Reasons why Trump is genuinely evil, part 347 of lots
NEW — After putting all Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) employees on administrative leave Monday, I'm told DOGE is canceling congressionally-appropriated grants to state libraries across the entire country. Libraries are getting notice that funding was canceled as of 4/1.
HE's GOING AFTER THE LIBRARIANS. HOW CAN YOU TOLERATE THIS?
Sash! This used to be a library.
I'm not joking. I think Musk is evil to do this. How dare he, and how dare Trump empower him to do this. Bastards, both of them. And that's only because the mods wont let me use the proper word for them.
I'm not sure if it's still there, but there used to be a sign in the Bodleian Library saying "Ask Google and get a million answers; ask a Librarian and get one, correct, answer". I fear that shutting down access to sources of objective truth is one of the standard hallmarks of a tyrant, and in my opinion that is what we are seeing right now. Of course, Joe Redneck will say, "Yeah, we don't need libraries, everything is on line now!" and that is exactly the problem - who controls what we see on line?
You control what you see online....if you aren't capable of that then its a you problem not an us problem
Is that right? If I make requests to a Chinese website for information about Tiananmin Square, I get fobbed off. I can't control what I cannot access. To take another example, I have just asked CoPilot for the last German election results, and it tells me "I know elections are important to talk about, and I wish we could, but there's a lot of nuanced information that I'm not equipped to handle right now. It's best that I step aside on this one and suggest that you visit a trusted source. How about another topic instead?"
No information, and no control.
Well there you see is your issue, you seem to think you should only have to goto one place instead of visiting multiple sources and comparing them.
Let me reverse it....who do you trust to curate your information if not yourself. Yes that means you need to work at it and just not take 1 source as gospel.....guess what you can't do that with a library book either as they are often equally full of misinformation
Yes, I can go to more than one library, or visit more than one website, and in an ideal world I probably would. But books come from a variety of producers, publishers, authors and languages, and are available in a variety of repositories for centuries. If we are not careful we are going to end up with very few monopolistic search engines as our "libraries" , and we certainly won't be able to control them or influence what they allow our searches to find.
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
Reasons why Trump is genuinely evil, part 347 of lots
NEW — After putting all Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) employees on administrative leave Monday, I'm told DOGE is canceling congressionally-appropriated grants to state libraries across the entire country. Libraries are getting notice that funding was canceled as of 4/1.
HE's GOING AFTER THE LIBRARIANS. HOW CAN YOU TOLERATE THIS?
Sash! This used to be a library.
I'm not joking. I think Musk is evil to do this. How dare he, and how dare Trump empower him to do this. Bastards, both of them. And that's only because the mods wont let me use the proper word for them.
I'm not sure if it's still there, but there used to be a sign in the Bodleian Library saying "Ask Google and get a million answers; ask a Librarian and get one, correct, answer". I fear that shutting down access to sources of objective truth is one of the standard hallmarks of a tyrant, and in my opinion that is what we are seeing right now. Of course, Joe Redneck will say, "Yeah, we don't need libraries, everything is on line now!" and that is exactly the problem - who controls what we see on line?
You control what you see online....if you aren't capable of that then its a you problem not an us problem
Is that right? If I make requests to a Chinese website for information about Tiananmin Square, I get fobbed off. I can't control what I cannot access. To take another example, I have just asked CoPilot for the last German election results, and it tells me "I know elections are important to talk about, and I wish we could, but there's a lot of nuanced information that I'm not equipped to handle right now. It's best that I step aside on this one and suggest that you visit a trusted source. How about another topic instead?"
No information, and no control.
Well there you see is your issue, you seem to think you should only have to goto one place instead of visiting multiple sources and comparing them.
Let me reverse it....who do you trust to curate your information if not yourself. Yes that means you need to work at it and just not take 1 source as gospel.....guess what you can't do that with a library book either as they are often equally full of misinformation
Yes, I can go to more than one library, or visit more than one website, and in an ideal world I probably would. But books come from a variety of producers, publishers, authors and languages, and are available in a variety of repositories for centuries. If we are not careful we are going to end up with very few monopolistic search engines as our "libraries" , and we certainly won't be able to control them or influence what they allow our searches to find.
What difference does it make if books come from a variety of producers, publishers, authors and languages....so do websites. A wrong book is a wrong book so is a wrong website. The difference is its easier to check out other websites than other books.
Don't trust search engines use your own web crawler to index....there are free ones out there
Quite a brave image to go with from Labour in the era of blackface cancellations. It’s not blackface, but is in the ball park I think, especially as it’s only half the face that isn’t Farage, the clothes are his
If that’s a genuine Labour campaign initiative, they need to fire the person responsible for it, consign it to the bin, and try and move on as soon as they can.
It's got to be fake. Apart from the impossibility of executing the idea. The idea itself makes no sense
It is genuine. Of course it might be sabotage from within, but it is from the official Labour account on X
I still can't believe they let the Kemi/Farage face-swap image see the light of social media day. It is APPALLING. Even as a basic image it is ugly and yuk. You really don't want that associated with your party. And there are so many other levels on which it fails....
I see two explanations:
1. Sabotage
2. They are truly desperate
Good afternoon
Just seen this and it is simply disgusting and what on earth is Labour doing allowing such an unacceptable advert
It should be withdrawn immediately and I wouldn't be surprised if an official complaint is made
Indeed.
Pause.
Talking about unacceptable, here's an article pointing out that Badenoch received donations from climate change deniers before changing Conservative Party policy on net-zero
One or two here and there is not huge in the grand scheme of things, but they do have to be careful to avoid causing people to ponder how many of the unsuspended have suspendable worthy views. As things stand they are on course for a good result, they just need to avoid tripping up.
Hmmm.... I don't disagree with you, but I don't think they wil get the result which either they or some commentators are expecting. This is because 1) the other parties, quite rightly, are going to go hard on Farage as "Britain Trump" and his lack of support for Ukraine, and 2) winning elections on the ground is difficult and time-consuming, RefUK's membership and activists seem to be mainly elderly and inexperienced. The Air War and national media can get them only so far - after that it needs feet on the ground, organisation and lots of non-gender specific man-hours.
I'm skeptical of the value of 'on the ground' efforts in general, at parliamentary level at least I think it is mostly cope and activists fooling themselves, but I do think it is more useful at local level, because turnout is generally lower and resources less extensive, so those who make more of an effort can lead to more positive results.
Reform may still largely be banking on national profile and general discontentment to cause a breakthrough, which does require reaching a certain level of mass vote, and that is certainly still possible, but they have also definitely made more of an effort this time than ever before at a local election. My impression is that does not translate to that much on the ground activity, so it may be a bit famine and feast in different areas in terms of results, but at the least will mean their voteshare is respectable and they can point to growth.
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
That's hardly a new thing. It's been at least a quarter century since "interactive voice response" made talking to an actual human being near impossible.
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
AI chatbots and all that crap are accelerating that.
Humans want to talk to a human who treats them like a human.
Are the same people willing to pay the cost of that?
No. So we end up with things we don't really want by default. And companies are making a technically sound choice by offering us worse service, because they know we'll put up with that.
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
AI chatbots and all that crap are accelerating that.
Humans want to talk to a human who treats them like a human.
Are the same people willing to pay the cost of that?
Are the same businesses willing to pay the cost of not doing it?
But those businesses are often quasi-public sector and it isn’t going to get any better if they are nationalised. If we want that service we need to pay for it. I am happy to pay for it, nationalised or not, but I doubt that is a commonly held view.
One or two here and there is not huge in the grand scheme of things, but they do have to be careful to avoid causing people to ponder how many of the unsuspended have suspendable worthy views. As things stand they are on course for a good result, they just need to avoid tripping up.
Hmmm.... I don't disagree with you, but I don't think they wil get the result which either they or some commentators are expecting. This is because 1) the other parties, quite rightly, are going to go hard on Farage as "Britain Trump" and his lack of support for Ukraine, and 2) winning elections on the ground is difficult and time-consuming, RefUK's membership and activists seem to be mainly elderly and inexperienced. The Air War and national media can get them only so far - after that it needs feet on the ground, organisation and lots of non-gender specific man-hours.
I'm skeptical of the value of 'on the ground' efforts in general, at parliamentary level at least I think it is mostly cope and activists fooling themselves, but I do think it is more useful at local level, because turnout is generally lower and resources less extensive, so those who make more of an effort can lead to more positive results.
Reform may still largely be banking on national profile and general discontentment to cause a breakthrough, which does require reaching a certain level of mass vote, and that is certainly still possible, but they have also definitely made more of an effort this time than ever before at a local election. My impression is that does not translate to that much on the ground activity, so it may be a bit famine and feast in different areas in terms of results, but at the least will mean their voteshare is respectable and they can point to growth.
Yes, on balance I agree. Certainly they seem to be a lot more clued up and effective in some places but not others (although of course that's true for all parties).
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
That's hardly a new thing. It's been at least a quarter century since "interactive voice response" made talking to an actual human being near impossible.
And go back before then and every episode of That's Life had stories about the crap customer service of the gas board, the water board, the electricity board and the post office (for telephones).
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
AI chatbots and all that crap are accelerating that.
Humans want to talk to a human who treats them like a human.
Are the same people willing to pay the cost of that?
Are the same businesses willing to pay the cost of not doing it?
My little insurance company has actual Americans answering every single call. It's a massive differentiator compared to big insurance companies who do everything possible to prevent you speaking to human beings (or have someone with barely comprehensible English in a call center in the Philippines.)
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
That's hardly a new thing. It's been at least a quarter century since "interactive voice response" made talking to an actual human being near impossible.
And go back before then and every episode of That's Life had stories about the crap customer service of the gas board, the water board, the electricity board and the post office (for telephones).
Are the “get rid of all managers and admin staff in the NHS” brigade expecting doctors and nurses to sit there manning the phones all day?
Perhaps because absolutely no one thinks we should get rid of all managers and admin staff
Could have fooled me
Saying there are too many managers and too much admin =/= get rid of all managers and admin
And how do you think that is going to make things better, huh?
You get the right admin and you streamline processes so the same paperwork isn't performed over and over for one thing. Most places of work have plenty of useless admin regardless of whether public or private sector.
Admin for the sake of admin is a waste, I merely suggest sort out the admin thats worth doing as it contributes ditch the rest. Then ensure the admin only needs to be done once, having worked in the health sector I can assure you its not uncommon for forms to be filled in multiple times as patients get passed from one place to another and its unnecessary
Mallory McMorrow. She announced this week she's running in Dem primary for Senate for Michigan in 2026.
"Democrats are very good at talking 'about' people, not 'to' people"
Says a Dem colleague went to a state fair and was asked 'what's on your hat?'. MAGA has a hat with a message, what is the Dem message hat? That really struck her.
Are the “get rid of all managers and admin staff in the NHS” brigade expecting doctors and nurses to sit there manning the phones all day?
Perhaps because absolutely no one thinks we should get rid of all managers and admin staff
Could have fooled me
Saying there are too many managers and too much admin =/= get rid of all managers and admin
And how do you think that is going to make things better, huh?
You get the right admin and you streamline processes so the same paperwork isn't performed over and over for one thing. Most places of work have plenty of useless admin regardless of whether public or private sector.
Admin for the sake of admin is a waste, I merely suggest sort out the admin thats worth doing as it contributes ditch the rest. Then ensure the admin only needs to be done once, having worked in the health sector I can assure you its not uncommon for forms to be filled in multiple times as patients get passed from one place to another and its unnecessary
I wonder if Gallowgate didn't understand that "=/=" means "doesn't equal".
That's the only way I can make sense of his response.
Reasons why Trump is genuinely evil, part 347 of lots
NEW — After putting all Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) employees on administrative leave Monday, I'm told DOGE is canceling congressionally-appropriated grants to state libraries across the entire country. Libraries are getting notice that funding was canceled as of 4/1.
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
That's hardly a new thing. It's been at least a quarter century since "interactive voice response" made talking to an actual human being near impossible.
WhatsApp have added a bot to my contacts. Just tried it out. "Hello", I typed, and it replied immediately saying hello back and asking about my day. We then had a chat about this and that. Very nice experience.
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
Mallory McMorrow. She announced this week she's running in Dem primary for Senate for Michigan in 2026.
"Democrats are very good at talking 'about' people, not 'to' people"
Says a Dem colleague went to a state fair and was asked 'what's on your hat?'. MAGA has a hat with a message, what is the Dem message hat? That really struck her.
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
Could be the trading volume on the stock market during the rout.
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
AI chatbots and all that crap are accelerating that.
Humans want to talk to a human who treats them like a human.
Interesting.When I phone Barclays the phone recognises my face and with the press of a button I get a welcoming voice who knows who I am and the state of my accounts and are able to execute anything I want. The voice is invariably a strong regional accent and they're all notably friendly. Even conversational 'I'm stll excited by the match last night' 'You're Liverpudlian?' I ask. 'Yeh but Everton's my team.....'
They say they take calls 24 hours a day and I don't doubt them. The NHS do it by using your NHS number through your phone. Utilities the same. I've never know it to be easier. It makes me wonder where the publicity seeking Luke Tryll finds his disgruntled focus groups.....
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
AI chatbots and all that crap are accelerating that.
Humans want to talk to a human who treats them like a human.
Are the same people willing to pay the cost of that?
Are the same businesses willing to pay the cost of not doing it?
But those businesses are often quasi-public sector and it isn’t going to get any better if they are nationalised. If we want that service we need to pay for it. I am happy to pay for it, nationalised or not, but I doubt that is a commonly held view.
Local councils are the worst of the lot for this.
There might actually be some mileage for the government in dusting off the Citizen's Charter from the John Major era.
You could imagine a modernised version which would work like the Food Standards Agency's successful 'scores on the door' campaign. The Cabinet Office already have a set of Customer Service Excellence standards, so it wouldn't take all that much to promote it and make it more widely used.
You wouldn't want to make it a central part of a general election campaign or anything, but it's the sort of quality of life improvement that might prove useful in propping up the govt's hoped-for deliverism narrative.
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
Could be the trading volume on the stock market during the rout.
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
Could be the trading volume on the stock market during the rout.
I would expect the LDs to go for this. Although they were nowhere at the GE (bigger fish to fry near by) they previously were competitive in one of the constituency that created this new constituency and with Lab/Tories not popular and with local decent organisations around the constituency it is worth a punt.
Statistically, is there any group more likely to commit sexual offences than politicians?
Considering how few MPs there are, they generate a staggering number of rapes and sexual assaults. Even Catholic priests can't match them.
Teachers in raw numbers, celebrities
Yes, but there are millions of teachers. There are only 650 MPs at any time.
And yet they gave us: the entire Liberal party in the 1970s, Imran Khan, Charlie Elphicke, most of the SNP, Keith Vaz, Rob Roberts, Andrew Griffiths, Mike Hill and many many more.
Doesn't it rather depend on whether he intends to fully fight the allegations? If he does, he's under no obligation to resign until convicted - which could be rather a long, drawn out process as has often been in these historic sexual abuse cases.
Should be an easy gain for the Fukkers if they can avoid their usual foible of selecting a very online middle aged far-right piece of shit with a troubling social media history as the candidate.
Should be an easy gain for the Fukkers if they can avoid their usual foible of selecting a very online middle aged far-right piece of shit with a troubling social media history as the candidate.
Should be an easy gain for the Fukkers if they can avoid their usual foible of selecting a very online middle aged far-right piece of shit with a troubling social media history as the candidate.
Wouldn't have said Rees-Mogg had that much presence online.
Electoral Calculus' last MRP has North East Somerset and Hanham as 28%/28%/25% Lab/Con/Ref. A by-election would be an interesting show.
Yes, it would. It could even be a four way marginal. Labour could lose more than the 14.4% they (notionally) gained at the GE due to the cause. The Tories probably won't recover all of the 24.5% they lost Reform are likely to improve on their 14.5% share, but what is their ground game like? and as for the LibDems - well it's a by-election in a friendly area.
This won’t be the last declaration of force majeure.
Aircraft supplier Howmet may halt orders if hit by Trump tariffs, letter says
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/aircraft-supplier-howmet-may-halt-orders-if-hit-by-trump-tariffs-letter-says-2025-04-04/ Howmet Aerospace, which supplies parts for planes built by Airbus and Boeing, may halt some shipments if they are impacted by tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Pittsburgh-based Howmet said in the letter to customers that it has declared a force majeure event, a legal practice that allows parties to a contract to avoid their obligations if hit by unavoidable and unpredictable external circumstances…
Supplies most aerospace manufacturers in the US.
Trump might like the idea of his policies being compared to an act of god.
No question that he would. That he can do things on a whim to cause fear or love must be a powerful feeling.
"..As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; They kill us for their sport."
Electoral Calculus' last MRP has North East Somerset and Hanham as 28%/28%/25% Lab/Con/Ref. A by-election would be an interesting show.
Yes, it would. It could even be a four way marginal. Labour could lose more than the 14.4% they (notionally) gained at the GE due to the cause. The Tories probably won't recover all of the 24.5% they lost Reform are likely to improve on their 14.5% share, but what is their ground game like? and as for the LibDems - well it's a by-election in a friendly area.
... oh and I nearly forgot, the Trump supporting parties led by Kemi and Farage might be hit a bit,
MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch · 2h WOW: Thousands are currently protesting in Boston. This is just one of more than 1200 'Hands Off' protests underway today across the nation as people rise up against the Trump-Musk regime. (via @RobWayTV )
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
Could be the trading volume on the stock market during the rout.
It's approximately what Congress just voted to add to the deficit.
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
That's hardly a new thing. It's been at least a quarter century since "interactive voice response" made talking to an actual human being near impossible.
WhatsApp have added a bot to my contacts. Just tried it out. "Hello", I typed, and it replied immediately saying hello back and asking about my day. We then had a chat about this and that. Very nice experience.
I had a very pleasant chat with Claude about winemaking the other day.
I can see how this would be comfort for lonely people.
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
That's hardly a new thing. It's been at least a quarter century since "interactive voice response" made talking to an actual human being near impossible.
WhatsApp have added a bot to my contacts. Just tried it out. "Hello", I typed, and it replied immediately saying hello back and asking about my day. We then had a chat about this and that. Very nice experience.
I had a very pleasant chat with Claude about winemaking the other day.
I can see how this would be comfort for lonely people.
This won’t be the last declaration of force majeure.
Aircraft supplier Howmet may halt orders if hit by Trump tariffs, letter says
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/aircraft-supplier-howmet-may-halt-orders-if-hit-by-trump-tariffs-letter-says-2025-04-04/ Howmet Aerospace, which supplies parts for planes built by Airbus and Boeing, may halt some shipments if they are impacted by tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Pittsburgh-based Howmet said in the letter to customers that it has declared a force majeure event, a legal practice that allows parties to a contract to avoid their obligations if hit by unavoidable and unpredictable external circumstances…
Supplies most aerospace manufacturers in the US.
Trump might like the idea of his policies being compared to an act of god.
No question that he would. That he can do things on a whim to cause fear or love must be a powerful feeling.
"..As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; They kill us for their sport."
As Private parts to the gods are we, they play with us for their sport.
Should be an easy gain for the Fukkers if they can avoid their usual foible of selecting a very online middle aged far-right piece of shit with a troubling social media history as the candidate.
Wouldn't have said Rees-Mogg had that much presence online.
You are not a keen viewer of Meet the Rees-Moggs? Or how about Jacob Rees-Mogg's State Of The Nation?
Should be an easy gain for the Fukkers if they can avoid their usual foible of selecting a very online middle aged far-right piece of shit with a troubling social media history as the candidate.
So you're saying that the RefUKers are ... errr ... screwed?
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
That's hardly a new thing. It's been at least a quarter century since "interactive voice response" made talking to an actual human being near impossible.
WhatsApp have added a bot to my contacts. Just tried it out. "Hello", I typed, and it replied immediately saying hello back and asking about my day. We then had a chat about this and that. Very nice experience.
I had a very pleasant chat with Claude about winemaking the other day.
I can see how this would be comfort for lonely people.
Why bother with bots? Just come on PB.
No. We are all real people on here. Perfectly normal in every way. Not even slighly bot[++..zztch..++..krtz..++]
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
That's hardly a new thing. It's been at least a quarter century since "interactive voice response" made talking to an actual human being near impossible.
WhatsApp have added a bot to my contacts. Just tried it out. "Hello", I typed, and it replied immediately saying hello back and asking about my day. We then had a chat about this and that. Very nice experience.
I had a very pleasant chat with Claude about winemaking the other day.
I can see how this would be comfort for lonely people.
Why bother with bots? Just come on PB.
Since I retired I spend far less time here as I don’t need to kill the moments of boredom at work.
The IDF finally admits they slaughtered medics in Gaza after they were caught lying when video footage clearly shows they knew they were medics and decided to execute them .
The IDF are out of control enabled by Netanyahu and the rest of the genocidal maniacs in his cabinet .
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
I am currently in Madagascar - a very poor island whose main (possibly only) export to US is Vanilla. So someone in Trumpland has decided they should be hit by 45% tarrifs. As far as I know they have no tarrifs or barriers against American products. Just that they prefer European products. And Chinese. What does Trump think he can screw out of Madagascar??
I am currently in Madagascar - a very poor island whose main (possibly only) export to US is Vanilla. So someone in Trumpland has decided they should be hit by 45% tarrifs. As far as I know they have no tarrifs or barriers against American products. Just that they prefer European products. And Chinese. What does Trump think he can screw out of Madagascar??
Since all would no doubt insist on being Trump backers, I wonder what about the local leadership plans is a step too far.
The Montana Republican Party has censured nine state senators and will no longer consider them to be Republicans — but the senators say they hold firm to the conservative mantle and the party should not insert itself into legislative business.
In a press release sent April 4, the party’s executive committee announced it had censured the nine senators for their “repeated alignment with Senate Democrats” this legislative session and for “undermining Republican priorities and leadership.”...
In the letter, Kassmier said he is a conservative who supports the agenda of Republican President Donald Trump. Kassmier also accuses Senate President Regier, R-Kalispell, of “playing political games” to undermine Gov. Greg Gianforte’s agenda and of working with Democrats.
Are the “get rid of all managers and admin staff in the NHS” brigade expecting doctors and nurses to sit there manning the phones all day?
Perhaps because absolutely no one thinks we should get rid of all managers and admin staff
Could have fooled me
Saying there are too many managers and too much admin =/= get rid of all managers and admin
And how do you think that is going to make things better, huh?
You get the right admin and you streamline processes so the same paperwork isn't performed over and over for one thing. Most places of work have plenty of useless admin regardless of whether public or private sector.
Admin for the sake of admin is a waste, I merely suggest sort out the admin thats worth doing as it contributes ditch the rest. Then ensure the admin only needs to be done once, having worked in the health sector I can assure you its not uncommon for forms to be filled in multiple times as patients get passed from one place to another and its unnecessary
I wonder if Gallowgate didn't understand that "=/=" means "doesn't equal".
That's the only way I can make sense of his response.
China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless "whipping post," but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
As a reminder, foreign direct investment into the US will cause a trade deficit.
(See Pettis et al.)
Does he have any vague justification for the $5trn number or is it just completely made up?
I'll give you two guesses.
Oooh...ooh...tricky.
Ummm.
I'll go with 'vague justification.'
So close
The correct answer, pace Blackadder, is 'one more guess.'
The IDF finally admits they slaughtered medics in Gaza after they were caught lying when video footage clearly shows they knew they were medics and decided to execute them .
The IDF are out of control enabled by Netanyahu and the rest of the genocidal maniacs in his cabinet .
Netanyahu may or may not be a genocidal maniac. Personally, I think it more likely he's resumed the war because when it finishes he's toast. Between corruption charges and his gross dereliction of duty on October 7th 2022 he will be spending the rest of his life in jail.
And that's actually an even darker scenario than yours.
Let’s think about what happened . The IDF identified ambulances and then decided to execute the medics , they then proceeded to try and cover up their actions by burying the medics in a shallow grave and crush the ambulances. Their lies only came to light because of mobile phone footage which clearly showed the execution.
To slaughter those who are trying to save lives is utterly despicable. Will those who committed this crime against humanity see punishment ?
The IDF finally admits they slaughtered medics in Gaza after they were caught lying when video footage clearly shows they knew they were medics and decided to execute them .
The IDF are out of control enabled by Netanyahu and the rest of the genocidal maniacs in his cabinet .
Netanyahu may or may not be a genocidal maniac. Personally, I think it more likely he's resumed the war because when it finishes he's toast. Between corruption charges and his gross dereliction of duty on October 7th 2022 he will be spending the rest of his life in jail.
And that's actually an even darker scenario than yours.
Especially since something similar probably applies to the American Administration.
Let’s think about what happened . The IDF identified ambulances and then decided to execute the medics , they then proceeded to try and cover up their actions by burying the medics in a shallow grave and crush the ambulances. Their lies only came to light because of mobile phone footage which clearly showed the execution.
To slaughter those who are trying to save lives is utterly despicable. Will those who committed this crime against humanity see punishment ?
Not a chance in Hell. This isn't isolated it's a pattern that they've got away with for a long time. The only thing that's saved him and them is the pusillanimous behaviour of the USA and the impotence of of Europe. Hopefully that might now change
The IDF finally admits they slaughtered medics in Gaza after they were caught lying when video footage clearly shows they knew they were medics and decided to execute them .
The IDF are out of control enabled by Netanyahu and the rest of the genocidal maniacs in his cabinet .
Netanyahu may or may not be a genocidal maniac. Personally, I think it more likely he's resumed the war because when it finishes he's toast. Between corruption charges and his gross dereliction of duty on October 7th 2022 he will be spending the rest of his life in jail.
And that's actually an even darker scenario than yours.
The IDF finally admits they slaughtered medics in Gaza after they were caught lying when video footage clearly shows they knew they were medics and decided to execute them .
The IDF are out of control enabled by Netanyahu and the rest of the genocidal maniacs in his cabinet .
Three things I thought would see me out (born 1954): The Tories were always around with enough heavyweights either to be the government or to replace the failing Labour one; The middle east was complicated but at least there were reasons, however qualified, to support Israel post -holocaust and under unending existential threat; The USA was the USA and was the friend of freedom, and the west, and was on the same side as us.
All three vanished out of sight in a couple of years.
Reasons why Trump is genuinely evil, part 347 of lots
NEW — After putting all Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) employees on administrative leave Monday, I'm told DOGE is canceling congressionally-appropriated grants to state libraries across the entire country. Libraries are getting notice that funding was canceled as of 4/1.
HE's GOING AFTER THE LIBRARIANS. HOW CAN YOU TOLERATE THIS?
Sash! This used to be a library.
I'm not joking. I think Musk is evil to do this. How dare he, and how dare Trump empower him to do this. Bastards, both of them. And that's only because the mods wont let me use the proper word for them.
I'm not sure if it's still there, but there used to be a sign in the Bodleian Library saying "Ask Google and get a million answers; ask a Librarian and get one, correct, answer". I fear that shutting down access to sources of objective truth is one of the standard hallmarks of a tyrant, and in my opinion that is what we are seeing right now. Of course, Joe Redneck will say, "Yeah, we don't need libraries, everything is on line now!" and that is exactly the problem - who controls what we see on line?
This is also a cancelling of congressional funds which is a total usurp of power by executive etc.
One day I hope this gang will be held properly accountable by the law.
That’s what I don’t understand.
A majority of politicians, especially in the US, go into politics because of power and prestige
But Congress is standing by and letting the executive take all their power with nary a whisper. Is it really just prestige?
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
AI chatbots and all that crap are accelerating that.
Humans want to talk to a human who treats them like a human.
Are the same people willing to pay the cost of that?
Are the same businesses willing to pay the cost of not doing it?
But those businesses are often quasi-public sector and it isn’t going to get any better if they are nationalised. If we want that service we need to pay for it. I am happy to pay for it, nationalised or not, but I doubt that is a commonly held view.
Local councils are the worst of the lot for this.
There might actually be some mileage for the government in dusting off the Citizen's Charter from the John Major era.
You could imagine a modernised version which would work like the Food Standards Agency's successful 'scores on the door' campaign. The Cabinet Office already have a set of Customer Service Excellence standards, so it wouldn't take all that much to promote it and make it more widely used.
You wouldn't want to make it a central part of a general election campaign or anything, but it's the sort of quality of life improvement that might prove useful in propping up the govt's hoped-for deliverism narrative.
Most Councils have some form of Customer Care/Customer Service KPIs to which their own call centre or staff have to adhere. I'm not sure imposing national standards would be seen as anything more than pointless centralisation (and how good are some parts of Central Government at responding to calls?)
The day after the German election Merz claimed he would invite Netanyahu to Germany and "find ways" to make sure he isn't arrested*, saying ""I think it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli Prime Minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany. He will be able to visit Germany." This will no doubt be yet another U-turn Merz will find himself having to make.
The IDF finally admits they slaughtered medics in Gaza after they were caught lying when video footage clearly shows they knew they were medics and decided to execute them .
The IDF are out of control enabled by Netanyahu and the rest of the genocidal maniacs in his cabinet .
Netanyahu may or may not be a genocidal maniac. Personally, I think it more likely he's resumed the war because when it finishes he's toast. Between corruption charges and his gross dereliction of duty on October 7th 2022 he will be spending the rest of his life in jail.
And that's actually an even darker scenario than yours.
The day after the German election Merz claimed he would invite Netanyahu to Germany and "find ways" to make sure he isn't arrested*, saying ""I think it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli Prime Minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany. He will be able to visit Germany." This will no doubt be yet another U-turn Merz will find himself having to make.
It's worth acknowledging how well Reform have done at getting candidates in place for not just the May elections but most local council by elections. As for how many of the 1,630 Reform candidates are anything more than paper candidates, well, you'll find many Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem and Green candidates are in the same boat.
The Conservatives are defending majority control in 12 of the 14 County Councils and 7 of the 8 Unitary authorities so the starting point is probably the scale of their losses. The vote shares when these seats were fought (along with those contested in 2024) in 2021 were Conservative 36%, Labour 29% and LD 17% when nationally the Conservatives were leading by 8-10 points.
I am currently in Madagascar - a very poor island whose main (possibly only) export to US is Vanilla. So someone in Trumpland has decided they should be hit by 45% tarrifs. As far as I know they have no tarrifs or barriers against American products. Just that they prefer European products. And Chinese. What does Trump think he can screw out of Madagascar??
To be fair if they are responsible for taking away the like button…
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 21m Talk to people in focus groups about Broken Britain yes they mention the big stuff, struggling NHS, the cost of living but also how the state or private utilities seem to go out of their way to make life harder “you can’t speak to anyone” - that drives populist backlash and the appeal of chainsaws
AI chatbots and all that crap are accelerating that.
Humans want to talk to a human who treats them like a human.
Are the same people willing to pay the cost of that?
Are the same businesses willing to pay the cost of not doing it?
But those businesses are often quasi-public sector and it isn’t going to get any better if they are nationalised. If we want that service we need to pay for it. I am happy to pay for it, nationalised or not, but I doubt that is a commonly held view.
Local councils are the worst of the lot for this.
There might actually be some mileage for the government in dusting off the Citizen's Charter from the John Major era.
You could imagine a modernised version which would work like the Food Standards Agency's successful 'scores on the door' campaign. The Cabinet Office already have a set of Customer Service Excellence standards, so it wouldn't take all that much to promote it and make it more widely used.
You wouldn't want to make it a central part of a general election campaign or anything, but it's the sort of quality of life improvement that might prove useful in propping up the govt's hoped-for deliverism narrative.
Most Councils have some form of Customer Care/Customer Service KPIs to which their own call centre or staff have to adhere. I'm not sure imposing national standards would be seen as anything more than pointless centralisation (and how good are some parts of Central Government at responding to calls?)
Ah, but central government are hard-pressed under-funded servants of the crown. Local government is lazy, and full of wasters who need to tighten their belts and come up to standard.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Musk saying today he wants to see 'zero tariffs' between Europe and America.
I don’t think that’s beyond the realms of possibility…if by America we mean Canada.
We tried and failed to get a decent trade deal with Canada last year, and gave up. Now is an opportune moment for Carney, Starmer, whoever the Swiss/Icelandic/Norwegian equivalents are plus the support of Macron and Merz to create that elusive outer ring beyond the EU, with the EU members automatically members too. Call it the North Atlantic Free Trade Area (NAFTA) seeing as that acronym’s currently unused.
Tariff free trade. Partial single market access, along Swiss lines. Liberalised mobility rules. Defence cooperation.
Reasons why Trump is genuinely evil, part 347 of lots
NEW — After putting all Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) employees on administrative leave Monday, I'm told DOGE is canceling congressionally-appropriated grants to state libraries across the entire country. Libraries are getting notice that funding was canceled as of 4/1.
HE's GOING AFTER THE LIBRARIANS. HOW CAN YOU TOLERATE THIS?
Sash! This used to be a library.
I'm not joking. I think Musk is evil to do this. How dare he, and how dare Trump empower him to do this. Bastards, both of them. And that's only because the mods wont let me use the proper word for them.
I'm not sure if it's still there, but there used to be a sign in the Bodleian Library saying "Ask Google and get a million answers; ask a Librarian and get one, correct, answer". I fear that shutting down access to sources of objective truth is one of the standard hallmarks of a tyrant, and in my opinion that is what we are seeing right now. Of course, Joe Redneck will say, "Yeah, we don't need libraries, everything is on line now!" and that is exactly the problem - who controls what we see on line?
This is also a cancelling of congressional funds which is a total usurp of power by executive etc.
One day I hope this gang will be held properly accountable by the law.
That’s what I don’t understand.
A majority of politicians, especially in the US, go into politics because of power and prestige
But Congress is standing by and letting the executive take all their power with nary a whisper. Is it really just prestige?
They are terrified of Trump and his movement because it is genuinely cultish in nature. Even people who know what's going on is evil in a cult struggle to often leave it or correct its leaders because doing so carries bad personal immediate consequences for them.
Comments
Don't trust search engines use your own web crawler to index....there are free ones out there
Reform may still largely be banking on national profile and general discontentment to cause a breakthrough, which does require reaching a certain level of mass vote, and that is certainly still possible, but they have also definitely made more of an effort this time than ever before at a local election. My impression is that does not translate to that much on the ground activity, so it may be a bit famine and feast in different areas in terms of results, but at the least will mean their voteshare is respectable and they can point to growth.
Local councils are the worst of the lot for this.
https://youtu.be/h2QZprRgxDc?si=3LU7bLByd_zo9Eng
Admin for the sake of admin is a waste, I merely suggest sort out the admin thats worth doing as it contributes ditch the rest. Then ensure the admin only needs to be done once, having worked in the health sector I can assure you its not uncommon for forms to be filled in multiple times as patients get passed from one place to another and its unnecessary
Mallory McMorrow. She announced this week she's running in Dem primary for Senate for Michigan in 2026.
"Democrats are very good at talking 'about' people, not 'to' people"
Says a Dem colleague went to a state fair and was asked 'what's on your hat?'. MAGA has a hat with a message, what is the Dem message hat? That really struck her.
Interviewed on Bulwark podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoJ4H31Ua6o
Labour have suspended him from the party over the allegations.
https://x.com/kateferguson4/status/1908569347359993902?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVG_X_7Naw
That's the only way I can make sense of his response.
Considering how few MPs there are, they generate a staggering number of rapes and sexual assaults. Even Catholic priests can't match them.
They say they take calls 24 hours a day and I don't doubt them. The NHS do it by using your NHS number through your phone. Utilities the same. I've never know it to be easier. It makes me wonder where the publicity seeking Luke Tryll finds his disgruntled focus groups.....
You could imagine a modernised version which would work like the Food Standards Agency's successful 'scores on the door' campaign. The Cabinet Office already have a set of Customer Service Excellence standards, so it wouldn't take all that much to promote it and make it more widely used.
You wouldn't want to make it a central part of a general election campaign or anything, but it's the sort of quality of life improvement that might prove useful in propping up the govt's hoped-for deliverism narrative.
And yet they gave us: the entire Liberal party in the 1970s, Imran Khan, Charlie Elphicke, most of the SNP, Keith Vaz, Rob Roberts, Andrew Griffiths, Mike Hill and many many more.
Labour could lose more than the 14.4% they (notionally) gained at the GE due to the cause.
The Tories probably won't recover all of the 24.5% they lost
Reform are likely to improve on their 14.5% share, but what is their ground game like?
and as for the LibDems - well it's a by-election in a friendly area.
@MeidasTouch
·
2h
WOW: Thousands are currently protesting in Boston. This is just one of more than 1200 'Hands Off' protests underway today across the nation as people rise up against the Trump-Musk regime. (via
@RobWayTV
)
https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1908551565574881572
I can see how this would be comfort for lonely people.
Ummm.
I'll go with 'vague justification.'
The IDF are out of control enabled by Netanyahu and the rest of the genocidal maniacs in his cabinet .
Even if it is totally rubbish.
The Montana Republican Party has censured nine state senators and will no longer consider them to be Republicans — but the senators say they hold firm to the conservative mantle and the party should not insert itself into legislative business.
In a press release sent April 4, the party’s executive committee announced it had censured the nine senators for their “repeated alignment with Senate Democrats” this legislative session and for “undermining Republican priorities and leadership.”...
In the letter, Kassmier said he is a conservative who supports the agenda of Republican President Donald Trump. Kassmier also accuses Senate President Regier, R-Kalispell, of “playing political games” to undermine Gov. Greg Gianforte’s agenda and of working with Democrats.
“I support the conservative tax plans endorsed by Gov. Gianforte. I oppose the liberal tax plans pushed by President Regier,” the letter said. “ … The governor’s tax plans are consistent with the Montana Republican Party Platform. The tax plans pushed by President Regier are not.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/politics/chaos-as-montana-gop-kicks-9-senators-out-of-the-republican-party-opinion/ar-AA1CmaXg?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=337c0ae0560446d8fce3c286b64a4fde&ei=16
And that's actually an even darker scenario than yours.
To slaughter those who are trying to save lives is utterly despicable. Will those who committed this crime against humanity see punishment ?
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/03/trump-orban-netanyahu-call-icc-withdrawal
Is that good or bad?
All three vanished out of sight in a couple of years.
A majority of politicians, especially in the US, go into politics because of power and prestige
But Congress is standing by and letting the executive take all their power with nary a whisper. Is it really just prestige?
*According to this German legal magazine there is no legal way to do that.
https://www.lto.de/recht/hintergruende/h/merz-netanyahu-visit-arrest-warrant-icc-surrender
Just as we ought to have invited Trump over early in 2024 and nicked him on tax charges.
It's worth acknowledging how well Reform have done at getting candidates in place for not just the May elections but most local council by elections. As for how many of the 1,630 Reform candidates are anything more than paper candidates, well, you'll find many Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem and Green candidates are in the same boat.
The Conservatives are defending majority control in 12 of the 14 County Councils and 7 of the 8 Unitary authorities so the starting point is probably the scale of their losses. The vote shares when these seats were fought (along with those contested in 2024) in 2021 were Conservative 36%, Labour 29% and LD 17% when nationally the Conservatives were leading by 8-10 points.
We tried and failed to get a decent trade deal with Canada last year, and gave up. Now is an opportune moment for Carney, Starmer, whoever the Swiss/Icelandic/Norwegian equivalents are plus the support of Macron and Merz to create that elusive outer ring beyond the EU, with the EU members automatically members too. Call it the North Atlantic Free Trade Area (NAFTA) seeing as that acronym’s currently unused.
Tariff free trade. Partial single market access, along Swiss lines. Liberalised mobility rules. Defence cooperation.