Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
Marital rape wasn't a crime (in the eyes of the law) in the UK til 1991, and spousal violence, whilst illegal, would have been typically viewed as a "domestic" unless extreme.
@DavidL says that he is dealing with tidal wave of historic offences - which are often ending in long sentences for horrific crimes.
Judging by the leaked whatsapp groups the problem with that would be it is getting harder for them to remember if MAGA are currently pro or anti the SS.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
What as the Gulliani era NYT headline "Prison numbers rise, even though crime falls" ?
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
... but the particular bit I wanted to point out was:
Prisoners in custody for violence against the person offences accounted for the highest proportion of prisoners at the end of March 2024 (32%). Sexual offences was the second highest category for adults (20%) while for juveniles this was robbery (14%).
That’s a crazy read. If anyone in the UK thinks that HS2 has a scope and budget problem, the Americans are way better at scope and budget problems.
Though they can go the other way.
When a critical freeway collapsed in LA (quake), Schwarzenegger (Governor at the time) let a contract to get it replaced. Faster got the company more money - but they had to post a bond to liable for the repairs for several decades.
They got the job done in a ridiculously short period of time, using special concrete, cooling pipes in the concrete etc, working round the clock. It actually turned out to be one of the lowest maintenance pieces of the LA freeway system, IIRC.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
We now probably put too many people in prison, jail sentences for up to a year are basically pointless. The individual sentenced to that is unlikely to be a danger to the public but may lose their job and therefore be less likely to be a responsible citizen as a result.
Gauke is rightly looking to change that so minor offences are punlished with community orders and/or a presumption of a suspended sentence in almost all cases.
We also need to do more to retrain and rehabilitate those who still end up in jail and almost all of whom will eventually be released which Gauke is also looking at
The most sickening thing about the prisoner release story is that it's only being highlighted, by the Tories and the media, because the prisoner is 'Algerian'. If he'd been Dave from Dagenham it would probably have made the Dagenham Times, but that's about it.
We are in a depressing place where the activities of miscreants are only worth reporting for most of the media if they are 'foreign' (or ex-royals).
Ex Royals may well count as foreign to some if they happen to be the son of an immigrant.
Matt Goodwin would consider King Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Archie, Princess Lilibet, Princess Anne, Andrew and the Duke of Edinburgh all foreign.
I see you left Meghan out. Is that because he would view her as a level below foreign for some obscure reason?
Deep in the uncanny valley but not bad for enthusiastic amateurs.
A step up,on recons and animations for me, for sure.
Oh yes, but you’d have to be a proper enthusiast to watch a couple of hours of it. Still, it does show progress and there a lot of things that you might eventually want to push through process like that outside of Dr Who. Star Trek: Phase II springs to mind.
Oh yes, but as with the recons and animations, this really is one for the diehards.
Controversial viewpoint coming. When I was a young lad, obsessed with Dr Who in the early 1980's all I could get of old Who was the target novelisations. Incredibly they were all the same length irrespective of number of episodes (e.g. The War Games was still the standard length...). And you know what - the mind's eye did the job of creating the images. And then I was able to start buying videos when they came out plus earned some money and they were not always that impressive. And now of course I can watch all extant episodes at will...
There are some lost episodes and stories that fans maintain are superb. Perhaps they would be better left alone?
Probably, and it’s not that controversial I’d say. I remember when Tomb was returned and when I first saw Faceless ones 3 I remember thinking ‘is that it’. Tomb is good. Watched it again recently and enjoyed it. But many missing eps have a reputation that falls apart if they come back. Enemy of the World is the exception.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
We now probably put too many people in prison, jail sentences for up to a year are basically pointless. The individual sentenced to that is unlikely to be a danger to the public but may lose their job and therefore be less likely to be a responsible citizen as a result.
Gauke is rightly looking to change that so minor offences are punlished with community orders and/or a presumption of a suspended sentence in almost all cases.
We also need to do more to retrain and rehabilitate those who still end up in jail and almost all of whom will eventually be released which Gauke is also looking at
Lol. Gauke is pissing in the wind; he's never going to be in a position to do anything.
Interesting! I knew about Axanar, but I didn't know about that.
There's a coterie of fan-made Trek films that started in YouTube and by the early/mid 2010s started producing stuff at near-professional levels. Then Axanar came along, and it crossed the line from fan production to actual competitor. Paramount/CBS sued and released new fan production guidelines (two 15-minute episodes, sets struck at the end) that killed projects like "Star Trek: New Voyages/PhaseII" and "Star Trek Continues"
Star Trek Fan Production videos (the phrase is mandated by the guidelines) still exist, and some of them are very good - Power543 is good and frequent, Avalon is a bit hit-and-miss but when it's good it's good, and Squadron was brilliant (despite being in Czech)
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
What as the Gulliani era NYT headline "Prison numbers rise, even though crime falls" ?
If you are jailing repeat and dangerous offenders very likely
That’s a crazy read. If anyone in the UK thinks that HS2 has a scope and budget problem, the Americans are way better at scope and budget problems.
Though they can go the other way.
When a critical freeway collapsed in LA (quake), Schwarzenegger (Governor at the time) let a contract to get it replaced. Faster got the company more money - but they had to post a bond to liable for the repairs for several decades.
They got the job done in a ridiculously short period of time, using special concrete, cooling pipes in the concrete etc, working round the clock. It actually turned out to be one of the lowest maintenance pieces of the LA freeway system, IIRC.
No sh!t, Sherlock. Public procurement is basically broken at this point, in both the UK and US.
Watching from somewhere that just gets sh!t done, it’s terrible to see.
You do live in an absolute monarchy, though.
With huge levels of corruption, sex trafficking, etc.
Enough about the UK, what about the sandpit?
No personal income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, 5% VAT, 7% corporation tax.
Salary of $100k or investment of $550k can buy you a 10-year “Golden Visa”.
I guess life sucks out here.
Anyone want a spread bet on emigration from UK to UAE in next 12 months?
Presumably none of these emigrants will be ‘what about Sudan’ types. Though I guess they could organise protests about the UAE arming RSF murderers and rapists, I’m sure that would go down well.
Who would want to go to any of the shitholes over there, would rather move to England than that.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
We now probably put too many people in prison, jail sentences for up to a year are basically pointless. The individual sentenced to that is unlikely to be a danger to the public but may lose their job and therefore be less likely to be a responsible citizen as a result.
Gauke is rightly looking to change that so minor offences are punlished with community orders and/or a presumption of a suspended sentence in almost all cases.
We also need to do more to retrain and rehabilitate those who still end up in jail and almost all of whom will eventually be released which Gauke is also looking at
Lol. Gauke is pissing in the wind; he's never going to be in a position to do anything.
He should be, he is brighter than most of the Cabinet put together
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
We now probably put too many people in prison, jail sentences for up to a year are basically pointless. The individual sentenced to that is unlikely to be a danger to the public but may lose their job and therefore be less likely to be a responsible citizen as a result.
Gauke is rightly looking to change that so minor offences are punlished with community orders and/or a presumption of a suspended sentence in almost all cases.
We also need to do more to retrain and rehabilitate those who still end up in jail and almost all of whom will eventually be released which Gauke is also looking at
Lol. Gauke is pissing in the wind; he's never going to be in a position to do anything.
Gauke is there to provide cross party cover for the unavoidable changes and backlash
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
In Northern Ireland, crime is organised by the paramilitaries and the "Community Leaders".
Criminals who fail to be "organised" get shopped to the police quite rapidly. Punishment beatings are rarer than they were - the Community Leaders figured out that the PSNI likes a stream of easy win cases and it's looks better without so many people with smashed knees rocking up at hospital.
So if you are working for organised crime in NI, you are protected from the police, who are quite limited in what they can do, since too much crime prevention/detection would be "anti-peace process".
Which is why shopkeepers reporting protection rackets get told to pay up. If the amounts get too high, a quiet word is given to the responsible Community Leader.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
... but the particular bit I wanted to point out was:
Prisoners in custody for violence against the person offences accounted for the highest proportion of prisoners at the end of March 2024 (32%). Sexual offences was the second highest category for adults (20%) while for juveniles this was robbery (14%).
So 48% of prisoners are in for something other than violence or sex offences. Property crime? Is remand a separate category?
And then I'd guess you'd want to look at what these were in 1993, and whether the police detection rates have changed. You might hope that the advances in forensic science of the last several decades would improve the detection rate for a number of crimes.
"As @Cyclefree and I have discussed many times, a number of people involved in what happened at the PO have given both our professions a very bad name."
For those thinking that criminal charges will follow (they should but I won't be betting on this), worth noting the following about Operation Olympos, the Met's criminal investigation into the Fujitsu and Post Office executives responsible for the Post Office scandal.
The police have spent £7.2m over 5 years interviewing 4 people.
Remember that 2 of the people involved, Gareth Jenkins and Anne Chambers (both from Fujitsu) were referred to the police by Mr Justice Fraser in 2019.
Justice delayed etc.,....
We are rapidly turning into a country where there is no justice and no respect for the law.
Good news: Voters are confirming they do not approve of how Trump is running the country
Bad news: There’s never been more publicly available information about a politician, and everything this batshit incompetent scumbag has done was inevitable
Well he would if he could change the constitution and run for a third term.
To some extent Trump is right, only he and a Bush have won a presidential election for the GOP this century and Trump won bigger margins in the EC in 2016 and 2024 than George W ever did. Last night the GOP did worse across the board than when he was on the ballot last year.
Like Boris he reaches white working class voters and some ethnic minority men the rest of his party can't and as the Conservatives discovered once Boris went it has faced defeat and now even fallen behind Trump buddy Farage
"As @Cyclefree and I have discussed many times, a number of people involved in what happened at the PO have given both our professions a very bad name."
For those thinking that criminal charges will follow (they should but I won't be betting on this), worth noting the following about Operation Olympos, the Met's criminal investigation into the Fujitsu and Post Office executives responsible for the Post Office scandal.
The police have spent £7.2m over 5 years interviewing 4 people.
Remember that 2 of the people involved, Gareth Jenkins and Anne Chambers (both from Fujitsu) were referred to the police by Mr Justice Fraser in 2019.
Justice delayed etc.,....
We are rapidly turning into a country where there is no justice and no respect for the law.
There’s no justice for those who are well connected, wealthy, well off and privileged.
For the small people and the plebs it’s a different matter.
"As @Cyclefree and I have discussed many times, a number of people involved in what happened at the PO have given both our professions a very bad name."
For those thinking that criminal charges will follow (they should but I won't be betting on this), worth noting the following about Operation Olympos, the Met's criminal investigation into the Fujitsu and Post Office executives responsible for the Post Office scandal.
The police have spent £7.2m over 5 years interviewing 4 people.
Remember that 2 of the people involved, Gareth Jenkins and Anne Chambers (both from Fujitsu) were referred to the police by Mr Justice Fraser in 2019.
Justice delayed etc.,....
We are rapidly turning into a country where there is no justice and no respect for the law.
It is absurd the knots we tie ourselves into. Police shouldn't have to wait years/decades for various other bodies to report.
Smart politics by the conservatives and has left Lammy with serious questions to answer
They could have asked "when did you stop beating your wife". It was such a woeful performance and don't honestly know if the Conservatives can actually get themselves out of the gutter that they followed Reform into.
Whose woeful performance are you referring to
Sky now saying Lammy did know so his performance at the dispatch box was completely out of order
It would have been more out of order imo to blame the prison service for an error, if prison service did not make an error this time, the prison service followed government policy on early release. The prisoner only locked up for trespass, was let out under government policy for early release, the prison service not made error at all just following policy orders. That could be difficulty Lammy had, that prevented him answering.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Well he would if he could change the constitution and run for a third term.
To some extent Trump is right, only he and a Bush have won a presidential election for the GOP this century and Trump won bigger margins in the EC in 2016 and 2024 than George W ever did. Last night the GOP did worse across the board than when he was on the ballot last year.
Like Boris he reaches white working class voters and some ethnic minority men the rest of his party can't and as the Conservatives discovered once Boris went it has faced defeat and now even fallen behind Trump buddy Farage
Alternatively, it could be the Conservatives are suffering now because of the “Boris in power” years. The Boris Wave says hi, Boris COVID Party season says hi, full of optimism and BS Boris about growth, wages and cost of living to get himself majority, but economically clueless when in power also says hi. GOP suffering now because Trump is in power and not only hasn’t improved the economic problems that got the last lot sacked to put him back in, but also keeps coming up with mountains of other reasons why voters regret a vote for him.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
I don't give a stuff whether he wore one or not. We should all grow up on this bullshit. In Warminster, admittedly a garrison town, the poppies have been up for weeks. I'd rather we did Halloween first, then bonfire night and only then do poppies. There's enough time...
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
We now probably put too many people in prison, jail sentences for up to a year are basically pointless. The individual sentenced to that is unlikely to be a danger to the public but may lose their job and therefore be less likely to be a responsible citizen as a result.
Gauke is rightly looking to change that so minor offences are punlished with community orders and/or a presumption of a suspended sentence in almost all cases.
We also need to do more to retrain and rehabilitate those who still end up in jail and almost all of whom will eventually be released which Gauke is also looking at
Lol. Gauke is pissing in the wind; he's never going to be in a position to do anything.
Exactly. Gauke is doing this review asked for by Starmers Labour government, but they will never be able to act on Gaukes recommendations as they are too shambolic.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
In Northern Ireland, crime is organised by the paramilitaries and the "Community Leaders".
Criminals who fail to be "organised" get shopped to the police quite rapidly. Punishment beatings are rarer than they were - the Community Leaders figured out that the PSNI likes a stream of easy win cases and it's looks better without so many people with smashed knees rocking up at hospital.
So if you are working for organised crime in NI, you are protected from the police, who are quite limited in what they can do, since too much crime prevention/detection would be "anti-peace process".
Which is why shopkeepers reporting protection rackets get told to pay up. If the amounts get too high, a quiet word is given to the responsible Community Leader.
All very... organised. Eh?
"Blue Lights", the much feted police drama set in Belfast (on I-Player) touches on this.
Unusual in that it doesn't romanticise the nationalist/republican cause, and acknowledges the existence of loyalist communities and their issues.
Three series - worth a watch.
(Like Sir Walter Scott's novels (Waverley et al) it has a leading English character so there is someone for the non-Norns to sympathise with.)
That’s a crazy read. If anyone in the UK thinks that HS2 has a scope and budget problem, the Americans are way better at scope and budget problems.
Though they can go the other way.
When a critical freeway collapsed in LA (quake), Schwarzenegger (Governor at the time) let a contract to get it replaced. Faster got the company more money - but they had to post a bond to liable for the repairs for several decades.
They got the job done in a ridiculously short period of time, using special concrete, cooling pipes in the concrete etc, working round the clock. It actually turned out to be one of the lowest maintenance pieces of the LA freeway system, IIRC.
No sh!t, Sherlock. Public procurement is basically broken at this point, in both the UK and US.
Watching from somewhere that just gets sh!t done, it’s terrible to see.
You do live in an absolute monarchy, though.
With huge levels of corruption, sex trafficking, etc.
Enough about the UK, what about the sandpit?
No personal income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, 5% VAT, 7% corporation tax.
Salary of $100k or investment of $550k can buy you a 10-year “Golden Visa”.
I guess life sucks out here.
Anyone want a spread bet on emigration from UK to UAE in next 12 months?
Presumably none of these emigrants will be ‘what about Sudan’ types. Though I guess they could organise protests about the UAE arming RSF murderers and rapists, I’m sure that would go down well.
Who would want to go to any of the shitholes over there, would rather move to England than that.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Oh my God, who the f*** cares, Mr Hollinrake? This is not an important issue!
Totally agree.
BUT...unrelenting harassment is an effective opposition tool which grinds down governments. New Labour were very good at that. So maybe Team Kemi is getting its act together, grisly though it can be at times.
"As @Cyclefree and I have discussed many times, a number of people involved in what happened at the PO have given both our professions a very bad name."
For those thinking that criminal charges will follow (they should but I won't be betting on this), worth noting the following about Operation Olympos, the Met's criminal investigation into the Fujitsu and Post Office executives responsible for the Post Office scandal.
The police have spent £7.2m over 5 years interviewing 4 people.
Remember that 2 of the people involved, Gareth Jenkins and Anne Chambers (both from Fujitsu) were referred to the police by Mr Justice Fraser in 2019.
Justice delayed etc.,....
We are rapidly turning into a country where there is no justice and no respect for the law.
It is absurd the knots we tie ourselves into. Police shouldn't have to wait years/decades for various other bodies to report.
The process is more important than justice. The process is more important than the victims. The Process is Good. The Process is God.
Just yesterday we had someone saying that there was no point prosecuting these people, since so much time had passed.
Several of the people involved committed perjury. Lied in court and/or conspired to get others to lie in court. The facts are quite clear. You could (in couple of cases) put what was said in court, the emails etc coordinating the lies on a couple of sides of A4.
You can read them in 5 minutes. There is no escape from 1) Something was said in court that 2) Was a deliberate lie.
Why not have that in front of judge in 20 minutes? Get a jury in. Convict before lunch. Bang them up.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
In Northern Ireland, crime is organised by the paramilitaries and the "Community Leaders".
Criminals who fail to be "organised" get shopped to the police quite rapidly. Punishment beatings are rarer than they were - the Community Leaders figured out that the PSNI likes a stream of easy win cases and it's looks better without so many people with smashed knees rocking up at hospital.
So if you are working for organised crime in NI, you are protected from the police, who are quite limited in what they can do, since too much crime prevention/detection would be "anti-peace process".
Which is why shopkeepers reporting protection rackets get told to pay up. If the amounts get too high, a quiet word is given to the responsible Community Leader.
All very... organised. Eh?
"Blue Lights", the much feted police drama set in Belfast (on I-Player) touches on this.
Unusual in that it doesn't romanticise the nationalist/republican cause, and acknowledges the existence of loyalist communities and their issues.
Three series - worth a watch.
(Like Sir Walter Scott's novels (Waverley et al) it has a leading English character so there is someone for the non-Norns to sympathise with.)
The thing is, the vast majority of people do not wear a poppy. TV gives a false impression of poppy universality.
I have not seen a single poppy being worn today on my way to work or out and about at lunchtime.
People don't wear suits any more. Poppies were much more common when people wore the same jacket and/or coat every day. I ususally buy a poppy. But I have nowhere really to put it.
The thing is, the vast majority of people do not wear a poppy. TV gives a false impression of poppy universality.
I have not seen a single poppy being worn today on my way to work or out and about at lunchtime.
One for me. Plus, last month, a plastic car radiator poppy. Faded to dirty pink, so owner cheapskate, or rather commendably economical of resources.
Edit: no idea if he made a contribution to the Haig Fund. Which, for the record, I do when asked, though I don't bother with the poppy, but thank the air cadet holding the tin nicely.
Ever tougher sentencing, a bigger population, more offences (no one was jailed in 1993 for hurty things posed on X).
As ever the questions are:
What is prison for? Does is work?
Fin.
It's a bit more complicated than that, because there are multiple outcomes one wants to achieve:
(1) One wants the deterrent effect to be large enough do discourage most crimes (2) One wants offenders to come out of prison useful members of society, so that they don't just yoyo between in and out of prison (3) One wants to minimize miscarriages of justice while ensuring justice is not delayed and (4) One wants to do this for a reasonable sum of money. There's no point in cutting crime 90% if we're all starving to death.
I am not into US politics but certainly seeing Trump humiliated is excellent but not sure that going from far right to far left is the answer either
Not the right message from yesterday's elections. The blowout winners were moderate Democrat women in purple-ish states... you'd have been a bit surprised to see Republicans win this year in Virginia or New Jersey, but they'd have hoped to be within a few percentage points, not 15% and 13% comfortable margins.
Mamdani won too, by a smaller margin in a weird election against a deeply flawed candidate with big questions around corruption and sexual conduct. But I'd not take that as a wild spring to the left by voters as such - Cuomo was unelectable for reasons much bigger than ideology.
Yup.
Cuomo went Full MAGA in New York. Which squeezed the Republican candidate almost out of existence. An unified, moderate candidate could have won against Mamdani.
Interesting that the NY exit polls have far lower voting disparity across genders and ethnicity. Which would suggest it's a more harmonious society than rest of US or perhaps it's just divided by wealth?
Still pretty divided on ethnicity, Mamdani won 54% of non white voters but just 46% of white voters.
Less divided on gender where Mamdani won 50% of men and 50% of women
That's not a particularly big ethnic divide, all things said.
The reason for the focus on him is his radical agenda.
In terms of vote he didn't do amazingly well. Against a very flawed alternative he won by less than 9% in a very Democrat city. He clearly didn't unite all never Trump voters.
I'm not sure what broader lessons you can draw from the result: he was also running against a former Democrat standing as an independent. The one thing that does stick out from the results is a massive age divide.
As I’ve said before, it’s quite likely next time that Zack and the Greens will hoover up the youth vote
Well, it's not because there's more violent crime, because there isn't - there's less. So I guess it's due to the macho desire of both main political parties to imprison more offenders, regardless of the consequences, because they think that's what the public want. And they're probably right, sadly.
Is it possible there's less violent crime because violent criminals are spending longer in prison?
I'd also say that one factor is that the country is taking sexual offences a bit more seriously, including historical offences against children, and so you'd expect more people in prison as a result.
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales 136 per 100,000 in Scotland. 88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
In Northern Ireland, crime is organised by the paramilitaries and the "Community Leaders".
Criminals who fail to be "organised" get shopped to the police quite rapidly. Punishment beatings are rarer than they were - the Community Leaders figured out that the PSNI likes a stream of easy win cases and it's looks better without so many people with smashed knees rocking up at hospital.
So if you are working for organised crime in NI, you are protected from the police, who are quite limited in what they can do, since too much crime prevention/detection would be "anti-peace process".
Which is why shopkeepers reporting protection rackets get told to pay up. If the amounts get too high, a quiet word is given to the responsible Community Leader.
All very... organised. Eh?
"Blue Lights", the much feted police drama set in Belfast (on I-Player) touches on this.
Unusual in that it doesn't romanticise the nationalist/republican cause, and acknowledges the existence of loyalist communities and their issues.
Three series - worth a watch.
(Like Sir Walter Scott's novels (Waverley et al) it has a leading English character so there is someone for the non-Norns to sympathise with.)
Perhaps we should simply hire the Community Leaders and franchise their system.
"So boyos, the plan is this - drug dealing is OK. but not too much violence. We need you to sort out phone snatching and bike theft - it's upsetting the civilians. Go gentle at first - don't film Chelsea & Westminster A&E with broken kneecaps. It'll upset the press.
Sure, we'd love it if you sort out the Turkish and Somali gangs. You can have their territory, but we want it tidy, you understand? Just replace all the barbers shops with fun looking Community Private Clubs, eh?"
Today, GOP in Congress see they can’t count on Trump to win their elections. The smart ones will do what Marjorie started - save themselves by abandoning Trump's anti-American agenda. And the stupid ones, we’ll be coming for every day til’ 2026.
'President Donald Trump said on Wednesday morning that the ongoing government shutdown was partly to blame for Republican election losses on Election Day.
"I think, if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor," Trump told reporters during a breakfast with GOP lawmakers at the White House. "Negative for the Republicans, and that was a big factor."
Ever tougher sentencing, a bigger population, more offences (no one was jailed in 1993 for hurty things posed on X).
As ever the questions are:
What is prison for? Does is work?
Fin.
It's a bit more complicated than that, because there are multiple outcomes one wants to achieve:
(1) One wants the deterrent effect to be large enough do discourage most crimes (2) One wants offenders to come out of prison useful members of society, so that they don't just yoyo between in and out of prison (3) One wants to minimize miscarriages of justice while ensuring justice is not delayed and (4) One wants to do this for a reasonable sum of money. There's no point in cutting crime 90% if we're all starving to death.
Today, GOP in Congress see they can’t count on Trump to win their elections. The smart ones will do what Marjorie started - save themselves by abandoning Trump's anti-American agenda. And the stupid ones, we’ll be coming for every day til’ 2026.
'President Donald Trump said on Wednesday morning that the ongoing government shutdown was partly to blame for Republican election losses on Election Day.
"I think, if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor," Trump told reporters during a breakfast with GOP lawmakers at the White House. "Negative for the Republicans, and that was a big factor."
I expect Trump will try and blame the new NY mayor for the oncoming US stock market crash, as well
Stock market crash when he's in power: caused by fear the Democrats would win. Stock market crash when he's not in power: caused by the Democrats. Stock market rise when he's in power: caused by him. Stock market rise when he's not in power: caused by excitement that he's going to win.
Stephen Fry tells a story about raffle tickets at events. He keeps a bunch of different coloured strips and when he is asked at an event if he wants to buy some he pats the pocket with them in (preferably showing a few).
Now personally I don't believe he actually does this, but its funny...
Ever tougher sentencing, a bigger population, more offences (no one was jailed in 1993 for hurty things posed on X).
As ever the questions are:
What is prison for? Does is work?
Fin.
It's a bit more complicated than that, because there are multiple outcomes one wants to achieve:
(1) One wants the deterrent effect to be large enough do discourage most crimes (2) One wants offenders to come out of prison useful members of society, so that they don't just yoyo between in and out of prison (3) One wants to minimize miscarriages of justice while ensuring justice is not delayed and (4) One wants to do this for a reasonable sum of money. There's no point in cutting crime 90% if we're all starving to death.
One wants justice for victims?
That was implicit in (3), but (perhaps unkindly) the purpose of the criminal justice system is to take the victim out of it: the murder of a homeless man with no friends or family should be punished no less severely than that of a much loved mother.
Stephen Fry tells a story about raffle tickets at events. He keeps a bunch of different coloured strips and when he is asked at an event if he wants to buy some he pats the pocket with them in (preferably showing a few).
Now personally I don't believe he actually does this, but its funny...
Gyles Brandreth tells this story in "Breaking The Code" and says it was John Major who told him this ruse.
Today, GOP in Congress see they can’t count on Trump to win their elections. The smart ones will do what Marjorie started - save themselves by abandoning Trump's anti-American agenda. And the stupid ones, we’ll be coming for every day til’ 2026.
'President Donald Trump said on Wednesday morning that the ongoing government shutdown was partly to blame for Republican election losses on Election Day.
"I think, if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor," Trump told reporters during a breakfast with GOP lawmakers at the White House. "Negative for the Republicans, and that was a big factor."
I expect Trump will try and blame the new NY mayor for the oncoming US stock market crash, as well
Stock market crash when he's in power: caused by fear the Democrats would win. Stock market crash when he's not in power: caused by the Democrats. Stock market rise when he's in power: caused by him. Stock market rise when he's not in power: caused by excitement that he's going to win.
Anyone invested in the US market right now would be well advised to take a good deal of profits.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
UK agri dept spent hundreds of millions upgrading to Windows 10 – just in time for end of support After a £312M upgrade to the retiring OS, Defra still has 24,000 devices to replace
The UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has spent £312 million modernizing its IT estate, including replacing tens of thousands of Windows 7 laptops with Windows 10 – which officially reached end of support last month. https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/05/uk_defra_dept_spent_312m_window_10/
ETA pitchforks down! Claimed insiders saying the story is wrong and Defra updated to Windows 11.
If I had to guess right now (and it is premature!) I'd say the Supreme Court is going to strike down Trump's tariffs.
All three liberals are clearly against the government. Barrett too. Roberts leaning that way. And we haven't even gotten to tax-hater Gorsuch yet.
Chief Justice Roberts is out. Says the major questions doctrine pretty clearly applies here; the tariffs simply can't survive that. Looks like five pretty clear votes against Trump.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
UK agri dept spent hundreds of millions upgrading to Windows 10 – just in time for end of support After a £312M upgrade to the retiring OS, Defra still has 24,000 devices to replace
The UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has spent £312 million modernizing its IT estate, including replacing tens of thousands of Windows 7 laptops with Windows 10 – which officially reached end of support last month. https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/05/uk_defra_dept_spent_312m_window_10/
Not true; security support was extended [edit] almost at the last minute. But only after I bought a new PC. And it lasts for a year only anyway.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
FFS. Is this the level of politics we have at the moment.
Time for a GE so we can get rid of these morons permanently.
At the moment ?
It’s been like it for years. It’s pathetic. David Lammy is not a traitor, not anti Brit, not disrespectful of our fallen soldiers. It’s fake anger and there’s a lot of it about across the house
UK agri dept spent hundreds of millions upgrading to Windows 10 – just in time for end of support After a £312M upgrade to the retiring OS, Defra still has 24,000 devices to replace
The UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has spent £312 million modernizing its IT estate, including replacing tens of thousands of Windows 7 laptops with Windows 10 – which officially reached end of support last month. https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/05/uk_defra_dept_spent_312m_window_10/
Relatedly, you can get another year security updates for Windows 10 just by asking:
@AndrewDesiderio NEWS — INSIDE THE ROOM per multiple GOP senators...
After reporters were kicked out, Trump said the election results showed that the shutdown has been “worse for us than for them” & that R’s “are getting killed.”
Trump said the GOP will become a “dead party” if they don’t nuke the filibuster.
Trump got into it with Lindsey Graham after Graham tried to make the point that they can still use reconciliation to pass legislation with a simple majority
Trump snapped at Graham: “Lindsey, you and I both know that there’s so much you can’t do with reconciliation...”
If I had to guess right now (and it is premature!) I'd say the Supreme Court is going to strike down Trump's tariffs.
All three liberals are clearly against the government. Barrett too. Roberts leaning that way. And we haven't even gotten to tax-hater Gorsuch yet.
Chief Justice Roberts is out. Says the major questions doctrine pretty clearly applies here; the tariffs simply can't survive that. Looks like five pretty clear votes against Trump.
And we STILL haven't gotten to Gorsuch...
That's a win for the President, because it means less inflation and less economic damage. They're bailing him out.
They've had the year on for a long time - more than a decade at least.
Certainly since 2019, as that is the date on the one I caught in my shoe at Sainsbury's last week.
There are also a lot of co-something'd poppies, including rugby home nations, football clubs and whatnot. I was trying to make out what was on Lammy's (or Bridget Phillipson's): the white bit next to the red.
If I had to guess right now (and it is premature!) I'd say the Supreme Court is going to strike down Trump's tariffs.
All three liberals are clearly against the government. Barrett too. Roberts leaning that way. And we haven't even gotten to tax-hater Gorsuch yet.
Chief Justice Roberts is out. Says the major questions doctrine pretty clearly applies here; the tariffs simply can't survive that. Looks like five pretty clear votes against Trump.
And we STILL haven't gotten to Gorsuch...
That's a win for the President, because it means less inflation and less economic damage. They're bailing him out.
And I am confident he will see it that way and thank them graciously
NEWS: The federal judge in the James Comey case just blasted the Trump Justice Department for adopting an “indict first, investigate second” approach in going after the former FBI director during a tense procedural hearing in the Alexandria, Va . Courthouse.
UK agri dept spent hundreds of millions upgrading to Windows 10 – just in time for end of support After a £312M upgrade to the retiring OS, Defra still has 24,000 devices to replace
The UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has spent £312 million modernizing its IT estate, including replacing tens of thousands of Windows 7 laptops with Windows 10 – which officially reached end of support last month. https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/05/uk_defra_dept_spent_312m_window_10/
Relatedly, you can get another year security updates for Windows 10 just by asking:
Any home users taking extended support should beware of a potentially expensive trap. It comes with free One Drive, but you need to pay if you go above the limit.
The Illinois legislature had passed the “Illinois Bivens Act,” allowing people to sue ICE agents in state court. Just waiting for Pritzker’s signature.
If I had to guess right now (and it is premature!) I'd say the Supreme Court is going to strike down Trump's tariffs.
All three liberals are clearly against the government. Barrett too. Roberts leaning that way. And we haven't even gotten to tax-hater Gorsuch yet.
Chief Justice Roberts is out. Says the major questions doctrine pretty clearly applies here; the tariffs simply can't survive that. Looks like five pretty clear votes against Trump.
And we STILL haven't gotten to Gorsuch...
That's a win for the President, because it means less inflation and less economic damage. They're bailing him out.
It also allows him to go imagine what to could have had without revealing how bad it would have been
Ever tougher sentencing, a bigger population, more offences (no one was jailed in 1993 for hurty things posed on X).
As ever the questions are:
What is prison for? Does is work?
Fin.
It's a bit more complicated than that, because there are multiple outcomes one wants to achieve:
(1) One wants the deterrent effect to be large enough do discourage most crimes (2) One wants offenders to come out of prison useful members of society, so that they don't just yoyo between in and out of prison (3) One wants to minimize miscarriages of justice while ensuring justice is not delayed and (4) One wants to do this for a reasonable sum of money. There's no point in cutting crime 90% if we're all starving to death.
One wants justice for victims?
Many years ago, a friend got "rolled" when coming out of pub. Left with life changing injuries.
His wife had doubts about the claim by the defendants (they caught them fairly quickly) and *the prosecution* that it was just an accident when he hit his head on the curb.
So she tracked down an expert on such wounds - given evidence many times, Prof teaching at a top medical school etc.
And when the prosecutor wouldn't see her, asked the judge what to do.
Which resulted in the prosecutor literally shouting at her, outside the court. Apparently, the prosecutor had lined up the whole thing - the teenagers in question would avoid serious time etc, would plead guilty. It would all be nice and tidy.
This was in the days before "Victim centred justice" - I was a bit startled by the idea that the process was such a game.
The two teenagers got off with a slap on the wrist - a short time in youth custody. They went back to rolling drunks and it ended badly for them.
Gorsuch finally speaks, and oh yeah, he's against Trump. Alito also sounded skeptical, which is surprising to me. Regardless, there will plainly be a lopsided majority to strike down the tariffs.
The government better start working on its Plan B...
NEWS: The federal judge in the James Comey case just blasted the Trump Justice Department for adopting an “indict first, investigate second” approach in going after the former FBI director during a tense procedural hearing in the Alexandria, Va . Courthouse.
That's also a win for Trump.
He's much rather judges tossed the cases than they went to trial and his enemies were vindicated by a jury Not Guilty verdict. (As opposed to the guilty verdicts that were repeatedly handed down to Trump associates.)
UK agri dept spent hundreds of millions upgrading to Windows 10 – just in time for end of support After a £312M upgrade to the retiring OS, Defra still has 24,000 devices to replace
The UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has spent £312 million modernizing its IT estate, including replacing tens of thousands of Windows 7 laptops with Windows 10 – which officially reached end of support last month. https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/05/uk_defra_dept_spent_312m_window_10/
Relatedly, you can get another year security updates for Windows 10 just by asking:
They've had the year on for a long time - more than a decade at least.
Certainly since 2019, as that is the date on the one I caught in my shoe at Sainsbury's last week.
There are also a lot of co-something'd poppies, including rugby home nations, football clubs and whatnot. I was trying to make out what was on Lammy's (or Bridget Phillipson's): the white bit next to the red.
I think I have a 2012 in my cufflink box - where they end up. Certainly were there for the centenaries.
If I had to guess right now (and it is premature!) I'd say the Supreme Court is going to strike down Trump's tariffs.
All three liberals are clearly against the government. Barrett too. Roberts leaning that way. And we haven't even gotten to tax-hater Gorsuch yet.
Chief Justice Roberts is out. Says the major questions doctrine pretty clearly applies here; the tariffs simply can't survive that. Looks like five pretty clear votes against Trump.
And we STILL haven't gotten to Gorsuch...
That's a win for the President, because it means less inflation and less economic damage. They're bailing him out.
And I am confident he will see it that way and thank them graciously
Oh, it gives him an excuse to go after the Judges.
The danger for him (and the Republicans) is that he demands Congress passes legislation giving him tariff authority.
NEWS: The federal judge in the James Comey case just blasted the Trump Justice Department for adopting an “indict first, investigate second” approach in going after the former FBI director during a tense procedural hearing in the Alexandria, Va . Courthouse.
That's also a win for Trump.
He's much rather judges tossed the cases than they went to trial and his enemies were vindicated by a jury Not Guilty verdict. (As opposed to the guilty verdicts that were repeatedly handed down to Trump associates.)
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Lammy destroyed and humiliated by the Conservatives at his first PMQs.
Add it to the US version of Zack Polanski cutting through and winning big in the US, this is turning into a catastrophic day for Labour.
The referee is supposed to wait until the end of the bout before raising the winner's hand.
Meanwhile, why does Lammy have his poppy on the right lapel not left?
Because he’s having a bad day! 🤣
Ah, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing a new suit.
More on poppygate:-
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Oh my God, who the f*** cares, Mr Hollinrake? This is not an important issue!
Totally agree.
BUT...unrelenting harassment is an effective opposition tool which grinds down governments. New Labour were very good at that. So maybe Team Kemi is getting its act together, grisly though it can be at times.
I'd rather an opposition that rises above such egregious politicking than sinking to their level. Effectiveness doesn't make it right.
Comments
134 prisoners per 100,000 of the population in England and Wales
136 per 100,000 in Scotland.
88 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland.
... which seems like a big difference.
And:
The prison population is ageing: in 2002, 15% were under the age of 21 compared with 4% in 2024 and the number over the age of 50 went from 7% in 2002 to 18% in 2024.
Prison sentences have been lengthening, with 57% of determinate prison sentences being over 4 years in 2024 compared with 40% in 2013
And:
Since 1900, the prison population has quadrupled in size, going from just over 17,400 to around 83,100 in 2023. During the same time, the adult* population of England and Wales just over doubled in size, so the rate of imprisonment relative to the population has increased.
The prison population was relatively stable between 1915 and 1945, after which point it began to grow steadily. In the mid-1990s, it began to rise steeply, with the prison population going on to double in size between 1992 and 2012. Over the most recent decade, the prison population shrunk temporarily – in part due to the pandemic – before returning to the same level as in the early-2010s.
To put the numbers in context, in 1901 there were around 86 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in the general population and in 2021 there were 159 per 100,000. The lowest rate recorded was at the start of the 1940s when there were around 33 prisoners per 100,000 people aged 15 and over.
Prisoners in custody for violence against the person offences accounted for the highest proportion of prisoners at the end of March 2024 (32%). Sexual offences was the second highest category for adults (20%) while for juveniles this was robbery (14%).
President Trump did not mention Zohran Mamdani once this morning.
https://www.roads.org.uk/blog/ringways-map-here
Gauke is rightly looking to change that so minor offences are punlished with community orders and/or a presumption of a suspended sentence in almost all cases.
We also need to do more to retrain and rehabilitate those who still end up in jail and almost all of whom will eventually be released which Gauke is also looking at
Star Trek Fan Production videos (the phrase is mandated by the guidelines) still exist, and some of them are very good - Power543 is good and frequent, Avalon is a bit hit-and-miss but when it's good it's good, and Squadron was brilliant (despite being in Czech)
I live on the second floor
I live upstairs from you
Yes I think you've seen me before
Criminals who fail to be "organised" get shopped to the police quite rapidly. Punishment beatings are rarer than they were - the Community Leaders figured out that the PSNI likes a stream of easy win cases and it's looks better without so many people with smashed knees rocking up at hospital.
So if you are working for organised crime in NI, you are protected from the police, who are quite limited in what they can do, since too much crime prevention/detection would be "anti-peace process".
Which is why shopkeepers reporting protection rackets get told to pay up. If the amounts get too high, a quiet word is given to the responsible Community Leader.
All very... organised. Eh?
And then I'd guess you'd want to look at what these were in 1993, and whether the police detection rates have changed. You might hope that the advances in forensic science of the last several decades would improve the detection rate for a number of crimes.
"As @Cyclefree and I have discussed many times, a number of people involved in what happened at the PO have given both our professions a very bad name."
For those thinking that criminal charges will follow (they should but I won't be betting on this), worth noting the following about Operation Olympos, the Met's criminal investigation into the Fujitsu and Post Office executives responsible for the Post Office scandal.
The police have spent £7.2m over 5 years interviewing 4 people.
Remember that 2 of the people involved, Gareth Jenkins and Anne Chambers (both from Fujitsu) were referred to the police by Mr Justice Fraser in 2019.
Justice delayed etc.,....
We are rapidly turning into a country where there is no justice and no respect for the law.
“TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,”
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115494873923565600
Good news: Voters are confirming they do not approve of how Trump is running the country
Bad news: There’s never been more publicly available information about a politician, and everything this batshit incompetent scumbag has done was inevitable
https://bsky.app/profile/chatham58.bsky.social/post/3m4vckbigek2x
To some extent Trump is right, only he and a Bush have won a presidential election for the GOP this century and Trump won bigger margins in the EC in 2016 and 2024 than George W ever did. Last night the GOP did worse across the board than when he was on the ballot last year.
Like Boris he reaches white working class voters and some ethnic minority men the rest of his party can't and as the Conservatives discovered once Boris went it has faced defeat and now even fallen behind Trump buddy Farage
For the small people and the plebs it’s a different matter.
David Lammy forgot to wear a poppy during his first session standing in for Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Justice Secretary had to be passed a poppy to pin to his lapel by Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, halfway through the last Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) before Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Lammy later claimed that he had forgotten to pin the poppy on his new suit, which he bought for his appearance at the despatch box on Wednesday. It was his first PMQs since succeeding Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the Conservative Party, complained on X that the Deputy Prime Minister was not displaying a poppy.
Mr Lammy told the Commons that he had “bought a new suit this morning because my godmother said she would be watching”.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/11/05/politics-latest-starmer-lammy-pmqs-commons-tories-tax/ (£££)
Edited for slight outofdateness.
For Hollinrake.
It is funny how many people seem to dislike ‘woke’ virtue signalling but seem to turn into the Poppy Police every November.
Unusual in that it doesn't romanticise the nationalist/republican cause, and acknowledges the existence of loyalist communities and their issues.
Three series - worth a watch.
(Like Sir Walter Scott's novels (Waverley et al) it has a leading English character so there is someone for the non-Norns to sympathise with.)
It seems to matter to labour higher ups but their actions only highlighted it
To be fair I didn't notice it
BUT...unrelenting harassment is an effective opposition tool which grinds down governments. New Labour were very good at that. So maybe Team Kemi is getting its act together, grisly though it can be at times.
Just yesterday we had someone saying that there was no point prosecuting these people, since so much time had passed.
Several of the people involved committed perjury. Lied in court and/or conspired to get others to lie in court. The facts are quite clear. You could (in couple of cases) put what was said in court, the emails etc coordinating the lies on a couple of sides of A4.
You can read them in 5 minutes. There is no escape from 1) Something was said in court that 2) Was a deliberate lie.
Why not have that in front of judge in 20 minutes? Get a jury in. Convict before lunch. Bang them up.
I have not seen a single poppy being worn today on my way to work or out and about at lunchtime.
Recommended.
I ususally buy a poppy. But I have nowhere really to put it.
Edit: no idea if he made a contribution to the Haig Fund. Which, for the record, I do when asked, though I don't bother with the poppy, but thank the air cadet holding the tin nicely.
Number of seized vehicles at 14-year high as more US drivers struggle to pay off auto [sic] loans
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/11/05/on-the-frontline-of-americas-car-repossession-boom/ (£££)
It's the economy, stupid.
(1) One wants the deterrent effect to be large enough do discourage most crimes
(2) One wants offenders to come out of prison useful members of society, so that they don't just yoyo between in and out of prison
(3) One wants to minimize miscarriages of justice while ensuring justice is not delayed
and
(4) One wants to do this for a reasonable sum of money. There's no point in cutting crime 90% if we're all starving to death.
"So boyos, the plan is this - drug dealing is OK. but not too much violence. We need you to sort out phone snatching and bike theft - it's upsetting the civilians. Go gentle at first - don't film Chelsea & Westminster A&E with broken kneecaps. It'll upset the press.
Sure, we'd love it if you sort out the Turkish and Somali gangs. You can have their territory, but we want it tidy, you understand? Just replace all the barbers shops with fun looking Community Private Clubs, eh?"
I noticed a whole lot of poppy stuff on the IWM website when ordering the latest of their (rather good) reprints of wartime novels the other day.
https://shop.iwm.org.uk/collections/poppy-gifts
Did acrylic blocks with the ones with 2014-2018 dates for a couple of older members of the family.
Is there any chance that we could get him to be a bit more specific?
Stock market crash when he's not in power: caused by the Democrats.
Stock market rise when he's in power: caused by him.
Stock market rise when he's not in power: caused by excitement that he's going to win.
Now personally I don't believe he actually does this, but its funny...
Time for a GE so we can get rid of these morons permanently.
After a £312M upgrade to the retiring OS, Defra still has 24,000 devices to replace
The UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has spent £312 million modernizing its IT estate, including replacing tens of thousands of Windows 7 laptops with Windows 10 – which officially reached end of support last month.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/05/uk_defra_dept_spent_312m_window_10/
ETA pitchforks down! Claimed insiders saying the story is wrong and Defra updated to Windows 11.
If I had to guess right now (and it is premature!) I'd say the Supreme Court is going to strike down Trump's tariffs.
All three liberals are clearly against the government. Barrett too. Roberts leaning that way. And we haven't even gotten to tax-hater Gorsuch yet.
Chief Justice Roberts is out. Says the major questions doctrine pretty clearly applies here; the tariffs simply can't survive that. Looks like five pretty clear votes against Trump.
And we STILL haven't gotten to Gorsuch...
It’s been like it for years. It’s pathetic. David Lammy is not a traitor, not anti Brit, not disrespectful of our fallen soldiers. It’s fake anger and there’s a lot of it about across the house
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/extended-security-updates
NEWS — INSIDE THE ROOM per multiple GOP senators...
After reporters were kicked out, Trump said the election results showed that the shutdown has been “worse for us than for them” & that R’s “are getting killed.”
Trump said the GOP will become a “dead party” if they don’t nuke the filibuster.
Trump got into it with Lindsey Graham after Graham tried to make the point that they can still use reconciliation to pass legislation with a simple majority
Trump snapped at Graham: “Lindsey, you and I both know that there’s so much you can’t do with reconciliation...”
https://x.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1986095949907710157
There are also a lot of co-something'd poppies, including rugby home nations, football clubs and whatnot. I was trying to make out what was on Lammy's (or Bridget Phillipson's): the white bit next to the red.
@GlennThrush
NEWS: The federal judge in the James Comey case just blasted the Trump Justice Department for adopting an “indict first, investigate second” approach in going after the former FBI director during a tense procedural hearing in the Alexandria, Va . Courthouse.
But the story may be wrong anyway.
Any home users taking extended support should beware of a potentially expensive trap. It comes with free One Drive, but you need to pay if you go above the limit.
The Illinois legislature had passed the “Illinois Bivens Act,” allowing people to sue ICE agents in state court. Just waiting for Pritzker’s signature.
https://bsky.app/profile/jcschwartzprof.bsky.social/post/3m4uhc6a56226
His wife had doubts about the claim by the defendants (they caught them fairly quickly) and *the prosecution* that it was just an accident when he hit his head on the curb.
So she tracked down an expert on such wounds - given evidence many times, Prof teaching at a top medical school etc.
And when the prosecutor wouldn't see her, asked the judge what to do.
Which resulted in the prosecutor literally shouting at her, outside the court. Apparently, the prosecutor had lined up the whole thing - the teenagers in question would avoid serious time etc, would plead guilty. It would all be nice and tidy.
This was in the days before "Victim centred justice" - I was a bit startled by the idea that the process was such a game.
The two teenagers got off with a slap on the wrist - a short time in youth custody. They went back to rolling drunks and it ended badly for them.
Gorsuch finally speaks, and oh yeah, he's against Trump. Alito also sounded skeptical, which is surprising to me. Regardless, there will plainly be a lopsided majority to strike down the tariffs.
The government better start working on its Plan B...
https://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3m4vg3ihzt222
He's much rather judges tossed the cases than they went to trial and his enemies were vindicated by a jury Not Guilty verdict. (As opposed to the guilty verdicts that were repeatedly handed down to Trump associates.)
The danger for him (and the Republicans) is that he demands Congress passes legislation giving him tariff authority.
Conservative Councillor says "young black males" are "flooding" the UK
Contacted by Byline, she defended her comments, saying “we cannot sustain the volume of.. black males” that “jeopardises [our] security"
Asked why their skin colour matters, she replied “because they are [black], aren’t they?"
I'd rather an opposition that rises above such egregious politicking than sinking to their level. Effectiveness doesn't make it right.