Oh, Rishi Sunak – politicalbetting.com

TheScreamingEagles said:

I would have done a thread on Donald Trump's indictment, but I've broken a rib laughing.

Was that broken rib done making pb a laughing stock?

Of course you should have gone with Trump. The biggest political story on the planet.

Morris_Dancer said:

Good morning, everyone.

Mr. Cabinet, worth noting there's still a border dispute between India and China (and perhaps more than one, now I come to think of it).

??

The newspapers Will (make) Hay with this.

Prize for anyone who gets that really obscure pun...

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

I would have done a thread on Donald Trump's indictment, but I've broken a rib laughing.

Was that broken rib done making pb a laughing stock?

Of course you should have gone with Trump. The biggest political story on the planet.

I want to do a bit more research on it.

I'm still contemplating the betting implications.

IIRC once this indictment is out of the way the grand jury will focus on Georgia.

Morris_Dancer said:

Good morning, everyone.

Mr. Cabinet, worth noting there's still a border dispute between India and China (and perhaps more than one, now I come to think of it).

When two (nuclear-armed) tribes go to war....with bricks and scaffolding poles.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/14/asia/india-china-border-tensions-video-intl-hnk/index.html

...

Mr. Mark, in the northern disputed border zone I believe both sides have agreed patrolling soldiers won't have 'military' weapons (guns etc).

So the government of the day should interfere with an outgoing PM's resignation honours even if the House of Lords Appointments Commission and the Honours Committee is happy with them? I'm not sure that would be a good precedent to set. To be honest, I doubt this would have any real traction with voters and is easy to deal with as it would be Johnson giving his father a knighthood, not Sunak.

TheScreamingEagles said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

I would have done a thread on Donald Trump's indictment, but I've broken a rib laughing.

Was that broken rib done making pb a laughing stock?

Of course you should have gone with Trump. The biggest political story on the planet.

I want to do a bit more research on it.

I'm still contemplating the betting implications.

IIRC once this indictment is out of the way the grand jury will focus on Georgia.

I suspect that Trump loses a tranche more of the independents. Even just being charged. It's one thing being thought a bit of a rogue, forgivable because he is going to Drain The Swamp. It's another to have an address in that swamp.

Benpointer said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Good morning, everyone.

Mr. Cabinet, worth noting there's still a border dispute between India and China (and perhaps more than one, now I come to think of it).

??

They actually fought a war in the 60s and I think it’s still unresolved

Essentially China wants to protect the heartland - it defines this as including all the headwaters of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, so the Himalayas are a natural point of conflict with India

Mr. Seal, some people feel uncomfortable having someone of a different sex examine them, especially if it's trouser-removing matter.

Likewise, women who have been sexually assaulted may well prefer to have female officers question them rather than men. That's not unreasonable.

ydoethur said:

The newspapers Will (make) Hay with this.

Prize for anyone who gets that really obscure pun...

Speaking of prizes unlikely to be claimed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prizes_for_evidence_of_the_paranormal

I have gazed into my crystal ball and can see that none of these are likely to be claimed anytime soon.

TheScreamingEagles said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

I would have done a thread on Donald Trump's indictment, but I've broken a rib laughing.

Was that broken rib done making pb a laughing stock?

Of course you should have gone with Trump. The biggest political story on the planet.

I want to do a bit more research on it.

I'm still contemplating the betting implications.

IIRC once this indictment is out of the way the grand jury will focus on Georgia.

I suspect that Trump loses a tranche more of the independents. Even just being charged. It's one thing being thought a bit of a rogue, forgivable because he is going to Drain The Swamp. It's another to have an address in that swamp.

I'm trying to find the link which says if he's convicted in Georgia, then he cannot stand for election in Georgia.

Those are 16 electoral votes he needs to win if he wants to win back the White House.

If convicted he can stand (and take office if he wins) but cannot vote in Florida, I believe.

Benpointer said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

I would have done a thread on Donald Trump's indictment, but I've broken a rib laughing.

Was that broken rib done making pb a laughing stock?

Of course you should have gone with Trump. The biggest political story on the planet.

I want to do a bit more research on it.

I'm still contemplating the betting implications.

IIRC once this indictment is out of the way the grand jury will focus on Georgia.

I suspect that Trump loses a tranche more of the independents. Even just being charged. It's one thing being thought a bit of a rogue, forgivable because he is going to Drain The Swamp. It's another to have an address in that swamp.

I'm trying to find the link which says if he's convicted in Georgia, then he cannot stand for election in Georgia.

Those are 16 electoral votes he needs to win if he wants to win back the White House.

If convicted he can stand (and take office if he wins) but cannot vote in Florida, I believe.

But he may not be able to be on the ballot in Georgia.

TheScreamingEagles said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

I would have done a thread on Donald Trump's indictment, but I've broken a rib laughing.

Was that broken rib done making pb a laughing stock?

Of course you should have gone with Trump. The biggest political story on the planet.

I want to do a bit more research on it.

I'm still contemplating the betting implications.

IIRC once this indictment is out of the way the grand jury will focus on Georgia.

Trump will dominate the news. This is good for his chances of securing the Republican nomination.

But it will reduce his chances of winning the Presidency.

Ergo, betting advice: lay DeSantis for nominee, lay Trump for President.

StillWaters said:

Benpointer said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Good morning, everyone.

Mr. Cabinet, worth noting there's still a border dispute between India and China (and perhaps more than one, now I come to think of it).

??

They actually fought a war in the 60s and I think it’s still unresolved

Essentially China wants to protect the heartland - it defines this as including all the headwaters of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, so the Himalayas are a natural point of conflict with India

I was struggling with the reference to Mr. Cabinet. Previous thread, I assume.

I find Morris's refusal to quote the post he is replying to very tedious.

Farooq said:

CarlottaVance said:

Penddu2 said:

I am surpised nobody has mentioned Donald's latest charges.... an American president being charged with espionage against his own country!!! Huge.

Partisan account so don’t know how accurate it is - but it would be jolly funny if that was the case….

MAJOR BREAKING: Donald Trump is facing five years in prison and a felony because of a law HE SIGNED in attempt to punish Hillary Clinton in 2018.

Oh this is GOOD!

The law HE SIGNED upgrades the crime of wrongly moving classified material from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Trump signed the bill after spending the 2016 presidential campaign accusing Hillary Clinton of improperly handling classified information.

"Trump certainly has legal exposure to Section 1924 given it was classified documents from his spaces in the White House that were removed to Mar-Lago," said attorney Bradley P. Moss.

This evening, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be indicted.

Trump said he must report to a Miami courthouse this Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/CalltoActivism/status/1666954598119079938?s=20

"Partisan account so don’t know how accurate it is"
95% of your contributions on here are copying and pasting tweets from partisan accounts

Yes indeed, we've got Scott from anti-Brexit Twitter and Carlotta from Tory-faithful Twitter

StillWaters said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

I can imagine, for example, that many women would be uncomfortable with an intimate examination by a physical man who was in the process of transitioning to becoming a woman

Ah, the great Daily Mail modus operandi in its pure state.

If you read beyond the pitchforks & burning torches headline, the piece itself says patients can request a same sex member of staff in the cases of intimate examinations or if they have been a victim of sexual violence.

Note the indictment was issued by a grand jury of 20 of his fellow Floridians.

Constituents whom DeSantis has already publicly condemned without viewing the evidence.

Farooq said:

CarlottaVance said:

Penddu2 said:

I am surpised nobody has mentioned Donald's latest charges.... an American president being charged with espionage against his own country!!! Huge.

Partisan account so don’t know how accurate it is - but it would be jolly funny if that was the case….

MAJOR BREAKING: Donald Trump is facing five years in prison and a felony because of a law HE SIGNED in attempt to punish Hillary Clinton in 2018.

Oh this is GOOD!

The law HE SIGNED upgrades the crime of wrongly moving classified material from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Trump signed the bill after spending the 2016 presidential campaign accusing Hillary Clinton of improperly handling classified information.

"Trump certainly has legal exposure to Section 1924 given it was classified documents from his spaces in the White House that were removed to Mar-Lago," said attorney Bradley P. Moss.

This evening, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be indicted.

Trump said he must report to a Miami courthouse this Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/CalltoActivism/status/1666954598119079938?s=20

"Partisan account so don’t know how accurate it is"
95% of your contributions on here are copying and pasting tweets from partisan accounts

True, but there is a choice between being posting a story and spending 30 minutes sanity checking it's actually true.

This sounds true because it follows the all important Wile E Coyote rule of being the one caught out by your ill-conceived plan...

Labour is changing its green energy plan, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves exclusively tells @JustinOnWeb.

Instead of spending £28bn a year from the start of a Labour government, 'we will ramp up to the £28bn' in the second half of a first term in office.

https://twitter.com/BBCr4today/status/1667070767828291584

TimS said:

In Tories not knowing how to behave news, I was at an event at Australia House last night celebrating the UK-Aus free trade agreement.

Very nice event, lots of decent Aussie wine and Scotch whisky, pleasant diplomatic speeches by various officials. Then Kemi Badenoch took to the stage, and in the course of a very short speech managed to have a dig at French railway workers (she was fresh back from Paris) as proof we were right to Brexit, throw in a jibe at the Guardian, and rushed through her words in such a cursory way it was borderline Boris-like. Not sure if it was deliberate or she was just tired after a day of meetings, but it left one with the impression of someone who might not be so good at the core prime ministerial skill of holding a sword still at a coronation.

That’s quite tragic and symptomatic of “politicians being too political” which I find is a horrid side effect of too many career politicians with no hinterland in real life. No concept that this should purely be a happy occasion celebrating mutual links between the two countries.

I don’t care which party a politician is from I just wish they could drop the whole bullshit of turning every conversation, interview or speech into a partisan soundbite opportunity.

Farooq said:

StillWaters said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

I can imagine, for example, that many women would be uncomfortable with an intimate examination by a physical man who was in the process of transitioning to becoming a woman

I can imagine, for example, that many women would be uncomfortable with an intimate examination by a gay woman. That doesn't mean they have a right to know the doctor's private life.

The Breast Screening Programme has an exemption from sex discrimination law allowing it to only employ women. My late mother, a doctor herself, always complained about this. She said she’d rather have a man handling her breasts during a mammogram on the grounds that men appreciate breasts more.

TimS said:

Not sure if it was deliberate or she was just tired after a day of meetings, but it left one with the impression of someone who might not be so good at the core prime ministerial skill of holding a sword still at a coronation.

Don't get them started. We'll have ancient tories getting a semi at the thought of it.

Farooq said:

StillWaters said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

I can imagine, for example, that many women would be uncomfortable with an intimate examination by a physical man who was in the process of transitioning to becoming a woman

I can imagine, for example, that many women would be uncomfortable with an intimate examination by a gay woman. That doesn't mean they have a right to know the doctor's private life.

So should people be able to request a private exam from a same sex doctor?

FrankBooth said:

Can he actually prevent a former PM's resignation honours list?

We can already see that Rishi can delay Boris's resignation honours list, because he has. They are not a fixed part of the constitution. Neither Tony Blair nor Gordon Brown had resignation honours lists.

BREAKING:

Rachel Reeves has scrapped Labour’s pledge to spend £28bn a year on green prosperity plan after weeks of fierce internal criticism

She says Labour will now ‘ramp up’ spending on green prosperity over course of Parliament - the £28bn figure appears to have been ditched

Nigelb said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

The transphobes are an odd lot.

They want trans people to be invisible to society, while simultaneously demanding they be informed about anyone who is trans.

And it does lead to odd outcomes like this:

Miklosvar said:

Foxy said:

StillWaters said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

I can imagine, for example, that many women would be uncomfortable with an intimate examination by a physical man who was in the process of transitioning to becoming a woman

Which is why chaperones are used when doing intimate examinations.

It is as much or more for protection of staff as patients.

but not under anaesthesia (I assume that the average theatre procedure has professionals of both sexes there). Do people object to this? Are you allowed to?

Not necessarily, but theatres always have multiple staff so are effectively always chaperoned several times over.

eek said:

Farooq said:

CarlottaVance said:

Penddu2 said:

I am surpised nobody has mentioned Donald's latest charges.... an American president being charged with espionage against his own country!!! Huge.

Partisan account so don’t know how accurate it is - but it would be jolly funny if that was the case….

MAJOR BREAKING: Donald Trump is facing five years in prison and a felony because of a law HE SIGNED in attempt to punish Hillary Clinton in 2018.

Oh this is GOOD!

The law HE SIGNED upgrades the crime of wrongly moving classified material from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Trump signed the bill after spending the 2016 presidential campaign accusing Hillary Clinton of improperly handling classified information.

"Trump certainly has legal exposure to Section 1924 given it was classified documents from his spaces in the White House that were removed to Mar-Lago," said attorney Bradley P. Moss.

This evening, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be indicted.

Trump said he must report to a Miami courthouse this Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/CalltoActivism/status/1666954598119079938?s=20

"Partisan account so don’t know how accurate it is"
95% of your contributions on here are copying and pasting tweets from partisan accounts

True, but there is a choice between being posting a story and spending 30 minutes sanity checking it's actually true.

This sounds true because it follows the all important Wile E Coyote rule of being the one caught out by your ill-conceived plan...

If you have the patience, it's in this bill signed into law in 2018
https://www.congress.gov/115/plaws/publ118/PLAW-115publ118.pdf

Benpointer said:

StillWaters said:

Benpointer said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Good morning, everyone.

Mr. Cabinet, worth noting there's still a border dispute between India and China (and perhaps more than one, now I come to think of it).

??

They actually fought a war in the 60s and I think it’s still unresolved

Essentially China wants to protect the heartland - it defines this as including all the headwaters of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, so the Himalayas are a natural point of conflict with India

I was struggling with the reference to Mr. Cabinet. Previous thread, I assume.

I find Morris's refusal to quote the post he is replying to very tedious.

It is very frustrating. I can't see the logic in not taking the nano second required to press the quote button in order to resume clarity of conversation. Very confusing!

Mexicanpete said:

Benpointer said:

StillWaters said:

Benpointer said:

Morris_Dancer said:

Good morning, everyone.

Mr. Cabinet, worth noting there's still a border dispute between India and China (and perhaps more than one, now I come to think of it).

??

They actually fought a war in the 60s and I think it’s still unresolved

Essentially China wants to protect the heartland - it defines this as including all the headwaters of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, so the Himalayas are a natural point of conflict with India

I was struggling with the reference to Mr. Cabinet. Previous thread, I assume.

I find Morris's refusal to quote the post he is replying to very tedious.

It is very frustrating. I can't see the logic in not taking the nano second required to press the quote button in order to resume clarity of conversation. Very confusing!

I've mentioned this so many times and get shouted down every time.

I do not understand why they can't just do the polite thing and quote the post they are responding to.

FrankBooth said:

Farooq said:

StillWaters said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

I can imagine, for example, that many women would be uncomfortable with an intimate examination by a physical man who was in the process of transitioning to becoming a woman

I can imagine, for example, that many women would be uncomfortable with an intimate examination by a gay woman. That doesn't mean they have a right to know the doctor's private life.

So should people be able to request a private exam from a same sex doctor?

The practice where my wife and I are registered….. a very efficient practice I should note …..is all female. However if a male patient ‘has problems’ apparently they have arranged for male cover.
As far as I know, the only male regularly on the premises is a physiotherapist who rents a room for a half day a week.

Tony Blair 40 years ago

https://twitter.com/BenWill1973/status/1667070366995365889/photo/1

nico679 said:

God no surely Sunak isn’t that stupid . Knighting a wife beater ! I would be shocked if that Times story is correct . It would be insane to knight Stanley Johnson.

Even if he weren't one (and it is an allegation as he has never been convicted), what on earth is the reason for knighting him?

Farooq said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

TimS said:

In Tories not knowing how to behave news, I was at an event at Australia House last night celebrating the UK-Aus free trade agreement.

Very nice event, lots of decent Aussie wine and Scotch whisky, pleasant diplomatic speeches by various officials. Then Kemi Badenoch took to the stage, and in the course of a very short speech managed to have a dig at French railway workers (she was fresh back from Paris) as proof we were right to Brexit, throw in a jibe at the Guardian, and rushed through her words in such a cursory way it was borderline Boris-like. Not sure if it was deliberate or she was just tired after a day of meetings, but it left one with the impression of someone who might not be so good at the core prime ministerial skill of holding a sword still at a coronation.

She does seem like a rather tedious ideologue. Very much a core vote leader for the Tories, I don't really get why some people on here rate her so much.

The ones who rate her are also tedious ideologues

I knew there must be an explanation!

CorrectHorseBat said:

bigjohnowls said:

Tony Blair 40 years ago

https://twitter.com/BenWill1973/status/1667070366995365889/photo/1

Tony Blair won three elections in a row.

It is interesting your long to go back to another era when Labour also liked losing.

Labour in 1975 held a Referendum because Wilson knew the party was split on the issue. When we’d joined, to the enthusiastic support of, among others the Daily Mail, the principal opposition had come from the Bennite, or Left, wing of the Labour Party.

Miklosvar said:

CorrectHorseBat said:

Foxy said:

Nigelb said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

The transphobes are an odd lot.

They want trans people to be invisible to society, while simultaneously demanding they be informed about anyone who is trans.

And it does lead to odd outcomes like this:

So a question for the single-sex space advocates, what do you do in a situation like this?

Ignore. The photo is not the actual person, it's for illustrative purposes only. I am guessing the actual "beard" was 3 stray hairs.

Nonetheless, the issue is there. There are an increasing number of Trans-men who often pass quite well. Should they use the female toilets and changing rooms according to their chromosomes?

It seems that "butch" Cis-women are also being increasingly challenged.

Miklosvar said:

CorrectHorseBat said:

Foxy said:

Nigelb said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

The transphobes are an odd lot.

They want trans people to be invisible to society, while simultaneously demanding they be informed about anyone who is trans.

And it does lead to odd outcomes like this:

So a question for the single-sex space advocates, what do you do in a situation like this?

Ignore. The photo is not the actual person, it's for illustrative purposes only. I am guessing the actual "beard" was 3 stray hairs.

It actually looks like Andrew Tate, which is quite funny.

CorrectHorseBat said:

bigjohnowls said:

Tony Blair 40 years ago

https://twitter.com/BenWill1973/status/1667070366995365889/photo/1

Tony Blair won three elections in a row.

It is interesting your long to go back to another era when Labour also liked losing.

I liked Toy Blair I canvassed and worked for 2 of those victories and 1997 was a fantastic night after 18 years of Tory Government.

Tony Blair maintained a broad church invested heavily in Public Services and had the full range of the left in his Cabinets

SKS is no Tony Blair

Currently Prince Andrew has a 7% positive rating, so knighting Stanley is less popular than Prince Andrew. I have met Stanley once, he is perfectly charming and a former MEP and has done a lot for the Environment but sticking to MBEs or OBEs would probably be better

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2023/01/12/prince-harrys-popularity-falls-further-spare-hits-

Dura_Ace said:

Penddu2 said:

Whatever you think of Rishi, you can never accuse him of being too big for his boots....

If it weren't indicative of levels of competence and cunning that are utterly beyond the tories I'd swear he wore the comedy shitkickers to provoke a memestorm to distract from the fact he hasn't, can't and won't STOP THE BOATS.

The government has now abandoned the policy of treating "illegal arrivals" differently to other asylum seekers.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/08/key-plank-of-new-uk-asylum-law-dropped-to-cut-backlog?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

DougSeal said:

bigjohnowls said:

Tony Blair 40 years ago

https://twitter.com/BenWill1973/status/1667070366995365889/photo/1

You love it when Labour lose. Which is why you back the side of the party known to be serial losers.

Look in the mirror

Centrists wanted Labour to lose in 2017 and 2019

Worked to divert monies away from winnable marginals because getting rid of a Socialist leader was more important than winning a GE

Them not me are responsible for the Tory excesses.

SKS is continuation Tory continuation austerity continuation privatiser of the NHS continuation lying politician

He offers nothing to the poorest in Society

He is no Tony Blair

Cannot believe I missed a visit from our Russian friend!

Foxy said:

tlg86 said:

CorrectHorseBat said:

Foxy said:

Nigelb said:

DougSeal said:

I demand the right to examine my GP’s genitals before an appointment

The transphobes are an odd lot.

They want trans people to be invisible to society, while simultaneously demanding they be informed about anyone who is trans.

And it does lead to odd outcomes like this:

So a question for the single-sex space advocates, what do you do in a situation like this?

Yes, this is very silly. Anyone should be able to use the gents. I was at the boat race one year and was queuing to get into the gents at a pub when a lady came out being very apologetic (long queue for the ladies etc.), but really, us men don't care. And, actually, in situations like that, when it's very busy, it doesn't really matter because there's loads of people around.

We have different toilets for the protection of women. Personally, I'm of the view that until a person has had the surgery to remove their male anatomy, they should be considered a man. However, if they are presenting as a woman and wouldn't alarm anyone, then I don't see too much of an issue with toilets.

The doctor situation is tricky. I can fully understand why a woman would want to see a female doctor, so I don't think it's unreasonable that a female patient should be able to demand that. I think patients should be prioritised over the feelings of some doctors.

What happens when the only gynaecologist on duty is male, or andrologist is female? And there is something like a suspected ectopic pregnancy, or torsion of testes that cannot wait?

You must already know the answer to this.

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

I would have done a thread on Donald Trump's indictment, but I've broken a rib laughing.

Was that broken rib done making pb a laughing stock?

Of course you should have gone with Trump. The biggest political story on the planet.

I want to do a bit more research on it.

I'm still contemplating the betting implications.

IIRC once this indictment is out of the way the grand jury will focus on Georgia.

I suspect that Trump loses a tranche more of the independents. Even just being charged. It's one thing being thought a bit of a rogue, forgivable because he is going to Drain The Swamp. It's another to have an address in that swamp.

If the Democrats replaced Biden with Harris though Trump might still even win independents and the presidency from prison

Re Trump Indictment - I do not see this hurting him in the primary. Already we see most GOP contenders defending him; for this to hurt him someone has to decide to try and weaponise this against him. By defending him, the other candidates are messaging two things: Trumps popularity within the GOP, and that he is being victimised by the Biden admin. Faux victimisation is something the GOP base love, and so (if anything) I would consider this indictment would make him more likely to win the primary rather than lose it. I don't even see the Georgia case changing this; again people overestimate the seriousness of the GOP primary electorate. Unless a court rules him guilty and part of the verdict is a bad on federal office, he will be the nominee. Hell, even with a ban on running for federal office I can see him winning the primary - the GOP base would love the opportunity to tell "liberal judges" to go to hell and argue their democratic right to pick who they want is more important.

I do think this makes the general election harder for Trump but, again, not by much. Maybe a few swing states move lean Democratic.

rcs1000 said:

Andy_JS said:

I've been to Portland, Maine. Somewhere Leon hasn't been so far according to previous posts. Got there by train from Boston.

I'm going to Portland next week.

Any tips?

Swanage Railway
Monkey World
Durdle Door

HYUFD said:

bigjohnowls said:

Tony Blair 40 years ago

https://twitter.com/BenWill1973/status/1667070366995365889/photo/1

Well nobody can say Blair was a glory hunter, he was a Labour candidate in 1983 when Labour got its lowest ever voteshare since WW2.

Though he did win his seat of Sedgefield unlike Labour under Corbyn in 2019, after having lost in the Beaconsfield by election to the Tories the previous year. One thing Sunak and Starmer have not had unlike Blair in Beaconsfield (and indeed Cameron and Boris who both lost seats to Labour before getting Witney and Henley) is experience of personal defeat in an election campaign which would toughen them up.

While both competent they both got shoehorned into safe seats straight away in 2015, Starmer in Holborn and St Pancras and Sunak in Richmond and I think that may show for both of them in the general election next year.

Fair point, and one about which I’ve wondered. Starmer did of course have a substantial career ‘before politics’. Which is more than Fishy Rishi had.