Pressure v asking for updates this is quite subjective .
It seems now that Robbins has confirmed Starmer didn’t know and wasn’t lying about knowing Mandelson had issues with the vetting , the media have now moved onto this ridiculous attempt re the Priviliges Committee .
This is irrelevant as has been said.
Starmer appointed Mandelson. Risk but backfired. He should resign for that.
PMs can't resign over every mistake. What, for you, makes Mandelson's appointment a resigning-level mistake?
On the face of it you have a point
But he's prevaricated, obfuscated, weaselled about and thrown good (and bad) people under the bus to disguise that this was a political decision that backfired.
Not enough?
How about the statements he's made prior to this about the standards he expects. He made a point, repeatedly, that poor judgement and less-than-straightforward handling at the top should have consequences and contrasted that with how he operated as DPP, where he stressed personal accountability, clear decision-making and owning mistakes. That was a central part of the case against Johnson.
It all may not meet some absolute “resign now” threshold. But it does look uncomfortably like the kind of behaviour he said he wouldn’t tolerate, and not especially consistent with the leadership standards he’s pointed to from his DPP days.
The club has received a full apology from Westminster Council following their serious misuse of a registered club badge, which was placed on an illustration of a white supremacist hate group member in a children's education booklet distributed in schools, creating a false and damaging image of the club.
The council have confirmed no more copies of the image with the club's logo will be made or distributed by them and all remaining material in their possession will be destroyed.
The club is still considering its legal position on the matter and are unable to comment further.
Eric Trump on his $24 million Pentagon contract for robots: "It's gonna change industry, military application, hospitality. The uses are unlimited and I think it's a very beautiful thing, but we must win that race." https://x.com/atrupar/status/2047288979918078389
Who is going to win a hi-tech race between Eric Trump and a million Chinese boffins do we think?
If the Trump funding faucet is ever turned off, the US defence contractors are in for a tough time.
The United States has just nuked its own arms export business. Not with a missile. With a phone call.
Pete Hegseth rang Estonia’s defense minister and told him the HIMARS and Javelin deliveries are on hold.
Indefinitely. Months, not weeks. No timeline. No alternative. Just: sorry, we’re busy bombing Iran.
And that’s it. Twenty years of patient alliance-building, vaporized in a Monday morning call.
Here’s what European defense planners now know for certain: American weapons come with an asterisk. The asterisk reads “subject to cancellation whenever Washington decides its own adventure takes priority.” .. https://x.com/Microinteracti1/status/2047183959818219617
Surely that's always the case when you buy weapons manufactured in another country?
I'm sure anyone buying from South Korea knows that their purchases will be delayed if war resumes between North and South. I would be unsurprised if some military exports from Britain were delayed as a result of the Falklands War.
This is also why, for countries larger than Estonia, defence contracts often involve localised production, so as to avoid such issues (I believe Poland is having a factory built for some of their purchases from South Korea, for example)
But most countries don't repeatedly and randomly blunder into losing wars because their leaders are as corrupt and dumb as the US's.
The US and Russia were the world's two largest arms exporters for 2017-21. Both have since blundered into losing wars because their leaders are corrupt and dumb.
Russia has since dropped down the arms export rankings, and I agree that the US will do the same, but I think the Greenland situation is a larger factor for European decision-making.
The other countries in the top five were France, China and Germany. So if China loses a war attempting to seize Taiwan, that would make it three out of five.
Happy 23rd April, the day we English celebrate some Greek Christian bloke from modern-day Turkey being prosecuted for killing an endangered species...
More to the point it's Shakespeare's birthday*. An Englishman we can all be proud of.
Benpointer's idosyncratic list of greatest English men and women, in no particular order:
William Shakespeare Isaac Newton Florence Nightingale Charles Darwin George Stephenson Mary Anning Michael Faraday Horatio Nelson Jane Austen Elizabeth I Winston Churchill Isambard Kingdom Brunel
(*Probably)
Rosalind Franklin CS Lewis JRR Tolkien Philip Larkin Terry Pratchett Robert Falcon Scott
(Unfortunately can't include Sylvia Plath nor Ernest Shackleton)
Some of these were very good in their field and have interesting stories (e.g. Anning, Franklin, Scott), but does that make them great?
A list of twelve greats is arguably too long. It's too easy to keep on adding names and not choosing who doesn't make the cut. Reduce the list to three.
Alfred the Great (obvs) William Shakespeare Pitt the Younger (perhaps)
The club has received a full apology from Westminster Council following their serious misuse of a registered club badge, which was placed on an illustration of a white supremacist hate group member in a children's education booklet distributed in schools, creating a false and damaging image of the club.
The council have confirmed no more copies of the image with the club's logo will be made or distributed by them and all remaining material in their possession will be destroyed.
The club is still considering its legal position on the matter and are unable to comment further.
In fairness, wasn’t it a black ex Millwall player describing abuse he got from Millwall fans? Despite having played for the club?
I can see why the club is unhappy but the image reflects the story.
The local council depicting “Millwall fans” as generically racist, is surely defamation, even if the club has a long history of having to deal with some unsavoury elements among their support?
The club will argue that they’re making a huge effort to confront racism, and point to a number of stadium bans and withdrawn memberships in recent years.
Pressure v asking for updates this is quite subjective .
It seems now that Robbins has confirmed Starmer didn’t know and wasn’t lying about knowing Mandelson had issues with the vetting , the media have now moved onto this ridiculous attempt re the Priviliges Committee .
This is irrelevant as has been said.
Starmer appointed Mandelson. Risk but backfired. He should resign for that.
PMs can't resign over every mistake. What, for you, makes Mandelson's appointment a resigning-level mistake?
On the face of it you have a point
But he's prevaricated, obfuscated, weaselled about and thrown good (and bad) people under the bus to disguise that this was a political decision that backfired.
Not enough?
How about the statements he's made prior to this about the standards he expects. He made a point, repeatedly, that poor judgement and less-than-straightforward handling at the top should have consequences and contrasted that with how he operated as DPP, where he stressed personal accountability, clear decision-making and owning mistakes. That was a central part of the case against Johnson.
It all may not meet some absolute “resign now” threshold. But it does look uncomfortably like the kind of behaviour he said he wouldn’t tolerate, and not especially consistent with the leadership standards he’s pointed to from his DPP days.
I didn't vote for Starmer (even when I was in his constituency) and won't be particularly unhappy if/when he goes. I'm not arguing for or against a position here. I am engaging in a Socratic process. I was curious as to Horse's reasoning, but am also interested in your response, so thanks.
Just contacted my GP by Online booking. They replied "we have arranged a "soon type appointment"". It's in three weeks. Glad it was soon.
Ah, good old SoonTM.
I had to go to A&E last week. In and out in about an hour. Wound dressed and referred back to GP, where follow-up (with nurse) was on day specified, and again took about 10 minutes.
On the topic of medical anecdotes I spent some time yesterday waiting in the reception of a medical facility nearby with stunning views over the hills of the Sheeps Head and Mizen peninsulas (I was too mesmerised by the view to think to take a photo).
I would defy anyone to have had a better view from the reception of a medical facility, anywhere in the world.
That's quite far south. But here's the view at Mizen Head. Or you can have Malin Head if you want as well. Lovely countryside in between.
Comments
But he's prevaricated, obfuscated, weaselled about and thrown good (and bad) people under the bus to disguise that this was a political decision that backfired.
Not enough?
How about the statements he's made prior to this about the standards he expects. He made a point, repeatedly, that poor judgement and less-than-straightforward handling at the top should have consequences and contrasted that with how he operated as DPP, where he stressed personal accountability, clear decision-making and owning mistakes. That was a central part of the case against Johnson.
It all may not meet some absolute “resign now” threshold. But it does look uncomfortably like the kind of behaviour he said he wouldn’t tolerate, and not especially consistent with the leadership standards he’s pointed to from his DPP days.
I guess the carrier fleet is now in place. If he wants to take out the power plants and bridges, the kit will be in place to do it...
I can see why the club is unhappy but the image reflects the story.
Russia has since dropped down the arms export rankings, and I agree that the US will do the same, but I think the Greenland situation is a larger factor for European decision-making.
The other countries in the top five were France, China and Germany. So if China loses a war attempting to seize Taiwan, that would make it three out of five.
Alfred the Great (obvs)
William Shakespeare
Pitt the Younger (perhaps)
NEW THREAD
Next holiday - next Saturday until the 10th
The club will argue that they’re making a huge effort to confront racism, and point to a number of stadium bans and withdrawn memberships in recent years.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2026/03/23/uae-and-saudi-chart-new-trade-routes-as-hormuz-disruption-grows/