None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The central mystery though...
What happens in middle England? The boring suburbs, the sort-of OK small commuter towns? Provincial, but without the chip on the shoulder?
At the moment, nobody is really speaking to them, though they are probably the lens through which Starmer's blurred vision makes most sense.
And there's flipping loads of them.
My impression is that Reform has swept through small towns. I think they score very highly in the East Midlands, which is sort of a proxy for small towns as I think it's the region with fewest large cities or rural expanse.
People in small towns are Reform voters. They feel like they don't get anything from government, compared to the investment that goes into big cities, both from the public and the private sector. They score maximum on reliance on the car, and it being annoying to be reliant on the car because of traffic, with very poor public transport alternatives. Lower rates of government employment, no universities.
Years ago the Middle England Towns and Their Hinterlands were identified in an article on here as the swing seats in British general elections. Big cities were Labour. Rural areas were Tory. The towns were in between. Now those towns are for Reform.
I think that’s absolutely right. It’s the economy and economic opportunity. My town is a commuting town. I’m going into Newcastle tomorrow morning. Public transport options aren’t great.
The main Parties who want to get back into these areas need to work out a strategy for it and said strategy is not just telling the voters they are stupid or wrong. They can’t just keep voting the same old same old and get nothing in return.
Yes. It also explains why small towns were the swing seats previously. Governments on both sides always ended up failing them, more so than anywhere else.
Is it governments failing them or just human preferences? I'd be happy to live in a big city or somewhere rural as long as connected. I wouldn't choose a small town unless that was my only option. Is there much a government can realistically do about that?
There is a lot to be said for living in a small town as long as it is reasonably prosperous. I grew up in one and it's nice being able to walk down the street and say hello to the many people that you know as you go about your business. One of the wonderful things about our little corner of SE London is that it replicates that kind of dense network of connections across the community, and so I think of myself as living in a small town that is also part of a big city, best of both worlds. The big problem small towns and even some cities face is the decline of high street retail. That is tricky to reverse because it reflects fundamental changes in shopping habits. Everyone decries the decline of the high street but nobody wants to do their shopping there.
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The central mystery though...
What happens in middle England? The boring suburbs, the sort-of OK small commuter towns? Provincial, but without the chip on the shoulder?
At the moment, nobody is really speaking to them, though they are probably the lens through which Starmer's blurred vision makes most sense.
And there's flipping loads of them.
My impression is that Reform has swept through small towns. I think they score very highly in the East Midlands, which is sort of a proxy for small towns as I think it's the region with fewest large cities or rural expanse.
People in small towns are Reform voters. They feel like they don't get anything from government, compared to the investment that goes into big cities, both from the public and the private sector. They score maximum on reliance on the car, and it being annoying to be reliant on the car because of traffic, with very poor public transport alternatives. Lower rates of government employment, no universities.
Years ago the Middle England Towns and Their Hinterlands were identified in an article on here as the swing seats in British general elections. Big cities were Labour. Rural areas were Tory. The towns were in between. Now those towns are for Reform.
I think that’s absolutely right. It’s the economy and economic opportunity. My town is a commuting town. I’m going into Newcastle tomorrow morning. Public transport options aren’t great.
The main Parties who want to get back into these areas need to work out a strategy for it and said strategy is not just telling the voters they are stupid or wrong. They can’t just keep voting the same old same old and get nothing in return.
Yes. It also explains why small towns were the swing seats previously. Governments on both sides always ended up failing them, more so than anywhere else.
Is it governments failing them or just human preferences? I'd be happy to live in a big city or somewhere rural as long as connected. I wouldn't choose a small town unless that was my only option. Is there much a government can realistically do about that?
I thought about that when writing my previous comment and it's worth considering.
Towns simply don't have the scale that is required to succeed in modern economies, and the improvements in communications, logistics and distribution mean that so much that previously happened in towns can now be centralised.
Perhaps what a government needs to do is to encourage the growth of successful cities, and manage the shrinking of towns.
So I think you could still say that the people in towns have been failed by governments, because they've been left trapped in them, rather than allowed to escape to the big city, or see their town rewilded, so to speak.
Edit: British government policy has been to restrict the growth of successful cities/larger towns with the greenbelt. Whenever industry and employment has left a place there have been repeated attempts to bring new employment to those places, rather than help/allow the people to move to where there is employment.
I think it's fair to say that government policy has failed.
Look at what these are doing, their strategies for growth, and replicate it.
Towns can survive, they will probably be feeders to the nearby cities or largely full of retirees. The Close I live in, most people are around my age and retired or part time. Seems similar to the larger estate,
However we also have to look at how cities are constrained from growing and enable it.
That is presumably a function of cities being both more expensive and having younger working demographics who have done worse over the last two decades than older retirees.
“I want growth. But I don’t want anyone to build more of anything anywhere near me. Or, indeed, anywhere.”
Followed by
“why is there no growth? Why are evil Private Equity outfits only interested in sweating existing assets? Why don’t they build some actual factories.”
I’ve actually heard both of the above expressed, in consecutive sentences, by actual people….
The reason they do this is that the previous management didn't which why PE can pick them off. The lack of productivity in the UK over decades and the growth in PE are not unrelated.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump's made it clear that Greenland should be handed over to US... until he made it not so clear.
“So Luke Pollard, Minister for DRI updated the House quite properly last week. I am furious that vital information was withheld. It’s clear we didn’t have the full facts in the lead up to decisions about the initial operating capability. That IOC has been withdrawn. The Army is no longer in charge of this programme. A new senior responsible officer is now in place. I have been clear that we must back it or scrap it. The work is being done at the moment in order to put us in a position to make that decision. And whilst I really want to see the way that we procure for the future being more innovative and more rapid, first and foremost will be my concern for the safety and protection of our forces personnel.”
Initial Operating Capability is normally a one way milestone in defence procurement. Once declared, it signifies that a platform is safe, usable and capable of limited operational employment. It is exceptionally rare for IOC to be withdrawn after being granted, as doing so effectively acknowledges that earlier assurances to ministers and Parliament were unsound (lies).
In the case of Ajax, the decision reflects the depth of unresolved safety concerns. Long standing problems involving vibration and noise have affected soldiers during trials, with reports of physical symptoms linked to prolonged exposure. Despite multiple rounds of modification and testing, the issues have not been conclusively resolved, raising doubts over whether they stem from integration problems or more fundamental design limitations..
What makes this pathetic is that problems with vibration and noise have been an issue with all armoured vehicles since Little Willie.
Testing a given design for them is something that has been done for a hundred years.
When you add in the fabrication quality incompetence - steel cut that is whole centimetres (or more) out of size - the whole project has achieved a fundamental level of incompetence.
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The central mystery though...
What happens in middle England? The boring suburbs, the sort-of OK small commuter towns? Provincial, but without the chip on the shoulder?
At the moment, nobody is really speaking to them, though they are probably the lens through which Starmer's blurred vision makes most sense.
And there's flipping loads of them.
My impression is that Reform has swept through small towns. I think they score very highly in the East Midlands, which is sort of a proxy for small towns as I think it's the region with fewest large cities or rural expanse.
People in small towns are Reform voters. They feel like they don't get anything from government, compared to the investment that goes into big cities, both from the public and the private sector. They score maximum on reliance on the car, and it being annoying to be reliant on the car because of traffic, with very poor public transport alternatives. Lower rates of government employment, no universities.
Years ago the Middle England Towns and Their Hinterlands were identified in an article on here as the swing seats in British general elections. Big cities were Labour. Rural areas were Tory. The towns were in between. Now those towns are for Reform.
I think that’s absolutely right. It’s the economy and economic opportunity. My town is a commuting town. I’m going into Newcastle tomorrow morning. Public transport options aren’t great.
The main Parties who want to get back into these areas need to work out a strategy for it and said strategy is not just telling the voters they are stupid or wrong. They can’t just keep voting the same old same old and get nothing in return.
Yes. It also explains why small towns were the swing seats previously. Governments on both sides always ended up failing them, more so than anywhere else.
Is it governments failing them or just human preferences? I'd be happy to live in a big city or somewhere rural as long as connected. I wouldn't choose a small town unless that was my only option. Is there much a government can realistically do about that?
There is a lot to be said for living in a small town as long as it is reasonably prosperous. I grew up in one and it's nice being able to walk down the street and say hello to the many people that you know as you go about your business. One of the wonderful things about our little corner of SE London is that it replicates that kind of dense network of connections across the community, and so I think of myself as living in a small town that is also part of a big city, best of both worlds. The big problem small towns and even some cities face is the decline of high street retail. That is tricky to reverse because it reflects fundamental changes in shopping habits. Everyone decries the decline of the high street but nobody wants to do their shopping there.
See also for pubs. People say how sad it is that the local pubs are closing but don't actually go there, save for Christmas.
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The central mystery though...
What happens in middle England? The boring suburbs, the sort-of OK small commuter towns? Provincial, but without the chip on the shoulder?
At the moment, nobody is really speaking to them, though they are probably the lens through which Starmer's blurred vision makes most sense.
And there's flipping loads of them.
My impression is that Reform has swept through small towns. I think they score very highly in the East Midlands, which is sort of a proxy for small towns as I think it's the region with fewest large cities or rural expanse.
People in small towns are Reform voters. They feel like they don't get anything from government, compared to the investment that goes into big cities, both from the public and the private sector. They score maximum on reliance on the car, and it being annoying to be reliant on the car because of traffic, with very poor public transport alternatives. Lower rates of government employment, no universities.
Years ago the Middle England Towns and Their Hinterlands were identified in an article on here as the swing seats in British general elections. Big cities were Labour. Rural areas were Tory. The towns were in between. Now those towns are for Reform.
I think that’s absolutely right. It’s the economy and economic opportunity. My town is a commuting town. I’m going into Newcastle tomorrow morning. Public transport options aren’t great.
The main Parties who want to get back into these areas need to work out a strategy for it and said strategy is not just telling the voters they are stupid or wrong. They can’t just keep voting the same old same old and get nothing in return.
Yes. It also explains why small towns were the swing seats previously. Governments on both sides always ended up failing them, more so than anywhere else.
Is it governments failing them or just human preferences? I'd be happy to live in a big city or somewhere rural as long as connected. I wouldn't choose a small town unless that was my only option. Is there much a government can realistically do about that?
There is a lot to be said for living in a small town as long as it is reasonably prosperous. I grew up in one and it's nice being able to walk down the street and say hello to the many people that you know as you go about your business. One of the wonderful things about our little corner of SE London is that it replicates that kind of dense network of connections across the community, and so I think of myself as living in a small town that is also part of a big city, best of both worlds. The big problem small towns and even some cities face is the decline of high street retail. That is tricky to reverse because it reflects fundamental changes in shopping habits. Everyone decries the decline of the high street but nobody wants to do their shopping there.
Most small towns aren't reasonably prosperous though. And the ones that are don't need special government help.
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
Good poll for Starmer, again shows a swing from Reform to Labour after the Jenrick and Rosindell defections and included a bit of the post Burnham blocking and Braverman defections which also don't seem to have damaged Labour much and not helped Reform either.
Greens down 1% as well will be positive for Labour ahead of Gorton and Tories will be concerned that Kemi is losing her pre Christmas bounce with the Conservatives falling to 3rd again behind Labour as well as Reform
Burnham has single handedly managed to arrest the improvement and further diminish Labour. What a tit!
Er...Labour up 2?
I think you credit Burnham with far more ability to make the political weather than he has.
Polling tends to lag behind reality. Labour were already circling the toilet bowl and Burnham has subsequently dumped in the bowl. Expect the uptick to reverse.
I thought you were being sarcastic. Starmer's star seems to be rising. He's coming up with a few policies that people like and ditching a few they don't. The really smart move was Rachel collecting 20 odd £billion that she didn't need. It means she can throw money at everything that looks vagely popular. Also doing business with China when Trump's out of control looks like a good move. As for Burnham.....Burnham who?
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
Good poll for Starmer, again shows a swing from Reform to Labour after the Jenrick and Rosindell defections and included a bit of the post Burnham blocking and Braverman defections which also don't seem to have damaged Labour much and not helped Reform either.
Greens down 1% as well will be positive for Labour ahead of Gorton and Tories will be concerned that Kemi is losing her pre Christmas bounce with the Conservatives falling to 3rd again behind Labour as well as Reform
Burnham has single handedly managed to arrest the improvement and further diminish Labour. What a tit!
Er...Labour up 2?
I think you credit Burnham with far more ability to make the political weather than he has.
Polling tends to lag behind reality. Labour were already circling the toilet bowl and Burnham has subsequently dumped in the bowl. Expect the uptick to reverse.
I thought you were being sarcastic. Starmer's star seems to be rising. He's coming up with a few policies that people like and ditching a few they don't. The really smart move was Rachel collecting 20 odd £billion that she didn't need. It means she can throw money at everything that looks vagely popular. Also doing business with China when Trump's out of control looks like a good move. As for Burnham.....Burnham who?
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The central mystery though...
What happens in middle England? The boring suburbs, the sort-of OK small commuter towns? Provincial, but without the chip on the shoulder?
At the moment, nobody is really speaking to them, though they are probably the lens through which Starmer's blurred vision makes most sense.
And there's flipping loads of them.
My impression is that Reform has swept through small towns. I think they score very highly in the East Midlands, which is sort of a proxy for small towns as I think it's the region with fewest large cities or rural expanse.
People in small towns are Reform voters. They feel like they don't get anything from government, compared to the investment that goes into big cities, both from the public and the private sector. They score maximum on reliance on the car, and it being annoying to be reliant on the car because of traffic, with very poor public transport alternatives. Lower rates of government employment, no universities.
Years ago the Middle England Towns and Their Hinterlands were identified in an article on here as the swing seats in British general elections. Big cities were Labour. Rural areas were Tory. The towns were in between. Now those towns are for Reform.
I think that’s absolutely right. It’s the economy and economic opportunity. My town is a commuting town. I’m going into Newcastle tomorrow morning. Public transport options aren’t great.
The main Parties who want to get back into these areas need to work out a strategy for it and said strategy is not just telling the voters they are stupid or wrong. They can’t just keep voting the same old same old and get nothing in return.
Labour are (gradually) taking railways back into public ownership and freezing fares. It's a popular policy in commuter towns I would think.
No, on this Taz is quite right.
I'm far from convinced that Reform would be any different at all - especially given their cost cutting agenda - but every government for decades has actively starved infrastructure investment outside of the London area. They've repeatedly cut programs outside of London, every time cash is tight, while preserving spending in the capital.
The rolling joke that has been "Northern Powerhouse Rail" is just one example.
The bit we get, the Leamside Line, is just a feasibility study at the moment and will be subject to ‘value for money’ which is a simple cop out to allow any govt in the future to decide on a punitive metric and cancel it.
It will link to the extension of the Metro down to Washington which has already been funded by the Mayors office.
Which means the rest of the line is now useless as you can’t have part of it owned and operated by Nexus and the rest by Network Rail (well you can but it never works as blame just gets passed backwards and forwards)
I’ve had the same problem with the Leamside line for years, you may want to use it but it isn’t possible to use it as a fix for all problems in the North East it’s really only a one off fix.
No worries. Plenty of time for it to be cancelled due to ‘value for money’ so problem solved.
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
Good poll for Starmer, again shows a swing from Reform to Labour after the Jenrick and Rosindell defections and included a bit of the post Burnham blocking and Braverman defections which also don't seem to have damaged Labour much and not helped Reform either.
Greens down 1% as well will be positive for Labour ahead of Gorton and Tories will be concerned that Kemi is losing her pre Christmas bounce with the Conservatives falling to 3rd again behind Labour as well as Reform
Burnham has single handedly managed to arrest the improvement and further diminish Labour. What a tit!
Er...Labour up 2?
I think you credit Burnham with far more ability to make the political weather than he has.
Polling tends to lag behind reality. Labour were already circling the toilet bowl and Burnham has subsequently dumped in the bowl. Expect the uptick to reverse.
I thought you were being sarcastic. Starmer's star seems to be rising. He's coming up with a few policies that people like and ditching a few they don't. The really smart move was Rachel collecting 20 odd £billion that she didn't need. It means she can throw money at everything that looks vagely popular. Also doing business with China when Trump's out of control looks like a good move. As for Burnham.....Burnham who?
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
Good poll for Starmer, again shows a swing from Reform to Labour after the Jenrick and Rosindell defections and included a bit of the post Burnham blocking and Braverman defections which also don't seem to have damaged Labour much and not helped Reform either.
Greens down 1% as well will be positive for Labour ahead of Gorton and Tories will be concerned that Kemi is losing her pre Christmas bounce with the Conservatives falling to 3rd again behind Labour as well as Reform
Burnham has single handedly managed to arrest the improvement and further diminish Labour. What a tit!
Er...Labour up 2?
I think you credit Burnham with far more ability to make the political weather than he has.
Polling tends to lag behind reality. Labour were already circling the toilet bowl and Burnham has subsequently dumped in the bowl. Expect the uptick to reverse.
I thought you were being sarcastic. Starmer's star seems to be rising. He's coming up with a few policies that people like and ditching a few they don't. The really smart move was Rachel collecting 20 odd £billion that she didn't need. It means she can throw money at everything that looks vagely popular. Also doing business with China when Trump's out of control looks like a good move. As for Burnham.....Burnham who?
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
The teal balloon is definitely deflating (presumably leaking Zyklon-B). Probably a combination of the tory asylum seekers, the MAGA adjacency and attenuation of the novelty factor.
I do find it tricky to believe Reformers returning to Keir’s soggy embrace though. So I presume some other dynamic at work.
A lot of ex-Labour supporter turned to Reform. The Reform novelty appears to be wearing off of some of those.
Not an explanation that really stands up I don't think. Bored of Reform - sure. Back to Labour - no.
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
Good poll for Starmer, again shows a swing from Reform to Labour after the Jenrick and Rosindell defections and included a bit of the post Burnham blocking and Braverman defections which also don't seem to have damaged Labour much and not helped Reform either.
Greens down 1% as well will be positive for Labour ahead of Gorton and Tories will be concerned that Kemi is losing her pre Christmas bounce with the Conservatives falling to 3rd again behind Labour as well as Reform
Burnham has single handedly managed to arrest the improvement and further diminish Labour. What a tit!
Er...Labour up 2?
I think you credit Burnham with far more ability to make the political weather than he has.
Polling tends to lag behind reality. Labour were already circling the toilet bowl and Burnham has subsequently dumped in the bowl. Expect the uptick to reverse.
I thought you were being sarcastic. Starmer's star seems to be rising. He's coming up with a few policies that people like and ditching a few they don't. The really smart move was Rachel collecting 20 odd £billion that she didn't need. It means she can throw money at everything that looks vagely popular. Also doing business with China when Trump's out of control looks like a good move. As for Burnham.....Burnham who?
Where is Starmer's star rising? Really?
Who out of Starmer Badenoch or Farage would you most trust on the world stage (or for that matter anywhere) at the moment?
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The LDs will also be eyeing up Labour wards in parts of London and the northern cities, particularly in areas where they used to be strong
I’d expect the Greens to be a threat to the Lib Dem’s and Labour in seats up here that fit that bill.
The LD’s have spent so long targetting Reform, who are no real threat but it polls well, they need to wake up to the Greens threat too.
I do expect if the Greens win the by election this will be a game changer and Labour, who have started tackling the Greens, and the Lib Dem’s will focus on the Greens more.
Be absolutely tragic for the Lib Dem’s to lose rural seats in the South as the Greens peel away some of their vote !!
What was interesting was how they absolutely battered the Greens in a local council by election in a rural ward last week.
I agree that the Greens are a much bigger threat to the Lib Dems than Reform.
Reform takes votes mainly off the Tories so are a blessing for the Lib Dems in Tory/Lib Dem marginals. The Greens take votes directly off the Lib Dems so are a threat.
But the Lib Dems shouldn't attack the Greens. They should seduce and squeeze Green supporters, not antagonise them.
They will have to start going to war with the Greens when they lose votes to them. Greens are going to attract Labour, LibDems and even ome Tories. Especially if the narrative becomes "It is how you stop Reform".
I can see the Greens losing the LibDems South Devon, for example.
Who knows what polling and modelling he's using, but UKelectionmaps "nowcast" forecast for South Devon currently has the LDs on 41% with the Tories and Reform both on around 24% and the Greens on 7%.
Anybody putting the Greens on 7% in South Devon has never visited Totnes!
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
'US technology giant Amazon has confirmed it will cut 16,000 jobs - hours after it told staff about a new round of global redundancies in an email apparently sent in error.
The email, which has been seen by the BBC, was sent late on Tuesday and refers to a swathe of employees in the US, Canada and Costa Rica having been laid off as part of an effort to "strengthen the company."
The message was apparently shared by mistake, as it was quickly cancelled.
Early on Wednesday, Amazon announced job reductions as part of a plan to "remove bureaucracy" at the firm.
Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, said on Wednesday it was not planning to make "broad reductions every few months", referring to Amazon's announcement of 14,000 job cuts in October.
"While many teams finalized their organizational changes in October, other teams did not complete that work until now," she said..Earlier on Tuesday, the company announced it would close its roughly 70 remaining Amazon-branded grocery stores, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, and expand its Whole Foods Market business.' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2ywzxlxnlo
Never believe anything until it is officially denied.
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
The teal balloon is definitely deflating (presumably leaking Zyklon-B). Probably a combination of the tory asylum seekers, the MAGA adjacency and attenuation of the novelty factor.
I do find it tricky to believe Reformers returning to Keir’s soggy embrace though. So I presume some other dynamic at work.
A lot of ex-Labour supporter turned to Reform. The Reform novelty appears to be wearing off of some of those.
Not an explanation that really stands up I don't think. Bored of Reform - sure. Back to Labour - no.
We are in a mid term following a credit crunch though, you would expect eventual GE to look very different than how things look throughout 2026?
There seems something odd to me with the GE result and Majority Labour given in July 2024, and how all those voters had given up on them as failed just 17 months later. It doesn’t seem impossible to me that an improving economy and people feeling better off would completely change the General Election picture.
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The LDs will also be eyeing up Labour wards in parts of London and the northern cities, particularly in areas where they used to be strong
I’d expect the Greens to be a threat to the Lib Dem’s and Labour in seats up here that fit that bill.
The LD’s have spent so long targetting Reform, who are no real threat but it polls well, they need to wake up to the Greens threat too.
I do expect if the Greens win the by election this will be a game changer and Labour, who have started tackling the Greens, and the Lib Dem’s will focus on the Greens more.
Be absolutely tragic for the Lib Dem’s to lose rural seats in the South as the Greens peel away some of their vote !!
What was interesting was how they absolutely battered the Greens in a local council by election in a rural ward last week.
I agree that the Greens are a much bigger threat to the Lib Dems than Reform.
Reform takes votes mainly off the Tories so are a blessing for the Lib Dems in Tory/Lib Dem marginals. The Greens take votes directly off the Lib Dems so are a threat.
But the Lib Dems shouldn't attack the Greens. They should seduce and squeeze Green supporters, not antagonise them.
They will have to start going to war with the Greens when they lose votes to them. Greens are going to attract Labour, LibDems and even ome Tories. Especially if the narrative becomes "It is how you stop Reform".
I can see the Greens losing the LibDems South Devon, for example.
Who knows what polling and modelling he's using, but UKelectionmaps "nowcast" forecast for South Devon currently has the LDs on 41% with the Tories and Reform both on around 24% and the Greens on 7%.
Anybody putting the Greens on 7% in South Devon has never visited Totnes!
The Greens got 3.1% in South Devon at the last GE. They'll be lucky to get 7% at the next, after being thoroughly seduced and squeezed by the Lib Dems.
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
Good poll for Starmer, again shows a swing from Reform to Labour after the Jenrick and Rosindell defections and included a bit of the post Burnham blocking and Braverman defections which also don't seem to have damaged Labour much and not helped Reform either.
Greens down 1% as well will be positive for Labour ahead of Gorton and Tories will be concerned that Kemi is losing her pre Christmas bounce with the Conservatives falling to 3rd again behind Labour as well as Reform
Burnham has single handedly managed to arrest the improvement and further diminish Labour. What a tit!
Er...Labour up 2?
I think you credit Burnham with far more ability to make the political weather than he has.
Polling tends to lag behind reality. Labour were already circling the toilet bowl and Burnham has subsequently dumped in the bowl. Expect the uptick to reverse.
I thought you were being sarcastic. Starmer's star seems to be rising. He's coming up with a few policies that people like and ditching a few they don't. The really smart move was Rachel collecting 20 odd £billion that she didn't need. It means she can throw money at everything that looks vagely popular. Also doing business with China when Trump's out of control looks like a good move. As for Burnham.....Burnham who?
'The government has launched a series of free AI training courses designed to help people learn how to use the technology at work.
The online lessons give advice on things such as how to prompt chatbots or use them to assist with admin tasks.
Many of the courses are free, with others subsidised, and the government aims to reach 10 million workers by 2030 - calling it the most ambitious training scheme since the launch of the Open University in 1971.'
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Full Tonto Trump is not the way to conduct His Majesty’s Opposition in the UK. No good can come from all the populist posturing like this from Kemi. What they understand and believe is in best interest of UK in their backroom discussions, has to be the Party’s position when they stand up from the Front Bench in HoC.
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
Good poll for Starmer, again shows a swing from Reform to Labour after the Jenrick and Rosindell defections and included a bit of the post Burnham blocking and Braverman defections which also don't seem to have damaged Labour much and not helped Reform either.
Greens down 1% as well will be positive for Labour ahead of Gorton and Tories will be concerned that Kemi is losing her pre Christmas bounce with the Conservatives falling to 3rd again behind Labour as well as Reform
Burnham has single handedly managed to arrest the improvement and further diminish Labour. What a tit!
Er...Labour up 2?
I think you credit Burnham with far more ability to make the political weather than he has.
Polling tends to lag behind reality. Labour were already circling the toilet bowl and Burnham has subsequently dumped in the bowl. Expect the uptick to reverse.
I thought you were being sarcastic. Starmer's star seems to be rising. He's coming up with a few policies that people like and ditching a few they don't. The really smart move was Rachel collecting 20 odd £billion that she didn't need. It means she can throw money at everything that looks vagely popular. Also doing business with China when Trump's out of control looks like a good move. As for Burnham.....Burnham who?
Where is Starmer's star rising? Really?
Who out of Starmer Badenoch or Farage would you most trust on the world stage (or for that matter anywhere) at the moment?
That's a different question. FWIW none of the above, but in a forced choice Starmer. He at least has some experience in office...
'The government has launched a series of free AI training courses designed to help people learn how to use the technology at work.
The online lessons give advice on things such as how to prompt chatbots or use them to assist with admin tasks.
Many of the courses are free, with others subsidised, and the government aims to reach 10 million workers by 2030 - calling it the most ambitious training scheme since the launch of the Open University in 1971.'
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Depends what Kemi sees her job as.
If it's to keep the Conservative Party on life support so that it can think about winning in 2034 or so, then short term opportunistic posturing is probably the best plan open to her. Sensible, steady as she goes competence is likely to turn into steady as she sinks, and that would be terminal. (Much as I, and I suspect you, prefer sensible realistic Conservatives.)
It's one of the problems any LotO has. Preparing for government and surviving opposition are different things, and it's hard to do both at once. (See Starmer's clunky gear change when it became plausible that he'd be the next PM in about autumn 2022.)
Question is- is Kemi aware of her true situation? I just don't know.
'The government has launched a series of free AI training courses designed to help people learn how to use the technology at work.
The online lessons give advice on things such as how to prompt chatbots or use them to assist with admin tasks.
Many of the courses are free, with others subsidised, and the government aims to reach 10 million workers by 2030 - calling it the most ambitious training scheme since the launch of the Open University in 1971.'
Badenoch is on now, and says: what would a Tory govt under her do? She says: • Cut taxes • End "welfare addiction" • Curb immigration • Anti-net zero
The message is, basically: we're Reform, but we've done our homework.
The message is, also: centrists are not welcome.
Badenoch: "I won't apologise to those walking away because they don't like the new direction. We only want Conservatives."
No compromise with the party, no compromise with the electorate.
That is not what she said
She welcomed engagement from 'prospect' and wants them to contribute to the party's discussions on the economy
She also said she wanted to control the borders but not with 'cruelty'
She utterly rejected 'second hand car salesman' Farage and his 'drama queens'
She is taking on both labour and reform, and is seeking the very best candidates for the next generation of conservatives with experience, ability and integrity
Her message is exactly the same as it always has been. "Reform are right, so vote for us".
Part of her problem is that Reform are (largely) right, so she has little choice but to say it. But trying to argue she'd be a more competent, slightly cuddlier version of Farage runs up against the reality that her party spent 14 years largely doing the opposite of what it's voters wanted, and there's no particular reason to think the Tory leopard has yet changed its spots.
I'm not sure what I'd do if I was Tory leader - probably wind the thing up and try to merge with Reform I suppose, as I can't see any viable path back to relevance for them from here.
Kemi wants a 'common ground' broad tent Conservative Party with no wet centrists and no Jenrick supporters either.
'The Tories “have to be a truly Conservative party”, Badenoch said in her speech, adding she was relaxed if that meant centrists deciding to leave: “I won’t apologise to those walking away because they don’t like the new direction. We only want Conservatives.”
She said: “The people who don’t agree with this direction need to get out of the way … We’re about the future, not the past. We’re not trying to recreate 2006 and it’s not 2016 any more.”
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
The teal balloon is definitely deflating (presumably leaking Zyklon-B). Probably a combination of the tory asylum seekers, the MAGA adjacency and attenuation of the novelty factor.
I do find it tricky to believe Reformers returning to Keir’s soggy embrace though. So I presume some other dynamic at work.
A lot of ex-Labour supporter turned to Reform. The Reform novelty appears to be wearing off of some of those.
Not an explanation that really stands up I don't think. Bored of Reform - sure. Back to Labour - no.
I appreciate you "do find it tricky to believe Reformers returning to Keir’s soggy embrace" but you would no more vote for Starmer than I would Farage so probably neither of us is a fair judge ;-)
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
Touched down in China – I’m here to deliver for the British people.
I'm intrigued that people are objecting to the Chinese spying on us. I mean, are we not also spying on them? And if not, why the hell not?
Are Bond movies not accurate?
Yes, but there’s precisely no chance that any other large adversary country would let us build a massive spy centre embassy right next to their stock exchange communications cables.
Labour’s best attack line is that the Tories broke Britain.
This is why I’m not convinced of the wisdom of recruiting a load of them into Reform.
'Broken Britain' is a very poor selling line. People prefer optimism. It's one of the reasons Labour are polling so badly
Kemi this morning on asked the question responded
'Britain is not broken, it needs repair'
Hmmm....so why fix what's not broken? It's a bit of a banal question but rather prompted by the remark.
Things can need repairing that are not broken
I think the words "refurbished" or "updated" are usually used instead of "repaired" in this context.
If my washing machine sensor fails it just needs a new sensor
So repaired not broken
Yes, but it's not just the sensor- it's the whole integral control unit and it's tricky getting the parts these days, it's probably cheaper to just get a new machine... (Continued £94+VAT for callout)
Sure, there's a distinction between needing repairs and needing to start from scratch. But the Broken Britain narrative has got so attached to the second that it's tricky to reclaim the first.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
Yes it is, most heavy industry in China is still owned by the state and it is a one party authoritarian regime. China also allows the unemployed to claim benefits for longer than they can in the uber capitalist USA and China also has publicly funded state owned healthcare closer to the UK than US model
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup. Every sales and marketing approach is dialled up to 11.
Touched down in China – I’m here to deliver for the British people.
I'm intrigued that people are objecting to the Chinese spying on us. I mean, are we not also spying on them? And if not, why the hell not?
Are Bond movies not accurate?
Yes, but there’s precisely no chance that any other large adversary country would let us build a massive spy centre embassy right next to their stock exchange communications cables.
Some of the better ones might let them do it as part of a sneaky plan to feed in disinformation via that route...
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Depends what Kemi sees her job as.
If it's to keep the Conservative Party on life support so that it can think about winning in 2034 or so, then short term opportunistic posturing is probably the best plan open to her. Sensible, steady as she goes competence is likely to turn into steady as she sinks, and that would be terminal. (Much as I, and I suspect you, prefer sensible realistic Conservatives.)
It's one of the problems any LotO has. Preparing for government and surviving opposition are different things, and it's hard to do both at once. (See Starmer's clunky gear change when it became plausible that he'd be the next PM in about autumn 2022.)
Question is- is Kemi aware of her true situation? I just don't know.
No, you know I don’t agree with you. Isn’t weight of historical evidence, when thrown out after having been in power, especially in for a while, parties go all greedy and party first, and only come back to power when voters see and feel the party more clearly putting National Interest before Party?
You clearly saying the opposite - Party before Country is more in the Badenoch’s and Conservative Party’s interest in this Parliament. I don’t see it like that at all. There’s an ideological gulf between Conservatism and Populism, and the Party’s policies should reflect this. For the health of the party, every time they stand up in the HoC, it should reflect this gulf.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
Labour’s best attack line is that the Tories broke Britain.
This is why I’m not convinced of the wisdom of recruiting a load of them into Reform.
'Broken Britain' is a very poor selling line. People prefer optimism. It's one of the reasons Labour are polling so badly
Kemi this morning on asked the question responded
'Britain is not broken, it needs repair'
Hmmm....so why fix what's not broken? It's a bit of a banal question but rather prompted by the remark.
Things can need repairing that are not broken
I think the words "refurbished" or "updated" are usually used instead of "repaired" in this context.
If my washing machine sensor fails it just needs a new sensor
So repaired not broken
Yes, but it's not just the sensor- it's the whole integral control unit and it's tricky getting the parts these days, it's probably cheaper to just get a new machine... (Continued £94+VAT for callout)
Sure, there's a distinction between needing repairs and needing to start from scratch. But the Broken Britain narrative has got so attached to the second that it's tricky to reclaim the first.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
“Marxism and Leninism”
The problem I got with your way of thinking on this, Marx and Lenin were European, one a German Jew. You have philosophies and culture out of time and relevant the world over?
Isn’t the whole make up of the Eastern Tiger so different in its DNA than Europe? If it was communist for a time, would it not result to its normal DNA and slot back in with everything surrounding it?
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
They look at a new industry, tell half a dozen companies to have a go at it, then select the best one and shut down the others.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
I'm enjoying the imagery of a '10 level shopping maul'. Capitalism red in tooth and claw.
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The central mystery though...
What happens in middle England? The boring suburbs, the sort-of OK small commuter towns? Provincial, but without the chip on the shoulder?
At the moment, nobody is really speaking to them, though they are probably the lens through which Starmer's blurred vision makes most sense.
And there's flipping loads of them.
My impression is that Reform has swept through small towns. I think they score very highly in the East Midlands, which is sort of a proxy for small towns as I think it's the region with fewest large cities or rural expanse.
People in small towns are Reform voters. They feel like they don't get anything from government, compared to the investment that goes into big cities, both from the public and the private sector. They score maximum on reliance on the car, and it being annoying to be reliant on the car because of traffic, with very poor public transport alternatives. Lower rates of government employment, no universities.
Years ago the Middle England Towns and Their Hinterlands were identified in an article on here as the swing seats in British general elections. Big cities were Labour. Rural areas were Tory. The towns were in between. Now those towns are for Reform.
I think that’s absolutely right. It’s the economy and economic opportunity. My town is a commuting town. I’m going into Newcastle tomorrow morning. Public transport options aren’t great.
The main Parties who want to get back into these areas need to work out a strategy for it and said strategy is not just telling the voters they are stupid or wrong. They can’t just keep voting the same old same old and get nothing in return.
Yes. It also explains why small towns were the swing seats previously. Governments on both sides always ended up failing them, more so than anywhere else.
Is it governments failing them or just human preferences? I'd be happy to live in a big city or somewhere rural as long as connected. I wouldn't choose a small town unless that was my only option. Is there much a government can realistically do about that?
There is a lot to be said for living in a small town as long as it is reasonably prosperous. I grew up in one and it's nice being able to walk down the street and say hello to the many people that you know as you go about your business. One of the wonderful things about our little corner of SE London is that it replicates that kind of dense network of connections across the community, and so I think of myself as living in a small town that is also part of a big city, best of both worlds. The big problem small towns and even some cities face is the decline of high street retail. That is tricky to reverse because it reflects fundamental changes in shopping habits. Everyone decries the decline of the high street but nobody wants to do their shopping there.
Most small towns aren't reasonably prosperous though. And the ones that are don't need special government help.
Even as a libertarian I still think there is a place for government, limited though it may be.
The primary way that governments could help, is investing in infrastructure.
Which does not have to mean public transport. Most people in towns drive - and towns can be a thriving place to live and have disposable incomes due to the lower cost of land and costs. Especially in a more connected, more online, more work from home age then why not have thriving towns?
Investments in new motorways would be my number one way the government could generate real growth. By which I do not mean converting the hard shoulder of an existing motorway into a new lane, or adding a new lane on an existing motorway. New motorways, making connections that do not currently exist. Connecting towns or cities that aren't currently connected to each other.
Investments in new bridges would be my number two way. Whether driving or cycling or walking you can only cross a river at a bridge and most towns are located around rivers - typically on both sides of the water. In most towns there are very limited bridges, often in the town or city centre, so to go from North of the river to South of the river (or East to West) or vice-versa often means a congested journey into the centre, even if you have no reason to be there, just to get to the bridge. Build new bridges and people can travel different options and won't all be having to fight over the same limited resource.
People can only travel on routes that actually exist.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
I'm enjoying the imagery of a '10 level shopping maul'. Capitalism red in tooth and claw.
Given the number of people in the big cities it can feel like that sometimes.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
They look at a new industry, tell half a dozen companies to have a go at it, then select the best one and shut down the others.
The EV car industry, it was even more than that, 100+ i think. Now they are in the consolidation stage as winners like BYD , Geely, XPeng etc have emerged.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
“Marxism and Leninism”
The problem I got with your way of thinking on this, Marx and Lenin were European, one a German Jew. You have philosophies and culture out of time and relevant the world over?
Isn’t the whole make up of the Eastern Tiger so different in its DNA than Europe? If it was communist for a time, would it not result to its normal DNA and slot back in with everything surrounding it?
Singapore and formerly Hong Kong are/were Eastern Tigers, China isn't.
As Cookie says all urban land in China is state owned and rural land by local village collectives. In complete contrast to the UK for starters where most land is owned by the Crown, the National Trust, the Church or wealthy private individuals and aristrocrats and developers or private companies (with a bit of state owned Forestry commission or MOD land).
Most industry in China is also owned by the state, which is not the case here either post Thatcher privatisations.
For most socialists in Labour therefore Xi's China is more of a role model than Modi's India or Trump's USA or the EU even now Putin's Russia
A new study by researchers in Spain found that triple therapy eliminates pancreatic tumours in mice https://www.euronews.com/health/2026/01/28/scientists-achieve-pancreatic-tumour-regression-in-breakthrough-study ..These studies open a way to design new combination therapies that can improve the survival of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma," the authors said in a statement. "These results set the direction for the development of new clinical trials, it added.
The results, published in the scientific journal 'PNAS', show that simultaneously targeting three key points of the KRAS oncogene molecular pathway achieves long-lasting tumour regression. In Spain, more than 10,300 cases of this type of cancer are diagnosed each year, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent.
The key to the breakthrough lies in avoiding the resistance that appears when the oncogene is blocked at a single point. The CNIO team combined an experimental KRAS inhibitor, a drug already approved for lung cancer, with a protein degrader, resulting in tumours disappearing without significant side effects in three different animal models...
It's a little way off getting anything into clinical trials, but for pancreatic cancer, where there are almost no good options, the hurdle for getting a trial underway is comparatively low.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
They look at a new industry, tell half a dozen companies to have a go at it, then select the best one and shut down the others.
The EV car industry, it was even more than that, 100+ i think. Now they are in the consolidation stage as winners like BYD , Geely, etc have emerged.
BYD is a crazy company, they’re said to have tens of billions of dollars in debt for factories and supply chain financing, which is basically underwritten by the government.
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The central mystery though...
What happens in middle England? The boring suburbs, the sort-of OK small commuter towns? Provincial, but without the chip on the shoulder?
At the moment, nobody is really speaking to them, though they are probably the lens through which Starmer's blurred vision makes most sense.
And there's flipping loads of them.
My impression is that Reform has swept through small towns. I think they score very highly in the East Midlands, which is sort of a proxy for small towns as I think it's the region with fewest large cities or rural expanse.
People in small towns are Reform voters. They feel like they don't get anything from government, compared to the investment that goes into big cities, both from the public and the private sector. They score maximum on reliance on the car, and it being annoying to be reliant on the car because of traffic, with very poor public transport alternatives. Lower rates of government employment, no universities.
Years ago the Middle England Towns and Their Hinterlands were identified in an article on here as the swing seats in British general elections. Big cities were Labour. Rural areas were Tory. The towns were in between. Now those towns are for Reform.
I think that’s absolutely right. It’s the economy and economic opportunity. My town is a commuting town. I’m going into Newcastle tomorrow morning. Public transport options aren’t great.
The main Parties who want to get back into these areas need to work out a strategy for it and said strategy is not just telling the voters they are stupid or wrong. They can’t just keep voting the same old same old and get nothing in return.
Yes. It also explains why small towns were the swing seats previously. Governments on both sides always ended up failing them, more so than anywhere else.
Is it governments failing them or just human preferences? I'd be happy to live in a big city or somewhere rural as long as connected. I wouldn't choose a small town unless that was my only option. Is there much a government can realistically do about that?
You may not choose a town but most of the country does. More people live in towns than either cities or rural areas, from memory.
Why? Many advantages.
In a glass half-full kind of way you get the best of both worlds. The connection and options that exist in cities are available, even if on a smaller scale (and many towns aren't too far from bigger cities when you need that) and the ability to have your own parcel of land, even if on a smaller scale, that exists in rural areas. Costs are considerably lower than in cities, even if higher than rural.
You can also choose to look at it glass half-empty, but that's true with most things in life.
Its what you make of it. And our modern economy is quite well suited for town life, where its done well. Unfortunately Whitehall has not invested much in towns for many decades.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
They look at a new industry, tell half a dozen companies to have a go at it, then select the best one and shut down the others.
The EV car industry, it was even more than that, 100+ i think. Now they are in the consolidation stage as winners like BYD , Geely, etc have emerged.
BYD is a crazy company, they’re said to have tens of billions of dollars in debt for factories and supply chain financing, which is basically underwritten by the government.
Of all the cars I saw in China, I am least impressed by BYD. Zeekr, Avatr, Nio, XPeng, Xiaomi seemed superior. Yangwang is owned by BYD and they seem higher quality.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
But. Is that distinctly “communist”?
If we compare the Cold War Warsaw pact communist states with China today, how’s that contrast?
throw in the democracy lacking Arab states in the Middle East today, the Juntas in South America also in the Cold War era, and UK. Germany and USA how we were in the 1960s and 70’s - who is actually more like who?
The dividing line through all those things, I suggest all have an “establishment”? If you were a senior civil servant in the UK, you were helped putting your children through the best schools and university’s, weren’t you?
So an establishment in real control. And corruption. The only things that unite every type of system.
What’s weights carried in an actual name they chose to call themselves?
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
But. Is that distinctly “communist”?
If we compare the Cold War Warsaw pact communist states with China today, how’s that contrast?
throw in the democracy lacking Arab states in the Middle East today, the Juntas in South America also in the Cold War era, and UK. Germany and USA how we were in the 1960s and 70’s - who is actually more like who?
The dividing line through all those things, I suggest all have an “establishment”? If you were a senior civil servant in the UK, you were helped putting you children through the best schools and university’s, weren’t you?
So an establishment in real control. And corruption. The only things that unite every type of system?
What’s weights carried in an actual name they chose to call themselves?
I am not sure there is a easy label for the Chinese model. Same with other Asian countries, Singapore, they like their control of certain parts of peoples lives while very comfortable in capitalism making people very rich, the South Korean very keen to direct what the big families firms should be doing, instructing them to even take on failed businesses, not an option to reject if they want to continue to remain in a special position in South Korean hierarchy.
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The LDs will also be eyeing up Labour wards in parts of London and the northern cities, particularly in areas where they used to be strong
I’d expect the Greens to be a threat to the Lib Dem’s and Labour in seats up here that fit that bill.
The LD’s have spent so long targetting Reform, who are no real threat but it polls well, they need to wake up to the Greens threat too.
I do expect if the Greens win the by election this will be a game changer and Labour, who have started tackling the Greens, and the Lib Dem’s will focus on the Greens more.
Be absolutely tragic for the Lib Dem’s to lose rural seats in the South as the Greens peel away some of their vote !!
What was interesting was how they absolutely battered the Greens in a local council by election in a rural ward last week.
I agree that the Greens are a much bigger threat to the Lib Dems than Reform.
Reform takes votes mainly off the Tories so are a blessing for the Lib Dems in Tory/Lib Dem marginals. The Greens take votes directly off the Lib Dems so are a threat.
But the Lib Dems shouldn't attack the Greens. They should seduce and squeeze Green supporters, not antagonise them.
They will have to start going to war with the Greens when they lose votes to them. Greens are going to attract Labour, LibDems and even ome Tories. Especially if the narrative becomes "It is how you stop Reform".
I can see the Greens losing the LibDems South Devon, for example.
Who knows what polling and modelling he's using, but UKelectionmaps "nowcast" forecast for South Devon currently has the LDs on 41% with the Tories and Reform both on around 24% and the Greens on 7%.
Anybody putting the Greens on 7% in South Devon has never visited Totnes!
Is that the one with the giant pregnant Britannia? Or has she been deported?
It may be the one that practices apartheid for Starbucks .
I may be getting by unique Devonian coastal towns confused.
*Runs away, pursued by 3957 aggressive Devonian moths*
A new study by researchers in Spain found that triple therapy eliminates pancreatic tumours in mice https://www.euronews.com/health/2026/01/28/scientists-achieve-pancreatic-tumour-regression-in-breakthrough-study ..These studies open a way to design new combination therapies that can improve the survival of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma," the authors said in a statement. "These results set the direction for the development of new clinical trials, it added.
The results, published in the scientific journal 'PNAS', show that simultaneously targeting three key points of the KRAS oncogene molecular pathway achieves long-lasting tumour regression. In Spain, more than 10,300 cases of this type of cancer are diagnosed each year, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent.
The key to the breakthrough lies in avoiding the resistance that appears when the oncogene is blocked at a single point. The CNIO team combined an experimental KRAS inhibitor, a drug already approved for lung cancer, with a protein degrader, resulting in tumours disappearing without significant side effects in three different animal models...
It's a little way off getting anything into clinical trials, but for pancreatic cancer, where there are almost no good options, the hurdle for getting a trial underway is comparatively low.
One of issues with pancreatic cancer is a lack of symptoms until rather late stage. Almost certainly killed my mum, although I think things were going wrong a bit before she let on.
One thing I did have to chuckle at, the number of the reality type tv shows in China that involved voting.....the state all good on allowing voting off the talentless singers, less so on the talentless local official.
None of this will help Labour in May, as they're fighting on four fronts.
Against Reform in the Metropolitan boroughs, and Red Wall.
Against the Conservatives in wealthier parts of Greater London.
Against the Greens in urban left constituencies.
And, against Plaid in Wales.
The LDs will also be eyeing up Labour wards in parts of London and the northern cities, particularly in areas where they used to be strong
I’d expect the Greens to be a threat to the Lib Dem’s and Labour in seats up here that fit that bill.
The LD’s have spent so long targetting Reform, who are no real threat but it polls well, they need to wake up to the Greens threat too.
I do expect if the Greens win the by election this will be a game changer and Labour, who have started tackling the Greens, and the Lib Dem’s will focus on the Greens more.
Be absolutely tragic for the Lib Dem’s to lose rural seats in the South as the Greens peel away some of their vote !!
What was interesting was how they absolutely battered the Greens in a local council by election in a rural ward last week.
I agree that the Greens are a much bigger threat to the Lib Dems than Reform.
Reform takes votes mainly off the Tories so are a blessing for the Lib Dems in Tory/Lib Dem marginals. The Greens take votes directly off the Lib Dems so are a threat.
But the Lib Dems shouldn't attack the Greens. They should seduce and squeeze Green supporters, not antagonise them.
They will have to start going to war with the Greens when they lose votes to them. Greens are going to attract Labour, LibDems and even ome Tories. Especially if the narrative becomes "It is how you stop Reform".
I can see the Greens losing the LibDems South Devon, for example.
Who knows what polling and modelling he's using, but UKelectionmaps "nowcast" forecast for South Devon currently has the LDs on 41% with the Tories and Reform both on around 24% and the Greens on 7%.
Anybody putting the Greens on 7% in South Devon has never visited Totnes!
Is that the one with the giant pregnant Britannia? Or has she been deported?
It may be the one that practices apartheid for Starbucks .
I may be getting by unique Devonian coastal towns confused.
*Runs away, pursued by 3957 aggressive Devonian moths*
Are you thinking of Ilfracombe and the ghastly statue on the harbour?
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
But. Is that distinctly “communist”?
If we compare the Cold War Warsaw pact communist states with China today, how’s that contrast?
throw in the democracy lacking Arab states in the Middle East today, the Juntas in South America also in the Cold War era, and UK. Germany and USA how we were in the 1960s and 70’s - who is actually more like who?
The dividing line through all those things, I suggest all have an “establishment”? If you were a senior civil servant in the UK, you were helped putting you children through the best schools and university’s, weren’t you?
So an establishment in real control. And corruption. The only things that unite every type of system?
What’s weights carried in an actual name they chose to call themselves?
I am not sure there is a easy label for the Chinese model. Same with other Asian countries, Singapore, they like their control of certain parts of peoples lives while very comfortable in capitalism making people very rich, the South Korean very keen to direct what the big families firms should be doing, instructing them to even take on failed businesses, not an option to reject if they want to continue to remain in a special position in South Korean hierarchy.
“ not an option to reject if they want to continue to remain in a special position in South Korean hierarchy.”.
Remain on good terms with the hierarchy. Interesting. Almost like needing to be in a Freemasons type club thing.
One thing I did have to chuckle at, the number of the reality type tv shows in China that involved voting.....the state all good on allowing voting off the talentless singers, less so on the talentless local official.
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
Oh there is no doubt about in certain areas the hand of the state is present and they let you know. Its an odd mix of one monent you are in a 10 level shopping maul with any items you could ever wish for the next you are being searched for the 10th time that day just to get into the metro.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
But. Is that distinctly “communist”?
If we compare the Cold War Warsaw pact communist states with China today, how’s that contrast?
throw in the democracy lacking Arab states in the Middle East today, the Juntas in South America also in the Cold War era, and UK. Germany and USA how we were in the 1960s and 70’s - who is actually more like who?
The dividing line through all those things, I suggest all have an “establishment”? If you were a senior civil servant in the UK, you were helped putting you children through the best schools and university’s, weren’t you?
So an establishment in real control. And corruption. The only things that unite every type of system?
What’s weights carried in an actual name they chose to call themselves?
I am not sure there is a easy label for the Chinese model. Same with other Asian countries, Singapore, they like their control of certain parts of peoples lives while very comfortable in capitalism making people very rich, the South Korean very keen to direct what the big families firms should be doing, instructing them to even take on failed businesses, not an option to reject if they want to continue to remain in a special position in South Korean hierarchy.
“ not an option to reject if they want to continue to remain in a special position in South Korean hierarchy.”.
Remain on good terms with the hierarchy. Interesting. Almost like needing to be in a Freemasons type club thing.
The ties between the family Chaebol firms and government are such that in the West we would say that was out and out corruption and unfair competition, but in South Korea it all a bit everybody plays their part of the game and all the public know this, its not some secret, it how the economy works. There do seem to be lines in the sand that are not expected to be crossed (resulting in scandal), but normal acceptable corporate interaction with one another and the government would not be a goer in the West.
The ground rent policy and the vet bills policy are quite smart bits of politics.
Ground rent policy doesn’t come into effect until 2028 and does nothing, I can see, that tackles high service charges although it is not to say it is not a good step forward. It is.
The vet bills policy less so. I cannot see what the gain is. If they just list prices so people can shop around. People can do that anyway.
Btw hope you’re well. Nice to see you back
The Ground Rent policy could have some unforeseen impacts I think, because it reduces it to issues around single units rather than mixed blocks (meaning blocks ie areas rather than blocks of flats). I think it will be beneficial, but it should be imo CPI increases not a cash freeze.
One canary in the coalmine will be local independent shops where charges are currently held artificially low.
Time will tell.
On a separate note, I have not seen whether it is retrospective, or applies to commercial properties.
For vets, aiui the problem is that it is turning into an oligopolistic market. 60% of the market is owned by 6 corporate groups, with vertical integration. 15 year ago it was 10% of the market.
Private Equity likes to look at a market with significant barriers to entry and lots of small players that need rationalised. Have been PE adjacent for the last 20 years through family connections and see how they operate. They are very sharp though not always successful as they can choose the odd moneypit or two. Once you are a PE target you get pimped to another PE every 3-5 years.
Another family member is now involved with a PE backed company who interestingly are looking to exit in 2027 rather than 2028 as planned. The 2028 capital markers are looking a bit choppy. They are not sure interest rates will be stable enough to get their acquisition away successfully.
I think Ground Rent tends to be British financials and property rather than PE.
For vets at least a couple of the players are PE, I think.
The restructuring looks quite like the funeral market from the 1980s to me.
What are the barriers to entry for vets ?
Part of the problem seems to be a shortage of vets which helps drive the prices up.
There's a significant shortage of vets, with many practices refusing to take new patients, exacerbated by the significant jump in pet ownership during covid that has only slightly subsided. My own vets seems to have an ever-changing rota of young vets from Commonwealth countries coming here for the travel and experience.
But the real drivers of rising prices are a mixture of the same factors that are pushing up the costs of human healthcare - increasing costs of medication, increasing use of technology, use of ultrasound and MRI etc. - and the progressive capture of the veterinary sector by private equity, which buys up smaller and family owned practices and chains and ruthlessly sets about maximising profit, both by hard-selling scans and other tests that the pet doesn't really need, and through pricing - for example there's one drug my pet is currently on that costs twice as much from the vet as it does with a private prescription that I can collect and pay for at Boots.
As with human care we can (and vets offer) do more for our pets. When my dog had a cancer diagnosis a couple of years back, if I'd wanted we could have had an MRI. For a dog.
Now I loved that dog, but at the end of the day it might have lived a couple more years. In the end we blindly treated with chemotherapy (1000 a month for 4 doses) that actually put her into remission and gave her another 18 months.
Twenty years ago we would probably have managed pain until euthanasia.
Some years back, my Mum needed an MRI and the cat also could've benefitted from an MRI. My Mum (jokingly) suggested she go to her NHS appointment and just have the cat on her while she's in the machine. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak...
You see this is the kind of thinking outside the box we need!
Just one local by-election tomorrow - but it's a corker. The ward is Bearsden South and the previous Conservative councillor has a criminal conviction and was sitting as an Independent. Scottish by-elections can be weird but I expect a Lib Dem gain.
Research by the University of Southampton found people feel high streets have declined more than any other part of their local area over the past decade as household brands collapsed and shoplifting rose.
Improving shopping precincts was the third most important local issue for voters, behind good healthcare and reducing crime, according to polling conducted by YouGov.
Reform UK supporters were more likely than anyone else to say their area had significantly declined, underlining what researchers called a “deep sense of place-based resentment” towards Westminster.
Labour MPs say they are increasingly alarmed by the state of high streets, which for many voters have become symbolic of whether their area is prospering – and have been a focus of business backlash over the significant increases to business rates in November’s budget...
If Andy Street and Ruth Davidson want an excuse to defect, all they need to do is to quote Badenoch's words back at her.
The Conservative predicament could become a lot worse if they end up with defections to both the LDs and Reform, that is not just to Reform.
When Conservative MPs elected in 2024 are being told that they have to accept the political direction they are going in under her leadership, the obvious response is that she wasn't leader when people voted for them.
Badenoch reportedly doesn't want centrists. Only fair since centrists certainly don't want her. In this situation the Cons should be clearly ahead in the polls - at least double figures - not struggling below the support they had in their worst GE result ever.
Badenoch was obviously always going to be a disaster and has not proved anyone wrong.
The government U-turn on the business rates, its for pubs but not restaurants. Most pubs serve food, most restaurants serve booze, what the difference between a restaurant and a pub? Particularly "gastro pubs". Not to sound all COVID-era scotch eggs only.
Badenoch reportedly doesn't want centrists. Only fair since centrists certainly don't want her. In this situation the Cons should be clearly ahead in the polls - at least double figures - not struggling below the support they had in their worst GE result ever.
Badenoch was obviously always going to be a disaster and has not proved anyone wrong.
She can’t fish in the same pond as Reform, so exactly who / what is she targeting
Badenoch reportedly doesn't want centrists. Only fair since centrists certainly don't want her. In this situation the Cons should be clearly ahead in the polls - at least double figures - not struggling below the support they had in their worst GE result ever.
Badenoch was obviously always going to be a disaster and has not proved anyone wrong.
It was a risky statement by Kemi.
Now she will be having Tory centrist MPs targeting her if she falls short in May and the Tories come third behind Reform and Labour.
Now Jenrick has gone to Reform and is no longer a viable alternative to Kemi their man Cleverly is her likeliest replacement and they will try and replace her with him unless she gets the Conservative poll rating up
Research by the University of Southampton found people feel high streets have declined more than any other part of their local area over the past decade as household brands collapsed and shoplifting rose.
Improving shopping precincts was the third most important local issue for voters, behind good healthcare and reducing crime, according to polling conducted by YouGov.
Reform UK supporters were more likely than anyone else to say their area had significantly declined, underlining what researchers called a “deep sense of place-based resentment” towards Westminster.
Labour MPs say they are increasingly alarmed by the state of high streets, which for many voters have become symbolic of whether their area is prospering – and have been a focus of business backlash over the significant increases to business rates in November’s budget...
There again, neither is Reform.
The High Street has been in decline since the burgeoning growth in out of town supermarkets and hypermarkets, the death of Woolworths and the ascent of Amazon and eBay (as a retail platform). High Street banks closing has accelerated the decline.
High Streets need to be repurposed for domestic dwelling use. How many charity shops, Turkish barbers and nail bars does a town need.
"Robert Fico, the populist prime minister of Slovakia, made the remarks on the sidelines of an emergency EU summit in Brussels … Fico characterized Trump as being 'out of his mind,' according to a diplomat whose boss was directly involved in the conversation."
'Asked at an event in central London this morning whether she would travel to China if she were PM, Badenoch said: "No, not now, because I don’t think that this is the time to do that. We need to be talking to those other countries who are worried about the threat China is posing to them.”
Badenoch also repeated her criticism of the government’s decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Writing in the Telegraph on Tuesday, Badenoch said the decision “will weaken our strategic position in the Indian Ocean and hand Beijing even greater influence near critical British military infrastructure”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4gw427eenpt
They know the truth, why are they persisting with this claim? She even name checked “Indian Ocean” without any acknowledgement India’s involvement in pushing and arranging this Chagos deal.
This attack line is not without creating some problem for the Conservative Party as time passes. I don’t believe at the highest strategic levels the Conservative Party is ignorant of India’s growing Superpower influence in the region, but it’s certainly giving that impression publicly, by only talking of China influence in Indian Ocean not India’s.
And of course, in the wild outlier the Conservatives win the next election on scrapping “Labours” Chagos deal - there’s the huge India in the way glaring down at them.
The US would also be glaring at India and China as they also oppose the Chagos handover
Are you sure 🤣 the US wrote it for us to sign!
Historically, since we got into this in 1960’s, it’s been US writing the order sheet what we must do, UK owning the ethnic cleansing and everything - what’s different with this new deal, India have muscled their way into the room, in a show of their growing superpower influence in the region. When it comes to our continued involvement in Chagos and Garcia, UK now has Two Gov’nors in the room, bossing us around.
It helps Conservative Party to get publicly back on the facts before too long. But I guess that’s what changing leaders is for.
Trump has made clear the Chagos should not be handed over to Mauritius, so Modi can take it up with him
Trump put his team in there and wrote it, though performative because it was already written, so that it wouldn’t be Biden’s Great Deal, but his.
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Communist China is more of a threat to the west than India as Kemi has made clear, though Trump has imposed heavy tariffs on China and India, much more than he has imposed on the UK.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
Tacking our chat off on a tangent then - you called China communist. Is China still a communist country, in your opinion? Where you can still point to how they practice communism - as distinct to everything you would find practiced in any Nationalistic One Party State? China has more billionaires than the USA. And how they brutally allow ventures and factories to go bust, without state support, brutal on locked out workers also banned from being in a union, this seems more free market capitalist than even Hitlers Germany? Than even us in UK?
At a street level, it makes American capitalism look tame. I was really taken aback about how fierce and brutal competition is and selling is integrated into everything. My burner phone was constantly being pinged with notifications of offer offer buy now, get coffee for 5 RMB buy next 10 mins, etc. TikTok, seemed like everything you see your favourite influencer is wearing, tap, link to buy from shirt to their makeup.
But still, all land (?) is owned by the state, and c. 60% of businesses when measured by value are state-owned IIRC. The CCP very much believes in Marxism and Leninism, even if there is a sneaky pragmatism which tentatively creeps in from time to time when the economic catastrophe of communism stares them in the face too hard.
“Marxism and Leninism”
The problem I got with your way of thinking on this, Marx and Lenin were European, one a German Jew. You have philosophies and culture out of time and relevant the world over?
Isn’t the whole make up of the Eastern Tiger so different in its DNA than Europe? If it was communist for a time, would it not result to its normal DNA and slot back in with everything surrounding it?
I think you’re overthinking this MoonRabbit. Marx: the economy should be owed by the state. Lenin: the communist party should have the monopoly on power. The CCP fully buys into both of those. They’re not just paying lip service to the idea; they’re true believers. Occasionally they may have to temporarily compromise with reality; often they may find their power is not as all-encompassing as they would like. But that is to them a temporary setback, rather than ground they have fully conceded. They are communists. It is not really possible to own stuff in China. Anything you have, you have at the sufferance of the state, which is perfectly happy to dispossess you – or, as it sees you, repossess your assets to become collective assets. You can’t even easily get your stuff out to places which have a concept of property rights, though that doesn’t stop people trying.
Research by the University of Southampton found people feel high streets have declined more than any other part of their local area over the past decade as household brands collapsed and shoplifting rose.
Improving shopping precincts was the third most important local issue for voters, behind good healthcare and reducing crime, according to polling conducted by YouGov.
Reform UK supporters were more likely than anyone else to say their area had significantly declined, underlining what researchers called a “deep sense of place-based resentment” towards Westminster.
Labour MPs say they are increasingly alarmed by the state of high streets, which for many voters have become symbolic of whether their area is prospering – and have been a focus of business backlash over the significant increases to business rates in November’s budget...
There again, neither is Reform.
The High Street has been in decline since the burgeoning growth in out of town supermarkets and hypermarkets, the death of Woolworths and the ascent of Amazon and eBay (as a retail platform). High Street banks closing has accelerated the decline.
High Streets need to be repurposed for domestic dwelling use. How many charity shops, Turkish barbers and nail bars does a town need.
# nogoingback
They need shops which offer an experience as well eg good cafes and restaurants, interesting antique and book shops, not shops selling what you can order alone
The government U-turn on the business rates, its for pubs but not restaurants. Most pubs serve food, most restaurants serve booze, what the difference between a restaurant and a pub? Particularly "gastro pubs". Not to sound all COVID-era scotch eggs only.
Definition clear enough here - a pub allows you to order drinks at a bar without requiring you to eat. With local authorities allowed a bit of leeway in cases of doubt.
The amazing thing is that despite business rates bills for pubs now mostly falling in real terms for the next 3 years, by failing to get it right first time the government is still going to end up taking political flak for this.
Labour leapfrog into second in this week’s voting intention on 22%. Reform’s lead drops to 7 on 29%, with the Tories third on 20%.
➡️ REF UK 29% (-2) 🌹 LAB 22% (+2) 🌳 CON 20% (-1) 🔶 LIB DEM 13% (nc) 🌍 GREEN 10% (-1) 🟡 SNP 3% (+1)
MoreInCommon N = 2,016 | 23 - 25/01| Change w 21/01
Leader approvals - it’s very close at the top with Davey on -12 and Badenoch and Farage on -14. Starmer is far behind on -41 though this is higher than he’s been since Autumn, which from qual seems to reflect a recurring international affairs bounce."
Good poll for Starmer, again shows a swing from Reform to Labour after the Jenrick and Rosindell defections and included a bit of the post Burnham blocking and Braverman defections which also don't seem to have damaged Labour much and not helped Reform either.
Greens down 1% as well will be positive for Labour ahead of Gorton and Tories will be concerned that Kemi is losing her pre Christmas bounce with the Conservatives falling to 3rd again behind Labour as well as Reform
Burnham has single handedly managed to arrest the improvement and further diminish Labour. What a tit!
Er...Labour up 2?
I think you credit Burnham with far more ability to make the political weather than he has.
Polling tends to lag behind reality. Labour were already circling the toilet bowl and Burnham has subsequently dumped in the bowl. Expect the uptick to reverse.
I thought you were being sarcastic. Starmer's star seems to be rising. He's coming up with a few policies that people like and ditching a few they don't. The really smart move was Rachel collecting 20 odd £billion that she didn't need. It means she can throw money at everything that looks vagely popular. Also doing business with China when Trump's out of control looks like a good move. As for Burnham.....Burnham who?
Burnham has been mischievous for no apparent gain. Starmer did have a better week after he challenged Trump over the veterans, but all that was flushed away by Burnham.
Mind you everything is reversible. Badenoch has been praised on here for not getting crushed in PMQs for a while. She got spanked last week and hasn't been so sure footed ever since. Today's relaunch was very vin ordinaire.
Scafell doesn't really look like that from Hollow Stones without a lot of tweakery!
A tale for modern Britain though. Nobody wants to foot the bill for getting out of a sticky situation of their own making.
I do wonder if to the walkers £130 is a lot of money that they may not have had.
Now I (and probably most of us on here) could easily afford that but I suspect an awful lot of people can’t
However, the men departed the next morning without paying, having provided contact details that proved false.
The hotel gave them a discount and stayed up late to serve them food. Lets just say £130 was too much (I think unlikely, £65 each), it was the case that they didn't have the money, most decent people might say to the hotelier hey we are in a pickle here, we are actually pretty broke, can we give you £x now and paid the rest next month.
Breaking: Coral are ending their sponsorship of the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival with immediate effect, blaming tax rises announced in last year’s budget.
"Coral has been the longest-running sponsor at Cheltenham Festival since 1974, but the sheer size of the Government’s recent tax increase on betting operators means we are having to take very difficult decisions."
Comments
The big problem small towns and even some cities face is the decline of high street retail. That is tricky to reverse because it reflects fundamental changes in shopping habits. Everyone decries the decline of the high street but nobody wants to do their shopping there.
Testing a given design for them is something that has been done for a hundred years.
When you add in the fabrication quality incompetence - steel cut that is whole centimetres (or more) out of size - the whole project has achieved a fundamental level of incompetence.
https://x.com/tvdidyousee/status/2016423499254862191
I was eight years old, but somehow remember watching it almost as if it was yesterday. Probably the first disaster engraved in my memory.
(Somewhere between the Chagos Islands and China).
Trump is not going to stop the Chagos Deal, HY.
Let me give you a second further example, contrast the Cameron and Osborne’s governmental position to China, with Badenoch’s today. Everyone from EU to Trump has gone to and sat down with China, on free trade business terms. Even Trump, whose commitment to Free Trade and Capitalism is questionable.
Is this not a short term opportunist position of Badenoch towards China? not one of a serious party for government can sustain up, and into a General Election, and beyond?
Ditto, with posturing regards China, there is no way Badenoch’s front bench, out the public eye, does not recognise the growing Super Power influence of India throughout the Indian Ocean, and what that means to commercial and security interests of the UK. So how long can they keep something going publicly, that’s not what they believe privately?
Speaking of which, I really, truly don't think AI is set to take away the jobs of ad directors just yet...
https://x.com/jomatech/status/2015974750162403692
Can McDonalds sue, or does this fall under the (unintentional) parody exemption ?
https://x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/2016467145639493878
Touched down in China – I’m here to deliver for the British people.
Starmer is going ahead with the Chagos handover to Mauritius regardless so it will then be up to Trump and Modi to sort out
There seems something odd to me with the GE result and Majority Labour given in July 2024, and how all those voters had given up on them as failed just 17 months later. It doesn’t seem impossible to me that an improving economy and people feeling better off would completely change the General Election picture.
The online lessons give advice on things such as how to prompt chatbots or use them to assist with admin tasks.
Many of the courses are free, with others subsidised, and the government aims to reach 10 million workers by 2030 - calling it the most ambitious training scheme since the launch of the Open University in 1971.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp37prvp072o
So repaired not broken
'Massive' armada heading to Iran quickly
If it's to keep the Conservative Party on life support so that it can think about winning in 2034 or so, then short term opportunistic posturing is probably the best plan open to her. Sensible, steady as she goes competence is likely to turn into steady as she sinks, and that would be terminal. (Much as I, and I suspect you, prefer sensible realistic Conservatives.)
It's one of the problems any LotO has. Preparing for government and surviving opposition are different things, and it's hard to do both at once. (See Starmer's clunky gear change when it became plausible that he'd be the next PM in about autumn 2022.)
Question is- is Kemi aware of her true situation? I just don't know.
Part of her problem is that Reform are (largely) right, so she has little choice but to say it. But trying to argue she'd be a more competent, slightly cuddlier version of Farage runs up against the reality that her party spent 14 years largely doing the opposite of what it's voters wanted, and there's no particular reason to think the Tory leopard has yet changed its spots.
I'm not sure what I'd do if I was Tory leader - probably wind the thing up and try to merge with Reform I suppose, as I can't see any viable path back to relevance for them from here.
Are Bond movies not accurate?
More positive 11%, more negative 13%, no difference was always positive towards Reform 15%, no difference was always negative towards Reform 43%.
Labour voters 15% more negative, 5% more positive. LDs 13% more negative 4% more positive, Greens 0% more positive, 16% more negative.
Reform voters 23% more positive, 17% more negative. Conservative voters 22% more positive, 13% more negative
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2026/01/27/09162/1
Sure, there's a distinction between needing repairs and needing to start from scratch. But the Broken Britain narrative has got so attached to the second that it's tricky to reclaim the first.
You clearly saying the opposite - Party before Country is more in the Badenoch’s and Conservative Party’s interest in this Parliament. I don’t see it like that at all. There’s an ideological gulf between Conservatism and Populism, and the Party’s policies should reflect this. For the health of the party, every time they stand up in the HoC, it should reflect this gulf.
I was thinking about this and i think what they have done is a bit like South Korea did, they identify stratregitic industries, then instruct who to get involved, lots of state aid, until matured. But on the flipside can turn around and ban something overnight.
And of course internet / social media heavily censored, but within that ecosystem, for the things the state doesnt care, its sell sell sell.
The problem I got with your way of thinking on this, Marx and Lenin were European, one a German Jew. You have philosophies and culture out of time and relevant the world over?
Isn’t the whole make up of the Eastern Tiger so different in its DNA than Europe? If it was communist for a time, would it not result to its normal DNA and slot back in with everything surrounding it?
The primary way that governments could help, is investing in infrastructure.
Which does not have to mean public transport. Most people in towns drive - and towns can be a thriving place to live and have disposable incomes due to the lower cost of land and costs. Especially in a more connected, more online, more work from home age then why not have thriving towns?
Investments in new motorways would be my number one way the government could generate real growth. By which I do not mean converting the hard shoulder of an existing motorway into a new lane, or adding a new lane on an existing motorway. New motorways, making connections that do not currently exist. Connecting towns or cities that aren't currently connected to each other.
Investments in new bridges would be my number two way. Whether driving or cycling or walking you can only cross a river at a bridge and most towns are located around rivers - typically on both sides of the water. In most towns there are very limited bridges, often in the town or city centre, so to go from North of the river to South of the river (or East to West) or vice-versa often means a congested journey into the centre, even if you have no reason to be there, just to get to the bridge. Build new bridges and people can travel different options and won't all be having to fight over the same limited resource.
People can only travel on routes that actually exist.
The slogan is inadequate to change that.
As Cookie says all urban land in China is state owned and rural land by local village collectives. In complete contrast to the UK for starters where most land is owned by the Crown, the National Trust, the Church or wealthy private individuals and aristrocrats and developers or private companies (with a bit of state owned Forestry commission or MOD land).
Most industry in China is also owned by the state, which is not the case here either post Thatcher privatisations.
For most socialists in Labour therefore Xi's China is more of a role model than Modi's India or Trump's USA or the EU even now Putin's Russia
A new study by researchers in Spain found that triple therapy eliminates pancreatic tumours in mice
https://www.euronews.com/health/2026/01/28/scientists-achieve-pancreatic-tumour-regression-in-breakthrough-study
..These studies open a way to design new combination therapies that can improve the survival of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma," the authors said in a statement. "These results set the direction for the development of new clinical trials, it added.
The results, published in the scientific journal 'PNAS', show that simultaneously targeting three key points of the KRAS oncogene molecular pathway achieves long-lasting tumour regression. In Spain, more than 10,300 cases of this type of cancer are diagnosed each year, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent.
The key to the breakthrough lies in avoiding the resistance that appears when the oncogene is blocked at a single point. The CNIO team combined an experimental KRAS inhibitor, a drug already approved for lung cancer, with a protein degrader, resulting in tumours disappearing without significant side effects in three different animal models...
It's a little way off getting anything into clinical trials, but for pancreatic cancer, where there are almost no good options, the hurdle for getting a trial underway is comparatively low.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfCtQxQvIH4
Why? Many advantages.
In a glass half-full kind of way you get the best of both worlds. The connection and options that exist in cities are available, even if on a smaller scale (and many towns aren't too far from bigger cities when you need that) and the ability to have your own parcel of land, even if on a smaller scale, that exists in rural areas. Costs are considerably lower than in cities, even if higher than rural.
You can also choose to look at it glass half-empty, but that's true with most things in life.
Its what you make of it. And our modern economy is quite well suited for town life, where its done well. Unfortunately Whitehall has not invested much in towns for many decades.
If we compare the Cold War Warsaw pact communist states with China today, how’s that contrast?
throw in the democracy lacking Arab states in the Middle East today, the Juntas in South America also in the Cold War era, and UK. Germany and USA how we were in the 1960s and 70’s - who is actually more like who?
The dividing line through all those things, I suggest all have an “establishment”? If you were a senior civil servant in the UK, you were helped putting your children through the best schools and university’s, weren’t you?
So an establishment in real control. And corruption. The only things that unite every type of system.
What’s weights carried in an actual name they chose to call themselves?
Oh, the Snowflake-in-Chief will love this. Please spread it far and wide.
According to The Economist, here are Drumpf's net-approval ratings, state-by-state, in descending order.
Idaho: +31.4%
Wyoming: +23.7%
West Virginia: +16.9%
North Dakota: +12.2%
Tennessee: +6.6%
Montana: +4.9%
Alabama: +2.9%
Oklahoma: +2.6%
Kentucky: +1.9%
Utah: +1.6%
Arkansas: +0.4%
South Dakota: +0.4%
Nebraska: -1.2%
Missouri: -2.6%
Kansas: -4.0%
Louisiana: -5.1%
Indiana: -5.2%
Alaska: -6.6%
Mississippi: -6.9%
South Carolina: -7.3%
Florida: -7.5%
Iowa: -8.7%
Ohio: -9.2%
North Carolina: -13.6%
New Hampshire: -15.3%
Michigan: -15.8%
Pennsylvania: -15.8%
Arizona: -16.9%
Texas: -17.2%
Virginia: -17.3%
Wisconsin: -17.5%
Nevada: -17.7%
Maine: -18.4%
Georgia: -18.6%
Minnesota: -21.9%
Delaware: -22.1%
New Jersey: -23.0%
New York: -25.1%
California: -26.7%
Colorado: -27.7%
Oregon: -28.7%
Massachusetts: -30.8%
Illinois: -32.0%
Rhode Island: -32.0%
Connecticut: -33.0%
Washington: -34.0%
New Mexico: -36.2%
Hawaii: -38.0%
Vermont: -38.1%
Maryland: -40.9%
Washington, D.C.: -78.9%
It may be the one that practices apartheid for Starbucks
I may be getting by unique Devonian coastal towns confused.
*Runs away, pursued by 3957 aggressive Devonian moths*
WTF is wrong with Idaho?
Remain on good terms with the hierarchy. Interesting. Almost like needing to be in a Freemasons type club thing.
Texas -17%? Looks out of kilter with the rest of the results.
Touched down in China – I’m here to deliver for the British people.
https://x.com/keir_starmer/status/2016467145639493878?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
https://www.gbnews.com/news/cumbria-news-head-inn-hotel-owner-scafell-pike
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/28/labour-risks-election-wipeout-unless-it-improves-britain-high-streets-study-finds
Labour will be “washed away in a tide of discontent” at the next general election unless it tackles the decline of Britain’s high streets, a study has warned, as Guardian analysis lays bare the changing face of town centres.
Research by the University of Southampton found people feel high streets have declined more than any other part of their local area over the past decade as household brands collapsed and shoplifting rose.
Improving shopping precincts was the third most important local issue for voters, behind good healthcare and reducing crime, according to polling conducted by YouGov.
Reform UK supporters were more likely than anyone else to say their area had significantly declined, underlining what researchers called a “deep sense of place-based resentment” towards Westminster.
Labour MPs say they are increasingly alarmed by the state of high streets, which for many voters have become symbolic of whether their area is prospering – and have been a focus of business backlash over the significant increases to business rates in November’s budget...
There again, neither is Reform.
The Conservative predicament could become a lot worse if they end up with defections to both the LDs and Reform, that is not just to Reform.
When Conservative MPs elected in 2024 are being told that they have to accept the political direction they are going in under her leadership, the obvious response is that she wasn't leader when people voted for them.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/28/centrist-ideas-no-longer-wanted-in-conservative-party-says-kemi-badenoch
Badenoch was obviously always going to be a disaster and has not proved anyone wrong.
Totalling the EC votes of the states where Trump still has a net positive rating gives just 68 GOP EC votes and 470 Democrat.
Which would be the worst defeat in the EC for a GOP nominee since Goldwater won just 52 EC votes against LBJ in 1964
https://www.270towin.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_United_States_presidential_election
“I think she’s a fraud. I really don’t think about that,” he continued. “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”
Way to lead.
Conservative estimates of 20,000 dead. Nearly all young protestors
I want Trump to nuke the mullahs. Do it
A tale for modern Britain though. Nobody wants to foot the bill for getting out of a sticky situation of their own making.
Now she will be having Tory centrist MPs targeting her if she falls short in May and the Tories come third behind Reform and Labour.
Now Jenrick has gone to Reform and is no longer a viable alternative to Kemi their man Cleverly is her likeliest replacement and they will try and replace her with him unless she gets the Conservative poll rating up
High Streets need to be repurposed for domestic dwelling use. How many charity shops, Turkish barbers and nail bars does a town need.
# nogoingback
"Robert Fico, the populist prime minister of Slovakia, made the remarks on the sidelines of an emergency EU summit in Brussels … Fico characterized Trump as being 'out of his mind,' according to a diplomat whose boss was directly involved in the conversation."
https://bsky.app/profile/gtconway.bsky.social/post/3mdihgkiuta2d
Now I (and probably most of us on here) could easily afford that but I suspect an awful lot of people can’t
It is not really possible to own stuff in China. Anything you have, you have at the sufferance of the state, which is perfectly happy to dispossess you – or, as it sees you, repossess your assets to become collective assets. You can’t even easily get your stuff out to places which have a concept of property rights, though that doesn’t stop people trying.
The amazing thing is that despite business rates bills for pubs now mostly falling in real terms for the next 3 years, by failing to get it right first time the government is still going to end up taking political flak for this.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pubs-and-live-music-venues-relief
Mind you everything is reversible. Badenoch has been praised on here for not getting crushed in PMQs for a while. She got spanked last week and hasn't been so sure footed ever since. Today's relaunch was very vin ordinaire.
The hotel gave them a discount and stayed up late to serve them food. Lets just say £130 was too much (I think unlikely, £65 each), it was the case that they didn't have the money, most decent people might say to the hotelier hey we are in a pickle here, we are actually pretty broke, can we give you £x now and paid the rest next month.
Breaking: Coral are ending their sponsorship of the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival with immediate effect, blaming tax rises announced in last year’s budget.
"Coral has been the longest-running sponsor at Cheltenham Festival since 1974, but the sheer size of the Government’s recent tax increase on betting operators means we are having to take very difficult decisions."