“A singer who has made her entire career out of writing songs detailing her horrifically bad choices has announced her choice for President: Kamala Harris.”
If she is a self made billionaire then I’m not sure all her choices have been horrifically bad…
I’m still not sure if he’s just old and confused, his aides didn’t understand what was going on, he was been genuinely bipartisan on a day of remembrance (his aides later said it was definitely this one!), or just decided to laugh along and go with the flow.
Judging by the photos of the event, the majority of the attendees were dressed as if they were expecting a visit from a different President!
At a guess, 19% is about the number of public sector workers+trade unionists+benefit dependents+lawyers and other parasites.
Coincidence?
You decide ...
I am surprised just how low it is and certainly the honeymoon is over
They badly need a good news story. Evidently being doomsters and gloomsters doesn’t make for high approval ratings, no matter how much they can blame the previous government.
There have been a few smallish good news stories (the latest renewables auction for example, and resolving the junior doctors dispute) but they’ve seemed very unsurefooted about even those.
They need to smile a bit more.
Everytime a Labour Minister is interviewed it is 22 billion shortfall after 14 years of Tory rule and everything is terrible
The country threw out the conservatives decisively in July and need hope and optimism, not constant doom and gloom
22 billion shortfall... and that's why we've taken the tough decision to give big pay rises to our client vote.
Um, those pay rises and the fact Rishi would have to release prisoners early are the reasons why Rishi called an early election.
Two of them, anyway.
As for the Starmer is a doomster thing... Hangovers aren't meant to be fun. Denial of that is a large part of why the country is in the state it is.
I'm sure that there were people who voted Starmer for the good times to return quickly. They weren't paying attention.
Did you expect a 19% approval rating within just a few weeks
Starmer needs to lift the nation and he is simply not doing that
I wonder if the mistake Starmer is making here is to channel Thatcher by doing unpopular things and thinking that will earn him respect and eventually people will come round again by the election.
The problem is that that approach generally applies to major reforms like Thatcher carried out in the 80s. You are unpopular in the short term but there is a pay off in the end. Looking at something like the winter fuel allowance - where's the pay off? You're making a large segment of the electorate poorer and by the next election they'll still be poorer.
It could easily end up that he does unpopular things, becomes unpopular and never recovers. And the gap to the budget isn't helping as there's just an endless string of press speculation about what the tax rises are likely to be (already leading to some people taking avoidance measures against certain measures that may not even come in)
The other foolish thing is that there are ways he could raise money from pensioners by slight of hand such as equalising NI and income tax but he's making a virtue of taking this money away (machismo showing how tough he is). If we get a cold winter and the TV news is full of stories of pensioners dying because they can't afford to put the heating on, then I can't imagine Labour MPs will be very impressed.
Can’t help but laugh about how the centre right on here have for years been bemoaning the lack of politicians who are prepared to take tough decisions and/or deal with the imbalance in state investment for the young and old and when one comes along he gets universally pilloried. It’s early days yet.
I do agree Starmer is overdoing the doominess, but WFA is being egged well beyond its significance. We haven’t had a cold winter for years and even the ones we had 10 years or so ago were bar one (2008?) nothing like the winters I remember in the 80s.
Trump refuses to say whether he wants Ukraine to win war against Russia
Do Biden/Harris want Ukraine to defeat Russia and retake Crimea?
Yes.
It's just a question of degree between DJT and the Biden/Harris on Ukraine.
I don't think DJT gives much of a fuck on principle, for he has none, but considers it a waste of US money and his base hate the war so he dodges the issue.
Biden/Harris clearly don't want Ukraine to 'win' in the Ultra-compliant sense of the term: rolling into Crimea, etc. They are content to use the Ukranian state and people as a millstone on which to grind Russian military and economic power while fingers-crossed it doesn't spiral out of control into WW3.
Why wouldn't the Democrats want Ukraine to win?
Surely the fall of Trump's number one crush would be 100% in their interest.
Because the continuing SMO effectively removes Russia as a military and economic competitor?
If we're going there why not:
Because the continuing SMO effectively removes Europe as an economic competitor?
I’m still not sure if he’s just old and confused, his aides didn’t understand what was going on, he was been genuinely bipartisan on a day of remembrance (his aides later said it was definitely this one!), or just decided to laugh along and go with the flow.
Judging by the photos of the event, the majority of the attendees were dressed as if they were expecting a visit from a different President!
If you listen to the audio, pretty clear he knew fine what was going on, and responded with no little charm to a guy who was quite rude to him. But you do you.
I’m still not sure if he’s just old and confused, his aides didn’t understand what was going on, he was been genuinely bipartisan on a day of remembrance (his aides later said it was definitely this one!), or just decided to laugh along and go with the flow.
Judging by the photos of the event, the majority of the attendees were dressed as if they were expecting a visit from a different President!
If you listen to the audio, pretty clear he knew fine what was going on, and responded with no little charm to a guy who was quite rude to him. But you do you.
Yes, the guy was an ignorant jerk and Biden responded with charm and grace to him.
Biden came off that exchange very well. The bloke baiting him didn’t.
At the moment he makes even Gordon Brown, Ted Heath and Theresa May seem like rays of sunshine!
I find it extremely dubious that Labour hasn't known what it wanted to do with the NHS for years - this ridiculous 9 week report to tell us their existing policy as a 'response' is silly, childish politics. It's a gauche person's idea of a Machiavellian masterstroke.
It seems to me to be a preparation for major selloffs, probably to US corporations (a la the developing disaster in rental housing), which at a later time may result in nice things happening for those responsible, a la Tony Blair. I don't think it will work. They think they're clever and that people will believe this £22bn black hole type shite, but nobody is buying it, and it doesn't help that their acting skills are sub local am-dram level.
The US is contesting Ukraine because of the challenge to the international rules based system.
A Russian victory there could unravel NATO in Eastern Europe as those states cut deals with Russia, which would include trade, rules and less openness (which given Europe has over 400m rich consumers would be bad in and of itself), but which in turn would encourage China to move on Taiwan and make SE Asia its bitch.
America knows its the keystone that holds it all together, so this is 21st Century domino theory with quite a bit more merit this time.
Hope that works. James Kangasooriam pointing out that Trump leads by 25% on the economy and 72% on immigration and these are ishoos 1 and 2 with Usonians. JK is such an inept political commentator, he is credited with inventing the expression "red wall" in the UK.
Until today I imagined immigration was only an issue for those within two days hard riding of the Mexico border, what we might call the From Dusk Till Dawn belt (my picture of the US is in no way exclusively based on popular culture). Springfield Ohio turns out to be 1,300 miles from San Antonio. I don't see how Trump can have engineered the cat eating story to be about Ohio not Texas, but he sure got lucky.
This is in no way Trump fluffing, it's a celebration of my very profitable cash out this morning of a position built around KH at 11. Might nibble at some state markets later, but WH24 is a nailed on net win for me if not for KH.
Why does he say things like this in the article:
"Pollsters’ forecasts of a Trump victory (the Olympian pollster Nate Silver has given the Republican a 64 per cent chance of winning) flow in large part from which way Pennsylvania will go. Our model had Harris 1.4 per cent behind Trump here, and other polls in the state also have her trailing."
He knows as well as you or I do that other forecasts make Harris the favorite (also Silver isn't a pollster), and that other polls have Harris ahead in Pennsylvania - polling averages (including Silver's) have her slightly ahead in Penn except RCP which has it as a tie. This dishonest cherrypicking rather devalues everything else he's written, even if much of it might be sensible.
Trump refuses to say whether he wants Ukraine to win war against Russia
Do Biden/Harris want Ukraine to defeat Russia and retake Crimea?
Yes.
It's just a question of degree between DJT and the Biden/Harris on Ukraine.
I don't think DJT gives much of a fuck on principle, for he has none, but considers it a waste of US money and his base hate the war so he dodges the issue.
Biden/Harris clearly don't want Ukraine to 'win' in the Ultra-compliant sense of the term: rolling into Crimea, etc. They are content to use the Ukranian state and people as a millstone on which to grind Russian military and economic power while fingers-crossed it doesn't spiral out of control into WW3.
Why wouldn't the Democrats want Ukraine to win?
Surely the fall of Trump's number one crush would be 100% in their interest.
Because the continuing SMO effectively removes Russia as a military and economic competitor?
If we're going there why not:
Because the continuing SMO effectively removes Europe as an economic competitor?
I'm not quite that cynical.
You can fairly argue that Biden is far too risk averse over Ukraine (and I'd absolutely agree with you). But you've also got to remember that he's holding together a NATO coalition of the very willing (Poland and the Baltics) and the barely willing. And the barely willing includes a significant proportion of the US.
Trump's 'plan' to impose a deal with Putin would effectively require Ukraine to capitulate. Which they are extremely unlikely to agree to. The withdrawal of US support, which that necessarily implies, would be disastrous for Europe (and us).
And we should not forget the half year moratorium on US support imposed by a Republican Congress.
At the moment he makes even Gordon Brown, Ted Heath and Theresa May seem like rays of sunshine!
I find it extremely dubious that Labour hasn't known what it wanted to do with the NHS for years - this ridiculous 9 week report to tell us their existing policy as a 'response' is silly, childish politics. It's a gauche person's idea of a Machiavellian masterstroke.
It seems to me to be a preparation for major selloffs, probably to US corporations (a la the developing disaster in rental housing), which at a later time may result in nice things happening for those responsible, a la Tony Blair. I don't think it will work. They think they're clever and that people will believe this £22bn black hole type shite, but nobody is buying it, and it doesn't help that their acting skills are sub local am-dram level.
I think you are being a bit too credulous. I see very little evidence that Streeting has a worked out plan for the NHS.
It's all a bit Oasis reunion. Darzi and Milburn replaying the hits of decades past to nostalgic middle aged men, at vastly inflated prices, with the money being siphoned off by the corporates.
Comments
https://x.com/tpostmillennial/status/1834059129041600854
I’m still not sure if he’s just old and confused, his aides didn’t understand what was going on, he was been genuinely bipartisan on a day of remembrance (his aides later said it was definitely this one!), or just decided to laugh along and go with the flow.
Judging by the photos of the event, the majority of the attendees were dressed as if they were expecting a visit from a different President!
I do agree Starmer is overdoing the doominess, but WFA is being egged well beyond its significance. We haven’t had a cold winter for years and even the ones we had 10 years or so ago were bar one (2008?) nothing like the winters I remember in the 80s.
Because the continuing SMO effectively removes Europe as an economic competitor?
But you do you.
Yes, the guy was an ignorant jerk and Biden responded with charm and grace to him.
Biden came off that exchange very well. The bloke baiting him didn’t.
It seems to me to be a preparation for major selloffs, probably to US corporations (a la the developing disaster in rental housing), which at a later time may result in nice things happening for those responsible, a la Tony Blair. I don't think it will work. They think they're clever and that people will believe this £22bn black hole type shite, but nobody is buying it, and it doesn't help that their acting skills are sub local am-dram level.
F1: McLaren apparently backing Norris for the title. Edited extra bit: at the expense of Piastri, of course.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c4gen1vegx7o
A Russian victory there could unravel NATO in Eastern Europe as those states cut deals with Russia, which would include trade, rules and less openness (which given Europe has over 400m rich consumers would be bad in and of itself), but which in turn would encourage China to move on Taiwan and make SE Asia its bitch.
America knows its the keystone that holds it all together, so this is 21st Century domino theory with quite a bit more merit this time.
"Pollsters’ forecasts of a Trump victory (the Olympian pollster Nate Silver has given the Republican a 64 per cent chance of winning) flow in large part from which way Pennsylvania will go. Our model had Harris 1.4 per cent behind Trump here, and other polls in the state also have her trailing."
He knows as well as you or I do that other forecasts make Harris the favorite (also Silver isn't a pollster), and that other polls have Harris ahead in Pennsylvania - polling averages (including Silver's) have her slightly ahead in Penn except RCP which has it as a tie. This dishonest cherrypicking rather devalues everything else he's written, even if much of it might be sensible.
NEW THREAD
You can fairly argue that Biden is far too risk averse over Ukraine (and I'd absolutely agree with you).
But you've also got to remember that he's holding together a NATO coalition of the very willing (Poland and the Baltics) and the barely willing.
And the barely willing includes a significant proportion of the US.
Trump's 'plan' to impose a deal with Putin would effectively require Ukraine to capitulate. Which they are extremely unlikely to agree to.
The withdrawal of US support, which that necessarily implies, would be disastrous for Europe (and us).
And we should not forget the half year moratorium on US support imposed by a Republican Congress.
It's all a bit Oasis reunion. Darzi and Milburn replaying the hits of decades past to nostalgic middle aged men, at vastly inflated prices, with the money being siphoned off by the corporates.
There is no new material.