Polls like this make a confidence vote more likely – politicalbetting.com

Scott_xP said:

Carnyx said:

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/20168222.dorset-mp-richard-drax-criticises-new-windfall-tax-announcement/

The chap we were discussing the other day, the one with four surnames. He doesn't like this pandering to socialists from Mr Sunak.

Some anger among Tory MPs about the windfall tax U-turn - mainly they are fed up with so many U-turns

Tory MPs were whipped to vote against a windfall tax just a week ago

One tells me they look “like prats”
https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1529791073794592768

Well, they are.

Scott_xP said:

Carnyx said:

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/20168222.dorset-mp-richard-drax-criticises-new-windfall-tax-announcement/

The chap we were discussing the other day, the one with four surnames. He doesn't like this pandering to socialists from Mr Sunak.

Some anger among Tory MPs about the windfall tax U-turn - mainly they are fed up with so many U-turns

Tory MPs were whipped to vote against a windfall tax just a week ago

One tells me they look “like prats”
https://twitter.com/kateferguson4/status/1529791073794592768

That report is bollocks. They aren't fed up with so many u-turns, the same thing gets reported every time they are asked to do this, yet they meekly await the next one.

pigeon said:

They mustn't know whether they're coming or going anymore.

Personally I'm surprised that the support package was quite so big as it has turned out to be. I was expecting the Government to bail out old people and leave everybody else to rot.

There is an article tonight that says it will only buy a few months, and he will have to spend even more in the Autumn

kle4 said:

MrEd said:

Oh dear, looks like Beto has made an ass of himself at the Uvalde shooting press conference. What an absolute kn0b.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/05/25/texas_mayor_to_beto_orourke_youre_a_sick_son_of_a_bitch_to_make_school_shooting_a_political_issue.html

Problem is of course that it is a political issue. Trying to avoid discussion of any actions as it is 'too soon' is often itself a political action, and action then is the only option for those that want action, since it won't be returned to later.

Crashing a press conference like that does have a high risk of coming across as a dick move though.

Republican SOP, after every mass shooting, to call any attempt to do anything about guns “playing politics”.
They deserve to be told to their faces that they are, by doing nothing, utterly complicit.

rcs1000 said:

MrEd said:

boulay said:

Scott_xP said:

This week’s New EUROPEAN: “Clown Nation” #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/AllieHBNews/status/1529913070176587776/photo/1

That’s brutal cutting edge satire.

I'm sure the five people who read The New European will approve,

There are five people that read The New European???

20,000 according to Wiki.

kle4 said:

pigeon said:

kle4 said:

MattW said:

I feel I should have known this:

If you arrange British coins this way you'll get a shield - It represents the Royal Coat of Arms! 🇬🇧


https://twitter.com/histories_arch/status/1523817354509320192

Only possible reason not to ditch the 1p and the 2p, so as not to mess up the shield. Both already pointless.

Were people this resistant to getting rid of the ha'penny?

Would anyone care to have a stab at what percentage of the population is so skint that the prospect of having all prices rounded up to the nearest 5p would cause further material damage to their finances?

In which case there are no circumstances under which outdated coinage can be removed?

Based on my experience of living in countries where there are now no coins less than a 5, the supermarkets still price items in odd pennies and the rounding is done at the till. However in other shops/restaurants their prices are generally shown in tens rather than fives, thus making the five redundant (and a difficult coin for a collector like me to get hold of in day to day transactions).

rottenborough said:

Paul Waugh
@paulwaugh
·
2h
The public may well like the windfall tax U-turn, but several Tory MPs are unhappy.
One ex-minister tells me Sunak has thrown away any lingering hope of winning support from the right of the Tory party for a leadership bid: “This is just throwing soil on the coffin.”

https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1529896514759405576

Also, it isn't going to deal with the underlying problem - that our gas supplies are constricted and 30 years of complacency and underinvestment by multiple governments has left our utility networks unable to survive without them.

Scott_xP said:

pigeon said:

They mustn't know whether they're coming or going anymore.

Personally I'm surprised that the support package was quite so big as it has turned out to be. I was expecting the Government to bail out old people and leave everybody else to rot.

There is an article tonight that says it will only buy a few months, and he will have to spend even more in the Autumn

In an obvious way that must be true as the pension and benefit system is uprated by September's inflation figure.

Friday’s Daily TELEGRAPH: “Tories are now the party of big spending, says Sunak” #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/AllieHBNews/status/1529930376847757312/photo/1

Scott_xP said:

pigeon said:

They mustn't know whether they're coming or going anymore.

Personally I'm surprised that the support package was quite so big as it has turned out to be. I was expecting the Government to bail out old people and leave everybody else to rot.

There is an article tonight that says it will only buy a few months, and he will have to spend even more in the Autumn

Or next year. It would be entirely unsurprising: one-off payments like this are by definition only temporary fixes for temporary problems. Unless the current bout of inflation is followed by an equal and opposite bout of deflation (highly improbable, of course,) then the agony is only deferred until the point at which the bungs have been spent.

After that, the Government has to decide who to let rot, who, if anyone, is deserving of hefty permanent increases in social security - and who is going to be taxed harder to pay for more benefits. That's the juncture at which a further wealth transfer from working people (including the many who are already struggling) to pensioners may occur.

"The timing of the windfall tax U-turn, one day after the publication of the Sue Gray report, will only deepen the concern that this is a rudderless government that blows with the political wind" | 🗞 The Times view https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-on-rishi-sunaks-cost-of-living-support-big-spender-q6mjwx5vv?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1653598659

carnforth said:

Roger said:

OT. Excellent documentary on Netflix called 'The Staircase'. French documentary team with remarkable access to the trial and family of an author accused of murdering his wife.

"Well, you've got a much better documentary now."

I bought Petersen's book (no money goes to him). Not really about the trial, mostly a diary of how to survive prison. Very good. He did it, of course.

I would say he did it but the the verdict was by no means certain. The jail time was hardly touched on in the documentary

FrancisUrquhart said:

Laurence Fox will have to pay more than £36,000 in legal fees to three people he referred to as 'paedophiles' on Twitter after losing his bid for a jury to hear their High Court libel battle.

Got off extremely lightly there.
I wouldn't be happy with that if he'd called me that.

Sounds like Sue was perfect person to undertake the investigation as clearly got the experience to judge an illegal party when she sees one.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10856801/Partygate-Patrick-Kielty-tells-late-night-lock-ins-Sue-Grays-pub.html

Big_G_NorthWales said:

rottenborough said:

Scott_xP said:

pigeon said:

They mustn't know whether they're coming or going anymore.

Personally I'm surprised that the support package was quite so big as it has turned out to be. I was expecting the Government to bail out old people and leave everybody else to rot.

There is an article tonight that says it will only buy a few months, and he will have to spend even more in the Autumn

In an obvious way that must be true as the pension and benefit system is uprated by September's inflation figure.

Rishi affirmed the benefit uplift and triple lock rise for next April at September inflation rate

This is a huge promise with some saying it will cost 25 billion

No change on the UC taper rate. That's a real issue as an incentive to move into work.
The marginal tax rates faced by unemployed UC claimants are eye watering.

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

So even after the Gray report Labour fails to post a lead of 10% or more and the poll was taken before the extra funds announced to help households with energy bills today

Wasn't 31% the circa 1997 Con number? Remind me, was that a good number?

RefUK still polling 3%, most of that will go back to the Conservatives and in some final polls like Mori the Tories polled under 31% in 1997.

Blair was up to 20 points ahead in many pre 1997 polls eg Gallup, not just 9 points ahead even after a dreadful few days for the PM and party. I expect the extra funds for households to help with energy bills announced after this poll will also make a difference.

At the 2010 general election Labour only got 29% 13 years into government, the Tories are now already 12 years into government

So it's a good number?

I think @HYUFD is the only true Boris cheerleader on here

I, for one, salute Comrade Rishi.
So refreshing to have a genuinely Socialist Chancellor. First in my lifetime.

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

So even after the Gray report Labour fails to post a lead of 10% or more and the poll was taken before the extra funds announced to help households with energy bills today

Wasn't 31% the circa 1997 Con number? Remind me, was that a good number?

RefUK still polling 3%, most of that will go back to the Conservatives and in some final polls like Mori the Tories polled under 31% in 1997.

Blair was up to 20 points ahead in many pre 1997 polls eg Gallup, not just 9 points ahead even after a dreadful few days for the PM and party. I expect the extra funds for households to help with energy bills announced after this poll will also make a difference.

At the 2010 general election Labour only got 29% 13 years into government, the Tories are now already 12 years into government

Under FPTP your raw Party score isn't the most important metric.
1997 Tories 31%. Labour majority of 179.
2010 Labour 29%. Hung Parliament.
I'm amazed you can't see that.

Labour still polling about 3% less than 1997 and after boundary changes still not getting a majority alone a landslide.

Don't forget 1997 only happened after Major won a general election after more than 10 years of his party in power, the only PM in the last 100 years to do so.

The odds were always Labour would win the next general election after the Tories 2019 win, however they are still far from sealing it

MightyAlex said:

dixiedean said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Laurence Fox will have to pay more than £36,000 in legal fees to three people he referred to as 'paedophiles' on Twitter after losing his bid for a jury to hear their High Court libel battle.

Got off extremely lightly there.
I wouldn't be happy with that if he'd called me that.

Trials still to come. Just has to pay others costs for trying to wrangle for a Jury

Getting expensive...

The actor's legal costs for making the unsuccessful bid came to £116,314.55, according to court documents.

Today I became a statistic. I have joined an NHS waiting list. Eighteen months in my case for a cataract operation.

bigjohnowls said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

So even after the Gray report Labour fails to post a lead of 10% or more and the poll was taken before the extra funds announced to help households with energy bills today

Wasn't 31% the circa 1997 Con number? Remind me, was that a good number?

Interesting to see how much polls narrow in next fortnight due to todays package and Jubilee

If they dont narrow Tories in big trouble

If you are lucky Starmer gets his inevitable FPN, resigns in ignominious disgrace and Sunak's whopping give away gains traction. Before you know it, newly innocent Johnson is 9 points ahead of Streeting/Nandy.

It's a good Corbynista package nonetheless. I always knew Sunak was a Trojan Horse Socialist.

How much money are the lawyers making out of the Wagatha-Christie legal action?

Friday’s TIMES: “Tories split on tax and spending bonanza” #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/AllieHBNews/status/1529936580110172160/photo/1

The Süddeutsche Zeitung has published this cartoon of Zelensky...

FrancisUrquhart said:

geoffw said:

The NYT, scourge of Brexit no less, getting two barrels from the Kyiv Independent for its "veiled manifesto of appeasement".
https://kyivindependent.com/opinion/editorial-the-kyiv-independents-response-to-the-new-york-times-editorial-board/

"Neither a French president, a German intellectual, nor an award-winning American newspaper are exempt from being wrong."

Spiky.

The U.S. must understand the futility and stop “taunting” Russia, the editorial says. Meaning: Ukraine will lose anyway, stop helping it so it’s over faster.

A common view, presented as realism, which would not be entirely unreasonable were it not usually presented without consideration of whether Ukraine might prefer some losses more than others.

geoffw said:

Today I became a statistic. I have joined an NHS waiting list. Eighteen months in my case for a cataract operation.

Have you an option to go private?

geoffw said:

Today I became a statistic. I have joined an NHS waiting list. Eighteen months in my case for a cataract operation.

Postcode lottery. My Mam was diagnosed in February and had it three weeks ago.
Sympathies.
The state of the NHS is the only political talk I hear from my oldie friends.

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

So even after the Gray report Labour fails to post a lead of 10% or more and the poll was taken before the extra funds announced to help households with energy bills today

Wasn't 31% the circa 1997 Con number? Remind me, was that a good number?

RefUK still polling 3%, most of that will go back to the Conservatives and in some final polls like Mori the Tories polled under 31% in 1997.

Blair was up to 20 points ahead in many pre 1997 polls eg Gallup, not just 9 points ahead even after a dreadful few days for the PM and party. I expect the extra funds for households to help with energy bills announced after this poll will also make a difference.

At the 2010 general election Labour only got 29% 13 years into government, the Tories are now already 12 years into government

Under FPTP your raw Party score isn't the most important metric.
1997 Tories 31%. Labour majority of 179.
2010 Labour 29%. Hung Parliament.
I'm amazed you can't see that.

Labour still polling about 3% less than 1997 and after boundary changes still not getting a majority alone a landslide.

Don't forget 1997 only happened after Major won a general election after more than 10 years of his party in power, the only PM in the last 100 years to do so.

The odds were always Labour would win the next general election after the Tories 2019 win, however they are still far from sealing it

Since when were Labour favourites to win the next GE?

Since the day after the Tories won a 4th consecutive general election in 2019 on historical precedence

Andy_JS said:

In Australia it still isn't clear whether Labor will win 75 or 76 seats with 76 needed for a majority.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal-election-2022/

Nearly 25% of the vote has still to be counted.

https://www.pollbludger.net/fed2022/Results/

Either way the 3 Green MPs will back Labor so they pass the 76 threshold needed for government

FrancisUrquhart said:

Laurence Fox will have to pay more than £36,000 in legal fees to three people he referred to as 'paedophiles' on Twitter after losing his bid for a jury to hear their High Court libel battle.

And everyone says the news these days is always bad!

The Mail seem... Conflicted...

Friday's Mail: Rishi's £21bn Splurge #TomorrowsPapersToday #DailyMail #Mail

https://t.co/e2BNFCMK9A

The next challenges are going to be Public Sector pay (good luck keeping rises to 1-2%) and tax thresholds (again, good luck keeping them frozen, though the stealth windfall for the government must help the sums work out. If they should go up by £1000 and aren't, that's £200 per taxpayer, £400 for a working couple and where have I seen £400 splashed about today?)

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

So even after the Gray report Labour fails to post a lead of 10% or more and the poll was taken before the extra funds announced to help households with energy bills today

Wasn't 31% the circa 1997 Con number? Remind me, was that a good number?

RefUK still polling 3%, most of that will go back to the Conservatives and in some final polls like Mori the Tories polled under 31% in 1997.

Blair was up to 20 points ahead in many pre 1997 polls eg Gallup, not just 9 points ahead even after a dreadful few days for the PM and party. I expect the extra funds for households to help with energy bills announced after this poll will also make a difference.

At the 2010 general election Labour only got 29% 13 years into government, the Tories are now already 12 years into government

Under FPTP your raw Party score isn't the most important metric.
1997 Tories 31%. Labour majority of 179.
2010 Labour 29%. Hung Parliament.
I'm amazed you can't see that.

Labour still polling about 3% less than 1997 and after boundary changes still not getting a majority alone a landslide.

Don't forget 1997 only happened after Major won a general election after more than 10 years of his party in power, the only PM in the last 100 years to do so.

The odds were always Labour would win the next general election after the Tories 2019 win, however they are still far from sealing it

Since when were Labour favourites to win the next GE?

Since the day after the Tories won a 4th consecutive general election in 2019 on historical precedence

That isn't how it works.

turbotubbs said:

geoffw said:

Today I became a statistic. I have joined an NHS waiting list. Eighteen months in my case for a cataract operation.

Have you an option to go private?

Dunno, not complaining. Just bemused. You hear so much about waiting lists that it became a bit like joining an anonymous club.

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

So even after the Gray report Labour fails to post a lead of 10% or more and the poll was taken before the extra funds announced to help households with energy bills today

Wasn't 31% the circa 1997 Con number? Remind me, was that a good number?

RefUK still polling 3%, most of that will go back to the Conservatives and in some final polls like Mori the Tories polled under 31% in 1997.

Blair was up to 20 points ahead in many pre 1997 polls eg Gallup, not just 9 points ahead even after a dreadful few days for the PM and party. I expect the extra funds for households to help with energy bills announced after this poll will also make a difference.

At the 2010 general election Labour only got 29% 13 years into government, the Tories are now already 12 years into government

Under FPTP your raw Party score isn't the most important metric.
1997 Tories 31%. Labour majority of 179.
2010 Labour 29%. Hung Parliament.
I'm amazed you can't see that.

Labour still polling about 3% less than 1997 and after boundary changes still not getting a majority alone a landslide.

Don't forget 1997 only happened after Major won a general election after more than 10 years of his party in power, the only PM in the last 100 years to do so.

The odds were always Labour would win the next general election after the Tories 2019 win, however they are still far from sealing it

Since when were Labour favourites to win the next GE?

Since the day after the Tories won a 4th consecutive general election in 2019 on historical precedence

That isn't how it works.

It is, no governing party has won a 5th consecutive general election since universal suffrage in 1918

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

So even after the Gray report Labour fails to post a lead of 10% or more and the poll was taken before the extra funds announced to help households with energy bills today

Wasn't 31% the circa 1997 Con number? Remind me, was that a good number?

RefUK still polling 3%, most of that will go back to the Conservatives and in some final polls like Mori the Tories polled under 31% in 1997.

Blair was up to 20 points ahead in many pre 1997 polls eg Gallup, not just 9 points ahead even after a dreadful few days for the PM and party. I expect the extra funds for households to help with energy bills announced after this poll will also make a difference.

At the 2010 general election Labour only got 29% 13 years into government, the Tories are now already 12 years into government

So it's a good number?

I think @HYUFD is the only true Boris cheerleader on here

But Boris is rubbish, why does he have any supporters left? That yesterday was incredible “I’ve not come to offer excuses, tell more lies or filibuster very good questions you still have, but to add some context” THE OPENING LINE ITSELF WAS A LIE! 🤦‍♀️

If the Tories went off for a few summer months leadership contest, turned a page on this Boris disaster and refound themselves, 100% certain to finish this year in a much better place.

Andy_JS said:

Saddened to hear the news about Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode.

In a bizarre twist, today's Heardle was Personal Jesus.

FrancisUrquhart said:

NorthofStoke said:

Serious point: if Labour win the next election they won't be able to increase public expenditure. We are fast approaching the outer limits of a manageable deficit. Run on pound, inflation, credit downgrading if a typical labour manifesto is added to Tory largesse.

Wealth tax, higher income tax, etc etc etc....

Won't work. Higher income tax is already likely to be needed with Tory expenditure plans. Laferr curve says hello.

NorthofStoke said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

NorthofStoke said:

Serious point: if Labour win the next election they won't be able to increase public expenditure. We are fast approaching the outer limits of a manageable deficit. Run on pound, inflation, credit downgrading if a typical labour manifesto is added to Tory largesse.

Wealth tax, higher income tax, etc etc etc....

Won't work. Higher income tax is already likely to be needed with Tory expenditure plans. Laferr curve says hello.

I am sure Labour will give it a good go.

Helen Whately, who has her fair share of car crash interviews, doing ok on Newsnight. She is a Treasury minister these days.

ydoethur said:

Carnyx said:

MrEd said:

kle4 said:

MrEd said:

Oh dear, looks like Beto has made an ass of himself at the Uvalde shooting press conference. What an absolute kn0b.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/05/25/texas_mayor_to_beto_orourke_youre_a_sick_son_of_a_bitch_to_make_school_shooting_a_political_issue.html

Problem is of course that it is a political issue. Trying to avoid discussion of any actions as it is 'too soon' is often itself a political action, and action then is the only option for those that want action, since it won't be returned to later.

Crashing a press conference like that does have a high risk of coming across as a dick move though.

It is a political issue but what a dick to crash it like that. He could have waited.

How tactless of him to get upset about children being murdered en masse. So unseemly.

What I personally find more unseemly is that Abbot will still win, because a majority of Texans prize their guns more than their children.

Not to mention, also more than their teachers. Very selfless of you not to mention that. So I thought I'd do it for you.

Aslan said:

rcs1000 said:

MrEd said:

Oh dear, looks like Beto has made an ass of himself at the Uvalde shooting press conference. What an absolute kn0b.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/05/25/texas_mayor_to_beto_orourke_youre_a_sick_son_of_a_bitch_to_make_school_shooting_a_political_issue.html

Gun control is a political issue.

And there's a problem in the US. Many Republicans are concerned that any kind of regulation is the thin end of the wedge that ends with the repeal of the Second Amendment. That's understandable.

But it also leads to a situation where even the most modest of proposals is blocked.

It's not understandable. It is the same delusional paranoia that had 17th Century New England convinced the British government was, at any moment, going to rejoin with the Papacy are enforce Catholicism as the state religion.

TBF with Charles II and James VII and II that's not entirely surprising.

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

dixiedean said:

HYUFD said:

Mexicanpete said:

HYUFD said:

So even after the Gray report Labour fails to post a lead of 10% or more and the poll was taken before the extra funds announced to help households with energy bills today

Wasn't 31% the circa 1997 Con number? Remind me, was that a good number?

RefUK still polling 3%, most of that will go back to the Conservatives and in some final polls like Mori the Tories polled under 31% in 1997.

Blair was up to 20 points ahead in many pre 1997 polls eg Gallup, not just 9 points ahead even after a dreadful few days for the PM and party. I expect the extra funds for households to help with energy bills announced after this poll will also make a difference.

At the 2010 general election Labour only got 29% 13 years into government, the Tories are now already 12 years into government

Under FPTP your raw Party score isn't the most important metric.
1997 Tories 31%. Labour majority of 179.
2010 Labour 29%. Hung Parliament.
I'm amazed you can't see that.

Labour still polling about 3% less than 1997 and after boundary changes still not getting a majority alone a landslide.

Don't forget 1997 only happened after Major won a general election after more than 10 years of his party in power, the only PM in the last 100 years to do so.

The odds were always Labour would win the next general election after the Tories 2019 win, however they are still far from sealing it

Since when were Labour favourites to win the next GE?

Since the day after the Tories won a 4th consecutive general election in 2019 on historical precedence

That isn't how it works.

It is, no governing party has won a 5th consecutive general election since universal suffrage in 1918

To be pedantic, we didn't have universal suffrage in 1918.

MrEd said:

kle4 said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

geoffw said:

The NYT, scourge of Brexit no less, getting two barrels from the Kyiv Independent for its "veiled manifesto of appeasement".
https://kyivindependent.com/opinion/editorial-the-kyiv-independents-response-to-the-new-york-times-editorial-board/

"Neither a French president, a German intellectual, nor an award-winning American newspaper are exempt from being wrong."

Spiky.

The U.S. must understand the futility and stop “taunting” Russia, the editorial says. Meaning: Ukraine will lose anyway, stop helping it so it’s over faster.

A common view, presented as realism, which would not be entirely unreasonable were it not usually presented without consideration of whether Ukraine might prefer some losses more than others.

And also not necessarily reflecting the military reality. As the editorial says, Ukraine has driven Russia out of more than 40% of the land the latter occupied since the start of the conflict. The US is now openly saying that Russia has lost nearly 1,000 tanks, which would be considerably higher than Oryx's numbers and, if extrapolated, would suggest the Russians have lost c. 5K vehicles. And Ukraine is training up more troops, receiving more equipment etc while Russia's military capabilities continue to degrade.

It does sound pretty touch and go in the Donbas though. Finally the Russians have put together a competent attack, and that is worrying. The question is for how long can they sustain it?

For all the NATO promises, artillery is the king of the battlefield in a stationary war, and numbers there favour Russia.

Carnyx said:

Aslan said:

rcs1000 said:

MrEd said:

Oh dear, looks like Beto has made an ass of himself at the Uvalde shooting press conference. What an absolute kn0b.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/05/25/texas_mayor_to_beto_orourke_youre_a_sick_son_of_a_bitch_to_make_school_shooting_a_political_issue.html

Gun control is a political issue.

And there's a problem in the US. Many Republicans are concerned that any kind of regulation is the thin end of the wedge that ends with the repeal of the Second Amendment. That's understandable.

But it also leads to a situation where even the most modest of proposals is blocked.

It's not understandable. It is the same delusional paranoia that had 17th Century New England convinced the British government was, at any moment, going to rejoin with the Papacy are enforce Catholicism as the state religion.

17th century? There is one person on PB who argued this year something rather like that, in justification for keeping the C of E as the privileged State Church (as if England was a state, but never mind).

Well that was why it was created in the first place, to replace the Pope as head of the English Church on earth with the English monarch

rottenborough said:

If we are headed into a recession with demand aggregation collapsing as every one draws in their spending, then giving £400 to everyone who buys electricity will not sound so bonkers.

Yep.
It's Keynesianism.
Not the worst idea right now.