It’s a bold strategy, let’s see if it pays off for Angela Rayner – politicalbetting.com

System · 7:44AM

It’s a bold strategy, let’s see if it pays off for Angela Rayner – politicalbetting.com

Prime Ministers have gone onto become Foreign Secretary, Alec Douglas-Home and David Cameron, are the two most recent examples, but that was a few years after leaving Number 10, the Rayner plan would be switching immediately from Number 10 to the Foreign Office, part of me thinks this could work.

Read the full story here

BartholomewRoberts · 7:49AM

Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.

Sunil_Prasannan · 7:51AM

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.

Jewish Ambulances??

MarqueeMark · 7:52AM

Whatever Rayner's success in her scheming, it won't pay off for Britain.

She'll be found to be a dud in record time.

So put the timer on the lettuce...

DecrepiterJohnL · 7:52AM

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.

Any particular Jewish country you had in mind? Anyway, how can the four attackers be sure the IDF is not secretly controlled from a healthcare charity in North London? Hamas was run from hospitals, after all.

BartholomewRoberts · 7:53AM

Eabhal said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

MikeL said:

Pulpstar said:

scampi25 said:
NAE but is not the government gaining a big tax windfall right now on fuel taxes? Why then not cut the tax rate and reduce pump costs as has happened already in Spain for example?
For every 6 penny increase the Gov't gains 1p. So on diesel the gov't is pretty much getting the full tax hike pencilled in already
Yes, that's right.

But for anyone who doesn't know, the Govt only gains VAT. Fuel duty is a fixed number of pence per litre so no gain in Fuel duty.

So if net price up 5p, VAT up 1p (ie 20% of 5p) - so total price up 6p.

However the point is if the public is spending more on petrol they will be spending less on other things, so the VAT take on everything else will go down.

Now some things are zero rated but big picture is Govt may actually gain very little overall.
Given that so many of the basics are zero rated and that fuel is an essential for the majority of people, I think you are wrong that the Govt will gain little overall.
Depends on just how severe the depression is.

I think there is an argument for a reduced tax on fuel but the consensus is it’s one of the “best” taxes to levy - unavoidable, simple, inelastic, and on personal transport highly progressive. The only better alternative is probably income tax.

Doing it in a fuel crisis makes sense short term but in the long term it’s a disaster - this sense that the government will always come to the rescue is why we are so vulnerable to crises, and why our debt is so high. £50 billion in 2022 and wr haven’t learnt the lesson.

It is very regressive on personal transport. Always has been, but today when new vehicles are either hybrids or electric it is more so.

Someone going to a minimum wage job in a 10 year old banger is paying a far higher percentage of their income in fuel duty than someone going to work in their new Tesla.

By decile of income, the poorest pay far, far, far more as a percentage of income on fuel duty. The richest pay far less as a percentage of income. Which is how progressive or regressive taxation is measured.

MarqueeMark · 7:53AM

Sunil_Prasannan said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
Jewish Ambulances??

Well, they had no foreskins...

Dopermean · 7:54AM

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.

You support a regime that deliberately targets medical facilities and medical personnel. It's not an accident when it happens repeatedly, 100s of times.

Taz · 7:57AM

Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’

Foxy · 7:57AM

If Rayner is seriously considering offering Starmer Foreign Secretary then it confirms to me how canny her political nous is.

Foreign Secretary one bit of the job that Starmer is competent at, and also the bit he seems to enjoy, and it would free her up to concentrate on the domestic agenda. That is what Starmer neglects and what is needed for Labour to avoid a meltdown at the General Election.

StillWaters · 7:58AM

BartholomewRoberts said:

Eabhal said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

MikeL said:

Pulpstar said:

scampi25 said:
NAE but is not the government gaining a big tax windfall right now on fuel taxes? Why then not cut the tax rate and reduce pump costs as has happened already in Spain for example?
For every 6 penny increase the Gov't gains 1p. So on diesel the gov't is pretty much getting the full tax hike pencilled in already
Yes, that's right.

But for anyone who doesn't know, the Govt only gains VAT. Fuel duty is a fixed number of pence per litre so no gain in Fuel duty.

So if net price up 5p, VAT up 1p (ie 20% of 5p) - so total price up 6p.

However the point is if the public is spending more on petrol they will be spending less on other things, so the VAT take on everything else will go down.

Now some things are zero rated but big picture is Govt may actually gain very little overall.
Given that so many of the basics are zero rated and that fuel is an essential for the majority of people, I think you are wrong that the Govt will gain little overall.
Depends on just how severe the depression is.

I think there is an argument for a reduced tax on fuel but the consensus is it’s one of the “best” taxes to levy - unavoidable, simple, inelastic, and on personal transport highly progressive. The only better alternative is probably income tax.

Doing it in a fuel crisis makes sense short term but in the long term it’s a disaster - this sense that the government will always come to the rescue is why we are so vulnerable to crises, and why our debt is so high. £50 billion in 2022 and wr haven’t learnt the lesson.
It is very regressive on personal transport. Always has been, but today when new vehicles are either hybrids or electric it is more so.

Someone going to a minimum wage job in a 10 year old banger is paying a far higher percentage of their income in fuel duty than someone going to work in their new Tesla.

By decile of income, the poorest pay far, far, far more as a percentage of income on fuel duty. The richest pay far less as a percentage of income. Which is how progressive or regressive taxation is measured.

But it’s the wrong measure. Fuel duty is related to consumption of fuel not the income of the user

eek · 7:58AM

Sunil_Prasannan said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
Jewish Ambulances??

Yes it's an Ambulance firm owned and operated by Jews that is located next to a synagogue.

Luckyguy1983 · 7:59AM

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’

Stinging rhetoric.

Sandpit · 8:00AM

Good morning. Another QTWTAIN, I can’t see the MPs getting behind someone who can’t even run their own household, let alone run the country.

Eabhal · 8:01AM

BartholomewRoberts said:

Eabhal said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

MikeL said:

Pulpstar said:

scampi25 said:
NAE but is not the government gaining a big tax windfall right now on fuel taxes? Why then not cut the tax rate and reduce pump costs as has happened already in Spain for example?
For every 6 penny increase the Gov't gains 1p. So on diesel the gov't is pretty much getting the full tax hike pencilled in already
Yes, that's right.

But for anyone who doesn't know, the Govt only gains VAT. Fuel duty is a fixed number of pence per litre so no gain in Fuel duty.

So if net price up 5p, VAT up 1p (ie 20% of 5p) - so total price up 6p.

However the point is if the public is spending more on petrol they will be spending less on other things, so the VAT take on everything else will go down.

Now some things are zero rated but big picture is Govt may actually gain very little overall.
Given that so many of the basics are zero rated and that fuel is an essential for the majority of people, I think you are wrong that the Govt will gain little overall.
Depends on just how severe the depression is.

I think there is an argument for a reduced tax on fuel but the consensus is it’s one of the “best” taxes to levy - unavoidable, simple, inelastic, and on personal transport highly progressive. The only better alternative is probably income tax.

Doing it in a fuel crisis makes sense short term but in the long term it’s a disaster - this sense that the government will always come to the rescue is why we are so vulnerable to crises, and why our debt is so high. £50 billion in 2022 and wr haven’t learnt the lesson.
It is very regressive on personal transport. Always has been, but today when new vehicles are either hybrids or electric it is more so.

Someone going to a minimum wage job in a 10 year old banger is paying a far higher percentage of their income in fuel duty than someone going to work in their new Tesla.

By decile of income, the poorest pay far, far, far more as a percentage of income on fuel duty. The richest pay far less as a percentage of income. Which is how progressive or regressive taxation is measured.

That’s a function of them having a low income. You can either assess it as a balanced tax, because everyone pays the same rate, or progressive, because the richest households drive far more than the poorest.

In fact the government has actually made taxes on energy more progressive, by the latter measure, by reducing levies on electricity which is what dominates spending for lower income households relative to petrol/diesel and gas.

Foxy · 8:02AM

Dopermean said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
You support a regime that deliberately targets medical facilities and medical personnel. It's not an accident when it happens repeatedly, 100s of times.

Yes but it is clearly anti-semitic to target a British Jewish charity for the crimes of the IDF.

Just as it is Islamophobic to object to peaceful prayer events because some other Muslim commited an atrocity.

Sandpit · 8:02AM

Sad news this morning of a plane crash in New York. Two Air Canada regional pilots killed after their landing plane hit a fire truck that was crossing the runway at LaGuardia airport.

RIP to the pilots, and hope both the controller and truck driver are getting some serious counselling.

Sunil_Prasannan · 8:03AM

Rayner's going to replace Ace Starmer today????

bondegezou · 8:04AM

FPT…

Luckyguy1983 said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:
...
OnlyLivingBoy said:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/23/funding-for-populist-right-media-political-complex-exceeded-170m-in-five-years-research-finds

A useful reminder that right wing populism is less an organic outburst of popular discontent and more a well funded political project created by a few very rich men.
What would really shock you is if that exactly the same is true of the left. Except they expect the taxpayer to fork out for their predilictions too.
Interesting claim. Do you have evidence for the left-wing equivalent of this:

He said more than £130m can be traced to just four entities: Harborne, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and the financier Jeremy Hosking.
Don't have much time, but this is the obvious hors d'oeuvre.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) have provided significant funding to various UK political and advocacy organisations, primarily focused on pro-EU, progressive, and social justice causes. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the OSF has been a major financial backer of anti-Brexit campaigns, most notably Best for Britain, which received £800,000 in total from 2017 to 2022, including a £400,000 donation in 2018 and an additional £100,000 pledged to match crowdfunding efforts. A 2024 analysis revealed that Best for Britain received $5.5 million from the OSF between 2017 and 2022.

Other key recipients include:

European Movement UK: Received £182,000.
Scientists for EU: Received $42,975.
The Green New Deal All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): Funded by Soros, though now defunct.
Platform London: Tasked with promoting a "worker-led energy transition" and phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea.
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG: Also funded by the OSF.
Amnesty International and several UK universities, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Birkbeck, and King’s College London.
Soros has also supported broader initiatives such as the Caribbean and African reparations campaign against Britain for slavery and colonialism, with the OSF helping to fund a joint study tour in Barbados in 2023. His foundation continues to fund think tanks like Chatham House and groups advocating for climate action, human rights, and democratic reform.

While UK law bans foreign donations during elections or referendums, the OSF has operated through UK-based entities, drawing criticism from political figures like the Conservatives, who have called for investigations into the funding. Soros has defended his contributions as non-partisan, aimed at public education and democratic engagement.

AI

So, nothing remotely comparable. Under £10 million compared to more than £130 million.

maxh · 8:05AM

Luckyguy1983 said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:
...
OnlyLivingBoy said:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/23/funding-for-populist-right-media-political-complex-exceeded-170m-in-five-years-research-finds

A useful reminder that right wing populism is less an organic outburst of popular discontent and more a well funded political project created by a few very rich men.
What would really shock you is if that exactly the same is true of the left. Except they expect the taxpayer to fork out for their predilictions too.
Interesting claim. Do you have evidence for the left-wing equivalent of this:

He said more than £130m can be traced to just four entities: Harborne, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and the financier Jeremy Hosking.
Don't have much time, but this is the obvious hors d'oeuvre.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) have provided significant funding to various UK political and advocacy organisations, primarily focused on pro-EU, progressive, and social justice causes. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the OSF has been a major financial backer of anti-Brexit campaigns, most notably Best for Britain, which received £800,000 in total from 2017 to 2022, including a £400,000 donation in 2018 and an additional £100,000 pledged to match crowdfunding efforts. A 2024 analysis revealed that Best for Britain received $5.5 million from the OSF between 2017 and 2022.

Other key recipients include:

European Movement UK: Received £182,000.
Scientists for EU: Received $42,975.
The Green New Deal All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): Funded by Soros, though now defunct.
Platform London: Tasked with promoting a "worker-led energy transition" and phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea.
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG: Also funded by the OSF.
Amnesty International and several UK universities, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Birkbeck, and King’s College London.
Soros has also supported broader initiatives such as the Caribbean and African reparations campaign against Britain for slavery and colonialism, with the OSF helping to fund a joint study tour in Barbados in 2023. His foundation continues to fund think tanks like Chatham House and groups advocating for climate action, human rights, and democratic reform.

While UK law bans foreign donations during elections or referendums, the OSF has operated through UK-based entities, drawing criticism from political figures like the Conservatives, who have called for investigations into the funding. Soros has defended his contributions as non-partisan, aimed at public education and democratic engagement.

AI

Thanks. I would dispute that anti-Brexit campaigns constitute left-wing populism, not least because populists on both extremes (Corbyn, Farage) were at least sympathetic to Brexit.

Is there a left-wing equivalent of GB news? Or the Tufton street think-tanks who refuse to say who funds them?

Pro_Rata · 8:06AM

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.

Come on, we're humouring Barty here straight off the bat. It's poor form.

It is a bad attack that should be condemned, for what it is as an arson attack on a business / a charity, for being an attack targeted on a minority community that is being targeted to a substantial degree, and for the wrong headedness that all sides try to conflate Israel and individual Jews - Israel branding every criticism of her politics as anti-Semitic, extremists of the left, right and Islam seeing individual UK Jewish targets as attacks against Israel. The truth is British Jews when asked are almost as antipathetic towards this Israeli government as British Muslims are, and even if that were not quite as clearly the case, the conflation is wrong.

Roger · 8:07AM

Sunil_Prasannan said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
Jewish Ambulances??

Hatzola

Mexicanpete · 8:08AM

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.

I wouldn't condone attacking anything or anyone. I particularly dislike the idea that British Jews going about their business are mindlessly attacked for the craven wickedness of Benjamin Netanyahu. However your outrage at damaged vehicles seems at odds with your consideration that 175 dead schoolgirls is acceptable collateral damage.

Big_G_NorthWales · 8:08AM

Good morning

I just hope labour are not that stupid to replace Starmer with Rayner when we are in the middle of an existential crisis

And as for Starmer agreeing to be demoted to Foreign Secretary we are really on fantasy island

I have no faith or trust in Starmer but this is not what the country wants or needs right now

Sunil_Prasannan · 8:10AM

Sandpit said:
Sad news this morning of a plane crash in New York. Two Air Canada regional pilots killed after their landing plane hit a fire truck that was crossing the runway at LaGuardia airport.

RIP to the pilots, and hope both the controller and truck driver are getting some serious counselling.

Looks like the nose of the CRJ was ripped clean off. RIP

Scott_xP · 8:10AM

@antongerashchenko.bsky.social‬

A drone attack has been reported on the oil port of Primorsk in Russia’s Leningrad region. A fuel storage tank was damaged.

Primorsk is Russia’s largest oil port on the Baltic Sea and a key export hub. A significant share of the country’s oil shipments to foreign markets passes through it.

@mattsteinglass.bsky.social‬

This is really extremely far away from Ukraine

Taz · 8:10AM

Two Indian vessels transit strait of Hormuz.

https://x.com/osint613/status/2035982798159294590?s=61

TheScreamingEagles · 8:10AM

This fad about naming things about Queen Elizabeth II will be seen as a disaster soon, might as well start naming stuff after Peter Mandelson.

Andrew ‘caused deeper royal crisis than Edward VIII’s abdication’

Mountbatten-Windsor’s biographer claims that the late Queen’s second son ran rings around his ‘gaga’ mother in the last years of her life

The crisis facing the royal family over the Epstein files revelations about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is more serious than the abdication of Edward VIII, the author of the former prince’s biography has claimed.

Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, said that Mountbatten-Windsor’s actions had caused greater public anger than the abdication crisis, when the king stepped down from his role to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

Speaking at Oxford Literary Festival, Lownie said the abdication had been a “three-day wonder”, the full details of which the general public did not engage with at the time. He also said that Edward’s support of the Nazi party had yet to become common knowledge.

While Edward resigned voluntarily from his role to marry the woman he loved, Andrew had to be stripped of his HRH title and military honours after allegations about his continued relationship with the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein re-emerged.

Lownie said the late Queen had “crossed the line” legally “a lot” when she made allowances for Andrew, who it is thought was her favourite child.

“By the end of her life, what people don’t realise, is that she was completely gaga. He [Andrew] would go up there and he would bully her into doing things. So for the last few years of her life Charles actually was running the show, rather than the Queen,” he said.

“There were MI6 officers who went to [royal] private secretaries and said, ‘Look he’s been caught with $5 million in a suitcase in Kazakhstan’, and they were sent away with a flea in their ear. The heads of the foreign office went and complained.

“He was made a vice-admiral in the navy, and that was after these allegations. She [the Queen] entertained a lot of these people. President Aliyev of Azerbaijan gave her a horse and she was thrilled.

“She, I’m afraid, abetted this. The whole family abetted this — they knew about it,” he said.

He added that people in royal circles had been talking about the allegations since 2011.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/andrew-caused-deeper-royal-crisis-than-edward-viiis-abdication-wftvhzrfs

Roger · 8:11AM

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’

Uncharacteristically subtle

TheScreamingEagles · 8:12AM

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’

My usual understated analogies and humour rolled into one.

Foxy · 8:13AM

Big_G_NorthWales said:
Good morning

I just hope labour are not that stupid to replace Starmer with Rayner when we are in the middle of an existential crisis

And as for Starmer agreeing to be demoted to Foreign Secretary we are really on fantasy island

I have no faith or trust in Starmer but this is not what the country wants or needs right now

We replaced Asquith in WW1 and Chamberlain in WW2 in far bigger crises.

nico67 · 8:14AM

What do people think about tonight’s deadline ?

Given there are hundreds of power plants maybe Trump will do one a day !

TheScreamingEagles · 8:15AM

Roger said:

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’
Uncharacteristically subtle

Subtlety is my hallmark, for example nobody has yet picked up on the subtle film reference in the headline.

eek · 8:15AM

Taz said:
Two Indian vessels transit strait of Hormuz.

https://x.com/osint613/status/2035982798159294590?s=61

That article misses the only important question of where did the gas come from. If it's from Iran, which I infer from the route being on the Iranian side then it's not surprising that the ships can sail through without a problem.

Sandpit · 8:15AM

TheScreamingEagles said:
This fad about naming things about Queenn Elizabeth II will be seen as a disaster soon, might as well start naming stuff after Peter Mandelson.

Andrew ‘caused deeper royal crisis than Edward VIII’s abdication’

Mountbatten-Windsor’s biographer claims that the late Queen’s second son ran rings around his ‘gaga’ mother in the last years of her life

Ridiculous hyperbole from Lownie trying to sell his book, and to what used to be the newspaper of record for publishing it.

That the former Mr York, and Mr Sussex, were liked by Her Late Majesty and accommodated much more than perhaps they should have been given their behaviour, is hardly news to anyone.

Taz · 8:16AM

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:
...
OnlyLivingBoy said:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/23/funding-for-populist-right-media-political-complex-exceeded-170m-in-five-years-research-finds

A useful reminder that right wing populism is less an organic outburst of popular discontent and more a well funded political project created by a few very rich men.
What would really shock you is if that exactly the same is true of the left. Except they expect the taxpayer to fork out for their predilictions too.
Interesting claim. Do you have evidence for the left-wing equivalent of this:

He said more than £130m can be traced to just four entities: Harborne, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and the financier Jeremy Hosking.
Don't have much time, but this is the obvious hors d'oeuvre.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) have provided significant funding to various UK political and advocacy organisations, primarily focused on pro-EU, progressive, and social justice causes. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the OSF has been a major financial backer of anti-Brexit campaigns, most notably Best for Britain, which received £800,000 in total from 2017 to 2022, including a £400,000 donation in 2018 and an additional £100,000 pledged to match crowdfunding efforts. A 2024 analysis revealed that Best for Britain received $5.5 million from the OSF between 2017 and 2022.

Other key recipients include:

European Movement UK: Received £182,000.
Scientists for EU: Received $42,975.
The Green New Deal All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): Funded by Soros, though now defunct.
Platform London: Tasked with promoting a "worker-led energy transition" and phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea.
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG: Also funded by the OSF.
Amnesty International and several UK universities, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Birkbeck, and King’s College London.
Soros has also supported broader initiatives such as the Caribbean and African reparations campaign against Britain for slavery and colonialism, with the OSF helping to fund a joint study tour in Barbados in 2023. His foundation continues to fund think tanks like Chatham House and groups advocating for climate action, human rights, and democratic reform.

While UK law bans foreign donations during elections or referendums, the OSF has operated through UK-based entities, drawing criticism from political figures like the Conservatives, who have called for investigations into the funding. Soros has defended his contributions as non-partisan, aimed at public education and democratic engagement.

AI
Thanks. I would dispute that anti-Brexit campaigns constitute left-wing populism, not least because populists on both extremes (Corbyn, Farage) were at least sympathetic to Brexit.

Is there a left-wing equivalent of GB news? Or the Tufton street think-tanks who refuse to say who funds them?

There are plenty of left wing think tanks. All well funded too and now influential at the heart of govt.

Mike Bloomberg has also spent money funding left wing politics and groups in this country

Just Stop Oil and XR had funding from outside the U.K.

I’d take the Guardian piece with a pinch of salt.

It’s based on ‘research’ by a labour MP and it’s something both sides do.

MarqueeMark · 8:16AM

Scott_xP said:
@antongerashchenko.bsky.social‬

A drone attack has been reported on the oil port of Primorsk in Russia’s Leningrad region. A fuel storage tank was damaged.

Primorsk is Russia’s largest oil port on the Baltic Sea and a key export hub. A significant share of the country’s oil shipments to foreign markets passes through it.

@mattsteinglass.bsky.social‬

This is really extremely far away from Ukraine

Not for their new generation of missiles.

Foxy · 8:16AM

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:
...
OnlyLivingBoy said:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/23/funding-for-populist-right-media-political-complex-exceeded-170m-in-five-years-research-finds

A useful reminder that right wing populism is less an organic outburst of popular discontent and more a well funded political project created by a few very rich men.
What would really shock you is if that exactly the same is true of the left. Except they expect the taxpayer to fork out for their predilictions too.
Interesting claim. Do you have evidence for the left-wing equivalent of this:

He said more than £130m can be traced to just four entities: Harborne, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and the financier Jeremy Hosking.
Don't have much time, but this is the obvious hors d'oeuvre.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) have provided significant funding to various UK political and advocacy organisations, primarily focused on pro-EU, progressive, and social justice causes. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the OSF has been a major financial backer of anti-Brexit campaigns, most notably Best for Britain, which received £800,000 in total from 2017 to 2022, including a £400,000 donation in 2018 and an additional £100,000 pledged to match crowdfunding efforts. A 2024 analysis revealed that Best for Britain received $5.5 million from the OSF between 2017 and 2022.

Other key recipients include:

European Movement UK: Received £182,000.
Scientists for EU: Received $42,975.
The Green New Deal All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): Funded by Soros, though now defunct.
Platform London: Tasked with promoting a "worker-led energy transition" and phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea.
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG: Also funded by the OSF.
Amnesty International and several UK universities, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Birkbeck, and King’s College London.
Soros has also supported broader initiatives such as the Caribbean and African reparations campaign against Britain for slavery and colonialism, with the OSF helping to fund a joint study tour in Barbados in 2023. His foundation continues to fund think tanks like Chatham House and groups advocating for climate action, human rights, and democratic reform.

While UK law bans foreign donations during elections or referendums, the OSF has operated through UK-based entities, drawing criticism from political figures like the Conservatives, who have called for investigations into the funding. Soros has defended his contributions as non-partisan, aimed at public education and democratic engagement.

AI
Thanks. I would dispute that anti-Brexit campaigns constitute left-wing populism, not least because populists on both extremes (Corbyn, Farage) were at least sympathetic to Brexit.

Is there a left-wing equivalent of GB news? Or the Tufton street think-tanks who refuse to say who funds them?

Or indedd to Reform's mysterious crypto donations converted into Sterling.

https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/reform-accused-of-using-third-party-to-turn-crypto-into-cash-and-hide-donors

TheScreamingEagles · 8:17AM

Sandpit said:

TheScreamingEagles said:
This fad about naming things about Queenn Elizabeth II will be seen as a disaster soon, might as well start naming stuff after Peter Mandelson.

Andrew ‘caused deeper royal crisis than Edward VIII’s abdication’

Mountbatten-Windsor’s biographer claims that the late Queen’s second son ran rings around his ‘gaga’ mother in the last years of her life

Ridiculous hyperbole from Lownie trying to sell his book, and to what used to be the newspaper of record for publishing it.

That the former Mr York, and Mr Sussex, were liked by Her Late Majesty and accommodated much more than perhaps they should have been given their behaviour, is hardly news to anyone.

Fucking hell, do you really think the behaviour of the Duke of Sussex is comparable to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, you might as well compare Sir Lewis Hamilton to Lance Stroll.

Theuniondivvie · 8:17AM

Quiet faith = can’t be arsed going to church, doesn’t it?

https://x.com/benonwine/status/2035634387216122093?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q

The royal pr machine perhaps not getting the response it hoped for with several replies to that tweet bellowing ‘who cares, King Charles is a Muslim!’

Sandpit · 8:17AM

Some good news this morning, the Russian port of Primorsk, on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersberg, appears to be very much on fire. It’s responsible for 50% of Baltic O&G exports by Russia.

eek · 8:18AM

TheScreamingEagles said:
This fad about naming things about Queen Elizabeth II will be seen as a disaster soon, might as well start naming stuff after Peter Mandelson.

Andrew ‘caused deeper royal crisis than Edward VIII’s abdication’

Mountbatten-Windsor’s biographer claims that the late Queen’s second son ran rings around his ‘gaga’ mother in the last years of her life

The crisis facing the royal family over the Epstein files revelations about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is more serious than the abdication of Edward VIII, the author of the former prince’s biography has claimed.

Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, said that Mountbatten-Windsor’s actions had caused greater public anger than the abdication crisis, when the king stepped down from his role to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

Speaking at Oxford Literary Festival, Lownie said the abdication had been a “three-day wonder”, the full details of which the general public did not engage with at the time. He also said that Edward’s support of the Nazi party had yet to become common knowledge.

While Edward resigned voluntarily from his role to marry the woman he loved, Andrew had to be stripped of his HRH title and military honours after allegations about his continued relationship with the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein re-emerged.

Lownie said the late Queen had “crossed the line” legally “a lot” when she made allowances for Andrew, who it is thought was her favourite child.

“By the end of her life, what people don’t realise, is that she was completely gaga. He [Andrew] would go up there and he would bully her into doing things. So for the last few years of her life Charles actually was running the show, rather than the Queen,” he said.

“There were MI6 officers who went to [royal] private secretaries and said, ‘Look he’s been caught with $5 million in a suitcase in Kazakhstan’, and they were sent away with a flea in their ear. The heads of the foreign office went and complained.

“He was made a vice-admiral in the navy, and that was after these allegations. She [the Queen] entertained a lot of these people. President Aliyev of Azerbaijan gave her a horse and she was thrilled.

“She, I’m afraid, abetted this. The whole family abetted this — they knew about it,” he said.

He added that people in royal circles had been talking about the allegations since 2011.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/andrew-caused-deeper-royal-crisis-than-edward-viiis-abdication-wftvhzrfs

On one hand it says Charles was running things yet Andrew still seems to have been tolerated and "promoted".

So naming anything after the Queen and Charles looks equally problematic...

Mind you my viewpoint is that a neutered Monarchy is better than an elected Head of State so roll on William and George...

Scott_xP · 8:19AM

Sandpit said:
Sad news this morning of a plane crash in New York. Two Air Canada regional pilots killed after their landing plane hit a fire truck that was crossing the runway at LaGuardia airport.

RIP to the pilots, and hope both the controller and truck driver are getting some serious counselling.

@MatthewCappucci

An initial impression listening to ATC audio — it would appear one controller was simultaneously working ground and directing aircraft (as evidenced by go-around instructions to Delta flight after accident).

This raises serious concerns about staffing.

@juliamacfarlane

If FAA staffing shortages turn out to be a key aspect of this horrible tragedy, remember that
@elonmusk

and his “Doge” department fired hundreds of FAA staffers last year - including safety workers, and even tried to fire air traffic controllers

https://x.com/juliamacfarlane/status/2035992598129586212?s=20

MarqueeMark · 8:20AM

Sandpit said:
Sad news this morning of a plane crash in New York. Two Air Canada regional pilots killed after their landing plane hit a fire truck that was crossing the runway at LaGuardia airport.

RIP to the pilots, and hope both the controller and truck driver are getting some serious counselling.

Safety standards at US airports seem to have fallen dramatically since they got rid of DEI hires.

Theuniondivvie · 8:21AM

MarqueeMark said:

Sandpit said:
Sad news this morning of a plane crash in New York. Two Air Canada regional pilots killed after their landing plane hit a fire truck that was crossing the runway at LaGuardia airport.

RIP to the pilots, and hope both the controller and truck driver are getting some serious counselling.
Safety standards at US airports seem to have fallen dramatically since they got rid of DEI hires.

Shit, we got rid of the DEIs so we’ve no one left to blame!

MarqueeMark · 8:23AM

TheScreamingEagles said:

Roger said:

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’
Uncharacteristically subtle
Subtlety is my hallmark, for example nobody has yet picked up on the subtle film reference in the headline.

Er, we Cotton-ed on....

stjohn · 8:24AM

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Roger said:

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’
Uncharacteristically subtle
Subtlety is my hallmark, for example nobody has yet picked up on the subtle film reference in the headline.
Er, we Cotton-ed on....

Not me. 🤔

Foxy · 8:25AM

TheScreamingEagles said:

Roger said:

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’
Uncharacteristically subtle
Subtlety is my hallmark, for example nobody has yet picked up on the subtle film reference in the headline.

Yes, the average Joe has dodged it.

Stuartinromford · 8:26AM

Foxy said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:
...
OnlyLivingBoy said:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/23/funding-for-populist-right-media-political-complex-exceeded-170m-in-five-years-research-finds

A useful reminder that right wing populism is less an organic outburst of popular discontent and more a well funded political project created by a few very rich men.
What would really shock you is if that exactly the same is true of the left. Except they expect the taxpayer to fork out for their predilictions too.
Interesting claim. Do you have evidence for the left-wing equivalent of this:

He said more than £130m can be traced to just four entities: Harborne, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and the financier Jeremy Hosking.
Don't have much time, but this is the obvious hors d'oeuvre.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) have provided significant funding to various UK political and advocacy organisations, primarily focused on pro-EU, progressive, and social justice causes. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the OSF has been a major financial backer of anti-Brexit campaigns, most notably Best for Britain, which received £800,000 in total from 2017 to 2022, including a £400,000 donation in 2018 and an additional £100,000 pledged to match crowdfunding efforts. A 2024 analysis revealed that Best for Britain received $5.5 million from the OSF between 2017 and 2022.

Other key recipients include:

European Movement UK: Received £182,000.
Scientists for EU: Received $42,975.
The Green New Deal All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): Funded by Soros, though now defunct.
Platform London: Tasked with promoting a "worker-led energy transition" and phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea.
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG: Also funded by the OSF.
Amnesty International and several UK universities, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Birkbeck, and King’s College London.
Soros has also supported broader initiatives such as the Caribbean and African reparations campaign against Britain for slavery and colonialism, with the OSF helping to fund a joint study tour in Barbados in 2023. His foundation continues to fund think tanks like Chatham House and groups advocating for climate action, human rights, and democratic reform.

While UK law bans foreign donations during elections or referendums, the OSF has operated through UK-based entities, drawing criticism from political figures like the Conservatives, who have called for investigations into the funding. Soros has defended his contributions as non-partisan, aimed at public education and democratic engagement.

AI
Thanks. I would dispute that anti-Brexit campaigns constitute left-wing populism, not least because populists on both extremes (Corbyn, Farage) were at least sympathetic to Brexit.

Is there a left-wing equivalent of GB news? Or the Tufton street think-tanks who refuse to say who funds them?
Or indedd to Reform's mysterious crypto donations converted into Sterling.

https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/reform-accused-of-using-third-party-to-turn-crypto-into-cash-and-hide-donors

Did anyone get to the bottom of that Churchwarden who was making implausibly huge donations to Reform?

Foxy · 8:27AM

TheScreamingEagles said:

Sandpit said:

TheScreamingEagles said:
This fad about naming things about Queenn Elizabeth II will be seen as a disaster soon, might as well start naming stuff after Peter Mandelson.

Andrew ‘caused deeper royal crisis than Edward VIII’s abdication’

Mountbatten-Windsor’s biographer claims that the late Queen’s second son ran rings around his ‘gaga’ mother in the last years of her life

Ridiculous hyperbole from Lownie trying to sell his book, and to what used to be the newspaper of record for publishing it.

That the former Mr York, and Mr Sussex, were liked by Her Late Majesty and accommodated much more than perhaps they should have been given their behaviour, is hardly news to anyone.
Fucking hell, do you really think the behaviour of the Duke of Sussex is comparable to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, you might as well compare Sir Lewis Hamilton to Lance Stroll.

Indeed it seems that Harry's exposure of his dysfunctional family barely scratches the surface.

bigjohnowls · 8:28AM

Sandpit said:
Some good news this morning, the Russian port of Primorsk, on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersberg, appears to be very much on fire. It’s responsible for 50% of Baltic O&G exports by Russia.

Great news.

Even more hikes to oil prices hurrah.

Stuartinromford · 8:29AM

stjohn said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Roger said:

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’
Uncharacteristically subtle
Subtlety is my hallmark, for example nobody has yet picked up on the subtle film reference in the headline.
Er, we Cotton-ed on....
Not me. 🤔

It's an allusion to Starmer being a genius who is cast out due to his lack of social skills.

Rayner Man.

TheScreamingEagles · 8:31AM

So the Israelis are saying the main goal of the war could be now to get the Strait of Hormuz open.

Pardon my ignorance but wasn't the Strait open before the war? I mean low IQ bellends didn't foresee Iran would close the Strait?

https://x.com/JuddLegum/status/2035902392877662534

maxh · 8:32AM

Taz said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:
...
OnlyLivingBoy said:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/23/funding-for-populist-right-media-political-complex-exceeded-170m-in-five-years-research-finds

A useful reminder that right wing populism is less an organic outburst of popular discontent and more a well funded political project created by a few very rich men.
What would really shock you is if that exactly the same is true of the left. Except they expect the taxpayer to fork out for their predilictions too.
Interesting claim. Do you have evidence for the left-wing equivalent of this:

He said more than £130m can be traced to just four entities: Harborne, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and the financier Jeremy Hosking.
Don't have much time, but this is the obvious hors d'oeuvre.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) have provided significant funding to various UK political and advocacy organisations, primarily focused on pro-EU, progressive, and social justice causes. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the OSF has been a major financial backer of anti-Brexit campaigns, most notably Best for Britain, which received £800,000 in total from 2017 to 2022, including a £400,000 donation in 2018 and an additional £100,000 pledged to match crowdfunding efforts. A 2024 analysis revealed that Best for Britain received $5.5 million from the OSF between 2017 and 2022.

Other key recipients include:

European Movement UK: Received £182,000.
Scientists for EU: Received $42,975.
The Green New Deal All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): Funded by Soros, though now defunct.
Platform London: Tasked with promoting a "worker-led energy transition" and phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea.
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG: Also funded by the OSF.
Amnesty International and several UK universities, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Birkbeck, and King’s College London.
Soros has also supported broader initiatives such as the Caribbean and African reparations campaign against Britain for slavery and colonialism, with the OSF helping to fund a joint study tour in Barbados in 2023. His foundation continues to fund think tanks like Chatham House and groups advocating for climate action, human rights, and democratic reform.

While UK law bans foreign donations during elections or referendums, the OSF has operated through UK-based entities, drawing criticism from political figures like the Conservatives, who have called for investigations into the funding. Soros has defended his contributions as non-partisan, aimed at public education and democratic engagement.

AI
Thanks. I would dispute that anti-Brexit campaigns constitute left-wing populism, not least because populists on both extremes (Corbyn, Farage) were at least sympathetic to Brexit.

Is there a left-wing equivalent of GB news? Or the Tufton street think-tanks who refuse to say who funds them?
There are plenty of left wing think tanks. All well funded too and now influential at the heart of govt.

Mike Bloomberg has also spent money funding left wing politics and groups in this country

Just Stop Oil and XR had funding from outside the U.K.

I’d take the Guardian piece with a pinch of salt.

It’s based on ‘research’ by a labour MP and it’s something both sides do.

I was seeking specifics not generalities Taz.

I'm aware of many of the left-wing think-tanks. Openly picking my favourite, here's an AI summary of the funding for the New Economics Foundation:

New Economics Foundation (NEF) is funded by a range of trusts, foundations, and individual supporters, with transparency being a core value. The organization publishes the names and amounts of all funders contributing over £5,000 annually.

Key funders include:

Oak Foundation: £1,698,299
The National Lottery Community Fund: £1,033,554
Friends Provident Foundation: £90,910
European Climate Foundation: £114,656
Joseph Rowntree Foundation: £46,218
Lloyds Bank Foundation: £94,495
Open Society Foundations (USA): £88,662
The Sunrise Project Australia Ltd: £168,105
NEF is also supported by smaller grants from organizations like the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch, and the Thirty Percy Foundation. The foundation is proud to be an accredited Living Wage employer and a Fairwork Partner, and it maintains a top A-rating for transparency from the Who Funds You? campaign.

A welcome contrast imo.

algarkirk · 8:33AM

Mexicanpete said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
I wouldn't condone attacking anything or anyone. I particularly dislike the idea that British Jews going about their business are mindlessly attacked for the craven wickedness of Benjamin Netanyahu. However your outrage at damaged vehicles seems at odds with your consideration that 175 dead schoolgirls is acceptable collateral damage.

The whataboutery here seems a bit empty, even more than usual. Comparing an intended outcome with an unintended outcome is not to compare like with like.

There isn't of course any such thing as acceptable killing of little girls any more than there are acceptable wars. But there are wars and there is killing of little girls. Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt.

Roger · 8:33AM

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.

You are such a dribbling little creep. Anti semiitism can be difficult under the current circumstances when Israel are determined to suck the life out of an honouable religion for their own gain and nasty little creeps like yourself who have likely never met a Jew in their life yet insisit on inveigling yourself into the religion because you think there is some kudos to be gained from doing so.

Your daily war gaming in Gaza repulsed me as I'm sure it did most others on here and certainly most Jews.

TheScreamingEagles · 8:34AM

stjohn said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Roger said:

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’
Uncharacteristically subtle
Subtlety is my hallmark, for example nobody has yet picked up on the subtle film reference in the headline.
Er, we Cotton-ed on....
Not me. 🤔

You've never seen Dodgeball?

AnneJGP · 8:35AM

Would SKS be the best person for the job or is it a plan to maintain his privileges?

Mexicanpete · 8:36AM

Sandpit said:

TheScreamingEagles said:
This fad about naming things about Queenn Elizabeth II will be seen as a disaster soon, might as well start naming stuff after Peter Mandelson.

Andrew ‘caused deeper royal crisis than Edward VIII’s abdication’

Mountbatten-Windsor’s biographer claims that the late Queen’s second son ran rings around his ‘gaga’ mother in the last years of her life

Ridiculous hyperbole from Lownie trying to sell his book, and to what used to be the newspaper of record for publishing it.

That the former Mr York, and Mr Sussex, were liked by Her Late Majesty and accommodated much more than perhaps they should have been given their behaviour, is hardly news to anyone.

So in the grand scheme of things you would suggest marrying a woman of colour is more outrageous than defiling underage girls?

Stuartinromford · 8:37AM

TheScreamingEagles said:

stjohn said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Roger said:

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’
Uncharacteristically subtle
Subtlety is my hallmark, for example nobody has yet picked up on the subtle film reference in the headline.
Er, we Cotton-ed on....
Not me. 🤔
You've never seen Dodgeball?

They're doing a remake about Elon Musk's attempts to cut trillions of dollars from government spending.

Dogeballsup.

Casino_Royale · 8:37AM

TheScreamingEagles said:
This fad about naming things about Queen Elizabeth II will be seen as a disaster soon, might as well start naming stuff after Peter Mandelson.

Andrew ‘caused deeper royal crisis than Edward VIII’s abdication’

Mountbatten-Windsor’s biographer claims that the late Queen’s second son ran rings around his ‘gaga’ mother in the last years of her life

The crisis facing the royal family over the Epstein files revelations about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is more serious than the abdication of Edward VIII, the author of the former prince’s biography has claimed.

Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, said that Mountbatten-Windsor’s actions had caused greater public anger than the abdication crisis, when the king stepped down from his role to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

Speaking at Oxford Literary Festival, Lownie said the abdication had been a “three-day wonder”, the full details of which the general public did not engage with at the time. He also said that Edward’s support of the Nazi party had yet to become common knowledge.

While Edward resigned voluntarily from his role to marry the woman he loved, Andrew had to be stripped of his HRH title and military honours after allegations about his continued relationship with the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein re-emerged.

Lownie said the late Queen had “crossed the line” legally “a lot” when she made allowances for Andrew, who it is thought was her favourite child.

“By the end of her life, what people don’t realise, is that she was completely gaga. He [Andrew] would go up there and he would bully her into doing things. So for the last few years of her life Charles actually was running the show, rather than the Queen,” he said.

“There were MI6 officers who went to [royal] private secretaries and said, ‘Look he’s been caught with $5 million in a suitcase in Kazakhstan’, and they were sent away with a flea in their ear. The heads of the foreign office went and complained.

“He was made a vice-admiral in the navy, and that was after these allegations. She [the Queen] entertained a lot of these people. President Aliyev of Azerbaijan gave her a horse and she was thrilled.

“She, I’m afraid, abetted this. The whole family abetted this — they knew about it,” he said.

He added that people in royal circles had been talking about the allegations since 2011.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/andrew-caused-deeper-royal-crisis-than-edward-viiis-abdication-wftvhzrfs

Author of former prince's biography wants to sell more books, shock horror.

nico67 · 8:38AM

I can’t see Starmer accepting a FM role .

Once you’ve been PM you’re not going to accept anything less.

AnneJGP · 8:39AM

StillWaters said:

BartholomewRoberts said:

Eabhal said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

MikeL said:

Pulpstar said:

scampi25 said:
NAE but is not the government gaining a big tax windfall right now on fuel taxes? Why then not cut the tax rate and reduce pump costs as has happened already in Spain for example?
For every 6 penny increase the Gov't gains 1p. So on diesel the gov't is pretty much getting the full tax hike pencilled in already
Yes, that's right.

But for anyone who doesn't know, the Govt only gains VAT. Fuel duty is a fixed number of pence per litre so no gain in Fuel duty.

So if net price up 5p, VAT up 1p (ie 20% of 5p) - so total price up 6p.

However the point is if the public is spending more on petrol they will be spending less on other things, so the VAT take on everything else will go down.

Now some things are zero rated but big picture is Govt may actually gain very little overall.
Given that so many of the basics are zero rated and that fuel is an essential for the majority of people, I think you are wrong that the Govt will gain little overall.
Depends on just how severe the depression is.

I think there is an argument for a reduced tax on fuel but the consensus is it’s one of the “best” taxes to levy - unavoidable, simple, inelastic, and on personal transport highly progressive. The only better alternative is probably income tax.

Doing it in a fuel crisis makes sense short term but in the long term it’s a disaster - this sense that the government will always come to the rescue is why we are so vulnerable to crises, and why our debt is so high. £50 billion in 2022 and wr haven’t learnt the lesson.
It is very regressive on personal transport. Always has been, but today when new vehicles are either hybrids or electric it is more so.

Someone going to a minimum wage job in a 10 year old banger is paying a far higher percentage of their income in fuel duty than someone going to work in their new Tesla.

By decile of income, the poorest pay far, far, far more as a percentage of income on fuel duty. The richest pay far less as a percentage of income. Which is how progressive or regressive taxation is measured.
But it’s the wrong measure. Fuel duty is related to consumption of fuel not the income of the user

No doubt fuel duty feeds into the higher prices of all items bought by those of us who can't afford personal transport.

Casino_Royale · 8:40AM

Foxy said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:
Good morning

I just hope labour are not that stupid to replace Starmer with Rayner when we are in the middle of an existential crisis

And as for Starmer agreeing to be demoted to Foreign Secretary we are really on fantasy island

I have no faith or trust in Starmer but this is not what the country wants or needs right now
We replaced Asquith in WW1 and Chamberlain in WW2 in far bigger crises.

And WW2 was still going on when Churchill was replaced.

algarkirk · 8:41AM

Sandpit said:
Some good news this morning, the Russian port of Primorsk, on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersberg, appears to be very much on fire. It’s responsible for 50% of Baltic O&G exports by Russia.

It has 190 branches in the UK as well, all eager to attract young customers wanting a different wardrobe weekly for under £5. No-one should set fire to the Russian branch.

Mexicanpete · 8:41AM

Big_G_NorthWales said:
Good morning

I just hope labour are not that stupid to replace Starmer with Rayner when we are in the middle of an existential crisis

And as for Starmer agreeing to be demoted to Foreign Secretary we are really on fantasy island

I have no faith or trust in Starmer but this is not what the country wants or needs right now

Have you seen the price of petrol? This is on Starmer's watch.

He took a phonecall from the Putin shill at Mar a Lago yesterday. We will have ships in the Gulf by teatime tomorrow. Get rid.

I understand you would prefer the Churchillian Boris Johnson to the fishwife Rayner, but Johnson is a) not inside Parliament or b) the Party of Government. We need a Peter Wright style coup before we get Big Dog back in the driving seat.

eek · 8:42AM

algarkirk said:

Sandpit said:
Some good news this morning, the Russian port of Primorsk, on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersberg, appears to be very much on fire. It’s responsible for 50% of Baltic O&G exports by Russia.
It has 190 branches in the UK as well, all eager to attract young customers wanting a different wardrobe weekly for under £5. No-one should set fire to the Russian branch.

You appear to have got Primorsk confused with Primani

MarqueeMark · 8:44AM

nico67 said:
I can’t see Starmer accepting a FM role .

Once you’ve been PM you’re not going to accept anything less.

*cough* David Cameron *cough*

DavidL · 8:45AM

The idea that he would be willing to serve under Rayner in that or any other role is absurd. He might à la DC, come back and serve in such a role under her successor but otherwise no chance.

StillWaters · 8:45AM

Taz said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:
...
OnlyLivingBoy said:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/23/funding-for-populist-right-media-political-complex-exceeded-170m-in-five-years-research-finds

A useful reminder that right wing populism is less an organic outburst of popular discontent and more a well funded political project created by a few very rich men.
What would really shock you is if that exactly the same is true of the left. Except they expect the taxpayer to fork out for their predilictions too.
Interesting claim. Do you have evidence for the left-wing equivalent of this:

He said more than £130m can be traced to just four entities: Harborne, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and the financier Jeremy Hosking.
Don't have much time, but this is the obvious hors d'oeuvre.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) have provided significant funding to various UK political and advocacy organisations, primarily focused on pro-EU, progressive, and social justice causes. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the OSF has been a major financial backer of anti-Brexit campaigns, most notably Best for Britain, which received £800,000 in total from 2017 to 2022, including a £400,000 donation in 2018 and an additional £100,000 pledged to match crowdfunding efforts. A 2024 analysis revealed that Best for Britain received $5.5 million from the OSF between 2017 and 2022.

Other key recipients include:

European Movement UK: Received £182,000.
Scientists for EU: Received $42,975.
The Green New Deal All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): Funded by Soros, though now defunct.
Platform London: Tasked with promoting a "worker-led energy transition" and phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea.
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG: Also funded by the OSF.
Amnesty International and several UK universities, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Birkbeck, and King’s College London.
Soros has also supported broader initiatives such as the Caribbean and African reparations campaign against Britain for slavery and colonialism, with the OSF helping to fund a joint study tour in Barbados in 2023. His foundation continues to fund think tanks like Chatham House and groups advocating for climate action, human rights, and democratic reform.

While UK law bans foreign donations during elections or referendums, the OSF has operated through UK-based entities, drawing criticism from political figures like the Conservatives, who have called for investigations into the funding. Soros has defended his contributions as non-partisan, aimed at public education and democratic engagement.

AI
Thanks. I would dispute that anti-Brexit campaigns constitute left-wing populism, not least because populists on both extremes (Corbyn, Farage) were at least sympathetic to Brexit.

Is there a left-wing equivalent of GB news? Or the Tufton street think-tanks who refuse to say who funds them?
There are plenty of left wing think tanks. All well funded too and now influential at the heart of govt.

Mike Bloomberg has also spent money funding left wing politics and groups in this country

Just Stop Oil and XR had funding from outside the U.K.

I’d take the Guardian piece with a pinch of salt.

It’s based on ‘research’ by a labour MP and it’s something both sides do.

Not to mention the union political funds

Nigelb · 8:45AM

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

maxh said:

Luckyguy1983 said:
...
OnlyLivingBoy said:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/23/funding-for-populist-right-media-political-complex-exceeded-170m-in-five-years-research-finds

A useful reminder that right wing populism is less an organic outburst of popular discontent and more a well funded political project created by a few very rich men.
What would really shock you is if that exactly the same is true of the left. Except they expect the taxpayer to fork out for their predilictions too.
Interesting claim. Do you have evidence for the left-wing equivalent of this:

He said more than £130m can be traced to just four entities: Harborne, the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, the Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and the financier Jeremy Hosking.
Don't have much time, but this is the obvious hors d'oeuvre.

George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) have provided significant funding to various UK political and advocacy organisations, primarily focused on pro-EU, progressive, and social justice causes. Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the OSF has been a major financial backer of anti-Brexit campaigns, most notably Best for Britain, which received £800,000 in total from 2017 to 2022, including a £400,000 donation in 2018 and an additional £100,000 pledged to match crowdfunding efforts. A 2024 analysis revealed that Best for Britain received $5.5 million from the OSF between 2017 and 2022.

Other key recipients include:

European Movement UK: Received £182,000.
Scientists for EU: Received $42,975.
The Green New Deal All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG): Funded by Soros, though now defunct.
Platform London: Tasked with promoting a "worker-led energy transition" and phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea.
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG: Also funded by the OSF.
Amnesty International and several UK universities, including the London School of Economics (LSE), Birkbeck, and King’s College London.
Soros has also supported broader initiatives such as the Caribbean and African reparations campaign against Britain for slavery and colonialism, with the OSF helping to fund a joint study tour in Barbados in 2023. His foundation continues to fund think tanks like Chatham House and groups advocating for climate action, human rights, and democratic reform.

While UK law bans foreign donations during elections or referendums, the OSF has operated through UK-based entities, drawing criticism from political figures like the Conservatives, who have called for investigations into the funding. Soros has defended his contributions as non-partisan, aimed at public education and democratic engagement.

AI
Thanks. I would dispute that anti-Brexit campaigns constitute left-wing populism, not least because populists on both extremes (Corbyn, Farage) were at least sympathetic to Brexit.

Is there a left-wing equivalent of GB news? Or the Tufton street think-tanks who refuse to say who funds them?

The nub of the story, which Lucky's whataboutery ignores, is this.

..The senior MP is calling for urgent reform as part of the government’s elections bill, including a ban on cryptocurrency donations, for media laws to cover digital and social media, and for any significant investment in a media organisation by a donor who also makes political donations to be disclosed to the Electoral Commission..

Does he support that ?

MarqueeMark · 8:45AM

Theuniondivvie said:

MarqueeMark said:

Sandpit said:
Sad news this morning of a plane crash in New York. Two Air Canada regional pilots killed after their landing plane hit a fire truck that was crossing the runway at LaGuardia airport.

RIP to the pilots, and hope both the controller and truck driver are getting some serious counselling.
Safety standards at US airports seem to have fallen dramatically since they got rid of DEI hires.
Shit, we got rid of the DEIs so we’ve no one left to blame!

So just the late middle-aged white dudes.

They are gonna cop for some shit in the coming years...

Taz · 8:45AM

nico67 said:
I can’t see Starmer accepting a FM role .

Once you’ve been PM you’re not going to accept anything less.

Dave did

rottenborough · 8:45AM

FTSE stocks being hammered this morning.

Brace.

StillWaters · 8:47AM

AnneJGP said:

StillWaters said:

BartholomewRoberts said:

Eabhal said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

MikeL said:

Pulpstar said:

scampi25 said:
NAE but is not the government gaining a big tax windfall right now on fuel taxes? Why then not cut the tax rate and reduce pump costs as has happened already in Spain for example?
For every 6 penny increase the Gov't gains 1p. So on diesel the gov't is pretty much getting the full tax hike pencilled in already
Yes, that's right.

But for anyone who doesn't know, the Govt only gains VAT. Fuel duty is a fixed number of pence per litre so no gain in Fuel duty.

So if net price up 5p, VAT up 1p (ie 20% of 5p) - so total price up 6p.

However the point is if the public is spending more on petrol they will be spending less on other things, so the VAT take on everything else will go down.

Now some things are zero rated but big picture is Govt may actually gain very little overall.
Given that so many of the basics are zero rated and that fuel is an essential for the majority of people, I think you are wrong that the Govt will gain little overall.
Depends on just how severe the depression is.

I think there is an argument for a reduced tax on fuel but the consensus is it’s one of the “best” taxes to levy - unavoidable, simple, inelastic, and on personal transport highly progressive. The only better alternative is probably income tax.

Doing it in a fuel crisis makes sense short term but in the long term it’s a disaster - this sense that the government will always come to the rescue is why we are so vulnerable to crises, and why our debt is so high. £50 billion in 2022 and wr haven’t learnt the lesson.
It is very regressive on personal transport. Always has been, but today when new vehicles are either hybrids or electric it is more so.

Someone going to a minimum wage job in a 10 year old banger is paying a far higher percentage of their income in fuel duty than someone going to work in their new Tesla.

By decile of income, the poorest pay far, far, far more as a percentage of income on fuel duty. The richest pay far less as a percentage of income. Which is how progressive or regressive taxation is measured.
But it’s the wrong measure. Fuel duty is related to consumption of fuel not the income of the user
No doubt fuel duty feeds into the higher prices of all items bought by those of us who can't afford personal transport.

It does, yes.

Sunil_Prasannan · 8:48AM

Taz said:

nico67 said:
I can’t see Starmer accepting a FM role .

Once you’ve been PM you’re not going to accept anything less.
Dave did

Balfour did, hence the Balfour Declaration.

DavidL · 8:50AM

Casino_Royale said:

Foxy said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:
Good morning

I just hope labour are not that stupid to replace Starmer with Rayner when we are in the middle of an existential crisis

And as for Starmer agreeing to be demoted to Foreign Secretary we are really on fantasy island

I have no faith or trust in Starmer but this is not what the country wants or needs right now
We replaced Asquith in WW1 and Chamberlain in WW2 in far bigger crises.
And WW2 was still going on when Churchill was replaced.

We replaced Maggie with Major during the Gulf War too. It really is no biggie. Starmer needs a better line than that.

MarqueeMark · 8:50AM

For the unfortunately uninformed: Cotton and Pepper compilation -

https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/cqqz8t/dodgeball_best_of_cotton_and_pepper_from_espn_the/

WhisperingOracle · 8:50AM

Mornimg, P.B.

Yes, not looking too "clever" on the stock markets this morning, as the football pundits might say.

Nigelb · 8:51AM

TheScreamingEagles said:

stjohn said:

MarqueeMark said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Roger said:

Taz said:
Love this line

‘ anguish of a man with a wasp trapped under his foreskin ’
Uncharacteristically subtle
Subtlety is my hallmark, for example nobody has yet picked up on the subtle film reference in the headline.
Er, we Cotton-ed on....
Not me. 🤔
You've never seen Dodgeball?

Not many would admit too that (and I'd no idea of the name of the movie*), but it's a recurrent X meme.

*That's what folks in the US call films, Lucky.

Eabhal · 8:51AM

AnneJGP said:

StillWaters said:

BartholomewRoberts said:

Eabhal said:

Richard_Tyndall said:

MikeL said:

Pulpstar said:

scampi25 said:
NAE but is not the government gaining a big tax windfall right now on fuel taxes? Why then not cut the tax rate and reduce pump costs as has happened already in Spain for example?
For every 6 penny increase the Gov't gains 1p. So on diesel the gov't is pretty much getting the full tax hike pencilled in already
Yes, that's right.

But for anyone who doesn't know, the Govt only gains VAT. Fuel duty is a fixed number of pence per litre so no gain in Fuel duty.

So if net price up 5p, VAT up 1p (ie 20% of 5p) - so total price up 6p.

However the point is if the public is spending more on petrol they will be spending less on other things, so the VAT take on everything else will go down.

Now some things are zero rated but big picture is Govt may actually gain very little overall.
Given that so many of the basics are zero rated and that fuel is an essential for the majority of people, I think you are wrong that the Govt will gain little overall.
Depends on just how severe the depression is.

I think there is an argument for a reduced tax on fuel but the consensus is it’s one of the “best” taxes to levy - unavoidable, simple, inelastic, and on personal transport highly progressive. The only better alternative is probably income tax.

Doing it in a fuel crisis makes sense short term but in the long term it’s a disaster - this sense that the government will always come to the rescue is why we are so vulnerable to crises, and why our debt is so high. £50 billion in 2022 and wr haven’t learnt the lesson.
It is very regressive on personal transport. Always has been, but today when new vehicles are either hybrids or electric it is more so.

Someone going to a minimum wage job in a 10 year old banger is paying a far higher percentage of their income in fuel duty than someone going to work in their new Tesla.

By decile of income, the poorest pay far, far, far more as a percentage of income on fuel duty. The richest pay far less as a percentage of income. Which is how progressive or regressive taxation is measured.
But it’s the wrong measure. Fuel duty is related to consumption of fuel not the income of the user
No doubt fuel duty feeds into the higher prices of all items bought by those of us who can't afford personal transport.

You could say that about any and all taxes though (and given it’s a fixed levy, the effect is actually reduced).

Again, I think you could argue for an even bigger cut (already down by some 40% since 2010) but, all else held equal, you’ll need to raise taxes elsewhere.

As BartholomewRoberts noted above, it’s highly inelastic so you can’t really argue it’s distorting the economy in the same way as something like stamp duty.

BatteryCorrectHorse · 8:51AM

So let me get this straight, the objective now is to get the Strait of Hormuz opened?

But it was open BEFORE Israel started their stupid war. I’m baffled.

nico67 · 8:51AM

MarqueeMark said:

nico67 said:
I can’t see Starmer accepting a FM role .

Once you’ve been PM you’re not going to accept anything less.
*cough* David Cameron *cough*

Oh yes I forgot but he came back after many years away.

Big_G_NorthWales · 8:52AM

Roger said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
You are such a dribbling little creep. Anti semiitism can be difficult under the current circumstances when Israel are determined to suck the life out of an honouable religion for their own gain and nasty little creeps like yourself who have likely never met a Jew in their life yet insisit on inveigling yourself into the religion because you think there is some kudos to be gained from doing so.

Your daily war gaming in Gaza repulsed me as I'm sure it did most others on here and certainly most Jews.

This post sums up the despair so many must be feeling

The attack on the Jewish's ambulances should be condemned by all fair minded persons as should the killing of innocent chldren in Iran

Mexicanpete · 8:52AM

algarkirk said:

Mexicanpete said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
I wouldn't condone attacking anything or anyone. I particularly dislike the idea that British Jews going about their business are mindlessly attacked for the craven wickedness of Benjamin Netanyahu. However your outrage at damaged vehicles seems at odds with your consideration that 175 dead schoolgirls is acceptable collateral damage.
The whataboutery here seems a bit empty, even more than usual. Comparing an intended outcome with an unintended outcome is not to compare like with like.

There isn't of course any such thing as acceptable killing of little girls any more than there are acceptable wars. But there are wars and there is killing of little girls. Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt.

Where is the whataboutery? I am comparing two points of view expressed on these pages by @BartholomewRoberts. He quite rightly doesn't like Jewish owned ambulances damaged in London, but he is comfortable with dead Iranian schoolgirls, the razing of South Beirut, Gaza and Tehran, and I doubt he has too much trouble with settlers murdering Palestinians for land on the West Bank.

MarqueeMark · 8:53AM

nico67 said:

MarqueeMark said:

nico67 said:
I can’t see Starmer accepting a FM role .

Once you’ve been PM you’re not going to accept anything less.
*cough* David Cameron *cough*
Oh yes I forgot but he came back after many years away.

To be fair, his return was quite forgettable...

MarqueeMark · 8:54AM

BatteryCorrectHorse said:
So let me get this straight, the objective now is to get the Strait of Hormuz opened?

But it was open BEFORE Israel started their stupid war. I’m baffled.

"It's a bold strategy, Cotton...let's see if it pays off."

Nigelb · 8:56AM

algarkirk said:

Mexicanpete said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
I wouldn't condone attacking anything or anyone. I particularly dislike the idea that British Jews going about their business are mindlessly attacked for the craven wickedness of Benjamin Netanyahu. However your outrage at damaged vehicles seems at odds with your consideration that 175 dead schoolgirls is acceptable collateral damage.
The whataboutery here seems a bit empty, even more than usual. Comparing an intended outcome with an unintended outcome is not to compare like with like.

There isn't of course any such thing as acceptable killing of little girls any more than there are acceptable wars. But there are wars and there is killing of little girls. Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt.

There is also Trump's thread to directly target millions of civilians via Iran's power plants - which would almost certainly result in mass casualties.

But that too is not even a shred of justification for anti Jewish terrorism back in the UK.

Taz · 8:56AM

nico67 said:

MarqueeMark said:

nico67 said:
I can’t see Starmer accepting a FM role .

Once you’ve been PM you’re not going to accept anything less.
*cough* David Cameron *cough*
Oh yes I forgot but he came back after many years away.

Only about 6 or 7

Sean_F · 8:58AM

Roger said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
You are such a dribbling little creep. Anti semiitism can be difficult under the current circumstances when Israel are determined to suck the life out of an honouable religion for their own gain and nasty little creeps like yourself who have likely never met a Jew in their life yet insisit on inveigling yourself into the religion because you think there is some kudos to be gained from doing so.

Your daily war gaming in Gaza repulsed me as I'm sure it did most others on here and certainly most Jews.

“And in America, they lynch negroes”.

rottenborough · 8:58AM

BatteryCorrectHorse said:
So let me get this straight, the objective now is to get the Strait of Hormuz opened?

But it was open BEFORE Israel started their stupid war. I’m baffled.

The war is about whatever Donald Trump says it is about. And if that changes on an hourly basis it is because he is a world leading military and diplomatic strategist.

algarkirk · 9:00AM

Mexicanpete said:

algarkirk said:

Mexicanpete said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
I wouldn't condone attacking anything or anyone. I particularly dislike the idea that British Jews going about their business are mindlessly attacked for the craven wickedness of Benjamin Netanyahu. However your outrage at damaged vehicles seems at odds with your consideration that 175 dead schoolgirls is acceptable collateral damage.
The whataboutery here seems a bit empty, even more than usual. Comparing an intended outcome with an unintended outcome is not to compare like with like.

There isn't of course any such thing as acceptable killing of little girls any more than there are acceptable wars. But there are wars and there is killing of little girls. Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt.

Where is the whataboutery? I am comparing two points of view expressed on these pages by @BartholomewRoberts. He quite rightly doesn't like Jewish owned ambulances damaged in London, but he is comfortable with dead Iranian schoolgirls, the razing of South Beirut, Gaza and Tehran, and I doubt he has too much trouble with settlers murdering Palestinians for land on the West Bank.

i am not sure how to clarify the whataboutery further than I have. Which is not to defend Bartholomew Roberts's views.

Big_G_NorthWales · 9:00AM

Mexicanpete said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:
Good morning

I just hope labour are not that stupid to replace Starmer with Rayner when we are in the middle of an existential crisis

And as for Starmer agreeing to be demoted to Foreign Secretary we are really on fantasy island

I have no faith or trust in Starmer but this is not what the country wants or needs right now
Have you seen the price of petrol? This is on Starmer's watch.

He took a phonecall from the Putin shill at Mar a Lago yesterday. We will have ships in the Gulf by teatime tomorrow. Get rid.

I understand you would prefer the Churchillian Boris Johnson to the fishwife Rayner, but Johnson is a) not inside Parliament or b) the Party of Government. We need a Peter Wright style coup before we get Big Dog back in the driving seat.

What on earth have you had for breakfast ?

I have had years of battles on here with @HYUFD over his devotion to Johnson who I even voted against in the members ballot

Spraying unfounded allegations around and even using 'fishwife' Rayner indicates you are losing it

nico67 · 9:01AM

Taz said:

nico67 said:

MarqueeMark said:

nico67 said:
I can’t see Starmer accepting a FM role .

Once you’ve been PM you’re not going to accept anything less.
*cough* David Cameron *cough*
Oh yes I forgot but he came back after many years away.
Only about 6 or 7

He didn’t go from PM to FM in a week . I thought Cameron did a decent job as FM .

Roger · 9:02AM

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Roger said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
You are such a dribbling little creep. Anti semiitism can be difficult under the current circumstances when Israel are determined to suck the life out of an honouable religion for their own gain and nasty little creeps like yourself who have likely never met a Jew in their life yet insisit on inveigling yourself into the religion because you think there is some kudos to be gained from doing so.

Your daily war gaming in Gaza repulsed me as I'm sure it did most others on here and certainly most Jews.
This post sums up the despair so many must be feeling

The attack on the Jewish's ambulances should be condemned by all fair minded persons as should the killing of innocent chldren in Iran

I think it probably does. But having someone like Bartholomew Roberts believing he's in the vanguard of a great noble movemrnt when he hasn't the faintest idea what any of it is about nor any of the history is beyond sick making. It's just repilsive. Having said that I do appreciate your attempts to get over the hurdle and make sense of it as most of us are trying to do.

Mexicanpete · 9:05AM

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Mexicanpete said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:
Good morning

I just hope labour are not that stupid to replace Starmer with Rayner when we are in the middle of an existential crisis

And as for Starmer agreeing to be demoted to Foreign Secretary we are really on fantasy island

I have no faith or trust in Starmer but this is not what the country wants or needs right now
Have you seen the price of petrol? This is on Starmer's watch.

He took a phonecall from the Putin shill at Mar a Lago yesterday. We will have ships in the Gulf by teatime tomorrow. Get rid.

I understand you would prefer the Churchillian Boris Johnson to the fishwife Rayner, but Johnson is a) not inside Parliament or b) the Party of Government. We need a Peter Wright style coup before we get Big Dog back in the driving seat.
What on earth have you had for breakfast ?

I have had years of battles on here with @HYUFD over his devotion to Johnson who I even voted against in the members ballot

Spraying unfounded allegations around and even using 'fishwife' Rayner indicates you are losing it

Either way Starmer needs to go. Do you trust him not to fold for Trump?

In fairness to the "fishwife" she would have no qualms about telling Trump to do one.

boulay · 9:06AM

MarqueeMark said:
For the unfortunately uninformed: Cotton and Pepper compilation -

https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/cqqz8t/dodgeball_best_of_cotton_and_pepper_from_espn_the/

Cotton & Pepper sounds like a clothes boutique in a wealthy Cotswolds town set up by bored Cotswolds wives who have discovered that moving out there from London is very dull and so may as well set up a shop where similar people can come and spend their time and money and pretend it’s all ok.

HYUFD · 9:06AM

Well that would certainly ensure Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper's loyalty to Starmer if Rayner wants to replace her with him. If Labour are third or worse in the NEV after the May local and devolved elections then Rayner will certainly launch a leadership challenge to Starmer now if she can get the Labour MP nominations she requires

DavidL · 9:06AM

rottenborough said:
FTSE stocks being hammered this morning.

Brace.

The economic consequences of this insanity by Trump are becoming ever more alarming. We face genuine shortages (as well as exorbitant prices) of fuel. Keep your cars topped up. Unless we find a way to stop this madness we are facing a deep recession.

Surely even the Muppet chorus that Trump has appointed to his cabinet can see this? The 22nd amendment is one of the very few options left.

Anyone with a brain knew Trump 2 would be really bad, a classic in sequels (Godfather 2 being the honourable exception) but this is off the scale. For Gods sake America, get a grip.

Big_G_NorthWales · 9:07AM

Roger said:

Big_G_NorthWales said:

Roger said:

BartholomewRoberts said:
Sickening to see 4 Jewish ambulances in London attacked overnight.

The amount of antisemitism in 21st Britain is deeply disturbing.

Almost as disturbing as the amount of people I imagine whose first response would be to blame a Jewish country for what has happened, in a way that would never happen if any other minority were attacked.
You are such a dribbling little creep. Anti semiitism can be difficult under the current circumstances when Israel are determined to suck the life out of an honouable religion for their own gain and nasty little creeps like yourself who have likely never met a Jew in their life yet insisit on inveigling yourself into the religion because you think there is some kudos to be gained from doing so.

Your daily war gaming in Gaza repulsed me as I'm sure it did most others on here and certainly most Jews.
This post sums up the despair so many must be feeling

The attack on the Jewish's ambulances should be condemned by all fair minded persons as should the killing of innocent chldren in Iran
I think it probably does. But having someone like Bartholomew Roberts believing he's in the vanguard of a great noble movemrnt when he hasn't the faintest idea what any of it is about nor any of the history is beyond sick making. It's just repilsive. Having said that I do appreciate your attempts to get over the hurdle and make sense of it as most of us are trying to do.

We need more compassion for all the innocents whoever and wherever they are

Theuniondivvie · 9:07AM

Man, those swabbies must have been REALLY pissed off.

ChrisO_wiki
@ChrisO_wiki
2h
It's now being reported that the fire on the USS Gerald R. Ford was so severe that the ship could be out of service for as long as 12-14 months. That's going to be a big loss of capability for the US Navy at a potentially critical time.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2035967365008052666?s=20

It’s a bold strategy, let’s see if it pays off for Angela Rayner – politicalbetting.com

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