Truss has managed to avoid a set piece interview throughout whole campaign – politicalbetting.com

MikeSmithson said:

williamglenn said:

AugustusCarp2 said:

Truss's first PMQT is going to be a bloodbath. She simply doesn't have the mental agility to think on her feet, and she knows it. Starmer is going to go into full-on barrister mode - question, pause, wait for his subject to say something slightly off-line and then monster her. It's going to be brutal.

Theresa May wasn't noted for her ability to think on her feet but she still easily won her first PMQ exchange.

She wasn't facing Starmer

kjh said:

Tory support is in the 30+% range, however it has been wiped out on PB (although there is a large reservoir of potential support). @hyufd is right in that PB is no longer representative of Tory support.

Why? What is different about PB? Age?, Political awareness? Intelligence? What?

What is someone who still happily supports the Tories like?

Pulpstar said:

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

I don't buy your short term cheer and long term gloom. Long term there's enough power in the north sea for everyone in the nation through wind and tidal, and a switch from gas to ASHPs. Short term the situation is absolutely fucking calamitous.

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

She’s done a lot of newspaper work during the campaign.

The criticism, from those who would criticise her no matter what she did, is the lack of TV interviews - where yes, the culture is very much Blairite and Remain.

That's thecmost pathetic excuse I have ever heard. Thatcher thought the BBC was run by actual Marxists and it didn't stop her doing TV interviews.

Sandpit said:

Pulpstar said:

Sandpit said:

FPT:

A reminder that there will be a shortage over the winter, of 15-20% of gas requirements, whether that be for for direct gas supply or electricity generation.

No matter what the price, the demand needs to drop by that much otherwise there will be rationing.

Calls for government to reduce price, in order that customers don’t need to reduce demand, *will* result in fuel rationing this winter.

Most of the solutions are on the demand side - kicking off football matches at 1pm rather than 3pm, is a good example of this.

What's so BAD about fuel rationing ? It's better for most people than 8 grand energy bills.

The questions are, who gets rationed, and who makes the decision about who gets rationed?

eristdoof said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

She’s done a lot of newspaper work during the campaign.

The criticism, from those who would criticise her no matter what she did, is the lack of TV interviews - where yes, the culture is very much Blairite and Remain.

That's thecmost pathetic excuse I have ever heard. Thatcher thought the BBC was run by actual Marxists and it didn't stop her doing TV interviews.

Right. If Truss does want to model herself as Thatcher, she's totally lacking in this aspect. Margaret Thatcher used to pop up quite often on normal news programs (Eg. Six O'Clock news) to answer questions from that day's news. I don't remember seeing any PM since doing that.

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

Stuartinromford said:

StuartDickson said:

AugustusCarp2 said:

Truss's first PMQT is going to be a bloodbath. She simply doesn't have the mental agility to think on her feet, and she knows it. Starmer is going to go into full-on barrister mode - question, pause, wait for his subject to say something slightly off-line and then monster her. It's going to be brutal.

She is not going to enjoy her new job. Having spent her entire life working towards this goal, it is going to be a crushing personal disappointment.

I genuinely feel sorry for her on a personal level. Events are likely to totally overcome her. She has a 1% chance of success.

She's not quite as bad as Boris. He engineered a crisis to get the top job, which Truss hasn't. On the other hand, she has sought the role more assiduously than May, who just had to not drive a clown car to get into Number Ten.

But yes, incoming events look grim. She has elbowed her way to the front of the queue, grabbed the prize and not noticed how loudly it is ticking.

noneoftheabove said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Malmesbury said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

The people writing the newspapers don't actually believe in the politics of what they write, necessarily. The Sun in a classic example.

Given the number of Daily Mail staff who are first generation immigrants, it seems quite likely to me that there a number of hard core John Redwood fans on the staff at the Guardian.

I see that Leaver paranoia has reached the stage where the Sun is written by a pinko leftist Remainer cabal.

If only they trusted experts a bit more they might have understood that Sunak was the leaver and Truss the remainer too.

BartholomewRoberts said:

IshmaelZ said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

This site knows nothing of the sort. Sorry but I don't believe in Finland.

Quite right, its clearly been invented by Michael Palin and has since gotten out of hand.

Stuartinromford said:

algarkirk said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

But which reality? The media are endlessly repeating examples of the problem of "By small business energy bill has gone from £2000 to £8 trillion" etc. But I am not hearing thoughts about solutions except further raids on our great grandchildren's piggy bank.

Perhaps there aren't good solutions.

But whilst raiding our great grandchildren's piggy banks is a bad thing, it may be unavoidable.

The choice being whether to do it to anticipate and mitigate problems, or to clean up the mess afterwards.

RochdalePioneers said:

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

You don't see it because you aren't running a small business.

The people who are running small businesses are seeing it. They are increasingly afraid for their ability to survive at all. "Many of our members say the eye-watering energy bills could be the final nail in the coffin as they struggle to get through winter."

https://www.fsb.org.uk/resources-page/energy-help-is-needed-now-small-firms-urge-as-many-struggle-to-get-through-winter.html

Malmesbury said:

noneoftheabove said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Malmesbury said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

The people writing the newspapers don't actually believe in the politics of what they write, necessarily. The Sun in a classic example.

Given the number of Daily Mail staff who are first generation immigrants, it seems quite likely to me that there a number of hard core John Redwood fans on the staff at the Guardian.

I see that Leaver paranoia has reached the stage where the Sun is written by a pinko leftist Remainer cabal.

If only they trusted experts a bit more they might have understood that Sunak was the leaver and Truss the remainer too.

There was a rather good documentary on the Sun a while back. The staff there are professionals who sell a designed product. They don't actually believe in it.

Bit like Jeremy Clarkson.

I think that makes it worse, by the way.

The number of non-gammons at the the Daily Mail is extremely funny some ways. But again, I think it makes it worse.

I'm surprised that this is controversial or not more known.

noneoftheabove said:

Malmesbury said:

noneoftheabove said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Malmesbury said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

The people writing the newspapers don't actually believe in the politics of what they write, necessarily. The Sun in a classic example.

Given the number of Daily Mail staff who are first generation immigrants, it seems quite likely to me that there a number of hard core John Redwood fans on the staff at the Guardian.

I see that Leaver paranoia has reached the stage where the Sun is written by a pinko leftist Remainer cabal.

If only they trusted experts a bit more they might have understood that Sunak was the leaver and Truss the remainer too.

There was a rather good documentary on the Sun a while back. The staff there are professionals who sell a designed product. They don't actually believe in it.

Bit like Jeremy Clarkson.

I think that makes it worse, by the way.

The number of non-gammons at the the Daily Mail is extremely funny some ways. But again, I think it makes it worse.

I'm surprised that this is controversial or not more known.

Not read the Sun for a few years (indeed apart from a free one at the tube, very rarely bother with any daily paper) but from memory, unlike the Mail or Express or even the Mirror, I never found it particularly political apart from during election campaigns. Has that changed?

noneoftheabove said:

Malmesbury said:

noneoftheabove said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Malmesbury said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

The people writing the newspapers don't actually believe in the politics of what they write, necessarily. The Sun in a classic example.

Given the number of Daily Mail staff who are first generation immigrants, it seems quite likely to me that there a number of hard core John Redwood fans on the staff at the Guardian.

I see that Leaver paranoia has reached the stage where the Sun is written by a pinko leftist Remainer cabal.

If only they trusted experts a bit more they might have understood that Sunak was the leaver and Truss the remainer too.

There was a rather good documentary on the Sun a while back. The staff there are professionals who sell a designed product. They don't actually believe in it.

Bit like Jeremy Clarkson.

I think that makes it worse, by the way.

The number of non-gammons at the the Daily Mail is extremely funny some ways. But again, I think it makes it worse.

I'm surprised that this is controversial or not more known.

Not read the Sun for a few years (indeed apart from a free one at the tube, very rarely bother with any daily paper) but from memory, unlike the Mail or Express or even the Mirror, I never found it particularly political apart from during election campaigns. Has that changed?

DecrepiterJohnL said:

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

Has the price of wind gone up then? Or sunshine? The price of electricity generated by free renewables has, and perhaps the government could look into that.

Nigelb said:

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

There are plenty of businesses which simply can't cope with a four or fivefold increase in their energy bills. It is as simple as that.
'Adjusting to an exogenous price shock' means closure for them.

No one expects miracles form government, but the difference between staying open and shuttering the business in quite a few sectors (see also fast food outlets, especially fish & chip shops, restaurants etc) will be whether or not they have an existing energy contract which runs into next year.

The business of government has to be to level out that market price shock to some degree, alongside mitigating the worst of it.

Cookie said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

eristdoof said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

She’s done a lot of newspaper work during the campaign.

The criticism, from those who would criticise her no matter what she did, is the lack of TV interviews - where yes, the culture is very much Blairite and Remain.

That's thecmost pathetic excuse I have ever heard. Thatcher thought the BBC was run by actual Marxists and it didn't stop her doing TV interviews.

Right. If Truss does want to model herself as Thatcher, she's totally lacking in this aspect. Margaret Thatcher used to pop up quite often on normal news programs (Eg. Six O'Clock news) to answer questions from that day's news. I don't remember seeing any PM since doing that.

Yeah, as a kid it was terrifying but looking back her willingness and ability to engage in debate was both admirable and remarkable. Only Blair has come close.

Yes it was.
But in the defence of PMs since, the tone of interviewing has changed. Look back at interviews of the 80s; the aim of the interviewer was to elicit information. Politicians were given time to speak and to explain themselves. Interviewers were certainly well briefed and well informed and would ask tricky questions, but the aim was to understand the issue. Modern interviewers seem primarily there to catch politicians out. We mock Peston for his lack of understanding of any given issue, but the fact that Peston can rise to the top shows that combativeness is prized over incisiveness. It's no wonder politicians of all stripes are not particularly enthused by talking to the media class except on their own terms.

eristdoof said:

Malmesbury said:

BartholomewRoberts said:

IshmaelZ said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

This site knows nothing of the sort. Sorry but I don't believe in Finland.

Quite right, its clearly been invented by Michael Palin and has since gotten out of hand.

Finland denial is for lightweights. Australia is fake. Obviously. A country with mammals that lay eggs?

Even the name is not that imaginative. Someone just inserted two extra letters into the name of a European country and the name stuck.

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

Pulpstar said:

Sandpit said:

FPT:

A reminder that there will be a shortage over the winter, of 15-20% of gas requirements, whether that be for for direct gas supply or electricity generation.

No matter what the price, the demand needs to drop by that much otherwise there will be rationing.

Calls for government to reduce price, in order that customers don’t need to reduce demand, *will* result in fuel rationing this winter.

Most of the solutions are on the demand side - kicking off football matches at 1pm rather than 3pm, is a good example of this.

What's so BAD about fuel rationing ? It's better for most people than 8 grand energy bills.

The questions are, who gets rationed, and who makes the decision about who gets rationed?

All households should get a below market price for consumption up to the median minus 15% and face a punitive tariff above that. For firms set the threshold at their average for the last 3 years minus 15% with the same dual tarrif structure. Subsidise the cheaper tariff using revenue from the punitive tariff plus a windfall tax on energy firms plus temporary income tax surcharge plus borrowing.

DecrepiterJohnL said:

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

Has the price of wind gone up then? Or sunshine? The price of electricity generated by free renewables has, and perhaps the government could look into that.

HYUFD said:

kjh said:

Tory support is in the 30+% range, however it has been wiped out on PB (although there is a large reservoir of potential support). @hyufd is right in that PB is no longer representative of Tory support.

Why? What is different about PB? Age?, Political awareness? Intelligence? What?

What is someone who still happily supports the Tories like?

The average Tory voter is now a skilled working class Leave voter or a pensioner who voted Leave.

The average PB poster however is a middle class graduate who voted Remain or at most voted Leave but only to go to EEA

Cookie said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

eristdoof said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

She’s done a lot of newspaper work during the campaign.

The criticism, from those who would criticise her no matter what she did, is the lack of TV interviews - where yes, the culture is very much Blairite and Remain.

That's thecmost pathetic excuse I have ever heard. Thatcher thought the BBC was run by actual Marxists and it didn't stop her doing TV interviews.

Right. If Truss does want to model herself as Thatcher, she's totally lacking in this aspect. Margaret Thatcher used to pop up quite often on normal news programs (Eg. Six O'Clock news) to answer questions from that day's news. I don't remember seeing any PM since doing that.

Yeah, as a kid it was terrifying but looking back her willingness and ability to engage in debate was both admirable and remarkable. Only Blair has come close.

Yes it was.
But in the defence of PMs since, the tone of interviewing has changed. Look back at interviews of the 80s; the aim of the interviewer was to elicit information. Politicians were given time to speak and to explain themselves. Interviewers were certainly well briefed and well informed and would ask tricky questions, but the aim was to understand the issue. Modern interviewers seem primarily there to catch politicians out. We mock Peston for his lack of understanding of any given issue, but the fact that Peston can rise to the top shows that combativeness is prized over incisiveness. It's no wonder politicians of all stripes are not particularly enthused by talking to the media class except on their own terms.

TOPPING said:

Woman on R4 this morning saying how her leccie bill had gone from sub £20k to £130k.

eristdoof said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

She’s done a lot of newspaper work during the campaign.

The criticism, from those who would criticise her no matter what she did, is the lack of TV interviews - where yes, the culture is very much Blairite and Remain.

That's thecmost pathetic excuse I have ever heard. Thatcher thought the BBC was run by actual Marxists and it didn't stop her doing TV interviews.

Right. If Truss does want to model herself as Thatcher, she's totally lacking in this aspect. Margaret Thatcher used to pop up quite often on normal news programs (Eg. Six O'Clock news) to answer questions from that day's news. I don't remember seeing any PM since doing that.

Peter_the_Punter said:

eristdoof said:

Malmesbury said:

BartholomewRoberts said:

IshmaelZ said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

This site knows nothing of the sort. Sorry but I don't believe in Finland.

Quite right, its clearly been invented by Michael Palin and has since gotten out of hand.

Finland denial is for lightweights. Australia is fake. Obviously. A country with mammals that lay eggs?

Even the name is not that imaginative. Someone just inserted two extra letters into the name of a European country and the name stuck.

My favorite story about the naming of a country concerns Canada. Apparently when the local inhabitants were asked by some newly-arrived Europeans what the country was called, the reply was 'I don't understand you', or ca-na-da in the local lingo.

No idea if it is true but has a nice ring to it.

Cookie said:

DavidL said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

Has the price of wind gone up then? Or sunshine? The price of electricity generated by free renewables has, and perhaps the government could look into that.

Right now we are getting 47% of our energy from gas and 15% from wind. To free us of a situation where gas is the determinative cost we really need to reverse those figures. When Dogger Bank etc comes on stream we may be close to that on a good day.

When is that likely to happen?
There is also the Morocco project. My understanding - though it is vague - is that we could be getting around a quarter of UK electricity from this by the 2030s.

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

Pulpstar said:

Sandpit said:

FPT:

A reminder that there will be a shortage over the winter, of 15-20% of gas requirements, whether that be for for direct gas supply or electricity generation.

No matter what the price, the demand needs to drop by that much otherwise there will be rationing.

Calls for government to reduce price, in order that customers don’t need to reduce demand, *will* result in fuel rationing this winter.

Most of the solutions are on the demand side - kicking off football matches at 1pm rather than 3pm, is a good example of this.

What's so BAD about fuel rationing ? It's better for most people than 8 grand energy bills.

The questions are, who gets rationed, and who makes the decision about who gets rationed?

All households should get a below market price for consumption up to the median minus 15% and face a punitive tariff above that. For firms set the threshold at their average for the last 3 years minus 15% with the same dual tarrif structure. Subsidise the cheaper tariff using revenue from the punitive tariff plus a windfall tax on energy firms plus temporary income tax surcharge plus borrowing.

Trouble is that only works if everyone is getting the same sort of energy and living in the same circumstances. So someone who heats their house with oil will inevitably have lower gas/electricity bills than someone doing everything on the grid. And is it right that a family with a couple of kids gets a punitive tariff when someone living on their own does not.

I am not opposed to the idea, I just see the implementation as being completely unworkable.

It's a blunt tool certainly but it's better than just letting the free market work it out. You could adjust it for households with no gas meter. I think it is totally workable even if of course there will be edge cases that will make its application unfair in places.

Cookie said:

DavidL said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

Has the price of wind gone up then? Or sunshine? The price of electricity generated by free renewables has, and perhaps the government could look into that.

Right now we are getting 47% of our energy from gas and 15% from wind. To free us of a situation where gas is the determinative cost we really need to reverse those figures. When Dogger Bank etc comes on stream we may be close to that on a good day.

When is that likely to happen?
There is also the Morocco project. My understanding - though it is vague - is that we could be getting around a quarter of UK electricity from this by the 2030s.

solarflare said:

eristdoof said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

She’s done a lot of newspaper work during the campaign.

The criticism, from those who would criticise her no matter what she did, is the lack of TV interviews - where yes, the culture is very much Blairite and Remain.

That's thecmost pathetic excuse I have ever heard. Thatcher thought the BBC was run by actual Marxists and it didn't stop her doing TV interviews.

Right. If Truss does want to model herself as Thatcher, she's totally lacking in this aspect. Margaret Thatcher used to pop up quite often on normal news programs (Eg. Six O'Clock news) to answer questions from that day's news. I don't remember seeing any PM since doing that.

It's what I like about Borgen - the lovely now-fictitious idea that the PM will rock up to any news programme and happily answer questions free-form with about an hour's notice. Nice for the narrative but not particularly realistic, well certainly not here in the UK.

eristdoof said:

DecrepiterJohnL said:

DavidL said:

Cicero said:

The massacre of small business is one thing that is coming across very clearly, and will be a significant part of the economic rout that the UK is going to be facing over the course of the next few quarters. Truss has maybe only weeks to establish a clear and stable policy direction (spoiler alert: none of her currently declared economic policies will work). The choices she makes next week for her cabinet will determine the tone, direction and success of her administration. If Redwood and Duncan Smith (and Rees Mogg) really have been raised from the crypt in order to play major roles, then by Halloween the Truss government will already be in a death spiral.

There is also the question of "events", and as this site knows, there is a major scandal already out there. So, I guess I need to order more popcorn (Microwave, obviously, the energy costs of using the stove versus the microwave are too large),

Truss needs to face up to reality, and hiding from the media will just infuriate them.

I do not see this massacre of small businesses at all. Yes, their costs are going to rise significantly so their prices will do likewise. That will effect businesses differentially depending on how important energy is for their business, as a generality manufacturing will be hit worse than services.

But we have more more than 10% inflation already. No one is going to be shocked by rising prices. Given wages are not rising as fast there may be some reduction in demand but so far that has not manifested itself.

We need to adjust to this exogenous price shock. Cheap gas and relatively cheap fuel are not coming back anytime soon, if ever. We need to accept as a nation that more of our money will be spent that way and less on other things. We did this with the oil shock in the 1970s. It was deeply unpleasant but we survived. Expecting governments to somehow magic this change away is every bit as fairy tale as the idea that the producers, who are in general well beyond the reach of the Treasury, will somehow be paying a windfall tax to pay for it all.

Has the price of wind gone up then? Or sunshine? The price of electricity generated by free renewables has, and perhaps the government could look into that.

The demand for energy from renewables has shot up, because the supply of energy from Russian gas has been choked. That is what happens when there is a free market in energy supply.

Sandpit said:

FPT:

A reminder that there will be a shortage over the winter, of 15-20% of gas requirements, whether that be for for direct gas supply or electricity generation.

No matter what the price, the demand needs to drop by that much otherwise there will be rationing.

Calls for government to reduce price, in order that customers don’t need to reduce demand, *will* result in fuel rationing this winter.

Most of the solutions are on the demand side - kicking off football matches at 1pm rather than 3pm, is a good example of this.

Cookie said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

eristdoof said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Sandpit said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Cookie said:

CarlottaVance said:

Rob Ford brings facts to a prejudice party - fascinating trio of threads sparked by the “Never kissed a Tory” t- shirt:

In the second volume of @sexliesballots I had a look at voters' attitudes to marriage across party lines. 2010 Labour voters were much more likely to be upset at the idea of a close relative marrying a Conservative than 2010 Tories were of a potential Labour in-law.

https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1564202925068623874

Same phenomenon noted among Remain vs Leave voters.

I would suggest that this is a result of the dominant media culrure being Labour/Remain.
Remainers in deep Remainia might literally never knowingly encounter a Leaver or a Tory first hand. Potentially, their only exposure to them is via their chosen media, which will generally paint Leavers in a negative light.
Whereas Leavers in deep Leavistan - even if they personally do not know any Remainers (or Labour voters) will, if they watch any telly at all, be exposed to Remainy/Labour/Centrist Dad views on Remain's own terms. They may not agree with them, but Remain/Labour types will not be the distant and scary stereotypes that Leave/Tory types will be for those in deep Remainia.

Dominant media culture is Remain and Labour? You do know what the most popular newspapers in the UK are, right?

She’s done a lot of newspaper work during the campaign.

The criticism, from those who would criticise her no matter what she did, is the lack of TV interviews - where yes, the culture is very much Blairite and Remain.

That's thecmost pathetic excuse I have ever heard. Thatcher thought the BBC was run by actual Marxists and it didn't stop her doing TV interviews.

Right. If Truss does want to model herself as Thatcher, she's totally lacking in this aspect. Margaret Thatcher used to pop up quite often on normal news programs (Eg. Six O'Clock news) to answer questions from that day's news. I don't remember seeing any PM since doing that.

Yeah, as a kid it was terrifying but looking back her willingness and ability to engage in debate was both admirable and remarkable. Only Blair has come close.

Yes it was.
But in the defence of PMs since, the tone of interviewing has changed. Look back at interviews of the 80s; the aim of the interviewer was to elicit information. Politicians were given time to speak and to explain themselves. Interviewers were certainly well briefed and well informed and would ask tricky questions, but the aim was to understand the issue. Modern interviewers seem primarily there to catch politicians out. We mock Peston for his lack of understanding of any given issue, but the fact that Peston can rise to the top shows that combativeness is prized over incisiveness. It's no wonder politicians of all stripes are not particularly enthused by talking to the media class except on their own terms.

Scott_xP said:

On the other hand, it will allow her to claim a massive swing towards her favour when she narrowly wins her first vote of no confidence. https://twitter.com/DavidHerdson/status/1564173495726215168

CarlottaVance said:

Fairliered said:

I hope that Truss’s first official prime ministerial interviews are with ITV and Sky News, leaving the self important, entitled BBC standing on the sidelines with a petted lip.

I suspect it will be GB News….