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6 months ago Andy Burnham was just a 7.5% chance of becoming the next Prime Minister

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  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 51,442

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
  • Sandpit said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    It wasn’t right-wingers celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk.
    No, it was right-wingers abandoning their free speech principles, which is what Dura said.
    I can't help but think this whole thing is becoming somewhat unseemly. Reminds me of the skit from many years ago where the widow of some minor potentate was arguing he was assassinated whilst her opponent was arguing he was murdered.

    I am surprised there has not been any spokesman from the police to explain their current thinking. If they had they could have recovered from their confident arrest of a man who was fully exonerated within hours of being detained. They are meant to do everything by PR. Leaving a vacuum for speculation is the PR 101 to be avoided at all costs.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,842

    Twenty-nine (29) more ships and boats of various sorts (tankers, cargo ships, tug boats) hit in the waters around Crimea. One of the tug boats hit had a damaged vessel previously hit under tow.

    Russia has responded by banning marine traffic through the Kerch straight and along the Don-Azov canal (which connects the Don river to the Azov sea).

    That's now 77 vessels hit during the last six days, out of an estimated Russian merchant fleet of ~120 in the Azov sea.

    Meanwhile, on the land corridor to Crimea, fuel in Mariupol is up to 300 roubles a litre - about £3.

    Banning marine traffic through the Kerch straight - that'll serve Ukraine right!

    Er....
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 21,546

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.

    Maybe they don’t want the suspect to know they’re on to him?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 35,614
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
  • TresTres Posts: 3,743
    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    always thought there was something of the right, and something of the wrong, about her
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 21,546

    Sandpit said:

    DavidL said:

    algarkirk said:

    The fact that the odds on a particular event were long a few months ago, and that event has now occurred is called life. What odds would you have got a few weeks ago on a Clacton byelection in which Farage was a candidate and a bin the principal opposition?

    Odds on a Clacton byelection as such in the next X months would have been longish but realistic - Farage could have retired from politics at any time. But what has occurred was unthinkable.

    The hand of cards I dealt yesterday was an unquantifiable number of trillions to one chance, has never happened before and will never occur again.

    The obstacles Burnham faced a few months ago were substantial and real, though less than the obstacles in the way of Foinavon in the 1967 National.

    I always wonder about the cards thing – that every hand of cards is unique, or every shuffled pack of cards is unique.

    Of course the number of permutations is astronomical but are we overlooking two key facts about real life? Most people don't shuffle properly and all new packs of cards start off in the same state. My guess is the number of arrangements following one or two bad shuffles of new packs is relatively small.
    There was a really good piece on this on More or Less on R4 yesterday afternoon funnily enough. To give you an idea of the numbers the number of possible variations with only 13 cards is in the order of 6bn. With 52 cards it is up to a number which (IIRC) has something like 67 digits. If you are not persuaded its worth a listen on Iplayer.
    Yes, the number is 52! (52 factorial, which means 52x51x50…x3x2x1)

    8.0658x10^67
    The number of seconds in 6 weeks is 10!
    14! seconds ago was, I think, the year of the eleventh [Ancient] Olympic Games at which Leochares of Messenia won the stadion race (then the only event, a sprint of about 180m). In 736 BC.
    I got on him at 3/1. Made enough to pay for my loukoumades.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 35,614

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.

    Maybe they don’t want the suspect to know they’re on to him?
    Or her. Quite possible.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 57,438
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    Well exactly.

    A running commentry on Social Media is not a requirement of a successful police operation.

    The police are following up leads is all we need to know.
  • No_Offence_AlanNo_Offence_Alan Posts: 5,528

    kle4 said:

    Sandpit said:

    kle4 said:

    AnneJGP said:

    The received wisdom would suggest they're going to need to extend the y-axis on that graph for Clacton. And it shows that even saving their deposit would be an exceptional result for Binface.
    I've often thought it must be an expensive hobby for these 'joke' candidates.
    Not my idea of a good time, especially if someone else doesn't stump up the £500 deposit.

    I bet we don't see joke candidates for PCC, where the deposit is £5k - which seems inexplicably high and I cannot think of a good reason for it.

    Though remove the deposit and you get Canada where you've had by-elections with 80 candidates (as part of protests against FPTP)
    The Mayor of Greater Manchester by-election is also £5,000.

    https://www.gmelects.org.uk/elections/official-notices/notice-of-election-2026/

    That seems high enough to put off the silly candidates. There’s seven people standing, only one of whom is independent.

    https://www.gmelects.org.uk/elections/official-notices/statement-as-to-persons-nominated-2026/
    The deposit of £150 was introduced in 1918, which would be £7,581.71 in today's money. So £5,000 is not as high as it appears compared to the £500 deposit.
    Interesting. So it was intended to be a greater barrier to participation, but over time has become closer to being a nominal payment only (£500 is not nothing, but much more manageable), therefore accidentally enabling a culture of joke and protest candidates.
    It feels like it could be quite controversial to increase the deposit, as you're explicitly making it harder for people to stand as candidates, which looks like politicians trying to protect their position against outsiders.

    The increase from £150 to £500 was combined with reducing the threshold for saving the deposit from 12.5% to 5%, which probably helped to make the increase more acceptable.
    Election trivia: In 1979, when the deposit saving threshold was 12.5%, the Liberal candidate in Bromsgrove and Redditch (a single constituency back then, now two) lost his deposit, despite receiving more votes that the elected MP for the Western Isles.
  • Penddu2Penddu2 Posts: 941
    Waiting for my third rugby match of the day. Oz France was excellent and France were awesome once they woke up. Japan looked good and aquitted themselves well against Ireland.

    Next up Fiji England. Fiji will be very disruptive and disorganised and will cause England lots of problems. The heat will also favour Fiji.... i expect a close final result with only one score in it. Could the home side pull off a shock win???
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 24,850

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    The situation is quite different to the previous ones that have caused controversy, where they had arrested the perpetrator at the scene.

    In this case the murderer is still at large, and so the police will only be wanting to release information when necessary to gain the public's assistance on apprehending the murderer, and they won't want to release information precipitously that could be useful to the murderer in evading justice.
  • Penddu2Penddu2 Posts: 941
    Unfortunately Scotland will get thumped by South Africa - and I cant see Wales beating Argentina although it will be close.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 21,546

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    There are about 11 murders per week in the UK. We don’t get detailed updates on every one of those cases. That suggests there isn’t a significant public safety issue.
  • MelonBMelonB Posts: 17,557

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    I’m spending a weekend down in Totnes with friends before boarding the Santander ferry, so if anyone’s in in very real danger from this killer at large it’s me and the family (and local PBer @MarqueeMark i assume). Drove through Newton Abbot on the way here. I’ll keep a beady eye out.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 51,442

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    Until caught. So that's the key public safety measure we need to see from the police - catch the guy.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 35,614
    MelonB said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    I’m spending a weekend down in Totnes with friends before boarding the Santander ferry, so if anyone’s in in very real danger from this killer at large it’s me and the family (and local PBer @MarqueeMark i assume). Drove through Newton Abbot on the way here. I’ll keep a beady eye out.
    You don't know what to keep an eye out for, this is the issue.
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 8,030
    What time does the non EU quarter of Europe final start?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 24,850
    MelonB said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    I’m spending a weekend down in Totnes with friends before boarding the Santander ferry, so if anyone’s in in very real danger from this killer at large it’s me and the family (and local PBer @MarqueeMark i assume). Drove through Newton Abbot on the way here. I’ll keep a beady eye out.
    There's been a recent murder in Killarney where the main person of interest was on a flight to Istanbul before the body was discovered.

    With Widdecombe apparently being dead for 24 hours before discovery the murderer could quite easily be anywhere.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 62,404

    What time does the non EU quarter of Europe final start?

    22:00 BST.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 21,546

    MelonB said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    I’m spending a weekend down in Totnes with friends before boarding the Santander ferry, so if anyone’s in in very real danger from this killer at large it’s me and the family (and local PBer @MarqueeMark i assume). Drove through Newton Abbot on the way here. I’ll keep a beady eye out.
    You don't know what to keep an eye out for, this is the issue.
    11 murders a week, and you've not made this complaint about any of them before now.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 23,292
    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    Until caught. So that's the key public safety measure we need to see from the police - catch the guy.
    If there was a murderer. In the absence of a suspect in the house at the right time, we can't eliminate the possibility that a feisty (and I mean that as a compliment) but elderly lady had a fall from which she couldn't recover, or a body that stopped working, because that's what happens to elderly bodies.

  • AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 5,639
    eek said:

    Foss said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Sandpit said:

    PB brains trust question, perhaps one for Mr Eagles.

    I’m looking for a nice hotel in central London for a couple of nights in September, budget around £500 a night B&B.

    Was shocked to find that the Savoy is £1,200 and the Ritz £1,600 for a standard king room. In my old mind I thought I might have looked at those.

    I'm shocked at the thought Mr Eagles would know about £500 pn hovels.
    I am staying in a £248 a night room tomorrow.

    The Queens in Leeds.
    Handy for the Greggs on the station. Good choice.
    Handy for The Wetherspoons too.
    I would have thought for £248 you would get breakfast and not have to go to Wetherspoons
    I am as likely to be seen in a Wetherspoons as I am at a meeting of the Nigel Farage fan club.
    Isn't Spoons the go to for those working classes who require a couple of pints of Carling with their full English breakfast?
    Oiks. Don’t they know that stout is the only proper breakfast beer?
    Staying in a Premier Inn (Manchester Piccadily) before flying off on holiday we wandered down at about 8:30 to head off for some breakfast.

    There was a group of 4 lads there already on their 3rd pint of lager with a 4th one lined up..
    Can we have a Yuk button?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 35,614

    MelonB said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    I’m spending a weekend down in Totnes with friends before boarding the Santander ferry, so if anyone’s in in very real danger from this killer at large it’s me and the family (and local PBer @MarqueeMark i assume). Drove through Newton Abbot on the way here. I’ll keep a beady eye out.
    You don't know what to keep an eye out for, this is the issue.
    11 murders a week, and you've not made this complaint about any of them before now.
    I haven't known about or discussed any of those other cases. If you care to bring the details of such a case to my attention, I will opine. We are discussing this case.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 60,842
    MelonB said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    I’m spending a weekend down in Totnes with friends before boarding the Santander ferry, so if anyone’s in in very real danger from this killer at large it’s me and the family (and local PBer @MarqueeMark i assume). Drove through Newton Abbot on the way here. I’ll keep a beady eye out.
    I have a note from my mother that excuses me from murderin' duties this week.

    Could still be a victim though, I guess.

    Enjoy the delightful funkiness of Totnes.
  • TresTres Posts: 3,743

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    Until caught. So that's the key public safety measure we need to see from the police - catch the guy.
    If there was a murderer. In the absence of a suspect in the house at the right time, we can't eliminate the possibility that a feisty (and I mean that as a compliment) but elderly lady had a fall from which she couldn't recover, or a body that stopped working, because that's what happens to elderly bodies.

    she fell onto a hammer repeatedly?
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328
    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:

    Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick (Queen Caroline's brother, killed at Quatre Bras in 1815) bears a disturbing resemblance to Tom Baker:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William,_Duke_of_Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel#/media/File:Herzog_Friedrich_Wilhelm_von_Braunschweig-Oels,_der_Schwarze_Herzog.jpg

    I warned the Time Lords number 4 spent far too much time hanging around with young women.
    The famous Popbitch story “Tom’s putting it in now”
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 35,614

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    Until caught. So that's the key public safety measure we need to see from the police - catch the guy.
    If there was a murderer. In the absence of a suspect in the house at the right time, we can't eliminate the possibility that a feisty (and I mean that as a compliment) but elderly lady had a fall from which she couldn't recover, or a body that stopped working, because that's what happens to elderly bodies.

    We can eliminate the latter, because the police have said she had 'serious injuries'. You don't get seriously injured from your body stopping. We can consider the former highly unlikely because one would hope a police pathologist could rule out accidental death with some certainty.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 17,787
    ydoethur said:

    Nigelb said:

    MattW said:

    kle4 said:

    I didn't think he'd manage it. I guess mayors are no longer a joke now, a place for has beens and never will bes.

    Or was the fact he was an MP previously and still known to many of them enough to make being a mayor still viable as a leadership prospect?

    It is kind of weird that not a single MP out of 400 was considered a genuine option.

    One of my current unfocused musings is that we have a severe problem in the UK in the lack of alternative routes to influential political positions, other than inside party structures. That denudes local or regional civil society.

    Cameron's Open Primaries were genuinely interesting, but I'm thinking that Regional Mayors are partly where it is at now.

    To me this is another thing that Kemi has called the wrong way - stating (if I heard her correctly) that greater devolution is an attack on democracy at Westminster.
    Yes, that's among the more stupid things she has said.
    England in particular is in desperate need of more devolution of power. We are an absurdly over-centralised state.
    The UK is a very strange federal state, in that the largest and most prosperous part of the country, with 85% of the population, is directly run by the central government, as a "territory" in US terms.

    However Governments seem to want to impose ever more ingenious and ad-hoc arrangements on us, and the only option ever considered is to split England into penny packets. Having said that, it's not clear we need an additional layer of government as a English parliament.

    My option would be radical devolution to whatever parts of the country feel like they are a suitable candidate (eg Cornwall if it wants to be) with a light touch England government exercising audit functions and a few strategic ones such as highways. If the English parliament was part time, it could occupy Westminster when the British parliament isn't sitting. Or maybe reoccupy somewhere it has sat before, such as Christ Church Oxfird
    Or Marlborough!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Marlborough
    I've lived in four places that have hosted Parliament: Marlborough, Christ Church, Westminster and Winchester

    I might move to Lincoln or York next..
    Shrewsbury.
    Carlisle 1306.

  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 62,404
    edited 1:24PM

    MelonB said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    I’m spending a weekend down in Totnes with friends before boarding the Santander ferry, so if anyone’s in in very real danger from this killer at large it’s me and the family (and local PBer @MarqueeMark i assume). Drove through Newton Abbot on the way here. I’ll keep a beady eye out.
    There's been a recent murder in Killarney where the main person of interest was on a flight to Istanbul before the body was discovered.

    With Widdecombe apparently being dead for 24 hours before discovery the murderer could quite easily be anywhere.
    Sadly yes. If they didn’t find the body for 24h the killer could be pretty much anywhere on the planet. Start with a rough time of death from the pathologist, and work backwards from there.

    They’re looking for a needle in a haystack of CCTV and ANPR data, as well as the forensics team on site looking for DNA, interviewing neighbours etc.

    If he was an idiot, they might strike gold if he was in his own car driving close to the scene then bought a plane ticket on Thursday for immediate travel. Alternatively, he could just be a local tea-leaf who gets turned in by someone close to him who notices a change in behaviour.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 51,442

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    Until caught. So that's the key public safety measure we need to see from the police - catch the guy.
    If there was a murderer. In the absence of a suspect in the house at the right time, we can't eliminate the possibility that a feisty (and I mean that as a compliment) but elderly lady had a fall from which she couldn't recover, or a body that stopped working, because that's what happens to elderly bodies.
    I guess that's true yes. I'm assuming from 'murder investigation' that it will be one but this is not yet a fact or even an alleged fact. Same with my 'he' for the perpetrator come to think of it. A very good bet but also not known for sure.
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328
    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 24,850

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    Until caught. So that's the key public safety measure we need to see from the police - catch the guy.
    If there was a murderer. In the absence of a suspect in the house at the right time, we can't eliminate the possibility that a feisty (and I mean that as a compliment) but elderly lady had a fall from which she couldn't recover, or a body that stopped working, because that's what happens to elderly bodies.
    I would imagine that a pathologist has had a chance to do a detailed examination of the body by now and it would be unlikely they would still be pursuing a murder investigation if the fatal injuries suffered were inflicted by a fall.

    Sure, people make mistakes all the time, but I think it's very unlikely. If there was a fall, for example, you would likely be able to find what object the impact was against. In a case of murder there will possibly be evidence of injuries sustained trying to defend against the attacker, and so on.

    There's a lot that we aren't being told that the police will know, because the police won't want to let the murderer know what they know.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 62,404
    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 8,485
    Unfortunately I’m beginning to think this was perpetrated by someone who was intent on murdering her and who she might have known and knew she lived in that house .

    Surely forensics and the police would have seen signs of forced entry and or signs if this was a burglary gone wrong . Would they hold these details back ?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 35,614
    nico67 said:

    Unfortunately I’m beginning to think this was perpetrated by someone who was intent on murdering her and who she might have known and knew she lived in that house .

    Surely forensics and the police would have seen signs of forced entry and or signs if this was a burglary gone wrong . Would they hold these details back ?

    Given that it was called Widdecombe's Rest, it was sadly not that difficult to know who lived there.
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 8,030
    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    How is he not a grifter too?
  • boulayboulay Posts: 9,190
    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    There was a brutal takedown of him by Dan Niedle on his group’s Facebook the other day - basically Stevenson doesn’t know what he is talking about.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 35,614
    boulay said:

    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    There was a brutal takedown of him by Dan Niedle on his group’s Facebook the other day - basically Stevenson doesn’t know what he is talking about.
    He may or may not know what he's talking about, but he starts from a conclusion - we need a wealth tax. Everything else seeks to justify that. You're meant to come to a conclusion based on the facts, not come to the facts based on the conclusion.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 40,834
    They're saying there's "no wider risk the public".

    If they don't know who did it and they haven't caught the person yet, how can they possibly say this?
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 40,834
    edited 1:41PM
    They're saying there's "no wider risk to the public".

    If they don't know who did it and they haven't caught the person yet, how can they possibly say this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMlheqOtjA
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 57,438
    Tres said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Speaking of the identity of the perpetrator, should the police not be forthcoming on what they are now looking for? Assuming they now have nothing to go on (this could be untrue; they could have a very strong lead), they have not been very candid that the suspect could now be literally anyone.
    Possibly. But in general I don't think the police have a duty to keep us informed blow by blow on a murder investigation. For myself I'm quite content to hear nothing for a while as they work on it. The most important thing is they get a result. It'd be dreadful if it were to go unsolved.
    It is not a question of a blow by blow account, it is a question of public safety. There is (again presumably) a dangerous killer on the loose.
    Until caught. So that's the key public safety measure we need to see from the police - catch the guy.
    If there was a murderer. In the absence of a suspect in the house at the right time, we can't eliminate the possibility that a feisty (and I mean that as a compliment) but elderly lady had a fall from which she couldn't recover, or a body that stopped working, because that's what happens to elderly bodies.

    she fell onto a hammer repeatedly?
    You seem suspiciously well informed. Where were you on the night of July 9th?
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 60,410

    eek said:

    Sandpit said:

    PB brains trust question, perhaps one for Mr Eagles.

    I’m looking for a nice hotel in central London for a couple of nights in September, budget around £500 a night B&B.

    Was shocked to find that the Savoy is £1,200 and the Ritz £1,600 for a standard king room. In my old mind I thought I might have looked at those.

    If you don't mind looking at the Barbican en route then I recommend The Malmaison near the Barbican.

    I've stayed there a few times, recommend it.

    https://www.malmaison.com/locations/london/
    Was at the Clermont last week - was OK nothing great.

    Next weekend I'm staying at the Great Northern (which is the one on Kings Cross) so will report back - but we are very fairly often for drinks so the bar is very acceptable.
    London hotel prices have gone up so much recently.

    The cost of living crisis is real.

    Early on this week I nearly fainted when I found out 30g of Beluga caviar is now £400 in Claridge's (plus service charge).

    I paid £250 in 2023.
    Ah, Establishment woes!
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 62,404
    boulay said:

    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    There was a brutal takedown of him by Dan Niedle on his group’s Facebook the other day - basically Stevenson doesn’t know what he is talking about.
    Nearly 2m views on Twitter.

    https://x.com/danneidle/status/2075206427476459826
  • CharlieSharkCharlieShark Posts: 499
    kinabalu said:

    Dura_Ace said:

    That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother.

    Right wing shitbags get a bit snowflake-y and abandon their free speech principles whenever anybody slags off their shaheeds. That c-nt Charlie Kirk, etc.
    I sense that some on the right are hoping for their own Jo Cox event here. ID of the perpetrator permitting.
    Typical leftist revisionism. It's as if David Amess was never murdered.
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328
    Ken Bates

    Chelsea legend and less of a legend at Leeds is dead

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3ry513ljq3o
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 104,499

    algarkirk said:

    Have we noted Adam Boulton's reverse ferret?

    https://x.com/adamboultonTABB/status/2075893192872927456

    Hmm. There is a difference between an obituary and a tribute and yesterday was the time for the latter. We don't speak ill of the dead, at least not within a few hours of her murder. That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother. She wasn't, and I do not think she would like the posthumous sanctification some are attempting.

    Here is the gift link to the Telegraph's obituary:-

    Ann Widdecombe, redoubtable Tory politician who was robust on moral questions and Brexit
    Her appeal was her frankness and incorruptibility; in an era of spin, she won plaudits for saying what she thought

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/29c6a0e57b0e5668
    It is ok to speak ill of the dead, but it can generally wait at least a little.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 92,229
    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    And a bullshitter.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 35,614
    Andy_JS said:

    They're saying there's "no wider risk to the public".

    If they don't know who did it and they haven't caught the person yet, how can they possibly say this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMlheqOtjA

    That seems extraordinary to me.

    Even if:

    1. They are 100% clear on who the suspect is
    2. They are 100% clear that the motive was personal

    If they haven't arrested the perpetrator, how are they so confident that he or she will come quietly and won't do anything else?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 92,229
    edited 1:53PM
    The media really don't like Benhard Janse van Rensburg being picked for England. Its like he is the first time a player has played for a different nation to the their birth via residency...checks Scotland and Ireland team...and New Zealand and Australia...
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 40,834
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 137,488

    algarkirk said:

    Have we noted Adam Boulton's reverse ferret?

    https://x.com/adamboultonTABB/status/2075893192872927456

    Hmm. There is a difference between an obituary and a tribute and yesterday was the time for the latter. We don't speak ill of the dead, at least not within a few hours of her murder. That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother. She wasn't, and I do not think she would like the posthumous sanctification some are attempting.

    Here is the gift link to the Telegraph's obituary:-

    Ann Widdecombe, redoubtable Tory politician who was robust on moral questions and Brexit
    Her appeal was her frankness and incorruptibility; in an era of spin, she won plaudits for saying what she thought

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/29c6a0e57b0e5668
    'Her recreations included researching the escape of Charles II.'
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328
    boulay said:

    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    There was a brutal takedown of him by Dan Niedle on his group’s Facebook the other day - basically Stevenson doesn’t know what he is talking about.
    It reminded me of Claude Littner dismantling a hapless Apprentice candidate at the interview stage.

    But Dan wasn’t the only one. Several others took him to task and he was floundering.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 104,499
    boulay said:

    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    There was a brutal takedown of him by Dan Niedle on his group’s Facebook the other day - basically Stevenson doesn’t know what he is talking about.
    Doesn't hold back most pundits.
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328

    eek said:

    Sandpit said:

    PB brains trust question, perhaps one for Mr Eagles.

    I’m looking for a nice hotel in central London for a couple of nights in September, budget around £500 a night B&B.

    Was shocked to find that the Savoy is £1,200 and the Ritz £1,600 for a standard king room. In my old mind I thought I might have looked at those.

    If you don't mind looking at the Barbican en route then I recommend The Malmaison near the Barbican.

    I've stayed there a few times, recommend it.

    https://www.malmaison.com/locations/london/
    Was at the Clermont last week - was OK nothing great.

    Next weekend I'm staying at the Great Northern (which is the one on Kings Cross) so will report back - but we are very fairly often for drinks so the bar is very acceptable.
    London hotel prices have gone up so much recently.

    The cost of living crisis is real.

    Early on this week I nearly fainted when I found out 30g of Beluga caviar is now £400 in Claridge's (plus service charge).

    I paid £250 in 2023.
    Ah, Establishment woes!
    PB wouldn’t be PB without endless humblebrags.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 92,229
    edited 1:55PM
    kle4 said:

    boulay said:

    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    There was a brutal takedown of him by Dan Niedle on his group’s Facebook the other day - basically Stevenson doesn’t know what he is talking about.
    Doesn't hold back most pundits.
    Prof Peston....keen amateur scientist.....JVT not once, but twice, had to go on his show and tell him to STFU because he was talking utter bullshit.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 137,488

    algarkirk said:

    Have we noted Adam Boulton's reverse ferret?

    https://x.com/adamboultonTABB/status/2075893192872927456

    Hmm. There is a difference between an obituary and a tribute and yesterday was the time for the latter. We don't speak ill of the dead, at least not within a few hours of her murder. That said, some commentators are reacting hysterically to any criticism as if Ann Widdecombe was the Queen Mother. She wasn't, and I do not think she would like the posthumous sanctification some are attempting.

    Here is the gift link to the Telegraph's obituary:-

    Ann Widdecombe, redoubtable Tory politician who was robust on moral questions and Brexit
    Her appeal was her frankness and incorruptibility; in an era of spin, she won plaudits for saying what she thought

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/29c6a0e57b0e5668
    Was she a Tory politician? I thought she'd joined Reform.

    Telegraph will be calling Churchill a Liberal next.
    '..was a formidable Conservative politician, later of the Brexit Party and Reform UK'
  • CharlieSharkCharlieShark Posts: 499
    Is this it? He's about to become the PM and instead of policies we get banality. We've had 2 years of that from Starmer, would hope there's more to Burnham.


    Andy Burnham
    @andyburnham
    Football has always been about more than what happens on the pitch.

    The World Cup reminds us how much we have in common - let’s harness that.

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/world-cup-andy-burnham-england-37414375
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328

    The media really don't like Benhard Janse van Rensburg being picked for England. Its like he is the first time a player has played for a different nation to the their birth via residency...checks Scotland and Ireland team...and New Zealand and Australia...

    He’s just scored a try

    In the annals of shit haircuts he’s pretty much up there with Limahl and Flock of Seagulls guy
  • BlancheLivermoreBlancheLivermore Posts: 8,030
    Does Socialism boil down to: "If one person is poor, everyone should be poor"?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 92,229
    edited 1:58PM
    Taz said:

    The media really don't like Benhard Janse van Rensburg being picked for England. Its like he is the first time a player has played for a different nation to the their birth via residency...checks Scotland and Ireland team...and New Zealand and Australia...

    He’s just scored a try

    In the annals of shit haircuts he’s pretty much up there with Limahl and Flock of Seagulls guy
    Its been his trademark for a number of years. He cut it back a bit at the start of last season and the Bristol fans gave him a bit of stick for not having it.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 62,404

    Andy_JS said:

    They're saying there's "no wider risk to the public".

    If they don't know who did it and they haven't caught the person yet, how can they possibly say this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMlheqOtjA

    That seems extraordinary to me.

    Even if:

    1. They are 100% clear on who the suspect is
    2. They are 100% clear that the motive was personal

    If they haven't arrested the perpetrator, how are they so confident that he or she will come quietly and won't do anything else?
    Usually when the police say this, it’s a “domestic” incident and they’re happy that the killer, even if they know their identity, isn’t likely to be a risk to others.

    Given that the victim in this case was famously single, it’s somewhat unlikely this case comes into that category.

    The alternative is that they know their identity and that they’ve left the country, so they’re working with police from elsewhere to apprehend them
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 62,404

    Does Socialism boil down to: "If one person is poor, everyone should be poor"?

    Everyone should be equally poor - apart from the socialist elites, who alone get to be fabulously wealthy.
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328
    viewcode said:
    Brilliant film. Irons is superb in that scene.

    Bizarrely I was just watching that scene on Twitter.

    Loved the line ‘talk to me like I’m a child, or a Golden retriever’

  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328
    edited 2:01PM

    Andy_JS said:

    They're saying there's "no wider risk to the public".

    If they don't know who did it and they haven't caught the person yet, how can they possibly say this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMlheqOtjA

    That seems extraordinary to me.

    Even if:

    1. They are 100% clear on who the suspect is
    2. They are 100% clear that the motive was personal

    If they haven't arrested the perpetrator, how are they so confident that he or she will come quietly and won't do anything else?
    BBC News now saying she was attacked 24 hours before being discovered.

    Do we have a list of all the other murders we need to care about ?
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 24,850

    Andy_JS said:

    They're saying there's "no wider risk to the public".

    If they don't know who did it and they haven't caught the person yet, how can they possibly say this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMlheqOtjA

    That seems extraordinary to me.

    Even if:

    1. They are 100% clear on who the suspect is
    2. They are 100% clear that the motive was personal

    If they haven't arrested the perpetrator, how are they so confident that he or she will come quietly and won't do anything else?
    I would interpret the statement as being that they're confident it isn't the start of a campaign to murder Reform UK politicians, and that the murder doesn't fit the profile for a serial killer, but not that the murderer will have been so shocked by doing the deed that they're now a committed pacifist.

    Having said that, given their earlier confidence that they'd arrested the person responsible, and how rapidly they confidently released them, I'm not sure I have a great deal of confidence in the information they're releasing anyway.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 104,499
    Sandpit said:

    Does Socialism boil down to: "If one person is poor, everyone should be poor"?

    Everyone should be equally poor - apart from the socialist elites, who alone get to be fabulously wealthy.
    If you make it officially not possible to become super wealthy, it doesn't stop the desire for it so it just becomes hidden. Like how rule by committee quickly ends up dominated by individual leaders regardless.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 48,195
    I hear Waddingtons is bringing a new board game out for Christmas, Cluedoless. A person has been killed but players have no information on the circumstances and cause of death. They indulge in more and more florid speculation but no facts are forthcoming so they put the game away and never play it again.

    Someone, somewhere with a something. Can’t fail!
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328
    Sandpit said:

    Does Socialism boil down to: "If one person is poor, everyone should be poor"?

    Everyone should be equally poor - apart from the socialist elites, who alone get to be fabulously wealthy.
    Yes. That’s the argument.

    Because there’s is just a single pot of money which needs splitting up.

    People just want free stuff and others to pay for it.
  • DriverDriver Posts: 5,684

    boulay said:

    Sandpit said:

    Taz said:

    Gary Stevenson

    ‘I go to Parliament and I try to lobby politicians”

    Yet I was told here, the other day, he wasn’t a lobbyist after I said he was. 🤷‍♂️

    He’s increasingly more desperate too.

    https://x.com/bbcnewsnight/status/2075615359504097287?s=61

    So he says an economist one day, and says he’s an activist the next?

    He’s a professional and well-funded campaigner, that’s what he is and all he is.
    There was a brutal takedown of him by Dan Niedle on his group’s Facebook the other day - basically Stevenson doesn’t know what he is talking about.
    He may or may not know what he's talking about, but he starts from a conclusion - we need a wealth tax. Everything else seeks to justify that. You're meant to come to a conclusion based on the facts, not come to the facts based on the conclusion.
    Have you listened to any politician in the last 20 years? It's all about the policy-based evidence making.
  • DriverDriver Posts: 5,684

    Does Socialism boil down to: "If one person is poor, everyone should be poor"?

    I was in a museum yesterday that had, inter alia, a collection of Soviet era jokes.

    One of them read:

    Under capitalism, man exploits man.
    Under socialism, it's the other way round.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 92,229
    South Africa World Cup midfielder Adams dies aged 25
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cr47y5nvrqlo

    Grim reaper busy today.
  • BattlebusBattlebus Posts: 3,556

    On topic, that 7.5% chance is precisely 7.5% higher than the percentage of PBers who predicted Burnham would be PM by the end of the year.

    It was inconceivable that anyone would want the poisoned chalice that is a premiership.
    ydoethur said:

    Robert Colvile
    @rcolvile
    ·
    1h
    I wish some on the Left would apply a basic sense test to their 'research'. If landlords really were making a 70% pre-tax profit margin, as this report claims, people would be flooding into the sector - instead, they're fleeing in droves.

    https://x.com/rcolvile/status/2075870063828095403

    Round here, annual rents seem to be 10-15% of the property value. Yes you have expenses, but then you have an appreciating asset as well. And if you borrow the money to buy the property you can offset the interest against tax.

    So I'm unconvinced that landlords are poor. However they seem to be completely averse to accepting any sort of risk, or diversifying their portfolio.
    It is an absurd market failure if rents are covering the landlord's mortgage, if the tenant can afford the mortgage they should be able to get their own.

    Partially to do with regulations, eg criteria that deem that someone who can afford rents can't afford a cheaper mortgage than that which they're reliably paying already.
    Also UC housing element is paid to lower pay families to help with rent but not with mortgages.
    Which is silly, because if it was paid to clear a mortgage then you could see a plausible end point to having to pay it. Pay rent and you’re paying it for life. Also, you trap people in poverty.

    Very nice for landlords, but dumb for the country.
    Support for Mortgage holders used to be a grant (i.e. not repayable) but it is now a (repayable) loan. The reasoning was:

    Taxpayer-funded subsidy should not be provided to people “who are acquiring a potentially valuable asset”, who should instead “have the choice to receive a loan”.


    It was just another of those subsidies (state capture of a client group) that seem to grow at an exponential rate while we complain about increasing taxes.

    https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06618/SN06618.pdf
  • TazTaz Posts: 29,328

    South Africa World Cup midfielder Adams dies aged 25
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cr47y5nvrqlo

    Grim reaper busy today.

    25, that’s no age. RIP
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 23,292
    Battlebus said:

    On topic, that 7.5% chance is precisely 7.5% higher than the percentage of PBers who predicted Burnham would be PM by the end of the year.

    It was inconceivable that anyone would want the poisoned chalice that is a premiership.
    Nobody who was properly aware of the situation would want the poisoned chalice that is a premiership.

    Which is why Burnham has been able to spend a couple of years gobbing off about he would do things differently and better.

    It's always easier when you're in the commentary box.
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