What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
By everyone, I take it you mean our village idiot? Just ignore him; he clearly has plenty of his own issues. Including a habit of creating multiple accounts; new ones, often like yours.
OGH stands for our genial host, now retired, but still the site owner.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
By everyone, I take it you mean our village idiot? Just ignore him; he clearly has plenty of his own issues. Including a habit of creating multiple accounts; new ones, often like yours.
OGH stands for our genial host, now retired, but still the site owner.
I'm sorry, did I do something wrong? What are you saying?
Yes you don't want to be just wandering ad hoc around Japan. Bit of structure needed.
If it's once in a lifetime one can hardly skip Tokyo + Mt. Fuji. But I'd go for Kobe-Osaka-Kyoto for the main chunk. Can stay in one of those and do day trips to the others, or stay in two or more.
Yeah you need two nights in Tokyo, if only to see Shinjuku etc. If you fly in and out of Narita then it works fine. The bullet trains are so brilliant you can then be down in Osaka in a few hours, and onwards
It is the ultimate destination, in so many ways. A measure of that is this: it is very hard to get assignments forJ apan as a freelance travel writer. Why? Because the travel editors grab them for themselves, or hand them out to VIPs, because everyone wants them
Probably the only destination which is similarly desirable is Antarctica
Haneda has international flights too these days and is much more convenient than Narita (just half an hour on the monorail gets you into Tokyo proper).
I was in Japan last month -- the overtourism is definitely a thing in a way it wasn't last time I was there ten years previously, but it seems like only if you go to the same standard places every other tourist is heading to. I was in northern Japan, which was very quiet and relaxed, and even in Tokyo I found an old farmhouse that's an Edo era survival (still owned by the same family til they gave it to the state in the 1980s), and had the place to myself for an hour, because it's a bit out of the way in a suburb and isn't on everybody's to-do list for their trip.
So my suggestion on that is to do a bit of pre-trip research to find places to go that aren't going to be heaving with tourists: Japan has lots to offer beyond the stock "Kyoto and Tokyo" route.
I very much enjoyed Nagoya, a large city between Kyoto and Tokyo that tourists generally speed past on a bullet train, but it’s lovely, with a castle, shrines, a great zoo/botanical garden, etc.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
Verona is nice, and has romantic associations. I really like Bologna, which is less than an hour away on the fast train, not too touristy or expensive, good food. The 62km (!) of arcades are apparently a UNESCO World Heritage Site https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/information/unesco-porticoes-of-bologna-en
Another hour by train gets you to Ravenna, which is fantastic, especially if you have any liking for mosaics. A little bit further down that side of Italy, Marche is full of beautiful towns that are still relatively undiscovered, and I would say could be called romantic.
Or, pick somewhere in Italy you haven't been, and haven't (really) heard of, and see what it has to offer. There are so many really nice places that aren't well-known at all.
Bologna also home of Ducati and their great museum. Nothing more romantic than old motorbikes as I tell my partner (Mrs DavidL may not agree).
Bologna also has a leaning tower. It doesn’t lean as much as Pisa’s, but it’s worth seeing.
Verona is nice, and has romantic associations. I really like Bologna, which is less than an hour away on the fast train, not too touristy or expensive, good food. The 62km (!) of arcades are apparently a UNESCO World Heritage Site https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/information/unesco-porticoes-of-bologna-en
Another hour by train gets you to Ravenna, which is fantastic, especially if you have any liking for mosaics. A little bit further down that side of Italy, Marche is full of beautiful towns that are still relatively undiscovered, and I would say could be called romantic.
Or, pick somewhere in Italy you haven't been, and haven't (really) heard of, and see what it has to offer. There are so many really nice places that aren't well-known at all.
Bologna also home of Ducati and their great museum. Nothing more romantic than old motorbikes as I tell my partner (Mrs DavidL may not agree).
Bologna also has a leaning tower. It doesn’t lean as much as Pisa’s, but it’s worth seeing.
I saw a very sad documentary about over-tourism the other day, which noted that almost every single retail outlet in Bologna's main piazza is now given over to the slick sanitised sale of cheap industrially produced Bologna-style mortadella - for All Duh Clueless Tourists
So sad. I haven't been to Bologna in decades and it used to be this authentic Italian city, with a bit of edge and grime, that nonetheless produced fabulous food. Sometimes I hate my own industry
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Furthermore, Ms Z, please try to ignore the in-jokes. Some of us have been here, man and boy, for nearly 20 years and they afford a mild frisson of pleasure to elderly gents who ought to know better. But they're not particularly interesting and it would take far too long to explain, often with reference to tim, Plato, Rod Crosby and many others who've gone before. We're definitely rather short of females, Americans and young people with a spark of wit, so for all three reasons do stick around.
A massive rise in our bills, then they give us this shit:
"People are being urged to "use water wisely" in gardens as dry and warm weather continues in Yorkshire.
Reservoir levels are almost 15% lower than average for this time of year, Yorkshire Water said, after the region experienced its driest combined February, March and April for 90 years."
We've been doing early morning walks and paths in the woods and fields there is dust. This was the case even in April. Don't recall ever seeing that at this stage of the year. Sometimes in August. Usually pretty muddy at this time of year.
There are going to be a lot of wildfires this year.
We've had a hugely wet winter. This is what happens when you build zero reservoirs.
Is that true? I think we've been below average rainfall every single month since June last year, with the exception of December. Varies by which bit of Scotland you're in but it's been a very dry 9 months.
Ditto Cumbria, and record sweltering heat of about 18C too, though it's cooled now. Though it's all still quite green and not too dreid up. I think nature is still using up the Noah quantity of rain last year, when it never stopped.
It's been pretty dry, the last but 1 coastal stream train set the embankments alight the length of the line! But can't really complain as it's been so nice to have the sun.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
By everyone, I take it you mean our village idiot? Just ignore him; he clearly has plenty of his own issues. Including a habit of creating multiple accounts; new ones, often like yours.
OGH stands for our genial host, now retired, but still the site owner.
I'm sorry, did I do something wrong? What are you saying?
Lila don’t worry I’m on here regularly and haven’t a clue what we’re not supposed to be talking about . Welcome and we could do with more female input here .
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Furthermore, Ms Z, please try to ignore the in-jokes. Some of us have been here, man and boy, for nearly 20 years and they afford a mild frisson of pleasure to elderly gents who ought to know better. But they're not particularly interesting and it would take far too long to explain, often with reference to tim, Plato, Rod Crosby and many others who've gone before. We're definitely rather short of females, Americans and young people with a spark of wit, so for all three reasons do stick around.
At the moment though, this does not appear to be the case in the UK, where the momentum remains with Reform.
For whatever reason, association with Trump is hurting Farage far less at the moment than counterparts in other countries. This is despite him being far closer to Trump than the opposition politicians in Australia and Canada.
So what is happening?
Firstly, our political landscape is more fragmented. You can have a big victory on 30-ish % of the vote at the moment, given opponents are polling in the low-to-mid 20s. It remains to be seen if RefUK can break into the mid to high 30s, which would put them in a very good position.
Secondly, I think that minds are less concentrated right now. Our election is 4 years away, and into a new presidential term. We cannot predict what will be happening at that point, and where Trump and Trump policies will be at that point.
And thirdly, I think this country is maybe just in a different phase of the cycle to others. We are uniquely fed up with both our major parties, Farage as a politician runs rings around any other high-profile political figure, the country has experienced a long malaise since at least Covid and people are casting around for alternatives.
We have an interesting period ahead of us. But Labour can perhaps take some comfort from the fact that very unpopular incumbents have managed remarkable turnarounds, and they’d be foolish not to study those blueprints carefully.
This deserved more likes than it got. (The solitary one from me.)
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
It’s not controversial. But I hope you’re still here in the UK when Trump visits , there’s bound to be fireworks!
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
By everyone, I take it you mean our village idiot? Just ignore him; he clearly has plenty of his own issues. Including a habit of creating multiple accounts; new ones, often like yours.
OGH stands for our genial host, now retired, but still the site owner.
I'm sorry, did I do something wrong? What are you saying?
The other thing to remember is a lot of the posters here are actually the same person - including you, obviously!
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
Welcome Lila - always nice to have a new voice and a new opinion. We have a coulle of Americans, though come to think of it I haven't seen SSI in a while.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
Don't worry about the dog. It is only used to judge the scale of mountains etc.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
Welcome, and as a US based female contributor your comments will provide interesting information on how your country evolves in the Presidency of Donald Trump
At the moment though, this does not appear to be the case in the UK, where the momentum remains with Reform.
For whatever reason, association with Trump is hurting Farage far less at the moment than counterparts in other countries. This is despite him being far closer to Trump than the opposition politicians in Australia and Canada.
So what is happening?
Firstly, our political landscape is more fragmented. You can have a big victory on 30-ish % of the vote at the moment, given opponents are polling in the low-to-mid 20s. It remains to be seen if RefUK can break into the mid to high 30s, which would put them in a very good position.
Secondly, I think that minds are less concentrated right now. Our election is 4 years away, and into a new presidential term. We cannot predict what will be happening at that point, and where Trump and Trump policies will be at that point.
And thirdly, I think this country is maybe just in a different phase of the cycle to others. We are uniquely fed up with both our major parties, Farage as a politician runs rings around any other high-profile political figure, the country has experienced a long malaise since at least Covid and people are casting around for alternatives. We have an interesting period ahead of us. But Labour can perhaps take some comfort from the fact that very unpopular incumbents have managed remarkable turnarounds, and they’d be foolish not to study those blueprints carefully.
This deserved more likes than it got. (The solitary one from me.)
Thank you - very kind!
The original post is now a long way downthread so I will like that post instead. In addition to numbertwelve's points, despite everything, I don't think Reform voters or the Reform-curious really perceive them as Trump-adjacent in the same way as some of their counterparts elsewhere in the world Before everyone piles on, that doesn't mean that he is non't - clearly they're pally - but often it takes years for details like that to get through to voters.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Furthermore, Ms Z, please try to ignore the in-jokes. Some of us have been here, man and boy, for nearly 20 years and they afford a mild frisson of pleasure to elderly gents who ought to know better. But they're not particularly interesting and it would take far too long to explain, often with reference to tim, Plato, Rod Crosby and many others who've gone before. We're definitely rather short of females, Americans and young people with a spark of wit, so for all three reasons do stick around.
The real Anglosphere commonality is between Canada (where Carney decapitated Poilievre), Australia (where Albanese decapitated Dutton) and Oxfordshire (where Leffman decapitated Reform). After May 1 in Oxfordshire, there'll be fewer Reform members on the County Council than there were on April 30.
At the moment though, this does not appear to be the case in the UK, where the momentum remains with Reform.
For whatever reason, association with Trump is hurting Farage far less at the moment than counterparts in other countries. This is despite him being far closer to Trump than the opposition politicians in Australia and Canada.
So what is happening?
Firstly, our political landscape is more fragmented. You can have a big victory on 30-ish % of the vote at the moment, given opponents are polling in the low-to-mid 20s. It remains to be seen if RefUK can break into the mid to high 30s, which would put them in a very good position.
Secondly, I think that minds are less concentrated right now. Our election is 4 years away, and into a new presidential term. We cannot predict what will be happening at that point, and where Trump and Trump policies will be at that point.
And thirdly, I think this country is maybe just in a different phase of the cycle to others. We are uniquely fed up with both our major parties, Farage as a politician runs rings around any other high-profile political figure, the country has experienced a long malaise since at least Covid and people are casting around for alternatives.
We have an interesting period ahead of us. But Labour can perhaps take some comfort from the fact that very unpopular incumbents have managed remarkable turnarounds, and they’d be foolish not to study those blueprints carefully.
I just don't get at all why either firm or potential Reform voters would particularly think about Trump at all. The important issues for these voters haven't got much to do with him.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
Come on kinabalu - not wanting to understand why voters think the way they do is how democracy dies. I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
Come on kinabalu - not wanting to understand why voters think the way they do is how democracy dies. I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
But anyway. More curiousity please!
I’ve read the article . I’d understand the Trump popularity more if he actually gave a fig about those communities . Is it enough to just “ own the libs “ for people to vote for him ?
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
Come on kinabalu - not wanting to understand why voters think the way they do is how democracy dies. I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
But anyway. More curiousity please!
All very sassy and just about tenable in 2016. But it's since become clear to any decent person (American or otherwise) paying the slightest attention that he's a truly monstrous individual with not a single redeeming feature.
And I mean this literally. If somebody likes Trump they are either not a good person or they are not paying attention. No exceptions to that rule.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
Come on kinabalu - not wanting to understand why voters think the way they do is how democracy dies. I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
But anyway. More curiousity please!
I’ve read the article . I’d understand the Trump popularity more if he actually gave a fig about those communities . Is it enough to just “ own the libs “ for people to vote for him ?
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
Come on kinabalu - not wanting to understand why voters think the way they do is how democracy dies. I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
But anyway. More curiousity please!
I’ve read the article . I’d understand the Trump popularity more if he actually gave a fig about those communities . Is it enough to just “ own the libs “ for people to vote for him ?
Yes, it's an entertaining rant, but one well distanced from the facts. What has Trump done in his terms of office to improve rural life? Indeed his cuts are often in areas affecting country areas the most, such as rural healthcare etc, while the benefits of his tax cuts go to the 1% of the 1%.
There's definitely an anti-Trump vibe going on but not sure what it means for British politics given Trump will be history in 2029?
Depends on how much damage Colonel Bat Guano does in the meanwhile.
If he wrecks the US economy as he seems intent on doing, it will take some explaining by his admirers.
Indeed! Will be interesting to see who gets the blame for any recession.
If I was Farage I'd manufacture a bust up with Trump over one of his mad policies. Maybe his behaviour towards Canada?
Nigel should go on Fox and remind POTUS Canada is a Commonwealth country and King Charles III is it's head of state.
Reform voters are surprisingly ambivalent about the Monarchy. They are not (c)onservatives. I can't remember a single time Farage has made significant Royalist noises, even before Charles.
In fact, didn't he do a big protest against him on climate change a few years ago? But yes, a manufactured argument would be useful - perhaps over American privatisation of the NHS via a trade deal, which is serious weakness for Reform at the moment.
Yeah, a bust up over the NHS would do Farage/Ref a lot of good.
I do not know Reform's policy on the NHS but Farage did say a couple of days ago it will remain free to use but indicated millionaires would have to pay no doubt with some insurance based policy
"Buy now! 30% Discount for Nigel-voters! Or for just three million small monthly payments, ...."
It’s interesting that Mark Carney is promising to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students rather than just reducing the rate of immigration. Labour are behind the curve.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
Come on kinabalu - not wanting to understand why voters think the way they do is how democracy dies. I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
But anyway. More curiousity please!
I’ve read the article . I’d understand the Trump popularity more if he actually gave a fig about those communities . Is it enough to just “ own the libs “ for people to vote for him ?
Yes, it's an entertaining rant, but one well distanced from the facts. What has Trump done in his terms of office to improve rural life? Indeed his cuts are often in areas affecting country areas the most, such as rural healthcare etc, while the benefits of his tax cuts go to the 1% of the 1%.
If you feel empowered because your guy is in power, and the other guy is in the mud, it makes you feel better. That improves your life, in a sense.
It’s interesting that Mark Carney is promising to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students rather than just reducing the rate of immigration. Labour are behind the curve.
It’s interesting that Mark Carney is promising to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students rather than just reducing the rate of immigration. Labour are behind the curve.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
Come on kinabalu - not wanting to understand why voters think the way they do is how democracy dies. I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
But anyway. More curiousity please!
I’ve read the article . I’d understand the Trump popularity more if he actually gave a fig about those communities . Is it enough to just “ own the libs “ for people to vote for him ?
Yes, it's an entertaining rant, but one well distanced from the facts. What has Trump done in his terms of office to improve rural life? Indeed his cuts are often in areas affecting country areas the most, such as rural healthcare etc, while the benefits of his tax cuts go to the 1% of the 1%.
The article is about how analysis like that is to miss the point. Trump speaks to a large group of people. Who think he *likes* them. Who were (and are) getting the shitty end of the stick.
Clinton had great popularity among such people - not just because he came from that background. But he emoted towards them, rather than treating them as a bad smell.
It’s about language. We have people writing fat tomes on micro-aggressions and hostile language. Who then apply the exact opposite to people they class as The Enemy.
What would be genuine "reform" would be to go through all the legislation of the last 30 years, and identify the acts and clauses which had caused pernicious effects, and repeal them; for example, the Public Sector Equality clauses of the Equalities Act 2010, and putting Net Zero into law so absolutely anything can come under the scope of a judicial review if it can be argued it had any sort of carbon impact.
It'd be nice if politicians pledged to some hard work on this.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
By everyone, I take it you mean our village idiot? Just ignore him; he clearly has plenty of his own issues. Including a habit of creating multiple accounts; new ones, often like yours.
OGH stands for our genial host, now retired, but still the site owner.
What would be genuine "reform" would be to go through all the legislation of the last 30 years, and identify the acts and clauses which had caused pernicious effects, and repeal them; for example, the Public Sector Equality clauses of the Equalities Act 2010, and putting Net Zero into law so absolutely anything can come under the scope of a judicial review if it can be argued it had any sort of carbon impact.
It'd be nice if politicians pledged to some hard work on this.
All legislation back to 1997 should be under scrutiny.
What would be genuine "reform" would be to go through all the legislation of the last 30 years, and identify the acts and clauses which had caused pernicious effects, and repeal them; for example, the Public Sector Equality clauses of the Equalities Act 2010, and putting Net Zero into law so absolutely anything can come under the scope of a judicial review if it can be argued it had any sort of carbon impact.
It'd be nice if politicians pledged to some hard work on this.
Foolish.
The way to play it, is to roll with it.
Get the fox killer to take a case to the Supreme Court that pay rises for politicians need to be reviewed for their effects on
1) the environment 2) equality 3) health 4) etc
Do them serially.
Then do pensions.
Then do senior members of the permanent organisations of government - quangos.
A fun one will be a case that the Green Belt policy is institutionally racist. It is - watching them trying to avoid that one will be good fun.
The real Anglosphere commonality is between Canada (where Carney decapitated Poilievre), Australia (where Albanese decapitated Dutton) and Oxfordshire (where Leffman decapitated Reform). After May 1 in Oxfordshire, there'll be fewer Reform members on the County Council than there were on April 30.
What would be genuine "reform" would be to go through all the legislation of the last 30 years, and identify the acts and clauses which had caused pernicious effects, and repeal them; for example, the Public Sector Equality clauses of the Equalities Act 2010, and putting Net Zero into law so absolutely anything can come under the scope of a judicial review if it can be argued it had any sort of carbon impact.
It'd be nice if politicians pledged to some hard work on this.
What Truss has been going around calling for the past 2 years.
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Make it mental Milliband and it might be worth hearing about.
"Reform’s new MP: ‘We will stand up to sexual violence from illegal migrants’ Reform’s first female MP Sarah Pochin says she is concerned by the attitudes of some in migrant hotels"
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Transferring the role of culture. media and sports to other departments, feels like fiddling while Rome burns stuff. Be interesting to see the reaction from the very vocal lobby group that is the arts.
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Transferring the role of culture. media and sports to other departments, feels like fiddling while Rome burns stuff. Be interesting to see the reaction from the very vocal lobby group that is the arts.
Department for Culture always sounded a bit Soviet to me. Not necessarily the function, but the name.
"Opinion The FT View An unwelcome surge of rightwing populism in Britain Rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK threatens the Labour-Conservative duopoly The editorial board" (£)
"Opinion The FT View An unwelcome surge of rightwing populism in Britain Rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK threatens the Labour-Conservative duopoly The editorial board" (£)
Lucy Powell might be joining that list after her AQ performance.
No comment, I don't know whether we can discuss it.
I presume even with the ban hammer it is still ok to say she has caused a media stir when Starmer just wants to get the further and faster message out there. And she has a bit of a habit of digging herself into big holes.
Is there any 14/1 Farage to lose Clacton at the next GE floating around?
What price would he be to retain?
All together now: the UK isn't Canada or Australia. 😊
Australia had a Labor government for most of the 1980s, and the Canadian Tories were virtually wiped out about a year after John Major won his victory in 1992. Some obvious examples.
Is there any 14/1 Farage to lose Clacton at the next GE floating around?
What price would he be to retain?
All together now: the UK isn't Canada or Australia. 😊
Australia had a Labor government for most of the 1980s, and the Canadian Tories were virtually wiped out about a year after John Major won his victory in 1992. Some obvious examples.
Five men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences as part of an investigation into a suspected plot to "target a specific premises", police said.
Four Iranian nationals - two aged 29, one aged 40 and one aged 46 - were arrested in various locations around England on Saturday as part of a "pre-planned" counter-terror operation, the Metropolitan Police said.
Money exchange shops on Britain’s high streets are working directly with human smugglers who move migrants across the English Channel.
An undercover investigation by Telegraph reporters found UK-registered money transfer shops working with global smuggling networks in order to evade police.
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Memo to Kemi – prepare a PMQ on Starmer's misogyny if he sacks only lady ministers.
What is this terrible thing than can't be mentioned? Sorry I am a rare visitor to the site but when i do come i enjoy it greatly, but many things mystify me, it is like i am in a car full of freemasons. Because you are all being so coy i am unable to identify what possibly is so bad it cannot be named even as 'a thing that cannot be named'?
For clarity i am an american and I work in London, in tech, so maybe i am missing huge nuances. Story of my life, if so.
The idea of such things is that they aren’t mentioned. The clue is in the name.
But it isn’t your Trump, terrible though he is.
Thankyou for answering. I have one more question: why does everyone tease you about having only a dog and no friends at all? You seem friendly to me and I don't quite get that, but then coming to this site as a newbie is quite daunting, you all seem to know each other very well.
Oh gee I think I have two questions. What the heck is an OGH? I promise after this I will simply try and fit in, and stop asking dumb stuff. Believe it or not i have a serious job and a masters, but this seems like a fun community. I would like to join in. Also I am female and it seems you lack them
"OGH" is an internet acronym for "Our Genial Host". It is usually used for the person in charge of a website, who lays down the rules regarding what can and cannot be said. It's modelled after a pub landlord who has the same powers.
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
Thanks. I now feel informed, and i am grateful and i will stop asking silly questions.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
He's like a God to His supporters, isn't he. So difficult for us brits to understand. i certainly don't get it and tbh I'm not sure i want to.
Come on kinabalu - not wanting to understand why voters think the way they do is how democracy dies. I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
But anyway. More curiousity please!
That's not going to happen. To understand fully Trump's appeal, the Guardianista left would have to understand three things which are anathema to their world view:
- poorer people often care about their country more than their class, whatever socialists think they should do - insulting and discriminating against ethnic majorities (Deplorables) annoys them just as much as it does minorities - charisma is more important than policy in winning elections.
Not that Trump needs to win the Guardianista/NYT vote. They aren't his demographic, and he doesn't need to appeal to them to win, or sell lots of shitcoins and crappy merch, or whatever his goal for his presidency is.
Other countries' nationalists are rarely popular or well understood outside their own countries anyway. Just as I've never met a foreigner who understands al the reasons why we voted to leave the EU, the number of non-Americans I've met who really get Trump I can count on the fingers of one hand. As nationalists, they prioritise (their view of) their countries' interests over those of foreigners. And whatever else he is, after being a shameless grifter and opportunist, Trump is certainly an American nationalist.
The only slight exception to the above is other countries' nationalists, who tend to understand fellow nationalists because they have common enemies, which is why there is a slight commonality of interests between people like Pollievre or Farage and Trump, until those interests diverge in some policy area or other - tariffs for Pollievre and Ukraine for Farage.
Janan Ghanesh has a nice theory in FT column. Pointing out that Carney is being quite rude about Trump and Canadian voters seem to like his lack of equivocation. They want someone who sounds tough. Maybe he posits you can have centrist politics with populist language?
"Ooh, I'm a bit mad and zany, because I'm a bit autistic" to my mind undermines those who genuinely suffer debilitating struggles with normal social interaction.
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Memo to Kemi – prepare a PMQ on Starmer's misogyny if he sacks only lady ministers.
An interesting piece from Sir John Curtice. Reform’s vote is sufficiently concentrated for them to benefit strongly under FPTP.
Interesting how the narrative is that the Conservatives had a worse night than Labour. It's obviously hard to come up with a national equivalent share given the seats contested, but those figures are absolutely shocking for Labour.
I had to take refuge in this petrol station. The forecourt became a four inch deep lake in about fifteen minutes
The hailstones were so huge, they hurt my head through my hood and hat
Hope they didn't do any long time damage either to you or your vehicle. They really can. They can be strongly charged electrically as well. I once was in a storm where some of the hailstones hovered about 9 inches off the ground before slowly descending.
An interesting piece from Sir John Curtice. Reform’s vote is sufficiently concentrated for them to benefit strongly under FPTP.
Interesting how the narrative is that the Conservatives had a worse night than Labour. It's obviously hard to come up with a national equivalent share given the seats contested, but those figures are absolutely shocking for Labour.
It is fairly obvious how Labour "can" improve from here - turn the economy around with a tax/spend giveaway near the election, reduce immigration and claim credit for it. Whether they can do it or not, and my view is the economy is more luck than govt, who knows.
It is virtually impossible to see good routes for how the Conservatives improve from here. Their strategy post election is to push voters towards Reform. For some reason they seem completely wedded to that approach so yes, it is worse for the Conservatives.
An interesting piece from Sir John Curtice. Reform’s vote is sufficiently concentrated for them to benefit strongly under FPTP.
Interesting how the narrative is that the Conservatives had a worse night than Labour. It's obviously hard to come up with a national equivalent share given the seats contested, but those figures are absolutely shocking for Labour.
Had the Metroplitan Boroughs, and urban unitary authorities been contested, it would have been a bloodbath for Labour.
Interesting new today that Bridget Phillipson is in the firing line.
I don't have a subscription to the Times, but is it true that there's also to be a major departmental reorganisation and that she is part of it? That might be significant if so.
It will make little difference educationally if she is just replaced with somebody else who knows even less about the education system than her civil servants.
Interesting new today that Bridget Phillipson is in the firing line.
I don't have a subscription to the Times, but is it true that there's also to be a major departmental reorganisation and that she is part of it? That might be significant if so.
It will make little difference educationally if she is just replaced with somebody else who knows even less about the education system than her civil servants.
It's a Tim Shipman piece, so the question is always which sources he has transcribed.
Interesting new today that Bridget Phillipson is in the firing line.
I don't have a subscription to the Times, but is it true that there's also to be a major departmental reorganisation and that she is part of it? That might be significant if so.
It will make little difference educationally if she is just replaced with somebody else who knows even less about the education system than her civil servants.
Her very recent exchange with the good professor was very poor, if not likely to be the reason for a move.
Interesting new today that Bridget Phillipson is in the firing line.
I don't have a subscription to the Times, but is it true that there's also to be a major departmental reorganisation and that she is part of it? That might be significant if so.
It will make little difference educationally if she is just replaced with somebody else who knows even less about the education system than her civil servants.
It's a Tim Shipman piece, so the question is always which sources he has transcribed.
Ah, I didn't know that. Let's assume she's safe then.
As I say I don't think it will make much difference. She has done much as could be expected - badly - but SoS for Ed tend to be mediocre and ineffectual unless they're dramatic and disastrous.
* Norfolk County Council * Suffolk County Council * Essex County Council * Thurrock * East Sussex * West Sussex * Hampshire * Isle of Wight * Surrey
What do we think would have happened? There are 604 seats in these. IOW and Thurrock are unitaries. All are Conservative controlled, except IOW which is Conservative lead.
As a guestimate, I'd say
- Consevative meltdown - the first 4 would be straight to Reform control - the other five maybe a little less meltdown, and perhaps as much to Lib Dem as Reform.
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Memo to Kemi – prepare a PMQ on Starmer's misogyny if he sacks only lady ministers.
An interesting piece from Sir John Curtice. Reform’s vote is sufficiently concentrated for them to benefit strongly under FPTP.
Interesting how the narrative is that the Conservatives had a worse night than Labour. It's obviously hard to come up with a national equivalent share given the seats contested, but those figures are absolutely shocking for Labour.
It is fairly obvious how Labour "can" improve from here - turn the economy around with a tax/spend giveaway near the election, reduce immigration and claim credit for it. Whether they can do it or not, and my view is the economy is more luck than govt, who knows.
It is virtually impossible to see good routes for how the Conservatives improve from here. Their strategy post election is to push voters towards Reform. For some reason they seem completely wedded to that approach so yes, it is worse for the Conservatives.
In terms of the percentage of councillors lost, the results were very similar for the Tories and Labour.
In terms of where it leaves them for the future, there's a world of difference between an unpopular government, and an unpopular opposition party haemorrhaging support both rightwards and leftwards, and ending up in third place.
Had brunch with the author of this piece on Monday with his family! Not what I expected from the Telegraph, presumably they are looking for new readers now that the Conservative party has gone!
* Norfolk County Council * Suffolk County Council * Essex County Council * Thurrock * East Sussex * West Sussex * Hampshire * Isle of Wight * Surrey
What do we think would have happened? There are 604 seats in these. IOW and Thurrock are unitaries. All are Conservative controlled, except IOW which is Conservative lead.
Reform would have swept up all except Surrey and maybe Sussex.
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Memo to Kemi – prepare a PMQ on Starmer's misogyny if he sacks only lady ministers.
* Norfolk County Council * Suffolk County Council * Essex County Council * Thurrock * East Sussex * West Sussex * Hampshire * Isle of Wight * Surrey
What do we think would have happened? There are 604 seats in these. IOW and Thurrock are unitaries. All are Conservative controlled, except IOW which is Conservative lead.
Essex and Thurrock are refuk territory. Surrey to the Gails.
* Norfolk County Council * Suffolk County Council * Essex County Council * Thurrock * East Sussex * West Sussex * Hampshire * Isle of Wight * Surrey
What do we think would have happened? There are 604 seats in these. IOW and Thurrock are unitaries. All are Conservative controlled, except IOW which is Conservative lead.
Reform would have swept up all except Surrey and maybe Sussex.
Greens would have picked up some seats in Norfolk and Suffolk and the LDs some there as well. I don't know enough about Hampshire, but surely the LDs would have done well there as well. Surrey would have been LD carnage with them taking control.
"Reform’s new MP: ‘We will stand up to sexual violence from illegal migrants’ Reform’s first female MP Sarah Pochin says she is concerned by the attitudes of some in migrant hotels"
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Memo to Kemi – prepare a PMQ on Starmer's misogyny if he sacks only lady ministers.
Does he get a reprieve if he gets rid of Reeves?
The one who needs to go is Miiliband.
That would drive lots of voters to the Lib Dems and Greens, while gaining very few from Reform/Conservatives (who make a big fuss about him but were never going to vote Labour anyway). He's very popular with Labour's core vote.
* Norfolk County Council * Suffolk County Council * Essex County Council * Thurrock * East Sussex * West Sussex * Hampshire * Isle of Wight * Surrey
What do we think would have happened? There are 604 seats in these. IOW and Thurrock are unitaries. All are Conservative controlled, except IOW which is Conservative lead.
Reform would have swept up all except Surrey and maybe Sussex.
Greens would have picked up some seats in Norfolk and Suffolk and the LDs some there as well. I don't know enough about Hampshire, but surely the LDs would have done well there as well. Surrey would have been LD carnage with them taking control.
Suspect Hampshire would have seen the nice bits in the middle go Lib Dem, and the Portsmouth/Southampton overspill go Reform. Not sure about the bits in the north that would rather be Surrey.
* Norfolk County Council * Suffolk County Council * Essex County Council * Thurrock * East Sussex * West Sussex * Hampshire * Isle of Wight * Surrey
What do we think would have happened? There are 604 seats in these. IOW and Thurrock are unitaries. All are Conservative controlled, except IOW which is Conservative lead.
As a guestimate, I'd say
- Consevative meltdown - the first 4 would be straight to Reform control - the other five maybe a little less meltdown, and perhaps as much to Lib Dem as Reform.
Judging by the by-elections last Thursday, Reform could have been in with a shout on the island as well.
The Tories were protesting the most, prior, about the postponement of these elections. Yet the delay has saved them - at least for now - from even greater calamity.
Taking a middle route between @scampi25 and @noneoftheabove , which roughly aligns with my thoughts of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Thurrock, and the others Con meltdown but partly to the Lib Dems,
If I take 60% of seats in those 4, and 30% of seats in the others to RefUK, then that makes them 900-1000 seats out of 2239, rather then 677 from 1637. On that calculation ChatGPT says +266, to give 933.
1000 seats would have been quite a headline for Nonny-Nonny-Nigel if he could have done it, but it would have been a bit too much of a stretch imo; he would have needed 55% of seats across the delaying Councils, compared to 41% across those those that held elections.
"Reform’s new MP: ‘We will stand up to sexual violence from illegal migrants’ Reform’s first female MP Sarah Pochin says she is concerned by the attitudes of some in migrant hotels"
This political discussion board has been around for quite some time - long enough that we can become nostalgic about it. Oh, it's not as good as it used to be when OGH had total control, and all that.
However it still has its good points. Even the most political accept that others may have different viewpoints, and someone who can amuse as well as ponticate is always welcome.
Whilst I increased my vote slightly by 171 (2021 share in brackets) by persuading Labour and Green voters to support me against the Conservatives clearly our tactics of not mentioning Reform were a mistake. The Reform candidate did not put out any literature. From a few hours standing at polling stations, I think that many of the Reform voters did not usually bother to vote in local elections but had turned out this time. I expect in future elections to expend effort encouraging non voters (turnout was 38%) of the dangers of not voting.
County Council result Bruntingthorpe Division (very rural South Leicestershire) Reform 34% (New) Conservative 31% (60%) Liberal Democrat 21% (18%) Labour 7% (13%) Green 7% (9%)
An interesting piece from Sir John Curtice. Reform’s vote is sufficiently concentrated for them to benefit strongly under FPTP.
Here's a few words from Curtice, with betting and political implications:
Although polls indicate that Reform finds it easier to win over former Conservative voters than their Labour counterparts, Reform's average share of the vote was strikingly just as high in wards that Labour were defending as it was in places that the Conservatives were trying to retain.
The party on average won 32% of the vote in previously Labour wards and 32% in Conservative ones.
Comments
OGH stands for our genial host, now retired, but still the site owner.
So sad. I haven't been to Bologna in decades and it used to be this authentic Italian city, with a bit of edge and grime, that nonetheless produced fabulous food. Sometimes I hate my own industry
In the context of PB, "OGH" refers to its founder Mike Smithson. Mr Smithson has now sadly taken a back seat due to ill health, and his role is split between the moderators (mods), who are rcs1000 and TheScreamingEagles.
i will now offer my first controversial opinion, i do not believe Trump is as unpopular in the USA as the British media make out. I come from a Trump voting family in Virginia, and boy oh boy, do they still love Him.
In addition to numbertwelve's points, despite everything, I don't think Reform voters or the Reform-curious really perceive them as Trump-adjacent in the same way as some of their counterparts elsewhere in the world Before everyone piles on, that doesn't mean that he is non't - clearly they're pally - but often it takes years for details like that to get through to voters.
The oddballs are the British journos and commentators determined to ignore why Leffman's more in touch with voters than British newspapers. Except for Izzy Lyons:
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/she-lost-to-david-cameron-20-years-ago-now-lib-dem-has-revenge-2cv93892f
I've posted this before, and it was written after his first election in 2016, but, though written by a lib, gives an excellent synthesis of why he has the support he does. It's an entertaining read and hopefully one you won't find triggering:
https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about
The other aspect to Trump of course is his manner, which clearly grates on British sensibilities. But that should be easier to understand - there are lots of Americans who because of different cultural expectations simply wouldn't work in the UK. Hell, there are northerners who wouldn't go down well in the south.
But anyway. More curiousity please!
And I mean this literally. If somebody likes Trump they are either not a good person or they are not paying attention. No exceptions to that rule.
https://x.com/wsonlinenews/status/1918324536883449904
Clinton had great popularity among such people - not just because he came from that background. But he emoted towards them, rather than treating them as a bad smell.
It’s about language. We have people writing fat tomes on micro-aggressions and hostile language. Who then apply the exact opposite to people they class as The Enemy.
It'd be nice if politicians pledged to some hard work on this.
The way to play it, is to roll with it.
Get the fox killer to take a case to the Supreme Court that pay rises for politicians need to be reviewed for their effects on
1) the environment
2) equality
3) health
4) etc
Do them serially.
Then do pensions.
Then do senior members of the permanent organisations of government - quangos.
A fun one will be a case that the Green Belt policy is institutionally racist. It is - watching them trying to avoid that one will be good fun.
Keir Starmer is planning to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and therefore fire Lisa Nandy, with it being merged under other Departments
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is also set to lose her job
Reform’s first female MP Sarah Pochin says she is concerned by the attitudes of some in migrant hotels"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/05/03/reforms-new-woman-mp-we-will-stand-up-to-sexual-violence/
An unwelcome surge of rightwing populism in Britain
Rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK threatens the Labour-Conservative duopoly
The editorial board" (£)
https://www.ft.com/content/dd6dff7d-c2c4-49ec-a11e-eb9e2130ccbb
@LeftieStats
‼️After disastrous local elections, Starmer is preparing to sack ministers Lisa Nandy (Culture) and Bridget Phillipson (Education) from the Cabinet.
(Source: @TheTimes"
https://x.com/LeftieStats/status/1918773359510221222
Australia had a Labor government for most of the 1980s, and the Canadian Tories were virtually wiped out about a year after John Major won his victory in 1992. Some obvious examples.
Four Iranian nationals - two aged 29, one aged 40 and one aged 46 - were arrested in various locations around England on Saturday as part of a "pre-planned" counter-terror operation, the Metropolitan Police said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2wqy5ejdjo
An undercover investigation by Telegraph reporters found UK-registered money transfer shops working with global smuggling networks in order to evade police.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/03/revealed-how-people-smuggling-arranged-british-high-street/
Reduced stigma about conditions such as autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia has led more people to seek medical opinion or self-diagnose
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/self-diagnosis-means-neurodivergence-now-considered-the-norm-99l9kl8v5 (£££)
- poorer people often care about their country more than their class, whatever socialists think they should do
- insulting and discriminating against ethnic majorities (Deplorables) annoys them just as much as it does minorities
- charisma is more important than policy in winning elections.
Not that Trump needs to win the Guardianista/NYT vote. They aren't his demographic, and he doesn't need to appeal to them to win, or sell lots of shitcoins and crappy merch, or whatever his goal for his presidency is.
Other countries' nationalists are rarely popular or well understood outside their own countries anyway. Just as I've never met a foreigner who understands al the reasons why we voted to leave the EU, the number of non-Americans I've met who really get Trump I can count on the fingers of one hand. As nationalists, they prioritise (their view of) their countries' interests over those of foreigners. And whatever else he is, after being a shameless grifter and opportunist, Trump is certainly an American nationalist.
The only slight exception to the above is other countries' nationalists, who tend to understand fellow nationalists because they have common enemies, which is why there is a slight commonality of interests between people like Pollievre or Farage and Trump, until those interests diverge in some policy area or other - tariffs for Pollievre and Ukraine for Farage.
Nothing has been going Starmer’s way – yet business leaders are increasingly optimistic
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/05/03/labour-needs-an-economic-miracle-it-may-happen/ (£££)
I had to take refuge in this petrol station. The forecourt became a four inch deep lake in about fifteen minutes
The hailstones were so huge, they hurt my head through my hood and hat
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/business-big-shot-rick-haythornthwaite-gsf2b203rvt?region=global
F1: eventful sprint yesterday. Going to have to check the weather forecast for today.
I'm not sure, but it's an interesting thought.
An interesting piece from Sir John Curtice. Reform’s vote is sufficiently concentrated for them to benefit strongly under FPTP.
Will you be as critical when the gurning monster becomes PM as you are with the current lot?
Taxi app giant Uber is now allowing passengers across most of the UK to pay in cash.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g4le9n469o
It is virtually impossible to see good routes for how the Conservatives improve from here. Their strategy post election is to push voters towards Reform. For some reason they seem completely wedded to that approach so yes, it is worse for the Conservatives.
I don't have a subscription to the Times, but is it true that there's also to be a major departmental reorganisation and that she is part of it? That might be significant if so.
It will make little difference educationally if she is just replaced with somebody else who knows even less about the education system than her civil servants.
As I say I don't think it will make much difference. She has done much as could be expected - badly - but SoS for Ed tend to be mediocre and ineffectual unless they're dramatic and disastrous.
These were the areas with postponed elections:
* Norfolk County Council
* Suffolk County Council
* Essex County Council
* Thurrock
* East Sussex
* West Sussex
* Hampshire
* Isle of Wight
* Surrey
What do we think would have happened? There are 604 seats in these. IOW and Thurrock are unitaries. All are Conservative controlled, except IOW which is Conservative lead.
As a guestimate, I'd say
- Consevative meltdown
- the first 4 would be straight to Reform control
- the other five maybe a little less meltdown, and perhaps as much to Lib Dem as Reform.
In terms of where it leaves them for the future, there's a world of difference between an unpopular government, and an unpopular opposition party haemorrhaging support both rightwards and leftwards, and ending up in third place.
The Tories were protesting the most, prior, about the postponement of these elections. Yet the delay has saved them - at least for now - from even greater calamity.
If I take 60% of seats in those 4, and 30% of seats in the others to RefUK, then that makes them 900-1000 seats out of 2239, rather then 677 from 1637. On that calculation ChatGPT says +266, to give 933.
1000 seats would have been quite a headline for Nonny-Nonny-Nigel if he could have done it, but it would have been a bit too much of a stretch imo; he would have needed 55% of seats across the delaying Councils, compared to 41% across those those that held elections.
What if games !
Welcome,
This political discussion board has been around for quite some time - long enough that we can become nostalgic about it. Oh, it's not as good as it used to be when OGH had total control, and all that.
However it still has its good points. Even the most political accept that others may have different viewpoints, and someone who can amuse as well as ponticate is always welcome.
County Council result Bruntingthorpe Division (very rural South Leicestershire)
Reform 34% (New)
Conservative 31% (60%)
Liberal Democrat 21% (18%)
Labour 7% (13%)
Green 7% (9%)
Although polls indicate that Reform finds it easier to win over former Conservative voters than their Labour counterparts, Reform's average share of the vote was strikingly just as high in wards that Labour were defending as it was in places that the Conservatives were trying to retain.
The party on average won 32% of the vote in previously Labour wards and 32% in Conservative ones.