It's very amusing to here all the advise for the Tories from non-tories. Anyone would think the panic about Reform was growing. Yet only the other day some were posting that Reform had peaked. Indeed I doubt they can get much beyond 33/5% and probably less. However, it's also quite possibly true tha the Labour bottom is not yet there. All very funny.
You do always get that. Eg Reform/Tory supporters say Labour have to do Reform/Tory things to save themselves. Ultra Conservatives say the Dems must ditch the social justice agenda if they are ever to regain the WH. And (tbf and to show what an objective cove I am) people like me say if they have any sense the Cons should tack back to One Nation moderation.
I always find the World is a happier place when run by Centrists either to the centre left (my preference) or the centre right, which is why I would always recommend centrism over fascism, be that Russian fascism, Trump fascism or schoolboy anti-Semitic, racist fascism.
To quote one of my favourite Youtube cookery channels "Nothing bad ever happened on medium".
Except the restriction of jury trials? digital id? weakening the right to silence? Labour are authoritarian to their core.
Another joke, shot down by the literal minded.
The world being happier when ruled by centrists is a classic case of correlation not equalling causation. Centrists are elected when countries are wealthy (and therefore happy) - they do not create the wealth. The right does that. The right is elected when centrists have buggered it up, as happens invariably.
When our country had recovered (partially) from post-war stagnation - under a radical Tory Government, we were rich, and elected a succession of mushy centralists because there was no perceived need for anything other than to be 'nice' and 'progressive'. Now that such people have wrecked the economy and the country, we need to elect non-centrists again.
It's like blaming firemen for fires.
Sources please. Evidence please. Perhaps take a comparative look at the countries topping the global power rankings in the 19th century, or the GDP scores in the 20th, or the human development index since the war, and provide a compelling cause-effect mechanism whereby right wing nut jobs have created all the success. Then take a look at the alternatives: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pol Pot, Franco, Castro, Putin, and see how they fared.
You have one exception on your side. Lee Kwan Yew. But economically, he ruled as a centrist.
Of course as there has not yet been a trial there is a presumption of innocence and allegation of assault with a sledgehammer untested in court. The defendants have stated they were using the sledgehammer to stop arms being manufactured for export to Israel and the police officer was accidentally injured by attempting to seize it. Lets see what evidence gets produced in court.
Not their business to "stop arms being manufactured for export to Israel" though, is it? We have democratic processes for that.
I don't recall ever being asked in a vote whether we should export arms to the IDF, and I expect that if there was such a vote it wouldn't go Starmer's way.
Meanwhile we have political prisoners on remand, denied access to their lawyers and MPs on hungerstrike.
There's quite a long tradition of such hunger strikes going back to the Suffragettes at least.
Of course as there has not yet been a trial there is a presumption of innocence and allegation of assault with a sledgehammer untested in court. The defendants have stated they were using the sledgehammer to stop arms being manufactured for export to Israel and the police officer was accidentally injured by attempting to seize it. Lets see what evidence gets produced in court.
Not their business to "stop arms being manufactured for export to Israel" though, is it? We have democratic processes for that.
I don't recall ever being asked in a vote whether we should export arms to the IDF, and I expect that if there was such a vote it wouldn't go Starmer's way.
Meanwhile we have political prisoners on remand, denied access to their lawyers and MPs on hungerstrike.
There's quite a long tradition of such hunger strikes going back to the Suffragettes at least.
Is this "denied access to their lawyers" true? (Serious question.)
Their lawyers seem to have enough access to their clients to be able to represent them to the media, the public and the goivernment.
Mr. F (FPT), ah, I knew Basil died in 1025 but didn't realise it was the thousand year anniversary. Such a shame things turned to ash so quickly afterwards.
Peter Frankopan's book on the First Crusade was very enlightening. Endemic warfare, then Alexios finally getting a grip but entrusting most of Anatolia to non-Romans (ie Turks) which then led to a rather obvious strategic calamity. Certainly lowered Alexios in my opinion, although the internal conflict was severe.
🚨Keir Starmer's No 10 is cancelling the afternoon lobby briefing, when journalists can ask the PM's spox as many questions they like, for as long as they like.
They'll also sometimes cancel morning lobby, replacing it with press conferences with ministers, meaning many orgs will have opportunity for questions restricted.
The lobby may be an imperfect system, but these briefings give journalists from every outlet, regardless of editorial line, the chance to ask whatever they want.
This move is bad for transparency, bad for accountability, and a bad look for a government that already struggles with its communications.
I don't think Labour necessarily have an issue with the volume of communications to be fair.
Perhaps stripping a lot of this briefing out is helpful. It can't get much worse, right? Right?
24/7 rolling news is a media problem, not a government one. Why anyone wants continued updates on the glacial progress of some governments is odd.
"Con GAIN from Lib Dem" - a rare outing, or a straw on the wind?
I believe there was a by-election there in the summer, which the Tories also won, and the sitting councillor had fallen out with the LibDems and was an independent when they resigned. So this one does look like local circumstances
Breaking - having said, when it postponed the new mayoral elections, that council elections in those areas would still be going ahead in May, the government has now asked all councils in areas affected by local government re-organisation whether this decision should be revisited, and elections postponed after all.
So it's down to the Councils themselves to set the agenda, again !
Comments
You have one exception on your side. Lee Kwan Yew. But economically, he ruled as a centrist.
Meanwhile we have political prisoners on remand, denied access to their lawyers and MPs on hungerstrike.
There's quite a long tradition of such hunger strikes going back to the Suffragettes at least.
Harborough DC - Logan Ward
Con: 461, 34.7% (+5.8)
Grn: 358, 26.9% (+18.8)
LD: 268, 20.2% (-29.6%)
Ref: 195, 14.7% (new)
Lab: 43, 3.2% (-9.9)
SDP: 4, 0.3% (New)
Changes w/ 2023
Con GAIN from Lib Dem
Conor Matchett@conor_matchett
EXCLUSIVE: Three female SNP MSPs 'bugged' by male aides in 'covered up' SPYING scandal
Scottish Sun - https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/15705778/female-snp-msps-bugged-male-aides-spying-scandal/
Their lawyers seem to have enough access to their clients to be able to represent them to the media, the public and the goivernment.
Market Harborough Logan (Harborough) Council By-Election Result:
🌳 CON: 34.7% (+3.3)
🌍 GRN: 26.9% (+4.8)
🔶 LDM: 20.2% (-7.0)
➡️ RFM: 14.7% (+0.1)
🌹 LAB: 3.2% (-0.1)
🔴 SDP: 0.3% (New)
No Ind (-0.7) or COM (-0.7) as previous.
Conservative GAIN from Liberal Democrat.
Changes w/ 2025
(Although truthfully it slipped away with yet another dozy batting performance in the first innings.)
Mr. F (FPT), ah, I knew Basil died in 1025 but didn't realise it was the thousand year anniversary. Such a shame things turned to ash so quickly afterwards.
Peter Frankopan's book on the First Crusade was very enlightening. Endemic warfare, then Alexios finally getting a grip but entrusting most of Anatolia to non-Romans (ie Turks) which then led to a rather obvious strategic calamity. Certainly lowered Alexios in my opinion, although the internal conflict was severe.
But it’s not happening.
............Ideally not to lose but if the worst was to happen........
NEW THREAD