Catastrophic poll for Labour. I mean the SNP have been shocking and they have lost half their vote?
To keep out the SNP will Labour, Tories and Lib Dems all tactical vote for Reform? Or is the SNP the lesser evil?
It's the other way round. The Reform vote is evenly spread across Scotland. They will be in third place in virtually every seat.
I was revisiting the Yougov Feb 2025 MRP earlier. They had Ref winning 3 Scottish seats - Dumfries, Dumfriesshire and Ayr. On top of that. Reform were in range (within 10 percentage points of the leader) in another 14 seats (basically not Glasgow or Edinburgh but more small town seats such as Bathgate and Linlithgow) with strength in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire (I guess due to being pro-oil and gas)
e.g. Aberdeen North - SNP 26%, Lab 22%, Ref 22%
Of course, they are to an extent relying on SNP/Lab vote being split. They need disenchanted Lab voters going to them more than to the SNP
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Yes exactly. £40k is a wonderland of money to many people. Two years total salary, as you say
For “working class ange” it’s an annoying tax bill she can easily afford - given her very large salary and expenses - but preferred to dodge
It’s fatal. She’s fatally wounded. She may limp on for a while but it’s not going to last
She won’t be limping anywhere if she’s broken the ministerial code . It’s over then .
It's probably been mentioned already, but I think, from what little I have read, that Rayner's marriage problems tell more about her than this scandal (or, if you prefer, this "scandal").
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Yes exactly. £40k is a wonderland of money to many people. Two years total salary, as you say
For “working class ange” it’s an annoying tax bill she can easily afford - given her very large salary and expenses - but preferred to dodge
It’s fatal. She’s fatally wounded. She may limp on for a while but it’s not going to last
She won’t be limping anywhere if she’s broken the ministerial code . It’s over then .
I can see the classic fudge, unintentionally broken the rules, knocked back over the net to Starmer...
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Yes exactly. £40k is a wonderland of money to many people. Two years total salary, as you say
For “working class ange” it’s an annoying tax bill she can easily afford - given her very large salary and expenses - but preferred to dodge
It’s fatal. She’s fatally wounded. She may limp on for a while but it’s not going to last
She won’t be limping anywhere if she’s broken the ministerial code . It’s over then .
"Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice"
Chris Mason managed to find several in her constituency who supported her.
The Justice Department's acting deputy chief was caught on a hidden camera saying that the government will "redact every Republican" from an Epstein client list and "leave all the liberal, Democratic people."
Fuck, Andrew Wakefield will be Reform's Health Secretary.
Isn't he too busy dating super models these days?
That was an Elle of a long time ago.
Elle the (don't vaccinate my) body has been with Renee Zellweger's former squeeze, musician Doyle Bramall III since 2022.
I unfortunately don't have time to keep up with celebrity tittle tattle. I was just remembering from COVID era when obviously his name surfaced again. Normally its a merry go round and they all jump on the next unattached celeb, has he not found another lonely model?
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
The Justice Department's acting deputy chief was caught on a hidden camera saying that the government will "redact every Republican" from an Epstein client list and "leave all the liberal, Democratic people."
You would have thought they would be identifying and redacting anyone who was there with Trump so there wasn't any chance of embarrassing cross examination questions..
Nigel Farage wants to create a US-style Cabinet of “all the talents”, with outsiders running government departments, if he wins the next general election. As many of half of the Cabinet ministers in a Reform UK government could be members of the House of Lords rather than elected MPs, as is traditional.
Given that Farage would have to say who they are before an election there would be nothing to stop them actually standing in a constituency.
I'll wager they are all whackos whoever these "talents" are.
He seems to be determined to follow Trump step-by-step and so that means a Cabinet of absolute whack jobs from GB News who will support the PM no matter what.
I notice Andy Burnham sharp elbowed his way into the BBC documentary about the ripped off footballers. Anybody would think he might be trying to raise his nation profile again.
💸 Angela Rayner’s family home was valued at almost twice the amount of other recently sold properties on her street when she sold a stake to her disabled son’s trust so she could buy a holiday home
Only 6 of the last 10,500 properties sold in Ashton Under Lyme went for 650k or more, although I guess you’d expect Rayner to have one of the posher ones
You've never been to Trashton have you?
Oi - I was born in Trashton
My condolences, I can understand why you moved to Aberdeenshire.
My father pre war was manager of the Pru in Ashton
A fair portion of my extended family manned Ashton Fire Station, I think my grandfather was Station Commander at one point.
And I went to school and college there for 7 years.
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Its £800k for a flat.
Although there will be many people in Ashton astonished at the £650k house that Rayner had.
For comparison the average detached house price in the borough of Tameside is £358k:
I notice Andy Burnham sharp elbowed his way into the BBC documentary about the ripped off footballers. Anybody would think he might be trying to raise his nation profile again.
And why were they ripped off - because they were trying to enter investment schemes where tax minimisation was the primary sales pitch...
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Its £800k for a flat.
Although there will be many people in Ashton astonished at the £650k house that Rayner had.
For comparison the average detached house price in the borough of Tameside is £358k:
cyclefree - It's good to see you. I think you bring a lot to this site.
An example: Many years ago, I read the argument that the ideal for a man was an English education, an American salary, and a Japanese wife. (Presumably from an Englishman.)
At the time, I didn't think about that from the point of view of the Japanese wife. But I try to, now, partly because of people like you.
(Not enough Japanese and Korean men have figured that out -- which goes far to explain their low marriage rates, and low fertility rates.)
Fuck, Andrew Wakefield will be Reform's Health Secretary.
Isn't he too busy dating super models these days?
They broke up.
Vaccines work!
It’s really sad that centuries after Jenner we have people in positions of power who think the opposite. For sure vaccine skepticism isn’t just down to Wakefield, but he has played a huge part in undermining one of humanities greatest success stories.
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Yes exactly. £40k is a wonderland of money to many people. Two years total salary, as you say
For “working class ange” it’s an annoying tax bill she can easily afford - given her very large salary and expenses - but preferred to dodge
It’s fatal. She’s fatally wounded. She may limp on for a while but it’s not going to last
Technically it may be two years salary for a lot of people but in reality most of them wouldn't actually see £40k in savings for perhaps 10 years at best if they saved most of their earnings.
Fuck, Andrew Wakefield will be Reform's Health Secretary.
Isn't he too busy dating super models these days?
That was an Elle of a long time ago.
Elle the (don't vaccinate my) body has been with Renee Zellweger's former squeeze, musician Doyle Bramall III since 2022.
I unfortunately don't have time to keep up with celebrity tittle tattle. I was just remembering from COVID era when obviously his name surfaced again. Normally its a merry go round and they all jump on the next unattached celeb, has he not found another lonely model?
Wakefield is such a malign character I couldn't care less who he is with. Thousands of children dying of measles because of his bullshit is almost as big a scandal as Rayner's stamp duty issue.
Now, vax-sceptic Elle on the other hand? If only we'd met I am sure her head would have been turned.*
I notice Andy Burnham sharp elbowed his way into the BBC documentary about the ripped off footballers. Anybody would think he might be trying to raise his nation profile again.
And why were they ripped off - because they were trying to enter investment schemes where tax minimisation was the primary sales pitch...
The one thing that really stuck out for me was these claims over the apartments they bought and over leveraged themselves. They did not appear to have even a) visited the sites and b) even looked at what the average home went in that area, and then went well it was very unfair we paid way over the odds for them. I mean who buys an £800k flat without getting proper independent legal advice....
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Yes exactly. £40k is a wonderland of money to many people. Two years total salary, as you say
For “working class ange” it’s an annoying tax bill she can easily afford - given her very large salary and expenses - but preferred to dodge
It’s fatal. She’s fatally wounded. She may limp on for a while but it’s not going to last
It's not just about whether she stays as Deputy PM. Gonna be very hard to win re-election in Ashton in 28/29 and not looking that appealing for Sussex Labour either.
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Yes exactly. £40k is a wonderland of money to many people. Two years total salary, as you say
For “working class ange” it’s an annoying tax bill she can easily afford - given her very large salary and expenses - but preferred to dodge
It’s fatal. She’s fatally wounded. She may limp on for a while but it’s not going to last
She won’t be limping anywhere if she’s broken the ministerial code . It’s over then .
I can see the classic fudge, unintentionally broken the rules, knocked back over the net to Starmer...
Not sure how they can fudge it unless she has written evidence of the advice she was given . Starmer would much rather there was a clear ruling .
Nigel Farage wants to create a US-style Cabinet of “all the talents”, with outsiders running government departments, if he wins the next general election. As many of half of the Cabinet ministers in a Reform UK government could be members of the House of Lords rather than elected MPs, as is traditional.
Read that Guardian report from Rayner’s constituency. They couldn’t find one single supportive voice
She’s finished
The problem is the size of the numbers, £800k for a house, £40k not paid in tax. People from those sort of backgrounds are hearing that and thinking my take home pay for 2 years is £40k, my house is worth a fraction of that. And then the PM / Big Ange is going but I am just a humble working class lass, how am I supposed to know about tax and stuff.
Yes exactly. £40k is a wonderland of money to many people. Two years total salary, as you say
For “working class ange” it’s an annoying tax bill she can easily afford - given her very large salary and expenses - but preferred to dodge
It’s fatal. She’s fatally wounded. She may limp on for a while but it’s not going to last
She won’t be limping anywhere if she’s broken the ministerial code . It’s over then .
I can see the classic fudge, unintentionally broken the rules, knocked back over the net to Starmer...
Not sure how they can fudge it unless she has written evidence of the advice she was given . Starmer would much rather there was a clear ruling .
Quite easily, there was never anything to tell her this was wrong, but nothing to tell her it was right either. Miscommunication between the parties, all very complicated personal life, woopsie, back to you Keith.
We have seen loads of these investigations over the years where this is the sort of result that is presented. Just bad enough to say wrong has been done, but couldn't say for certain it was deliberate e.g. inquiry into Mandy passport scandal cleared him of impropriety and lies.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Bobby J. has heeded your clarion call. He's on his way.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
I think there is more chance of me dating a super model....For context, I do have a doctorate, but haven't been involved in a vaccine scandal nor can I play the guitar.
"The Common Good Foundation has published a report on demographic changes in Britain, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, led by the moderate Tory peer Robin Hodgson. It argues that the UK population, which has increased by 9.2 million over the past 20 years, can be expected to grow by a further 6.6 million over the next decade, overwhelmingly because of immigration. The UK will become by far the most densely populated major European country, affecting almost every aspect of life. Hodgson says governments “should be expected to monitor and disclose the likely level of population change in the near term” and calls for a new Office for Demographic Change."
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
You need to invent a time machine, go back to 2010 and tell Cameron that if you really want to have an EU Referendum, don't do austerity first.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Bobby J. has heeded your clarion call. He's on his way.
Dear god no. Cameron. Seriously. Best chance of avoiding total wipeout.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
You need to invent a time machine, go back to 2010 and tell Cameron that if you really want to have an EU Referendum, don't do austerity first.
Sadly they never actually did austerity. They just called it that. Look at what Canada did in an actual austerity.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
You need to invent a time machine, go back to 2010 and tell Cameron that if you really want to have an EU Referendum, don't do austerity first.
Sadly they never actually did austerity. They just called it that. Look at what Canada did in an actual austerity.
They stopped spending money at the very moment they could have invested billions at very low interest rates... As I said yesterday it's that lack of investment which has come back to bite them continually since 2016...
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
You need to invent a time machine, go back to 2010 and tell Cameron that if you really want to have an EU Referendum, don't do austerity first.
Sadly they never actually did austerity. They just called it that. Look at what Canada did in an actual austerity.
They stopped spending money at the very moment they could have invested billions at very low interest rates... As I said yesterday it's that lack of investment which has come back to bite them continually since 2016...
Yes. They won't be regarded highly hy posterity for.this, I expect. The era of complacent dogma, and missed opportunities.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
You need to invent a time machine, go back to 2010 and tell Cameron that if you really want to have an EU Referendum, don't do austerity first.
Sadly they never actually did austerity. They just called it that. Look at what Canada did in an actual austerity.
They stopped spending money at the very moment they could have invested billions at very low interest rates... As I said yesterday it's that lack of investment which has come back to bite them continually since 2016...
Yes. They won't be regarded highly hy posterity for.this, I suspect. The era of complacent dogma, and missed opportunities.
Now we await Farage.
When it comes to Chancellors since 2010 - it's actually hard to find one that did a decent job - you probably end up with Rishi but even then he just did what was necessary under the circumstances of Covid.
I mean the list is
George Osborne (2010-2016) - Austerity (creator of future problems and Brexit as austerity was really what people voted against) Philip Hammond (2016-2019) - who Sajid Javid (2019-2020) - left quickly Rishi Sunak (2020-2022) - Covid Nadhim Zahawi (2022) - lawyer loving tax avoider Kwasi Kwarteng (2022) - didn't stand up to Truss Jeremy Hunt (2022-2024) - cut £15bn of tax revenue that turned out to be essential...
None of them are a Darling, Brown, Clarke, Major or Lawson...
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Seems pretty clear to me that the faction of Tory members/voters who like Reform's energy and approach is higher than the faction which dislikes Farage and his motley crew. It's hard to see how they recover whilst that is the case, and what would make them change their minds?
Cameron? Of course not. Kemi? Doesn't seem likely. Jenrick? The ultimate chameleon, hard to see it working. Farage tripping himself up? More than anything else he's already said/done?
Anyways. If you get your significant other pregnant round about now your two weeks paternity leave will coincide with World Cup games at very strange hours... You are welcome.
It's probably been mentioned already, but I think, from what little I have read, that Rayner's marriage problems tell more about her than this scandal (or, if you prefer, this "scandal").
"The Common Good Foundation has published a report on demographic changes in Britain, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, led by the moderate Tory peer Robin Hodgson. It argues that the UK population, which has increased by 9.2 million over the past 20 years, can be expected to grow by a further 6.6 million over the next decade, overwhelmingly because of immigration. The UK will become by far the most densely populated major European country, affecting almost every aspect of life. Hodgson says governments “should be expected to monitor and disclose the likely level of population change in the near term” and calls for a new Office for Demographic Change."
Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump · 6m JUST IN: Donald Trump will sign an executive order Friday to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, Fox News reports.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Seems pretty clear to me that the faction of Tory members/voters who like Reform's energy and approach is higher than the faction which dislikes Farage and his motley crew. It's hard to see how they recover whilst that is the case, and what would make them change their minds?
Cameron? Of course not. Kemi? Doesn't seem likely. Jenrick? The ultimate chameleon, hard to see it working. Farage tripping himself up? More than anything else he's already said/done?
Reform are recruiting a bunch of time expired Tories, from Mad Nad to our PCC in Leics.
It's not going to be easy to campaign as the party to smash the elite, when just a few years ago their members were that elite (though to be fair they do have form at smashing that elite).
"The Common Good Foundation has published a report on demographic changes in Britain, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, led by the moderate Tory peer Robin Hodgson. It argues that the UK population, which has increased by 9.2 million over the past 20 years, can be expected to grow by a further 6.6 million over the next decade, overwhelmingly because of immigration. The UK will become by far the most densely populated major European country, affecting almost every aspect of life. Hodgson says governments “should be expected to monitor and disclose the likely level of population change in the near term” and calls for a new Office for Demographic Change."
Prisoner Cell Block H is on 5Select at the moment… I looked it up on wiki… 8 Series, 692 episodes!!
I used to watch it on itv late Thursday nights in the early 90s after a night out in Romford
I watched all 692 episodes during the covid lockdowns. Embarrassing I know.
I just found my favourite clip of it on YouTube - Ferguson tells Bea Smith she has a visitor, Smith replies “ hope he’s big, butch and handsome” Ferguson says “2 out of the 3”… and it’s Judy!!
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Seems pretty clear to me that the faction of Tory members/voters who like Reform's energy and approach is higher than the faction which dislikes Farage and his motley crew. It's hard to see how they recover whilst that is the case, and what would make them change their minds?
Cameron? Of course not. Kemi? Doesn't seem likely. Jenrick? The ultimate chameleon, hard to see it working. Farage tripping himself up? More than anything else he's already said/done?
Reform are recruiting a bunch of time expired Tories, from Mad Nad to our PCC in Leics.
It's not going to be easy to campaign as the party to smash the elite, when just a few years ago their members were that elite (though to be fair they do have form at smashing that elite).
Dorries has written books about the cabal at the top of the Tory party, so she’s not an obvious part of the elite really
On Euston station, if anyone has half an hour for a look at something interesting, I recommend the caryatids in the North and South porches at the 1819 Greek Revival St Pancras New Church which is just across the road.
It's the only one known to me with these - Greek style figures used as columns - in the country, and is just across the road.
"The Common Good Foundation has published a report on demographic changes in Britain, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, led by the moderate Tory peer Robin Hodgson. It argues that the UK population, which has increased by 9.2 million over the past 20 years, can be expected to grow by a further 6.6 million over the next decade, overwhelmingly because of immigration. The UK will become by far the most densely populated major European country, affecting almost every aspect of life. Hodgson says governments “should be expected to monitor and disclose the likely level of population change in the near term” and calls for a new Office for Demographic Change."
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Seems pretty clear to me that the faction of Tory members/voters who like Reform's energy and approach is higher than the faction which dislikes Farage and his motley crew. It's hard to see how they recover whilst that is the case, and what would make them change their minds?
Cameron? Of course not. Kemi? Doesn't seem likely. Jenrick? The ultimate chameleon, hard to see it working. Farage tripping himself up? More than anything else he's already said/done?
Reform are recruiting a bunch of time expired Tories, from Mad Nad to our PCC in Leics.
It's not going to be easy to campaign as the party to smash the elite, when just a few years ago their members were that elite (though to be fair they do have form at smashing that elite).
Dorries has written books about the cabal at the top of the Tory party, so she’s not an obvious part of the elite really
She was a cabinet minister in the Tory government.
Is the first tweet turns out to be correct she will be f##led over lying / cover up / attempted deflection. So often it is that rather than the initial story that does for you.
It quites different to go around saying I did everything proppa that my lawyers told me to do and they were wrong compared to i did everything proppa that my lawyers told me to do when the lawyers we said no such thing nor were we asked.
No, point 3 of the first tweet says the firm calculated stamp duty using the HMRC calculator. That presumably is what Rayner means. The fact they'd have come up with a different figure if they had taken the trust into account does not alter the fact they did calculate stamp duty.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
Nah. He's a Grade A shit.
And the Tories are much more palatable without Nadine.
On Euston station, if anyone has half an hour for a look at something interesting, I recommend the caryatids in the North and South porches at the 1819 Greek Revival St Pancras New Church which is just across the road.
It's the only one known to me with these - Greek style figures used as columns - in the country, and is just across the road.
Kate Ferguson @kateferguson4 · 36m Brace for lots of angry tweets about how rubbish Euston station is on here.
Spoiler - Reform Party conference is in Birmingham.
The lobby have to get the train from Euston station.
Birmingham New Street and Euston are two stations I hate as much as pineapple on pizza.
What's wrong with Euston? It's got a Hotel Chocolat, the good type of Leon, an M&S. There are some OK pubs. It's near Drummond Street if you want to go to a proper restaurant.
My wife and I went from Colwyn Bay to Euston for lunch earlier this year before returning home for 6.00pm
We had lovely food and service in The Signal Box so much so we will do it again
Colwyn Bay to Euston in just 3 hours is an excellent service and wonderful not to drive and watch the world go by
Had a drink there a few times. Nice place. Shame the book shop in the station only lasted a few months though. It seemed to be quite busy whenever I was there.
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
Nah. He's a Grade A shit.
And the Tories are much more palatable without Nadine.
And a 1/3 of Tories would rather vote for Ed Davey's LDs than Farage's Reform
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Seems pretty clear to me that the faction of Tory members/voters who like Reform's energy and approach is higher than the faction which dislikes Farage and his motley crew. It's hard to see how they recover whilst that is the case, and what would make them change their minds?
Cameron? Of course not. Kemi? Doesn't seem likely. Jenrick? The ultimate chameleon, hard to see it working. Farage tripping himself up? More than anything else he's already said/done?
Get Cleverly in, hold the Sunak 2024 vote and hope Farage loses next time then get Jenrick in as Tory leader to reunite the right
Also, whatever happened to government ministers putting everything into blind trust overseen by an expert. Pretty sure Blair government ministers did that? Then you always had somebody who would ensure legality over any house purchases, taxes due and you wouldn't be comprised over share dealing etc.
Here's what the solicitors I used for my transaction in 2018 said about stamp duty:
Stamp Duty for Second Homes as from 01.04.16 If, at the point of your purchase of this property you own another property (or have a share in another property) in the UK or anywhere else, and unless you are replacing your main home by selling it, then (in addition to standard stamp duty) the recent 3% stamp duty charge for second properties may apply. An assessment of liability for stamp duty (both in terms of the property and also your personal circumstances) is a maDer of personal taxation and whilst we can complete the necessary forms for you, the applicability of tax is a maDer for you to satisfy yourself on (we will invite you to approve and sign the tax return in due course). You are recommended to refer to an accountant/tax consultant for independent advice. There can be complex issues concerning stamp duty such as where a property may consist of an annex capable of independent living insofar as representing potential for stamp duty savings. This is something you would need to investigate with your surveyor and accountant. If your surveyor and accountant consider there is such a lawful scheme of potential saving available please would you let us know in writing or by email. We shall not otherwise be investigating any such scheme and do not give any warranty as to whether the property may or may not be subject to such a scheme.
Is the first tweet turns out to be correct she will be f##led over lying / cover up / attempted deflection. So often it is that rather than the initial story that does for you.
It quites different to go around saying I did everything proppa that my lawyers told me to do and they were wrong compared to i did everything proppa that my lawyers told me to do when the lawyers we said no such thing nor were we asked.
No, point 3 of the first tweet says the firm calculated stamp duty using the HMRC calculator. That presumably is what Rayner means. The fact they'd have come up with a different figure if they had taken the trust into account does not alter the fact they did calculate stamp duty.
Having your conveyancers do a stamp duty calc is in no way shape or form 'taking legal advice' on the matter.
"The Common Good Foundation has published a report on demographic changes in Britain, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, led by the moderate Tory peer Robin Hodgson. It argues that the UK population, which has increased by 9.2 million over the past 20 years, can be expected to grow by a further 6.6 million over the next decade, overwhelmingly because of immigration. The UK will become by far the most densely populated major European country, affecting almost every aspect of life. Hodgson says governments “should be expected to monitor and disclose the likely level of population change in the near term” and calls for a new Office for Demographic Change."
So currently a significant difference. So how many more people would we need to beat Netherlands current density? If we estimate the difference as 100 people per km2; England's area is 130,309km2. we would therefore need about 13 million extra people in England to beat Netherlands' density, if that remains static.
Extending this a little more: average people per house in England is 2.2. This means to increase the population by 13 million, we would need 6.5 million new houses in England. (*)
With net housebuilding at about 200,000 per year, we would need 65 years to build enough houses to house the increased population.
(*) I would expect immigrants to live with more people in each property, at least initially.
"The Common Good Foundation has published a report on demographic changes in Britain, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, led by the moderate Tory peer Robin Hodgson. It argues that the UK population, which has increased by 9.2 million over the past 20 years, can be expected to grow by a further 6.6 million over the next decade, overwhelmingly because of immigration. The UK will become by far the most densely populated major European country, affecting almost every aspect of life. Hodgson says governments “should be expected to monitor and disclose the likely level of population change in the near term” and calls for a new Office for Demographic Change."
So currently a significant difference. So how many more people would we need to beat Netherlands current density? If we estimate the difference as 100 people per km2; England's area is 130,309km2. we would therefore need about 13 million extra people in England to beat Netherlands' density, if that remains static.
It is a pretty meaningless metric since it averages population densities across cities and farmers' fields. For instance, in Wikipedia's list of English districts, the top 175 all have a higher population density than the Netherlands' 525/km², although whether anyone lives in tulip fields seems doubtful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_districts_by_population_density
Is the first tweet turns out to be correct she will be f##led over lying / cover up / attempted deflection. So often it is that rather than the initial story that does for you.
It quites different to go around saying I did everything proppa that my lawyers told me to do and they were wrong compared to i did everything proppa that my lawyers told me to do when the lawyers we said no such thing nor were we asked.
No, point 3 of the first tweet says the firm calculated stamp duty using the HMRC calculator. That presumably is what Rayner means. The fact they'd have come up with a different figure if they had taken the trust into account does not alter the fact they did calculate stamp duty.
Having your conveyancers do a stamp duty calc is in no way shape or form 'taking legal advice' on the matter.
To the voter on the Clapham omnibus, who is less well informed on trust law than the average High Court judge, it looks exactly the same.
Look, I was among the first on pb to say this was politically bad and could end any chance Rayner had of succeeding Keir Starmer, but this is not a vast criminal conspiracy. It's a cock-up. Ironically the part that poses most imminent danger might be parliament's rules on house-flipping which iirc brought down Hazel Blears during the expenses scandal.
An unusually straight-from-the-shoulder podcast discussing Nigel Farage from the News Agents, sitting on the sea front at Clacton, including a selection of vox pops as well as Emily Maitlis & Co being unusually blunt.
I hadn't twigged that Farage is actually over there to promote GBNews, and the appearance at the Republican controlled committee in Congress was a sideshow; he walked out before his own question session had finished, and was willing to obfuscate about banning journalists from events and communication with Reform led councils.
It is notable that Paul Marshall is also in the USA, also putting out a "please save us from the UK Government" type line.
It will be interesting how Free Speech Nigel handles it at the Reform Conference this weekend. We may not hear, because his Party have banned some journalists who do not have opinions they like.
I'll update a couple of points on my view:
1 - I said I thought Reform would have to take action against their people or branches which are keen on Tommy Robinson & Co. Judging by his Washington performance, they could potentially jump the other way. 2 - He could get defenestrated by his own constituency, since he's never seen there.
Why would there be a Scottish Secretary or even a Welsh one or one for Northern Ireland? We’re all British and it’s woke to think otherwise (would be the policy)
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Seems pretty clear to me that the faction of Tory members/voters who like Reform's energy and approach is higher than the faction which dislikes Farage and his motley crew. It's hard to see how they recover whilst that is the case, and what would make them change their minds?
Cameron? Of course not. Kemi? Doesn't seem likely. Jenrick? The ultimate chameleon, hard to see it working. Farage tripping himself up? More than anything else he's already said/done?
Reform are recruiting a bunch of time expired Tories, from Mad Nad to our PCC in Leics.
It's not going to be easy to campaign as the party to smash the elite, when just a few years ago their members were that elite (though to be fair they do have form at smashing that elite).
Dorries has written books about the cabal at the top of the Tory party, so she’s not an obvious part of the elite really
She was a cabinet minister in the Tory government.
If that isn't an elite position then what is?
a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society.
Holy Bat S**t, GAO F-35 report doesn't get any better....core upgrades to enable Block 4 now slated for 2031-33, Engine will have to be re-designed at unknown cost - but highly unlikely that this work will port over to F-35B... UK is facing a future with an orphan aircraft... https://x.com/FTusa284/status/1963621841643200982
'The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided'
I will leave that there
Parked - alongside Rayner's ambitions
Will Andy Burnham fancy winning the forthcoming Ashton by-election?
Not as much as Reform will...
Come on you PBTories, throw your lot in with Nigel. You know you want to.
PBTories don’t want to throw their lot in with Nigel, they want their Tory party back. Get Cameron back in, get back to the centre and pray.
Seems pretty clear to me that the faction of Tory members/voters who like Reform's energy and approach is higher than the faction which dislikes Farage and his motley crew. It's hard to see how they recover whilst that is the case, and what would make them change their minds?
Cameron? Of course not. Kemi? Doesn't seem likely. Jenrick? The ultimate chameleon, hard to see it working. Farage tripping himself up? More than anything else he's already said/done?
Reform are recruiting a bunch of time expired Tories, from Mad Nad to our PCC in Leics.
It's not going to be easy to campaign as the party to smash the elite, when just a few years ago their members were that elite (though to be fair they do have form at smashing that elite).
Dorries has written books about the cabal at the top of the Tory party, so she’s not an obvious part of the elite really
She was a cabinet minister in the Tory government.
If that isn't an elite position then what is?
At that stage weren't virtually all of them Ministers or Cabinet Ministers at one time or another?
Holy Bat S**t, GAO F-35 report doesn't get any better....core upgrades to enable Block 4 now slated for 2031-33, Engine will have to be re-designed at unknown cost - but highly unlikely that this work will port over to F-35B... UK is facing a future with an orphan aircraft... https://x.com/FTusa284/status/1963621841643200982
The important point to remember is that Britain does not need its own industry because we can always rely on foreign suppliers.
Will our governments finally grasp that Trump (and any likely GOP successor) is no longer an ally in any real sense to Europe ?
We are still grossly underestimating the implications of that. And one possible future PM is an abject toady towards Trump.
Bild and Axios: Trump attacked Europe during today's call. The conversation was heated. Trump shifted responsibility for putting pressure on Putin to Europe. Europeans no longer expect Trump to impose sanctions against Russia.
Trump accused Europeans of buying Russian oil and financing its war machine. Ursula von der Leyen tried to object, saying that Europe had significantly reduced purchases after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Trump was reminded that only Hungary and Slovakia directly import Russian oil. Witkoff turned the tables and accused Europe of buying Russian oil from India.
When the conversation turned to sanctions, Europe attempted to agree on a joint approach with the American president. The Europeans immediately offered to send their representatives to Washington to set up a working group on sanctions within 48 hours. It is not known whether Trump agreed.
Trump told the Europeans that they should put pressure on China to give up Russian oil. Trump himself did not introduce secondary duties on China for purchasing oil from Russia, he only introduced them on India.
Trump emphasized that Europe should put more pressure on Russia.
Spencer Kuvin, lawyer for Epstein’s victims, says the FBI interviewed 40+ girls, some just 14, and prepared a 54-count indictment. Then came the secret plea deal that let Epstein walk. Those interviews are in the files. Kuvin says Alan Dershowitz scoured the girls’ MySpace pages to smear them as liars https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1963768163981836450
The scum who negotiated the plea deal became Trump's Labour Secretary.
Will our governments finally grasp that Trump (and any likely GOP successor) is no longer an ally in any real sense to Europe ?
We are still grossly underestimating the implications of that. And one possible future PM is an abject toady towards Trump.
Bild and Axios: Trump attacked Europe during today's call. The conversation was heated. Trump shifted responsibility for putting pressure on Putin to Europe. Europeans no longer expect Trump to impose sanctions against Russia.
Trump accused Europeans of buying Russian oil and financing its war machine. Ursula von der Leyen tried to object, saying that Europe had significantly reduced purchases after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Trump was reminded that only Hungary and Slovakia directly import Russian oil. Witkoff turned the tables and accused Europe of buying Russian oil from India.
When the conversation turned to sanctions, Europe attempted to agree on a joint approach with the American president. The Europeans immediately offered to send their representatives to Washington to set up a working group on sanctions within 48 hours. It is not known whether Trump agreed.
Trump told the Europeans that they should put pressure on China to give up Russian oil. Trump himself did not introduce secondary duties on China for purchasing oil from Russia, he only introduced them on India.
Trump emphasized that Europe should put more pressure on Russia.
How far is that Trump specific, Republican specific or America from now on? I guess the hope is that Donald goes, the Democrats win, things go back to normal. For myself, I think it's clear that Europe needs to be less reliant on the US.
Spencer Kuvin, lawyer for Epstein’s victims, says the FBI interviewed 40+ girls, some just 14, and prepared a 54-count indictment. Then came the secret plea deal that let Epstein walk. Those interviews are in the files. Kuvin says Alan Dershowitz scoured the girls’ MySpace pages to smear them as liars https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1963768163981836450
The scum who negotiated the plea deal became Trump's Labour Secretary.
Holy Bat S**t, GAO F-35 report doesn't get any better....core upgrades to enable Block 4 now slated for 2031-33, Engine will have to be re-designed at unknown cost - but highly unlikely that this work will port over to F-35B... UK is facing a future with an orphan aircraft... https://x.com/FTusa284/status/1963621841643200982
As I've stated before; we should have pulled out of the F35 program when the US stopped the alternative Rolls Royce / GE F136 engine. As sole supplier, Pratt and Whitney now have the program, and every country that flies the plane, over a barrel.
Will our governments finally grasp that Trump (and any likely GOP successor) is no longer an ally in any real sense to Europe ?
We are still grossly underestimating the implications of that. And one possible future PM is an abject toady towards Trump.
Bild and Axios: Trump attacked Europe during today's call. The conversation was heated. Trump shifted responsibility for putting pressure on Putin to Europe. Europeans no longer expect Trump to impose sanctions against Russia.
Trump accused Europeans of buying Russian oil and financing its war machine. Ursula von der Leyen tried to object, saying that Europe had significantly reduced purchases after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Trump was reminded that only Hungary and Slovakia directly import Russian oil. Witkoff turned the tables and accused Europe of buying Russian oil from India.
When the conversation turned to sanctions, Europe attempted to agree on a joint approach with the American president. The Europeans immediately offered to send their representatives to Washington to set up a working group on sanctions within 48 hours. It is not known whether Trump agreed.
Trump told the Europeans that they should put pressure on China to give up Russian oil. Trump himself did not introduce secondary duties on China for purchasing oil from Russia, he only introduced them on India.
Trump emphasized that Europe should put more pressure on Russia.
How far is that Trump specific, Republican specific or America from now on? I guess the hope is that Donald goes, the Democrats win, things go back to normal. For myself, I think it's clear that Europe needs to be less reliant on the US.
Normal wasn't good.
Britain needs to be more independent as a country full stop. That doesn't begin or end with Trump - the point of independence is that it's there when you need it.
Catastrophic poll for Labour. I mean the SNP have been shocking and they have lost half their vote?
To keep out the SNP will Labour, Tories and Lib Dems all tactical vote for Reform? Or is the SNP the lesser evil?
Holyrood is PR so no need, on that poll there will be a Unionist majority in the Scottish Parliament next year anyway for the first time since 2011
Not according to an actual Scotch polling expert, SNP just 2 seats off an outright majority. He does caveat that the LD numbers are very likely an outlier.
Projecting More in Common ?? Aug/Sep into seats (changes vs 2021 on new boundaries):
SNP ~ 63 (nc) Lab ~ 17 (-4) Reform UK ~ 17 (+17) Lib Dem ~ 15 (+11) Con ~ 11 (-20) Green ~ 6 (-4)
Good morning from France. This 12% extra GDP they spend shows. Roads being renewed. Plenty of low cost public transport. Investment in education from the numbers of pupils around. No sign of this country being on its knees.
💸 Angela Rayner’s family home was valued at almost twice the amount of other recently sold properties on her street when she sold a stake to her disabled son’s trust so she could buy a holiday home
How quaint that Rayner should have had a ‘house’ on a ‘street’ rather thsn the detached villas, castles and estates that the sort of people you support live in.
Good morning from France. This 12% extra GDP they spend shows. Roads being renewed. Plenty of low cost public transport. Investment in education from the numbers of pupils around. No sign of this country being on its knees.
Catastrophic poll for Labour. I mean the SNP have been shocking and they have lost half their vote?
To keep out the SNP will Labour, Tories and Lib Dems all tactical vote for Reform? Or is the SNP the lesser evil?
Holyrood is PR so no need, on that poll there will be a Unionist majority in the Scottish Parliament next year anyway for the first time since 2011
Not according to an actual Scotch polling expert, SNP just 2 seats off an outright majority. He does caveat that the LD numbers are very likely an outlier.
Projecting More in Common ?? Aug/Sep into seats (changes vs 2021 on new boundaries):
SNP ~ 63 (nc) Lab ~ 17 (-4) Reform UK ~ 17 (+17) Lib Dem ~ 15 (+11) Con ~ 11 (-20) Green ~ 6 (-4)
Comments
e.g. Aberdeen North - SNP 26%, Lab 22%, Ref 22%
Of course, they are to an extent relying on SNP/Lab vote being split. They need disenchanted Lab voters going to them more than to the SNP
@Jonathan_Hinder
A new force
Definitely never seen before
Ready to shake up British politics
🥸
https://x.com/Jonathan_Hinder/status/1963680698281378174
Chris Mason managed to find several in her constituency who supported her.
Elle the (don't vaccinate my) body has been with Renee Zellweger's former squeeze, musician Doyle Bramall III since 2022.
The Justice Department's acting deputy chief was caught on a hidden camera saying that the government will "redact every Republican" from an Epstein client list and "leave all the liberal, Democratic people."
https://bsky.app/profile/axios.com/post/3ly236amcx22a
He seems to be determined to follow Trump step-by-step and so that means a Cabinet of absolute whack jobs from GB News who will support the PM no matter what.
And I went to school and college there for 7 years.
Although there will be many people in Ashton astonished at the £650k house that Rayner had.
For comparison the average detached house price in the borough of Tameside is £358k:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/housingpriceslocal/E08000008/
and the average flat price in Brighton and Hove is £304k:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/housingpriceslocal/E06000043/
An example: Many years ago, I read the argument that the ideal for a man was an English education, an American salary, and a Japanese wife. (Presumably from an Englishman.)
At the time, I didn't think about that from the point of view of the Japanese wife. But I try to, now, partly because of people like you.
(Not enough Japanese and Korean men have figured that out -- which goes far to explain their low marriage rates, and low fertility rates.)
Now, vax-sceptic Elle on the other hand? If only we'd met I am sure her head would have been turned.*
* NB. I didn't say in which direction.
And people still say this Cabinet is lightweight.
We have seen loads of these investigations over the years where this is the sort of result that is presented. Just bad enough to say wrong has been done, but couldn't say for certain it was deliberate e.g. inquiry into Mandy passport scandal cleared him of impropriety and lies.
"The Common Good Foundation has published a report on demographic changes in Britain, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, led by the moderate Tory peer Robin Hodgson. It argues that the UK population, which has increased by 9.2 million over the past 20 years, can be expected to grow by a further 6.6 million over the next decade, overwhelmingly because of immigration. The UK will become by far the most densely populated major European country, affecting almost every aspect of life. Hodgson says governments “should be expected to monitor and disclose the likely level of population change in the near term” and calls for a new Office for Demographic Change."
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2025/09/the-lefts-immigration-failure
Now the dementer has resurfaced that must be a sign. And we'd all been playing so nicely.
Nighty, night.
Now we await Farage.
I mean the list is
George Osborne (2010-2016) - Austerity (creator of future problems and Brexit as austerity was really what people voted against)
Philip Hammond (2016-2019) - who
Sajid Javid (2019-2020) - left quickly
Rishi Sunak (2020-2022) - Covid
Nadhim Zahawi (2022) - lawyer loving tax avoider
Kwasi Kwarteng (2022) - didn't stand up to Truss
Jeremy Hunt (2022-2024) - cut £15bn of tax revenue that turned out to be essential...
None of them are a Darling, Brown, Clarke, Major or Lawson...
Cameron? Of course not. Kemi? Doesn't seem likely. Jenrick? The ultimate chameleon, hard to see it working. Farage tripping himself up? More than anything else he's already said/done?
I used to watch it on itv late Thursday nights in the early 90s after a night out in Romford
If you get your significant other pregnant round about now your two weeks paternity leave will coincide with World Cup games at very strange hours...
You are welcome.
And we're already a lot more densely populated than Spain, Germany, Italy, France or Poland.
So, while I agree with the general thesis about two much immigration, the population density argument a relative weak one.
@RpsAgainstTrump
·
6m
JUST IN: Donald Trump will sign an executive order Friday to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, Fox News reports.
It's not going to be easy to campaign as the party to smash the elite, when just a few years ago their members were that elite (though to be fair they do have form at smashing that elite).
On the @itvnews Robert Peston @peston has just said: "Tomorrow, it looks to me as though the Prime Minister may well have to ask for her resignation"
It's the only one known to me with these - Greek style figures used as columns - in the country, and is just across the road.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/tE3oUfc1Ts67wpgp9
IanVisits article about it, with a piccie of the interior, which was built to seat 2500.
Open 11-2 6 days a week, or (I assume) service times on Sundays. Art gallery in the crypt.
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/inside-the-200-year-old-st-pancras-new-church-56018/
If that isn't an elite position then what is?
And the Tories are much more palatable without Nadine.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2025/09/04/robert-avery-interpreter-russian-navy-rukus-cold-war/
Stamp Duty for Second Homes as from 01.04.16
If, at the point of your purchase of this property you own another property (or have a share in another
property) in the UK or anywhere else, and unless you are replacing your main home by selling it, then (in
addition to standard stamp duty) the recent 3% stamp duty charge for second properties may apply.
An assessment of liability for stamp duty (both in terms of the property and also your personal circumstances)
is a maDer of personal taxation and whilst we can complete the necessary forms for you, the applicability of tax
is a maDer for you to satisfy yourself on (we will invite you to approve and sign the tax return in due course).
You are recommended to refer to an accountant/tax consultant for independent advice.
There can be complex issues concerning stamp duty such as where a property may consist of an annex capable
of independent living insofar as representing potential for stamp duty savings. This is something you would
need to investigate with your surveyor and accountant. If your surveyor and accountant consider there is such
a lawful scheme of potential saving available please would you let us know in writing or by email. We shall not
otherwise be investigating any such scheme and do not give any warranty as to whether the property may or
may not be subject to such a scheme.
Netherlands population density for 2022 was 525.72
England's population density was 434 in 2022.
https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/nld/netherlands/population-density
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Kingdom
So currently a significant difference. So how many more people would we need to beat Netherlands current density?
If we estimate the difference as 100 people per km2; England's area is 130,309km2. we would therefore need about 13 million extra people in England to beat Netherlands' density, if that remains static.
With net housebuilding at about 200,000 per year, we would need 65 years to build enough houses to house the increased population.
(*) I would expect immigrants to live with more people in each property, at least initially.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_districts_by_population_density
Look, I was among the first on pb to say this was politically bad and could end any chance Rayner had of succeeding Keir Starmer, but this is not a vast criminal conspiracy. It's a cock-up. Ironically the part that poses most imminent danger might be parliament's rules on house-flipping which iirc brought down Hazel Blears during the expenses scandal.
He is a seriously evil man in my estimation, who never really paid for the immense damage done by his mendacity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXB4G1YSp98
I hadn't twigged that Farage is actually over there to promote GBNews, and the appearance at the Republican controlled committee in Congress was a sideshow; he walked out before his own question session had finished, and was willing to obfuscate about banning journalists from events and communication with Reform led councils.
It is notable that Paul Marshall is also in the USA, also putting out a "please save us from the UK Government" type line.
It will be interesting how Free Speech Nigel handles it at the Reform Conference this weekend. We may not hear, because his Party have banned some journalists who do not have opinions they like.
I'll update a couple of points on my view:
1 - I said I thought Reform would have to take action against their people or branches which are keen on Tommy Robinson & Co. Judging by his Washington performance, they could potentially jump the other way.
2 - He could get defenestrated by his own constituency, since he's never seen there.
I'm struggling to see it.
https://x.com/FTusa284/status/1963621841643200982
Just like in Corbyn's Labour.
https://youtu.be/lXB4G1YSp98?t=1412
We are still grossly underestimating the implications of that.
And one possible future PM is an abject toady towards Trump.
Bild and Axios: Trump attacked Europe during today's call. The conversation was heated. Trump shifted responsibility for putting pressure on Putin to Europe. Europeans no longer expect Trump to impose sanctions against Russia.
Trump accused Europeans of buying Russian oil and financing its war machine. Ursula von der Leyen tried to object, saying that Europe had significantly reduced purchases after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Trump was reminded that only Hungary and Slovakia directly import Russian oil. Witkoff turned the tables and accused Europe of buying Russian oil from India.
When the conversation turned to sanctions, Europe attempted to agree on a joint approach with the American president. The Europeans immediately offered to send their representatives to Washington to set up a working group on sanctions within 48 hours. It is not known whether Trump agreed.
Trump told the Europeans that they should put pressure on China to give up Russian oil. Trump himself did not introduce secondary duties on China for purchasing oil from Russia, he only introduced them on India.
Trump emphasized that Europe should put more pressure on Russia.
After the conversation, Europeans no longer expect Trump to impose sanctions against Russia.
https://x.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1963705264936460405
https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1963768163981836450
The scum who negotiated the plea deal became Trump's Labour Secretary.
I guess the hope is that Donald goes, the Democrats win, things go back to normal.
For myself, I think it's clear that Europe needs to be less reliant on the US.
Farage wants to copy Trump.
https://x.com/govpressoffice/status/1963693102348354047?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
Britain needs to be more independent as a country full stop. That doesn't begin or end with Trump - the point of independence is that it's there when you need it.
Projecting More in Common ?? Aug/Sep into seats (changes vs 2021 on new boundaries):
SNP ~ 63 (nc)
Lab ~ 17 (-4)
Reform UK ~ 17 (+17)
Lib Dem ~ 15 (+11)
Con ~ 11 (-20)
Green ~ 6 (-4)
(Projection caveats: https://ballotbox.scot/projections)
Looks can be deceptive
https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/08/26/france-is-in-big-trouble-again
I expect more rats to leave the sinking ship so that they keep their seats. All that is needed is to kiss Farages arse.