Trump: "To be honest with you, Canada only works as a state. We don't need anything they have. As a state it would be one of the great states. This would be the most incredible country visually. If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it."
Why is this guy so obsessed with Canadian sovereignty? If the USA doesn't need anything they have why even want them to be a state?
Is he just riffing because when he first said it it got headlines?
Because he’s a messianic narcissist who is mad as a box of frogs.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Why? The NHS is the main job of the Department of Health. Why do you need the Department of Health if not to run the NHS?
My reservation, having faced him across the council chamber for eight years, is that I know that Streeting is, like many of his Labour colleagues, deep down a control freak. Whatever he says to the media about wanting to devolve decisions, I’ve seen him in action, and I know that isn’t his instinct, at all. In the council chamber he didn’t even trust his own backbenchers (with good reason, mind).
Meanwhile, in other news, sometimes our NHS does surprise on the upside. Last night I began to get some alarming problems with my eyesight, which it turns out are probably something many ageing people go through, but nevertheless might be a sign of, or lead to, something much more serious.
I went to the local optician this morning, hoping to see their expert, but they were fully booked all day. Instead they gave me the number of something I’ve never heard of - the community urgent eyecare service - and I phoned them when I got home. They’re based in Leeds and all have reassuring Yorkshire accents. The first person I spoke to ran through my symptoms and was able to summon up both my medical and opticians records at her end. She already had my mobile phone number and texted me a link to submit photos of my eyes, and promised that an ophthalmologist would phone within the hour. When she phoned, she gave me lots of info about what the likely problem was - which by then I had already found online, but many wouldn’t - and after all the reassurance, they committed to arrange an urgent appointment for me at an island optician just to make sure I wasn’t at any risk of eyesight loss. Meanwhile I got texted a link to the problem I most likely have (Posterior Vitreous Detachment, for anyone interested).
All this happened this morning - and is an impressive, almost Norwegian, level of service and fast response.
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
Headline on BBC may now not be what Starmer wanted 'Thousands to lose jobs as Starmer scraps NHS England to cut 'bureaucracy'
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
Did you miss this bit?
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
WRT the thread header, can I suggest it might be profitable to remember the Beaconsfield by election of 1983? The Tories were very unpopular, and the Liberals – with the enthusiastic support of the SDP – were coasting to a comfortable win. Then, General Galtieri invaded the Falklands. In just one week, the feeling in the constituency changed utterly. Liberal posters came down, and when asked why, the householders told party activists that “We have to support the Government now!” Even the Thatcherite Junta was preferable to the aggression to British interests shown by the Argentinians. It was a straightforward move by voters doing their best to be seen to be “patriotic”. (And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not being disparaging when I use that word; it’s just that I can’t think of a better one.) On Polling Day, the Conservatives didn’t wear rosettes or any sort of party favours – they just wore simple white-on-blue T-Shirts which read “The Falklands are British”. In Beaconsfield there was a straightforward swing towards incumbency, and I think the same thing is going to happen around the world. If Trump is belittling the Kingdom of Ruritania or the Republic of Stanistan, then the good enfranchised burghers of Ruritania and Stanistan are going to raly behind their governments, no matter how much they despise them. (Oh yes, the Labour candidate was a bright young chap called Anthony Blair – I wonder whatever became of him.)
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
And Trump will pressure Ukraine to accept conditions - like no weapons shipments.
And Ukraine will reluctantly concede.
And then Russia will attack again in six months time.
And then weapons shipments to Ukraine would start again, maybe even from the US if Russia breached the deal
It'll be a bit late by then.
Why? A few months for Europe and Canada to invest in arms and defence via a ceasefire and if Russia breaches could then be deployed
Are we as NATO going to recapture Kyiv after Putin breaks the ceasefire and takes Ukraine.
No we didn't last time, just provide aid as before.
If Putin broke an agreed ceasefire US arms to Ukraine would also likely resume based on Trump's statements but a ceasefire has to be agreed first to break
Then your programme of rearming Ukraine after they have been captured by Moscow means you are too late.
Utter crap, the moment Russian troops broke a ceasefire arms would resume, they couldn't even capture Kyiv last time.
However Zelensky would have to have accepted a ceasefire on such terms anyway
Yeah but last time Ukraine had soldiers and weaponry. This time if they follow your advice they won't have soldiers and weaponry.
Why? They have soldiers and weaponry now which they could put in storage for if and when a ceasefire is broken.
If Putin and Zelensky agree a ceasefire that is for them, you clearly would rather you and your house were evaporated by a Russian nuke!
Are you just being argumentative, or do you truly not understand how unbalanced Russia’s proposal is?
Well if it is that unbalanced Zelensky won't agree those terms anyway
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
Did you miss this bit?
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
The Letbyists will seize on anything for the public relations campaign. I'll grant I did not sit through the entire extremely long trial, but even if you find 'something' it doesn't seem terribly likely every single charge is a flimsy house of cards in the event of one thing.
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Why? The NHS is the main job of the Department of Health. Why do you need the Department of Health if not to run the NHS?
My reservation, having faced him across the council chamber for eight years, is that I know that Streeting is, like many of his Labour colleagues, deep down a control freak. Whatever he says to the media about wanting to devolve decisions, I’ve seen him in action, and I know that isn’t his instinct, at all. In the council chamber he didn’t even trust his own backbenchers (with good reason, mind).
Meanwhile, in other news, sometimes our NHS does surprise on the upside. Last night I began to get some alarming problems with my eyesight, which it turns out are probably something many ageing people go through, but nevertheless might be a sign of, or lead to, something much more serious.
I went to the local optician this morning, hoping to see their expert, but they were fully booked all day. Instead they gave me the number of something I’ve never heard of - the community urgent eyecare service - and I phoned them when I got home. They’re based in Leeds and all have reassuring Yorkshire accents. The first person I spoke to ran through my symptoms and was able to summon up both my medical and opticians records at her end. She already had my mobile phone number and texted me a link to submit photos of my eyes, and promised that an ophthalmologist would phone within the hour. When she phoned, she gave me lots of info about what the likely problem was - which by then I had already found online, but many wouldn’t - and after all the reassurance, they committed to arrange an urgent appointment for me at an island optician just to make sure I wasn’t at any risk of eyesight loss. Meanwhile I got texted a link to the problem I most likely have (Posterior Vitreous Detachment, for anyone interested).
All this happened this morning - and is an impressive, almost Norwegian, level of service and fast response.
The eye clinics, as I recently discovered, seem to work very efficiently. I think because surgery (if necessary, which it usually isn’t with your condition ?) is usually quick and very cost effective in returning patients to a functional state.
And Trump will pressure Ukraine to accept conditions - like no weapons shipments.
And Ukraine will reluctantly concede.
And then Russia will attack again in six months time.
And then weapons shipments to Ukraine would start again, maybe even from the US if Russia breached the deal
It'll be a bit late by then.
Why? A few months for Europe and Canada to invest in arms and defence via a ceasefire and if Russia breaches could then be deployed
Are we as NATO going to recapture Kyiv after Putin breaks the ceasefire and takes Ukraine.
No we didn't last time, just provide aid as before.
If Putin broke an agreed ceasefire US arms to Ukraine would also likely resume based on Trump's statements but a ceasefire has to be agreed first to break
Then your programme of rearming Ukraine after they have been captured by Moscow means you are too late.
Utter crap, the moment Russian troops broke a ceasefire arms would resume, they couldn't even capture Kyiv last time.
However Zelensky would have to have accepted a ceasefire on such terms anyway
Yeah but last time Ukraine had soldiers and weaponry. This time if they follow your advice they won't have soldiers and weaponry.
Why? They have soldiers and weaponry now which they could put in storage for if and when a ceasefire is broken.
If Putin and Zelensky agree a ceasefire that is for them, you clearly would rather you and your house were evaporated by a Russian nuke!
Are you just being argumentative, or do you truly not understand how unbalanced Russia’s proposal is?
Well if it is that unbalanced Zelensky won't agree those terms anyway
He may have very little option, you know that, when Trump is very open to inviting Russia to kill more Ukrainians until he does.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
This is a rather bizarre outburst from you on the subject of NHS ENGLAND of all things. The Department of Health is quite capable of running the NHS which is also managed at a regional level by trusts before you even get near a hospital. Is someone you know concerned?
Controversial. I’m not sure the department of health is “quite capable” of running a whelk stall let alone the NHS
Caveat - 'not running it any worse than NHS England'
And Trump will pressure Ukraine to accept conditions - like no weapons shipments.
And Ukraine will reluctantly concede.
And then Russia will attack again in six months time.
And then weapons shipments to Ukraine would start again, maybe even from the US if Russia breached the deal
It'll be a bit late by then.
Why? A few months for Europe and Canada to invest in arms and defence via a ceasefire and if Russia breaches could then be deployed
Are we as NATO going to recapture Kyiv after Putin breaks the ceasefire and takes Ukraine.
No we didn't last time, just provide aid as before.
If Putin broke an agreed ceasefire US arms to Ukraine would also likely resume based on Trump's statements but a ceasefire has to be agreed first to break
Then your programme of rearming Ukraine after they have been captured by Moscow means you are too late.
Utter crap, the moment Russian troops broke a ceasefire arms would resume, they couldn't even capture Kyiv last time.
However Zelensky would have to have accepted a ceasefire on such terms anyway
Yeah but last time Ukraine had soldiers and weaponry. This time if they follow your advice they won't have soldiers and weaponry.
Why? They have soldiers and weaponry now which they could put in storage for if and when a ceasefire is broken.
If Putin and Zelensky agree a ceasefire that is for them, you clearly would rather you and your house were evaporated by a Russian nuke!
Are you just being argumentative, or do you truly not understand how unbalanced Russia’s proposal is?
Well if it is that unbalanced Zelensky won't agree those terms anyway
And then the question is- who does Donald side with?
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
NHS England was created by the CONSERVATIVES
Why were the Conservatives creating quangos (happy @Northern_Al ? 😂 ) like NHS England?
Didn't Cameron actually promise a "bonfire of quangos" when he was LOTO? How did that go, lol?
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
a) It's a genuine condition for some people. b) It's a popular diagnosis easily obtained by middle-class parents whose kids struggle with spelling or other forms of literacy.
And Trump will pressure Ukraine to accept conditions - like no weapons shipments.
And Ukraine will reluctantly concede.
And then Russia will attack again in six months time.
And then weapons shipments to Ukraine would start again, maybe even from the US if Russia breached the deal
It'll be a bit late by then.
Why? A few months for Europe and Canada to invest in arms and defence via a ceasefire and if Russia breaches could then be deployed
Are we as NATO going to recapture Kyiv after Putin breaks the ceasefire and takes Ukraine.
No we didn't last time, just provide aid as before.
If Putin broke an agreed ceasefire US arms to Ukraine would also likely resume based on Trump's statements but a ceasefire has to be agreed first to break
Then your programme of rearming Ukraine after they have been captured by Moscow means you are too late.
Utter crap, the moment Russian troops broke a ceasefire arms would resume, they couldn't even capture Kyiv last time.
However Zelensky would have to have accepted a ceasefire on such terms anyway
It might not be in Zelenskyy's gift it Trumpy has his way.
If Zelensky rejects it Canada and Europe will just fund him as before whatever Trump does
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
Did you miss this bit?
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
WRT the thread header, can I suggest it might be profitable to remember the Beaconsfield by election of 1983? The Tories were very unpopular, and the Liberals – with the enthusiastic support of the SDP – were coasting to a comfortable win. Then, General Galtieri invaded the Falklands. In just one week, the feeling in the constituency changed utterly. Liberal posters came down, and when asked why, the householders told party activists that “We have to support the Government now!” Even the Thatcherite Junta was preferable to the aggression to British interests shown by the Argentinians. It was a straightforward move by voters doing their best to be seen to be “patriotic”. (And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not being disparaging when I use that word; it’s just that I can’t think of a better one.) On Polling Day, the Conservatives didn’t wear rosettes or any sort of party favours – they just wore simple white-on-blue T-Shirts which read “The Falklands are British”. In Beaconsfield there was a straightforward swing towards incumbency, and I think the same thing is going to happen around the world. If Trump is belittling the Kingdom of Ruritania or the Republic of Stanistan, then the good enfranchised burghers of Ruritania and Stanistan are going to raly behind their governments, no matter how much they despise them. (Oh yes, the Labour candidate was a bright young chap called Anthony Blair – I wonder whatever became of him.)
The Tories were ahead in some polls in prior to the invasion, indeed the last full poll before the invasion the Tories were leading.
Plus the Labour candidate was a right roaster, he was pro CND, pro leaving the European Community, and an enthusiastic support of Michael Foot.
That candidate was a Tony Blair, whatever happened to him?
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
This is a rather bizarre outburst from you on the subject of NHS ENGLAND of all things. The Department of Health is quite capable of running the NHS which is also managed at a regional level by trusts before you even get near a hospital. Is someone you know concerned?
NHS England was created in 2012 precisely as the Dept of Health wasn't, we will see if any different this time
As his term of office fades into the past, Cameron increasingly looks like one of the worst prime ministers in our history. The British Obama.
iirc Cameron and Osborne hadn't a clue what Lansley was up to until it was too late to halt. I think at the time it was described as "a reorganization so big you can see it from space".
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
a) It's a genuine condition for some people. b) It's a popular diagnosis easily obtained by middle-class parents whose kids struggle with spelling or other forms of literacy.
So there's some truth in what Hitch is saying, but he's taken it too an extreme to be controversial (as usual?)
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
Hitchens is a load of shit seems the appropriate response.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
This is a rather bizarre outburst from you on the subject of NHS ENGLAND of all things. The Department of Health is quite capable of running the NHS which is also managed at a regional level by trusts before you even get near a hospital. Is someone you know concerned?
Controversial. I’m not sure the department of health is “quite capable” of running a whelk stall let alone the NHS
Caveat - 'not running it any worse than NHS England'
In 200 years we've managed to expand government departments a thousand-fold, and we're probably less well served than we were then.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
NHS England was created by the CONSERVATIVES
Why were the Conservatives creating quangos (happy @Northern_Al ? 😂 ) like NHS England?
Didn't Cameron actually promise a "bonfire of quangos" when he was LOTO? How did that go, lol?
He scrapped nearly 300 of them but we still need some not least to regulate and manage he set up NHS England precisely as the Dept of Health wasn't managing the NHS effectively
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
Did you miss this bit?
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
The Letbyists will seize on anything for the public relations campaign. I'll grant I did not sit through the entire extremely long trial, but even if you find 'something' it doesn't seem terribly likely every single charge is a flimsy house of cards in the event of one thing.
They're simply scrambling to regain some semblance of credibility now..As Dr Lee said if the Chester unit had been a Canadian hospital it would have been closed down..🥴
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
a) It's a genuine condition for some people. b) It's a popular diagnosis easily obtained by middle-class parents whose kids struggle with spelling or other forms of literacy.
I suffer for numbers and whole words. Never gone and got diagnosed, but became aware of it throughout schooling when teachers would point out how my working on maths problems was perfect then two digits were inexplicably switched at some point. And probably people have seen it on here where there will be a word that is close in spelling, but it is the wrong word to be used in that situation.
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
Which is crap, Poilievre has opposed the tariffs, opposed the annexation threats and is pro Ukraine, even Starmer has sucked up to Trump more than Poilievre though it might lead to a hung parliament
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
My middle daughter has it. It is fascinating and definitely a thing. She is intelligent in many respects - she's at a grammar school - but words and letters dance for her. She is also regularly astonished to find she has been assuming for years spellings which don't exist - e.g. Vimpto - because her spelling is based so much on hearing rather than sight. It often comes with other mental traits, such as creativity, absent-mindedness, and untidiness. She has it in spades and makes her who she is. It has not, on balance, held her back (though the determination with which she worked through 'word wasp' (a spelling system aimed at dyslexic people) was possibly the hardest I have ever seen anyone work, ever) and makes her who she is.
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
Did you miss this bit?
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
NHS England was created by the CONSERVATIVES
Why were the Conservatives creating quangos (happy @Northern_Al ? 😂 ) like NHS England?
Didn't Cameron actually promise a "bonfire of quangos" when he was LOTO? How did that go, lol?
The mystery is how Cameron ever became persuaded that the Lansley reforms ever made sense, and how sadly - despite exercising some push back during those early days of the coalition - the LibDems chose not to die in a ditch over those idiotic reforms.
WRT the thread header, can I suggest it might be profitable to remember the Beaconsfield by election of 1983? The Tories were very unpopular, and the Liberals – with the enthusiastic support of the SDP – were coasting to a comfortable win. Then, General Galtieri invaded the Falklands. In just one week, the feeling in the constituency changed utterly. Liberal posters came down, and when asked why, the householders told party activists that “We have to support the Government now!” Even the Thatcherite Junta was preferable to the aggression to British interests shown by the Argentinians. It was a straightforward move by voters doing their best to be seen to be “patriotic”. (And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not being disparaging when I use that word; it’s just that I can’t think of a better one.) On Polling Day, the Conservatives didn’t wear rosettes or any sort of party favours – they just wore simple white-on-blue T-Shirts which read “The Falklands are British”. In Beaconsfield there was a straightforward swing towards incumbency, and I think the same thing is going to happen around the world. If Trump is belittling the Kingdom of Ruritania or the Republic of Stanistan, then the good enfranchised burghers of Ruritania and Stanistan are going to raly behind their governments, no matter how much they despise them. (Oh yes, the Labour candidate was a bright young chap called Anthony Blair – I wonder whatever became of him.)
The Tories were ahead in some polls in prior to the invasion, indeed the last full poll before the invasion the Tories were leading.
Plus the Labour candidate was a right roaster, he was pro CND, pro leaving the European Community, and an enthusiastic support of Michael Foot.
That candidate was a Tony Blair, whatever happened to him?
Well, it was certainly one of the more memorable by election campaigns for me. I can't reacall the details of the pollling, but does your memory agree with mine - that there was an a-political swing behind the Government candidate?
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
Did you miss this bit?
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
NHS England was created by the CONSERVATIVES
Why were the Conservatives creating quangos (happy @Northern_Al ? 😂 ) like NHS England?
Didn't Cameron actually promise a "bonfire of quangos" when he was LOTO? How did that go, lol?
The mystery is how Cameron ever became persuaded that the Lansley reforms ever made sense, and how sadly - despite exercising some push back during those early days of the coalition - the LibDems chose not to die in a ditch over those idiotic reforms.
It comes down to the relationship Dave (and George) had with Andrew Lansley.
He was their boss at CCHQ when they were young Turks at CCHQ/CRD, they trusted him implicitly.
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
My middle daughter has it. It is fascinating and definitely a thing. She is intelligent in many respects - she's at a grammar school - but words and letters dance for her. She is also regularly astonished to find she has been assuming for years spellings which don't exist - e.g. Vimpto - because her spelling is based so much on hearing rather than sight. It often comes with other mental traits, such as creativity, absent-mindedness, and untidiness. She has it in spades and makes her who she is. It has not, on balance, held her back (though the determination with which she worked through 'word wasp' (a spelling system aimed at dyslexic people) was possibly the hardest I have ever seen anyone work, ever) and makes her who she is.
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
a) It's a genuine condition for some people. b) It's a popular diagnosis easily obtained by middle-class parents whose kids struggle with spelling or other forms of literacy.
It seems to me a continuum. Whether it is helpful for people with the milder forms to be diagnosed as dyslexic is a valid and interesting question. Whether it exists seems a pointless debate.
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
House Reps is easy because they are allocated by population, so as Canada would have about 8% of the population, it would have about 8% of the Reps. As I doubt they'd want to deprive existing members of their seats, they'd probably add them to the total, rather than reallocate the existing 435, so that makes say 35-40 house seats.
Senators is less certain as it depends how many states Canada was split into. Maybe you'd give the frogs one, Ontario one, west of Ontario one and one for the maritimes+the north. That makes four states so eight senators. Again, about 8% of the total.
And electoral votes would be the sum of the two.
But as most of those votes would be Democrats it would be a hot February day in Yukon before the Republicans allowed it.
Ed Balls, the former Labour shadow chancellor, has said the government would be wrong to cut disability benefits for the most vulnerable people in society.
He was speaking in the latest episode of Political Currency, the podcast he co-hosts with George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, who said that when he was at the Treasury he ruled out freezing Pip (the personal independence payment – a disability benefit) because he thought that was not very fair.
Osborne said he did try to cut eligibility for Pip in his 2016 budget, hoping to save £4bn, “which I guess, adjusting for inflation, is roughly what Labour is looking for now”. But Iain Duncan Smith, the then welfare secretary, resigned in protest, “and I had to back down”, Osborne said.
Diverting money from benefits to care and treatment to get rid of the massive backlogs seems win/win.
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
Also, shortly before the Stephen Milligan incident, my local (Lib Dem) councillor in Stockport went the same way. Except - perhaps highlighting the difference between local and national politics - he went not in the stockings and suspenders favoured by Milligan, but wearing an ild lady's dressing gown.
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
Which is crap, Poilievre has opposed the tariffs, opposed the annexation threats and is pro Ukraine, even Starmer has sucked up to Trump more than Poilievre though it might lead to a hung parliament
It doesn’t matter . We’re living in a world of alternative facts and Poilievre can say what he likes but the Libs will portray him as a Trump arselicker regardless of his protestations.
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
House Reps is easy because they are allocated by population, so as Canada would have about 8% of the population, it would have about 8% of the Reps. As I doubt they'd want to deprive existing members of their seats, they'd probably add them to the total, rather than reallocate the existing 435, so that makes say 35-40 house seats.
Senators is less certain as it depends how many states Canada was split into. Maybe you'd give the frogs one, Ontario one, west of Ontario one and one for the maritimes+the north. That makes four states so eight senators. Again, about 8% of the total.
And electoral votes would be the sum of the two.
But as most of those votes would be Democrats it would be a hot February day in Yukon before the Republicans allowed it.
Population of Canada isn’t that much higher than that of California. Which I’d guess is how the mango Mussolini is seeing things.
What do we think about the worlds biggest contrarian, general know it all and expert on everything, Peter Hitchens, saying that Dyslexia is a made up illness and a load of shit?
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
There used to be a quite frequent poster some years ago. I take it he hasn't taught someone who can suddenly read when given a different coloured background, then?
Ed Balls, the former Labour shadow chancellor, has said the government would be wrong to cut disability benefits for the most vulnerable people in society.
He was speaking in the latest episode of Political Currency, the podcast he co-hosts with George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, who said that when he was at the Treasury he ruled out freezing Pip (the personal independence payment – a disability benefit) because he thought that was not very fair.
Osborne said he did try to cut eligibility for Pip in his 2016 budget, hoping to save £4bn, “which I guess, adjusting for inflation, is roughly what Labour is looking for now”. But Iain Duncan Smith, the then welfare secretary, resigned in protest, “and I had to back down”, Osborne said.
Diverting money from benefits to care and treatment to get rid of the massive backlogs seems win/win.
And Trump will pressure Ukraine to accept conditions - like no weapons shipments.
And Ukraine will reluctantly concede.
And then Russia will attack again in six months time.
And then weapons shipments to Ukraine would start again, maybe even from the US if Russia breached the deal
It'll be a bit late by then.
Why? A few months for Europe and Canada to invest in arms and defence via a ceasefire and if Russia breaches could then be deployed
Are we as NATO going to recapture Kyiv after Putin breaks the ceasefire and takes Ukraine.
No we didn't last time, just provide aid as before.
If Putin broke an agreed ceasefire US arms to Ukraine would also likely resume based on Trump's statements but a ceasefire has to be agreed first to break
Then your programme of rearming Ukraine after they have been captured by Moscow means you are too late.
Utter crap, the moment Russian troops broke a ceasefire arms would resume, they couldn't even capture Kyiv last time.
However Zelensky would have to have accepted a ceasefire on such terms anyway
Yeah but last time Ukraine had soldiers and weaponry. This time if they follow your advice they won't have soldiers and weaponry.
Why? They have soldiers and weaponry now which they could put in storage for if and when a ceasefire is broken.
If Putin and Zelensky agree a ceasefire that is for them, you clearly would rather you and your house were evaporated by a Russian nuke!
Are you just being argumentative, or do you truly not understand how unbalanced Russia’s proposal is?
Well if it is that unbalanced Zelensky won't agree those terms anyway
Which is designed to make the US swing back towards Russia.
This whole thing is a game between the UK and Russia on who can swing Trump.
WRT the thread header, can I suggest it might be profitable to remember the Beaconsfield by election of 1983? The Tories were very unpopular, and the Liberals – with the enthusiastic support of the SDP – were coasting to a comfortable win. Then, General Galtieri invaded the Falklands. In just one week, the feeling in the constituency changed utterly. Liberal posters came down, and when asked why, the householders told party activists that “We have to support the Government now!” Even the Thatcherite Junta was preferable to the aggression to British interests shown by the Argentinians. It was a straightforward move by voters doing their best to be seen to be “patriotic”. (And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not being disparaging when I use that word; it’s just that I can’t think of a better one.) On Polling Day, the Conservatives didn’t wear rosettes or any sort of party favours – they just wore simple white-on-blue T-Shirts which read “The Falklands are British”. In Beaconsfield there was a straightforward swing towards incumbency, and I think the same thing is going to happen around the world. If Trump is belittling the Kingdom of Ruritania or the Republic of Stanistan, then the good enfranchised burghers of Ruritania and Stanistan are going to raly behind their governments, no matter how much they despise them. (Oh yes, the Labour candidate was a bright young chap called Anthony Blair – I wonder whatever became of him.)
The Tories were ahead in some polls in prior to the invasion, indeed the last full poll before the invasion the Tories were leading.
Plus the Labour candidate was a right roaster, he was pro CND, pro leaving the European Community, and an enthusiastic support of Michael Foot.
That candidate was a Tony Blair, whatever happened to him?
Well, it was certainly one of the more memorable by election campaigns for me. I can't reacall the details of the pollling, but does your memory agree with mine - that there was an a-political swing behind the Government candidate?
To be fair I was three years old at the time of the by-election.
Many years later I became friends with a CCHQ staffer who worked for the great lady and Sir Geoffrey Hower and he bitterly resented the Falklands War as it allowed non Tories to deny the Tories the victory they would have won in 1983 without it.
Remember the long term economic plan was to get the pain in early then enjoy the fruits later.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
Headline on BBC may now not be what Starmer wanted 'Thousands to lose jobs as Starmer scraps NHS England to cut 'bureaucracy'
Good, it’s what he’s promised. Slash bureaucracy and improve productivity. At least he’s doing something, hopefully it works.
Mind you I bet they all get decent pay offs and not just the basic minimum though
It's extremely good news. Well done Starmer and Streeting.
The logical end-point is to abolish devolution as well. Would Starmer have the guts to do it?
Not really as this was an England only quango and Starmer hasn't set up an England only Parliament
Why not abolish NHS Scotland too and run it all from the Department of Health?
Even if abolished it would be returned to the Scottish Health and Social Care Directorates as all healthcare in Scotland is devolved as is the NHS in Scotland
To quote Keir Starmer: "I can’t in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."
Devolution isn't working and it's a waste of taxpayers' money.
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
House Reps is easy because they are allocated by population, so as Canada would have about 8% of the population, it would have about 8% of the Reps. As I doubt they'd want to deprive existing members of their seats, they'd probably add them to the total, rather than reallocate the existing 435, so that makes say 35-40 house seats.
Senators is less certain as it depends how many states Canada was split into. Maybe you'd give the frogs one, Ontario one, west of Ontario one and one for the maritimes+the north. That makes four states so eight senators. Again, about 8% of the total.
And electoral votes would be the sum of the two.
But as most of those votes would be Democrats it would be a hot February day in Yukon before the Republicans allowed it.
They're all so scared of Trump and MAGA, they daren't object though.
And Trump will pressure Ukraine to accept conditions - like no weapons shipments.
And Ukraine will reluctantly concede.
And then Russia will attack again in six months time.
And then weapons shipments to Ukraine would start again, maybe even from the US if Russia breached the deal
It'll be a bit late by then.
Why? A few months for Europe and Canada to invest in arms and defence via a ceasefire and if Russia breaches could then be deployed
Are we as NATO going to recapture Kyiv after Putin breaks the ceasefire and takes Ukraine.
No we didn't last time, just provide aid as before.
If Putin broke an agreed ceasefire US arms to Ukraine would also likely resume based on Trump's statements but a ceasefire has to be agreed first to break
Then your programme of rearming Ukraine after they have been captured by Moscow means you are too late.
Utter crap, the moment Russian troops broke a ceasefire arms would resume, they couldn't even capture Kyiv last time.
However Zelensky would have to have accepted a ceasefire on such terms anyway
It might not be in Zelenskyy's gift it Trumpy has his way.
If Zelensky rejects it Canada and Europe will just fund him as before whatever Trump does
And Russia will continue to be extremely fortunate with the proportion of randomly fired missiles that hit militarily valuable targets
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
The scrapping of the NHS ( England) does look like an absolute catastrophe. Kemi Badenoch is supporting the move!
Kemi hasn't said anything about it, Davey backs Starmer's decision despite the fact it was the Coalition government he was in that created NHS England in the first place so day to day running of the NHS was overseen by an independent body not the Department of Health.
In fact 'Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart cast doubts over the decision, saying Sir Keir Starmer has yet to set out "how this is going to make life better for patients" or "how much money he is going to save by doing it".
I just heard it on the BBC R4 6 o clock news. Kemi is on board. She said the Government will now be measured on NHS progress as they are now directly in the driving seat They can't blame anyone else.
So no she is NOT on board as such she said it was Starmer and Streeting's decision not hers and if it fails to make life better for patients or significant savings then the Opposition will blame the government
She ( and Hunt) seemed less hostile than you do to overturning Lansley's reforms.
Not their decision, though Kemi was notably less enthusiastic than Hunt anyway it is LABOUR who scrapped it and LABOUR who will be responsible for ALL the job losses and LABOUR who will be responsible for lack of NHS improvement
As a Conservative, shouldn't you be supporting getting rid of as many quango's as possible?
NHS England was created by the CONSERVATIVES
Why were the Conservatives creating quangos (happy @Northern_Al ? 😂 ) like NHS England?
Didn't Cameron actually promise a "bonfire of quangos" when he was LOTO? How did that go, lol?
The mystery is how Cameron ever became persuaded that the Lansley reforms ever made sense, and how sadly - despite exercising some push back during those early days of the coalition - the LibDems chose not to die in a ditch over those idiotic reforms.
It comes down to the relationship Dave (and George) had with Andrew Lansley.
He was their boss at CCHQ when they were young Turks at CCHQ/CRD, they trusted him implicitly.
Higher quality interns would have been able to exercise their own judgement.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
Headline on BBC may now not be what Starmer wanted 'Thousands to lose jobs as Starmer scraps NHS England to cut 'bureaucracy'
Good, it’s what he’s promised. Slash bureaucracy and improve productivity. At least he’s doing something, hopefully it works.
Mind you I bet they all get decent pay offs and not just the basic minimum though
It's extremely good news. Well done Starmer and Streeting.
The logical end-point is to abolish devolution as well. Would Starmer have the guts to do it?
Not really as this was an England only quango and Starmer hasn't set up an England only Parliament
Why not abolish NHS Scotland too and run it all from the Department of Health?
Even if abolished it would be returned to the Scottish Health and Social Care Directorates as all healthcare in Scotland is devolved as is the NHS in Scotland
To quote Keir Starmer: "I can’t in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."
Devolution isn't working and it's a waste of taxpayers' money.
Bollox you halfwitted moron
Independence would be another solution. I didn’t think you’d be a defender of the status quo.
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
House Reps is easy because they are allocated by population, so as Canada would have about 8% of the population, it would have about 8% of the Reps. As I doubt they'd want to deprive existing members of their seats, they'd probably add them to the total, rather than reallocate the existing 435, so that makes say 35-40 house seats.
Senators is less certain as it depends how many states Canada was split into. Maybe you'd give the frogs one, Ontario one, west of Ontario one and one for the maritimes+the north. That makes four states so eight senators. Again, about 8% of the total.
And electoral votes would be the sum of the two.
But as most of those votes would be Democrats it would be a hot February day in Yukon before the Republicans allowed it.
They're all so scared of Trump and MAGA, they daren't object though.
The eventual crown of the GOP will go to whoever chooses precisely the right moment to jump from following to leading.
WRT the thread header, can I suggest it might be profitable to remember the Beaconsfield by election of 1983? The Tories were very unpopular, and the Liberals – with the enthusiastic support of the SDP – were coasting to a comfortable win. Then, General Galtieri invaded the Falklands. In just one week, the feeling in the constituency changed utterly. Liberal posters came down, and when asked why, the householders told party activists that “We have to support the Government now!” Even the Thatcherite Junta was preferable to the aggression to British interests shown by the Argentinians. It was a straightforward move by voters doing their best to be seen to be “patriotic”. (And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not being disparaging when I use that word; it’s just that I can’t think of a better one.) On Polling Day, the Conservatives didn’t wear rosettes or any sort of party favours – they just wore simple white-on-blue T-Shirts which read “The Falklands are British”. In Beaconsfield there was a straightforward swing towards incumbency, and I think the same thing is going to happen around the world. If Trump is belittling the Kingdom of Ruritania or the Republic of Stanistan, then the good enfranchised burghers of Ruritania and Stanistan are going to raly behind their governments, no matter how much they despise them. (Oh yes, the Labour candidate was a bright young chap called Anthony Blair – I wonder whatever became of him.)
The Tories were ahead in some polls in prior to the invasion, indeed the last full poll before the invasion the Tories were leading.
Plus the Labour candidate was a right roaster, he was pro CND, pro leaving the European Community, and an enthusiastic support of Michael Foot.
That candidate was a Tony Blair, whatever happened to him?
Well, it was certainly one of the more memorable by election campaigns for me. I can't reacall the details of the pollling, but does your memory agree with mine - that there was an a-political swing behind the Government candidate?
To be fair I was three years old at the time of the by-election.
Many years later I became friends with a CCHQ staffer who worked for the great lady and Sir Geoffrey Hower and he bitterly resented the Falklands War as it allowed non Tories to deny the Tories the victory they would have won in 1983 without it.
Remember the long term economic plan was to get the pain in early then enjoy the fruits later.
There's been a great deal of revisionism about that period. Personally I think that people now claiming connection and merit won't be the most honest of types.
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
Headline on BBC may now not be what Starmer wanted 'Thousands to lose jobs as Starmer scraps NHS England to cut 'bureaucracy'
Good, it’s what he’s promised. Slash bureaucracy and improve productivity. At least he’s doing something, hopefully it works.
Mind you I bet they all get decent pay offs and not just the basic minimum though
It's extremely good news. Well done Starmer and Streeting.
The logical end-point is to abolish devolution as well. Would Starmer have the guts to do it?
Not really as this was an England only quango and Starmer hasn't set up an England only Parliament
Why not abolish NHS Scotland too and run it all from the Department of Health?
Even if abolished it would be returned to the Scottish Health and Social Care Directorates as all healthcare in Scotland is devolved as is the NHS in Scotland
To quote Keir Starmer: "I can’t in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."
Devolution isn't working and it's a waste of taxpayers' money.
Bollox you halfwitted moron
Independence would be another solution. I didn’t think you’d be a defender of the status quo.
Independence would most certainly be the best option
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
House Reps is easy because they are allocated by population, so as Canada would have about 8% of the population, it would have about 8% of the Reps. As I doubt they'd want to deprive existing members of their seats, they'd probably add them to the total, rather than reallocate the existing 435, so that makes say 35-40 house seats.
Senators is less certain as it depends how many states Canada was split into. Maybe you'd give the frogs one, Ontario one, west of Ontario one and one for the maritimes+the north. That makes four states so eight senators. Again, about 8% of the total.
And electoral votes would be the sum of the two.
But as most of those votes would be Democrats it would be a hot February day in Yukon before the Republicans allowed it.
They're all so scared of Trump and MAGA, they daren't object though.
The eventual crown of the GOP will go to whoever chooses precisely the right moment to jump from following to leading.
Rubio and Thune would like to know if this is will be before or after a series of pretenders happen to fall out of the windows of tall buildings.
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
And Trump will pressure Ukraine to accept conditions - like no weapons shipments.
And Ukraine will reluctantly concede.
And then Russia will attack again in six months time.
And then weapons shipments to Ukraine would start again, maybe even from the US if Russia breached the deal
It'll be a bit late by then.
Why? A few months for Europe and Canada to invest in arms and defence via a ceasefire and if Russia breaches could then be deployed
Are we as NATO going to recapture Kyiv after Putin breaks the ceasefire and takes Ukraine.
No we didn't last time, just provide aid as before.
If Putin broke an agreed ceasefire US arms to Ukraine would also likely resume based on Trump's statements but a ceasefire has to be agreed first to break
Then your programme of rearming Ukraine after they have been captured by Moscow means you are too late.
Utter crap, the moment Russian troops broke a ceasefire arms would resume, they couldn't even capture Kyiv last time.
However Zelensky would have to have accepted a ceasefire on such terms anyway
Yeah but last time Ukraine had soldiers and weaponry. This time if they follow your advice they won't have soldiers and weaponry.
Why? They have soldiers and weaponry now which they could put in storage for if and when a ceasefire is broken.
If Putin and Zelensky agree a ceasefire that is for them, you clearly would rather you and your house were evaporated by a Russian nuke!
Are you just being argumentative, or do you truly not understand how unbalanced Russia’s proposal is?
Well if it is that unbalanced Zelensky won't agree those terms anyway
Which is designed to make the US swing back towards Russia.
This whole thing is a game between the UK and Russia on who can swing Trump.
If Zelensky was sensible he would agree a ceasefire on current lines but have it written in the agreement by Trump US aid and arms to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia would resume if Russian troops moved an inch beyond current Russian lines and refuse to sign without that in writing
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
Being a working class Northerner, how do you lot pronounce Leominster?
I've pronounced it Lemster my entire life but somebody I heard the other day called it Leo Minster.
As a child did somebody play a cruel trick on me by telling me it was pronounced Lemster?
I think it's Lemster?
I've always pronounced it Lemster. But perhaps its one of those places where people from close to the place contract and people who live in the place do not - like Southwell (called Suth'll in Notts, but SouthWell by those who actually live there - though there are multiple views on this).
Former Tory mayor, 67, died in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, inquest hears
A former Tory Mayor suffocated to death in a crack den after putting a plastic bag over his head and tying himself to a chair while seeking sexual pleasure, an inquest heard.
The body of Les Winwood, 67, who was the former mayor of Bridgenorth, Shropshire, was found at a Wolverhampton property on July 17, 2022.
An inquest heard how a post-mortem examination found he had spent hours alone consuming crack cocaine and vodka before he was found dead in a camping chair in the market town of Bilston.
Ed Balls, the former Labour shadow chancellor, has said the government would be wrong to cut disability benefits for the most vulnerable people in society.
He was speaking in the latest episode of Political Currency, the podcast he co-hosts with George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, who said that when he was at the Treasury he ruled out freezing Pip (the personal independence payment – a disability benefit) because he thought that was not very fair.
Osborne said he did try to cut eligibility for Pip in his 2016 budget, hoping to save £4bn, “which I guess, adjusting for inflation, is roughly what Labour is looking for now”. But Iain Duncan Smith, the then welfare secretary, resigned in protest, “and I had to back down”, Osborne said.
Diverting money from benefits to care and treatment to get rid of the massive backlogs seems win/win.
If Reeves wants to do it, and Osborne wanted to do it, then it sounds like another technocratic but politically naive wheeze from the Treasury's wishlist.
Keir Starmer's tone towards civil servants has been "nothing short of disastrous" according to a former cabinet secretary - the highest official in the civil service.
Lord Gus O’Donnell served under three prime ministers as cabinet secretary between 2005 and 2011, and he tells BBC’s Radio 4’s PM programme that Starmer’s rhetoric around the “flabby state” has been damaging for his relationship with civil servants.
He explains: “Believe it or not, if you talk to civil servants and say they like managed decline and that you're going to take a chainsaw to them - do you think that's actually going to result in them performing at their best?"
As for the decision to scrap NHS England, O’Donnell suggests this has also been “chaotic”, but may save “a relatively small amount of money”.
“If they can turn this into a way of making better decisions which leads to improvements in our health service then I think it will be justified,” he says, adding that he’s not so sure if this is what will happen.
Headline on BBC may now not be what Starmer wanted 'Thousands to lose jobs as Starmer scraps NHS England to cut 'bureaucracy'
Good, it’s what he’s promised. Slash bureaucracy and improve productivity. At least he’s doing something, hopefully it works.
Mind you I bet they all get decent pay offs and not just the basic minimum though
It's extremely good news. Well done Starmer and Streeting.
The logical end-point is to abolish devolution as well. Would Starmer have the guts to do it?
Not really as this was an England only quango and Starmer hasn't set up an England only Parliament
Why not abolish NHS Scotland too and run it all from the Department of Health?
Even if abolished it would be returned to the Scottish Health and Social Care Directorates as all healthcare in Scotland is devolved as is the NHS in Scotland
To quote Keir Starmer: "I can’t in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."
Devolution isn't working and it's a waste of taxpayers' money.
Bollox you halfwitted moron
Independence would be another solution. I didn’t think you’d be a defender of the status quo.
Being a working class Northerner, how do you lot pronounce Leominster?
I've pronounced it Lemster my entire life but somebody I heard the other day called it Leo Minster.
As a child did somebody play a cruel trick on me by telling me it was pronounced Lemster?
I think it's Lemster?
Never unless you are mental
Good evening Malc! I shall defer to your greater wisdom on this matter!
And from a soft southerner, can you please close the gates and shut off this pesky northerly wind? 😂
Hello Gin, was beautiful in God's country today, blue sky and sunshine. I spent most of the day in the garden, nippy first thing mind you. Been very pleasant this last week.
WRT the thread header, can I suggest it might be profitable to remember the Beaconsfield by election of 1983? The Tories were very unpopular, and the Liberals – with the enthusiastic support of the SDP – were coasting to a comfortable win. Then, General Galtieri invaded the Falklands. In just one week, the feeling in the constituency changed utterly. Liberal posters came down, and when asked why, the householders told party activists that “We have to support the Government now!” Even the Thatcherite Junta was preferable to the aggression to British interests shown by the Argentinians. It was a straightforward move by voters doing their best to be seen to be “patriotic”. (And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not being disparaging when I use that word; it’s just that I can’t think of a better one.) On Polling Day, the Conservatives didn’t wear rosettes or any sort of party favours – they just wore simple white-on-blue T-Shirts which read “The Falklands are British”. In Beaconsfield there was a straightforward swing towards incumbency, and I think the same thing is going to happen around the world. If Trump is belittling the Kingdom of Ruritania or the Republic of Stanistan, then the good enfranchised burghers of Ruritania and Stanistan are going to raly behind their governments, no matter how much they despise them. (Oh yes, the Labour candidate was a bright young chap called Anthony Blair – I wonder whatever became of him.)
The Tories were ahead in some polls in prior to the invasion, indeed the last full poll before the invasion the Tories were leading.
Plus the Labour candidate was a right roaster, he was pro CND, pro leaving the European Community, and an enthusiastic support of Michael Foot.
That candidate was a Tony Blair, whatever happened to him?
Well, it was certainly one of the more memorable by election campaigns for me. I can't reacall the details of the pollling, but does your memory agree with mine - that there was an a-political swing behind the Government candidate?
To be fair I was three years old at the time of the by-election.
Many years later I became friends with a CCHQ staffer who worked for the great lady and Sir Geoffrey Hower and he bitterly resented the Falklands War as it allowed non Tories to deny the Tories the victory they would have won in 1983 without it.
Remember the long term economic plan was to get the pain in early then enjoy the fruits later.
My first political memory was seeing Michael Foot's wife knocked over by a low branch while standing a moving open-topped bus in Ipswich in 1983. I think.
When I was at uni, my politics course was taught by David Marquand, ex- all the non-Tory parties. His view was very much that the polling shows a Falklands blip which had reverted to the long term trend by the time of the 83 election - i.e. the Tories would have won anyway.
Being a working class Northerner, how do you lot pronounce Leominster?
I've pronounced it Lemster my entire life but somebody I heard the other day called it Leo Minster.
As a child did somebody play a cruel trick on me by telling me it was pronounced Lemster?
I think it's Lemster?
I've always pronounced it Lemster. But perhaps its one of those places where people from close to the place contract and people who live in the place do not - like Southwell (called Suth'll in Notts, but SouthWell by those who actually live there - though there are multiple views on this).
Ed Balls, the former Labour shadow chancellor, has said the government would be wrong to cut disability benefits for the most vulnerable people in society.
He was speaking in the latest episode of Political Currency, the podcast he co-hosts with George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, who said that when he was at the Treasury he ruled out freezing Pip (the personal independence payment – a disability benefit) because he thought that was not very fair.
Osborne said he did try to cut eligibility for Pip in his 2016 budget, hoping to save £4bn, “which I guess, adjusting for inflation, is roughly what Labour is looking for now”. But Iain Duncan Smith, the then welfare secretary, resigned in protest, “and I had to back down”, Osborne said.
Diverting money from benefits to care and treatment to get rid of the massive backlogs seems win/win.
If Reeves wants to do it, and Osborne wanted to do it, then it sounds like another technocratic but politically naive wheeze from the Treasury's wishlist.
Perhaps that is what we need? Following the voters inconsistent line by line policy positions has got us into this mess. Our leaders need to be confident enough to be politcally naive/brave.
James Johnson whose polling outfit got the US Election bang on thinks Sir Keir is on track to be re-elected.
Latest Electoral Calculus projection based on poll averages has it Reform 192 seats, Labour 178, Tories 142 and LDs 66 and SNP 43.
So a Tory and Reform government is very possible and if Starmer is re elected he almost certainly will have lost his majority and need LD and/or SNP support for a majority
WRT the thread header, can I suggest it might be profitable to remember the Beaconsfield by election of 1983? The Tories were very unpopular, and the Liberals – with the enthusiastic support of the SDP – were coasting to a comfortable win. Then, General Galtieri invaded the Falklands. In just one week, the feeling in the constituency changed utterly. Liberal posters came down, and when asked why, the householders told party activists that “We have to support the Government now!” Even the Thatcherite Junta was preferable to the aggression to British interests shown by the Argentinians. It was a straightforward move by voters doing their best to be seen to be “patriotic”. (And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not being disparaging when I use that word; it’s just that I can’t think of a better one.) On Polling Day, the Conservatives didn’t wear rosettes or any sort of party favours – they just wore simple white-on-blue T-Shirts which read “The Falklands are British”. In Beaconsfield there was a straightforward swing towards incumbency, and I think the same thing is going to happen around the world. If Trump is belittling the Kingdom of Ruritania or the Republic of Stanistan, then the good enfranchised burghers of Ruritania and Stanistan are going to raly behind their governments, no matter how much they despise them. (Oh yes, the Labour candidate was a bright young chap called Anthony Blair – I wonder whatever became of him.)
The Tories were ahead in some polls in prior to the invasion, indeed the last full poll before the invasion the Tories were leading.
Plus the Labour candidate was a right roaster, he was pro CND, pro leaving the European Community, and an enthusiastic support of Michael Foot.
That candidate was a Tony Blair, whatever happened to him?
Well, it was certainly one of the more memorable by election campaigns for me. I can't reacall the details of the pollling, but does your memory agree with mine - that there was an a-political swing behind the Government candidate?
To be fair I was three years old at the time of the by-election.
Many years later I became friends with a CCHQ staffer who worked for the great lady and Sir Geoffrey Hower and he bitterly resented the Falklands War as it allowed non Tories to deny the Tories the victory they would have won in 1983 without it.
Remember the long term economic plan was to get the pain in early then enjoy the fruits later.
My first political memory was seeing Michael Foot's wife knocked over by a low branch while standing a moving open-topped bus in Ipswich in 1983. I think.
When I was at uni, my politics course was taught by David Marquand, ex- all the non-Tory parties. His view was very much that the polling shows a Falklands blip which had reverted to the long term trend by the time of the 83 election - i.e. the Tories would have won anyway.
Did David Marquand give you his view without rancour?
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
Did you miss this bit?
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
Good luck holding that line.
But the bigger problem is involving the police at all. It is a truth universally acknowledged that we should move towards the airline industry's crash methodology and hold rapid no fault inquiries with a view to avoiding future incidents.
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
Did you miss this bit?
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
MRDA
You use prostitutes or know madams?
I met some great working girls in Asia. V nice people with offshore accounts in Vanuatu.
They told me at first that they were nannies and I did wonder why the parents of the children they were supposed to be looking after kept on texting from 2am onwards.
How many electoral votes , senators and house reps would Canada get if it became part of the USA?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
House Reps is easy because they are allocated by population, so as Canada would have about 8% of the population, it would have about 8% of the Reps. As I doubt they'd want to deprive existing members of their seats, they'd probably add them to the total, rather than reallocate the existing 435, so that makes say 35-40 house seats.
Senators is less certain as it depends how many states Canada was split into. Maybe you'd give the frogs one, Ontario one, west of Ontario one and one for the maritimes+the north. That makes four states so eight senators. Again, about 8% of the total.
And electoral votes would be the sum of the two.
But as most of those votes would be Democrats it would be a hot February day in Yukon before the Republicans allowed it.
Population of Canada isn’t that much higher than that of California. Which I’d guess is how the mango Mussolini is seeing things.
California doesn't border Canada though.
The states that do are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Alaska.
Some of the lowest population US states.
With the exception of the historical anachronism of Prince Edward Island all the Canadian provinces are big enough to be US states.
Trump: "To be honest with you, Canada only works as a state. We don't need anything they have. As a state it would be one of the great states. This would be the most incredible country visually. If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it."
The more I see of Trump the more I have him cast as William Hull, the last US General/Politician to try to invade Canada. He used the argument that he was 'freeing Canadian settlers fro British tyranny' and got roundly kicked for it.
Comments
Meanwhile, in other news, sometimes our NHS does surprise on the upside. Last night I began to get some alarming problems with my eyesight, which it turns out are probably something many ageing people go through, but nevertheless might be a sign of, or lead to, something much more serious.
I went to the local optician this morning, hoping to see their expert, but they were fully booked all day. Instead they gave me the number of something I’ve never heard of - the community urgent eyecare service - and I phoned them when I got home. They’re based in Leeds and all have reassuring Yorkshire accents. The first person I spoke to ran through my symptoms and was able to summon up both my medical and opticians records at her end. She already had my mobile phone number and texted me a link to submit photos of my eyes, and promised that an ophthalmologist would phone within the hour. When she phoned, she gave me lots of info about what the likely problem was - which by then I had already found online, but many wouldn’t - and after all the reassurance, they committed to arrange an urgent appointment for me at an island optician just to make sure I wasn’t at any risk of eyesight loss. Meanwhile I got texted a link to the problem I most likely have (Posterior Vitreous Detachment, for anyone interested).
All this happened this morning - and is an impressive, almost Norwegian, level of service and fast response.
One way to admit the original trial was a farce..🧐😏
True MAGAts would argue that the Donald would be a better president dead than any other man alive.
In a statement, the force said: "This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
It was a straightforward move by voters doing their best to be seen to be “patriotic”. (And, for the avoidance of doubt, I am not being disparaging when I use that word; it’s just that I can’t think of a better one.) On Polling Day, the Conservatives didn’t wear rosettes or any sort of party favours – they just wore simple white-on-blue T-Shirts which read “The Falklands are British”. In Beaconsfield there was a straightforward swing towards incumbency, and I think the same thing is going to happen around the world. If Trump is belittling the Kingdom of Ruritania or the Republic of Stanistan, then the good enfranchised burghers of Ruritania and Stanistan are going to raly behind their governments, no matter how much they despise them.
(Oh yes, the Labour candidate was a bright young chap called Anthony Blair – I wonder whatever became of him.)
Anyone on PB with Dyslexia?
I think because surgery (if necessary, which it usually isn’t with your condition ?) is usually quick and very cost effective in returning patients to a functional state.
Didn't Cameron actually promise a "bonfire of quangos" when he was LOTO? How did that go, lol?
There is barely any Liberal presence in the West.
b) It's a popular diagnosis easily obtained by middle-class parents whose kids struggle with spelling or other forms of literacy.
Plus the Labour candidate was a right roaster, he was pro CND, pro leaving the European Community, and an enthusiastic support of Michael Foot.
That candidate was a Tony Blair, whatever happened to him?
Or will it be a state with no representation?
The stain on humanity hasn’t thought through his master plan . The more he talks the better for Mark Carney who will portray the creepy looking Poilievre as a mini Trump wannabe.
It often comes with other mental traits, such as creativity, absent-mindedness, and untidiness. She has it in spades and makes her who she is. It has not, on balance, held her back (though the determination with which she worked through 'word wasp' (a spelling system aimed at dyslexic people) was possibly the hardest I have ever seen anyone work, ever) and makes her who she is.
He was their boss at CCHQ when they were young Turks at CCHQ/CRD, they trusted him implicitly.
Senators is less certain as it depends how many states Canada was split into. Maybe you'd give the frogs one, Ontario one, west of Ontario one and one for the maritimes+the north. That makes four states so eight senators. Again, about 8% of the total.
And electoral votes would be the sum of the two.
But as most of those votes would be Democrats it would be a hot February day in Yukon before the Republicans allowed it.
That's not how I'd spell Bridgnorth.
Also, shortly before the Stephen Milligan incident, my local (Lib Dem) councillor in Stockport went the same way. Except - perhaps highlighting the difference between local and national politics - he went not in the stockings and suspenders favoured by Milligan, but wearing an ild lady's dressing gown.
I take it he hasn't taught someone who can suddenly read when given a different coloured background, then?
This whole thing is a game between the UK and Russia on who can swing Trump.
Many years later I became friends with a CCHQ staffer who worked for the great lady and Sir Geoffrey Hower and he bitterly resented the Falklands War as it allowed non Tories to deny the Tories the victory they would have won in 1983 without it.
Remember the long term economic plan was to get the pain in early then enjoy the fruits later.
I've pronounced it Lemster my entire life but somebody I heard the other day called it Leo Minster.
As a child did somebody play a cruel trick on me by telling me it was pronounced Lemster?
And from a soft southerner, can you please close the gates and shut off this pesky northerly wind? 😂
His ceasefire demands will seem reasonable to Trump. But would be suicide for Ukraine.
It would let Russia re-arm and Ukraine not. It only survived this time because of weapons it received after Crimea.
Zelenskyy cannot accept such capitulation. He would be better off calling the bluff and carrying on fighting with European support alone.
When I was at uni, my politics course was taught by David Marquand, ex- all the non-Tory parties. His view was very much that the polling shows a Falklands blip which had reverted to the long term trend by the time of the 83 election - i.e. the Tories would have won anyway.
So a Tory and Reform government is very possible and if Starmer is re elected he almost certainly will have lost his majority and need LD and/or SNP support for a majority
https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/homepage.html
But the bigger problem is involving the police at all. It is a truth universally acknowledged that we should move towards the airline industry's crash methodology and hold rapid no fault inquiries with a view to avoiding future incidents.
They told me at first that they were nannies and I did wonder why the parents of the children they were supposed to be looking after kept on texting from 2am onwards.
The states that do are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Alaska.
Some of the lowest population US states.
With the exception of the historical anachronism of Prince Edward Island all the Canadian provinces are big enough to be US states.
Only American's and wrong un's would use Lemster