Upcoming "mega El Niño" raising alarms around the world -- and now in the Washington Post -- comparing to the 1877 event that "wiped out 4% of the Earth's population"
Prepare now for the potential of the "worst environmental disaster in human history"
As I pointed out yesterday you are being far too optimistic. Based on the NEV from the local elections the centre right might stumble to a majority at the next election. And that is mid term with a very unpopular Prime minister.
I get it. You too can’t cope with the idea, emotionally
Have you ever thought of engaging with an argument rather than just insulting the poster? It’s what intelligent people actually do. I say this knowing that, if you reply at all, you’re just going to make some tired comment about my intelligence to sooth your narcissism, social anxiety, and general emotional insecurity. So win win really.
OK I’ll give you a fun picture quiz instead
This dull green grey pebbly stuff in a Georgian silver salt cellar, in my flat, is actually exceptional. Why?
Clue: elsewhere on this shelf I have a medieval crossbow bolt, some musket balls from Edgehill, a few bullets from the Somme, and an arrowhead from Karahan Tepe, found by me (also nestled in Georgian salt cellars)
Chondrite? Edit: or kidney stones?
I have actually had kidney stones. The worst pain a human can endure. I passed out from the pain
Those were about 2mm wide so I can happily say these ain’t them. @turbotubbs is on the right track
Sources in Downing St say Attorney General Richard Hermer is looking at whether, in the light of today, Labour’s NEC can suspend Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham for 1) conduct prejudicial or grossly detrimental to Party; 2) disrepute; 3) factionalism; or 4) undermining unity.
Sources in Downing St say Attorney General Richard Hermer is looking at whether, in the light of today, Labour’s NEC can suspend Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham for 1) conduct prejudicial or grossly detrimental to Party; 2) disrepute; 3) factionalism; or 4) undermining unity.
Sources in Downing St say Attorney General Richard Hermer is looking at whether, in the light of today, Labour’s NEC can suspend Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham for 1) conduct prejudicial or grossly detrimental to Party; 2) disrepute; 3) factionalism; or 4) undermining unity.
As I pointed out yesterday you are being far too optimistic. Based on the NEV from the local elections the centre right might stumble to a majority at the next election. And that is mid term with a very unpopular Prime minister.
I get it. You too can’t cope with the idea, emotionally
Have you ever thought of engaging with an argument rather than just insulting the poster? It’s what intelligent people actually do. I say this knowing that, if you reply at all, you’re just going to make some tired comment about my intelligence to sooth your narcissism, social anxiety, and general emotional insecurity. So win win really.
OK I’ll give you a fun picture quiz instead
This dull green grey pebbly stuff in a Georgian silver salt cellar, in my flat, is actually exceptional. Why?
Clue: elsewhere on this shelf I have a medieval crossbow bolt, some musket balls from Edgehill, a few bullets from the Somme, and an arrowhead from Karahan Tepe, found by me (also nestled in Georgian salt cellars)
Have you actually been out in the sunshine all day, or have you just been inside, downing the booze and trying to snare the rest of us into sharing your admiration for your own tacky Nick Nacks that you’ve acquired to try and make your bedsit a bit more interesting?
Sources in Downing St say Attorney General Richard Hermer is looking at whether, in the light of today, Labour’s NEC can suspend Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham for 1) conduct prejudicial or grossly detrimental to Party; 2) disrepute; 3) factionalism; or 4) undermining unity.
Oddly enough, isn't that one action Starmer could take that would precipitate his demise. All the soft-left supporters of Burnham would have to choose a different future leader to support (probably Red Ed) who would actually be in the Commons, and so they could act immediately to topple Starmer instead of waiting for Burnham to become an MP
As I pointed out yesterday you are being far too optimistic. Based on the NEV from the local elections the centre right might stumble to a majority at the next election. And that is mid term with a very unpopular Prime minister.
I get it. You too can’t cope with the idea, emotionally
Have you ever thought of engaging with an argument rather than just insulting the poster? It’s what intelligent people actually do. I say this knowing that, if you reply at all, you’re just going to make some tired comment about my intelligence to sooth your narcissism, social anxiety, and general emotional insecurity. So win win really.
OK I’ll give you a fun picture quiz instead
This dull green grey pebbly stuff in a Georgian silver salt cellar, in my flat, is actually exceptional. Why?
Clue: elsewhere on this shelf I have a medieval crossbow bolt, some musket balls from Edgehill, a few bullets from the Somme, and an arrowhead from Karahan Tepe, found by me (also nestled in Georgian salt cellars)
Have you actually been out in the sunshine all day, or have you just been inside, downing the booze and trying to snare the rest of us into sharing your admiration for your own tacky Nick Nacks that you’ve acquired to try and make your bedsit a bit more interesting?
You seem to be upset
It's Saltpetre
No, but you’re closer
It’s more interesting and insane than that
Clue: it is unique. This has only been created once (as far as I know)
As I pointed out yesterday you are being far too optimistic. Based on the NEV from the local elections the centre right might stumble to a majority at the next election. And that is mid term with a very unpopular Prime minister.
I get it. You too can’t cope with the idea, emotionally
Have you ever thought of engaging with an argument rather than just insulting the poster? It’s what intelligent people actually do. I say this knowing that, if you reply at all, you’re just going to make some tired comment about my intelligence to sooth your narcissism, social anxiety, and general emotional insecurity. So win win really.
OK I’ll give you a fun picture quiz instead
This dull green grey pebbly stuff in a Georgian silver salt cellar, in my flat, is actually exceptional. Why?
Clue: elsewhere on this shelf I have a medieval crossbow bolt, some musket balls from Edgehill, a few bullets from the Somme, and an arrowhead from Karahan Tepe, found by me (also nestled in Georgian salt cellars)
Have you actually been out in the sunshine all day, or have you just been inside, downing the booze and trying to snare the rest of us into sharing your admiration for your own tacky Nick Nacks that you’ve acquired to try and make your bedsit a bit more interesting?
You seem to be upset
It's Saltpetre
No, but you’re closer
It’s more interesting and insane than that
Clue: it is unique. This has only been created once (as far as I know)
More important than all the blah blah about Sir Keir, is confirmation of the hereditary peers who have been awarded life peerages and continue to do good work in the upper house.
Apart from the sundry barons, there is: one duke (Wellington), five earls, and four viscounts. Sadly, not a single marquess. And we wonder why the country seems to be in decline?
Nevertheless, if we are reduced to one Duke, we could do a lot worse than a descendent of the victor of Waterloo. And I like the sound of the Earl of Effingham.
A smidgen of old England persists. Be thankful for that.
103 districts with all seats, 44 districts with 1/3 seats, 35 Unitary authorities all seats, 14 Unitary with 1/3 seats.
Tees Valley will be 100% Reform unless things rapidly change.
Labour were 4th in the 2025 locals on seats won behind Reform, the Tories and LDs on similar seats up as mostly up next year (with no London elections either in 2027). If they go in with Starmer still as PM they could end up 5th on seats won behind the Greens too
Next year the third place winners in the metro boroughs that were all out thiscyear will be defending their seats.
So a chance for Labour to claw back some of this year's losses.
That's the hope in our ward, for example.
I think the the third place winners are back up in 2028. The metros are on a four year cycle with a fallow first year.
Up next year in Bradford. Last year was the fallow year.
As far as I'm aware all of the met boroughs are on the same cycle.
The cycle restarts after an all up election, usually due to boundary changes.
We have elections in Bradford next year, then the following year, then it is the fallow year.
As I pointed out yesterday you are being far too optimistic. Based on the NEV from the local elections the centre right might stumble to a majority at the next election. And that is mid term with a very unpopular Prime minister.
I get it. You too can’t cope with the idea, emotionally
Have you ever thought of engaging with an argument rather than just insulting the poster? It’s what intelligent people actually do. I say this knowing that, if you reply at all, you’re just going to make some tired comment about my intelligence to sooth your narcissism, social anxiety, and general emotional insecurity. So win win really.
OK I’ll give you a fun picture quiz instead
This dull green grey pebbly stuff in a Georgian silver salt cellar, in my flat, is actually exceptional. Why?
Clue: elsewhere on this shelf I have a medieval crossbow bolt, some musket balls from Edgehill, a few bullets from the Somme, and an arrowhead from Karahan Tepe, found by me (also nestled in Georgian salt cellars)
Have you actually been out in the sunshine all day, or have you just been inside, downing the booze and trying to snare the rest of us into sharing your admiration for your own tacky Nick Nacks that you’ve acquired to try and make your bedsit a bit more interesting?
You seem to be upset
It's Saltpetre
No, but you’re closer
It’s more interesting and insane than that
Clue: it is unique. This has only been created once (as far as I know)
It's from the atomic bomb?
Bingo. And bravo
Yes. Those dull grey green lumps are actually glass - but a very special glass. Trinitite. Made at the site of the first atomic bomb explosion. Trinity. Which turned rock into this
As Lewis Goodall pointed out on LBC earlier, a Labour leader hasn’t been forced out for a hundred years or so.
Was it that long ago that Brown evicted Blair?
He referred to that, but made the point that Blair wasn’t really forced out of office by his own troops in the same way that Johnson, Truss and now possibly Starmer were.
I think that’s stretching it a bit. Blair would not have gone if the pressure from Brown and his coterie wasn’t there.
It wasn't open rebellion though, just quiet (if obvious) pressure.
As I pointed out yesterday you are being far too optimistic. Based on the NEV from the local elections the centre right might stumble to a majority at the next election. And that is mid term with a very unpopular Prime minister.
I get it. You too can’t cope with the idea, emotionally
Have you ever thought of engaging with an argument rather than just insulting the poster? It’s what intelligent people actually do. I say this knowing that, if you reply at all, you’re just going to make some tired comment about my intelligence to sooth your narcissism, social anxiety, and general emotional insecurity. So win win really.
OK I’ll give you a fun picture quiz instead
This dull green grey pebbly stuff in a Georgian silver salt cellar, in my flat, is actually exceptional. Why?
Clue: elsewhere on this shelf I have a medieval crossbow bolt, some musket balls from Edgehill, a few bullets from the Somme, and an arrowhead from Karahan Tepe, found by me (also nestled in Georgian salt cellars)
Have you actually been out in the sunshine all day, or have you just been inside, downing the booze and trying to snare the rest of us into sharing your admiration for your own tacky Nick Nacks that you’ve acquired to try and make your bedsit a bit more interesting?
You seem to be upset
It's Saltpetre
No, but you’re closer
It’s more interesting and insane than that
Clue: it is unique. This has only been created once (as far as I know)
It's from the atomic bomb?
Bingo. And bravo
Yes. Those dull grey green lumps are actually glass - but a very special glass. Trinitite. Made at the site of the first atomic bomb explosion. Trinity. Which turned rock into this
On my shelf nestled in that Georgian salt cellar inside the Trinitite are fragments of the very first atomic bomb
“Contained within the glass are melted bits of the first atomic bomb and the support structures and various radionuclides formed during the detonation. The glass itself is marvelously complex at the tens to hundreds of micrometre scale, and besides glasses of varying composition also contains unmelted quartz grains.
“Air transport of the melted material led to the formation of spheres and dumbbell shaped glass particles. Similar glasses are formed during all ground level nuclear detonations and contain forensic information that can be used to identify the atomic device.[13]”
As Lewis Goodall pointed out on LBC earlier, a Labour leader hasn’t been forced out for a hundred years or so.
Was it that long ago that Brown evicted Blair?
He referred to that, but made the point that Blair wasn’t really forced out of office by his own troops in the same way that Johnson, Truss and now possibly Starmer were.
I think that’s stretching it a bit. Blair would not have gone if the pressure from Brown and his coterie wasn’t there.
It wasn't open rebellion though, just quiet (if obvious) pressure.
I still argue it fits as forced out though. He didn’t want to go at that point. I think he would have gone shortly before the 2010 election.
Upcoming "mega El Niño" raising alarms around the world -- and now in the Washington Post -- comparing to the 1877 event that "wiped out 4% of the Earth's population"
Prepare now for the potential of the "worst environmental disaster in human history"
The 1877 event led to UK's 1879 infamous wet summer - a total disaster for uk farming with widespread v low yields and crop failure.
Brace.
This is at the same time as the Indian government has told farmers to halve their use of fertiliser - with an obvious knock-on impact to crop yields - due to shortages following the war in Iran.
We are mega-fucked.
The Trump Effect. I should imagine he will be quite pleased at having such a global impact, good or bad is secondary to that.
As Lewis Goodall pointed out on LBC earlier, a Labour leader hasn’t been forced out for a hundred years or so.
Was it that long ago that Brown evicted Blair?
He referred to that, but made the point that Blair wasn’t really forced out of office by his own troops in the same way that Johnson, Truss and now possibly Starmer were.
I think that’s stretching it a bit. Blair would not have gone if the pressure from Brown and his coterie wasn’t there.
It wasn't open rebellion though, just quiet (if obvious) pressure.
I still argue it fits as forced out though. He didn’t want to go at that point. I think he would have gone shortly before the 2010 election.
If they can deny at the time that they were being forced out then I don't think it really counts. Men in grey suits is eased out before the troops are riotous.
I’ll be pushing a zimmer frame around by the time Burnham sets his masterplan into motion !
It does feel as convoluted as a Bond villain’s plan, it has to be said.
Does it? Stage 1 yesterday was a success. Prevent Catherine what's her face from running. Stage 2 today. Prevent Streeting from amassing 81 names. And keep everyone else reasonably onside in not mobilising.
It's been made necessarily complex by Starmer preventing Burnham from being the G+D candidate.
More important than all the blah blah about Sir Keir, is confirmation of the hereditary peers who have been awarded life peerages and continue to do good work in the upper house.
Apart from the sundry barons, there is: one duke (Wellington), five earls, and four viscounts. Sadly, not a single marquess. And we wonder why the country seems to be in decline?
Nevertheless, if we are reduced to one Duke, we could do a lot worse than a descendent of the victor of Waterloo. And I like the sound of the Earl of Effingham.
A smidgen of old England persists. Be thankful for that.
It would be pretty funny if after 25 years of temporary arrangements persisting for hereditaries, that it might be followed by pseudo-hereditary, where the heirs of those awarded life peers also get given them when they die.
I am disappointed that John Thurso is not among them. He was a member in the 90s until most were kicked out, became an MP for 14 years, then won my favourite ever by-election (7 candidates, 3 eligible voters) to be returned as an elected hereditary peer. He should make history as the only person to get sent to the Lords in three different ways.
I’ll be pushing a zimmer frame around by the time Burnham sets his masterplan into motion !
It does feel as convoluted as a Bond villain’s plan, it has to be said.
More like one of Baldrick's cunning plans.
Blackadder: "Ah Andy Baldrick! A superb plan! With just one small fatal flaw." Andy Baldrick: "What's that then?" Blackadder: "You can't stand for the Labour leadership while you're still not an MP, Labour are about as popular as a Hantavirus-raddled rat on a cruise ship and so even if you could persuade the NEC to let you stand in a by-election you'd certainly lose."
Does anybody have a link to which councils are up for election in the 2027 locals?
No one knows yet, because the clusterfuck that is the next round of unitary conversions won’t report until July. In theory a bunch of councils that are up in 2028 or 29 will have shadow unitary elections in 2027 instead, but because MHCLG invited competing proposals and then decided to completely ignore its own guidance, who the hell knows what will happen.
Does anybody have a link to which councils are up for election in the 2027 locals?
No one knows yet, because the clusterfuck that is the next round of unitary conversions won’t report until July. In theory a bunch of councils that are up in 2028 or 29 will have shadow unitary elections in 2027 instead, but because MHCLG invited competing proposals and then decided to completely ignore its own guidance, who the hell knows what will happen.
I think the overall aim of the new unitary and even the strategic mayoral authority plans was a decent one, but it appears to have been pretty cackhanded, and apparently there's not the money that was promised to entice enthusiasm to form mayoralties quickly (with some simple and easy ones who did request ignored anyway).
I’ll be pushing a zimmer frame around by the time Burnham sets his masterplan into motion !
It does feel as convoluted as a Bond villain’s plan, it has to be said.
More like one of Baldrick's cunning plans.
Blackadder: "Ah Andy Baldrick! A superb plan! With just one small fatal flaw." Andy Baldrick: "What's that then?" Blackadder: "You can't stand for the Labour leadership while you're still not an MP, Labour are about as popular as a Hantavirus-raddled rat on a cruise ship and so even if you could persuade the NEC to let you stand in a by-election you'd certainly lose."
For Cambridge graduates, Andy B and Wes S seem to have struggled with some pretty fundamental concepts today
(Checks their degrees.)
Ah, English and History respectively. That explains it.
More important than all the blah blah about Sir Keir, is confirmation of the hereditary peers who have been awarded life peerages and continue to do good work in the upper house.
Apart from the sundry barons, there is: one duke (Wellington), five earls, and four viscounts. Sadly, not a single marquess. And we wonder why the country seems to be in decline?
Nevertheless, if we are reduced to one Duke, we could do a lot worse than a descendent of the victor of Waterloo. And I like the sound of the Earl of Effingham.
A smidgen of old England persists. Be thankful for that.
It would be pretty funny if after 25 years of temporary arrangements persisting for hereditaries, that it might be followed by pseudo-hereditary, where the heirs of those awarded life peers also get given them when they die.
I am disappointed that John Thurso is not among them. He was a member in the 90s until most were kicked out, became an MP for 14 years, then won my favourite ever by-election (7 candidates, 3 eligible voters) to be returned as an elected hereditary peer. He should make history as the only person to get sent to the Lords in three different ways.
Yes, I would have thought Viscount Thurso might have been a candidate for a lifer.
In fact, come to think of it, the Sinclair clan of which he is a member has not done very well at all. The clan chieftain, the Earl of Caithness, a former minister, isn't back either.
Meloni was recently politically damaged but she's still got our recent PMs beat.
Imagine looking at Italy, thinking: "They can keep their crappy wine culture, their trattorias, and all that rubbish. But that habit of changing the Prime Minister every 12 minutes, and living with your parents until you approach retirement age - let's import that bit!!" https://nitter.poast.org/K_Niemietz/status/2054215478864732615#m
Does anybody have a link to which councils are up for election in the 2027 locals?
No one knows yet, because the clusterfuck that is the next round of unitary conversions won’t report until July. In theory a bunch of councils that are up in 2028 or 29 will have shadow unitary elections in 2027 instead, but because MHCLG invited competing proposals and then decided to completely ignore its own guidance, who the hell knows what will happen.
I think the overall aim of the new unitary and even the strategic mayoral authority plans was a decent one, but it appears to have been pretty cackhanded, and apparently there's not the money that was promised to entice enthusiasm to form mayoralties quickly (with some simple and easy ones who did request ignored anyway).
Entirely agreed. It’s been incredibly cackhanded. MHCLG said they wanted unitaries of 500k plus, then just approved a swathe of smaller ones. Millions has been wasted on drawing up proposals which are never going to be implemented because clear enough guidance wasn’t given.
The party of government getting 8% in a place as populous as Essex seems pretty important to me, although I know it doesn't include the entire county such as Thurrock.
I saw Swindon beat Sunderland 1-0 at Wembley in 1990 to reach the first divisione (when the top tier was still called that). Ten days later the league threw them down two divisions for naughty payments.
The party of government getting 8% in a place as populous as Essex seems pretty important to me, although I know it doesn't include the entire county such as Thurrock.
Yes but. The overarching narrative was longstanding incumbents being turfed out by Reform and Green to a lesser extent.
Curious how Harlow was such an outlier. Tories won a very comfortable clean sweep in the wards there- carnage most everywhere else.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
The Tories have these little islands of strength where they are showing resilience and even sometimes gaining. Whilst being mullered next door. They stood out in Northumberland last year, too. Curious.
Rather brutal for the traditional 3 main party leaders, the Tory and Labour Essex leaders were defeated in their seats and the LD leader died in the campaign
Why doesn't Streeting just livestream himself everywhere he goes? Apparently he has 'allies' reporting on his every movement and thought anyway, might as well just make it more efficient.
Rather brutal for the traditional 3 main party leaders, the Tory and Labour Essex leaders were defeated in their seats and the LD leader died in the campaign
Curious how Harlow was such an outlier. Tories won a very comfortable clean sweep in the wards there- carnage most everywhere else.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
The Tories have these little islands of strength where they are showing resilience and even sometimes gaining. Whilst being mullered next door. They stood out in Northumberland last year, too. Curious.
Are these good times for civil servants as some things can get pushed through whilst politicians are distracted, or terrible because there's no direction and it might all change tomorrow?
Upcoming "mega El Niño" raising alarms around the world -- and now in the Washington Post -- comparing to the 1877 event that "wiped out 4% of the Earth's population"
Prepare now for the potential of the "worst environmental disaster in human history"
I’ll be pushing a zimmer frame around by the time Burnham sets his masterplan into motion !
It does feel as convoluted as a Bond villain’s plan, it has to be said.
More like one of Baldrick's cunning plans.
Blackadder: "Ah Andy Baldrick! A superb plan! With just one small fatal flaw." Andy Baldrick: "What's that then?" Blackadder: "You can't stand for the Labour leadership while you're still not an MP, Labour are about as popular as a Hantavirus-raddled rat on a cruise ship and so even if you could persuade the NEC to let you stand in a by-election you'd certainly lose."
Is the MP for Dunny-on-the-Wold going to resign for him?
Off topic, but it is about an election we can learn something from:
On August 1, 1831, he cast his first ballot. The polls were in the home of James Camron where [Abraham] Lincoln was boarding and getting acquainted with Camron's 11 daughters who teased him about his long legs and arms and heard him admit he "wasn't much to look at." Voting by word of mouth, each voter spoke to the election judges his candidates' names. A judge then called out the voter's name and his candidates, clerks recording the names "on poll sheets." Lincoln voted for a Henry Clay Whig for Congress--and against Joseph Duncan, then a Jackson man serving in Congress. He stayed around the polls most of the day talking cheerily, telling stories, making friends and getting acquainted with the names and faces of nearly all the men in the New Salem neighborhood.
(From chapter 2 of Carl Sandburg's one volume biography, Abraham Lincoln.)
I'd like to see a similar description of voting practices in the UK, about the same time.
Are these good times for civil servants as some things can get pushed through whilst politicians are distracted, or terrible because there's no direction and it might all change tomorrow?
Former Civil Servant here and I can tell you it's definitely bad. The Johnson/Truss/Sunak years were a nightmare as the entire priorities of your department could turn on a dime. Progress on projects currently in the pipeline get delayed as new Ministers need to be briefed before making the next round of decisions. New Ministers want to relitigate previous decisions etc etc. Also wounded Prime Ministers tend to lash out on their Civil Servants as we have already seen.
Curious how Harlow was such an outlier. Tories won a very comfortable clean sweep in the wards there- carnage most everywhere else.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
I noticed those weird results in Harlow. Is it because Reform's running the district council and made a hash of it?
No it is because Harlow has a brilliant Tory leader in Dan Swords and his team regenerating the town. At the last local elections the Harlow Tories scored about 10% higher than the Tory Harlow general election result 2 months later.
Swords has even managed to persuade the M & S CEO to open a new store in Harlow
Not about voting practices, but here's an overview of our election that year. https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/parliament/1831 Earl Grey (he of the personally designed blend of tea) became PM and in four years, oversaw the Great Reform Act as well as the abolition of slavery. He also somehow managed to find time to father 16 kids by his wife and one with the married Duchess of Devonshire. A ginormous statue of him is a centrepiece in Newcastle the city where I live for which he was the MP. A full life. Surprised he had the energy.
More important than all the blah blah about Sir Keir, is confirmation of the hereditary peers who have been awarded life peerages and continue to do good work in the upper house.
Apart from the sundry barons, there is: one duke (Wellington), five earls, and four viscounts. Sadly, not a single marquess. And we wonder why the country seems to be in decline?
Nevertheless, if we are reduced to one Duke, we could do a lot worse than a descendent of the victor of Waterloo. And I like the sound of the Earl of Effingham.
A smidgen of old England persists. Be thankful for that.
Ha!
I know one of them. Massey Lopes worked at Goldman Sachs and then Odey.
I’ll be pushing a zimmer frame around by the time Burnham sets his masterplan into motion !
It does feel as convoluted as a Bond villain’s plan, it has to be said.
More like one of Baldrick's cunning plans.
Blackadder: "Ah Andy Baldrick! A superb plan! With just one small fatal flaw." Andy Baldrick: "What's that then?" Blackadder: "You can't stand for the Labour leadership while you're still not an MP, Labour are about as popular as a Hantavirus-raddled rat on a cruise ship and so even if you could persuade the NEC to let you stand in a by-election you'd certainly lose."
Is the MP for Dunny-on-the-Wold going to resign for him?
Curious how Harlow was such an outlier. Tories won a very comfortable clean sweep in the wards there- carnage most everywhere else.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
I noticed those weird results in Harlow. Is it because Reform's running the district council and made a hash of it?
No it is because Harlow has a brilliant Tory leader in Dan Swords and his team regenerating the town. At the last local elections the Harlow Tories scored about 10% higher than the Tory Harlow general election result 2 months later.
Swords has even managed to persuade the M & S CEO to open a new store in Harlow
More important than all the blah blah about Sir Keir, is confirmation of the hereditary peers who have been awarded life peerages and continue to do good work in the upper house.
Apart from the sundry barons, there is: one duke (Wellington), five earls, and four viscounts. Sadly, not a single marquess. And we wonder why the country seems to be in decline?
Nevertheless, if we are reduced to one Duke, we could do a lot worse than a descendent of the victor of Waterloo. And I like the sound of the Earl of Effingham.
A smidgen of old England persists. Be thankful for that.
Ha!
I know one of them. Massey Lopes worked at Goldman Sachs and then Odey.
Massey Lopes sounds like a name from an Iain M Banks novel
I’m told govt whips believe: 1. Wes Streeting will make his move on Thursday, to avoid clashing with King’s Speech; 2. Andy Burnham doesn’t have MP ready to quit; 3. Besides 87 MPs who’ve publicly called for Sir Keir Starmer to go, same number privately want him to step down.
I’m told govt whips believe: 1. Wes Streeting will make his move on Thursday, to avoid clashing with King’s Speech; 2. Andy Burnham doesn’t have MP ready to quit; 3. Besides 87 MPs who’ve publicly called for Sir Keir Starmer to go, same number privately want him to step down.
I'm busy in meetings all day Thursday, I don't suppose Wes could push it to Friday?
I’m told govt whips believe: 1. Wes Streeting will make his move on Thursday, to avoid clashing with King’s Speech; 2. Andy Burnham doesn’t have MP ready to quit; 3. Besides 87 MPs who’ve publicly called for Sir Keir Starmer to go, same number privately want him to step down.
I'm busy in meetings all day Thursday, I don't suppose Wes could push it to Friday?
Curious how Harlow was such an outlier. Tories won a very comfortable clean sweep in the wards there- carnage most everywhere else.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
I noticed those weird results in Harlow. Is it because Reform's running the district council and made a hash of it?
No it is because Harlow has a brilliant Tory leader in Dan Swords and his team regenerating the town. At the last local elections the Harlow Tories scored about 10% higher than the Tory Harlow general election result 2 months later.
Swords has even managed to persuade the M & S CEO to open a new store in Harlow
It's interesting how many young council leaders are making a name for themselves. Apart from 25-year-old Dan Swords, there's Reform's 19-year-old George Finch.
19-year-old Reform UK councillor George Finch has been elected to lead Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council alongside his role as leader of Warwickshire County Council
The year 1879 was less of a disaster for the UK than it might have been, because it was a great year for US grain production, much of which was exported.
This wasn't a new trade; during our Civil War, the value of grain exports to the UK passed the long dominant value of cotton exports. "King Cotton" had been dethroned.
Curious how Harlow was such an outlier. Tories won a very comfortable clean sweep in the wards there- carnage most everywhere else.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
I noticed those weird results in Harlow. Is it because Reform's running the district council and made a hash of it?
No it is because Harlow has a brilliant Tory leader in Dan Swords and his team regenerating the town. At the last local elections the Harlow Tories scored about 10% higher than the Tory Harlow general election result 2 months later.
Swords has even managed to persuade the M & S CEO to open a new store in Harlow
It's interesting how many young council leaders are making a name for themselves. Apart from 25-year-old Dan Swords, there's Reform's 19-year-old George Finch.
19-year-old Reform UK councillor George Finch has been elected to lead Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council alongside his role as leader of Warwickshire County Council
Curious how Harlow was such an outlier. Tories won a very comfortable clean sweep in the wards there- carnage most everywhere else.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
I noticed those weird results in Harlow. Is it because Reform's running the district council and made a hash of it?
No it is because Harlow has a brilliant Tory leader in Dan Swords and his team regenerating the town. At the last local elections the Harlow Tories scored about 10% higher than the Tory Harlow general election result 2 months later.
Swords has even managed to persuade the M & S CEO to open a new store in Harlow
It's interesting how many young council leaders are making a name for themselves. Apart from 25-year-old Dan Swords, there's Reform's 19-year-old George Finch.
19-year-old Reform UK councillor George Finch has been elected to lead Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council alongside his role as leader of Warwickshire County Council
Curious how Harlow was such an outlier. Tories won a very comfortable clean sweep in the wards there- carnage most everywhere else.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
I noticed those weird results in Harlow. Is it because Reform's running the district council and made a hash of it?
No it is because Harlow has a brilliant Tory leader in Dan Swords and his team regenerating the town. At the last local elections the Harlow Tories scored about 10% higher than the Tory Harlow general election result 2 months later.
Swords has even managed to persuade the M & S CEO to open a new store in Harlow
It's interesting how many young council leaders are making a name for themselves. Apart from 25-year-old Dan Swords, there's Reform's 19-year-old George Finch.
19-year-old Reform UK councillor George Finch has been elected to lead Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council alongside his role as leader of Warwickshire County Council
Doubling up, what a precocious chap.
Very young to be wearing such a bad toupée.
I see that one of the ways he's made a name for himself was talking about a case that was sub-judice at a public meeting and then having a spat with the Chief Constable. Not sure why the 6 of the Conservatives voted against the VONC in him, even the 2 Restore Britain councillors abstained.
First they laughed at me Then they laughed at me some more Then they voted for literally anyone else Then I refused to resign And the party rules And the cowardice of Labour MPa Protected me Ha Ha ha
Comments
Those were about 2mm wide so I can happily say these ain’t them. @turbotubbs is on the right track
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Wakefield_Metropolitan_District_Council_election
It’s as good a guess as any
It also is bewilderingly complex.
It’s more interesting and insane than that
Clue: it is unique. This has only been created once (as far as I know)
https://order-order.com/2026/05/12/26-hereditary-peers-appointed-back-to-house-of-lords/
Apart from the sundry barons, there is: one duke (Wellington), five earls, and four viscounts. Sadly, not a single marquess. And we wonder why the country seems to be in decline?
Nevertheless, if we are reduced to one Duke, we could do a lot worse than a descendent of the victor of Waterloo. And I like the sound of the Earl of Effingham.
A smidgen of old England persists. Be thankful for that.
Yes. Those dull grey green lumps are actually glass - but a very special glass. Trinitite. Made at the site of the first atomic bomb explosion. Trinity. Which turned rock into this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitite
“Contained within the glass are melted bits of the first atomic bomb and the support structures and various radionuclides formed during the detonation. The glass itself is marvelously complex at the tens to hundreds of micrometre scale, and besides glasses of varying composition also contains unmelted quartz grains.
“Air transport of the melted material led to the formation of spheres and dumbbell shaped glass particles. Similar glasses are formed during all ground level nuclear detonations and contain forensic information that can be used to identify the atomic device.[13]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Essex_County_Council_election
Stage 1 yesterday was a success. Prevent Catherine what's her face from running.
Stage 2 today. Prevent Streeting from amassing 81 names. And keep everyone else reasonably onside in not mobilising.
It's been made necessarily complex by Starmer preventing Burnham from being the G+D candidate.
I am disappointed that John Thurso is not among them. He was a member in the 90s until most were kicked out, became an MP for 14 years, then won my favourite ever by-election (7 candidates, 3 eligible voters) to be returned as an elected hereditary peer. He should make history as the only person to get sent to the Lords in three different ways.
Blackadder: "Ah Andy Baldrick! A superb plan! With just one small fatal flaw."
Andy Baldrick: "What's that then?"
Blackadder: "You can't stand for the Labour leadership while you're still not an MP, Labour are about as popular as a Hantavirus-raddled rat on a cruise ship and so even if you could persuade the NEC to let you stand in a by-election you'd certainly lose."
Things could still change.
(Checks their degrees.)
Ah, English and History respectively. That explains it.
In fact, come to think of it, the Sinclair clan of which he is a member has not done very well at all. The clan chieftain, the Earl of Caithness, a former minister, isn't back either.
Something, surely, should be done?
Imagine looking at Italy, thinking:
"They can keep their crappy wine culture, their trattorias, and all that rubbish. But that habit of changing the Prime Minister every 12 minutes, and living with your parents until you approach retirement age - let's import that bit!!"
https://nitter.poast.org/K_Niemietz/status/2054215478864732615#m
Moldova: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJjTOalT4DY
Not a big enough diaspora for astroturfing a vote though.
I would have thought Harlow would be prime Reform. Not that I've ever been there, mind.
(Galway West)
I saw Swindon beat Sunderland 1-0 at Wembley in 1990 to reach the first divisione (when the top tier was still called that). Ten days later the league threw them down two divisions for naughty payments.
It still hurts.
Loved it.
The overarching narrative was longstanding incumbents being turfed out by Reform and Green to a lesser extent.
Thursday's laundry day.
Dentist Friday.
May as well leave it to Monday...
They stood out in Northumberland last year, too.
Curious.
Is that going to be good or bad for skiing?
I'd like to see a similar description of voting practices in the UK, about the same time.
Swords has even managed to persuade the M & S CEO to open a new store in Harlow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3V4tmM_pzI
https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/parliament/1831
Earl Grey (he of the personally designed blend of tea) became PM and in four years, oversaw the Great Reform Act as well as the abolition of slavery.
He also somehow managed to find time to father 16 kids by his wife and one with the married Duchess of Devonshire.
A ginormous statue of him is a centrepiece in Newcastle the city where I live for which he was the MP.
A full life. Surprised he had the energy.
I know one of them. Massey Lopes worked at Goldman Sachs and then Odey.
https://x.com/joncraig/status/2054332778502672541
I’m told govt whips believe: 1. Wes Streeting will make his move on Thursday, to avoid clashing with King’s Speech; 2. Andy Burnham doesn’t have MP ready to quit; 3. Besides 87 MPs who’ve publicly called for Sir Keir Starmer to go, same number privately want him to step down.
https://x.com/georgeickelbc/status/2054271484894294334
19-year-old Reform UK councillor George Finch has been elected to lead Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council alongside his role as leader of Warwickshire County Council
This wasn't a new trade; during our Civil War, the value of grain exports to the UK passed the long dominant value of cotton exports. "King Cotton" had been dethroned.
Not sure why the 6 of the Conservatives voted against the VONC in him, even the 2 Restore Britain councillors abstained.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Labour_Party_leadership_election_(UK)
- 18Dec2019: first candidature announced (Emily Thornburry)
- 08Jan2020: first candidate to get nominations from sufficient MPs (Keir Starmer)
- 15Feb2020: first hustings between the three who got sufficient MP and CLP/affiliate noms (Starmer, Long-Bailey, Nandy)
- 24Feb2020: first membership forms received and hence first membership votes cast
- 02Apr2020: voting closes
- 04Apr2020: winner announced
Time from beginning to end: three months seventeen days.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2015270242/trek-shorts-2026-the-big-one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAXrT7d0xnY
Then they laughed at me some more
Then they voted for literally anyone else
Then I refused to resign
And the party rules
And the cowardice of Labour MPa
Protected me
Ha
Ha ha
Sir Keir Starmer, 2026