Note the time and date, Starmer does a funny – politicalbetting.com
Note the time and date, Starmer does a funny – politicalbetting.com
“Can I begin by saying I hope all colleagues had a happy Christmas. It probably feels quite along time ago now, but not for Reform of course because today is the day that they celebrate Christmas in Russia”Keir Starmer #PMQs pic.twitter.com/tU6MjGL8c5
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Remember when I called out your anti Catholic bigotry when you said Joe Biden's Catholicism placed Ukraine at risk.
Monday’s match between an unknown Egyptian named Hajar Abdelkader and Lorena Schaedel – a German ranked just outside the world’s top 1,000 – will go down as one of the most one-sided contests in professional tennis history.
It ended 6-0, 6-0 to Schaedel and lasted 37 minutes, in which the German player conceded three points: two double faults and an unforced error.
The gulf in quality in the International Tennis Federation-sanctioned W35 event in Nairobi was evident in the warm-up and then early in the match, Abdelkader had to be told by her opponent where she should stand while serving. Abdelkader struggled to serve properly, frequently landing the ball on her side of the court. She landed just eight per cent of her first serves and made 20 double faults in the contest.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2026/01/07/hajar-abdelkader-barely-able-to-play-tennis-in-pro-event/
Not partisan at all.
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/5415582/#Comment_5415582
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66387994
I am not sure you are British if you don’t know that quote is a seminal piece of British comedy.
Plus, I’ve said I would love to be a Catholic, I think confession would be brilliant for me, I’d get a weekly opportunity to brag about my sins.
Didn’t stop labour ingratiating themselves with Russians, like Deripaska, or the Tories soliciting a donation from him, or Lebedev being feted or this.
https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-lords-who-worked-russia-thrown-out-browder-2022-3
https://eutoday.net/lord-robert-skidelsky/
https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/jeremy-corbyn-russia-must-be-given-nerve-agent-sample-so-they-can-say-if-it-is-theirs
I’ve always loved that quote by Dave Jones, Palmer’s manager
‘Carlton Palmer covers every blade of grass during a match, which is great as his first touch is crap.’
That doesn't mean to say I think Farage is above criticism and I am not at all convinced Reform will win the next GE
Rubio to meet with Denmark on Greenland next week
https://x.com/lordashcroft/status/2008894937673146831?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
https://x.com/lordashcroft/status/2008894937673146831
It’s too serious a matter to be used by this govt as a lever against an opponent.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7693241.stm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9n4211zn3o
https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/fresh-evidence-links-mandelson-to-oligarch-6840549.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62068421
If Tories are on the ropes they reach for the Corbyn last resort option.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/07/europe-greenland-denmark-us-france-trade-weather-latest-news-updates?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with:block-695e7bf88f085fa3d4b3f950#block-695e7bf88f085fa3d4b3f950
I never liked Palmer much, but went off him even more when I listened to him on the Quickly Kevin 90s football podcast. Told a story of him being aggrieved by Georgie Graham bombing him out of Leeds despite him being a club legend, saying how disrespectful it was, then went on to boast of sitting in Matt Le Tissier’s place in the Southampton dressing room saying he was no respecter of reputations! Complete idiot
It can get in the bin.
I have said many times that the Cons should be hammering on the economy and what they would do to turn ours around and this didn't seem to hit the nail on the head.
In other news, SKS making a joke has to be super cringe, however funny it might be from anyone else.
Sir Keir should keep punching the bruise.
Leave it to others
I got told off by some dimwit on here this morning about quoting a sub sample of 2000 voters...
If you want an alternative take, the YouGov sub sample of 18-24 year olds (weighted 246, Unweighted 204) has:
Green: 38%
Liberal Democrat: 19%
Labour 18%
Conservative: 11%
Reform: 10%
This seems a desperate attempt by a few on here to talk up the Conservatives - not sure I understand why given Badenoch's slavish devotion to Trump.
By the way, if you look at the likelihood to vote, guess which group contains the fewest certain to vote...
To quote a sub of less than 100 - that's almost quoting Scottish VI.
I’m not allowed to say it in Parliament, but I can here: today the Prime Minister lied and lied and lied again. And he did so to smear a man defending our veterans in court against the Labour government.
Labour have attacked everyone from farmers, to businesses, to veterans, so now they attack David Wolfson, a brilliant KC, to take the attention away from their terrible decisions.
I’m proud to have David in my team. He doesn’t deserve to have his name smeared by low-rent politicians trying to distract from their own failures.
What little integrity the Prime Minister held he surrendered with that shameful performance today.
Reporter: Just following up on Greenland. Why not rule out taking it by military?
Leavitt: I will say that the president's first always has been diplomacy. Again, look at Venezuela. He tried ardently to strike a good deal with Maduro. And look at what happened.
https://x.com/Acyn/status/2008949971845091754
The government really need investors to be investing in building things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOBhf8f7cXM
SHOCKED!!!
Nigel Farage: I’ll vote against putting boots on ground in Ukraine
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/ukraine-starmer-ceasefire-farage-russia-sccdjbj8x
An open ended security guarantee will run up tens of billions in costs and I don't see where that comes from other than higher taxes. I would be voting against this until at least Germany and Poland signed up but probably also Finland, Sweden and Denmark too.
There's a public consultation on the proposed changes, which you can fill out here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-moped-and-motorcycle-training-testing-and-licensing/improving-moped-and-motorcycle-training-testing-and-licensing
They are surprisingly sensible on the whole. But haters of L-plate delivery riders will be disappointed to learn there's no ban on commercial work on L plates. There is a proposal to insert a gap between people taking their CBTs, which would put some delivery riders off the road for a while.
(Well done Metro headline writer, well done.)
It's getting increasingly awkward for anyone to associate themselves with that site, surely?
(He tried to walk it back but still appeared to blame the EU for providing Putin a 'pretext' in Ukraine, simply demonstrating he doesn't understand what a pretext is given the whole point is it is not a real reason, so who cares if the EU 'provided' it, he'd had gotten another).
To put it another way, what on earth is a 'low-rent' politician?
I think sub-sample analysis is perfectly fine as long as you state what you're up to and the limitations.
https://x.com/patrickwintour/status/2008921204157980672
Those who just cut and paste from Lord Ashcroft's site without checking the sources are the ones to be hauled over the metaphorical coals but that's too often how this site works - people see something on X which matches their worldview and paste it because developing your own argument is obviously far too much work.
The sub sample has been weaponised by those supportive of the Conservative cause to "suggest" 16-24 year olds are big supporters of the party and the way it is reported on here is as a separate poll of 16-24 year olds only.
I don't see anyone posting the equivalent YouGov sub sample which had the Conservatives on 11% but that doesn't mean the "narrative" some are trying to float on here of a Conservative recovery and Badenoch as the next Prime Minister (or kingmaker).
(I have no idea how much of an impact this will have.)
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/key-channel-boat-supplier-jailed-after-nca-led-probe/
They had decided that only me and the camera should be in the shower with her so they built a screen around her to protect her modesty from crew and clients. That there were monitors relaying what the camera could see all over the studio hadn't occured to anyone.
It became so complicated and so unworkable that she decided her modesty just wasn't worth it and turned to me and said 'fuck this!' and we laughed like drains and we pulled the whole thing down and she didn't care less. I love the Germans!
motoring offences **
introducing a minimum learning period for learner drivers (category B driving licence)
introducing mandatory eyesight testing for older drivers
improving moped and motorcycle training, testing and licensing (categories AM, A1, A2 and A driving licence)
mandating vehicle safety technologies in GB type approval
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-safety-strategy
I'm taking that to mean that the Govt are sticking very tightly to things with strong public support, because they are still feeling under pressure from culture war politics, rather than following their principles and evidence *.
And that's all in addition to the mobility aid one I pointed out.
* No dice for the PBI DUI enthusiasts society though; as far as I can see a small reduction in the maximum level of drink driving allowed within the law has about 70-80% public support
** The motoring offences one may be worth a look, though again it is mainly about things in the public eye, including drug driving (which is the one the Bufton-Tuftons in the Telegraph demand be addressed rather than elderly driver eye tests and drink driving, which affect them.
No mention of some important but not Daily Mail stuff like blocking pavements and drop kerbs etc.
So credit to Macron and Starmer for biting the bullet.
A quick look at the polls over the past month or so confirms, yes, the Conservatives are more often ahead of Labour than behind but not in all polls and taking into account margin of error, there's little in it and the truth is whatever Badenoch's personal ratings (and I've said on here on a number of occasions she has had a good autumn and stabilised her position after a rocky spell around the May 2025 local elections), the big change has been continued Labour decline rather than strong Conservative advance.
Indeed, take out More In Common and Lord Ashcroft, both of which are very favourable to and for the Conservatives and most polls continue to have the party at or just below 20% where they have sat for months - indeed, if you look at YouGov polls, the Conservatives have not traded above 20% since last April and the same is true of Opinium.
The only controversial proposal is the gap between CBTs, but the wording used in the consultation suggests that's intended as sacrificial goat, just something the government can ditch and say they listened to the public.
If even 90% of people approve eyetesting for older drivers virtually none of those will choose to vote Labour, or not Labour, on that basis.
However, if you are one of the people who lose the ability to drive (legally) because of those new eyetests......
Making changes as incumbent typically costs votes, hence we see a lot of inertia. Make your changes early, boldly, explain and empathise but don't apologise.
I think it's a bit wanky to complain about other European countries not contributing to a poxy tiny little troop deployment in Ukraine when Britain can hardly claim to have done its fair share in defending Europe compared to what Ukraine has done for us. It's not too much for Ukraine to ask us to do this and it would be shameful to refuse to do so as part of some petty argument with other European countries about who should be doing what or paying how much. Isn't that precisely the sort of quibbling behaviour we criticise the EU for?