What's a reasonable worst-case scenario for the GOP in the midterms if we assume that the elections aren't stolen and the Strait of Hormuz isn't opened?
Lose the senate and the house.
The GOP would deserve it.
Let's consider the Senate seats they could pick up.
Assuming a hold in Georgia and Michigan, which didn't look certain a year ago (certainly the former).
Maine looks a certainty.
Ohio and North Carolina look very possible.
Texas and Alaska both look realistic if not straightforward.
If they have an astonishing night they might pick up one of Kansas or Florida and the independent they are backing in Nebraska might pull off a win.
So in a very best case scenario where on top of everything else Donald Trump is caught publicly masturbating over a photo of Barack Obama or something, they might pick up six seats and a Dem-leaning independent one.
In a more normal scenario, they should pick up three, maybe four or five.
If therefore they do any better than that we can fairly safely say no Republican will be in the White House in 2028 without even more substantial vote rigging than they have managed up to now.
The Dems got hammered in 2010 yet Obama won easily in 2012.
The GOP got hammered in 1982 yet Reagan won easily in 1984.
The GOP got hammered in 1974 yet Ford almost won in 1976.
So it is possible for big shifts to happen but the main requirement is competent government amid an improving world situation.
The problem for the GOP is that competent government is something we've seen little of from either Trump administration while an improving world situation also looks doubtful.
And drop the drivel about vote rigging - both sides manipulate the electoral system as much as they can and Trump didn't win because of it.
That's an irregular verb, isn't it? I tell home truths, he is exaggerating, you talk drivel.
On that basis, I will stop telling home truths about vote rigging when you stop talking drivel about Trump's attempted coup in 2020.
And what drivel have I ever said about Trump's attempted coup ?
You will not be able to answer that question because I haven't said any drivel about Trump's attempted coup.
Unless that is you think that saying Trump attempted to overturn a fair election result through legal manipulations backed up by encouraging street thuggery is drivel.
Whereas, sadly, it seems that you would prefer to retreat into comforting fictions rather than attempting to understand why Trump won. Which is especially sad from someone with an academic background,
Still I'll leave you to continue waving the pompoms.
Altogether now with yodders:
"Our vote rigging good, their vote rigging bad."
I'll be the one at the back, shaking my head at both sides and wishing we could have some competent government from somebody for the USA and world as a whole.
You said nobody died during the riots,* and you said he did not incite them.
Feel free to deny that, but we all saw your posts.
And that, as you apparently now know perfectly well, is drivel.
I am interested to see you are now rowing back on your previously full throated support for Trump, but I note you still struggle to admit your previous error of judgement. An interesting case study in light of a previous poster's comment on his support.
*This may be very technically true, but for the four people who died as a direct result the following day any reasonable person would say that is a distinction without a difference.
Everyone saw my posts ?
I certainly do not remember them.
I dare say if you had nothing else to do you could go through my comments for the last ten years and find all sorts of odd things because of the discussions that were ongoing, or just my mood, at that time.
So if you want me to comment on a specific allegation then you'll have to substantiate it.
And when the hell have I ever been a full throated supporter of Trump ???
I've never been a full throated supporter of any politician or any party.
Now there have been things I've said Trump was correct about and many more when I have said a specific Dem or Dems in general have been wrong about something.
But that also applies to my opinions about UK politicians and parties as well.
I thought Trump a mediocre President in his first term and that his refusal to accept his fair defeat made him unfit for further office. I think its a tragedy that the Dems were unable to produce a candidate who was worth supporting.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
Not watching but the first half dominance of Spurs looks staggering according to the BBC line chart. Are Villa fielding a full strength team ?
They've made a few changes but have still got good players out there. This is classic Unai Emery. They go to City final day of the city (looks nervously at goal difference...).
Annoying as it is, they have fifth place sewn up, and have to focus on the Europa League. It disappoints me how much I want Tottenham to go down. Their fans will see us coming second in the league and making the CL semis while they just about stay up as something to poke fun at us for
I couldn't give a toss about them. I was delighted to see Brentford win yesterday. They are a tough opponent so I want them going to City with plenty to play for.
EDIT: the whole second again stuff - it's actually a lot worse from everyone else. Charlton fans on the tube last night were singing it. Weird.
Oh, I could definitely give a toss, I would love to see them relegated, but it doesn't look like it's to be.
We see it often in politics, I suppose it is fandom; someone does consistently well compared to where they were, but doesn't quite make it to the top and are ridiculed despite over achieving. It used to happen with UKIP in the mid 2010s
5 million of totally unexplained private cash equals some Swifty tickets, some sharp suits and glasses and some visits to the box at Arsenal with some rulesy justification and a bit of priggishness.
I know there are many things in the world at the moment that make no sense, but that is a Buster Gonads sized entry in the world of bollocks justifications.
And one could see that if Farage was trying to "process" this amount of unexplained money in the official (or broader) banking systems, that he could quite easily fail the sort of AML checks that end up with somebody getting debanked.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
The feudalism that Enoch Powell was so keen for us to prevent
What's a reasonable worst-case scenario for the GOP in the midterms if we assume that the elections aren't stolen and the Strait of Hormuz isn't opened?
Lose the senate and the house.
The GOP would deserve it.
Let's consider the Senate seats they could pick up.
Assuming a hold in Georgia and Michigan, which didn't look certain a year ago (certainly the former).
Maine looks a certainty.
Ohio and North Carolina look very possible.
Texas and Alaska both look realistic if not straightforward.
If they have an astonishing night they might pick up one of Kansas or Florida and the independent they are backing in Nebraska might pull off a win.
So in a very best case scenario where on top of everything else Donald Trump is caught publicly masturbating over a photo of Barack Obama or something, they might pick up six seats and a Dem-leaning independent one.
In a more normal scenario, they should pick up three, maybe four or five.
If therefore they do any better than that we can fairly safely say no Republican will be in the White House in 2028 without even more substantial vote rigging than they have managed up to now.
The Dems got hammered in 2010 yet Obama won easily in 2012.
The GOP got hammered in 1982 yet Reagan won easily in 1984.
The GOP got hammered in 1974 yet Ford almost won in 1976.
So it is possible for big shifts to happen but the main requirement is competent government amid an improving world situation.
The problem for the GOP is that competent government is something we've seen little of from either Trump administration while an improving world situation also looks doubtful.
And drop the drivel about vote rigging - both sides manipulate the electoral system as much as they can and Trump didn't win because of it.
That's an irregular verb, isn't it? I tell home truths, he is exaggerating, you talk drivel.
On that basis, I will stop telling home truths about vote rigging when you stop talking drivel about Trump's attempted coup in 2020.
And what drivel have I ever said about Trump's attempted coup ?
You will not be able to answer that question because I haven't said any drivel about Trump's attempted coup.
Unless that is you think that saying Trump attempted to overturn a fair election result through legal manipulations backed up by encouraging street thuggery is drivel.
Whereas, sadly, it seems that you would prefer to retreat into comforting fictions rather than attempting to understand why Trump won. Which is especially sad from someone with an academic background,
Still I'll leave you to continue waving the pompoms.
Altogether now with yodders:
"Our vote rigging good, their vote rigging bad."
I'll be the one at the back, shaking my head at both sides and wishing we could have some competent government from somebody for the USA and world as a whole.
You said nobody died during the riots,* and you said he did not incite them.
Feel free to deny that, but we all saw your posts.
And that, as you apparently now know perfectly well, is drivel.
I am interested to see you are now rowing back on your previously full throated support for Trump, but I note you still struggle to admit your previous error of judgement. An interesting case study in light of a previous poster's comment on his support.
*This may be very technically true, but for the four people who died as a direct result the following day any reasonable person would say that is a distinction without a difference.
Everyone saw my posts ?
I certainly do not remember them.
I dare say if you had nothing else to do you could go through my comments for the last ten years and find all sorts of odd things because of the discussions that were ongoing, or just my mood, at that time.
So if you want me to comment on a specific allegation then you'll have to substantiate it.
And when the hell have I ever been a full throated supporter of Trump ???
I've never been a full throated supporter of any politician or any party.
Now there have been things I've said Trump was correct about and many more when I have said a specific Dem or Dems in general have been wrong about something.
But that also applies to my opinions about UK politicians and parties as well.
I thought Trump a mediocre President in his first term and that his refusal to accept his fair defeat made him unfit for further office. I think its a tragedy that the Dems were unable to produce a candidate who was worth supporting.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
The feudalism that Enoch Powell was so keen for us to prevent
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
The feudalism that Enoch Powell was so keen for us to prevent
But why bring in more of a bad thing, when what we had was disappearing anyway?
What's a reasonable worst-case scenario for the GOP in the midterms if we assume that the elections aren't stolen and the Strait of Hormuz isn't opened?
Lose the senate and the house.
The GOP would deserve it.
Let's consider the Senate seats they could pick up.
Assuming a hold in Georgia and Michigan, which didn't look certain a year ago (certainly the former).
Maine looks a certainty.
Ohio and North Carolina look very possible.
Texas and Alaska both look realistic if not straightforward.
If they have an astonishing night they might pick up one of Kansas or Florida and the independent they are backing in Nebraska might pull off a win.
So in a very best case scenario where on top of everything else Donald Trump is caught publicly masturbating over a photo of Barack Obama or something, they might pick up six seats and a Dem-leaning independent one.
In a more normal scenario, they should pick up three, maybe four or five.
If therefore they do any better than that we can fairly safely say no Republican will be in the White House in 2028 without even more substantial vote rigging than they have managed up to now.
The Dems got hammered in 2010 yet Obama won easily in 2012.
The GOP got hammered in 1982 yet Reagan won easily in 1984.
The GOP got hammered in 1974 yet Ford almost won in 1976.
So it is possible for big shifts to happen but the main requirement is competent government amid an improving world situation.
The problem for the GOP is that competent government is something we've seen little of from either Trump administration while an improving world situation also looks doubtful.
And drop the drivel about vote rigging - both sides manipulate the electoral system as much as they can and Trump didn't win because of it.
That's an irregular verb, isn't it? I tell home truths, he is exaggerating, you talk drivel.
On that basis, I will stop telling home truths about vote rigging when you stop talking drivel about Trump's attempted coup in 2020.
And what drivel have I ever said about Trump's attempted coup ?
You will not be able to answer that question because I haven't said any drivel about Trump's attempted coup.
Unless that is you think that saying Trump attempted to overturn a fair election result through legal manipulations backed up by encouraging street thuggery is drivel.
Whereas, sadly, it seems that you would prefer to retreat into comforting fictions rather than attempting to understand why Trump won. Which is especially sad from someone with an academic background,
Still I'll leave you to continue waving the pompoms.
Altogether now with yodders:
"Our vote rigging good, their vote rigging bad."
I'll be the one at the back, shaking my head at both sides and wishing we could have some competent government from somebody for the USA and world as a whole.
You said nobody died during the riots,* and you said he did not incite them.
Feel free to deny that, but we all saw your posts.
And that, as you apparently now know perfectly well, is drivel.
I am interested to see you are now rowing back on your previously full throated support for Trump, but I note you still struggle to admit your previous error of judgement. An interesting case study in light of a previous poster's comment on his support.
*This may be very technically true, but for the four people who died as a direct result the following day any reasonable person would say that is a distinction without a difference.
Everyone saw my posts ?
I certainly do not remember them.
I dare say if you had nothing else to do you could go through my comments for the last ten years and find all sorts of odd things because of the discussions that were ongoing, or just my mood, at that time.
So if you want me to comment on a specific allegation then you'll have to substantiate it.
And when the hell have I ever been a full throated supporter of Trump ???
I've never been a full throated supporter of any politician or any party.
Now there have been things I've said Trump was correct about and many more when I have said a specific Dem or Dems in general have been wrong about something.
But that also applies to my opinions about UK politicians and parties as well.
I thought Trump a mediocre President in his first term and that his refusal to accept his fair defeat made him unfit for further office. I think its a tragedy that the Dems were unable to produce a candidate who was worth supporting.
Matthew 26:69-75
So you're saying I'm a Trump supporter who is temporarily pretending not to be one ???
Believe me if I was a Trump supporter I would happily so say but I don't because I'm not and never was.
That I've said at times that he may be correct about something or that the Dems were wrong about something is nuance and independence.
Perhaps I stand out because I don't join in with the manichean pompom waving in which so many PBers view US politics.
And to people with that mentality anyone who 'is not one of us' must be 'one of them'.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
I really hope many Villa fans go back to their cars and find their cars are lacking a front bumper assembly due to it being removed by a local garage during the game.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
It’s a definite feature of Labour electoral strategy - and how it governs the country.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
“Mainstream media isn’t writing much about the case but a man armed with a knife attacked several people at random on the streets of the tourist town Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona yesterday.
He cut the throat of a teenage girl, ending her life”
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
Prejudice against Catholics used to be common in England. My grandfather was quite vociferous on the subject
Hasn't he said the cash wasn't for Reform? I thought the whole thing is being explained as a personal gift to Farage "outside politics" that's why he's saying it wasn't declared.
Yes, which makes the phrasing in Kemi's tweet a bit odd. Reform's defence about non-disclosure is precisely that the cash wasn't for Reform (not that this "personal gift" defence seems likely to work given the requirements of disclosure).
However, none of that matters. It stinks of shit. If you're quibbling over the details, you've already lost. This is an area of weakness for Farage. We've seen polling before that the message that Farage is in the pocket of rich donors cuts through strongly. He's looking ever more like Trump, and looking like Trump doesn't win you votes any more.
Ongoing investigations also means the story will run and run.
It stinks like all of Sir Keir’s mealy mouthed excuses for the things he looked bang to rights for I’m afraid, and just reminds me of American politics, which I find quite sleazy.
Isn't there a difference?
SKS sanctimoniously whinged about everything and anything until elected, then turns out to be as bad as the rest of them. There is little voters loathe so much as a hypocrite. He's also not helped his cause by playing his rather poor hand extremely badly as PM.
Farage has never claimed to be whiter than white. His appeal is that he might actually do some of the stuff everyone knows needs doing, but the other political parties can't or won't do, like stopping the boats. He's therefore not judged on the "whiteness" scale, but almost entirely on the "will he actually do the necessary stuff" scale.
Is his £5mil a bit dodgy? Probably. Is it going to change a single vote? Probably not. Voters don't actually want a sanctimonious prig for PM, they just want one who is effective. Boris showed that, it was just unfortunate he failed fairly badly on the being effective bit.
I’m not convinced by that. We’ve discussed polling before that showed that a message that Farage is in the pocket of big donors was effective. The point, perhaps, is whether Farage is going to “do the necessary stuff” for *you*, the voter, or whether he’s just another tool of *them*. If he’d fiddled his taxes, I can see your line of reasoning working maybe, but this isn’t about Farage enriching himself, it’s about Farage being owned by someone else.
Most things don’t shift many votes. PB trumpets some catastrophe or debacle every other week, most of which sink without a trace. The voters don’t give a shit about Diego Garcia, for example. But if I was going to pick something that might cut through, this would be my pick from events in April.
The thing that’s bad for the politician you dislike the most is your tip for what the public will pick up on?
Andy Burnham is too flaky to be PM. Angela Rayner too stupid. Ed Miliband too left wing.
It kind of has to be Streeting, if anyone cares about the country.
This is not a Group One race, more a selling plater, but the horse quietly backed down to 14/1 and riding close to the rail in ninth place, hasn't yet gone through the gears, and looking for a gap is Yvette.
Not watching but the first half dominance of Spurs looks staggering according to the BBC line chart. Are Villa fielding a full strength team ?
They've made a few changes but have still got good players out there. This is classic Unai Emery. They go to City final day of the city (looks nervously at goal difference...).
Annoying as it is, they have fifth place sewn up, and have to focus on the Europa League. It disappoints me how much I want Tottenham to go down. Their fans will see us coming second in the league and making the CL semis while they just about stay up as something to poke fun at us for
The world knows that Spurs fans are entitled knobs full of shite. I once posted a lighthearted FB “cheer up, you could be an Ipswich fan” (as I am) below a post by one bemoaning a poor Spurs result during Ipswich’s travails 8-9 years ago, hoping to get a nice Monday chat going.
He seriously replied “how dare you compare your club with Spurs” (or similar sentiments) so I took great pleasure in reminding/informing him that even we’ve won the league more recently than Spurs, before I blocked the fucker. Known him since school, that was the final straw.
Andy Burnham is too flaky to be PM. Angela Rayner too stupid. Ed Miliband too left wing.
It kind of has to be Streeting, if anyone cares about the country.
This is not a Group One race, more a selling plater, but the horse quietly backed down to 14/1 and riding close to the rail in ninth place, hasn't yet gone through the gears, and looking for a gap is Yvette.
Labour's Theresa May ?
Would require some of the frontrunners to fade badly.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
It used to be a thing in England too: see Altholz' "The Political Behavior of the English Catholics, 1850-1867" (Journal of British Studies. 1964;4(1):89-103. doi:10.1086/385493). There was also the non-conformists vs the Anglicans: see Bebbington's "Nonconformity and Electoral Sociology, 1867–1918" (The Historical Journal. 1984;27(3):633-656. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00018008).
'Due to the ongoing conflict in the Gulf we are unable to obtain any oil for our [heating] system.
We apologise for any inconvenience President Trump has caused you.'
Not a problem really at this moment with a very temperate spring.
What's it going to be like if this isn't resolved by September to get supplies in for the Autumn?
Do they still have stocks of Porkie Pies?
Don't know, I had the macaroni cheese.
What is fascinating is the denialism on this from some.
The Banksters Are Profiteering seems to be the line.
The best one I heard today is that there is no need to cancel flights - even if there is a shortage of aviation fuel here, they can just fuel up in Spain…
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
My brain seems to want to sing that to the tune of the Big Break theme tune.
Not watching but the first half dominance of Spurs looks staggering according to the BBC line chart. Are Villa fielding a full strength team ?
They've made a few changes but have still got good players out there. This is classic Unai Emery. They go to City final day of the city (looks nervously at goal difference...).
Annoying as it is, they have fifth place sewn up, and have to focus on the Europa League. It disappoints me how much I want Tottenham to go down. Their fans will see us coming second in the league and making the CL semis while they just about stay up as something to poke fun at us for
The world knows that Spurs fans are entitled knobs full of shite. I once posted a lighthearted FB “cheer up, you could be an Ipswich fan” (as I am) below a post by one bemoaning a poor Spurs result during Ipswich’s travails 8-9 years ago, hoping to get a nice Monday chat going.
He seriously replied “how dare you compare your club with Spurs” (or similar sentiments) so I took great pleasure in reminding/informing him that even we’ve won the league more recently than Spurs, before I blocked the fucker. Known him since school, that was the final straw.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
Prejudice against Catholics used to be common in England. My grandfather was quite vociferous on the subject
Well, your surname makes pro Catholicism unlikely…
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
It was a joke, clearly a poor joke as I’m having to explain it, taking literally your sentiments about defecating on villas, which I deliberately misinterpreted as holiday accommodation. I’m aware that Birmingham City fans sing it.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
It used to be a thing in England too: see Altholz' "The Political Behavior of the English Catholics, 1850-1867" (Journal of British Studies. 1964;4(1):89-103. doi:10.1086/385493). There was also the non-conformists vs the Anglicans: see Bebbington's "Nonconformity and Electoral Sociology, 1867–1918" (The Historical Journal. 1984;27(3):633-656. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00018008).
My very low church Anglican paternal grandparents were very anti-Catholic. My high church Anglican maternal grandparents sent my mother to a Catholic school though, and both me and my brother were married in Catholic Churches. We’re an odd country.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Not watching but the first half dominance of Spurs looks staggering according to the BBC line chart. Are Villa fielding a full strength team ?
They've made a few changes but have still got good players out there. This is classic Unai Emery. They go to City final day of the city (looks nervously at goal difference...).
Annoying as it is, they have fifth place sewn up, and have to focus on the Europa League. It disappoints me how much I want Tottenham to go down. Their fans will see us coming second in the league and making the CL semis while they just about stay up as something to poke fun at us for
The world knows that Spurs fans are entitled knobs full of shite. I once posted a lighthearted FB “cheer up, you could be an Ipswich fan” (as I am) below a post by one bemoaning a poor Spurs result during Ipswich’s travails 8-9 years ago, hoping to get a nice Monday chat going.
He seriously replied “how dare you compare your club with Spurs” (or similar sentiments) so I took great pleasure in reminding/informing him that even we’ve won the league more recently than Spurs, before I blocked the fucker. Known him since school, that was the final straw.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
It was a joke, clearly a poor joke as I’m having to explain it, taking literally your sentiments about defecating on villas, which I deliberately misinterpreted as holiday accommodation. I’m aware that Birmingham City fans sing it.
Sorry, misunderstood, 👍
I’m afraid I’m quite literal according to my wife.
I suspect had we been having a beer and you cracked that I’d have laughed and got the joke.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Why hasn't Birmingham ?
Spurs given their resources and fanbase
Spurs have had their great teams and great years - remember all that "year ends in one" stuff their fans would bang on about.
Their underachievement in recent decades has been matched by Chelsea success.
Possibly there's only room for two successful teams in London.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Why hasn't Birmingham ?
Spurs given their resources and fanbase
Spurs have had their great teams and great years - remember all that "year ends in one" stuff their fans would bang on about.
Their underachievement in recent decades has been matched by Chelsea success.
Possibly there's only room for two successful teams in London.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Why hasn't Birmingham ?
Well the conspiracy theory is it goes back To the 66 World Cup,and Villa got,money for,their stadium and we got nowt.
Thus it catapulted them.
I just think we’ve been badly run for many years. The Coombs in the seventies did fine but we ended up with a load of debt and the people,solving it were blamed. The well meaning, but hopeless, Kumars took us over and did nothing
Then Sullivan and the Golds came and we did fine for a while then we got taken over by a guy who was a barber who laundered money in Hong Kong and it’s been downhill ever since.
Having the name of the second city doesn’t guarantee success. Sadly
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Why hasn't Birmingham ?
Spurs given their resources and fanbase
Spurs have had their great teams and great years - remember all that "year ends in one" stuff their fans would bang on about.
Their underachievement in recent decades has been matched by Chelsea success.
Possibly there's only room for two successful teams in London.
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Why hasn't Birmingham ?
Spurs given their resources and fanbase
Spurs have had their great teams and great years - remember all that "year ends in one" stuff their fans would bang on about.
Their underachievement in recent decades has been matched by Chelsea success.
Possibly there's only room for two successful teams in London.
Andy Burnham is too flaky to be PM. Angela Rayner too stupid. Ed Miliband too left wing.
It kind of has to be Streeting, if anyone cares about the country.
God help us
If we're saying 'too left wing', surely we mean 'will destroy the economy'. If we are tacitly admitting that someone who comes in and tries to implement a muscular soft left agenda with a big dollop of decarbonisation is going to fuck the country, we do we waste so much time debating politics? Everyone knows that we need a low tax, low regulation, high performance economy if we're going to stand a chance in hell of surviving the 21st century, so can we all just admit it?
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
It used to be a thing in England too: see Altholz' "The Political Behavior of the English Catholics, 1850-1867" (Journal of British Studies. 1964;4(1):89-103. doi:10.1086/385493). There was also the non-conformists vs the Anglicans: see Bebbington's "Nonconformity and Electoral Sociology, 1867–1918" (The Historical Journal. 1984;27(3):633-656. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00018008).
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Why hasn't Birmingham ?
Spurs given their resources and fanbase
Spurs have had their great teams and great years - remember all that "year ends in one" stuff their fans would bang on about.
Their underachievement in recent decades has been matched by Chelsea success.
Possibly there's only room for two successful teams in London.
They haven’t won the league for 65 years. 65.
True, Spurs have certainly underachieved compared with Arsenal and Chelsea and compared with how their own fans view them.
But they have had occasional trophy wins, great players and entertaining teams since 1961.
Whereas Birmingham City has been a nothingness forever.
So it looks like the Burnham NEC spin was just that based on this NEC member and he still doesn't have the NEC backing he needs to get on the approved parliamentary candidates list to win a by election before the next general election. So if it all goes wrong for Labour on Thursday it will likely be Rayner and Streeting challenging Starmer for the Labour leadership and to be PM and Burnham will have to stay King of the North
So it looks like the Burnham NEC spin was just that based on this NEC member and he still doesn't have the NEC backing he needs to get on the approved parliamentary candidates list to win a by election before the next general election. So if it all goes wrong for Labour on Thursday it will likely be Rayner and Streeting challenging Starmer for the Labour leadership and to be PM and Burnham will have to stay King of the North
Well the bit of the North from Wigan to the Pennines.
So it looks like the Burnham NEC spin was just that based on this NEC member and he still doesn't have the NEC backing he needs to get on the approved parliamentary candidates list to win a by election before the next general election. So if it all goes wrong for Labour on Thursday it will likely be Rayner and Streeting challenging Starmer for the Labour leadership and to be PM and Burnham will have to stay King of the North
Again - I say that my mate who is deep deep deep in the world of the unions and Labour activism with decades under her belt says it will be Burnham and "a way will be found".
So it looks like the Burnham NEC spin was just that based on this NEC member and he still doesn't have the NEC backing he needs to get on the approved parliamentary candidates list to win a by election before the next general election. So if it all goes wrong for Labour on Thursday it will likely be Rayner and Streeting challenging Starmer for the Labour leadership and to be PM and Burnham will have to stay King of the North
Again - I say that my mate who is deep deep deep in the world of the unions and Labour activism with decades under her belt says it will be Burnham and "a way will be found".
If I had the wings of a sparrow And I had the arse of a crow I'm fly over Villa tommorow
This is a whimsical little ditty I’ve sang more than once. I suspect our old mate @Brixian59 has too
Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Shit on the Villa tonight! Shit on the Villa, Coz they’re a load of shite
Wouldn’t want to go on holiday with you TBF
TFFT
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
Is there any team which has underachieved more than Birmingham City ?
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Why hasn't Birmingham ?
Spurs given their resources and fanbase
Spurs have had their great teams and great years - remember all that "year ends in one" stuff their fans would bang on about.
Their underachievement in recent decades has been matched by Chelsea success.
Possibly there's only room for two successful teams in London.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
The feudalism that Enoch Powell was so keen for us to prevent
But why bring in more of a bad thing, when what we had was disappearing anyway?
I'm concerned in some ways, relaxed in others.
I'm relaxed that: - The votes of Muslims have always been somewhat blocky, but their votes do still split multiple ways, even if it more like Bootle than Sittingbourne & Sheppey. Like mindedness is not a problem per sé - They are voters who are fully entitled to vote for who they want. - They are entitled to vote for community independents from their community, even if the event that pivoted on was the war in Gaza - That some kind of base expression of support for the fate of civilians in Gaza, and that being a cause celebre, is not in itself Unbritish
I'm concerned that: - There is a level of coercive family voting, probably small, generally not enough to affect a result in a heavily Muslim ward, but something which should be picked up on in the individual instances it does occur. - That withdrawing into Community Independent voting does have the effect of putting a barrier up, and that other parties should be addressing that. - That support for Gaza (or wider Islamism) in quite a sizeable number of cases, does cross a line into hatred.
So it looks like the Burnham NEC spin was just that based on this NEC member and he still doesn't have the NEC backing he needs to get on the approved parliamentary candidates list to win a by election before the next general election. So if it all goes wrong for Labour on Thursday it will likely be Rayner and Streeting challenging Starmer for the Labour leadership and to be PM and Burnham will have to stay King of the North
Again - I say that my mate who is deep deep deep in the world of the unions and Labour activism with decades under her belt says it will be Burnham and "a way will be found".
If he gets his backers on the NEC
He might be able to turn everyone else on it - the issue is Starmer. Starmer seems shameless enough to vote him down even if he's in a minority of one.
So it looks like the Burnham NEC spin was just that based on this NEC member and he still doesn't have the NEC backing he needs to get on the approved parliamentary candidates list to win a by election before the next general election. So if it all goes wrong for Labour on Thursday it will likely be Rayner and Streeting challenging Starmer for the Labour leadership and to be PM and Burnham will have to stay King of the North
Again - I say that my mate who is deep deep deep in the world of the unions and Labour activism with decades under her belt says it will be Burnham and "a way will be found".
If he gets his backers on the NEC
He might be able to turn everyone else on it - the issue is Starmer. Starmer seems shameless enough to vote him down even if he's in a minority of one.
Do you want to be the one on the NEC who tried to block the next Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party by supporting the drowned Starmer ship that has been utterly rejected at the elections of 2026?
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
St So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
It used to be a thing in England too: see Altholz' "The Political Behavior of the English Catholics, 1850-1867" (Journal of British Studies. 1964;4(1):89-103. doi:10.1086/385493). There was also the non-conformists vs the Anglicans: see Bebbington's "Nonconformity and Electoral Sociology, 1867–1918" (The Historical Journal. 1984;27(3):633-656. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00018008).
My very low church Anglican paternal grandparents were very anti-Catholic. My high church Anglican maternal grandparents sent my mother to a Catholic school though, and both me and my brother were married in Catholic Churches. We’re an odd country.
Maybe it’s a Suffolk thing. My Suffolk grandmother (Methodist) used to talk about them ole Jesuits (pronounced Jezzawits).
'Police in South Africa have managed to recover human remains after an officer was lowered from a helicopter into a crocodile-infested river in the search for a businessman swept away by floodwater last week.
The reptile suspected to have eaten the missing man had already been killed but Captain Johan "Pottie" Potgieter said it was still a nerve-wracking experience.
"The sharp-end of a crocodile is not the best place to approach it," he told the News24 website, external.'
So it looks like the Burnham NEC spin was just that based on this NEC member and he still doesn't have the NEC backing he needs to get on the approved parliamentary candidates list to win a by election before the next general election. So if it all goes wrong for Labour on Thursday it will likely be Rayner and Streeting challenging Starmer for the Labour leadership and to be PM and Burnham will have to stay King of the North
Again - I say that my mate who is deep deep deep in the world of the unions and Labour activism with decades under her belt says it will be Burnham and "a way will be found".
If he gets his backers on the NEC
He might be able to turn everyone else on it - the issue is Starmer. Starmer seems shameless enough to vote him down even if he's in a minority of one.
Do you want to be the one on the NEC who tried to block the next Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party by supporting the drowned Starmer ship that has been utterly rejected at the elections of 2026?
Hmmm.
He can promise jobs to the politics ones. But not Starmer. Starmer weathered the previous taking down of Burnham, he has a thick enough skin to do it again in even more embarrassing circumstances.
'Police in South Africa have managed to recover human remains after an officer was lowered from a helicopter into a crocodile-infested river in the search for a businessman swept away by floodwater last week.
The reptile suspected to have eaten the missing man had already been killed but Captain Johan "Pottie" Potgieter said it was still a nerve-wracking experience.
"The sharp-end of a crocodile is not the best place to approach it," he told the News24 website, external.'
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
St So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
It used to be a thing in England too: see Altholz' "The Political Behavior of the English Catholics, 1850-1867" (Journal of British Studies. 1964;4(1):89-103. doi:10.1086/385493). There was also the non-conformists vs the Anglicans: see Bebbington's "Nonconformity and Electoral Sociology, 1867–1918" (The Historical Journal. 1984;27(3):633-656. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00018008).
My very low church Anglican paternal grandparents were very anti-Catholic. My high church Anglican maternal grandparents sent my mother to a Catholic school though, and both me and my brother were married in Catholic Churches. We’re an odd country.
Maybe it’s a Suffolk thing. My Suffolk grandmother (Methodist) used to talk about them ole Jesuits (pronounced Jezzawits).
The paternal grandparents were from York, it’s a huge week in our household as Dad’s a supporter of YCFC. My mother went to a Catholic school in Ipswich, she’s from Felixstowe. I grew up between Canterbury and Whitstable.
The United States is and will remain Germany‘s most important partner in the North Atlantic Alliance. We share a common goal: Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
St So we're turning English politics into Northern Irish politics.
A bug, not a feature.
It used to be a thing in England too: see Altholz' "The Political Behavior of the English Catholics, 1850-1867" (Journal of British Studies. 1964;4(1):89-103. doi:10.1086/385493). There was also the non-conformists vs the Anglicans: see Bebbington's "Nonconformity and Electoral Sociology, 1867–1918" (The Historical Journal. 1984;27(3):633-656. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00018008).
My very low church Anglican paternal grandparents were very anti-Catholic. My high church Anglican maternal grandparents sent my mother to a Catholic school though, and both me and my brother were married in Catholic Churches. We’re an odd country.
Maybe it’s a Suffolk thing. My Suffolk grandmother (Methodist) used to talk about them ole Jesuits (pronounced Jezzawits).
The paternal grandparents were from York, it’s a huge week in our household as Dad’s a supporter of YCFC. My mother went to a Catholic school in Ipswich, she’s from Felixstowe. I grew up between Canterbury and Whitstable.
My mother’s family moved to Felixstowe from Middleton in the 1920s. I still have family there.
Prediction: Labour will be slaughtered on Thursday night and then... nothing will happen and Starmer will remain PM.
Burnham isn't in position and so no one will move.
The fact that Burnham isn't in position and that Rayner would prefer to wait a bit longer is precisely why Streeting can be expected to move.
Rayner may be a bit worried about getting the required 80 nominations but if Labour are third or worse on seats on Thursday I expect Rayner and Streeting to launch leadership bids and challenge Starmer
Andy Burnham is too flaky to be PM. Angela Rayner too stupid. Ed Miliband too left wing.
It kind of has to be Streeting, if anyone cares about the country.
God help us
If we're saying 'too left wing', surely we mean 'will destroy the economy'. If we are tacitly admitting that someone who comes in and tries to implement a muscular soft left agenda with a big dollop of decarbonisation is going to fuck the country, we do we waste so much time debating politics? Everyone knows that we need a low tax, low regulation, high performance economy if we're going to stand a chance in hell of surviving the 21st century, so can we all just admit it?
Low tax would be lovely if we could afford it, and the bond market would stand it, and we had a young working age population with no pensioners.
High performance economy sounds fab. We all love motherhood and apple pie too.
Low regulation would be wonderful if we could trust all those economic actors to do what’s best for the consumer. Can we? Are we sure no financial institution will ever miss-sell products to customers again? Those chicken farmers on the banks of the Wye, are their phosphate-rich slurries over-regulated, or under-regulated? Are we happy the tech bros have our and our children’s best interests at heart? What about the water companies? Does the low regulation of plastic waste in the countries around the Indian Ocean or the low regulation of air pollution in Delhi show us the way forward for Britain?
This is the trouble with so much of the shitty political discourse of today. Most politics is a negotiation, and economics is a balancing act between the three forces: capital, labour, and the consumer. Give one of them everything and you screw the other two. And the one that gets most frequently forgotten about, at the mercy of the producer and capital, is the consumer. Forced to inhale literal and electronic shit.
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
The feudalism that Enoch Powell was so keen for us to prevent
But why bring in more of a bad thing, when what we had was disappearing anyway?
I'm concerned in some ways, relaxed in others.
I'm relaxed that: - The votes of Muslims have always been somewhat blocky, but their votes do still split multiple ways, even if it more like Bootle than Sittingbourne & Sheppey. Like mindedness is not a problem per sé - They are voters who are fully entitled to vote for who they want. - They are entitled to vote for community independents from their community, even if the event that pivoted on was the war in Gaza - That some kind of base expression of support for the fate of civilians in Gaza, and that being a cause celebre, is not in itself Unbritish
I'm concerned that: - There is a level of coercive family voting, probably small, generally not enough to affect a result in a heavily Muslim ward, but something which should be picked up on in the individual instances it does occur. - That withdrawing into Community Independent voting does have the effect of putting a barrier up, and that other parties should be addressing that. - That support for Gaza (or wider Islamism) in quite a sizeable number of cases, does cross a line into hatred.
I feel a certain interest in how a local Councillor is able to do anything material to further a cause such as support for Gaza. It's an interesting piece of information about a candidate but it isn't at all relevant to the role for which s/he is standing, is it?
...Everyone knows that we need a low tax, low regulation, high performance economy if we're going to stand a chance in hell of surviving the 21st century, so can we all just admit it?...
1) because we have between ten and fifteen million people who are going to die in the next fourteen years and they will need a shit-ton of expensive care and they are frightened and have votes 2) because the wealthy people and the clever ideas are leaving and we don't have a cure for it. People have been advocating "Singapore-upon-Thames" for nearly two decades and it has no political traction at all 3) because we would end up with a large poor population working hard for forever decreasing wages endlessly suppressed by a continuous supply of even poorer people willing to live six to a room and survive off gravel
Did anyone foresee the i paper's front page headline?
I think the adage is "never let a crisis go to waste".
(A pure inflation lock is a bit too stingy, which was the reason for the TL in the first place; the state pension had got hopelessly low. In normal times, a TL is a bit too generous, and inflation spikes send it haywire. So what's in-between?)
Perhaps the most interesting week of local politics ever in my neck of the woods approaches.
I genuinely don't know how the local elections will play out in Newham next Thursday and the fact I can say that for the first time having lived here more than 20 years tells you how far Labour has fallen.
My head says Labour will hang on but barely but the Newham Independents have run a solid and professional campaign. My current prediction would be Labour 36, NIP 23, Greens 7 currently but the NIP have come into my Ward (Wall End) with canvassers suggesting they can reach beyond the Muslim Wards.
Labour are trying to hold on to the Tamil vote in the more Hindu Wards - even the Conservatives are getting in on the act in Wall End.
As far as the Mayoral election is result, the question is whether Mirza can pile up enough votes from the Muslim Wards to offset the Labour vote in other areas?
The Mayoral vote is due to count Thursday and that will give us a strong hint of how the Council election the next day will go.
This is what we've come to.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
It used to be one lot winning in Protestant wards and another in Catholic wards.
The feudalism that Enoch Powell was so keen for us to prevent
But why bring in more of a bad thing, when what we had was disappearing anyway?
I'm concerned in some ways, relaxed in others.
I'm relaxed that: - The votes of Muslims have always been somewhat blocky, but their votes do still split multiple ways, even if it more like Bootle than Sittingbourne & Sheppey. Like mindedness is not a problem per sé - They are voters who are fully entitled to vote for who they want. - They are entitled to vote for community independents from their community, even if the event that pivoted on was the war in Gaza - That some kind of base expression of support for the fate of civilians in Gaza, and that being a cause celebre, is not in itself Unbritish
I'm concerned that: - There is a level of coercive family voting, probably small, generally not enough to affect a result in a heavily Muslim ward, but something which should be picked up on in the individual instances it does occur. - That withdrawing into Community Independent voting does have the effect of putting a barrier up, and that other parties should be addressing that. - That support for Gaza (or wider Islamism) in quite a sizeable number of cases, does cross a line into hatred.
I feel a certain interest in how a local Councillor is able to do anything material to further a cause such as support for Gaza. It's an interesting piece of information about a candidate but it isn't at all relevant to the role for which s/he is standing, is it?
I don't think many voters will be voting purely on local issues next week, for any party.
Did anyone foresee the i paper's front page headline?
I think the adage is "never let a crisis go to waste".
(A pure inflation lock is a bit too stingy, which was the reason for the TL in the first place; the state pension had got hopelessly low. In normal times, a TL is a bit too generous, and inflation spikes send it haywire. So what's in-between?)
If it were me: one-off chunky increase to buy the pensioners off, then a single wage growth lock.
Did anyone foresee the i paper's front page headline?
I think the adage is "never let a crisis go to waste".
(A pure inflation lock is a bit too stingy, which was the reason for the TL in the first place; the state pension had got hopelessly low. In normal times, a TL is a bit too generous, and inflation spikes send it haywire. So what's in-between?)
The state pension should be stingy as it is financed by the current workers.
With auto-enrolment of workers into pension schemes and now the ease of creating your own SIPP online people have the opportunities to increase their own future pension provision.
In fact not just the opportunities but the responsibilities.
Did anyone foresee the i paper's front page headline?
I think the adage is "never let a crisis go to waste".
(A pure inflation lock is a bit too stingy, which was the reason for the TL in the first place; the state pension had got hopelessly low. In normal times, a TL is a bit too generous, and inflation spikes send it haywire. So what's in-between?)
TL applied over a 5 year rolling average goes a long way to solving the problem.
Did anyone foresee the i paper's front page headline?
I think the adage is "never let a crisis go to waste".
(A pure inflation lock is a bit too stingy, which was the reason for the TL in the first place; the state pension had got hopelessly low. In normal times, a TL is a bit too generous, and inflation spikes send it haywire. So what's in-between?)
If it were me: one-off chunky increase to buy the pensioners off, then a single wage growth lock.
You think that would buy the oldies off ?
As soon as we experienced a surge in inflation the oldies would demand an immediate increase.
Did anyone foresee the i paper's front page headline?
I think the adage is "never let a crisis go to waste".
(A pure inflation lock is a bit too stingy, which was the reason for the TL in the first place; the state pension had got hopelessly low. In normal times, a TL is a bit too generous, and inflation spikes send it haywire. So what's in-between?)
TL applied over a 5 year rolling average goes a long way to solving the problem.
Yes. Remove the 2.5% lock, yearly increase with CPI. Adjust upwards if average wages have increased more than prices over a five year period.
Did anyone foresee the i paper's front page headline?
I think the adage is "never let a crisis go to waste".
(A pure inflation lock is a bit too stingy, which was the reason for the TL in the first place; the state pension had got hopelessly low. In normal times, a TL is a bit too generous, and inflation spikes send it haywire. So what's in-between?)
TL applied over a 5 year rolling average goes a long way to solving the problem.
Yes. Remove the 2.5% lock, yearly increase with CPI. Adjust upwards if average wages have increased more than prices over a five year period.
Let's remember that until the Triple Lock came in, RPI not CPI was used to calculate the annual rate of pension uplift, and RPI is almost always the higher if flawed measure of inflation.
It was Osborne's great political achievement that he managed to convince anyone that the Triple Lock was more generous than Brown's previous system of uplifting by the greater of RPI or 2.5%, even as wages were stagnating under austerity.
Prediction: Labour will be slaughtered on Thursday night and then... nothing will happen and Starmer will remain PM.
Burnham isn't in position and so no one will move.
The fact that Burnham isn't in position and that Rayner would prefer to wait a bit longer is precisely why Streeting can be expected to move.
Rayner may be a bit worried about getting the required 80 nominations but if Labour are third or worse on seats on Thursday I expect Rayner and Streeting to launch leadership bids and challenge Starmer
The UK intends to begin negotiations to join a £78bn (€90bn) European Union loan scheme seen as providing vital support for Ukraine. The prime minister said the talks are aimed at strengthening Ukraine's defences while also trying to give UK firms access to future contracts.
"trying to give access"....still no closer to actually getting access to a scheme that Mr Agreement about an Agreement didn't actually get an agreement. I said when he first said he had got an agreement to talk about an agreement by the time he finally gets it over the line all the best contracts will have already been awarded to the Germans and French contractors.
Prediction: Labour will be slaughtered on Thursday night and then... nothing will happen and Starmer will remain PM.
Burnham isn't in position and so no one will move.
The fact that Burnham isn't in position and that Rayner would prefer to wait a bit longer is precisely why Streeting can be expected to move.
Rayner may be a bit worried about getting the required 80 nominations but if Labour are third or worse on seats on Thursday I expect Rayner and Streeting to launch leadership bids and challenge Starmer
Comments
I certainly do not remember them.
I dare say if you had nothing else to do you could go through my comments for the last ten years and find all sorts of odd things because of the discussions that were ongoing, or just my mood, at that time.
So if you want me to comment on a specific allegation then you'll have to substantiate it.
And when the hell have I ever been a full throated supporter of Trump ???
I've never been a full throated supporter of any politician or any party.
Now there have been things I've said Trump was correct about and many more when I have said a specific Dem or Dems in general have been wrong about something.
But that also applies to my opinions about UK politicians and parties as well.
I thought Trump a mediocre President in his first term and that his refusal to accept his fair defeat made him unfit for further office. I think its a tragedy that the Dems were unable to produce a candidate who was worth supporting.
One party wins in Muslim wards.
Another party wins in Hindu wards.
Democracy.
We see it often in politics, I suppose it is fandom; someone does consistently well compared to where they were, but doesn't quite make it to the top and are ridiculed despite over achieving. It used to happen with UKIP in the mid 2010s
I know there are many things in the world at the moment that make no sense, but that is a Buster Gonads sized entry in the world of bollocks justifications.
And one could see that if Farage was trying to "process" this amount of unexplained money in the official (or broader) banking systems, that he could quite easily fail the sort of AML checks that end up with somebody getting debanked.
Lib Dem posters winning here
A bug, not a feature.
Believe me if I was a Trump supporter I would happily so say but I don't because I'm not and never was.
That I've said at times that he may be correct about something or that the Dems were wrong about something is nuance and independence.
Perhaps I stand out because I don't join in with the manichean pompom waving in which so many PBers view US politics.
And to people with that mentality anyone who 'is not one of us' must be 'one of them'.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/04/25/birth-control-maha-abortion-trump-00889738
Bedwetting scumbags.
It’s a football chant. I wasn’t singing it on my own. I believe Brixian would have sung it too. As did other teams supporters.
I go on holiday with my wife, and my wife and the in-laws. We have a lovely time.
Like,last weekend in Helmsley (N Yorks, not the wrestler).
He cut the throat of a teenage girl, ending her life”
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2050843575848427605?s=46
There is a video. Hideous
It also might be a sign that sorting out mainstream problems is too hard to do.
He seriously replied “how dare you compare your club with Spurs” (or similar sentiments) so I took great pleasure in reminding/informing him that even we’ve won the league more recently than Spurs, before I blocked the fucker. Known him since school, that was the final straw.
They really are the pits sometimes.
Would require some of the frontrunners to fade badly.
The Banksters Are Profiteering seems to be the line.
The best one I heard today is that there is no need to cancel flights - even if there is a shortage of aviation fuel here, they can just fuel up in Spain…
Villa, West Brom, Wolves, Coventry, Stoke, Leicester, Derby, Forest have all had their glory days.
Why hasn't Birmingham ?
I’m afraid I’m quite literal according to my wife.
I suspect had we been having a beer and you cracked that I’d have laughed and got the joke.
Aaron Bastani
@AaronBastani
·
46m
A reminder: Starmer is presently moving heaven and earth to stop this guy returning to the Labour Party as an MP 🤯
https://x.com/AaronBastani/status/2051019876899180882
Their underachievement in recent decades has been matched by Chelsea success.
Possibly there's only room for two successful teams in London.
Thus it catapulted them.
I just think we’ve been badly run for many years. The Coombs in the seventies did fine but we ended up with a load of debt and the people,solving it were blamed. The well meaning, but hopeless, Kumars took us over and did nothing
Then Sullivan and the Golds came and we did fine for a while then we got taken over by a guy who was a barber who laundered money in Hong Kong and it’s been downhill ever since.
Having the name of the second city doesn’t guarantee success. Sadly
Marvellous.
But they have had occasional trophy wins, great players and entertaining teams since 1961.
Whereas Birmingham City has been a nothingness forever.
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/26074867.tommy-robinson-secretly-invited-speak-oxford-university/
Burnham isn't in position and so no one will move.
I'm relaxed that:
- The votes of Muslims have always been somewhat blocky, but their votes do still split multiple ways, even if it more like Bootle than Sittingbourne & Sheppey. Like mindedness is not a problem per sé
- They are voters who are fully entitled to vote for who they want.
- They are entitled to vote for community independents from their community, even if the event that pivoted on was the war in Gaza
- That some kind of base expression of support for the fate of civilians in Gaza, and that being a cause celebre, is not in itself Unbritish
I'm concerned that:
- There is a level of coercive family voting, probably small, generally not enough to affect a result in a heavily Muslim ward, but something which should be picked up on in the individual instances it does occur.
- That withdrawing into Community Independent voting does have the effect of putting a barrier up, and that other parties should be addressing that.
- That support for Gaza (or wider Islamism) in quite a sizeable number of cases, does cross a line into hatred.
Hmmm.
The reptile suspected to have eaten the missing man had already been killed but Captain Johan "Pottie" Potgieter said it was still a nerve-wracking experience.
"The sharp-end of a crocodile is not the best place to approach it," he told the News24 website, external.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz92gk18xn4o
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/03/reform-put-migrant-detention-centres-green-council-areas/
Wu!!
There’s a time to take the high road.
There’s a time to take the high road.
The United States is and will remain Germany‘s most important partner in the North Atlantic Alliance. We share a common goal: Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
Rather sadly these kind of PR stunts seem to work.
Fact of the Day: SpongeBob Squarepants in Russia is called SpongeBoris Squarehat
High performance economy sounds fab. We all love motherhood and apple pie too.
Low regulation would be wonderful if we could trust all those economic actors to do what’s best for the consumer. Can we? Are we sure no financial institution will ever miss-sell products to customers again? Those chicken farmers on the banks of the Wye, are their phosphate-rich slurries over-regulated, or under-regulated? Are we happy the tech bros have our and our children’s best interests at heart? What about the water companies? Does the low regulation of plastic waste in the countries around the Indian Ocean or the low regulation of air pollution in Delhi show us the way forward for Britain?
This is the trouble with so much of the shitty political discourse of today. Most politics is a negotiation, and economics is a balancing act between the three forces: capital, labour, and the consumer. Give one of them everything and you screw the other two. And the one that gets most frequently forgotten about, at the mercy of the producer and capital, is the consumer. Forced to inhale literal and electronic shit.
Did anyone foresee the i paper's front page headline?
So one policy which I agree with them .
But it is at least an improvement on what we currently have.
2) because the wealthy people and the clever ideas are leaving and we don't have a cure for it. People have been advocating "Singapore-upon-Thames" for nearly two decades and it has no political traction at all
3) because we would end up with a large poor population working hard for forever decreasing wages endlessly suppressed by a continuous supply of even poorer people willing to live six to a room and survive off gravel
(A pure inflation lock is a bit too stingy, which was the reason for the TL in the first place; the state pension had got hopelessly low. In normal times, a TL is a bit too generous, and inflation spikes send it haywire. So what's in-between?)
With auto-enrolment of workers into pension schemes and now the ease of creating your own SIPP online people have the opportunities to increase their own future pension provision.
In fact not just the opportunities but the responsibilities.
As soon as we experienced a surge in inflation the oldies would demand an immediate increase.
I'm sure the #endofcash PBers will be interested how this goes
A
S
H
It was Osborne's great political achievement that he managed to convince anyone that the Triple Lock was more generous than Brown's previous system of uplifting by the greater of RPI or 2.5%, even as wages were stagnating under austerity.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1420e1p1l0o
"trying to give access"....still no closer to actually getting access to a scheme that Mr Agreement about an Agreement didn't actually get an agreement. I said when he first said he had got an agreement to talk about an agreement by the time he finally gets it over the line all the best contracts will have already been awarded to the Germans and French contractors.