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Truss manages to infuriate Nadine – politicalbetting.com

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  • Leon said:

    I’m not sure a nuclear escalation creates a worldwide depression.

    Possibly even the reverse if it hastens Putin’s end.

    lol. You think a NUCLEAR BOMB GOING OFF will stabilise markets and make people keen to invest?

    I might look to invest in Geiger Counter Ltd.

    I posted that as a joke, but it is worth looking up. Their shares are doing really quite well at the moment.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 32,735
    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1
  • Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    "Get Britain Moving" sounds like a good slogan for ex-lax
  • CookieCookie Posts: 11,183
    edited October 2022
    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow in the late 30s, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688
    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,842
    Who has the grimmest mood right now - Russia or the Tories ?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,742
    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,240
    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,842
    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,742
    Pulpstar said:

    Who has the grimmest mood right now - Russia or the Tories ?

    Has Liz Truss suggested nuking Dublin?

    If not, I'm going to go with 'Russia.'
  • PeterMPeterM Posts: 302
    Leon said:

    In retrospect THE NECKLACE was a massive tell. Someone who is prepared to display their BDSM status to the world, even as Prime Minister of the UK, is someone of extraordinary recklessness, who will do mad things, for good or ill

    Voila

    might have been a tell to men of the world such as yourself but wouldnt have registered with much of the british public
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,742
    Pulpstar said:

    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
    Not in the 28 years I've known it.

    If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
    Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.

    The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
  • Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    "Get Britain Moving" sounds like a good slogan for ex-lax
    Given the current fiscal projections, I'm surprised anyone is having difficulties in the Number Twos department.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 14,878
    Omnium said:

    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
    I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time. :D
  • Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
    Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.

    The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
    Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 10,342
    eek said:

    Scott_xP said:

    NEW Chopper's Politics Podcast newsletter

    Conservative MPs are now smelling blood in the water, with suggestions that Truss will be out by Christmas and a new PM appointed (not elected) by MPs.

    Subscribe: http://telegraph.co.uk/politicsnewsletter https://twitter.com/christopherhope/status/1576941908806418432/photo/1

    Time to wheel out my legendary modesty klaxon.
    Got to say - the most difficult task here is getting a new PM in place without a membership vote occurring...

    It's also probably the only reason Liz hasn't already gone...

    Although it's great watching a U-turn designed to halt her decline, actually hasten it...
    One of the current problems is that the Tory membership (once you take our career members etc) is so weird that no-one normal would join just out of ordinary desire for local political engagement. I know hardly anyone in this safe Tory seat (about to become a marginal when new boundaries come in) who actually belongs.

    It would do no harm if, impossibly, the Tories could:

    Get MPs to appoint a sane One Nation PM, knowing that the next election is lost

    Dissolve the current membership and turn off the computer

    Put out a 'New Membership Manifesto/Philosophy' written by Rory, Hat, Hunt and Justine Greening (is she still in the party?)

    Turn the computer on again.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 11,183
    Pulpstar said:

    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
    A double edged sword for Birmingham, is New Street.
    Actual arrival on the platforms - gloomy, subterranean - is pretty depressing. Most UK termini are spacious and open, with high roofs; Birmingham is not; it is darker and smellier than any other terminus I can think of.
    But the upside to this is that it is subterranean because it is more central than just about any other city station. So you emerge from the station into the very centre of the city centre. In all honesty, I'd rather have that than what Manchester has: Piccadilly station is nice, but very edge of centre; it's a good ten minutes' walk to the centre of town.
  • ydoethur said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Who has the grimmest mood right now - Russia or the Tories ?

    Has Liz Truss suggested nuking Dublin?

    If not, I'm going to go with 'Russia.'
    At the UN, Ireland voted with "the West" against the Russian annexations.
  • Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    "Get Britain Moving" sounds like a good slogan for ex-lax
    Given the current fiscal projections, I'm surprised anyone is having difficulties in the Number Twos department.
    Perhaps that it what is meant: "Getting Britain Moving by causing the financial markets to shit their pants"
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
    Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.

    The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
    Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
    The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
  • PeterMPeterM Posts: 302
    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
  • ydoethur said:

    Pulpstar said:

    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
    Not in the 28 years I've known it.

    If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
    You seem not to have visited the place since 2015.
  • Beibheirli_CBeibheirli_C Posts: 7,981
    edited October 2022
    Omnium said:

    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
    The Chancellor is still in the Tory fridge whilst the hall waits... :D

    [Update - apparently he will be another 15 minutes]
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,140
    edited October 2022
    Cookie said:

    Pulpstar said:

    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
    A double edged sword for Birmingham, is New Street.
    Actual arrival on the platforms - gloomy, subterranean - is pretty depressing. Most UK termini are spacious and open, with high roofs; Birmingham is not; it is darker and smellier than any other terminus I can think of.
    But the upside to this is that it is subterranean because it is more central than just about any other city station. So you emerge from the station into the very centre of the city centre. In all honesty, I'd rather have that than what Manchester has: Piccadilly station is nice, but very edge of centre; it's a good ten minutes' walk to the centre of town.
    Is that before or after the recent makeover? It used to be awful (as I recall only too well). Not seen it since myself.

    BTW not a terminus but a through station.
  • ydoethur said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Who has the grimmest mood right now - Russia or the Tories ?

    Has Liz Truss suggested nuking Dublin?

    If not, I'm going to go with 'Russia.'
    They ought to bring on Kenny Everett. Except that he is dead. A bit like the Tory Party.
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 4,746
    kjh said:

    Leon said:

    Bleak but kinda impressive


    RUSSIAN RAPPER DIES BY SUICIDE ...
    After Being Drafted In War He Opposed

    https://www.tmz.com/2022/10/03/russian-rapper-suicide-walkie-ukraine-war/

    Did he fall/jump/get pushed out of a window though?
    That is really sad, I've been haunted by this video for the last couple of days.
    However bad your day is, at least you aren't going to get drafted in to the Russian Army.
  • PeterMPeterM Posts: 302
    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow in the late 30s, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    up until the late 70s the west midlands was one of the most prosperous parts of the country
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,742
    edited October 2022

    ydoethur said:

    Pulpstar said:

    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
    Not in the 28 years I've known it.

    If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
    You seem not to have visited the place since 2015.
    Last time I was there was a year ago. Before that I went through it fairly regularly.

    Edit - actually, that's not true, I changed trains there back in June.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688

    Omnium said:

    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
    I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time. :D
    I'm sure he can answer for himself.
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 10,342
    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    An example of Armenian ugliness:

    https://armeniadiscovery.com/en/place/the-architecture-of-churches

    They eat there heart out in Armenia when they think of Birmingham's ecclesiastical architecture.
  • PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
  • Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
    Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.

    The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
    Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
    The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
    I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 66,742

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
    Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out? :wink:
  • NorthofStokeNorthofStoke Posts: 1,758
    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,080
    algarkirk said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    An example of Armenian ugliness:

    https://armeniadiscovery.com/en/place/the-architecture-of-churches

    They eat there heart out in Armenia when they think of Birmingham's ecclesiastical architecture.
    No disrespect, but that is not a city :smile:
  • CookieCookie Posts: 11,183
    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    Birmingham has less to lift the soul than Manchester or Glasgow or Newcastle (say), but it still has much to recommend it. I'd rather be at large in Birmingham than 90% of Britain's large towns. It beats, say, Northampton, Wigan, Coventry, Mansfield, Sunderland, Telford, Doncaster, Leicester, Walsall or Wolverhampton.

    It's not the most wonderful city in the country. But I'd give it:
    Birmingham - it's actually ok.
    or
    Birmingham - it might be better than you think.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,045
    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
    I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time. :D
    I'm sure he can answer for himself.
    Or at least find someone else's Tweet about it to copy and paste.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,240
    algarkirk said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    An example of Armenian ugliness:

    https://armeniadiscovery.com/en/place/the-architecture-of-churches

    They eat there heart out in Armenia when they think of Birmingham's ecclesiastical architecture.
    I recently visited that exact monastery!

    Armenia has stunning monuments like that, and some quite epic landscapes, but all the towns - Yerevan apart - are hideous. Soviet grey concrete meets drab grey weather. And earthquakes

    However the people are brilliant. Kind, generous, funny, clever, curious (in both senses). And the young women are notably beautiful

    I strongly recommend a visit. It’s fabulous

  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688

    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
    I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time. :D
    I'm sure he can answer for himself.
    Or at least find someone else's Tweet about it to copy and paste.
    Are you suggesting I did such a thing?
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,061
    edited October 2022
    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    I quite like Brum and have seen it change quite a bit over the last 50 years, it has some great victorian buildings still, alongside some great modernism, and some ugly concrete brutalism. It has a certain "in your face" energy not found in much of England. There is much less pretension than many other cities, and a more brash materialism that reminds me of America. Every couple of decades they knock things down and rebuild, and sometimes get it right.

    I can see why some don't like it, but I get its vibe. Coventry however is a dump.
  • ydoethur said:

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
    Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out? :wink:
    I meant funny as in amusing not....
  • ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Pulpstar said:

    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
    Not in the 28 years I've known it.

    If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
    You seem not to have visited the place since 2015.
    Last time I was there was a year ago. Before that I went through it fairly regularly.

    Edit - actually, that's not true, I changed trains there back in June.
    Since they built Grand Central (the shopping centre, not the station in NYC), immediately above the platforms, New Street is a lot nicer. My only bug-bear is the adjacent tram station is called, er, Grand Central, and NOT New Street.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
    All the best cities think they are actually number one. Without that self confidence you are nowhere.
  • PeterMPeterM Posts: 302

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
    Liverpool has a much nicer setting than Manchester due to the waterfront. Not the same cosmopolitan feel as Manchester though. Edinburgh is lovely my favourite British city but suffers for me due to cold weather and being in scotland
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,045
    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
    I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time. :D
    I'm sure he can answer for himself.
    Or at least find someone else's Tweet about it to copy and paste.
    Are you suggesting I did such a thing?
    No, I was making a humorous (I thought) reference to Scott P's oeuvre.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585
    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    The post war planners looked at Birmingham and thought how can we resolve to remove buildings of intrinsic historic architechtural beauty and replace them with, for decades a makeshift car park, before building something ugly, dreary and modern? Look no further than Snow Hill Station.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 14,878
    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    Why do you always simply post the opinion of others? (I do think your editorship is pretty good)
    I worry that he just sits on twitter all day, waiting for tweets to post on pb. What a waste of a life. He should be just reading pb. A far better waste of time. :D
    I'm sure he can answer for himself.
    He rarely does though. He posts and runs. I think he posts some interesting stuff up here, but I'd love to engage more about them too. Its all a bit relentless.
  • eekeek Posts: 24,797

    Scott_xP said:

    In just a few minutes, a man is going to stride out in front of these three massive screens that say ‘Getting Britain Moving’ and explain why he was absolutely right to have made it impossible to move house. It feels unbelievable. But that really is going to happen. https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1576946485580922881/photo/1

    I love a bit of hyperbole. 'Impossible to move house' is utter bullshit. We've been in an exceptional period of low interest rates for the last 15 years. if you had a mortgage and didn't make overpayments to get it down, well maybe you should have. If you thought interest rates could never go up - talk to your parents.

    Interest rates are rising everywhere. Its not down to KK. We printed a shed load of cash so the economy didn't die in 2020 as half the country were forced to stop working. There was always going to be a price to pay. Its arrived.
    Yes Interest rates are rising everywhere but KK managed to add a 1.5% to 2% risk premium to UK interest rates that didn't exist prior to September 23rd..
  • ydoethur said:

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
    Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out? :wink:
    I meant funny as in amusing not....
    If any of my Welsh friends pick up on that one, I want to emphasise that it was a joke. I was not inferring that all Welsh people are a bit odd and humourless.
  • darkagedarkage Posts: 4,746
    Carnyx said:

    Cookie said:

    Pulpstar said:

    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
    A double edged sword for Birmingham, is New Street.
    Actual arrival on the platforms - gloomy, subterranean - is pretty depressing. Most UK termini are spacious and open, with high roofs; Birmingham is not; it is darker and smellier than any other terminus I can think of.
    But the upside to this is that it is subterranean because it is more central than just about any other city station. So you emerge from the station into the very centre of the city centre. In all honesty, I'd rather have that than what Manchester has: Piccadilly station is nice, but very edge of centre; it's a good ten minutes' walk to the centre of town.
    Is that before or after the recent makeover? It used to be awful (as I recall only too well). Not seen it since myself.

    BTW not a terminus but a through station.
    If Conservative politicians want to educate themselves in what pro growth planning looks like, they need look around in Birmingham. The Council have spent 20 years on rebuilding the centre and it has been transformed from the post-industrial, provincial backwater it was 30 years ago. The point I would make to them is that it was all facilitated by the state. Effective politicians and officers. If you try and leave it all to the market and deregulate everything, nothing good will happen.

    This is the insight that the tories seemed to gain from 2018 - 2020, but now they have subsequently lost; going back in to their comforting ideological delusions about how you get 'growth' - ie by 'deregulating' and 'rolling back the state'.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,240
    Bristol is underrated

    A strange and fascinating city, with tons of history, and a genuine world class burb in Clifton
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,061
    ydoethur said:

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
    Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out? :wink:
    I think a fair number of Brummies are descendants of Welsh migration to work the factories in the 19th Century.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,763

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    The post war planners looked at Birmingham and thought how can we resolve to remove buildings of intrinsic historic architechtural beauty and replace them with, for decades a makeshift car park, before building something ugly, dreary and modern? Look no further than Snow Hill Station.
    Birmingham has an excellent cricket ground at Edgebasten, where England usually win, and excellent curry shops in Broad street. Do English cities really need anything else?
  • ydoethur said:

    ydoethur said:

    Pulpstar said:

    ydoethur said:

    Cookie said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    I can't speak for its aesthetic appeal back then, but Birmingham definitely wasn't 'a dump' in the 1950s; it was not only one of Britain's boom cities (along with a few others in the Midlands - a boom that was strangled by regional policy which made rich regions poorer without making poor regions richer), but it was also notably innovative in its waste disposal strategy, being a very early adopted of turning waste into energy. A (reasonably) clean and thriving city, even if its modernsit aesthetic wasn't to everyone's taste.
    That said, I also have the first impressions of my grandmother, whose first words to her mother, on seeing it, moving to the city from Glasgow, were "Oh mother, isn't it awful". Though possibly the impression an arrival through Smethwick and West Brpmwich gives you.
    Birmingham does of course suffer a bit from the fact the first impression most of us get of it is New Street Station.

    Which would probably lead people to think of St Petersburg or Krakow as an unredeemed dump for the rest of their lives, never mind Birmingham!
    Hasn't New Street been improved ?
    Not in the 28 years I've known it.

    If it was worse before that it must have been truly epically grim.
    You seem not to have visited the place since 2015.
    Last time I was there was a year ago. Before that I went through it fairly regularly.

    Edit - actually, that's not true, I changed trains there back in June.
    That is a bloody long journey you have been on there @ydoethur . Hope you get to your destination soon
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 10,342
    edited October 2022
    MattW said:

    algarkirk said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    An example of Armenian ugliness:

    https://armeniadiscovery.com/en/place/the-architecture-of-churches

    They eat there heart out in Armenia when they think of Birmingham's ecclesiastical architecture.
    No disrespect, but that is not a city :smile:
    True, but if anyone ever deserved a bit of biased positive discrimination it's the Armenians. Here's another monstrous carbuncle from Armenia.

    It lifts the spirit in ways Liz Truss never quite reaches.


    https://www.remotelands.com/travelogues/garni-the-roman-temple-in-armenia/

  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
    Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.

    The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
    Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
    The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
    I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
    If you like it so much, you can have mine. Like a dog t*** on the sole of one's expensive designer trainers, however hard one scubs to remove all evidence, unpleasant traces remain.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 40,950
    Hey Brexit fuckers.

    You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.

    Utter, utter fuckers.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 40,950
    Anyway, where were we? Nuclear armageddon?
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,061
    Leon said:

    Bristol is underrated

    A strange and fascinating city, with tons of history, and a genuine world class burb in Clifton

    Clifton is OK, if a bit posho, but the rest of the city is a dump. One of my least favourite sizeable British cities.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,059
    What do you call a Jedi who likes posh lager?

    Obi Wan Peroni
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,240
    Birmingham City Centre




    Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects

    This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism
  • Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
    Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.

    The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
    Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
    The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
    I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
    If you like it so much, you can have mine. Like a dog t*** on the sole of one's expensive designer trainers, however hard one scubs to remove all evidence, unpleasant traces remain.
    Yea, but you can say "I am considerably richer than yow" and it sounds funny. Birmingham folk always sound amusing because they generally are. The Irish are the same. I am proud to have both sets of genes and cultural influence
  • felixfelix Posts: 15,124

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
    Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.

    The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
    Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
    The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
    I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
    Bizarrely my little conrer of SE Spain boasts a sizeable population of ex-midlands residents going back aropund 30 years I believe. All that I've met have been very nice although their accents when speaking Spanish are a sound to behold!
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 14,878
    Leon said:

    Bristol is underrated

    A strange and fascinating city, with tons of history, and a genuine world class burb in Clifton

    Parts a Bristol are glorious with oodles of history. Its a city built on slavery and trying to come to terms with that. I rarely visited until a work trip a few years ago, when I was hugely impressed with the city centre.
    Other parts are less salubrious, but thats common elsewhere.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585
    Foxy said:

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    I quite like Brum and have seen it change quite a bit over the last 50 years, it has some great victorian buildings still, alongside some great modernism, and some ugly concrete brutalism. It has a certain "in your face" energy not found in much of England. There is much less pretension than many other cities, and a more brash materialism that reminds me of America. Every couple of decades they knock things down and rebuild, and sometimes get it right.

    I can see why some don't like it, but I get its vibe. Coventry however is a dump.
    Visiting places like Cologne to see the painstakingly reproduced Cathedral, one has to wonder at the wisdom of the New Coventry Cathedral. A mistake of its time.
  • TOPPING said:

    Hey Brexit fuckers.

    You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.

    Utter, utter fuckers.

    Yes but you must get a hardon every time you look down at your black/navy blue passport and think of that sovereignty that we got back (even though we always had it anyway)
  • eekeek Posts: 24,797
    It seems 1 half of the tory party is happy to attack the other half for reasons

    Sam Coates Sky
    @SamCoatesSky
    Forget a consensual approach, Kwasi Kwarteng goes in two footed. Says Britain was facing "slow managed decline" (hello Boris! hello Rishi"

    And mentions twice 70 year tax burden - again implicit Sunak criticism - at a time when Truss gvt ought to be reaching out to his supporters
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,061
    Leon said:

    Birmingham City Centre




    Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects

    This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism

    Brum is brassy, industrial and mercantile. It would look silly dressed in a Laura Ashley frock like Poundbury,
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,045
    TOPPING said:

    Hey Brexit fuckers.

    You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.

    Utter, utter fuckers.

    Tut tut, using 'yards' - you'll have your remoaner passport taken away, let alone your data passport.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,240
    Foxy said:

    Leon said:

    Bristol is underrated

    A strange and fascinating city, with tons of history, and a genuine world class burb in Clifton

    Clifton is OK, if a bit posho, but the rest of the city is a dump. One of my least favourite sizeable British cities.

    Strongly disagree. It has a remarkable topography for a start

    But then, you think Birmingham is OK!

    Diversity of opinion is good
  • nico679nico679 Posts: 4,532
    Kwarteng quickly mentions the screeching u-turn .
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    Quite a sizeable part of my family come from Birmingham area. I think most of them would agree with his assessment.
    Architechturally Birminghham is a ****hole, and I speak as someone born and raised next door in once leafy Solihull. But that is not the nub of Mr Granger's argument, he is making an islamophobic point.

    The Selfridges building doesn't look to have the mark of the Grand Mosque of Paris about it. So I doubt that was his main thrust.
    Do you say Solihull as in Sole-lee-hull or Solihull as in Solly-'ull ?
    The latter, and it has been a millstone throughout my career.
    I am one of the few people in the world that loves the Brummy accent.
    If you like it so much, you can have mine. Like a dog t*** on the sole of one's expensive designer trainers, however hard one scubs to remove all evidence, unpleasant traces remain.
    Yea, but you can say "I am considerably richer than yow" and it sounds funny. Birmingham folk always sound amusing because they generally are. The Irish are the same. I am proud to have both sets of genes and cultural influence
    But the joke is on the speaker, like Beryl Reid's Marlene or Jasper Carrot's Funky Moped rider.
  • paulyork64paulyork64 Posts: 2,461
    ydoethur said:

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Problem is that Manchester is full of Mancs. Whereas Birmingham is full of the friendliest and funniest people in the world.
    Really? What are the Welsh doing there, pushing the Brummies out? :wink:
    They want their water back.
  • TimSTimS Posts: 9,157
    edited October 2022
    Foxy said:

    Leon said:

    Bristol is underrated

    A strange and fascinating city, with tons of history, and a genuine world class burb in Clifton

    Clifton is OK, if a bit posho, but the rest of the city is a dump. One of my least favourite sizeable British cities.
    I've only been once in the last few years but really enjoyed it. There was, for want of a better word, a "West Coast" feel to it. Mild climate, a sense the countryside and hills are not far away, a bit alternative and boho. It did seem to have a big homelessness problem though.
  • pingping Posts: 3,724
    edited October 2022
    Kwasi has an awful habit of reacting to clapping by jumping on it and raising his voice.

    He needs some basic public speaking training.

    He has an excellent voice for public speaking, but terrible technique.
  • eek said:

    It seems 1 half of the tory party is happy to attack the other half for reasons

    Sam Coates Sky
    @SamCoatesSky
    Forget a consensual approach, Kwasi Kwarteng goes in two footed. Says Britain was facing "slow managed decline" (hello Boris! hello Rishi"

    And mentions twice 70 year tax burden - again implicit Sunak criticism - at a time when Truss gvt ought to be reaching out to his supporters

    Is this a speech that was written before this morning, and nobody could face updating it?
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688
    ping said:

    Kwasi has a terrible habit of reacting to clapping by jumping on it and raising his voice.

    He needs basic public speaking training.

    Basic arithmetic lessons first please.
  • Kwarteng making a big thing about the energy package handouts.

    Basically what cost Sunak, who was in favour of the handouts, the election vs Truss who was against them.

    They are a very weird party.
  • CookieCookie Posts: 11,183
    IshmaelZ said:

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
    All the best cities think they are actually number one. Without that self confidence you are nowhere.
    Many cities think they are rather more brilliant than might objectively be the case. I'd cite Newcastle and Nottingham in this respect. Manchester's certainty of its own brilliance is something else again though. (I say this as a suburban Mancunian with a great deal of affection for the place. But modest we are not in Manchester.)
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,045

    eek said:

    It seems 1 half of the tory party is happy to attack the other half for reasons

    Sam Coates Sky
    @SamCoatesSky
    Forget a consensual approach, Kwasi Kwarteng goes in two footed. Says Britain was facing "slow managed decline" (hello Boris! hello Rishi"

    And mentions twice 70 year tax burden - again implicit Sunak criticism - at a time when Truss gvt ought to be reaching out to his supporters

    Is this a speech that was written before this morning, and nobody could face updating it?
    You and Sam Coates actually think that we shouldn't be criticising Sunak now, for some reason??
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,240

    TOPPING said:

    Hey Brexit fuckers.

    You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.

    Utter, utter fuckers.

    Tut tut, using 'yards' - you'll have your remoaner passport taken away, let alone your data passport.
    As someone who lives a mile from St Pancras (magnificent station) and passes through it regularly, I can confidently say that long queues for Eurostar are not a new, Brexity thing

    I’ve no idea what data passports are. I go abroad and use my phone. As I always did

  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585
    Leon said:

    Birmingham City Centre




    Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects

    This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism

    I don't have a problem with anything in that picture other than the Selfridges carbunkle. Most German Cities successfully mix the old with the post war austere.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 40,950
    edited October 2022

    TOPPING said:

    Hey Brexit fuckers.

    You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.

    Utter, utter fuckers.

    Tut tut, using 'yards' - you'll have your remoaner passport taken away, let alone your data passport.
    Yes good point. Prior to our exit from the EU I was disallowed from using "yards". Now that we are free I can use yards, pints, furlongs and all the rest.

    Phewee.
  • PeterM said:

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
    Liverpool has a much nicer setting than Manchester due to the waterfront. Not the same cosmopolitan feel as Manchester though. Edinburgh is lovely my favourite British city but suffers for me due to cold weather and being in scotland
    Liverpool has Scousers. Edinburgh is one of my favourite places, but it has Nicola Sturgeon. I guess everywhere has its downsides.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,616
    Leon said:

    Birmingham City Centre




    Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects

    This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism

    In the 80s book The Third World War, Birmingham gets nuked. So….
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 38,517
    Leon said:

    algarkirk said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    An example of Armenian ugliness:

    https://armeniadiscovery.com/en/place/the-architecture-of-churches

    They eat there heart out in Armenia when they think of Birmingham's ecclesiastical architecture.
    I recently visited that exact monastery!

    Armenia has stunning monuments like that, and some quite epic landscapes, but all the towns - Yerevan apart - are hideous. Soviet grey concrete meets drab grey weather. And earthquakes

    However the people are brilliant. Kind, generous, funny, clever, curious (in both senses). And the young women are notably beautiful

    I strongly recommend a visit. It’s fabulous

    I walked past St Cwyfan's Church-in-the-sea on Anglesey, which is spectacularly situated. The name 'in the sea' is very apt:
    https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/limeworkstcwyfan/limeworkstcwyfan.htm

    (There was some sort of story that the rector used to keep parishioners in late, meaning they were trapped on the island and he could preach for longer.)
  • a little turbulance reminds me of the green shoots of recovery - Callaghan never actually said 'crisis what crisis'
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,240

    Leon said:

    Birmingham City Centre




    Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects

    This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism

    I don't have a problem with anything in that picture other than the Selfridges carbunkle. Most German Cities successfully mix the old with the post war austere.
    It does look like a bombed German toilet. Like Düsseldorf or Cologne (minus the cathedral)

    The modern towers are so pathetically STUMPY

    At least crap American and Asian cities have properly tall skyscrapers. British towers are so apologetic and weedy. Outside London
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 9,688

    PeterM said:

    PeterM said:

    Leon said:

    Is Birmingham really as ugly as “any city in the world”?

    Brum is a shocker (like too many British cities) but I suggest there are worse in the ex-USSR, China, Korea, sub Saharan Africa

    eg Almost any town in Armenia is uglier than Birmingham

    That could be Birmingham’s new motto. “Better than many places in Armenia”

    strange place Birmingham. Supposed to be our 2nd city yet i always find the vibe in Manchester much better and to me Manchester always feels like our 2nd city.
    Manchester has a vibe like it thinks it is actually number one which often grates. Some parts of Brum are interesting/pleasant. Near the exhibition centre canal area and near the University are two that spring to mind. I prefer Liverpool, Glasgow and particularly Edinburgh to Manchester.
    Liverpool has a much nicer setting than Manchester due to the waterfront. Not the same cosmopolitan feel as Manchester though. Edinburgh is lovely my favourite British city but suffers for me due to cold weather and being in scotland
    Liverpool has Scousers. Edinburgh is one of my favourite places, but it has Nicola Sturgeon. I guess everywhere has its downsides.
    And I imagine that Rentokill charge a big price when you have a nasty case of 'Nicola Sturgeon'?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,045

    Kwarteng making a big thing about the energy package handouts.

    Basically what cost Sunak, who was in favour of the handouts, the election vs Truss who was against them.

    They are a very weird party.

    I think the assumption was definitely that Truss would cap energy in some way, though she refused to be drawn on how.
  • nico679nico679 Posts: 4,532
    We’re onto the de-regulation part of this and Kwarteng gets a big cheer when saying he’ll remove those horrible EU rules !

    I’m sure workers will be overjoyed when holiday entitlement , and the working time directive etc are gone .
  • SlackbladderSlackbladder Posts: 9,704
    Theres not much behind the curtain is there?

    Plenty of talk about growth, but nothing about how to get it
  • Leon said:

    Birmingham City Centre




    Honestly, the best thing they could do is level the entire thing and start again. And get King Charles to pick the architects

    This may be one upside of the impending nuclear war. Radical improvements to British urbanism

    In the 80s book The Third World War, Birmingham gets nuked. So….
    Reminds me of a Jethro joke: It caused a billion pounds worth of improvements.
  • DavidL said:

    ydoethur said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Young Tory chair Daniel Grainger has quit his role temporarily after calling Birmingham 'a dump'

    I'm told he's stepped down pending an investigation..

    @Young_Tories have distanced themselves from his remarks

    https://twitter.com/alethaadu/status/1576937343348793344

    This is why I never went into politics, you get into trouble for speaking the truth.
    I suspect he's in trouble mainly because he suggested Birmingham's "dumpness" could be attributed to it having one of the highest Muslim population's in Britain, if you follow the thread.
    Ouch. Well someone ought to tell the racist silly twat that Birmingham was even more of a dump before any Muslims settled there.
    That is also true.

    In fact, Birmingham is ugly as any city in the world and it's as badly planned as a Special Military Operation, but it does have it's good points as well. Some decent civic centres, great shops, and a bustle and energy that's quite uplifting in its own way. It feels very much better now than even thirty years ago.
    The post war planners looked at Birmingham and thought how can we resolve to remove buildings of intrinsic historic architechtural beauty and replace them with, for decades a makeshift car park, before building something ugly, dreary and modern? Look no further than Snow Hill Station.
    Birmingham has an excellent cricket ground at Edgebasten, where England usually win, and excellent curry shops in Broad street. Do English cities really need anything else?
    Curry 'shops' in Broad Street?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,045
    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Hey Brexit fuckers.

    You have so cocked things up. Queues for non-Business class Eurostar stretching for literally hundreds of yards at St. Pancras and having to buy a "data passport" to use my mobile data allowance in France.

    Utter, utter fuckers.

    Tut tut, using 'yards' - you'll have your remoaner passport taken away, let alone your data passport.
    Yes good point. Prior to our exit from the EU I was disallowed from using "yards". Now that we are free I can use yards, pints, furlongs and all the rest.

    Phewee.
    There you go look, the data passport even allows overblown sarcasm.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 46,240
    “Major advances happening simultaneously for Ukraine on two fronts 100s of kms apart. Russian military Telegram channels are increasingly in total panic. Starting to feel like the wheels are coming off for the Russian military.”

    “Others have noted this, but it bears repeating: these offensives don't enjoy the surprise that the Kharkiv one last month did. Here, the Russians know what is coming, and the Ukrainian army is solidly defeating them day after day. Hard to see how the bleeding stops.”

    https://twitter.com/neilphauer/status/1576946172609953794?s=46&t=1pS0_ubk1S__VRnngjQo6A
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,770
    Pulpstar said:

    Deutsche liabilities 1.2T, Credit Suisse 0.6T.
    Currency ?
    Any of euro, dollar, sterling or Swiss franc since they're all close to the same nominal value these days

    The key to look at is the asset side of the equation, and to understand where there is the possibility of (and size of) impairments.
This discussion has been closed.