I DEMAND that my name is changed every on the Ides of every month, plus important saints' days, with an honour guard of comments by @kinabalu and @bondegezou remarking on my fame and sagacity, and announcements in the London Illustrated News, the Falmouth Packet, and Pravda
This should be accompanied by large floats rolling down the Ramblas in Barcelona, to the total bewilderment of tourists AND locals, with my new name spelled in synthetic meat on enormous styrofoam maps of the Baltic, as nubile Siamese dancing girls gyrate to Mmmbop by Hanson
We shall burn your names at Beltane every year. Calton Hill shall be ablaze with your pseudonyms.
The fact that Rayner made such a stupid misspeak.. if indeed it was .. , its just another stupid error from a Labour politician It pales into.insignifcance of the desperation and stupididity of Starmer appointing Harperson and McDoom.
The main issue with Burnham is that he seems to have said nothing so far on immigration.
Labour has a window to say "it gets it" with a new leader. But Burnham has been oddly silent on this for quite a while. I did find an interview from 2015 where he kind of explained that he got it, so there's that.
‘ Husbands with second, third and even fourth wives living in the UK have had their benefits allowance increased by the Department for Work and Pensions.’
I'm sorry but this can't be real. Bigamy is illegal in the UK last I checked. What are the government playing at, literally writing Reform's manifesto for them.
Its true, it's a tiny number of people. But it is true. I linked to it earlier. We are indeed paying (increased) benefits to polygamous wives "because it is their custom". That, honestly, is the explanation
This country is a joke. Last year I paid well in excess of six figures in tax, I don't engage in any kind of tax avoidance or work through some IR35 setup even though I probably could. What am I bothering to do this for?
The pension/UC stuff I linked to earlier, as well, is much more disheartening. Because we are now giving the state pension (minus £3) to anyone who shows up who is of pensionable age. So you pay into the Exchequer for 35 years and the benefit you get is basically zero over someone who arrived last Thursday
One is a floor to make sure old people still have a basic amount of money to live. If they have some income, it tops them up to this minimum level.
The other is a benefit you get, and you get to keep even if you have other sources of income.
Its not a benefit it is an entitlement earned over 35 years. And the fact that the means tested benefits are basically the same shows you how little the State actually values your contributions, no matter how substantial or deemed they are. For those without other sources of income it is surely the worst deal in history.
I don’t know what the difference between a benefit and an entitlement is. You're the lawyer I guess.
But we all know that your national insurance contributions are just a tax. It's not a deal (unless you work abroad - then I think you can opt in or out).
The fact that Rayner made such a stupid misspeak.. if indeed it was .. , its just another stupid error from a Labour politician It pales into.insignifcance of the desperation and stupididity of Starmer appointing Harperson and McDoom.
Madness
It does rather summarise their total, miserable incompetence. Even their exciting leadership struggles are thickly mixed - like preserved fruit in a Dundee Cake - with howling errors and embarrassing gaffes
This is honestly the worst government of my life, by a distance. And I now include Truss in this, which I didn't before
Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at the Ministry of Justice while campaigning for elected office. In reality, he was hired by an agency that supplies actors to a quango for courtroom role-play exercises.
What even is the point in this speech? He's going to say more of the same and it will all be pointless.
If I had any idea what he wants to do, it would be fine. But he obviously doesn't. Even when Blair was being hounded out, he was still doing stuff. Starmer just sits there, doing nothing.
Sean is wrong, Truss is still worse. But this is the most POINTLESS government of my life, that is for sure.
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
Unfortunately, it has largely been moved on. We now have a very large backlog of appeals which are taking over a year to be heard. But I accept its a start.
Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at the Ministry of Justice while campaigning for elected office. In reality, he was hired by an agency that supplies actors to a quango for courtroom role-play exercises.
Can this guy ever stop lying?
Dominic Sandbrook reckons the British have always loved a mountebank.
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
Unfortunately, it has largely been moved on. We now have a very large backlog of appeals which are taking over a year to be heard. But I accept its a start.
My point is that there are political wins somewhere they could use. But nothing from Starmer who is useless.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
What even is the point in this speech? He's going to say more of the same and it will all be pointless.
If I had any idea what he wants to do, it would be fine. But he obviously doesn't. Even when Blair was being hounded out, he was still doing stuff. Starmer just sits there, doing nothing.
Sean is wrong, Truss is still worse. But this is the most POINTLESS government of my life, that is for sure.
The reality is there is very little that he can do (which would be sensible).
There is very little sensible that anyone, in any party, can do.
This is the reality. Yet everyone is running around in circles desperate for some magic wand of change which doesn't actually exist.
It's like football fans now wanting their manager to be sacked if he doesn't win absolutely everything.
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
A backlog being halved is great, if:
1. It's not been halved by massively increasing the grant rate. If it has, that is both awful, and will increase the problem down the line. France and Germany have afaicr already complained that we're an asylum mecca due to that. 2. Those refused are actually being deported, not just disappearing.
Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at the Ministry of Justice while campaigning for elected office. In reality, he was hired by an agency that supplies actors to a quango for courtroom role-play exercises.
Can this guy ever stop lying?
Dominic Sandbrook reckons the British have always loved a mountebank.
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
Unfortunately, it has largely been moved on. We now have a very large backlog of appeals which are taking over a year to be heard. But I accept its a start.
My point is that there are political wins somewhere they could use. But nothing from Starmer who is useless.
I don't disagree. The PR operation of this government is at least as inadequate as the rest of it. Maybe Gordon Brown has been brought back so that we can go back to announcing the same new expenditure multiple times again?
‘ Husbands with second, third and even fourth wives living in the UK have had their benefits allowance increased by the Department for Work and Pensions.’
I'm sorry but this can't be real. Bigamy is illegal in the UK last I checked. What are the government playing at, literally writing Reform's manifesto for them.
Its true, it's a tiny number of people. But it is true. I linked to it earlier. We are indeed paying (increased) benefits to polygamous wives "because it is their custom". That, honestly, is the explanation
This country is a joke. Last year I paid well in excess of six figures in tax, I don't engage in any kind of tax avoidance or work through some IR35 setup even though I probably could. What am I bothering to do this for?
‘ Husbands with second, third and even fourth wives living in the UK have had their benefits allowance increased by the Department for Work and Pensions.’
I'm sorry but this can't be real. Bigamy is illegal in the UK last I checked. What are the government playing at, literally writing Reform's manifesto for them.
Its true, it's a tiny number of people. But it is true. I linked to it earlier. We are indeed paying (increased) benefits to polygamous wives "because it is their custom". That, honestly, is the explanation
This country is a joke. Last year I paid well in excess of six figures in tax, I don't engage in any kind of tax avoidance or work through some IR35 setup even though I probably could. What am I bothering to do this for?
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
A backlog being halved is great, if:
1. It's not been halved by massively increasing the grant rate. If it has, that is both awful, and will increase the problem down the line. France and Germany have afaicr already complained that we're an asylum mecca due to that. 2. Those refused are actually being deported, not just disappearing.
Otherwise it's not good news at all.
I believe the grant rate is about the same. Deportations are up under Labour.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
On topic, if Rayner is the best the Labour left has, they really are hopeless.
I mean, they're obviously complete idiots in government, or they wouldn't be the far left, but even they surely can't be clueless enough not to realise that she'd win about two votes outside their communist comfort zone?
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
Unfortunately, it has largely been moved on. We now have a very large backlog of appeals which are taking over a year to be heard. But I accept its a start.
My point is that there are political wins somewhere they could use. But nothing from Starmer who is useless.
I don't disagree. The PR operation of this government is at least as inadequate as the rest of it. Maybe Gordon Brown has been brought back so that we can go back to announcing the same new expenditure multiple times again?
Gordon Brown has been brought back, because Starmer thinks Brown represents a time when the Labour Government was led by a PM who united the party and had political sense.
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
A backlog being halved is great, if:
1. It's not been halved by massively increasing the grant rate. If it has, that is both awful, and will increase the problem down the line. France and Germany have afaicr already complained that we're an asylum mecca due to that. 2. Those refused are actually being deported, not just disappearing.
Otherwise it's not good news at all.
I believe the grant rate is about the same. Deportations are up under Labour.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
And there is a significant chunk in labour who are viscerally opposed to extending ILR to ten years from five. The main driver for this is preventing access to benefits system.
They want your money to throw around to others.
Why work hard and achieve ? You’re a mug if you do. You just get told you’re ‘greedy’ or ‘selfish’ for wanting to keep what you earn.
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
Unfortunately, it has largely been moved on. We now have a very large backlog of appeals which are taking over a year to be heard. But I accept its a start.
My point is that there are political wins somewhere they could use. But nothing from Starmer who is useless.
I don't disagree. The PR operation of this government is at least as inadequate as the rest of it. Maybe Gordon Brown has been brought back so that we can go back to announcing the same new expenditure multiple times again?
Gordon Brown has been brought back, because Starmer thinks Brown represents a time when the Labour Government was led by a PM who united the party and had political sense.
Think about that.
I suspect he went to Blair first and Blair offered him this advice: resign.
Sensible Tories need to start preparing for a coalition
These local election results should end Conservative delusions of a party revival
This bizarre narrative persists in Tory world: “Kemi Badenoch is leading a revival of the party”. This inexplicably developed when the party’s national opinion poll ratings remained sub-20 points. It persists even after these elections, where they lost more than 500 council seats in England, saw their Welsh Senedd seats drop by 22 to 7, and their Scottish Parliament seats drop by 19 to 12.
Tories push this message after losing control of councils in their heartlands of Essex and Suffolk, amongst half a dozen council losses. They push it even as they failed to re-take Wandsworth. All on the basis of what? The fact they regained control of their flagship Westminster council and held middle-class councils in the prosperous South? This is a strange measure of success.
Reform, meanwhile, secured nearly 1,500 council seats across England – many of them at the direct expense of the Conservative Party. Reform’s performance wasn’t that of an irritating challenger party like Ukip used to be, but of a party heading for Downing Street.
On topic, if Rayner is the best the Labour left has, they really are hopeless.
I mean, they're obviously complete idiots in government, or they wouldn't be the far left, but even they surely can't be clueless enough not to realise that she'd win about two votes outside their communist comfort zone?
Or did they learn nothing from 1983 and 2019?
How left is Burnham? If Clive Lewis is willing to give up his seat, presumably quite left. Or he thinks so.
‘ Husbands with second, third and even fourth wives living in the UK have had their benefits allowance increased by the Department for Work and Pensions.’
I'm sorry but this can't be real. Bigamy is illegal in the UK last I checked. What are the government playing at, literally writing Reform's manifesto for them.
Its true, it's a tiny number of people. But it is true. I linked to it earlier. We are indeed paying (increased) benefits to polygamous wives "because it is their custom". That, honestly, is the explanation
This country is a joke. Last year I paid well in excess of six figures in tax, I don't engage in any kind of tax avoidance or work through some IR35 setup even though I probably could. What am I bothering to do this for?
You were raised right. Unfortunately that does come with being taken advantage of.
On topic, if Rayner is the best the Labour left has, they really are hopeless.
I mean, they're obviously complete idiots in government, or they wouldn't be the far left, but even they surely can't be clueless enough not to realise that she'd win about two votes outside their communist comfort zone?
Or did they learn nothing from 1983 and 2019?
How left is Burnham? If Clive Lewis is willing to give up his seat, presumably quite left. Or he thinks so.
He's a chameleon.
He was Blairite, then Brownite, then soft left, then Corbynite, then Starmermite. Now he's proper left again.
He claims he's moved over time, but I think he's just a very good politician. Maybe that's what Labour needs.
‘ Husbands with second, third and even fourth wives living in the UK have had their benefits allowance increased by the Department for Work and Pensions.’
I'm sorry but this can't be real. Bigamy is illegal in the UK last I checked. What are the government playing at, literally writing Reform's manifesto for them.
Its true, it's a tiny number of people. But it is true. I linked to it earlier. We are indeed paying (increased) benefits to polygamous wives "because it is their custom". That, honestly, is the explanation
This country is a joke. Last year I paid well in excess of six figures in tax, I don't engage in any kind of tax avoidance or work through some IR35 setup even though I probably could. What am I bothering to do this for?
The pension/UC stuff I linked to earlier, as well, is much more disheartening. Because we are now giving the state pension (minus £3) to anyone who shows up who is of pensionable age. So you pay into the Exchequer for 35 years and the benefit you get is basically zero over someone who arrived last Thursday
Really? That's the kind of thing that enrages people.
‘ Husbands with second, third and even fourth wives living in the UK have had their benefits allowance increased by the Department for Work and Pensions.’
I'm sorry but this can't be real. Bigamy is illegal in the UK last I checked. What are the government playing at, literally writing Reform's manifesto for them.
Apparently it’s only for foreign polygamous marriages before 1987. The Immigration Act 1988 closed that particular loophole.
On topic, if Rayner is the best the Labour left has, they really are hopeless.
I mean, they're obviously complete idiots in government, or they wouldn't be the far left, but even they surely can't be clueless enough not to realise that she'd win about two votes outside their communist comfort zone?
Or did they learn nothing from 1983 and 2019?
How left is Burnham? If Clive Lewis is willing to give up his seat, presumably quite left. Or he thinks so.
He's a chameleon.
He was Blairite, then Brownite, then soft left, then Corbynite, then Starmermite. Now he's proper left again.
He claims he's moved over time, but I think he's just a very good politician. Maybe that's what Labour needs.
Being a political chameleon can work, and since he's been out of parliament for awhile I don't think people would immediately hold adjusting his position once again against him. I assume he'd move quite far left because that's where the red meat is for regaining party support.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
And there is a significant chunk in labour who are viscerally opposed to extending ILR to ten years from five. The main driver for this is preventing access to benefits system.
They want your money to throw around to others.
Why work hard and achieve ? You’re a mug if you do. You just get told you’re ‘greedy’ or ‘selfish’ for wanting to keep what you earn.
Most of the tax most people pay, they get back in their education, their healthcare and their pension.
On topic, if Rayner is the best the Labour left has, they really are hopeless.
I mean, they're obviously complete idiots in government, or they wouldn't be the far left, but even they surely can't be clueless enough not to realise that she'd win about two votes outside their communist comfort zone?
Or did they learn nothing from 1983 and 2019?
How left is Burnham? If Clive Lewis is willing to give up his seat, presumably quite left. Or he thinks so.
He's a chameleon.
He was Blairite, then Brownite, then soft left, then Corbynite, then Starmermite. Now he's proper left again.
He claims he's moved over time, but I think he's just a very good politician. Maybe that's what Labour needs.
I think the phrase you are looking for is unprincipled, self-serving shit.
Just when you think he has reached peak arrogance, he dials it up another notch.
Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at the Ministry of Justice while campaigning for elected office. In reality, he was hired by an agency that supplies actors to a quango for courtroom role-play exercises.
Can this guy ever stop lying?
Dominic Sandbrook reckons the British have always loved a mountebank.
Strangely that doesn’t seem to extend to Trump.
It doesn't mean any mountebank. The jury is still out on Polanski.
"We must double down on renters' reform and show leaseholders our action on tackling ground rents and charges was just a first step to ending freehold for good."
Presumably she means ending leaseholders having a separate freeholder.
Remember she won't actually have any understanding of the detail or indeed the law.
On topic, if Rayner is the best the Labour left has, they really are hopeless.
I mean, they're obviously complete idiots in government, or they wouldn't be the far left, but even they surely can't be clueless enough not to realise that she'd win about two votes outside their communist comfort zone?
Or did they learn nothing from 1983 and 2019?
How left is Burnham? If Clive Lewis is willing to give up his seat, presumably quite left. Or he thinks so.
He's a chameleon.
He was Blairite, then Brownite, then soft left, then Corbynite, then Starmermite. Now he's proper left again.
He claims he's moved over time, but I think he's just a very good politician. Maybe that's what Labour needs.
I think the phrase you are looking for is unprincipled, self-serving shit.
Just when you think he has reached peak arrogance, he dials it up another notch.
I don't particularly like him in all honesty, but he does "authentic" in a way few other Labour politicians can at the moment, and he doesn't sound like he's from London.
I think objectively despite my misgivings about him, he's their best current option. However, this only goes so far as a week or two in. If he doesn't actually have any policies, especially on immigration + cost of living, we will be back here in a year.
Streeting I think basically wants to speak up for what he perceives the government to have done well on and communicate better; he's said this and articulated it will in a lot of longer form interviews. And he has shown recently he can run a good campaign.
Either would probably get me to vote Labour again.
‘ Husbands with second, third and even fourth wives living in the UK have had their benefits allowance increased by the Department for Work and Pensions.’
I'm sorry but this can't be real. Bigamy is illegal in the UK last I checked. What are the government playing at, literally writing Reform's manifesto for them.
Its true, it's a tiny number of people. But it is true. I linked to it earlier. We are indeed paying (increased) benefits to polygamous wives "because it is their custom". That, honestly, is the explanation
This country is a joke. Last year I paid well in excess of six figures in tax, I don't engage in any kind of tax avoidance or work through some IR35 setup even though I probably could. What am I bothering to do this for?
The pension/UC stuff I linked to earlier, as well, is much more disheartening. Because we are now giving the state pension (minus £3) to anyone who shows up who is of pensionable age. So you pay into the Exchequer for 35 years and the benefit you get is basically zero over someone who arrived last Thursday
Really? That's the kind of thing that enrages people.
We do not give the state pension to anyone who shows up who is of pensionable age, no.
Sensible Tories need to start preparing for a coalition
These local election results should end Conservative delusions of a party revival
This bizarre narrative persists in Tory world: “Kemi Badenoch is leading a revival of the party”. This inexplicably developed when the party’s national opinion poll ratings remained sub-20 points. It persists even after these elections, where they lost more than 500 council seats in England, saw their Welsh Senedd seats drop by 22 to 7, and their Scottish Parliament seats drop by 19 to 12.
Tories push this message after losing control of councils in their heartlands of Essex and Suffolk, amongst half a dozen council losses. They push it even as they failed to re-take Wandsworth. All on the basis of what? The fact they regained control of their flagship Westminster council and held middle-class councils in the prosperous South? This is a strange measure of success.
Reform, meanwhile, secured nearly 1,500 council seats across England – many of them at the direct expense of the Conservative Party. Reform’s performance wasn’t that of an irritating challenger party like Ukip used to be, but of a party heading for Downing Street.
It’s getting rather unseemly now Jacob, this endless whimpering and begging.
NO DEALS WITH THE TORIES.
You lot can go down with the ship that you made for yourselves by betraying the country.
I genuinely dislike Yusuf. He has no appeal other than whining, no response other than abuse. Part of the MAGAisation of British politics
I agree, but at least he is doing a service there by trying to point out to any Tories who still harbour under the misconception that Reform are not their enemy just how stupid they are being. They want defections, not allies, people like Rees-Mogg need to wake up and either join Reform (which many obviously do, but are reluctant to make the leap - we saw this even in the UKIP days) or take the fight to Reform because the differences are irreconcilable.
What even is the point in this speech? He's going to say more of the same and it will all be pointless.
If I had any idea what he wants to do, it would be fine. But he obviously doesn't. Even when Blair was being hounded out, he was still doing stuff. Starmer just sits there, doing nothing.
Sean is wrong, Truss is still worse. But this is the most POINTLESS government of my life, that is for sure.
The reality is there is very little that he can do (which would be sensible).
There is very little sensible that anyone, in any party, can do.
This is the reality. Yet everyone is running around in circles desperate for some magic wand of change which doesn't actually exist.
It's like football fans now wanting their manager to be sacked if he doesn't win absolutely everything.
Burnham and Rayner look like Rosenior and Nancy to me, I simply can not understand how even a Labour supporter could think that either of them should be the PM.
On topic, if Rayner is the best the Labour left has, they really are hopeless.
I mean, they're obviously complete idiots in government, or they wouldn't be the far left, but even they surely can't be clueless enough not to realise that she'd win about two votes outside their communist comfort zone?
Or did they learn nothing from 1983 and 2019?
How left is Burnham? If Clive Lewis is willing to give up his seat, presumably quite left. Or he thinks so.
He's a chameleon.
He was Blairite, then Brownite, then soft left, then Corbynite, then Starmermite. Now he's proper left again.
He claims he's moved over time, but I think he's just a very good politician. Maybe that's what Labour needs.
I think the phrase you are looking for is unprincipled, self-serving shit.
Just when you think he has reached peak arrogance, he dials it up another notch.
I don't particularly like him in all honesty, but he does "authentic" in a way few other Labour politicians can at the moment, and he doesn't sound like he's from London.
I think objectively despite my misgivings about him, he's their best current option. However, this only goes so far as a week or two in. If he doesn't actually have any policies, especially on immigration + cost of living, we will be back here in a year.
Streeting I think basically wants to speak up for what he perceives the government to have done well on and communicate better; he's said this and articulated it will in a lot of longer form interviews. And he has shown recently he can run a good campaign.
Either would probably get me to vote Labour again.
But in bold is utterly vital. And the reason it can't be Streeting.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
And there is a significant chunk in labour who are viscerally opposed to extending ILR to ten years from five. The main driver for this is preventing access to benefits system.
They want your money to throw around to others.
Why work hard and achieve ? You’re a mug if you do. You just get told you’re ‘greedy’ or ‘selfish’ for wanting to keep what you earn.
Most of the tax most people pay, they get back in their education, their healthcare and their pension.
State pension comes from National Insurance as does our sainted NHS (pbuh). It’s not tax and the state pension is contribution based.
It’s also not the case for higher earners like Max who will be net contributors over their lifetime. As have I been. That that will get back what they put in or more.
Where is the incentive to work hard and achieve, especially with the cliff edges in the tax system.
We need to incentivise higher earners to work and earn more not revile them or treat them as cash cows.
What even is the point in this speech? He's going to say more of the same and it will all be pointless.
If I had any idea what he wants to do, it would be fine. But he obviously doesn't. Even when Blair was being hounded out, he was still doing stuff. Starmer just sits there, doing nothing.
Sean is wrong, Truss is still worse. But this is the most POINTLESS government of my life, that is for sure.
The reality is there is very little that he can do (which would be sensible).
There is very little sensible that anyone, in any party, can do.
This is the reality. Yet everyone is running around in circles desperate for some magic wand of change which doesn't actually exist.
It's like football fans now wanting their manager to be sacked if he doesn't win absolutely everything.
Burnham and Rayner look like Rosenior and Nancy to me, I simply can not understand how even a Labour supporter could think that either of them should be the PM.
Rayner would make me vote Tory. Burnham is untested but I "get" his appeal.
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
Unfortunately, it has largely been moved on. We now have a very large backlog of appeals which are taking over a year to be heard. But I accept its a start.
My point is that there are political wins somewhere they could use. But nothing from Starmer who is useless.
I don't disagree. The PR operation of this government is at least as inadequate as the rest of it. Maybe Gordon Brown has been brought back so that we can go back to announcing the same new expenditure multiple times again?
Gordon Brown has been brought back, because Starmer thinks Brown represents a time when the Labour Government was led by a PM who united the party and had political sense.
Think about that.
Bloody hell that's a good point. Starmer's political judgement is even worse than I had realised.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
The wine good tonight?
Excellent. As I said, a rather stellar Kiwi Sauv Blanc, by Whitehaven
That said, I am only half a bottle in. And if you think a drunk like me gets loaded on half a bottle of white, then I have an Egyptian whisky to sell you, at £900 a case
Sensible Tories need to start preparing for a coalition
These local election results should end Conservative delusions of a party revival
This bizarre narrative persists in Tory world: “Kemi Badenoch is leading a revival of the party”. This inexplicably developed when the party’s national opinion poll ratings remained sub-20 points. It persists even after these elections, where they lost more than 500 council seats in England, saw their Welsh Senedd seats drop by 22 to 7, and their Scottish Parliament seats drop by 19 to 12.
Tories push this message after losing control of councils in their heartlands of Essex and Suffolk, amongst half a dozen council losses. They push it even as they failed to re-take Wandsworth. All on the basis of what? The fact they regained control of their flagship Westminster council and held middle-class councils in the prosperous South? This is a strange measure of success.
Reform, meanwhile, secured nearly 1,500 council seats across England – many of them at the direct expense of the Conservative Party. Reform’s performance wasn’t that of an irritating challenger party like Ukip used to be, but of a party heading for Downing Street.
It’s getting rather unseemly now Jacob, this endless whimpering and begging.
NO DEALS WITH THE TORIES.
You lot can go down with the ship that you made for yourselves by betraying the country.
I genuinely dislike Yusuf. He has no appeal other than whining, no response other than abuse. Part of the MAGAisation of British politics
Reform complaining because they don’t want to talk about deals (Yusuf). Reform complaining because other parties don’t want to deal with them (Offord).
‘ Husbands with second, third and even fourth wives living in the UK have had their benefits allowance increased by the Department for Work and Pensions.’
I'm sorry but this can't be real. Bigamy is illegal in the UK last I checked. What are the government playing at, literally writing Reform's manifesto for them.
Its true, it's a tiny number of people. But it is true. I linked to it earlier. We are indeed paying (increased) benefits to polygamous wives "because it is their custom". That, honestly, is the explanation
This country is a joke. Last year I paid well in excess of six figures in tax, I don't engage in any kind of tax avoidance or work through some IR35 setup even though I probably could. What am I bothering to do this for?
The pension/UC stuff I linked to earlier, as well, is much more disheartening. Because we are now giving the state pension (minus £3) to anyone who shows up who is of pensionable age. So you pay into the Exchequer for 35 years and the benefit you get is basically zero over someone who arrived last Thursday
Really? That's the kind of thing that enrages people.
We do not give the state pension to anyone who shows up who is of pensionable age, no.
You can read it, but Isam made a sarcastic comment that PB would be bound to highlight John Curtice's voteshare projections as they were worse for the Tories, TSE responded that he was getting tired of such crticism, Isam said he had always been tired of TSE, and got banned.
You can read it, but Isam made a sarcastic comment that PB would be bound to highlight John Curtice's voteshare projections as they were worse for the Tories, TSE responded that he was getting tired of such crticism, Isam said he had always been tired of TSE, and got banned.
Sensible Tories need to start preparing for a coalition
These local election results should end Conservative delusions of a party revival
This bizarre narrative persists in Tory world: “Kemi Badenoch is leading a revival of the party”. This inexplicably developed when the party’s national opinion poll ratings remained sub-20 points. It persists even after these elections, where they lost more than 500 council seats in England, saw their Welsh Senedd seats drop by 22 to 7, and their Scottish Parliament seats drop by 19 to 12.
Tories push this message after losing control of councils in their heartlands of Essex and Suffolk, amongst half a dozen council losses. They push it even as they failed to re-take Wandsworth. All on the basis of what? The fact they regained control of their flagship Westminster council and held middle-class councils in the prosperous South? This is a strange measure of success.
Reform, meanwhile, secured nearly 1,500 council seats across England – many of them at the direct expense of the Conservative Party. Reform’s performance wasn’t that of an irritating challenger party like Ukip used to be, but of a party heading for Downing Street.
It’s getting rather unseemly now Jacob, this endless whimpering and begging.
NO DEALS WITH THE TORIES.
You lot can go down with the ship that you made for yourselves by betraying the country.
I genuinely dislike Yusuf. He has no appeal other than whining, no response other than abuse. Part of the MAGAisation of British politics
Reform complaining because they don’t want to talk about deals (Yusuf). Reform complaining because other parties don’t want to deal with them (Offord).
Arrogance is a big part of politics, you have to believe your side has the best answers to solve the problems of the country after all when there's no real reason any of them are inherently better at that than any other (even if a general ideology were better for that, none of the parties are rigidly ideological in that way). As a rising force in politics Reform have the arrogance of victory combined with the victim complex of not being in power, which is an unattractive combination - whiny and aggressive at the same time, entitled and demanding, desiring praise and submission but viewing it as weakness to be dismissed as well.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
The wine good tonight?
Excellent. As I said, a rather stellar Kiwi Sauv Blanc, by Whitehaven
That said, I am only half a bottle in. And if you think a drunk like me gets loaded on half a bottle of white, then I have an Egyptian whisky to sell you, at £900 a case
Having followed your work for some time, I would never accuse you of being such a lightweight. Half a case seems more apt.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
And there is a significant chunk in labour who are viscerally opposed to extending ILR to ten years from five. The main driver for this is preventing access to benefits system.
They want your money to throw around to others.
Why work hard and achieve ? You’re a mug if you do. You just get told you’re ‘greedy’ or ‘selfish’ for wanting to keep what you earn.
Most of the tax most people pay, they get back in their education, their healthcare and their pension.
State pension comes from National Insurance as does our sainted NHS (pbuh). It’s not tax and the state pension is contribution based.
It’s also not the case for higher earners like Max who will be net contributors over their lifetime. As have I been. That that will get back what they put in or more.
Where is the incentive to work hard and achieve, especially with the cliff edges in the tax system.
We need to incentivise higher earners to work and earn more not revile them or treat them as cash cows.
National Insurance is tax. The NHS costs roughly £242 billion per year while NI raises about £171 billion per year. NI does not cover the NHS, let alone the state pension as well.
Yes, higher earners, like you and me, will be net contributors over our lifetimes, although that doesn't mean I don't and won't still get plenty back in terms of healthcare, state pension etc. We do have a somewhat redistributive tax system. Can't say I feel reviled. The incentive to work hard and achieve is that you achieve and get more money, although I agree with you about cliff edges.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
You can read it, but Isam made a sarcastic comment that PB would be bound to highlight John Curtice's voteshare projections as they were worse for the Tories, TSE responded that he was getting tired of such crticism, Isam said he had always been tired of TSE, and got banned.
So I've been told that a Labour MP is going to stand down for Burnham.
If Starmer blocks him for standing more than 81 MPs will trigger a leadership contest.
That noise you can hear is me making a reverse ferret on my betting positions.
Right now overall I'm green even if Burnham wins but I want to make big profits.
However Streeting might pull the plug on Starmer this week.
Decisions decisions.
Hmmm...... Feels a bit like a nuclear stand off.
I mean Starmer can try to face them down but do they then go to a contest without Burnham? Would MPs want that? How does Burnham get on the ballot unless Starmer allows it?
So I've been told that a Labour MP is going to stand down for Burnham.
If Starmer blocks him for standing more than 81 MPs will trigger a leadership contest.
That noise you can hear is me making a reverse ferret on my betting positions.
Right now overall I'm green even if Burnham wins but I want to make big profits.
However Streeting might pull the plug on Starmer this week.
Decisions decisions.
People do seem to be trying to give Burnham Polsanki style momentum going in to any contest. The funniest outcome would be that Burnham gets in, runs for leader, and loses.
But I think if he does get a chance to run he will win - party members probably want a 'reset' type candidate who can be insulated from the government decisions since 2024 (and so even when he does not change direction but re-announces things may get a boost), and other than Miliband none of the Cabinet leader prospects are particularly popular. I think he'd probably sweep any contest despite being pretty ordinary as far as I can see.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
The wine good tonight?
Excellent. As I said, a rather stellar Kiwi Sauv Blanc, by Whitehaven
That said, I am only half a bottle in. And if you think a drunk like me gets loaded on half a bottle of white, then I have an Egyptian whisky to sell you, at £900 a case
Having followed your work for some time, I would never accuse you of being such a lightweight. Half a case seems more apt.
I know whereof I speak. Egyptian malt whisky actually exists and it is actually a thing, I was given a bottle of this when staying at the Four Seasons, on assignment, in Alexandria, they put me in the single best room in the entire city
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
The wine good tonight?
Excellent. As I said, a rather stellar Kiwi Sauv Blanc, by Whitehaven
That said, I am only half a bottle in. And if you think a drunk like me gets loaded on half a bottle of white, then I have an Egyptian whisky to sell you, at £900 a case
Having followed your work for some time, I would never accuse you of being such a lightweight. Half a case seems more apt.
I know whereof I speak. Egyptian malt whisky actually exists and it is actually a thing, I was given a bottle of this when staying at the Four Seasons, on assignment, in Alexandria, they put me in the single best room in the entire city
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
The wine good tonight?
Excellent. As I said, a rather stellar Kiwi Sauv Blanc, by Whitehaven
That said, I am only half a bottle in. And if you think a drunk like me gets loaded on half a bottle of white, then I have an Egyptian whisky to sell you, at £900 a case
Having followed your work for some time, I would never accuse you of being such a lightweight. Half a case seems more apt.
I know whereof I speak. Egyptian malt whisky actually exists and it is actually a thing, I was given a bottle of this when staying at the Four Seasons, on assignment, in Alexandria, they put me in the single best room in the entire city
I think it won an award just for the insanity of being a single malt whisky from Egypt
I cannot, in all honesty, recommend it over a fine Macallan. But if you're bored and marooned and in Egypt, and need a tincture, it does the job
I received a whisky advent calendar from my mother in law. Whiskies of the world. Some of them - including the Egyptian one - were surprisingly good. I was also takem by the Japanese ones. The Indian ones OTOH, were horrific. Sorry India.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
The wine good tonight?
Excellent. As I said, a rather stellar Kiwi Sauv Blanc, by Whitehaven
That said, I am only half a bottle in. And if you think a drunk like me gets loaded on half a bottle of white, then I have an Egyptian whisky to sell you, at £900 a case
Having followed your work for some time, I would never accuse you of being such a lightweight. Half a case seems more apt.
I know whereof I speak. Egyptian malt whisky actually exists and it is actually a thing, I was given a bottle of this when staying at the Four Seasons, on assignment, in Alexandria, they put me in the single best room in the entire city
So I've been told that a Labour MP is going to stand down for Burnham within the next 48 hours.
If Starmer blocks him for standing more than 81 MPs will trigger a leadership contest.
That noise you can hear is me making a reverse ferret on my betting positions.
Right now overall I'm green even if Burnham wins but I want to make big profits.
However Streeting might pull the plug on Starmer this week.
Decisions decisions.
'Tis a pity none of them thought of this wizard wheeze before Gorton and Denton. A turbocharged Green Party opening up another flank and 1500 councillors lost were all it took.
You are, in all honesty, a mug if you pay your expected legal tax to this ludicrous fucking government. They just instantly and eagerly hand it over to anyone who can get here on a raft this weekend, with extra private dentistry plus pension plus free entry to the Tower of London
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
The wine good tonight?
Excellent. As I said, a rather stellar Kiwi Sauv Blanc, by Whitehaven
That said, I am only half a bottle in. And if you think a drunk like me gets loaded on half a bottle of white, then I have an Egyptian whisky to sell you, at £900 a case
Having followed your work for some time, I would never accuse you of being such a lightweight. Half a case seems more apt.
I know whereof I speak. Egyptian malt whisky actually exists and it is actually a thing, I was given a bottle of this when staying at the Four Seasons, on assignment, in Alexandria, they put me in the single best room in the entire city
Posters can criticise/disagree with me as much as they like, in fact you regularly do which I why I never ban people who think Die Hard is a Christmas film or pineapple is an acceptable topping on pizza.
I will publish (and welcome) articles that disagree with me.
I edit PB all year round, write over 700 threads a year, all whilst juggling working a full time job, having a family, maintaining a relationship, and having a life.
I have only one agenda, to try and make lots of money via betting and entertain PBers in the process.
Please don't accuse me of bad faith articles/data.
So I've been told that a Labour MP is going to stand down for Burnham within the next 48 hours.
If Starmer blocks him for standing more than 81 MPs will trigger a leadership contest.
That noise you can hear is me making a reverse ferret on my betting positions.
Right now overall I'm green even if Burnham wins but I want to make big profits.
However Streeting might pull the plug on Starmer this week.
Decisions decisions.
'Tis a pity none of them thought of this wizard wheeze before Gorton and Denton. A turbocharged Green Party opening up another flank and 1500 councillors lost were all it took.
No wonder Labour can’t run the country. They can’t even run the Labour party.
So I've been told that a Labour MP is going to stand down for Burnham within the next 48 hours.
If Starmer blocks him for standing more than 81 MPs will trigger a leadership contest.
That noise you can hear is me making a reverse ferret on my betting positions.
Right now overall I'm green even if Burnham wins but I want to make big profits.
However Streeting might pull the plug on Starmer this week.
Decisions decisions.
So if Starmer blocks Burnham, Burnham's lickspittles trigger a contest that Burnham won't be eligible to stand in.
Have they fully thought this through?
Or Starmer doesn't block Burnham - and allows the public to vote 'Not Burnham' in the By-election - which is surely going to happen unless it's really non-obvious who the 'Not Labour' candidate is... but it requires the person stepping down to (a) be in a Labour very safe seat, (b) be a seat where both Reform and Green can claim to be the alternative, (c) be willing to sacrifice themselves for Burnham's ambition - I am sure that Burnham will have offered them all manner of Lord's goodies etc in due course, but if the plan fails they've totally shot themselves in the foot because neither Starmer nor Streeting will be doing anything to help them. I'm not sure that I can identify who might be stepping down - as mentioned previously Clive Lewis might be willing - but that doesn't help. (other to enable the Greens to get another MP and everyone else to have a laugh at Labour's expense)
Comments
It pales into.insignifcance of the desperation and stupididity of Starmer appointing Harperson and McDoom.
Madness
Labour has a window to say "it gets it" with a new leader. But Burnham has been oddly silent on this for quite a while. I did find an interview from 2015 where he kind of explained that he got it, so there's that.
But we all know that your national insurance contributions are just a tax. It's not a deal (unless you work abroad - then I think you can opt in or out).
This is honestly the worst government of my life, by a distance. And I now include Truss in this, which I didn't before
Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at the Ministry of Justice while campaigning for elected office.
In reality, he was hired by an agency that supplies actors to a quango for courtroom role-play exercises.
Can this guy ever stop lying?
If I had any idea what he wants to do, it would be fine. But he obviously doesn't. Even when Blair was being hounded out, he was still doing stuff. Starmer just sits there, doing nothing.
Sean is wrong, Truss is still worse. But this is the most POINTLESS government of my life, that is for sure.
Odd that such progress is barely mentioned by Labour.
https://x.com/FraserNelson/status/2053429201080832460
Because everyone stopped listening. A new leader will have the ability to shout about some of the stuff that seems to be working (whatever little there is).
If you murmur about "uh, rapes?" they shout that you are a RACIST and you are not thinking in CONTEXT and then they put you in PRISON
There is very little sensible that anyone, in any party, can do.
This is the reality. Yet everyone is running around in circles desperate for some magic wand of change which doesn't actually exist.
It's like football fans now wanting their manager to be sacked if he doesn't win absolutely everything.
1. It's not been halved by massively increasing the grant rate. If it has, that is both awful, and will increase the problem down the line. France and Germany have afaicr already complained that we're an asylum mecca due to that.
2. Those refused are actually being deported, not just disappearing.
Otherwise it's not good news at all.
And fiscal drag will make you poorer too.
And fiscal drag will make you poorer too.
I mean, they're obviously complete idiots in government, or they wouldn't be the far left, but even they surely can't be clueless enough not to realise that she'd win about two votes outside their communist comfort zone?
Or did they learn nothing from 1983 and 2019?
Think about that.
They want your money to throw around to others.
Why work hard and achieve ? You’re a mug if you do. You just get told you’re ‘greedy’ or ‘selfish’ for wanting to keep what you earn.
He was Blairite, then Brownite, then soft left, then Corbynite, then Starmermite. Now he's proper left again.
He claims he's moved over time, but I think he's just a very good politician. Maybe that's what Labour needs.
Just when you think he has reached peak arrogance, he dials it up another notch.
I think objectively despite my misgivings about him, he's their best current option. However, this only goes so far as a week or two in. If he doesn't actually have any policies, especially on immigration + cost of living, we will be back here in a year.
Streeting I think basically wants to speak up for what he perceives the government to have done well on and communicate better; he's said this and articulated it will in a lot of longer form interviews. And he has shown recently he can run a good campaign.
Either would probably get me to vote Labour again.
EDIT: This link has some details, https://fullfact.org/immigration/immigrants-pensioners-money-to-live-on/ It's complicated, depending on your immigration status.
And the reason it can't be Streeting.
It’s also not the case for higher earners like Max who will be net contributors over their lifetime. As have I been. That that will get back what they put in or more.
Where is the incentive to work hard and achieve, especially with the cliff edges in the tax system.
We need to incentivise higher earners to work and earn more not revile them or treat them as cash cows.
https://www.perfectcellar.com/products/whitehaven-marlborough-sauvignon-blanc-2025?_pos=1&_sid=e4c8b060c&_ss=r
That said, I am only half a bottle in. And if you think a drunk like me gets loaded on half a bottle of white, then I have an Egyptian whisky to sell you, at £900 a case
Try this post.
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/5540569#Comment_5540569
If Starmer blocks him for standing more than 81 MPs will trigger a leadership contest.
That noise you can hear is me making a reverse ferret on my betting positions.
Right now overall I'm green even if Burnham wins but I want to make big profits.
However Streeting might pull the plug on Starmer this week.
Decisions decisions.
Half a case seems more apt.
Yes, higher earners, like you and me, will be net contributors over our lifetimes, although that doesn't mean I don't and won't still get plenty back in terms of healthcare, state pension etc. We do have a somewhat redistributive tax system. Can't say I feel reviled. The incentive to work hard and achieve is that you achieve and get more money, although I agree with you about cliff edges.
I mean Starmer can try to face them down but do they then go to a contest without Burnham? Would MPs want that? How does Burnham get on the ballot unless Starmer allows it?
But I think if he does get a chance to run he will win - party members probably want a 'reset' type candidate who can be insulated from the government decisions since 2024 (and so even when he does not change direction but re-announces things may get a boost), and other than Miliband none of the Cabinet leader prospects are particularly popular. I think he'd probably sweep any contest despite being pretty ordinary as far as I can see.
Not that millennial slang will have been any less stupid, but I'll be damned if I let multi-generational slang rot my brain.
Have they fully thought this through?
https://www.worldwhiskiesawards.com/winner-whisky/best-egyptian-single-malt-world-whiskies-awards-2019
I think it won an award just for the insanity of being a single malt whisky from Egypt
I cannot, in all honesty, recommend it over a fine Macallan. But if you're bored and marooned and in Egypt, and need a tincture, it does the job
We shall see but I am green on Mr Manchester.
In the poor house if it is Wes.
They are telling Wes Streeting if you win a contest without Burnham then there will be another contest if and when Burnham becomes an MP.
Think I might be sick from all the popcorn for that.
Personally I’m several G&Ts in and half a bottle of “elephant in the room”
God knows why.
A turbocharged Green Party opening up another flank and 1500 councillors lost were all it took.
I will publish (and welcome) articles that disagree with me.
I edit PB all year round, write over 700 threads a year, all whilst juggling working a full time job, having a family, maintaining a relationship, and having a life.
I have only one agenda, to try and make lots of money via betting and entertain PBers in the process.
Please don't accuse me of bad faith articles/data.
The thing is, I am aware of the irony of me criticising somebody else for having an ego, but fucking hell, Andy Burnham's ego is out of this world.