I suspect this will go on every Labour leaflet during the general election campaign
Comments
-
The Tory arse licking right wing press are delusional . I’m beginning to think Sunak could announce a cure for cancer and he’d still be loathed by many . It might now be a case of the messenger and even when there might be some more positive announcements people see Sunak and just think just go away !rottenborough said:James O'Brien
@mrjamesob
·
1h
Hours after Downing Street briefed friendly journalists that they'd had a great week, a former Minister defects to Labour...
https://twitter.com/mrjamesob0 -
Sure, Private medicine with no expense spared can give great customer service. Not always efficient in terms of resources, but that is something different.Malmesbury said:
I went private recently. The first chap doddled a list of tests and other people he wanted me to see on an iPad as he went. By the time he’d finished (10 minutes) his secretory had lined up the tests and appointments for me - a couple of options for each. Calendar ics for each, straight to my phone.Omnium said:
That's a factor, but nobody, nobody, and nobody imagines the system as efficient. Even private healthcare is a lumbering oaf of inefficiency. For the NHS though the situation is so bad that the care delivered is hugely impaired.Leon said:What utter bollocks. The NHS now gets plenty of money - about the European average IIRC?
What it desperately needs is massive reform, and a switch to contributory welfare rather than “free to everyone, come on in”
All that done, I was back for the results 3 days later. Another 10 minutes and done.
Seemed like a very streamlined setup to me.
There ain't no private hospital that will sort out your impending sub-arachnoid at 2230 on a Friday night though, which is why we all need places like ED at QMC to be functioning well.5 -
Which one? This one - because it is so grotesquely incompetent and corrupt. Plenty of seriously fucking nasty policies and statements, the only saving grace being that they’re so useless they can barely implement them.Leon said:
It’s absolutely delusional. What nationalist nasty right wing party allows in 1.4m migrants in 2 years and is so scared of the guardian it won’t deport anyone ever?TheScreamingEagles said:
He's even more of a Cameroon than I am which is saying something.Richard_Tyndall said:Reposted from the end of the last thread
Looking at his majority I might have to agree that he might be genuine in his claimed reasons. That does look like one of the safer Tory seats.
To add: I am sure there wil be some attempts at defections from those with smaller majorities who think it might save them.
He genuinely believes the Tories have been an ultra nationalist nasty right wing party.
As for the NHS we spend record amounts whilst simultaneously starving front line healthcare of money. A vast faux market bureaucracy which sticks money into middlemen pockets and not actually into patient care. More cash is not needed, a sledgehammer to smash the idiotic system is needed.3 -
Perhaps the money spent should be reduced to 2010 levels then.MightyAlex said:
It was doing fine 'tll 2010.Leon said:What utter bollocks. The NHS now gets plenty of money - about the European average IIRC?
What it desperately needs is massive reform, and a switch to contributory welfare rather than “free to everyone, come on in”
2 -
The much maligned Douglas Haig commented when asked by Lloyd George in February 1918 if the Germans would attempt a major offensive, 'Perhaps. But if they are wise they will think twice before doing so, because if it fails their position would be critical.'TimS said:
Let’s hope this is Russia’s Ludendorff offensive.LostPassword said:
I see that warmonitor3 is reporting that. I stopped following that account when they reported a breakthrough at Robotyne, which ended up being a bit underwhelming. Certainly not what people normally think of as a breakthrough.Leon said:Some generally pro-Ukraine accounts are reporting a significant Russian breakthrough
No idea if it’s true. But the sources for this are unusual if it’s not true. Also no idea what “significant” means
Also, a bit strange that they don't say where.
They should have listened...0 -
They are more modest and have louder shoes.Stuartinromford said:
There are others like you?TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you2 -
I did geo eng at university - a form of civil engineering. A friend want to work on the precursor works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. His boss had worked on the Channel Tunnel.Malmesbury said:
The long history of government run projects says hello.Casino_Royale said:
I'm quite close to this and I can confirm RR is really pissed off at how HMG has fucked around and delayed on this.Richard_Tyndall said:This is just one more reason why we need rid of this bunch of incompetents
Rolls-Royce scales back plans to build nuclear factories in UK
Curtailing comes after repeated delays to an ongoing government design competition
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/27/rolls-royce-plans-build-smr-water-vessel-factory-uk/
However, I think this is a British institutional thing with our government structures and civil service and not a political one. Labour certainly wouldn't be able to do it any faster.
Some years ago a chap I worked with bid on a small piece of IT work. He sneaked into the contract a no changes clause - he could refuse changes. He delivered the work onto time and on budget. His description of the horror and anger when he rebuffed attempts at pointless changes.
He actually accepted a couple of real changes.
When the Channel Tunnel was defined, his boss said a thick ring binder contained all the documentation they were meant to work to: all the project-specific stuff over and above the usual legislation. With the CTRL, the documentation came on a lorry with a forklift.
You may expect a tunnel under the sea to have fewer requirements - there are far fewer constituents to be annoyed, until we have piscine voting rights. But even allowing for that, it seems there may be a certain amount of feature creep. Instead of : "Do this!", it is: "Do this, *exactly* like this! Even if it's insane!"0 -
"Life was better in the 1990s
Gareth Roberts"
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/life-was-better-in-the-1990s/0 -
Remember I can utterly ruin somebody's life by adding a CIFAS marker to their accounts if I merely suspect fraudulent/or money laundering activity.ydoethur said:
Horizon wouldn't be an improvement on whatever Centrica are using but it's very hard to imagine it could be much worse.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-185408320 -
Silly comparison though. Horizon wasn't about seeing accounts it was about dodgy software and remote editingCJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you1 -
Others with the same powers I have.Stuartinromford said:
There are others like you?TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you1 -
Adjusted for an ageing population and medicine inflation being higher than CPI ?another_richard said:
Perhaps the money spent should be reduced to 2010 levels then.MightyAlex said:
It was doing fine 'tll 2010.Leon said:What utter bollocks. The NHS now gets plenty of money - about the European average IIRC?
What it desperately needs is massive reform, and a switch to contributory welfare rather than “free to everyone, come on in”0 -
Don't tempt me...TheScreamingEagles said:
Remember I can utterly ruin somebody's life by adding a CIFAS marker to their accounts if I merely suspect fraudulent/or money laundering activity.ydoethur said:
Horizon wouldn't be an improvement on whatever Centrica are using but it's very hard to imagine it could be much worse.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-185408320 -
Nostalgia isn’t what it was.Andy_JS said:"Life was better in the 1990s
Gareth Roberts"
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/life-was-better-in-the-1990s/1 -
Of all the shit things this government has done, this is one of the worst. It's being dressed up as a way to fight fraud, but it's not because everyone is going to be caught up. DWP gets a report from your bank about what is going in and out of your account, no suspicion of fraud necessary. No bureaucracy will be able to resist the temptation to use that data for other purposes.CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
And of course there will be screwups. Everyone's had their card blocked or account frozen because the bank's brain-dead software detected some non-existent 'fraud'. Now imagine what that will do to people who lose their benefits while DWP investigates a false positive.4 -
"announce" is the problem. Who'd believe him?nico679 said:
The Tory arse licking right wing press are delusional . I’m beginning to think Sunak could announce a cure for cancer and he’d still be loathed by many . It might now be a case of the messenger and even when there might be some more positive announcements people see Sunak and just think just go away !rottenborough said:James O'Brien
@mrjamesob
·
1h
Hours after Downing Street briefed friendly journalists that they'd had a great week, a former Minister defects to Labour...
https://twitter.com/mrjamesob0 -
Monopoly suppliers, especially state controlled monopoly suppliers, will always tend towards bureaucratisation and producer capture.RochdalePioneers said:
Which one? This one - because it is so grotesquely incompetent and corrupt. Plenty of seriously fucking nasty policies and statements, the only saving grace being that they’re so useless they can barely implement them.Leon said:
It’s absolutely delusional. What nationalist nasty right wing party allows in 1.4m migrants in 2 years and is so scared of the guardian it won’t deport anyone ever?TheScreamingEagles said:
He's even more of a Cameroon than I am which is saying something.Richard_Tyndall said:Reposted from the end of the last thread
Looking at his majority I might have to agree that he might be genuine in his claimed reasons. That does look like one of the safer Tory seats.
To add: I am sure there wil be some attempts at defections from those with smaller majorities who think it might save them.
He genuinely believes the Tories have been an ultra nationalist nasty right wing party.
As for the NHS we spend record amounts whilst simultaneously starving front line healthcare of money. A vast faux market bureaucracy which sticks money into middlemen pockets and not actually into patient care. More cash is not needed, a sledgehammer to smash the idiotic system is needed.
Smash the system if you can ** but whatever replaces it will end in a similar result.
** And the bigger the system the harder change is.0 -
Tory staff running network of anti-Ulez Facebook groups riddled with racism and abuse
Investigation finds groups hosting Islamophobic attacks on London mayor Sadiq Khan, white supremacist slogans and antisemitic conspiracy theories
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/27/tory-staff-running-network-of-anti-ulez-facebook-groups-riddled-with-racism-and-abuse0 -
Might need to cull a few million pensioners to get the 2010 demographics too.another_richard said:
Perhaps the money spent should be reduced to 2010 levels then.MightyAlex said:
It was doing fine 'tll 2010.Leon said:What utter bollocks. The NHS now gets plenty of money - about the European average IIRC?
What it desperately needs is massive reform, and a switch to contributory welfare rather than “free to everyone, come on in”0 -
Don't give 'em ideas...Foxy said:
Might need to cull a few million pensioners to get the 2010 demographics too.another_richard said:
Perhaps the money spent should be reduced to 2010 levels then.MightyAlex said:
It was doing fine 'tll 2010.Leon said:What utter bollocks. The NHS now gets plenty of money - about the European average IIRC?
What it desperately needs is massive reform, and a switch to contributory welfare rather than “free to everyone, come on in”0 -
Only without the modesty and strict morals...TheScreamingEagles said:
Others with the same powers I have.Stuartinromford said:
There are others like you?TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you0 -
That's an interesting use of words. 'Powers' versus 'responsibilities'...TheScreamingEagles said:
Others with the same powers I have.Stuartinromford said:
There are others like you?TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you0 -
To be fair, however, it's not so much the Gmt seeing the data as what their machinery does with it. And spitting out lists of dodgy practitioners. We already know on PB that people can have their state pension entitlement screwed up by being conflated with someone else - apparently something beyond the will or wit of DWP to sort out. That's not a happy story to remember in this context.megasaur said:
Silly comparison though. Horizon wasn't about seeing accounts it was about dodgy software and remote editingCJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
Especially when HMG is already convinced lots of benefit recipients are bent.
The other thought is - why DWP but not HMRC?1 -
steve richards
@steverichards14
Defections are rare …and are more significant than they seem whatever the inevitably conplex calculations of the defector…They reliably symbolise a wider direction of travel and further disturb the troubled party that the defector is leaving…while highlighting to voters deep internal discontent.. this specific defector shows also the Sunak has failed to move on from the fantasy English exceptionalism of a right wing party that is still not right wing enough for some of its prominent figures.
https://twitter.com/steverichards14/status/17842717927411918210 -
I’ve seen consultants on the NHS - the total time spent seemed to orders of magnitude more. The system around them seemed to be trying to prevent them doing things.Foxy said:
Sure, Private medicine with no expense spared can give great customer service. Not always efficient in terms of resources, but that is something different.Malmesbury said:
I went private recently. The first chap doddled a list of tests and other people he wanted me to see on an iPad as he went. By the time he’d finished (10 minutes) his secretory had lined up the tests and appointments for me - a couple of options for each. Calendar ics for each, straight to my phone.Omnium said:
That's a factor, but nobody, nobody, and nobody imagines the system as efficient. Even private healthcare is a lumbering oaf of inefficiency. For the NHS though the situation is so bad that the care delivered is hugely impaired.Leon said:What utter bollocks. The NHS now gets plenty of money - about the European average IIRC?
What it desperately needs is massive reform, and a switch to contributory welfare rather than “free to everyone, come on in”
All that done, I was back for the results 3 days later. Another 10 minutes and done.
Seemed like a very streamlined setup to me.
There ain't no private hospital that will sort out your impending sub-arachnoid at 2230 on a Friday night though, which is why we all need places like ED at QMC to be functioning well.
In total time I saw the consultant for maybe 20 minutes. The other tests were very quickly handled.
I saw the actual bills (passed to an insurance company). They weren’t crazy amounts of money either.0 -
I was but a neophyte in those days, but this seems to me to be much worse. Iirc, it was always in the gift of Brown to set the election, with no speculation (by this point) that he would go early, or be forced to do so. His Government was by no means stable, but it was a lot more stable than this!GIN1138 said:
Just like the end days of El Gord isn't it?rottenborough said:James O'Brien
@mrjamesob
·
1h
Hours after Downing Street briefed friendly journalists that they'd had a great week, a former Minister defects to Labour...
https://twitter.com/mrjamesob2 -
But Blair was further right than probably every pre-Thatcher Tory PM of the 20th century!Leon said:
Indeed. That’s the worst of it all. The Tories pretend to be nasty and right wing and authoritarian so they get all the hate that comes with that; yet in reality they are high tax high spend high migration. They are further left than BlairIanB2 said:
An incompetent one.Leon said:
It’s absolutely delusional. What nationalist nasty right wing party allows in 1.4m migrants in 2 years and is so scared of the guardian it won’t deport anyone ever?TheScreamingEagles said:
He's even more of a Cameroon than I am which is saying something.Richard_Tyndall said:Reposted from the end of the last thread
Looking at his majority I might have to agree that he might be genuine in his claimed reasons. That does look like one of the safer Tory seats.
To add: I am sure there wil be some attempts at defections from those with smaller majorities who think it might save them.
He genuinely believes the Tories have been an ultra nationalist nasty right wing party.
If you’re going to be nasty, and the trains are still late, that’s a fail.
I absolutely despise them. I hope they go extinct0 -
Not a Spider-Man fan I take it as power is axiomatic with responsibility.JosiasJessop said:
That's an interesting use of words. 'Powers' versus 'responsibilities'...TheScreamingEagles said:
Others with the same powers I have.Stuartinromford said:
There are others like you?TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
With great power comes great responsibility1 -
Just seen this in the Times
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/392db86e-7d65-4c5d-b2a9-b781d5ee7250?shareToken=2d4f0b63b71d81aefa497b90bd9f8d36
For those who can't read it. It is likely Blunt betrayed us to the Germans in WW2.
Very nasty if true. Blunt was a traitor and had his honour taken back.
On death he should have had an award of "Death with dishonour"
Taking his knighthood away just isn't enough.1 -
I have to give an ethics briefing to senior staff this week, I am the right man for the job.Foxy said:
Only without the modesty and strict morals...TheScreamingEagles said:
Others with the same powers I have.Stuartinromford said:
There are others like you?TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you0 -
Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.0 -
Even Catturd is sickened.
2 -
I wonder how much paperwork Edward Watkin and E. C. H. Day needed for their Channel Tunnel, 1880 ...JosiasJessop said:
I did geo eng at university - a form of civil engineering. A friend want to work on the precursor works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. His boss had worked on the Channel Tunnel.Malmesbury said:
The long history of government run projects says hello.Casino_Royale said:
I'm quite close to this and I can confirm RR is really pissed off at how HMG has fucked around and delayed on this.Richard_Tyndall said:This is just one more reason why we need rid of this bunch of incompetents
Rolls-Royce scales back plans to build nuclear factories in UK
Curtailing comes after repeated delays to an ongoing government design competition
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/27/rolls-royce-plans-build-smr-water-vessel-factory-uk/
However, I think this is a British institutional thing with our government structures and civil service and not a political one. Labour certainly wouldn't be able to do it any faster.
Some years ago a chap I worked with bid on a small piece of IT work. He sneaked into the contract a no changes clause - he could refuse changes. He delivered the work onto time and on budget. His description of the horror and anger when he rebuffed attempts at pointless changes.
He actually accepted a couple of real changes.
When the Channel Tunnel was defined, his boss said a thick ring binder contained all the documentation they were meant to work to: all the project-specific stuff over and above the usual legislation. With the CTRL, the documentation came on a lorry with a forklift.
You may expect a tunnel under the sea to have fewer requirements - there are far fewer constituents to be annoyed, until we have piscine voting rights. But even allowing for that, it seems there may be a certain amount of feature creep. Instead of : "Do this!", it is: "Do this, *exactly* like this! Even if it's insane!"0 -
Well there was a plot to get rid of him in Feb 2010, just a couple of months before he had to call the election...Unpopular said:
I was but a neophyte in those days, but this seems to me to be much worse. Iirc, it was always in the gift of Brown to set the election, with no speculation (by this point) that he would go early, or be forced to do so. His Government was by no means stable, but it was a lot more stable than this!GIN1138 said:
Just like the end days of El Gord isn't it?rottenborough said:James O'Brien
@mrjamesob
·
1h
Hours after Downing Street briefed friendly journalists that they'd had a great week, a former Minister defects to Labour...
https://twitter.com/mrjamesob0 -
Aye, Humza Yousaf is more fucked than a stepmom on pornhub.
Pact with Alba Party is price of Yousaf’s survival
Alex Salmond reveals his terms for backing the beleaguered first minister as no-confidence vote loom
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pact-with-alba-party-is-price-of-yousafs-survival-njfk8bbh72 -
Good eveningFoxy said:
Might need to cull a few million pensioners to get the 2010 demographics too.another_richard said:
Perhaps the money spent should be reduced to 2010 levels then.MightyAlex said:
It was doing fine 'tll 2010.Leon said:What utter bollocks. The NHS now gets plenty of money - about the European average IIRC?
What it desperately needs is massive reform, and a switch to contributory welfare rather than “free to everyone, come on in”
I know you are joking, but it has been a very real possibility for me recently and I am now entirely dependent on my pacemaker
On the wider issue of Poulter, it is yet more bad news for Sunak but then he hasn't been able to put the right in their box and a GE is urgently needed to reset politics not only in Westminster but also in Scotland3 -
He is not re-standing.nico679 said:This is a very brave move by Poulter given his seat is a in strong Tory area . So hard to see him holding this in the GE .
Regardless , the optics of a doctor abandoning the Tories over the NHS is horrific for Sunak .0 -
Very fair observationrottenborough said:steve richards
@steverichards14
Defections are rare …and are more significant than they seem whatever the inevitably conplex calculations of the defector…They reliably symbolise a wider direction of travel and further disturb the troubled party that the defector is leaving…while highlighting to voters deep internal discontent.. this specific defector shows also the Sunak has failed to move on from the fantasy English exceptionalism of a right wing party that is still not right wing enough for some of its prominent figures.
https://twitter.com/steverichards14/status/17842717927411918210 -
The powers that be are finally starting to take seriously and scope out with our French friends (what????) the prospect of a tunnel from Jersey to France. It was laughed out for probably nearly thirty years but the limits of a small island to house all the people they need and the chance of increasing the employment base, improving logistics amongst other things have finally tipped to the point it’s an obvious solution.JosiasJessop said:
I did geo eng at university - a form of civil engineering. A friend want to work on the precursor works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. His boss had worked on the Channel Tunnel.Malmesbury said:
The long history of government run projects says hello.Casino_Royale said:
I'm quite close to this and I can confirm RR is really pissed off at how HMG has fucked around and delayed on this.Richard_Tyndall said:This is just one more reason why we need rid of this bunch of incompetents
Rolls-Royce scales back plans to build nuclear factories in UK
Curtailing comes after repeated delays to an ongoing government design competition
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/27/rolls-royce-plans-build-smr-water-vessel-factory-uk/
However, I think this is a British institutional thing with our government structures and civil service and not a political one. Labour certainly wouldn't be able to do it any faster.
Some years ago a chap I worked with bid on a small piece of IT work. He sneaked into the contract a no changes clause - he could refuse changes. He delivered the work onto time and on budget. His description of the horror and anger when he rebuffed attempts at pointless changes.
He actually accepted a couple of real changes.
When the Channel Tunnel was defined, his boss said a thick ring binder contained all the documentation they were meant to work to: all the project-specific stuff over and above the usual legislation. With the CTRL, the documentation came on a lorry with a forklift.
You may expect a tunnel under the sea to have fewer requirements - there are far fewer constituents to be annoyed, until we have piscine voting rights. But even allowing for that, it seems there may be a certain amount of feature creep. Instead of : "Do this!", it is: "Do this, *exactly* like this! Even if it's insane!"
If they had actually planned for the inevitable future 20 years ago then the tunnel would be operational now. I could do a quick drive by on Leon and be home for dinner. Only joking Leon, promise.1 -
https://www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2024/02/04/the-state-of-process-the-process-state/Carnyx said:
I wonder how much paperwork Edward Watkin and E. C. H. Day needed for their Channel Tunnel, 1880 ...JosiasJessop said:
I did geo eng at university - a form of civil engineering. A friend want to work on the precursor works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. His boss had worked on the Channel Tunnel.Malmesbury said:
The long history of government run projects says hello.Casino_Royale said:
I'm quite close to this and I can confirm RR is really pissed off at how HMG has fucked around and delayed on this.Richard_Tyndall said:This is just one more reason why we need rid of this bunch of incompetents
Rolls-Royce scales back plans to build nuclear factories in UK
Curtailing comes after repeated delays to an ongoing government design competition
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/27/rolls-royce-plans-build-smr-water-vessel-factory-uk/
However, I think this is a British institutional thing with our government structures and civil service and not a political one. Labour certainly wouldn't be able to do it any faster.
Some years ago a chap I worked with bid on a small piece of IT work. He sneaked into the contract a no changes clause - he could refuse changes. He delivered the work onto time and on budget. His description of the horror and anger when he rebuffed attempts at pointless changes.
He actually accepted a couple of real changes.
When the Channel Tunnel was defined, his boss said a thick ring binder contained all the documentation they were meant to work to: all the project-specific stuff over and above the usual legislation. With the CTRL, the documentation came on a lorry with a forklift.
You may expect a tunnel under the sea to have fewer requirements - there are far fewer constituents to be annoyed, until we have piscine voting rights. But even allowing for that, it seems there may be a certain amount of feature creep. Instead of : "Do this!", it is: "Do this, *exactly* like this! Even if it's insane!"1 -
Sort of thing the Japanese and Norwegians and Faroese have already ... the latter even have a roundabout.boulay said:
The powers that be are finally starting to take seriously and scope out with our French friends (what????) the prospect of a tunnel from Jersey to France. It was laughed out for probably nearly thirty years but the limits of a small island to house all the people they need and the chance of increasing the employment base, improving logistics amongst other things have finally tipped to the point it’s an obvious solution.JosiasJessop said:
I did geo eng at university - a form of civil engineering. A friend want to work on the precursor works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. His boss had worked on the Channel Tunnel.Malmesbury said:
The long history of government run projects says hello.Casino_Royale said:
I'm quite close to this and I can confirm RR is really pissed off at how HMG has fucked around and delayed on this.Richard_Tyndall said:This is just one more reason why we need rid of this bunch of incompetents
Rolls-Royce scales back plans to build nuclear factories in UK
Curtailing comes after repeated delays to an ongoing government design competition
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/27/rolls-royce-plans-build-smr-water-vessel-factory-uk/
However, I think this is a British institutional thing with our government structures and civil service and not a political one. Labour certainly wouldn't be able to do it any faster.
Some years ago a chap I worked with bid on a small piece of IT work. He sneaked into the contract a no changes clause - he could refuse changes. He delivered the work onto time and on budget. His description of the horror and anger when he rebuffed attempts at pointless changes.
He actually accepted a couple of real changes.
When the Channel Tunnel was defined, his boss said a thick ring binder contained all the documentation they were meant to work to: all the project-specific stuff over and above the usual legislation. With the CTRL, the documentation came on a lorry with a forklift.
You may expect a tunnel under the sea to have fewer requirements - there are far fewer constituents to be annoyed, until we have piscine voting rights. But even allowing for that, it seems there may be a certain amount of feature creep. Instead of : "Do this!", it is: "Do this, *exactly* like this! Even if it's insane!"
If they had actually planned for the inevitable future 20 years ago then the tunnel would be operational now. I could do a quick drive by on Leon and be home for dinner. Only joking Leon, promise.
https://visitfaroeislands.com/en/see-do/culture-attractions0/world-first-under-sea-roundabout1 -
The problem is too few people do. The Spiderman quote is memorable *because* is is not axiomatic.TheScreamingEagles said:
Not a Spider-Man fan I take it as power is axiomatic with responsibility.JosiasJessop said:
That's an interesting use of words. 'Powers' versus 'responsibilities'...TheScreamingEagles said:
Others with the same powers I have.Stuartinromford said:
There are others like you?TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
With great power comes great responsibility
IMV too many politicians see it as 'power', rather than 'responsibility'.0 -
Not to mention William Philip Price and James Allport, drawing a line on the map to create the Settle and Carlisle...Carnyx said:
I wonder how much paperwork Edward Watkin and E. C. H. Day needed for their Channel Tunnel, 1880 ...JosiasJessop said:
I did geo eng at university - a form of civil engineering. A friend want to work on the precursor works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. His boss had worked on the Channel Tunnel.Malmesbury said:
The long history of government run projects says hello.Casino_Royale said:
I'm quite close to this and I can confirm RR is really pissed off at how HMG has fucked around and delayed on this.Richard_Tyndall said:This is just one more reason why we need rid of this bunch of incompetents
Rolls-Royce scales back plans to build nuclear factories in UK
Curtailing comes after repeated delays to an ongoing government design competition
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/27/rolls-royce-plans-build-smr-water-vessel-factory-uk/
However, I think this is a British institutional thing with our government structures and civil service and not a political one. Labour certainly wouldn't be able to do it any faster.
Some years ago a chap I worked with bid on a small piece of IT work. He sneaked into the contract a no changes clause - he could refuse changes. He delivered the work onto time and on budget. His description of the horror and anger when he rebuffed attempts at pointless changes.
He actually accepted a couple of real changes.
When the Channel Tunnel was defined, his boss said a thick ring binder contained all the documentation they were meant to work to: all the project-specific stuff over and above the usual legislation. With the CTRL, the documentation came on a lorry with a forklift.
You may expect a tunnel under the sea to have fewer requirements - there are far fewer constituents to be annoyed, until we have piscine voting rights. But even allowing for that, it seems there may be a certain amount of feature creep. Instead of : "Do this!", it is: "Do this, *exactly* like this! Even if it's insane!"1 -
AramintaMoonbeamQC said:
Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.2 -
So defect to Monzo. I left first direct because when they detected a fraudulent payment I had to spend an hour on the phone to them trying to prove I was me. Monzo detects fraud about equally often but all I have to do is video myself speaking to their app and they unfreeze the account in about 3 minutesPoodleInASlipstream said:
Of all the shit things this government has done, this is one of the worst. It's being dressed up as a way to fight fraud, but it's not because everyone is going to be caught up. DWP gets a report from your bank about what is going in and out of your account, no suspicion of fraud necessary. No bureaucracy will be able to resist the temptation to use that data for other purposes.CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
And of course there will be screwups. Everyone's had their card blocked or account frozen because the bank's brain-dead software detected some non-existent 'fraud'. Now imagine what that will do to people who lose their benefits while DWP investigates a false positive.0 -
The trolling begins...
The Labour Party
@UKLabour
·
1h
Welcome, Dr Dan Poulter, Labour’s new MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.
https://twitter.com/UKLabour/status/17842662000310477870 -
If someone had asked me in 2010 which Tory MPs would be likely to eventually defect, I think I probably would have put Dan Poulter in the top 10.0
-
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.0 -
It’s really frustrating as it was clear which way the population was going in the late 90s and the way the finance industry, building industries etc etc were booming that you needed more houses and more people. Better late than never I hope and we can get lots of graduates from France who can commute and the kids here get a vague chance of buying a home here or France as today, you think the UK is bad, they have no chance.Carnyx said:
Sort of thing the Japanese and Norwegians and Faroese have already ... the latter even have a roundabout.boulay said:
The powers that be are finally starting to take seriously and scope out with our French friends (what????) the prospect of a tunnel from Jersey to France. It was laughed out for probably nearly thirty years but the limits of a small island to house all the people they need and the chance of increasing the employment base, improving logistics amongst other things have finally tipped to the point it’s an obvious solution.JosiasJessop said:
I did geo eng at university - a form of civil engineering. A friend want to work on the precursor works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. His boss had worked on the Channel Tunnel.Malmesbury said:
The long history of government run projects says hello.Casino_Royale said:
I'm quite close to this and I can confirm RR is really pissed off at how HMG has fucked around and delayed on this.Richard_Tyndall said:This is just one more reason why we need rid of this bunch of incompetents
Rolls-Royce scales back plans to build nuclear factories in UK
Curtailing comes after repeated delays to an ongoing government design competition
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/27/rolls-royce-plans-build-smr-water-vessel-factory-uk/
However, I think this is a British institutional thing with our government structures and civil service and not a political one. Labour certainly wouldn't be able to do it any faster.
Some years ago a chap I worked with bid on a small piece of IT work. He sneaked into the contract a no changes clause - he could refuse changes. He delivered the work onto time and on budget. His description of the horror and anger when he rebuffed attempts at pointless changes.
He actually accepted a couple of real changes.
When the Channel Tunnel was defined, his boss said a thick ring binder contained all the documentation they were meant to work to: all the project-specific stuff over and above the usual legislation. With the CTRL, the documentation came on a lorry with a forklift.
You may expect a tunnel under the sea to have fewer requirements - there are far fewer constituents to be annoyed, until we have piscine voting rights. But even allowing for that, it seems there may be a certain amount of feature creep. Instead of : "Do this!", it is: "Do this, *exactly* like this! Even if it's insane!"
If they had actually planned for the inevitable future 20 years ago then the tunnel would be operational now. I could do a quick drive by on Leon and be home for dinner. Only joking Leon, promise.
https://visitfaroeislands.com/en/see-do/culture-attractions0/world-first-under-sea-roundabout1 -
I expect so. And then the SNP will put up someone else. Will Salmond maintain his "only if you do what I tell you" ultimatum? Because if he does, that someone else would also immediately fail.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
Tempted to drive over the hill and lob a thank you card over his gate.1 -
It seems to me the optimal outcome for the Tories in Scotland is;
1) The Labour motion fails;
2) The Tory motion in Yousaf passes;
3) Yousaf refuses to resign (as he would be within his rights to do).
They then have a disgraced and discredited FM *and* no election for the time being.0 -
Scotland like the rest of UK needs electionsRochdalePioneers said:
I expect so. And then the SNP will put up someone else. Will Salmond maintain his "only if you do what I tell you" ultimatum? Because if he does, that someone else would also immediately fail.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
Tempted to drive over the hill and lob a thank you card over his gate.0 -
How comforting. You'll be telling me next that if I've done nothing wrong I've nothing to worry about.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you2 -
I wish it wasn't happening and needed to be flagged upAndy_JS said:
Thanks for flagging this up.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you3 -
Indeed, if you cannot trust bankers then just who can you trust? I mean apart from the obvious answer is lawyers.CJtheOptimist said:
How comforting. You'll be telling me next that if I've done nothing wrong I've nothing to worry about.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you0 -
Completely agree, I was saying the same thing on a thread a few days ago.CJtheOptimist said:
How comforting. You'll be telling me next that if I've done nothing wrong I've nothing to worry about.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
The right to financial privacy should be sacrosanct. There's a clear reason why physical gold, paper currency and truly anonymous crypto like Monero are being hounded out of existence, and it has nothing to do with the next Pablo Escobar wanting to launder his cash - the money laundering channels in tax havens and offshore bank accounts will always exist for the rich. It has everything to do with state control and surveillance over the ordinary citizen. They want to be able to pry into every aspect of our lives.2 -
If my memory serves me correctly, a couple of years or so ago you - and quite a few others - were fairly dismissive of a poster on here - now long departed -who argued quite confidently that Labour could recover its former dominant position in Scotland.Big_G_NorthWales said:
Scotland like the rest of UK needs electionsRochdalePioneers said:
I expect so. And then the SNP will put up someone else. Will Salmond maintain his "only if you do what I tell you" ultimatum? Because if he does, that someone else would also immediately fail.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
Tempted to drive over the hill and lob a thank you card over his gate.0 -
My prediction: with the electoral map turning blood red many young, moderate tories who feel they are not done in politics yet will be tempted to defect. We havent seen the last person crossing before the GE.0
-
This is not Sunak being unlucky. Poulter has left for a reason and that reason is Sunak’s (and his predecessors’) failure to support the NHS.1
-
I'm doing more reading. Here is the problem for the SNP:Big_G_NorthWales said:
Scotland like the rest of UK needs electionsRochdalePioneers said:
I expect so. And then the SNP will put up someone else. Will Salmond maintain his "only if you do what I tell you" ultimatum? Because if he does, that someone else would also immediately fail.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
Tempted to drive over the hill and lob a thank you card over his gate.
1. Yousaf has written a letter of unreal desperation to each party leader. Like this one sent to DRoss: https://twitter.com/PGibbano/status/1784278750760255509
2. If the Greens vote against, the balance of power is held by Ash Reagan. The greens not only will vote against Yousaf, but will also vote against anyone they dislike, again and again: https://twitter.com/SuzJamieson/status/1784229956907655676
3. There is a deal on offer from Salmond for Reagan's vote. But at a price (electoral pact with Salmond in charge) they cannot accept without losing SNP members defecting to the Greens or elsewhere
Yousless has done this. Demolished the deal with the Greens so badly that they will now vote against the SNP unless they get the whip hand. And the only other option is a deal with Alba, with the devil getting the whip hand.
Unless the Greens or Salmond back down, an election seems inevitable.1 -
Trawling for 'bent welfare scroungers' is a lot easier to spin than going after hard-working taxpayers.Carnyx said:The other thought is - why DWP but not HMRC?
But sure as eggs the data will be quietly made available to HMRC and any other department that wants it.
1 -
Everton avoid relegation (unless they get another points deduction!)0
-
Words of comfort:TheScreamingEagles said:
Indeed, if you cannot trust bankers then just who can you trust? I mean apart from the obvious answer is lawyers.CJtheOptimist said:
How comforting. You'll be telling me next that if I've done nothing wrong I've nothing to worry about.TheScreamingEagles said:
It's nothing to worry about, people like me already have access to your bank accounts and everybody else's in the UK.CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you
I'm not actually a banker. I'm really a lawyer.0 -
Wave? I doubt it. But defections (especially when not prompted by an expulsion) are very rare, so even one happening is significant, and it's been only 2 years since that the last Labour-Tory defection, so not that long ago.Benpointer said:
But will Poulter be the first of a wave of Tory > Labour defectors?Benpointer said:First again!
Was the last proper one (that is, without their being suspensions beforehand etc) the SNP lady to the Tories?
I don't think anyone has ever gone directly from Labour to Tory whilst in the Commons, though Tory to Labour has happened a few times.0 -
Reg Prenticekle4 said:
Wave? I doubt it. But defections (especially when not prompted by an expulsion) are very rare, so even one happening is significant, and it's been only 2 years since that the last Labour-Tory defection, so not that long ago.Benpointer said:
But will Poulter be the first of a wave of Tory > Labour defectors?Benpointer said:First again!
Was the last proper one (that is, without their being suspensions beforehand etc) the SNP lady to the Tories?
I don't think anyone has ever gone directly from Labour to Tory whilst in the Commons, though Tory to Labour has happened a few times.
1 -
Didn't Salmond try to to get people to vote SNP for the constituency gote, Alba for the regional vote last scottish election? Didn't seem to cut through at all at the time, a proper pact seems a bit much for the SNP to accept even though they are weaker now.TheScreamingEagles said:Aye, Humza Yousaf is more fucked than a stepmom on pornhub.
Pact with Alba Party is price of Yousaf’s survival
Alex Salmond reveals his terms for backing the beleaguered first minister as no-confidence vote loom
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pact-with-alba-party-is-price-of-yousafs-survival-njfk8bbh71 -
What did you think the information revolution would be all about? Free ice cream for all?CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you0 -
That letter from Yousaf to Ross is even more insufferably patronising and silly than the letters British Gas have been sending me.RochdalePioneers said:
I'm doing more reading. Here is the problem for the SNP:Big_G_NorthWales said:
Scotland like the rest of UK needs electionsRochdalePioneers said:
I expect so. And then the SNP will put up someone else. Will Salmond maintain his "only if you do what I tell you" ultimatum? Because if he does, that someone else would also immediately fail.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
Tempted to drive over the hill and lob a thank you card over his gate.
1. Yousaf has written a letter of unreal desperation to each party leader. Like this one sent to DRoss: https://twitter.com/PGibbano/status/1784278750760255509
2. If the Greens vote against, the balance of power is held by Ash Reagan. The greens not only will vote against Yousaf, but will also vote against anyone they dislike, again and again: https://twitter.com/SuzJamieson/status/1784229956907655676
3. There is a deal on offer from Salmond for Reagan's vote. But at a price (electoral pact with Salmond in charge) they cannot accept without losing SNP members defecting to the Greens or elsewhere
Yousless has done this. Demolished the deal with the Greens so badly that they will now vote against the SNP unless they get the whip hand. And the only other option is a deal with Alba, with the devil getting the whip hand.
Unless the Greens or Salmond back down, an election seems inevitable.
It's nearly as daft as the average email from the Student Loans Company.1 -
Bet he'd still vote for her if he's based in South Dakota though.Theuniondivvie said:Even Catturd is sickened.
Remember when some GOP used to occasionally say Trump might not be right all the time when he did something disgustingly offensive? They got over that right quick.0 -
… David Freud, Quentin Daviesgeoffw said:
Reg Prenticekle4 said:
Wave? I doubt it. But defections (especially when not prompted by an expulsion) are very rare, so even one happening is significant, and it's been only 2 years since that the last Labour-Tory defection, so not that long ago.Benpointer said:
But will Poulter be the first of a wave of Tory > Labour defectors?Benpointer said:First again!
Was the last proper one (that is, without their being suspensions beforehand etc) the SNP lady to the Tories?
I don't think anyone has ever gone directly from Labour to Tory whilst in the Commons, though Tory to Labour has happened a few times.
0 -
Nobody could have foreseen the collapse of the SNP in such a spectacular fashionlegatus said:
If my memory serves me correctly, a couple of years or so ago you - and quite a few others - were fairly dismissive of a poster on here - now long departed -who argued quite confidently that Labour could recover its former dominant position in Scotland.Big_G_NorthWales said:
Scotland like the rest of UK needs electionsRochdalePioneers said:
I expect so. And then the SNP will put up someone else. Will Salmond maintain his "only if you do what I tell you" ultimatum? Because if he does, that someone else would also immediately fail.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
Tempted to drive over the hill and lob a thank you card over his gate.1 -
I stand corrected, cheers. Definitely less common though.geoffw said:
Reg Prenticekle4 said:
Wave? I doubt it. But defections (especially when not prompted by an expulsion) are very rare, so even one happening is significant, and it's been only 2 years since that the last Labour-Tory defection, so not that long ago.Benpointer said:
But will Poulter be the first of a wave of Tory > Labour defectors?Benpointer said:First again!
Was the last proper one (that is, without their being suspensions beforehand etc) the SNP lady to the Tories?
I don't think anyone has ever gone directly from Labour to Tory whilst in the Commons, though Tory to Labour has happened a few times.0 -
sorry, Freud wasn't an MPgeoffw said:
… David Freud, Quentin Daviesgeoffw said:
Reg Prenticekle4 said:
Wave? I doubt it. But defections (especially when not prompted by an expulsion) are very rare, so even one happening is significant, and it's been only 2 years since that the last Labour-Tory defection, so not that long ago.Benpointer said:
But will Poulter be the first of a wave of Tory > Labour defectors?Benpointer said:First again!
Was the last proper one (that is, without their being suspensions beforehand etc) the SNP lady to the Tories?
I don't think anyone has ever gone directly from Labour to Tory whilst in the Commons, though Tory to Labour has happened a few times.
0 -
Off topic:
I've just been watching some old Haircut 100 videos on that YouTube.
Anyhow, to bring things back to politics, Nick Hayward could be mistaken for a young Nigel Farage.
I hope everyone is having a Fantastic Day.1 -
Well he appeared to see the possibility of it happening at some point.Admittedly he was then suggesting that Labour might win circa 15 seats - which now is probably a rather conservative estimate. It has struck me as quite an astute prediction - and he had a similar experience predicting Labour gains in Scotland back in 2017.Big_G_NorthWales said:
Nobody could have foreseen the collapse of the SNP in such a spectacular fashionlegatus said:
If my memory serves me correctly, a couple of years or so ago you - and quite a few others - were fairly dismissive of a poster on here - now long departed -who argued quite confidently that Labour could recover its former dominant position in Scotland.Big_G_NorthWales said:
Scotland like the rest of UK needs electionsRochdalePioneers said:
I expect so. And then the SNP will put up someone else. Will Salmond maintain his "only if you do what I tell you" ultimatum? Because if he does, that someone else would also immediately fail.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
Tempted to drive over the hill and lob a thank you card over his gate.0 -
On British forces and the mooted floating Gaza pier, construction of which has apparently now begun:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68909511
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68904209
"The US says that once the system is operational, up to 150 trucks of aid could be delivered a day with two million meals, enough to feed almost all of the territory's 2.3 million population."
...
"The possible role for British forces - known as "wet boots" by military planners - would see them drive trucks off landing craft onto the temporary causeway and deliver aid to a secure distribution area ashore.
Although a huge effort would be made to protect allied forces both off and onshore, British troops would potentially face a higher risk of attack from Hamas and other armed groups."
How TF can this be done, unless something big changes, without direct cooperation with Hamas?
The idea that Hamas would attack the delivery of food aid to a starving population is insane.
Is this delivery of aid intended to continue while the Israeli army "enters" Rafah? It could very easily turn to assistance with mass deportation. (This is not meant as any kind of criticism of the delivery of aid, which is of course vital.)0 -
Late spring has finally arrived en Bretagne
There are worse places to open a window to warmer air
1 -
@BlancheLivermore we need an update from the Camino!3
-
Of course! In fact until. I saw this I've always been completely confident that my personal information is safe 🙄Donkeys said:
What did you think the information revolution would be all about? Free ice cream for all?CJtheOptimist said:
Good point. This is creepy , thoughydoethur said:
Really? You have a bank near you?CJtheOptimist said:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/24/britain-has-learned-nothing-from-the-post-office-scandal/
Big brother is coming ... to a bank near you0 -
…
I’m wondering why the British are maybe going to be doing it and not an ally of the US who are a Muslim country such as NATO member Turkey or regional ally Jordan. Surely they can be trusted to work with the US side and acceptable to Hamas and co?Donkeys said:On British forces and the mooted floating Gaza pier, construction of which has apparently now begun:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68909511
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68904209
"The US says that once the system is operational, up to 150 trucks of aid could be delivered a day with two million meals, enough to feed almost all of the territory's 2.3 million population."
...
"The possible role for British forces - known as "wet boots" by military planners - would see them drive trucks off landing craft onto the temporary causeway and deliver aid to a secure distribution area ashore.
Although a huge effort would be made to protect allied forces both off and onshore, British troops would potentially face a higher risk of attack from Hamas and other armed groups."
How TF can this be done, unless something big changes, without direct cooperation with Hamas?
The idea that Hamas would attack the delivery of food aid to a starving population is insane.
Is this delivery of aid intended to continue while the Israeli army "enters" Rafah? It could very easily turn to assistance with mass deportation. (This is not meant as any kind of criticism of the delivery of aid, which is of course vital.)0 -
I may have mused on this before but why has Sony not yet come up with a solution to CD’s skipping on the Walkman when out for a run? Shouldn’t be that hard.1
-
Possibly because the Israelis said no.boulay said:…
I’m wondering why the British are maybe going to be doing it and not an ally of the US who are a Muslim country such as NATO member Turkey or regional ally Jordan. Surely they can be trusted to work with the US side and acceptable to Hamas and co?Donkeys said:On British forces and the mooted floating Gaza pier, construction of which has apparently now begun:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68909511
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68904209
"The US says that once the system is operational, up to 150 trucks of aid could be delivered a day with two million meals, enough to feed almost all of the territory's 2.3 million population."
...
"The possible role for British forces - known as "wet boots" by military planners - would see them drive trucks off landing craft onto the temporary causeway and deliver aid to a secure distribution area ashore.
Although a huge effort would be made to protect allied forces both off and onshore, British troops would potentially face a higher risk of attack from Hamas and other armed groups."
How TF can this be done, unless something big changes, without direct cooperation with Hamas?
The idea that Hamas would attack the delivery of food aid to a starving population is insane.
Is this delivery of aid intended to continue while the Israeli army "enters" Rafah? It could very easily turn to assistance with mass deportation. (This is not meant as any kind of criticism of the delivery of aid, which is of course vital.)2 -
It's old tech now - I doubt anyone'll bother to make it much better. Just buy a solid-state MP3 player instead.DougSeal said:I may have mused on this before but why has Sony not yet come up with a solution to CD’s skipping on the Walkman when out for a run? Shouldn’t be that hard.
0 -
I would have thought Boris and Rishi spent more on the NHS than Cameron and Osborne?
Sounds more like he thinks backing Labour gives him a better chance of returning to the NHS as a doctor than being a Tory MP than a sudden damascene conversion to socialism or social democracy0 -
A workaround I’ve found is putting it in a wheelbarrow which gives a bit of an upper body workout as well but is a bit awkward on narrow pavements. The potential for accidents is quite high.JosiasJessop said:
It's old tech now - I doubt anyone'll bother to make it much better. Just buy a solid-state MP3 player instead.DougSeal said:I may have mused on this before but why has Sony not yet come up with a solution to CD’s skipping on the Walkman when out for a run? Shouldn’t be that hard.
1 -
Which would be silly as what would be better PR for the Israelis than them welcoming an Arab/islamic nation as part of a plan to help the Palestinians.Donkeys said:
Possibly because the Israelis said no.boulay said:…
I’m wondering why the British are maybe going to be doing it and not an ally of the US who are a Muslim country such as NATO member Turkey or regional ally Jordan. Surely they can be trusted to work with the US side and acceptable to Hamas and co?Donkeys said:On British forces and the mooted floating Gaza pier, construction of which has apparently now begun:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68909511
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68904209
"The US says that once the system is operational, up to 150 trucks of aid could be delivered a day with two million meals, enough to feed almost all of the territory's 2.3 million population."
...
"The possible role for British forces - known as "wet boots" by military planners - would see them drive trucks off landing craft onto the temporary causeway and deliver aid to a secure distribution area ashore.
Although a huge effort would be made to protect allied forces both off and onshore, British troops would potentially face a higher risk of attack from Hamas and other armed groups."
How TF can this be done, unless something big changes, without direct cooperation with Hamas?
The idea that Hamas would attack the delivery of food aid to a starving population is insane.
Is this delivery of aid intended to continue while the Israeli army "enters" Rafah? It could very easily turn to assistance with mass deportation. (This is not meant as any kind of criticism of the delivery of aid, which is of course vital.)0 -
I've linked to the 'What's up with shipping' videos on this subject before. It's problematic. But Hamas's supporters have been making a big thing of 'their' people starving; it would be a very bad look for them to stop aid. That does not mean that other actors in the region may not interfere, though.Donkeys said:On British forces and the mooted floating Gaza pier, construction of which has apparently now begun:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68909511
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68904209
"The US says that once the system is operational, up to 150 trucks of aid could be delivered a day with two million meals, enough to feed almost all of the territory's 2.3 million population."
...
"The possible role for British forces - known as "wet boots" by military planners - would see them drive trucks off landing craft onto the temporary causeway and deliver aid to a secure distribution area ashore.
Although a huge effort would be made to protect allied forces both off and onshore, British troops would potentially face a higher risk of attack from Hamas and other armed groups."
(Snip)
How TF can this be done, unless something big changes, without direct cooperation with Hamas?
The idea that Hamas would attack the delivery of food aid to a starving population is insane.
Is this delivery of aid intended to continue while the Israeli army "enters" Rafah? It could very easily turn to assistance with mass deportation. (This is not meant as any kind of criticism of the delivery of aid, which is of course vital.)
As for the Israelis... that's more interesting. There's virtually no chance of weapons or other non-aid getting through to the Palestinians, so they'd like that. On the other, it might stop Palestinians from starving, which they may not like...
But there's going to have to be boots on the ground, at least at the beach-head and distribution areas.0 -
Why not just have an orchestra follow you around?DougSeal said:
A workaround I’ve found is putting it in a wheelbarrow which gives a bit of an upper body workout as well but is a bit awkward on narrow pavements. The potential for accidents is quite high.JosiasJessop said:
It's old tech now - I doubt anyone'll bother to make it much better. Just buy a solid-state MP3 player instead.DougSeal said:I may have mused on this before but why has Sony not yet come up with a solution to CD’s skipping on the Walkman when out for a run? Shouldn’t be that hard.
1 -
I suspect the Israeli's see this as a way of sealing the land borders and only allowing access through the port.Donkeys said:On British forces and the mooted floating Gaza pier, construction of which has apparently now begun:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68909511
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68904209
"The US says that once the system is operational, up to 150 trucks of aid could be delivered a day with two million meals, enough to feed almost all of the territory's 2.3 million population."
...
"The possible role for British forces - known as "wet boots" by military planners - would see them drive trucks off landing craft onto the temporary causeway and deliver aid to a secure distribution area ashore.
Although a huge effort would be made to protect allied forces both off and onshore, British troops would potentially face a higher risk of attack from Hamas and other armed groups."
How TF can this be done, unless something big changes, without direct cooperation with Hamas?
The idea that Hamas would attack the delivery of food aid to a starving population is insane.
Is this delivery of aid intended to continue while the Israeli army "enters" Rafah? It could very easily turn to assistance with mass deportation. (This is not meant as any kind of criticism of the delivery of aid, which is of course vital.)0 -
Have we had this:
Westminster Voting Intention:
LAB: 44% (+1)
CON: 22% (-4)
RFM: 13% (+2)
LDM: 9% (=)
GRN: 6% (-1)
SNP: 3% (+1)
Via @wethinkpolling, 25-26 Apr.
Raynergate rampers please explain.3 -
Nobody did- the question is, could we have done? Should we have done?Big_G_NorthWales said:
Nobody could have foreseen the collapse of the SNP in such a spectacular fashionlegatus said:
If my memory serves me correctly, a couple of years or so ago you - and quite a few others - were fairly dismissive of a poster on here - now long departed -who argued quite confidently that Labour could recover its former dominant position in Scotland.Big_G_NorthWales said:
Scotland like the rest of UK needs electionsRochdalePioneers said:
I expect so. And then the SNP will put up someone else. Will Salmond maintain his "only if you do what I tell you" ultimatum? Because if he does, that someone else would also immediately fail.Big_G_NorthWales said:
I assume Useless will say no and goRochdalePioneers said:AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
That’s absolutely spectacular. A reverse hostile takeover by Salmond. And as we know, he remains a spectacularly popular politician which is why he won so many votes last time out in his local patch…AramintaMoonbeamQC said:Absolutely hilarious:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0d5bae6e-c917-46a6-b839-050980739516?shareToken=952ae3ab68dd1227fce6b5ac1b4b419e
Scottish politics delivers once again.
Tempted to drive over the hill and lob a thank you card over his gate.
Now the cracks are visible, it's blooming obvious that a party that straddles rural conservatives and urban progressives isn't stable. The fissure was there, held together by the promise of the Sindyref and whatever it was Sturgeon was doing.
The deal with the Greens, and the uber wokery that followed, probably made things worse, but the contradictions were there anyway.
And whichever way the SNP wave function collapses, it loses half its support. Only question is- which half?0 -
An easier workaround is not to feel the need to drown out the sounds of nature when out and about.DougSeal said:
A workaround I’ve found is putting it in a wheelbarrow which gives a bit of an upper body workout as well but is a bit awkward on narrow pavements. The potential for accidents is quite high.JosiasJessop said:
It's old tech now - I doubt anyone'll bother to make it much better. Just buy a solid-state MP3 player instead.DougSeal said:I may have mused on this before but why has Sony not yet come up with a solution to CD’s skipping on the Walkman when out for a run? Shouldn’t be that hard.
Safer too.1 -
Big day, and I'm rather pleased with myself
I had a tough start; actually the tough start began last night. Just as I went to bed a bit later than planned, a mass brawl kicked off in the plaza outside
There was a lot of shouting, smashing and clanging. I glanced out of the window and saw a large crowd of young men throwing bottles, chairs and tables at each other
I closed all the shutters and just tried to sleep. I got woken a few times by alternating violence and sirens, and there was still shouting outside when my alarm went off at half five
I put my head under the pillow and fell asleep for another hour, waking up to quiet. Fuck knows what happened, maybe just a normal Friday night in Astorga?
So I set off rather late, just after eight, feeling less than fully rested
The weather has been awful most of today; cloudy, cold, windy and wet - and even ten minutes of hail, during which I saw some English graffitti on the back of a road sign
"Grit your teeth and keep walking"
I did just that and managed to get just over fifty kilometres walked today, all the way to León
The weather cheered up. I got a lovely hotel room right in the centre, about three hundred yards from the Cathedral. I dropped my bag in my room and went to see the Cathedral (sadly closed, apparently has rather special stained glass ŵindows)
Now eating dinner in an excellent Asian restaurant, the top rated place on TripAdvisor, next door to my hotel!
10 -
Those glorious nature sounds of cars rushing by, in many cases.SandyRentool said:
An easier workaround is not to feel the need to drown out the sounds of nature when out and about.DougSeal said:
A workaround I’ve found is putting it in a wheelbarrow which gives a bit of an upper body workout as well but is a bit awkward on narrow pavements. The potential for accidents is quite high.JosiasJessop said:
It's old tech now - I doubt anyone'll bother to make it much better. Just buy a solid-state MP3 player instead.DougSeal said:I may have mused on this before but why has Sony not yet come up with a solution to CD’s skipping on the Walkman when out for a run? Shouldn’t be that hard.
Safer too.0 -
a
Hamas isn’t a single dictatorial system. More an oligarchic franchise. This means that is you do a deal with one faction, you may or may not be doing a deal with the others.Donkeys said:On British forces and the mooted floating Gaza pier, construction of which has apparently now begun:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68909511
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68904209
"The US says that once the system is operational, up to 150 trucks of aid could be delivered a day with two million meals, enough to feed almost all of the territory's 2.3 million population."
...
"The possible role for British forces - known as "wet boots" by military planners - would see them drive trucks off landing craft onto the temporary causeway and deliver aid to a secure distribution area ashore.
Although a huge effort would be made to protect allied forces both off and onshore, British troops would potentially face a higher risk of attack from Hamas and other armed groups."
How TF can this be done, unless something big changes, without direct cooperation with Hamas?
The idea that Hamas would attack the delivery of food aid to a starving population is insane.
Is this delivery of aid intended to continue while the Israeli army "enters" Rafah? It could very easily turn to assistance with mass deportation. (This is not meant as any kind of criticism of the delivery of aid, which is of course vital.)
An attack on a Western military power - even if providing food aid - might well be too tempting for a faction. You are then worrying about the least rational individuals in a terrorist organisation that is quite into Death To The West.1 -
That's part of the safety bit. Hearing cars, cyclists, approaching villains.kle4 said:
Those glorious nature sounds of cars rushing by, in many cases.SandyRentool said:
An easier workaround is not to feel the need to drown out the sounds of nature when out and about.DougSeal said:
A workaround I’ve found is putting it in a wheelbarrow which gives a bit of an upper body workout as well but is a bit awkward on narrow pavements. The potential for accidents is quite high.JosiasJessop said:
It's old tech now - I doubt anyone'll bother to make it much better. Just buy a solid-state MP3 player instead.DougSeal said:I may have mused on this before but why has Sony not yet come up with a solution to CD’s skipping on the Walkman when out for a run? Shouldn’t be that hard.
Safer too.0 -
Yay. Well done youBlancheLivermore said:Big day, and I'm rather pleased with myself
I had a tough start; actually the tough start began last night. Just as I went to bed a bit later than planned, a mass brawl kicked off in the plaza outside
There was a lot of shouting, smashing and clanging. I glanced out of the window and saw a large crowd of young men throwing bottles, chairs and tables at each other
I closed all the shutters and just tried to sleep. I got woken a few times by alternating violence and sirens, and there was still shouting outside when my alarm went off at half five
I put my head under the pillow and fell asleep for another hour, waking up to quiet. Fuck knows what happened, maybe just a normal Friday night in Astorga?
So I set off rather late, just after eight, feeling less than fully rested
The weather has been awful most of today; cloudy, cold, windy and wet - and even ten minutes of hail, during which I saw some English graffitti on the back of a road sign
"Grit your teeth and keep walking"
I did just that and managed to get just over fifty kilometres walked today, all the way to León
The weather cheered up. I got a lovely hotel room right in the centre, about three hundred yards from the Cathedral. I dropped my bag in my room and went to see the Cathedral (sadly closed, apparently has rather special stained glass ŵindows)
Now eating dinner in an excellent Asian restaurant, the top rated place on TripAdvisor, next door to my hotel!
Cathedral looks amazing
I forgot if you ever told us, why are you doing the Camino in reverse?2 -
I have a gimballed radiogram playing 33 rpm lps through Marshall speakers, powered by a bank of heavy duty car batteries, installed on a mule cart.DougSeal said:
A workaround I’ve found is putting it in a wheelbarrow which gives a bit of an upper body workout as well but is a bit awkward on narrow pavements. The potential for accidents is quite high.JosiasJessop said:
It's old tech now - I doubt anyone'll bother to make it much better. Just buy a solid-state MP3 player instead.DougSeal said:I may have mused on this before but why has Sony not yet come up with a solution to CD’s skipping on the Walkman when out for a run? Shouldn’t be that hard.
6 -
I have another question. I’m doing a walking holiday for the gazette very soon. It’s in a lovely part of the world but - TBH - I find walking day after day quite dull. And I like walking. But I’m generally happy with a 1-3 hour schlep unless it’s absolutely compelling - like Paris in Decline the other dayBlancheLivermore said:Big day, and I'm rather pleased with myself
I had a tough start; actually the tough start began last night. Just as I went to bed a bit later than planned, a mass brawl kicked off in the plaza outside
There was a lot of shouting, smashing and clanging. I glanced out of the window and saw a large crowd of young men throwing bottles, chairs and tables at each other
I closed all the shutters and just tried to sleep. I got woken a few times by alternating violence and sirens, and there was still shouting outside when my alarm went off at half five
I put my head under the pillow and fell asleep for another hour, waking up to quiet. Fuck knows what happened, maybe just a normal Friday night in Astorga?
So I set off rather late, just after eight, feeling less than fully rested
The weather has been awful most of today; cloudy, cold, windy and wet - and even ten minutes of hail, during which I saw some English graffitti on the back of a road sign
"Grit your teeth and keep walking"
I did just that and managed to get just over fifty kilometres walked today, all the way to León
The weather cheered up. I got a lovely hotel room right in the centre, about three hundred yards from the Cathedral. I dropped my bag in my room and went to see the Cathedral (sadly closed, apparently has rather special stained glass ŵindows)
Now eating dinner in an excellent Asian restaurant, the top rated place on TripAdvisor, next door to my hotel!
How do you get over that? Do you listen to audiobooks? Do you go into some zen state? Or is is actually quite hard - step after step after step…0
