Sir Tony Blair’s think tank is putting together a comprehensive policy plan for how to renew Britain and save the Labour Party amid speculation that Sir Keir Starmer will face a 2026 leadership contest
Friends of the former prime minister said he is frustrated about the trajectory of Starmer’s government. One source said that last week’s budget “killed any idea this is a Blairite or New Labour-like government”
“Some of the individuals are there [former New Labour figures], but there isn’t an overall plan to radically reform the state,” the source added
Labour figures who have spoken to Blair in recent months said he had all but “given up” on attempting to influence Starmer. One friend said: “He is looking closely at each of the leadership campaigns.”
Blair will speak publicly on Wednesday at an in-conversation event with Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary. Mahmood and Blair are both from the right of the Labour Party
A public rift with Tony Blair would probably help Starmer quite a lot with the membership
Interesting that Mr Blair might have thought 2025 Labour would be any kind of New Labour.
Mainly because 2025 Britain isn't anything like 1997 Britain.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
We used to regularly drive from Ayrshire to Felixstowe in one day. That was before we realised that Yorkshire was too good to drive through without stopping overnight.
The thing about driving from London to the further reaches of Scotland is that it immediately illustrates how ludicrous the notion of Yorkshire being in 'the north' is. We're usually passing through Yorkhire sometime after breakfast!
Wes Streeting’s allies are pressing Angela Rayner to sign up to a “joint ticket” for the Labour leadership, @Telegraph can reveal.
The proposal would see Rayner promised a Cabinet role and perhaps a return to being deputy prime minister if she backs a future Streeting leadership bid.
Wes Streeting’s allies are pressing Angela Rayner to sign up to a “joint ticket” for the Labour leadership, @Telegraph can reveal.
The proposal would see Rayner promised a Cabinet role and perhaps a return to being deputy prime minister if she backs a future Streeting leadership bid.
Do the membership generally expect to know who the putative chancellor is when voting for leaders?
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
I once drove from Konstance (S Germany) to Southend in one day. Before the Tunnel so I had a rest on the ferry.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
We used to regularly drive from Ayrshire to Felixstowe in one day. That was before we realised that Yorkshire was too good to drive through without stopping overnight.
It's only Ayrshire though. I mean, about 80% of it is south of the Scottish Border (@ Marshall Meadows)
As a good Muslim boy I've never eaten anything pig related because I observe Leviticus 11:4 devoutly.
Only when it's bubbling hot straight from the grill. Preferably Ayrshire bacon in a Scottish breakfast roll.
Many years ago I stayed in a shared flat with a Jewish guy who loved bacon. One day his mother turned up unexpectedly and I had to very quickly be pretending to eat a massive bacon buttie at the kitchen table while accepting disapproving looks and tutting.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
We used to regularly drive from Ayrshire to Felixstowe in one day. That was before we realised that Yorkshire was too good to drive through without stopping overnight.
It's only Ayrshire though. I mean, about 80% of it is south of the Scottish Border (@ Marshall Meadows)
Even more so if you count Lamberton Toll. (Bet @Sunil_Prasannan has never been on the Marshall Meadows seaweed railway ... in fact I'm sure he has not.)
Sir Tony Blair’s think tank is putting together a comprehensive policy plan for how to renew Britain and save the Labour Party amid speculation that Sir Keir Starmer will face a 2026 leadership contest
Friends of the former prime minister said he is frustrated about the trajectory of Starmer’s government. One source said that last week’s budget “killed any idea this is a Blairite or New Labour-like government”
“Some of the individuals are there [former New Labour figures], but there isn’t an overall plan to radically reform the state,” the source added
Labour figures who have spoken to Blair in recent months said he had all but “given up” on attempting to influence Starmer. One friend said: “He is looking closely at each of the leadership campaigns.”
Blair will speak publicly on Wednesday at an in-conversation event with Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary. Mahmood and Blair are both from the right of the Labour Party
A public rift with Tony Blair would probably help Starmer quite a lot with the membership
Interesting that Mr Blair might have thought 2025 Labour would be any kind of New Labour.
Mainly because 2025 Britain isn't anything like 1997 Britain.
It's quite similar, overall. You can look at it from space and everything.
Wes Streeting’s allies are pressing Angela Rayner to sign up to a “joint ticket” for the Labour leadership, @Telegraph can reveal.
The proposal would see Rayner promised a Cabinet role and perhaps a return to being deputy prime minister if she backs a future Streeting leadership bid.
Ed Miliband is likely to be the Labour membership’s preferred choice to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, according to polling that reveals the scale of unhappiness at the party’s grassroots
The energy secretary has the highest approval rating of the mooted candidates to replace Starmer as leader, according to a survey conducted on behalf of City advisers last week
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also scored strongly - with members telling YouGov that the ability to beat Nigel Farage was a more important quality in a candidate than sharing their values
Keir Starmer's approval rating is **minus 3 per cent**. He had a positive rating of 33% when Labour members were last polled in September
The Guardian's deep-dive into Nige's schooldays continues.
"Bankole is one of 28 school contemporaries of Farage’s at Dulwich college, a public school in south-east London, who claim to have witnessed deeply offensive racist or antisemitic behaviour by Farage."
He would have made a memorable character in a George MacDonald Fraser novel. Right up there with Flashman.
Reform leader of Staffordshire County Council, reportedly, just bitten the dust.
An unfortunate social media history by all accounts.
As the Reform councillor pool increases, so do the number of unexploded bombs.
What's interesting here at present is tracking the ones where Farage reacts. There are far more cases where he does nothing, hunkers down and hopes it will go away, rather than actually acting. It seems to revolve around extensive media coverage.
He's locked in a future stream of cases by reopening the doors in the summer to the "failed vetting" candidates who were rejected for the General Election, and since.
He has the need to look decisive and to be acting, but he also needs those type of supporters. It's one of those where the cover-up may well do damage at some point.
On another note, the Councillors leaving are still ticking up but at a reduced rate from Sept-Oct. The turnover of Council Leaders is more interesting imo at present, given that the hard yards (budgets) are coming down the track.
Here Derbyshire are proposing to close all their adult education centres, and outsource the service.
I'm also wondering about Tice's position; he's doing a stellar job of being an embarrassment.
The idea of stand alone Adult Education Centres is challenging from a property perspective. Unless you have enough classes to run the buildings all day, they become very expensive to manage and maintain.
The new provider could take on the buildings and charge back to the authority and seek to get other users to take on the building when there are no classes. The provision of Adult Education is a stautory requirement and tutors will need to be paid.
Adult education could be provided in schools after 6pm. It would save on costs.
At one time it was.
Cambridgeshire invented Village Colleges (secondary school by day, community hub by night) about a century ago, because it's just sensible.
See also 15 minute city theory. One of their precepts is that public spaces should double up their uses, so that buildings are rarely sat there dark.
Trouble is that laissez-faire models ought to make that happen, but mostly don't.
Hmmmmm
Educational establishments which are dark in the evenings, you say.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
We used to regularly drive from Ayrshire to Felixstowe in one day. That was before we realised that Yorkshire was too good to drive through without stopping overnight.
It's only Ayrshire though. I mean, about 80% of it is south of the Scottish Border (@ Marshall Meadows)
Even more so if you count Lamberton Toll. (Bet @Sunil_Prasannan has never been on the Marshall Meadows seaweed railway ... in fact I'm sure he has not.)
Ed Miliband is likely to be the Labour membership’s preferred choice to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, according to polling that reveals the scale of unhappiness at the party’s grassroots
The energy secretary has the highest approval rating of the mooted candidates to replace Starmer as leader, according to a survey conducted on behalf of City advisers last week
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also scored strongly - with members telling YouGov that the ability to beat Nigel Farage was a more important quality in a candidate than sharing their values
Keir Starmer's approval rating is **minus 3 per cent**. He had a positive rating of 33% when Labour members were last polled in September
Ed Miliband is likely to be the Labour membership’s preferred choice to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, according to polling that reveals the scale of unhappiness at the party’s grassroots
The energy secretary has the highest approval rating of the mooted candidates to replace Starmer as leader, according to a survey conducted on behalf of City advisers last week
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also scored strongly - with members telling YouGov that the ability to beat Nigel Farage was a more important quality in a candidate than sharing their values
Keir Starmer's approval rating is **minus 3 per cent**. He had a positive rating of 33% when Labour members were last polled in September
Ed Miliband is likely to be the Labour membership’s preferred choice to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, according to polling that reveals the scale of unhappiness at the party’s grassroots
The energy secretary has the highest approval rating of the mooted candidates to replace Starmer as leader, according to a survey conducted on behalf of City advisers last week
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also scored strongly - with members telling YouGov that the ability to beat Nigel Farage was a more important quality in a candidate than sharing their values
Keir Starmer's approval rating is **minus 3 per cent**. He had a positive rating of 33% when Labour members were last polled in September
Also, he seems the least toxic to the Labour Left and the Left Labour (for other parties) types.
As such, I think he would have the best shot at making Labour competitive again.
Ed Miliband is the only Labour leader this century to have never beaten the Tories or even got a hung parliament at a general election, he might unite most of the left (though not as much as Corbyn united the left) but as 2015 showed swing voters aren't keen on him.
I suspect the biggest winners from an Ed Miliband Labour leadership would be the Tories, as in 2015
My grandparents, in India circa 1955, had two nannies provided by the company for their son: one to do everything other than change nappies. And one to change the nappies, because the other refused to do it since it was beneath her.
My grandparents, in India circa 1955, had two nannies provided by the company for their son: one to do everything other than change nappies. And one to change the nappies, because the other refused to do it since it was beneath her.
I’ve proposed this before.
The Libyan Coastguard (actually a semi-independent militia) captures, imprisons and sells the labour of the Sub-Saharan Africans trying to migrate to Europe.
So why don’t we buy the labour we require from Libya? Since paying less is better, we can pay nothing. To the actual labour, that is.
All I want for my genius is a statue. I understand there is a space or two down at Bristol docks.
Prosecutions in Virginia in turmoil. The Trump DOJ are insisting that Lindsey Halligan is the top attorney, even though a judge ruled she was not appointed properly (as Trump skipped Senate approval): https://youtu.be/OKLmHXU3w5E Other judges refusing to accept her name on documents. The US government is just ignoring a court ruling they don't like. The rule of law is disintegrating.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Prosecutions in Virginia in turmoil. The Trump DOJ are insisting that Lindsey Halligan is the top attorney, even though a judge ruled she was not appointed properly (as Trump skipped Senate approval): https://youtu.be/OKLmHXU3w5E Other judges refusing to accept her name on documents. The US government is just ignoring a court ruling they don't like. The rule of law is disintegrating.
I feel that there ought also to be slightly more notice paid to the administration having announced that, as far as it is concerned, the US is de facto withdrawing its article 5 commitment to NATO.
My grandparents, in India circa 1955, had two nannies provided by the company for their son: one to do everything other than change nappies. And one to change the nappies, because the other refused to do it since it was beneath her.
"The Gorehabba tradition depicted herein is a highly localized ritual, practiced specifically within the village of Gumatapura in South India. It is not representative of Indian culture as a whole."
Very much agree with this post. The two allegations that probably did for Corbyn in the eyes of the electorate were his response to the Salisbury poisoning and racism in the Labour Party. Farage complaining about the BBC in response to the allegations is reminiscent of the Corbinistas babbling about the villainous media (I was always amused at the amount of power they ascribed to both the Jewish Chronicle and Rachel Riley).
None of our current party leaders is currently great at being challenged in public - Badenoch is probably too combative, Starmer becomes pompous and tetchy, and Polanski does that tiresome 'look, they're worried about me succeeding' schtick - but Farage is probably the worst of the lot when facing an unsympathetic interviewer, and watching the clips of him being challenged on these points is particularly squirm-inducing. The more opportunities the other parties have to place him in such circumstances, the better for them and the worse for Reform.
My grandparents, in India circa 1955, had two nannies provided by the company for their son: one to do everything other than change nappies. And one to change the nappies, because the other refused to do it since it was beneath her.
"The Gorehabba tradition depicted herein is a highly localized ritual, practiced specifically within the village of Gumatapura in South India. It is not representative of Indian culture as a whole."
That might be worse than chinese people drinking eggs marinated in pre-pubescent boy urine for virility.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
Can't we just say that an enormous arsehole has given a meaningless bauble to another even bigger arsehole ?
And the world saw fit to televise the occasion globally.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
The fact that it is FIFA doing it, is perfectly on brand for Trump.
And for FIFA.
MAGA and FIFA should get married.
And have a world headquarters in Dubai. In a building that is entirely designed by influencers.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
FIFA has a history of the most outrageous corruption. Hand washes hand. But one day Trump's crimes will be manifest and he will indeed go down in history as the most criminal President in history. Those who enabled his vanity will hopefully be covered in the kind of shit that never washes out, and maybe we can then start again and the various corrupt sports bodies will be put in their place.
The Guardian's deep-dive into Nige's schooldays continues.
"Bankole is one of 28 school contemporaries of Farage’s at Dulwich college, a public school in south-east London, who claim to have witnessed deeply offensive racist or antisemitic behaviour by Farage."
He would have made a memorable character in a George MacDonald Fraser novel. Right up there with Flashman.
Reform leader of Staffordshire County Council, reportedly, just bitten the dust.
An unfortunate social media history by all accounts.
As the Reform councillor pool increases, so do the number of unexploded bombs.
What's interesting here at present is tracking the ones where Farage reacts. There are far more cases where he does nothing, hunkers down and hopes it will go away, rather than actually acting. It seems to revolve around extensive media coverage.
He's locked in a future stream of cases by reopening the doors in the summer to the "failed vetting" candidates who were rejected for the General Election, and since.
He has the need to look decisive and to be acting, but he also needs those type of supporters. It's one of those where the cover-up may well do damage at some point.
On another note, the Councillors leaving are still ticking up but at a reduced rate from Sept-Oct. The turnover of Council Leaders is more interesting imo at present, given that the hard yards (budgets) are coming down the track.
Here Derbyshire are proposing to close all their adult education centres, and outsource the service.
I'm also wondering about Tice's position; he's doing a stellar job of being an embarrassment.
The idea of stand alone Adult Education Centres is challenging from a property perspective. Unless you have enough classes to run the buildings all day, they become very expensive to manage and maintain.
The new provider could take on the buildings and charge back to the authority and seek to get other users to take on the building when there are no classes. The provision of Adult Education is a stautory requirement and tutors will need to be paid.
Adult education could be provided in schools after 6pm. It would save on costs.
In some councils it is but that works only for evening classes. Many authorities run daytime classes and these need to be held somewhere.
Perhaps they should all be evening classes
What about parents who only have child-free time during the day?
Part of the idea is to make training available so they can get back into work.
Meanwhile, after the last case against Tish James was thrown out because Halligan's appointment was invalid, the Trump administration tried to get a new indictment against James (because going after Trump's enemies is the number 1 priority of the US Department of Justice).
And the new grand jury looked at the case before them and rejected it. We don't have grand juries over here (any more), so note that this is very unusual. There's no defence before a grand jury. The prosecution just put their case. So you need a really rubbish case for a grand jury to fall to indict.
Very much agree with this post. The two allegations that probably did for Corbyn in the eyes of the electorate were his response to the Salisbury poisoning and racism in the Labour Party. Farage complaining about the BBC in response to the allegations is reminiscent of the Corbinistas babbling about the villainous media (I was always amused at the amount of power they ascribed to both the Jewish Chronicle and Rachel Riley).
None of our current party leaders is currently great at being challenged in public - Badenoch is probably too combative, Starmer becomes pompous and tetchy, and Polanski does that tiresome 'look, they're worried about me succeeding' schtick - but Farage is probably the worst of the lot when facing an unsympathetic interviewer, and watching the clips of him being challenged on these points is particularly squirm-inducing. The more opportunities the other parties have to place him in such circumstances, the better for them and the worse for Reform.
Interesting post.
I do wonder if we are seeing a backlash to the populism of the late 2010s and early 2020s. Nobody believes what political leaders say any more and no one believes the promises or the commitments they make and that makes political debate almost impossible.
The sheer unadulterated negativity toward the political process as a result of frustration, disappointment or even a sense of betrayal means even the truth can't be spoken as no one believes that either.
Yet how does the debate move beyond that - when and how can we as an electorate start listening to and engaging with the political leadership again? I hear the notion people don't like being lied to and that's fair enough but I also suspect they don't want the truth either in terms of how we deal with a massive public deficit (let alone the debt) and the kind of society, country and economy we want or would like or can afford or will get.
Those advocating "strong leadership" would argue such leadership takes all that of the equation - the decisions are simply taken with neither accountability nor transparency nor even debate.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
I don’t think anyone’s taking it seriously, are they? Maybe some hardcore MAGA types…
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Was your Dad racing a Class 47 over Drumochter?
My wife and I travelled on a class 47 over Drumochter many times
Prosecutions in Virginia in turmoil. The Trump DOJ are insisting that Lindsey Halligan is the top attorney, even though a judge ruled she was not appointed properly (as Trump skipped Senate approval): https://youtu.be/OKLmHXU3w5E Other judges refusing to accept her name on documents. The US government is just ignoring a court ruling they don't like. The rule of law is disintegrating.
I feel that there ought also to be slightly more notice paid to the administration having announced that, as far as it is concerned, the US is de facto withdrawing its article 5 commitment to NATO.
Though it reserves the right to lecture us.
Perhaps the impact is lessened because it's long been obvious with this administration.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
We used to regularly drive from Ayrshire to Felixstowe in one day. That was before we realised that Yorkshire was too good to drive through without stopping overnight.
It's only Ayrshire though. I mean, about 80% of it is south of the Scottish Border (@ Marshall Meadows)
Even more so if you count Lamberton Toll. (Bet @Sunil_Prasannan has never been on the Marshall Meadows seaweed railway ... in fact I'm sure he has not.)
Marshall Mathers what??
I'm a steam railway I'm a real steam railway All the other steam railways Are just imitators
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
I don’t think anyone’s taking it seriously, are they? Maybe some hardcore MAGA types…
Thing is, who's laughing hardest, us at him or him at us?
As a good Muslim boy I've never eaten anything pig related because I observe Leviticus 11:4 devoutly.
A friend’s husband moved to Scotland as a young man from Pakistan. He was staying in a guest house and the landlady offered him bacon for breakfast. He had not heard of this substance, so sensibly checked whether it was pork. The landlady said, “No, it’s bacon.” Being a polite young man, he therefore accepted what he was offered and ate it, and enjoyed it. A week later he discovered the unfortunate truth and immediately changed his breakfast option. Fortunately, Allah is all-forgiving.
Anyway, the bacon only sizzles while it is cooking or for a very short time (seconds) afterwards.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
I don’t think anyone’s taking it seriously, are they? Maybe some hardcore MAGA types…
Thing is, who's laughing hardest, us at him or him at us?
I think Trump is so full of himself that he actually believes he is the recipient of some great and deserved award. But I find it hard to believe that beyond a few young, naive, football fans — maybe some 12 year old in Brazil — anyone thinks better of Trump because of this award.
Expressing care work as "bum wiping" is (pun intended) a bit of an arsehole thing to say.
Yes, poor choice of words by Zack, and demeaning to both care workers and those in Social Care in an otherwise good appearance.
He's a good communicator but I wish people wouldn't do that showy and condescending "I know the score" thing about what professional carers do. It's become almost a trope you hear it so often.
As a good Muslim boy I've never eaten anything pig related because I observe Leviticus 11:4 devoutly.
A friend’s husband moved to Scotland as a young man from Pakistan. He was staying in a guest house and the landlady offered him bacon for breakfast. He had not heard of this substance, so sensibly checked whether it was pork. The landlady said, “No, it’s bacon.” Being a polite young man, he therefore accepted what he was offered and ate it, and enjoyed it. A week later he discovered the unfortunate truth and immediately changed his breakfast option. Fortunately, Allah is all-forgiving.
Anyway, the bacon only sizzles while it is cooking or for a very short time (seconds) afterwards.
I tried to persuade an observant Jewish friend to try bacon-flavoured crisps on the grounds that the contents were entirely 'chemical' and no animal products were cited in the ingredients. "I'll ask God and let you know," was his response. He never did, so I guess God said "No".
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Was your Dad racing a Class 47 over Drumochter?
My wife and I travelled on a class 47 over Drumochter many times
I once drove 650 miles in a day from Achiltibuie to Islington. It was downhill all the way.
As a good Muslim boy I've never eaten anything pig related because I observe Leviticus 11:4 devoutly.
A friend’s husband moved to Scotland as a young man from Pakistan. He was staying in a guest house and the landlady offered him bacon for breakfast. He had not heard of this substance, so sensibly checked whether it was pork. The landlady said, “No, it’s bacon.” Being a polite young man, he therefore accepted what he was offered and ate it, and enjoyed it. A week later he discovered the unfortunate truth and immediately changed his breakfast option. Fortunately, Allah is all-forgiving.
Anyway, the bacon only sizzles while it is cooking or for a very short time (seconds) afterwards.
I tried to persuade an observant Jewish friend to try bacon-flavoured crisps on the grounds that the contents were entirely 'chemical' and no animal products were cited in the ingredients. "I'll ask God and let you know," was his response. He never did, so I guess God said "No".
Given the Orthodox Jewish cleave to the letter of the law over spirit of the law, I'm surprised!
As a good Muslim boy I've never eaten anything pig related because I observe Leviticus 11:4 devoutly.
A friend’s husband moved to Scotland as a young man from Pakistan. He was staying in a guest house and the landlady offered him bacon for breakfast. He had not heard of this substance, so sensibly checked whether it was pork. The landlady said, “No, it’s bacon.” Being a polite young man, he therefore accepted what he was offered and ate it, and enjoyed it. A week later he discovered the unfortunate truth and immediately changed his breakfast option. Fortunately, Allah is all-forgiving.
Anyway, the bacon only sizzles while it is cooking or for a very short time (seconds) afterwards.
I tried to persuade an observant Jewish friend to try bacon-flavoured crisps on the grounds that the contents were entirely 'chemical' and no animal products were cited in the ingredients. "I'll ask God and let you know," was his response. He never did, so I guess God said "No".
“The Talmud cites many stories of a pious and scholarly woman by the name of Yalta. She would often seek out kosher foods that tasted like forbidden foods. Yalta once asked her husband, the renowned sage Rav Nachman, to find her something which tastes like blood which the Torah forbids us to partake. He cooked for her a piece of liver, which is permitted, but has a blood-like taste. The commentaries are bewildered why Yalta would often be looking for foods which tasted like forbidden ones?!
One classical commentary, Maharsha, offers an explanation based on the above discussion of Maimonides. One should desire to eat the non-kosher, but refrain from doing so because of the decree of the Torah. Yalta, in her great piety, aspired to fulfill the mitzvah of kosher only to perform the will of God. She therefore purposely created a yearning to consume forbidden foods by partaking in permitted items which tasted like them.
My family and I once took a tour of a non-kosher chocolate factory and at the end they offered a free taste of all the chocolates you can eat. I felt that we truly fulfilled the mitzvah by refraining when that chocolate looked and smelled so good! (Needless to say, we were sure to make it up to the kids for their willpower by rewarding them afterwards with other treats.)
In summary, you are correct that there is nothing negative about eating imitation non-kosher food. By doing so, besides enjoying the taste, you have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Yalta and enhance your fulfillment of the mitzvah of kashrut. Not only is this not contradictory to the spirit of the law, it's a chance to augment your performance of the mitzvah.”
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Was your Dad racing a Class 47 over Drumochter?
My wife and I travelled on a class 47 over Drumochter many times
I once drove 650 miles in a day from Achiltibuie to Islington. It was downhill all the way.
I noted with a mild sadness after looking at Google maps and then cross checking a few months ago that the Hydroponicum seems to be long gone.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
I think London to Southend is probably the furthest I've driven by car.
As a good Muslim boy I've never eaten anything pig related because I observe Leviticus 11:4 devoutly.
A friend’s husband moved to Scotland as a young man from Pakistan. He was staying in a guest house and the landlady offered him bacon for breakfast. He had not heard of this substance, so sensibly checked whether it was pork. The landlady said, “No, it’s bacon.” Being a polite young man, he therefore accepted what he was offered and ate it, and enjoyed it. A week later he discovered the unfortunate truth and immediately changed his breakfast option. Fortunately, Allah is all-forgiving.
Anyway, the bacon only sizzles while it is cooking or for a very short time (seconds) afterwards.
I tried to persuade an observant Jewish friend to try bacon-flavoured crisps on the grounds that the contents were entirely 'chemical' and no animal products were cited in the ingredients. "I'll ask God and let you know," was his response. He never did, so I guess God said "No".
"OK. Listen closely. There's a priest, a minister, and a rabbi. They're out playing golf. They're deciding how much to give to charity. The priest says "We'll draw a circle on the ground, throw the money in the air, and whatever lands inside the circle, we'll give to charity." The minister says "No, we'll draw a circle on the ground, throw the money in the air, and whatever lands outside of the circle, that's what we'll give to charity." The rabbi says "No no no. We'll throw the money way up in the air, and whatever God wants, he keeps!""
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
I don’t think anyone’s taking it seriously, are they? Maybe some hardcore MAGA types…
Thing is, who's laughing hardest, us at him or him at us?
I think Trump is so full of himself that he actually believes he is the recipient of some great and deserved award. But I find it hard to believe that beyond a few young, naive, football fans — maybe some 12 year old in Brazil — anyone thinks better of Trump because of this award.
It's possible he knows it's absurd and that's part of the pleasure. The ultimate point (and thrill) of power in the hands of a tyrant is to abuse it. Of course he is full of himself and he isn't the brightest, so maybe he does also half believe it. God knows really. It's just a pity we have to concern ourselves with him. Still, it won't be forever. Tick tick tick ...
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
I think London to Southend is probably the furthest I've driven by car.
Understandable that you ended up in Southend put you off any further adventures.
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Was your Dad racing a Class 47 over Drumochter?
My wife and I travelled on a class 47 over Drumochter many times
I once drove 650 miles in a day from Achiltibuie to Islington. It was downhill all the way.
I noted with a mild sadness after looking at Google maps and then cross checking a few months ago that the Hydroponicum seems to be long gone.
The best named tourist attraction ever.
It was named by Robert Irving, owner of the Summer Isles Hotel and father of Castaway Lucy. Originally just a collection of poly tunnels on the croft below the hotel, to provide fresh veg for the guests, it was later developed as a tourist destination with Wester Ross bananas a headline attraction. Sadly it cost far more to run than it could ever recoup in ticket money and eventually it was demolished. The site has now reverted to a community garden and it looked a bit forlorn when I was there in June.
And the hotel is being revamped and not due to reopen until 2027.
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
It’s not that hard. They want more babies in families like them, not chavs.
Hello pb. Apologies for the off-threadery, but I've just been out for a night out in Stockport.
The thing is, Stockport was always not-shit. It just needed people to realise. When I was small, Stockport was rough, but still beautiful if you blurred your eyes and imagined quite hard. And heroic people have. And the empty Victoriana is now a busy bar and restaurant, and the pub which saw fights at lunchtimes has been spruced up sympathetically and is now splendid. Stockport is, up to a point, now a very nice place to be. And you now get attractive people there in a way which didn't used to happen. In part it's happened because Manchester has got too splendid to manage, and if you're going to spill out to adjacent towns, Stockport is going to be ahead of Ashton or Oldham or Rochdale in the queue. But still, it's very gratifying to see. It's urban Britain writ small. The bars catering to the new young overspill from Manchester rub up against those catering to those who were always here. Foodie nights at the market hall exist alongside Al's Halal Meats. But it thrives in a way it didn't used to. And it's not just Manchester overspill. It thrives on its own merits. It's brilliant. Come to Stockport and feel optimistic for the future.
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I've been enjoying it - but I'm still not sure where it's going with..."it all".
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
There's possibly some sort of fallacy going on here (the pathetic fallacy? Can't remember.) This is only a valid complaint if those posts are coming from the same poster, not if they are posts from differemt posters of the same category. It's quite reasonable for people who both belong to category x to have different views on slightly unrelated topic y.
Edit: Just looked it up: Fallacy of division: assuming that something true of a category as a whole must also be true of all its parts. I think.
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I've been enjoying it - but I'm still not sure where it's going with..."it all".
I watched the first episode, and I'll expect to get around to the rest, but I had difficulty picturing how it would keep it interesting with the premise for an entire season, let alone if they get more.
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
From their point of view, I don't see the contradiction.
Hello pb. Apologies for the off-threadery, but I've just been out for a night out in Stockport.
The thing is, Stockport was always not-shit. It just needed people to realise. When I was small, Stockport was rough, but still beautiful if you blurred your eyes and imagined quite hard. And heroic people have. And the empty Victoriana is now a busy bar and restaurant, and the pub which saw fights at lunchtimes has been spruced up sympathetically and is now splendid. Stockport is, up to a point, now a very nice place to be. And you now get attractive people there in a way which didn't used to happen. In part it's happened because Manchester has got too splendid to manage, and if you're going to spill out to adjacent towns, Stockport is going to be ahead of Ashton or Oldham or Rochdale in the queue. But still, it's very gratifying to see. It's urban Britain writ small. The bars catering to the new young overspill from Manchester rub up against those catering to those who were always here. Foodie nights at the market hall exist alongside Al's Halal Meats. But it thrives in a way it didn't used to. And it's not just Manchester overspill. It thrives on its own merits. It's brilliant. Come to Stockport and feel optimistic for the future.
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Was your Dad racing a Class 47 over Drumochter?
My wife and I travelled on a class 47 over Drumochter many times
I once drove 650 miles in a day from Achiltibuie to Islington. It was downhill all the way.
Reminds me of the time about 10 years ago that my dad drove us from Inverness to Skye to B'ham. About 560 miles according to Google Maps.
Expressing care work as "bum wiping" is (pun intended) a bit of an arsehole thing to say.
Yes, poor choice of words by Zack, and demeaning to both care workers and those in Social Care in an otherwise good appearance.
It's the preamble that's done for him: "I don't know about you, but I don't want to..."
True, although many will have thought similar, even said similar, just not really politicians. Which might be seen as admirable frankness, although probably not perceived as such among his target audience. However, he is riding pretty high right now, so he can certainly afford verbal missteps.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
I don’t think anyone’s taking it seriously, are they? Maybe some hardcore MAGA types…
Thing is, who's laughing hardest, us at him or him at us?
I think Trump is so full of himself that he actually believes he is the recipient of some great and deserved award. But I find it hard to believe that beyond a few young, naive, football fans — maybe some 12 year old in Brazil — anyone thinks better of Trump because of this award.
It's possible he knows it's absurd and that's part of the pleasure. The ultimate point (and thrill) of power in the hands of a tyrant is to abuse it. Of course he is full of himself and he isn't the brightest, so maybe he does also half believe it. God knows really. It's just a pity we have to concern ourselves with him. Still, it won't be forever. Tick tick tick ...
I was re-listening to the BBC R4 "Peeling Figs For Julius" with David Tennant as Caligula the other day. There were some cracking bits of writing that reminded me of the Trump administration.
Part of the overall "Caesar" series. Which apparently is available on the internet. All very good.
Hello pb. Apologies for the off-threadery, but I've just been out for a night out in Stockport.
The thing is, Stockport was always not-shit. It just needed people to realise. When I was small, Stockport was rough, but still beautiful if you blurred your eyes and imagined quite hard. And heroic people have. And the empty Victoriana is now a busy bar and restaurant, and the pub which saw fights at lunchtimes has been spruced up sympathetically and is now splendid. Stockport is, up to a point, now a very nice place to be. And you now get attractive people there in a way which didn't used to happen. In part it's happened because Manchester has got too splendid to manage, and if you're going to spill out to adjacent towns, Stockport is going to be ahead of Ashton or Oldham or Rochdale in the queue. But still, it's very gratifying to see. It's urban Britain writ small. The bars catering to the new young overspill from Manchester rub up against those catering to those who were always here. Foodie nights at the market hall exist alongside Al's Halal Meats. But it thrives in a way it didn't used to. And it's not just Manchester overspill. It thrives on its own merits. It's brilliant. Come to Stockport and feel optimistic for the future.
you mean it's blossomed?
- yes. I'm hoping this is a nod to the upper-end-of-perfectly-adequate pub in Heaviley, though I don't mind if it's a nod to the band named after that pub. Either way. It's brilliant. I'm now on the 23.22 from Stockport to Chester and it's fucking packed. Every seat is taken.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
It's not that, it's getting an organisation which has no business awarding a peace prize - and likely had no intention to ever do so - to invent one for you that grates. And because he is so powerful even though us muggins can point that out, other people more powerful than us are forced to take it seriously and pretend it is not an obvious sap to his vanity. All of that is separate to the merits of his peace efforts or the awards given to others.
I don’t think anyone’s taking it seriously, are they? Maybe some hardcore MAGA types…
Thing is, who's laughing hardest, us at him or him at us?
I think Trump is so full of himself that he actually believes he is the recipient of some great and deserved award. But I find it hard to believe that beyond a few young, naive, football fans — maybe some 12 year old in Brazil — anyone thinks better of Trump because of this award.
It's possible he knows it's absurd and that's part of the pleasure. The ultimate point (and thrill) of power in the hands of a tyrant is to abuse it. Of course he is full of himself and he isn't the brightest, so maybe he does also half believe it. God knows really. It's just a pity we have to concern ourselves with him. Still, it won't be forever. Tick tick tick ...
Hard to know sometimes. He openly enjoys the trappings of power more obviously than his predecessors, and the extent to which former enemies have to praise him - even on things like his looks and golf game - is to such an unnecessary extreme I'd assume it was a power play, but he tends to talk that way about himself as well, so it's hard to say.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Expressing care work as "bum wiping" is (pun intended) a bit of an arsehole thing to say.
Yes, poor choice of words by Zack, and demeaning to both care workers and those in Social Care in an otherwise good appearance.
It's the preamble that's done for him: "I don't know about you, but I don't want to..."
True, although many will have thought similar, even said similar, just not really politicians. Which might be seen as admirable frankness, although probably not perceived as such among his target audience. However, he is riding pretty high right now, so he can certainly afford verbal missteps.
It's how quite a lot of people think. They think they are enlightened, progressive etc. But they divide the world, in to Eloi (educated, erudite people like them) and Morlocks (those who strive beneath them, maintaining things). Strangely familiar, that.
They think they are enlightened because they don't differentiate in sex, race or creed in either class. And we are a tad short on the younger lot of Morlocks.
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
I think their plan is that they - and other worthy "alpha" right-wing males - will be paid enough and taxed little enough that they can support a harem of obedient baby machines while the lower classes are not permitted to breed too much.
The radical right seem confused. My X timeline is full of them warning about birth rate collapse in the West and then followed by complaints about welfare payments for people with more than two children.
I think their plan is that they - and other worthy "alpha" right-wing males - will be paid enough and taxed little enough that they can support a harem of obedient baby machines while the lower classes are not permitted to breed too much.
I don't know if any of you are watching "Pluribus", but if you are and you want to see John Cena explain why it's OK to eat people, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr1hgAgDdU .
I've been enjoying it - but I'm still not sure where it's going with..."it all".
It does have an awful feeling of "Lost". There are only a few possible endings
Carol achieves nothing Carol Joins Carol dies Carol kills the unJoined Carol kills the Joined Carol makes the Joined separate voluntarily Carol makes the Joined separate involuntarily
The Joined separate voluntarily The Joined die The Joined remain joined
The Joined join further with terrestrial nonhumans (trees, elephants, whatevs) and we go full Gaia The Joined join further with extraterrestrial nonhumans (aliens, whatevs) and we go full Galaxia
I keep trying to convince my wife that driving on a motorway is safer and much less stressful than driving on a winding country road that isn't always wide enough for two vehicles to pass.
We'll never agree on this.
A few months back I was driving and we ended up taking a ridiculous route to end up at a destination about half a mile from a junction of the M62. I was not pleased!
I often take one route to go somewhere and a different route back. I don't know why.
I prefer winding roads to motorways as I enjoy driving them and hate motorways. If I'm on a long journey I use the motorway but get very bored very quickly. I am not capable of driving long distances on a motorway and don't know how people manage that.
In the past I drove quite often from Llandudno to Lossiemouth in the day using motorways, the infamous A9, and county roads from Aviemore
A distance of 456 miles and I could do all of that and back to Perth on a tank of diesel
It is now way beyond my ability
I think the furthest I've driven in one day is SE London to Campbelltown, about 550 miles.
My dad drove us from Ilford (east London) to Aviemore in a single day, back in 1989.
And so terrified you into travelling everywhere by train?
Was your Dad racing a Class 47 over Drumochter?
My wife and I travelled on a class 47 over Drumochter many times
I once drove 650 miles in a day from Achiltibuie to Islington. It was downhill all the way.
I noted with a mild sadness after looking at Google maps and then cross checking a few months ago that the Hydroponicum seems to be long gone.
The best named tourist attraction ever.
It was named by Robert Irving, owner of the Summer Isles Hotel and father of Castaway Lucy. Originally just a collection of poly tunnels on the croft below the hotel, to provide fresh veg for the guests, it was later developed as a tourist destination with Wester Ross bananas a headline attraction. Sadly it cost far more to run than it could ever recoup in ticket money and eventually it was demolished. The site has now reverted to a community garden and it looked a bit forlorn when I was there in June.
And the hotel is being revamped and not due to reopen until 2027.
Comments
Bit of a kerfuffle on the way home tonight. (Not pictured: the parked car this tree mullered.)
Wes Streeting’s allies are pressing Angela Rayner to sign up to a “joint ticket” for the Labour leadership, @Telegraph can reveal.
The proposal would see Rayner promised a Cabinet role and perhaps a return to being deputy prime minister if she backs a future Streeting leadership bid.
As a good Muslim boy I've never eaten anything pig related because I observe Leviticus 11:4 devoutly.
Not sure why they want to fluff, it's big enough already.
Edit: but good to support.
Best tasting rent-free month I've ever had.
Perhaps on reflection I'd prefer frying. Though @carnforth 's suggestion of brown sauce is a personal matter but one to consider.
A Yougov September poll found Streeting narrowly beating Ed Miliband 'The most evenly split head-to-head of those polled is Streeting versus Miliband (47% vs 44%)'
https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/53080-how-do-labour-members-feel-about-the-party-ahead-of-the-2025-labour-deputy-leadership-election
Educational establishments which are dark in the evenings, you say.
Looks at universities….
https://x.com/gbpolitcs/status/1996933857699156369?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
Also, he seems the least toxic to the Labour Left and the Left Labour (for other parties) types.
As such, I think he would have the best shot at making Labour competitive again.
Despite a heroic effort to import enough cheap rate bum wipers, to keep the wages down.
Despite a noble effort by the care home owners - selling visas to the highest bidder. For jobs that didn’t exist, often.
A scam so egregious that the Indian government actually complained to the U.K. about their citizens being ripped off.
I suspect the biggest winners from an Ed Miliband Labour leadership would be the Tories, as in 2015
We asked 100 people ‘name somebody in the Epstein files’ #WorldCup2026
https://x.com/WalrusJoob/status/1997002351945580785?s=20
The Libyan Coastguard (actually a semi-independent militia) captures, imprisons and sells the labour of the Sub-Saharan Africans trying to migrate to Europe.
So why don’t we buy the labour we require from Libya? Since paying less is better, we can pay nothing. To the actual labour, that is.
All I want for my genius is a statue. I understand there is a space or two down at Bristol docks.
Though it reserves the right to lecture us.
Donald Trump winning a Peace Prize is like Fred West winning Gardener of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WsPZC1-TLo
"The Gorehabba tradition depicted herein is a highly localized ritual, practiced specifically within the village of Gumatapura in South India. It is not representative of Indian culture as a whole."
None of our current party leaders is currently great at being challenged in public - Badenoch is probably too combative, Starmer becomes pompous and tetchy, and Polanski does that tiresome 'look, they're worried about me succeeding' schtick - but Farage is probably the worst of the lot when facing an unsympathetic interviewer, and watching the clips of him being challenged on these points is particularly squirm-inducing. The more opportunities the other parties have to place him in such circumstances, the better for them and the worse for Reform.
https://x.com/DachshundColin/status/1997049648079589408?s=20
And the world saw fit to televise the occasion globally.
And for FIFA.
MAGA and FIFA should get married.
And have a world headquarters in Dubai. In a building that is entirely designed by influencers.
Part of the idea is to make training available so they can get back into work.
And the new grand jury looked at the case before them and rejected it. We don't have grand juries over here (any more), so note that this is very unusual. There's no defence before a grand jury. The prosecution just put their case. So you need a really rubbish case for a grand jury to fall to indict.
I do wonder if we are seeing a backlash to the populism of the late 2010s and early 2020s. Nobody believes what political leaders say any more and no one believes the promises or the commitments they make and that makes political debate almost impossible.
The sheer unadulterated negativity toward the political process as a result of frustration, disappointment or even a sense of betrayal means even the truth can't be spoken as no one believes that either.
Yet how does the debate move beyond that - when and how can we as an electorate start listening to and engaging with the political leadership again? I hear the notion people don't like being lied to and that's fair enough but I also suspect they don't want the truth either in terms of how we deal with a massive public deficit (let alone the debt) and the kind of society, country and economy we want or would like or can afford or will get.
Those advocating "strong leadership" would argue such leadership takes all that of the equation - the decisions are simply taken with neither accountability nor transparency nor even debate.
I'm a real steam railway
All the other steam railways
Are just imitators
Anyway, the bacon only sizzles while it is cooking or for a very short time (seconds) afterwards.
One classical commentary, Maharsha, offers an explanation based on the above discussion of Maimonides. One should desire to eat the non-kosher, but refrain from doing so because of the decree of the Torah. Yalta, in her great piety, aspired to fulfill the mitzvah of kosher only to perform the will of God. She therefore purposely created a yearning to consume forbidden foods by partaking in permitted items which tasted like them.
My family and I once took a tour of a non-kosher chocolate factory and at the end they offered a free taste of all the chocolates you can eat. I felt that we truly fulfilled the mitzvah by refraining when that chocolate looked and smelled so good! (Needless to say, we were sure to make it up to the kids for their willpower by rewarding them afterwards with other treats.)
In summary, you are correct that there is nothing negative about eating imitation non-kosher food. By doing so, besides enjoying the taste, you have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Yalta and enhance your fulfillment of the mitzvah of kashrut. Not only is this not contradictory to the spirit of the law, it's a chance to augment your performance of the mitzvah.”
https://aish.com/kosher-bacon-bits/
The best named tourist attraction ever.
And the hotel is being revamped and not due to reopen until 2027.
Apologies for the off-threadery, but I've just been out for a night out in Stockport.
The thing is, Stockport was always not-shit. It just needed people to realise. When I was small, Stockport was rough, but still beautiful if you blurred your eyes and imagined quite hard. And heroic people have. And the empty Victoriana is now a busy bar and restaurant, and the pub which saw fights at lunchtimes has been spruced up sympathetically and is now splendid. Stockport is, up to a point, now a very nice place to be. And you now get attractive people there in a way which didn't used to happen.
In part it's happened because Manchester has got too splendid to manage, and if you're going to spill out to adjacent towns, Stockport is going to be ahead of Ashton or Oldham or Rochdale in the queue. But still, it's very gratifying to see.
It's urban Britain writ small. The bars catering to the new young overspill from Manchester rub up against those catering to those who were always here. Foodie nights at the market hall exist alongside Al's Halal Meats. But it thrives in a way it didn't used to. And it's not just Manchester overspill. It thrives on its own merits. It's brilliant.
Come to Stockport and feel optimistic for the future.
Edit: Just looked it up: Fallacy of division: assuming that something true of a category as a whole must also be true of all its parts.
I think.
Part of the overall "Caesar" series. Which apparently is available on the internet. All very good.
I'm hoping this is a nod to the upper-end-of-perfectly-adequate pub in Heaviley, though I don't mind if it's a nod to the band named after that pub. Either way. It's brilliant.
I'm now on the 23.22 from Stockport to Chester and it's fucking packed. Every seat is taken.
I gave up after about ten minutes, but I might go back in again when I can breath.
Apparently there is a some kind of secret elite destroying Britain and a woman whose father was an academic, who read PPE at Oxford, worked at Shell, was involved in think tanks and became PM and privy councillor in her 40s after various posts in Cabinet is the absolute perfect person to tell us all.
Leanne Mohamad is poised to overthrow him
Felix Pope"
https://unherd.com/2025/12/the-revolt-on-streetings-doorstep/
They think they are enlightened because they don't differentiate in sex, race or creed in either class. And we are a tad short on the younger lot of Morlocks.
Carol achieves nothing
Carol Joins
Carol dies
Carol kills the unJoined
Carol kills the Joined
Carol makes the Joined separate voluntarily
Carol makes the Joined separate involuntarily
The Joined separate voluntarily
The Joined die
The Joined remain joined
The Joined join further with terrestrial nonhumans (trees, elephants, whatevs) and we go full Gaia
The Joined join further with extraterrestrial nonhumans (aliens, whatevs) and we go full Galaxia
Pause
Time travel
Once had a few beers in there. Marvellous.