With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
People didnt vote for Labour at all, they voted against the Conservatives,
Trouble with that view (which I share) is that the ballot paper has a x by the labour candidate irrespective of whether its for them or against the tories.
I can see others following, The party has lost whatever was left of its mind.
Can't read more thana bit of the speccy and there's no full reportbut his specific concern seems to be that ther ScoTories don't give a shit aboujt society's vulnerable people.
Edit: Which also noitably accuses the party of only being interested in the rural areas and being anti the urban areas.
Fair play for putting his head above the parapet, but has he been paying attention during his three decades of membership?
Seriously, you are going to have a dig at a politician from an Opposition party when far too many SNP politicians have been turning a blind eye to the many scandals engulfing the SNP Government at Holyrood over the last eighteen years?! Maybe if far more of them had not only been paying attention but had also grown a backbone then the party might not be in the mess it is today!
Always good to get advice from a supporter of a party that hasn’t managed to win majority support in Scotland for 60+ years, and is now on the verge of extinction.
Always good to see a fan of the SNP dish it out to others while never reporting or reflecting on the growing intray of huge scandals engulfing the SNP Government at Holyrood. I see that this week was another good one to bury yet more bad news about the SNP's inability to run a whelk store competently far less an administration at Holyrood while it is in recess and Nicola Sturgeon is flogging her memoirs and trying to settle old grievances with some of the individuals that did dare to stand up and call her out while she was FM.
I really think you should take the trouble to read Sturgeons book before you continue your misleading critique of it. I makes you sound foolish
Good God Roger, PBers don't need to read books to have an opinion on it! A headline in the Express and a J.K. Rowling tweet covers it.
Interestingly she does very little of that. I was hoping for more.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
People didnt vote for Labour at all, they voted against the Conservatives,
Yet since the general election the Scottish Tories have been losing voters to the even more reactionary Reform not Labour and the LDs
In which case, the Scottish Tories have two choices:
*) To chase Reform down into the reactionary pit. *) To choose a more practical position to the problems that face the country.
The problems with the former are that Reform are kings of that particular hill, and trying to beat them will only cause both of them to descend further into the pit as they become more extremist. That will not be good for the country.
The problems with the latter is that it is hard, and you need to sell it to a public that is intrigued by Reform's stupid, but easy, 'answers' to the problems that face them.
Would be an astonishing turnaround from 8 and a half months out if the Tories scraped any higher than the high teens in MSPs. The "vote for us to stop independence" spiel is now dead. Reform are pulling away the bulk of ex Torys, some Lab, and a handfuls of others/previous non voters.
Right now its like the Scottish Tories are losing on points in the 7th round to the invisible man. Couldn't name you a single Reform policltician/candidate based in Scotland
For the likes of Mr Balfour, polling reality is now hitting them
Might it be time yet again for the split from UK Tories doomsday button? Trouble is no one has a clue what the Independent Scottish Conservatives would stand for, most especially the SCons.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
People didnt vote for Labour at all, they voted against the Conservatives,
Trouble with that view (which I share) is that the ballot paper has a x by the labour candidate irrespective of whether its for them or against the tories.
Only in seats where Labour had a chance of winning.
I’ve argued for years that many people don’t vote for a party. They rule out say parties a and b (Tories say) and then pick the party most likely to win from the remaining options (Labour in many cases, Lib Dems in others).
If you want an example of this look at Redcar’s voting pattern from 2005 onwards
There's a lot of doom and gloom around at the moment but the one thing that makes me hopeful for civilization is that Channel 5 are revving Play for Today. Whilst some of the original Plays could be a bit identikit lefty, many have said with me longer than any big budget TV drama of recent years. There's one in particular with Charles Dance called 'Rainy Day Women' which haunts me to this day. It's set during WWII and portrays a local Home Guard unit that has become a vehicle for paranoia, old local vendettas and mistrust.
Why was Thames Water commissioning studies on illegal immigrants? Curious.
They have to commission studies on population - one of the push backs used against any infrastructure work is that "population isn't really growing in area X". So Thames Water need a chunky wedge of paper they can drop on the judge's desk saying, in vast detail, that the population is growing.
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Why was Thames Water commissioning studies on illegal immigrants? Curious.
Estimating and forecasting demand for water. Some of the broader indicators of how many people live in an area do not match up with official statistics (particularly shopping for food), so private firms dig into the stats so they can optimise their operations.
Not usually a big issue in the UK - in the US it's more important. It's not all about illegal immigration either - it's actually quite difficult to get a handle on how many people are in particularly areas - the explosion of housing in Midlothian has made it difficult to work how many schools and GPs you need because the census only happens every 10 years and by the time it's published it's out of date.
There's a lot of doom and gloom around at the moment but the one thing that makes me hopeful for civilization is that Channel 5 are revving Play for Today. Whilst some of the original Plays could be a bit identikit lefty, many have said with me longer than any big budget TV drama of recent years. There's one in particular with Charles Dance called 'Rainy Day Women' which haunts me to this day. It's set during WWII and portrays a local Home Guard unit that has become a vehicle for paranoia, old local vendettas and mistrust.
Yes, I remember that one. Right up there with Abigails Party and Nuts in May.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
Bland Toryism is all the bond markets will permit.
Not quite true. The bond markets value fiscal and economic reality, and the voters want centrist social democracy of the sort they have voted for consistently since 1945. There is a range of ways in which this can be delivered and more or less competence in delivery. Such voters who wil vote Reform, we will discover, want, in addition to closed borders and fewer refugees, the post 1945 welfare state delivered free and effectively and without the national bankruptcy of a sovereign debt meltdown. Some will work out that that high spend + fiscal probity = high tax for oneself; others will find out later.
The bond markets are concerned with both credit risk and inflation (and base rate) expectations. I think a lot of commentators focus entirely on the former and forget the latter.
Case in point, yesterday government borrowing came in below expectations but the gilt yield didn’t fall, in fact it slightly rose over the day. Case in point 2, several European countries have higher debt:gdp ratios than us, lower GDP growth, and also higher current deficits, as of course does the US, but their bond yields are lower.
If you are investing in a fixed term bond at a fixed rate and you expect inflation and depreciation of the currency, you’ll demand a higher yield even if there is zero default risk.
The UK has a higher idiot premium under Labour than it has had since Truss. Rachel Reeves is Liz Truss in slow motion as markets lose faith in the UK government's ability to cut spending and bring borrowing under control. We are one poorly received fiscal event away from complete meltdown.
My reading is it’s about 30% views on the UK’s ability to bring borrowing down, 30% views on the UK’s growth outlook, and 40% inflation and fx expectations.
Yes, I think so but that first one will become very important, very quickly in the event of a badly received fiscal event or even a fiscal event out of the government's control such as a new war that sends inflation shooting up or a crash that destroys our finance/fintech sector and tax base. That's part of the UK's idiot premium that Liz Truss introduced, Rishi and Hunt worked hard to remove and Rachel has brought back because she's shit at the job.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
There's a lot of doom and gloom around at the moment but the one thing that makes me hopeful for civilization is that Channel 5 are revving Play for Today. Whilst some of the original Plays could be a bit identikit lefty, many have said with me longer than any big budget TV drama of recent years. There's one in particular with Charles Dance called 'Rainy Day Women' which haunts me to this day. It's set during WWII and portrays a local Home Guard unit that has become a vehicle for paranoia, old local vendettas and mistrust.
Yes, I remember that one. Right up there with Abigails Party and Nuts in May.
Nuts in May is absolutely hilarious. The other one which sticks with me is one called 'O Fat White Woman' about a sadistic headmaster of a Crammer and his wife's complicity.
There's a lot of doom and gloom around at the moment but the one thing that makes me hopeful for civilization is that Channel 5 are revving Play for Today. Whilst some of the original Plays could be a bit identikit lefty, many have said with me longer than any big budget TV drama of recent years. There's one in particular with Charles Dance called 'Rainy Day Women' which haunts me to this day. It's set during WWII and portrays a local Home Guard unit that has become a vehicle for paranoia, old local vendettas and mistrust.
Yes, I remember that one. Right up there with Abigails Party and Nuts in May.
Nuts in May was very funny. It also contains one of the only two 'cultural references' I'm aware of to the old University of Wales part-one system (the other being Kingsley Amis's 'Luck Jim').
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Maybe, maybe not. It could be a movement, or it could be a few people who have done a bulk order on Temu.
After all, if you judged support by the number of flyposted bits of paper in urban areas, our Socialist Worker government is entering its sixtieth unbroken year of glorious rule.
Perhaps a good subject for a PB header.? No newspaper seems to get get linked to on this site more than the Telegraph Surprising as it's little better than the Express these days
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Maybe, maybe not. It could be a movement, or it could be a few people who have done a bulk order on Temu.
After all, if you judged support by the number of flyposted bits of paper in urban areas, our Socialist Worker government is entering its sixtieth unbroken year of glorious rule.
Have Reform in Wales decided that Plaid Cymru have a point?
At what point does it become explicit that any country (including USA and UK) being involved in actual, real and effective security guarantees for Ukraine is also saying they are willing for their troops to be killed in that cause? Until that is plain - as it was for example when we engaged in Iraq or Afghanistan - I don't think the politcs of the process has really begun. Tentative prediction: It isn't going to begin in the medium term.
The British public and hence government have no appetite for taking casualties. In Iraq and Afghanistan combined we took ~600 KIA over 20 years and that was a massive political problem but that's a slow Vtornik afternoon in the SMO.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
All 3 seats in Addlestone - 2 x district and one county. They didnt advance much in Esher where the LD gained. The Con vote held up a bit better there (not well enough of course!) In the 2 x district council seats the LDs advanced but not enough. They split the rest of the vote with the collapsing Tories just sneaking ahead but both on low 20s% so Reform took both seats through the middle on low 30s
There's a lot of doom and gloom around at the moment but the one thing that makes me hopeful for civilization is that Channel 5 are revving Play for Today. Whilst some of the original Plays could be a bit identikit lefty, many have said with me longer than any big budget TV drama of recent years. There's one in particular with Charles Dance called 'Rainy Day Women' which haunts me to this day. It's set during WWII and portrays a local Home Guard unit that has become a vehicle for paranoia, old local vendettas and mistrust.
Yes, I remember that one. Right up there with Abigails Party and Nuts in May.
I like Demis Roussos, Ange likes Demis Roussos, Tony likes Demis Roussos ... so can we have some Demis Roussos please, alright?
Why was Thames Water commissioning studies on illegal immigrants? Curious.
Estimating and forecasting demand for water. Some of the broader indicators of how many people live in an area do not match up with official statistics (particularly shopping for food), so private firms dig into the stats so they can optimise their operations.
Not usually a big issue in the UK - in the US it's more important. It's not all about illegal immigration either - it's actually quite difficult to get a handle on how many people are in particularly areas - the explosion of housing in Midlothian has made it difficult to work how many schools and GPs you need because the census only happens every 10 years and by the time it's published it's out of date.
Typical of Thames Water that there conclusion for high water "usage" is more people in houses than expected rather than the numerous leaks in their system. That only seems to get their attention when a massive sinkhole has been created and a road collapsed.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
All well and good but this bit from what you have posted stands out - "The analysis found that there were between 390,355 and 585,533 illegal migrants in the Thames Water London Water Resource Zone."
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Maybe, maybe not. It could be a movement, or it could be a few people who have done a bulk order on Temu.
After all, if you judged support by the number of flyposted bits of paper in urban areas, our Socialist Worker government is entering its sixtieth unbroken year of glorious rule.
Have Reform in Wales decided that Plaid Cymru have a point?
Senedd 2026 will be a very interesting election, but both conservative and labour parties will need to look away
I do expect the Senedd and Holyrood elections next Spring to be pivotal moments for both Badenoch and Starmer and one or both may well be served with their P45
There's a lot of doom and gloom around at the moment but the one thing that makes me hopeful for civilization is that Channel 5 are revving Play for Today. Whilst some of the original Plays could be a bit identikit lefty, many have said with me longer than any big budget TV drama of recent years. There's one in particular with Charles Dance called 'Rainy Day Women' which haunts me to this day. It's set during WWII and portrays a local Home Guard unit that has become a vehicle for paranoia, old local vendettas and mistrust.
For me it was The Flipside of Dominick Hide. I know time travel causal loops are a cliche now, but my young teenage self was fascinated by the concept. And I was totally besotted with the young Caroline Langrishe, who played the female lead.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
Perhaps a good subject for a PB header.? No newspaper seems to get get linked to on this site more than the Telegraph Surprising as it's little better than the Express these days
I do wonder why you even bother with the Telegraph or Express as you know their agenda
I doubt many read newspapers anymore, getting their news more from the broadcast media or online
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
Robbie Gibb's BBC have been very selective on their Gaza reporting. It is a shame because those like Jeremy Bowen have an authoritative understanding of the region. Bowen seems little used, presumably because of his critical reporting of Bibi and the IDF.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
I don't think foreign policy wins elections.
Of course this is right in most cases. No doubt our foreign policy on Sudan wars is that we are against them and think there should be peace and few votes are swayed.
But foreign practices matter. If Starmer stood up today and said: 'A UK engagement in Ukraine security means that our troops might be killed and we are wiling to do our part if necessary without the USA. Engagement starts next week alongside France, Canada and Germany', such a act could easily be election shifting. The problem is no-one would know in which direction.
Perhaps a good subject for a PB header.? No newspaper seems to get get linked to on this site more than the Telegraph Surprising as it's little better than the Express these days
I do wonder why you even bother with the Telegraph or Express as you know their agenda
I doubt many read newspapers anymore, getting their news more from the broadcast media or online
The Southern Star can still make waves with a news story in West Cork.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
The Russians aim their missile attacks against civilian population areas, in Ukraine. Because that's how they do business.
The targeting of civilians in Ukraine was happening from day one. Complete with the usual trenches full of dead people with bound hands - the photographs that seem to be standard for every atrocity merchant, since photography got going.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
Robbie Gibb's BBC have been very selective on their Gaza reporting. It is a shame because those like Jeremy Bowen have an authoritative understanding of the region. Bowen seems little used, presumably because of his critical reporting of Bibi and the IDF.
I think the full horror of Gaza starkly reported by the broadcast media, together with the horrors of the Ukraine war, are causing the public to switch over to other channels, not because they are not sympathetric but that it is so hard to watch and neither Netanyahu or Hamas seem to accept civilians are not and never will be an acceptable casualty of war
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
There was a theatre in Mariupol I recall, which was blown up with several hundred civilians inside it despite being clearly marked деты (children)
Hamas is an army which has carried out war crimes.
Russia every night kills civilians, using guided missiles and drones, it is deliberate targeting. In Kherson, Russian soldiers carry out a human safari, killing civilians with FPV drones.
Russia has kidnapped Ukrainian children and is reeducating them as good little Russians, I don't believe the Israelis are doing that to Palestinian children.
Whatrver Hamas did (and it was gross) the war in Gaza disproportionately impacts civilians and I don't believe you should counter terrorism with genocide. The Israeli response has gone well beyond the norms of legitimate warfare.
But the Russian actions in Ukraine are naked genocidal aggressive war. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have died, it is probably six figures by now but I don't have numbers to hand. How you can think you can invade another country and only wage war on its army is beyond me. Especially the way the Russians do it.
So you're just another leftist apologist for a fascist regime.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
The disttrict council turnout was well up on the Oct 2024 by election, the County Council had about 800 fewer votes than 2021 when last fought (don't have % sorry)
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
I've looked myself: 24% in the seat Reform won, 34% in the one they didn't.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
There was a theatre in Mariupol I recall, which was blown up with several hundred civilians inside it despite being clearly marked деты (children)
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
Robbie Gibb's BBC have been very selective on their Gaza reporting. It is a shame because those like Jeremy Bowen have an authoritative understanding of the region. Bowen seems little used, presumably because of his critical reporting of Bibi and the IDF.
I think the full horror of Gaza starkly reported by the broadcast media, together with the horrors of the Ukraine war, are causing the public to switch over to other channels, not because they are not sympathetric but that it is so hard to watch and neither Netanyahu or Hamas seem to accept civilians are not and never will be an acceptable casualty of war
This diabolical war is highly asymetrical. Personally I think Israel's strategy is in the end to remove and replace the population of Gaza. That Gaza is to be reduced to rubble is already done and continuing.
The policy of Hamas in not surrendering in a situation they cannot contain or win, thereby giving Israel cover for their actions and intentions is a mistake.
That Israel's policy is a mistake is of course also true, but I think it is their mistake which will prevail for now.
(It's a tough world for us wet centrists who just support the interests of good people on all both sides).
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
The disttrict council turnout was well up on the Oct 2024 by election, the County Council had about 800 fewer votes than 2021 when last fought (don't have % sorry)
Turnout in Donny in 19%, just announced
Under 20% isn't at all good is it, no matter who wins. But, I'm not familiar with South Yorkshire; there aren't 'traditional' holiday weeks there, are there.
Whatever Trump has been trying to do, the result seems to be an increase in support among Republicans for sending military aid to Ukraine. Which is interesting.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
Ah yes, the 'army' that includes a four-year-old girl with Down Syndrome.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
Robbie Gibb's BBC have been very selective on their Gaza reporting. It is a shame because those like Jeremy Bowen have an authoritative understanding of the region. Bowen seems little used, presumably because of his critical reporting of Bibi and the IDF.
I think the full horror of Gaza starkly reported by the broadcast media, together with the horrors of the Ukraine war, are causing the public to switch over to other channels, not because they are not sympathetric but that it is so hard to watch and neither Netanyahu or Hamas seem to accept civilians are not and never will be an acceptable casualty of war
This diabolical war is highly asymetrical. Personally I think Israel's strategy is in the end to remove and replace the population of Gaza. That Gaza is to be reduced to rubble is already done and continuing.
The policy of Hamas in not surrendering in a situation they cannot contain or win, thereby giving Israel cover for their actions and intentions is a mistake.
That Israel's policy is a mistake is of course also true, but I think it is their mistake which will prevail for now.
(It's a tough world for us wet centrists who just support the interests of good people on all both sides).
Depends on what Hamas' aims are.
If they are to protect the Gazan people, yes, it's stupid.
If it's to make Israel so hated that in the long term it cannot survive, their actions are logical.
As they have never shown the slightest concern for the people of Gaza and are ultimately backed by Iran, my money's on B.
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Our local Facebook group has people putting up flags in our town overnight.
Durham council leader is saying they won’t be removed.
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
I drove from Bedfordshire to Chichester on Wednesday and a number of the bridges on the A3 had Union Flags fixed on them (several if them upside down). I don't see any harm in it personally.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
The Russians aim their missile attacks against civilian population areas, in Ukraine. Because that's how they do business.
The targeting of civilians in Ukraine was happening from day one. Complete with the usual trenches full of dead people with bound hands - the photographs that seem to be standard for every atrocity merchant, since photography got going.
We shouldn’t have to choose which offensive to condemn.
Too many here and elsewhere, particularly the edgelords of the left and right, seem to think that condemning one criminal enterprise requires one to downplay the other.
Both Putin and Netanyahu are committed to eliminating an entire national identity and the foundations of statehood.
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Once special interest groups with agendas start flying flags that belong to us all, the best strategy is to join in, overcoming bad intentions with good ones. Most Church of England churches fly St George's flag on special days, and have done for centuries. We don't often get mistaken for nazis or people keen on setting fire to migrant hostels. Nor do our mostly innocent and harmless football fans. 'Cry God for Harry, England women's football and rugby and St George' as Shakespeare neatly puts it.
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Again, after more driving, running and a long cycle ride, through towns and villages, not seen a single one.
I've got a long trip tomorrow, so shall report if I see any.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
The disttrict council turnout was well up on the Oct 2024 by election, the County Council had about 800 fewer votes than 2021 when last fought (don't have % sorry)
Turnout in Donny in 19%, just announced
Under 20% isn't at all good is it, no matter who wins. But, I'm not familiar with South Yorkshire; there aren't 'traditional' holiday weeks there, are there.
Not sure! Less than half of the votes were on the day (900 of 2300 or so), the rest postals. I suspect Reform are going to lose this...... I'm prepared to look very stupid but 1700 votes gone in 3 months, they only won by 7% and their councillor resigned....... the saving grace for them may be its Labour chasing
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
The disttrict council turnout was well up on the Oct 2024 by election, the County Council had about 800 fewer votes than 2021 when last fought (don't have % sorry)
Turnout in Donny in 19%, just announced
Under 20% isn't at all good is it, no matter who wins. But, I'm not familiar with South Yorkshire; there aren't 'traditional' holiday weeks there, are there.
Not sure! Less than half of the votes were on the day (900 of 2300 or so), the rest postals. I suspect Reform are going to lose this...... I'm prepared to look very stupid but 1700 votes gone in 3 months, they only won by 7% and their councillor resigned....... the saving grace for them may be its Labour chasing
A question from a football podcast I listen to; would Farage’s ‘Reform FC’ shirts be allowed in stadiums or is there a ban on political stuff at football grounds?
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
The disttrict council turnout was well up on the Oct 2024 by election, the County Council had about 800 fewer votes than 2021 when last fought (don't have % sorry)
Turnout in Donny in 19%, just announced
Under 20% isn't at all good is it, no matter who wins. But, I'm not familiar with South Yorkshire; there aren't 'traditional' holiday weeks there, are there.
Not sure! Less than half of the votes were on the day (900 of 2300 or so), the rest postals. I suspect Reform are going to lose this...... I'm prepared to look very stupid but 1700 votes gone in 3 months, they only won by 7% and their councillor resigned....... the saving grace for them may be its Labour chasing
Reform don't seem to be very good at defending seats, do they.
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Again, after more driving, running and a long cycle ride, through towns and villages, not seen a single one.
I've got a long trip tomorrow, so shall report if I see any.
I am about to head up the A3 so we will see whether this is all stuff and nonsense
Something I didn’t think likely in the near future seems to be occurring: the emergence of Reform:Lib Dem marginals.
That’s potentially good for the Lib Dems because it could bolster tactical voting at a GE in a way that being in a Tory marginal after 5 years of Labour government might not do.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
The disttrict council turnout was well up on the Oct 2024 by election, the County Council had about 800 fewer votes than 2021 when last fought (don't have % sorry)
Turnout in Donny in 19%, just announced
Under 20% isn't at all good is it, no matter who wins. But, I'm not familiar with South Yorkshire; there aren't 'traditional' holiday weeks there, are there.
Not sure! Less than half of the votes were on the day (900 of 2300 or so), the rest postals. I suspect Reform are going to lose this...... I'm prepared to look very stupid but 1700 votes gone in 3 months, they only won by 7% and their councillor resigned....... the saving grace for them may be its Labour chasing
Reform don't seem to be very good at defending seats, do they.
Yeah I'm wrong I'm afraid, they have held this, figures to follow
Something I didn’t think likely in the near future seems to be occurring: the emergence of Reform:Lib Dem marginals.
That’s potentially good for the Lib Dems because it could bolster tactical voting at a GE in a way that being in a Tory marginal after 5 years of Labour government might not do.
Likely to be rare though, the East Hampshire constituency was still Cons first, LDs second and Reform third at the last GE
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
You can go direct to Waterloo via Staines , or change at Weybridge. The latter is probably quicker.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
How soon people forget Bucha.
And the tens of thousands in Mariupol. (Incidentally, the estimates of civilian, as opposed to military deaths there was well no over 90%.)
Yet since the general election the Scottish Tories have been losing voters to the even more reactionary Reform not Labour and the LDs
In which case, the Scottish Tories have two choices:
*) To chase Reform down into the reactionary pit. *) To choose a more practical position to the problems that face the country.
The problems with the former are that Reform are kings of that particular hill, and trying to beat them will only cause both of them to descend further into the pit as they become more extremist. That will not be good for the country.
The problems with the latter is that it is hard, and you need to sell it to a public that is intrigued by Reform's stupid, but easy, 'answers' to the problems that face them.
Would be an astonishing turnaround from 8 and a half months out if the Tories scraped any higher than the high teens in MSPs. The "vote for us to stop independence" spiel is now dead. Reform are pulling away the bulk of ex Torys, some Lab, and a handfuls of others/previous non voters.
Right now its like the Scottish Tories are losing on points in the 7th round to the invisible man. Couldn't name you a single Reform policltician/candidate based in Scotland
For the likes of Mr Balfour, polling reality is now hitting them
Might it be time yet again for the split from UK Tories doomsday button? Trouble is no one has a clue what the Independent Scottish Conservatives would stand for, most especially the SCons.
To be fair to a lot of the guys who are left, they are not quite the raving right wing circus some of Reform are. I don't think even Murdo has the inclination for the breakaway fight now, it's a full rebuild needed. I wouldn't say Russell Findlay has been a worse leader than Dougie Ross but he's the one left carrying the can. Jeremy Balfour,Jamie Greene etc can see the writing on the wall
In parts of the Borders and Aberdeenshire, I'd expect some of the moderate Tory vote to go back to Lib Dem as it was pre 2014, and maybe some to SNP now the indy ref looks less likely.
I think theres a strong chance we see the SNP hoovering up constituencies due to the fragmented opposition
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Addlestone is in Runneymede constituency and district, which has a Tory MP and voted 54% Leave in 2016, so a bit more Brexity than most of Surrey.
Indeed Reform got 13% in Runneymede last year, almost identical to the 14% they got nationally. So as Reform lead national polls now a Reform gain in Addlestone is to be expected
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Again, after more driving, running and a long cycle ride, through towns and villages, not seen a single one.
I've got a long trip tomorrow, so shall report if I see any.
I am about to head up the A3 so we will see whether this is all stuff and nonsense
I’ve no idea where the A3 goes but it seems it is flagged
“I saw some union flags raised on bridges on the A3! #Operationraisethecolours !!”
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Again, after more driving, running and a long cycle ride, through towns and villages, not seen a single one.
I've got a long trip tomorrow, so shall report if I see any.
I am about to head up the A3 so we will see whether this is all stuff and nonsense
I’ve no idea where the A3 goes but it seems it is flagged
“I saw some union flags raised on bridges on the A3! #Operationraisethecolours !!”
A question from a football podcast I listen to; would Farage’s ‘Reform FC’ shirts be allowed in stadiums or is there a ban on political stuff at football grounds?
Depends on the club. It would be a convenient shortcut to getting deservingly filled in at Celtic Park or Anfield.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Yes the average Addelestone house price is £420k, over £170k cheaper than the Surrey average of £598k
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
How soon people forget Bucha.
And the tens of thousands in Mariupol. (Incidentally, the estimates of civilian, as opposed to military deaths there was well no over 90%.)
All part of the SMO, as Dura would have it.
And people were badly inconvenienced by having their yachts seized. We were informed that the mood in some hotels in Monaco would be very bleak because of that.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
You can go direct to Waterloo via Staines , or change at Weybridge. The latter is probably quicker.
Railplanner tells you to change at Weybridge or Staines (which is slower) so if there are direct trains they are very very slow and stop at everywhere in the Hounslow/Twickenham area.
I briefly considered it when moving out of London, and decided the buggeration factor was too high. I'm in Fleet and can get a train to Waterloo in 45 minutes stopping at Farnborough and Woking (it used to be slightly faster as it didn't stop at Woking)
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Again, after more driving, running and a long cycle ride, through towns and villages, not seen a single one.
I've got a long trip tomorrow, so shall report if I see any.
I am about to head up the A3 so we will see whether this is all stuff and nonsense
I’ve no idea where the A3 goes but it seems it is flagged
“I saw some union flags raised on bridges on the A3! #Operationraisethecolours !!”
Interesting mix of St George Crosses in some places but Union flags in others. Not sure why it varies
A3 London to Portsmouth.
That information is now out of date, the A3 is a discontinuous A road in 2 parts, London to the approach to J10 of the M25 and J10 M25 to Portsmouth. It is anticipated that it will remain so for the foreseeable future.
I applaud the campaign for votes for bridges, why should road furniture be excluded from our non-sentient electorate?
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Once special interest groups with agendas start flying flags that belong to us all, the best strategy is to join in, overcoming bad intentions with good ones. Most Church of England churches fly St George's flag on special days, and have done for centuries. We don't often get mistaken for nazis or people keen on setting fire to migrant hostels. Nor do our mostly innocent and harmless football fans. 'Cry God for Harry, England women's football and rugby and St George' as Shakespeare neatly puts it.
That’s a good idea. Might work
The flag hangers have come up with something very clever. Hanging a flag is a brilliant way to troll the left, the Woke, and a Labour government, because it’s very hard for anyone - especially in authority - to pull them down without looking painfully “anti patriotic”. Especially after they blithely allowed so many Palestinian flags to be festooned
Also it covers multiple motivations in one action. For some it will just be amusing provocation of the “powers that be”. For others it will be genuine discontent with migration/asylum. For some it will be simple patriotism. And for a few - let’s face it - this will be an aggressive assertion of ethnic identity
Yet since the general election the Scottish Tories have been losing voters to the even more reactionary Reform not Labour and the LDs
In which case, the Scottish Tories have two choices:
*) To chase Reform down into the reactionary pit. *) To choose a more practical position to the problems that face the country.
The problems with the former are that Reform are kings of that particular hill, and trying to beat them will only cause both of them to descend further into the pit as they become more extremist. That will not be good for the country.
The problems with the latter is that it is hard, and you need to sell it to a public that is intrigued by Reform's stupid, but easy, 'answers' to the problems that face them.
Scottish Tories do have the benefit of PR though, so even 13% of the vote would give them about 13% of MSPs.
Whereas UK Tories have the problem of FPTP which means 13% of the vote sees them with near zero MPs.
China's pharmaceutical industry is now the second largest in the world, accounting for about 30% of the global total of innovative drugs in research, according to the National Medical Products Administration on Friday. https://x.com/ChinaScience/status/1958786217241452687
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Thanks. Dare I ask, before I try Surrey's website, about the turnout?
The disttrict council turnout was well up on the Oct 2024 by election, the County Council had about 800 fewer votes than 2021 when last fought (don't have % sorry)
Turnout in Donny in 19%, just announced
Under 20% isn't at all good is it, no matter who wins. But, I'm not familiar with South Yorkshire; there aren't 'traditional' holiday weeks there, are there.
Not sure! Less than half of the votes were on the day (900 of 2300 or so), the rest postals. I suspect Reform are going to lose this...... I'm prepared to look very stupid but 1700 votes gone in 3 months, they only won by 7% and their councillor resigned....... the saving grace for them may be its Labour chasing
Reform don't seem to be very good at defending seats, do they.
That's a question to be decisively determined in the General Election of 2034. So, wait and see.
RFM 1062, LAB 912, IND 169, CON 121, GRN 79, LDM 39, TUSC 29, WPB 15.
Con, Green, LD votes all well down as might be expected, Ref and Lab on similar % to May
Perhaps closer than expected.
IND was Labour only a few weeks ago. The various Gaza parties and WFA independents are going to sink them if this carries over into a national election.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
Yes the average Addelestone house price is £420k, over £170k cheaper than the Surrey average of £598k
Actually, still cheaper than Fleet although flats are a little more expensive. Another factor in moving further out was that I was right up against my earnings multiple so it was easier to spend more on the season ticket than on the property. I was still spending less than on rent+travel card in New Malden
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Yes
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
Once special interest groups with agendas start flying flags that belong to us all, the best strategy is to join in, overcoming bad intentions with good ones. Most Church of England churches fly St George's flag on special days, and have done for centuries. We don't often get mistaken for nazis or people keen on setting fire to migrant hostels. Nor do our mostly innocent and harmless football fans. 'Cry God for Harry, England women's football and rugby and St George' as Shakespeare neatly puts it.
That’s a good idea. Might work
The flag hangers have come up with something very clever. Hanging a flag is a brilliant way to troll the left, the Woke, and a Labour government, because it’s very hard for anyone - especially in authority - to pull them down without looking painfully “anti patriotic”. Especially after they blithely allowed so many Palestinian flags to be festooned
Also it covers multiple motivations in one action. For some it will just be amusing provocation of the “powers that be”. For others it will be genuine discontent with migration/asylum. For some it will be simple patriotism. And for a few - let’s face it - this will be an aggressive assertion of ethnic identity
Might just fizzle out as the autumn rains come
I went for a walk around Sale Water Park last night. St. George's Flags flying on the footbridge over the M60. Just along, unfortunately, from the flowers constantly left at the suicide spot and the notice for the Samaritans.
With the Conservatives exhausted & lacking credibility after years in government, and Labour apparently much the same after one year in government & years in Opposition, it's very likely indeed that vast numbers of voters will be looking towards parties on the fringe.
The next GE may be a spoiled ballot for me.
The only thing that can save Labour is a change of leadership, losing Starmer. Then declare an amnesty for Corbyn and Sultana and get them back in the party. People didn't vote Labour for this Starmer/Reeves bland Toryism.
There's finally something in this country to rail against -the disgusting rise in the far right -yet there's no party doing it.
I think you're right. It can only be Labour with a non Tory leader but I wouldn't get excited about Corbyn. He's just a wrecker.
I don't think Corbyn or Sultana should be leader, but the party should have room for them (and Abbott) in a broader tent. Even Tony Blair recognised that.
Corbyn should be President or some other figurehead title. He is an exceptional speaker, cutting through to groups of people ignored and unreachable by other politicians. But he's no leader. Neither is Zarah Sultana. So they need someone with a bit of umph to come over.
Their problem is that they're obsessed with Palestine and they need to be obsessed with social justice instead.
Only Israeli apologists think that. Labour are at their best when they have a cause and there are few injustices ongoing that rank with the injustice being meted out to the Palestinians at the moment. It is a horror show in broad daylight.
And also the injustice being meted out to the Ukrainians is as bad, yet Corbyn has been a Russian apologist. You should be against all genocide and all wars of aggression.
One is a war on an army. The other a war on a civilian population. To blow up a building killing 118 people would have made the news all over the world if it happened in Ukraine. I doubt you've even heard of it thanks to the BBC not wanting to be thought prejudiced.
How soon people forget Bucha.
And the tens of thousands in Mariupol. (Incidentally, the estimates of civilian, as opposed to military deaths there was well no over 90%.)
All part of the SMO, as Dura would have it.
And people were badly inconvenienced by having their yachts seized. We were informed that the mood in some hotels in Monaco would be very bleak because of that.
What gets me is the hundreds of videos showing Russians targeting and killing individual civilians in cities near the front, which the Russians are posting.
A question from a football podcast I listen to; would Farage’s ‘Reform FC’ shirts be allowed in stadiums or is there a ban on political stuff at football grounds?
Depends on the club. It would be a convenient shortcut to getting deservingly filled in at Celtic Park or Anfield.
Simply turning up is a shortcut to getting filled in at Anfield.
Do we have any results from yesterday's by-elections yet. How did Reform do in Doncaster?
Doncaster counts this morning as does Renfrewshire Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy Labour held in Hounslow from Con
Thanks. Reform in Surrey...... hmmm.
Addlestone South (Runnymede) Council By-Election Result [2 Seats]:
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
You can go direct to Waterloo via Staines , or change at Weybridge. The latter is probably quicker.
Railplanner tells you to change at Weybridge or Staines (which is slower) so if there are direct trains they are very very slow and stop at everywhere in the Hounslow/Twickenham area.
I briefly considered it when moving out of London, and decided the buggeration factor was too high. I'm in Fleet and can get a train to Waterloo in 45 minutes stopping at Farnborough and Woking (it used to be slightly faster as it didn't stop at Woking)
That appears to be a previous Conservative vote approaching 60% splitting 60/40 Reform/Con with Reform taking the seats. Is this something that right wing PBers are welcoming?
Comments
https://pressgazette.co.uk/the-wire/newspaper-corrections-media-mistakes-errors-legal/telegraph-inaccurately-calculated-one-in-12-in-london-is-illegal-migrant-stat-ipso-finds/
Reform gained 3 - the two Runnymede DC seats and Addlestone Surrey CC from Con
LD gained the other Surrey CC from Con and held in Hampshire
Indy won Gwynedd from an Indy
Labour held in Hounslow from Con
I’ve argued for years that many people don’t vote for a party. They rule out say parties a and b (Tories say) and then pick the party most likely to win from the remaining options (Labour in many cases, Lib Dems in others).
If you want an example of this look at Redcar’s voting pattern from 2005 onwards
I note the media are reporting wide scale flying of the union jack and the English flag as discontent with the established parties balloons, but I really did not expect to drive up Penrhyn Hill and over the Little Orme on my way into Llandudno this morning to find each and every lamp post between the carriageway on the way up adorned with the Welsh flag
It made me smile, but also has this started a movement of flag flying across the UK ?
Not usually a big issue in the UK - in the US it's more important. It's not all about illegal immigration either - it's actually quite difficult to get a handle on how many people are in particularly areas - the explosion of housing in Midlothian has made it difficult to work how many schools and GPs you need because the census only happens every 10 years and by the time it's published it's out of date.
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/bond/tmbmkgb-30y?countrycode=bx
52 week range 4.322% to 5.675%.
No prizes for guessing which was the one a year ago and which is the recent one.
After all, if you judged support by the number of flyposted bits of paper in urban areas, our Socialist Worker government is entering its sixtieth unbroken year of glorious rule.
@Reuters
Tesla raises price of fastest Cybertruck by $15,000 in US
https://x.com/Reuters/status/1958818976487620859
In the 2 x district council seats the LDs advanced but not enough. They split the rest of the vote with the collapsing Tories just sneaking ahead but both on low 20s% so Reform took both seats through the middle on low 30s
"The analysis found that there were between 390,355 and 585,533 illegal migrants in the Thames Water London Water Resource Zone."
I do expect the Senedd and Holyrood elections next Spring to be pivotal moments for both Badenoch and Starmer and one or both may well be served with their P45
I doubt many read newspapers anymore, getting their news more from the broadcast media or online
➡️ RFM: 32.4% (New)
🔶 LDM: 24.7% (+15.5)
🌳 CON: 22.8% (-33.1)
🌹 LAB: 10.1% (-18.1)
🌍 GRN: 10.0% (+3.3)
Reform GAIN x2 from Conservative.
Changes w/ 2024.
Addlestone (Surrey) Council By-Election Result:
➡️ RFM: 34.2% (New)
🌳 CON: 24.2% (-25.9)
🔶 LDM: 17.4% (+9.2)
🌍 GRN: 16.2% (+1.9)
🌹 LAB: 8.1% (-10.9)
No Ind (-6.3) as previous.
Reform GAIN from Conservative.
Changes w/ 2021.
(From Election Maps UK)
Actually Addlestone isn't the leafiest place in Surrey and has a shit rail connection so probably has fewer people with well-paid London jobs. But Refuk smashed it.
But foreign practices matter. If Starmer stood up today and said: 'A UK engagement in Ukraine security means that our troops might be killed and we are wiling to do our part if necessary without the USA. Engagement starts next week alongside France, Canada and Germany', such a act could easily be election shifting. The problem is no-one would know in which direction.
The targeting of civilians in Ukraine was happening from day one. Complete with the usual trenches full of dead people with bound hands - the photographs that seem to be standard for every atrocity merchant, since photography got going.
Hamas is an army which has carried out war crimes.
Russia every night kills civilians, using guided missiles and drones, it is deliberate targeting. In Kherson, Russian soldiers carry out a human safari, killing civilians with FPV drones.
Russia has kidnapped Ukrainian children and is reeducating them as good little Russians, I don't believe the Israelis are doing that to Palestinian children.
Whatrver Hamas did (and it was gross) the war in Gaza disproportionately impacts civilians and I don't believe you should counter terrorism with genocide. The Israeli response has gone well beyond the norms of legitimate warfare.
But the Russian actions in Ukraine are naked genocidal aggressive war. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have died, it is probably six figures by now but I don't have numbers to hand. How you can think you can invade another country and only wage war on its army is beyond me. Especially the way the Russians do it.
So you're just another leftist apologist for a fascist regime.
It has an impact on housing and fixed rate mortgages too.
https://x.com/moving_charlie/status/1958809109286813785?s=61
Turnout in Donny in 19%, just announced
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariupol_theatre_airstrike
I saw it in Norfolk, Cambs and Essex a couple of days ago, tho this was breathlessly disputed by others on here
It wasn’t on the scale you saw, but it was definitely noticeable
The policy of Hamas in not surrendering in a situation they cannot contain or win, thereby giving Israel cover for their actions and intentions is a mistake.
That Israel's policy is a mistake is of course also true, but I think it is their mistake which will prevail for now.
(It's a tough world for us wet centrists who just support the interests of good people on all both sides).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/17/ukraine-mourners-bury-four-year-old-liza-as-russian-attacks-intensify
If they are to protect the Gazan people, yes, it's stupid.
If it's to make Israel so hated that in the long term it cannot survive, their actions are logical.
As they have never shown the slightest concern for the people of Gaza and are ultimately backed by Iran, my money's on B.
Durham council leader is saying they won’t be removed.
Too many here and elsewhere, particularly the edgelords of the left and right, seem to think that condemning one criminal enterprise requires one to downplay the other.
Both Putin and Netanyahu are committed to eliminating an entire national identity and the foundations of statehood.
I've got a long trip tomorrow, so shall report if I see any.
I suspect Reform are going to lose this...... I'm prepared to look very stupid but 1700 votes gone in 3 months, they only won by 7% and their councillor resigned....... the saving grace for them may be its Labour chasing
Alton Amery (East Hampshire) Council By-Election Result:
🔶 LDM: 54.9% (+1.6)
➡️ RFM: 25.5% (New)
🌳 CON: 19.6% (-9.9)
No LAB (-17.3) as previous.
Liberal Democrat HOLD.
Changes w/ 2023.
That’s potentially good for the Lib Dems because it could bolster tactical voting at a GE in a way that being in a Tory marginal after 5 years of Labour government might not do.
(Incidentally, the estimates of civilian, as opposed to military deaths there was well no over 90%.)
All part of the SMO, as Dura would have it.
In parts of the Borders and Aberdeenshire, I'd expect some of the moderate Tory vote to go back to Lib Dem as it was pre 2014, and maybe some to SNP now the indy ref looks less likely.
I think theres a strong chance we see the SNP hoovering up constituencies due to the fragmented opposition
Indeed Reform got 13% in Runneymede last year, almost identical to the 14% they got nationally. So as Reform lead national polls now a Reform gain in Addlestone is to be expected
“I saw some union flags raised on bridges on the A3! #Operationraisethecolours !!”
https://x.com/annalisemai/status/1958568629336752129?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
And here’s a photo of the A2. Definitely flagged:
https://x.com/normanbrennan/status/1958818255323193732?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
Interesting mix of St George Crosses in some places but Union flags in others. Not sure why it varies
RFM 1062, LAB 912, IND 169, CON 121, GRN 79, LDM 39, TUSC 29, WPB 15.
Con, Green, LD votes all well down as might be expected, Ref and Lab on similar % to May
Bentley (Doncaster) Council By-Election Result:
➡️ RFM: 43.8% (+4.2)
🌹 LAB: 37.6% (+4.7)
🙋 Ind: 7.0% (New)
🌳 CON: 5.0% (-5.8)
🌍 GRN: 3.3% (-5.6)
🔶 LDM: 1.6% (-3.1)
🧑🔧 TUSC: 1.2% (-2.0)
⚙️ WPB: 0.6% (New)
Reform HOLD.
Changes w/ 2025.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/addlestone.html
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/surrey.html
I briefly considered it when moving out of London, and decided the buggeration factor was too high. I'm in Fleet and can get a train to Waterloo in 45 minutes stopping at Farnborough and Woking (it used to be slightly faster as it didn't stop at Woking)
I applaud the campaign for votes for bridges, why should road furniture be excluded from our non-sentient electorate?
The flag hangers have come up with something very clever. Hanging a flag is a brilliant way to troll the left, the Woke, and a Labour government, because it’s very hard for anyone - especially in authority - to pull them down without looking painfully “anti patriotic”. Especially after they blithely allowed so many Palestinian flags to be festooned
Also it covers multiple motivations in one action. For some it will just be amusing provocation of the “powers that be”. For others it will be genuine discontent with migration/asylum. For some it will be simple patriotism. And for a few - let’s face it - this will be an aggressive assertion of ethnic identity
Might just fizzle out as the autumn rains come
Whereas UK Tories have the problem of FPTP which means 13% of the vote sees them with near zero MPs.
Balfour also opposed same sex marriage and abortion and wanted to withdraw benefits for the terminally ill after 3 years so is somewhat reactionary on some matters himself
https://sourcenews.scot/tory-msp-under-fire-for-proposing-benefits-reassessment-for-the-terminally-ill/
https://x.com/ChinaScience/status/1958786217241452687
IND was Labour only a few weeks ago. The various Gaza parties and WFA independents are going to sink them if this carries over into a national election.
https://x.com/uklabour/status/1958823674309423610?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw
Is this something that right wing PBers are welcoming?