Champagne socialism – politicalbetting.com
Champagne socialism – politicalbetting.com
It is clear that somebody has it in for Rachel Reeves and the story about her CV and her past conduct continues to snowball, the allegations made in today’s Times newspaper is a new addition to the allegations against her.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b7DgOeMnW4
Meanwhile, Applebaum on the war now declared on the US civil service - worth a read (£ or free article):
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/doge-civil-servant-purge/681671/
If she’d had a stellar first few months as chancellor things would be very different, but she’s crossed over from asset to liability quite quickly.
The Lesbian Worzel Gummidge might have to go
If Starmer is as ruthless as everyone says then he needs to seize these opportunities to reboot himself properly:
1. Sack Reeves, blaming her lapses in accounting, nothing to do with her dreadful economic leadership - but thereby enabling him to steer the economy in a new way
2. Sack Hermer. He is hated by so many, even on his own side, he is an endlessly rich target for the right, getting rid of him means Starmer can dump the Chagos mess
3. Dump Ed Miliband, of course
4. Dump Bridget Phillipson, obvs
Do all those and get better replacements and Starmer may - MAY - be able to restart properly and claw his way out of the whole he has so vigorously dug for himself. And better to do it now when the damage won't be lethally near an election
I'm no fan of her, she's utterly useless, but she doesn't seem the type to make mortal enemies. Odd
And then a Labour politician starts to get briefed against with a steady drip of allegations. The style of it…
How’s Wes with numbers?
As @FrancisUrquhart notes, we should also recall the WhatsApp revelations. Taken together it feels like there are dangerous spies deep in Labour, which should worry them. Embittered Corbynites is my guess. The Far Left is vicious, and angry - you have to read them on X through darkened glass
So only about 69 million suspects.
I think I would be looking at the Labour spadocracy who had posters of Malcom Tucker and Ollie Reeder on their walls as teenagers. (Bloody Hell. The first series of TTOI was twenty years ago.)
They fell out with the group involving the NSA and DIA over Boris Johnson hiding the COVID deaths by storing all the dead bodies in the basement of a pizza place in Soho. Which was actually carried out by the Lizard Men in people suits.
So it is actually a faction within the World Health Organisation.
This defence was then torn apart by the bbc journo immediately after, wasn’t head of HBOS HR, they wouldn’t have seen the investigation anyway unless there was action taken, leaving mutually would spike any investigation etc et.
The takedown of the defence was quite simple and brutal and I thought that would be that until the headlines followed and were lead with “Labour minister says that there was no investigation and head of HR said Rachel is wonderful” which just seemed like a perfect position for the Beeb now to have another story if Reeves has to go and there was shenanigans then the story will roll on to Labour lying to try and defend her and the minister walked into a trap by telling those lies and trying to bluff through it.
I would be surprised if this doesn’t bring her down - Keir won’t want this bad smell and it’s gives a chance to reset with a more positive message with a new smiley face in the Exchequer rather than the shifty foghorn currently in place.
Edit to add that Ministers and Lab MPs won’t like it if they feel they are being forced to publicly defend her with potentially untrue lines so support will bleed out.
British economic policy, irrespective of who's nominally in charge of it, revolves around the increasingly heavy taxation of businesses and earnings in a futile attempt to keep pace with the unsustainable demand for benefits, coupled with the ramping of asset prices and the preferential tax treatment of the mountains of unearned wealth accumulated as a result. A stifling of social mobility, decay of the public realm, and all of the available money being progressively transferred to rent seekers and asset rich older people, is the result.
This isn't going to change under Labour and it still wouldn't change if we got the Liberal Democrats or Reform next. Too many vested interests. All too difficult. We are stuck.
I reckon you are on the right track. Or it could be Starmer himself.
Reminds me of the attempts to do in Angela Rayner.
I think Starmer has a clear line and when mimisters cross it he bins them. This isn't close.
https://x.com/britainelects/status/1890378984564687207
Which is nice...
Replacing Reeves should be like a big company replacing its CFO. You only do it when you have a ready replacement who have high confidence will be better. And any replacement will take time to understand the brief.
From my perspective the stories so far fall short of what would make Starmer want to get rid of Reeves unless he has ulterior motives for doing so and has a preferred replacement lined up.
I would probably just favour stability and use her relative weakness to push policy in whatever direction Starmer favours.
Explains how Reform are finally getting their act together. And could really break through this time
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/15/reform-uk-inside-story-of-nigel-farage-quest-for-power
I wonder if I might join. I’ve never joined a political party - I despise them - but maybe the coming Battle of Britain is too important for my daintified eschewals
It’s either that or become a Quaker
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Hunt forgot he'd invested in luxury flats, breaking money laundering rules. Zahawi was Chancellor while being investigated by the SFS, the NCA and HMRC. Sunak, forgot his green card, his non dom wife and Infosys ffs.
But BBC 'research' on Reeves turns up...LinkedfckinIn ffs.
Just saying.
Which is more than Quakers would.
I hope she gets sacked, I really do.
While it might not be great if the colleague didn't get the champagne (if that's what happened), Lloyds Banking Group are not likely to open a disciplinary process on Reeves fifteen years after she left the bank.
If it is then that’s do-able
The Green one is the co-leader, Carla Denyer, who is also a vegan and bisexual.
I am sure @Leon would fit right in.
First Quaker MP elected was John Archdale (1698) – but blocked by law.
First Quaker MP to take his seat was Joseph Pease (1832)
The second Quaker MP in Plt was John Bright (1843)
The first Quaker MP in the Cabinet was John Bright (1869)
Were 9 Quaker MPs elected in 1906 (Liberals)
Were 9 Quaker MPs elected in 1945 (mostly Labour)
Was only 1 Quaker MP elected In 1997 (Conservative, Richard Body)
Were 3 Quaker MPs elected in 2015 (two Labour, one Conservative, all women)
Were two Quaker MPs elected in 2017 and 2019 (both Labour, both women)
Were 6 Quaker MPs elected in 2024
Charles Moore.
I doubt this will bring down Reeves unless Starmer wants an excuse, but also why the BBC and who is behind this ?
This is the BBC online comment
BBC News - What we've learned about Rachel Reeves's expenses - and the Labour response
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpvmg924nk1o
The other half is because she needs a second home to work in London / or her constituency and no MP should be required to cover the costs of the place they need only because of their job...
It seems the audit investigation finished in April 2009 - at which point the disciplinary phase would begin.
So I think the answer is she left before that was completed to avoid being fired....
I'm extremely grateful to be living in our own times with painkillers and antibiotics and all the rest, but it seems clear we can't just keep going with what someone described as a Ponzi scheme.
Good morning, everyone.
My critically, it's not clear he's got competent replacements available. He can hardly make West Streeting Chancellor, Education Secretary, Attorney General and Health Secretary all in one.
A detailed six-page whistleblowing complaint was submitted, with dozens of pages of supporting documents including emails, receipts and memos. It accused Reeves and two other managers, one of whom was her boss, of using the bank's money to "fund a lifestyle", with spending on events, taxis and gifts, including for each other. We have seen these documents and spoken to more than 20 people, many of whom were former colleagues.
She's another of those - just like Streeting - who were working toward a political career since they left school. We'd be better off with people who have had a real career for a decade or two, before going into politics.
Some interesting thoughts on here about where this might be coming from
Reeves is the biggest weak link in the government at the moment and I would suggest the source of a lot of its problems. She needed to be able to convincingly sell its economic policy and she has shown herself to be incapable of doing so, while making poor choices.
It would cause a short term hit to Starmer if he was forced to lose her but I think it might help him in the long run. Get someone in who is a better media performer and able to articulate a vision.
Posted purely because I found it quite illuminating. The statistic about the surge in demand for GP appointments since COVID is quite something.
But here's a story. There's plenty more on Google:
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/14/climate/nuclear-nnsa-firings-trump/index.html
What has just happened? FT reported in January Starmer Government will wait for Trump’s approval before signing. Modi met Trump for working visit this week BBC reported “both sides comfortable continuing Biden-era collaborations, in tech and defence”. India courted by the West as partner in countering China, experts say Trump's second presidency will continue this, not lecture India on human rights as last administration did.
India is HUGE fan of UKs Chagos surrender. Chagos was negotiated with Mauritius by both Conservative and Labour government with Biden administration and Modi’s government “inputting”. Yesterday, after meeting Modi - Trump placed his own negotiator overtly in the middle of the ongoing negotiating room. This makes me inform you for sure, at some point Trump will instruct Starmer to sign it. In fact i am convinced Trumps order is not just sign it, UK must frontload millions in payments to Mauritius for Trump and Modi’s newly elected friend Navin Ramgoolam to play with.
Surely Trumps intervention in negotiations will not just be front load millions for Ramgoolam, but all those security fears fettled away too? Key item in the deal to watch for, restrictions on fishing rights around Garcia. Otherwise how will we really know it not just rebranding same deal they said was bad?
Aside from Chinese spy equipment in simple junks, defining reason UK must NOT sign this deal is a legal precedent created that will be used by other states, backed in gaming the system by gang of UK belligerents who sponsored Mauritius, (Russia, India, etc), to make predatory claims on British territory everywhere, where it’s difficult now to argue precedent applies to Chagos, not Cyprus nor Falklands. But UK colonialism on retreat not so much a Chagos deal breaker for our Indian and America friends, for them it’s actually incentive to ratify! They are anti UK colonial power except, brazen hypocrisy, rare instances like Chagos UK retaining something benefits them!
A tricky, unacknowledgeable war Britain fights alone last 100 years.
A key item to watch for - giving in on Trump and Modi’s bullying for upfront millions for Ramgoolam government - will prove just how hapless Labour are standing up for Britain. Even £90M a year is far too much.*
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78xpxpx005o
https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/uks-surrender-chagos-symptom-strategic-ineptitude
*caveat is how much US chips in, in the round, that’s never overtly acknowledged.
There must be someone fairly senior in the BBC who is pushing this story. They should be named as well as the anonymous source.
If I were Reeves, I would treat it with total disdain.
We oughtn't to keep going with things as they are, but we will because the people who need to be told to make do with a bit less are too numerous and too loud to be defied.
Middle class retirees with big expensive houses paid their taxes, and now expect younger people to inflation proof their living standards. Telling them that they need to contribute more to, for example, expanding the navy and keeping children out of poverty - and that the result of this is it's out with cruises round the Amalfi Coast, in with a long weekend in the Lake District, and their offspring will only get 80% of the house when they die rather than the whole lot - simply won't wash.
Have you considered a job at the Trump Whitehouse?
I miss our usual Russian contributor. More interesting than some of what's being posted this morning.
It's easy to assume that people in rich world countries are so stupid, and so selfish, that they would gladly see their own nations destroyed, so long as they kept their own assets, for a time. But, that may not be the case. People can be that stupid and selfish, but they may also be persuaded to step up to the mark.
Until the effort is made, we won't know.
Yep, that'll save Labour...
You're like someone defending Hitler over the Wannsee Conference...
That’s how the New Egalitarian Society works.