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  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,695

    RobD said:

    Sandpit said:

    Nigelb said:

    I’m guessing this isn’t the overwhelming favourite social media app among PBers, but just in case...

    https://twitter.com/d1rtydan/status/1277081198624337920

    Some of us have been pointing out for a while now that TikTok and Zoom are both basically Chinese spyware.

    If you really have to use them, use on the computer and not the phone app.
    When I helped setup a Chinese made laser cutter, it kept on trying to phone home to upload the designs we were cutting. A bit of code modification later, it was sending a continuous stream of video frames converted to dxfs.... I hope they liked them.
    Naughty. What industry are you in?
    This was just hobby stuff - a collective workshop. We were using a low end pro grade laser cutter.
    Not based in the south west by any chance? I am always looking for a cost effective way to get laser cutting done for prototypes. Commercial laser cutting shops seem to charge an arm and a leg for low volume jobs.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,935

    Actually the Tories should put him up in a rock solid seat. Perhaps John Hayes could be convinced to retire?

    Labour (and Momentum) would chuck busloads of activists at a single, unwinnable seat.
    So a replacement for IDS?
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 4,502
    edited June 2020
    So a national security adviser who knows zip about national security ! Should fit in well with the rest of the clueless lapdogs in the cabinet .
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,708
    image.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,249

    MattW said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Presumably the next bit is somebody asking the silly twot wtf the SNP Government have been doing since 2007, and suggesting that they look in the mirror?

    In the period the Met have taken their BAME percentage from about 5% to 13%.

    I'm not sure that this would make a tremendous amount of difference. From my limited understanding of the situation (and I hold my hands up at this juncture - I've just posted on how most people outside of Scotland know nothing of devolved Government; I'm marginally less ignorant but not by much,) the SNP vote seems to rest upon two rather obvious pillars. Firstly, the vast majority of people in favour of independence vote for them because they want to signal their continued support for the project; and secondly, an awful lot of voters think that the SNP policy platform and leadership is best for Scotland. Whether those voters think that the SNP is the best thing since sliced bread or that they are flawed but all the available alternatives are worse hardly matters.

    Beyond that, Scottish Labour destroyed its reputation through a series of second and third rate administrations predominantly staffed by politicians who weren't good enough to get selected for winnable Westminster seats - thus helping the SNP to break the party's back and steal most of its voters in the central belt - and that left them facing a hopelessly splintered opposition in which the single largest party are the Tories, who continue to be cordially loathed by a large fraction of the electorate and are therefore stymied by a low ceiling of support.

    As long as these circumstances prevail the Scottish Government can get away with almost anything.
    I am not sure whether that is relevant.

    This is an SNP Minister delivering a sermon which is necessary because of the inaction of his own colleagues over many years.

    Given that nearly half (43%) of Holyrood MSPs are from party lists I think there has been ample time to make a difference by some acceptable means.

    They've managed it at the much despised Westminster, where BAME MPs are now 10%.

    Anyhoo, expressing mild skepticism about the machinations of the SNP is an interesting hobby.
  • So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    You're not really critical of Johnson though.

    You make silly posts too, you do make me laugh when you pretend to "abandon" the Tories every other day
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,935
    nico67 said:

    So a national security adviser who knows zip about national security ! Should fit in well with the rest of the clueless lapdogs in the cabinet .

    Did the incumbent?
  • eekeek Posts: 28,405
    edited June 2020

    It is not our project. Our big idea was to stay in.

    This is yours. You made this mess. You sort it out.

    I voted remain
    But you support a party trying to implement Brexit without any idea what’ Brexit actually means, nor what it needs or is supposed to achieve.

    Beyond reducing purchase price parity by 25% (from €1.40 to €1.10 for a pound) what has it actually achieved so far beyond making us the laughing stock of Europe.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,102

    It is not our project. Our big idea was to stay in.

    This is yours. You made this mess. You sort it out.

    I voted remain
    But you are rock-solid behind the Brexiteers, or do you expect us to believe that you have turned your back on the most Brexity Cabinet of the last 40 years?
    I really do not care what you think

    I expect brexit because it honours the referendum and democracy

    I hope a deal is done and I would have no issue with staying in the single market

    However, you have just endorsed Matthew Goodwin's tweet to the tee
  • kjhkjh Posts: 11,805

    I’m on an iPhone using Safari and on the Vanilla site Tweets have become unreadable as the last few letters on each row are cut off.

    Great new feature: please don’t get rid of it...

    Edited for missing words (ironically).

    I find the PB.com site unusable on the iPhone due to characters being lopped off the right-hand side of the screen. I struggle to understand why a WordPress templated website doesn't work properly on an iPhone these days.
    I get posts chopped by 1 character but on the left. Have done for several months now. Same on Chrome and Firefox. Use Moto G7
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,695

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,533

    Actually the Tories should put him up in a rock solid seat. Perhaps John Hayes could be convinced to retire?

    Labour (and Momentum) would chuck busloads of activists at a single, unwinnable seat.
    That would be fun!

    On the civil service, I may be old-fashioned, but I like the tradition that they're neutral. I wouldn't want a left-winger to run it, however talented, and think choosing someone who is explicirly a Brexiteer is a pity as well. They should supply neutral advice for whatever policy they're asked to do.
  • nico67nico67 Posts: 4,502
    RobD said:

    nico67 said:

    So a national security adviser who knows zip about national security ! Should fit in well with the rest of the clueless lapdogs in the cabinet .

    Did the incumbent?
    Look at his past experience . Frost knows zip and is only there because he’s another gimp for Cummings to bang , just like the rest of the gimp cabinet .
  • Beibheirli_CBeibheirli_C Posts: 8,163

    image.

    Interesting story in the bottom right corner of that page. Knowing the Torygraph I am amazed that story made it on to the front page at all.....
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,102

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,935
    nico67 said:

    RobD said:

    nico67 said:

    So a national security adviser who knows zip about national security ! Should fit in well with the rest of the clueless lapdogs in the cabinet .

    Did the incumbent?
    Look at his past experience . Frost knows zip and is only there because he’s another gimp for Cummings to bang , just like the rest of the gimp cabinet .
    He was a diplomat then a mandarin. Does that make someone an expert at national security? It in fact sounds a lot like Frost's background.
  • PhilPhil Posts: 2,316

    And what are the serious ideas for Brexit from the Brexiteers?
    You’d think they might have thought of that before demanding Brexit, but as we found out immediately after the referendum they didn’t actually have a clue & apparently still don’t.

    Remainers will get on with doing the best we can to make Britain the best it can be in the circumstances when we know what shape Brexit will take. That Brexiteers /still/ cannot tell us what that is four years on from the referendum, and six months before we finally cut all ties with the EU is an indictment of Brexiteers, not Remainers.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,798
    Perhaps more relevant to ask what the government's plan is, since they are the people actually in charge. I mean apart from the whole blue passports thing. Seriously, what is their plan?
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 17,240
    RobD said:

    nico67 said:

    So a national security adviser who knows zip about national security ! Should fit in well with the rest of the clueless lapdogs in the cabinet .

    Did the incumbent?
    Sedwill had been a UN weapons inspector, Robin Cook's Private Secretary, Ambassador to Afghanistan, so yes. He did know about national security issues.

    David Frost may be a perfectly good trade negotiator, but Ambassador to Denmark isn't quite so security-relevant. Unless you really hate Europe.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,999

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,357

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    Both.

    Most English folk neither know nor care about Scotland. The Union is gradually rotting away through neglect and apathy, and increasingly through straightforward hostility.
    Arrant nonsense.

    There is huge affection and love for Scotland in England.
    Bollox , ignored or derided at every turn
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 36,002

    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience

    Yes, the Brexiteers seem quite agitated by the fact that nobody has any idea how to make their pet project less shit
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,357
    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    you really are a halfwit
  • PhilPhil Posts: 2,316
    kjh said:

    I’m on an iPhone using Safari and on the Vanilla site Tweets have become unreadable as the last few letters on each row are cut off.

    Great new feature: please don’t get rid of it...

    Edited for missing words (ironically).

    I find the PB.com site unusable on the iPhone due to characters being lopped off the right-hand side of the screen. I struggle to understand why a WordPress templated website doesn't work properly on an iPhone these days.
    I get posts chopped by 1 character but on the left. Have done for several months now. Same on Chrome and Firefox. Use Moto G7
    Same here with a different Android phone. Happens with both Firefox and Chrome. The chop is about 2/3 of the first character which is quite annoying!
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    kjh said:

    I’m on an iPhone using Safari and on the Vanilla site Tweets have become unreadable as the last few letters on each row are cut off.

    Great new feature: please don’t get rid of it...

    Edited for missing words (ironically).

    I find the PB.com site unusable on the iPhone due to characters being lopped off the right-hand side of the screen. I struggle to understand why a WordPress templated website doesn't work properly on an iPhone these days.
    I get posts chopped by 1 character but on the left. Have done for several months now. Same on Chrome and Firefox. Use Moto G7
    Chrome with Show desktop site enabled will sort that out. Doesn't work with firefox.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,798

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,862

    Actually the Tories should put him up in a rock solid seat. Perhaps John Hayes could be convinced to retire?

    Labour (and Momentum) would chuck busloads of activists at a single, unwinnable seat.
    That would be fun!

    On the civil service, I may be old-fashioned, but I like the tradition that they're neutral. I wouldn't want a left-winger to run it, however talented, and think choosing someone who is explicirly a Brexiteer is a pity as well. They should supply neutral advice for whatever policy they're asked to do.
    I don't think that Gove's speech is a challenge of neutrality. It is a challenge to the failure of government to actually test whether policies work; to the methodology by which Civil Servants get promotion by moving departments almost as soon as they start to acquire expertise in a particular subject matter, to basic innumeracy in the Civil Service and the inability to identify, manipulate and use data; the desire for more specialisation and less "general" skills with a broader range of inputs than our current structures allow.

    What he is fundamentally challenging is the idea that you are a Civil Servant first and a specialist second. He says that is the wrong way around. I provisionally agree but it would be interesting to hear someone make the counterargument.
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,259

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,222

    It is not our project. Our big idea was to stay in.

    This is yours. You made this mess. You sort it out.

    I voted remain
    But you are rock-solid behind the Brexiteers, or do you expect us to believe that you have turned your back on the most Brexity Cabinet of the last 40 years?
    To be fair, Big_G is a person of great common sense and deep party loyalty. Sadly it’s not possible for the two always to be in complete harmony.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,102
    Phil said:


    kjh said:

    I’m on an iPhone using Safari and on the Vanilla site Tweets have become unreadable as the last few letters on each row are cut off.

    Great new feature: please don’t get rid of it...

    Edited for missing words (ironically).

    I find the PB.com site unusable on the iPhone due to characters being lopped off the right-hand side of the screen. I struggle to understand why a WordPress templated website doesn't work properly on an iPhone these days.
    I get posts chopped by 1 character but on the left. Have done for several months now. Same on Chrome and Firefox. Use Moto G7
    Same here with a different Android phone. Happens with both Firefox and Chrome. The chop is about 2/3 of the first character which is quite annoying!
    In android apply desktop mode
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,798
    DavidL said:

    Actually the Tories should put him up in a rock solid seat. Perhaps John Hayes could be convinced to retire?

    Labour (and Momentum) would chuck busloads of activists at a single, unwinnable seat.
    That would be fun!

    On the civil service, I may be old-fashioned, but I like the tradition that they're neutral. I wouldn't want a left-winger to run it, however talented, and think choosing someone who is explicirly a Brexiteer is a pity as well. They should supply neutral advice for whatever policy they're asked to do.
    I don't think that Gove's speech is a challenge of neutrality. It is a challenge to the failure of government to actually test whether policies work; to the methodology by which Civil Servants get promotion by moving departments almost as soon as they start to acquire expertise in a particular subject matter, to basic innumeracy in the Civil Service and the inability to identify, manipulate and use data; the desire for more specialisation and less "general" skills with a broader range of inputs than our current structures allow.

    What he is fundamentally challenging is the idea that you are a Civil Servant first and a specialist second. He says that is the wrong way around. I provisionally agree but it would be interesting to hear someone make the counterargument.
    What is Gove's area of expertise? The primary exports of Colombia?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
    To drive Britain's economy off a cliff, hoping we wont all notice as we are too busy fighting a cultural war and/or dealing with plague.
  • PhilPhil Posts: 2,316

    Phil said:


    kjh said:

    I’m on an iPhone using Safari and on the Vanilla site Tweets have become unreadable as the last few letters on each row are cut off.

    Great new feature: please don’t get rid of it...

    Edited for missing words (ironically).

    I find the PB.com site unusable on the iPhone due to characters being lopped off the right-hand side of the screen. I struggle to understand why a WordPress templated website doesn't work properly on an iPhone these days.
    I get posts chopped by 1 character but on the left. Have done for several months now. Same on Chrome and Firefox. Use Moto G7
    Same here with a different Android phone. Happens with both Firefox and Chrome. The chop is about 2/3 of the first character which is quite annoying!
    In android apply desktop mode
    Doesn’t help. Same problem either way :(

    Thanks for the suggestion though Big_G.
  • coachcoach Posts: 250

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Not sure who "we" is, but I don't know a single Englishman that doesn't want an independent Scotland.

    Good luck and good riddance
  • PhilPhil Posts: 2,316
    Phil said:

    Phil said:


    kjh said:

    I’m on an iPhone using Safari and on the Vanilla site Tweets have become unreadable as the last few letters on each row are cut off.

    Great new feature: please don’t get rid of it...

    Edited for missing words (ironically).

    I find the PB.com site unusable on the iPhone due to characters being lopped off the right-hand side of the screen. I struggle to understand why a WordPress templated website doesn't work properly on an iPhone these days.
    I get posts chopped by 1 character but on the left. Have done for several months now. Same on Chrome and Firefox. Use Moto G7
    Same here with a different Android phone. Happens with both Firefox and Chrome. The chop is about 2/3 of the first character which is quite annoying!
    In android apply desktop mode
    Doesn’t help. Same problem either way :(

    Thanks for the suggestion though Big_G.
    Actually, it turns out that Desktop Mode does fix the rendering in Chrome, but not in Firefox. Wonder what the difference is?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766

    RobD said:

    nico67 said:

    So a national security adviser who knows zip about national security ! Should fit in well with the rest of the clueless lapdogs in the cabinet .

    Did the incumbent?
    Sedwill had been a UN weapons inspector, Robin Cook's Private Secretary, Ambassador to Afghanistan, so yes. He did know about national security issues.

    David Frost may be a perfectly good trade negotiator, but Ambassador to Denmark isn't quite so security-relevant. Unless you really hate Europe.
    Is this a way of giving him a job, seeing as the negotiations will be over in a couple of months?

    In which case they could have found one he knew anything about.
  • humbuggerhumbugger Posts: 377
    Taking a time out from watching Bowie at Glastonbury to pop in here and seeing PB Cummings haters really throwing the toys out of the pram. Not sure which is the more entertaining.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,119
    Funding of £1bn for 50 major school building projects in England is being promised by the prime minister.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,119
    BBC News - PM promising £1bn to rebuild crumbling schools
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53215221
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,862
    humbugger said:

    Taking a time out from watching Bowie at Glastonbury to pop in here and seeing PB Cummings haters really throwing the toys out of the pram. Not sure which is the more entertaining.

    Bowie. And he's dead.
  • LadyGLadyG Posts: 2,221

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    Cornwall is surely the best comparison. Had its own language, rulers, and still has a distinct culture and history. In some ways it is regarded, constitutionally, as somewhat separate from England.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_status_of_Cornwall#:~:text=The Council for Racial Equality,enjoys its own national flag."

  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,102
    At least the weather may have helped to contain covid this weekend

    Lets hope so

    Good night folks
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,119
    edited June 2020
    humbugger said:

    Taking a time out from watching Bowie at Glastonbury to pop in here and seeing PB Cummings haters really throwing the toys out of the pram. Not sure which is the more entertaining.

    Are they showing the legendary Radiohead performance? As we know how much many PBers love that particular gig.
  • StuartinromfordStuartinromford Posts: 17,240

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    But is that- rattling the target audience- 4 years after the referendum, six months after the election, really what this is about? Really?

    Like you, I voted remain. My view is that we have to do this silly thing, but that's no excuse to do it in a silly way, which we are. So, here's what I'd like to see / have seen...

    1. A lot more honesty. Cakeism was a bluff that was called years ago. The EU (understandably) value the integrity of the single market highly. So the choice facing the UK is either high alignment / low barriers (pay/obey/not much say) or high divergence / high barriers.

    2. Real preparation, not gimmicks. If the UK really wants to make no deal/Australia/Canada+ work, it's going to need a lot more border infrastructure. Even if it's a bluff, it needs to be a convincing bluff.

    But until those who campaigned for Brexit work out what actually matters to them in reality, and what they're prepared to concede, I can't help them more than that.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,357

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    another halfwit that has never read a history book
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,357
    coach said:

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Not sure who "we" is, but I don't know a single Englishman that doesn't want an independent Scotland.

    Good luck and good riddance
    cockroaches are out from under their rocks I see
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,259
    coach said:

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Not sure who "we" is, but I don't know a single Englishman that doesn't want an independent Scotland.

    Good luck and good riddance
    I have sometimes thought that declaring English independence would be a good move. It certainly makes Northern Ireland someone else's problem.
  • Big_G_NorthWalesBig_G_NorthWales Posts: 63,102

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    But is that- rattling the target audience- 4 years after the referendum, six months after the election, really what this is about? Really?

    Like you, I voted remain. My view is that we have to do this silly thing, but that's no excuse to do it in a silly way, which we are. So, here's what I'd like to see / have seen...

    1. A lot more honesty. Cakeism was a bluff that was called years ago. The EU (understandably) value the integrity of the single market highly. So the choice facing the UK is either high alignment / low barriers (pay/obey/not much say) or high divergence / high barriers.

    2. Real preparation, not gimmicks. If the UK really wants to make no deal/Australia/Canada+ work, it's going to need a lot more border infrastructure. Even if it's a bluff, it needs to be a convincing bluff.

    But until those who campaigned for Brexit work out what actually matters to them in reality, and what they're prepared to concede, I can't help them more than that.
    A fair post and I agree

    Indeed I would be happy with single market membership if all else fails
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,205
    What was wrong with the status quo ante ?
    We voted to leave the EU. We've left now.
    No more divergence neccessary from a democratic standpoint.
  • LadyGLadyG Posts: 2,221
    malcolmg said:

    coach said:

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Not sure who "we" is, but I don't know a single Englishman that doesn't want an independent Scotland.

    Good luck and good riddance
    cockroaches are out from under their rocks I see
    Plenty of us down here are still ardent Unionists. We would be sad to see you go, despite the constant shower of turnip insults
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 53,862

    humbugger said:

    Taking a time out from watching Bowie at Glastonbury to pop in here and seeing PB Cummings haters really throwing the toys out of the pram. Not sure which is the more entertaining.

    Are they showing the legendary Radiohead performance? As we know how much many PBers love that particular gig.
    Kiss ass.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,695

    BBC News - PM promising £1bn to rebuild crumbling schools
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53215221

    That's already down £0.5bn from the figure the Telegraph has on its front page.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,798

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
    To drive Britain's economy off a cliff, hoping we wont all notice as we are too busy fighting a cultural war and/or dealing with plague.
    I used to think it was a kind of disaster capitalism conspiracy, to crash everything and create a kind of Uber Thatcherite hellhole out of the ashes. There may still be elements of that. But I increasingly think they actually have no idea what they're doing. The central people to the project - Gove, Johnson, Cummings, have no idea how the economy works. Johnson just wanted to become PM, Gove has an ingrained hatred of the EU because he thinks it was mean to his dad, and Cummings likes breaking things and owning the Libs. I've spoken to a lot of people in the world's of politics, finance and diplomacy, and not even the shadowy outline of a plan is visible. They're a joke.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,720

    Funding of £1bn for 50 major school building projects in England is being promised by the prime minister.

    A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you are talking real money.

    Argentina in the North Sea.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    edited June 2020
    French Far Right making gains on back of virus aftershock?

    https://twitter.com/auralflaneur/status/1277356808571703301
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,259
    malcolmg said:

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    another halfwit that has never read a history book
    On the contrary, I've read a lot. Why shouldn't we be a federal nation comprising four countries with similar statuses? Instead we have asymmetric devolution: three small countries all with different areas of competence, and England run by the UK government. If England had its own government, it would by definition reduce its influence over Scotland.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 34,695
    edited June 2020

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    But is that- rattling the target audience- 4 years after the referendum, six months after the election, really what this is about? Really?

    Like you, I voted remain. My view is that we have to do this silly thing, but that's no excuse to do it in a silly way, which we are. So, here's what I'd like to see / have seen...

    1. A lot more honesty. Cakeism was a bluff that was called years ago. The EU (understandably) value the integrity of the single market highly. So the choice facing the UK is either high alignment / low barriers (pay/obey/not much say) or high divergence / high barriers.

    2. Real preparation, not gimmicks. If the UK really wants to make no deal/Australia/Canada+ work, it's going to need a lot more border infrastructure. Even if it's a bluff, it needs to be a convincing bluff.

    But until those who campaigned for Brexit work out what actually matters to them in reality, and what they're prepared to concede, I can't help them more than that.
    A fair post and I agree

    Indeed I would be happy with single market membership if all else fails
    All else is failure! :wink:
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,999

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Missed the bit where anyone required your respect.
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 5,065

    humbugger said:

    Taking a time out from watching Bowie at Glastonbury to pop in here and seeing PB Cummings haters really throwing the toys out of the pram. Not sure which is the more entertaining.

    Are they showing the legendary Radiohead performance? As we know how much many PBers love that particular gig.
    I was there. It was an amazing gig. What is forgotten is that the release of OK computer had been pushed back a few weeks, so noone in the crowd had heard heard it. We were all spellbound by the music. It is an incredibly rare concert where unknown songs can hold the attention of the whole crowd.
  • LadyGLadyG Posts: 2,221

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
    To drive Britain's economy off a cliff, hoping we wont all notice as we are too busy fighting a cultural war and/or dealing with plague.
    I used to think it was a kind of disaster capitalism conspiracy, to crash everything and create a kind of Uber Thatcherite hellhole out of the ashes. There may still be elements of that. But I increasingly think they actually have no idea what they're doing. The central people to the project - Gove, Johnson, Cummings, have no idea how the economy works. Johnson just wanted to become PM, Gove has an ingrained hatred of the EU because he thinks it was mean to his dad, and Cummings likes breaking things and owning the Libs. I've spoken to a lot of people in the world's of politics, finance and diplomacy, and not even the shadowy outline of a plan is visible. They're a joke.
    I suspect the plan WAS to go for a more Singapore-y style UK, but coronavirus has made that impossible, for now.

    To be fair to this often inept government, Who Knew we were gonna be hit by a once-in-a-century pandemic?

  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 8,720
    LadyG said:

    malcolmg said:

    coach said:

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Not sure who "we" is, but I don't know a single Englishman that doesn't want an independent Scotland.

    Good luck and good riddance
    cockroaches are out from under their rocks I see
    Plenty of us down here are still ardent Unionists. We would be sad to see you go, despite the constant shower of turnip insults
    When it was last tested six years ago we found that plenty of us up here were also ardent unionists.

  • LadyGLadyG Posts: 2,221
    edited June 2020

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Missed the bit where anyone required your respect.
    But you require the consent of English MPs to have another referendum
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,119
    eristdoof said:

    humbugger said:

    Taking a time out from watching Bowie at Glastonbury to pop in here and seeing PB Cummings haters really throwing the toys out of the pram. Not sure which is the more entertaining.

    Are they showing the legendary Radiohead performance? As we know how much many PBers love that particular gig.
    I was there. It was an amazing gig. What is forgotten is that the release of OK computer had been pushed back a few weeks, so noone in the crowd had heard heard it. We were all spellbound by the music. It is an incredibly rare concert where unknown songs can hold the attention of the whole crowd.
    Different performance, the one in question is the 2017 one.....people have been banned from PB for daring to suggest it was shall we say sub-par.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    LadyG said:

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
    To drive Britain's economy off a cliff, hoping we wont all notice as we are too busy fighting a cultural war and/or dealing with plague.
    I used to think it was a kind of disaster capitalism conspiracy, to crash everything and create a kind of Uber Thatcherite hellhole out of the ashes. There may still be elements of that. But I increasingly think they actually have no idea what they're doing. The central people to the project - Gove, Johnson, Cummings, have no idea how the economy works. Johnson just wanted to become PM, Gove has an ingrained hatred of the EU because he thinks it was mean to his dad, and Cummings likes breaking things and owning the Libs. I've spoken to a lot of people in the world's of politics, finance and diplomacy, and not even the shadowy outline of a plan is visible. They're a joke.
    I suspect the plan WAS to go for a more Singapore-y style UK, but coronavirus has made that impossible, for now.

    To be fair to this often inept government, Who Knew we were gonna be hit by a once-in-a-century pandemic?

    Well, they certainly plan for one. Nor did May's woeful administration.
  • JohnLilburneJohnLilburne Posts: 6,259

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Missed the bit where anyone required your respect.
    A federal nation where four nations mutually respect each other seems like a good deal to me.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,720
    edited June 2020

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
    To drive Britain's economy off a cliff, hoping we wont all notice as we are too busy fighting a cultural war and/or dealing with plague.
    I used to think it was a kind of disaster capitalism conspiracy, to crash everything and create a kind of Uber Thatcherite hellhole out of the ashes. There may still be elements of that. But I increasingly think they actually have no idea what they're doing. The central people to the project - Gove, Johnson, Cummings, have no idea how the economy works. Johnson just wanted to become PM, Gove has an ingrained hatred of the EU because he thinks it was mean to his dad, and Cummings likes breaking things and owning the Libs. I've spoken to a lot of people in the world's of politics, finance and diplomacy, and not even the shadowy outline of a plan is visible. They're a joke.
    Yes, the more we see, the less apparent a plan is.

    I suspect disaster capitalism will end very badly for the Brexiteers, because that is the nature of government by ideological fuckwits.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,600

    Matthew Goodwin is about as impartial as me

    You could argue he's trying to help Labour by pointing out the problems they're facing.
  • Beibheirli_CBeibheirli_C Posts: 8,163
    malcolmg said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    Both.

    Most English folk neither know nor care about Scotland. The Union is gradually rotting away through neglect and apathy, and increasingly through straightforward hostility.
    Arrant nonsense.

    There is huge affection and love for Scotland in England.
    Bollox , ignored or derided at every turn
    Not so Malcolm. They have finished buying up all the spare houses in Wales for buy-to-let. Northern Ireland is too inconvenient, so....... :D:D
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    eristdoof said:

    humbugger said:

    Taking a time out from watching Bowie at Glastonbury to pop in here and seeing PB Cummings haters really throwing the toys out of the pram. Not sure which is the more entertaining.

    Are they showing the legendary Radiohead performance? As we know how much many PBers love that particular gig.
    I was there. It was an amazing gig. What is forgotten is that the release of OK computer had been pushed back a few weeks, so noone in the crowd had heard heard it. We were all spellbound by the music. It is an incredibly rare concert where unknown songs can hold the attention of the whole crowd.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/f669fbc4-38a2-4239-9f4b-fc69bdf1c963
  • LadyGLadyG Posts: 2,221
    Actually, her examples are not very good; from memory, Williamson has done considerably worse
  • What is actually wrong with EEA membership as our destination? We left the EU, that is what was the issue and we've been out for months now.

    Before you answer, is Norway in the EU? What about Switzerland?
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 32,563
    Pulpstar said:

    What was wrong with the status quo ante ?
    We voted to leave the EU. We've left now.
    No more divergence neccessary from a democratic standpoint.
    Well for a start the EU won't stand for it. They don't want someone having what they perceive as being the benefits of EU membership without paying for it.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,999

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Missed the bit where anyone required your respect.
    A federal nation where four nations mutually respect each other seems like a good deal to me.
    If only there was a way that a nation with 85% of the voters in the UK could bring that about.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    He'll be able to work well then with our very own poundshop Churchill PM.
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 5,065

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    And Colchester was part of the Roman Empire less than a couple of Millenia ago.
  • humbuggerhumbugger Posts: 377

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
    To drive Britain's economy off a cliff, hoping we wont all notice as we are too busy fighting a cultural war and/or dealing with plague.
    I used to think it was a kind of disaster capitalism conspiracy, to crash everything and create a kind of Uber Thatcherite hellhole out of the ashes. There may still be elements of that. But I increasingly think they actually have no idea what they're doing. The central people to the project - Gove, Johnson, Cummings, have no idea how the economy works. Johnson just wanted to become PM, Gove has an ingrained hatred of the EU because he thinks it was mean to his dad, and Cummings likes breaking things and owning the Libs. I've spoken to a lot of people in the world's of politics, finance and diplomacy, and not even the shadowy outline of a plan is visible. They're a joke.
    Time after time in the last year posters on here have derided Boris and Cummings as being clueless and without a plan. They had a plan to win the Tory leadership, win the GE, leave the EU, restructure government and the civil service and then deliver on the mandate the electorate gave them. Much achieved, and much more to do.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    Foxy said:

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
    To drive Britain's economy off a cliff, hoping we wont all notice as we are too busy fighting a cultural war and/or dealing with plague.
    I used to think it was a kind of disaster capitalism conspiracy, to crash everything and create a kind of Uber Thatcherite hellhole out of the ashes. There may still be elements of that. But I increasingly think they actually have no idea what they're doing. The central people to the project - Gove, Johnson, Cummings, have no idea how the economy works. Johnson just wanted to become PM, Gove has an ingrained hatred of the EU because he thinks it was mean to his dad, and Cummings likes breaking things and owning the Libs. I've spoken to a lot of people in the world's of politics, finance and diplomacy, and not even the shadowy outline of a plan is visible. They're a joke.
    Yes, the more we see, the less apparent a plan is.

    I suspect disaster capitalism will end very badly for the Brexiteers, because that is the nature of government by ideological fuckwits.
    Starmer to clean up the mess.

    Poor sod.
  • Beibheirli_CBeibheirli_C Posts: 8,163

    eristdoof said:

    humbugger said:

    Taking a time out from watching Bowie at Glastonbury to pop in here and seeing PB Cummings haters really throwing the toys out of the pram. Not sure which is the more entertaining.

    Are they showing the legendary Radiohead performance? As we know how much many PBers love that particular gig.
    I was there. It was an amazing gig. What is forgotten is that the release of OK computer had been pushed back a few weeks, so noone in the crowd had heard heard it. We were all spellbound by the music. It is an incredibly rare concert where unknown songs can hold the attention of the whole crowd.
    Different performance, the one in question is the 2017 one.....people have been banned from PB for daring to suggest it was shall we say sub-par.
    I listened to both them and Coldplay. Both are suitable for funerals.

    If you want something bright and happy, stick to Abba, Steps or McFly....
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 32,563

    What is actually wrong with EEA membership as our destination? We left the EU, that is what was the issue and we've been out for months now.

    Before you answer, is Norway in the EU? What about Switzerland?

    Oh please yes. I would claim bragging rights for at least a day or so.

    https://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2016/06/26/richard-tyndall-on-the-exit-strategy/
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 19,468

    What is actually wrong with EEA membership as our destination? We left the EU, that is what was the issue and we've been out for months now.

    Before you answer, is Norway in the EU? What about Switzerland?

    There’s no point arguing. Let them crash and burn on their own.
  • El_CapitanoEl_Capitano Posts: 4,239

    Scott_xP said:

    Not my circus

    Not my clowns

    It's your democracy.
    It is indeed.

    My response to that (perhaps Scott P's is too, who knows) is that democracy is a fine thing, and to be encouraged. As such, I intend to spend my time in the next few years making the case for the causes I support, ready for the time when people come to cast their vote in the next democratic election.

    I don't see any way in which democracy obliges me - a random inconsequential citizen of minor elected office in a small town somewhere in Oxfordshire - to spend my time working for a project with which I fundamentally disagree, advocated by some people I dislike.

    (That said, frankly I'm more concerned right now with dislodging the muppets on Oxfordshire County Council at next year's elections than with Westminster shenanigans!)
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,935

    What is actually wrong with EEA membership as our destination? We left the EU, that is what was the issue and we've been out for months now.

    Before you answer, is Norway in the EU? What about Switzerland?

    Freedom of movement would be the big sticking point there.
  • LadyGLadyG Posts: 2,221

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Missed the bit where anyone required your respect.
    A federal nation where four nations mutually respect each other seems like a good deal to me.
    If only there was a way that a nation with 85% of the voters in the UK could bring that about.
    I'd be very happy with a proper Federal UK, four equal nations, if it meant preserving the Union. Lots of my fellow Englishmen and women feel the same,

    I am surprised that this is acceptable to you? Or are you just being a bit oblique?
  • Beibheirli_CBeibheirli_C Posts: 8,163
    edited June 2020

    What is actually wrong with EEA membership as our destination? We left the EU, that is what was the issue and we've been out for months now.

    Before you answer, is Norway in the EU? What about Switzerland?

    Oh please yes. I would claim bragging rights for at least a day or so.

    https://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2016/06/26/richard-tyndall-on-the-exit-strategy/
    Even I would accept EEA / EFTA and I have said so many times, but I suspect their ERG would choke on the breakfast kippers and eggy soldiers...
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    The lass on bass with Bowie is a bit of a star. Her bits on Under Pressure are amazing.

  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 5,065

    Some grim milestones:

    10m cases
    500k deaths

    https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

    The top of the table is incredible (in a bad way). New cases today US 34 000, Brazil 28 000, India nearly 20 000. Usually sunday reporting is a bit lower than mid-week aswell.
  • Richard_TyndallRichard_Tyndall Posts: 32,563

    What is actually wrong with EEA membership as our destination? We left the EU, that is what was the issue and we've been out for months now.

    Before you answer, is Norway in the EU? What about Switzerland?

    Oh please yes. I would claim bragging rights for at least a day or so.

    https://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2016/06/26/richard-tyndall-on-the-exit-strategy/
    Even I would accept EEA / EFTA and I have said so many times, but I suspect their ERG would choke on the breakfast kippers and eggy soldiers...
    You say that like it would be a bad thing :)
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,798
    humbugger said:

    So Big G is back to supporting Johnson and the Tories then, no surprise there then, he's been looking for his excuse for weeks

    Do you get your excitement by making silly posts

    I am a conservative and support the party and that has not changed

    I am critical of Boris as you well know

    And Matthew Goodwin's tweet actually hits the nail on the head

    Sorry Big-G but @Beibheirli_C's reply was the one that hit the nail on the head.

    Not our project - don't expect Remainers to sort out the mess.
    Well Goodwin's tweet has certainly rattled his target audience
    Who's rattled? It's just another stupid Brexiteer attacking the 'liberal establishment' to distract from their own utter cluelessness. I don't expect anything else anymore, we've had four years of this boring culture war shit because they have nothing constructive to say. It's their job to tell us what the plan is. What is the plan?
    To drive Britain's economy off a cliff, hoping we wont all notice as we are too busy fighting a cultural war and/or dealing with plague.
    I used to think it was a kind of disaster capitalism conspiracy, to crash everything and create a kind of Uber Thatcherite hellhole out of the ashes. There may still be elements of that. But I increasingly think they actually have no idea what they're doing. The central people to the project - Gove, Johnson, Cummings, have no idea how the economy works. Johnson just wanted to become PM, Gove has an ingrained hatred of the EU because he thinks it was mean to his dad, and Cummings likes breaking things and owning the Libs. I've spoken to a lot of people in the world's of politics, finance and diplomacy, and not even the shadowy outline of a plan is visible. They're a joke.
    Time after time in the last year posters on here have derided Boris and Cummings as being clueless and without a plan. They had a plan to win the Tory leadership, win the GE, leave the EU, restructure government and the civil service and then deliver on the mandate the electorate gave them. Much achieved, and much more to do.
    So what is the plan for the country? So far the only parts they have delivered are the bits that involve them accruing ever more power.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,708

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    This is a country that's currently in a union with other countries… that one's a county that a few reactionaries feel the need to lumber back 1200 years so they can call it a kingdom.
    Scotland isn't in a union with England, because England has no independent political status. It's a centrally-run territory of the UK Government. Maybe Scotland should seek a more equitable settlement for England. We might respect them more for that.
    Missed the bit where anyone required your respect.
    A federal nation where four nations mutually respect each other seems like a good deal to me.
    Is Northern Ireland a nation?
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,205
    edited June 2020
    RobD said:

    What is actually wrong with EEA membership as our destination? We left the EU, that is what was the issue and we've been out for months now.

    Before you answer, is Norway in the EU? What about Switzerland?

    Freedom of movement would be the big sticking point there.
    Only need 4% or so of Brexiteers to be in favour (If you assume all remain votes were) for it to be democratically viable. I think that's a bar that was probably achieved in the ref. A 66-34 result for leave should have meant EEA or likewise off the table.
    Leave won. But it was close.
  • humbuggerhumbugger Posts: 377

    The lass on bass with Bowie is a bit of a star. Her bits on Under Pressure are amazing.

    Until tonight I never really rated Bowie but this is an amazing set. And yes, she's good.
  • Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 14,354
    eristdoof said:

    HYUFD said:

    algarkirk said:

    LadyG said:

    Andy_JS said:
    Is this guy really a Minister for the SNP??? His hatred just oozes. Extraordinary.

    If this was in Westminster it would make headline news, I think
    Except there's almost no interest in devolved politics in the main network news programmes or the UK-wide national newspapers. The occasional controversy achieves cut-through but the reality is that almost nobody in England who's not moved here from one of the devolved nations or has a very keen interest in politics would be able to name more than a small handful of devolved politicians. Sturgeon and Salmond are the obvious ones, some will be familiar with Arlene Foster and maybe one or two names like Gerry Adams from the peace process era. That's about it.

    It's also why Nicola Sturgeon tends to poll well in GB-wide approval ratings - about 90% of the people being asked the questions don't know anything about her apart from her being in favour of independence for Scotland and, perhaps, that she comes across professionally on the television. They don't live in Scotland and are therefore unaffected by and almost entirely unaware of its Government's actions, and any of the successes or failures arising therefrom.

    I'm not sure to what degree this ignorance is a cause of the gradual rotting away of the Union or a consequence thereof.
    The population of Scotland is almost exactly the same as the population of Yorkshire. I suspect it gets more regional coverage than Yorkshire, and more national coverage too. Its politics is essentially regional and local from a UK point of view, just like where most of us live, in rather ignored parts of England.

    Exactly, Essex has a quarter of the population of Scotland but how much coverage does Essex County Council get relative to Holyrood? Certainly less than 25% UK wide
    In best Father Ted voice:

    OK, one last time. This is a country… that one's a county. Country… county.
    Essex was a Kingdom. Similar status to Scotland. I think you'll find.
    And Colchester was part of the Roman Empire less than a couple of Millenia ago.
    Voted to leave though, didn't it?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,766
    edited June 2020
    humbugger said:

    The lass on bass with Bowie is a bit of a star. Her bits on Under Pressure are amazing.

    Until tonight I never really rated Bowie but this is an amazing set. And yes, she's good.
    Gail Ann Dorsey. Apparently she played with his band for years.

    And of course Earl Slick is there.
This discussion has been closed.