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Who will be facing their Waterloo in today’s trilogy of by-elections? – politicalbetting.com

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  • londonpubmanlondonpubman Posts: 3,871
    AnneJGP said:

    Lol and I refer back to my comments yesterday: this is a poor England side.

    Football by night, cricket by day.
    Occasionally elections overnight
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 17,382

    MelonB said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I think Burnham will win and then go on to get the crown tbh.

    Will his popularity survive contact with the throne though ?

    Yes, yes, no.
    Question is- then what?

    We could keep pinballing from Great New Hope to Great New Hope for a very long time.
    I don't think there will be an opportunity to change leader again, it would look daft. And I think Burnham is a better politician than Starmer and so won't sink as low in the public's estimation.
    I think Burnham will get a decent honeymoon. There are several things in his favour:

    - I sense the media is fed up of crap leaders so will want to go along with this one, for a while
    - he's northern and chippy (what's more, a Scouser, the chippiest of all northern terroirs) and will play on that, turning criticisms of him into criticisms of the North by the London media mafia
    - he has the ability to bullshit relatively charismatically, unlike his last 2 PM predecessors
    - he will replace Reeves with a new chancellor, and even if that's Ed M (whom the right wing press hate but the country in general is meh) it'll represent a new start

    I give him an 18 month to 2 year honeymoon before a somewhat gentler decline towards the next election (which will generate a hung parliament and Lib-Lab coalition).
    I think this is where I am. Labour has to be value for most seats.

    I would add one other thing: Burnham seems to have genuine fans. The way some people talk about him isn’t anything I’ve really seen since Johnson. I wonder if that will keep the Red Wall with him for longer. As a contrast with Farage he’s a good choice.
    The red wall will be a test of the terroir-driven Scouse chippiness. The unresolved question is whether this will turn off people East of the Pennines.

    It's only chippy if it comes from the chippé right bank of the Haut Mersey.
  • MelonB said:

    MelonB said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I think Burnham will win and then go on to get the crown tbh.

    Will his popularity survive contact with the throne though ?

    Yes, yes, no.
    Question is- then what?

    We could keep pinballing from Great New Hope to Great New Hope for a very long time.
    I don't think there will be an opportunity to change leader again, it would look daft. And I think Burnham is a better politician than Starmer and so won't sink as low in the public's estimation.
    I think Burnham will get a decent honeymoon. There are several things in his favour:

    - I sense the media is fed up of crap leaders so will want to go along with this one, for a while
    - he's northern and chippy (what's more, a Scouser, the chippiest of all northern terroirs) and will play on that, turning criticisms of him into criticisms of the North by the London media mafia
    - he has the ability to bullshit relatively charismatically, unlike his last 2 PM predecessors
    - he will replace Reeves with a new chancellor, and even if that's Ed M (whom the right wing press hate but the country in general is meh) it'll represent a new start

    I give him an 18 month to 2 year honeymoon before a somewhat gentler decline towards the next election (which will generate a hung parliament and Lib-Lab coalition).
    I think this is where I am. Labour has to be value for most seats.

    I would add one other thing: Burnham seems to have genuine fans. The way some people talk about him isn’t anything I’ve really seen since Johnson. I wonder if that will keep the Red Wall with him for longer. As a contrast with Farage he’s a good choice.
    The red wall will be a test of the terroir-driven Scouse chippiness. The unresolved question is whether this will turn off people East of the Pennines.

    It's only chippy if it comes from the chippé right bank of the Haut Mersey.
    I suspect the newer southern seats aren’t too bothered where the PM is from.

    I’ve thought for a long time the politics are the problem with Starmer and a better leader will have the ability to sell the more popular stuff they’ve done; there isn’t much but Starmer didn’t try.
  • PeterCairnsPeterCairns Posts: 150
    Fishing said:

    🟢NEW: Zack Polanski has suggested he did not pay council tax while living on a narrowboat because of living arrangements resulting from “financial hardship”

    In a witness statement to the Greater London Authority (GLA), the Green Party leader also admitted that he should have taken “greater care” over his tax arrangements while living on the vessel in an east London marina

    City Hall has decided not to launch an investigation into Polanski's council tax arrangements

    The monitoring officer said that the matter related to "private circumstances" rather the Polanski's role as a London Assembly member

    They said the decision "does not make any finding on the merits of the underlying concerns”


    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/06/18/zack-polanski-financial-hardship-council-tax-green-party-uk/

    Morning all! Let us hope that this time tomorrow Restore and Reform are tearing at each other and Burnham is on (yet another) train to London!

    Just for interest, but do London Assembly members get paid?
    The Mayor’s salary is £170,282. The salary of an Assembly Member is currently £66,390 per year, except for the Statutory Deputy Mayor which is £118,124 and the Chair of the Assembly which is £79,617.

    https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/governance-and-spending/spending-money-wisely/salaries-expenses-benefits-and-workforce-information
    Polanski re-setting the poverty line at an income of £66,390. A grifter all day long. The coming Green party civil war should be fun.
    I doubt it. No-one supports the Greens because they know or care about economics, finance or even simple mathematics.

    They do so to feel good about themselves. Just as people in the middle ages used to wear hairshirts.

    It's emotional, not rational or even vaguely realistic.
    Tosh!

    The idea that people choose the Greens to be either smug or because they are naïve is nonsense.

    People who are disillusioned and frustrated with the current Parties and where they think the UK is going wrong are just looking for an alternative and be it Reform, Green or in a way Independence, which also swings with sentiment about Westminster, these Parties represent change.

    Attacks like this do little but console people who don’t like Polanski but won’t move those voting for him.

    In an odd way he’s like Trump with his supporters.

    They like what he says but don’t take it literally.

    They back him because they want to cut immigration but know the Mexicans aren’t paying for the Wall.

    Peter.

  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 32,661
    MelonB said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I think Burnham will win and then go on to get the crown tbh.

    Will his popularity survive contact with the throne though ?

    Yes, yes, no.
    Question is- then what?

    We could keep pinballing from Great New Hope to Great New Hope for a very long time.
    I don't think there will be an opportunity to change leader again, it would look daft. And I think Burnham is a better politician than Starmer and so won't sink as low in the public's estimation.
    I think Burnham will get a decent honeymoon. There are several things in his favour:

    - I sense the media is fed up of crap leaders so will want to go along with this one, for a while
    - he's northern and chippy (what's more, a Scouser, the chippiest of all northern terroirs) and will play on that, turning criticisms of him into criticisms of the North by the London media mafia
    - he has the ability to bullshit relatively charismatically, unlike his last 2 PM predecessors
    - he will replace Reeves with a new chancellor, and even if that's Ed M (whom the right wing press hate but the country in general is meh) it'll represent a new start

    I give him an 18 month to 2 year honeymoon before a somewhat gentler decline towards the next election (which will generate a hung parliament and Lib-Lab coalition).

    EDIT: oh and he'll make a mild effort at back-chatting Trump, unlikely Starmer, which will earn him brownie points with the 75% of the country that's not MAGA
    He's not a Scouser!
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 37,109
    dixiedean said:

    Wordle in two!

    Three for me.
  • Burnham’s biggest issue is going to be the lack of money.

    So what can he do that is effective but doesn’t cost much?
  • Jim_the_LurkerJim_the_Lurker Posts: 326

    Burnham’s biggest issue is going to be the lack of money.

    So what can he do that is effective but doesn’t cost much?

    How about quiet bat people?
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 17,382
    dixiedean said:

    MelonB said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I think Burnham will win and then go on to get the crown tbh.

    Will his popularity survive contact with the throne though ?

    Yes, yes, no.
    Question is- then what?

    We could keep pinballing from Great New Hope to Great New Hope for a very long time.
    I don't think there will be an opportunity to change leader again, it would look daft. And I think Burnham is a better politician than Starmer and so won't sink as low in the public's estimation.
    I think Burnham will get a decent honeymoon. There are several things in his favour:

    - I sense the media is fed up of crap leaders so will want to go along with this one, for a while
    - he's northern and chippy (what's more, a Scouser, the chippiest of all northern terroirs) and will play on that, turning criticisms of him into criticisms of the North by the London media mafia
    - he has the ability to bullshit relatively charismatically, unlike his last 2 PM predecessors
    - he will replace Reeves with a new chancellor, and even if that's Ed M (whom the right wing press hate but the country in general is meh) it'll represent a new start

    I give him an 18 month to 2 year honeymoon before a somewhat gentler decline towards the next election (which will generate a hung parliament and Lib-Lab coalition).

    EDIT: oh and he'll make a mild effort at back-chatting Trump, unlikely Starmer, which will earn him brownie points with the 75% of the country that's not MAGA
    He's not a Scouser!
    "It's not Chassagne Montrachet, it's Puligny Montrachet!"
  • PeterCairnsPeterCairns Posts: 150
    edited 11:15AM
    The £66k figure is extreme as the current amount estimated of what to need per month is about;

    Scotland: A bit below £1,500, UK: £1,900 & London: about £2,200.

    These equate to salaries of around; £24k, £28k and £32k respectively.

    The frozen UK tax threshold is barely over half of the lowest of these.

    Peter.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 17,507
    dixiedean said:

    algarkirk said:
    Also says "despite the seat being considered one of Labour's safest..."
    No it isn't.
    Dogs sometimes don't do statistical data all that accurately.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 61,905
    This gets funnier. A wide shot of the oil container getting its lid blown off, shows that it wasn’t hit by a Ukranian drone but rather by a stray Russian air defence missile!

    https://x.com/gloooud/status/2067535879602680028
  • BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 10,115

    dixiedean said:

    Wordle in two!

    Three for me.
    Four for me
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 60,070

    Burnham’s biggest issue is going to be the lack of money.

    So what can he do that is effective but doesn’t cost much?

    Bring back proper Saturday night TV like Blind Date.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 32,661
    MelonB said:

    dixiedean said:

    MelonB said:

    Pulpstar said:

    I think Burnham will win and then go on to get the crown tbh.

    Will his popularity survive contact with the throne though ?

    Yes, yes, no.
    Question is- then what?

    We could keep pinballing from Great New Hope to Great New Hope for a very long time.
    I don't think there will be an opportunity to change leader again, it would look daft. And I think Burnham is a better politician than Starmer and so won't sink as low in the public's estimation.
    I think Burnham will get a decent honeymoon. There are several things in his favour:

    - I sense the media is fed up of crap leaders so will want to go along with this one, for a while
    - he's northern and chippy (what's more, a Scouser, the chippiest of all northern terroirs) and will play on that, turning criticisms of him into criticisms of the North by the London media mafia
    - he has the ability to bullshit relatively charismatically, unlike his last 2 PM predecessors
    - he will replace Reeves with a new chancellor, and even if that's Ed M (whom the right wing press hate but the country in general is meh) it'll represent a new start

    I give him an 18 month to 2 year honeymoon before a somewhat gentler decline towards the next election (which will generate a hung parliament and Lib-Lab coalition).

    EDIT: oh and he'll make a mild effort at back-chatting Trump, unlikely Starmer, which will earn him brownie points with the 75% of the country that's not MAGA
    He's not a Scouser!
    "It's not Chassagne Montrachet, it's Puligny Montrachet!"
    No idea what that means.
    But if Burnham's a Scouser then so am I. And I'm not.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 63,808
    edited 11:23AM

    Burnham’s biggest issue is going to be the lack of money.

    So what can he do that is effective but doesn’t cost much?

    Some ideas

    - Merge NI into Income tax - and *save* money. Genuinely.
    - Create internal consultancy within government. So IT and reorgs are done by PAYE civil servants rather than £xxxx per day outsiders.
    - Introduce regulatory cost provisions - if you (in a government department) make reactions more expensive for people/companies, a larger portion of your budget gets hypothecated to enforcement. Suddenly, £18k windows will look at lot less sexy.
    - Bigger fines for illegal employment, shared with the victims (the employees).
    - Break the “veil” of using contracting as a way of removing responsibility for employees. Looking at you, Deliveroo.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 72,616
    Wes Streeting says he wanted social care reform in the manifesto including a ban on equity firms owning care homes. Starmer blocked it apparently.

    Streeting: “My plan to boot private equity sharks out of social care was cut from the manifesto, as was a proposal for a royal commission. The same culture continued into government.”
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 60,070
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 63,808

    Wes Streeting says he wanted social care reform in the manifesto including a ban on equity firms owning care homes. Starmer blocked it apparently.

    Streeting: “My plan to boot private equity sharks out of social care was cut from the manifesto, as was a proposal for a royal commission. The same culture continued into government.”

    How do you define private equity, so as not to exclude anyone else trying to buy a business?
  • Brixian59Brixian59 Posts: 2,368

    Burnham’s biggest issue is going to be the lack of money.

    So what can he do that is effective but doesn’t cost much?

    Some ideas

    - Merge NI into Income tax - and *save* money. Genuinely.
    - Create internal consultancy within government. So IT and reorgs are done by PAYE civil servants rather than £xxxx per day outsiders.
    - Introduce regulatory cost provisions - if you (in a government department) make reactions more expensive for people/companies, a larger portion of your budget gets hypothecated to enforcement. Suddenly, £18 windows will look at lot less sexy.
    - Bigger fines for illegal employment, shared with the victims (the employees).
    - Break the “veil” of using contracting as a way of removing responsibility for employees. Looking at you, Deliveroo.
    Means test any universal benefit so that those with income over 200k don't get it

    Better still give everyone an opt out option.

    Sock of hearing rich people sneering they don't need this or that but doing feck all to redistribute it.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 128,855
    Cricviz are saying Bethell is a better spinner than Graeme Swann and the best since Derek Underwood.

    The last time an England spinner took more wickets than Jacob Bethell's three in the first innings of an Oval Test was Derek Underwood in 1969.
  • eekeek Posts: 34,066
    May get Restore a few votes though
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 128,855
    Joe Root is a world class batsman but an ordinary captain.

    Mike Brearley in reverse.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 61,905
    edited 11:28AM
    Brixian59 said:

    Burnham’s biggest issue is going to be the lack of money.

    So what can he do that is effective but doesn’t cost much?

    Some ideas

    - Merge NI into Income tax - and *save* money. Genuinely.
    - Create internal consultancy within government. So IT and reorgs are done by PAYE civil servants rather than £xxxx per day outsiders.
    - Introduce regulatory cost provisions - if you (in a government department) make reactions more expensive for people/companies, a larger portion of your budget gets hypothecated to enforcement. Suddenly, £18 windows will look at lot less sexy.
    - Bigger fines for illegal employment, shared with the victims (the employees).
    - Break the “veil” of using contracting as a way of removing responsibility for employees. Looking at you, Deliveroo.
    Means test any universal benefit so that those with income over 200k don't get it

    Better still give everyone an opt out option.

    Sock of hearing rich people sneering they don't need this or that but doing feck all to redistribute it.
    Means testing something you’ll give to 99% of the population, is expensive bureaucracy that costs time and money, for negligible cost savings.

    The big savings come by merging employee NI into income tax, which has the side effect of taxing ‘rich’ pensioners. You can do it 2% per year and most people in work wouldn’t notice.
  • eekeek Posts: 34,066
    Sandpit said:

    Brixian59 said:

    Burnham’s biggest issue is going to be the lack of money.

    So what can he do that is effective but doesn’t cost much?

    Some ideas

    - Merge NI into Income tax - and *save* money. Genuinely.
    - Create internal consultancy within government. So IT and reorgs are done by PAYE civil servants rather than £xxxx per day outsiders.
    - Introduce regulatory cost provisions - if you (in a government department) make reactions more expensive for people/companies, a larger portion of your budget gets hypothecated to enforcement. Suddenly, £18 windows will look at lot less sexy.
    - Bigger fines for illegal employment, shared with the victims (the employees).
    - Break the “veil” of using contracting as a way of removing responsibility for employees. Looking at you, Deliveroo.
    Means test any universal benefit so that those with income over 200k don't get it

    Better still give everyone an opt out option.

    Sock of hearing rich people sneering they don't need this or that but doing feck all to redistribute it.
    Means testing something you’ll give to 99% of the population, is expensive bureaucracy that costs time and money, for negligible cost savings.

    The big savings come by merging employee NI into income tax, which has the side effect of taxing ‘rich’ pensioners. You can do it 2% per year and most people in work wouldn’t notice.
    Should have been done 2 years ago using the WFA as a sweetener
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 63,808
    Brixian59 said:

    Burnham’s biggest issue is going to be the lack of money.

    So what can he do that is effective but doesn’t cost much?

    Some ideas

    - Merge NI into Income tax - and *save* money. Genuinely.
    - Create internal consultancy within government. So IT and reorgs are done by PAYE civil servants rather than £xxxx per day outsiders.
    - Introduce regulatory cost provisions - if you (in a government department) make reactions more expensive for people/companies, a larger portion of your budget gets hypothecated to enforcement. Suddenly, £18 windows will look at lot less sexy.
    - Bigger fines for illegal employment, shared with the victims (the employees).
    - Break the “veil” of using contracting as a way of removing responsibility for employees. Looking at you, Deliveroo.
    Means test any universal benefit so that those with income over 200k don't get it

    Better still give everyone an opt out option.

    Sock of hearing rich people sneering they don't need this or that but doing feck all to redistribute it.
    Make all benefits taxable. Means testing tends to be inefficient, ineffective, mean and introduces lots of expensive problems.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 60,070
    https://x.com/bnhwalker/status/2067544400348024850

    Christ, turnout is going to be massive
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 81,172

    Cricviz are saying Bethell is a better spinner than Graeme Swann and the best since Derek Underwood.

    The last time an England spinner took more wickets than Jacob Bethell's three in the first innings of an Oval Test was Derek Underwood in 1969.

    He's doing well, 3/26 off 10 when NZ is going at over 4 an over shows his value in this test.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 72,616

    Wes Streeting says he wanted social care reform in the manifesto including a ban on equity firms owning care homes. Starmer blocked it apparently.

    Streeting: “My plan to boot private equity sharks out of social care was cut from the manifesto, as was a proposal for a royal commission. The same culture continued into government.”

    How do you define private equity, so as not to exclude anyone else trying to buy a business?
    Dunno. There's a Fabian report coming so maybe there will be more detail.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 63,808
    edited 11:33AM
    Get NICE (or similar) to create a register of Permanent Conditions.

    That is, illnesses that you can’t recover from.

    End the comedy of people who are permanently ill or disabled being reassessed to discover if their legs/arms have grown back.

    Would save money, help people. and make Labour MPs smile.
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 36,591
    1970: Will Britain be Ready for Decimal Day? | 24 Hours | BBC Archive
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvvqyZ_OeS4

    Watch this before your children get home. Starmer is right to ban this misogynist filth using a bikini-clad model.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 72,616
    An absolute weather cauldron is brewing over next few days in France.

    Let's hope we escape this one.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 23,377

    An absolute weather cauldron is brewing over next few days in France.

    Let's hope we escape this one.

    Known as high summer?
  • TazTaz Posts: 28,556
    Barnesian said:

    dixiedean said:

    Wordle in two!

    Three for me.
    Four for me
    Likewise
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 46,547

    Get NICE (or similar) to create a register of Permanent Conditions.

    That is, illnesses that you can’t recover from.

    End the comedy of people who are permanently ill or disabled being reassessed to discover if their legs/arms have grown back.

    Would save money, help people. and make Labour MPs smile.

    They are getting disability now for constipation and piles, it si unbelievable , dial a benefit.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 23,377
    Tail wagging against England means one of two things (1) Its now a really good track - batting will be easy or (2) We are about to get rolled for 120...

    The joy of Bazball is we don't know which but we will by tea when NZ are batting again.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 81,172

    An absolute weather cauldron is brewing over next few days in France.

    Let's hope we escape this one.

    Known as high summer?
    French June record is 37.6 (1947) which looks set to go.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 40,064

    algarkirk said:

    They also have a scary picture of Farage
    as a zombie....
    Not the "shorts" picture?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 23,377

    algarkirk said:

    They also have a scary picture of Farage
    as a zombie....
    Not the "shorts" picture?
    Don't mention that! Its a sword of Damocles hanging over PB.
  • No_Offence_AlanNo_Offence_Alan Posts: 5,511

    Nigelb said:

    Trump favourably compares the president of Syria with Netanyahu (whom he also called "very much the junior partner"0.

    “The president of #Syria. He’s done a tremendous job… He’d love to go in [to #Lebanon]… he wouldn’t knock down buildings every time he hears there’s someone there, he’d just go in with precision.”..
    https://x.com/Charles_Lister/status/2067311287126647194

    Of course this is (even for someone like me who thinks Julani/Ahmed al-Sharaa is, on balance, probably now a force for stability in Syria) objectively insane. But it shows which way Trump is leaning.

    Bib has joined the Pantheon of those who Trump feels have personally betrayed him. Quite difficult to come back from that. Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.
    Haven't found the Tweet but some MAGA influencers want Trump to bomb Israel if Bibi betrays Trump over the Iran deal.
    And their doppelgängers in Israel are raging about Trump's 'betrayal'. Time for Israel to go it alone and perhaps bust out one of their nuclear weapons (which they may or may not possess) in a relatively uninhabited area is some of what I've read.
    If there is ever any point in Israel having nuclear weapons, it is to use them destroying their nemesis before thei nemesis can get them and use them against Israel.

    Expect Israel to threaten Iran with nuclear destruction if they consider they are close to making a bomb.

    Meanwhile, Iran has new-found economic clout (plus it took on and beat Israel and the US combined). Why do they need a bomb?
    Iran's 'economic clout' is the ability to restrict oil flows through Hormuz while simultaneously having its own oil flows restricted.

    A mutually assured destruction of oil flows.

    Iran needed a fake agreement and the oil flowing again as much as Trump did.

    Meanwhile the Arabs are building new pipelines to bypass Hormuz at which point Iran's half of the oil flows MAD becomes much feebler.
    Meanwhile sensible countries are building more EVs, solar farms, wind farms and battery storage plants to make oil redundant.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 128,855

    algarkirk said:

    They also have a scary picture of Farage
    as a zombie....
    Not the "shorts" picture?
    Don't mention that! Its a sword of Damocles hanging over PB.
    That picture is no more.

    I promised a lurker that if Matt Goodwin lost the Denton & Gorton by-election I would never use that picture again on PB.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 63,808

    algarkirk said:

    They also have a scary picture of Farage
    as a zombie....
    Not the "shorts" picture?
    Don't mention that! Its a sword of Damocles hanging over PB.
    Your reminder that Mind Bleach is petroleum derived and due to the Iran war…
  • FF43FF43 Posts: 19,733

    FF43 said:

    Lovely MAGA take. These are the people Farage and Badenoch want us to align to.

    There is a MUCH stronger case to be made for invading the UK, toppling its tyrannical government, and liberating its people than for pretty much any regime change war (to include Iran) over the past 30 years.

    https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2067278942545859067#m

    Why won’t Farage and Badenoch stand up for Britain?
    You kind of hope Badenoch is mixed up in this kind of commentary through being brainwashed - see for example her Education Secretary as Gestapo Officer and Energy Secretary as murderous Nigerian dictator comments - but Farage is borderline traitor in his embracing of these narratives. As well as being a generally immoral individual.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 81,172
    Not sure bowling NZ out just before lunch was the best idea. Anyway we shall see :D
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 23,377

    algarkirk said:

    They also have a scary picture of Farage
    as a zombie....
    Not the "shorts" picture?
    Don't mention that! Its a sword of Damocles hanging over PB.
    That picture is no more.

    I promised a lurker that if Matt Goodwin lost the Denton & Gorton by-election I would never use that picture again on PB.
    How about on X?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 72,616
    Pulpstar said:

    An absolute weather cauldron is brewing over next few days in France.

    Let's hope we escape this one.

    Known as high summer?
    French June record is 37.6 (1947) which looks set to go.
    Could be 40+
  • CharlieSharkCharlieShark Posts: 469

    Fishing said:

    🟢NEW: Zack Polanski has suggested he did not pay council tax while living on a narrowboat because of living arrangements resulting from “financial hardship”

    In a witness statement to the Greater London Authority (GLA), the Green Party leader also admitted that he should have taken “greater care” over his tax arrangements while living on the vessel in an east London marina

    City Hall has decided not to launch an investigation into Polanski's council tax arrangements

    The monitoring officer said that the matter related to "private circumstances" rather the Polanski's role as a London Assembly member

    They said the decision "does not make any finding on the merits of the underlying concerns”


    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/06/18/zack-polanski-financial-hardship-council-tax-green-party-uk/

    Morning all! Let us hope that this time tomorrow Restore and Reform are tearing at each other and Burnham is on (yet another) train to London!

    Just for interest, but do London Assembly members get paid?
    The Mayor’s salary is £170,282. The salary of an Assembly Member is currently £66,390 per year, except for the Statutory Deputy Mayor which is £118,124 and the Chair of the Assembly which is £79,617.

    https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/governance-and-spending/spending-money-wisely/salaries-expenses-benefits-and-workforce-information
    Polanski re-setting the poverty line at an income of £66,390. A grifter all day long. The coming Green party civil war should be fun.
    I doubt it. No-one supports the Greens because they know or care about economics, finance or even simple mathematics.

    They do so to feel good about themselves. Just as people in the middle ages used to wear hairshirts.

    It's emotional, not rational or even vaguely realistic.
    Tosh!

    The idea that people choose the Greens to be either smug or because they are naïve is nonsense.

    People who are disillusioned and frustrated with the current Parties and where they think the UK is going wrong are just looking for an alternative and be it Reform, Green or in a way Independence, which also swings with sentiment about Westminster, these Parties represent change.

    Attacks like this do little but console people who don’t like Polanski but won’t move those voting for him.

    In an odd way he’s like Trump with his supporters.

    They like what he says but don’t take it literally.

    They back him because they want to cut immigration but know the Mexicans aren’t paying for the Wall.

    Peter.

    I'd say you're both right. An large element of Green voting is a protest, especially amongst young people, disillusioned. Another large element is a wealthy middle class section who think it is 'nice'. Same with young women. Faced with actual Green policies, in my experience, most having nothing in common with them.

    As for the coming civil war, it has nothing to do with economics or anything so irrelevant. Simply full fat antisemitism vs diet antisemtism.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 128,855

    algarkirk said:

    They also have a scary picture of Farage
    as a zombie....
    Not the "shorts" picture?
    Don't mention that! Its a sword of Damocles hanging over PB.
    That picture is no more.

    I promised a lurker that if Matt Goodwin lost the Denton & Gorton by-election I would never use that picture again on PB.
    How about on X?
    They follow me on X too.

    The good news I have an even better photo to use on PB soon, it will make you forget the Farage shorts photo.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 40,064
    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 23,377

    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?

    Or the banning of adoption by gay men?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 63,808

    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?

    Aren’t they already? “My little Timmy just set fire to the school and broke a girls arm. And you spoke to him in a mean tone of voice! How can you live with yourself?!!”
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 36,591

    An absolute weather cauldron is brewing over next few days in France.

    Let's hope we escape this one.

    Known as high summer?
    Yes but a lot higher than used to be the case.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 72,616

    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?

    Judge: "This is a case of extreme gravity ... you will never be eligible for parole."
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 7,942
    My first sight of football fannery in Ogbourne


  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 128,855

    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?

    Or the banning of adoption by gay men?
    Reform have a weird obsession with the gays.

    A co-founder of St Helens Pride has spoken out amid ongoing criticism of the Reform UK-led borough council’s decision to withdraw support for the event. Miguel Doforo said the town’s celebration of the LGBTQ+ community was steeped in visibility, inclusion, community and bringing people together.

    It was revealed earlier this month how after sweeping to power in May, the new Reform UK leadership of the borough council confirmed it would no longer provide backing for Pride events this month. This has drawn criticism from across the wider Liverpool City Region.

    Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said LGBTQ+ events were something “we should be proud to promote” while Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, suggested there maybe “something more sinister” behind Reform UK’s move. Mr Doforo took to social media to set out his organisation’s position after weeks of debate.

    He said: “Amid all the noise, speculation and commentary that has followed this year’s St Helens Pride, I feel it’s important to clarify a few things as one of the founders of the event. First and foremost, St Helens Pride happened this year.

    “It was our 7th annual Pride, and it was delivered successfully. There appears to be some confusion around funding.

    “St Helens Council did not fund St Helens Pride this year, and they did not fund the event last year either.” Mr Doforo said financial backing had come from See You See Me CIC, its supporters and headline sponsor, Halton & St Helens Voluntary and Community Action (VCA).


    https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/merseyside-pride-boss-speaks-out-34143574
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 40,064

    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?

    Aren’t they already? “My little Timmy just set fire to the school and broke a girls arm. And you spoke to him in a mean tone of voice! How can you live with yourself?!!”
    That wasn't what I had in mind at all.

    When disgusting murders were committed in Stockport, Mr Farage demanded unrest on the streets against a particular cohort of people, one of whom he had incorrectly assumed was involved in the dreadful murders.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 40,064

    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?

    Or the banning of adoption by gay men?
    That might be quite a likely demand from a hard of thinking politician I would have thought.
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 24,458

    Joe Root is a world class batsman but an ordinary captain.

    Mike Brearley in reverse.

    Depressing to see him misuse Archer again - though why the selectors thought they could have a four-strong bowling attack on a good surface like the Oval, when one of the four is Archer, is mystifying.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 40,064
    Listening to the radio news in the car. Is it me or is Hegseth an absolute twat?
  • PeterCairnsPeterCairns Posts: 150

    Wes Streeting says he wanted social care reform in the manifesto including a ban on equity firms owning care homes. Starmer blocked it apparently.

    Streeting: “My plan to boot private equity sharks out of social care was cut from the manifesto, as was a proposal for a royal commission. The same culture continued into government.”

    It will be interesting to see if a Burnham/Streeting alliance pushes forward with Labour reform and basically the same policy of a "National Care Service!" that Labour in Scotland has spent almost a decade opposing because the SNP propsed it?

    Peter.
  • TazTaz Posts: 28,556

    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?

    Or the banning of adoption by gay men?
    That might be quite a likely demand from a hard of thinking politician I would have thought.
    You’re politicising it, no one else
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 23,377

    An absolute weather cauldron is brewing over next few days in France.

    Let's hope we escape this one.

    Known as high summer?
    Yes but a lot higher than used to be the case.
    A bit, in the scheme of things. Yes climate change is happening, but this is weather.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 40,064

    The bastard who murdered little Preston has been given a full life sentence.

    Shouldn't Reform and their friends be demanding white school teachers are vilified across the nation?

    Or the banning of adoption by gay men?

    Reform have a weird obsession with the gays
    .

    A co-founder of St Helens Pride has spoken out amid ongoing criticism of the Reform UK-led borough council’s decision to withdraw support for the event. Miguel Doforo said the town’s celebration of the LGBTQ+ community was steeped in visibility, inclusion, community and bringing people together.

    It was revealed earlier this month how after sweeping to power in May, the new Reform UK leadership of the borough council confirmed it would no longer provide backing for Pride events this month. This has drawn criticism from across the wider Liverpool City Region.

    Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said LGBTQ+ events were something “we should be proud to promote” while Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, suggested there maybe “something more sinister” behind Reform UK’s move. Mr Doforo took to social media to set out his organisation’s position after weeks of debate.

    He said: “Amid all the noise, speculation and commentary that has followed this year’s St Helens Pride, I feel it’s important to clarify a few things as one of the founders of the event. First and foremost, St Helens Pride happened this year.

    “It was our 7th annual Pride, and it was delivered successfully. There appears to be some confusion around funding.

    “St Helens Council did not fund St Helens Pride this year, and they did not fund the event last year either.” Mr Doforo said financial backing had come from See You See Me CIC, its supporters and headline sponsor, Halton & St Helens Voluntary and Community Action (VCA).


    https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/merseyside-pride-boss-speaks-out-34143574
    Repressed homo-erotic tendencies?
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