@RishiSunak The 80th anniversary of D-Day has been a profound moment to honour the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our values, our freedom and our democracy.
This anniversary should be about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The last thing I want is for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics.
I care deeply about veterans and have been honoured to represent the UK at a number of events in Portsmouth and France over the past two days and to meet those who fought so bravely.
After the conclusion of the British event in Normandy, I returned back to the UK. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer – and I apologise.
Permanent very low deposits guaranteed by government has other negatives above the risk of bad loans.
What percentage of council houses sold are still in the hands of owner occupiers, as opposed to private rental companies?
40% of right to buy homes are now rented out privately.
PB likes to ignore the vast shifts in housing tenure in the last 14 years, but ultimately it's the reason why the country has become more unequal and why the number of natural Conservative voters has fallen. There is no evidence that a mass private housebuilding programme would reverse the trend and increase ownership - all the new homes will simply be hoovered up by those who have accumulated large savings.
So you are claiming that prices can be artificially held high in a market that has over supply?
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
In your dreams. Srarmer is getting an easy ride atm and little scrutiny. The press will turn on him when he's PM. Since he hasnt bothered to set out a platform and is being all things to all men he has no depth to his support so he will disappoint more people faster.
I see he's proposing to recognise a Hamas government today. More flip flopping.
The simple relief of not having a bunch of creeps and gargoyles in cabinet, of having a Prime Minister attempting competent policy instead of media gimmicks, of having politicians that talk to voters, not to each other will give Starmer at least a year of goodwill.
Every party gets a honeymoon, then the fun starts. You're simply swapping Pepsi for Coca Cola. Labour are Sunak redux, lots of policies floated but no money to pay for them,
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
In your dreams. Srarmer is getting an easy ride atm and little scrutiny. The press will turn on him when he's PM. Since he hasnt bothered to set out a platform and is being all things to all men he has no depth to his support so he will disappoint more people faster.
I see he's proposing to recognise a Hamas government today. More flip flopping.
I remember similar sentiments being expressed before 1997, and we all know how that turned out.
I think Starmer’s Labour has more weaknesses than Blair’s did which might mean, but doesn’t guarantee, a sharper downward trajectory once in office.
The issue is the Tories are going to be severely weakened at best and all but annihilated at worst. They may not be a factor in respect of opposing a Labour government, either because they will be internally focused or because they will be so small as to be politically irrelevant.
Yep. @Alanbrooke has lost any semblance of objectivity and has gone all Big John Owls
You are quite right: they came out with all of this sort of guff about Blair in the run-up to 1997.
They have lost their way at the moment and will need to spend time in the political wilderness rediscovering who they are, what they are, and why they are.
Lol remember we had that little chat about you not understanding life outside the Home Counties ? .
No I’m sorry I really don’t. No offence but I probably wouldn’t remember any convo with you tbh.
My home town is Teignmouth in Devon.
It's not where you start it's where you finish. and you've finished up in Surrey.
Allegedly.
Well I’m bemused you think you know when and where I’ve been in life but you’re a bit muddle-headed.
FWIW, my name is taken from a Heath where I used to live … in Surrey. My home town is back in Devon, where I’ve lived much of my life. And, yes, I stay with my friend back in Surrey frequently. She is, or was, a tory and is a lovely person. My best friend in fact.
But I’m not entirely sure what relevance this has to anything, let alone a political betting site. I’m sure people on here, yourself included, have better things to discuss during an election campaign than people’s house moves.
Not now dear the adults are talking.
So you’re resorting to using Ad Hominem and misogynistic: “not now dear"
Wow your mask really has slipped there.
When you lose, and you realise you’re out of power for a long, long, long, time. And when you realise that the world has moved on and left you behind, reflect on how you might have behaved better.
The predictable consequence of the PM’s astonishing decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early is that in Zelenskyy’s moving video of his attendance, Britain - Ukraine’s most ardent ally - is represented by the leader of the opposition.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
In your dreams. Srarmer is getting an easy ride atm and little scrutiny. The press will turn on him when he's PM. Since he hasnt bothered to set out a platform and is being all things to all men he has no depth to his support so he will disappoint more people faster.
I see he's proposing to recognise a Hamas government today. More flip flopping.
The simple relief of not having a bunch of creeps and gargoyles in cabinet, of having a Prime Minister attempting competent policy instead of media gimmicks, of having politicians that talk to voters, not to each other will give Starmer at least a year of goodwill.
Every party gets a honeymoon, then the fun starts. You're simply swapping Pepsi for Coca Cola. Labour are Sunak redux, lots of policies floated but no money to pay for them,
Sunak apologises and admits mistake in leaving early. Hmmmmm, bit late mate
He’s absolutely right to apologise, it was necessary but unfortunately it won’t be sufficient. One also suspects that behind the scenes senior figures may have staged something of an intervention.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
In your dreams. Srarmer is getting an easy ride atm and little scrutiny. The press will turn on him when he's PM. Since he hasnt bothered to set out a platform and is being all things to all men he has no depth to his support so he will disappoint more people faster.
I see he's proposing to recognise a Hamas government today. More flip flopping.
I remember similar sentiments being expressed before 1997, and we all know how that turned out.
I think Starmer’s Labour has more weaknesses than Blair’s did which might mean, but doesn’t guarantee, a sharper downward trajectory once in office.
The issue is the Tories are going to be severely weakened at best and all but annihilated at worst. They may not be a factor in respect of opposing a Labour government, either because they will be internally focused or because they will be so small as to be politically irrelevant.
Yep. @Alanbrooke has lost any semblance of objectivity and has gone all Big John Owls
You are quite right: they came out with all of this sort of guff about Blair in the run-up to 1997.
They have lost their way at the moment and will need to spend time in the political wilderness rediscovering who they are, what they are, and why they are.
Lol remember we had that little chat about you not understanding life outside the Home Counties ? .
No I’m sorry I really don’t. No offence but I probably wouldn’t remember any convo with you tbh.
My home town is Teignmouth in Devon.
It's not where you start it's where you finish. and you've finished up in Surrey.
Allegedly.
Well I’m bemused you think you know when and where I’ve been in life but you’re a bit muddle-headed.
FWIW, my name is taken from a Heath where I used to live … in Surrey. My home town is back in Devon, where I’ve lived much of my life. And, yes, I stay with my friend back in Surrey frequently. She is, or was, a tory and is a lovely person. My best friend in fact.
But I’m not entirely sure what relevance this has to anything, let alone a political betting site. I’m sure people on here, yourself included, have better things to discuss during an election campaign than people’s house moves.
Not now dear the adults are talking.
So you’re resorting to using Ad Hominem and misogynistic: “not now dear"
Wow your mask really has slipped there.
When you lose, and you realise you’re out of power for a long, long, long, time. And when you realise that the world has moved on and left you behind, reflect on how you might have behaved better.
It's ok, like a goldfish you wont remember this conversation, we can start anew on your next post.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
In your dreams. Srarmer is getting an easy ride atm and little scrutiny. The press will turn on him when he's PM. Since he hasnt bothered to set out a platform and is being all things to all men he has no depth to his support so he will disappoint more people faster.
I see he's proposing to recognise a Hamas government today. More flip flopping.
The simple relief of not having a bunch of creeps and gargoyles in cabinet, of having a Prime Minister attempting competent policy instead of media gimmicks, of having politicians that talk to voters, not to each other will give Starmer at least a year of goodwill.
Every party gets a honeymoon, then the fun starts. You're simply swapping Pepsi for Coca Cola. Labour are Sunak redux, lots of policies floated but no money to pay for them,
Nope we are swapping people who seem to be utterly incompetent and can't see the mess they have created while allowing their mates to steal millions for a set of people who may be vaguely competent.
Permanent very low deposits guaranteed by government has other negatives above the risk of bad loans.
What percentage of council houses sold are still in the hands of owner occupiers, as opposed to private rental companies?
40% of right to buy homes are now rented out privately.
PB likes to ignore the vast shifts in housing tenure in the last 14 years, but ultimately it's the reason why the country has become more unequal and why the number of natural Conservative voters has fallen. There is no evidence that a mass private housebuilding programme would reverse the trend and increase ownership - all the new homes will simply be hoovered up by those who have accumulated large savings.
Think we will see a big increase in stamp duty rates for overseas buyers, possibly up to 10% surcharge (from 2%). Maybe the higher rate for additional properties goes from 3 to 5 as well.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
In your dreams. Srarmer is getting an easy ride atm and little scrutiny. The press will turn on him when he's PM. Since he hasnt bothered to set out a platform and is being all things to all men he has no depth to his support so he will disappoint more people faster.
I see he's proposing to recognise a Hamas government today. More flip flopping.
I remember similar sentiments being expressed before 1997, and we all know how that turned out.
I think Starmer’s Labour has more weaknesses than Blair’s did which might mean, but doesn’t guarantee, a sharper downward trajectory once in office.
The issue is the Tories are going to be severely weakened at best and all but annihilated at worst. They may not be a factor in respect of opposing a Labour government, either because they will be internally focused or because they will be so small as to be politically irrelevant.
Yep. @Alanbrooke has lost any semblance of objectivity and has gone all Big John Owls
You are quite right: they came out with all of this sort of guff about Blair in the run-up to 1997.
They have lost their way at the moment and will need to spend time in the political wilderness rediscovering who they are, what they are, and why they are.
Lol remember we had that little chat about you not understanding life outside the Home Counties ? .
No I’m sorry I really don’t. No offence but I probably wouldn’t remember any convo with you tbh.
My home town is Teignmouth in Devon.
It's not where you start it's where you finish. and you've finished up in Surrey.
Allegedly.
Well I’m bemused you think you know when and where I’ve been in life but you’re a bit muddle-headed.
FWIW, my name is taken from a Heath where I used to live … in Surrey. My home town is back in Devon, where I’ve lived much of my life. And, yes, I stay with my friend back in Surrey frequently. She is, or was, a tory and is a lovely person. My best friend in fact.
But I’m not entirely sure what relevance this has to anything, let alone a political betting site. I’m sure people on here, yourself included, have better things to discuss during an election campaign than people’s house moves.
Not now dear the adults are talking.
So you’re resorting to using Ad Hominem and misogynistic: “not now dear"
Wow your mask really has slipped there.
When you lose, and you realise you’re out of power for a long, long, long, time. And when you realise that the world has moved on and left you behind, reflect on how you might have behaved better.
Childrens' minister David Johnson can't tell @NickFerrariLBC how much child benefit/allowance is, as he's doing the round about bringing more families into it by raising the threshold...
"It's not a department for education policy this, it's a DWP one, I'm afraid I don't know... I should have found out before I came on here. I'm sorry."
Tory David Johnson says he doesn’t know where Rishi Sunak was yesterday afternoon during D Day event, because he’s only “the junior minister for education” and he’s “not party to the PM’s diary”. 🤔
That is fair enough! I doubt Rishi even knows who David is....
A tweet? You can't tweet this away. Where's the clip. Why isn't he saying it on camera. We all know he's going to have to.
Why isn’t he crawling on his knees to Canterbury for penance, why isn’t he just topping himself, this just isn’t enough. FFS, he’s cocked up, apologised and it’s going to affect him badly.
Sunak has Catterick in his constituency. And did *that* yesterday.
So now we know. Pulled the election forward. Torpedoes first the national campaign and then his local campaign.
He needs to be in California for the end of July.
How do you see your consituency devloping
Interesting! The Tories on social media are absolutely disgusted with their own party and with Ross in particular.
What really seems to have pushed them over the edge is the official line being taken by Ross which appears to be a blatant lie. Ross describes the "Party Management Board" making the decision having discussed it with Duguid. https://x.com/sellar_james/status/1798851433045049670
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
In your dreams. Srarmer is getting an easy ride atm and little scrutiny. The press will turn on him when he's PM. Since he hasnt bothered to set out a platform and is being all things to all men he has no depth to his support so he will disappoint more people faster.
I see he's proposing to recognise a Hamas government today. More flip flopping.
I remember similar sentiments being expressed before 1997, and we all know how that turned out.
I think Starmer’s Labour has more weaknesses than Blair’s did which might mean, but doesn’t guarantee, a sharper downward trajectory once in office.
The issue is the Tories are going to be severely weakened at best and all but annihilated at worst. They may not be a factor in respect of opposing a Labour government, either because they will be internally focused or because they will be so small as to be politically irrelevant.
Yep. @Alanbrooke has lost any semblance of objectivity and has gone all Big John Owls
You are quite right: they came out with all of this sort of guff about Blair in the run-up to 1997.
They have lost their way at the moment and will need to spend time in the political wilderness rediscovering who they are, what they are, and why they are.
Lol remember we had that little chat about you not understanding life outside the Home Counties ? .
No I’m sorry I really don’t. No offence but I probably wouldn’t remember any convo with you tbh.
My home town is Teignmouth in Devon.
It's not where you start it's where you finish. and you've finished up in Surrey.
Allegedly.
Well I’m bemused you think you know when and where I’ve been in life but you’re a bit muddle-headed.
FWIW, my name is taken from a Heath where I used to live … in Surrey. My home town is back in Devon, where I’ve lived much of my life. And, yes, I stay with my friend back in Surrey frequently. She is, or was, a tory and is a lovely person. My best friend in fact.
But I’m not entirely sure what relevance this has to anything, let alone a political betting site. I’m sure people on here, yourself included, have better things to discuss during an election campaign than people’s house moves.
Not now dear the adults are talking.
So you’re resorting to using Ad Hominem and misogynistic: “not now dear"
Wow your mask really has slipped there.
When you lose, and you realise you’re out of power for a long, long, long, time. And when you realise that the world has moved on and left you behind, reflect on how you might have behaved better.
It's ok, like a goldfish you wont remember this conversation, we can start anew on your next post.
Truly I’m not worth you getting in such a steam about. Nor being so personally abusive to a woman.
Maybe go and make yourself a cuppa and come back when you’ve cooled down a little? It’s not a bad tip for any of us.
What a vivid and shocking contrast: the sacrifice of all those brave men so that 80 years on the prime minister could cut short his visit to where they fell so that he could return to London to attack his opponent.
We're 5/1 on the Tories winning less than 50 seats, if anyone wants a bet...
Twas 25/1 when I first took Bet365 up on the offer a fortnight ago..
Yes I did take them up on the offer and I've offset enough already that I'm in profit.
Edit - I also wouldn't be surprise if those odds dropped to 2/1 before the election - that's the level of Rishi's screw up yesterday and how easy it's going to be for Farage to make hay with it (repeatedly)..
Sunak has Catterick in his constituency. And did *that* yesterday.
So now we know. Pulled the election forward. Torpedoes first the national campaign and then his local campaign.
He needs to be in California for the end of July.
How do you see your consituency devloping
Interesting! The Tories on social media are absolutely disgusted with their own party and with Ross in particular.
What really seems to have pushed them over the edge is the official line being taken by Ross which appears to be a blatant lie. Ross describes the "Party Management Board" making the decision having discussed it with Duguid. https://x.com/sellar_james/status/1798851433045049670
Sunak has apologised for his early D Day departure!
Am I the only person other than diehard Sunak apologists who thinks this story is a load of confected nonsense?
It’s not so much confected . He left early to do an interview he could have done at another time . And in election campaigns a lot of things happen that get highlighted much more . Certainly the Tories are happy to dish it out so why shouldn’t the other parties get in on the act .
A tweet? You can't tweet this away. Where's the clip. Why isn't he saying it on camera. We all know he's going to have to.
Why isn’t he crawling on his knees to Canterbury for penance, why isn’t he just topping himself, this just isn’t enough. FFS, he’s cocked up, apologised and it’s going to affect him badly.
But we need more drama don’t we.
We live in an apology culture. Sunak made an apparently rational decision to do something, did it, apologises within 24 hours.
In what way is he "sorry" exactly? I don't believe he is. The apology is therefore a lie.
It's about time we move on from the idea that the great and good can do something bad, pretend to be sorry, and be absolved.
What a vivid and shocking contrast: the sacrifice of all those brave men so that 80 years on the prime minister could cut short his visit to where they fell so that he could return to London to attack his opponent.
On such judgements we learn about character
I’m sure as they were running up that beach they were thinking “we’re doing this so everyone has to behave in a perfectly ordered way in the future and be forced into attending ceremonies”.
My grandfather wasn’t flying his plane bombing Normandy on D-Day for anything like this confected wank. He was doing it because it was his duty, his job, orders and ultimately he didn’t want the country and Europe to be run by fascists who did not tolerate people not doing what they are ordered to do.
It’s fucking tedious this whole “they didn’t sacrifice their lives for this” - they didn’t care about this sort of shit.
Rishi Sunak needs to come out, stand in front of a camera, apologise, and beg the nation for forgiveness. Why hasn't he already done. Why just a tweet. What's he waiting for. What's he hiding for. Does he think he can just style this out.
The predictable consequence of the PM’s astonishing decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early is that in Zelenskyy’s moving video of his attendance, Britain - Ukraine’s most ardent ally - is represented by the leader of the opposition.
Is this delusional ignorance or wilful dishonesty?
Rachel Wearmouth @REWearmouth · 5m It’s completely unfathomable as to why any British Prime Minister would skip the 80th anniversary of D Day. It’s the job.
If a Labour Prime Minister had done such a thing, they would be shamed for the rest of their political career.
He DID NOT skip the 80th anniversary of D Day, he was there yesterday at Southsea and today in Normandy (which was primarily for heads of state and Rishi is not the King).
The same would apply to a Labour PM. Every other party leader is doing one of these ITV interviews, the main events in Normandy were over when Sunak recorded it. This story is utter rubbish and barrel scraping from Labour and Farage exploiting D Day for their party political ends.
Fortunately none of the mainstream media have it in their headlines and beyond the Westminster bubble nobody is interested
Personally I agree with this. Sunak met his D Day obligation by going to the British ceremony and I don't care if he stayed on for other activities. It's pure optics. The optics aren't good for him politically however.
You can sort-of see now that he’s never previously had to win his way to high office. He landed a safe seat and hasn’t really won anything politically.
I actually suspect he’s pretty good as a Chancellor but as a leader or PM he’s terrible.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
Sunak had better hope his early departure from the D Day events doesn’t gain further traction . I still can’t understand the logic of what he did . Saying you’ll see world leaders next week at the G7 is irrelevant . This is probably the last time any of those veterans will be there and it just looks like he could care less .
If he'd stayed and missed other interviews and appointments he'd have been criticised as well for being absent from the campaign. The mood is to criticise Sunak for being Sunak.
Your mood is to defend Sunak whatever he does.
Not really, I've criticised Sunak plenty in the past.
Your trite comment is simply because I'm not joining in the pile-on, and that bothers you.
It is as you said a bit of a pile on, however come \July the fun starts as Starmer has to deliver.
Suddenly the attack will be on the defensive.
You’re clinging on to this but it’s a bit desperate.
If the election goes as it currently now looks then come July 5th the mood will become very different. Labour will sweep in on a tide of good will and the tories will be down and out.
So, yes, Labour will make some mistakes but at least to start with there will be little attack left from the Opposition parties. And if they secure a 150+ majority then electorally speaking you can forget getting back to power for a decade.
And that’s if the tories sort themselves out. They might be in-fighting for some time and the country will be in no mood to forgive them for the utter shitshow for a very very long time.
Really? Truly? The Conservatives won’t recover from this for 15 years, if they do at all. Tell yourself otherwise if it helps you bear the defeat but you’ll be kidding yourself.
In your dreams. Srarmer is getting an easy ride atm and little scrutiny. The press will turn on him when he's PM. Since he hasnt bothered to set out a platform and is being all things to all men he has no depth to his support so he will disappoint more people faster.
I see he's proposing to recognise a Hamas government today. More flip flopping.
I remember similar sentiments being expressed before 1997, and we all know how that turned out.
I think Starmer’s Labour has more weaknesses than Blair’s did which might mean, but doesn’t guarantee, a sharper downward trajectory once in office.
The issue is the Tories are going to be severely weakened at best and all but annihilated at worst. They may not be a factor in respect of opposing a Labour government, either because they will be internally focused or because they will be so small as to be politically irrelevant.
Yep. @Alanbrooke has lost any semblance of objectivity and has gone all Big John Owls
You are quite right: they came out with all of this sort of guff about Blair in the run-up to 1997.
They have lost their way at the moment and will need to spend time in the political wilderness rediscovering who they are, what they are, and why they are.
Lol remember we had that little chat about you not understanding life outside the Home Counties ? .
No I’m sorry I really don’t. No offence but I probably wouldn’t remember any convo with you tbh.
My home town is Teignmouth in Devon.
It's not where you start it's where you finish. and you've finished up in Surrey.
Allegedly.
Well I’m bemused you think you know when and where I’ve been in life but you’re a bit muddle-headed.
FWIW, my name is taken from a Heath where I used to live … in Surrey. My home town is back in Devon, where I’ve lived much of my life. And, yes, I stay with my friend back in Surrey frequently. She is, or was, a tory and is a lovely person. My best friend in fact.
But I’m not entirely sure what relevance this has to anything, let alone a political betting site. I’m sure people on here, yourself included, have better things to discuss during an election campaign than people’s house moves.
Not now dear the adults are talking.
So you’re resorting to using Ad Hominem and misogynistic: “not now dear"
Wow your mask really has slipped there.
When you lose, and you realise you’re out of power for a long, long, long, time. And when you realise that the world has moved on and left you behind, reflect on how you might have behaved better.
It's ok, like a goldfish you wont remember this conversation, we can start anew on your next post.
Truly I’m not worth you getting in such a steam about. Nor being so personally abusive to a woman.
Maybe go and make yourself a cuppa and come back when you’ve cooled down a little? It’s not a bad tip for any of us.
Oh don't be silly child, Ive raised two teenage girls there's nothing you can strop about which makes much of an impression.
What a vivid and shocking contrast: the sacrifice of all those brave men so that 80 years on the prime minister could cut short his visit to where they fell so that he could return to London to attack his opponent.
On such judgements we learn about character
I’m sure as they were running up that beach they were thinking “we’re doing this so everyone has to behave in a perfectly ordered way in the future and be forced into attending ceremonies”.
My grandfather wasn’t flying his plane bombing Normandy on D-Day for anything like this confected wank. He was doing it because it was his duty, his job, orders and ultimately he didn’t want the country and Europe to be run by fascists who did not tolerate people not doing what they are ordered to do.
It’s fucking tedious this whole “they didn’t sacrifice their lives for this” - they didn’t care about this sort of shit.
Sunak has Catterick in his constituency. And did *that* yesterday.
So now we know. Pulled the election forward. Torpedoes first the national campaign and then his local campaign.
He needs to be in California for the end of July.
How do you see your consituency devloping
Interesting! The Tories on social media are absolutely disgusted with their own party and with Ross in particular.
What really seems to have pushed them over the edge is the official line being taken by Ross which appears to be a blatant lie. Ross describes the "Party Management Board" making the decision having discussed it with Duguid. https://x.com/sellar_james/status/1798851433045049670
And it is this barefaced duplicity which has ScotCon members and voters openly publicly denouncing the party on social media.
Who are the front rummers there?
Conservative and SNP based on the 2019 result. Labour showing well in an MRP but they have no ground game or history of doing well. Lib Dems non-existent but will perhaps be hoping to pick up disgruntled Tories.
No party other than Con or SNP has beaten the 20% mark since the 70s.
Edit to add: that's based on the Banff & Buchan constituency. Moray has had more Labour voters in recent history, but not much more. Peaked in 2001 with 25% but mostly much less.
Labour's Jon Ashworth: "The D-Day commemorations were about remembering the bravery of all those who serve our country. In choosing to prioritise his own vanity TV appearances over our veterans, Rishi Sunak has shown what is most important to him."
The predictable consequence of the PM’s astonishing decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early is that in Zelenskyy’s moving video of his attendance, Britain - Ukraine’s most ardent ally - is represented by the leader of the opposition.
Is this delusional ignorance or wilful dishonesty?
I'd say its more a mix of wilful ignorance and delusional dishonesty myself.
Sunak has apologised for his early D Day departure!
Am I the only person other than diehard Sunak apologists who thinks this story is a load of confected nonsense?
No I don’t think you are, but there’s a large market out there for schadenfreude.
Definitely a mistake to leave early, previously they'd have brazened this out with the help of their client media, but now he's apologized. Is it really that important, probably not, does it indicate that the running of his campaign is a total shitshow? Absolutely. Fingers crossed it's career-ending for the spawn of Crosby.
Sunak has Catterick in his constituency. And did *that* yesterday.
So now we know. Pulled the election forward. Torpedoes first the national campaign and then his local campaign.
He needs to be in California for the end of July.
How do you see your consituency devloping
Interesting! The Tories on social media are absolutely disgusted with their own party and with Ross in particular.
What really seems to have pushed them over the edge is the official line being taken by Ross which appears to be a blatant lie. Ross describes the "Party Management Board" making the decision having discussed it with Duguid. https://x.com/sellar_james/status/1798851433045049670
After leaving Rishi Sunak dodging D-Day commemorations in order to do a TV interview, out of their earlier bulletins, while leading instead on the PM defending his £2,000 tax lie, the Today programme now leads on Sunak's apology for having done so.
Sunak has Catterick in his constituency. And did *that* yesterday.
So now we know. Pulled the election forward. Torpedoes first the national campaign and then his local campaign.
He needs to be in California for the end of July.
How do you see your consituency devloping
Interesting! The Tories on social media are absolutely disgusted with their own party and with Ross in particular.
What really seems to have pushed them over the edge is the official line being taken by Ross which appears to be a blatant lie. Ross describes the "Party Management Board" making the decision having discussed it with Duguid. https://x.com/sellar_james/status/1798851433045049670
Rachel Wearmouth @REWearmouth · 5m It’s completely unfathomable as to why any British Prime Minister would skip the 80th anniversary of D Day. It’s the job.
If a Labour Prime Minister had done such a thing, they would be shamed for the rest of their political career.
He DID NOT skip the 80th anniversary of D Day, he was there yesterday at Southsea and today in Normandy (which was primarily for heads of state and Rishi is not the King).
The same would apply to a Labour PM. Every other party leader is doing one of these ITV interviews, the main events in Normandy were over when Sunak recorded it. This story is utter rubbish and barrel scraping from Labour and Farage exploiting D Day for their party political ends.
Fortunately none of the mainstream media have it in their headlines and beyond the Westminster bubble nobody is interested
Personally I agree with this. Sunak met his D Day obligation by going to the British ceremony and I don't care if he stayed on for other activities. It's pure optics. The optics aren't good for him politically however.
Were Joe Biden and all the other leaders at the British ceremony? Why is it essential that the British PM goes to the US beaches ceremony but not the US President to the British ceremony?
Got to wonder whose side that papers on these days.
If one of the Nationals came out of the closet to endorse Reform, it would be an historic moment in UK political history do we think?
The Telegraph possibly will endorse Farage’s mob this time aa they often seem very much a tribute to the Völkischer Beobachter these days.
Alistair Heath's articles for example, are just so shrill and dumb.... so full of right win hyperbole and agitation.... it is terrifying to see that kind of hitlerian rhetoric going unchecked in a major newspaper.
+1
To which we can add Charles Moore, Camilla Tominey, Allison Pearson, Janet Daley, Danniel Hannan …
I take the Saturday Telegraph. The paper has lost its way these past couple of years and they now come across as bewildered by events.
It has become an echo chamber of the reactionary right.
The Telegraph just comes across as King Lear shouting at the storm. The Mail as the kind of senility that hides food it its pockets. Both are losing readers by the bucketful. I think that the off shore newspaper proprietors club is diminishing to the point, not merely of irrelevance but to the point of medical intervention.
Point of order. They’re not “losing readers by the bucketful” they are both profit making newspapers, with vigorous online readership. The telegraph has 1m subscribers. The mail was until recently one of the most visited news sites in the world
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
After leaving Rishi Sunak dodging D-Day commemorations in order to do a TV interview, out of their earlier bulletins, while leading instead on the PM defending his £2,000 tax lie, the Today programme now leads on Sunak's apology for having done so.
And people accuse the BBC of being full of lefties. They seem to be much happier to go after Labour even though left to the Tories they’d all be out of jobs .
Sunak has Catterick in his constituency. And did *that* yesterday.
So now we know. Pulled the election forward. Torpedoes first the national campaign and then his local campaign.
He needs to be in California for the end of July.
How do you see your consituency devloping
Interesting! The Tories on social media are absolutely disgusted with their own party and with Ross in particular.
What really seems to have pushed them over the edge is the official line being taken by Ross which appears to be a blatant lie. Ross describes the "Party Management Board" making the decision having discussed it with Duguid. https://x.com/sellar_james/status/1798851433045049670
Got to wonder whose side that papers on these days.
If one of the Nationals came out of the closet to endorse Reform, it would be an historic moment in UK political history do we think?
The Telegraph possibly will endorse Farage’s mob this time aa they often seem very much a tribute to the Völkischer Beobachter these days.
Alistair Heath's articles for example, are just so shrill and dumb.... so full of right win hyperbole and agitation.... it is terrifying to see that kind of hitlerian rhetoric going unchecked in a major newspaper.
+1
To which we can add Charles Moore, Camilla Tominey, Allison Pearson, Janet Daley, Danniel Hannan …
I take the Saturday Telegraph. The paper has lost its way these past couple of years and they now come across as bewildered by events.
It has become an echo chamber of the reactionary right.
The Telegraph just comes across as King Lear shouting at the storm. The Mail as the kind of senility that hides food it its pockets. Both are losing readers by the bucketful. I think that the off shore newspaper proprietors club is diminishing to the point, not merely of irrelevance but to the point of medical intervention.
Point of order. They’re not “losing readers by the bucketful” they are both profit making newspapers, with vigorous online readership. The telegraph has 1m subscribers. The mail was until recently one of the most visited news sites in the world
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
Mail yes absolutely, although of course its brilliant online op is mostly celeb gossip rather than politics and in lots of ways a world apart from its dead tree cousin.
Sunak has Catterick in his constituency. And did *that* yesterday.
So now we know. Pulled the election forward. Torpedoes first the national campaign and then his local campaign.
He needs to be in California for the end of July.
How do you see your consituency devloping
Interesting! The Tories on social media are absolutely disgusted with their own party and with Ross in particular.
What really seems to have pushed them over the edge is the official line being taken by Ross which appears to be a blatant lie. Ross describes the "Party Management Board" making the decision having discussed it with Duguid. https://x.com/sellar_james/status/1798851433045049670
Rishi Sunak needs to come out, stand in front of a camera, apologise, and beg the nation for forgiveness. Why hasn't he already done. Why just a tweet. What's he waiting for. What's he hiding for. Does he think he can just style this out.
Do you think Dan Hodges is genuinely offended, has not slept with anger about this and needs Sunak to make that apology, look down the camera lens and say “Dan, and all those millions of British people, I know I broke your hearts, offended your values, denigrated our fine military traditions and sacrifices you worship, I’m really really sorry”. Do you think Dan will suddenly say that it’s all good now?
Or do you think Dan wants Rishi to go on camera to apologise so Dan has a whole load more crap to write about feels and political gossip?
Rishi Sunak needs to come out, stand in front of a camera, apologise, and beg the nation for forgiveness. Why hasn't he already done. Why just a tweet. What's he waiting for. What's he hiding for. Does he think he can just style this out.
Do you think Dan Hodges is genuinely offended, has not slept with anger about this and needs Sunak to make that apology, look down the camera lens and say “Dan, and all those millions of British people, I know I broke your hearts, offended your values, denigrated our fine military traditions and sacrifices you worship, I’m really really sorry”. Do you think Dan will suddenly say that it’s all good now?
Or do you think Dan wants Rishi to go on camera to apologise so Dan has a whole load more crap to write about feels and political gossip?
Just to be clear: the Prime Minister has had to apologise for leaving D-Day celebrations during an election campaign he called early, 20 points behind in the polls, while standing on a patriotic ticket and being squeezed by traditionalists on the right. It is incredible.
People obviously talking about political ramifications of Sunak and D-Day. But this is broader. The Prime Minister genuinely has disrespected Britain's fallen and veterans. That's not a campaign talking point. Outside of an election this would potentially be a resignation matter.
I think Dan Hodges is being a bit melodramatic. It was stupid to leave early but I wouldn’t put it in the category of a resignation matter .
He’s always been a melodramatic and attention-seeking drama queen.
No, it’s not a resigning matter for the PM, but it unquestionably does look bad for Sunak to be the first to leave on such an important day.
Rachel Wearmouth @REWearmouth · 5m It’s completely unfathomable as to why any British Prime Minister would skip the 80th anniversary of D Day. It’s the job.
If a Labour Prime Minister had done such a thing, they would be shamed for the rest of their political career.
He DID NOT skip the 80th anniversary of D Day, he was there yesterday at Southsea and today in Normandy (which was primarily for heads of state and Rishi is not the King).
The same would apply to a Labour PM. Every other party leader is doing one of these ITV interviews, the main events in Normandy were over when Sunak recorded it. This story is utter rubbish and barrel scraping from Labour and Farage exploiting D Day for their party political ends.
Fortunately none of the mainstream media have it in their headlines and beyond the Westminster bubble nobody is interested
Personally I agree with this. Sunak met his D Day obligation by going to the British ceremony and I don't care if he stayed on for other activities. It's pure optics. The optics aren't good for him politically however.
For a Tory PM especially D-Day commemorations should not be seen as an “obligation”. I suspect that’s precisely the issue here, though. Sunak did see it that way. He’s very much post-Boomer. The problem is his core vote is entirely Boomer and that generation grew up in the shadow of WW2. I should know, I’m part of it!
Sunak has apologised for his early D Day departure!
Am I the only person other than diehard Sunak apologists who thinks this story is a load of confected nonsense?
It seems a pretty bizarre thing to do, even for Sunak.
Why do you think it's confected nonsense?
I just don't think it's very important. He attended the bulk of the ceremonies, he's a busy man and there's an election on - and D Day ultimately was about defending our rights to have elections. Of course the opposition parties are going to jump on this, if it was a Labour leader can you even imagine the bucket loads of shit that would be getting thrown at them by now so the Tories can't complain. It's like Michael Foot and his alleged donkey jacket, it has the whiff of bullying about it. Also - and this is the important point - it seems to me that Sunak is being lined up as the Tory scapegoat, as though the impending defeat is all down to him. I think the party as a whole and indeed the broader Conservative movement in this country needs to own the defeat, it is theirs collectively and reflects the failure of their project, not simply one man who turned up at the end and is bad at politics.
Rishi Sunak needs to come out, stand in front of a camera, apologise, and beg the nation for forgiveness. Why hasn't he already done. Why just a tweet. What's he waiting for. What's he hiding for. Does he think he can just style this out.
Do you think Dan Hodges is genuinely offended, has not slept with anger about this and needs Sunak to make that apology, look down the camera lens and say “Dan, and all those millions of British people, I know I broke your hearts, offended your values, denigrated our fine military traditions and sacrifices you worship, I’m really really sorry”. Do you think Dan will suddenly say that it’s all good now?
Or do you think Dan wants Rishi to go on camera to apologise so Dan has a whole load more crap to write about feels and political gossip?
Of course its the latter but so what? Corbyn had to suffer far worse, probably every Labour leader does with military parades. A big part of politics is the game, and Sunak doesn't even understand the rules. He very clearly should not be a party leader.
Rachel Wearmouth @REWearmouth · 5m It’s completely unfathomable as to why any British Prime Minister would skip the 80th anniversary of D Day. It’s the job.
If a Labour Prime Minister had done such a thing, they would be shamed for the rest of their political career.
He DID NOT skip the 80th anniversary of D Day, he was there yesterday at Southsea and today in Normandy (which was primarily for heads of state and Rishi is not the King).
The same would apply to a Labour PM. Every other party leader is doing one of these ITV interviews, the main events in Normandy were over when Sunak recorded it. This story is utter rubbish and barrel scraping from Labour and Farage exploiting D Day for their party political ends.
Fortunately none of the mainstream media have it in their headlines and beyond the Westminster bubble nobody is interested
Personally I agree with this. Sunak met his D Day obligation by going to the British ceremony and I don't care if he stayed on for other activities. It's pure optics. The optics aren't good for him politically however.
For a Tory PM especially D-Day commemorations should not be seen as an “obligation”. I suspect that’s precisely the issue here, though. Sunak did see it that way. He’s very much post-Boomer. The problem is his core vote is entirely Boomer and that generation grew up in the shadow of WW2. I should know, I’m part of it!
That might be OK if your very first pitch in the election campaign wasn't National Service to instill values
After leaving Rishi Sunak dodging D-Day commemorations in order to do a TV interview, out of their earlier bulletins, while leading instead on the PM defending his £2,000 tax lie, the Today programme now leads on Sunak's apology for having done so.
What’s done for him optics wise is not leaving D Day commemorations early, it’s leaving them early so he can do an interview defending some dodgy numbers. It’s that juxtaposition that really completes the work of art.
Got to wonder whose side that papers on these days.
If one of the Nationals came out of the closet to endorse Reform, it would be an historic moment in UK political history do we think?
The Telegraph possibly will endorse Farage’s mob this time aa they often seem very much a tribute to the Völkischer Beobachter these days.
Alistair Heath's articles for example, are just so shrill and dumb.... so full of right win hyperbole and agitation.... it is terrifying to see that kind of hitlerian rhetoric going unchecked in a major newspaper.
+1
To which we can add Charles Moore, Camilla Tominey, Allison Pearson, Janet Daley, Danniel Hannan …
I take the Saturday Telegraph. The paper has lost its way these past couple of years and they now come across as bewildered by events.
It has become an echo chamber of the reactionary right.
The Telegraph just comes across as King Lear shouting at the storm. The Mail as the kind of senility that hides food it its pockets. Both are losing readers by the bucketful. I think that the off shore newspaper proprietors club is diminishing to the point, not merely of irrelevance but to the point of medical intervention.
Point of order. They’re not “losing readers by the bucketful” they are both profit making newspapers, with vigorous online readership. The telegraph has 1m subscribers. The mail was until recently one of the most visited news sites in the world
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
How on earth does anyone actually put up with the Mail Online? Not the content but the format - it's so busy with pop-ups everywhere - like a normal website on cocaine. Given the demographic of a lot of its viewership, I find it baffling.
(Checks, actually they seem to have toned it down a bit recently - not quite so manic.)
People obviously talking about political ramifications of Sunak and D-Day. But this is broader. The Prime Minister genuinely has disrespected Britain's fallen and veterans. That's not a campaign talking point. Outside of an election this would potentially be a resignation matter.
I think Dan Hodges is being a bit melodramatic. It was stupid to leave early but I wouldn’t put it in the category of a resignation matter .
He’s always been a melodramatic and attention-seeking drama queen.
No, it’s not a resigning matter for the PM, but it unquestionably does look bad for Sunak to be the first to leave on such an important day.
If he'd had any fucking sense, which he manifestly doesn't, he should have been the last to leave. Still on the beach at midnight, pounding the sand and raging like Charlton Heston in PotA.
Hang on - his original plan was *not to go at all*?? Skip out on the whole D-Day event, while running a national security focussed election campaign and after telling the whole country that all young people need to give up time for national service?
Starmer is a litigator. There are very good arguments for not putting them in charge either. But they’re different ones. The problem with the spreadsheet guy is that he knows the cost of everything but has no notion of value. That usually ends up doing a lot more harm than good.
After leaving Rishi Sunak dodging D-Day commemorations in order to do a TV interview, out of their earlier bulletins, while leading instead on the PM defending his £2,000 tax lie, the Today programme now leads on Sunak's apology for having done so.
What’s done for him optics wise is not leaving D Day commemorations early, it’s leaving them early so he can do an interview defending some dodgy numbers. It’s that juxtaposition that really completes the work of art.
He seems to have screwed his position on both subjects. Are people going to remember 'Labour £2000 tax' or 'Sunak leaves D-Day early to defend dodgy figures'?
Got to wonder whose side that papers on these days.
If one of the Nationals came out of the closet to endorse Reform, it would be an historic moment in UK political history do we think?
The Telegraph possibly will endorse Farage’s mob this time aa they often seem very much a tribute to the Völkischer Beobachter these days.
Alistair Heath's articles for example, are just so shrill and dumb.... so full of right win hyperbole and agitation.... it is terrifying to see that kind of hitlerian rhetoric going unchecked in a major newspaper.
+1
To which we can add Charles Moore, Camilla Tominey, Allison Pearson, Janet Daley, Danniel Hannan …
I take the Saturday Telegraph. The paper has lost its way these past couple of years and they now come across as bewildered by events.
It has become an echo chamber of the reactionary right.
The Telegraph just comes across as King Lear shouting at the storm. The Mail as the kind of senility that hides food it its pockets. Both are losing readers by the bucketful. I think that the off shore newspaper proprietors club is diminishing to the point, not merely of irrelevance but to the point of medical intervention.
Point of order. They’re not “losing readers by the bucketful” they are both profit making newspapers, with vigorous online readership. The telegraph has 1m subscribers. The mail was until recently one of the most visited news sites in the world
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
How on earth does anyone actually put up with the Mail Online? Not the content but the format - it's so busy with pop-ups everywhere - like a normal website on cocaine. Given the demographic of a lot of its viewership, I find it baffling.
(Checks, actually they seem to have toned it down a bit recently - not quite so manic.)
Rishi Sunak needs to come out, stand in front of a camera, apologise, and beg the nation for forgiveness. Why hasn't he already done. Why just a tweet. What's he waiting for. What's he hiding for. Does he think he can just style this out.
Do you think Dan Hodges is genuinely offended, has not slept with anger about this and needs Sunak to make that apology, look down the camera lens and say “Dan, and all those millions of British people, I know I broke your hearts, offended your values, denigrated our fine military traditions and sacrifices you worship, I’m really really sorry”. Do you think Dan will suddenly say that it’s all good now?
Or do you think Dan wants Rishi to go on camera to apologise so Dan has a whole load more crap to write about feels and political gossip?
Of course its the latter but so what? Corbyn had to suffer far worse, probably every Labour leader does with military parades. A big part of politics is the game, and Sunak doesn't even understand the rules. He very clearly should not be a party leader.
We've finally arrived at the point where Sunak gets justifiably compared to Corbyn. Poor Richi. It's been a long fall from those heady days in Number 11 and the carefully manicured Twitter branding.
Permanent very low deposits guaranteed by government has other negatives above the risk of bad loans.
What percentage of council houses sold are still in the hands of owner occupiers, as opposed to private rental companies?
40% of right to buy homes are now rented out privately.
PB likes to ignore the vast shifts in housing tenure in the last 14 years, but ultimately it's the reason why the country has become more unequal and why the number of natural Conservative voters has fallen. There is no evidence that a mass private housebuilding programme would reverse the trend and increase ownership - all the new homes will simply be hoovered up by those who have accumulated large savings.
That's not a surprising stat.
RTB homes are mostly in council estates and few people chose to live in a council estate if given a choice.
They are therefore more likely to be bought by BTR investors.
After a while it becomes a feedback loop - more privately rented houses with multiple occupants making the area steadily less desirable to live in and so steadily fewer people wanting to buy there.
Got to wonder whose side that papers on these days.
If one of the Nationals came out of the closet to endorse Reform, it would be an historic moment in UK political history do we think?
The Telegraph possibly will endorse Farage’s mob this time aa they often seem very much a tribute to the Völkischer Beobachter these days.
Alistair Heath's articles for example, are just so shrill and dumb.... so full of right win hyperbole and agitation.... it is terrifying to see that kind of hitlerian rhetoric going unchecked in a major newspaper.
+1
To which we can add Charles Moore, Camilla Tominey, Allison Pearson, Janet Daley, Danniel Hannan …
I take the Saturday Telegraph. The paper has lost its way these past couple of years and they now come across as bewildered by events.
It has become an echo chamber of the reactionary right.
The Telegraph just comes across as King Lear shouting at the storm. The Mail as the kind of senility that hides food it its pockets. Both are losing readers by the bucketful. I think that the off shore newspaper proprietors club is diminishing to the point, not merely of irrelevance but to the point of medical intervention.
Point of order. They’re not “losing readers by the bucketful” they are both profit making newspapers, with vigorous online readership. The telegraph has 1m subscribers. The mail was until recently one of the most visited news sites in the world
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
Mail yes absolutely, although of course its brilliant online op is mostly celeb gossip rather than politics and in lots of ways a world apart from its dead tree cousin.
Telegraph no. It’s spiralling down.
Simply wrong
“August 15, 2023
Telegraph Media Group hits one million subscriptions More than 70% of the subscriptions are digital”
You’re talking to a pro. This is my OTHER business. I work for the Knappers gazette - and I have lots of friends across the industry
One of the reasons many interested parties are fighting for the telegraph is BECAUSE it is successful. It makes a profit, it’s grown its digital operation really well - in areas like, say, travel it is the best in the business at mixing editorial, advertorial and advertising
The days when we could say “the papers are all dying” are over. Some are doomed but some are thriving - like any industry. The print sales are in steep decline and will eventually reach zero but that’s irrelevant now. It’s all online
A lot of stuff the papers do is now invisible to the average Brit. Eg the Sun has a highly successful YouTube operation - how many people realise that?
I get that you are a bit old, @heathener, and you “take the Saturday telegraph” but the modern world have moved past people like you. Only someone over 70 wouid even say “I take the Saturday telegraph”
In terms of incredible but plausible war stories, my own Daddy Dearest used to tell one definitely true one from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) chapter in his western Pennsylvania hometown steel town. Which was populated mostly by eastern & southern European immigrants and their children, along with contingents of Southern Blacks and Whites from rural Pennsylvania ("cake-eaters").
An older member of the local VFW circa 1955 had immigrated from Croatia, then part of Austria-Hungary before WW1 and was subsequently drafted into the US Army in 1917 and sent to fight on the Western Front. When returned back to western PA, he got his job back at the local steel mill.
Now he wanted to propose his slightly-younger brother for membership.
"He also fought in a foreign war". "Yeah - for the enemy!"
Which was true, as little brother had also been drafted . . . into the Austro-Hungarian army.
Now nobody there had any problem with either brother, or certainly the long-defunct Dual Monarchy. But the enemy's still the enemy. So what to do?
Solution was to enroll little brother in the VFW Auxillary, ordinarily wives of members but they made an exception just for him. Meaning he didn't have a vote on organization business . . . but he DID have bar privileges. Which was the reason he wanted to join in the first place.
When Americans say, "Thank you for your service" we really mean it.
Will Sunak's apology bring Big_G back to the cause? I guess it will.
Sunak should not have apologised. He was at Southsea, he was at the D Day commemorations on the British beaches in Normandy.
All he has done now is give fuel to the opposition parties exploitation of the D Day memorials for their own political ends in one of the most disgraceful acts of political campaigning I have ever seen. Starmer, Davey and Farage should be ashamed of themselves
Rishi Sunak needs to come out, stand in front of a camera, apologise, and beg the nation for forgiveness. Why hasn't he already done. Why just a tweet. What's he waiting for. What's he hiding for. Does he think he can just style this out.
Do you think Dan Hodges is genuinely offended, has not slept with anger about this and needs Sunak to make that apology, look down the camera lens and say “Dan, and all those millions of British people, I know I broke your hearts, offended your values, denigrated our fine military traditions and sacrifices you worship, I’m really really sorry”. Do you think Dan will suddenly say that it’s all good now?
Or do you think Dan wants Rishi to go on camera to apologise so Dan has a whole load more crap to write about feels and political gossip?
Of course its the latter but so what? Corbyn had to suffer far worse, probably every Labour leader does with military parades. A big part of politics is the game, and Sunak doesn't even understand the rules. He very clearly should not be a party leader.
He clearly doesn’t have the skill set to be a PM - Chancellor yes but not PM. In an ideal world he wouldn’t have run against Truss (in an ideal world we wouldn’t have been in a situation where Truss was in an election to take over from Boris) and would have sat it all out developing skills and standing as Cons leader in opposition as the man who pointed out what Truss was going to screw up so now people should listen to him.
A period of time as LOtO would have honed his political skills but he would probably still be an intelligent person and probably less manic without the pressure of running the country during the last couple of years of shit.
Having said that, if you are in politics and think you have some answers it’s probably impossible to not go for the top job if there is a window open.
Got to wonder whose side that papers on these days.
If one of the Nationals came out of the closet to endorse Reform, it would be an historic moment in UK political history do we think?
The Telegraph possibly will endorse Farage’s mob this time aa they often seem very much a tribute to the Völkischer Beobachter these days.
Alistair Heath's articles for example, are just so shrill and dumb.... so full of right win hyperbole and agitation.... it is terrifying to see that kind of hitlerian rhetoric going unchecked in a major newspaper.
+1
To which we can add Charles Moore, Camilla Tominey, Allison Pearson, Janet Daley, Danniel Hannan …
I take the Saturday Telegraph. The paper has lost its way these past couple of years and they now come across as bewildered by events.
It has become an echo chamber of the reactionary right.
The Telegraph just comes across as King Lear shouting at the storm. The Mail as the kind of senility that hides food it its pockets. Both are losing readers by the bucketful. I think that the off shore newspaper proprietors club is diminishing to the point, not merely of irrelevance but to the point of medical intervention.
Point of order. They’re not “losing readers by the bucketful” they are both profit making newspapers, with vigorous online readership. The telegraph has 1m subscribers. The mail was until recently one of the most visited news sites in the world
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
How on earth does anyone actually put up with the Mail Online? Not the content but the format - it's so busy with pop-ups everywhere - like a normal website on cocaine. Given the demographic of a lot of its viewership, I find it baffling.
(Checks, actually they seem to have toned it down a bit recently - not quite so manic.)
Use an Ad-blocker. What adverts?
I've got one but I still get pop-up 'ads' for other mail items and 'ad features'.
Will Sunak's apology bring Big_G back to the cause? I guess it will.
Sunak should not have apologised. He was at Southsea, he was at the D Day commemorations on the British beaches in Normandy.
All he has done now is give fuel to the opposition parties exploitation of the D Day memorials for their own political ends in one of the most disgraceful acts of political campaigning I have ever seen. Starmer, Davey and Farage should be ashamed of themselves
Rishi Sunak thinks he's the cleverest most important man in any room. His decision yesterday was made on that basis. He thought what he had to do was more important, he always thinks he is more important. Dripping not just in rain but also in privilege
Got to wonder whose side that papers on these days.
If one of the Nationals came out of the closet to endorse Reform, it would be an historic moment in UK political history do we think?
The Telegraph possibly will endorse Farage’s mob this time aa they often seem very much a tribute to the Völkischer Beobachter these days.
Alistair Heath's articles for example, are just so shrill and dumb.... so full of right win hyperbole and agitation.... it is terrifying to see that kind of hitlerian rhetoric going unchecked in a major newspaper.
+1
To which we can add Charles Moore, Camilla Tominey, Allison Pearson, Janet Daley, Danniel Hannan …
I take the Saturday Telegraph. The paper has lost its way these past couple of years and they now come across as bewildered by events.
It has become an echo chamber of the reactionary right.
The Telegraph just comes across as King Lear shouting at the storm. The Mail as the kind of senility that hides food it its pockets. Both are losing readers by the bucketful. I think that the off shore newspaper proprietors club is diminishing to the point, not merely of irrelevance but to the point of medical intervention.
Point of order. They’re not “losing readers by the bucketful” they are both profit making newspapers, with vigorous online readership. The telegraph has 1m subscribers. The mail was until recently one of the most visited news sites in the world
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
How on earth does anyone actually put up with the Mail Online? Not the content but the format - it's so busy with pop-ups everywhere - like a normal website on cocaine. Given the demographic of a lot of its viewership, I find it baffling.
(Checks, actually they seem to have toned it down a bit recently - not quite so manic.)
The DM website is technically terrible, using all sorts of weird tricks and scripts to push their content out. One has to have a very carefully-configured ad-blocker, and they blacklist a lot of VPN IPs.
What a blunder by the Prime Minister. 75% of people probably won't mind or even care. The 25% who really mind are the very people he had left as his voters.
You can’t blame me after that bombardment last night - you saw the video (or heard the audio)
Half an hour later after that video there were massive bangs and crumps for about five minutes. Drones I think. I was going to hide in the shelter (my hotel has one) but then I thought fuck it. I’m British. And stupid. So I went to sleep
The weird thing is I had the best nights sleep of my trip
Got to wonder whose side that papers on these days.
If one of the Nationals came out of the closet to endorse Reform, it would be an historic moment in UK political history do we think?
The Telegraph possibly will endorse Farage’s mob this time aa they often seem very much a tribute to the Völkischer Beobachter these days.
Alistair Heath's articles for example, are just so shrill and dumb.... so full of right win hyperbole and agitation.... it is terrifying to see that kind of hitlerian rhetoric going unchecked in a major newspaper.
+1
To which we can add Charles Moore, Camilla Tominey, Allison Pearson, Janet Daley, Danniel Hannan …
I take the Saturday Telegraph. The paper has lost its way these past couple of years and they now come across as bewildered by events.
It has become an echo chamber of the reactionary right.
The Telegraph just comes across as King Lear shouting at the storm. The Mail as the kind of senility that hides food it its pockets. Both are losing readers by the bucketful. I think that the off shore newspaper proprietors club is diminishing to the point, not merely of irrelevance but to the point of medical intervention.
Point of order. They’re not “losing readers by the bucketful” they are both profit making newspapers, with vigorous online readership. The telegraph has 1m subscribers. The mail was until recently one of the most visited news sites in the world
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
How on earth does anyone actually put up with the Mail Online? Not the content but the format - it's so busy with pop-ups everywhere - like a normal website on cocaine. Given the demographic of a lot of its viewership, I find it baffling.
(Checks, actually they seem to have toned it down a bit recently - not quite so manic.)
Use an Ad-blocker. What adverts?
I've got one but I still get pop-up 'ads' for other mail items and 'ad features'.
For reference I use a combination of Adguard (DNS) and Brave (browser). I get zero adverts on the DailyMail website but it's still incredibly busy..
Comments
A tweet? You can't tweet this away. Where's the clip. Why isn't he saying it on camera. We all know he's going to have to.
How?
Wow your mask really has slipped there.
When you lose, and you realise you’re out of power for a long, long, long, time. And when you realise that the world has moved on and left you behind, reflect on how you might have behaved better.
The predictable consequence of the PM’s astonishing decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early is that in Zelenskyy’s moving video of his attendance, Britain - Ukraine’s most ardent ally - is represented by the leader of the opposition.
https://x.com/sophgaston/status/1798936577730879810
Childrens' minister David Johnson can't tell @NickFerrariLBC how much child benefit/allowance is, as he's doing the round about bringing more families into it by raising the threshold...
"It's not a department for education policy this, it's a DWP one, I'm afraid I don't know... I should have found out before I came on here. I'm sorry."
@LBC
Oh deary me ....
But we need more drama don’t we.
What really seems to have pushed them over the edge is the official line being taken by Ross which appears to be a blatant lie.
Ross describes the "Party Management Board" making the decision having discussed it with Duguid. https://x.com/sellar_james/status/1798851433045049670
Not true says Duguid https://www.facebook.com/DavidDuguidMP
Ross says he only knew when the party sent an email asking for a candidate. The party has also spun to the media that Ross is not a member of the Management Board https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/6494737/douglas-ross-david-duguid-u-turn/
This is not true. Ross IS on the management board https://www.scottishconservatives.com/who-we-are/
And it is this barefaced duplicity which has ScotCon members and voters openly publicly denouncing the party on social media.
Maybe go and make yourself a cuppa and come back when you’ve cooled down a little? It’s not a bad tip for any of us.
What a vivid and shocking contrast: the sacrifice of all those brave men so that 80 years on the prime minister could cut short his visit to where they fell so that he could return to London to attack his opponent.
On such judgements we learn about character
Why do you think it's confected nonsense?
We're 5/1 on the Tories winning less than 50 seats, if anyone wants a bet...
Yes I did take them up on the offer and I've offset enough already that I'm in profit.
Edit - I also wouldn't be surprise if those odds dropped to 2/1 before the election - that's the level of Rishi's screw up yesterday and how easy it's going to be for Farage to make hay with it (repeatedly)..
"Great news, boss, we got you another day of headlines..."
In what way is he "sorry" exactly? I don't believe he is. The apology is therefore a lie.
It's about time we move on from the idea that the great and good can do something bad, pretend to be sorry, and be absolved.
My grandfather wasn’t flying his plane bombing Normandy on D-Day for anything like this confected wank. He was doing it because it was his duty, his job, orders and ultimately he didn’t want the country and Europe to be run by fascists who did not tolerate people not doing what they are ordered to do.
It’s fucking tedious this whole “they didn’t sacrifice their lives for this” - they didn’t care about this sort of shit.
Rishi Sunak needs to come out, stand in front of a camera, apologise, and beg the nation for forgiveness. Why hasn't he already done. Why just a tweet. What's he waiting for. What's he hiding for. Does he think he can just style this out.
You can sort-of see now that he’s never previously had to win his way to high office. He landed a safe seat and hasn’t really won anything politically.
I actually suspect he’s pretty good as a Chancellor but as a leader or PM he’s terrible.
We saw something similar with Gordon Brown.
Labour showing well in an MRP but they have no ground game or history of doing well.
Lib Dems non-existent but will perhaps be hoping to pick up disgruntled Tories.
No party other than Con or SNP has beaten the 20% mark since the 70s.
Edit to add: that's based on the Banff & Buchan constituency. Moray has had more Labour voters in recent history, but not much more. Peaked in 2001 with 25% but mostly much less.
Labour's Jon Ashworth: "The D-Day commemorations were about remembering the bravery of all those who serve our country. In choosing to prioritise his own vanity TV appearances over our veterans, Rishi Sunak has shown what is most important to him."
https://x.com/KevinASchofield/status/1798975565464269022
Fingers crossed it's career-ending for the spawn of Crosby.
it gets interesting if the Tory paperwork doesn't appear.
After leaving Rishi Sunak dodging D-Day commemorations in order to do a TV interview, out of their earlier bulletins, while leading instead on the PM defending his £2,000 tax lie, the Today programme now leads on Sunak's apology for having done so.
They’ve not a put a partial paywall in so who knows where they will go. But the mail doesn’t make many mistakes, it knows how to drive and sustain an audience
Telegraph no. It’s spiralling down.
Sunak apologists please explain.
LIVE
General election latest: Rishi Sunak apologises for leaving D-Day event early for TV interview
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/06/07/general-election-latest-news-rishi-sunak-keir-starmer/
Or do you think Dan wants Rishi to go on camera to apologise so Dan has a whole load more crap to write about feels and political gossip?
Just to be clear: the Prime Minister has had to apologise for leaving D-Day celebrations during an election campaign he called early, 20 points behind in the polls, while standing on a patriotic ticket and being squeezed by traditionalists on the right. It is incredible.
No, it’s not a resigning matter for the PM, but it unquestionably does look bad for Sunak to be the first to leave on such an important day.
It’s not only that it was so unavoidable, it’s that it leaves a really bad impression about his judgement and, even worse, his very character.
Keir Starmer is a lawyer
"Everybody must do 1 year. I can't do 1 day..."
(Checks, actually they seem to have toned it down a bit recently - not quite so manic.)
Probably will watch the debate this evening. I have a feeling Penny is going to be on the defensive for a bit because of this.
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-06-06/rishi-sunak-denies-hes-a-liar-following-his-tax-claims-about-labour
Lying Rishi Sunak leaves D Day celebrations early in order to double down on his lying.
Hang on - his original plan was *not to go at all*?? Skip out on the whole D-Day event, while running a national security focussed election campaign and after telling the whole country that all young people need to give up time for national service?
https://x.com/iainmartin1/status/1798977946574782737
https://x.com/iainmartin1/status/1798977946574782737?s=46
RTB homes are mostly in council estates and few people chose to live in a council estate if given a choice.
They are therefore more likely to be bought by BTR investors.
After a while it becomes a feedback loop - more privately rented houses with multiple occupants making the area steadily less desirable to live in and so steadily fewer people wanting to buy there.
“August 15, 2023
Telegraph Media Group hits one million subscriptions
More than 70% of the subscriptions are digital”
https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/nationals/telegraph-one-million-subscriptions/
You’re talking to a pro. This is my OTHER business. I work for the Knappers gazette - and I have lots of friends across the industry
One of the reasons many interested parties are fighting for the telegraph is BECAUSE it is successful. It makes a profit, it’s grown its digital operation really well - in areas like, say, travel it is the best in the business at mixing editorial, advertorial and advertising
The days when we could say “the papers are all dying” are over. Some are doomed but some are thriving - like any industry. The print sales are in steep decline and will eventually reach zero but that’s irrelevant now. It’s all online
A lot of stuff the papers do is now invisible to the average Brit. Eg the Sun has a highly successful YouTube operation - how many people realise that?
I get that you are a bit old, @heathener, and you “take the Saturday telegraph” but the modern world have moved past people like you. Only someone over 70 wouid even say “I take the Saturday telegraph”
All he has done now is give fuel to the opposition parties exploitation of the D Day memorials for their own political ends in one of the most disgraceful acts of political campaigning I have ever seen. Starmer, Davey and Farage should be ashamed of themselves
He came across well in the coverage I saw of him.
A period of time as LOtO would have honed his political skills but he would probably still be an intelligent person and probably less manic without the pressure of running the country during the last couple of years of shit.
Having said that, if you are in politics and think you have some answers it’s probably impossible to not go for the top job if there is a window open.
@jessphillips
Rishi Sunak thinks he's the cleverest most important man in any room. His decision yesterday was made on that basis. He thought what he had to do was more important, he always thinks he is more important. Dripping not just in rain but also in privilege
https://www.express.co.uk/
What a blunder by the Prime Minister. 75% of people probably won't mind or even care. The 25% who really mind are the very people he had left as his voters.
Half an hour later after that video there were massive bangs and crumps for about five minutes. Drones I think. I was going to hide in the shelter (my hotel has one) but then I thought fuck it. I’m British. And stupid. So I went to sleep
The weird thing is I had the best nights sleep of my trip