As I've already said, the WhatsApp backup is fairly unreliable.
The iCloud backup significantly less so - but it's not clear what backup is being referred to.
In any case, to get the messages back they need to restore them to a new phone that McSweeney owns or has access to. I am not sure how that works from a data privacy POV, whether he can be compelled to restore the backup. I am sure lawyers would know.
It's not private date. It is government business and should be on record.
McSweeney was the most senior appointee in the PM's office. The "lost" phone was apparently a "work" phone. They idea that he can just lose it, and it's not backed up, and any lost messages are shrugged off as no big deal is ridiculous. In any normal line of work where there was an investigation going on actions like this would look extremely dodgy.
Cast your mind back to Boris Johnson and the deletion of his WhatsApps, government phones aren't backed up in the same way as companies do.
ETA re the Boris precedent: automatic erasure, no official archiving and using WhatsApp in the first place should all be scandals but they may as well drop them off North Sea ferries for all that anyone cares.
Just as a conversation (and bearing in mind it's one I've never had myself) that was the aspect that also most struck me as odd. MM, standing in Westminster, seems to acquiesce with the suggestion that the thief has gone off in the vicinity of Stepney Green Park.
Just turned on the TV. Archbishop of Canterbury’s first day at work. Not an auspicious start. Her coworkers had locked her out of the building. She had to practically batter the front door down to get into the office.
Deliberately locked her out?
Yes. IIRC, it's a tradition that's supposed to demonstrate the independence of the cathedral chapter from the Bishop/Archbishop.
As I've already said, the WhatsApp backup is fairly unreliable.
The iCloud backup significantly less so - but it's not clear what backup is being referred to.
In any case, to get the messages back they need to restore them to a new phone that McSweeney owns or has access to. I am not sure how that works from a data privacy POV, whether he can be compelled to restore the backup. I am sure lawyers would know.
It's not private date. It is government business and should be on record.
It should.
Furthermore, members of government (and advisors to, and civil servants) should not be communicating via WhatsApp, given its weird backup systems thart make it very hard to move between Android and iPhone.
For a lot of government departments, although WhatsApp is an allowed App as they accept that people use it for Comms with externals, they do not allow back-ups of the WhatsApp data. A factory reset, accidental or not, generally wipes the messages.
PC + GRN could (almost) govern on those numbers. Two distinctly left wing parties. None of this 'left of centre' business, proper left. We could be looking at the Socialist Republic of Wales. If so, I'll be rooting for them and taking regular holidays there.
Though probably only for one term, given the number of businesses that will close or leave Wales as they hammer them with tax and regulation
The usual scaremongering whenever anything designed to shift a bit of advantage from capital to labour is mooted.
How are you feeling about the first female head of the church, H? Quite a moment.
Wales is already one of the most taxed and highest public spending nations in the world, it needs tax cuts and some fiscal conservatism not even more of the same.
I am fine with the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, 2/3 of Synod voted for female bishops a decade ago but I would still allow alternative episcopal oversight for those conservative Anglo Catholic or evangelical churches which still believe St Paul only allows male headship in churches
Plaid did turn your head once though istr.
Yes, a positive event. I'm not religous but I'm not unmoved by it.
To be fair to HYUFD, he voted Plaid for reasons which may seem odd but are at least internally consistent - his ferocious belief in democracy and that he must exercise all his votes, and his ferocious tribal anti-Labourism. I don't think it was enthusiasm for Welsh independence or Welsh language television that won PC that particular tick in the box. Though I imagine they talk of it still.
As I've already said, the WhatsApp backup is fairly unreliable.
The iCloud backup significantly less so - but it's not clear what backup is being referred to.
In any case, to get the messages back they need to restore them to a new phone that McSweeney owns or has access to. I am not sure how that works from a data privacy POV, whether he can be compelled to restore the backup. I am sure lawyers would know.
It's not private date. It is government business and should be on record.
McSweeney was the most senior appointee in the PM's office. The "lost" phone was apparently a "work" phone. They idea that he can just lose it, and it's not backed up, and any lost messages are shrugged off as no big deal is ridiculous. In any normal line of work where there was an investigation going on actions like this would look extremely dodgy.
Cast your mind back to Boris Johnson and the deletion of his WhatsApps, government phones aren't backed up in the same way as companies do.
ETA re the Boris precedent: automatic erasure, no official archiving and using WhatsApp in the first place should all be scandals but they may as well drop them off North Sea ferries for all that anyone cares.
On the other hand, the alternative to WhatsApp won't be a secure system with access to backups if necessary; it will be muttered exchanges in St James's Park.
After my report of two flags per lamppost in Redditch and rural North Worcestershire yesterday, today the roundabouts of Shrewsbury were resplendent with their new Union flags.
To be fair to Shrewsbury it is close enough to Wales to ward off the Taffs.
PC + GRN could (almost) govern on those numbers. Two distinctly left wing parties. None of this 'left of centre' business, proper left. We could be looking at the Socialist Republic of Wales. If so, I'll be rooting for them and taking regular holidays there.
Though probably only for one term, given the number of businesses that will close or leave Wales as they hammer them with tax and regulation
The usual scaremongering whenever anything designed to shift a bit of advantage from capital to labour is mooted.
How are you feeling about the first female head of the church, H? Quite a moment.
Wales is already one of the most taxed and highest public spending nations in the world, it needs tax cuts and some fiscal conservatism not even more of the same.
I am fine with the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, 2/3 of Synod voted for female bishops a decade ago but I would still allow alternative episcopal oversight for those conservative Anglo Catholic or evangelical churches which still believe St Paul only allows male headship in churches
Plaid did turn your head once though istr.
Yes, a positive event. I'm not religous but I'm not unmoved by it.
To be fair to HYUFD, he voted Plaid for reasons which may seem odd but are at least internally consistent - his ferocious belief in democracy and that he must exercise all his votes, and his ferocious tribal anti-Labourism. I don't think it was enthusiasm for Welsh independence or Welsh language television that won PC that particular tick in the box. Though I imagine they talk of it still.
After my report of two flags per lamppost in Redditch and rural North Worcestershire yesterday, today the roundabouts of Shrewsbury were resplendent with their new Union flags.
To be fair to Shrewsbury it is close enough to Wales to ward off the Taffs.
We have to go through Shrewsbury on the train to get to Cardiff, Aberystwyth, and Pwllheli
"Reform supporters losing trust in courts and police Biggest annual drop in confidence in the judicial system on record, according to poll
Reform UK voters are driving a slump in confidence in the police and criminal justice system, according to a major opinion poll.
Only 30 per cent of the party’s voters said they had confidence in the judicial system, compared with 67 per cent of Labour supporters and 63 per cent of Conservatives, a survey by Gallup says.
Fewer than half of Reform voters (47 per cent) said they had confidence in their local police force, compared with 72 per cent for Labour and 74 per cent for Conservatives.
The dissatisfaction amongst Reform voters contributed to the biggest annual drop in confidence in the judicial system on record."
So the question is how justified is the "let it all burn" view of the country? We're somewhere between everything really is terrible and there's money to be made from ragebait. I'm not sure I trust my judgement of where, though.
(Did anyone get to the bottom of that case in yesterday's Mail?)
As I've already said, the WhatsApp backup is fairly unreliable.
The iCloud backup significantly less so - but it's not clear what backup is being referred to.
In any case, to get the messages back they need to restore them to a new phone that McSweeney owns or has access to. I am not sure how that works from a data privacy POV, whether he can be compelled to restore the backup. I am sure lawyers would know.
It's not private date. It is government business and should be on record.
McSweeney was the most senior appointee in the PM's office. The "lost" phone was apparently a "work" phone. They idea that he can just lose it, and it's not backed up, and any lost messages are shrugged off as no big deal is ridiculous. In any normal line of work where there was an investigation going on actions like this would look extremely dodgy.
Cast your mind back to Boris Johnson and the deletion of his WhatsApps, government phones aren't backed up in the same way as companies do.
ETA re the Boris precedent: automatic erasure, no official archiving and using WhatsApp in the first place should all be scandals but they may as well drop them off North Sea ferries for all that anyone cares.
Just as a conversation (and bearing in mind it's one I've never had myself) that was the aspect that also most struck me as odd. MM, standing in Westminster, seems to acquiesce with the suggestion that the thief has gone off in the vicinity of Stepney Green Park.
williamglenn suggested Stepney Green Park might have been misheard as Green Park. I'm sceptical but who knows?
"Reform supporters losing trust in courts and police Biggest annual drop in confidence in the judicial system on record, according to poll
Reform UK voters are driving a slump in confidence in the police and criminal justice system, according to a major opinion poll.
Only 30 per cent of the party’s voters said they had confidence in the judicial system, compared with 67 per cent of Labour supporters and 63 per cent of Conservatives, a survey by Gallup says.
Fewer than half of Reform voters (47 per cent) said they had confidence in their local police force, compared with 72 per cent for Labour and 74 per cent for Conservatives.
The dissatisfaction amongst Reform voters contributed to the biggest annual drop in confidence in the judicial system on record."
That's part of the "Two Tier Keir" conspiracy theory - a corollary of SKS's interventions in the judiciary, and also aiui a politicisation of the justice system is part of the Ref UK idea.
Jenrick was even talking about political interventions when he was waving the Judge's wig around at the Conservative Party Conference, before he crossed the floor.
Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz I’ll keep saying this, like Cato the Elder: after the elimination of Khamenei, no threat from Washington will move Iran from its position.
Not threats against Kharg Island. Not threats against the Strait. Not threats against their power infrastructure.
At that point, deterrence loses its meaning in Tehran’s eyes.
If the U.S. wants to reopen the Strait, it has only two real options: reach an agreement with Iran — or use overwhelming force.
As I've already said, the WhatsApp backup is fairly unreliable.
The iCloud backup significantly less so - but it's not clear what backup is being referred to.
In any case, to get the messages back they need to restore them to a new phone that McSweeney owns or has access to. I am not sure how that works from a data privacy POV, whether he can be compelled to restore the backup. I am sure lawyers would know.
It's not private date. It is government business and should be on record.
McSweeney was the most senior appointee in the PM's office. The "lost" phone was apparently a "work" phone. They idea that he can just lose it, and it's not backed up, and any lost messages are shrugged off as no big deal is ridiculous. In any normal line of work where there was an investigation going on actions like this would look extremely dodgy.
Cast your mind back to Boris Johnson and the deletion of his WhatsApps, government phones aren't backed up in the same way as companies do.
ETA re the Boris precedent: automatic erasure, no official archiving and using WhatsApp in the first place should all be scandals but they may as well drop them off North Sea ferries for all that anyone cares.
Just as a conversation (and bearing in mind it's one I've never had myself) that was the aspect that also most struck me as odd. MM, standing in Westminster, seems to acquiesce with the suggestion that the thief has gone off in the vicinity of Stepney Green Park.
williamglenn suggested Stepney Green Park might have been misheard as Green Park. I'm sceptical but who knows?
Could be. It's easy enough to get crossed wires with an outside phonecon.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
No let’s not because junior is a stupid title Andy.
Everyone knew what junior hospital doctors were but someone watched Grey's Anatomy and changed it to residents instead of actual money in a pay deal. Doubtless the next change will be to call consultants "attendings" (from attending physician).
"Reform supporters losing trust in courts and police Biggest annual drop in confidence in the judicial system on record, according to poll
Reform UK voters are driving a slump in confidence in the police and criminal justice system, according to a major opinion poll.
Only 30 per cent of the party’s voters said they had confidence in the judicial system, compared with 67 per cent of Labour supporters and 63 per cent of Conservatives, a survey by Gallup says.
Fewer than half of Reform voters (47 per cent) said they had confidence in their local police force, compared with 72 per cent for Labour and 74 per cent for Conservatives.
The dissatisfaction amongst Reform voters contributed to the biggest annual drop in confidence in the judicial system on record."
So the question is how justified is the "let it all burn" view of the country? We're somewhere between everything really is terrible and there's money to be made from ragebait. I'm not sure I trust my judgement of where, though.
(Did anyone get to the bottom of that case in yesterday's Mail?)
Money and populist votes to be gained from ragebait.
African choir and drums now at the cathedral giving a lively performance
"Wokeness gorn mad!"
Black British are percentage wise more likely to attend C of E services now than white British and globally the average Anglican is now an African
So the question should be: why have most white people, particularly working-class white people, given up on the religion their family used to follow?
Were white working class Anglicans enthusiastic church goers in the past? My WWC grandparents were nominally Anglicans but not at all interested in religion. My other grandparents, from nonconformist lower middle class stock, were much more religious (and left wing).
People were mentioning Bob Monkhouse yesterday on here. Here are three classic Monkhouseisms - I think I heard him give the middle one live -
- "I'm not saying my wife's a bad cook, but he uses our smoke alarm as a timer" - "I got a horse for my wife. Fair trade, wouldn't you say?" - "I still enjoy sex at 74. I live at 75, so it's just across the road"
I’m sure many people would like pay restoration but resident doctors seem to living in an alternate reality .
If the government caved in on this then other sectors will start demanding ridiculous pay increases .
My girlfriend (who is a resident doctor) thinks it’s ridiculous
In an ideal world people wouldn’t begrudge big increases for people who save lives . But their demands will go down very badly with most of the public given the current state of UK finances .
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
WTF is in these people's brains (apart from mush)?
That is a MAJOR walking, and dog-walking, route - in addition to the footway being completely blocked. And it is a 6m carriageway, so plenty of space.
That's not going to inconvenience any walker or dog walker.
What's wrong with forcing cyclists to stop at what is effectively a junction ?
These things are such a nuisance, I hate making pedestrians wait as I navigate my bike through them. It's hilarious that they're put up to "help" pedestrians.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
As I've already said, the WhatsApp backup is fairly unreliable.
The iCloud backup significantly less so - but it's not clear what backup is being referred to.
In any case, to get the messages back they need to restore them to a new phone that McSweeney owns or has access to. I am not sure how that works from a data privacy POV, whether he can be compelled to restore the backup. I am sure lawyers would know.
It's not private date. It is government business and should be on record.
McSweeney was the most senior appointee in the PM's office. The "lost" phone was apparently a "work" phone. They idea that he can just lose it, and it's not backed up, and any lost messages are shrugged off as no big deal is ridiculous. In any normal line of work where there was an investigation going on actions like this would look extremely dodgy.
Cast your mind back to Boris Johnson and the deletion of his WhatsApps, government phones aren't backed up in the same way as companies do.
ETA re the Boris precedent: automatic erasure, no official archiving and using WhatsApp in the first place should all be scandals but they may as well drop them off North Sea ferries for all that anyone cares.
Just as a conversation (and bearing in mind it's one I've never had myself) that was the aspect that also most struck me as odd. MM, standing in Westminster, seems to acquiesce with the suggestion that the thief has gone off in the vicinity of Stepney Green Park.
williamglenn suggested Stepney Green Park might have been misheard as Green Park. I'm sceptical but who knows?
Could be. It's easy enough to get crossed wires with an outside phonecon.
Belgrave Road is in Pimlico. Green Park is some way away, and there is the little matter of Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace in the way, which is what you would naturally use if giving directions. Actually, it's a bit strange he initially says Westminster, most people would call the area Pimlico or Victoria. In any case the call handler says Stepney several times and isn't corrected.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Our uni changed us from personal tutors to academic advisors a couple of years ago. I think mainly in relation to some of the shit that went down at Bristol but I still find it jarring and usually say ‘used to be known as’.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
PC + GRN could (almost) govern on those numbers. Two distinctly left wing parties. None of this 'left of centre' business, proper left. We could be looking at the Socialist Republic of Wales. If so, I'll be rooting for them and taking regular holidays there.
Though probably only for one term, given the number of businesses that will close or leave Wales as they hammer them with tax and regulation
The usual scaremongering whenever anything designed to shift a bit of advantage from capital to labour is mooted.
How are you feeling about the first female head of the church, H? Quite a moment.
Wales is already one of the most taxed and highest public spending nations in the world, it needs tax cuts and some fiscal conservatism not even more of the same.
I am fine with the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, 2/3 of Synod voted for female bishops a decade ago but I would still allow alternative episcopal oversight for those conservative Anglo Catholic or evangelical churches which still believe St Paul only allows male headship in churches
Plaid did turn your head once though istr.
Yes, a positive event. I'm not religous but I'm not unmoved by it.
To be fair to HYUFD, he voted Plaid for reasons which may seem odd but are at least internally consistent - his ferocious belief in democracy and that he must exercise all his votes, and his ferocious tribal anti-Labourism. I don't think it was enthusiasm for Welsh independence or Welsh language television that won PC that particular tick in the box. Though I imagine they talk of it still.
Ah ok. I thought it was the socialist passion of a vivacious young student before life did its thing. Bit disappointed now.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
(Reuters) - Russia's Baltic ports of Primorsk (video 1) and Ust-Luga (video 2) suspended crude oil and oil products loadings on Wednesday after massive Ukrainian drone attacks.
Primorsk handles up to ~75 million tons of oil annually, while Ust-Luga handles over 100 million tons of cargo, together accounting for a significant share of Russia’s seaborne oil exports
Kemi and her front bench team are going to have to u-turn on this, so they are in future backed up by the science and the facts in what they are claiming.
No they don't. They say it won't change oil and gas prices, which it won't.
As a matter of economics, it will earn the country money, and won't make any difference at all to our oil and gas consumption.
We could even put the £2bn or so extra that government might earn into solar plus grid backup projects.
So there is no good argument not to do it.
The Unions game here is wholly interested in taxpayers money keeping people in jobs, by government subsidising any industry, anywhere, that’s not economically viable or profit making. That’s what Unions are doing in the lobby.
The industry lobby says it’s all government policy decision, not geology at all. Green Lobby says UK North Sea is waning due to geology, and UK policy is still too much commitment to drilling fossil fuel for far too long. Here’s an example of Green Lobby spin: https://www.upliftuk.org/post/the-declining-economics-of-the-north-sea
North Sea policy is a war. There’s various sides, each have vested interest in not sticking to fact or balance - including government with their net zero policy, and the Conservatives who invented net zero policy in office, but prefer to argue Populist position against net zero in opposition.
Truth is the first casualty of war. It’s very hard to for us to spot what’s smartest in long run with this one imho.
That's just babble. If the government allowed licenses for the new fields, industry would develop them at their own expense.
There's no argument about that.
Nigel - but this is exactly the point I am arguing about. 🤷♀️
Industry would not develop them at their own expense. They haven’t even been doing so, even when the basins were more mature than they are now. Private ventures drilling UKs North Sea do this with bungs of tax payers money.
Remember the bad old days before Lady Thatcher, where factories, coal pits etc etc etc were not making profit, but Labour and the Unions were bunging them help with tax payers money? That’s what Kemi and Farage are pushing for, from the opposition benches.
Both Farage and Kemi have said the same thing at PMQs this past week. UK gets All the gas. Factually not true. UK gas prices will be cheaper. Factually not true. But thirdly, quite importanty what they are not saying, the jobs are secured, the private ventures take a dividend, but based on a hefty tax payer bung to the new drilling.
The UK is highly integrated with the European gas market, being physically linked with the wider continent through undersea pipelines. It will be the European market price UK customers will pay, unless we can change that marginally buy pumping an awful lot more than anyone’s currently suggesting.
UK needs to make the right decision here, for now, the short term, medium and long term of National interest. The post you called babble was me saying, wherever we go for the facts of what that is,we are being met with spin, lobby groups, vested interests, and political opportunism.
And your “unarguable point” is one of very many arguable nuances towards getting it right - especially for anyone with a liking and a love for Thatcherism. Kemi Badenoch was in bed with the UK Unions and 1970s British Socialism at Lunchtime today. When in coalition government with Reform after the next election, both Kemi and Farage will hang portraits of Lady Thatcher in their offices. But that’s fake, it’s ignorance and cosplay, if they’re not practicing the economic philosophy Lady Thatcher bequeathed to us.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz I’ll keep saying this, like Cato the Elder: after the elimination of Khamenei, no threat from Washington will move Iran from its position.
Not threats against Kharg Island. Not threats against the Strait. Not threats against their power infrastructure.
At that point, deterrence loses its meaning in Tehran’s eyes.
If the U.S. wants to reopen the Strait, it has only two real options: reach an agreement with Iran — or use overwhelming force.
I was listening to Leavitt talking about how Iran should accept they are defeated, and I thought "has nobody in the current administration heard of the Iran-Iraq War?" It's like they do not understand the country they are waging war against.
If the Tories seriously think 98% of the population give a flying feck about Morgan McSweeney phone theft they are utterly deluded.
98% of the population will be saying, the Tories are utterly irrelevant if this is one of the most 20 important issues today.
Of the questions Tories raise the only one remotely contentious is the location question. However the fact that he was in the open air having just had a phone nicked perfectly explains this.
The Party of Boris Johnson desperately flapping around.
Badenochs worst Pmq in 6 months.
Local and Devolved elections coming up and Kemi smells a rat.
Well rats should know what rat piss smells like, the self confessed web hacker, liar about her academic record and cabinet colleague of Boris Johnson is obviously suffering from delayed rat smell syndrome going back 25 years.
Deja vu with the stink of extinction for the irrelevant Tories.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He absolutely wasn't the most talented British musician of his generation.
African choir and drums now at the cathedral giving a lively performance
"Wokeness gorn mad!"
Black British are percentage wise more likely to attend C of E services now than white British and globally the average Anglican is now an African
So the question should be: why have most white people, particularly working-class white people, given up on the religion their family used to follow?
Were white working class Anglicans enthusiastic church goers in the past? My WWC grandparents were nominally Anglicans but not at all interested in religion. My other grandparents, from nonconformist lower middle class stock, were much more religious (and left wing).
The Church of England is there to be a reassuring part of the social order.
Non-conformity is for people who want to bring the religion back into religion.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
If the Tories seriously think 98% of the population give a flying feck about Morgan McSweeney phone theft they are utterly deluded.
98% of the population will be saying, the Tories are utterly irrelevant if this is one of the most 20 important issues today.
Of the questions Tories raise the only one remotely contentious is the location question. However the fact that he was in the open air having just had a phone nicked perfectly explains this.
The Party of Boris Johnson desperately flapping around.
Badenochs worst Pmq in 6 months.
Local and Devolved elections coming up and Kemi smells a rat.
Well rats should know what rat piss smells like, the self confessed web hacker, liar about her academic record and cabinet colleague of Boris Johnson is obviously suffering from delayed rat smell syndrome going back 25 years.
Deja vu with the stink of extinction for the irrelevant Tories.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He's a lawyer* turned banker.
*He read law at university.
Wow a lawyer and a banker, sounds like a great guy.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It pains me to even link to the story but here it is .
Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz I’ll keep saying this, like Cato the Elder: after the elimination of Khamenei, no threat from Washington will move Iran from its position.
Not threats against Kharg Island. Not threats against the Strait. Not threats against their power infrastructure.
At that point, deterrence loses its meaning in Tehran’s eyes.
If the U.S. wants to reopen the Strait, it has only two real options: reach an agreement with Iran — or use overwhelming force.
I was listening to Leavitt talking about how Iran should accept they are defeated, and I thought "has nobody in the current administration heard of the Iran-Iraq War?" It's like they do not understand the country they are waging war against.
Americans don't understand foreign countries or foreigners. They have no interest in abroad and, when they are forced to think about it, assume that the people who live there want the same things as Americans do and just wish they hadn't been born in the wrong place.
Trump is an absolutely perfect representative of his country in this respect.
These are from Danny Shaw, a former BBC home affairs correspondent and an adviser to Yvette Cooper for a brief period, on the Tory implicit allegations about Morgan McSweeney.
So, what exactly is the allegation against Morgan McSweeney?
That he arranged the theft?
Or, disposed of his phone then lied, telling police and No 10 Security staff it had been stolen?
Both are absurd, frankly.
However, he did make three mistakes..
1 Not being clear about location of theft (somewhat understandable if you’ve just been victim of a street crime)
2 Not telling 999 operator phone contained sensitive info & case needed urgent response (harder to explain)
3 Thinking Met & govt security were joined up & would cross-check info he gave them (this is my assumption on what he probably thought at the time)
Mandelson appointment was disastrous for McSweeney & Govt. But the idea he would commit a serious criminal offence, risking imprisonment, to try to get rid of phone messages that are anyway probably stored elsewhere & retrievable … I just don’t buy it. Cock-up, not conspiracy.
--------
What are the 4 'serious questions' Tories have for Morgan McSweeney - and do they add up?
The Conservative party press releaselists four questions that the Tories say need to be answered. Here they are (direct quotes from the Tory press release) – with possible answers .
1) Why did Morgan McSweeney not tell the Metropolitan Police that his stolen phone contained sensitive information?
Answer?: Because they did not ask that directly, because McSweeney did tell them it was a government phone, and because he had already called what he called his “office” (presumably No 10) about the theft?
2) Why did Morgan McSweeney not correct the Metropolitan Police when they repeatedly referred to Stepney when Morgan McSweeney was alleged to be in Westminster?
Answer?: It was not repeatedly; it was twice. At the first mention of Stepney, McSweeney did not confirm that. Asked if he was near Stepney Green Park, he then said “Yeah”. Perhaps he did not know the name of one of the small parks in Pimlico he might have been near, but assumed the call handler, with a map in front of them, did?
3) Why did Morgan McSweeney ask for police to update him on his personal email address when the theft related to a work device?
Answer?: Because he uses his No 10 work email for work?
4) Did Morgan McSweeney provide details on the phone and its nature to an investigating officer following the theft?
Answer?: Did the police get in touch to ask? There is nothing in the statement they issued today suggesting McSweeney was not giving them all the information they needed.
Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz I’ll keep saying this, like Cato the Elder: after the elimination of Khamenei, no threat from Washington will move Iran from its position.
Not threats against Kharg Island. Not threats against the Strait. Not threats against their power infrastructure.
At that point, deterrence loses its meaning in Tehran’s eyes.
If the U.S. wants to reopen the Strait, it has only two real options: reach an agreement with Iran — or use overwhelming force.
I was listening to Leavitt talking about how Iran should accept they are defeated, and I thought "has nobody in the current administration heard of the Iran-Iraq War?" It's like they do not understand the country they are waging war against.
Yeh, it is like that because the key senior aides and politicians haven't a clue about the country they are about to invade.
I doubt Trump has read a single document about Iran.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Would ‘lazy entitled bastards’ do instead ?
Entitled bastards can be argued (although I personally wouldn't) but lazy? Check out the average weekly hours they work and the intensity. They are not lazy.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It was 2018 when the joke was cracked.
He was a Tory then. But, muh, Reform.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. A lot of fake offence about it now. Pretty pathetic.
Should we get all jokes approved so sensitive flowers aren’t offended ?
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It pains me to even link to the story but here it is .
Ok well first off that isn't a joke. But props to Offord for being racist and homophobic at the same time. 2018, wow. Oh, and also shaming the good name of Robert Burns by saying it at a Burns night.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Would ‘lazy entitled bastards’ do instead ?
Entitled bastards can be argued (although I personally wouldn't) but lazy? Check out the average weekly hours they work and the intensity. They are not lazy.
Well they don’t like hard work given how much time they take off striking.
Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz I’ll keep saying this, like Cato the Elder: after the elimination of Khamenei, no threat from Washington will move Iran from its position.
Not threats against Kharg Island. Not threats against the Strait. Not threats against their power infrastructure.
At that point, deterrence loses its meaning in Tehran’s eyes.
If the U.S. wants to reopen the Strait, it has only two real options: reach an agreement with Iran — or use overwhelming force.
I was listening to Leavitt talking about how Iran should accept they are defeated, and I thought "has nobody in the current administration heard of the Iran-Iraq War?" It's like they do not understand the country they are waging war against.
Yeh, it is like that because the key senior aides and politicians haven't a clue about the country they are about to invade.
I doubt Trump has read a single document about Iran.
It was weird listening to her because it was all "biggest", "fastest", "hardest", "most ever" and I'm thinking that Iran took a lot more during a long and brutal war that occurred within living memory, and that they might prove willing to drag this one out further than the US is.
African choir and drums now at the cathedral giving a lively performance
"Wokeness gorn mad!"
Black British are percentage wise more likely to attend C of E services now than white British and globally the average Anglican is now an African
So the question should be: why have most white people, particularly working-class white people, given up on the religion their family used to follow?
Were white working class Anglicans enthusiastic church goers in the past? My WWC grandparents were nominally Anglicans but not at all interested in religion. My other grandparents, from nonconformist lower middle class stock, were much more religious (and left wing).
Never massively so, though more than now. Very few of those Victorian barns were ever full- and even if they were, it was a smallish percentage of the parish population.
What has changed is that families who might have had a thin connection to the church now have no connection, and are happy to say that out loud.
That's part of a wider thing- we don't join things, because we can meet our social needs in other ways. See also: political parties. And as churches and parties become groups of committed enthusiasts, they risk becoming off-putting to normies. And hence a doom loop.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Would ‘lazy entitled bastards’ do instead ?
Entitled bastards can be argued (although I personally wouldn't) but lazy? Check out the average weekly hours they work and the intensity. They are not lazy.
Well they don’t like hard work given how much time they take off striking.
also they get paid for extra hours, weekends, shift allowances , etc etc , greedy barstewards
Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz I’ll keep saying this, like Cato the Elder: after the elimination of Khamenei, no threat from Washington will move Iran from its position.
Not threats against Kharg Island. Not threats against the Strait. Not threats against their power infrastructure.
At that point, deterrence loses its meaning in Tehran’s eyes.
If the U.S. wants to reopen the Strait, it has only two real options: reach an agreement with Iran — or use overwhelming force.
I was listening to Leavitt talking about how Iran should accept they are defeated, and I thought "has nobody in the current administration heard of the Iran-Iraq War?" It's like they do not understand the country they are waging war against.
Same principle they had with Ukraine. Russia is the big chap, so Ukraine should accept they're defeated.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Would ‘lazy entitled bastards’ do instead ?
Entitled bastards can be argued (although I personally wouldn't) but lazy? Check out the average weekly hours they work and the intensity. They are not lazy.
Well they don’t like hard work given how much time they take off striking.
also they get paid for extra hours, weekends, shift allowances , etc etc , greedy barstewards
Plus better holidays than the private sector and they get increments too.
Useless, lazy, fuckers. Get foreign doctors in to do the job and let the UK ones go stack shelves.
These are from Danny Shaw, a former BBC home affairs correspondent and an adviser to Yvette Cooper for a brief period, on the Tory implicit allegations about Morgan McSweeney.
So, what exactly is the allegation against Morgan McSweeney?
That he arranged the theft?
Or, disposed of his phone then lied, telling police and No 10 Security staff it had been stolen?
Both are absurd, frankly.
It's not at all absurd, it's likely. The "theft" was probably his least worst option. It's what I'd have done in his situation.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It was 2018 when the joke was cracked.
He was a Tory then. But, muh, Reform.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. A lot of fake offence about it now. Pretty pathetic.
Should we get all jokes approved so sensitive flowers aren’t offended ?
It's a free country, he can say what he likes but shouldn't act surprised at the reaction. FWIW I'm not offended, I just think the guy is obviously a fucking vile piece of shit.
People were mentioning Bob Monkhouse yesterday on here. Here are three classic Monkhouseisms - I think I heard him give the middle one live -
- "I'm not saying my wife's a bad cook, but he uses our smoke alarm as a timer" - "I got a horse for my wife. Fair trade, wouldn't you say?" - "I still enjoy sex at 74. I live at 75, so it's just across the road"
"When I first said I wanted to be a comedian, everybody laughed. They're not laughing now."
African choir and drums now at the cathedral giving a lively performance
"Wokeness gorn mad!"
Black British are percentage wise more likely to attend C of E services now than white British and globally the average Anglican is now an African
So the question should be: why have most white people, particularly working-class white people, given up on the religion their family used to follow?
Were white working class Anglicans enthusiastic church goers in the past? My WWC grandparents were nominally Anglicans but not at all interested in religion. My other grandparents, from nonconformist lower middle class stock, were much more religious (and left wing).
Never massively so, though more than now. Very few of those Victorian barns were ever full- and even if they were, it was a smallish percentage of the parish population.
What has changed is that families who might have had a thin connection to the church now have no connection, and are happy to say that out loud.
That's part of a wider thing- we don't join things, because we can meet our social needs in other ways. See also: political parties. And as churches and parties become groups of committed enthusiasts, they risk becoming off-putting to normies. And hence a doom loop.
I probably spend a lot more time in my local Anglican church than a lot of Anglicans do! And I'm on first name terms with the vicar.
These are from Danny Shaw, a former BBC home affairs correspondent and an adviser to Yvette Cooper for a brief period, on the Tory implicit allegations about Morgan McSweeney.
So, what exactly is the allegation against Morgan McSweeney?
That he arranged the theft?
Or, disposed of his phone then lied, telling police and No 10 Security staff it had been stolen?
Both are absurd, frankly.
It's not at all absurd, it's likely. The "theft" was probably his least worst option. It's what I'd have done in his situation.
But couldn’t CCTV then rubbish his story if he was lying .
EXCLUSIVE: Each day since the start of the war, U.S. military officials compile a video update for President Trump that shows the biggest, most successful strikes on Iranian targets over the previous 48 hours.
But the military can’t brief Trump on every strike and so the video, while it showcases U.S. capabilities, doesn’t reflect the full scope of the conflict.
“We can’t tell him every single thing that happens,” a current U.S. official said. The official noted that Trump’s briefings tend to draw better feedback from his aides when they focus on U.S. victories.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It was 2018 when the joke was cracked.
He was a Tory then. But, muh, Reform.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. A lot of fake offence about it now. Pretty pathetic.
Should we get all jokes approved so sensitive flowers aren’t offended ?
It's a free country, he can say what he likes but shouldn't act surprised at the reaction. FWIW I'm not offended, I just think the guy is obviously a fucking vile piece of shit.
Why, on the basis of a joke made at an after dinner speech ?
A few words which take up a couple of minutes of his life.
Why should that define what he is as a person. I don’t know the motherfucker from Adam but I wouldn’t judge him solely on a joke he made.
The reaction is stupid and fake offence. But typical of our politics and all parties are just as bad and all parties fake offence. Even Reform.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Our uni changed us from personal tutors to academic advisors a couple of years ago. I think mainly in relation to some of the shit that went down at Bristol but I still find it jarring and usually say ‘used to be known as’.
Fair enough if you like the old title more. There must be several examples of this. Trying to think of one in the banking sector. Jobbers, I suppose. They became market makers and then just traders. Very different feel there. "I'm a trader". "I'm a jobber". The latter sounds rather blue collar.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It was 2018 when the joke was cracked.
He was a Tory then. But, muh, Reform.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. A lot of fake offence about it now. Pretty pathetic.
Should we get all jokes approved so sensitive flowers aren’t offended ?
People were mentioning Bob Monkhouse yesterday on here. Here are three classic Monkhouseisms - I think I heard him give the middle one live -
- "I'm not saying my wife's a bad cook, but he uses our smoke alarm as a timer" - "I got a horse for my wife. Fair trade, wouldn't you say?" - "I still enjoy sex at 74. I live at 75, so it's just across the road"
"When I first said I wanted to be a comedian, everybody laughed. They're not laughing now."
It's genuinely brilliant, Richard, but that's the 25th time it's been posted on here this week.
Going to join pineapple on pizza, this one, I think.
Kemi and her front bench team are going to have to u-turn on this, so they are in future backed up by the science and the facts in what they are claiming.
No they don't. They say it won't change oil and gas prices, which it won't.
As a matter of economics, it will earn the country money, and won't make any difference at all to our oil and gas consumption.
We could even put the £2bn or so extra that government might earn into solar plus grid backup projects.
So there is no good argument not to do it.
The Unions game here is wholly interested in taxpayers money keeping people in jobs, by government subsidising any industry, anywhere, that’s not economically viable or profit making. That’s what Unions are doing in the lobby.
The industry lobby says it’s all government policy decision, not geology at all. Green Lobby says UK North Sea is waning due to geology, and UK policy is still too much commitment to drilling fossil fuel for far too long. Here’s an example of Green Lobby spin: https://www.upliftuk.org/post/the-declining-economics-of-the-north-sea
North Sea policy is a war. There’s various sides, each have vested interest in not sticking to fact or balance - including government with their net zero policy, and the Conservatives who invented net zero policy in office, but prefer to argue Populist position against net zero in opposition.
Truth is the first casualty of war. It’s very hard to for us to spot what’s smartest in long run with this one imho.
That's just babble. If the government allowed licenses for the new fields, industry would develop them at their own expense.
There's no argument about that.
Nigel - but this is exactly the point I am arguing about. 🤷♀️
Industry would not develop them at their own expense. They haven’t even been doing so, even when the basins were more mature than they are now. Private ventures drilling UKs North Sea do this with bungs of tax payers money.
Remember the bad old days before Lady Thatcher, where factories, coal pits etc etc etc were not making profit, but Labour and the Unions were bunging them help with tax payers money? That’s what Kemi and Farage are pushing for, from the opposition benches.
Both Farage and Kemi have said the same thing at PMQs this past week. UK gets All the gas. Factually not true. UK gas prices will be cheaper. Factually not true. But thirdly, quite importanty what they are not saying, the jobs are secured, the private ventures take a dividend, but based on a hefty tax payer bung to the new drilling.
The UK is highly integrated with the European gas market, being physically linked with the wider continent through undersea pipelines. It will be the European market price UK customers will pay, unless we can change that marginally buy pumping an awful lot more than anyone’s currently suggesting.
UK needs to make the right decision here, for now, the short term, medium and long term of National interest. The post you called babble was me saying, wherever we go for the facts of what that is,we are being met with spin, lobby groups, vested interests, and political opportunism.
And your “unarguable point” is one of very many arguable nuances towards getting it right - especially for anyone with a liking and a love for Thatcherism. Kemi Badenoch was in bed with the UK Unions and 1970s British Socialism at Lunchtime today. When in coalition government with Reform after the next election, both Kemi and Farage will hang portraits of Lady Thatcher in their offices. But that’s fake, it’s ignorance and cosplay, if they’re not practicing the economic philosophy Lady Thatcher bequeathed to us.
Don’t use ChatGPT
Instead look at the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. They are drilling wells. Lots of them. Right next door to fields we are shutting down.
Let's call them junior doctors because everyone understands what that means.
I get slightly irritated with the opposite aspect on this one - the continual media insistence on "formerly known as junior doctors". It's been long enough now imo. Drop that.
Would ‘lazy entitled bastards’ do instead ?
Entitled bastards can be argued (although I personally wouldn't) but lazy? Check out the average weekly hours they work and the intensity. They are not lazy.
Well they don’t like hard work given how much time they take off striking.
also they get paid for extra hours, weekends, shift allowances , etc etc , greedy barstewards
Uni academics have seen a similar degradation in real terms pay. However most of us know the financial pressure the institutions are under and are realistic about how asking for pay restoration would go. In other news I hosted my favourite colorectal surgeon today. He moaned a loudly and at length about management. Hospitals and health services need managing for sure, member and I don’t subscribe to the idea of vast culls of admin staff but I do wonder whether the admin burden itself is the problem. And then also the residents - remember that a lot of them will up as consultants on rather decent salaries.
Quite. Jokes can often be rude, scatalogical, mocking, racist, sexist, whatever. Sometimes they’re not. What’s brown and sticky? Wife’s favourite joke.
It doesn't even come close to meeting the humour threshold for a joke, sorry. There is no version of the universe where anyone would laugh at that. FWIW I don't mind a sick joke if it's funny. But if you're going to say something that mean-spirited, ignorant and unpleasant then you'd better make sure it is funny. Otherwise you're just a c**t.
Kemi and her front bench team are going to have to u-turn on this, so they are in future backed up by the science and the facts in what they are claiming.
No they don't. They say it won't change oil and gas prices, which it won't.
As a matter of economics, it will earn the country money, and won't make any difference at all to our oil and gas consumption.
We could even put the £2bn or so extra that government might earn into solar plus grid backup projects.
So there is no good argument not to do it.
The Unions game here is wholly interested in taxpayers money keeping people in jobs, by government subsidising any industry, anywhere, that’s not economically viable or profit making. That’s what Unions are doing in the lobby.
The industry lobby says it’s all government policy decision, not geology at all. Green Lobby says UK North Sea is waning due to geology, and UK policy is still too much commitment to drilling fossil fuel for far too long. Here’s an example of Green Lobby spin: https://www.upliftuk.org/post/the-declining-economics-of-the-north-sea
North Sea policy is a war. There’s various sides, each have vested interest in not sticking to fact or balance - including government with their net zero policy, and the Conservatives who invented net zero policy in office, but prefer to argue Populist position against net zero in opposition.
Truth is the first casualty of war. It’s very hard to for us to spot what’s smartest in long run with this one imho.
That's just babble. If the government allowed licenses for the new fields, industry would develop them at their own expense.
There's no argument about that.
Nigel - but this is exactly the point I am arguing about. 🤷♀️
Industry would not develop them at their own expense. They haven’t even been doing so, even when the basins were more mature than they are now. Private ventures drilling UKs North Sea do this with bungs of tax payers money.
Remember the bad old days before Lady Thatcher, where factories, coal pits etc etc etc were not making profit, but Labour and the Unions were bunging them help with tax payers money? That’s what Kemi and Farage are pushing for, from the opposition benches.
Both Farage and Kemi have said the same thing at PMQs this past week. UK gets All the gas. Factually not true. UK gas prices will be cheaper. Factually not true. But thirdly, quite importanty what they are not saying, the jobs are secured, the private ventures take a dividend, but based on a hefty tax payer bung to the new drilling.
The UK is highly integrated with the European gas market, being physically linked with the wider continent through undersea pipelines. It will be the European market price UK customers will pay, unless we can change that marginally buy pumping an awful lot more than anyone’s currently suggesting.
UK needs to make the right decision here, for now, the short term, medium and long term of National interest. The post you called babble was me saying, wherever we go for the facts of what that is,we are being met with spin, lobby groups, vested interests, and political opportunism.
And your “unarguable point” is one of very many arguable nuances towards getting it right - especially for anyone with a liking and a love for Thatcherism. Kemi Badenoch was in bed with the UK Unions and 1970s British Socialism at Lunchtime today. When in coalition government with Reform after the next election, both Kemi and Farage will hang portraits of Lady Thatcher in their offices. But that’s fake, it’s ignorance and cosplay, if they’re not practicing the economic philosophy Lady Thatcher bequeathed to us.
Don’t use ChatGPT
Instead look at the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. They are drilling wells. Lots of them. Right next door to fields we are shutting down.
I’m glad you brought that up.
The fourth piece of ignorance both Kemi and Farage are bringing to the North Sea drilling debate is where they keep saying Norway are doing it, so why don’t we - as though it’s as easy as copying Norway to get the same result for UK that Norway will get. That line is a con. To coin a phrase: One Piece Economics. Just go and pick up the treasure and get rich. In many ways UK in a vastly different place than Norway regarding this.
Direct ownership in oil/gas fields is very different currently between the two countries, meaning income is going to be very different. The Norwegian oil and gas industry is not fully nationalized, but it is heavily controlled by the state through a hybrid model. The state owns all resource rights, holds a 67% stake in Equinor, and maintains direct financial interests in fields and infrastructure via Petoro. With these different models, while UK and Norway have produced similar total volumes of oil and gas over the years, their financial outcomes differ by quite a bit. In 2018, for recent example, Norway generated roughly 34 times more oil tax revenue than the UK from similar total volumes.
In recent years - once you look at net figure minus all the bungs making it happen - UK government income has been averaging £3.5BN. No new drilling, this falls to £300M by the end of this decade. With the new drilling Farage, Kemi {and their economic advisors the Unions} are pushing for, it is £1.5B income at end of this decade instead of the £300M. It’s definitely not the great easy to pick up treasure trove being spurned, that it’s being made out to be.
The geology was never perfectly split. Eight of the ten largest fields in the North Sea are located in Norwegian waters. Norway's sector tends to have thicker reservoirs and larger "structural closures," which provide longer production tails. Norway still has relatively underexplored "frontier" areas like the Barents Sea. And UK pumped ours out faster over the decades, leading to UK production peak in the last century - 1999.
The two countries are in different places as regards what they have left, and how they have been generating income from it. Are you sure this is factually wrong to say?
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It was 2018 when the joke was cracked.
He was a Tory then. But, muh, Reform.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. A lot of fake offence about it now. Pretty pathetic.
Should we get all jokes approved so sensitive flowers aren’t offended ?
It's a free country, he can say what he likes but shouldn't act surprised at the reaction. FWIW I'm not offended, I just think the guy is obviously a fucking vile piece of shit.
Why, on the basis of a joke made at an after dinner speech ?
A few words which take up a couple of minutes of his life.
Why should that define what he is as a person. I don’t know the motherfucker from Adam but I wouldn’t judge him solely on a joke he made.
The reaction is stupid and fake offence. But typical of our politics and all parties are just as bad and all parties fake offence. Even Reform.
Nah, that "joke" is a little window into the man's mind. What a sordid and nasty place it is. When somebody shows you who they are, believe them.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It was 2018 when the joke was cracked.
He was a Tory then. But, muh, Reform.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. A lot of fake offence about it now. Pretty pathetic.
Should we get all jokes approved so sensitive flowers aren’t offended ?
It's a free country, he can say what he likes but shouldn't act surprised at the reaction. FWIW I'm not offended, I just think the guy is obviously a fucking vile piece of shit.
Why, on the basis of a joke made at an after dinner speech ?
A few words which take up a couple of minutes of his life.
Why should that define what he is as a person. I don’t know the motherfucker from Adam but I wouldn’t judge him solely on a joke he made.
The reaction is stupid and fake offence. But typical of our politics and all parties are just as bad and all parties fake offence. Even Reform.
It doesn't 'define' him. But it reflects upon him - badly.
Malcolm Offord what a totally loathsome vile cxnt !
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
I missed that. George Michael was probably the most talented British musician of his generation. Who is Malcolm Offord and what stellar achievements is he bringing to the table?
He was decent, and a great human being, but most talented of his generation 🤷♂️
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
I've not seen it so am not taking offense but really homophobic "jokes" what is this the 1970s? Ooh missus, look out for the shirtlifters, "I'm free"... give me strength. George Michael is an epochal musical talent and will be remembered long after this Reform mouthbreather is consigned to the dustbin of history.
It was 2018 when the joke was cracked.
He was a Tory then. But, muh, Reform.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. A lot of fake offence about it now. Pretty pathetic.
Should we get all jokes approved so sensitive flowers aren’t offended ?
It's a free country, he can say what he likes but shouldn't act surprised at the reaction. FWIW I'm not offended, I just think the guy is obviously a fucking vile piece of shit.
Why, on the basis of a joke made at an after dinner speech ?
A few words which take up a couple of minutes of his life.
Why should that define what he is as a person. I don’t know the motherfucker from Adam but I wouldn’t judge him solely on a joke he made.
The reaction is stupid and fake offence. But typical of our politics and all parties are just as bad and all parties fake offence. Even Reform.
I don't have a strong view, but it underlines a pretty maladroit start to the Holyrood campaign by Reform. And Offord was supposed to be the sensible one. They've already lost two candidates in just a few days after announcing who's running for them.
Reinforces the image of bampots, Tory rejects, and opportunists. Think they may underperform come May. Especially if this develops as the narrative.
Comments
Resident doctors vote for 6 day strike
Lazy wankers
https://news.sky.com/liveblog-webview/social-media-addiction-case-result-expected-in-landmark-los-angeles-trial-involving-google-and-meta-13524252
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg06q36052o
Hire more from overseas.
After my report of two flags per lamppost in Redditch and rural North Worcestershire yesterday, today the roundabouts of Shrewsbury were resplendent with their new Union flags.
To be fair to Shrewsbury it is close enough to Wales to ward off the Taffs.
CRISPIN BLUNT'S CHEMSEX PARTIES
https://bsky.app/profile/tomcalver.bsky.social/post/3mhnkrlowfs2y
So the question is how justified is the "let it all burn" view of the country? We're somewhere between everything really is terrible and there's money to be made from ragebait. I'm not sure I trust my judgement of where, though.
(Did anyone get to the bottom of that case in yesterday's Mail?)
Jenrick was even talking about political interventions when he was waving the Judge's wig around at the Conservative Party Conference, before he crossed the floor.
@citrinowicz
I’ll keep saying this, like Cato the Elder: after the elimination of Khamenei, no threat from Washington will move Iran from its position.
Not threats against Kharg Island.
Not threats against the Strait.
Not threats against their power infrastructure.
At that point, deterrence loses its meaning in Tehran’s eyes.
If the U.S. wants to reopen the Strait, it has only two real options:
reach an agreement with Iran — or use overwhelming force.
There is no third option.
https://x.com/citrinowicz/status/2036852683743609122
If the government caved in on this then other sectors will start demanding ridiculous pay increases .
- "I'm not saying my wife's a bad cook, but he uses our smoke alarm as a timer"
- "I got a horse for my wife. Fair trade, wouldn't you say?"
- "I still enjoy sex at 74. I live at 75, so it's just across the road"
What's wrong with forcing cyclists to stop at what is effectively a junction ?
There’s banter and there’s his disgusting homophobic so called joke about George Michael . We shouldn’t be surprised because Reform are full of vile bigots .
*He read law at university.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. All this fake offence is pathetic.
(Reuters) - Russia's Baltic ports of Primorsk (video 1) and Ust-Luga (video 2) suspended crude oil and oil products loadings on Wednesday after massive Ukrainian drone attacks.
Primorsk handles up to ~75 million tons of oil annually, while Ust-Luga handles over 100 million tons of cargo, together accounting for a significant share of Russia’s seaborne oil exports
Industry would not develop them at their own expense. They haven’t even been doing so, even when the basins were more mature than they are now. Private ventures drilling UKs North Sea do this with bungs of tax payers money.
Remember the bad old days before Lady Thatcher, where factories, coal pits etc etc etc were not making profit, but Labour and the Unions were bunging them help with tax payers money? That’s what Kemi and Farage are pushing for, from the opposition benches.
Both Farage and Kemi have said the same thing at PMQs this past week.
UK gets All the gas. Factually not true.
UK gas prices will be cheaper. Factually not true.
But thirdly, quite importanty what they are not saying, the jobs are secured, the private ventures take a dividend, but based on a hefty tax payer bung to the new drilling.
The UK is highly integrated with the European gas market, being physically linked with the wider continent through undersea pipelines. It will be the European market price UK customers will pay, unless we can change that marginally buy pumping an awful lot more than anyone’s currently suggesting.
UK needs to make the right decision here, for now, the short term, medium and long term of National interest. The post you called babble was me saying, wherever we go for the facts of what that is,we are being met with spin, lobby groups, vested interests, and political opportunism.
And your “unarguable point” is one of very many arguable nuances towards getting it right - especially for anyone with a liking and a love for Thatcherism. Kemi Badenoch was in bed with the UK Unions and 1970s British Socialism at Lunchtime today. When in coalition government with Reform after the next election, both Kemi and Farage will hang portraits of Lady Thatcher in their offices. But that’s fake, it’s ignorance and cosplay, if they’re not practicing the economic philosophy Lady Thatcher bequeathed to us.
"Fuck em"
Looks unfinished.
98% of the population will be saying, the Tories are utterly irrelevant if this is one of the most 20 important issues today.
Of the questions Tories raise the only one remotely contentious is the location question. However the fact that he was in the open air having just had a phone nicked perfectly explains this.
The Party of Boris Johnson desperately flapping around.
Badenochs worst Pmq in 6 months.
Local and Devolved elections coming up and Kemi smells a rat.
Well rats should know what rat piss smells like, the self confessed web hacker, liar about her academic record and cabinet colleague of Boris Johnson is obviously suffering from delayed rat smell syndrome going back 25 years.
Deja vu with the stink of extinction for the irrelevant Tories.
Non-conformity is for people who want to bring the religion back into religion.
@KobeissiLetter
BREAKING: The White House responds after Iran rejects President Trump’s “15-point” plan:
“If Iran fails to accept reality that they have been defeated, Trump will hit harder.”
https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2036862883900903478
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25966630.homophobic-joke-reform-uk-scotland-leader-malcolm-offord-told/
Trump is an absolutely perfect representative of his country in this respect.
So, what exactly is the allegation against Morgan McSweeney?
That he arranged the theft?
Or, disposed of his phone then lied, telling police and No 10 Security staff it had been stolen?
Both are absurd, frankly.
However, he did make three mistakes..
1 Not being clear about location of theft (somewhat understandable if you’ve just been victim of a street crime)
2 Not telling 999 operator phone contained sensitive info & case needed urgent response (harder to explain)
3 Thinking Met & govt security were joined up & would cross-check info he gave them (this is my assumption on what he probably thought at the time)
Mandelson appointment was disastrous for McSweeney & Govt. But the idea he would commit a serious criminal offence, risking imprisonment, to try to get rid of phone messages that are anyway probably stored elsewhere & retrievable … I just don’t buy it. Cock-up, not conspiracy.
--------
What are the 4 'serious questions' Tories have for Morgan McSweeney - and do they add up?
The Conservative party press releaselists four questions that the Tories say need to be answered. Here they are (direct quotes from the Tory press release) – with possible answers .
1) Why did Morgan McSweeney not tell the Metropolitan Police that his stolen phone contained sensitive information?
Answer?: Because they did not ask that directly, because McSweeney did tell them it was a government phone, and because he had already called what he called his “office” (presumably No 10) about the theft?
2) Why did Morgan McSweeney not correct the Metropolitan Police when they repeatedly referred to Stepney when Morgan McSweeney was alleged to be in Westminster?
Answer?: It was not repeatedly; it was twice. At the first mention of Stepney, McSweeney did not confirm that. Asked if he was near Stepney Green Park, he then said “Yeah”. Perhaps he did not know the name of one of the small parks in Pimlico he might have been near, but assumed the call handler, with a map in front of them, did?
3) Why did Morgan McSweeney ask for police to update him on his personal email address when the theft related to a work device?
Answer?: Because he uses his No 10 work email for work?
4) Did Morgan McSweeney provide details on the phone and its nature to an investigating officer following the theft?
Answer?: Did the police get in touch to ask? There is nothing in the statement they issued today suggesting McSweeney was not giving them all the information they needed.
I doubt Trump has read a single document about Iran.
He was a Tory then. But, muh, Reform.
It was a joke at an after dinner speech. A lot of fake offence about it now. Pretty pathetic.
Should we get all jokes approved so sensitive flowers aren’t offended ?
I wouldn't want that but ultimately a balance has to be struck between safety and inconvenience.
In many urban areas in the Midlands, North, and Wales non-conformity reigned.
What has changed is that families who might have had a thin connection to the church now have no connection, and are happy to say that out loud.
That's part of a wider thing- we don't join things, because we can meet our social needs in other ways. See also: political parties. And as churches and parties become groups of committed enthusiasts, they risk becoming off-putting to normies. And hence a doom loop.
Useless, lazy, fuckers. Get foreign doctors in to do the job and let the UK ones go stack shelves.
@katiadoyl
EXCLUSIVE: Each day since the start of the war, U.S. military officials compile a video update for President Trump that shows the biggest, most successful strikes on Iranian targets over the previous 48 hours.
But the military can’t brief Trump on every strike and so the video, while it showcases U.S. capabilities, doesn’t reflect the full scope of the conflict.
“We can’t tell him every single thing that happens,” a current U.S. official said. The official noted that Trump’s briefings tend to draw better feedback from his aides when they focus on U.S. victories.
https://x.com/katiadoyl/status/2036761404984758507
A few words which take up a couple of minutes of his life.
Why should that define what he is as a person. I don’t know the motherfucker from Adam but I wouldn’t judge him solely on a joke he made.
The reaction is stupid and fake offence. But typical of our politics and all parties are just as bad and all parties fake offence. Even Reform.
Going to join pineapple on pizza, this one, I think.
And why the hell not.
Instead look at the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. They are drilling wells. Lots of them. Right next door to fields we are shutting down.
In other news I hosted my favourite colorectal surgeon today. He moaned a loudly and at length about management. Hospitals and health services need managing for sure, member and I don’t subscribe to the idea of vast culls of admin staff but I do wonder whether the admin burden itself is the problem.
And then also the residents - remember that a lot of them will up as consultants on rather decent salaries.
The fourth piece of ignorance both Kemi and Farage are bringing to the North Sea drilling debate is where they keep saying Norway are doing it, so why don’t we - as though it’s as easy as copying Norway to get the same result for UK that Norway will get.
That line is a con. To coin a phrase: One Piece Economics. Just go and pick up the treasure and get rich. In many ways UK in a vastly different place than Norway regarding this.
Direct ownership in oil/gas fields is very different currently between the two countries, meaning income is going to be very different. The Norwegian oil and gas industry is not fully nationalized, but it is heavily controlled by the state through a hybrid model. The state owns all resource rights, holds a 67% stake in Equinor, and maintains direct financial interests in fields and infrastructure via Petoro. With these different models, while UK and Norway have produced similar total volumes of oil and gas over the years, their financial outcomes differ by quite a bit. In 2018, for recent example, Norway generated roughly 34 times more oil tax revenue than the UK from similar total volumes.
In recent years - once you look at net figure minus all the bungs making it happen - UK government income has been averaging £3.5BN. No new drilling, this falls to £300M by the end of this decade. With the new drilling Farage, Kemi {and their economic advisors the Unions} are pushing for, it is £1.5B income at end of this decade instead of the £300M. It’s definitely not the great easy to pick up treasure trove being spurned, that it’s being made out to be.
The geology was never perfectly split. Eight of the ten largest fields in the North Sea are located in Norwegian waters. Norway's sector tends to have thicker reservoirs and larger "structural closures," which provide longer production tails. Norway still has relatively underexplored "frontier" areas like the Barents Sea. And UK pumped ours out faster over the decades, leading to UK production peak in the last century - 1999.
The two countries are in different places as regards what they have left, and how they have been generating income from it. Are you sure this is factually wrong to say?
It’s a joke. Some will laugh others won’t.
Reinforces the image of bampots, Tory rejects, and opportunists. Think they may underperform come May. Especially if this develops as the narrative.