MoreinCommon has the Tories a bit higher at 21% but still third in both polls.
Ironically you would now get more Conservative MPs elected with proportional representation than FPTP.
PR would also be the best way to ensure Farage and Reform can't get a majority and the best chance at the moment for Starmer to stay PM with LD and Green support (which with Yougov would be 2% higher combined than Reform and the Conservatives combined)
For those who questioned why Kemi led with the WFA (As did Ed Davey) then this is a good enough reason when labour mps are demanding restoration of the WFA
Dozens of Labour MPs have broken ranks to warn that Sir Keir Starmer has to change direction immediately if he wants to save the party. The intervention comes days after dire local election results and highlights the growing tensions within the party just one year after its landslide majority.
The Labour Red Wall Group, formed last year to represent the voices of MPs in left-behind areas in the Midlands and North, turned on Chancellor Rachel Reeves and "Treasury orthodoxy". In their letter, published openly on Wednesday, the caucus warned their leader that voters have now said "loudly and clearly that we have not met their expectations". They also warned that Sir Keir's reaction to his election drubbing "has fallen on deaf ears".
A total of 45 MPs signed the letter demanding an urgent mission to "rebuild the social contract" - beginning by restoring the winter fuel allowance to millions of pensioners.
Bassetlaw MP and leader of the group Jo White said that responding to voters' fury "isn't weak, it takes us to a position of strength".
Most notably, the letter launches an all-out attack on Ms Reeves, demanding a "breakaway from Treasury orthodoxy, otherwise we will never get the investment we desperately need".
There are growing calls for the Treasury itself to be split up or abolished, with Labour peer Maurice Glasman saying: "I believe the abolition of the Treasury is necessary for our economic renewal."
The founder of the socially conservative Blue Labour movement added: "It is an outdated institution at odds with contemporary reality.
And in unconnected news our 16 year old grandson broke his leg in PE at school, the day before his exams start
He is presently in hospital having numerous x rays as they decide how to treat him
I would suggest Mum/Dad contacts the school quickly for advice about how he sits his exams. As an ex exams officer myself this would be a nightmare for both the student and the school.
Thank you. The school called his Mother about his accident in their PE class and are aware of his injury
His Mother will talk to school first thing tomorrow
It’s looking distinctly possible that the next election will see the extinction of both the Tories AND the Labour Party
Oh god please let it happen
Reform with a Lib Dem opposition, new two party politics...
It would be a much more honest division of our politics. A candidly woke Remainer party versus a populist patriotic antiwoke party
Also the Tories and Labour simply do not deserve to exist. They’ve failed so appallingly. The Tories in the last 14 years and Labour in the noughties and now returning to power with zero ideas except making the lives of British people as miserable as possible and favouring all foreigners
Enough. Get rid of the whole damn lot. The entire uniparty establishment (and their activist lawyers). Sweep it all away and start again
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
You'd have picked up on it 5 years ago if your finger was on the pulse.
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
FPT - re posting this as it only just made the end of the thread and I feel strongly about it
Sad news to report.
I have been following a youtube channel over the last few months by a British pakistani lady who has been talking about some of the issues within her community - generally things like religion, tolerance etc. However she has now posted a tearful video after being threatened and taken down her channel. When people ask why more British pakistanis do not speak out this is probably a good explanation. All very sad and fits a pattern. Salman Rushdie living in the US (but coming to Hay this month). Children expected to apologise for damaging a religious book, people in hiding, antisemitism rife. Many other things.
Lots of people worry about the far right. But has anyone considered, if the far right are so dangerous why is no-one afraid to criticise them? Tomorrow we will honour the sacrifice of our parents' and grandparents' generation to preserve this country's freedom and heritage. Yet we are completely passive over a thuggery that has been allowed to run amok. I've tried to educate this site till I am blue in the face but it's clear now that many of you are fake liberals more concerned with your stock portfolio than the maintenance of free expression.
This is what the far right look like. Prejudice comes in all shapes and sizes and finding a bit that suits your particular prejudice is a game for any number of players
Or this from Radio Wales, on a group called Patriotic Alternative, from January this year. This is more about the movement and how this part of it operate. This is 7 20 minute episodes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0kktwvl
This is one I had not noted before from 2017, but includes the Head of Counter Terrorism of the time commenting. I have not listened yet. The blurb mentions members of National Action in connection with a plot to murder an MP. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09dysx6
AFAICS from published reports the current threats are that Islamist is from abroad and strategic, Far Right are quite heavily "self-initiated", and Far Left are relatively minor. AIUI the last time a group called Antifa were doing violence in the UK was in the 1990s to counter violence attached Far Right demos; I have a book about it written a few years later.
MoreinCommon has the Tories a bit higher at 21% but still third in both polls.
Ironically you would now get more Conservative MPs elected with proportional representation than FPTP.
PR would also be the best way to ensure Farage and Reform can't get a majority and the best chance at the moment for Starmer to stay PM with LD and Green support (which with Yougov would be 2% higher combined than Reform and the Conservatives combined)
But it’s not gonna happen because to do it you’d have to get a referendum passed and Starmer’s chances of getting ANY referendum passed are 0.00000000200%
He is loathed and derided. People would vote against any referendum he proposed just for the hell of it
It’s looking distinctly possible that the next election will see the extinction of both the Tories AND the Labour Party
Oh god please let it happen
Reform with a Lib Dem opposition, new two party politics...
I met an ex-Tory MP today. Charismatic, charming. Surprisingly indiscreet in his opinions of some of those he had worked with. But definitely intelligent, with his own opinions - though clearly to allow that other opinions existed and were worthy of consideration. And I know a Labour MP - slightly surprising she is an MP, but she is diligent and hardworking and conscientious and will not whimsically decide something daft.
Whatever we think of LabCon, I'm worried that SPLORG will not have that many of this calibre.
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
You'd have picked up on it 5 years ago if your finger was on the pulse.
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
You were telling us it hadn’t increased at all. Now you’re blithely admitting shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years. Give over. You’re ridiculous
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
You'd have picked up on it 5 years ago if your finger was on the pulse.
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
You were telling us it hadn’t increased at all. Now you’re blithely admitting shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years. Give over. You’re ridiculous
I think I'd quite like to see some properly weighted polling from Merseyside. Just to see how far Ref has penetrated...
They inched in in Runcorn. Which is Merseyside in both spirit and accent (and in the fact that it is on the Mersey - but so is Sale and Stretford and Stockport and they most definitely are not Merseyside).
MoreinCommon has the Tories a bit higher at 21% but still third in both polls.
Ironically you would now get more Conservative MPs elected with proportional representation than FPTP.
PR would also be the best way to ensure Farage and Reform can't get a majority and the best chance at the moment for Starmer to stay PM with LD and Green support (which with Yougov would be 2% higher combined than Reform and the Conservatives combined)
But it’s not gonna happen because to do it you’d have to get a referendum passed and Starmer’s chances of getting ANY referendum passed are 0.00000000200%
He is loathed and derided. People would vote against any referendum he proposed just for the hell of it
If however Starmer is re elected but loses his majority and needs LD support to govern then PR either with or without a referendum is very likely.
Whereas if Farage becomes PM he will ditch his previous support for PR and stick to FPTP.
One Nation Tories may soon become even greater lovers of PR than the LDs and Greens if they see it as the best way to keep their seats!
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
Actually, I'd put the start a little earlier: I would blame the coalition, and the way it refunded both the police and the courts as part of austerity. Police stations across London closed. The number of police on the streets dropped sharply. And then court delays meant that - even when perpetrators were caught - then all too often they wouldn't be punished.
MoreinCommon has the Tories a bit higher at 21% but still third in both polls.
Ironically you would now get more Conservative MPs elected with proportional representation than FPTP.
PR would also be the best way to ensure Farage and Reform can't get a majority and the best chance at the moment for Starmer to stay PM with LD and Green support (which with Yougov would be 2% higher combined than Reform and the Conservatives combined)
But it’s not gonna happen because to do it you’d have to get a referendum passed and Starmer’s chances of getting ANY referendum passed are 0.00000000200%
He is loathed and derided. People would vote against any referendum he proposed just for the hell of it
There's scope for them to do things in the current reorganisations of local govt around regional devolution and Mayors. It is all a little complex whilst in transition.
I was trying to get an idea what was happening with future elections, and it was a horrible job trying to trace it.
I don't think there is scope for PR, but there may be scope for eg moving to multi-member divisions, not single member boards, and aligned with however new unitary Councils emerge. That's not PR, but it gives voters alternative options.
I have no idea what it will look like, or approaches different regions and parties will try and take.
For those who questioned why Kemi led with the WFA (As did Ed Davey) then this is a good enough reason when labour mps are demanding restoration of the WFA
Dozens of Labour MPs have broken ranks to warn that Sir Keir Starmer has to change direction immediately if he wants to save the party. The intervention comes days after dire local election results and highlights the growing tensions within the party just one year after its landslide majority.
The Labour Red Wall Group, formed last year to represent the voices of MPs in left-behind areas in the Midlands and North, turned on Chancellor Rachel Reeves and "Treasury orthodoxy". In their letter, published openly on Wednesday, the caucus warned their leader that voters have now said "loudly and clearly that we have not met their expectations". They also warned that Sir Keir's reaction to his election drubbing "has fallen on deaf ears".
A total of 45 MPs signed the letter demanding an urgent mission to "rebuild the social contract" - beginning by restoring the winter fuel allowance to millions of pensioners.
Bassetlaw MP and leader of the group Jo White said that responding to voters' fury "isn't weak, it takes us to a position of strength".
Most notably, the letter launches an all-out attack on Ms Reeves, demanding a "breakaway from Treasury orthodoxy, otherwise we will never get the investment we desperately need".
There are growing calls for the Treasury itself to be split up or abolished, with Labour peer Maurice Glasman saying: "I believe the abolition of the Treasury is necessary for our economic renewal."
The founder of the socially conservative Blue Labour movement added: "It is an outdated institution at odds with contemporary reality.
And in unconnected news our 16 year old grandson broke his leg in PE at school, the day before his exams start
He is presently in hospital having numerous x rays as they decide how to treat him
45 Labour MPs signed the letter. Which means 358 Labour MPs didn't sign the letter.
Shocking indictment of the school system if they can't read and write.
What's going on with the conclave? Taking forever.
The longest conclave on record took nearly three years. The election of a successor to Pope Clement IV in 1268 dragged on for so long — about 1,000 days — that locals in the town of Viterbo, where it was held, locked the cardinals in the room where they had gathered until they reached a decision. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/conclave-2025-when-will-cardinals-replace-pope-francis/
MoreinCommon has the Tories a bit higher at 21% but still third in both polls.
Ironically you would now get more Conservative MPs elected with proportional representation than FPTP.
PR would also be the best way to ensure Farage and Reform can't get a majority and the best chance at the moment for Starmer to stay PM with LD and Green support (which with Yougov would be 2% higher combined than Reform and the Conservatives combined)
But it’s not gonna happen because to do it you’d have to get a referendum passed and Starmer’s chances of getting ANY referendum passed are 0.00000000200%
He is loathed and derided. People would vote against any referendum he proposed just for the hell of it
There's scope for them to do things in the current reorganisations of local govt around regional devolution and Mayors. It is all a little complex whilst in transition.
I was trying to get an idea what was happening with future elections, and it was a horrible job trying to trace it.
I don't think there is scope for PR, but there may be scope for eg moving to multi-member divisions, not single member boards, and aligned with however new unitary Councils emerge. That's not PR, but it gives voters alternative options.
I have no idea what it will look like, or approaches different regions and parties will try and take.
If a political party changes the voting system without a referendum or having it as a prominent part of their manifesto for general elections then personally (and I suspect many others will feel the same) that any future government elected under this new system has less legitimacy than one of johnsons love children
It’s looking distinctly possible that the next election will see the extinction of both the Tories AND the Labour Party
Oh god please let it happen
Reform with a Lib Dem opposition, new two party politics...
I met an ex-Tory MP today. Charismatic, charming. Surprisingly indiscreet in his opinions of some of those he had worked with. But definitely intelligent, with his own opinions - though clearly to allow that other opinions existed and were worthy of consideration. And I know a Labour MP - slightly surprising she is an MP, but she is diligent and hardworking and conscientious and will not whimsically decide something daft.
Whatever we think of LabCon, I'm worried that SPLORG will not have that many of this calibre.
That said, I've never seen any evidence my own (Lab) MP is any great brain or an individual of any note whatsoever.
It’s looking distinctly possible that the next election will see the extinction of both the Tories AND the Labour Party
Oh god please let it happen
Be careful what you wish for.
I've just put Nigel Farage through my shredder.
The Fukker mailshot has arrived - a week late.
And it had my name and address on it. Which I wasn't too pleased about even though it is their right to have my details as they were on the electoral register.
I was thinking about doing that trip when I was between jobs, but I found the prospect of Wick too depressing.
Well, I for one liked The North. The Stacks of Duncansby, Dunnet Head, Forsinard and the Flow Country, gold panning at the site of the UK's only gold rush etc etc.
And for the ultimate in Scottish nonsense architecture, Dunrobin Castle.
Wick might not be terribly exciting but there's nothing wrong with the landscape*
*Wind turbines on peat and Terry Wogan's dodgy forests excepted.
I was thinking about doing that trip when I was between jobs, but I found the prospect of Wick too depressing.
The castle just to the north is pretty nice.
That entire stretch of coastline between Thurso and Wick is very pleasant, and quite fascinating. In fact, that can be said of all of Scotland's northeastern coast. The only really bad bit is John O'Groats itself. Los of beautiful, empty beaches, ruined castles and friendly natives. And the midges are nowhere near as bad as they are on the west coast...
What are the odds on a poll this year with Ref and LD occupying the top 2 positions?
I think unlikely. I could see LD briefly ahead of Con but I don’t think they’ll catch Labour. Too correlated.
Green are now occupying the polling position the Lib Dems were in only a couple of years ago, but they didn’t do quite as well in the locals as I thought they might.
EXC: More than a dozen senior Tories break ranks with their own party to call for immediate recognition of Palestine.
A number of us have written to the Prime Minister calling for recognition of Palestine.
“By failing to recognise Palestine, we send the dangerous message that Palestinian statehood is conditional, while Israeli territorial expansion continues unchecked.”
EXC: More than a dozen senior Tories break ranks with their own party to call for immediate recognition of Palestine.
A number of us have written to the Prime Minister calling for recognition of Palestine.
“By failing to recognise Palestine, we send the dangerous message that Palestinian statehood is conditional, while Israeli territorial expansion continues unchecked.”
EXC: More than a dozen senior Tories break ranks with their own party to call for immediate recognition of Palestine.
A number of us have written to the Prime Minister calling for recognition of Palestine.
“By failing to recognise Palestine, we send the dangerous message that Palestinian statehood is conditional, while Israeli territorial expansion continues unchecked.”
Palestinian statehood is conditional and the final borders have not been negotiated yet, so there is no reason why Israel can't expand its territory.
The Palestinian leadership for years have rejected any final border agreements, and insisted that the borders are up for negotiations, so you can't insist that only the Palestinians can insist upon more land and not the Israelis.
I was just tidying a bookcase, when I came across my old Psion 5. A 1997 computer, which I used to write up notes and other stuff on walks and camping trips before retiring it twenty or so years ago. I slipped in a couple of AA batteries, and the blooming thing still works, and all my data is still on the compact flash card.
Aside from one horizontal line (a sign the cable to the screen is going), it appears to work fine. Given the three- or five-year built-in obsolescence in most modern devices, the Psion 5 really was a remarkable product.
And I still love the keyboard-and-screen form factor if you actually want to create content.
The Psion 5 was amazing, best keyboard ever attached to a pocket sized device. When I was at University I got myself a tiny little Sharp Zaurus from Japan which ran linux and had a rotating screen to read stuff off. It was brilliant but the typing experience was so much worse than the Psion.
The 7 series could have been a breakthrough into light weight laptops. I had a pre launch test machine. If they had scaled up production and halved the price it would have swept the market.
I don't know if the loons have noticed, but North Carolina is the best chance - after Maine - of a Democrat pickup next year.
The Republicans appear to have decided they don't want to win the Georgia Senate race, it seems odd that so many of them want to lose the North Carolina one too.
I was thinking about doing that trip when I was between jobs, but I found the prospect of Wick too depressing.
Well, I for one liked The North. The Stacks of Duncansby, Dunnet Head, Forsinard and the Flow Country, gold panning at the site of the UK's only gold rush etc etc.
And for the ultimate in Scottish nonsense architecture, Dunrobin Castle.
Wick might not be terribly exciting but there's nothing wrong with the landscape*
*Wind turbines on peat and Terry Wogan's dodgy forests excepted.
Fun fact: Forsinard is the most northerly station in Britain that has TWO platforms.
It’s looking distinctly possible that the next election will see the extinction of both the Tories AND the Labour Party
Oh god please let it happen
Be careful what you wish for.
I've just put Nigel Farage through my shredder.
The Fukker mailshot has arrived - a week late.
And it had my name and address on it. Which I wasn't too pleased about even though it is their right to have my details as they were on the electoral register.
If it was for the local election and was posted it will almost certainly break the election spending limit. Was it? Or was it a generic leaflet posted outside of the election period?
I was just tidying a bookcase, when I came across my old Psion 5. A 1997 computer, which I used to write up notes and other stuff on walks and camping trips before retiring it twenty or so years ago. I slipped in a couple of AA batteries, and the blooming thing still works, and all my data is still on the compact flash card.
Aside from one horizontal line (a sign the cable to the screen is going), it appears to work fine. Given the three- or five-year built-in obsolescence in most modern devices, the Psion 5 really was a remarkable product.
And I still love the keyboard-and-screen form factor if you actually want to create content.
The Psion 5 was amazing, best keyboard ever attached to a pocket sized device. When I was at University I got myself a tiny little Sharp Zaurus from Japan which ran linux and had a rotating screen to read stuff off. It was brilliant but the typing experience was so much worse than the Psion.
The 7 series could have been a breakthrough into light weight laptops. I had a pre launch test machine. If they had scaled up production and halved the price it would have swept the market.
One of my old colleagues in fund management loved his Psion 7 Series laptop - and used for five or six years after they ceased making it. At the time, Windows and Apple laptops would run for a couple of hours at most: and his 7 Series would run for a week.
They were - unfortunately - undercapitalized; but it really could have been the Chromebook, but a decade earlier.
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
You'd have picked up on it 5 years ago if your finger was on the pulse.
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
You were telling us it hadn’t increased at all. Now you’re blithely admitting shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years. Give over. You’re ridiculous
No I didn't. Come on.
I mean you literally did say there was just a small rise in theft. It was and remains one of the more laughable statements from anyone on here and I consider you someone I generally think is pretty sensible, though a little bit lacking in common sense (as we saw yesterday where you quoted a bunch of nonsense statistics while people literally witnessed criminality themselves). Like too many liberals I think you're far too accepting of official statistics and unable to conceive that the police, government and civil service are all useless and love to lie to the public.
It’s looking distinctly possible that the next election will see the extinction of both the Tories AND the Labour Party
Oh god please let it happen
Reform with a Lib Dem opposition, new two party politics...
Loads more likely is a quasi 2 party system with Labour and LDs splitting up England in two parts of unequal size, but not competing with each other, as this is already how it mostly works, and the Reform Conservative Association Party, however it emerges, being the other of the two. S, W and NI are like the past, they do things differently there.
No-one will notice, but they will all, as always, be social democrats, working from the post WWII consensus.
I was thinking about doing that trip when I was between jobs, but I found the prospect of Wick too depressing.
The castle just to the north is pretty nice.
That entire stretch of coastline between Thurso and Wick is very pleasant, and quite fascinating. In fact, that can be said of all of Scotland's northeastern coast. The only really bad bit is John O'Groats itself. Los of beautiful, empty beaches, ruined castles and friendly natives. And the midges are nowhere near as bad as they are on the west coast...
EXC: More than a dozen senior Tories break ranks with their own party to call for immediate recognition of Palestine.
A number of us have written to the Prime Minister calling for recognition of Palestine.
“By failing to recognise Palestine, we send the dangerous message that Palestinian statehood is conditional, while Israeli territorial expansion continues unchecked.”
Totally off topic: Has anyone ever produced an electric car with a sizable battery incorporating a petrol/diesel fueled generator that can extend the range? i.e. the petrol/diesel just powers a generator which feeds the engine or battery, not the wheels.
Would mean that (a) you would not need two drive trains like a hybrid (b) you would avoid needing a "performance" petrol engine able to accelerate fast (c) recharging on long journeys is via a classic petrol station.
You'd aim for the generator to produce at least the average power requirements of the electric engine. Obviously the driver would need to anticipate they were on a long journey and turn on the generator to keep the battery topped up, but that seems fairly straightforward.
I do single digit miles every day in London then 200 miles+ a few times a year on holiday - this would seem to fit that bill.
EXC: More than a dozen senior Tories break ranks with their own party to call for immediate recognition of Palestine.
A number of us have written to the Prime Minister calling for recognition of Palestine.
“By failing to recognise Palestine, we send the dangerous message that Palestinian statehood is conditional, while Israeli territorial expansion continues unchecked.”
I was just tidying a bookcase, when I came across my old Psion 5. A 1997 computer, which I used to write up notes and other stuff on walks and camping trips before retiring it twenty or so years ago. I slipped in a couple of AA batteries, and the blooming thing still works, and all my data is still on the compact flash card.
Aside from one horizontal line (a sign the cable to the screen is going), it appears to work fine. Given the three- or five-year built-in obsolescence in most modern devices, the Psion 5 really was a remarkable product.
And I still love the keyboard-and-screen form factor if you actually want to create content.
Why do modern computers break down after about 6 or 7 years but our ZX Spectrum from 1986 and QL from 1984 are still working fine?
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
Lived experience is code for own facts.
This is actual EXPERIENCE.
We've both seen it over the last 48 hours. It's rife.
You're a Moron. That's my lived experience of you.
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
You'd have picked up on it 5 years ago if your finger was on the pulse.
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
You were telling us it hadn’t increased at all. Now you’re blithely admitting shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years. Give over. You’re ridiculous
No I didn't. Come on.
I mean you literally did say there was just a small rise in theft. It was and remains one of the more laughable statements from anyone on here and I consider you someone I generally think is pretty sensible, though a little bit lacking in common sense (as we saw yesterday where you quoted a bunch of nonsense statistics while people literally witnessed criminality themselves). Like too many liberals I think you're far too accepting of official statistics and unable to conceive that the police, government and civil service are all useless and love to lie to the public.
I'm gonna go with stats over anecdote except in the rarest of circumstances. I'm happy to accept that they could be wildly out in this case, but I think that's down to the difference between people v businesses experiencing crime, and reporting issues, which is an interesting finding in itself.
I doubt there is much lying going on. It would be a conspiracy that extends across governments. And when it comes to anecodotes, shoplifting was constant when I was worked in retail 8+ years ago.
Totally off topic: Has anyone ever produced an electric car with a sizable battery incorporating a petrol/diesel fueled generator that can extend the range? i.e. the petrol/diesel just powers a generator which feeds the engine or battery, not the wheels.
Would mean that (a) you would not need two drive trains like a hybrid (b) you would avoid needing a "performance" petrol engine able to accelerate fast (c) recharging on long journeys is via a classic petrol station.
You'd aim for the generator to produce at least the average power requirements of the electric engine. Obviously the driver would need to anticipate they were on a long journey and turn on the generator to keep the battery topped up, but that seems fairly straightforward.
I do single digit miles every day in London then 200 miles+ a few times a year on holiday - this would seem to fit that bill.
Yes:
The BMW i3 worked like that; it was a plug in electric vehicle with an additional small gasoline motor that could be used to charge battery. It was a sensible idea, but unfortunately, the issue was that the petrol tank was very small, and the power of the gasoline motor / generator wasn't actually powerful enough to charge the battery at the same rate it was depleted.
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
Lived experience is code for own facts.
This is actual EXPERIENCE.
We've both seen it over the last 48 hours. It's rife.
You're a Moron. That's my lived experience of you.
I was just tidying a bookcase, when I came across my old Psion 5. A 1997 computer, which I used to write up notes and other stuff on walks and camping trips before retiring it twenty or so years ago. I slipped in a couple of AA batteries, and the blooming thing still works, and all my data is still on the compact flash card.
Aside from one horizontal line (a sign the cable to the screen is going), it appears to work fine. Given the three- or five-year built-in obsolescence in most modern devices, the Psion 5 really was a remarkable product.
And I still love the keyboard-and-screen form factor if you actually want to create content.
Why do modern computers break down after about 6 or 7 years but our ZX Spectrum from 1986 and QL from 1984 are still working fine?
Survivor bias. There's a cottage industry re-capping and rebuilding retro computers so people can use them again.
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
Lived experience is code for own facts.
This is actual EXPERIENCE.
We've both seen it over the last 48 hours. It's rife.
You're a Moron. That's my lived experience of you.
My lived experience from 8 years ago = constant shoplifting and getting spoken to by the police for energetically removing headtorches from a thief.
I was just tidying a bookcase, when I came across my old Psion 5. A 1997 computer, which I used to write up notes and other stuff on walks and camping trips before retiring it twenty or so years ago. I slipped in a couple of AA batteries, and the blooming thing still works, and all my data is still on the compact flash card.
Aside from one horizontal line (a sign the cable to the screen is going), it appears to work fine. Given the three- or five-year built-in obsolescence in most modern devices, the Psion 5 really was a remarkable product.
And I still love the keyboard-and-screen form factor if you actually want to create content.
Why do modern computers break down after about 6 or 7 years but our ZX Spectrum from 1986 and QL from 1984 are still working fine?
I would be staggered if the microdrive is still working on that QL. Most of them stopped working within weeks of being purchased.
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
You'd have picked up on it 5 years ago if your finger was on the pulse.
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
You were telling us it hadn’t increased at all. Now you’re blithely admitting shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years. Give over. You’re ridiculous
No I didn't. Come on.
I mean you literally did say there was just a small rise in theft. It was and remains one of the more laughable statements from anyone on here and I consider you someone I generally think is pretty sensible, though a little bit lacking in common sense (as we saw yesterday where you quoted a bunch of nonsense statistics while people literally witnessed criminality themselves). Like too many liberals I think you're far too accepting of official statistics and unable to conceive that the police, government and civil service are all useless and love to lie to the public.
I'm gonna go with stats over anecdote except in the rarest of circumstances. I'm happy to accept that they could be wildly out in this case, but I think that's down to the difference between people v businesses experiencing crime, and reporting issues, which is an interesting finding in itself.
I doubt there is much lying going on. It would be a conspiracy that extends across governments. And when it comes to anecodotes, shoplifting was constant when I was worked in retail 8+ years ago.
And the stats show an increase in incidents so dramatic it is shown on a log scale, a 10-fold increase.
I was just tidying a bookcase, when I came across my old Psion 5. A 1997 computer, which I used to write up notes and other stuff on walks and camping trips before retiring it twenty or so years ago. I slipped in a couple of AA batteries, and the blooming thing still works, and all my data is still on the compact flash card.
Aside from one horizontal line (a sign the cable to the screen is going), it appears to work fine. Given the three- or five-year built-in obsolescence in most modern devices, the Psion 5 really was a remarkable product.
And I still love the keyboard-and-screen form factor if you actually want to create content.
Why do modern computers break down after about 6 or 7 years but our ZX Spectrum from 1986 and QL from 1984 are still working fine?
Why are those old firms bust, but the ones who sell you replacement after replacement after replacement still going strong?
Incidentally on that YouGov SPLORG is at 61 to 39. That’s the highest I’ve seen, not surprisingly.
Left vs Right remains balanced: LLG 48 RefCon 47.
It's political history in the making. Only weeks ago we were discussing the significance if Lab/Con fell below 50%. Last July they got 57%. In 2017 they got over 82%. At the end of April the lowest was 40%. Now there is a 39% (though may well be an outlier).
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
You'd have picked up on it 5 years ago if your finger was on the pulse.
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
You were telling us it hadn’t increased at all. Now you’re blithely admitting shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years. Give over. You’re ridiculous
No I didn't. Come on.
I mean you literally did say there was just a small rise in theft. It was and remains one of the more laughable statements from anyone on here and I consider you someone I generally think is pretty sensible, though a little bit lacking in common sense (as we saw yesterday where you quoted a bunch of nonsense statistics while people literally witnessed criminality themselves). Like too many liberals I think you're far too accepting of official statistics and unable to conceive that the police, government and civil service are all useless and love to lie to the public.
I'm gonna go with stats over anecdote except in the rarest of circumstances. I'm happy to accept that they could be wildly out in this case, but I think that's down to the difference between people v businesses experiencing crime, and reporting issues, which is an interesting finding in itself.
I doubt there is much lying going on. It would be a conspiracy that extends across governments. And when it comes to anecodotes, shoplifting was constant when I was worked in retail 8+ years ago.
The Economist - not known for being an alt.right outlet - posted actual stats. A tenfold increase in shoplifting in ten years
All doors temporarily locked. Had to unlock them for me so I could get in
“Disruption by shoplifters, Sir”
But remember we are all imagining it, as @Eabhal assures us
Jeezo, this has really upset you.
FWIW, my local Scotmid regularly gets cleaned out by a group of 16-year olds. I'm not suggesting it's not happening, just that the sudden obsession with it is a bit odd.
The big spike happened in 2020 and I don't recall any conniptions about it then. It's similar to small boats to a lesser extent, with the giant leap happening in 2022.
I respect your lived experience, of course.
The sudden obsession is possibly because, according to the Economist last week, shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years
You'd have picked up on it 5 years ago if your finger was on the pulse.
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
You were telling us it hadn’t increased at all. Now you’re blithely admitting shoplifting has increased ten-fold in ten years. Give over. You’re ridiculous
No I didn't. Come on.
I mean you literally did say there was just a small rise in theft. It was and remains one of the more laughable statements from anyone on here and I consider you someone I generally think is pretty sensible, though a little bit lacking in common sense (as we saw yesterday where you quoted a bunch of nonsense statistics while people literally witnessed criminality themselves). Like too many liberals I think you're far too accepting of official statistics and unable to conceive that the police, government and civil service are all useless and love to lie to the public.
I'm gonna go with stats over anecdote except in the rarest of circumstances. I'm happy to accept that they could be wildly out in this case, but I think that's down to the difference between people v businesses experiencing crime, and reporting issues, which is an interesting finding in itself.
I doubt there is much lying going on. It would be a conspiracy that extends across governments. And when it comes to anecodotes, shoplifting was constant when I was worked in retail 8+ years ago.
You're wrong about the stats, there have been numerous occasions where people's experience has been right and the statistics have been wrong. The economic recovery post COVID is a good one, anyone who went out of their house in 2022 realised that the economy had fully recovered because everything was busy, the pubs were packed, restaurants impossible to book and generally everything was booming. The ONS steadfastly stuck to their guns that the economy hadn't recovered to pre-COVID size all the way until 2024 when they said, well actually the people were right the economy was booming and it's actually about 1.5% larger than we first thought and fully recovered the COVID dip by the middle of 2022 which is what people's experiences said to them.
I'll trust my own eyes before I'll trust the government, and remember I was saying this under the Tories in 2022 as well so it's not because it's Labour, I just think they're all shit at this.
Comments
Oh god please let it happen
Ironically you would now get more Conservative MPs elected with proportional representation than FPTP.
PR would also be the best way to ensure Farage and Reform can't get a majority and the best chance at the moment for Starmer to stay PM with LD and Green support (which with Yougov would be 2% higher combined than Reform and the Conservatives combined)
https://x.com/LukeTryl/status/1920015225333370996
The English are sick to death of Labour and Tories
His Mother will talk to school first thing tomorrow
Also the Tories and Labour simply do not deserve to exist. They’ve failed so appallingly. The Tories in the last 14 years and Labour in the noughties and now returning to power with zero ideas except making the lives of British people as miserable as possible and favouring all foreigners
Enough. Get rid of the whole damn lot. The entire uniparty establishment (and their activist lawyers). Sweep it all away and start again
But I do think a discussion on crime is overdue. There has been brilliant progress in violence, theft, criminal damage and so on - and that's from surveys of actual people. All governments since the 90s can take credit for that.
Otoh, 4 million people experienced fraud last year, with a huge percentage increase as part of a long term trend. That's much more devastating than shoplifting, I suggest.
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/undercover-exposing-the-far-right
Or this from 2022. Again, Dispatches. This includes interviews with Hope Not Hate, who supplied evidence wrt Tommy Robinson.
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-enemy-within-the-far-right-dispatches
Or this from Radio Wales, on a group called Patriotic Alternative, from January this year. This is more about the movement and how this part of it operate. This is 7 20 minute episodes:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0kktwvl
This is one I had not noted before from 2017, but includes the Head of Counter Terrorism of the time commenting. I have not listened yet. The blurb mentions members of National Action in connection with a plot to murder an MP.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09dysx6
AFAICS from published reports the current threats are that Islamist is from abroad and strategic, Far Right are quite heavily "self-initiated", and Far Left are relatively minor. AIUI the last time a group called Antifa were doing violence in the UK was in the 1990s to counter violence attached Far Right demos; I have a book about it written a few years later.
He is loathed and derided. People would vote against any referendum he proposed just for the hell of it
Whatever we think of LabCon, I'm worried that SPLORG will not have that many of this calibre.
It’s not a proper party . There’s no democratic structure and it’s just a vehicle for him alone .
Whereas if Farage becomes PM he will ditch his previous support for PR and stick to FPTP.
One Nation Tories may soon become even greater lovers of PR than the LDs and Greens if they see it as the best way to keep their seats!
https://x.com/rishisunak/status/1920076749825618381
No nation should have to accept terrorist attacks being launched against it from land controlled by another country.
India is justified in striking terrorist infrastructure. There can be no impunity for terrorists.
I was trying to get an idea what was happening with future elections, and it was a horrible job trying to trace it.
I don't think there is scope for PR, but there may be scope for eg moving to multi-member divisions, not single member boards, and aligned with however new unitary Councils emerge. That's not PR, but it gives voters alternative options.
I have no idea what it will look like, or approaches different regions and parties will try and take.
(Is that how Mr Gove would say it?)
About ten minutes ago
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/conclave-2025-when-will-cardinals-replace-pope-francis/
To be fourth would require two rounding errors.
/pedanticbetting.
https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/this-is-officially-the-uks-most-remote-train-journey-050525
That's a pretty epic geography fail.
The Fukker mailshot has arrived - a week late.
And it had my name and address on it. Which I wasn't too pleased about even though it is their right to have my details as they were on the electoral register.
https://x.com/LivePDDave1/status/1919857332026294703
https://x.com/MAGAVoice/status/1919929065152381147
And for the ultimate in Scottish nonsense architecture, Dunrobin Castle.
Wick might not be terribly exciting but there's nothing wrong with the landscape*
*Wind turbines on peat and Terry Wogan's dodgy forests excepted.
Green are now occupying the polling position the Lib Dems were in only a couple of years ago, but they didn’t do quite as well in the locals as I thought they might.
What with that and Luxembourg it’s turning out alright for a boring grey day with a cold
Asylum hotels were searched as counter-terror police and military personnel detained five Iranian nationals over the weekend, GB News can reveal.
GB News understands that asylum hotels were searched as part of the operation and that some of the men had an irregular route of entry to Britain.
A number of us have written to the Prime Minister calling for recognition of Palestine.
“By failing to recognise Palestine, we send the dangerous message that Palestinian statehood is conditional, while Israeli territorial expansion continues unchecked.”
https://x.com/kitmalthouse/status/1919811910129578031
Left vs Right remains balanced: LLG 48 RefCon 47.
"They're all shit!"
"Total reset!"
There's so much self-indulgent twattery around these days.
The Palestinian leadership for years have rejected any final border agreements, and insisted that the borders are up for negotiations, so you can't insist that only the Palestinians can insist upon more land and not the Israelis.
https://news.sky.com/story/conclave-latest-cardinals-gather-for-secretive-vote-electing-the-next-pope-12846482
https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/india-pakistan-attack-kashmir-tourists-intl-hnk
French official says Pakistan downed Rafale jet as officials examine possible further losses
The Republicans appear to have decided they don't want to win the Georgia Senate race, it seems odd that so many of them want to lose the North Carolina one too.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/david-lammy-mocked-for-fuming-at-racist-bbc-after-report-on-sistine-chapels-black-and-white-smoke-8532676.html
They were - unfortunately - undercapitalized; but it really could have been the Chromebook, but a decade earlier.
When the MP appeared on Celebrity Mastermind he answered Henry VII when asked who succeeded Henry VIII in 1547.
No-one will notice, but they will all, as always, be social democrats, working from the post WWII consensus.
Malthouse is a dickhead. As well as astonishingly lazy in his home patch.
Would mean that
(a) you would not need two drive trains like a hybrid
(b) you would avoid needing a "performance" petrol engine able to accelerate fast
(c) recharging on long journeys is via a classic petrol station.
You'd aim for the generator to produce at least the average power requirements of the electric engine. Obviously the driver would need to anticipate they were on a long journey and turn on the generator to keep the battery topped up, but that seems fairly straightforward.
I do single digit miles every day in London then 200 miles+ a few times a year on holiday - this would seem to fit that bill.
They haven't a clue.
This is actual EXPERIENCE.
We've both seen it over the last 48 hours. It's rife.
You're a Moron. That's my lived experience of you.
I doubt there is much lying going on. It would be a conspiracy that extends across governments. And when it comes to anecodotes, shoplifting was constant when I was worked in retail 8+ years ago.
The BMW i3 worked like that; it was a plug in electric vehicle with an additional small gasoline motor that could be used to charge battery. It was a sensible idea, but unfortunately, the issue was that the petrol tank was very small, and the power of the gasoline motor / generator wasn't actually powerful enough to charge the battery at the same rate it was depleted.
We never reported it.
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20201201/004/index-en.aspx?wbdisable=true
Edit: this appears to be covid related
I'll trust my own eyes before I'll trust the government, and remember I was saying this under the Tories in 2022 as well so it's not because it's Labour, I just think they're all shit at this.