Anneliese Dodds, Shadow Chancellor Lisa Nandy, Shadow Foreign Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, Shadow Home Secretary Rachel Reeves, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
I wouldn't have expected someone to leave as Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee chair to be Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Has Hancock given a figure for the number of ventilators we have and need, this morning?
I think he said we had twelve thousand, and didn’t need thirty thousand any more but didn’t say how many we were expected to need. It wasn’t easy to tell because he was getting so confused.
Thanks ydoethur. 12,000 is almost double what we had in ICU wards a month ago and a good 4,000 up on the total including in Theatres. So that's good progress if we already have 12,000. What's Burgons IQ BTW? I see you mentioned him departing will lead to a significant increase.
Just interested to know, thanks in advance.
No idea. Pretty sure somebody who makes the same mistakes repeatedly and appears to be incapable of remembering basic facts or formulating simple sentences doesn’t have a high one. I genuinely am puzzled that he got into Cambridge.
Mine is 144, if you’re particularly interested.
Burgon is a graduate of St. John's College, Cambridge. Degree classification unknown, but he must have gotten something.
Now that's an enigma worthy of Pierre de Fermat...
Seems utterly bizarre to appoint Nandy (who has much to contribute to the domestic agenda) to a position where she is not going to be able to develop that important set of policies.
As for Dodds and Thomas-Symonds - there is nothing inspiring about either of them. They are better than the idiots they are replacing - but that isn't saying much.
I wonder though if this is an attempt at regional balance:
Dodds - Scotland NTS - Wales Nandy - North of England Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
So that is yet another vital job she wants the Police to be doing when clearly there are no other priorities. I do hope 'nitpicking' of this sort is not the new level of 'opposition' we can expect. As for the digs at Hancock. Haters gonna hate.
One thing Starmer has is that the way the cards fall, the 124th seat isn't ridiculously safe (5.25% swing required). A 6% swing would probably deliver a reasonable majority.
A 5.25% takes Filton and Bradley Stoke, target no. 59. That would still be a greater swing than Thatcher managed.
Not entirely sure the usual rules apply, such was Corbyn's toxicity. The inability to recapture Scotland is a massive and likely insurmountable hurdle for any future Labour majority to be reached. A minority Labour Government sans Corbyn is not beyond possibility next time.
As TSE has pointed out Covid-19 changes everything, and to who's advantage is anyone's guess.
As ever, a recipe for a catastrophic mess. The main enablers for a Labour minority are likely to be the SNP, who will insist on a second referendum.
The UK Government could very well end up trying to negotiate the dissolution of the UK with the SNP, whilst being propped up (until the point that this is completed) by... the SNP.
Isn't that what did for the Liberals? They had support from the Irish Nationalists for their Home Rule policy, then lost power after Ireland got Home Rule?
No. Lots of things did for the Liberals. They were blamed for the length and damage of the First World War (unfairly, but every party in power in 1914 was swiftly removed during the war or immediately afterwards). They were hampered by changes to the franchise which gave the vote to women (who voted Conservative) and younger men (who tended to vote Labour). They were also severely damaged by a series of splits - most pertinently the intensely personal one between Lloyd George and Asquith, which reduced them to third party status in 1918. The wipeout of the Irish Nationalists and the granting of an Irish Parliament from 1922 were more aftershocks than causes of the decline.
But it’s worth remembering after 1885 the Liberals only won one election in their own strength (1906) - and that was when sometimes as many as three Unionists standing in one constituency for one vote.
If my feelings, as a Liberal throughout the 70's and 80's, and a LD thereafter are any guide, what has done for the LibDems is the Coalition. Their principles appear to have been walked all over, either because Cameron and Osborne were much more ruthless than they seemed at first, or because their Cabinet Ministers were inadequate. Or both. Unless something changes very radically, looks like Starmer's Labour for me.
Dodds is awful. She has no presence, no panache, no flair.
It seems an odd choice. As does Lisa "Towns" Nandy for Foreign Sec.
But Keir knows best. He's not the Labour Leader for nothing.
Gives Nandy a big profile, nothing to say she cannot also talk about towns.
Gives her a profile and keeps her on the outside. Doesn't sound like he actually wants her contribution to the domestic agenda - but also doesn't want to be seen to exclude her completely.
Hillary Benn and Yvette Cooper I think who might have been obvious choices for the shadow cabinet hold key positions as head of important select committees so might not end up with jobs .
I think the hope is that by spreading the 3m hospital admissions over a longer period the health service never gets overwhelmed and the number of deaths is lower. I cant pretend to know the numbers tho.
Yes. So perhaps not 250k. But still very much a 6 digit number unless the estimates of mortality rate are way too high.
Seems utterly bizarre to appoint Nandy (who has much to contribute to the domestic agenda) to a position where she is not going to be able to develop that important set of policies.
As for Dodds and Thomas-Symonds - there is nothing inspiring about either of them. They are better than the idiots they are replacing - but that isn't saying much.
I wonder though if this is an attempt at regional balance:
Dodds - Scotland NTS - Wales Nandy - North of England Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
Dodds may have been born in Scotland - but she 'represents' Oxford East... hardly close to the Lochs and the Cairns.
Seems utterly bizarre to appoint Nandy (who has much to contribute to the domestic agenda) to a position where she is not going to be able to develop that important set of policies.
As for Dodds and Thomas-Symonds - there is nothing inspiring about either of them. They are better than the idiots they are replacing - but that isn't saying much.
I wonder though if this is an attempt at regional balance:
Dodds - Scotland NTS - Wales Nandy - North of England Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
Dodds may have been born in Scotland - but she 'represents' Oxford East... hardly close to the Lochs and the Cairns.
The only Scottish MP, or rather, MP for a Scottish seat, Labour have left is Ian Murray. And he will presumably be offered SSoS for Scotland.
I wouldn't have expected someone to leave as Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee chair to be Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Gove is, IIRC, the ministerial lead on Brexit now that DExEU has been wound up.
Seems utterly bizarre to appoint Nandy (who has much to contribute to the domestic agenda) to a position where she is not going to be able to develop that important set of policies.
As for Dodds and Thomas-Symonds - there is nothing inspiring about either of them. They are better than the idiots they are replacing - but that isn't saying much.
I wonder though if this is an attempt at regional balance:
Dodds - Scotland NTS - Wales Nandy - North of England Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
Dodds may have been born in Scotland - but she 'represents' Oxford East... hardly close to the Lochs and the Cairns.
The only Scottish MP, or rather, MP for a Scottish seat, Labour have left is Ian Murray. And he will presumably be offered SSoS for Scotland.
Very possibly - but having Dodds in this role won't help win a single vote in Scotland.
Seems utterly bizarre to appoint Nandy (who has much to contribute to the domestic agenda) to a position where she is not going to be able to develop that important set of policies.
As for Dodds and Thomas-Symonds - there is nothing inspiring about either of them. They are better than the idiots they are replacing - but that isn't saying much.
I wonder though if this is an attempt at regional balance:
Dodds - Scotland NTS - Wales Nandy - North of England Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
Dodds may have been born in Scotland - but she 'represents' Oxford East... hardly close to the Lochs and the Cairns.
The only Scottish MP, or rather, MP for a Scottish seat, Labour have left is Ian Murray. And he will presumably be offered SSoS for Scotland.
Very possibly - but having Dodds in this role won't help win a single vote in Scotland.
I would have said, frankly, that she’s unlikely to win Labour a single vote anywhere. But she may surprise on the upside.
Dodds is awful. She has no presence, no panache, no flair.
It seems an odd choice. As does Lisa "Towns" Nandy for Foreign Sec.
But Keir knows best. He's not the Labour Leader for nothing.
Gives Nandy a big profile, nothing to say she cannot also talk about towns.
I stand to be corrected, but wasn't Ernie Bevin a success as Foreign Sec?
One could argue that he had more of an impact as Minister of Labour during WWII.
One can have a great career in foreign affairs - but Nandy is one of the clearest thinkers they have got on the domestic agenda. It is a waste to have her focus overseas
I am sadly of the opinion that more people will die in Britain as a direct or indirect consequence of the lockdown and the shredding of the economy than will die as a result of CV-19. We already know that people are dying because of disruption to their treatment, because of suicides and because they are alone with no one to look after them.
The trouble is that saying more will die as a result of the 'cure' compared to the disease does not take into account what would have happened if we had not instigated the 'cure'. I am inclined to believe the ICL numbers about how many would have died without a lockdown. But I am still uncomfortable with the fact that we are, to large extent, acting as if the lockdown is victimless.
Yes, there are no easy or pain-free options out there but the compelling argument for me is the ability of the medical services and authorities to have coped with a large number of cases caused by failing to taking adequate measures to try to contain the virus.
It recalls an argument I remember being heard in late 2008 to justify bailing out the banks with pubic money. Yes, it might have been better for poorly-run banks to fail but the scenes of people queuing to get their money and the likely social disorder of a run on the banks would have been unsupportable.
Sometimes the consequence of doing "what's best" in the long term are too unpalatable in the short term so more immediate measures are taken which have shorter term benefits but do not mitigate the longer term risks.
'Only' 525 fatalities in Italy today - lowest since March 19th (about 10 days into their lockdown). Still quite a lot of new cases reported (4300), but I wonder if they are picking up milder cases. But still good news overall.
It feels to me like Labour has one chance to do well this time around, and that is to own the narrative around the recovery phase from this pandemic. There’s a way to link in to some of the “forgotten towns” and “forgotten key workers” narrative.
"On Saturday 4 April, the total number of deaths reported at University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust in the West Midlands almost doubled, from 102 to 203. Today it reported an additional 11 deaths."
I suspect that this was catch up data rather than a true doubling, but should make for a touch of caution in those closely following the numbers.
I think the answer is South Korea! They have managed to control the spread really well and new infections are ticking along in the background. As long as it stays in control (i.e., contacts are traced rapidly upon someone being infected) and testing is high there's no reason to assume it will become unmanageable.
Do you think we are capable of implementing such a regime though?
How often does that occur? It's possible that the government and their advisors decided seven days was good enough for a balance between protecting others and allowing people to get out. Less relevant with the lockdown now though.
"On Saturday 4 April, the total number of deaths reported at University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust in the West Midlands almost doubled, from 102 to 203. Today it reported an additional 11 deaths."
I suspect that this was catch up data rather than a true doubling, but should make for a touch of caution in those closely following the numbers.
One could argue that he had more of an impact as Minister of Labour during WWII.
One can have a great career in foreign affairs - but Nandy is one of the clearest thinkers they have got on the domestic agenda. It is a waste to have her focus overseas
It may be that as we depart the EU the role of Foreign Secretary could once again regain the relevance and importance it once enjoyed.
Lisa Nandy is well placed to be the leader after Starmer - could the 2029 GE see PM Rishi Sunak challenged by LOTO Lisa Nandy?
"On Saturday 4 April, the total number of deaths reported at University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust in the West Midlands almost doubled, from 102 to 203. Today it reported an additional 11 deaths."
I suspect that this was catch up data rather than a true doubling, but should make for a touch of caution in those closely following the numbers.
What proportion of asymptomatic cases are you assuming?
How I did it was herd immunity needs 30m infected.
10% need hospital and 0.8% die.
So if we're lucky and it turns out that - say - 75% can get it, show no symptoms and still get immunity (or are inherently immune ab initio), then your figures become 30m x 25% x 10% = 750k hospitalised, and 30m x 25% x 0.8% = 60k deaths.
That's how we manage. It only works if the "iceberg" theory turns out to be right, but the first mass antibody tests should show this one way or the other. We'll probably have a pretty good idea by the end of the month, one way or another.
'Only' 525 fatalities in Italy today - lowest since March 19th (about 10 days into their lockdown). Still quite a lot of new cases reported (4300), but I wonder if they are picking up milder cases. But still good news overall.
I wouldn't have expected someone to leave as Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee chair to be Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Gove is, IIRC, the ministerial lead on Brexit now that DExEU has been wound up.
This has to be the answer, surely?
Yes, I'd think so - at some point we'll be talking Brexit again, and this will then be a key role. Reeves is generally acknowledged to be bright (as Gove is), but has an embarassing quote about being tougher than the Tories on welfare. Engaging her with Brexit avoids the latter being an issue while giving Gove a strong counterpart.
Seems utterly bizarre to appoint Nandy (who has much to contribute to the domestic agenda) to a position where she is not going to be able to develop that important set of policies.
As for Dodds and Thomas-Symonds - there is nothing inspiring about either of them. They are better than the idiots they are replacing - but that isn't saying much.
I wonder though if this is an attempt at regional balance:
Dodds - Scotland NTS - Wales Nandy - North of England Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
Dodds may have been born in Scotland - but she 'represents' Oxford East... hardly close to the Lochs and the Cairns.
The only Scottish MP, or rather, MP for a Scottish seat, Labour have left is Ian Murray. And he will presumably be offered SSoS for Scotland.
I think the answer is South Korea! They have managed to control the spread really well and new infections are ticking along in the background. As long as it stays in control (i.e., contacts are traced rapidly upon someone being infected) and testing is high there's no reason to assume it will become unmanageable.
Do you think we are capable of implementing such a regime though?
Yes, actually. I'm quite optimistic that we can do this next time - especially if the consequence is more lockdown!
Technologically, solutions are being developed (see this thread: https://twitter.com/ChristoPhraser/status/1246452660397629446) and the scaling up of testing will facilitate, across the country, very rapid profiling of new cases. There will still be need for manual contact tracing but the electronic tracing should make a massive difference, especially given the preponderance of mobile phones. Also, if you read the linked paper, it suggests that you can not only contain but actually stop the spread with a decent (but not 100%) amount of compliance.
As expected, Angela Rayner will also be party chair (Lavery's current role)
Right... that isn't exactly a vote of confidence in his new deputy. She isn't the greatest media performer (as today has already shown). She might grow into it. But this looks like a place to keep her out of actual policy development.
I hope the vaccine comes sooner than we all think it will.
Have we got people with the highest IQs on this?
I presume some PBers could identify them if not.
Well Patel (98) is being kept well away so that's a comfort.
98? That would be near average. I see no evidence she’s that high.
Emailed Patel (I'm a constituent) about something the other day and got a reply to the effect that is it was a constituency matter I should use one email address, but if it related to her work as Home Sec I should use another one. Emails sent to the wrong address would be deleted and not acted upon. I was emailing her because, as a constituent who had helped to bring Ugandan refugees to UK, I felt that strongly about a particular immigration matter. It would appear that my email has been summarily deleted.
Has Hancock given a figure for the number of ventilators we have and need, this morning?
I think he said we had twelve thousand, and didn’t need thirty thousand any more but didn’t say how many we were expected to need. It wasn’t easy to tell because he was getting so confused.
Thanks ydoethur. 12,000 is almost double what we had in ICU wards a month ago and a good 4,000 up on the total including in Theatres. So that's good progress if we already have 12,000. What's Burgons IQ BTW? I see you mentioned him departing will lead to a significant increase.
Just interested to know, thanks in advance.
No idea. Pretty sure somebody who makes the same mistakes repeatedly and appears to be incapable of remembering basic facts or formulating simple sentences doesn’t have a high one. I genuinely am puzzled that he got into Cambridge.
Mine is 144, if you’re particularly interested.
Burgon is a graduate of St. John's College, Cambridge.
What do you expect? He'd probably be a spy if he was bright enough.....
I hope the vaccine comes sooner than we all think it will.
Have we got people with the highest IQs on this?
I presume some PBers could identify them if not.
Well Patel (98) is being kept well away so that's a comfort.
98? That would be near average. I see no evidence she’s that high.
Emailed Patel (I'm a constituent) about something the other day and got a reply to the effect that is it was a constituency matter I should use one email address, but if it related to her work as Home Sec I should use another one. Emails sent to the wrong address would be deleted and not acted upon. I was emailing her because, as a constituent who had helped to bring Ugandan refugees to UK, I felt that strongly about a particular immigration matter. It would appear that my email has been summarily deleted.
I hope the vaccine comes sooner than we all think it will.
Have we got people with the highest IQs on this?
I presume some PBers could identify them if not.
Well Patel (98) is being kept well away so that's a comfort.
98? That would be near average. I see no evidence she’s that high.
Emailed Patel (I'm a constituent) about something the other day and got a reply to the effect that is it was a constituency matter I should use one email address, but if it related to her work as Home Sec I should use another one. Emails sent to the wrong address would be deleted and not acted upon. I was emailing her because, as a constituent who had helped to bring Ugandan refugees to UK, I felt that strongly about a particular immigration matter. It would appear that my email has been summarily deleted.
That's just asking for you to send all emails to both addresses, and let her work out which one she can delete and which she needs to respond to.
Has Hancock given a figure for the number of ventilators we have and need, this morning?
I think he said we had twelve thousand, and didn’t need thirty thousand any more but didn’t say how many we were expected to need. It wasn’t easy to tell because he was getting so confused.
Thanks ydoethur. 12,000 is almost double what we had in ICU wards a month ago and a good 4,000 up on the total including in Theatres. So that's good progress if we already have 12,000. What's Burgons IQ BTW? I see you mentioned him departing will lead to a significant increase.
Just interested to know, thanks in advance.
No idea. Pretty sure somebody who makes the same mistakes repeatedly and appears to be incapable of remembering basic facts or formulating simple sentences doesn’t have a high one. I genuinely am puzzled that he got into Cambridge.
Mine is 144, if you’re particularly interested.
Burgon is a graduate of St. John's College, Cambridge.
What do you expect? He'd probably be a spy if he was bright enough.....
Abbott is another Cambridge graduate who has never shown any intelligence.
I hope the vaccine comes sooner than we all think it will.
Have we got people with the highest IQs on this?
I presume some PBers could identify them if not.
Well Patel (98) is being kept well away so that's a comfort.
98? That would be near average. I see no evidence she’s that high.
Emailed Patel (I'm a constituent) about something the other day and got a reply to the effect that is it was a constituency matter I should use one email address, but if it related to her work as Home Sec I should use another one. Emails sent to the wrong address would be deleted and not acted upon. I was emailing her because, as a constituent who had helped to bring Ugandan refugees to UK, I felt that strongly about a particular immigration matter. It would appear that my email has been summarily deleted.
Seems utterly bizarre to appoint Nandy (who has much to contribute to the domestic agenda) to a position where she is not going to be able to develop that important set of policies.
As for Dodds and Thomas-Symonds - there is nothing inspiring about either of them. They are better than the idiots they are replacing - but that isn't saying much.
I wonder though if this is an attempt at regional balance:
Dodds - Scotland NTS - Wales Nandy - North of England Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
Dodds may have been born in Scotland - but she 'represents' Oxford East... hardly close to the Lochs and the Cairns.
The only Scottish MP, or rather, MP for a Scottish seat, Labour have left is Ian Murray. And he will presumably be offered SSoS for Scotland.
The tweet has now been deleted, but I saved it for posterity:
Dr Naomi Wolf ✔ @naomirwolf Replying to @RealAmericaSong and 14 others It was amazing to go to Belfast, which does not yet have 5G, and feel the earth, sky, air, human experience, feel the way it did in the 1970s. Calm, still, peaceful, restful, natural.
And we are not simply "afraid of death;" we are afraid of multiple excess deaths overwhelming the health care system and producing complete chaos and societal breakdown. I am sure Lord S is a clever cookie but he sounds in this instance like Peter Hitchens's less intelligent twin.
Yes, this is the nub of it. We have to try to manage hospital admissions within the capacity of the NHS. If we truly cannot do this without triggering a "brother can you spare a dime?" economic catastrophe then there will be some awfully hard decisions to take and perhaps we bring Toby Young on board at that point. But we are not there yet.
I hope the vaccine comes sooner than we all think it will.
Have we got people with the highest IQs on this?
I presume some PBers could identify them if not.
Well Patel (98) is being kept well away so that's a comfort.
98? That would be near average. I see no evidence she’s that high.
Emailed Patel (I'm a constituent) about something the other day and got a reply to the effect that is it was a constituency matter I should use one email address, but if it related to her work as Home Sec I should use another one. Emails sent to the wrong address would be deleted and not acted upon. I was emailing her because, as a constituent who had helped to bring Ugandan refugees to UK, I felt that strongly about a particular immigration matter. It would appear that my email has been summarily deleted.
Why not send it to both if you want a response?
Good thought; that moment has passed, but next time I will.
Probably the government's advice is different because it was issued before the herd immunity strategy was dropped, and now it can't be changed without politicians losing face.
Seems utterly bizarre to appoint Nandy (who has much to contribute to the domestic agenda) to a position where she is not going to be able to develop that important set of policies.
As for Dodds and Thomas-Symonds - there is nothing inspiring about either of them. They are better than the idiots they are replacing - but that isn't saying much.
I wonder though if this is an attempt at regional balance:
Dodds - Scotland NTS - Wales Nandy - North of England Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
Dodds may have been born in Scotland - but she 'represents' Oxford East... hardly close to the Lochs and the Cairns.
The only Scottish MP, or rather, MP for a Scottish seat, Labour have left is Ian Murray. And he will presumably be offered SSoS for Scotland.
430,000 People Have Traveled From China to U.S. Since Coronavirus Surfaced There were 1,300 direct flights to 17 cities before President Trump’s travel restrictions. Since then, nearly 40,000 Americans and other authorized travelers have made the trip, some this past week and many with spotty screening.
I do wonder if all the 'Nicola wants out' stuff is just wishful thinking from Unionists looking at their own dire politicians, her appetite for the fray seems undiminished. I remember a profile just after indy ref time where Sturgeon admitted to being a political obsessive, lapping up the likes of the West Wing and Borgen, and how she relished the prospect of being FM. Not sure if some Miliband Major type sinecure at the UN involving being occasionally wheeled out to spout platitudes would cut it for her.
I had to Google Nick "Torfaen" to realise that was his constituency, not his surname.
Mind, I've still never heard of Nick Thomas-Symonds. He seems very posh. And another bloody PPE barrister.
He went to St Edmund Hall, Oxford, was an Oxford don and then studied for the bar at Lincoln's Inn and was a chancery and commercial barrister. He is about as posh as you can get without going to public school
And we are not simply "afraid of death;" we are afraid of multiple excess deaths overwhelming the health care system and producing complete chaos and societal breakdown. I am sure Lord S is a clever cookie but he sounds in this instance like Peter Hitchens's less intelligent twin.
Yes, this is the nub of it. We have to try to manage hospital admissions within the capacity of the NHS. If we truly cannot do this without triggering a "brother can you spare a dime?" economic catastrophe then there will be some awfully hard decisions to take and perhaps we bring Toby Young on board at that point. But we are not there yet.
"On Saturday 4 April, the total number of deaths reported at University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust in the West Midlands almost doubled, from 102 to 203. Today it reported an additional 11 deaths."
I suspect that this was catch up data rather than a true doubling, but should make for a touch of caution in those closely following the numbers.
Another string to the 'we contrarians with our edgy uncomfortable views are constantly being gagged' bow. Scientific studies have found that there can be as many as 749 published articles espousing these views on any given day.
Quite so. And the likes of Tobes are just churning out their ubermensch "survival of the fittest" shtick for people who already lean that way in any case. It's playing to the gallery. Nietzsching to the converted.
(shoehorns in joke that I made up yesterday and have been dying to try out)
Probably the government's advice is different because it was issued before the herd immunity strategy was dropped, and now it can't be changed without politicians losing face.
Another choice bit of advice for people showing symptoms of coronavirus, which still hasn't been changed, is that they are allowed to go out and exercise!
I do wonder if all the 'Nicola wants out' stuff is just wishful thinking from Unionists looking at their own dire politicians, her appetite for the fray seems undiminished. I remember a profile just after indy ref time where Sturgeon admitted to being a political obsessive, lapping up the likes of the West Wing and Borgen, and how she relished the prospect of being FM. Not sure if some Miliband Major type sinecure at the UN involving being occasionally wheeled out to spout platitudes would cut it for her.
I do wonder if all the 'Nicola wants out' stuff is just wishful thinking from Unionists looking at their own dire politicians, her appetite for the fray seems undiminished. I remember a profile just after indy ref time where Sturgeon admitted to being a political obsessive, lapping up the likes of the West Wing and Borgen, and how she relished the prospect of being FM. Not sure if some Miliband Major type sinecure at the UN involving being occasionally wheeled out to spout platitudes would cut it for her.
It makes one wonder if she’s starting to lose her touch though. I have always had her down as a smart cookie and an incredibly sharp political operator - indeed, one of the most savvy politicians in the UK at the moment.
Unforced errors like today’s are very unusual. Has she gone full Thatcher bonkers and just thinks the normal rules don’t apply anymore?
Comments
Lisa Nandy, Shadow Foreign Secretary
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Shadow Home Secretary
Rachel Reeves, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
But Keir knows best. He's not the Labour Leader for nothing.
Now that's an enigma worthy of Pierre de Fermat...
Dodds - Scotland
NTS - Wales
Nandy - North of England
Reeves - London (although she sits for a seat in Leeds)
Mis-step if so - talent should matter more than tokenism.
. Starmer was very clear this morning that he backed HMG on this
Or both.
Unless something changes very radically, looks like Starmer's Labour for me.
Where will RLB end up?
https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1246830182670966784?s=20
This has to be the answer, surely?
Perhaps she could talk about those.
10% need hospital and 0.8% die.
https://twitter.com/J_Bloodworth/status/1246818621483102208?s=20
One can have a great career in foreign affairs - but Nandy is one of the clearest thinkers they have got on the domestic agenda. It is a waste to have her focus overseas
It recalls an argument I remember being heard in late 2008 to justify bailing out the banks with pubic money. Yes, it might have been better for poorly-run banks to fail but the scenes of people queuing to get their money and the likely social disorder of a run on the banks would have been unsupportable.
Sometimes the consequence of doing "what's best" in the long term are too unpalatable in the short term so more immediate measures are taken which have shorter term benefits but do not mitigate the longer term risks.
https://twitter.com/DrRosena/status/1246113809632309262?s=19
I suspect that this was catch up data rather than a true doubling, but should make for a touch of caution in those closely following the numbers.
https://www.hsj.co.uk/news/coronavirus-deaths-mapped/7027212.article
We are all just making it up as we go along.... basically
Lisa Nandy is well placed to be the leader after Starmer - could the 2029 GE see PM Rishi Sunak challenged by LOTO Lisa Nandy?
Re fake news and 5G, interesting to remember that "Dr" Naomi Wolf was an adviser to Bill Clinton (and later to Al Gore). Anyone care to comment on Belfast's "3G clear air"?
That's how we manage. It only works if the "iceberg" theory turns out to be right, but the first mass antibody tests should show this one way or the other. We'll probably have a pretty good idea by the end of the month, one way or another.
In other news:
https://twitter.com/ByMikeBaker/status/1246834696182366209?s=09
https://twitter.com/NicolaSturgeon/status/1246835864036139009
Technologically, solutions are being developed (see this thread: https://twitter.com/ChristoPhraser/status/1246452660397629446) and the scaling up of testing will facilitate, across the country, very rapid profiling of new cases. There will still be need for manual contact tracing but the electronic tracing should make a massive difference, especially given the preponderance of mobile phones. Also, if you read the linked paper, it suggests that you can not only contain but actually stop the spread with a decent (but not 100%) amount of compliance.
No idea why she is still in job.
Mind, I've still never heard of Nick Thomas-Symonds. He seems very posh. And another bloody PPE barrister.
https://twitter.com/DAaronovitch/status/1246769711100186626
Nicola, Nicola, Nicola. I thought better of her.
I was emailing her because, as a constituent who had helped to bring Ugandan refugees to UK, I felt that strongly about a particular immigration matter.
It would appear that my email has been summarily deleted.
Sometimes tutors for admissions make mistakes.
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/05/sweden-prepares-to-tighten-coronavirus-measures-as-death-toll-climbs?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_b-gdnnews&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&__twitter_impression=true
I believe the NHS is still short of PPE
Dr Naomi Wolf
✔
@naomirwolf
Replying to @RealAmericaSong and 14 others
It was amazing to go to Belfast, which does not yet have 5G, and feel the earth, sky, air, human experience, feel the way it did in the 1970s. Calm, still, peaceful, restful, natural.
https://twitter.com/GuidoFawkes/status/1246833759183351809?s=20
We were thinking about nicknames for Starmer the Charmer.
I'm wondering about Majikthise or Vroomfondel since he's already started demanding certainty and detail in areas where it is not possible.
430,000 People Have Traveled From China to U.S. Since Coronavirus Surfaced
There were 1,300 direct flights to 17 cities before President Trump’s travel restrictions. Since then, nearly 40,000 Americans and other authorized travelers have made the trip, some this past week and many with spotty screening.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/us/coronavirus-china-travel-restrictions.html
(shoehorns in joke that I made up yesterday and have been dying to try out)
Unforced errors like today’s are very unusual. Has she gone full Thatcher bonkers and just thinks the normal rules don’t apply anymore?