Good morning. The ghouls were out last night and it's not even Halloween. Wonder when we are going to read about someone being radicalised by PB?
Back on subject and looking at the forecast for my own 'safe' Tory seat which is supposed to go Reform. Knowing the local Reform people (ex-UKIP) they just don't have the skills to run a council given the level of issues to be dealt with locally. Scale that up to Westminster and if Reform do get in, then unless there is something like the Heritage Foundation or some well-financed Think Tank, then it will be more of a disaster than the previous 3 governments.
One can only hope there will be more defections of skilled and capable politicians to Reform before 2029 cos a Reform government won't be pretty.
I am in one of the seats showing conservative on this MRP, with Reform a close second. My Tory MP is one of the relatively sane ones, but there is no way that I would tactically vote for them when Jenrick will be running on the same platform as Reform.
If Kemi is replaced next year it will be Cleverly who replaces her by coronation as Tory MPs elected Howard by coronation to succeed IDS in 2003 and Sunak by coronation to replace Truss in 2022.
Tory voters who stayed loyal in 2024 and all voters prefer Cleverly too polls show, only Reform voters prefer Jenrick. Even Tory members rejected Jenrick last year
The best chance the Tories have is to select a leader who looks "prime ministerial" and is able to attract Reform-defectors who are queasy about the prospect of Nige in Downing Street. May also help with the fight with the LibDems. Cleverly appears the only option so far as I can see and, let's face it, he would have won the top job if the Tory MP's hadn't screwed up the leadership election. I think he must still feel in the game, as he accepted a job in the shadow cabinet (much like Howard becoming Shadow Chancellor under IDS when he might have reasonably retired).
There was some talk downstream about the SDP. Worth remembering that they brought to the party some serious politicians with cabinet experience - Jenkins, Owen, Williams plus several more competent juniors. So far, Reform has only Farage, who is no-one's idea of a competent man of government. And as for his followers - don't ask.
Whatever happen, Reform will prove short-lived. They either fail to maintain momentum, don't win the election, and then disappear when Farage steps down, and the Tories recover. Or else, they win, form a Government, and collapse under the pressure of office and events. Just imagine what a Reform-majority parliamentary party would look like. "Strong and stable"?
I suspect if Cleverley is not leader by conference next year he will be unveiled as London Mayor candidate.
From what I hear the Tory establishment are already plotting to make Cleverly party leader and Seb Coe London Mayoral candidate by conference next year
If Seb Coe is the answer, you've been listening to William Hague. Coe is well into his bus pass years in any case. (Wasn't Coe's mum Indian, now you mention him?)
Coe could beat Khan with LD and Reform preferences and has name recognition from London 2012 he ran
Khan has an extremely high meh vote.
Coe could beat him, but he’d need to run semi-independently from the Tory brand which remains largely toxic in London.
Sebastian Coe is nearly 70, not exactly the fresh faced demographic. If that is all the Tories have, I wouldn't give a candle for their chances.
I see from my local paper that our MP who is forecast to lose his seat to Remain, has visited the local Jobcentre. I am tempted to tell him, PB thinks the Reform threat is somewhat overdone.
Lammy handled that quite well IMO, and the speech (if he had been allowed to deliver it uninterrupted) hit the right sort of tone. I particularly like his last comment about reconsidering any marches this weekend.
David Lammy got a tough crowd at the vigil for victims of the Manchester synagogue atack.
Well, I wasn't expecting that.
Not really surprising as the Israeli Government, both the Foreign Minister and Bibi are quite rightly outraged and personally blaming Starmer for the atrocity.
Some bonkers comments on here last night, of which @Big_G_NorthWales was not one of them.
"Antifa" is bonkers. Its an idea, not a terrorist organisation. I am antifa. But Big G is quoting someone important mentioning it - which makes it relevant to post on here.
What else did we have. "every sane Patriotic Brit" have to vote for Farage - Mr Russia who went to American demanding economic sanctions on us.
A "civil war" if Reform win the election or "eventual islamic takeover" if they don't. Riiiiiiiiight.
This forum is a microcosm of the real world. We have representatives from most elements of real world politics. And we need to try switching off and back on again as everyone has lost it.
Calm down. The “every sane patriotic Brit” remark was me having a giraffe. I know it winds up the Centrist Duds
For a start, you could ALSO vote for Advance
If you’d have suggested, fifty or sixty years ago, that London would have a Muslim mayor, entire neighbourhoods in big cities would be almost entirely Muslim, churches were disappearing but mosques were increasing, and there were half a dozen MPs elected solely on the back of a bloc of Islamic votes, they’d have called you an absolute loon who was scaremongering. And that’s not to mention 7/7, Lee Rigby, Manchester Arena etc
But that is where we are, and it’s regarded as completely normal. Actually it’s considered offensive to criticise, or even to merely point it out.
So why would it be odd if we were governed by an Islamic party or the country became majority Muslim in another fifty years or so? The demographics are pointing in that direction. Things change, they have already are are continuing to do so
I lived in Aldgate East in the last 1990s, which was 30 years ago, and had a Muslim.
I went to a school in Bedford from the 80s to the 90s (Biddenham), that was majority Muslim.
The main thing I discovered from this is that Muslims (like Jews and atheists and Christians) are just like everybody else.
Or, let me put it another way, I do wonder if you or @Lenon actually have any close Musliim friends? Because I think when we don't know people in a particular group well, we tend to assume that they are (a) much more homogenous than they are, and (b) that they are much more different to us than they are,
I presume you mean me? Then yes I have a close Muslim friend
However at the moment he’s in hospital for alcohol-related illness, bless him, so maybe not a 100% tip-top perfect Muslim friend
Have you told him you think he should be deported yet?
There's another person in hospital who was shot by the police.
So three people shot by police, including the terrorist as one of the three.
From the police: “It is believed that both victims were close together behind the synagogue door, as worshippers acted bravely to prevent the attacker from gaining entry.”
I hope the government finds a way to recognise them via the honours system. Not sure what medal applies and whether we've done it previously (e.g. the Narwhal guys).
Interesting to see the contention the Conservatives are "less toxic" in London. Yes, Susan Hall won 33% of the vote in the Mayoral election but that was against Sadiq Khan who is by most measures unpopular yet endures against a weakened and fragmented opposition.
Yet in 18 of the 32 London Boroughs, Conservative representation is in single figures - the LDs are the same, of the 182 Councillors, 120 (or nearly two thirds) are in Richmond, Kingston and Sutton. In 19 Boroughs, there are no LD Councillors at all while Labour are wholly absent in only Kingston and Richmond.
Exactly half the Conservative Councillors are in the six Councils they either control directly or via the Mayor (Croydon).
The Find Out Now London sub sample has Labour on 27%, Reform on 25%, Greens on 16%, Lib Dems on 15% and Conservatives on 13%. It's a sample of 214 people so not to be taken too seriously.
Sadiq Khan isn't unpopular with London voters. London mayoral results, Supplementary vote 1st round '16 and '21 Khan polled 44 and 40, 44 is same as Johnson, 1st round he outpolls Livingstone wins, KL peaked with losing vote of 40.3% in '12 as it became increasingly bi-party. '24 is FPTP but SK polled 43.8% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_mayoral_elections
Even with Susan Hall, Cons only dropped 2% from their "shrug" candidate vote ~ 35%, Johnson was worth +9. There may have been a significant shift to Reform in London, but without that you'd expect Coe to poll above 35%. Not quite Johnson levels maybe but ~40%
Interesting to see the contention the Conservatives are "less toxic" in London. Yes, Susan Hall won 33% of the vote in the Mayoral election but that was against Sadiq Khan who is by most measures unpopular yet endures against a weakened and fragmented opposition.
Yet in 18 of the 32 London Boroughs, Conservative representation is in single figures - the LDs are the same, of the 182 Councillors, 120 (or nearly two thirds) are in Richmond, Kingston and Sutton. In 19 Boroughs, there are no LD Councillors at all while Labour are wholly absent in only Kingston and Richmond.
Exactly half the Conservative Councillors are in the six Councils they either control directly or via the Mayor (Croydon).
The Find Out Now London sub sample has Labour on 27%, Reform on 25%, Greens on 16%, Lib Dems on 15% and Conservatives on 13%. It's a sample of 214 people so not to be taken too seriously.
So even FON has Reform in London 10% below the 35% they have them on UK wide and they are the most favourable pollster for them. While the Tories in London are only about 5% below their UK score.
Plenty of tactical anti Reform votes in London for Tory candidates to squeeze, especially if Cleverly replaces Kemi next year
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury by Downing Street.
She will be the first female Archbishop in history and a good choice in my view
What are the factors that make her a good choice?
I know very little about CofE Bishops, or internal politics.
Well she is a woman for starters which after recent sex abuse cases involving males was desperately needed. She is reasonably pro Parish and backed blessings for same sex couples
Interesting. Does that mean she's anti gay marriage, or conversely leaning that way?
She is likely pro but Synod decides and LLF was the compromise that got through it.
Should also be noted the most well funded and biggest congregation conservative evangelical churches in the C of E would likely leave if same sex marriage was allowed. Opposition to same sex marriage is a defining thing for conservative evangelicals as even the SNP found with Kate Forbes when she stood for SNP leader
Thank you; and fair enough. But the contradiction between being the ideological [edit] or perhaps better religious arm of the English State, and disobeying that State's laws on marriage, remains. I have no idea how, or indeed if, that will be resolved in a logical way.
They aren't disobeying, same sex couples can still get married in hotels and registry offices and get prayers for them now in C of E churches.
Just because something is legal in England doesn't mean the C of E has to fully recognise it, even as established church, otherwise it would be having services for adulterers and gamblers
Isn't that a pretty strong case of disobeying the law, or at least campaigning to have a loophole left in it to suit themselves by not having to obey the law, rather than the wider body politic?
And "having services for adulterers and gamblers" was very much along the line of one J. Christ, as I recall.
Jesus never blessed adultery or gambling, just those who repented of their sins
The drone numbers over Belgium last night are listed as fifteen over the airbase, so very likely not a misindentification of one object, as argued by some posters below.
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
NEW: Allies of Robert Jenrick are collecting no confidence letters from Conservative MPs calling for party leader Kemi Badenoch to quit, The i Paper has been told.
Interesting to see the contention the Conservatives are "less toxic" in London. Yes, Susan Hall won 33% of the vote in the Mayoral election but that was against Sadiq Khan who is by most measures unpopular yet endures against a weakened and fragmented opposition.
Yet in 18 of the 32 London Boroughs, Conservative representation is in single figures - the LDs are the same, of the 182 Councillors, 120 (or nearly two thirds) are in Richmond, Kingston and Sutton. In 19 Boroughs, there are no LD Councillors at all while Labour are wholly absent in only Kingston and Richmond.
Exactly half the Conservative Councillors are in the six Councils they either control directly or via the Mayor (Croydon).
The Find Out Now London sub sample has Labour on 27%, Reform on 25%, Greens on 16%, Lib Dems on 15% and Conservatives on 13%. It's a sample of 214 people so not to be taken too seriously.
Sadiq Khan isn't unpopular with London voters. London mayoral results, Supplementary vote 1st round '16 and '21 Khan polled 44 and 40, 44 is same as Johnson, 1st round he outpolls Livingstone wins, KL peaked with losing vote of 40.3% in '12 as it became increasingly bi-party. '24 is FPTP but SK polled 43.8% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_mayoral_elections
Even with Susan Hall, Cons only dropped 2% from their "shrug" candidate vote ~ 35%, Johnson was worth +9. There may have been a significant shift to Reform in London, but without that you'd expect Coe to poll above 35%. Not quite Johnson levels maybe but ~40%
At a time when Labour were 20-25 points ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, Khan won an unconvincing victory (remember the mischievous comments on here reporting "rumours" Hall was ahead which were of course nonsense).
Indeed, we should have seen the Labour performance in the London Mayoral election as an indication some of the polling for the GE was overdoing the Labour numbers.
To be fair, Khan's 43% compared favourably with the subsequent GE result but Hall clearly attracted some anti-Labour votes as her 33% was followed by 21% of the Conservatives across the capital in the GE. Both the Greens and the LDs, who were squeezed in the Mayoral election, did much better in the GE.
In a more crowded field, the race to be the main opponent to Labour is key - the Conservatives used to have that by default but if they do poorly next year and finish third or fourth in the capital on vote share, it will be harder for them to claim that mantle.
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Lammy handled that quite well IMO, and the speech (if he had been allowed to deliver it uninterrupted) hit the right sort of tone. I particularly like his last comment about reconsidering any marches this weekend.
The problem with the marches is manifold. Some are there for the best of reasons - appalled by the violence in Gaza and wanting it to stop. But some there are haters of Israel and Jews.
And ultimately I am not sure what the marchers want to happen as a result of yet another march. The UK government has recognised Palestine as a state (or will do). Its pretty clear that support for Israeli action is limited. What do they want to happen?
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
That sounds extremely promising.
Doesn’t it just.
It’s not had the usual suspects on Gallifreybase pouring scorn on it either.
NEW: Allies of Robert Jenrick are collecting no confidence letters from Conservative MPs calling for party leader Kemi Badenoch to quit, The i Paper has been told.
Seems like Tories have been collecting no confidence letters for the last decade... New leader, same old no confidence!
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
That sounds extremely promising.
Doesn’t it just.
It’s not had the usual suspects on Gallifreybase pouring scorn on it either.
Lammy handled that quite well IMO, and the speech (if he had been allowed to deliver it uninterrupted) hit the right sort of tone. I particularly like his last comment about reconsidering any marches this weekend.
The problem with the marches is manifold. Some are there for the best of reasons - appalled by the violence in Gaza and wanting it to stop. But some there are haters of Israel and Jews.
And ultimately I am not sure what the marchers want to happen as a result of yet another march. The UK government has recognised Palestine as a state (or will do). Its pretty clear that support for Israeli action is limited. What do they want to happen?
I've no idea what they want the government to do. There will be a lot of virtue signallers there.
As for your first paragraph: I'll say the same as I did about Tommeh's march. If you went on it, your voice was irrelevant. You were amplifying his voice. Likewise, the people going on these marches who are pure of heart, who only want the best for Palestinians and Jews, are amplifying the fear felt by Jews in this country.
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
NEW: Allies of Robert Jenrick are collecting no confidence letters from Conservative MPs calling for party leader Kemi Badenoch to quit, The i Paper has been told.
Seems like Tories have been collecting no confidence letters for the last decade... New leader, same old no confidence!
At this point, I am starting to wonder if they should be collecting letters of no confidence in the Tory party as an institution.
It’s a bit of a cliché, but diversity can be a strength (for example, in a workplace, a sports team, or across a nation) because it brings a wide range of complementary skills and perspectives. But for that strength to be realised, it has to be anchored in unity.
Diversity without unity risks fragmentation, where some may disengage or simply not care, or even work against the majority.
So, really, diversity is only a strength in the context of shared purpose and cohesion.
Which is why it is important to counter those voices who seek to divide us.
What I meant was is a believe and pride in, say, the Union Flag and a love for Britain.
Without it one risks just virtue-signalling and possibly crossing over into pomposity.
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
See also MP's who carried on living in a council house.
And sometimes diversity isn't a strength but uniformity is; for example, at a black tie dinner or in the military.
But there, there is a diversity of views and skills hidden beneath the surface of a uniform outward unity.
Basically, it's just a trendy bullshit cliched phrase. Which people parrot because it's achingly right-on, but in a braindead way.
Plenty of people use it because it's literally true, in very many important situations. You could argue, if you wanted a right-wing example, that one of the weaknesses of the NHS is its uniformity of organisation.
I don’t think plenty of people use in that in that sense though. Diversity Is Strength (TM) means one thing: the more racial, sexual, and gender diversity the better.
Lammy handled that quite well IMO, and the speech (if he had been allowed to deliver it uninterrupted) hit the right sort of tone. I particularly like his last comment about reconsidering any marches this weekend.
The problem with the marches is manifold. Some are there for the best of reasons - appalled by the violence in Gaza and wanting it to stop. But some there are haters of Israel and Jews.
And ultimately I am not sure what the marchers want to happen as a result of yet another march. The UK government has recognised Palestine as a state (or will do). Its pretty clear that support for Israeli action is limited. What do they want to happen?
There are presumably lots of different things that could be done - a sporting boycott, economic sanctions, maybe they want Britain to cut diplomatic ties with Israel?
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
If I was a cynic, I might suggest that the 'profound shock' is that his son did not kill more people.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
That sounds extremely promising.
Doesn’t it just.
It’s not had the usual suspects on Gallifreybase pouring scorn on it either.
Its been easy to pour scorn in recent years, tbf.
I would become a lifetime Lib Dem member and voter if we got the two missing Invasion episodes back.
Lammy handled that quite well IMO, and the speech (if he had been allowed to deliver it uninterrupted) hit the right sort of tone. I particularly like his last comment about reconsidering any marches this weekend.
The problem with the marches is manifold. Some are there for the best of reasons - appalled by the violence in Gaza and wanting it to stop. But some there are haters of Israel and Jews.
And ultimately I am not sure what the marchers want to happen as a result of yet another march. The UK government has recognised Palestine as a state (or will do). Its pretty clear that support for Israeli action is limited. What do they want to happen?
There are presumably lots of different things that could be done - a sporting boycott, economic sanctions, maybe they want Britain to cut diplomatic ties with Israel?
And sometimes diversity isn't a strength but uniformity is; for example, at a black tie dinner or in the military.
But there, there is a diversity of views and skills hidden beneath the surface of a uniform outward unity.
Basically, it's just a trendy bullshit cliched phrase. Which people parrot because it's achingly right-on, but in a braindead way.
Plenty of people use it because it's literally true, in very many important situations. You could argue, if you wanted a right-wing example, that one of the weaknesses of the NHS is its uniformity of organisation.
I don’t think plenty of people use in that in that sense though. Diversity Is Strength (TM) means one thing: the more racial, sexual, and gender diversity the better.
Not ifs, no buts. Always.
I nitpick at crude use of language like the best of us, but I think I can understand that as an over-correction to the previous dominant ideology that difference within society made society weaker.
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
That sounds extremely promising.
Doesn’t it just.
It’s not had the usual suspects on Gallifreybase pouring scorn on it either.
Its been easy to pour scorn in recent years, tbf.
I would become a lifetime Lib Dem member and voter if we got the two missing Invasion episodes back.
#hostagetofortune
You'll be offering to eat pineapple pizza while listening to Radiohead in return for The Power of the Daleks next
Lammy handled that quite well IMO, and the speech (if he had been allowed to deliver it uninterrupted) hit the right sort of tone. I particularly like his last comment about reconsidering any marches this weekend.
The problem with the marches is manifold. Some are there for the best of reasons - appalled by the violence in Gaza and wanting it to stop. But some there are haters of Israel and Jews.
And ultimately I am not sure what the marchers want to happen as a result of yet another march. The UK government has recognised Palestine as a state (or will do). Its pretty clear that support for Israeli action is limited. What do they want to happen?
There are presumably lots of different things that could be done - a sporting boycott, economic sanctions, maybe they want Britain to cut diplomatic ties with Israel?
I'm bored shitless with Israel/Palestine.
Sadly, most of us are and with Ukraine. And as for endless African conflicts, well we never even hear of those.
Lammy handled that quite well IMO, and the speech (if he had been allowed to deliver it uninterrupted) hit the right sort of tone. I particularly like his last comment about reconsidering any marches this weekend.
The problem with the marches is manifold. Some are there for the best of reasons - appalled by the violence in Gaza and wanting it to stop. But some there are haters of Israel and Jews.
And ultimately I am not sure what the marchers want to happen as a result of yet another march. The UK government has recognised Palestine as a state (or will do). Its pretty clear that support for Israeli action is limited. What do they want to happen?
There are presumably lots of different things that could be done - a sporting boycott, economic sanctions, maybe they want Britain to cut diplomatic ties with Israel?
I'm bored shitless with Israel/Palestine.
My wife shared an apple tart recipe with me, that was promoting itself on the basis of being far superior to French Apple tart recipes, and I realised that I was completely done with people trying to create divisions where there doesn't need to be one.
NEW: Allies of Robert Jenrick are collecting no confidence letters from Conservative MPs calling for party leader Kemi Badenoch to quit, The i Paper has been told.
Seems like Tories have been collecting no confidence letters for the last decade... New leader, same old no confidence!
It will happen in May 26 on present trajectory, and at the same time Starmer will also have a problem
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
“Thanks. As mentioned by Sue Malden at our RECOVERED event in May, we are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who (Sue stated one of two, but there are more than this) in private film collections in the U.K. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.”
That sounds extremely promising.
Doesn’t it just.
It’s not had the usual suspects on Gallifreybase pouring scorn on it either.
Its been easy to pour scorn in recent years, tbf.
I would become a lifetime Lib Dem member and voter if we got the two missing Invasion episodes back.
#hostagetofortune
You'll be offering to eat pineapple pizza while listening to Radiohead in return for The Power of the Daleks next
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
If I was a cynic, I might suggest that the 'profound shock' is that his son did not kill more people.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
One would like to to think we don’t have many here with such views. But various polling suggests otherwise. The enemy within.
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
If I was a cynic, I might suggest that the 'profound shock' is that his son did not kill more people.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
One would like to to think we don’t have many here with such views. But various polling suggests otherwise. The enemy within.
As the murderer's dad exemplified, not only are there a lot here who have those views, but they see absolutely no need to hide them - they see them as completely normal.
"The Syrian-born attacker is also believed to have other criminal convictions, although he was not on the radar of counter-terrorism officers."
This follows quite a similar pattern of a lot of these people. They have a criminal background for low level stuff.
One of the tactics ISIS recruiters used was to lean on such people that their unIslamic behaviour could never be undone without making the ultimate sacrifice.
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
If I was a cynic, I might suggest that the 'profound shock' is that his son did not kill more people.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
One would like to to think we don’t have many here with such views. But various polling suggests otherwise. The enemy within.
As the murderer's dad exemplified, not only are there a lot here who have those views, but they see absolutely no need to hide them - they see them as completely normal.
they have had plenty encouragement and little action to deter them
Interesting to see the contention the Conservatives are "less toxic" in London. Yes, Susan Hall won 33% of the vote in the Mayoral election but that was against Sadiq Khan who is by most measures unpopular yet endures against a weakened and fragmented opposition.
Yet in 18 of the 32 London Boroughs, Conservative representation is in single figures - the LDs are the same, of the 182 Councillors, 120 (or nearly two thirds) are in Richmond, Kingston and Sutton. In 19 Boroughs, there are no LD Councillors at all while Labour are wholly absent in only Kingston and Richmond.
Exactly half the Conservative Councillors are in the six Councils they either control directly or via the Mayor (Croydon).
The Find Out Now London sub sample has Labour on 27%, Reform on 25%, Greens on 16%, Lib Dems on 15% and Conservatives on 13%. It's a sample of 214 people so not to be taken too seriously.
Sadiq Khan isn't unpopular with London voters. London mayoral results, Supplementary vote 1st round '16 and '21 Khan polled 44 and 40, 44 is same as Johnson, 1st round he outpolls Livingstone wins, KL peaked with losing vote of 40.3% in '12 as it became increasingly bi-party. '24 is FPTP but SK polled 43.8% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_mayoral_elections
Even with Susan Hall, Cons only dropped 2% from their "shrug" candidate vote ~ 35%, Johnson was worth +9. There may have been a significant shift to Reform in London, but without that you'd expect Coe to poll above 35%. Not quite Johnson levels maybe but ~40%
At a time when Labour were 20-25 points ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, Khan won an unconvincing victory (remember the mischievous comments on here reporting "rumours" Hall was ahead which were of course nonsense).
Indeed, we should have seen the Labour performance in the London Mayoral election as an indication some of the polling for the GE was overdoing the Labour numbers.
To be fair, Khan's 43% compared favourably with the subsequent GE result but Hall clearly attracted some anti-Labour votes as her 33% was followed by 21% of the Conservatives across the capital in the GE. Both the Greens and the LDs, who were squeezed in the Mayoral election, did much better in the GE.
In a more crowded field, the race to be the main opponent to Labour is key - the Conservatives used to have that by default but if they do poorly next year and finish third or fourth in the capital on vote share, it will be harder for them to claim that mantle.
A lot, surely, will depend on the candidate, as Ken proved. Saw a reference to Seb Coe being touted as a possibility for the Tories. That would certainly make it more interesting. If Hall - a weak candidate - was only 10% behind Sadiq, one wonders how much closer it might have been with someone with a profile like Lord Coe.
In any event, the Mayor of London really ought to be someone with a bit of pizzazz.
"The Syrian-born attacker is also believed to have other criminal convictions, although he was not on the radar of counter-terrorism officers."
"Police are examining whether Shamie was responsible for a death threat sent to a former Conservative MP in 2012.
The email to John Howell came from someone calling themselves “Jihad Alshamie”, and said: “It is people like you who deserve to die.”
Howell, who stood down as MP for Henley in 2024, said he did not know if it was the same person and did not feel the police had taken the death threat seriously enough at the time."
Interesting to see the contention the Conservatives are "less toxic" in London. Yes, Susan Hall won 33% of the vote in the Mayoral election but that was against Sadiq Khan who is by most measures unpopular yet endures against a weakened and fragmented opposition.
Yet in 18 of the 32 London Boroughs, Conservative representation is in single figures - the LDs are the same, of the 182 Councillors, 120 (or nearly two thirds) are in Richmond, Kingston and Sutton. In 19 Boroughs, there are no LD Councillors at all while Labour are wholly absent in only Kingston and Richmond.
Exactly half the Conservative Councillors are in the six Councils they either control directly or via the Mayor (Croydon).
The Find Out Now London sub sample has Labour on 27%, Reform on 25%, Greens on 16%, Lib Dems on 15% and Conservatives on 13%. It's a sample of 214 people so not to be taken too seriously.
Sadiq Khan isn't unpopular with London voters. London mayoral results, Supplementary vote 1st round '16 and '21 Khan polled 44 and 40, 44 is same as Johnson, 1st round he outpolls Livingstone wins, KL peaked with losing vote of 40.3% in '12 as it became increasingly bi-party. '24 is FPTP but SK polled 43.8% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_mayoral_elections
Even with Susan Hall, Cons only dropped 2% from their "shrug" candidate vote ~ 35%, Johnson was worth +9. There may have been a significant shift to Reform in London, but without that you'd expect Coe to poll above 35%. Not quite Johnson levels maybe but ~40%
At a time when Labour were 20-25 points ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, Khan won an unconvincing victory (remember the mischievous comments on here reporting "rumours" Hall was ahead which were of course nonsense).
Indeed, we should have seen the Labour performance in the London Mayoral election as an indication some of the polling for the GE was overdoing the Labour numbers.
To be fair, Khan's 43% compared favourably with the subsequent GE result but Hall clearly attracted some anti-Labour votes as her 33% was followed by 21% of the Conservatives across the capital in the GE. Both the Greens and the LDs, who were squeezed in the Mayoral election, did much better in the GE.
In a more crowded field, the race to be the main opponent to Labour is key - the Conservatives used to have that by default but if they do poorly next year and finish third or fourth in the capital on vote share, it will be harder for them to claim that mantle.
Labour's vote tallies in By Elections were also a big clue that the 50% polling was nonsense. I can't believe it didn't occur to me to back them to get under 40 or even 35%. I think my mind was frazzled by the bad bets I already had in the book
"The Syrian-born attacker is also believed to have other criminal convictions, although he was not on the radar of counter-terrorism officers."
"Police are examining whether Shamie was responsible for a death threat sent to a former Conservative MP in 2012.
The email to John Howell came from someone calling themselves “Jihad Alshamie”, and said: “It is people like you who deserve to die.”
Howell, who stood down as MP for Henley in 2024, said he did not know if it was the same person and did not feel the police had taken the death threat seriously enough at the time."
Perhaps he should have been though.
It's not obvious from that article what the Syrian-born criminal was doing in the country.
"The Syrian-born attacker is also believed to have other criminal convictions, although he was not on the radar of counter-terrorism officers."
"Police are examining whether Shamie was responsible for a death threat sent to a former Conservative MP in 2012.
The email to John Howell came from someone calling themselves “Jihad Alshamie”, and said: “It is people like you who deserve to die.”
Howell, who stood down as MP for Henley in 2024, said he did not know if it was the same person and did not feel the police had taken the death threat seriously enough at the time."
Perhaps he should have been though.
It's not obvious from that article what the Syrian-born criminal was doing in the country.
When I stepped out of Pavia University this morning it looked a bit dicky, as up the street one way it was blocked by a large Gaza demonstration, and the other way by a line of Italian riot police, with no way out other than back into the university. For a moment it didn't seem a great spot for me and the dog to be standing. But it all seemed to be passing off peacefully and the riot police didn't seem to see me or the dog as any threat. Second day running we've encountered large demonstrations here.
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
If I was a cynic, I might suggest that the 'profound shock' is that his son did not kill more people.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
One would like to to think we don’t have many here with such views. But various polling suggests otherwise. The enemy within.
As the murderer's dad exemplified, not only are there a lot here who have those views, but they see absolutely no need to hide them - they see them as completely normal.
they have had plenty encouragement and little action to deter them
My daughter told me about a programme they have in school about online radicalisation. I was quite surprised at this - not the stereotype I had of British schools. It turned out, of course, the threat it was worried about was white people becoming radicalised in their opinions to Muslims, rather than the rather more apparent problem of Islamic radicalisation. Probably doing anything about that would be racist.
When I stepped out of Pavia University this morning it looked a bit dicky, as up the street one way it was blocked by a large Gaza demonstration, and the other way by a line of Italian riot police, with no way out other than back into the university. For a moment it didn't seem a great spot for me and the dog to be standing. But it all seemed to be passing off peacefully and the riot police didn't seem to see me or the dog as any threat. Second day running we've encountered large demonstrations here.
Graffiti is a plague on all Italan cities
It is. Italy is bad but France and the UK also have their fair share. That and litter really bug me. Exits angry old man mode.
PS Dog poo bags hanging from trees (I know some collect them on their return walk, but not many). Why?
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
If I was a cynic, I might suggest that the 'profound shock' is that his son did not kill more people.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
One would like to to think we don’t have many here with such views. But various polling suggests otherwise. The enemy within.
As the murderer's dad exemplified, not only are there a lot here who have those views, but they see absolutely no need to hide them - they see them as completely normal.
they have had plenty encouragement and little action to deter them
My daughter told me about a programme they have in school about online radicalisation. I was quite surprised at this - not the stereotype I had of British schools. It turned out, of course, the threat it was worried about was white people becoming radicalised in their opinions to Muslims, rather than the rather more apparent problem of Islamic radicalisation. Probably doing anything about that would be racist.
Without wishing to presume too much, Cookie, I am guessing your daughter is herself white?
I suspect very strongly that the programme is tailored to specific audiences.
In our school we are definitely as much on the lookout for Islamic radicalisation as we are about far-right radicalisation.
It looks like quite a 'hoolie' is about to arrive in the North of Scotland so I wish everyone to stay safe including all our family members
Indeed I have just received an alert from our energy supplier and that we are apparently on their vulnerable list
Getting pretty wild here in south west
We had the very heavy (even for us) rain. The the rain stopped and the wind died down. Just as I thought it wasn’t going to be as bad as forecast, the wind rose again and it’s now blowing a hoolie. It nearly always seems to be the first weekend of October that brings the first serious storm of the autumn. Perhaps the meteorologists can confirm.
When I stepped out of Pavia University this morning it looked a bit dicky, as up the street one way it was blocked by a large Gaza demonstration, and the other way by a line of Italian riot police, with no way out other than back into the university. For a moment it didn't seem a great spot for me and the dog to be standing. But it all seemed to be passing off peacefully and the riot police didn't seem to see me or the dog as any threat. Second day running we've encountered large demonstrations here.
It looks like quite a 'hoolie' is about to arrive in the North of Scotland so I wish everyone to stay safe including all our family members
Indeed I have just received an alert from our energy supplier and that we are apparently on their vulnerable list
Getting pretty wild here in south west
We had the very heavy (even for us) rain. The the rain stopped and the wind died down. Just as I thought it wasn’t going to be as bad as forecast, the wind rose again and it’s now blowing a hoolie. It nearly always seems to be the first weekend of October that brings the first serious storm of the autumn. Perhaps the meteorologists can confirm.
They call it Amy, beginning with the first letter of the alphabet. So yes, I think
It looks like quite a 'hoolie' is about to arrive in the North of Scotland so I wish everyone to stay safe including all our family members
Indeed I have just received an alert from our energy supplier and that we are apparently on their vulnerable list
Getting pretty wild here in south west
We had the very heavy (even for us) rain. The the rain stopped and the wind died down. Just as I thought it wasn’t going to be as bad as forecast, the wind rose again and it’s now blowing a hoolie. It nearly always seems to be the first weekend of October that brings the first serious storm of the autumn. Perhaps the meteorologists can confirm.
They call it Amy, beginning with the first letter of the alphabet. So yes, I think
While storms can occur throughout this period, October often sees the start of significant storm activity. For example, Storm Ashley marked the beginning of the 2024/25 season on October 20-21, 2024, bringing wet and windy conditions. Similarly, Storm Babet in October 2023 brought strong winds and significant rainfall. Storm Amy was named as the first storm of the 2025/26 season, approaching the UK with strong winds and heavy rain.
When I stepped out of Pavia University this morning it looked a bit dicky, as up the street one way it was blocked by a large Gaza demonstration, and the other way by a line of Italian riot police, with no way out other than back into the university. For a moment it didn't seem a great spot for me and the dog to be standing. But it all seemed to be passing off peacefully and the riot police didn't seem to see me or the dog as any threat. Second day running we've encountered large demonstrations here.
Graffiti is a plague on all Italan cities
It is. Italy is bad but France and the UK also have their fair share. That and litter really bug me. Exits angry old man mode.
PS Dog poo bags hanging from trees (I know some collect them on their return walk, but not many). Why?
Sorry didn't exit angry old man mode properly.
No, you're right.
That seriously pisses me off, too. I'd rather the poo was left unbagged, than bagged and randomly discarded. At least it would decompose more quickly.
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
If I was a cynic, I might suggest that the 'profound shock' is that his son did not kill more people.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
One would like to to think we don’t have many here with such views. But various polling suggests otherwise. The enemy within.
I presume the good Muslim doctor Farjie Al Shamie got a visit from the peelers for the vile views he expressed on social media? Then perhaps 31 months prison sentence?
Oh no, he didn't, silly me.
All these sympathisers have to be expelled, as a matter of security, or we will get many more synagogue attacks, and far worse
Really glad someone with an audience is asking why the f the Dems are trying to save Trump from his most unpopular policy as their shutdown strategy.
"Democrats have Trump over a barrel. The government is shut down. Real-world impacts from the last piece of Republican legislation will start crushing voters, soon. And the Democrats’ proposal is to . . . save Trump from the political costs of the shutdown by saving him from the political costs of his Big Beautiful Bill?
Don’t do these things that will make you unpopular, Mr. President, and then we’ll give you the votes you need to end the shutdown, which is also making you unpopular.
AYFKM?
Expiring ACA subsidies and Medicaid cuts are the two best things Democrats have going for them! Trump and Republicans did those things! Let voters experience them!
Here’s the thing: In a normal political moment, Democrats would be right to focus on policies that make people’s lives better. But this isn’t an ordinary moment."
When I stepped out of Pavia University this morning it looked a bit dicky, as up the street one way it was blocked by a large Gaza demonstration, and the other way by a line of Italian riot police, with no way out other than back into the university. For a moment it didn't seem a great spot for me and the dog to be standing. But it all seemed to be passing off peacefully and the riot police didn't seem to see me or the dog as any threat. Second day running we've encountered large demonstrations here.
Graffiti is a plague on all Italan cities
It is. Italy is bad but France and the UK also have their fair share. That and litter really bug me. Exits angry old man mode.
PS Dog poo bags hanging from trees (I know some collect them on their return walk, but not many). Why?
Sorry didn't exit angry old man mode properly.
The Culture Of Ancient Britain, OUP, Published 20,788 CE
The custom of hanging bags of dog excrement from tree branches, in small plastic pouches is considered a religious rite of the Ancient Britons. Given the custom, standardised form of the receptacles the idea that it was merely disposal (C. Nupton) can be ruled out. Suggestions that it was, additionally, a fertility rite cannot be ruled out - the tales of the single man or woman taking the house sacred canine guardian (T. Woolsock) for ritual short pilgrimages and meeting members of the appropriate sex engaged in the same ritual are common.
It looks like quite a 'hoolie' is about to arrive in the North of Scotland so I wish everyone to stay safe including all our family members
Indeed I have just received an alert from our energy supplier and that we are apparently on their vulnerable list
Getting pretty wild here in south west
We had the very heavy (even for us) rain. The the rain stopped and the wind died down. Just as I thought it wasn’t going to be as bad as forecast, the wind rose again and it’s now blowing a hoolie. It nearly always seems to be the first weekend of October that brings the first serious storm of the autumn. Perhaps the meteorologists can confirm.
They call it Amy, beginning with the first letter of the alphabet. So yes, I think
Difficult to instil fear of Amy. "Really sorry, for the wind and rain. Please forgive me." Or maybe that's just the Amys I know.
I am never shocked to see the new arrest of a pardoned J6’er. Even when it’s a pedophile. This time though, I have spent the last hour trying to find my words. Andrew Paul Johnson has been arrested for multiple sex crimes against children. Many of you know I spent hours speaking to this man in spaces. He suddenly disappeared in August. Out of curiosity, I began searching court records, assuming he was in jail for a DUI or some old warrant. Today I learned the truth. He is in jail, charged with multiple crimes against children, including “lewd and lascivious molestation; victim 12-16 years old”. https://x.com/SatireAP/status/1973897412898160880
Didn't even serve time before Trump pardoned him.
Is anyone keeping a running total of these cases ? It seems as though quite a large percentage of the mob has gone in to be convicted of other crimes.
When I stepped out of Pavia University this morning it looked a bit dicky, as up the street one way it was blocked by a large Gaza demonstration, and the other way by a line of Italian riot police, with no way out other than back into the university. For a moment it didn't seem a great spot for me and the dog to be standing. But it all seemed to be passing off peacefully and the riot police didn't seem to see me or the dog as any threat. Second day running we've encountered large demonstrations here.
Graffiti is a plague on all Italan cities
It was kind of cool in Pompeii
And some of it quite rude.
It is when your young granddaughter asks about them whilst pointing at .............. !!!!!!!!!!!!
“Further update: Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’. Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage. Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually. Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
Is it normal in the UK that surgeons live in council houses? Would have thought they would be kept for those people who have less well paid jobs or no jobs.
If I was a cynic, I might suggest that the 'profound shock' is that his son did not kill more people.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
One would like to to think we don’t have many here with such views. But various polling suggests otherwise. The enemy within.
As the murderer's dad exemplified, not only are there a lot here who have those views, but they see absolutely no need to hide them - they see them as completely normal.
they have had plenty encouragement and little action to deter them
My daughter told me about a programme they have in school about online radicalisation. I was quite surprised at this - not the stereotype I had of British schools. It turned out, of course, the threat it was worried about was white people becoming radicalised in their opinions to Muslims, rather than the rather more apparent problem of Islamic radicalisation. Probably doing anything about that would be racist.
Without wishing to presume too much, Cookie, I am guessing your daughter is herself white?
I suspect very strongly that the programme is tailored to specific audiences.
In our school we are definitely as much on the lookout for Islamic radicalisation as we are about far-right radicalisation.
Well she is, and you are fair to presume, but it was directed at the whole class - of which white kids make up a majority, but barely. And I don't object to measures to stop white kids going down an internet rabbithole, not at all. But the way the 0ublic sector addresses the problem you get the impression that as far as they can see white kids are the only problem.
It must have been so strange being born British in the 1920s.
You are born into the global hegemon. An industrial juggernaut. The world's reserve currency. The largest empire ever known. The undisputed ruler of the waves.
It must have been so strange being born British in the 1920s.
You are born into the global hegemon. An industrial juggernaut. The world's reserve currency. The largest empire ever known. The undisputed ruler of the waves.
It must have been so strange being born British in the 1920s.
You are born into the global hegemon. An industrial juggernaut. The world's reserve currency. The largest empire ever known. The undisputed ruler of the waves.
R3 had a recording of her performing in some Broadway musical. Decent contralto, if rather warbley.
This narrative from young rightwingers is becoming increasingly common. It misses out entirely just how many people of that generation welcomed the 60s and 70s, like many relatives of mine, as a huge relief.
This is also connected to why the 1960s and 1990s are still disproportionately objects of nostalgia for their later youth generations, more than many others, according to the polls
It must have been so strange being born British in the 1920s.
You are born into the global hegemon. An industrial juggernaut. The world's reserve currency. The largest empire ever known. The undisputed ruler of the waves.
R3 had a recording of her performing in some Broadway musical. Decent contralto, if rather warbley.
This narrative from young rightwingers is becoming increasingly common. It misses out just how many people of thar generation enjoyed the 60s and 70s, like many relatives of mine, as a huge relief.
Oh, I'm sure that's true.
But either way the culture shock must have been considerable.
It must have been so strange being born British in the 1920s.
You are born into the global hegemon. An industrial juggernaut. The world's reserve currency. The largest empire ever known. The undisputed ruler of the waves.
R3 had a recording of her performing in some Broadway musical. Decent contralto, if rather warbley.
This narrative from young rightwingers is becoming increasingly common. It misses out just how many people of thar generation enjoyed the 60s and 70s, like many relatives of mine, as a huge relief.
There is too much of an attitude that the country has been on a constant downward trajectory. Maybe from a global military power perspective, but certainly there have been good times too.
I would accept that from around 2014-15 onwards we have had a lost decade, and it is hard to argue that we are not in decline right now, but these things are cyclical. Britain can come back. But it requires some more medicine. It remains to be seen whether the public wake up to the need to take it; or whether it is forced on them
It must have been so strange being born British in the 1920s.
You are born into the global hegemon. An industrial juggernaut. The world's reserve currency. The largest empire ever known. The undisputed ruler of the waves.
Evening all. Some interesting polling and research on younger voters from JLPartners linked below. Voting intention amongst 16 to 40 year olds Lab 30 Ref 22 Green 14 LD 13 Con 13
Interesting MRP within of where 'will seriously consider Con' strengths are - unsurprisingly NW London strongest of all
Comments
I see from my local paper that our MP who is forecast to lose his seat to Remain, has visited the local Jobcentre. I am tempted to tell him, PB thinks the Reform threat is somewhat overdone.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/02/everything-we-know-manchester-synagogue-terror-attack/
London mayoral results, Supplementary vote 1st round '16 and '21 Khan polled 44 and 40, 44 is same as Johnson, 1st round he outpolls Livingstone wins, KL peaked with losing vote of 40.3% in '12 as it became increasingly bi-party.
'24 is FPTP but SK polled 43.8%
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_mayoral_elections
Even with Susan Hall, Cons only dropped 2% from their "shrug" candidate vote ~ 35%, Johnson was worth +9.
There may have been a significant shift to Reform in London, but without that you'd expect Coe to poll above 35%.
Not quite Johnson levels maybe but ~40%
Plenty of tactical anti Reform votes in London for Tory candidates to squeeze, especially if Cleverly replaces Kemi next year
Former apprentice candidate and daytime TV talking head as well as channel 4 documentary appearer with this take.
People have been arrested for less. She won’t be. She will still continue to get TV gigs too.
‘ IDGAF. The Manchester attack is on Netanyahu. He has Jewish blood on his hands.’
https://x.com/bushra1shaikh/status/1973820777532436898?s=61
(Plus the knifeman,)
NEW: Allies of Robert Jenrick are collecting no confidence letters from Conservative MPs calling for party leader Kemi Badenoch to quit, The i Paper has been told.
Indeed, we should have seen the Labour performance in the London Mayoral election as an indication some of the polling for the GE was overdoing the Labour numbers.
To be fair, Khan's 43% compared favourably with the subsequent GE result but Hall clearly attracted some anti-Labour votes as her 33% was followed by 21% of the Conservatives across the capital in the GE. Both the Greens and the LDs, who were squeezed in the Mayoral election, did much better in the GE.
In a more crowded field, the race to be the main opponent to Labour is key - the Conservatives used to have that by default but if they do poorly next year and finish third or fourth in the capital on vote share, it will be harder for them to claim that mantle.
“Further update:
Father of Manchester synagogue terrorist praised the Oct 7 Hamas terrorists as ‘Allah’s men on earth’.
Faraj Al-Shamie posted on Facebook his support for the invasion of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage.
Al-Shamie, a trauma surgeon living in a council house in Britain, said that the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the Jewish state had “proved beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Israel would be destroyed eventually.
Rather undermines Al-Shamie Sr’s statement expressing “profound shock” in the wake of his son’s killing spree.“
https://x.com/afneil/status/1974128240705843541?s=61
(You heard it here first.)
Incidentally, Andrea Jenkyns telling us how they checked up on her:
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-who-gets-defect-reform-who-doesnt-nigel-farage-conservative-party/
And ultimately I am not sure what the marchers want to happen as a result of yet another march. The UK government has recognised Palestine as a state (or will do). Its pretty clear that support for Israeli action is limited. What do they want to happen?
It’s not had the usual suspects on Gallifreybase pouring scorn on it either.
As for your first paragraph: I'll say the same as I did about Tommeh's march. If you went on it, your voice was irrelevant. You were amplifying his voice. Likewise, the people going on these marches who are pure of heart, who only want the best for Palestinians and Jews, are amplifying the fear felt by Jews in this country.
Nope, me neither.
Without it one risks just virtue-signalling and possibly crossing over into pomposity.
RIP
Not ifs, no buts. Always.
I'd be rather concerned about his suitability to be a surgeon, given those expressed views. If I were Jewish, I'd want him nowhere near me.
You'll be offering to eat pineapple pizza while listening to Radiohead in return for The Power of the Daleks next
She left the conservatives earlier this year
Indeed I have just received an alert from our energy supplier and that we are apparently on their vulnerable list
A few of the people I worked with at Alstom on the Northern line, more years ago than I care to remember, worked on it.
Good old LinkedIn.
However. In other news, Number 23:
https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/politics/councillor-quits-doncaster-reform-uk-for-personal-reasons-5342308
He's staying as an Independent.
But it's quite speculative.
TBH the only rumour I care about at the moment is the possible recovery of missing Dr Who episodes. The lost timeless classics
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/5339847#Comment_5339847
If one of those fled to Reform, that would be news.
Last night was a little cranky so I dipped in and out. Your post would have been a highlight.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/03/manchester-synagogue-terrorist-was-on-bail-for-alleged
This follows quite a similar pattern of a lot of these people. They have a criminal background for low level stuff.
One of the tactics ISIS recruiters used was to lean on such people that their unIslamic behaviour could never be undone without making the ultimate sacrifice.
In any event, the Mayor of London really ought to be someone with a bit of pizzazz.
The email to John Howell came from someone calling themselves “Jihad Alshamie”, and said: “It is people like you who deserve to die.”
Howell, who stood down as MP for Henley in 2024, said he did not know if it was the same person and did not feel the police had taken the death threat seriously enough at the time."
Perhaps he should have been though.
It turned out, of course, the threat it was worried about was white people becoming radicalised in their opinions to Muslims, rather than the rather more apparent problem of Islamic radicalisation. Probably doing anything about that would be racist.
GlassArse effect with IoS 26.1PS Dog poo bags hanging from trees (I know some collect them on their return walk, but not many). Why?
Sorry didn't exit angry old man mode properly.
I suspect very strongly that the programme is tailored to specific audiences.
In our school we are definitely as much on the lookout for Islamic radicalisation as we are about far-right radicalisation.
That seriously pisses me off, too. I'd rather the poo was left unbagged, than bagged and randomly discarded. At least it would decompose more quickly.
Just vile.
Oh no, he didn't, silly me.
All these sympathisers have to be expelled, as a matter of security, or we will get many more synagogue attacks, and far worse
"Democrats have Trump over a barrel. The government is shut down. Real-world impacts from the last piece of Republican legislation will start crushing voters, soon. And the Democrats’ proposal is to . . . save Trump from the political costs of the shutdown by saving him from the political costs of his Big Beautiful Bill?
Don’t do these things that will make you unpopular, Mr. President, and then we’ll give you the votes you need to end the shutdown, which is also making you unpopular.
AYFKM?
Expiring ACA subsidies and Medicaid cuts are the two best things Democrats have going for them! Trump and Republicans did those things! Let voters experience them!
Here’s the thing: In a normal political moment, Democrats would be right to focus on policies that make people’s lives better. But this isn’t an ordinary moment."
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/democrats-how-you-can-win-the-shutdown-fight-trump-newsom?r=ex4o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
The custom of hanging bags of dog excrement from tree branches, in small plastic pouches is considered a religious rite of the Ancient Britons. Given the custom, standardised form of the receptacles the idea that it was merely disposal (C. Nupton) can be ruled out. Suggestions that it was, additionally, a fertility rite cannot be ruled out - the tales of the single man or woman taking the house sacred canine guardian (T. Woolsock) for ritual short pilgrimages and meeting members of the appropriate sex engaged in the same ritual are common.
"Really sorry, for the wind and rain. Please forgive me."
Or maybe that's just the Amys I know.
Andrew Paul Johnson has been arrested for multiple sex crimes against children. Many of you know I spent hours speaking to this man in spaces. He suddenly disappeared in August. Out of curiosity, I began searching court records, assuming he was in jail for a DUI or some old warrant. Today I learned the truth. He is in jail, charged with multiple crimes against children, including “lewd and lascivious molestation; victim 12-16 years old”.
https://x.com/SatireAP/status/1973897412898160880
Didn't even serve time before Trump pardoned him.
Is anyone keeping a running total of these cases ? It seems as though quite a large percentage of the mob has gone in to be convicted of other crimes.
And I don't object to measures to stop white kids going down an internet rabbithole, not at all. But the way the 0ublic sector addresses the problem you get the impression that as far as they can see white kids are the only problem.
It must have been so strange being born British in the 1920s.
You are born into the global hegemon. An industrial juggernaut. The world's reserve currency. The largest empire ever known. The undisputed ruler of the waves.
And your entire adult life sees it all drift away.
https://x.com/tomhfh/status/1974058116095373361
R3 had a recording of her performing in some Broadway musical. Decent contralto, if rather warbley.
This is also connected to why the 1960s and 1990s are still disproportionately objects of nostalgia for their later youth generations, more than many others, according to the polls
But either way the culture shock must have been considerable.
I would accept that from around 2014-15 onwards we have had a lost decade, and it is hard to argue that we are not in decline right now, but these things are cyclical. Britain can come back. But it requires some more medicine. It remains to be seen whether the public wake up to the need to take it; or whether it is forced on them
Some interesting polling and research on younger voters from JLPartners linked below. Voting intention amongst 16 to 40 year olds
Lab 30
Ref 22
Green 14
LD 13
Con 13
Interesting MRP within of where 'will seriously consider Con' strengths are - unsurprisingly NW London strongest of all
https://x.com/JLPartnersPolls/status/1974138269316067383?s=19