Reform is essentially a vehicle for anti vaxers and those who opposed the lockdown, hardline Leavers who want to send the boats back and disillusioned Boris fans who hate Rishi.
It is unlikely to get to UKIP levels though unless, as the poll suggests, Farage returns to lead it. In which case as the poll suggests it takes as much from Labour amongst working class white voters most likely as from the Tories
The poll numbers quoted are misleading. A Farage-led Reform would scoop up a significant proportion of those saying they Don't Know or Won't Vote. The actual number saying they would vote Labour goes up but as a proportion of the whole falls because of the influx of the former DK voters who would back a Farage-led Reform party.
The numbers voting Conservative are similar but again there's a fall as a percentage of the greater whole.
I'm dubious that in reality we have 6% or nearly 2 million voters waiting for Nigel on the edge of their seats
The headline figures are based on excluding the Don't Knows.
With them, the "Farage leading Reform" numbers are Labour 36%, Conservative 19%, Reform 14%, DK 13%, LD 9%.
We don't have the comparable question without Farage so it's all a bit smoke and mirrors.
The Ipsos polling of ethnic minorities shows leader ratings net satisfaction of Sunak -53 (-40 pre Gaza) Starmer -32 (-3 pre Gaza) Both the worst ever amongst ethnic minorities with Starmer a full 19 points worse than Brown's worst and 21 below Blairs worst score Labour still hold a big lead on VI (trying to find figs but Pedley says 48 points lead but leaching some support to minority parties)
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
I refer the hon. PBer to the report posted earlier. All about the stutter and nothing else: in other words, Mr Sunak is implying that only presentation matters.
'The same thing happened later. Starmer stuttered. The whole of the Tory side went ballistic. "This proves he's not fit to lead this country", shot a delighted Sunak. Ten seconds later he was, again unsuccessfully, trying to pivot from fratboy bully to solemn statesman.'
Fair enough, stuttering under pressure is a good thing for a politician to have in their armoury during an election campaign
Stumbling over Tech-bro wasn't a stutter, which is quite a distinct speech impediment.
It seems to be a one off, or do you have other examples?
The best way to discredit right wing populism is to put them in government if elected. They will do stupid things and often permanent damage to the country, but that is democracy.
Sometimes, not always Meloni and Modi are reasonably competent rightwing populists even if you dislike them
Meloni could have quite a dominant posiiton in European politics after the next EU elections.
I'm inclined to be generous to Meloni in at least one respect, which is demonstrating that the online fallacy of combining positions on things that are entirely unrelated (as though someone cannot be a socialist without also endorsing a bunch of social positions which are not intrinsically related to socialism) does not have to be true, by showing that you can be a right wing populist leader but not suck up to Putin.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
The thing about Farage returning is… it’s not like he’s gone away. He’s still associated with the party, he’s still on TV and active in political discourse. He is far more present in Reform UK than the former leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, LibDems, SNP or DUP are in their parties.
What he has not yet been tested on is whether he is any good at any aspect of the implementation of his ideas. If he had the smallest desire to do so he would be in the Tory party.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
And now it's Hagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's - a US takeover (though the latter is now owned by Anglo-Dutch Uniliver).
I buy Co-op West Country salted caramel - unbeatable.
Haazgen-Dazs is owned by Froneri, which is British, no?
Froneri owns Hangen-Dazs outside the US, while General Mills owns it in the US.
It is ironic that you’re struggling to spell Häagen-Dazs as the name was, of course, entirely made up to sound vaguely Scandinavian and doesn’t obey any actual Scandinavian orthography.
And Froneri is a rebranding of Richmond ice cream co of Leeming Bar. Grand old Yorkshire name. 'appen.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
Evidently we aren’t allowed to talk about individual posters’ laser-like preoccupation with a single hobby horse. Though you’re not yet at BJO levels on Starmer.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
I don't think a sense of humour in itself is a necessary asset in a politician, and in fact some may do great without one, but if you can harness it it can be powerful. Many politicians have revealed, often post office, that they are pretty engaging and funny people, but they were either too disciplined to attempt to make use of it, or couldn't quite manage it, and would be accused of being insufficiently serious or the like.
We should be more forgiving of top politicians having the occasional gag, showing a bit of personality besides stern, righteous indignation or plodding administrator.
In general successful politicians don't have a sense of humour. They take themselves far too seriously for that, and need to have that monomaniac ambition to achieve their success. There are some exceptions of course. The rest would probably benefit from a bit more humour. But the personality that got them there in the first place doesn't lend itself to that lack of seriousness.
Unsuccessful politicians on the other hand can have a very good sense of humour.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
And now it's Hagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's - a US takeover (though the latter is now owned by Anglo-Dutch Uniliver).
I buy Co-op West Country salted caramel - unbeatable.
Haazgen-Dazs is owned by Froneri, which is British, no?
Froneri owns Hangen-Dazs outside the US, while General Mills owns it in the US.
It is ironic that you’re struggling to spell Häagen-Dazs as the name was, of course, entirely made up to sound vaguely Scandinavian and doesn’t obey any actual Scandinavian orthography.
And Froneri is a rebranding of Richmond ice cream co of Leeming Bar. Grand old Yorkshire name. 'appen.
Which went through the intermediate brand of R&R ice-cream.
I had dealings with them years ago before they got together with Nestle. The CFO at the time was the most foul mouthed, politically incorrect (understatement), “unique” individual I’ve come across in the business world.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
Findus crispy pancakes are an irreplaceable part of my childhood. It's no wonder the youth of today has gone to the wall. They need more ... 'weird gloopy stuff inside some other stuff'. That'd sort them out.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
In Northern Ireland, this was further complicated because many of these divisions took on a sectarian tint.
Cars: Opel / Vauxhall Chocolate: Butlers / Thorntons Biscuits: Jacobs / McVities Bread: Pat the Baker / Ormo(/Sunblest) Brown Sauce: Daddies / HP Butter: Kerrygold / Golden Cow
...and so on.
Supermarkets carried both, but smaller shops might not - so these became one of the subtle ways in which territory and identity was marked out.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
People always say that because it's a way of conveying they have met a famous person in private. And if they said He's really boring in private that would invite the question why they are spending time with him.
I have.despised him ever since he held a press conference to say he was charging Huhne. Completely unacceptable, entirely against the spirit of the contempt of court rules if not the letter, designed purely to raise his own profike
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
You can’t have pickled onions, that’s not a brand.
All of those others are examples of hyper segmented categories where there’s only space for one brand alongside the supermarket own label. Likewise Lee and Perrin Worcester sauce, and until a few years ago Schweppes tonic water.
I find the stable duopolies very interesting. Our political system is one such example. It’s Kelloggs Tories and Labour Weetabix, with occasional creditable third place efforts from Quaker and Scotts porage oats.
Weetabix is notable in that the own brands are much worse; not true for almost any other cereal.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
And she had the necklace. Never forget (if even you're not reminded every other day) about the necklace.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
People always say that because it's a way of conveying they have met a famous person in private. And if they said He's really boring in private that would invite the question why they are spending time with him.
I have.despised him ever since he held a press conference to say he was charging Huhne. Completely unacceptable, entirely against the spirit of the contempt of court rules if not the letter, designed purely to raise his own profike
"People always say that because it's a way of conveying they have met a famous person in private" !! Do they!?
AI's always say 'people always say that' too. Wow - so odd.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
Evidently we aren’t allowed to talk about individual posters’ laser-like preoccupation with a single hobby horse. Though you’re not yet at BJO levels on Starmer.
It seems so.. cant talk about politicians, and if you have a bet with someone they leg you over! It's not like the good old days on here
Never understood why they didn't follow the cricket / tennis approach of giving teams a limited number of challenges, and make VAR application for a limited set of things that are hard and fast e.g. VAR for offside (not did player x pull player y on the half way line 30s before the goal), but like cricket, too close to call, you stick with ref decision.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
People always say that because it's a way of conveying they have met a famous person in private. And if they said He's really boring in private that would invite the question why they are spending time with him.
I have.despised him ever since he held a press conference to say he was charging Huhne. Completely unacceptable, entirely against the spirit of the contempt of court rules if not the letter, designed purely to raise his own profike
"Despised" is a pretty strong reaction to be honest. The man's only a politician. You could argue he doesn't deserve your contempt.
In all honesty, I can't think of a British politician I've ever despised or hated. There's plenty I haven't agreed with but that's as far as it's ever gone.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
The Ipsos polling of ethnic minorities shows leader ratings net satisfaction of Sunak -53 (-40 pre Gaza) Starmer -32 (-3 pre Gaza) Both the worst ever amongst ethnic minorities with Starmer a full 19 points worse than Brown's worst and 21 below Blairs worst score Labour still hold a big lead on VI (trying to find figs but Pedley says 48 points lead but leaching some support to minority parties)
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
Evidently we aren’t allowed to talk about individual posters’ laser-like preoccupation with a single hobby horse. Though you’re not yet at BJO levels on Starmer.
It seems so.. cant talk about politicians, and if you have a bet with someone they leg you over! It's not like the good old days on here
Yes. Any reasonable observer would have taken my words as calling for you to be silenced.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
Being fair to Johnson, a rare thing from me, it is hard to make someone with no discernible sense of humour laugh.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
People always say that because it's a way of conveying they have met a famous person in private. And if they said He's really boring in private that would invite the question why they are spending time with him.
I have.despised him ever since he held a press conference to say he was charging Huhne. Completely unacceptable, entirely against the spirit of the contempt of court rules if not the letter, designed purely to raise his own profike
"Despised" is a pretty strong reaction to be honest. The man's only a politician. You could argue he doesn't deserve your contempt.
In all honesty, I can't think of a British politician I've ever despised or hated. There's plenty I haven't agreed with but that's as far as it's ever gone.
He can do what he wants as a politician. He wasn't one then, he was part of the justice system with a duty to act fairly and impartially.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Nicolas Soames was said to be great company. Theresa May can't have accidently made the best parliamentary joke in many years.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
And she had the necklace. Never forget (if even you're not reminded every other day) about the necklace.
My Grandad had his funeral service in the Minster, he was a lay preacher and involved in the York Mystery Plays, and a couple of weeks later the South Transept got hit by lightning and the roof burnt down. I’m not saying the events were related but…
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
Yeah, you've lost me now
Mate, just ignore the snipey fucker 👍 Getting into pointless spats with someone trying to pickle a fight is like fitting wheels to a tomato. Time consuming and totally pointless.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
You can’t have pickled onions, that’s not a brand.
All of those others are examples of hyper segmented categories where there’s only space for one brand alongside the supermarket own label. Likewise Lee and Perrin Worcester sauce, and until a few years ago Schweppes tonic water.
I find the stable duopolies very interesting. Our political system is one such example. It’s Kelloggs Tories and Labour Weetabix, with occasional creditable third place efforts from Quaker and Scotts porage oats.
Weetabix is notable in that the own brands are much worse; not true for almost any other cereal.
Why that one should be so hard, I have no idea.
Not convinced. Lidl's version of Weetabix, given of course that it's best use is as bedding for gerbils, is pretty decent.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
Findus crispy pancakes are an irreplaceable part of my childhood. It's no wonder the youth of today has gone to the wall. They need more ... 'weird gloopy stuff inside some other stuff'. That'd sort them out.
The mince filled ones were ace. A gargantuan feast chez Taz as a nipper would be those, with Heinz baked beans and a couple of birds eye potato waffles.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
You can’t have pickled onions, that’s not a brand.
All of those others are examples of hyper segmented categories where there’s only space for one brand alongside the supermarket own label. Likewise Lee and Perrin Worcester sauce, and until a few years ago Schweppes tonic water.
I find the stable duopolies very interesting. Our political system is one such example. It’s Kelloggs Tories and Labour Weetabix, with occasional creditable third place efforts from Quaker and Scotts porage oats.
Weetabix is notable in that the own brands are much worse; not true for almost any other cereal.
Why that one should be so hard, I have no idea.
Not convinced. Lidl's version of Weetabix, given of course that it's best use is as bedding for gerbils, is pretty decent.
Weetabix is better on all fronts:
- lighter more open texture - Better toasting and flavour - Less quick to turn into porridge
Rice Krispies are also notably more toasted than their pallid own brand knockoffs. Whereas Shreddies, shredded wheat, coco pops, crunchy nut, cornflakes, frosties, all generally just as good own label.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
Evidently we aren’t allowed to talk about individual posters’ laser-like preoccupation with a single hobby horse. Though you’re not yet at BJO levels on Starmer.
Never mentioned him once in last 52 minutes but I am sure I might shortly.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
Findus crispy pancakes are an irreplaceable part of my childhood. It's no wonder the youth of today has gone to the wall. They need more ... 'weird gloopy stuff inside some other stuff'. That'd sort them out.
The mince filled ones were ace. A gargantuan feast chez Taz as a nipper would be those, with Heinz baked beans and a couple of birds eye potato waffles.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
Evidently we aren’t allowed to talk about individual posters’ laser-like preoccupation with a single hobby horse. Though you’re not yet at BJO levels on Starmer.
Never mentioned him once in last 52 minutes but I am sure I might shortly.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
Yeah, you've lost me now
Mate, just ignore the snipey fucker 👍 Getting into pointless spats with someone trying to pickle a fight is like fitting wheels to a tomato. Time consuming and totally pointless.
Yeah. Don’t waste your time with knobs like that. Totally pointless.
On politicians and humor: Abraham LIncoln used it to great effect. For example, when an office seeker came in to complain about not getting a federal job, and said he had made Lincoln president, Lincoln pointed to the papers on his desk and said: "And look what a pretty mess you got me into."
So, of course, did Reagan. (I assume all of you know about his famous line in a debate with Mondale.)
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
Evidently we aren’t allowed to talk about individual posters’ laser-like preoccupation with a single hobby horse. Though you’re not yet at BJO levels on Starmer.
Never mentioned him once in last 52 minutes but I am sure I might shortly.
On politicians and humor: Abraham LIncoln used it to great effect. For example, when an office seeker came in to complain about not getting a federal job, and said he had made Lincoln president, Lincoln pointed to the papers on his desk and said: "And look what a pretty mess you got me into."
So, of course, did Reagan. (I assume all of you know about his famous line in a debate with Mondale.)
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
Being fair to Johnson, a rare thing from me, it is hard to make someone with no discernible sense of humour laugh.
Boris is properly funny. It’s the one thing foreign leaders who loathe him - and there are many - nonetheless admit. He’s funny. You can see it in their social interactions on camera - G7 meetings etc - they are genuinely pleased to see him and they break into an unforced smile as he approaches: because they are thinking - Ah, at last, here’s someone who will lighten the mood and entertain me - after all these boring wankers
That does not make him good PM material. Far from it. It’s an asset but you need lots of other stuff. Churchill was by all accounts genuinely witty but it was one tool in a wider skill set
The last 2 polls by JLPartners on Wikepedia had Lab on 41 and 42, and Reform on 13% in both, so not sure where the shift figures in the header come from.
There would seem to be a few percent Con to Reform shift, but possibly just MOE.
They conducted a standard VI poll at the same time. Then added the Farage leading Reform question as a supllementary.
The changes are with that poll.
Hard to know how you would prompt this without hitting the leading question problem. "What would your vote be if Farage became leader of Reform" is a very good way of a. putting Reform top of mind, b. implying that received wisdom is he'd do a better job for them.
Many probably thought Farage was head of Reform anyway. It's like asking "would you prefer Rice Krispies or Cornflakes?" then "what about if the Cornflakes were fortified with vitamins and iron?" I bet you'd get a few people changing their choice simply because they were being prompted.
No one in their right mind would prefer Rice Krispies to Corn Flakes. Just unnatural.
They are both items where the difference in price between Kelloggs version and super cheap supermarket version is eye watering.
They (or their Lidl proxy) are both essential for making chocolatey nest thingeys with mini eggs on top suitable for Easter and after.
Agree. Cornflakes only the rest of the year.
I was a crunchy nut eater for much of my youth. Can’t remember when I last ate a bowl of Kelloggs.
Kelloggs is one of those companies I think of as default brands. When you dominate a category so much, particularly if you’re consumed by children in their formative years, that you’re almost establishment. Default. Normal.
Usually there is an “alternative” that plays the part of the yang to the default’s ying. Itself a default, establishment alternative. But somehow a bit non-U. But sometimes the dominance is such that there is no real established alternative.
Here are some default/alt staples of my youth:
Cereal: Kelloggs / Weetabix Chocolate: Cadburys / Rowntree Media: BBC / ITV Cars: Ford / Vauxhall Shoes: Clarks / Startrite Biscuits: McVities / none Chocolate biscuits: Pengiun / wagon wheels Burgers: McDonalds / Wimpy (now BK) Squash: Robinson’s / none Campsites: Eurocamp / Keycamp Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s / Tesco (I suspect for others that might be different) Newsagents: WHSmith / John Menzies Soft drinks: Coke / Pepsi Instant coffee: Nescafé / Maxwell House Portuguese beer: Superbock / Sagres Mid range clothes shop: M&S / Next
Very interesting. And each age is different. 'Next' for example did not exist in my formative years, nor McDonalds. The rivals to M & S were BHS, Littlewoods, but all regarded as very much second and also rans. Huntley and Palmer would have been a rival to the great McVitie. Heinz had no rival in the baked bean and tomato ketchup stakes. Birds Eye and Findus occupied pole positions in frozen stuff.
Tesco was downmarket. Sainsbury's were moving from staffed counters to self service.
Ice Cream: Walls. Alt: Lyons Maid.
Findus crispy pancakes are an irreplaceable part of my childhood. It's no wonder the youth of today has gone to the wall. They need more ... 'weird gloopy stuff inside some other stuff'. That'd sort them out.
The mince filled ones were ace. A gargantuan feast chez Taz as a nipper would be those, with Heinz baked beans and a couple of birds eye potato waffles.
They’re waffling versatile
Magnificent. Love old ads. Had to go and look it up on YouTube. In its glory.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
I've said on here for ages that Starmer is a liar par excellence and utterly ruthless. Adversarial solicitor personality type.
Like you I can't stand the bloke. Neither the sight nor sound of him.,
Great for getting Labour elected though. Tories' worst nightmare. I wonder where Lab would be if Long Bailey had won?
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
Evidently we aren’t allowed to talk about individual posters’ laser-like preoccupation with a single hobby horse. Though you’re not yet at BJO levels on Starmer.
Never mentioned him once in last 52 minutes but I am sure I might shortly.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
The wonderful thing about that response was it’s utterly sanguine shrugging off of a tiny bit of incredibly mild criticism and being not at all an overreaction suggesting a translucently thin skin.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
I very much dislike words like "associated", because they can mean "really closely involved with", or "knows someone who is a member".
The joys of the english language.
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
Apparently most headline "writers" of YouTube vids believe that "infamous" = "famous".
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
I very much dislike words like "associated", because they can mean "really closely involved with", or "knows someone who is a member".
The joys of the english language.
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
Apparently most headline "writers" of YouTube vids believe that "infamous" = "famous".
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
I very much dislike words like "associated", because they can mean "really closely involved with", or "knows someone who is a member".
The joys of the english language.
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
Apparently most headline "writers" of YouTube vids believe that "infamous" = "famous".
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
I just had an invitation to spend a day at a naturist site.
Any experience or experiences?
Advice/a plea: if you post pics, as many PBers are wont to do on their travels, just make sure the PB blurry pics issue is still a thing first, will you?
No photography is a condition of entry, so you have nothing to worry about.
The setup seems to be there is an official photographer when photos are needed, and express consent is required from all.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
I very much dislike words like "associated", because they can mean "really closely involved with", or "knows someone who is a member".
The joys of the english language.
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
Apparently most headline "writers" of YouTube vids believe that "infamous" = "famous".
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
And when Kenneth Williams said, "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it infamy" he knew we would all remember it.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
I very much dislike words like "associated", because they can mean "really closely involved with", or "knows someone who is a member".
The joys of the english language.
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
Apparently most headline "writers" of YouTube vids believe that "infamous" = "famous".
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
Well, he wasn’t wrong was he?
I rtemember when a child being puzzled by the descriptions on the tubes of glue I bought. Some were 'flammable' and the others were 'inflammable' but still apparent incendiary ...
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
I very much dislike words like "associated", because they can mean "really closely involved with", or "knows someone who is a member".
The joys of the english language.
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
Apparently most headline "writers" of YouTube vids believe that "infamous" = "famous".
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
And when Kenneth Williams said, "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it infamy" he knew we would all remember it.
I always thought it meant "coming to them" in Polari.
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
I very much dislike words like "associated", because they can mean "really closely involved with", or "knows someone who is a member".
The joys of the english language.
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
Apparently most headline "writers" of YouTube vids believe that "infamous" = "famous".
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
And when Kenneth Williams said, "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it infamy" he knew we would all remember it.
"Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers."
I very much dislike words like "associated", because they can mean "really closely involved with", or "knows someone who is a member".
The joys of the english language.
I like how something being outstanding could be good or bad, based on context.
Apparently most headline "writers" of YouTube vids believe that "infamous" = "famous".
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
Well, he wasn’t wrong was he?
I rtemember when a child being puzzled by the descriptions on the tubes of glue I bought. Some were 'flammable' and the others were 'inflammable' but still apparent incendiary ...
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
Berlusconi was exceptionally charming and able to mock himself with great wit. I learnt this by watching him tell a joke about himself. He had the audience in the palm of his hand. He was classes above Trump and Skinner for this.
No idea about Stalin and Amin. Stalin could definitely do the kindly uncle. As for a speechmaker he was like a BBC newsreader - here is the news. Nowhere near the skill level of Hitler or even Lenin.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
People always say that because it's a way of conveying they have met a famous person in private. And if they said He's really boring in private that would invite the question why they are spending time with him.
I have.despised him ever since he held a press conference to say he was charging Huhne. Completely unacceptable, entirely against the spirit of the contempt of court rules if not the letter, designed purely to raise his own profike
"Despised" is a pretty strong reaction to be honest. The man's only a politician. You could argue he doesn't deserve your contempt.
In all honesty, I can't think of a British politician I've ever despised or hated. There's plenty I haven't agreed with but that's as far as it's ever gone.
I can think of only one: Zac Goldsmith. And that was more pity and disdain than actual hatred.
With the benefit of hindsight, I realize that I was to Zac Goldsmith, what @Luckyguy1983 is to Sunak, and @bigjohnowls is Starmer. Except, obviously, my views were a reflection of reality, rather than totally over the top.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
People always say that because it's a way of conveying they have met a famous person in private. And if they said He's really boring in private that would invite the question why they are spending time with him.
I have.despised him ever since he held a press conference to say he was charging Huhne. Completely unacceptable, entirely against the spirit of the contempt of court rules if not the letter, designed purely to raise his own profike
He was a LibDem MP. Statistically, he was bound to have done something deserving of a jail sentence. That's just playing the odds, that is.
Did you go to the Treasurer's House, round the back of the Minster? Rather a treat (had a conference dinner there once).
Is that the Tudor style building?
That's the one I was thinking of, St William's College, yes! I had muddled the name! The Treasurer's House is tucked away a bit more to the NW, looks worth a try.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
Berlusconi was exceptionally charming and able to mock himself with great wit. I learnt this by watching him tell a joke about himself. He had the audience in the palm of his hand. He was classes above Trump and Skinner for this.
No idea about Stalin and Amin. Stalin could definitely do the kindly uncle. As for a speechmaker he was like a BBC newsreader - here is the news. Nowhere near the skill level of Hitler or even Lenin.
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
There are some words I stumble over. I would not be impressed by anyone who thought the less of my argument for a few extra seconds.
Of course, if one is only concerned with presentation, rather than, say, content, or truth, or logic, or those tired old things, one might feel entirely free to sneer at someone for having a stammer, or a trip of the tongue.
Oh wonderful you!
Of course content of character etc is more important, although Sir Keir is a dishonest sneak who devalues words such as "principle" and "integrity", but unfortunately presentation and charisma do play a part, and I think Starmer's stiff, awkward manner will be a negative for Labour during the campaign/in the debates
And don’t you like to tell us about it…
Sorry
What is it we are allowed to talk about on here again
NOT
The most exciting thing to happen in the history of technology The most outrageous idea in human sexual definition since the dawn of time Anything that might cast the Leader of the Opposition in a bad light
I've said on here for ages that Starmer is a liar par excellence and utterly ruthless. Adversarial solicitor personality type.
Like you I can't stand the bloke. Neither the sight nor sound of him.,
Great for getting Labour elected though. Tories' worst nightmare. I wonder where Lab would be if Long Bailey had won?
On politicians and humor: Abraham LIncoln used it to great effect. For example, when an office seeker came in to complain about not getting a federal job, and said he had made Lincoln president, Lincoln pointed to the papers on his desk and said: "And look what a pretty mess you got me into."
So, of course, did Reagan. (I assume all of you know about his famous line in a debate with Mondale.)
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
He was trying to say "bro" and he thought, I sound ridiculous, so he then tried to say "brother" and he did.
Does this mean he is not our next PM? Probably not.
After all, our Greatest Ever Prime Minister® wasn't renowned for getting to the end of a coherent sentence, ever.
But he Had Charisma and Delivered Brexit, so that's fine.
Boris was an untrustworthy lying shit (and I wasn't even married to him) but he was a funny untrustworthy lying shit. Worth a lot in my book.
‘Funny’ is such a subjective thing. I always found his heavily signalled overworked or underworked zingers followed by an expectation that everyone would be amused & charmed distinctly unfunny, so that’s a no redeeming qualities from me.
“There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters “.
You don’t find that funny?
Not really. What does it even mean? I suppose I might conjure up a grim rictus at the irony of BJ having a bit of a laff about disasters.
Still, speaking of rictus smiles and exPMs, just had Gordy Broon on C4 going on about how terrible & damaging child poverty was in the UK. Thank goodness we listened to him in 2014, think how much worse it could have been.
It wasn't that Boris necessarily did comedy routines, but one knew he had a sense of humour. An early speech referencing Huskisson's violent death due to Stevenson's rocket (back in the halcyon days) was funny because Boris accidentally made himself laugh. I don't think Truss is renowned for her sense of humour, though she seems quite a sport. Sunak doesn’t have a detectable sense of humour. Nor does Starmer.
Truss is just insane Starmer seems like he's hiding a sense of humour somewhere Sunak won't share
Starmer seems to be funnier in private than public, which is unhelpful for him. Truss I think had quite a decent sense of humour. May showed herself to have decent comic timing after the Queen’s death. Neither Cameron nor Clegg nor Brown had the humour gene. Blair had his moments. Major had it. Thatcher didn’t.
I think Cameron could do a decent cutting line, like his 'not like we're brothers' jibe to Miliband, but it's a kind of top boy bullying humour perhaps. Truss I don't know but she has a cheeky grin.
Having a sense of humour - getting jokes, laughing naturally, being at ease in the comic moment, capable of self deprecation - is quite common. Especially in the British. Actually BEING FUNNY - making people crack up - is vastly rarer
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Gag writing, like plumbing, is something that really ought to be left to the professionals. There's still a talent to deliver someone else's material well, but to come up with good new jokes means seeing the world in a peculiar way that isn't that compatible with much else.
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Naturally funny politicians with proper comic timing and the ability to go beyond one joke into an impromptu riff (and I agree Johnson annoyingly did have that):
- Trump. Sad. - Apparently Stalin - Berlusconi - Dennis Skinner - Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
I never heard that about Stalin. Funny?? But maybe. He was definitely capable of dark humour
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
Brandreth can be witty too. After he got voted out, he said "I always knew I had complete contempt for my constituents, but what I didn't know until they voted me out was that the feeling was entirely mutual." Got to admit, that's funny.
Comments
"Crew trapped on Baltimore ship, seven weeks after bridge collapse"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69011124
With them, the "Farage leading Reform" numbers are Labour 36%, Conservative 19%, Reform 14%, DK 13%, LD 9%.
We don't have the comparable question without Farage so it's all a bit smoke and mirrors.
Sunak -53 (-40 pre Gaza)
Starmer -32 (-3 pre Gaza)
Both the worst ever amongst ethnic minorities with Starmer a full 19 points worse than Brown's worst and 21 below Blairs worst score
Labour still hold a big lead on VI (trying to find figs but Pedley says 48 points lead but leaching some support to minority parties)
This is a good one
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/keir-starmer-speech-b1986514.html
Old Spice
The Eagle
Meccano
Biggles
Unsuccessful politicians on the other hand can have a very good sense of humour.
I had dealings with them years ago before they got together with Nestle. The CFO at the time was the most foul mouthed, politically incorrect (understatement), “unique” individual I’ve come across in the business world.
Cars: Opel / Vauxhall
Chocolate: Butlers / Thorntons
Biscuits: Jacobs / McVities
Bread: Pat the Baker / Ormo(/Sunblest)
Brown Sauce: Daddies / HP
Butter: Kerrygold / Golden Cow
...and so on.
Supermarkets carried both, but smaller shops might not - so these became one of the subtle ways in which territory and identity was marked out.
I have.despised him ever since he held a press conference to say he was charging Huhne. Completely unacceptable, entirely against the spirit of the contempt of court rules if not the letter, designed purely to raise his own profike
I’d say Boris is the only PM with the gift that I can recall. And he proves that being funny can get you very far in life (into a lot of beds; and into great jobs) but it doesn’t mean you will be good at those jobs - not at all
Indeed it’s so rare I’m not sure I can think of another significant British politician with the gift. Certainly not Cameron or brown or Blair or Truss or TMay.
Maybe George Osborne?
Why that one should be so hard, I have no idea.
AI's always say 'people always say that' too. Wow - so odd.
In all honesty, I can't think of a British politician I've ever despised or hated. There's plenty I haven't agreed with but that's as far as it's ever gone.
Links to the sky report and ipsos stuff but the figures don't seem to match entirely.... anyway it's all in there
(The inexplicable thing about Rishi isn't so much the poor delivery as the terrible material. That ought to be fixable by getting some competent writers in.)
Edit: D'oh!
Sandwich Street.
- Trump. Sad.
- Apparently Stalin
- Berlusconi
- Dennis Skinner
- Idi Amin
And a few who have their moments but fall short of being full natural comedians, including Farage, Farron, Charles Kennedy, Salmond.
Swiss Cottage
- lighter more open texture
- Better toasting and flavour
- Less quick to turn into porridge
Rice Krispies are also notably more toasted than their pallid own brand knockoffs. Whereas Shreddies, shredded wheat, coco pops, crunchy nut, cornflakes, frosties, all generally just as good own label.
So, of course, did Reagan. (I assume all of you know about his famous line in a debate with Mondale.)
And so did -- this will suprise some -- Bob Dole. For example: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Political-Wit-Laughing-Almost/dp/0767906675
But mostly in private meetings with other senators, from what I saw of his career.
That does not make him good PM material. Far from it. It’s an asset but you need lots of other stuff. Churchill was by all accounts genuinely witty but it was one tool in a wider skill set
https://youtu.be/lwiXlprJ7Ds?si=VbnmV5OSf28OkuIm
Like you I can't stand the bloke. Neither the sight nor sound of him.,
Great for getting Labour elected though. Tories' worst nightmare. I wonder where Lab would be if Long Bailey had won?
I’m trying to think of funny monarchs. Perhaps Charles II - the merrie monarch for a reason. Elizabeth II had a gift for dry irony and litotes. God I miss Her Maj - the world has not been right since she passed
Leopard DNA found in Cumbria. Much the most important news of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g17DL1YJ730
Thus when FDR said that December 7, 1941 was "a date which will live in infamy" he apparently meant that we'd all be hearing about it for a long long long time.
The setup seems to be there is an official photographer when photos are needed, and express consent is required from all.
Which is just respecting the law, of course.
https://twitter.com/MrJoeGooch/status/1653761384738439169
No idea about Stalin and Amin. Stalin could definitely do the kindly uncle. As for a speechmaker he was like a BBC newsreader - here is the news. Nowhere near the skill level of Hitler or even Lenin.
Farage is also a good speaker.
With the benefit of hindsight, I realize that I was to Zac Goldsmith, what @Luckyguy1983 is to Sunak, and @bigjohnowls is Starmer. Except, obviously, my views were a reflection of reality, rather than totally over the top.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.962682,-1.0805706,131m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu
Similarly, Gyles Brandreth was a Conservative MP and Whip. Clearly, logically he was a politician, but somehow he also wasn't.
And, elegantly, was in the pay of Big Waffle;
https://youtu.be/2DnwJJJZaYU?t=4m31s
When asked his view on gay marriage he quipped: marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman... and a woman... and a woman
And on the Republican debate stage, he said: isn't it strange that the only candidate with only one wife is the Mormon.
Even Trump seemed to doze off as his nemesis faced cross-examination.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/14/trump-hush-money-trial-michael-cohen-cross-examination-00158034
Still, at least no one here is a fan of LostProphets. That would be a tough listen now.