years ago.
Senior Labour figures have privately conceded that they expect to lose a vital by-election after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing. Some fear the party could be pushed into third place behind Reform and the Greens.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/labour-expects-lose-gorton-denton-byelection-andy-burnham-blocked-p380kv0ck
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-immigration-approval-drops-record-low-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-01-26/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Lam
Assuming Labour lose, it will be embarrasing, but nothing will actually change. Had Labour lost the consequent Greater Manchester by-election, that would have been vital.
This isn't John Major, ca. 1996.
There is also a marked slackening of demand for business and economics to judge by the enquiries my agency and its partner agencies are getting, which appears to be due to the severe economic headwinds China is facing coupled to the demographic crunch it is undergoing.
But that doesn’t explain your friend’s claim about schools in the West being highly sought after from China. That is certainly not true of Britain at least right now (which, again, is one reason why private schools are struggling) and I am wondering if you are confusing demand in the west as a whole with demand for this country.
It might cause her to turn her nose up at Farage though.
Its a friend of a friend, and I knew they had this tutoring business but when they heard I was going to China for a month was rabbiting on about how China banning in person tutoring had been great for them etc.
Not even with a barge pole....
There is a phenomenon known as social mobility.
Green/Reform.
Rest nowhere.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/26/melania-trump-documentary-uk-cinemas-vue-soft-sales?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
By-elections don't always make much difference (it's only 1 seat) but the scale of the result can act as a pointer between a "mid-term blues but will bounce back" scenario and a "never getting re-elected" scenario. If people are talking about Labour in 3rd that is definitely pointing towards the latter.
Senator Rand Paul
@SenRandPaul
·
2h
Today, I call on the heads of ICE, CBP, and USCIS to testify before the Homeland Security Committee.
https://x.com/SenRandPaul/status/2015868311825785113
Tory MP wiped out in 2024 found it very difficult to find a new job. That is going to terrify most of the Labour Party in Westminster. Makes you likely to take desperate measures...
* Sorry, but I couldn't resist
Synthesia raised a load more money at a value double what is was last year. The London-based AI video startup raised $200M in a Series E round led by Google Ventures valuing them at $4bn (they turned down $3bn from Adobe a couple of moneths ago). Synthesia now sits among Europe’s most valuable AI companies.
And unlike 99.9% of AI start-ups they are profitable. No Russ Hamilton, gotta be pre-pre-revenue in order to raise.
"China hacked Downing Street phones for years
Spying operation targeted senior government members, including aides to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak" (£)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/26/china-hacked-downing-street-phones-for-years/
I especially liked:
At the time of publication, all seats remained available for the 28 screenings of Melania at the Blackburn, Castleford and Hamilton branches.
The picture was slightly rosier at the Cineworld in Wandsworth, which had sold four tickets, while five backrow seats were also booked at the Cineworld in Broughton.
That use of the word 'backrow', at least to me being of an older generation, feels like a uniquely fine and beautiful and hilarious use of that evocative word.
He hasn't even got near to building at the depth to house Stephen Miller.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly10jjmg92o
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp37lryxq4eo
You don't need a whole new organisation to do that. The solutions already exist.
Does that make me PB’s leading punned it?
https://x.com/gbpolitcs/status/2015887200915775716
NEW: Ed Davey has said his party is open to accepting Conservative MP defections
One day that might matter.