Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
Everyone. No exceptions. A Covid hotel stay. And the private jet, "it's OK, I'm a friend of the PM" brigade? Give them an extra fortnight.
We'll stick grant Shapps in there too, incommunicado - just to be safe.
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
Everyone. No exceptions. A Covid hotel stay. And the private jet, "it's OK, I'm a friend of the PM" brigade? Give them an extra fortnight.
We'll stick grant Shapps in there too, incommunicado - just to be safe.
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
The revolving airbridge policy is one of the most stupid of the whole pandemic....by the time you know a country has a problem (even one with decent testing), people have already gone and come back from their trips.
I'm blaming Boris, he outranks both Shapps and Patel in the Gov't and is choosing to listen to Shapps. You have to ask why for the love of all that's holy.
Not my take at all. Starmer got his MPs to vote for the deal. It was a sell out by Starmer and if I'd been taking part in the poll I wouldn't have said Labour. Johnson has to own it hook line and sinker!
Sorry but that analysis doesn't stand up. If that were the case and you were typical of the vote move in this poll then you should have seen Labour drop but Tories not go up up (assuming I believe correctly that you would not vote Tory even though you are not supporting Labour on this)
What you have actually seen is the Labour vote stay the same, the Lib Dem vote drop and the Tory vote increase. I can't reconcile this with an anti-Brexit protest vote against Starmer.
What is amazing me at the moment is that the Tory vote is holding up (or increasing) in spite of the dogs dinner Johnson is making of Covid.
1. The wider population is rather more forgiving of the Govt's actions on Covid than here, especially now a vaccine has been wisely been planned for and is being administered to those they know at greatest risk.
2. The LibDems were a safe refuge for those normally Tories, Remainers worried about No Deal. No Deal having been used merely as a negotiating ploy, it has now vanished as a concern.
3. Skyr is bland and not to the taste of many. Better than Corbyn, but...
1 is probably very, very relevant. How many people now have a loved one who has been vaccinated? Must be a rapidly increasing number. I don't care about the virus for myself but I am delighted half my grandparents have been vaccinated and the other half are scheduled to be soon. A number of others must be in the same position, getting the ones we love vaccinated is going to be a tremendous relief.
As for 3: Keir is Kinnock to Corbyn's Foot.
Keir Starmer's closest equivalent is John Smith.
I see him more as IDS he is certainly no John Smith
If only RLB had won the leadership...
Rayner would have won. RLB is just too drippy. Wrong choice by the left.
Rayner is just a female John Prescott, fine as Starmer's Deputy not for the main job
Is your problem with her that she is too Northern, too working class or too female?
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
The revolving airbridge policy is one of the most stupid of the whole pandemic....by the time you know a country has a problem (even one with decent testing), people have already gone and come back from their trips.
I'm blaming Boris, he outranks both Shapps and Patel in the Gov't and is choosing to listen to Shapps. You have to ask why for the love of all that's holy.
All so Piers Moron and friends can go on their winter hols....
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
Everyone. No exceptions. A Covid hotel stay. And the private jet, "it's OK, I'm a friend of the PM" brigade? Give them an extra fortnight.
We'll stick grant Shapps in there too, incommunicado - just to be safe.
Can we get Williamson bundled in there too?
He's on Gruinard Island. With a tent. Until the all clear. And then some.
Fabricant looking forward to the happy time Pollyanna channel. Not sure if GB News and Brillo will want to be known as Great Bloody News (bet they still have Gupta and Sikora on though).
Not my take at all. Starmer got his MPs to vote for the deal. It was a sell out by Starmer and if I'd been taking part in the poll I wouldn't have said Labour. Johnson has to own it hook line and sinker!
Sorry but that analysis doesn't stand up. If that were the case and you were typical of the vote move in this poll then you should have seen Labour drop but Tories not go up up (assuming I believe correctly that you would not vote Tory even though you are not supporting Labour on this)
What you have actually seen is the Labour vote stay the same, the Lib Dem vote drop and the Tory vote increase. I can't reconcile this with an anti-Brexit protest vote against Starmer.
What is amazing me at the moment is that the Tory vote is holding up (or increasing) in spite of the dogs dinner Johnson is making of Covid.
1. The wider population is rather more forgiving of the Govt's actions on Covid than here, especially now a vaccine has been wisely been planned for and is being administered to those they know at greatest risk.
2. The LibDems were a safe refuge for those normally Tories, Remainers worried about No Deal. No Deal having been used merely as a negotiating ploy, it has now vanished as a concern.
3. Skyr is bland and not to the taste of many. Better than Corbyn, but...
1 is probably very, very relevant. How many people now have a loved one who has been vaccinated? Must be a rapidly increasing number. I don't care about the virus for myself but I am delighted half my grandparents have been vaccinated and the other half are scheduled to be soon. A number of others must be in the same position, getting the ones we love vaccinated is going to be a tremendous relief.
As for 3: Keir is Kinnock to Corbyn's Foot.
Keir Starmer's closest equivalent is John Smith.
I see him more as IDS he is certainly no John Smith
If only RLB had won the leadership...
Rayner would have won. RLB is just too drippy. Wrong choice by the left.
Rayner is just a female John Prescott, fine as Starmer's Deputy not for the main job
She can talk human to the red wall, in a way that Starmer can’t. They need to use her a lot more than they’re doing at the moment.
Not my take at all. Starmer got his MPs to vote for the deal. It was a sell out by Starmer and if I'd been taking part in the poll I wouldn't have said Labour. Johnson has to own it hook line and sinker!
Sorry but that analysis doesn't stand up. If that were the case and you were typical of the vote move in this poll then you should have seen Labour drop but Tories not go up up (assuming I believe correctly that you would not vote Tory even though you are not supporting Labour on this)
What you have actually seen is the Labour vote stay the same, the Lib Dem vote drop and the Tory vote increase. I can't reconcile this with an anti-Brexit protest vote against Starmer.
What is amazing me at the moment is that the Tory vote is holding up (or increasing) in spite of the dogs dinner Johnson is making of Covid.
1. The wider population is rather more forgiving of the Govt's actions on Covid than here, especially now a vaccine has been wisely been planned for and is being administered to those they know at greatest risk.
2. The LibDems were a safe refuge for those normally Tories, Remainers worried about No Deal. No Deal having been used merely as a negotiating ploy, it has now vanished as a concern.
3. Skyr is bland and not to the taste of many. Better than Corbyn, but...
1 is probably very, very relevant. How many people now have a loved one who has been vaccinated? Must be a rapidly increasing number. I don't care about the virus for myself but I am delighted half my grandparents have been vaccinated and the other half are scheduled to be soon. A number of others must be in the same position, getting the ones we love vaccinated is going to be a tremendous relief.
As for 3: Keir is Kinnock to Corbyn's Foot.
Keir Starmer's closest equivalent is John Smith.
I see him more as IDS he is certainly no John Smith
If only RLB had won the leadership...
Rayner would have won. RLB is just too drippy. Wrong choice by the left.
Rayner is just a female John Prescott, fine as Starmer's Deputy not for the main job
Is your problem with her that she is too Northern, too working class or too female?
She has fewer educational qualifications than the average person on the street and she told an MP he was 'scum' in the Commons, that is not the person I want leading the country regardless of party.
Indeed, even Corbyn was better qualified to be PM than Rayner
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
It’s beyond imbecilic - how do you prove you are a U.K. resident?
Many U.K. passport holders aren’t resident - 4million EU Passport holders are - but don’t have any physical proof.
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
The revolving airbridge policy is one of the most stupid of the whole pandemic....by the time you know a country has a problem (even one with decent testing), people have already gone and come back from their trips.
Since almost day one I've been saying we should let the airlines and airports go bust. Trying to keep them operating has been a disastrous policy.
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
We should apply to the Electoral Commission to set up the Punch Grant Shapps in the Face Party.
It would give them a laugh anyway in these dark times.
Not my take at all. Starmer got his MPs to vote for the deal. It was a sell out by Starmer and if I'd been taking part in the poll I wouldn't have said Labour. Johnson has to own it hook line and sinker!
Sorry but that analysis doesn't stand up. If that were the case and you were typical of the vote move in this poll then you should have seen Labour drop but Tories not go up up (assuming I believe correctly that you would not vote Tory even though you are not supporting Labour on this)
What you have actually seen is the Labour vote stay the same, the Lib Dem vote drop and the Tory vote increase. I can't reconcile this with an anti-Brexit protest vote against Starmer.
What is amazing me at the moment is that the Tory vote is holding up (or increasing) in spite of the dogs dinner Johnson is making of Covid.
1. The wider population is rather more forgiving of the Govt's actions on Covid than here, especially now a vaccine has been wisely been planned for and is being administered to those they know at greatest risk.
2. The LibDems were a safe refuge for those normally Tories, Remainers worried about No Deal. No Deal having been used merely as a negotiating ploy, it has now vanished as a concern.
3. Skyr is bland and not to the taste of many. Better than Corbyn, but...
1 is probably very, very relevant. How many people now have a loved one who has been vaccinated? Must be a rapidly increasing number. I don't care about the virus for myself but I am delighted half my grandparents have been vaccinated and the other half are scheduled to be soon. A number of others must be in the same position, getting the ones we love vaccinated is going to be a tremendous relief.
As for 3: Keir is Kinnock to Corbyn's Foot.
Keir Starmer's closest equivalent is John Smith.
I see him more as IDS he is certainly no John Smith
If only RLB had won the leadership...
Rayner would have won. RLB is just too drippy. Wrong choice by the left.
Rayner is just a female John Prescott, fine as Starmer's Deputy not for the main job
She can talk human to the red wall, in a way that Starmer can’t. They need to use her a lot more than they’re doing at the moment.
She also repulses Tories in a way Starmer does not but Corbyn did
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
The revolving airbridge policy is one of the most stupid of the whole pandemic....by the time you know a country has a problem (even one with decent testing), people have already gone and come back from their trips.
Since almost day one I've been saying we should let the airlines and airports go bust. Trying to keep them operating has been a disastrous policy.
Especially if we put that against, Adam Smith Institute paper today said every week of lockdown costs government £6bn plus £5bn in lost economic activity....
Fabricant looking forward to the happy time Pollyanna channel. Not sure if GB News and Brillo will want to be known as Great Bloody News (bet they still have Gupta and Sikora on though).
I think the idea is not to be hyper-partisan, which is what he objected to there.
But rather the rolling news channels at the moment are pretty much identikit programmes all day. On Sky the only programme that's really noticeably different is the business programme Ian King Live - that actually covers different subjects that aren't covered for the rest of the day.
I think the idea is to do more of that. Yes have rolling news, but to have more speciality news programming too.
It's crackers - other countries are putting up all sorts of hoops to get into to the point where you simply can't even if you REALLY need to get there to do neccessary business or whatever. Absolubtely noone should be considering any sort of "holiday" abroad in the pandemic, and if they are they're probably the sort you don't want in your country anyway. A negative PCR test 72 hours isn't a huge inconvienience. Another thing, we should be selling these tests to people who want to head OUT the country for whatever reason - some revenue for the treasury rather than just having people head to the mass testing places.
I'm interested in @SeaShantyIrish2 view that rural voting has slumped. I was reading an article the other day on Franklin County, which is heavily Republican and rural, which stated that the early voting numbers actually looked decent for the Republicans.
I'm not betting on it - but these numbers for Franklin compared to the general look like a drop off to me ?
Statewide general early turnout 57.3% FRANKLIN 14,467 8,118 56.1%
Statewide runoff early turnout 39.3% FRANKLIN 16,067 5,422 33.7%
Not my take at all. Starmer got his MPs to vote for the deal. It was a sell out by Starmer and if I'd been taking part in the poll I wouldn't have said Labour. Johnson has to own it hook line and sinker!
Sorry but that analysis doesn't stand up. If that were the case and you were typical of the vote move in this poll then you should have seen Labour drop but Tories not go up up (assuming I believe correctly that you would not vote Tory even though you are not supporting Labour on this)
What you have actually seen is the Labour vote stay the same, the Lib Dem vote drop and the Tory vote increase. I can't reconcile this with an anti-Brexit protest vote against Starmer.
What is amazing me at the moment is that the Tory vote is holding up (or increasing) in spite of the dogs dinner Johnson is making of Covid.
1. The wider population is rather more forgiving of the Govt's actions on Covid than here, especially now a vaccine has been wisely been planned for and is being administered to those they know at greatest risk.
2. The LibDems were a safe refuge for those normally Tories, Remainers worried about No Deal. No Deal having been used merely as a negotiating ploy, it has now vanished as a concern.
3. Skyr is bland and not to the taste of many. Better than Corbyn, but...
1 is probably very, very relevant. How many people now have a loved one who has been vaccinated? Must be a rapidly increasing number. I don't care about the virus for myself but I am delighted half my grandparents have been vaccinated and the other half are scheduled to be soon. A number of others must be in the same position, getting the ones we love vaccinated is going to be a tremendous relief.
As for 3: Keir is Kinnock to Corbyn's Foot.
Keir Starmer's closest equivalent is John Smith.
I see him more as IDS he is certainly no John Smith
If only RLB had won the leadership...
Rayner would have won. RLB is just too drippy. Wrong choice by the left.
Rayner is just a female John Prescott, fine as Starmer's Deputy not for the main job
She can talk human to the red wall, in a way that Starmer can’t. They need to use her a lot more than they’re doing at the moment.
She also repulses Tories in a way Starmer does not but Corbyn did
Does not repulse does not translate to votes for though.
Fabricant looking forward to the happy time Pollyanna channel. Not sure if GB News and Brillo will want to be known as Great Bloody News (bet they still have Gupta and Sikora on though).
I think the idea is not to be hyper-partisan, which is what he objected to there.
But rather the rolling news channels at the moment are pretty much identikit programmes all day. On Sky the only programme that's really noticeably different is the business programme Ian King Live - that actually covers different subjects that aren't covered for the rest of the day.
I think the idea is to do more of that. Yes have rolling news, but to have more speciality news programming too.
It'll just be comfort viewing for ageing reactionaries, eager to top up their rage at wokeness in between walking the labrador and popping down to Asda for a meat pie in a tin.
The Dems are indeed favourite in both races but are still a shade of odds against to do what they need to do - the double. I'm feeling bullish but also nervous. It means a lot this one. I do not want to see Joe tangled up and able to do nothing of much import. He deserves better than that, having saved his country and the wider world from the gruesome prospect of a 2nd Trump term.
Relax, either way he is going to be constrained, either way there are enough moderates that he can get some things done.
True enough. It's not a binary between Impasse and Transformation. But this version of the GOP are so bottom drawer I'd rather their influence was minimized. I wouldn't normally be so bothered about US politics, btw, it's a hangover consequence of Trump. Hated him so much and the Republican Party enabled him. So now I hate them too.
Even if the GOP won both seats tonight the swing votes in the Senate would still be Susan Collins and Mitt Romney, neither exactly close to Trump, Romney even voted to impeach him
And Murkowski.
Romney is a slightly odd one. Yes, he loathes Trump. But he's also fairly conservative.
There are also some understated swing Senators. If you look at people like Jerry Moran and Mike Lee, both are fairly standard conservative Republicans in many ways but they don't actually reliably vote with Trump - they just don't make a big deal of it like Romney. Both also represent quite small states and therefore the President is in more of a position to do them a favour in exchange for getting something over the line - they aren't going to do it on an ultra-liberal bit of legislation, but Biden isn't an ultra-liberal.
Romney's hostility has a lot to do when he was humiliated after begging Trump for the SoS job. Making Romney out to be somewhat principled is missing the mark.
Not his finest hour. But the right thing for the wrong reason is still a right thing.
I know but it was totally embarrassing. I lost a lot of respect for him and, TBH, more so for how his actions after are clearly motivated by the fact he didn't get the SoS job.
For all his faults Romney was probably the best qualified GOP presidential candidate for decades, just a shame he was nominated in 2012 to face Obama when he was never going to win rather than 2016 to face Hillary when he probably would have won.
Indeed in voteshare terms at least Romney still got a higher percentage of the vote in 2012 than any Republican candidate has since George W Bush in 2004.
The irony of the electoral cycle is that of the last five Republican presidential candidates, Dole, McCain and Romney lost. All three would have made decent chief executives. And W and Trump were elected...
A very quick look at that profile shows they're constantly Tweeting and reTweeting pro-SNP and anti-Westminster messages.
Did you join the SNP? Or bother to have a look at who was Tweeting before you retweeted it here to us?
Or did it just scratch your anti-Boris anti-Brexit itch so who cares if its pro-SNP propaganda?
It's actually consistent with what I have been saying on and off for months - that the notion that all the Scottish fishing industry is pro-Brexit and pro-Tory (as espoused by some on here) is both improbable, a priori given a knowledge of its operations, and untrue.
I don't think its reasonable to say anything blanket about the Scottish fishing industry, it will be varied in its views just as Scots in general are.
Given that approximately half of all Scots are pro-independence, pro-SNP then of course some in the fishing industry will be like Scott's latest favourite person to Tweet.
But just as a third of all Scotts were pro-Brexit of course there will be some pro-Brexit, pro-Tory Scottish fishermen too.
It simply isn't reasonable to expect them to be all one or the other.
Oh, absolutely. But some on PB have been preaching the absolute opposite - as have the SCUP and the media. ,
I think its worth bearing in mind that however disappointed fishermen may be about the Brexit outcome it is still infinitely preferable to re-entry to the EU and CFP. Few in Peterhead will choose to vote for that. So I think you still see a move from SNP to SCUP in the the NE seats (compared to 2016) it just won't be as pronounced as it might otherwise have been.
Both Peterhead and Fraserburgh, 2 of the the 3 largest fishing ports in Scotland alongside Shetland, are in Bannffshire and Buchan Coast which had an SNP majority of 6,583 in 2016 so I doubt the SCUP had much chance of winning it anyway.
Perthshire South and Kinrosshire, Edinburgh Pentlands, Angus North and Mearns, Aberdeenshire South and North Kincardine, Moray, Edinburgh Southern and Perthshire North are easier Holyrood constituency target seats for the SCUP in May than Banffshire and Buchan Coast
Don't agree with that. Banff and Buchan was the one non-SNP seat that saw an increase in majority last year. And the NE is clearly trending, long-term, to the Tories. The Edinburgh seats are going in the opposite direction for demographic reasons. Most likely Tory pick-ups in May are Banff and Buchan Coast, Moray, and Aberdeenshire East.
If we had gone to No Deal maybe, that would have favoured Scottish fishing communities over middle class suburban Scotland, now we have a Deal which has meant some compromise on fishing to avoid the economic damage of No Deal I think suburban and market town Scottish areas which voted solidly No in 2014 are more likely Tory gains than Banff and Buchan Coast.
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Also, 72h is too long a gap between testing and flying, especially in light of the new variant that is surely ripping through Europe as much as here. It should be reduced to 48h then eventually 24h or done at the airport.
Fabricant looking forward to the happy time Pollyanna channel. Not sure if GB News and Brillo will want to be known as Great Bloody News (bet they still have Gupta and Sikora on though).
I think the idea is not to be hyper-partisan, which is what he objected to there.
But rather the rolling news channels at the moment are pretty much identikit programmes all day. On Sky the only programme that's really noticeably different is the business programme Ian King Live - that actually covers different subjects that aren't covered for the rest of the day.
I think the idea is to do more of that. Yes have rolling news, but to have more speciality news programming too.
I have really enjoyed the UnHerd YouTube episodes over past 9 months as they have offered some different opinions (yes including giving some antilockdowner airtime), but branched how into some fascinating long form interviews you just don't get elsewhere e.g. A couple of weeks ago they talked with a lady who is apparently massive on OnlyFans, while also highly articulate and well read individual. Other than some media reports, I had no idea really how it worked, how it has upturned the pornography industry, etc.
Not my take at all. Starmer got his MPs to vote for the deal. It was a sell out by Starmer and if I'd been taking part in the poll I wouldn't have said Labour. Johnson has to own it hook line and sinker!
Sorry but that analysis doesn't stand up. If that were the case and you were typical of the vote move in this poll then you should have seen Labour drop but Tories not go up up (assuming I believe correctly that you would not vote Tory even though you are not supporting Labour on this)
What you have actually seen is the Labour vote stay the same, the Lib Dem vote drop and the Tory vote increase. I can't reconcile this with an anti-Brexit protest vote against Starmer.
What is amazing me at the moment is that the Tory vote is holding up (or increasing) in spite of the dogs dinner Johnson is making of Covid.
1. The wider population is rather more forgiving of the Govt's actions on Covid than here, especially now a vaccine has been wisely been planned for and is being administered to those they know at greatest risk.
2. The LibDems were a safe refuge for those normally Tories, Remainers worried about No Deal. No Deal having been used merely as a negotiating ploy, it has now vanished as a concern.
3. Skyr is bland and not to the taste of many. Better than Corbyn, but...
1 is probably very, very relevant. How many people now have a loved one who has been vaccinated? Must be a rapidly increasing number. I don't care about the virus for myself but I am delighted half my grandparents have been vaccinated and the other half are scheduled to be soon. A number of others must be in the same position, getting the ones we love vaccinated is going to be a tremendous relief.
As for 3: Keir is Kinnock to Corbyn's Foot.
Keir Starmer's closest equivalent is John Smith.
I see him more as IDS he is certainly no John Smith
If only RLB had won the leadership...
Rayner would have won. RLB is just too drippy. Wrong choice by the left.
Rayner is just a female John Prescott, fine as Starmer's Deputy not for the main job
She can talk human to the red wall, in a way that Starmer can’t. They need to use her a lot more than they’re doing at the moment.
She also repulses Tories in a way Starmer does not but Corbyn did
Does not repulse does not translate to votes for though.
It sure ensures voters turn out against though, as proved by the Tory voteshares in 2017 and 2019 and the LD voteshare in 2019 compared to now
Fabricant looking forward to the happy time Pollyanna channel. Not sure if GB News and Brillo will want to be known as Great Bloody News (bet they still have Gupta and Sikora on though).
They’re deliberately trying to rise above the partisan noise and IMO it’s working quite well. Another positive is they have few adverts, for now at least.
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
The revolving airbridge policy is one of the most stupid of the whole pandemic....by the time you know a country has a problem (even one with decent testing), people have already gone and come back from their trips.
I'm blaming Boris, he outranks both Shapps and Patel in the Gov't and is choosing to listen to Shapps. You have to ask why for the love of all that's holy.
It's funny - for many years it was lamented that leaders of this country didn't listen to their cabinet.
Sturgeon closed schools weeks ago. Boris closed them yesterday. How on earth can you try and concoct the notion that Sturgeon is front running Johnson by a couple of hours?
Sturgeon has to be preemptive, what with Scotland being less resilient and that.
You inference is quite pathetic and so typically nationalistic and divisive. You hope that from your sarcastic statement people will assume Scotland is in some way exceptional, and that by extension Scots are better than elsewhere. They are no better no worse.
Sturgeon, however, is a better politician than Bozo (not necessarily a compliment), but in terms of their pathetic desire to cause division they are peas in the pod along with Donald Trump. I just wish all you nationalists would grow up
You're a ****ing idiot. I have no problem being divided from ****ing idiots.
'Boris Johnson takes BRUTAL swipe at Sturgeon’s NHS in emergency coronavirus announcement
BORIS JOHNSON couldn't resist hitting out at Nicola Sturgeon's plans to tackle the coronavirus in Scotland, as he emphasised "issues" of "resilience" for her health service. It came after the Scottish First Minister earlier appeared to announce plans from the important COBRA meeting before Mr Johnson had a chance to speak to the media.'
TUD , not worth posting anything reasonable to that fruitcake, he makes HYFUD look sensible.
Not my take at all. Starmer got his MPs to vote for the deal. It was a sell out by Starmer and if I'd been taking part in the poll I wouldn't have said Labour. Johnson has to own it hook line and sinker!
Sorry but that analysis doesn't stand up. If that were the case and you were typical of the vote move in this poll then you should have seen Labour drop but Tories not go up up (assuming I believe correctly that you would not vote Tory even though you are not supporting Labour on this)
What you have actually seen is the Labour vote stay the same, the Lib Dem vote drop and the Tory vote increase. I can't reconcile this with an anti-Brexit protest vote against Starmer.
What is amazing me at the moment is that the Tory vote is holding up (or increasing) in spite of the dogs dinner Johnson is making of Covid.
1. The wider population is rather more forgiving of the Govt's actions on Covid than here, especially now a vaccine has been wisely been planned for and is being administered to those they know at greatest risk.
2. The LibDems were a safe refuge for those normally Tories, Remainers worried about No Deal. No Deal having been used merely as a negotiating ploy, it has now vanished as a concern.
3. Skyr is bland and not to the taste of many. Better than Corbyn, but...
1 is probably very, very relevant. How many people now have a loved one who has been vaccinated? Must be a rapidly increasing number. I don't care about the virus for myself but I am delighted half my grandparents have been vaccinated and the other half are scheduled to be soon. A number of others must be in the same position, getting the ones we love vaccinated is going to be a tremendous relief.
As for 3: Keir is Kinnock to Corbyn's Foot.
Keir Starmer's closest equivalent is John Smith.
I see him more as IDS he is certainly no John Smith
If only RLB had won the leadership...
Rayner would have won. RLB is just too drippy. Wrong choice by the left.
Rayner is just a female John Prescott, fine as Starmer's Deputy not for the main job
Apart from the word 'just', I actually agree with you - a rarity!
Someone needs to punch Shapps in the face really, really hard continuously. He and his airline friends (and Boris the idiot) are why we've had such a rubbish time of it with importing cases.
We should apply to the Electoral Commission to set up the Punch Grant Shapps in the Face Party.
It would give them a laugh anyway in these dark times.
A very quick look at that profile shows they're constantly Tweeting and reTweeting pro-SNP and anti-Westminster messages.
Did you join the SNP? Or bother to have a look at who was Tweeting before you retweeted it here to us?
Or did it just scratch your anti-Boris anti-Brexit itch so who cares if its pro-SNP propaganda?
It's actually consistent with what I have been saying on and off for months - that the notion that all the Scottish fishing industry is pro-Brexit and pro-Tory (as espoused by some on here) is both improbable, a priori given a knowledge of its operations, and untrue.
I don't think its reasonable to say anything blanket about the Scottish fishing industry, it will be varied in its views just as Scots in general are.
Given that approximately half of all Scots are pro-independence, pro-SNP then of course some in the fishing industry will be like Scott's latest favourite person to Tweet.
But just as a third of all Scotts were pro-Brexit of course there will be some pro-Brexit, pro-Tory Scottish fishermen too.
It simply isn't reasonable to expect them to be all one or the other.
Oh, absolutely. But some on PB have been preaching the absolute opposite - as have the SCUP and the media. ,
I think its worth bearing in mind that however disappointed fishermen may be about the Brexit outcome it is still infinitely preferable to re-entry to the EU and CFP. Few in Peterhead will choose to vote for that. So I think you still see a move from SNP to SCUP in the the NE seats (compared to 2016) it just won't be as pronounced as it might otherwise have been.
That's based on the myth that the SNP ever accepted the CFP which the Tories created and have reaffirmed. It is one of the many areas of Scottish politics where I am waiting to see how things shake out now we can all see where we are with Brexit, and how it develops over the next few months.
The Dems are indeed favourite in both races but are still a shade of odds against to do what they need to do - the double. I'm feeling bullish but also nervous. It means a lot this one. I do not want to see Joe tangled up and able to do nothing of much import. He deserves better than that, having saved his country and the wider world from the gruesome prospect of a 2nd Trump term.
Relax, either way he is going to be constrained, either way there are enough moderates that he can get some things done.
True enough. It's not a binary between Impasse and Transformation. But this version of the GOP are so bottom drawer I'd rather their influence was minimized. I wouldn't normally be so bothered about US politics, btw, it's a hangover consequence of Trump. Hated him so much and the Republican Party enabled him. So now I hate them too.
Even if the GOP won both seats tonight the swing votes in the Senate would still be Susan Collins and Mitt Romney, neither exactly close to Trump, Romney even voted to impeach him
And Murkowski.
Romney is a slightly odd one. Yes, he loathes Trump. But he's also fairly conservative.
There are also some understated swing Senators. If you look at people like Jerry Moran and Mike Lee, both are fairly standard conservative Republicans in many ways but they don't actually reliably vote with Trump - they just don't make a big deal of it like Romney. Both also represent quite small states and therefore the President is in more of a position to do them a favour in exchange for getting something over the line - they aren't going to do it on an ultra-liberal bit of legislation, but Biden isn't an ultra-liberal.
Romney's hostility has a lot to do when he was humiliated after begging Trump for the SoS job. Making Romney out to be somewhat principled is missing the mark.
Not his finest hour. But the right thing for the wrong reason is still a right thing.
I know but it was totally embarrassing. I lost a lot of respect for him and, TBH, more so for how his actions after are clearly motivated by the fact he didn't get the SoS job.
For all his faults Romney was probably the best qualified GOP presidential candidate for decades, just a shame he was nominated in 2012 to face Obama when he was never going to win rather than 2016 to face Hillary when he probably would have won.
Indeed in voteshare terms at least Romney still got a higher percentage of the vote in 2012 than any Republican candidate has since George W Bush in 2004.
The irony of the electoral cycle is that of the last five Republican presidential candidates, Dole, McCain and Romney lost. All three would have made decent chief executives. And W and Trump were elected...
Yes, you have to go back to Bush Snr in 1988 to find a well qualified GOP nominee who won and then he lost 4 years later when up against Bill Clinton.
“We are facing a state-scandal,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est region and himself a critical care doctor. “It is harder to get vaccinated than it is to buy a car.”
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
The difference is that Brown screwing up and over-spending before the financial crisis hit meaning that there was still a mammoth structural deficit to be fixed a couple of years after the crisis had finished was absolutely accurate and truthful.
Labourites like you want to pretend the deficit was all the recession's fault while ignoring the fact we weren't in recession when Brown caused his pre-recession deficit - nor were we in recession when the 2010 election happened.
The Tories are simply right now just dealing with a global pandemic during the pandemic not years after it right now.
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
It works with those who already have the "Never Kissed A Tory " T-shirt.
Parents with school-age kids see a Labour Party as dysfunctional as the Government. All over the shop on school closures, from Starmer down.
The rest just see granny getting the jab and think "fair does".
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
Agreed 100%. We're too bloody nice, that's our problem!
A very quick look at that profile shows they're constantly Tweeting and reTweeting pro-SNP and anti-Westminster messages.
Did you join the SNP? Or bother to have a look at who was Tweeting before you retweeted it here to us?
Or did it just scratch your anti-Boris anti-Brexit itch so who cares if its pro-SNP propaganda?
It's actually consistent with what I have been saying on and off for months - that the notion that all the Scottish fishing industry is pro-Brexit and pro-Tory (as espoused by some on here) is both improbable, a priori given a knowledge of its operations, and untrue.
I don't think its reasonable to say anything blanket about the Scottish fishing industry, it will be varied in its views just as Scots in general are.
Given that approximately half of all Scots are pro-independence, pro-SNP then of course some in the fishing industry will be like Scott's latest favourite person to Tweet.
But just as a third of all Scotts were pro-Brexit of course there will be some pro-Brexit, pro-Tory Scottish fishermen too.
It simply isn't reasonable to expect them to be all one or the other.
Oh, absolutely. But some on PB have been preaching the absolute opposite - as have the SCUP and the media. ,
I think its worth bearing in mind that however disappointed fishermen may be about the Brexit outcome it is still infinitely preferable to re-entry to the EU and CFP. Few in Peterhead will choose to vote for that. So I think you still see a move from SNP to SCUP in the the NE seats (compared to 2016) it just won't be as pronounced as it might otherwise have been.
Both Peterhead and Fraserburgh, 2 of the the 3 largest fishing ports in Scotland alongside Shetland, are in Bannffshire and Buchan Coast which had an SNP majority of 6,583 in 2016 so I doubt the SCUP had much chance of winning it anyway.
Perthshire South and Kinrosshire, Edinburgh Pentlands, Angus North and Mearns, Aberdeenshire South and North Kincardine, Moray, Edinburgh Southern and Perthshire North are easier Holyrood constituency target seats for the SCUP in May than Banffshire and Buchan Coast
Don't agree with that. Banff and Buchan was the one non-SNP seat that saw an increase in majority last year. And the NE is clearly trending, long-term, to the Tories. The Edinburgh seats are going in the opposite direction for demographic reasons. Most likely Tory pick-ups in May are Banff and Buchan Coast, Moray, and Aberdeenshire East.
If we had gone to No Deal maybe, that would have favoured Scottish fishing communities over middle class suburban Scotland, now we have a Deal which has meant some compromise on fishing to avoid the economic damage of No Deal I think suburban and market town Scottish areas which voted solidly No in 2014 are more likely Tory gains than Banff and Buchan Coast.
Oh, thank you so very much for making us eat a shite sandwich, with bread, rather than 100% shite.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
She is canny with the politics, not antagonising either left or right. and was elected Deputy Leader by a mile. I can't see that too many in the party hate her. Most importantly she has authenticity, something that Starmer lacks.
In think it more likely for Starmer to go before the next GE than Johnson, and Rayner is in pole position. A steal for next PM.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Makes an interesting comparison with your leader and his educational and progenitive record.
Fabricant looking forward to the happy time Pollyanna channel. Not sure if GB News and Brillo will want to be known as Great Bloody News (bet they still have Gupta and Sikora on though).
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
Politicising a pandemic might go down well with the Canary-reading Corbyn fan club, but it will go down like a cup of cold sick with the other 99% of the population who are happy we have vaccines coming, and think the government did everything they could to avoid closing the schools.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Yes Peter Lilley I know what you think of women like her, your party has done a grand job of demonising them for decades.
Leaving school with a baby doesn't make her - or them - stupid.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
“We are facing a state-scandal,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est region and himself a critical care doctor. “It is harder to get vaccinated than it is to buy a car.”
Telegraph
Can anyone explain Macron`s thinking on this?
There must be an angle he's waiting for, where he can blame Les Rosbif and Brexit.....
A very quick look at that profile shows they're constantly Tweeting and reTweeting pro-SNP and anti-Westminster messages.
Did you join the SNP? Or bother to have a look at who was Tweeting before you retweeted it here to us?
Or did it just scratch your anti-Boris anti-Brexit itch so who cares if its pro-SNP propaganda?
It's actually consistent with what I have been saying on and off for months - that the notion that all the Scottish fishing industry is pro-Brexit and pro-Tory (as espoused by some on here) is both improbable, a priori given a knowledge of its operations, and untrue.
I don't think its reasonable to say anything blanket about the Scottish fishing industry, it will be varied in its views just as Scots in general are.
Given that approximately half of all Scots are pro-independence, pro-SNP then of course some in the fishing industry will be like Scott's latest favourite person to Tweet.
But just as a third of all Scotts were pro-Brexit of course there will be some pro-Brexit, pro-Tory Scottish fishermen too.
It simply isn't reasonable to expect them to be all one or the other.
Oh, absolutely. But some on PB have been preaching the absolute opposite - as have the SCUP and the media. ,
I think its worth bearing in mind that however disappointed fishermen may be about the Brexit outcome it is still infinitely preferable to re-entry to the EU and CFP. Few in Peterhead will choose to vote for that. So I think you still see a move from SNP to SCUP in the the NE seats (compared to 2016) it just won't be as pronounced as it might otherwise have been.
That's based on the myth that the SNP ever accepted the CFP which the Tories created and have reaffirmed. It is one of the many areas of Scottish politics where I am waiting to see how things shake out now we can all see where we are with Brexit, and how it develops over the next few months.
Not another Tory surge KLAXON again, I am rolling about the floor pmsl.
“We are facing a state-scandal,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est region and himself a critical care doctor. “It is harder to get vaccinated than it is to buy a car.”
Telegraph
Can anyone explain Macron`s thinking on this?
What does that comparison refer to? I could buy a (fairly shitty) car tomorrow, but I couldn't get vaccinated.
A man who stabbed three people to death in a Reading park believed he was carrying out "an act of religious jihad", a court has heard.
The court heard the defendant, who had been refused asylum, had been involved with militias as part of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
Between 2013 and 2020 he was repeatedly arrested and convicted of various offences in the UK.
While in HMP Bullingdon, Saadallah had associated with radical preacher Omar Brooks who is associated with banned terror group Al-Muhajiroun, the court heard. He was released from the prison in June, days before the attack.
I`ve been speaking to a few people today about the strengthened lockdown. People, on the whole, seem bruised but resigned to the situation I`d say; coupled with slightly less intention of sticking to the letter of the law, perhaps. Acceptance and compliance is dwindling only a little. Sunak`s financial support is vital to this, of course.
One aspect to think about is this: we shall soon get to the point where whole cohorts are vaccinated. Groups of people who have all been vaccinated will feel justified in having more freedoms compared to those that haven`t been vaccinated yet. I`ve not seen this aspect discussed anywhere, but it will become an issue I predict.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
Well I would like the PM of the UK representing the country on the world stage and taking difficult decisions to at least have a few GCSEs and A Levels and ideally a degree as well and I would hope most sensible people would too, otherwise you may as well just pick the PM by lottery from people in the street
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
The difference is that Brown screwing up and over-spending before the financial crisis hit meaning that there was still a mammoth structural deficit to be fixed a couple of years after the crisis had finished was absolutely accurate and truthful.
Labourites like you want to pretend the deficit was all the recession's fault while ignoring the fact we weren't in recession when Brown caused his pre-recession deficit - nor were we in recession when the 2010 election happened.
The Tories are simply right now just dealing with a global pandemic during the pandemic not years after it right now.
A structural deficit of 2-3% of GDP isn't a "mammoth structural deficit" by any stretch of the imagination. The pandemic was global, the financial crisis was global. Both crises exposed serious weaknesses with respect to the UK's economy, society and governance, which can be attributed to the government of the day to some extent. The differences is that Brown dealt with the financial crisis better than Johnson has dealt with the Covid crisis.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Makes an interesting comparison with your leader and his educational and progenitive record.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Maybe the feral male types who impregnate these young women, willy-nilly, would make better Prime Ministerial material. Little evidence of that so far, however.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Yes Peter Lilley I know what you think of women like her, your party has done a grand job of demonising them for decades.
Leaving school with a baby doesn't make her - or them - stupid.
No but leaving school with no GCSEs either is not exactly a qualification to be PM
“We are facing a state-scandal,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est region and himself a critical care doctor. “It is harder to get vaccinated than it is to buy a car.”
Telegraph
Can anyone explain Macron`s thinking on this?
What does that comparison refer to? I could buy a (fairly shitty) car tomorrow, but I couldn't get vaccinated.
In order to get vaccinated there you need to see a doctor, get it explained to you, give consent, go through a five day cooling off period in case you change your mind, then go back and get your vaccine.
Its like you're trying to put people off getting it.
“We are facing a state-scandal,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est region and himself a critical care doctor. “It is harder to get vaccinated than it is to buy a car.”
Telegraph
Can anyone explain Macron`s thinking on this?
There must be an angle he's waiting for, where he can blame Les Rosbif and Brexit.....
I doubt it. The English are way more hung up about the French than vice versa.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
For me it is an imperative that the PM of ANY country is very well educated, well qualified and of high intellect. Is that controversial?
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Makes an interesting comparison with your leader and his educational and progenitive record.
Boris has an Oxford degree
But a poorer one than someone of his background, schooling and purported intelligence should have obtained, especially in that subject and especially a subject inculcated into him from early in his prep school days.
“We are facing a state-scandal,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est region and himself a critical care doctor. “It is harder to get vaccinated than it is to buy a car.”
Telegraph
Can anyone explain Macron`s thinking on this?
There must be an angle he's waiting for, where he can blame Les Rosbif and Brexit.....
I doubt it. The English are way more hung up about the French than vice versa.
That must be why our politicians lay into France more than they lay into us....
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
Well I would like the PM of the UK representing the country on the world stage and taking difficult decisions to at least have a few GCSEs and A Levels and ideally a degree as well and I would hope most sensible people would too, otherwise you may as well just pick the PM by lottery from people in the street
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
Ah, you're missing the Corbynite red meat. Sadly Labour's gone all vegan now, and their tastiest offering is some cold raw tofu, which makes it a bit tricky to compete with 17 stone of solid muscle:
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You can walk into any nightclub in Chelsea and find a braying, feckless, over-privileged arsehole, you can use them to win a mayoral election, you do not need to make them PM!
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Given that she won the Deputy Leadership contest very comfortably, the evidence does not support your claim. She's very popular within the party.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Makes an interesting comparison with your leader and his educational and progenitive record.
Boris has an Oxford degree
But a poorer one than someone of his background, schooling and purported intelligence should have obtained, especially in that subject and especially a subject inculcated into him from early in his prep school days.
He got a good upper second in Literae Humaniores, a harder subject than PPE which he could have gone for instead if set on a political career
A man who stabbed three people to death in a Reading park believed he was carrying out "an act of religious jihad", a court has heard.
The court heard the defendant, who had been refused asylum, had been involved with militias as part of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
Between 2013 and 2020 he was repeatedly arrested and convicted of various offences in the UK.
While in HMP Bullingdon, Saadallah had associated with radical preacher Omar Brooks who is associated with banned terror group Al-Muhajiroun, the court heard. He was released from the prison in June, days before the attack.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
For me it is an imperative that the PM of ANY country is very well educated, well qualified and of high intellect. Is that controversial?
That's all very subjective. What good is a PPE qualification when you're dealing with a pandemic?
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
The difference is that Brown screwing up and over-spending before the financial crisis hit meaning that there was still a mammoth structural deficit to be fixed a couple of years after the crisis had finished was absolutely accurate and truthful.
Labourites like you want to pretend the deficit was all the recession's fault while ignoring the fact we weren't in recession when Brown caused his pre-recession deficit - nor were we in recession when the 2010 election happened.
The Tories are simply right now just dealing with a global pandemic during the pandemic not years after it right now.
A structural deficit of 2-3% of GDP isn't a "mammoth structural deficit" by any stretch of the imagination. The pandemic was global, the financial crisis was global. Both crises exposed serious weaknesses with respect to the UK's economy, society and governance, which can be attributed to the government of the day to some extent. The differences is that Brown dealt with the financial crisis better than Johnson has dealt with the Covid crisis.
Yes it is during a boom, 16 years after the last recession. 🤦🏻♂️
When the next inevitable recession hits and you're already standing there with your pants down with a 3% deficit then what do you think happens next?
Its like saying someone in stable employment, who hasn't had any financial shocks in a decade and a half isn't exposed to debt because their credit cards and loans are maxed out but they're barely making the minimum repayments each month. Then when a shock hits, an unforeseen bill or drop of income, then they should be completely surprised and taken aback to now be in difficulty.
Brown's legacy was a 10% budget deficit years after the financial crisis hit due to his economic mismanagement. If the Tories legacy is hundreds of thousands per year dying from Covid still years after the pandemic then that might be comparable.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Makes an interesting comparison with your leader and his educational and progenitive record.
Boris has an Oxford degree
But a poorer one than someone of his background, schooling and purported intelligence should have obtained, especially in that subject and especially a subject inculcated into him from early in his prep school days.
He got a good upper second in Literae Humaniores, a harder subject than PPE which he could have gone for instead if set on a political career
You only went to Warwick so clearly are not intelligent enough to ever be an MP. Only Oxford and Cambridge graduates unfortunately. Sorry.
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
Ah, you're missing the Corbynite red meat. Sadly Labour's gone all vegan now, and their tastiest offering is some cold raw tofu, which makes it a bit tricky to compete with 17 stone of solid muscle:
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
Well I would like the PM of the UK representing the country on the world stage and taking difficult decisions to at least have a few GCSEs and A Levels and ideally a degree as well and I would hope most sensible people would too, otherwise you may as well just pick the PM by lottery from people in the street
Did you have this issue with John Major?
Even John Major had O Levels and Banking qualifications
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
Well I would like the PM of the UK representing the country on the world stage and taking difficult decisions to at least have a few GCSEs and A Levels and ideally a degree as well and I would hope most sensible people would too, otherwise you may as well just pick the PM by lottery from people in the street
Well, not everyone in the UK gets those qualifications. Some get Highers, some get Int Bac ... but perhaps those don't count.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
For me it is an imperative that the PM of ANY country is very well educated, well qualified and of high intellect. Is that controversial?
That's all very subjective. What good is a PPE qualification when you're dealing with a pandemic?
“We are facing a state-scandal,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est region and himself a critical care doctor. “It is harder to get vaccinated than it is to buy a car.”
Telegraph
Can anyone explain Macron`s thinking on this?
What does that comparison refer to? I could buy a (fairly shitty) car tomorrow, but I couldn't get vaccinated.
In order to get vaccinated there you need to see a doctor, get it explained to you, give consent, go through a five day cooling off period in case you change your mind, then go back and get your vaccine.
Its like you're trying to put people off getting it.
Ah, so they mean it's harder for people who qualify for a vaccine. Perhaps it should be more difficult for poorly people in their nineties to buy a car.
I can tell you for a fact that @HYUFD's obsession with qualifications and dismissal of life experience would go down like a bucket of cold sick on the doorsteps in the red wall.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
Well I would like the PM of the UK representing the country on the world stage and taking difficult decisions to at least have a few GCSEs and A Levels and ideally a degree as well and I would hope most sensible people would too, otherwise you may as well just pick the PM by lottery from people in the street
Did you have this issue with John Major?
Or, indeed, Jim Callaghan.
I'm not sure I want Angela Rayner as PM- I think what I want is a Conservative party that is capable of governing honourably. But she has made a go of her life, and that's a good thing, isn't it?
(And if I were the Conservative party, I'd be very very careful making digs at people making babies...)
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Given that she won the Deputy Leadership contest very comfortably, the evidence does not support your claim. She's very popular within the party.
She isn't popular with the cultists - they berated her endlessly for standing up for everything the Labour government did for her life chances.
“We are facing a state-scandal,” said Jean Rottner, president of the Grand Est region and himself a critical care doctor. “It is harder to get vaccinated than it is to buy a car.”
Telegraph
Can anyone explain Macron`s thinking on this?
What does that comparison refer to? I could buy a (fairly shitty) car tomorrow, but I couldn't get vaccinated.
In order to get vaccinated there you need to see a doctor, get it explained to you, give consent, go through a five day cooling off period in case you change your mind, then go back and get your vaccine.
Its like you're trying to put people off getting it.
It is probably easier to get a shotgun in the UK, than that process.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Makes an interesting comparison with your leader and his educational and progenitive record.
Boris has an Oxford degree
But a poorer one than someone of his background, schooling and purported intelligence should have obtained, especially in that subject and especially a subject inculcated into him from early in his prep school days.
He got a good upper second in Literae Humaniores, a harder subject than PPE which he could have gone for instead if set on a political career
I'd query that - it's a relatively uncompetitive course to get onto compared to PPE at least, given few schools teach Latin and Greek. That's why quite a lot of public school types go for it.
No offence to those with good Classics degrees - I'm sure a lot of work went into achieving the grades and I know several who are fine and capable people - but it isn't known as a particularly tough option.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
For me it is an imperative that the PM of ANY country is very well educated, well qualified and of high intellect. Is that controversial?
Oxford not necessarily a guarantor of those qualities..
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Makes an interesting comparison with your leader and his educational and progenitive record.
Boris has an Oxford degree
But a poorer one than someone of his background, schooling and purported intelligence should have obtained, especially in that subject and especially a subject inculcated into him from early in his prep school days.
He got a good upper second in Literae Humaniores, a harder subject than PPE which he could have gone for instead if set on a political career
You only went to Warwick so clearly are not intelligent enough to ever be an MP. Only Oxford and Cambridge graduates unfortunately. Sorry.
Actually wrong, only 21% of MPs went to Oxbridge, though a further third went to a Russell Group university as I did (my partner also works for an Oxford college)
I`ve been speaking to a few people today about the strengthened lockdown. People, on the whole, seem bruised but resigned to the situation I`d say; coupled with slightly less intention of sticking to the letter of the law, perhaps. Acceptance and compliance is dwindling only a little. Sunak`s financial support is vital to this, of course.
One aspect to think about is this: we shall soon get to the point where whole cohorts are vaccinated. Groups of people who have all been vaccinated will feel justified in having more freedoms compared to those that haven`t been vaccinated yet. I`ve not seen this aspect discussed anywhere, but it will become an issue I predict.
Very good point. There will be a few million people raring to go and still be in lockdown.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
Makes an interesting comparison with your leader and his educational and progenitive record.
Boris has an Oxford degree
But a poorer one than someone of his background, schooling and purported intelligence should have obtained, especially in that subject and especially a subject inculcated into him from early in his prep school days.
He got a good upper second in Literae Humaniores, a harder subject than PPE which he could have gone for instead if set on a political career
You only went to Warwick so clearly are not intelligent enough to ever be an MP. Only Oxford and Cambridge graduates unfortunately. Sorry.
Actually wrong, only 21% of MPs went to Oxbridge, though a further third went to a Russell Group university as I did (my partner also works for an Oxford college)
IMO there are three things that determine current polling.
1) We are are still in the middle of a crisis, the govt gets the benefit of the doubt and 'rallying round' support. When the crisis ends, the reckoning will begin and questions will be asked about what comes next. Until then politics is suspended.
2) Labour were a loooooong way back in 2019 and the party is still dealing with the aftermath. There is a lot of ground to recover both internally and externally.
3) We are three years from a general election, after two recent elections and a chaotic period there is not yet a huge appetite from change.
I wish you were right. I fear it's more simple than that. I'd say there are two reasons for the current polling
1. 55% of the country feel sour about Brexit. Labour have now totally capitulated. Is there a single ex Labour voter who will be impressed by Starmer's damascene conversion? The man who fought this scourge for four years now appears to be it's most wholehearted supporter. If it's worth doing now why wasn't it when Mrs May suggested it? We could have avoided Johnson.
2. An invisible shadow cabinet. A shadow chancellor who has been given the chance of a lifetime is completely out of her depth and invisible. It all feeds in to the idea that Starmer lacks judgement.
He's got time but he needs advice badly. He could do a lot worse than getting Tony back on board or at least the brighter Milliband.
I'm agree with some of this, but I think it's Ed Miliband who's in fact marginally the brighter Miliband. He demolished Johnson in the Commons a couple of months ago, in the kind of Commons performance his brother didn't put on. His brother is also very bright for a politician and an excellent organiser and motivator, but Ed is probably the more innovative policymaker.
I mentioned David because the only Labour figures I can remember making an impression in the last year have been Blair T and Milliband D. I have a lot of time for Ed's backroom abilities but the public aren't aware of them or him. Labour has become a one man band and a pretty unimpressive one of late. I don't think Starmer gets it. He can be wrong but he has to impress.
For me, Labour must stop pulling punches. The Tories were ruthless in pinning the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis on the presiding Labour government. There is no reason not to return the favour now. The virus is not of this government's making but many aspects of their response have been a disgrace. The latest debacle - schools - yet again showcases the astonishing level of incompetence and lack of consideration. It's an unforgivable carry on. Impossible to defend. Trouble is, they are not really having to. Not from Labour anyway.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
Politicising a pandemic might go down well with the Canary-reading Corbyn fan club, but it will go down like a cup of cold sick with the other 99% of the population who are happy we have vaccines coming, and think the government did everything they could to avoid closing the schools.
I do think it is fair to say that Johnson vacillates. Despite being PM he is no decision-maker. I`m guessing that he had a strong constituency arguing that "whatever happens schools stay open" and a second constituency saying "the writing is on the wall close them now, you are going to have to do so eventually anyway".
I think he sided with the first constituency and then switched late on.
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
Well I would like the PM of the UK representing the country on the world stage and taking difficult decisions to at least have a few GCSEs and A Levels and ideally a degree as well and I would hope most sensible people would too, otherwise you may as well just pick the PM by lottery from people in the street
Well, not everyone in the UK gets those qualifications. Some get Highers, some get Int Bac ... but perhaps those don't count.
They are still qualifications so obviously count, Rayner left school with no qualifications at all
I`ve been speaking to a few people today about the strengthened lockdown. People, on the whole, seem bruised but resigned to the situation I`d say; coupled with slightly less intention of sticking to the letter of the law, perhaps. Acceptance and compliance is dwindling only a little. Sunak`s financial support is vital to this, of course.
One aspect to think about is this: we shall soon get to the point where whole cohorts are vaccinated. Groups of people who have all been vaccinated will feel justified in having more freedoms compared to those that haven`t been vaccinated yet. I`ve not seen this aspect discussed anywhere, but it will become an issue I predict.
Very good point. There will be a few million people raring to go and still be in lockdown.
Correct. If it were me (it won`t be, I`m too young and healthy) I`d be unhappy about that.
I can tell you for a fact that @HYUFD's obsession with qualifications and dismissal of life experience would go down like a bucket of cold sick on the doorsteps in the red wall.
Most voters the Tories won over in the RedWall would at least have had GCSEs or O Levels unlike Rayner
Angela Rayner is a success story the Labour Party should make more of. Left school at 16 with no GCSEs and a baby, became a carer then into the Labour Party via the union route. She talks northern, understands what its like to have nothing but responsibilities and no money. She could cut through to the ex-red wall.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
Fair enough but you can walk down any housing estate in the country and find someone who left school at 16 with no GCSEs and had a baby, you can use them in an election broadcast, you do not need to make them your candidate to be PM!
You are really quite the university and qualifications snob aren't you?
Well I would like the PM of the UK representing the country on the world stage and taking difficult decisions to at least have a few GCSEs and A Levels and ideally a degree as well and I would hope most sensible people would too, otherwise you may as well just pick the PM by lottery from people in the street
Well, not everyone in the UK gets those qualifications. Some get Highers, some get Int Bac ... but perhaps those don't count.
They are still qualifications so obviously count, Rayner left school with no qualifications at all
My girlfriend has no qualifications other than A-Levels but that does not mean she is any less intelligent than me. She has other skills acquired outside of a formal education environment.
I can tell you for a fact that @HYUFD's obsession with qualifications and dismissal of life experience would go down like a bucket of cold sick on the doorsteps in the red wall.
HYUFD is just like Gordon Brown and Labour between circa 2006 and 2015.
They kept on banging on about Cameron being a toff and the voters didn't care, poshboy-cum-aristo or working clas pleb, doesn't matter where you're from, it's where you're going that counts.
I’ll stick my neck out and say not. Now, no-one is going to be ordering anything for the next few years as there’s so many planes sitting on the ground, but the 777X is the most efficient plane ever made and there will a clamour for it once we get back to 2019 levels of travel activity.
Comments
We'll stick grant Shapps in there too, incommunicado - just to be safe.
You have to ask why for the love of all that's holy.
https://twitter.com/afneil/status/1021488241613127680
Indeed, even Corbyn was better qualified to be PM than Rayner
Many U.K. passport holders aren’t resident - 4million EU Passport holders are - but don’t have any physical proof.
Keep it simple. ALL arrivals.
It would give them a laugh anyway in these dark times.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56eddde762cd9413e151ac92/t/5ff3ef69c2ef5e3c22dc8e07/1609822091561/Worth+a+shot+-+James+Lawson,+Jonathon+Kitson+and+Matthew+Lesh+-+Final.pdf
But rather the rolling news channels at the moment are pretty much identikit programmes all day. On Sky the only programme that's really noticeably different is the business programme Ian King Live - that actually covers different subjects that aren't covered for the rest of the day.
I think the idea is to do more of that. Yes have rolling news, but to have more speciality news programming too.
Absolubtely noone should be considering any sort of "holiday" abroad in the pandemic, and if they are they're probably the sort you don't want in your country anyway.
A negative PCR test 72 hours isn't a huge inconvienience. Another thing, we should be selling these tests to people who want to head OUT the country for whatever reason - some revenue for the treasury rather than just having people head to the mass testing places.
If Labour had called for schools not to reopen, and for the government to plan for this inevitability rather than leave it until they had already gone back for a day, they would be in a position to make hay. But they didn't, so they're not. I hope when the next shambles comes - as it surely will - this mistake is not repeated. Forget "national consensus" and "softly softly" we need a New Labour ready and willing to stick it to these bozos whenever the many chances arise.
Time to sharpen up the politics with some new and brutal talking points. Covid shambles = TORY shambles. Johnson can't hack it and he doesn't give a tinker's. Thousands of deaths in this country directly attributable to the mishandling of this crisis. The culprits mustn't get away with it. If we tolerate this god knows what will be next. Blood on their hands. Blood on HIS hands. C'mon. It's the truth so let's not be squeamish about saying it.
But too many in the party hate her for saying Tony Blair changed her life.
They’re deliberately trying to rise above the partisan noise and IMO it’s working quite well. Another positive is they have few adverts, for now at least.
Better than r4
Labourites like you want to pretend the deficit was all the recession's fault while ignoring the fact we weren't in recession when Brown caused his pre-recession deficit - nor were we in recession when the 2010 election happened.
The Tories are simply right now just dealing with a global pandemic during the pandemic not years after it right now.
Parents with school-age kids see a Labour Party as dysfunctional as the Government. All over the shop on school closures, from Starmer down.
The rest just see granny getting the jab and think "fair does".
In think it more likely for Starmer to go before the next GE than Johnson, and Rayner is in pole position. A steal for next PM.
Leaving school with a baby doesn't make her - or them - stupid.
The court heard the defendant, who had been refused asylum, had been involved with militias as part of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
Between 2013 and 2020 he was repeatedly arrested and convicted of various offences in the UK.
While in HMP Bullingdon, Saadallah had associated with radical preacher Omar Brooks who is associated with banned terror group Al-Muhajiroun, the court heard. He was released from the prison in June, days before the attack.
BBC News - Reading stabbings: Man motivated by 'religious jihad'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-55545669
One aspect to think about is this: we shall soon get to the point where whole cohorts are vaccinated. Groups of people who have all been vaccinated will feel justified in having more freedoms compared to those that haven`t been vaccinated yet. I`ve not seen this aspect discussed anywhere, but it will become an issue I predict.
Its like you're trying to put people off getting it.
A gentleman employs the use of an enormo-haddock for such occasions.
https://twitter.com/EuanTennant1/status/1346232411256975360
https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/problematic-outlook-777x-adds-boeings-challenges?elq2=a6f6e5a2cbcd455897e4693afc2cdfe5
When the next inevitable recession hits and you're already standing there with your pants down with a 3% deficit then what do you think happens next?
Its like saying someone in stable employment, who hasn't had any financial shocks in a decade and a half isn't exposed to debt because their credit cards and loans are maxed out but they're barely making the minimum repayments each month. Then when a shock hits, an unforeseen bill or drop of income, then they should be completely surprised and taken aback to now be in difficulty.
Brown's legacy was a 10% budget deficit years after the financial crisis hit due to his economic mismanagement. If the Tories legacy is hundreds of thousands per year dying from Covid still years after the pandemic then that might be comparable.
https://order-order.com/2021/01/05/shadow-chancellor-fails-to-answer-eight-times-how-much-labour-wants-to-spend-on-third-lockdown/
Hi, HRH Duke of Edinburgh!
I'm not sure I want Angela Rayner as PM- I think what I want is a Conservative party that is capable of governing honourably. But she has made a go of her life, and that's a good thing, isn't it?
(And if I were the Conservative party, I'd be very very careful making digs at people making babies...)
No offence to those with good Classics degrees - I'm sure a lot of work went into achieving the grades and I know several who are fine and capable people - but it isn't known as a particularly tough option.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50808536
I think he sided with the first constituency and then switched late on.
The sheep in Animal Farm come to mind.
https://www.thetradenews.com/esma-withdraws-the-registrations-of-four-uk-based-trade-repositories/
They kept on banging on about Cameron being a toff and the voters didn't care, poshboy-cum-aristo or working clas pleb, doesn't matter where you're from, it's where you're going that counts.