Look at the headlines, or what’s dominating all the news bulletins. We’re talking about anything but the things that most need to be reckoned with. In the UK, we’re talking round the clock about Peter Mandelson, the one guy in this we at least know wasn’t making sexually abusive use of Epstein’s trafficked women and girls. Even if he did offer Epstein image rehab advice, which, as discussed here in depth on Tuesday, was a foray into the moral abyss. (Again.) But the frenzied and remorseless focus on political fallout – and not the male-on-female debasement that is the entire heart of this story, and always has been – is weird, isn’t it?
On the BBC I watched a documentary last night Lover, Liar, Predator. It is superb. Its the sort of video that should be shown in schools, possibly even more so than Adolescence. In my work I come across people all the time like the accused in LLP. Manipulative, controlling, abusive, dangerous. People, particularly young girls, need to be much more aware.
I think that there is more than enough quality on the BBC to justify £180 a year. That doesn't mean that I think the licence fee is defensible or that the current legal framework for it can survive but if the BBC went behind a paywall I'd probably pay it.
I thought the Channel 4 documentary about the Arthur's Seat murder (featuring some of your colleagues) was also very good for unpicking that kind of behaviour. The obsession with the engagement ring was particularly galling.
Yes. Alex Prentice is a pal. His use of the recording from the hospital was masterful.
It is a major topic that @Cyclefree mentions often. Too many men are misogynistic, self absorbed and dangerously selfish. I saw another video yesterday involving a talk by a psychologist from Australia talking about a friend of his who had murdered his wife and 3 kids. 2 observations really struck home. These men, (and it is nearly always men) talk about should and shouldn't. She should have done X, she shouldn't have done Y because it presses my buttons and she knows this. Victim blaming but the words are significant.
Secondly, he talked of a spectrum. Tolerating or worse sexist language and stereotyping puts a minority of men onto a path that leads to domestic violence, sexual violence and even murder. Don't tolerate it. Don't let others think it is ok. It just isn't.
I am glad someone has noticed what I have been saying for years. On here and elsewhere. The default assumption in too much of our society is that Women. Do. Not. Count. They exist only to support men or to be a resource for them, mainly a sexual one. They are not really entitled to any rights and such rights as they are granted are only done as favour by men and only insofar as they do not inconvenience men. If men want something women have, women should give this up because men's demands are more important. Women who either point any of this out or complain about it get and deserve a load of abuse.
If you want an example of this in action, read and listen to the Scottish government's arguments in the latest FWS case in the Scottish courts.
The Epstein affair is a sordid, vile, corrupt disgrace. There are some emails where men ask Epstein for the name of the gynaecologists he sent his victims too. Did those medical professionals ever ask themselves what was happening or whether they had any ethical obligations to speak up? Given the scale of abuse over many years, the type of men involved, other examples such as the Pelicot case in France (and that was only one of the many crimes promoted and recorded by a website which had thousands of users and was up for 6 years), the Joanne Young one here, the fact that the murder rate for women by men has not gone down and remains consistent year after year and so many other examples, I am at the stage of thinking that it is decent men who are the minority. Not the other way around.
And judging by conversations with many of my female friends in recent weeks and months, I am not the only one to think this.
If that bothers or upsets men on here, don't complain to me. Ask yourself about the sort of society we have, who has the power in it and how well it reflects and meets the needs of the female half of the population.
She felt "betrayed" by Nath, she told the trial, but had initially defended him when staff warned that they believed her drink had been spiked.
"I remember vividly defending Mr Nath, saying 'There is no way he could do that"', she said.
"I remember sending him a message saying 'I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening'. Because I felt it was my fault. I didn't want him in trouble, I didn't believe it."
It's really hard for women to identify which men are trustworthy.
Surely its equally hard for men to identify women that are trustworthy..
If you tell a woman something and tell them.not to say anything.... chances of that remaining secret are approx 0%
Been dipping in and out of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Has anybody said "Fuck ICE"?
Well.
Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has launched a blistering attack on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by urinating the words “Fuck Ice” on the snow just before the start of the Winter Olympics.
In a post on Instagram the 34-year-old, who will compete for Team GB in the free-ski half-pipe in Milano Cortina, also urged Americans to write to their senators to “rein in” ICE and border patrol.
Look at the headlines, or what’s dominating all the news bulletins. We’re talking about anything but the things that most need to be reckoned with. In the UK, we’re talking round the clock about Peter Mandelson, the one guy in this we at least know wasn’t making sexually abusive use of Epstein’s trafficked women and girls. Even if he did offer Epstein image rehab advice, which, as discussed here in depth on Tuesday, was a foray into the moral abyss. (Again.) But the frenzied and remorseless focus on political fallout – and not the male-on-female debasement that is the entire heart of this story, and always has been – is weird, isn’t it?
On the BBC I watched a documentary last night Lover, Liar, Predator. It is superb. Its the sort of video that should be shown in schools, possibly even more so than Adolescence. In my work I come across people all the time like the accused in LLP. Manipulative, controlling, abusive, dangerous. People, particularly young girls, need to be much more aware.
I think that there is more than enough quality on the BBC to justify £180 a year. That doesn't mean that I think the licence fee is defensible or that the current legal framework for it can survive but if the BBC went behind a paywall I'd probably pay it.
I thought the Channel 4 documentary about the Arthur's Seat murder (featuring some of your colleagues) was also very good for unpicking that kind of behaviour. The obsession with the engagement ring was particularly galling.
Yes. Alex Prentice is a pal. His use of the recording from the hospital was masterful.
It is a major topic that @Cyclefree mentions often. Too many men are misogynistic, self absorbed and dangerously selfish. I saw another video yesterday involving a talk by a psychologist from Australia talking about a friend of his who had murdered his wife and 3 kids. 2 observations really struck home. These men, (and it is nearly always men) talk about should and shouldn't. She should have done X, she shouldn't have done Y because it presses my buttons and she knows this. Victim blaming but the words are significant.
Secondly, he talked of a spectrum. Tolerating or worse sexist language and stereotyping puts a minority of men onto a path that leads to domestic violence, sexual violence and even murder. Don't tolerate it. Don't let others think it is ok. It just isn't.
I am glad someone has noticed what I have been saying for years. On here and elsewhere. The default assumption in too much of our society is that Women. Do. Not. Count. They exist only to support men or to be a resource for them, mainly a sexual one. They are not really entitled to any rights and such rights as they are granted are only done as favour by men and only insofar as they do not inconvenience men. If men want something women have, women should give this up because men's demands are more important. Women who either point any of this out or complain about it get and deserve a load of abuse.
If you want an example of this in action, read and listen to the Scottish government's arguments in the latest FWS case in the Scottish courts.
The Epstein affair is a sordid, vile, corrupt disgrace. There are some emails where men ask Epstein for the name of the gynaecologists he sent his victims too. Did those medical professionals ever ask themselves what was happening or whether they had any ethical obligations to speak up? Given the scale of abuse over many years, the type of men involved, other examples such as the Pelicot case in France (and that was only one of the many crimes promoted and recorded by a website which had thousands of users and was up for 6 years), the Joanne Young one here, the fact that the murder rate for women by men has not gone down and remains consistent year after year and so many other examples, I am at the stage of thinking that it is decent men who are the minority. Not the other way around.
And judging by conversations with many of my female friends in recent weeks and months, I am not the only one to think this.
If that bothers or upsets men on here, don't complain to me. Ask yourself about the sort of society we have, who has the power in it and how well it reflects and meets the needs of the female half of the population.
She felt "betrayed" by Nath, she told the trial, but had initially defended him when staff warned that they believed her drink had been spiked.
"I remember vividly defending Mr Nath, saying 'There is no way he could do that"', she said.
"I remember sending him a message saying 'I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening'. Because I felt it was my fault. I didn't want him in trouble, I didn't believe it."
It's really hard for women to identify which men are trustworthy.
Surely its equally hard for men to identify women that are trustworthy..
If you tell a woman something and tell them.not to say anything.... chances of that remaining secret are approx 0%
Right. On the one hand, can a woman trust a man not to drug her, rape her, and murder her.
On the other, can a man trust a woman to keep his secrets.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
Been dipping in and out of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Has anybody said "Fuck ICE"?
Well.
Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has launched a blistering attack on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by urinating the words “Fuck Ice” on the snow just before the start of the Winter Olympics.
In a post on Instagram the 34-year-old, who will compete for Team GB in the free-ski half-pipe in Milano Cortina, also urged Americans to write to their senators to “rein in” ICE and border patrol.
A Labour minister commissioned and reviewed an intelligence report on journalists investigating the thinktank that helped propel Keir Starmer to power, the Guardian has learned.
The research was ordered and subsequently reviewed by Josh Simons, now a minister in the Cabinet Office, when he was chair of Labour Together, according to sources and documents seen by the Guardian.
Simons is close to the prime minister’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who had previously run Labour Together and whose own role in the operation to gather material on journalists is under scrutiny.
Been dipping in and out of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Has anybody said "Fuck ICE"?
Well.
Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has launched a blistering attack on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by urinating the words “Fuck Ice” on the snow just before the start of the Winter Olympics.
In a post on Instagram the 34-year-old, who will compete for Team GB in the free-ski half-pipe in Milano Cortina, also urged Americans to write to their senators to “rein in” ICE and border patrol.
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
Thats not how it works. The defenestrated do not choose their successor. The whole point is to choose something different.
Who was the last party leader replaced by their Mini-Me?
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
I can't see Streeting as chancellor. No Treasury experience, no finance experience.
Been dipping in and out of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Has anybody said "Fuck ICE"?
Well.
Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has launched a blistering attack on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by urinating the words “Fuck Ice” on the snow just before the start of the Winter Olympics.
In a post on Instagram the 34-year-old, who will compete for Team GB in the free-ski half-pipe in Milano Cortina, also urged Americans to write to their senators to “rein in” ICE and border patrol.
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
David Miliband wasn't smart enough to defeat his brother in a Labour leadership contest.
Firstly if course the right wing media are making up increasing stupid stories about warfare in the Cabinet to out do each other.
However let's play the interest betting odds based on the Labour voting system and decide Yvette Cooper becomes PM in the 4th or 5th round of voting.
Now then how about Lord Ed Balls of Elland becoming Chancellor
If Lord David Cameron can be Foreign Secretary then what's stopping Ed.
Wife in 10, Husband in 11
Odds?
So confirmation that the Guardian is a Neon-Fascist-Extremist-Rag ?
I always had that sneaking suspicision. It was when they called Thomas the Tank Engine, racist, sexist, ablist, fatist, homophobic tv show, I thought they sound like absolute Facists.
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
Thats not how it works. The defenestrated do not choose their successor. The whole point is to choose something different.
Who was the last party leader replaced by their Mini-Me?
Been dipping in and out of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Has anybody said "Fuck ICE"?
Well.
Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has launched a blistering attack on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by urinating the words “Fuck Ice” on the snow just before the start of the Winter Olympics.
In a post on Instagram the 34-year-old, who will compete for Team GB in the free-ski half-pipe in Milano Cortina, also urged Americans to write to their senators to “rein in” ICE and border patrol.
The salience of ICE, as opposed to ice, to the Winter Olympics is non-zero. ICE officials were said to be advising on the US team's security detail and there has been a persistent line amongst Italian government saying that ICE would not be involved in the detail itself, in response to some public and media anxiety on that score.
Been dipping in and out of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Has anybody said "Fuck ICE"?
Well.
Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has launched a blistering attack on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by urinating the words “Fuck Ice” on the snow just before the start of the Winter Olympics.
In a post on Instagram the 34-year-old, who will compete for Team GB in the free-ski half-pipe in Milano Cortina, also urged Americans to write to their senators to “rein in” ICE and border patrol.
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
Does he or did he also say that Mandelson was also very, very smart? Because plenty did.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
Thats not how it works. The defenestrated do not choose their successor. The whole point is to choose something different.
Who was the last party leader replaced by their Mini-Me?
I'm working on the assumption that Labour MPs aren't plunging the knife because there is no credible alternative (at the moment), and therefore the only reason you'd see a change at No 10 is if Starmer himself gives it up.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I'm sure the gilt market would be thrilled too..
Slip-slidin' away....
I remember when that Lib Dem woman became PM. The Queen mysteriously died and the economy crashed. Are you suggesting if Rayner becomes PM the King is in peril?
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
The evidence says your friend is wrong.
David lost to his brother (more accurately, to the unions)
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
Would you like to go for Double Jeopardy where the scores can really change?
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
The evidence says your friend is wrong.
David lost to his brother (more accurately, to the unions)
Ed lost to the electorate.
If David had won the Tories wouldn’t have got a majority in 2015.
Slagging Labour off for the defence budget Slagging Labour off for the flood defence budget Claiming Parliament is effectively closed nothing happening for weeks because of Mandelson
All bare faced lies Complete fabrication of the facts
All politians lie but she is world class In complete denial of the shit show up to mid 2024 she was in the midst if
Arrogant liar She's got a lot in common with Mandy
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
The evidence says your friend is wrong.
David lost to his brother (more accurately, to the unions)
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
It's 20% now. Starmer is on the ballot paper automatically.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
I can't see Streeting as chancellor. No Treasury experience, no finance experience.
Could be Minister for Pet Shops, Grenfell, or Private Health
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
It's 20% now. Starmer is on the ballot paper automatically.
McSweeney considering raising the 20% rule to 98.7%
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
It's 20% now. Starmer is on the ballot paper automatically.
McSweeney considering raising the 20% rule to 98.7%
He would if he could. But he may be gone by Monday.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
It's 20% now. Starmer is on the ballot paper automatically.
McSweeney considering raising the 20% rule to 98.7%
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
It's 20% now. Starmer is on the ballot paper automatically.
McSweeney considering raising the 20% rule to 98.7%
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
Is this not worse than Profumo?
There are a lot of parallels, except this time we have evidence of information actually being passed to a foreign agent, and the girls were trafficked.
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
The evidence says your friend is wrong.
David lost to his brother (more accurately, to the unions)
Ed lost to the electorate.
Yes, but is in with a shout of being PM.
Who is the smarter at this politics game?
Ed M was provably the better choice, not only by winning under the system required, but having the determination to stay at the top end of Labour politics for a decade after losing a GE, and genuinely in with a shout of still becoming PM. David lost and quit, and has not been heard from seriously in UK politics since. He may well be brighter, nicer, who knows, but as a politician Ed has him beat.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
The evidence says your friend is wrong.
David lost to his brother (more accurately, to the unions)
Ed lost to the electorate.
Yes, but is in with a shout of being PM.
Who is the smarter at this politics game?
Ed M was provably the better choice, not only by winning under the system required, but having the determination to stay at the top end of Labour politics for a decade after losing a GE, and genuinely in with a shout of still becoming PM. David lost and quit, and has not been heard from seriously in UK politics since. He may well be brighter, nicer, who knows, but as a politician Ed has his beat.
I suspect that if people could go back to 2015 in a time machine and vote again Ed Miliband's Coalition of Chaos would win a landslide.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
What happened to the old Newsnight requirement for balance? You remember? Ensuring the economic opinion of Andrea Leadsom was given equal expertise billing to the Head of the World bank.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
It's 20% now. Starmer is on the ballot paper automatically.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
Chorley is in a right grump that the Labour MP they've got on is loyal Some researcher is going to get bawled out.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
It's 20% now. Starmer is on the ballot paper automatically.
McSweeney considering raising the 20% rule to 98.7%
That wouldn't give Starmer a blocking vote. Needs to be higher...
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Wor Lass has been sticking up for Starmer in recent days. So he's secured the green not Green vote.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
The evidence says your friend is wrong.
David lost to his brother (more accurately, to the unions)
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
David Miliband wasn't smart enough to defeat his brother in a Labour leadership contest.
Ed had the savvy not to be elected until 2005 and so could plausibly deny supporting the Iraq war. Which probably swung more votes than the narrow margin of victory.
Hague would have been a much more competant PM had he got the chance from 2010 onwards than he ever would have been when he was LOTO.
I think you can say the same of Miliband. He has also matured as a politician over a decade or so.
Anyway, the fact is that, whoever takes over from Starmer, they are going to be judged by the electorate in 2029 based on what they do or do not achieve in office, not on what people thought of them before they became PM. So should he get the chance, outdated perceptions of Miliband won't count for much by 2029.
A friend of mine knows the Miliband brothers.
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
David Miliband wasn't smart enough to defeat his brother in a Labour leadership contest.
Ed had the savvy not to be elected until 2005 and so could plausibly deny supporting the Iraq war. Which probably swung more votes than the narrow margin of victory.
Timing and luck is a big part of political success!
I've just seen the Trump posted Obamas video (the Lion Sleeps Tonight).
My thoughts? Nazi f***!
I've not seen it, but if Trump actually decided/was persuaded to take it down, accepting even minutely (and certainly not intentionally) that he should not have posted it, then it must have been the most racist and offensive piece of media in human history to get through to him.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I don't hate Starmer. There isn't enough there to hate. He is a middle manager of the middling sort.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
He is a middle manager of the middling sort.
Hmm, suddenly I find him much more relatable and likeable for some unaccountable reason.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I don't hate Starmer. There isn't enough there to hate. He is a middle manager of the middling sort.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I don't hate Starmer. There isn't enough there to hate. He is a middle manager of the middling sort.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I voted for Nandy because I thought you want someone a bit spikier in the social media age but I think he's doing a good job. I wouldn't support replacing him with whatever is in the Mystery Box.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I don't hate Starmer. There isn't enough there to hate. He is a middle manager of the middling sort.
The other thing that polling shows is that the Labour 'coronation' option is:
Angela Rayner as PM Ed M as chancellor.
That would seem to keep most people happy, except perhaps the right of the party.
I don't think Starmer would go unless there is a stable alternative lined up - maybe Cooper as PM + Streeting/Miliband as Chancellor? None of the combos really work.
The thing is it only takes 10% of MPs to put someone on the ballot paper and there's no telling who the members would pick. It's Kier or the Mystery Box.
It's 20% now. Starmer is on the ballot paper automatically.
Thanks, nice catch. Ironically I think that makes his position a little bit less safe than if it was 10%, because it reduces the level of the insanity that MPs might get lumbered with if they knife him.
Look at the headlines, or what’s dominating all the news bulletins. We’re talking about anything but the things that most need to be reckoned with. In the UK, we’re talking round the clock about Peter Mandelson, the one guy in this we at least know wasn’t making sexually abusive use of Epstein’s trafficked women and girls. Even if he did offer Epstein image rehab advice, which, as discussed here in depth on Tuesday, was a foray into the moral abyss. (Again.) But the frenzied and remorseless focus on political fallout – and not the male-on-female debasement that is the entire heart of this story, and always has been – is weird, isn’t it?
On the BBC I watched a documentary last night Lover, Liar, Predator. It is superb. Its the sort of video that should be shown in schools, possibly even more so than Adolescence. In my work I come across people all the time like the accused in LLP. Manipulative, controlling, abusive, dangerous. People, particularly young girls, need to be much more aware.
I think that there is more than enough quality on the BBC to justify £180 a year. That doesn't mean that I think the licence fee is defensible or that the current legal framework for it can survive but if the BBC went behind a paywall I'd probably pay it.
I thought the Channel 4 documentary about the Arthur's Seat murder (featuring some of your colleagues) was also very good for unpicking that kind of behaviour. The obsession with the engagement ring was particularly galling.
Yes. Alex Prentice is a pal. His use of the recording from the hospital was masterful.
It is a major topic that @Cyclefree mentions often. Too many men are misogynistic, self absorbed and dangerously selfish. I saw another video yesterday involving a talk by a psychologist from Australia talking about a friend of his who had murdered his wife and 3 kids. 2 observations really struck home. These men, (and it is nearly always men) talk about should and shouldn't. She should have done X, she shouldn't have done Y because it presses my buttons and she knows this. Victim blaming but the words are significant.
Secondly, he talked of a spectrum. Tolerating or worse sexist language and stereotyping puts a minority of men onto a path that leads to domestic violence, sexual violence and even murder. Don't tolerate it. Don't let others think it is ok. It just isn't.
I am glad someone has noticed what I have been saying for years. On here and elsewhere. The default assumption in too much of our society is that Women. Do. Not. Count. They exist only to support men or to be a resource for them, mainly a sexual one. They are not really entitled to any rights and such rights as they are granted are only done as favour by men and only insofar as they do not inconvenience men. If men want something women have, women should give this up because men's demands are more important. Women who either point any of this out or complain about it get and deserve a load of abuse.
If you want an example of this in action, read and listen to the Scottish government's arguments in the latest FWS case in the Scottish courts.
The Epstein affair is a sordid, vile, corrupt disgrace. There are some emails where men ask Epstein for the name of the gynaecologists he sent his victims too. Did those medical professionals ever ask themselves what was happening or whether they had any ethical obligations to speak up? Given the scale of abuse over many years, the type of men involved, other examples such as the Pelicot case in France (and that was only one of the many crimes promoted and recorded by a website which had thousands of users and was up for 6 years), the Joanne Young one here, the fact that the murder rate for women by men has not gone down and remains consistent year after year and so many other examples, I am at the stage of thinking that it is decent men who are the minority. Not the other way around.
And judging by conversations with many of my female friends in recent weeks and months, I am not the only one to think this.
If that bothers or upsets men on here, don't complain to me. Ask yourself about the sort of society we have, who has the power in it and how well it reflects and meets the needs of the female half of the population.
She felt "betrayed" by Nath, she told the trial, but had initially defended him when staff warned that they believed her drink had been spiked.
"I remember vividly defending Mr Nath, saying 'There is no way he could do that"', she said.
"I remember sending him a message saying 'I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening'. Because I felt it was my fault. I didn't want him in trouble, I didn't believe it."
It's really hard for women to identify which men are trustworthy.
Surely its equally hard for men to identify women that are trustworthy..
If you tell a woman something and tell them.not to say anything.... chances of that remaining secret are approx 0%
Is that really the same thing, squareroot2?
1 like for my post and this pathetic response by @squareroot2 rather make my point for me. Thanks to others who have responded. But once again the political class and commentators are only bothered by what this means for the careers of individual politicians. Not what it says about their attitude to women nor about the Labour party's general approach to women, which has been utterly woeful and dismissive.
Let's summarise some examples -
- the strategy on combating violence against women and girls: endlessly postponed and somewhere in the ether - approval of the EHRC guidance following the Supreme Court's ruling last April: similarly postponed with government lawyers arguing the opposite of what Ministers have told Parliament, described by a judge as seeking to undermine the judgment - the response on the grooming gangs inquiry and action to get it going which seems to have dribbled into the sand - Lord Falconer's refusal to have any effective safeguards against coercion into assisted suicide, a particular issue for women at risk of coercion. Falconer who was not able to assess Mandelson's character despite knowing and working with him for decades seems to think a doctor can assess coercion of a patient he has never met over a 5 minute Zoom call.
Perhaps for a fucking change we could discuss just for once what Starmer's possible replacements might do better for women. And no Rayner becoming PM does fuck all. We've had 3 of them already. I want a politician who shows some interest in us not just in their own career.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
You don't have to be an SKS fan but at the moment but I can't think of anyone better who is in with a chance. He's several miles better than Farage and Baddenoch. My fear of Trump and to a lesser extent Baddenoch trumps everything else. The likes of Zack are unrealistic.
He's also decent and honest and a pro closer ties with Europe
Look at the headlines, or what’s dominating all the news bulletins. We’re talking about anything but the things that most need to be reckoned with. In the UK, we’re talking round the clock about Peter Mandelson, the one guy in this we at least know wasn’t making sexually abusive use of Epstein’s trafficked women and girls. Even if he did offer Epstein image rehab advice, which, as discussed here in depth on Tuesday, was a foray into the moral abyss. (Again.) But the frenzied and remorseless focus on political fallout – and not the male-on-female debasement that is the entire heart of this story, and always has been – is weird, isn’t it?
On the BBC I watched a documentary last night Lover, Liar, Predator. It is superb. Its the sort of video that should be shown in schools, possibly even more so than Adolescence. In my work I come across people all the time like the accused in LLP. Manipulative, controlling, abusive, dangerous. People, particularly young girls, need to be much more aware.
I think that there is more than enough quality on the BBC to justify £180 a year. That doesn't mean that I think the licence fee is defensible or that the current legal framework for it can survive but if the BBC went behind a paywall I'd probably pay it.
I thought the Channel 4 documentary about the Arthur's Seat murder (featuring some of your colleagues) was also very good for unpicking that kind of behaviour. The obsession with the engagement ring was particularly galling.
Yes. Alex Prentice is a pal. His use of the recording from the hospital was masterful.
It is a major topic that @Cyclefree mentions often. Too many men are misogynistic, self absorbed and dangerously selfish. I saw another video yesterday involving a talk by a psychologist from Australia talking about a friend of his who had murdered his wife and 3 kids. 2 observations really struck home. These men, (and it is nearly always men) talk about should and shouldn't. She should have done X, she shouldn't have done Y because it presses my buttons and she knows this. Victim blaming but the words are significant.
Secondly, he talked of a spectrum. Tolerating or worse sexist language and stereotyping puts a minority of men onto a path that leads to domestic violence, sexual violence and even murder. Don't tolerate it. Don't let others think it is ok. It just isn't.
I am glad someone has noticed what I have been saying for years. On here and elsewhere. The default assumption in too much of our society is that Women. Do. Not. Count. They exist only to support men or to be a resource for them, mainly a sexual one. They are not really entitled to any rights and such rights as they are granted are only done as favour by men and only insofar as they do not inconvenience men. If men want something women have, women should give this up because men's demands are more important. Women who either point any of this out or complain about it get and deserve a load of abuse.
If you want an example of this in action, read and listen to the Scottish government's arguments in the latest FWS case in the Scottish courts.
The Epstein affair is a sordid, vile, corrupt disgrace. There are some emails where men ask Epstein for the name of the gynaecologists he sent his victims too. Did those medical professionals ever ask themselves what was happening or whether they had any ethical obligations to speak up? Given the scale of abuse over many years, the type of men involved, other examples such as the Pelicot case in France (and that was only one of the many crimes promoted and recorded by a website which had thousands of users and was up for 6 years), the Joanne Young one here, the fact that the murder rate for women by men has not gone down and remains consistent year after year and so many other examples, I am at the stage of thinking that it is decent men who are the minority. Not the other way around.
And judging by conversations with many of my female friends in recent weeks and months, I am not the only one to think this.
If that bothers or upsets men on here, don't complain to me. Ask yourself about the sort of society we have, who has the power in it and how well it reflects and meets the needs of the female half of the population.
She felt "betrayed" by Nath, she told the trial, but had initially defended him when staff warned that they believed her drink had been spiked.
"I remember vividly defending Mr Nath, saying 'There is no way he could do that"', she said.
"I remember sending him a message saying 'I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening'. Because I felt it was my fault. I didn't want him in trouble, I didn't believe it."
It's really hard for women to identify which men are trustworthy.
Surely its equally hard for men to identify women that are trustworthy..
If you tell a woman something and tell them.not to say anything.... chances of that remaining secret are approx 0%
Is that really the same thing, squareroot2?
1 like for my post and this pathetic response by @squareroot2 rather make my point for me. Thanks to others who have responded. But once again the political class and commentators are only bothered by what this means for the careers of individual politicians. Not what it says about their attitude to women nor about the Labour party's general approach to women, which has been utterly woeful and dismissive.
Let's summarise some examples -
- the strategy on combating violence against women and girls: endlessly postponed and somewhere in the ether - approval of the EHRC guidance following the Supreme Court's ruling last April: similarly postponed with government lawyers arguing the opposite of what Ministers have told Parliament, described by a judge as seeking to undermine the judgment - the response on the grooming gangs inquiry and action to get it going which seems to have dribbled into the sand - Lord Falconer's refusal to have any effective safeguards against coercion into assisted suicide, a particular issue for women at risk of coercion. Falconer who was not able to assess Mandelson's character despite knowing and working with him for decades seems to think a doctor can assess coercion of a patient he has never met over a 5 minute Zoom call.
Perhaps for a fucking change we could discuss just for once what Starmer's possible replacements might do better for women. And no Rayner becoming PM does fuck all. We've had 3 of them already. I want a politician who shows some interest in us not just in their own career.
There is a great post on social media which asks “why did it take the emails of one man to make the world believe what hundreds of women had been saying for years.”
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I am a Tory but would rather have Starmer than Rayner or Ed Miliband
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I wouldn't vote Labour because it's the blunt tool of Capital and Zionism. I do like Starmer on a personal level because he represented the McLibel Two.
He's infinitely preferable to Big Nige or Kemi, as vanishingly unlikely a prospect as that it, as PM.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I voted for him because it would kick the tories (who really I should be a natural voter of snice we don't have a gladstonian liberal party) in the face and because he'd be ineffectual and not change very much while some better political option arrived. Until the last couple of weeks I was very happy with that and although it's getting a bit more interesting at this point my opinion of him hasn't changed. Am basically satisified.
My hope of a better political option arriving has failed miserably though, but whatever.
He seems a fundamentally decent man, which is one of the reasons he's atrocious at politics. Can't lie for shit (see video in immediately preceeding post @isam linked to). And when he does, feels guilty about it.
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
You don't have to be an SKS fan but at the moment but I can't think of anyone better who is in with a chance. He's several miles better than Farage and Baddenoch. My fear of Trump and to a lesser extent Baddenoch trumps everything else. The likes of Zack are unrealistic.
He's also decent and honest and a pro closer ties with Europe
Newsnight have Poppy whatnot on from the Telegraph. She's just said "They are saying this is worse than the Profumo Affair". The only person who has said that is Nigel Farage. I really can't believe that they keep puuting her on. She hates Starmer. and is totally hopeless.
I really don't think she's the only person in the country who hates Starmer...
Not even the only one on PB
The Only SKS Fan In The Village?
Do we have a single Starmer supporter other than the pet troll?
I don't hate Starmer. There isn't enough there to hate. He is a middle manager of the middling sort.
Comments
- Everyone knows why he did it
- Everyone knows why he can't say why he did it
Is there evidence that it's bothering the voters?
I'm sure the gilt market would be thrilled too..
@spectatorindex
·
1h
BREAKING: NBC reports that members of Congress will able to see unredacted Epstein files from next week
Somehow, it seems very, very appropriate
Rayner needs a decent cabinet doing the day job so she can do the firebrand stuff.
On the other, can a man trust a woman to keep his secrets.
Totally the same thing.
All six million documents?
Bad news for Tehran though.
The research was ordered and subsequently reviewed by Josh Simons, now a minister in the Cabinet Office, when he was chair of Labour Together, according to sources and documents seen by the Guardian.
Simons is close to the prime minister’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who had previously run Labour Together and whose own role in the operation to gather material on journalists is under scrutiny.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/06/labour-minister-intelligence-files-gathered-on-journalists-josh-simons
However let's play the interest betting odds based on the Labour voting system and decide Yvette Cooper becomes PM in the 4th or 5th round of voting.
Now then how about Lord Ed Balls of Elland becoming Chancellor
If Lord David Cameron can be Foreign Secretary then what's stopping Ed.
Wife in 10, Husband in 11
Odds?
Says David Miliband is very, very smart.
Ed? Not so much...
If there were any chance a Democratic Socialist were in the running to lead the Democratic Socialist Party they would invent a rule to stop it.
At any cost
Who was the last party leader replaced by their Mini-Me?
Maybe as an unelected Cabinet member the rules would even allow him to stay on as Mayor of GM. As Starmer said he wanted, so everyone will be happy.
I'm not sure of the end result.
Ed lost to the electorate.
Going to dish the leadership out alphabetically
Long list
Abbott, Jack (Ipswich)#
Abrahams, Debbie (Oldham East and Saddleworth)#
Ahmed, Dr Zubir (Glasgow South West)#
Akehurst, Luke (North Durham)
# Ruled out as has to be someone from the North and Mcsweeney declares Lancashire is in the Midlands and Scotland is not eligible
Would you like to go for Double Jeopardy where the scores can really change?
"What is the signature policy of this government? The U-turn..."
Who is the smarter at this politics game?
There are a lot of parallels, except this time we have evidence of information actually being passed to a foreign agent, and the girls were trafficked.
Credit to Ed for sticking around.
Which probably swung more votes than the narrow margin of victory.
My thoughts? Nazi f***!
"Ace Starmer - what a guy!"
Let's summarise some examples -
- the strategy on combating violence against women and girls: endlessly postponed and somewhere in the ether
- approval of the EHRC guidance following the Supreme Court's ruling last April: similarly postponed with government lawyers arguing the opposite of what Ministers have told Parliament, described by a judge as seeking to undermine the judgment
- the response on the grooming gangs inquiry and action to get it going which seems to have dribbled into the sand
- Lord Falconer's refusal to have any effective safeguards against coercion into assisted suicide, a particular issue for women at risk of coercion. Falconer who was not able to assess Mandelson's character despite knowing and working with him for decades seems to think a doctor can assess coercion of a patient he has never met over a 5 minute Zoom call.
Perhaps for a fucking change we could discuss just for once what Starmer's possible replacements might do better for women. And no Rayner becoming PM does fuck all. We've had 3 of them already. I want a politician who shows some interest in us not just in their own career.
He's also decent and honest and a pro closer ties with Europe
Not saying all the GOP voters are racist, they aren't, but 99% wouldn't care if Trump outright said he was.
He's infinitely preferable to Big Nige or Kemi, as vanishingly unlikely a prospect as that it, as PM.
How can anyone trust the judgement of Keir Starmer when all of his views shift around like sand?
https://x.com/tomwhx/status/2019897482545676345?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
My hope of a better political option arriving has failed miserably though, but whatever.
He seems a fundamentally decent man, which is one of the reasons he's atrocious at politics. Can't lie for shit (see video in immediately preceeding post @isam linked to). And when he does, feels guilty about it.
He’s just pathetically incompetent.